Beck’s own laptop had met with an unfortunate accident that involved his son’s soccer ball. So he’d borrowed Alec’s computer while his husband was at work. When he turned the screen on, he was surprised to see one of the tabs was open to a website about adoption laws in Massachusetts. Which wasn’t that strange. After all, they’d been through the process when they’d gotten married and Alec had legally become Skyler’s second parent. But he also noticed a tab with nursery ideas, and another with surrogacy laws pulled up. So he’d waited patiently til that night, when Alec had been home for a few hours and had a chance to relax, and when Sky was in bed, to bring up the subject. “I borrowed your laptop this afternoon” he said, as they were curled up together on the couch watching TV. His head was resting on his husband’s shoulder but as he spoke, he moved to get a good look at Alec’s face. “Was there any particular reason you were looking up ideas for a nursery?” Sky was almost 7 now, well past the nursery age. And if Beck was honest, he missed having a baby in the house. Those first few years, when he’d been alone except for the help of his parents and his sister, had been rough. But now that he had Alec, it was easier. He had someone to share every milestone with, someone who loved Sky as his own and who was willing to share the heavy lifting with Beck. And as Beck had looked at the information on his husband’s laptop, he realized how much he would have loved to have shared those first few years with Alec.