He turns back to Lance. “I forgot she was coming.”

Lance is halfway into a pair of jeans that are going to be an inch too short for him in the leg and will slide off of his hips. Despite everything, Robbie can’t help but study his nimble fingers as they do up the buttons, and the flash of pale stomach above the waistline of his boxers that’s briefly visible before the shirt falls back into place. Then, he rolls the top of the jeans over once so they’ll stay up, and gives Robbie a look that can only be described as “cool”—it’s one which Robbie has never before imagined seeing on Lance’s face. He doesn’t like it.

“It’s fine.” Lance rakes a hand through his hair in a gesture that would make more sense if it was still long. Robbie wants to know how long ago he cut it short, and why. He wants to see every photograph ever taken of him. He wants to rewind time and see what would happen if Megan hadn’t come to the door. But more than anything else, he wants that soft, open expression back on Lance’s face; the one finally coaxed out from the blank dismay that Robbie was first greeted with at the courthouse.

“I meant to tell you she was coming. But it slipped my mind, between you falling into the creek, and then…this.” Robbie’s gaze falls to the bed in silent explanation. Lance’s face colors a little. He hugs the flannel shirt around him.

“I understand.”

No, you don’t, Robbie thinks desperately, but he isn’t exactly sure what to say. “She’s the only veterinarian I could get to make a farm call in this weather,” he tries, “and I knew there were things we needed for the baby if we wanted her to have a chance.”

There’s a flicker of life in Lance’s eyes that makes Robbie fall immediately silent. If he’s said something right, he’ll shut up before he gives himself a chance to say something wrong.

“I didn’t think about that.” Lance’s tone is uncertain.

Robbie thinks of circling the bed and reaching for Lance. Pulling them both back into another moment like the one under the blankets, where everything felt so clear and easy. But he can’t bring himself to move. He’s always been good at reading animals, and decent at reading people. But usually he has the benefit of a clear head. Usually, he isn’t just as emotional as the being he’s trying to soothe. Here, he’s paralyzed by all of the newness, as well as the stakes. He hasn’t forgotten that he’s the only person who can help Lance right now, much less the old habits of trying to protect Lance from his own feelings.

“I’d better go talk to her.”

“Yeah. I’ll just…wait here.”

Robbie nods shortly, steps into his boots and coat, and goes outside to find Megan.

As promised, she’s sitting in her truck. He sees her through the windshield, both hands on the wheel, staring down at it like the answers to the mysteries of the universe are in her steering column. He goes to the passenger side and gets in, which makes her jump.