Nicole and Ruby had been married. Married.
That was still a weird word to associate with Nicole, but it had been three years now, and she wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Marriage had been fun. A lot of sex, a lot of dates, and even more sweet, domestic moments Nicole wouldn’t share with anyone.
But there was something else she wanted. Something she’d been thinking about for a while but hadn’t been able to say out loud.
A baby.
She was getting older. If she didn’t do it now, she might never.
So, one night—after Ruby had wrecked her with three consecutive orgasms, leaving her warm and loose-limbed against her wife’s chest—Nicole finally found the words.
“I think I want to have a baby with you.”
Ruby’s fingers, which had been lazily tracing circles on Nicole’s back, stopped.
Oh.
Oh.
Nicole wasn’t the sentimental type, not really. She didn’t say things like this unless she meant them.
Ruby wasn’t expecting it. Hell, she was terrified of the idea. She had never pictured herself as a mom. She wouldn’t know how. She hadn’t had a good mother growing up—how was she supposed to be one?
“Okay…” Ruby finally managed. “I’m not gonna be a good mom, Nicole.”
“Yes, you will.” Nicole’s voice was steady, sure. She trailed her fingers over the tattoos on Ruby’s arm, stopping at one in particular—a rose.
Nicole had refused to let Ruby get her name tattooed on her, claiming it was bad luck, so she had settled on a rose instead. Ruby had gotten it for her. And Ruby loved it. Just like she loved Nicole.
She loved Nicole.
“…Okay,” Ruby exhaled. “I mean… yeah. We can look into it.”
God, this was gonna be expensive.
~
Nicole had imagined picking a donor would be some magical, movie-like experience—she and Ruby sitting on the couch, giggling over baby names while scrolling through profiles, maybe sharing a glass of wine, whispering about the kind of person their child might become.
In reality, it was a nightmare.
The first clinic they visited had a frankly disturbing slideshow about sperm washing. The second one had a doctor who spoke to them like they were five years old, over-explaining basic concepts as if they hadn’t spent weeks researching this.
By the third clinic, Nicole had mentally checked out. She was going through the motions, bored out of her mind—until she spotted someone in the waiting room.
Her high school ex.
Oh, hell no.
She grabbed Ruby’s hand, squeezing hard enough to cut off circulation.
“Nope. Nope, we’re leaving.”
“What? We just got here—”
Nicole was already halfway to the door.
“Baby, what are you—?”
“That’s my ex, Ruby! The one who wrote that terrible song about me senior year! The one who rhymed ‘Nicole’ with ‘asshole!’”
Ruby blinked. Looked at theguy, who was scrolling on his phone, oblivious. Looked back at Nicole, who was one second away from sprinting to the car.
Ruby turned to the receptionist.
“Yeah, we’re gonna reschedule.”
After that disaster, they decided to skip in-person visits for a while and check out online sperm banks.
Which was just as bad, if not worse.
“Oh my god,” Nicole groaned, scrolling through potential donors. “This guy has a PhD in biomedical engineering, but he looks like he eats his own boogers.”
“Please stop looking at the pictures.”
“I need to, Ruby. What if our kid gets his weak chin?”
“Baby, we don’t even know if she’ll have his chin.”
Nicole paused, watching as Ruby’s ears turned pink.
“You think it’s gonna be a girl and we haven’t even picked a donor yet, Rubes.”
“I can be hopeful,” Ruby muttered, pretending to focus on the laptop in front of her.
Nicole bit her lip, warmth spreading in her chest.
Ruby was going to be a good mom.
She was so sure of it.
In the end, they picked someone based on health, genetics, and—after much debate—a decent enough chin.
And then… they waited.
Nicole had always hated doctor’s appointments, but for once in her life, she wanted to be in a clinic—wanted to do something instead of waiting for an email to tell her what came next.
Their first real appointment at the fertility clinic felt surreal.
“Alright,” Dr. Patel said, flipping through her chart. “We’ve run all your tests. Your hormone levels look great, and everything’s in good shape. Now, we just need to decide how we’re proceeding. Have you both decided on IUI or IVF?”
Nicole and Ruby looked at each other.
Nicole knew the answer. They’d researched it a million times. Talked about it in bed. Debated every possible option.
“IUI,” Nicole said. It was less invasive than IVF and much cheaper, though it came with a slightly lower success rate.
Dr. Patel nodded. “Perfect. I’ll prescribe you a trigger shot to help with ovulation, and we’ll monitor you through the next few weeks. If all goes well, we’ll schedule your insemination soon.”
Nicole swallowed hard.
This was real. This was happening.
She felt Ruby’s fingers brush against hers under the desk, giving her a gentle squeeze.
When they walked out of the office, Ruby glanced over at her. “You okay?”
