Nick was beside himself when he heard what had happened and as soon as he was discharged from the hospital, made arrangements to start his honorable discharge from service. I didn’t ask him to do it. To be honest though… I think that Zach did.
Since Nick had become a medic, his and Zach’s duties didn’t align as much as they had before, so Zach was home on leave when Nick got hurt. My brother was with me when I got the call. He was the one who drove me to the hospital. He was the one who helped me stay strong through the whole terrifying ordeal.
We had a long talk while I was in recovery. He explained about what had happened when I myself was born, how are dad had told Zach that he had to take care of me while our mom was in recovery. I had known all of this, but I don’t think I truly understood how profoundly it could affect a person until I was in the same situation, albeit from a different perspective.
This was one of the times that I was grateful for Zach’s over protectiveness.
Once Nick was healed up and discharged, he came home to help me with the babies. He actually stayed home for a little while, as I was trying to manage two newborns and a new business all at the same time—not an easy feat! But once we had a rhythm established, Nick needed something to do. That’s when he opened a pharmacy.
It’s a good fit for him. He’s still in the medical field, something that he’s grown so passionate about, but he has more flexibility in his schedule and isn’t in danger all of the time. Zach has taken on a far less risky role in the Air Force as well: He’s an instructor at the same training camp that he and Nick went to when they were fresh out of high school.
Having my family and loved ones near me is wonderful, especially since the birth of our third child. I’m happy, and I know that Nick is too.
He has to say my name a few times before I realize that I’ve been staring at him and daydreaming. “Claire!”
“Hmm, yeah?”
“What’s going on with you?” He chuckles and walks over to give me a hug.
“I was just thinking about how happy I am,” I say and sling my arms around his neck. He’s let his hair grow a little bit from the sharp, military crisp cut that was required. It’s not long by any means, just a little ruffled. Just enough for me to run my fingers through.
“Oh yeah? Well, you know that the kids aren’t home… and I know something that is bound to make you even happier,” he says. He looks so proud of that cheesy line that I can’t help but laugh. Mouth open in mock indignation, Nick scoops me up and before I know it he’s plopped me onto the dining room table.
“No, we eat here!” Is my weak protest. It’s more a token show of resistance than anything. We’ve had sex in far more inappropriate places than the dining room table in our own home. Nick is adventurous and I’m all too happy to go along with his plans.
Nick kisses the side of my neck before stepping back. “I know. Now, take your clothes off and don’t move, I’ll be right back.” With that, he darts into the kitchen.
I really don’t have any idea what it is that he’s planning, but I take my clothes off anyways. I’m already wet and it’s kind of embarrassing how easy that was. The truth is, I’m easy for Nick. He’ll just look at me and I’ll want him. Doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing. There are times that I think he does it on purpose.
I’m just laying back on the smooth table, relishing the feel of the cool hardwood on my back when Nick comes in. He must’ve stripped in the kitchen because all he’s wearing are a pair of boxers that leave little to the imagination, especially given the way that they’re tented. He gives me a smug smile. “You ready?”
Without knowing what he’s asking me to be ready for, I just smile and give him a nod. As he approaches the table, I see that Nick has a bottle of something in his hand. Before I can ask what it is, he’s kissing me, tongue insistent against my mouth.
Just as I’m about to wrap a leg around his waist and pull him close, something cool drips on to the skin of my stomach. After the birth of our twins, my stomach never really bounced back to the smooth firmness is once was, no matter how much I worked out. Following the birth of our younger son, I learned to accept my body’s new version of normal.
Nick never said anything negative about my new body, no matter how much I cried or complained. One day towards the end of my second pregnancy, he had simply sat me down and told me that he loved me very much and that included my body, in all of its many forms. That ended with more tears, but they were happy tears that time.
Now, Nick is drizzling honey across the soft layer of my stomach and lapping it off with quick flicks of his tongue that I know foreshadow what he plans to do to other parts of me later. When he smears honey across my breasts and lightly nips at the delicate skin there, I can hardly contain a cry of pleasure.
“You can be as loud as you want… remember, it’s just us…” Nick tells mumbles against my skin and works his way back down. Moving far too slowly in my opinion, he finally settles between my thighs and lays his mouth against my damp slit.
By the time he’s coaxed me through an orgasm, I’m a whimpering mess. Nick gathers me in his arms and I cuddle into his neck, still slightly sticky from the honey. As he carries me to our bedroom to continue the afternoon’s activities, I know that I’ve got my happily ever after. It’s well deserved after everything that the both of us have went through, what with Lenny and the military. I know that I’ll always be safe in Nick’s arms, for many years to come.
~The End~