Max had enjoyed his weekend, but he felt like he was living on borrowed time. Eventually, his domestic situation would blow up. As much fun as he had at trivia, he kept wondering if he would be welcome after he broke Olivia's heart. It pissed Zach off when he didn't sit next to Livvy, but Max remembered the last time. He had spent the night intoxicated by her nearness, then he had to witness Graham kiss her. Max wanted to be the one, but he was the one who made her cry. Five months later, she was living with him.

On Tuesday night, he sat eating the meal Olivia had made. She had eaten earlier, even though it was only seven. When his phone rang, he reached for it.

"Hey."

"Did I catch you eating a soggy sandwich?"

He chuckled. "No. I'm home."

"So early?"

"Pure luck." He rattled off the procedures he had performed. All were routine with no emergencies. "I had a pesky third-year who reminded me of someone." She didn't laugh. "Are you okay?"

"It's over."

"You're not quitting?"

"No. It's all I have now."

In Max's mind, the end of her marriage was a foregone conclusion a year ago. He never understood why she chose him as her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He looked up to see Olivia looking at him.

"While I've been working my ass off, he's been screwing a girl in his office."

"Are you sure?" He felt a pain in his heart. Olivia would move on just like her mother had. Charles had died with the love of his life married to another man.

"Yup."

"Crap. I know you wanted a different outcome."

"I guess I'll focus on my career. What about you?"

"I'm busy." He thought of the weight on his shoulders. "Got the ultrasound this week." Olivia stared at him.

She laughed. "Good luck to the tech. Oh crap, the ED."

He put his phone down. The jerk who went to his mother's alone had to explain. "Have I ever mentioned Trish?"

She nodded. "Did you sleep with her?"

"No! I could get in trouble for that. She got the fellowship. I suppose I was her mentor. It was inevitable, but her marriage can't be saved. I told..."

"Getting married as a resident was stupid. I knew I had to wait for you. Your schedule is not much worse than a lot of agents."

"I perform surgery."

"Right and they just read. I mean the hours. It's only three late nights."

"You haven't been here when I'm on-call."

"No, but it's not every week. It would be easier if you accepted it and stopped fighting it." He just looked at her, refusing to respond. She sighed. "You told your friend about the baby?"

"So?"

"I thought you were in denial."

"I'm going to the ultrasound." There was little emotion in his words.

He considered skipping it, but he needed to see with his own eyes. Once he had, he wouldn't be able to pretend anymore. It was getting harder with the changes in Olivia's body. A stranger on the street would see she was pregnant, but he looked at her and felt was afraid.

"Do you want to find out what we are having?"

"I told you, I want what you want."

She smiled. "I want you. One hundred percent of you, not this wishy-washy back and forth."

"I don't have one hundred percent to give."

"I don't mean to come before your work. I mean when you are with me. Seriously, I get that I'll always be second, but I'd prefer to come third behind..." She put her hand on her middle.

The slight gesture evaporated all his calm composure. Hidden inside was a bundle of fear. So much could grow wrong and he never wanted Olivia to suffer like the parents he had witnessed. He couldn't get emotional, because if he cared a catastrophe could take him off his game. There was no room for emotions in the operating room. Steady hands and quick thinking were required.

"I might do some paperwork before I go to sleep."

She let out a long sigh. "I don't care if you have work to do, but you use it to avoid the hard conversations. Just so you know, I want to find out what we are having."

He chuckled. "Good, because I will see and it would be hard knowing if you didn't." He kissed her forehead. "I'm not avoiding. I have nothing more to say."

Olivia stood and stamped her foot as she let out a frustrated groan. "I can think of three words which could end every discussion like magic. If only you meant them."

He walked away from her. His problem was never not feeling the way she wanted. He knew for a fact Trish and her ex loved each other once. Max would never stray, but she would hate him in the end. He had a lot of work to catch up on.