Nicole took a breath. “Yeah. It just… feels weird, you know? Like, we’re making a baby. With science.”
Ruby smirked. “You’re telling me you don’t think ‘Science Baby’ is the coolest origin story?”
Nicole laughed. She knew Ruby was doing it to lighten the mood, to keep her from spiraling into overthinking, and she loved her for it.
“You’re such a nerd.”
“And you love it.”
Nicole rolled her eyes, but she didn’t let go of Ruby’s hand.
~
The first time didn’t take.
Neither did the second.
Nicole pretended it didn’t get to her, but Ruby could see it. Every negative test, every cycle that started right on schedule, hit harder and harder.
One night, Nicole locked herself in the bathroom after another failed round, sitting on the floor, staring at the negative test like it might change if she just looked hard enough.
Ruby knocked softly.
“Baby, come to bed.”
Silence.
“Nicole.”
Nothing.
So Ruby just sat down on the other side of the door.
They stayed like that for a long time, neither speaking.
Then, finally, Nicole whispered, “What if it never works?”
“It will.” Ruby’s voice was soft, but sure. “And if it doesn’t, we’ll figure something else out. But we’re not giving up.”
Nicole let out a shaky breath. A few minutes passed. Then, finally, she unlocked the door and let Ruby hold her.
The third round—
Nicole woke up nauseous.
She didn’t want coffee.
She took a test, and—
“Oh my god.”
Her hands were shaking as she stared at the two pink lines.
Ruby had never seen her cry so hard.
And Ruby—who had been so scared, so convinced she wouldn’t know how to be a mom—felt something click into place.
They were having a baby.
She wasn’t scared anymore.
Nicole and Ruby weren’t big on gender reveals, but their friends insisted—specifically Joey, who took it upon himself to make the event as chaotic as possible.
So, naturally, it was held at the restaurant.
Naturally, Joey made the cake.
And naturally… it was terrible.
“Alright, alright, everyone shut up!” Joey called out, banging a spoon against the counter.
The entire staff was gathered—Amber, Bridgette, Aaron, even Terry, who had a suspiciously well-wrapped gift bag in his lap.
Nicole and Ruby stood side by side, staring at the lopsided monstrosity Joey had somehow called a cake. The frosting was uneven, the piping was a crime, and Nicole wasn’t entirely sure if he’d even used the right ingredients.
“Oh my god,” Nicole muttered. “We’re gonna die.”
“Would it be offensive if we placed bets on what color’s actually inside?” Ruby whispered.
Joey shot them both a look. “Hey! This is a perfectly fine cake. Now, cut the damn thing before I do it myself.”
Nicole picked up the knife. Ruby placed her hand over Nicole’s.
They cut into the cake—
And a mess of pink frosting oozed out.
For a second, no one moved.
Then, Bridgette burst into tears.
“A girl! Oh my god, a girl!”
Aaron, looking around, utterly confused: “Wait, I thought the baby was gonna be human?”
Nicole wiped a hand down her face. “Aaron. Jesus Christ.”
Meanwhile, Amber was staring at Joey across the room, her expression very clear:
Put a baby in me.
Joey choked on his drink. “What?”
Amber didn’t say a word. Just lifted a single, perfectly manicured brow.
“Oh my god,” Ruby murmured, watching the interaction. “Nicole. Look.”
Nicole turned just in time to see Joey visibly sweating.
Nicole grinned. “Give it six months.”
Terry, sipping his drink like he was watching a movie, casually reached into his gift bag and pulled out a tiny, bistro-branded hoodie onesie.
“Figured she’d need some proper work attire,” he said, tossing it to Ruby.
Ruby caught it, eyes widening. “Dude.”
Nicole clutched it to her chest. Hormones be damned, she was going to cry.
The cake was a disaster. The reveal was a mess.
And yet—
Surrounded by the people they loved, with a baby girl on the way—
It was perfect.
~
Pregnancy turned Nicole into the moodiest person alive.
She craved the weirdest things at the worst times.
Pickles with peanut butter at 3 AM. A very specific brand of cookies that Ruby had to drive across the city for. One time, she had a meltdown in the grocery store because the grapes weren’t “crunchy enough.”
And then there were the tears.
Ruby finishing the last of the ice cream? Tears.
A dog wearing a sweater? Tears.
The realization that their baby would one day have a first birthday party? Full-body, ugly sobbing.
Ruby took care of her through all of it.
She massaged her swollen feet, stayed up late to make pancakes, and didn’t even complain when Nicole built a pillow fortress between them in bed.
“You don’t even want me to touch you?”
“I don’t want you breathing on me, Ruby.”
Ruby should have been annoyed. But instead, she kissed Nicole’s forehead and whispered, “Love you anyway.”
