“Last year, at a rehabilitation clinic in Denver, they offered an experimental surgery. Not to make me walk again… but to preserve what they could. I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want to hope.”
She rested her hand on her barely visible bump.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I was terrified. Afraid you’d think I trapped you. Afraid of losing the only person who ever loved me without conditions.”
Daniel’s rough hands trembled slightly. Then he knelt beside the bed.
“Emily… I didn’t marry you for what you could give me. I married you because we already belong to each other.”
He looked into her eyes.
“But there’s more, isn’t there?”
She nodded, tears forming.
“The doctors don’t know if the pregnancy will make it to term. There are risks… for the baby. For me.”
The silence felt heavier than the storm outside.
Daniel wrapped a blanket around her carefully.
“Then we won’t face it alone.”
The months that followed changed everything.
Daniel reduced his hours at work. He learned basic medical care. He attended every appointment in Denver. Margaret slowly softened, bringing homemade soup and whispered prayers.