Epilogue Hannah
Epilogue
Hannah
Three and a half years later
“Mama! Mama!” my one-and-a-half-year-old toddler screeches with excitement as he wraps his arms around my leg.
“Mama, I’s wanna pway dwummies!” Louie’s little chubby hands tug on the hem of my white sundress, and I smile down at him as I carefully remove the wooden spoon from the big pot of chili Lovie helped me make and back the two of us safely away from the stove.
I reach down to pull him into my arms, brushing my nose against his and giving him a big ol’ kiss to his cheek.
He giggles and rains sloppy kisses on my face.
“You want me to get you a pot and a spoon, Louie?” I ask when his adorable kiss assault comes to an end.
He nods excitedly, and I walk over to the cabinet to pull out a big metal pot from one of the drawers beside the fridge.
A wooden spoon is next, out of one of the drawers by the sink, and once I have Louie’s “drum set” gathered, I walk him over to a spot beside the big dining table and get him settled on the floor.
He squeals in excitement and doesn’t waste any time banging the wooden spoon on the metal pot.
It’s loud, but it doesn’t rise above the current episode of NCIS that’s playing on the television.
I walk over to the living room, and Lovie smiles at me from her favorite chair, her hands busy knitting something.
And when I walk over to the couch, my mother’s eyes meet mine. “I think she’s sleeping, Ziva,” she whispers, nodding toward the baby girl sleeping on her chest.
“You want me to take Tali from you?” I ask, and she shakes her head gently.
“She’s cozy, Ziva. I’ll keep her here.”
I smile and reach out to rub a gentle hand over my six-month-old daughter’s dark hair before heading back into the kitchen.
Louie grins a big toothy smile in my direction as I pass him, his little hands still busy with his drum.
But when I’m back at the stove and taking a quick taste of the chili, I look out toward the scene in front of me and my heart doubles in size inside my chest.
Over three years ago, I was a down-and-out virgin trying to make ends meet and take care of my mother at the same time.
I needed a job, and I found myself working a phone sex hotline, and my first caller was Detective Dominic Dunn from the Metro Nashville Police Department, wanting to ask me questions about a homicide.
And now I’m happily married to that handsome detective and we have two adorable kids together.
A little boy named Louie, whom we named after Dom’s grandfather.
A man who has been such a blessing in my and my mother’s lives.
He’s built a close friendship with my mother, often taking her out on little day trips for lunch or a coffee.
Her Alzheimer’s makes it impossible for her to really remember him, but the way he makes her feel is undeniable, even to her mind.
And we named our baby girl for my mother. But not in the way most people would think. She’s named not Sherry but Tali, because in my mother’s nearly constant alternate reality of NCIS, Tony and Ziva’s daughter is named Tali.
My phone vibrates on the counter, and I snag it to check the screen.
Dom: Baby, I’ll be home in about thirty minutes. Is my family there yet?
Me: Not yet. But food’s just about ready.
Dom: Are your grades posted yet?
Me: Nope. But I’ve certainly checked for them a hundred times. LOL.
Two years ago, after Dom and I got married, I went back to college, determined to finish my bachelor’s degree so I can have a career I’m passionate about. A career that revolves around nutrition, which is something I’ve seen do miraculous things for my mother firsthand.
I click out of our text conversation and refresh my MTSU app to see if any of my professors have posted grades yet. Still nothing. Ugh.
Dom: You’re gonna pass, Han. Don’t you worry.
Me: I hope so.
Dom: You Will. Love you. Be home shortly.
Me: Love you too. Drive safe.
Dominic
The instant Shane and I walk in through the front door, my ears are hit with the sounds of a house filled with all the people I love most in this world, mixed with whatever episode Sherry is watching in the living room.
When I walk up the stairs, I see all my favorite faces. My mom and dad; my sister, Dakota; my grandfather; and my uncle Patrick all sitting at the big dining room table in the center of the house.
Lovie and Sherry are in the living room.
