Sam opened her eyes to a dull light entering the room through a small opening in the curtains. It was early, probably no later than 6am, and at first, she wasn't sure what had actually woken her up.
Whatever it was, was momentarily forgotten thanks to the image of Jason asleep to the right of her, one arm outstretched around their sleeping four year old. Each of Danny's quick yet steady breaths lapped Jason's and one of his fists gripped his father's t-shirt like a sense of security. The stuff bear Molly had given him was jumbled in the mix of things and Sam wondered how she hadn't noticed Danny climb in between them during the night.
This is how things should have been from the start; the three of them like this, as a family. She couldn't help but feel slight heartache at that- the knowledge that everything should have been like this all along, but she was incredibly grateful for everything she had now.
Jason was alive and he was here with her- she had tried to grieve but had never truly been able to give up on him and he had fought to get home to her and Danny. Danny, their miracle of a son, was healthy and happy. For the first time in his life, their little boy had the family they had always intended for the three of them, soon to be the four of them.
Sam smiled to herself at the thought of the baby growing inside of her, the second miracle she and Jason had created.
The baby.
She took a deep breath, remembering what had woken her up, and tried to force the nausea away. It was too much, too overwhelming, forcing her to climb out of bed and hurry off into the bathroom.
"Ugh," she said, feeling Jason's presence behind her, "The first trimester can't end soon enough."
He knelt down and rubbed her back before placing a kiss on Sam's temple, "I'm sorry," he whispered apologetically.
Sam leaned back into his chest, "It's not your fault."
"Well…" Jason chucked and she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face as she lightly swatted his chest.
"Did I wake Danny?"
Jason shook his head, "He was still conked out when I left him."
"Speaking of-"
"He wouldn't tell me, but I think he had a nightmare."
Sam frowned. That was Danny; quiet but smart, preferring to be open on his own terms, the way Monica described Jason being at his age. He was stubborn, determined, and no doubt a risk-taker, traits he had inherited from both of his parents, but still, Sam couldn't help but worry.
Jason sensed that and reassured her, "He may have just missed us."
"You could have woken me up."
"Nah, you needed the sleep. He was out within two minutes anyway."
"Have I ever told you that you have a way of making people feel safe?" Sam said, raising an eyebrow as she flashed her husband a grin.
"Once or twice," he murmured between two quick kisses, helping her to her feet, "You good now?"
Sam took a moment to assess her symptoms; the still present but not overwhelming nausea, the slight discomfort in her lower back, and the looming exhaustion and shrugged. This was the new normal for a while. Jason grimaced apologetically as she led him out of the bathroom.
"Mommy, are you sick?" a small voice asked, catching them off guard. Danny stood in front of them barely awake, clad in superhero pajamas with his bear tucked under his arm. Like his father, he was the epitome of the word "calm" but Sam heard a hint of worry in his tone.
"Baby, no, I'm not sick," Sam assured him as Jason lifted their four year old up off of the ground and carried him back to the bed.
"But you got sick, Mommy," Danny insisted as he settled between his parents.
"I'm okay. What about you? Did you have a bad dream?"
He nodded slowly, "I wanted Daddy."
"I see how it is," Sam faked hurt in Jason's direction, completely unsurprised that Danny had gone to him. Since Jason had come back, their son had practically been glued to his side whenever possible. "Daddy's pretty good at protecting people, huh?"
"Mmhmm," he snuggled in closer as she ran her fingers through his messy blonde hair, "Are you gonna go away like Daddy did?"
The question hit her entirely off guard. Danny remembered very little of his life without Jason, but nothing could erase or change the years he spent fatherless. Sam knew that she would do anything to take that pain away, to prevent her little boy from worrying that he would lose one of them again, but she couldn't and it killed her that she would never be able to promise him that. "Is that what your nightmare was about?"
Danny looked up at her confused, "No."
"Hey, buddy," Jason said, sitting up. He pulled Danny onto his lap and wrapped his arms around him, "You know that, as long as we have a say, Mommy and Daddy are never going to leave you, right?"
Danny nodded.
"Then what is it? What has you so scared?"
The four year old sighed and frowned slightly, "Mommy's sick and sometimes being sick makes people go away forever."
Oh, the morning sickness, Sam thought. Her son was four, the age that kids really begin to question things. Of course he was worried that his mom had thrown up and his dad had rushed to her side, "Danny, I'm not sick."
"But you threw up."
Sam bit her lip and looked up at Jason. He smirked, resting his chin on the top of their little boy's head, "I think we gotta tell him now."
"What?"
Sam sat up across from her husband and son, "Sometimes, mommies throw up when they aren't sick."
"Why?"
"Well, because," Sam placed a hand over her stomach, "There's a baby in here."
Danny's eyes lit up, completely shocked, "In your tummy?"
"Mmhmm," she murmured, "And it makes Mommy feel sick sometimes but it's okay, it's not bad."
"Do you know what that means, Danny?" Jason asked and Danny shook his head, "It means that you're going to be a big brother."
"A big brother? Like Jake?"
"Yep, you're gonna have a baby brother or sister. That's pretty cool, right?"
He nodded excitedly, "But is the baby going to have to be in Mommy forever?"
"No," Sam laughed. She took Danny's hand and placed it on her stomach, "The baby is just too little right now so he or she has to stay in there until they're big enough to come out."
"Wow. She must be really tiny."
"You were that tiny once," Jason said, placing his hand over their son's. It reminded Sam of the night Dr. Lee had come to the penthouse and told them that Danny was theirs. Even with everything that had gone wrong later, that had been one of the best nights of Sam's life. After years and everything they had been through, finding out that she and Jason were having a baby together had been a miracle. Knowing that they were now having their second was incredible.
"I was in Mommy's tummy too?"
"You were."
"Can we tell Grandma? Or Uncle Spinelli?" Danny asked eagerly.
Jason chuckled, "It's definitely too early to call Spinelli, but maybe we can go get some breakfast, then head over to the Quartermaine's after? How does that sound?"
"I'm starving," Sam responded.
"I figured. What about you, Danny?"
"Yes!" the four year old declared as he climbed off of the bed, "I gonna get my shoes!"
"I'll be there in a minute to help you get dressed," Jason called as Danny ran off down the hall. Once the sound of footsteps faded, he turned to Sam, "A minute ago- did he say 'she'?"
Sam nodded, smiling, "He did. And…I think he's right."
"Me too."
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