Then, written in red ink, almost hastily:

78% efficacy

“You were going to use this on me?” I asked.

The room was quiet for what felt like a very long time. Finally, he spoke. “Are you angry with me?” he asked.

I lifted my head and swallowed, looking over at him. I had to sit on that question for a little while, because if I was honest, it was a shock that he’d saved such a vile substance in our home. One that had caused him and everyone else so much pain.

But at the end of the day, he’d saved it because he would rather have a life with me than lose me to the therapy. And the truth was, I wanted that, too. If the choice was between being dead or being a nonshifter, then I would choose being a nonshifter, even if it might hurt to watch a world I so desperately wanted to be part of from the sidelines.

“I feel like I should be mad at you,” I admitted. “But no, I’m not angry, surprisingly. I’m actually kind of grateful we have it in the unlikely chance we need it.” I held it out to him, not wanting to look at it anymore. “I don’t think we should keep it here, though. We should take it to the doctor’s office tomorrow. I don’t want any of the pack members to see it, and I don’t want Noah to get his hands on it. That would be horrific.”

He nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “You’re right, it doesn’t belong here.”

“How could you sleep with it so close to you like that?” I asked him. Not in a judgmental way, just in utter shock that he’d been able to do it.

“I know it sounds crazy,” he said, “but sometimes it feels good to hold it in my hands. To know it’s so small, such an insignificant substance that I could crush it in my hands. It helps me have hope that we can reverse the damage it's done to me, to the people in this pack. It helps me feel like we can conquer it.”

I exhaled and nodded, looking at the little glass bottle in his hand.

He turned and opened the drawer, depositing it and closing it with a thud of finality. “But I have you,” he said. “You can remind me of that better than that shitty bottle of serum can.”

I smiled, opening my arms towards him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my chest before encouraging me to lie back down with him. I kissed the top of his head, breathing in the scent of his shampoo and the pine-scented air from outside the building. I reflected on how spring would be coming soon, and the return of warm weather would mean more fun for everyone who called headquarters home.

Soon, we’d feel like a true family and have times just like tonight, when we all sat around cuddling and watching movies together while scarfing down pizza.

I brushed my fingertips over the planes of Cole’s back as I thought about it idly. The more I did, the more I realized it was something I was really looking forward to. Not just the nebulous familial bonds we had with our found family, but...

“Cole?” I said quietly.

“Mmm?” he said, sounding like he was already half-asleep.

Maybe now wasn’t the time to talk about this, but it was something I felt I’d never say if I didn’t say it now. We could always put a pin in it once the cat was out of the bag.

“I know it’s been a long day and that it’s late,” I said. “So, we can talk about this later if you want to.”

“Okay,” he said, his voice low and buzzing against my chest.

“Do you want to have a baby?” I asked.

He jolted up from his spot against me, coming up onto his forearms so that he was almost nose-to-nose with me.

“What?” he asked, brown eyes wide and focused.

“I...I just thought—” I stammered, suddenly losing my nerve. “Never mind. I shouldn’t have brought it up—it’s a dumb time to be thinking about stuff like that.”

“No,” Cole said firmly. “No, it is not. I just wanted to make sure I heard you correctly. Did you just ask me if I want to have a baby with you? Did you just ask me if I wanted to make a sibling for my son with you?”

I could feel heat starting to rise to my face, but I couldn’t tell why it was happening. I couldn’t tell if I was flustered by his surprise, or if I was immediately getting cold feet. I still couldn’t even really tell if he was in support of the idea.

“I...yes,” I said, finally. “Yeah, I’m asking if we should make a baby together.”

His face, one moment so serious, split into a wide, gorgeous smile. His eyes shimmered and crinkled as he pressed his forehead to mine.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Marley,” he said. “Just when I thought I couldn’t be any happier with you as my wife, you go and drop that on my lap.”