The twenty-week anatomy scan fell on a Tuesday morning.
Adrian cleared his entire schedule wouldn't hear of doing otherwise and drove us to Dr. Martinez's office himself.
"You're nervous," I observed, watching him grip the steering wheel.
"I'm not nervous."
"Your knuckles are white."
He loosened his grip. "Okay, maybe a little nervous. This is the big one. They check everything the heart, brain, spine, all the organs. What if something's wrong?"
"Then we'll deal with it. Together." I placed my hand over his on the gear shift. "But everything's going to be fine. I feel it."
"You feel it?"
"Baby's been moving around like crazy. That's a good sign."
"You felt movement?" His head whipped toward me. "When? Why didn't you tell me?"
"It just started yesterday. Little flutters, like butterflies. I wanted to be sure before I said anything."
"Sophia.." His voice was thick with emotion. "Can I feel it?"
"Not yet. It's still too light. But soon, I promise."
He was quiet for a moment, then: "I can't believe we're halfway there."
"I know. Twenty weeks down, twenty to go."
"Then everything changes."
"Everything already changed. This is just the next chapter."
Dr. Martinez greeted us with her usual warm smile.
"Ready to meet your baby?" she asked, prepping the ultrasound machine.
"So ready," Adrian said, pulling his chair as close to the exam table as possible.
The gel was cold on my exposed belly now noticeably round. Dr. Martinez pressed the wand down, and the screen came alive.
"There's baby," she said. "Let's start with the head."
The image was so much clearer than the twelve-week scan. I could actually see a face a profile with a tiny nose, lips, even eyelashes.
"Oh my God," I whispered.
Adrian made a sound that might have been a sob.
"Beautiful head structure," Dr. Martinez said, taking measurements. "Brain looks perfect. Now let's check the heart."
She moved the wand, and suddenly we could see it a tiny heart, beating strong, all four chambers visible.
"That's incredible," Adrian breathed.
"Completely normal. Heart rate is 150 beats per minute, right where we want it." She continued moving, checking spine, kidneys, stomach, bladder. "Everything looks great. Perfect measurements, no abnormalities."
Relief flooded through me. "Really? Everything's okay?"
"Everything's wonderful. You've got a very healthy baby in there." She paused, her expression shifting slightly. "Now, I do see one thing. Not a problem, just something to note."
My heart lurched. "What?"
"The placenta is positioned low. It's called placenta previa basically, the placenta is partially covering your cervix."
"Is that dangerous?" Adrian's hand found mine, squeezed tight.
"It can be, but it's very early to worry. In ninety percent of cases, the placenta moves up as the uterus grows. We'll monitor it closely, but I'm not concerned yet." She clicked through some images. "What it does mean is no strenuous activity, and definitely no sex for now."
Adrian and I exchanged glances.
"For how long?" I asked.
"We'll check again at twenty-eight weeks. If it's moved, you're clear. If not, we'll discuss options." She smiled reassuringly. "Try not to worry. Like I said, it usually resolves on its own."
"Okay. No strenuous activity. Got it."
"Now.." Dr. Martinez moved the wand again, " I can see the sex very clearly. Do you want to know?"
The question hung in the air. We'd said we wanted to be surprised. But now, seeing this perfect little person on the screen.
"What do you think?" Adrian asked me.
"I don't know. Part of me wants to know. Part of me likes the mystery."
"We could put it in an envelope. Open it later if we change our minds."
"Or we could just know now. Make planning easier."
Dr. Martinez waited patiently.
"Okay," I decided. "Tell us."
Adrian's hand tightened on mine.
"You're having a girl," Dr. Martinez said with a smile.
A girl.
A daughter.
Adrian made a choked sound, tears streaming down his face. "A girl. We're having a little girl."
"A girl," I repeated, my own tears starting. "Oh my God, a girl."
"Congratulations," Dr. Martinez said warmly. "Let me print some pictures for you."
As she worked, Adrian leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead.
"A daughter. Sophia, we're having a daughter."
"I know. I can't believe it."
"She's going to be just like you. Strong, smart, beautiful."
"Or just like you. Stubborn, overprotective, impossible."
He laughed through his tears. "God help us if she's like both of us."
