"Cass?" Leo's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Marry Mama soon? 'Morrow?"
I smiled, cracking eggs into the bowl. "Not tomorrow. These things take time to plan."
"But you gonna?" He looked up at me with those eyes—my eyes—full of hope.
"I really am. I promise."
"Good." He nodded solemnly, then brightened. "I be in wedding?"
"Would you like to carry the rings?"
His face lit up. "Yes. I be careful. Won't drop 'em."
"I know you wouldn't." I ruffled his hair, leaving a flour handprint. "You'd be the best ring bearer in the world."
We worked together in companionable silence. Two months ago, I hadn't known he existed. Now I couldn't imagine life without him.
"Something smells good."
I turned to find Isla in the doorway, sleepy and rumpled in my shirt, her hair a beautiful mess. She looked at the kitchen—flour everywhere, Leo carefully arranging forks, pancakes slightly burned on one side—and smiled.
"Make pancakes!" Leo announced. "Ninja pancakes!"
"I can see that." She moved to the counter, standing close. "And you left me some?"
"Yes, Mama. Ninjas share." He was utterly serious, making both of us laugh.
We ate breakfast together, Leo chattering about his dreams and plans, occasionally announcing that we were "a real family now" as if he still couldn't quite believe it.
I couldn't either, if I were honest. But Isla's hand found mine under the table, squeezing gently, anchoring me to the moment.
After breakfast, Leo wanted to build an "epic castle" with his blocks. We spread out on the living room floor, the three of us constructing an elaborate fortress with towers and bridges.
"Dragon lives here," Leo explained, positioning his plastic dinosaur at the highest tower. "Scares bad guys."
"Smart dragon," I said, helping him balance another block.
"You like dragon. Scare bad guys," Leo said matter-of-factly.
Isla's eyes met mine over his head. I saw the emotion there. That our son saw me not as a monster, but as a protector.
"I'll always protect you," I said, meaning it with every fiber of my being. "Both of you."
"I know." Leo went back to his castle, already distracted by the next challenge.
The morning turned into afternoon. We ordered lunch, watched one of his dinosaur movies, and built more castles that he gleefully knocked down just to rebuild.
Normal family things. Things I'd never imagined doing.
Things I never wanted to stop doing.
That evening, after Leo was bathed and put to bed, Isla and I stood together in his doorway.
"He was happy today," Isla said softly, her hand finding mine.
