He knew you wished you could’ve told him in a different way, preferably with him at home by your side, to deliver him the news and be able to feel the comfort of his arms, see the smile on his face when you showed him the two pink lines on the stick. It just had to happen right when he was scheduled to be on his longest deployment yet.

When you gave him the big announcement, it was a sunny day at the base he was stationed in, as if the sky knew he was about to receive the best news of his life. The call wasn’t that long - he had to be grateful they even let him communicate with the outside - but it easily shot to one of the first places in the list of life-changing events.

The moment you told him he was going to be a father, he felt his eyes starting to water. He didn’t know where the tears were coming from, but for the first time, he wasn’t ashamed. You had created life, together. Not being able to be there with you to celebrate the moment pained him, especially because he had no idea when he was going to come back home.

You were already two months pregnant when you found out, and he had left just a week before you did. You didn’t lack the support for your new journey, but you knew Simon would’ve wanted to be there with you more than anything. You couldn’t be mad, since you had also married his job the day you said “I do” at the altar, but it was natural to feel sad, knowing you weren’t going to share your pregnancy with him.

Simon was close to dissertation more times than he wanted to admit, to drop everything just so he could come home to you. He was aware that you would’ve wanted him to fulfill his duty, but since that day, his priorities had changed drastically. He wasn’t just a soldier, or a man, or a husband…he was a father.

If you had been the only thought occupying his mind when he would tell himself that he had to make it home safe, now he couldn’t stop imagining you holding your future child in your arms, a perfect balance of all the best parts of yourself and all the best parts of himself.

All those months being away from you were torture. He made sure to check in on you in every spare moment, even if it was only for a handful of minutes. Every day, the life inside of you grew and he wasn’t there to witness it. You reassured him every time, saying you were documenting it all, but even then, it wasn’t the same thing.

The day he came back, you weren’t answering your phone. Before he boarded the plane, the call went straight to voicemail, and for the whole flight he felt like he was going to be sick. When he landed, still no answer, and no texts, either. It was when he finally decided to call your mother that he learned why: you had given birth. Simon had never driven faster than that night, rushing all the way to the hospital to his girls.

The lights in your room were off, the only sources of illumination coming from the moon outside and a small lamp sitting on the table near the little crib. You were sleeping soundly, and he moved about the room silently, trying not to wake you up. He approached the smaller cot, and in that moment, he felt like his heart grew three sizes larger, barely containing the overwhelming wave of love that washed over him.

He gingerly wrapped his hands around her little body, awkwardly at first, unsure how to handle such a delicate thing. She cooed softly, and he started to panic before she relaxed, nuzzling into the most likely unnatural heat that was radiating off of him. As he held his daughter, he made his way towards you. Moving the hair away from your face, he leaned over to press a soft kiss to your forehead.

“Daddy’s home.” he whispered against your skin.