"She'll be perfect. Whoever she is."
In the car afterward, Adrian couldn't stop looking at the ultrasound pictures.
"Look at her nose. She has your nose."
"Adrian, you can barely see her nose."
"I can see it. It's definitely your nose." He traced the image with his finger. "Our daughter. Jesus. I'm going to have a daughter."
"You're going to be so overprotective."
"Damn right I am. No boys until she's thirty. Minimum."
"Adrian.."
"I'm serious. I know what teenage boys are like. I was one. No way."
"We're not having this conversation when she's not even born yet."
"Just setting expectations early." He carefully placed the photos in the center console like they were made of glass. "We need to tell everyone. James, Lucas and Elena.."
"Can we just sit with it for a bit? Just us?"
He looked at me, then nodded. "Yeah. Just us. For a little while."
We drove home in comfortable silence, both processing. A daughter. A little girl who would have Adrian's eyes and my determination, his strength and my heart.
I couldn't wait to meet her.
That evening, we started painting the nursery.
Gray walls, like we'd planned, but now I knew we could add touches of color. Maybe soft pinks and whites, or lavender and cream.
"What about names?" Adrian asked, rolling paint onto the wall.
"Names?"
"For our daughter. We should start thinking about it."
I considered. "I want to honor my mother somehow. Lillian."
"Lily," Adrian said immediately. "Lily Blackwood."
The name hit me right in the chest. "Lily. I love it."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Lily Grace Blackwood. Grace for your mother."
Adrian stopped painting, turned to look at me. "Lily Grace. That's perfect. That's.." His voice cracked. "That's absolutely perfect."
I set down my paint roller, went to him. "Both our mothers. Together. Protecting her."
"They would have loved her."
"They do love her. Wherever they are."
He kissed me, soft and sweet, paint-covered hands carefully on my waist.
"Lily Grace Blackwood," he said against my lips. "Our daughter."
"Our daughter."
Two days later, I felt the first real kick.
I was in a meeting, listening to a presentation, when suddenly a distinct thump against my bladder.
I gasped, hand flying to my stomach.
"Sophia?" Lucas asked. "You okay?"
"I..yes. The baby just kicked. Like, really kicked."
Everyone in the meeting smiled. One of the younger associates, a woman named Jennifer who had two kids, leaned forward.
"That feeling never gets old. Wait until she's doing it all night when you're trying to sleep."
I barely heard her. My hand was pressed to my stomach, waiting for another movement.
There. Another thump. Stronger this time.
"I need to call Adrian," I said, already reaching for my phone.
"Go," Lucas said. "We've got this."
I hurried to my office, dialing as I went.
Adrian answered on the first ring. "Everything okay?"
"She's kicking. Adrian, she's really kicking. I can feel her."
"I'm coming to you. Don't move."
"Adrian, you don't have to.."
"I'm already in the car. Stay there."
He hung up. I laughed, pressed my hand to my bump. "Your daddy is crazy. You're going to learn that real fast."
Another kick, right where my hand was.
"Oh, there you are. Hi, little Lily. Hi, baby girl."
Adrian burst into my office twelve minutes later a drive that should have taken twenty.
"Did you break every traffic law?" I asked.
"Show me. Where is she kicking?"
I guided his hand to the spot. We waited.
Nothing.
"She stopped," I said, disappointed.
"Maybe if we.." He pressed gently, and suddenly.
Kick.
Right against his palm.
Adrian's face transformed. "That's her. That's our daughter."
"That's her."
We stood there, his hand on my stomach, waiting for more movement. Lily obliged, giving us several more solid kicks.
"She's strong," Adrian said, wonder in his voice.
"Takes after her dad."
"Or her mom. You're the one who took down an assassin with a toilet tank."
"Fair point."
He knelt down, brought his face level with my bump. "Hey, Lily. It's Daddy. I can feel you moving around in there. Can't wait to meet you. Can't wait to hold you and protect you and show you the world."
Another kick, like she was responding.
"She hears you," I said, tears in my eyes.
"Of course she does. She knows her daddy loves her." He pressed a kiss to my stomach. "You and your mama. Love you both so much."
That night, we called everyone to share the news.
James cried again when we told him about his great-granddaughter.