If Nicole was bad at home, she was a nightmare at work.
The sheer number of fries she full-on demanded from the kitchen was going to run them out of business.
And god help anyone who got in her way.
“Nicole! Why haven’t you greeted Table 28 yet?” Terry yelled, storming into the kitchen.
Nicole looked up from her phone, eyes slow and dangerous. Ruby bit the inside of her cheek to suppress a smirk.
Oh, this was gonna be good.
“Terry,” Nicole began, setting her phone down—a rare, deadly move. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m pregnant. Very pregnant.”
Terry rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and?”
Nicole inhaled sharply, like she was summoning the power of every exhausted mother before her.
“Terry, my feet hurt, my boobs hurt, and I have to pee every two seconds. I am choosing not to greet a table right this instant.”
Terry blinked. His entire demeanor shifted from bossy manager to timid dog.
He clutched his clipboard like it would protect him.
“Uh—yeah, yeah, you know what? I’ll greet ’em, it’s fine.” Terry spat out, basically running back into the dining room.
Ruby shook her head, laughing as Nicole stole another handful of fries.
The last few weeks of pregnancy turned Nicole into a ticking time bomb.
She was miserable. She couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t bend over. Every time she dropped something, she would just stare at it until Ruby picked it up for her.
And the mood swings? Worse than ever.
One night, Ruby came home to find Nicole sitting on the couch, arms crossed, scowling at the TV.
“What happened?” Ruby asked, already bracing herself.
Nicole glared at her.
“The store was out of the ice cream I like.”
Oh. Oh no.
Ruby turned on her heel, grabbing her car keys she had just put down. “Okay, I’ll—”
“No.” Nicole huffed. “It’s too late now. I don’t even want it anymore.”
Ruby squinted at her. “You’re lying.”
Nicole’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes, but I’m mad about it.”
Ruby sighed, dropped her keys, and pulled Nicole into a hug (as best as she could).
“You know I love you, right?”
Nicole sniffled. “Yeah.”
“And I will literally kill for you?”
“… Yeah.”
“Okay.” Ruby kissed her forehead. “Now let’s go get your ice cream.”
Nicole cried harder.
“You’re the best wife ever.”
~
Nicole was two weeks overdue.
She was pissed off, uncomfortable, and so done.
“I swear to God, Ruby, if this baby doesn’t come out soon, I’m gonna cut her out myself.”
Ruby, wisely, said nothing.
Then, at 4 AM—
A loud splash.
A beat of silence.
Then—
“RUBY!”
Ruby bolted upright, half-asleep, full-panic. “WHAT?”
Nicole, standing in a growing puddle, eyes wide with horror.
“THE BABY IS COMING!”
Ruby had never moved faster in her life.
Nicole was… not handling it well.
She clutched the oh-shit handle with one hand and Ruby’s arm in a death grip with the other.
“You’re driving too slow!”
Ruby, doing 20 over the limit, gritted her teeth. “Babe, I—”
“WHY ARE WE STOPPING?!”
“It’s a red light, Nicole.”
“FUCK THE LIGHT, I’M IN LABOR!”
Ruby ran the red light.
By the time they got to the hospital, Nicole was screaming at everyone.
“WHY IS IT SO COLD IN HERE?”
“WHY IS THIS BED SO UNCOMFORTABLE?”
“WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE THAT, RUBY?”
Ruby blinked. “Like what?”
Nicole pointed aggressively. “Like you’re NOT the reason I’m HERE.”
Ruby, who had in fact helped create this situation, even though it was Nicole’s idea simply nodded, preferring to live in this moment.
“You’re right. My bad.”
Nicole had sworn up and down she wouldn’t get an epidural.
Then she had her first real contraction.
“Give me the drugs.”
Ruby held her hand while they did it, but immediately regretted it.
The needle was so big.
Ruby felt lightheaded.
Nicole, mid-contraction, glaring. “Don’t you dare pass out, you absolute coward.”
Ruby didn’t dare.
After hours of labor, the doctor finally said the magic words:
“It’s time to push.”
Nicole gripped Ruby’s hand so tight it might never work again.
She pushed.
And pushed.
And pushed.
Ruby whispered soothing encouragements.
Nicole did not find them soothing.
“You’re doing amazing, baby.”
“Shut up, Ruby.”
“You got this, babe. Just a little more—”
“I SWEAR TO GOD, RUBY, I’M NEVER LETTING YOU TOUCH ME AGAIN.”
Ruby, terrified but in love, kissed her forehead.
“Love you anyway.”
Nicole let out a final, primal scream—
And then—
The sound of a baby’s first cry. Their daughters, first cry.
Nicole, sweaty, exhausted, shaking, slumped back against the pillows, panting.
And in her arms—
Tiny. Pink. Screaming. Perfect.
