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Olive had rehearsed this moment a thousand times.
In the shower.
In the car.
While making coffee.
She had imagined Adam’s reaction in every possible way.
He might laugh.
He might cry.
He might stare at her in complete silence because his brain had temporarily stopped working. It’s happened before, there’s a high chance of it happening again.
He might pull her into his arms so tightly that she wouldn’t be able to breathe.
Or, knowing Adam, he might simply look at her with those quiet serious eyes of his and ask very softly,
“Are you sure?”
And then, when she nodded, he would understand that their lives had just changed forever.
Still, none of those rehearsals had prepared her for actually standing there with the tiny baby grow folded carefully in her hands.
It was almost ridiculous how small it was.
Olive held it between her fingers and stared down at it.
It was white, soft, and impossibly tiny.
Across the front were the words:
BIOLOGY NINJA
She had gotten it made a few days ago, and the second she had seen it, she had known it was the right decision.
Adam had a shirt that said exactly the same thing.
It was one of those shirts she wore far too often, despite Adam repeatedly telling her that he had an entire wardrobe and was perfectly capable of wearing something else.
He loved seeing her in that shirt.
Of course he did.
Olive pressed the baby grow against her chest for a moment and closed her eyes.
She was going to have a baby.
They were going to have a baby.
The thought still felt too enormous to fit inside her.
She had spent years thinking about research, papers, experiments, conferences, grants, students, deadlines.
Adam understood that world better than almost anyone.
They had built their lives around science.
Around work.
Around each other.
And somehow, somewhere between all of those things, they had created something neither of them could have planned in a laboratory.
A little person.
Their little person.
Olive smiled through the sudden sting of tears in her eyes.
Then she heard the front door.
She quickly wiped her face.
“Olive?”
Adam’s voice.
She took a breath.
“I’m in here.”
He appeared in the doorway a moment later, still looking slightly distracted, his mind clearly somewhere between whatever he’d been working on and the next thing he needed to do.
He looked at her.
Then at the little box on the table.
Then back at her.
His brow furrowed.
“What is that?”
Olive smiled.
“A present.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
Adam looked suspicious.
“A present for no reason?”
“Do I need a reason to give my husband a present?”
“No,” he said carefully. “But you usually have a reason.”
She laughed quietly.
“Come here.”
He walked towards her.
Olive could feel her heart beating so hard that she was convinced he could see it.
She picked up the little box.
Adam reached for it, but she held onto it.
“Actually,” she said, suddenly nervous, “I want you to open it.”
He looked at her.
Something in her expression must have changed because his face softened immediately.
“Okay.”
She handed it to him.
Adam took the box and carefully lifted the lid.
For a second, nothing happened.
He stared down.
His eyes moved over the tiny fabric.
Then they stopped.
Olive watched the exact moment the words registered.
BIOLOGY NINJA.
Adam went completely still.
He looked at the baby grow.
Then at Olive.
Then back at the baby grow.
“Olive…”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
She smiled, but her eyes were already filling with tears.
“Surprise.”
Adam’s mouth opened slightly.
He looked completely and utterly stunned.
“Is this…”
He couldn’t finish.
Olive nodded.
“Yes.”
He looked at her again.
“You’re pregnant?”
She nodded.
“Yeah.”
Adam stared at her.
And for one long second, Olive wasn’t sure whether he had understood.
Then his eyes filled with tears.
Real, immediate tears.
He looked back down at the tiny baby grow in his hands.
A shaky laugh escaped him.
“The shirt…”
Olive laughed through her tears.
“I know.”
“You got them matching.”
“I did.”
Adam shook his head slowly, smiling in disbelief.
“Our baby.”
The words were so quiet that Olive almost missed them.
“Our baby.”
And then he was across the space between them.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest.
Olive immediately buried her face against him.
Adam held her as though she were something precious.
As though he was afraid that if he loosened his arms even slightly, the moment might disappear.
“Oh my God,” he whispered into her hair.
She laughed softly.
“I know.”
“We’re having a baby.”
“I know.”
“I’m going to be a dad.”
Olive pulled back just enough to look at him.
“You’re going to be a dad.”
Adam stared at her.
She watched his face crumble slightly as another tear slipped down his cheek.
He laughed, embarrassed, and wiped it away.
“This is the best news you could have given me.”
Olive reached up and brushed his cheek.
Adam caught her hand and kissed her palm.
Then he looked down.
At her stomach.
It was still almost completely unchanged.
There was no bump.
Nothing about her looked different.
And yet everything was different.
His hand moved slowly towards her stomach, stopping just before he touched her.
“Can I?”
Olive smiled.
“Of course.”
He placed his hand gently against her.
For a moment, he said nothing.
