Chapter 81 – Arya's POV
"The Day I Met Our Baby"
Today was the day.
The moment I'd been waiting for since the test turned positive.
Our first ultrasound.
I couldn't stop fidgeting. My hands kept brushing over my belly, which had started to round out just enough that my clothes no longer fit the same. There was no hiding it now — I was growing life. A whole human being.
And I was about to see them.
Damon had taken the entire day off work — something he rarely did, which made it all the more special. He was annoyingly calm, though. Or maybe he was just better at hiding his nerves. Every time I looked at him, he gave me a reassuring smile like everything was perfectly fine.
But my stomach was fluttering.
Not from the baby — not yet. That was still too early.
This was pure nerves.
And excitement.
And a little fear too.
What if something was wrong?
What if there was no heartbeat?
What if…?
"Stop thinking so hard," Damon said gently as he drove us to the clinic.
I glanced at him. "How do you know I'm thinking?"
"You're chewing your lip and staring out the window like you're preparing for battle."
I gave a half-laugh. "I guess I'm just… scared."
"It's going to be okay," he said, reaching over to take my hand. "You're strong. Our baby's strong."
I nodded, squeezing his fingers. "I just need to see them."
---
Liam was practically vibrating with excitement in the back seat.
He'd been asking questions all week. "Will the baby have hair?" "Can we see their fingers yet?" "What if the baby's doing flips?"
I answered as best as I could, but even I didn't know what to expect. Liam was the only one I'd carried before, and even then, I hadn't gotten this far into the pregnancy with so much love and support surrounding me.
This time felt different.
This time, I wasn't alone.
---
At the clinic, we were taken into the ultrasound room quickly. The nurse greeted us with a kind smile and told me to lie down on the exam table.
The paper crinkled beneath me as I leaned back, pulling my shirt up to reveal my stomach.
Liam's eyes widened. "Whoa. It's really round now."
Damon chuckled softly, standing beside him while I tried to ignore how cold the room felt.
Then came the gel. Ice cold, even though she warned me first.
"Sorry," the nurse said with a chuckle. "The warm bottle was empty."
"It's okay," I said through clenched teeth.
Then the probe pressed against my belly, and within seconds—
There it was.
The monitor lit up with moving gray shadows, and then, as if by magic, a little shape came into view.
Small. Curved. With tiny arms. And a perfect little head.
"That's your baby," the nurse said softly, pointing things out as she adjusted the image.
I gasped, covering my mouth. "Oh… oh my God."
Tears immediately pricked my eyes.
It was real.
So real.
That wasn't just nausea and cravings and back pain. That was a baby. Our baby.
My baby.
Damon gripped my hand tighter.
He didn't say a word, but I didn't need him to. I turned my head just slightly to look at him, and I saw everything in his face — wonder, shock, and a kind of love I hadn't seen in his eyes since the day he held Liam as a baby.
He was falling in love with our child.
Right here, right now.
---
"Can you see the heartbeat?" Liam whispered in awe.
The nurse smiled and turned on the sound.
The room filled with the rapid thump-thump-thump-thump of a tiny, fierce heartbeat.
I gasped again, this time letting the tears fall.
That sound… it was everything.
"Yes," she said gently. "Your baby has a strong heartbeat. Everything looks healthy so far."
Liam clapped softly. "That's my baby brother or sister in there!"
I reached for his hand too, pulling both of them — my son and my husband — closer to me. "Do you want to say hi?" I asked Liam.
He nodded quickly and leaned over my belly. "Hi baby! I'm Liam. I'm your big brother. I've been waiting for you."
My heart couldn't take it. I was going to melt.
Damon wiped a tear from his own cheek and placed a kiss on my forehead.
"You're amazing," he whispered.
"No," I said softly, "we are."
---
The nurse took a few pictures, printed them out, and handed them to me like I was holding gold.
And honestly? I was.
I held the first image of our baby — their first photo. They looked like a tiny bean with arms, but to me, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
"You'll want to keep these somewhere safe," the nurse said with a wink. "I have two teenagers now, and I still look at mine when they're being moody."
I laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."
---
As we left the clinic, Liam wouldn't stop talking.
"Did you see how small the fingers were?"
"Do you think the baby knew we were watching?"
"Do babies get shy?"
Damon and I just listened, hands still tangled together, hearts still full.
That night, as I lay in bed with the ultrasound photo on the pillow beside me, I whispered to the baby:
"I saw you today. And you were everything I dreamed you'd be."