It took a moment for what Henry said to sink in, and when it did, Claire burst into tears. Claire covered her face with her hands. Henry pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
" Baby, these are happy tears right?", Henry murmured into her hair.
" Yes", Claire hiccuped against his chest.
Claire got herself under control and moved out of Henry's embrace. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose and dried her face. She looked up at the incredible man standing half naked in front of her. Claire shook her head. She could hardly believe this was happening. She never thought she'd be lucky enough to find the love of her life, let alone a man who loved her son like he was his own.
Henry reached out and stroked his knuckles over her cheek, " What are you thinking?", he asked softly.
" I never thought Ethan would ever have a father. For so long I though it was just going to be me and him for the rest of our lives. But I love that you love him so much and I would love for you to adopt him", Claire said with a shaky smile.
Henry smiled lovingly and took the two steps it took to close the space between them. He slipped the hand he had on her face down to the back of her neck then dropped his head down to kiss her soundly. Claire sucked in a sharp breath and wrapped her arms around his waist. God, she loved this man and she couldn't wait for them to become the family she always wanted and never thought she'd have.
Epilogue
Henry and Claire had a small wedding 3 months later. Claire had looked stunning in her wedding gown. Henry had cried like a baby. Sebastian had laughed his ass off too. But Henry was happy and that's all that Sebastian really cared about.
It took almost a year, starting from when Henry and Claire got engaged, but the adoption papers had finally gone through. So Ethan was officially Henry's son. Ethan already thought of Henry as his dad anyway so the only thing they had to do was change his last name to Beck.
Claire had announced that she was pregnant on Henry's 35th birthday, to everyone, including Henry. He had no idea that she was pregnant until he opened up his present in front of everyone. She had framed the picture of the first ultrasound for him. Once again, Henry cried like a baby. Sebastian had never seen Henry cry so much. It's not like he could really blame the guy, the two times he bawled like a pussy had been big events in his life that he never thought would happen to him. So Sebastian understood why he got so emotional.
9 months later...
" He's beautiful", Sebastian whispered in awe as he stared down at the tiny baby in his arms.
His heart filled with so much freaking love that he swore it would burst. Sebastian couldn't tear his eyes away from the little pink face peaking out of the blankets he was swaddled in. Sebastian stroked the baby's soft fuzzy head as he rocked gently in the rocking chair. Claire had just given birth to the little munchkin a hour ago.
" You're a natural Sebastian", Claire commented from the hospital bed next to him.
Sebastian smiled but refused to look away from the baby.
" Is anyone else going to get a turn Sebastian?", Came Christian impatient voice from somewhere in the room, Sebastian was too busy staring at the baby to care.
" No", He said, tracing a finger down the side of the baby boy's cheek.
Henry chuckled softly, " I've never seen you so enamored before"
" Whatever, I'm taking him home with me so I can stare at him forever", Sebastian murmured.
That's when Sebastian heard Claire's soft sob. Sebastian looked up in horror at her. She had her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she cried, " Jesus Claire, I was only kidding", he said quickly.
Claire shook her head, lifting her face from her hand, " I'm sorry, it's hormones, I can't help it, I know you're kidding, I've just never seen you like this, you're being so sweet", she cried.
Sebastian turned a tortured gaze to Henry, who was sitting on the edge of the bed by Claire's knees. He was patting and rubbing her thigh. Henry shook his head, " It's fine Sebastian, it really is hormones"
Claire waved a dismissive hand and grabbed the tissue box from the table next to her bed.
" Alright, it's my turn", Christian said firmly and moved in front of Sebastian.
Sebastian sighed heavily, " Fine". He stood up and handed the baby over to Christian who sat down in the rocking chair with him.
Sebastian went to Claire and sat down next to her hip, turning so that he could face her. He grabbed a tissue and dried her cheeks. She looked beautiful even though she just went through a 12 hour labor to push out a 7 lb baby. She gave him a watery smile. Sebastian loved his sister-in-law to death.