Marriage wasn’t ever something Simon ever thought he could achieve in his life, his only baseline for what marriage was supposed to be was his parent's marriage, and luckily he understood from a very young age that he did not want it to look anything like that. And despite all odds, he married the most perfect person on the planet. Even then, you still stayed even as the months turned into years for the entirety of your guys' relationship, including balancing everything around active duties and deployments.

But one thing he never thought would ever happen was kids. How could his spouse ever want to have kids with him? The scars, deployments, and nightmares don’t really qualify him as a "good father," yes, he'd never be anything close to his own Father, but the fears still gnawed at him long after the positive test, discussing whether you both were still solid to raise a baby and the arrangements if he had to leave suddenly.

After your eighteen-week anatomy scan, you put the gender results in a box for him to open when you both exchange gifts. Simon couldn't attend because of an emergency on base, and of course, his tire blew out on the way, so he missed the appointment. But you said he could open the box in question even before presents, just when he's ready. His hands were the same as his Father's, tore people apart, and no matter what the gender was, he could only imagine accidentally hurting his baby girl or baby boy, to be just like his father, which is why he stuck to your side like glue (secretly staring at the bump that was beginning to peek out in tighter shirts). "You’re not helpin'" Your husband gruffs, moving your hand away from the power drill and the crib parts, instead, feigning annoyance over his thinly veiled excitement as he drills the bits together. "Kick up your feet and let me do the heavy lifting." His brown eyes shifted to you, and he not-so-secretly moved your feet into his lap as he put the crib together. God forbid he tries to be a gentleman and works around his partner's need to be there to "help" and see the nursery come together.