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Haley hears the front door lock as Aaron sighed, setting his go bag down as he slips his shoes off.
He goes through the motions, takes off his jacket and smiles when he see’s the extra plate of cookies on the counter, her perfect handwriting scribbling For Aaron — I love you, on top of a sticky note. The bright smile it brings out of him almost hurts after such a daunting day. He can hear her quietly crying up the stairs, moving the plastic wrap off as he takes a bite of the cookies she made, grabbing an extra one for her as he forbid his dinner and took the stairs two at a time as she sighed, trying to redirect her breathing as she fixed her shoulders, drawn up in his old college sweatshirt as she anxiously kept her palm above her belly button.
“Haley?” She hears his shoes before his voice, watches as Aaron gently pads at the door, a gentle creak coming from the wood as his face changed immediately. His heart sinks to the bottom of his chest as she looks up with red rimmed eyes and enough guilt to kill him. He swallows the cookie practically whole, and Haley almost laughs at that — almost.
He takes one giant step, a leap as his long limbs got in the way as he slid onto the wooden floors, arms wrapping around her waist as she sniffled. Aaron’s face falls the second she looks in his direction, moving the stray hairs out from underneath her eyes, so in love with her that it almost hurt. His brain immediately dived, “What happened?” He’s checking her for scratches, absentmindedly putting his hand atop hers, “Your stomach hurts?” He asked, clueless.
Haley shrugged, shaking her head. Feeling compelled to lie to him as he blinked at her. “No.” Haley replies, because it didn’t. She had thrown up all her nerves, thinking about this moment: that she had no choice but to tell him. Her husband, the fucking profiler.
“So why were you—?”
“I’m just…” Pregnant. She thinks, no. Haley’s eyes readjust as he moves a piece of hair behind her ear, a classic Aaron mark, she knows. Feels her heart beating inside her chest and can feel the nausea swirling around her arteries. “Stressed out.” Haley exhaled, huffing out a breath as he scrunched his nose up.
“Because you made dinner?” Her response is slamming a fist against his shoulder. Aaron doesn’t flinch, it hadn’t hurt him in the slightest. “I know it’s hard, Hales…”
She rolled her eyes, swiping at hot tears, ones she doesn’t ask for as he grinned. “Shut up. Or you’ll be sleeping on the couch.”
“Doubtful. Who will you use as a pillow?”
“There’s plenty of pillows on the bed, Aaron.”
His eyes flickered up to their bed, the comforter was missing, wrapped around Haley as she shivered. Nothing was out of place. The pillows had been re-stuffed over and over anxiously, a habit of Haley’s he noticed decades ago. “But none of those love you and let you steal the blankets in the middle of the night, dear.”
“I don’t do that.”
Aaron chuckled as he raised a brow, tilting his head down as she snuggled closer. His voice was softer that time, richer, reserved just for her. “Haley.”
“Aaron.”
“Are you actually going to tell me what’s bothering you?”
She froze. Panic like she’s a little kid again, fighting with her parents before Sunday church, throwing her dresses on the ground as she wept. A sinner before she could even spell the word.
“I’m fine.”
“You were crying.”
“Well, I didn’t mean for you to hear that.”
His face crumbled, wanting to follow her lead and begin to cry. “Sweetheart.”
She shakes it off. Buried it beneath as she looked up at him with a gracious smile, gently kissing his ear as he watched her. Something was different. “I’m fine.” Haley lies, flashing a quick smile as she rested her head against his shoulder, arms draping against his chest. “How was your day?”
“We’re not talking about me.” He wasn’t the one crying for no reason. Haley’s eyes widened, heard his voice deepen as he gently brushed a hand against her bicep. “What’s wrong?”
Haley sighed. She couldn’t hide it forever. “You’re going to be mad…” She mumbles.
Aaron doesn’t entertain it for even a second, “No I won’t.” Something changed in her and Aaron couldn’t help but feel it too. “Baby. You can tell me anything.”
“But you had such a long day, Aaron.”
“And I’m spending it in your arms, Hales. That’s all I want. Maybe a nice cold shower with you.”
She knows he’d wash her hair for her, whispering sweet nothings in his ears, hands dangling down to her stomach if she told him. “Yeah?”
“Yes.” His fingers moved to her hair, “But only if you tell me what’s bothering you.”
“You have to promise.”
Without any hesitation, Aaron extended his pinky out, beating eyes as Haley quietly wrapped hers his him. “You’d never leave me, right?”
“Haley…”
“I know it sounds stupid, Aaron.” Her heart raced.
“It doesn’t.”
“I’m just — I’m so fucking scared.”
“Baby.”
Haley took one long glance at him, a rescue breath somewhere on the surface as she sighed. “I’m pregnant.”
Aaron’s pupils dilated but Haley couldn’t get a good look at his face before he leaned forward and hugged her tight. “You’re kidding.” He says, seeping from his pores.
Haley shook her head, stone cold sober. “No…”
“Sweetheart.” He chuckled, pulling back as his eyes trembled down to her stomach, moving his hand above her bellybutton. There was a baby growing in there. “This is fantastic.”
“Yeah?” Haley asked, a clad watery smile as he kissed her cheek.
“We’ve been talking about this for years.”
Correction — she had.
To him, the timing was never right. He was always busy with work. Leaving her sick with worry. The color on his cheeks was, refreshing.
“You’re happy?”
Aaron grinned, giving her all the confirmations she needed. “Of course I am, baby.”
Haley finally let herself smile as she hugged him again, letting her lips find his as he gently brushed a hand against her cheek. They were going to be parents.
“I’m sorry.” Haley says, after pulling away, a laugh somewhere in her gut. Aaron’s shaking his head and was silent, giving her the floor as she moved her knees down to the floor, “I don’t know why I was so scared. I know you love me…”
“More than anything.”
“I just get so wrapped up in my head. Thinking you’ll take your go bag and leave me for good randomly.”
The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, scooting closer, as close as their bodies could possibly allow. “Of course not.”
Aaron swaddled the blanket around her shoulders, “I love you, Haley.”
She knew that. “I love you too.”
His hands didn’t leave her stomach for the rest of the night, musing about their future son or daughter, over the moon as they laughed until their sides hurt, wrapped up in one another’s embraced the entire time.