Dragon's Clutch

Ch. 1

Steve put off telling Danny. He told himself it was because he wanted to be sure, but that wasn't it. He was sure. He'd never been more sure of anything in his life. Truth was, he was scared. Scared of bringing a new life into the world. Scared of what Danny would think. They already had one child—two if you counted Grace. Would Danny want another? Did Steve?

The decision was taken out of his hands one night while they were sitting on the couch. The kids were in bed, and they were watching a game they'd DVR'd. All of a sudden, Danny laid his head in Steve's lap, pulled up his shirt, and kissed his belly. "I know, you know," Danny said.

Steve froze. "And?"

Danny laughed lightly and kissed Steve's belly again. "And I'm delighted."

Steve relaxed slightly. "You're not upset?"

"That you didn't tell me? Yes, but I understand. I've been there, remember, terrified of what you would think, not believing it was possible. Upset that we're having a baby? Not at all."

"I'm terrified," Steve admitted.

"I'm not," Danny said. "We've been through it before, we'll get through it again."

"You sure you're not upset?"

"Positive." Danny laid his hand on Steve's belly, and Steve felt pure love and joy flow from Danny to him—and the child. "I can't wait to meet you, little one," he said to Steve's stomach.

"Her," Steve said. "It's a girl."

"A girl, huh?" Danny grinned. "That sounds great." He didn't even ask how Steve knew; after all this time, he just accepted it when Steve said he knew something. He was almost always right. And about this? Danny had no doubt Steve knew what he was talking about.

"She's going to look like you," Steve said, a little more confidently.

"Yeah? With your eyes?" He said it teasingly, reminding Steve of when he'd said Matt would look like him but with Danny's eyes.

"No," Steve said seriously. "She'll have your eyes. They'll all have your eyes."

Danny sat up, startled. His hands began flying. "All? Just how many are we going to have? You're not having twins or anything, are you? Because I'm not sure I'm ready for more than one."

Steve frowned. He had no idea where that had come from. "No, no twins. Just one. For now."

"Babe, you're scaring me. I'm not sure I want any more after this. Matt's great, and I can't wait to welcome our new little girl, but I'm getting older, and I don't know if I want to have kids when everybody else is having grandkids."

"I'm sorry," Steve apologized. "I don't know where that came from. It just popped out. I'm good with just one, too."

Danny relaxed. "Okay, good. That's good. I'm not saying it's out of the question, but let's get through this one first, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Steve agreed.

Danny laid his head back in Steve's lap and rubbed soothing circles on his belly. "Welcome to the family, little one."