There's No Way

Heartbeat

[Shawn's POV]

I held Camila's hand in mine as her doctor squeezed some of the cold gel onto her still flat stomach. At this point I felt like I had been to countless ultrasound appointments with my wife, but this one was special. This was the first time that we were here together to see our baby—a concept that seemed near impossible the last time I had been in this office.

He placed the ultrasound wand on her belly and began to swirl it around before finding the baby, pointing out what looked more like a peanut on the screen.

"See this little blob right here?" he said as he circled the form on the screen with his cursor. We both nodded, already knowing what it was. "That's your baby!" he excitedly confirmed. I instinctively tightened my grasp on Camila's hand, causing her to look over at me with nothing but pride and joy in her beautiful brown eyes. I knew it would be an emotional experience, but it still baffled me that an undefined blob on a computer screen could manage to bring tears to my eyes.

"It looks just like you!" Camila joked as we all chuckled in unison. The doctor took a few pictures for us before continuing on.

"Oh this is really special," he said. "See that little white flashing bit?" He pointed to a small, repetitive white flash on the screen. Camila and I both nodded, affirming that we could see it. "That's the baby's heartbeat." My wife and I were both speechless as we watched the tiny white flash on the screen.

"It seems like it's going really fast...?" Camila said with a questioning tone.

"Well you're only about eight weeks pregnant, so the baby right now is about the size of a raspberry. Naturally, their heartbeat is going to be more rapid than ours. It actually looks like an incredibly healthy heartbeat, I'm very happy with the way it looks." he said. He put the ultrasound wand down and reached for a different, similar looking device. "I can't guarantee that we'll be able to hear anything this early, but we can try if you'd like?"

"Oh my gosh, yes please!" I couldn't help but smile like an idiot at both her excitement and the idea of actually getting to hear the heartbeat of our little miracle baby. The doctor picked up the doppler device and after a few moments of searching for the little heartbeat we began to hear the rhythmic patter of our tiny child's heart. I could see Camila's bottom lip jut out and began to quiver. It was comforting to know that I wasn't the only one who became overwhelmingly emotional upon hearing the sound we previously had only dreamed about hearing.

"I can't believe that's real," I choked out—desperately trying not to completely break down into tears. Camila squeezed my hand and looked over at me, giving me a soft yet loving smile as her eyes filled to the brim with happy tears.

After the appointment, Camila and I walked back out to the car hand-in-hand as she stared at the new pictures of our baby, beaming with pride.

"I wasn't expecting to get to hear the heartbeat today," I admitted. "I mean I knew it was a possibility, but I kind of assumed it would still be too early."

"Me too," she sighed happily. "All of the sudden everything feels so...real. Like, we're actually having a baby. We're going to be parents soon...we are parents."

"Are you excited?" I inquired, already knowing her answer. She smiled.

"The most excited. A little scared, but mostly excited and just like...ridiculously happy." I grinned from ear-to-ear and squeezed her hand before getting into the car with her and starting to head home. We had just barely gotten out of the parking lot when Camila suggested we stop by the lot that we had been considering purchasing to build our house on so we could see it in person. We pulled up to the large open lot and got out of the car, standing together on the desolate expanse of dirt, surrounded by other homes that had either already been built or were in the process of being built.

"This neighborhood is incredible," I noted as I looked around.

"It really is." Camila walked onto the empty lot, careful not to trip on any of the large chunks of compacted dirt that were dispersed across the ground. I followed closely behind her. I imagined that it would've been difficult to picture our future here when it currently was nothing but an empty patch of dirt but surprisingly, while standing on our potential lot, it already felt like home.

"Why does it already kind of feel like home?" Camila asked, echoing the thoughts that had just been running through my mind. I smiled and reached over to intertwine my hand with hers.

"Funny enough, I was just thinking the same thing," I laughed. "A dirt lot that we've never seen before and it already feels like home...I assume that's a good sign?" Camila drew her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled up at me.

"It's a very good sign," she sighed. "So...this is it?"

"This is it." I again squeezed her hand gently in mine before pulling her in for a hug. Camila and I had our fair share of obstacles and speed bumps, but today made it clear that every trial we had been through was worth it—and that even in the future every issue we'd face together would only make us stronger in the end. I gently brushed my fingers through her curls as she looked up at me. I took the opportunity to cup her face in my hands and pull her in for a kiss, savoring both the moment and the sweet taste of her lips on mine.

"You and me forever?" I asked as I reluctantly pulled my lips away from hers.

"Forever," she cooed in response. She sighed happily as she laid her head against my chest and gently rubbed her hand over my back.

A/N: The house I'm living in now was custom built, and I had this exact feeling when picking out the lot to build it on. I had stopped to see a few, but the one I ended up picking was one that felt like home the instant I stepped onto it. 5 years later and I'm very in love with my home AND the lot it was built on. ♥️