Nicole let out a shaky breath, looking down at their daughter, then up at Ruby.
Ruby—who had spent months terrified she wouldn’t be a good mom—felt something click into place.
The fear? The doubt?
Gone.
She loved her.
She loved both of her girls.
Nicole’s voice was thick with emotion as she whispered, “She’s perfect.”
Ruby kissed her—soft, reverent, full of all the love she didn’t know how to say.
“We did it.” She pressed her forehead to Nicole’s, voice barely above a breath. “We really did it.”
Nicole smiled, brushing a tear from Ruby’s cheek.
“Told you you’d be a good mom.”
And Ruby, holding the love of her life and the little girl they had created, finally believed her.
Their little rose.
Nicole was exhausted.
She was running on two hours of sleep, pure adrenaline, and the high of having just created life.
And, as expected, their found family wasted no time storming the hospital.
The first to arrive was Terry, who burst in dramatically, nearly dropping his overpriced bouquet of pink roses in the process.
“Holy shit, you did it!” Terry’s eyes flickered to the tiny bundle in Ruby’s arms, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You really made a whole-ass human.”
Nicole gave him a lazy, satisfied smile. “Sure did.”
“She looks like you, Nicole.” Terry leaned in, his expression genuine for once. “Poor thing.”
Nicole rolled her eyes, but before she could retort, Ruby was already stepping in.
“She’s perfect, actually.” Ruby’s voice was firm, her arms instinctively tightening around Rose.
Terry raised his hands in surrender. “I was kidding! Jesus, you’re already one of those moms.”
“Yeah, and?”
Nicole stifled a laugh, watching Ruby glare down Terry like she was ready to throw him out the window.
Next was Joey, who was just as awkward as expected.
He hovered by the foot of the bed, arms crossed, eyes scanning Rose like she was a recipe he wasn’t sure he could pull off.
“She’s real tiny.” Joey finally said.
Nicole let out a soft chuckle. “Most newborns are, Joey.”
He nodded, like he was taking mental notes, then cleared his throat.
“I, uh—” He scratched the back of his neck, then pulled a tiny bundle from a bag. “I got her something.”
Ruby took it, unfolding it carefully.
A tiny, ridiculously adorable LA Dodgers onesie.
Nicole blinked. Her chest ached.
“Joey—”
“Don’t get all sappy on me, Nic. Just figured she’d look cute in it.” He cleared his throat. “Gotta start her early, right? Plus, it was Trick’s from when he was a baby, so…”
That just made Nicole cry harder.
Then came Bridgette, who immediately burst into tears.
Like, ugly sobbing.
Nicole gave Ruby a look, and Ruby just shrugged.
“She’s been crying since we texted the group chat.”
Bridgette, clutching her chest, barely able to form words: “She’s so—so—she’s just so—”
“She’s a baby, Bridge.”
Bridgette waved a hand aggressively. “Shut up, Nicole. Let me have this.”
Meanwhile, Ruby was still clutching Rose like she was holding the Hope Diamond.
Then came Aaron, who bounced into the room like a golden retriever on too much caffeine.
“So, how does this work? Did you, like, grow her in a lab?”
Nicole groaned, tilting her head back. “I knew this was coming.”
Aaron, oblivious: “Can I hold her?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why not?!”
“Because you’re Aaron.”
Aaron, genuinely confused: “What does that mean?”
Terry patted his shoulder. “It means you’d probably drop her, man.”
“I WOULD NOT!”
Ruby clutched Rose tighter.
“I’m not taking that risk.”
Nicole just smiled, watching the chaos unfold, her heart so full she thought she might burst.
And then, right in the middle of it all, Rose let out the tiniest, softest coo.
Ruby’s head snapped down immediately.
Her arms tensed—protective, overwhelmed, completely enraptured.
And then it happened.
Rose smiled.
A real smile. Not gas, not reflex—just pure happiness.
And Ruby—Ruby, who had been so scared, so convinced she wouldn’t know how to be a mom, who had been guarding her heart all this time—felt it all crumble.
Her throat closed up. Her chest ached.
Oh, fuck.
She was gonna cry.
Terry noticed immediately. “Oh my god, are you crying?”
Ruby sniffed aggressively, shaking her head. “No. Shut up.”
Bridgette was already sobbing harder.
Nicole, watching it all unfold, just grinned, leaning back against the pillows, exhausted but so, so happy.
Their daughter was surrounded by love.
Their family—the one they’d built from scratch—was here.
Nicole reached for Ruby’s hand, squeezing it gently.
Ruby looked down at her, her eyes still wet, her heart still raw.
Nicole tilted her head up, whispering:
“We really did it, huh?”
Ruby leaned down, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead.
“Yeah, babe. We did.”