The ER's Newest Dad

“Ross, you don’t have to do this,” she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. “I’ll ma

rry you.”

“Shh, haven’t you read any fairy-tales? You’re not supposed to answer until after I ask.”

She bit her lower lip, but was smiling all the same as he continued.

“Brielle Winton, will you do me the honor of being my wife and the mother of my children?”

“I could point out that in all the fairy-tales I’ve read the hero didn’t ask for the heroine to be the mother of his children five years after the fact.”

He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Obviously you’ve been reading the wrong fairy-tales.” He squeezed her hand. “Woman, you are killing me here with your logic when I’m doing my best to be romantic.” Grinning, he pulled the box from his pocket, opened the velvet lid, watched her eyes grow huge and fill with tears. “Answer me, Brielle. Marry me and spend the rest of your life letting me love you.”

“Yes.” She put her hands on his cheeks, stooped and kissed him, his lips, his cheeks, his lips again. “Oh, yes, Ross. I will marry you. I want to marry you. If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” His heart swelling so full that he half expected it to burst, he kissed her back. “I love you, Brielle.”

“I love you, too. So much. I always have, you know.”

“I know.” He did know. Deep down he’d always known they belonged together, even when he’d been too stubborn and foolish to admit how much he needed her. “And you always will, Brielle, because I will spend the rest of my life giving you a million reasons to keep on loving me.”

“Am I dreaming?” she asked several minutes later when they came up for air, their bodies sated, Brielle’s finger sporting a huge diamond that marked her as Ross’s woman for all time.

He shook his head. “Nope, this is reality. Our reality.”

“Funny,” she mused, snuggling closer to him. “It feels like a dream.”

“Like I told you earlier, you’ve been reading the wrong fairy-tales.”

“Hmm?”

“Never mind, I don’t want you reading fairy-tales,” he corrected himself, lacing his fingers with hers. “I want you living a fairy tale, one of our very own with the most amazing, passionate, love story ever.”

She rolled over, stared down into his eyes. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me, too.” He kissed her, then grinned up at her. “I also like the sound of knocking at the front door because that means Vann is here with our son.”

Brielle sat up, scrambled to quickly put her clothes back on, then paused to smile at him with love shining brightly in her eyes. “Let’s go and tell him a very special fairy-tale, Ross. One where everyone lives happily ever after.”

EPILOGUE

JUSTICE LEANED FORWARD and blew out the candles on his birthday cake. Six candles altogether, five for his current age and one to grow on.

Around him, his parents, his Uncle Vann and Samantha, and several of his preschool friends with their parents watched as all six candles flickered.

Had someone asked him what he wanted for his birthday a few months before, he’d have said a daddy, but he had one of those now.

A good one who made his mommy smile a lot. Justice liked that. He also liked all the presents that his daddy was always bringing home for both him and his mommy. Sometimes he didn’t understand their giggles, but adults were like that sometimes. Kind of weird and not always as smart as they should be.

After all, he’d been the one to have to go to bring his daddy home. Something his parents had scolded him severely for. How was he supposed to have known that his daddy had already come home and wouldn’t be leaving ever again?

Despite the fact that he’d been grounded from the computer—and it wasn’t as if he was going to arrange for a taxi pickup at his school again anyway—and hadn’t been allowed to play video games for a whole week, Justice didn’t mind since he now had his daddy and mommy all the time.

Only they were so busy looking all googly-eyed at each other and kissing each other that sometimes a kid just needed someone his own size to commiserate with.

He blew a bit harder, pushing every last bit of air out of his lungs, watching the last candle go out and made his wish.

He grinned, rubbed his hands together, and looked up at his parents, and couldn’t wait for his wish to come true.