“How’s that now?”

“It was your goddamn super sperm that made two of them.”

“That’s because of my masculine virility. I’ve told you that—”

“Bear!”

“What!”

His eyes are bulging, and he’s panting a little, but somehow, he’s able to say, “It’s too soon. They’re not supposed to be here for another week. What if something’s wrong?”

And that hurts. To hear the worry in his voice. The doubt. Because Otter should never sound like that. Not ever. “You know as well as I do that’s not the case,” I tell him quietly. “Twins come early. The fact that she’s made it this far is sort of remarkable. We’ve been told this, okay? We know this. I need you to hear me on this, okay? Are you listening?”

He nods, head jerking up and down.

“It’s going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine. She’s healthy. The twins are healthy. This is all planned out. She’s done this before, and she knows her body. It’s going to be—”

Otter’s phone rings.

“It’s Marty,” he says, sounding rather breathless.

Fine, right, Bear? it whispers. Everything is going to be fine. Because nothing bad has ever happened to you, isn’t that right? Oh, no. Of course not.

“Answer it,” I tell him, shoving that damnable voice away. “We need to find out what’s going on. Make sure they don’t need anything from us.”

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly before connecting the call. It’s on speakerphone, and it crackles, voices muffled in the background.

“Marty?” Otter asks.

“—you are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Marty is saying. “Your skin is glowing, and I know it’s mostly sweat, but damn, baby, you look good. All that life growing in you. I can’t wait till it comes out and I can put my own in—”

“Nope,” I say. “Nope, nope, nope. Marty, I swear to god, if you finish that sentence, I will have your balls on a chopping block, and you will never get to have your own children!”

“It’s the daddies!” Marty cries into the phone. “How we doing this fine morning?”

“We’re fine,” Otter says, though he sounds like anything but, given that he’s squeaking.

“Is there a small cat traveling with you?” Marty asks. “Because whatever that was, it sounded like a small cat.”

“That was Otter,” I say. “He’s… excited.”

“Oh, you guys are adorable,” Marty sighs. “You’re going to be the best daddies ever. Well. Until I’m a daddy, and then we can share that title, okay?”

“Marty,” another voice says in the background. “Maybe now’s not the time to talk about other babies.”

“You’re absolutely right, my love,” Marty says. “We can save that for later.”