Epilogue
MILLIE
I look over the application one last time, searching for anything that might give me away.
Which I know is ridiculous, because there’s nothing at all for me to give away.
Nursing was always my dream, and now that I’m putting in a new application for nursing school, I should be excited—but I can’t help but fear that I’m about to be caught out at any instant, even as I hover my cursor over the big button that will send the application once and for all.
“Hey.”
I jump slightly, and look over my shoulder to see Ross leaning in the doorway behind me.
He’s carrying a cup of tea, and I can smell the delicious peppermint scent from here.
It’s become his way in the last couple of days, as he and the guys have been helping me with the application, to make sure that I stay hydrated and that my nausea doesn’t get too out of control.
Given that I’m full-term, and the babies will make an appearance any day now, I know he’s right to fuss over me.
“Hey,” I reply, as he makes his way over to me, planting the tea down on the desk and a kiss on my head.
“How’s it going?”
“Nearly done, I think,” I confess, nodding to the screen in front of me.
He grins. “That’s exciting,” he murmurs. “Just need to press send, right?”
“Mhm.”
“What’s the hold-up?”
He seems to sense that there’s something standing in the way of me going ahead and doing this already, and I guess it’s not a surprise that he seems so attuned to what’s going on inside my head.
Truthfully, I’m more than a little nervous about this. It’s not that I think I won’t be able to keep up with the demands of the course, or that I’m worried I’ll wind up getting rejected, not with the glowing support that all of them have given me. But rather…
Rather that this is going to change my life in ways that I’m not entirely ready for. Especially with the triplets on the way.
“You know we’re going to do everything we can to support you, right?” Ross tells me, rubbing my shoulders as he reminds me of everything he and the guys have promised these last few months.
I smile up at him. “I know.”
After all, I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so loved or adored as I have since I officially moved into Ross’s apartment full-time. He and Cole live in this building already, and James took the place that I had been staying in, so we’re all living under the same roof.
Lewis has loved it, having his dads around whenever he wants them, though I think there is a part of him still trying to get used to the idea of the siblings who are about to join us as well.
Each of them has a nursery in the apartments that the guys are living in, a separate space for each of them, though I get the feeling they’ll be spending most of it together.
Could just be me overthinking it, though, given that Lewis has spent most evenings this week with his head on my belly, listening to the movement of the three babies inside.
I’m the size of a damn house right now, and it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that I’m going to be going through with another birth soon enough.
At least this time around I have my three men to advocate for me.
They have already arranged me a suite at one of the most exclusive birthing centers in the city, and there’s an army of specialists on hand to help me should I need it.
As it stands now, it looks like everything is going exactly as it should be, but you never know when the time comes.
As for nursing school, that starts in another year—plenty of time for me to bond with the new arrivals to our family before I get back to work.
It was James who encouraged me to go ahead and apply again, when I mentioned that I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself once the contract between us was officially over.
He didn’t want me to give up on the dreams I’d once held, and for the first time in years, I could actually contend with the possibility of a life outside just being a mother.
If I can send off this application, of course.
But then Ross leans over and taps the button for me, perhaps sensing that I need someone to take over this part for me. A second later, the screen pops up to tell me that my application has been submitted. My heart flips in my chest, and I look up at him, chewing my lip. “Well…that’s it…”
“That’s it,” he replies, grinning. “I know you’re going to get in.”
“Don’t get too attached to the idea.” I laugh. “I have no idea if I’m going to make it.”
“Well, I do,” James’s voice comes from the doorway. “Besides, Matt’s already bought the champagne to celebrate. Can’t let him down now, can you?”
I giggle. “Champagne,” I groan. “God, it’s been so long since I had a drink…”
“Not long now,” James promises me, slipping his arm around my shoulder for a moment as he smiles at me.
And he’s right about Matt too—Matt has it in his head that he’s going to be the first one to celebrate with me when I get into nursing school, already deciding that I’m going to make it. Which seems something close to a miracle, given everything that happened between all of us.
I can still remember the way Matt blew up at all of us, how hopeless it felt that he was ever going to accept what we were doing here.
But now, he’s as much part of our lives as Lewis is, spending a couple of evenings a week at the apartment to have dinner and hang out between conference trips.
He might not have admitted it out loud yet, but I get the feeling he’s secretly glad that I found a set of partners who he already approved of.
I stretch my arms up over my head—and as I do so, I feel a twinge deep in my belly. I clasp my stomach, wincing, and James crouches down beside me, a concerned look on his face.
“Are you okay? Is it the babies?”
“I…I think so,” I groan. The sensation is familiar, but it takes me a moment to recognize it for what it is. In fact, it’s not until I stand up and see the damp patch on the office chair below me that it strikes me just what is going on.
“Oh my God,” I gasp, hand flying to my mouth. “I think my water just broke.”
“Holy shit,” James mutters. “Holy shit. Okay, we need to get you to hospital—Ross, text Cole, tell him to get his ass up here right now.”
The guys spring into action around me, the reality of the situation just starting to settle in.
It’s happening. I’m really doing this. I’m about to give birth to triplets, the children of the men who I have fallen in love with over the course of these last nine months—cementing our family, filling our homes with life and love and joy.
But first, I have to get through the difficult bit. I inhale deeply as another twinge makes itself known in my belly. I lean back in the seat, and Cole arrives in the office, rushing over to my side to check on me.
“How are you feeling?”
“Nervous,” I admit. “But…but excited.”
He gives my hand a squeeze. “It’s going to be just fine,” he promises me. “Any eventuality, we have it covered, okay?”
“Got it,” I reply, and he presses a kiss against my forehead.
“I love you,” he murmurs.
“Love you too,” I reply.
James and Ross appear at my side, though I’m not sure where they’ve been.
“Transport is on the way,” Ross tells me. “Lewis is with Matt, I’ve told him what’s going on, and he said that he’ll bring Lewis down to the hospital when the babies are born.”
“Okay, great,” I breathe. “Ow! Oh, I’d forgotten what this felt like…”
“You’re doing amazing,” James tells me gently.
“It’s hardly started yet,” I laugh, but he rubs my back.
“Still,” he murmurs. “I think you are.”
“Me too,” Ross agrees. “And you know that we love you, right, Millie?”
As I look between these three men, something bolsters in me, a sureness that I didn’t have access to before. Because God knows, with them at my side, I’ve proven that there’s nothing I can’t do.
“And I love you too,” I reply. “Now, get me the hell out of here, and get me an epidural.”
They laugh, and help me to my feet. And as they lead me to the door, I feel a flutter of excitement in my stomach when I realize that this is the last time I’m going to be walking out of here without my triplets.
Soon enough, our family will have grown big enough to contain all the love that we have for each other.
If that’s even possible.
The End.
Dear precious reader, thank you for reading Doctor Daddies!
P.S. If you enjoyed Doctor Daddies, then I think you’ll enjoy Doctor Mile High! Swipe to the next page for a sneak peek…