Chapter Text
Two pink lines. I stared in doubt. It was true, the doctor had told me that there was no reason this couldn't happen on its own, but after eighteen months of trying, unsuccessfully, to become pregnant, I'd grown to expect only one pink line. I grabbed the box off the counter and flipped it over, just to be sure. There it was, in print. One line: not pregnant, two lines: pregnant.
“Okay, Hope, don't freak out. Maybe it's a false positive. Those happen, right?” I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. My first instinct was to run into the bedroom I shared with Kelley and wake her up, so we could celebrate this moment together. But I refrained. She had taken the inability to conceive harder than I had, at least on the outside. Kelley was always one to wear her heart on her sleeve and I'm the exact opposite, until I'm close to people. But her passion for life, her empathy, her drive...all of those things were key to me falling in love with her.
With that love came an intense need to protect her. Even though she would argue that she didn't need me to, it was like a compulsion. I sighed, stashing the test in the drawer in my bathroom. 'I'll take another one later today,' I reasoned. If that was positive, too, then I would tell my wife. My sweet wife, who didn't think I knew that she had already chosen names for each one of our children. Which, if she had her way, would likely be an even dozen.
* * *
Two pink lines. Again. This time, I couldn't help but smile. I'll even admit to giggling, and even a small dance around the bathroom. I caught my face in the mirror, my grin wider than I had ever seen it before, and I was honestly surprised that I didn't look different. I didn't feel different either. But I was pregnant. Hope Solo, mother to be. I looked down at my stomach and lifted my shirt. No change; I knew there wouldn't be, but I couldn't help but wonder what it was going to be like to see my body expand with my growing child. What would it be like to not be able to see my own feet?
What would it be like to hold our child for the first time? Would we have a boy or a girl? Questions swirled through my head but I did my best to stop them. I wanted to share these questions with Kelley. She and I had both waited so long for this day, she deserved the same feelings of joy, excitement and apprehension that I was feeling.
I knew she was in the kitchen, cleaning up from lunch. I briefly considered telling her in some really cutesy way, but I knew that the moment would be very special to her, production or not. When I arrived, I watched her for a moment. She leaned over the sink, rinsing the bubbles down the drain. In a single heartbeat, I was going to break the news to her and nothing in her life, or mine, would ever be the same. Butterflies erupted in my stomach and I bit my bottom lip, trying to hold my grin inside my body.
“Hey Kell,” I said, as casually as I could as I walked toward her. She glanced over her shoulder, her face lit up with her signature smile. Another reason I had fallen in love with her so hard and so fast. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the back of her neck. She giggled softly, her hands still busy at work in the sink.
“Guess what?” I asked, leaning over so I could rest my head on her shoulder. She hummed in response, her tone upturned at the end, a question without words. I leaned closer to her and pressed my lips against her ear.
“I'm pregnant,” I whispered. This time, my smile couldn't be contained. That was the first time I had ever said it. I laughed as she spun around, her face painted with disbelief.
“No,” she said breathlessly. She slapped my arm. “Don't fucking joke about this Hope, so help me. I will kill you without hesitation.” I kissed her, my laughter bubbling up from my belly.
“Yes. Pregnant. I took two different tests today, just to be sure, Kelley. We're gonna have a baby.” She leaned against the counter, and sighed, her face solemn. I felt my heart sink just a little, the smile faded from my face. Why wasn't she celebrating? My mouth opened, ready to ask her what was wrong when she leapt past me.
“Hope. WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BABY!” She screeched, dancing her way around the kitchen island, on her tip toes before she pulled me into an embrace.
“Holy shit, you're pregnant!” She pushed me away by my shoulders, her strong hands gripped tightly before she placed them carefully on my stomach. “There's a baby in there,” She mumbled, her eyes met mine. Tears spilled onto her cheeks and I wiped them away. My sweet wife, with her big heart, her humor, and her love never ceased to amaze me.
I felt my own tears sting the back of my eyes and my chin quivered. I felt my throat close and I gasped before I succumbed to my own happy tears. Wordlessly, Kelley fell into my arms and we stood together, dreaming of what the future would bring.