Naomi stepped into my office holding something plastic in her hand. The way she bit her lip as she stared at the thing pulled my full attention. I hated that worried look; it plagued my mind and brought up unpleasant memories of life on the run.
“What?”
She turned the front of what she held towards me and I stared at the little plus in the middle of the plastic, before bringing my gaze to hers. I had seen enough commercials over the years to have an idea of what I was looking at, but I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotion that little plus sign sent parading through my bloodstream.
“Is that what I think it is?”
She nodded and joy burst from the center of my being. I had no memory of crossing the distance, but when I came back to reality, I had her in my arms, twirling in a circle and my smile actually made my cheeks ache.
“Are you sure?” I asked, setting her down.
“Yes. Valerie made me do the test twice.”
Naomi was more subdued than I would have expected and I put my enthusiasm in check, lifting her chin so she met my gaze.
“Aren’t you excited?”
She bit her lip again and I dialed it in completely as a new worry bit under my skin. We’d never talked about children. Ever.
Even after we were both cured of the shadow virus, so maybe my assumptions that she wanted the same thing I did was flawed.
“Did you... want children?” I asked. I tried to keep the strained hesitation out of my voice but I didn’t do a very good job.
The tension in her body loosened. “Yes, I want to have children with you, it’s just...” she trailed off and the conflict danced over her features, twitching her eyelids as she tried to articulate all that was going on under the surface.
“You’re afraid,” I finished, understanding her fears. Hell, I had them too, but mine were more about what sort of child we would produce as opposed to what Lucifer would do when he found out.
Her nod confirmed my statement. “If he ever got his hands on my child...” Naomi couldn’t finish and she pulled me into a fierce hug. “I don’t know what I’d do.”
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her temple. “I have a feeling that’ll be the least of our worries.”
She glanced up. The seriousness in her steady gaze told me she didn’t quite understand my point.
“I’m not sure what’s involved in raising a trinity,” I said. “Especially if our child has some of the same... gifts that you have.” For a moment, I envisioned being cornered by an angry tiger cub and couldn’t help grinning.
“What’s with that look?”
“What if the baby can change forms at will?” I opted to ask the question as opposed to sharing my little imagery.
Naomi sighed. “What if she can’t?”
“She?”
Her lips pressed together and I refocused on what she asked.
“Well, then she would be normal.”
Her eyes rolled and she laughed for the first time since she gave me the news. “You really think we’re capable of having a normal child?”
I answered with an almost imperceptible lift of my shoulders along with a grin. “As long as the child is healthy, who the hell cares if she’s normal or not.”
Her cheeks dimpled and laugh lines appeared at the corner of her eyes. Any worry that had been there a few minutes ago seemed to evaporate in her budding glow.
“Have I told you I loved you, lately?”
She beamed and nodded, pulling me into another hug. “I love you, too,” she said and unwrapped her arms. Naomi literally bounced out of the room and I imagined she continued that flighty step all the way to the family room upstairs.
I stared after her and my smile slowly faded. She had every right to be afraid and so did I. If Lucifer got wind of this, regardless of whatever condition he was in, he’d crawl out of hell to try to stop it. God only knows what would happen then.
I closed my eyes and my chin dropped to my chest. I’ve never been a praying man, but, right now, we needed all the protection the angels in heaven could provide.
“Michael, she’s pregnant,” I whispered, knowing damn well he couldn’t hear me from within our sanctuary. Just saying it aloud sent a jolt of excitement along with a profound stab of fear through my body, tingling through my cells and producing a rash of goose flesh.
I shivered and saved my work, shutting down my computer before putting on an appropriate smile and heading upstairs into the loud music and laughter.
***
After dinner, Naomi begged off early, looking every bit as tired as she said she was. I gave her a good night peck and settled into the couch with the remote. I must have clicked through the channels twice before Valerie cleared her throat. I glanced in her direction.