His palm was warm.
Olive covered his hand with hers.
“It’s still really early,” she whispered.
“I know.”
“There’s not much to feel yet.”
“I know.”
“But…”
She looked at him.
“There’s someone there.”
Adam swallowed.
“I know.”
His thumb moved slowly across her stomach.
He looked almost overwhelmed by the simplicity of it.
Somewhere beneath his hand was their child.
A tiny collection of cells that would become fingers and toes and a face and a personality.
Someone who would have pieces of both of them.
Someone who would someday call him Dad.
Adam let out a shaky breath.
Olive reached up and touched his cheek.
“I’ve been so scared to tell you.”
His expression immediately changed.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked down.
“I think because it suddenly made everything real.”
Adam took her face gently between his hands.
“Olive.”
She looked at him.
“You don’t ever have to be scared to tell me something like this.”
“I know.”
“No.”
His voice was soft but certain.
“I mean it.”
He pressed his forehead against hers.
“Whatever happens, whatever we’re scared of, whatever comes next, it’s you and me.”
Olive’s eyes filled again.
“And now…”
He smiled.
“Us and our baby.”
She laughed through her tears.
“You really like that, don’t you?”
“I love it.”
“You haven’t even met them.”
“I already love them.”
That broke something open inside her.
Olive wrapped her arms around his waist.
Adam held her tightly.
And for a while, neither of them said anything.
They just stood there.
Holding each other.
Holding onto the knowledge that their lives had changed.
Eventually Adam pulled away.
He looked down at the baby grow again.
Then he laughed softly.
“I can’t believe you bought this.”
“I saw it and couldn’t not buy it.”
“You’ve been planning this?”
“Maybe.”
“How long?”
Olive smiled.
“Long enough.”
Adam shook his head.
“You’ve been walking around knowing you’re carrying our baby while I’ve been completely oblivious?”
“Pretty much.”
“That’s terrifying. You’re usually terrible at keeping secrets”
She laughed.
”This was the hardest one to keep.”
He looked down at the tiny baby grow again.
His thumb brushed over the words.
“Do you think they’ll wear it?”
“Absolutely.”
Adam smiled.
Then his expression softened.
He carefully folded the baby grow and held it against his chest.
“I want to keep this.”
Olive smiled.
“You can.”
“I’m going to keep it forever.”
“I think we’re probably going to need to wash it at some point.”
He looked offended.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do.”
He stepped closer again.
“I love you.”
Olive’s smile trembled.
“I love you too.”
He kissed her forehead.
Then her cheek.
Then her lips.
The kiss was soft and lingering, filled with all the things neither of them quite knew how to say yet.
When they pulled apart, Adam rested his forehead against hers.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be someone’s dad.”
Olive smiled.
“You’ll be a good one.”
His eyes immediately softened.
“How do you know?”
“I just do.”
Adam looked at her.
“You’re going to be an incredible mum.”
That was the sentence that finally made Olive cry.
She tried to hide it, but Adam immediately pulled her into his arms again.
“Hey.”
She laughed against his chest.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Make me cry more.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No,” he admitted. “I’m really not.”
She laughed.
Adam kissed the top of her head.
Then, almost instinctively, his hand returned to her stomach.
He looked down.
“Hi.”
Olive looked up at him.
“Are you talking to the baby?”
“Yes.”
“It’s the size of a tiny something right now.”
“I don’t care.”
He looked down again.
“Hi, little one.”
Olive smiled.
Adam’s voice became quieter.
“I’m your dad.”
He paused.
“I’m probably going to embarrass you.”
“Definitely.”
Adam smiled.
“But I promise you…”
His voice caught slightly.
Olive watched him swallow.
“I promise you I’ll love you for the rest of my life.”
Olive’s heart ached.
Adam looked at her.
“And I’ll love your mum for the rest of mine too.”
She reached for his hand.
“I love you so much.”
He squeezed her fingers.
“I love you more.”
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
She smiled.
“You’re going to be a dad.”
He smiled back.
“You’re going to be a mum.”
They stood there for another moment.
Two scientists.
Two people who had spent their lives believing in evidence, logic, reason, and things that could be measured.
And now there was something neither of them could quite measure.
Something that couldn’t be explained by a graph or a paper or an equation.
Something tiny.
Something extraordinary.
Something that had already changed everything.
Adam looked once more at the little baby grow.
BIOLOGY NINJA.
He laughed softly.
“I think this kid already has the best wardrobe.”
Olive leaned against him.
“They’ve got you as their dad.”
Adam kissed her hair.
“And they’ve got you as their mum.”
His hand settled over hers.
And for the first time, the tiny baby grow didn’t feel tiny at all.
It felt like the beginning of their entire future.