The call came in around 3:00 PM. Wilson had been in the middle of reviewing patient charts when his phone buzzed on the desk. The hospital number. He picked it up, distracted at first, until the voice on the other end said her name. There'd been an accident. Not critical, but serious enough that the paramedics had brought her straight to Princeton-Plainsboro. Wilson stood up so fast he knocked over his coffee. He was already out the door before the nurse finished explaining.

The ER was loud, busy, and full of that sharp, sterile smell he'd long stopped noticing. He spotted her on one of the gurneys, already hooked up to IVs, a bruise blooming along her temple. One of the nurses was cleaning a cut on her arm. Wilson's stomach dropped. His hands clenched as he walked up, trying not to let his panic show. She was conscious. That was something. The nurse greeted him with a nod, recognizing him immediately.

"What happened?" he asked, voice tight as he looked from the nurse to the chart at the end of the bed.

"Single car collision," she explained. "Skid marks suggest she swerved. Probably to avoid something on the road. Airbag deployed, seatbelt did its job. CT looks clear for now, but we'll keep monitoring for concussion symptoms." She hesitated. "There's one other thing. We ran a standard blood panel... and her HCG levels are elevated."

Wilson blinked. The words didn't register at first. Then they sank in like a stone.

"What are you saying?" he asked, his voice quieter now, but more pointed.

"She's pregnant," the nurse said. "Roughly twelve weeks, based on levels and follow-up imaging. She may not have known. No signs of trauma to the fetus, but OB will need to monitor that closely over the next few days."

Wilson stared at her, the background noise of the ER suddenly muffled, distant. Pregnant? Twelve weeks? That couldn't be right. They would've known, she would've said something. Unless she hadn't known either. He rubbed his face with one hand, stepping back as the nurse excused herself.

He looked at her again, lying there, bruised and bandaged, the curve of her body unchanged, her face still pale but peaceful now under the sedative they'd given her. His mind was racing, trying to piece together what this meant, how this happened, how he hadn't noticed anything was different. And now, here it was. Out of nowhere. A car accident revealing something life-changing.

When the OB team arrived, Wilson pulled one of them aside.

"You're sure?" he asked, needing to hear it from someone else.

"Very sure," the doctor confirmed. "We did an ultrasound to be certain. Everything looks normal for this stage. No internal bleeding, no signs of miscarriage. But we'll monitor closely for the next 24 to 48 hours."

Wilson nodded slowly, hands in his pockets. He sat down in the chair next to the bed, eyes never leaving her. He didn't say anything for a long time. Just sat there, letting the information settle. Eventually, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, voice barely above a whisper.

"You're pregnant," he said, not to anyone in particular, just the air, the space between them, maybe to himself. "We're going to have a baby..."

He let out a breath that trembled at the end, part disbelief, part something else, something softer. Something he hadn't felt in a long time.