And my beautiful wife, looking insanely sexy in a white sundress with our smiley daughter, Tali, on her hip.
“Dada!” Louie exclaims and rushes toward me like a little linebacker. He barrels into my legs, and I don’t hesitate to pick him up and hug him tightly.
“Hey, little man,” I say and press a few kisses to his cheeks as I hug him to my chest.
He giggles wildly when I sneak a few tickles against his belly.
“Uncie Shane!” he cheers when he spots my partner and best friend standing beside me.
Shane doesn’t hesitate to take Louie into his arms and swing him around.
“Weeee!” Louie exclaims. “Fasta! Fasta!”
I make a beeline for the kitchen, where Hannah is currently trying to set some fresh bread on a plate with Tali’s little fingers grabbing for anything and everything in her vicinity.
“My two favorite girls,” I greet them before pressing a soft kiss to my wife’s lips.
Tali reaches up and touches her hand to my face, and I take her out of Hannah’s arms to kiss her sweet little face. My daughter looks so much like her beautiful mother it’s not even funny. Same pretty hair, same gorgeous eyes—Tali is Hannah’s mini-me.
And our Louie certainly took the majority of his genes from my handsome end of the gene pool.
“Here, let me get that,” my mom says as she stands up to take the plate of bread from Hannah’s hands. Dakota and Lovie join in, carrying the rest of the meal Hannah put together for today’s family dinner onto the table.
But when Hannah starts to head toward the table, I reach out and grab her hip, pulling her back toward me. “Any word?” I ask, and the most breathtaking smile takes shape on her lips.
“I passed,” she answers.
“You passed, or you kicked serious ass and kept that 4.0 you’ve been striving for?”
She waggles her brows. “What do you think, cowboy?”
“I think my woman is smart as a whip and aced her exams.”
She stands on her tippy-toes to press a kiss to my lips. “And you’d be right.”
“Damn, baby, way to go. I’m so proud of you.”
“And you know what?” she responds with a little wink. “I’m proud of me too.”
I adjust Tali onto my other hip, and Hannah leans forward to press a kiss to her smiling face.
“Just think, Han: In six months’ time, you’ll have that degree.”
“I don’t know about that . . .” She scrunches up her nose and digs her teeth into her bottom lip.
“What?” I question, confused over her expression. “What’s that look mean?”
“Well . . .” She pauses and glances around the room as if she’s afraid to tell me something.
“Hannah?”
“You know how you keep knocking me up and that keeps kind of delaying me finishing my degree?”
“Hannah.” I blink one hundred times. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?”
And she just smiles at me, her eyes amused and excited and even a little emotional as she nods. “I’m pregnant, Dom.”
Hannah’s pregnant? My mind buffers. We’re going to have another baby?
“Holy shit,” I mutter, and then I laugh and pull Hannah toward me with my free arm, hugging both her and Tali tightly. “Holy shit, Hannah! We’re going to have another baby!”
“What?” Dakota yells from the dining table. “Did you just say you’re having another baby?”
Shane and Lovie and the rest of my family join in, tossing surprised questions our way.
And Sherry just sits there, beside my grandfather, smiling at us.
“I always knew Tony and Ziva would have a bunch of kids together. They’re just meant to be.”
“It’s true?” my mother asks again, and Hannah smiles.
“It’s true,” my beautiful wife says, her hand even moving to her belly. “Dom and I are going to have another baby.”
The room erupts into cheers and hugs and well-wishes, and I can’t keep my eyes off my Hannah.
My beautiful, gorgeous, perfect Hannah.
By the time the room is settled down, and everyone is sitting at the table eating, one important thing pops into my mind, and I reach out to grab Hannah’s attention by squeezing her thigh.
She looks at me curiously.
“I love your mom, Han, but I refuse to name our baby Gibbs or Ducky.”
My wife bursts into laughter, and my heart soars like a kite in the sky.
And as I look around the room, I’m reminded of how lucky I am.
Talk about a beautiful life.