Epilogue
Elisabeth – (One Year Later)~
Fuel’s Falls on Me was playing quietly in the background as I typed away on the computer, finishing up my second assessment of my newest patient.
Trap Parsons had come to us a week ago, claiming that Belial was talking to him, and since Belial wasn’t a common name or demon that the general public usually associated with, I had immediately taken him on as a patient, and it was quite the miracle how I listened with such a different ear now.
“It’s getting late.”
I looked back from my computer to see Lazarus walking into our shared home office, and Adriel was sleeping peacefully in his arms, the spitting image of her father.
At three months old, we’d gotten pregnant that night in my office, and while I’d been expecting it, I hadn’t expected it to happen so damn soon.
Still, being the blessing that she was, we had named her Adriel, meaning the flock of God.
Lazarus had also quit his position at The Knights Group to go work at St. Dymphna’s, and while working and living together could be too much for some spouses, Lazarus and I didn’t fall into that category.
If anything, I only felt at peace when Lazarus was near me, and I knew that he felt the same way.
St. Dymphna’s was also lucky to have him; he definitely wasn’t the same Dr. Copeland that I had walked away from last year.
“I’m almost done here,” I assured him.
“Trap Parsons?” he questioned, and though we had our own patients and did our own thing at work, we still discussed our workdays like any normal couple.
I nodded. “Yep.”
Lazarus walked further into the room, cradling Adriel like he’d always been born to be a father. “She was restless earlier, and it got me to wondering.”
“About what?”
“What if she ends up having the same gift that you do?” he asked, and there was something incredibly touching about watching a strong, capable, confident man worry about his baby girl.
“Well, since there isn’t much that we can do about that, then we just make sure to pay attention,” I told him. “We listen. We listen to everything that she tells us.”
“I hate how much I still don’t understand,” he confessed, and I didn’t blame him. Adriel coming into the picture had changed everything.
I stood up from the chair, then careful not to jostle the sweet girl, I leaned up to kiss Lazarus on his right cheek. “It’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”
“I’ll never be fine again,” he huffed, but I knew that he was only half-serious.
“Well, if it’s any consolation, we’ll be better prepared the next time,” I teased.
I laughed at his crushed expression. “Because there’s going to be a next time?”
Just then, Adriel started squirming, but I knew better than to try to pull her from Lazarus’ warm embrace.
While my daughter and I were two of one, she also found a quiet peace when she was in her father’s arms, and because I understood exactly how she felt, I never disrupted their quality time together.
“I don’t like not knowing what she’s dreaming about,” he grumbled as he started to bounce her soothingly.
“Are you sure that she’s even dreaming?” I asked. “She’s only three-months old, Lazarus.”
The man shot me a look. “I no longer question possibilities that I couldn’t ever begin to fathom.”
I chuckled softly. “Touché.”
“I’m trying here,” he chuckled back, but I knew Lazarus well enough to know that he still struggled with what had happened, and though he’s fine most of the time, whenever the topic arises, it’s like he was reliving it all over again.
“What do you say to putting that little girl to sleep in her crib, then meeting me in the bedroom?” I suggested coyly.
“I’d say that it’s the best idea you’ve had all day,” he replied, winking at me.
I grinned before leaning into him, resting my head against his arm. “I love you, Lazarus.”
“Never as much as I love you,” he replied seriously. “Never.”
I didn’t know if he was right about that, but I knew that whatever this was, it was going to follow us into the next life, and the million more after that one.
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The End.