"I promise."
She hugs me tighter. Then pulls back and looks at my stomach with new wonder. "Hi baby. I'm Mila. I'm going to be your big sister. And I'm going to teach you everything important."
Lev watches us with an expression I can't quite name. Soft. Tender. Terrified and hopeful in equal measure.
"Can I tell the baby stories?" Mila asks. "So they know my voice when they come out?"
"Absolutely. The baby can hear you already, actually. Not clearly yet, but they can hear sounds."
"Really?" She leans closer to my stomach. "Hi baby! Can you hear me? I love you already! I can't wait to meet you!"
The sweetness of it makes my eyes burn.
This is what we're fighting for. This moment. This family. This chance at something good.
Mila chatters to my stomach for several more minutes before Lev gently redirects her to finish breakfast.
Later, when she's playing in her room, he finds me in the library.
"That went better than expected," I say.
"She thought you were sick and dying." His voice is rough.
"But now she knows the truth, and she’s so excited."
“All thanks to you?”
“No, not to me. But thanks to us. We did this together.”
That evening is the ultrasound.
Dr. Hale arrives at eight PM with portable equipment. An older woman, gray hair pulled back, kind eyes that have seen everything. She's worked with Bratva families for decades. Knows discretion is part of the job.
"Too risky for hospitals," Lev had explained when booking her to come in."
She sets up in our bedroom, everything looking professional and efficient.
Mila holds my hand because she insisted on being present. Wants to see her sibling on the screen. Lev sits beside me, trying to look calm and failing spectacularly.
I lie on the bed, shirt pulled up, while Dr. Hale squirts cold gel on my small bump.
"This will feel strange," she says. "But it doesn't hurt."
The wand presses against my skin. The monitor flickers to life.
And there it is.
Our baby.
Tiny. Barely recognizable as human yet. But moving. Growing. Alive.
The heartbeat fills the room. Fast. Strong. Steady.
Mila gasps. "That's the baby?"
"That's your little brother or sister," Dr. Hale confirms with a smile.
"It’s so small!" Mila moves closer to the screen. "But I can see them moving! Look, Papa! The baby is waving at us!"
