Page 69 of Fight for Me

The sound of the cane gets closer, before I hear the sliding door open, and Brody joins me on the terrace.

“Jen! What happened?” He walks closer and immediately pulls me up from the boards to carry me back inside, his walking stick dropping to the floor in the process.

“Your leg,” I mutter worriedly, as Brody steps quickly through the door.

“Mommy?” an uncertain voice reaches me from somewhere below.

I open my mouth to respond, but Brody beats me to it. “Mommy is fine, little man. Go upstairs and play, all right? Just remember to hold on to that banister as you climb the stairs.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Henry calls, the thumping of his little feet confirming he’s doing just that.

I’m being gently placed on the couch, before Brody kneels in front of me and grabs my hand to get a closer look.

“What the hell happened? Why did you go out there? I told you it’s not safe for you or Henry to go to the terrace just yet,” Brody says, his eyebrows pulled together in worry.

“I...” I swallow hard, avoiding his eyes. “I thought you’re at work. I got up to get Henry, and he wasn’t there. The floor was cold, and I don’t know. I just started to panic, and went out to look for him. I wasn’t careful, I...”

“Hey, Jen, baby.” When I still don’t look at him, he touches my face and turns it so that I can’t evade his gaze. “I’m sorry. The heating broke down during the night. And there was no hot water. You were sleeping, and I wanted to avoid waking you since you were having such a rough time lately with this little one.” He points to my slightly rounded stomach, and smiles tenderly before sobering. “I called the guys at work that I will be in later, and went out to buy some parts I needed. Henry came with me, so he wouldn’t be running around on his own as you rest. I honestly thought you wouldn’t even know we were gone. I’m sorry it scared you.”

“Oh my God,” I whisper and look down in shame before the tears come unwillingly. “I’m losing my goddamn mind, Brody. I’m so fucked up.”

“Sweetheart, no.” Brody sits next to me and takes me into his arms, which, of course, makes me cry harder. “You’re fine. We’re all fine.”

“I’m so tired of being like this. I mean... It’s been a year since I almost lost you. Both of you. I’m scared this life we’re building here is going to be taken away from us in a blink of an eye.”

“Jen, I wholeheartedly understand. But you need to realize that your father is gone. There’s no imminent danger lurking around anymore. We survived him, we can survive everything else life throws at us, and we’ll do it together. Came all this way, didn’t we?” Brody smiles warmly and squeezes my shoulder, before he gets up and helps me to my feet. “Now, let’s clean that wound.”

Before he can lead me to the bathroom, I tug on his sleeve when I notice his limp. “Wait, your cane. It stayed outside.”

Brody waves his hand dismissively. “I’ll go get it later. It’s not like I can’t walk.”

We go in, and Brody grabs my hips to put me on the bathroom counter next to the sink, where, I’m pretty sure, we’ve made the new addition growing in my stomach a few months back.

My thoughts must have been written on my face because Brody chuckles with a teasing gleam in his eyes. “Taking a walk down the memory lane?”

When my face heats, and I roll my eyes, he smirks, “I’ll take that as a yes. Okay, what do we have here?”

Brody clears the cut on my palm and puts on a bandage on it, after which he gives me a kiss. “Do you remember what you said to me when I was bleeding out to death?”

“Don’t you fucking die on me?” I ask humorlessly.

One corner of Brody’s lips twitches before he shakes his head. “No, smart ass. You told me to not let go. You asked me to fight for you. And I did. Always.” He moves closer, so our foreheads touch. “I’m going to fight for you until my last dying breath, Jen.” He promises with conviction, and my eyes once again fill up with tears.

Those goddamn pregnancy hormones. And that goddamn beautiful, awesome, incredible, out of this world man.

“God damn you, Damon Brody. You made me cry again,” I grumble, and give him a peck on the cheek. “But I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart,” he murmurs, then straightens and helps me down. “Now, I would love to recreate some of those fond memories right now, but I’m sure Henry will be searching for you soon, and I do need to fix that heater.”

I grin and move past him to open the door, just as our son screams from upstairs, “Mommy!”

We both start laughing, and I yell back, “I’m coming, Henry!”

“You’ll be coming tonight, all right,” Brody says quietly, and then dodges my hand as I try to swipe at him playfully. He limps out of the room to retrieve his cane from the terrace, and I go to the staircase.

Just when I put my foot on the first step, the doorbell rings.

“Will you get that?” Brody calls.

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