Pregnancy was harder than Lina expected.
Morning sickness that lasted all day. Exhaustion that flattened her. Food aversions that made her cry because she was hungry but couldn't eat.
Kai took care of her through all of it.
He learned which smells triggered nausea and eliminated them from the apartment. He kept crackers by the bed for when she woke up queasy. He held her hair back when she got sick and never once complained.
"You're amazing," she told him one night, weak from a long day.
"I'm just doing what anyone would do."
"No. You're doing what you do. Being patient and kind and wonderful." She touched his face. "The baby's lucky. To have you as a dad."
"The baby's lucky to have you as a mom." He kissed her gently. "Now rest. I'll bring you tea."
The first ultrasound was magical.
They saw the heartbeat—tiny, flickering, impossibly real. The technician pointed out the head, the limbs, the spine.
"There's a person in there," Lina whispered. "A whole person."
Kai couldn't speak. He just held her hand, tears streaming down his face.
When they left, he finally found words.
"That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"Better than my wedding dress?"
"Different category. Both win."
She laughed. "Smooth save."
They told their families at twelve weeks.
Lina's mother screamed. Her father got emotional, then gruffly said, "Good for you." Kai's mother cried happy tears and immediately started knitting.
Mia's reaction was predictably dramatic.
"YOU'RE HAVING A BABY?!" she shrieked through the phone. "I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT?!"
"You're going to be the best aunt," Lina promised.
"I'm going to spoil this child rotten. Just warning you now."
"Wouldn't expect anything less."