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Jeanine prints out the ultrasound pictures and hands them to Michael. “Here you go. Congratulations, all of you. Danielle, you can get cleaned up and I’ll wait for you in the hallway."
She hands a towel to Dani, who mops up her belly. She’s doing a half-ass job of it, trying to sit up and see the pictures again. Nathan takes over, wiping her skin with the towel and repeatedly kissing the top of her head.
“Danielle, you’re incredible," he tells her. “You’re perfect. Everything is perfect. Right, Doc?"
Michael nods. “Everything looks great." But he’s staring at the print-out and he’s wearing a strange expression.
“What?” I ask in alarm.
“Nothing.” He shakes his head. But then he opens his mouth again. “It’s just…well, she just handed this to me and I looked at it automatically. I can see the sex of the baby. I looked away when the baby turned on the screen so I wouldn’t see, but…now I know.”
“Don’t tell me," Dani says quickly. “Please, Michael.”
“I won’t, Cookie."
“Why would that woman do that?" Nathan demands. “Can I see?"
Dani nods. “Yes. Michael shouldn’t know without you and Crew knowing. But don’t tell me. Any of you. You have to promise.”
“I don’t want to know either," I say quickly, because I want to stand in solidarity with Dani. Also, my track record at secret-keeping is spotty.
“I want to know." Nathan takes the length of images from Michael and studies them.
I see understanding dawn on his face. Only I can’t tell if it’s a boy or girl, just that he knows.
But then he quickly schools his features and grumbles, “Baby Larkin. That’s what it says on here. We need to talk about that.”
“I agree.”
Dani has pulled her leggings back up and smoothed her shirt down. “We do need to talk about that. I think the baby needs to have the same name as the biological father so there aren’t any legal issues."
We’re all a little surprised because Dani isn’t usually so forthright. She tends to defer to us for advice and decisions but things are different now. She’s protecting the baby.
It makes me lean down and kiss her, hard. “God, I love you. Yes, you’re right. We have to do the smart thing.”
“I agree,” Michael says. “But I also think that you should legally marry Nathan. You need health insurance and we don’t want any legal entanglements if anything ever happens to Nathan.”
Nathan looks taken aback, but then he grins. He’s pleased with the idea, obviously. “You killing me off, Hughes?”
Michael laughs. “No, of course not. But Dani needs legal protection too. Besides, do you want there to be a legal battle over your assets if anything does happen to you? Relatives will crawl out of the woodwork to claim your money if Dani isn’t legally your wife.”
Nathan makes a face. “No shit. I want the Racketeers to go to Dani, without question."
“That’s sexy, baby," I tell her. “You’ll be my boss.”
“I should hope to God you’re retired by the time I die," Nathan says dryly. “I’m only forty-two for fuck’s sake.”
“Oh, my God, can we not talk about anyone dying right now, please?" Dani asks, taking Michael’s hand and climbing off the table. “Yes, I agree to all of the above. That all makes sense. Now let’s go get lunch, please and talk about something fun, like baby names and my baby shower.”
That makes me grin.
Mom Dani is more of a ball-buster. I like it. “Yes, ma’am. Whatever you want, Mama.”
Michael takes the ultrasound images back from Nathan and tucks them into his pants pocket. “Sounds perfect, Cookie. What do you want for lunch?”
“I want a milkshake and a burger. And cheesy fries.”
Oh, she’s good. I know exactly what she’s doing and these two are totally falling for it.
