Six weeks pregnant (June 22nd)

Jason's eyes filled with tears as he pulled his arms around his wife. "Wow," he said, glancing back at the test. He hadn't felt the same feeling since Erin had first told him that she was pregnant. In fact, this feeling was different. Back then, he was only nineteen years old. He had wanted the baby so badly, but he hadn't been prepared to have one. He wasn't very certain that he'd be a good father and he hardly even knew Erin. This time, he was thirty-four years old. They'd been trying so hard to conceive and all of those previous uncertainties about how he'd be as a father were gone. He was much more comfortable with himself in general and had plenty of savings aside for this child's entire life. Even better, he knew and loved this baby's mother more fully than just about any person he'd ever known. It all felt so right.

"I know that we're supposed to wait until twelve weeks, but we have to at least tell Noah," she said excitedly. "I want him to be the first to know that he's going to be a big brother." She smiled, envisioning what a great older brother Noah would be. She could see Noah teaching his little brother or sister football and pretending to rid his little sibling's room of any monsters in the closet. She pictured him holding the baby for the first time and reading the baby a bedtime story.

Jason smiled, always appreciating how she loved his son as if Noah was her biological son too. "I think that's a fair exception. He going to be such a great big brother," he said, certain of it too.

Noah was a thoughtful teenager, even as an incoming freshman varsity quarterback on the football team. Jason often noticed Noah doing little acts of kindness for other people. Noah was the type of kid who always knew what to do to brighten someone else's day, especially when they were having a hard time. When a teammate on his district football team broke his arm in the middle of a game last year, Noah had insisted on bringing the game ball to his family's house the day after the team won. He even asked Jason to stop at the store to pick-up some cookies for his family too. At his last parent teacher conference, Noah's teacher told Jason and Lyla how Noah often stopped doing his own work to help other kids who were struggling with their algebra problems. It was those moments that Jason felt the proudest of his son.

Lyla slid her hand over her stomach, a big grin still on her face. A baby was in there! "Want to call him down now? I can hardly wait to tell him too." They had decided not to tell Noah that they were trying to have a baby, since they both knew that there had been a chance that Lyla wouldn't get pregnant. They mutually had decided to wait to say anything until there was anything concrete to share with him.

Jason nodded, wheeling over to the stairs. "Noah!" he called out. "Can you come down here for a minute, buddy?"

Noah poked his head out of his room. "A break from summer reading? Um, yes please," He said with a smile. He still had To Kill a Mockingbird propped open with his hand. As he walked down the stairs, his hair flopped a bit in his face.

"You're getting a mop up there," Jason said, gesturing toward Noah's hair. "I could use a trip to Joe's too if you want to go this week?" He asked, referring to the local barber. It had taken him a bit of time to find a wheelchair-friendly barber shop near their new home. Once he found Joe's, he knew he'd be a loyal customer. It was easy enough for him to maneuver around the shop and, from his first visit, Joe didn't treat him any differently than any other customer. They gave a damn good haircut too.

Noah shrugged. "I kind of like it like this for now," he said. He looked a bit sheepish as he rubbed his hand through his hair. "It looks okay, right?"

It was one of those moments when Jason recognized Noah's facial expression as one of his own. He paused for a second at the bottom of the stairs to look inquisitively at his son. "Yeah, yeah, it looks all right. Any particular reason why you're wondering?"

Jason could immediately tell that he was onto something when Noah's skin turned a shade brighter as he stopped making eye contact with his dad. "Um, it's nothing really," He said.

"Hey buddy, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Jason said, looking up at his son.

Noah looked back at him and slowly nodded. "There's, uh, this girl from school," he admitted. "Her name is Haley and, um, I kind of like her." He shrugged again, looking embarrassed. "She told me that she likes my hair this way."

Jason grinned, having had his suspicions confirmed. "Well, I'd love to meet her, buddy. You should invite her over for dinner," he said. "Lyla could make your favorite for us all," He offered, alluding to Lyla's famous lasagna that Noah loved. Last time that she made it, Noah ate three servings in one sitting.

It wasn't the first time that Noah had a girl that he liked. Throughout middle school, there had been a few minor crushes and one bigger one on a girl named Emma. Noah had even went out with Emma for a little bit, mostly taking her to the local pizza shop and the movie theater.

