I shake my head. "I wanted to tell you first."
Franco nods, his tactical mind already planning. "We should tell him together. Before the game tonight."
"You think he'll be okay with it?" I've worried about this too, how Tommy will feel about no longer being an only child after eight years.
"He'll be thrilled," Franco says with complete confidence. "He asked me last month if we could get a baby brother for him. I told him that wasn't exactly how it worked."
I laugh, surprised. "He never mentioned that to me!"
"He said it was 'man talk,'" Franco explains with the hint of a smile. "Apparently at eight, he's decided some conversations are just between men."
The idea of my son having "man talk" with Franco warms me to my core. From that first night when Franco appeared in ourlives, he's become so much more than just my partner. He's become the father Tommy deserved all along.
"Mom? Dad?" Tommy calls from upstairs. "Is everything okay? Can I come down now?"
Franco and I exchange looks. "Yes," Franco answers. "Come down. Your mom and I have something to tell you."
Tommy appears at the top of the stairs, looking concerned. "Is it bad news? Are we not going to the game?"
"No, nothing like that," I assure him. "It's good news, actually. Very good news."
Tommy comes down the stairs cautiously, still clearly uncertain. When he reaches us, Franco puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Your mom and I are going to have a baby," Franco says, direct and simple as always. "You're going to be a big brother."
Tommy's eyes widen, darting between Franco and me. "For real? Like, a real baby? When?"
"In about seven and a half months," I tell him, watching his face closely for his reaction.
A grin spreads across his face, bright and genuine. "That's awesome! I told dad I wanted a brother!" He pauses, considering. "Or a sister, I guess. As long as she likes baseball."
I laugh, relief washing through me. "We don't get to choose, buddy. And no guarantees on the baseball."
"Dad will teach the baby baseball, just like he taught me," Tommy says with absolute certainty. Then his expression turns serious. "Does this mean he’s officially going to be my dad now? Like, legally?"
The question catches me off guard. I look at Franco, whose expression has softened in the way it only does around Tommy.
"Would you want that?" Franco asks.
Tommy nods emphatically. "Yeah. All the other kids on my team have dads. And you do all the dad stuff anyway. You help with homework and come to my games and taught me how to throw a curveball and scare away the monsters under my bed."
Franco kneels to Tommy's level, something he's done since the beginning, always making sure they speak eye to eye. "Then we'll make it official. If that's what you want."
"Cool," Tommy says with the easy acceptance of childhood. Then, as if the matter is settled, "Can we go to my game now? Coach said I might get to pitch!"
Franco stands, ruffling Tommy's hair. "Go get your gear. We'll leave in five minutes."
As Tommy races upstairs, Franco turns to me, something vulnerable in his expression. "Did you know he wanted that? For me to adopt him officially?"
I shake my head. "No. But I'm not surprised. You've been more of a father to him in three years than his biological father was in his entire life." I step closer, wrapping my arms around his waist. "You're an amazing dad, Franco. To Tommy, and you will be to this baby too."
He places his hand on my stomach again, the gesture protective and tender. "I never thought I'd have this," he admits quietly. "A woman who knows everything about me and still chooses to stay. A child who wants me as his father. And now another baby." His voice roughens. "After everything I've done, all the blood on my hands... I don't deserve this happiness."
"Yes, you do," I say firmly, taking his face between my hands. "Everyone deserves love, Franco. Even dangerous men with complicated pasts."
He smiles faintly at that. "Is that what I am? A dangerous man with a complicated past?"
"Among other things," I tease. "You're also the man who reads bedtime stories with different voices for each character. The man who taught himself to tame Tommy’s wild curly hair when I had that wrist surgery last year so Tommy wouldn't go to school with his hair a mess. The man who holds me every night like you're afraid I might disappear."
