The TV is playing softly in the background, the lights flickering across the wall in warm, muted colors, but you barely notice them.

Your attention is elsewhere. Far elsewhere.

On your right side lies your little son, three years old, curled up tightly, his small body nestling against you with the effortless trust that only children know.

His tiny fingers still clutch the ear of his favorite stuffed animal, the one he needs to fall asleep.

His breathing is steady, even. With one hand, you gently stroke his messy Hair and your heart warms at the sight.

So peaceful.

So safe.

So home.

On your left side lies Max. His arm rests loosely over your shoulders, warm, familiar, like a silent promise.

You feel him shift a little closer to you. His lips brush your temple.

Once.

Twice.

Then a third time.

Each kiss…soft, full of love.

“You know…I can’t imagine anything better than this." He murmurs quietly against your temple.

You lean further into him, feeling his heartbeat, steady and strong.

The world could fall apart and yet in this moment, everything would still be exactly where it’s meant to be.

“I’ve been thinking about something lately…” He begins, almost hesitantly.

“About what?” You ask, your voice barely a whisper.

His hand slowly brushes along your arm, while the other gently finds it's way on your belly.

Not demanding.

His breath changes, becomes deeper. “Well…what if…we had another baby?”

The words are spoken gently, but they hang in the air like a sudden sunbeam on a cloudy day.

Unexpected, warm and so clear that for a moment, everything else fades.

You blink.

Your heart skips.

You feel everything inside you tighten and open at once. You turn your head, searching for his gaze and find nothing but honesty.

No hesitation.

No “I was just thinking out loud.”

No doubt.

Only him…and hope.

Max glances down at your son, still peacefully asleep. “When I see him..when he sleeps, laughs, runs around…and when I see you with him. The way you are with him..the way you look at him, love him…” His voice almost breaks, too much emotion for too few words.

“I want to experience it all again. Not because something’s missing…but because it just feels right. Because you…you’re the woman I’d walk through fire for. And I want more of this life with you. I want more little feet running through the house. More first times hearing the word ‘Daddy’…more ‘Mommy.’” He pauses briefly and looks you directly in the eyes.

“I want to see you with that beautiful round belly again. I’ve never seen you glow the way you did back then.” He laughs softly and strokes your stomach.

Tears rise in your eyes.

You take a deep breath, trying to sort the wave of emotion that crashes over you.

Your gaze shifts back to the small face beside you. To the chubby cheeks, the long dark lashes resting softly on his skin.

Your baby.

Your child.

“I’ve been thinking about it too…” You finally say, quietly, almost a whisper.

For a moment, Max closes his eyes, as if that one sentence opened a door in him he hadn’t dared hope for.

Then he pulls you closer, his forehead now resting against yours. “Really?” He asks, and the grin he gives you is so unmistakably Max, that it makes your heart skip again.

So much love in it.

So much hope.

Then, for a moment, everything falls quiet. Only your breathing. Your heartbeats. The soft flicker of the TV in the background.

“Do you think…we’re ready for the next chapter?” He finally asks, quietly.