Epilogue
Claire
Four months later...
The sunlight in our loft is different now. Softer. Warmer. Like even the universe has decided I deserve gentler mornings.
I’m on the balcony, curled on a throw blanket, sketchbook in my lap, my hair in a loose braid Erik loves to tug on playfully. I can hear him in the kitchen, grumbling affectionately at the espresso machine that never does what he wants unless I push the buttons.
Somehow, the sounds of domestic life have become my favorite sounds in the whole world. I wasn’t sure I would ever feel normal again. I wasn’t sure I wanted to live in a body that had been turned into a machine.
But now… I glance down at the small test strip hidden inside the sketchbook.
Two faint pink lines. I’m pregnant. A tremor runs through me, not of fear, but awe. After everything my body endured, after everything they tried to turn me into… my body is giving me a miracle. On my terms. I am experiencing this miracle with the man I love.
My eyes sting as I press a hand to my belly. “You and me, little one,” I whisper. “Your father is going to love you so much.”
A warm hand slides onto my shoulder. I look up. Erik is standing there with two mugs, eyes soft and curious.
“Baby?” he asks gently. “You’re crying. Come here.”
He sits beside me, pulling me into his lap the way he always does when he senses I need grounding. “What happened, sweetheart?”
I swallow, heart pounding, and lift the test strip with shaking fingers. His breath catches. His arms tighten. His eyes go shiny, then tear over completely.
“Claire…” he whispers, his voice breaking. “Are you… are you sure?”
“Two tests,” I manage. “Both positive.” A sound leaves him that I’ve never heard before, something between a sob and a laugh as he folds me into him.
He presses his forehead to mine. “You did it,” he whispers fiercely. “My brave girl. My strong girl. You did it.”
I cling to him, crying into his shirt. “It’s ours,” I breathe. “A baby that’s ours.”
“Our baby,” he echoes, his voice thick with awe.
The city hums far below, but up here it’s just us, the man who found me in the darkest moment of my life and dragged me back into the light, and the woman who finally believes she deserves a future.
“Daddy?” I whisper.
His eyes soften instantly. “Yes, baby?”
“I’m so grateful that we chose each other.”
He kisses me slowly and reverently, the kind of kiss that says "home."
“I’m going to take care of you both,” he vows against my lips. “Every minute. Every breath. You’ll never be unsafe again.” I believe him completely.
The instant we go back inside, the atmosphere shifts.
Erik closes the balcony door behind us and turns, the emotion in his eyes shifting into something deeper, hunger and devotion intertwined.
“Come here,” he murmurs.
My body moves before my mind does, because when his voice drops like that… I melt. Every time. He lifts me, thighs wrapped around his waist, carrying me to our bedroom with a careful strength that never fails to make me feel small and cherished.
When he sets me on the bed, he pauses, searching my face, tracing a thumb along my cheek.
“Sweetheart,” he whispers, “I need to worship you.” Heat shivers through me.
“Please, Daddy,” I breathe. His pupils darken instantly.
“Good girl.” He kisses down my neck, along my shoulder, his hands sliding under my shirt with a tenderness so overwhelming it almost hurts.
"I want you to feel adored," he murmurs into my skin. "Loved. Safe. Especially now."
My breath trembles. "Make me feel that way, Daddy." His answering growl vibrates through my bones.
ERIK
Her body goes soft in my arms afterward, sinking into me, filling every crack that ever existed inside my chest.
I wipe her plump thighs gently, kissing her knee. “Are you okay, baby?”
She nods, dreamy and flushed. “So wonderful, Daddy. So loved.”
I exhale shakily and lie beside her, pulling her into my side so her head rests on my chest. “My girl,” I murmur. “You’re giving me a family.”
She smiles into my skin. “I want this future with you.”
“You have it,” I whisper. “Forever.”