"Yeah, maybe. I don't even know if she likes me for sure though, you know? We'll have to see, I guess," Noah said. "So, um, why did you call me? Are we having lunch?" Noah said, clearly trying to change the subject.

Jason smiled, knowing that they could talk about it more later. "Let's go meet Lyla in the living room?"

Lyla sat onto the couch, still holding onto the pregnancy stick. She kept looking at it in disbelief, as if the results might suddenly change right in front of her eyes. How could it be real? How could there be a baby inside of her? As much as she knew that they should just tell Noah for now, she couldn't help but start thinking about her family's reaction too. She could hardly wait to see her mom's face when she revealed the news. She also wanted to pick up the phone and call her little sister immediately; Tabby was going to flip out at the thought of being an aunt to a baby! Tabby had just turned twenty-two and was on the precipice of graduating college after finishing up a few classes this summer. She'd even talked to Lyla and Jason about moving out to Atlanta after school ended to look for her first job. How cool would it be to have her here for the arrival of her niece or nephew?

Lyla heard Noah and Jason coming back toward the living room and stuck the pregnancy stick under the pillow beside her. "Hey there," she smiled. "How was To Kill a Mockingbird?"

Noah shrugged. "It's okay, I guess." He plopped down next to her on the couch. "Dad said you guys wanted me to come downstairs? Are we having lunch?"

Lyla's smile widened. Ever the fifteen year old boy, Noah always had food on the brain. "I can whip some black bean burgers and fries up for us in a few," she said. "But first, we were hoping to share something with you," She looked over at Jason, wanting to share this moment with him.

"We have some big news that we just found out, Tiger," Jason said, using Noah's childhood nickname. He tried not to do it as much anymore, but found himself slip back into it as he looked at his son now. He couldn't help but think of him as that little kid who used to grip onto his waist and shout at him to zoom with the wheelchair. "You know how much I love being your dad?"

"Well, I am a pretty awesome son," Noah joked back at his dad with a grin.

"Yeah, you are," Jason ruffled Noah's hair with a sweep of his hand. "So, because of you, I didn't even have to think twice about wanting to be a dad to another kid too."

"Another kid too?" Noah asked, his eyebrows furrowing a little as he processed it.

"Noah," Lyla said, pulling the pregnancy stick out from under the pillow. "You're going to be the absolute best big brother ever," she announced, showing him stick.

Noah's eyes widened, glancing at them both. "You're having a baby?" He looked down at Lyla's stomach. "Wow, congratulations," he said, seeming a bit stunned by the news and looking like he didn't know quite exactly how to react.

Jason leaned over to hug him. As he pulled back, Jason looked him in the eyes, "Now listen, I want you to know that this doesn't mean that we won't be just as invested in everything coming up for you, okay? We love you so much, son, and this baby is just going to expand the love that we have in this family."

Lyla put her hand around Noah's shoulder. "I also know firsthand that while having a baby sibling is very exciting, it can also cause a lot of change. Plus, I know it's a lot of responsibility to be the older sibling. I just want you to know that we're here for you through this too, okay honey? We wanted to share this news with you right away, because you are just as important in every step of this process as your dad and I." She remembered all the turmoil that came with being the older sister of Tabby and Bud. As much as she loved them both, the responsibility of being their older sister often came with a lot of pressure.

Noah groaned, "You guys really don't have to be so weird about this, okay? I know you love me and you'll be good parents." He laughed, "Besides, I'm happy about being a big brother. It'll be kind of cool to have a sibling like most of my other friends do." His mop of hair fell in his forehead, so he blew it away. "So, um, is it a bad time to check in about those black bean burgers? Because I'm starving."

Lyla laughed. Of course Noah's focus would be on the food even through it all. "Burgers and fries, coming right up!" she said, standing up and leaning down to kiss Noah lightly on the head. She bent over to kiss Jason too.

To her surprise, upon Lyla pulling back up, Jason moved his face upward to kiss her stomach. "Can't forget our baby," he said with a tiny smile. The way he said our made flutters go through her belly. Their family was expanding at last.