Page 70 of Revived

“So much for the romance,” he quipped under his breath. I ignored him.

“Will you marry me, and take us both as your family from now until forever?”

“That’s the stupidest question I’ve ever heard,” Melanie managed to get out in between sobs that started. She took the last step off the stairs and then squatted down so that our faces were even. “We’ve been a family all along,” she told me. “But yes, I will marry you and remain yours, forever.”

“That’s all I ever wanted,” I managed to get out as I slipped the antique cut diamond ring onto her finger.

“All right, so are we headed to Vegas to make it official tonight, or what?” Chevy teased. Though, his idea had some merit.

“Don’t even think about it, Mister. We’re going to have a real wedding, with our friends there as witnesses because this is the one that I want to remember forever.”

“I never knew how much I’d let myself just die inside until you two came into my life. Thank you, both,” I told them. “I’ve been revived, and you’re the reason.”

“The Reason, huh?” Mel teased, reminding me about how I once sang that song to her as an apology for being an asshole. Thank fuck she heard me.

Epilogue

Two years later

“Just breathe,” I coached. Then another contraction hit me, and it was all I could do to stay upright. That time, Gabe noticed.

“Sweetheart, you have something going on over there?”

“I’m fine,” I tried to say, though the fact that it came out through gritted teeth probably made my words less convincing than the fact that I’d used the two most hated words a woman can use with a man.

“You don’t look fine,” he told me as he moved closer and put a hand on my belly. “Jesus Mel, that thing is rock hard.”

“What’s going on?” Chevy asked as he ran back in the room with the ice chips the attending nurse had failed to bring earlier.

“Oh, not much. Mel’s been helping your girl through her contractions while trying to hide her own,” Gabe told him in a rather nonchalant way.

“What?” Chevy shrieked. “No fucking way.”

“Watch your mouth, I don’t want the baby’s first word to be the f-bomb,” the other woman in the room called out.

Chevy rolled his eyes at that. “I think he’s a way off from his first word, so no worries there,” our son snipped before turning to me. “I can’t believe my little sister is going to be born the same day as my son,” he mentioned, awed.

“Maybe,” I told him before narrowing my eyes. “Watch how you talk to her too, Son!” I scolded as I pointed a finger in the direction of the woman who was about to give birth to his child. “You two might not be getting along right now, but she’s still the mother of your child, and she’s…” I stopped mid-lecture because the pain wrapping around my midsection was breath-taking, and not in the pleasant way. In that way that something literally steals your breath and breaks your spirit. Once it eased off some, I went right back to it. “…In labor right now, about to deliver your child. The least you can do is be respectful. Don’t make me come over there and…” Damn. Another contraction hit and that was it. Gabe was yelling out the door for someone to come help.

When the doctor came back in, he took one look at all of us and sighed, then quietly started barking orders to the nurse who was standing there gaping at us. “You’re both dad,” he said while pointing to me and talking to Gabe, “and grandfather?” His finger then moved to point at the other pregnant girl in the room along with Gabe’s son.

“Yeah,” Gabe answered.

“We’re going to make this easy on all of you, if you’re okay with it,” he told us just as the door opened and another birthing bed was being wheeled in.

“Yes, perfect,” I muttered.

“What’s perfect?” Gabe asked.

“We can both deliver in here, that way you two idiots aren’t…” and BAM! Another contraction stole my words. The bed was set up, locked in place, and I was quickly helped into it while others scurried around, setting up the monitors that I needed to be hooked up to. Once that was done, Gabe was by my side, letting me squeeze his hand.

“I’m just going to check you out really quick and see where you’re at,” the doctor informed me. I just waved him on because truthfully, I didn’t care who looked at that point.

Gabe gaped at me and then glanced over at Chevy as he wiped sweat from the woman’s brows. We had only met her hours before, after our son managed to hide something he’d known was happening for months. I still didn’t know the woman’s name, or how any of this came to be, but that was a story our son would be filling us in on soon enough. Once we could both get these babies delivered.

“Melanie,” the doctor called out to get my attention.

“Yeah?” I panted the word out.

---