She picked up a large sheet of paper from her desk, which turned out to be a printout from the ultrasound. It wasn’t much to look at—a white blob surrounded by black space—but the white blob in the photo was the baby inside Vivian right at that moment.

Her mom had been right. This was the moment it got real. “Wow,” she said faintly.

Dr. Viswanathan chuckled. “‘Wow,’ indeed. Vivian, would you like to take the picture with you?”

“No, thank you,” Vivian said to her water.

Jules looked at her, stricken. The first baby picture and Vivian was turning it down? She fought back the impulse to say that if Vivian didn’t want it, Jules did. But that might look weird in front of the doctor.

Dr. Viswanathan nodded and put the picture back down. “We can send it to you later, if you change your mind. Do you have any other questions?”

“No,” Vivian said.

Jules shook her head mutely when the doctor looked at her. Her only question was about why Vivian was so subdued, and medical science probably wouldn’t be able to answer that.

“Very well.” Dr. Viswanathan glanced at her notes. “I’ll want to see you in another two weeks, Vivian.”

“Fine.” Vivian’s voice was as even and cool as ever.

Jules worried some more. Then she worried while checking out of the clinic, worried during the car ride back to the office, and worried on the way into the revolving doors of the Koening Building because Vivian hadn’t said anything. She hadn’t even given her work instructions.

The elevator doors shut, leaving them alone together, and Vivian exhaled a long, shaking sigh.

Jules quickly turned to look at her. She was pale and trembling, and her hand was pressed to her heart.

“Are you okay?” Jules asked urgently.

Vivian nodded, waving her hand at Jules for silence while she took another deep breath. “I’m fine. I’m fine now.”

Jules fidgeted, twitched her fingers, balled her hands up into fists. Then when they passed the fourth floor, she reached out and hesitantly touched Vivian’s hand with her own, not daring to say anything.

Vivian didn’t look at her, but she grabbed Jules’s hand so hard, it hurt.

There was a lot of relief in that squeeze. No wonder Vivian had been acting so weirdly. She must have been even more worried than Jules had known and overwhelmed when she learned everything was okay.

So maybe there was hope for getting a copy of that picture after all.

Jules grinned. “A girl, huh?”

Vivian covered her mouth with her hand but not soon enough to stifle a half-hysterical laugh. Her cheeks finally got a little color in them.

Jules laughed too, breathlessly, as relief overwhelmed her. It was okay, the tests had been fine, Dr. Viswanathan had been hopeful, and Jules and Vivian were holding hands in the elevator.