He cleared his throat. “If anything happened because of him…” He shook his head as he trailed off.
I intertwined our fingers. “Then we’ll deal.”
“Fuck. I don’t want to deal,” he growled. “Not about my child. I want everything to be okay.”
And God, I wanted that too, but life didn’t always work like that.
But, then again, as I stared down at the nervous man I didn’t deserve but was selfishly going to keep for the rest of my life, I realized that, sometimes, it did.
We sat in silence until the doctor came back in with an ultrasound machine and a nurse.
I giggled at Heath’s appalled face as the doctor prepared the internal ultrasound wand.
And then, minutes later, we both gasped as a whooshing sound flooded the room. Tears pricked my lids as I witnessed my rock, big, tough Heath Light’s eyes become watery too.
“Is it okay?” he asked urgently.
The doctor kept his eyes on the screen but smiled. “It’s got a strong heartbeat.”
I laughed, and the tears finally escaped.
Heath rocked in his chair, muttering, “Oh Jesus.”
I laughed even louder and squeezed his hand.
The doctor finished up and then turned to face us both. “I’m going to send you over to ultrasound for a full workup, but as far as I can tell, everything looks good. I’d put you at around nine weeks, but they can give you a better estimate on your due date over there.”
“Nine weeks?” Heath exclaimed then raked a hand through his hair. “Oh Jesus.”
I laughed again.
“I’ll give you two a minute alone. I’ll be back shortly to finish my exam on the rest of your injuries.”
“That’d be great. Thanks,” I said, sitting up and pulling the blanket over my lower half.
Heath remained frozen at my side. His face filled with so many emotions that it was almost unreadable.
“You have to talk to me, honey.”
“How the hell am I going to ever relax with you pregnant? And, if it’s another girl… Oh Jesus.”
“Should I chase down the doctor and see if he’ll give you that shot of sedative?” I teased weakly.
He grunted something that sounded like a laugh, but he went back to staring off into space.
I decided to take a move from his playbook. It had always worked so well for me.
“What do you need, Heath?”
His gaze bounced to me, and a familiar grin pulled at the side of his mouth as he replied, “You.”
“Then get over here and take it.” I smiled, lifting the sheet in invitation.
It was an offer he did not refuse. His large frame barely fit in the small bed, but he wound his arms around me and held me to his chest.
“You’re having my baby,” he murmured reverently against my temple.
I was.
It was the most perfect moment of my entire life.
Well…almost.
There was a short knock at the door before it swung open and our girl came running in.
“Mama!”
“Hey, sweetie,” I choked.
Heath sat up and scooped her up off the floor, placing her in my arms before dragging us both back down to the cramped bed.
My body was aching. I had a little girl’s knee in my ribs and my head resting awkwardly on Heath’s elbow.
But, on the flipside, I was alive. Free. My little girl was safe in my arms, a baby safe in my stomach, and the man who had made it all possible holding me safe in his arms.
That was the most perfect moment of my entire life.
Well…almost.
“Heaf, move! You too big!” Tessa complained, squirming between us.
“Son of a…” Heath grunted as her foot caught him in the balls.
I stifled a laugh as I lifted my head to see over Tessa. “You okay, honey?”
He shook his head and coughed out, “Never been better.”
And, even as he writhed in pain, I knew he was telling the truth.
“Wake up, baby,” I murmured, sweeping her long, blond hair off her face.
We were still up at the hospital, and even though a night had passed since I’d seen her running out of Noir’s house, my pulse had yet to return to normal. I wasn’t sure it ever would.
I hadn’t thought that anything could ever be more terrifying than finding Elisabeth on the bathroom floor after Noir had put a bullet in her Rubicon vest.
But, when I’d found out she was missing and once again in the hands of a lunatic, a terror rooted so deep inside me that I knew I’d been permanently changed.
There was no recovering from something like that.
But all I could do was make sure she did.
When we’d gotten to the hospital, Elisabeth had been a wreck—understandably so. After two hours of me trying to comfort her, Clare, Heath, and Tessa had stopped by. They’d hugged and cried as it seemed Elisabeth and Clare did all too often when they were together. But, within minutes, as Tessa sat in her lap, pressing buttons on the hospital bed, while Clare sat close beside them, I saw Elisabeth smile.
And, finally, the pressure in my chest started to ease.
I’d died a thousand deaths over the last few months.