“For someone that hasn’t had a permanent place in years, you’ve accumulated a lot of junk,” Reagan said as she looked around at the sheers amount of organized boxes that were lined throughout that storage room.
Day after day, she had woken up to the sight of him next to her, sometimes asleep, other times awake, his sleepy gaze on her. In that time, she had stopped worrying that one morning she would wake up and he would be gone.
If he did leave for longer than twenty-four hours—and that had happened on a few occasions—he let her know beforehand.
For good or bad, he was there with her, and she couldn’t imagine it any other way.
Nevertheless, that didn’t mean she had been ready for the clusterfuck of unpacking that awaited them. He had long since already moved himself in, yet he kept all of his possessions in one of seventeen warehouses he kept around the city.
Some were full of weapons, she remembered him saying once, others filled with other such things that she didn’t really want to think about considering he said it was ‘need to know.’
Except one, one he’d said was filled with more personal belongings—things he had collected over his travels, and even a few mementos from his life before becoming a mercenary. It was the suitcase, the same one he had brought along with his to New York City that first time.
He had given her everything he possibly could. His name, his memories, his experiences, and everything else, even if it was hard to hear.
And now, there was just this one final step…one simple task before it was done and he was fully integrated into her life.
“Not junk, babe,” Niklaus said as he walked past, touching a few of the boxes along the way, as if it reminded him as to what was inside each one.
“Right, you won’t be saying that when we have to go through all of this later—never mind the number of trips it’s going to take to get this all back to our place.”
“Are you always this moody?”
“Only after I find out I’m pregnant.”
Whatever shuffling he had been doing before silenced as her words sunk in. She smiled to herself, glad that she had done it this way instead of making a big production out of it.
Something to share just between the two of them, she couldn’t deny the small thrill that shot through her at his surprise.
Turning to face him, she didn’t know what to expect—happiness, anger, confusion—but the expression on his face was far better than she could have hoped.
Wonderment.
He looked excited, fearful even, but the sight of his face so open made her smile, even as she waited for him to respond.
“You’re pregnant,” he said evenly, his voice not shaking in the slightest, but the words were whispered like he was too afraid to really say them any louder.
Reagan nodded, her hand going to her stomach even though she wasn’t close to showing. “Eight weeks tomorrow.”
She had only found out a mere week ago when she had gone to the doctor after feeling like she didn’t want to eat anything for fear of throwing up. But ever since she had found out that warning, she had wondered how best to tell Niklaus.
It wasn’t like they had ever talked about having children, and while Niklaus doted on Sacha, that still didn’t mean he was ready to be a father.
But with one look at him now, she didn’t know why she had waited this long.
“There’s no point in moving this shit in,” Niklaus said looking around. “We’re going to need a bigger place.”
“Niklaus—”
“We can stay in Hell’s Kitchen if you want, or we can leave the city. Like I said, whatever you want.”
“Niklaus!” Reagan said his name again on a laugh, finally grabbing his attention. “You’re not upset then?”
He tugged her into his arms, kissing her forehead a second before he gave her a kiss that took her breath away. “Of course not,” he murmured against her lips. “Why would I be upset?”
“Because it may be too soon and—”
“Nothing could have made me happier than you telling me you loved me, but this…this tops that.”
“So you’re happy?” Reagan asked once more, smiling as she thought of what he would say next.
“Thrilled.”
“So you’ll still be happy even when I tell you there are two?”
It was only a moment of suspended time before his lips were splitting into the biggest of grins and he laughed that loud, glorious laugh of his.
It was a happy sound.
And Reagan was glad she could make him happy.
CODA
Episode 1
“Red has arrived, sir,” Dominic Mantolo said, the sharpness of his accent making his words shorter and crisper. Always the professional, he didn’t linger after he delivered his message, drifting back into the shadows where he could hear, but not be seen.
If there was one man who knew Uilleam’s secrets, it was Dominic.
However, unlike others whose loyalty to Uilleam had been bought, Dominic’s had come after years together. The man had seen him at his lowest point, and now was seeing him at the precipice of something much greater. No, he wasn’t at his highest, not yet.