When Damon and Joseph arrived at the photographer's studio at the assigned time, it was clear that they were unsure what to expect, given that the details they'd been supplied were rather sparse...
"What are we doing here, Pumpkin?" Joseph asked, swooping in to give Emily a hug, then quickly turning his attention to Noelle who was gumming her little fist in the stroller, bright eyes tracking the movement of the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree.
"We wanted to get some pictures taken to mark Noelle's first two weeks of life," Emily explained. "We wanted family to be in the pictures with her."
Joseph raised a brow. "Then where's your mother?" he challenged.
Emily returned an equally pointed look. "There's no press here to further her public image..." she said dryly.
He laughed, in spite of himself.
"Alright, let's get this show on the road," Alex said, lifting Noelle from the stroller. "We've got a limited window before someone gets fussy..."
"Now, why don't we get some shots of the just the papas and the little cutie?" the photographer suggested.
Tara had come highly recommended. Alex was plugged into a number of groups online for supporting foster parents – especially LGBTQ+ ones – and after consulting with said groups, she'd emerged triumphant with Tara's name. She was a favourite for her ability to work quickly and efficiently, which – as anyone with a baby knows – is the name of the game when it came to getting pictures of an infant...
"That sounds like a great idea!" Alex replied as if the idea were only just occurring to them, adding a subtle wink and sharing a conspiratorial smile with Tara.
Damon and Joseph, in turn, shared a confused and vaguely lost look.
"Are you sure?" Damon asked Alex, clearly uncertain.
Joseph nodded his agreement. "That's a very sweet sentiment, but I think it would be more meaningful to get some pictures with the two of you and the baby..."
"Well, it just so happens that Noelle's two weeks of life coincide with another important anniversary," Emily said as she quickly pulled the little Christmas sweater Noelle wore over the baby's head, then passed her to her father with a mischievous little smirk.
I love my grandpas! the onesie beneath the sweater announced in glittery rainbow lettering.
A beat passed, during which the two men shared a confused expression.
Clearly, the onesie wasn't quite as clear as Alex and Emily had hoped it would be...
With a roll of her eyes, Emily explained (as if the they were being intentionally obtuse), "It's an anniversary present. For the two of you."
"Anniversary?" Joseph asked, understanding slowly dawning on them, but they were maintaining the facade of confusion, if for no other reason than to buy them a little more time.
"How... Who told you?" Damon stammered, apparently surprised that they knew.
Both women burst out laughing. "No one told us, Dad," Alex said, shaking her head, though she did so fondly. "You're really not as subtle as you'd like to think..."
The two men shared a brief but laden silent conversation.
"Can we keep this show moving?" Emily said with a nod in Noelle's direction. "She won't stay this quite and content for much longer..."
"Mo?" Joseph said, surprising Emily when he padded into the kitchen around two AM, causing her to jump and knock her head on the fridge in which her head was currently buried as she surveyed the contents in search of a midnight snack.
"Daddy, you scared the hell out of me," she scolded in a whisper.
He gave a chagrined little smile. "Sorry, Pumpkin, I just didn't expect anyone else to be awake at this hour, now that you've had time to acclimate to the jetlag..."
She shrugged, but didn't explain, emerging from the fridge with the container of fruit salad Alex had prepared for breakfast the previous morning...and rubbing the small bump on the back of her head.
"I hope you don't find the situation too weird..." Joseph said, settling next to her at the table.
"What situation?" Emily asked, mouth full of cantaloupe.
He nodded to the pictures from their small civil ceremony that they'd decided to display now that the cat was out of the bag, so to speak. "You know, since it technically makes you and Alex step-sisters..."
Emily couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Is this all an elaborate reverse parent trap kind of scheme?"
He raised a brow in question, apparently not understanding the reference.
"Because you think I'm going to screw things up with Alex and you wanted to ensure she would be forced to remain a part of my life and hope proximity will fix my inability to make a relationship last..." she explained.
"Mo," he said, using the nickname he'd coined for her when she'd been a teenager and had decided Pumpkin to be to embarrassing and childish, "You may be an adult, but believe me when I tell you that if you break that girl's heart, I will ground you for the rest of your life..."
With a none too subtle roll of her eyes, Emily gestured at him with her fork and said, "You know, I'm starting to think you like Alex more than you like me..."
He didn't immediately deny it, remaining silent just long enough for it to be amusing. "I love you, Pumpkin, but I think I'm a little biased when I say the Millers are truly some of the best people to ever set foot on God's green Earth..."
"Yeah..." Emily said slowly, her phone lighting up with a notification that Alex had texted her, in spite of the fact that she was only a floor above...
Come back to bed... it said.
"Yeah," she said again as the notification went away, leaving behind her phone's lock screen – a picture she'd snapped earlier that day as Alex had laid on the floor, on Noelle's eye level as she had tummy time, mother and daughter smiling softly at each other in a way that made Emily believe in true love in a way she hadn't before...