Chapter 39
thirty-nine
tasha
The house felt different when we walked through the front door—lighter somehow, as if the weight of Sarah's threat had been physically lifted from the walls. Nate set his keys down with the same careful precision he brought to everything, but his hands were shaking slightly.
"I can't believe it's over," he said, leaning against the kitchen counter like he needed the support. "I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"It's over," I said firmly, moving to stand in front of him. "Sarah's gone. The legal papers are sealed. She can't touch us."
He nodded, but I could see the shell shock in his eyes. The morning had been a whirlwind of terror and triumph, and now, in the quiet of our home, the reality was finally sinking in.
"A Navy Cross," I said softly, reaching up to touch his face. "You never told me."
His cheeks flushed, and he looked away. "It wasn't important."
"Not important?" I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Nate, you're a genuine war hero. You saved lives under enemy fire. You—"
"I did my job," he interrupted, his voice tight. "That's all. Just... doing what I was trained to do."
And there it was—the essence of Nathan Crawford.
A man who'd run through gunfire to save Marines and Iraqi civilians, who'd raised an incredible daughter alone for eleven years, who'd been willing to walk into that courtroom with nothing but his love for Paige to defend himself.
And to him, it was all just doing what needed to be done.
"You're extraordinary," I whispered. "Do you know that? You're the most extraordinary man I've ever known."
Something shifted in his expression then, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "I love you," he said simply. "I love you so much, Tasha. When I thought I might lose Paige, when I thought Sarah might take her away from us—"
"She didn't," I said, stepping closer until I was pressed against him. "She can't. We're safe. All of us."
His hands found my waist, pulling me closer. "All of us," he repeated, and his eyes dropped to my still-flat stomach. "We're really having a baby."
"We're really having a baby." I covered his hands with mine. "Are you happy? I know this wasn't planned, and with everything that just happened—"
"Happy?" He laughed, and this time there was pure joy in the sound. "Tasha, I'm terrified and thrilled and completely overwhelmed. But yes, I'm happy. God, I'm so happy."
He kissed me then, soft and reverent, his hands cradling my face like I was something precious. When we broke apart, he rested his forehead against mine.
"I was so scared today," he admitted quietly. "Not just about losing Paige, but about losing you too. About losing this family we've built."
"You didn't lose us. You won't lose us." I took his hand, guiding it to my stomach. "This baby is going to grow up knowing they're wanted, knowing they're safe, knowing their father would do anything to protect them. Just like Paige."
His eyes filled with tears. "What if I'm not good enough? What if I can't give them everything they need?"
"Stop." I silenced him with another kiss. "You gave Paige everything she needed. You turned yourself into exactly the father she deserved. You'll do the same for this baby."
"We will," he corrected softly. "We'll do it together."
The word hung between us, heavy with promise and possibility. Together. A real family, chosen and fought for and earned through fire.
"I need you," I whispered against his lips. "I need to feel that we're real, that we're here, that we made it through."
His response was immediate and fervent. He lifted me easily, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carried me toward the bedroom. Every step felt like a celebration, like claiming something that was ours by right.
In his room—our room—he set me down with infinite care, his hands trembling slightly as he reached for the buttons of my blouse.
"Are you sure?" he asked, his eyes searching mine. "After today, if you need—"
"I need you," I repeated, covering his hands with mine. "I need this. I need us. I need to know I belong to you, and that you belong to me."
We undressed each other slowly, reverently, mapping the familiar territory of each other's bodies with new understanding. This was the man who'd almost lost everything to protect his daughter. This was the woman carrying his child. This was love tested by fire and emerged stronger.
When he laid me back on the bed, his touch was worship, his kisses prayers of gratitude and relief. Every caress spoke of how close we'd come to losing this, how precious it was to have survived intact.
I breathed him in deeply, savoring the familiar warmth and scent that had become my home. His fingers trailed across my skin, each touch a gentle affirmation, chasing away lingering fears, anchoring me firmly in this moment of absolute safety and love.
His hand settled carefully over my stomach as he kissed me, reverent and gentle. "You’re giving me another miracle," he whispered. "I’ll spend every day proving I deserve it."
“I love you so much, Nathan,” I whispered back, so caught up in emotion I was barely able to find my voice.
"I love you," he murmured against my neck, his voice thick with emotion. "I love you and Paige and this baby we're making. You're my whole world, Tasha."
I arched beneath him, pulling him closer, needing to feel every inch of him against me. "Show me," I whispered. "Show me we're real."
And he did. With hands that had saved lives in wartime and packed school lunches with surgical precision. With the same quiet intensity he brought to everything that mattered to him. With love that had been tested in a courtroom and emerged unbreakable.
He moved slowly above me, careful and deliberate, and when he joined us together, it felt like coming home.
We moved gently at first, savoring each second, each brush of skin against skin, each whispered endearment, each tremble of pleasure.
The rhythm built gradually, steadily, drawing us deeper into a profound intimacy neither of us had ever fully known before.
"Nathan," I breathed, wrapping myself tightly around him, needing him closer still. "Please, never let go."
His lips brushed mine tenderly, urgently. "Never."
Together, we climbed higher, every movement filled with aching sweetness and fierce determination. When we fell over the edge, we fell together, my cry mingling with his whispered promises, our hearts beating in perfect sync.
Afterward, tangled together in our quiet sanctuary, Nate’s fingers traced slow patterns down my spine, his heartbeat steady beneath my ear. For the first time in months—maybe ever—peace enveloped us fully, a profound sense of completeness filling me.
I'd never imagined happiness could feel so complete.
"When will we tell Paige?" he asked softly.
"Tomorrow, when we pick her up from Maya's. She'll be so excited." I smiled against his skin. "She's going to be an amazing big sister."
"Paige is going to lose her mind," Nate chuckled softly, fingertips tracing lazy circles on my shoulder. "She’s probably going to start planning the nursery tomorrow."
I laughed quietly against his chest. "You realize we’re never going to hear the end of her baby name ideas."
"Good," he murmured warmly. "I can't wait.”
“Me either,” I agreed, smiling.
“You know she's going to be protective," he said with a chuckle. "God help anyone who tries to mess with her baby brother or sister."
"She gets that from you."
"She gets that from us," he corrected, and the pride in his voice made my heart flutter. "She's ours, Tasha. Really ours."
I lifted my head to look at him, seeing the wonder in his eyes, the disbelief that this was really his life. "What are you thinking about?"
"Everything," he said simply. "A year ago, I was just a single dad trying to get through each day. Now I have you, and Paige loves you, and we're having a baby together. Sometimes I can't believe this is real."
"It's real," I assured him, pressing a kiss to his chest. "We're real. This family is real."
"Our family," he repeated, like he was testing the words. "I like how that sounds."
As the afternoon faded into evening, we stayed wrapped around each other, making plans for the future. Names for the baby. How to rearrange the house. Whether Paige would want to help decorate the nursery.
Normal things. Beautiful, ordinary things that a few hours ago we'd thought we might never get to experience.
When we finally dozed off, it was with Nate's hand resting protectively over my stomach and my fingers intertwined with his. Two people who'd found each other in the chaos of an emergency room, who'd built something beautiful from the wreckage of their pasts.
Tomorrow we'd pick up Paige and tell her she was going to be a big sister. Tomorrow, we'd start planning for the arrival of our baby. Tomorrow, we'd begin the next chapter of our story.
But tonight, we were exactly where we belonged.
Home, safe, and completely, perfectly whole.