30. Epilogue
Daisy -
Two years later.
“Rylee, stop it. That plant is dead. Cas will buy you a new one.”
Rylee studied the poor aloe plant as she talked to it.
“I’m so sorry, Herby. I just don’t get it. I watered you. I fed you. I talked to you. I knew I should have gotten you the purple pot.”
Cali rolled her eyes as she grabbed up O, the grumpy cat that we’d all grown to realize we couldn’t live without.
“For shit’s sake, Rye, the purple pot? No. The pot color isn’t the issue. It’s an aloe plant. You used it to fix all the damn burns that those idiots got from that damn art. Even the Ravens have come to ask for help with hiding their damn weapons.”
Rylee looked like she was ready to cry.
“But I told myself that if I could keep a plant alive, I was going to agree to have Cas’s babies.”
I froze. Oh. This wasn’t going to go well.
I looked at Rylee and Cali and slowly backed away. Of course, that was only half because I suddenly felt really uncomfortable.
“Babies? God no. Xander and I have an understanding. Neither of us need to procreate. I don’t think either of us have a responsible bone in our bodies. But you do you.”
I was still backing away when they both turned to look at me.
“What do you think? It’s not like a lot of the members don’t have families. But is that really smart—” Cali paused. “Wait. Why are you backing away?”
Rylee jumped off the counter, knocking her poor plant over.
“No.” That was all she said before she started running at me.
“Wait,” Cali said and her eyes grew wider.
“Fucking, hell. You’re prego aren’t you?” Rylee was grabbing me into a hug.
“I… Well, yes. But I mean, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. It wasn’t exactly planned and uh… Well, you remember about a month ago, when we were interrogating those guys—the ones that had been skimming money from the Spectors?—and I started to cry when the one guy said he hated my shoes, and then I maybe, sort of accidentally, stabbed him in the eye with the heel? Yeah.”
Cali’s laugh caught me off guard.
“Damn. And here I thought you were still dealing with your daddy issues. So that wasn’t a relapse? Just hormones?”
I shrugged. Yeah. Zeiden made me take a pregnancy test when I couldn’t stop crying because the guy's eyeball grossness had stained them.
At that moment, the door from the garage beeped, and the three guys all walked in, stopping as they took in the strange sight in front of them.
I met Zeid’s questioning look and just nodded. The man failed in a lot of areas of emotions except with me. He knew me and that no matter how much I pretended like this was the only family I needed, I always wanted more. For once I felt safe enough and that the timing was perfect, or as perfect as it could be when the world was a shitty place.
“No fucking way,” X said when no one else was talking. “We’re gonna have a little Zeidy-pooh? Or shit, a tiny Daisy? I’m gonna be an uncle?”
I started to laugh as I watched the joy on Zeid’s face grow brighter.
“Damn. Congrats, Daisy,” Cas said, but I watched as he walked over to his wife, who was finally letting me go.
Cas tossed Rylee over his shoulder and looked back at X and Zeid.
“We ride together, we die together, and fucking hell, boys. See you in a week.”
I couldn’t make out what Rylee was saying as Cas carried her away, but I sure as shit heard what Cali said to X when he reached for her. She held out her hand and kept him at arm's length. “You impregnate me, and I will murder you in your sleep.”
X shifted, grabbing her hand in his.
“But, sparky, just think about what kind of awesome little shit we could create. You said the other day that maybe it would be kind of fun to raise kids together.”
Zeid came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me.
“Wait. Cali just said you two were too immature. What…?”
Cali squealed as X scooped her up into his arms.
“I lied, damn it. This idiot’s been begging me for months, and I told him that I was only going to have a baby when you all did because I refused to have a kid who grew up without this kind of family in his life.”
I laughed so hard as X’s feet damn near ran toward the stairs.
“My time has come. See you guys next month, unless someone needs to die.”
And then they disappeared into their apartment.
I turned around and paused at the look on Zeid’s face.
“I’m already knocked up, you asshole. Don’t give me that look. You just created some kind of stupid domino effect.”
He was still looking at me like I was the brightness in his world. It used to make me squirm, and now, I’d finally accepted that I was his world.
“I’m still obsessed with you and always will be. But there is something about you carrying my child that’s so fucking sexy. And it’s something else to know that my kid won’t grow up in the same world I did. I’m leaving him or her a world they get to control.”