CLAIRE
We fall asleep with our bodies intertwined. The quiet weight of the day finally lets go as my body settles against his. His warmth is steady and grounding, and my hand rests low over my belly like I can hold on to this moment a little longer if I stay still.
When I wake up, the soft gold of evening light spills across the sheets, stretching long and warm over rumpled fabric and bare skin. The world outside is far away and unimportant.
Erik is awake, watching me with one elbow propped up next to me.
In those quiet moments, when he looks at me without any defenses, with a steady gaze and a softness that always surprises me, a deep feeling of pain, but a positive one, fills my chest.
"What?" I croak, still half-asleep, and a tiny grin flickers across my face as I shuffle nearer.
He murmurs, "Nothing. Just you."
A quiet laugh escapes me, and I am just about to respond when a knock shatters the silence.
Then there is a pause that feels... unsure.
Erik's brow furrows a little, and he turns his attention to the door. His body is already moving before I can say anything. Muscle memory and awareness are already starting to resurface.
"Stay," he murmurs, his fingers grazing my hip before he swings his legs over the side of the bed. He retrieves a pair of sweatpants from the floor, sliding them on as he moves toward the door.
The knock comes back. This time softer. Erik gets to the door, puts his hand on the handle, and pulls it open just enough, and then it stops.
I push myself up onto my elbows because I want to see what’s going on.
A woman's voice stumbles out from the other side. "Hi, I, um, Leif told me to drop this off, but I wasn't sure if…"
Erik moves a little, just enough for me to see her. Mara. Her fingers are tightly gripping the casserole dish like it's a shield, and her cheeks are already a deep, unmistakable pink as her eyes flick up and then quickly flick back down.
"Oh," she says, and the word comes out all at once. "Oh, I can come back. I didn't know…"
Erik, who is not helpful at all, leans one shoulder against the doorframe instead of moving. One brow goes up as something dangerously funny flashes across his face.
"Realize what?" he asks, sounding too calm. Mara makes the mistake of looking up again.
She looks at him, bare chest, hair that looks like it hasn't been brushed in a while, and the clear sign that he is not alone, and then, somehow worse, she looks past him to me, who’s wearing one of his t-shirts that barely covers my thick thighs. Her whole face turns red.
"I… this is…" She pushes the casserole dish forward without looking, as if she thinks the ground might swallow her whole if she finishes the job quickly enough. "Food. I brought some food. I'm going now."
Erik takes the dish from her without breaking eye contact. His mouth twitches like he's trying to hold back laughter.
"Thank you," he says. Mara nods her head quickly. Too quickly.
"Great. I'm going.” She turns so quickly that she almost hits the wall. At the last second, she stops herself and starts speed-walking down the hall, then running away, as if distance could erase what she just saw.
Erik shuts the door. And the second it clicks shut, he laughs. He laughs out loud and shakes as he sets the dish down and runs a hand through his hair.
"Poor girl," he says.
I sit on the couch and bury my face in my hands as laughter bubbles up, warm, helpless, and impossible to stop.
I say, my voice muffled, "She's never going to get over that." I peek at him and start to laugh again.
"She'll be fine," he says easily as he sits beside me on the couch. He leans over me again, still looking amused. "Leif’s got her."
I let out a soft snort. "Leif is going to make this difficult for you."
Erik's expression shifts then.
"Oh, Leif doesn't care about this," he says, getting closer and lowering his voice a little, as if he's letting me in on something I haven't fully seen yet.
I blink at him. "No?"
He huffs a quiet laugh and looks at the door once, as if he can still see her running down the hall. "No," he says. "What he cares about is that she showed up in the first place, stood her ground for ten seconds, and still tried to make the delivery."
I tilt my head and think about that...okay, that's fair.
Erik's smile gets bigger, and something almost predatory flashes beneath the fun. He adds, "That man is going to have a lot on his plate."
I can't help but smile. "You mean she is."
He chuckles softly and leans in just enough for his forehead to touch mine. "No," he says softly. "I mean him."
THE END