As he walked into his office, he looked at the quiet room. The TV was on and he imagined Livvy sitting with her legs tucked under her. Instead of sitting down, he picked up his laptop and joined her on the sofa. When she frowned, he brushed her lips.

"Mind if I hang out."

She shook her head as he sat. His pants grew tight. Concentrate, he told himself. He could suck on her pout and make her smile later.

A few days later, Max looked at his watch. Damn. He was late as he shrugged out of his lab coat and ran to the elevator. He pulled out his phone to read Olivia's text message. She had taken an Uber from the station. More proof he couldn't be depended on.

Instead of pushing the down button, he pushed up. When he rushed into the waiting room wearing scrubs, heads turned.

"Can I help you, doctor?"

He smiled. "I'm late for an appointment. Olivia Browning."

"Through this door." She pointed, and a nurse stood waiting.

"I'm not sure if they've started yet."

Sweat formed under his arms and on his lower back. The scan could identify so many things which could change Livvy's life forever, his too.

When he went through the door, Olivia was chatting with the technician. She looked calm while Max felt frightened.

"Sorry, I'm late."

"I told her you are dedicated and your patients come first."

"A crying child set my schedule back." The five-year-old was afraid to have a needle to numb him for a cyst removal.

"Dad, this is your seat. Any questions before we start?"

"Can you go slow? And she, I mean, we want to know the sex."

Olivia nodded up and down. He took her hand because he wanted to pull from her strength. He had been less nervous for oral exams for his surgical board certification.

Max kept his eyes on the screen. He preferred the defined images of scope cameras. Besides being grainy the developing fetus was small. A thumping filled the room and Olivia squeezed his hand. When the wand moved, he commanded. "I need to see the heart."

"We will. I'll check the sex and take a few measurements first."

Max hadn't expected the spark he felt when he saw the genitals. "A boy."

The technician laughed. "You scooped me, Dad. This little guy wasn't hiding his parts."

Olivia looked up at Max with moist eyes. "A boy. I hope he looks just like you."

"Wait until we tell Zach!"

Olivia squeezed his hand to match the tightness in his chest. He watched as she measured the femur. "I take photos for the chart, but you'll leave with some too. Okay. Let's get started. He's measuring just right. The fluid level is good, and the placenta looks good and high."

Those were obstetrics things he hadn't even thought about. She went to the heart and Max leaned forward. He looked for the common defects, but then he looked for obscure things.

"Up a little... to the right chamber... over."

"Max, you sound like you're the doctor. He operates on birth defects so he knows what he's looking for."

The technician nodded and continued to humor him through every system. He felt the grip on his heart lessen as they viewed more and more. Finally, it stopped. "Did you see everything, doctor?"

He looked at Olivia and cleared his throat. "His face. I missed his face."

She smiled. "I'll see if we can get a clear picture."

Max watched as the tiny features came into view. His fingers were in his mouth. His mind flashed back to a year before with a tiny body in the OR. He had made a decision after the death of a newborn. It wasn't this baby's fault. He was his father. To not love him would be worse than Olivia's father abandoning her. It would not honor Elijah's parents or any of the parents who sat by their child. Little Emily's mom told him she hadn't wanted a third child, but she wouldn't leave her side. Max hadn't wanted a child but to disregard him would be against his life's goals. He might make mistakes and not be around much, but his son deserved a father who loved him. The baby boy deserved two parents who tried to be together.

"Max. Max? Are you okay?"

"What?" He looked at Olivia's face and nodded. "Yeah. I'm good. It's hard to believe we did that."

She smiled. Neither noticed the tech wipe the gel off her abdomen. He had a powerful urge to touch it, but he saw the clock. He had just enough time to get downstairs before his patient.

"Liv, I have to go." He leaned over and brushed her lips.

"You can't meet my doctor?"

"Another time. See you at home later."

Max ran out without waiting for her response.

Vote for a boy 😊⭐️

"..they say - that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day."