"Lily Grace," he repeated. "After both your mothers. That's beautiful."
"We thought you'd like it," Adrian said.
"Like it? I love it. And when can I feel her kick?"
"Come over this weekend. She's been very active."
"I'll be there."
Elena screamed so loud when we told her that Lucas had to take the phone.
"A girl! We're having boys I knew it, I just knew it and you're having a girl. They're going to fall in love and get married."
"Elena, they're not even born yet," Lucas said.
"I'm calling it now. Mark my words."
After the calls, Adrian and I lay in bed, his hand on my bump as always, waiting for kicks.
"Are you scared?" I asked.
"Terrified. What if I'm a terrible father? What if I mess her up?"
"You won't. You're going to be amazing."
"How do you know?"
"Because you already love her. Because you drove across the city just to feel her kick. Because you're here, every day, reading to her and talking to her and planning for her. That's what makes a good father."
"I hope you're right."
"I am right." I turned to face him. "Adrian, you're going to teach her to be strong. To stand up for herself. To never let anyone make her feel small."
"And you're going to teach her kindness. Compassion. How to fight for what's right."
"She's going to be incredible."
"She is. Because she's ours."
A kick, right between us.
Adrian laughed. "She agrees."
"She's going to be so spoiled. Between you, James, Lucas, Elena, Margaret—"
"She deserves to be spoiled. She's a miracle."
"Yeah," I agreed softly. "She really is."
The next few weeks passed in a blur of preparation.
The nursery came together gray walls with white furniture, soft pink and lavender accents. Adrian built the crib himself, refusing help, determined to do this one thing with his own hands.
"I want her to know her daddy made this," he explained, reading instructions for the third time.
I bought tiny clothes that made me cry. Sleepers with little feet, onesies that said "Daddy's Girl," soft blankets in every color.
We took a childbirth class twelve weeks away from due date but Adrian insisted we needed to be prepared. He took notes like he was studying for the bar exam.
"You know there's not a test, right?" I teased.
"There's the biggest test. Keeping you and Lily safe during labor."
"The doctors will do that."
"I'm backup. And backup needs to be prepared."
Elena and I compared notes constantly. She was twenty-four weeks now, her belly enormous with twins.
"Boys," she confirmed. "Identical. Lucas is having a panic attack about affording two of everything."
"But you're excited?"
"Terrified. But yes, excited." She smiled at her bump. "Lily's going to have two boys fighting over her."
"Adrian will have something to say about that."
"Let them fight. She'll be choosing between the best."
At twenty-four weeks, we had another check-up. The placenta had moved not completely, but enough that Dr. Martinez was no longer concerned.
"Keep taking it easy, but you're cleared for normal activity," she said.
Adrian looked relieved. We'd both been terrified about the placenta previa, though we tried not to show it.
"Everything else looks good?" I asked.
"Perfect. Lily's growing beautifully. Right on track for your March due date."
March. Three months away. It felt simultaneously like forever and no time at all.
That night, lying in bed with Adrian's hand on my very active bump, I thought about everything that had brought us here.
Death. Rebirth. Revenge. Marriage. Danger. Survival. Love.
And now a baby. A daughter. A future.
"Sophia?" Adrian's voice was quiet in the darkness.
"Yeah?"
"I never thought I'd have this. A family. A wife I actually love. A daughter on the way. For a long time, I thought I was too damaged. Too focused on revenge for my parents. Too angry at the world."
"What changed?"
"You walked into my office. Changed everything." He pressed his palm flat against my stomach, and Lily kicked in response. "You gave me hope. Gave me a reason to want more than just vengeance."
"You gave me the same thing. A reason to live instead of just survive."
"We saved each other."
"Yeah. We did."
"And now we're going to raise her. Teach her. Love her."
"Together."
"Always together."
Lily kicked again, stronger this time. Like she was reminding us she was there, she was real, she was coming.
"Three more months," Adrian said.
"Three more months."
"Then she's here. Then our family is complete."
"Can't wait."
"Me neither."
We fell asleep like that his hand on my bump, Lily moving between us, our family of three about to become reality.
And for the first time in either of my lives, I felt completely at peace.
I didn't know then that peace was fragile.
And that the past was far from done with us.