“There is one more thing I need to tell you, husband.”

I wait as everyone gets on their feet ready for us to walk down the aisle joined hand in hand.

“We’re having a baby.”

And I thought there was no greater joy in marrying the woman I love until I hear those words.

After pictures and the cutting of the cake, I can’t wait any longer.

“Where are we going?” Cate asks as I take her hand in mine and drag her along with me.

“The limo.” Her eyes grow in size and it only makes me harder. “Fuck Cate, you can’t look at me like that. I won’t last.”

The door is unlocked and the driver is nowhere in sight. I take her down NFL style, full on tackle. My hands gather more and more of her dress with no end in sight.

“How much fabric does this dress have?”

She laughs. “Wait, let me help you.”

She’s teasing me and she doesn’t know the state I’m in. Seeing her and not being able to touch her for the last month has made me lose all finesse. I kiss her hard and her teasing dies away. She fists her hand in my hair, tugging me closer and I know she’s as desperate as I am for me to be buried balls deep inside her.

There’s no need for a condom, as if I’d worn any since that first time without one—which explains the baby thing. After I dip two fingers inside her and find her wet and ready, I dive in.

I groan out my relief because she’s heaven. I languish being inside her skin to skin. When her nails dig in my ass, that’s her sign, telling me to move. I oblige and rock myself forward hard and at a steady pace.

“Harder,” she begs.

I lift her ass off the seat and angle her differently. I know just how to set her off and give her her first orgasm in seconds. Her pussy milks my dick, almost setting me off. But I’m not ready yet. It feels so damn good to be inside her again, I want it to last. So as a diversion, I think of work for a second and that halts everything. Leaning down, I capture her lips in a searing kiss. She tastes like the sweetest cake and I feel myself building again.

It isn’t long before I’m saying, “Fuck Cate, I’m going to come.”

My words rocket her second orgasm. Her back arches off the seat and I ride her all the way back down. My climax jars me so hard, I collapse on top of her when I’m done.

“I hope you believe me now that my balls really were a nice shade of blue.”

About eight months later, I stare into the eyes of the woman I love so completely, I’m mesmerized every time I look at her. I try not to smile at the frantic look on her face. She’s totally out of sorts as they wheel her into labor and delivery.

“Andy, don’t let go of my hand.” Her plea for my support does something to my chest and I feel almost like beating on it.

“Never,” I say gently as she squeezes the ever loving life out of it.

“It’s not fair, you’re all calm. You don’t have to push a turkey out of Louise. I mean how do they know she’s ready? She doesn’t have a basting button on the side of her head.”

“We doctors don’t know. We usually leave that up to the baby. That’s why our daughter has made her opinion known on the subject.”

Cate glares “You know it’s a girl, don’t you?” She whips out an accusatory finger pointed in my direction. “You said she. You promised it would be a surprise and you wouldn’t sneak and find out.”

They set the gurney in the room and prepare to shift her over to the specialized bed they use for the delivery. She doesn’t let go of my hand. I have to stretch in order not to pull her off it as I make my way around and next to her.

“I didn’t find out. You called her ‘a her’ and I went with it.”

Her eyes narrow and I swear the chuckle I’m holding in will burst out of me. Before she can say anything else, her face gathers at the brow, pinching in pain. “Andy, I want pain medication.”

It had been Cate’s idea to go without meds. I’d supported her decision either way. “Okay, let me see if Dr. Yancey is on the floor.”

I’m about to let her go when a man walks in as Cate continues to squeeze my hand like it’s an orange and she’s trying to make juice. The man holds a chart, but I don’t recognize him.

“Dr. Carter,” Cate says in surprise.

His face grows a smile at my wife in a way that says he’s familiar with her. “Mrs. Mercer, it’s good to see you again.”

I hold up a finger. “A moment.”

He glances up at me and I’m sure he’s dealt with plenty of fathers over the years.

“Sure.”

When Cate’s pain passes, I kiss her knuckles. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to step over here and talk to Dr. Carter.” I nod at the nurse and she steps over to reassure Cate while I confer with the good doctor.

Three steps and I stand to one side of the room with the other man. He gets the jump on the conversation to come.

“Dr. Mercer, your wife has nothing but great things to say about you. I’m sorry we haven’t met. Apparently, the two times I had the pleasure of seeing your wife, you had emergencies that kept you away.”

I take his proffered hand and shake it.

“Nice to meet you Dr. Carter. My wife mentioned you.” She had. She hadn’t said he was a he. Not that it should matter. I get to the heart of the matter. “Cate wanted to go without an epidural; however, she’s changed her mind.”

“I’m sure you know it all depends on how far along she is. Can you tell me about her contractions?”

I run down medically how labor began with her water breaking and what we did since that point. We’d opted to stay at home where I walked with her, rubbed her back and generally got her through the pain until this point. Last checked, I clocked the contractions at about five minutes apart and told him so. Although things had progressed on the drive over, she’d been so worried, I found myself talking to her instead of timing the pauses between her pain.

“As long as she’s not crowning, I can send the order for an Anesthesiologist to come down.”

“Andy, I think I need to push.”

Dr. Carter and I turn to see Cate. Her face is strained like she’s physically holding herself back. Frozen, we both watch as the nurse checks her.

“Dr. Carter, I think it’s time.”

He glances at me and I feel like an ass. He’s a doctor, not a pervert. I nod giving him permission to do his job as I quickly make my way over to Cate.

“It’s too late isn’t it?” she asks.

I give her my hand and push tendrils of hair off her forehead. “Let’s see what the doc says.”

Dr. Carter gives us the news. “Go ahead and push Cate the next time you feel it.”

And just like that, my gorgeous wife pushes our son into the world.

Over five years later, I steer my car through the streets of DC to get home. Traffic is ridiculous despite it being before rush hour. I’d hoped to be home by now. I pull into our Great Falls neighborhood in Virginia, just outside of DC. Our home is lit up and a smile forms on my face. When we first bought the place, Cate had been reluctant. I sold her on the safety of the neighborhood and good schools.

When I open the door, the real reasons for the large five bedroom house come running toward me.

“Daddy,” shouts my two and half year old daughter. Her blonde curls bounce as she wraps herself around my leg. I pry her off so I can toss her up and catch her, sending her into a fit of giggles. Her pink princess dress circles her before she lands in my arms. “Daddy, Dew called me a baby and said I need a labodomee. What’s a labodomee?”

I laugh for several reasons. One because she hasn’t yet mastered the word Drew, opting to call him Dew instead. Ethan had proved too much for her as well. Two, a lobotomy. I shake my head wondering where he hears this stuff.

“Ethan,” I call out. I had intended to ask my five-year-old about school. Instead, I will have to address his treatment of his sister.