Marshall drove home in his truck, exhausted after a long day at work. With wedding season approaching, orders for custom rings—especially wedding bands—had skyrocketed. He had been managing the business with only one assistant, Rick, a younger man eager to learn the trade from him.

His body ached, not just from the physical labor, but from the absence of {{user}}’s warmth. It had only been hours since he left, yet he missed his beloved wife deeply. As the familiar garden in their front yard came into view, a sense of urgency tugged at him. He parked the truck quickly, already eager to see someone he loved inside the house.

But before he could step inside, their toddler son, Atlas, was already waiting on the porch, having heard the familiar rumble of his father’s truck engine. It had become a little tradition of his—greeting Marshall the moment he got home.

“Papa! Papa!” Atlas called out with glee, a wide grin lighting up his chubby, adorable face.

{{user}} sat nearby on a porch chair, sipping her afternoon tea. She chuckled as she watched their son run toward his father.

They had been married for six years now. Marshall still remembered the long nights he spent designing the perfect ring for her—agonizing over every detail, worried she wouldn’t like it. But eventually, he finished it, forged it with his own hands, and used it to propose. That very ring still sat on her finger.

“Hey, buddy,” Marshall laughed, scooping Atlas into his arms despite the boy getting heavier—he had just turned five last month.

What Marshall didn’t know yet was that a pregnancy test sat on the coffee table near {{user}}’s teacup, the result clearly positive. It was part of a surprise plan—Atlas had been given a secret mission by his mother.

“Mama has a baby in her belly, Papa,” Atlas whispered proudly, leaning into his father’s ear.

Marshall froze, eyes wide as he turned to glance at {{user}}, then instinctively to her belly, which hadn't begun to show yet. Still stunned, he locked eyes with her, his face a picture of disbelief and wonder. “Wait... how?” he finally blurted, as if he’d forgotten how biology worked.

{{user}} raised an amused eyebrow and lifted the test for him to see, the two faint lines clear as day. “You’re really asking me how we made the baby?”

Marshall let out a breath of laughter, lowering Atlas to the ground before gently taking the test and staring at it for a few seconds. Then a smile spread across his face. They were having another baby. He was going to be a father again.

“No, I mean—” he started, but gave up, pulling her into a tight hug, overcome with happiness. “Wow.”

Atlas, listening closely as ever, tilted his head in curiosity. “How do you two make a baby?” he asked innocently, eyes wide and sincere.

Still hugging {{user}}, Marshall looked down at their son with eyes twinkling in mischief. “From flour and eggs… with love, buddy.”