The sound of a pan crashing to the floor instantly made me tense, and I nearly leapt over the table to get to Aiden and Ben. But when I looked at them, Aiden was pointing at something outside and Ben was babbling away.
I placed my hand over my heart and turned to look at my parents. My mother was moving about like nothing had happened, but my father was staring at me with a questioning look.
I pulled in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. We exchanged a look that said we’d talk about my reaction later and why I’d nearly bolted across the room because of a loud noise.
“Breakfast is ready!” Mom called out as I quickly went about getting the butter and the orange juice. When I reached for the glasses, my father took my hand and squeezed it. It was then I noticed I was shaking.
“He didn’t notice it,” he softly said.
I felt my eyes widen in shock. “What?”
After a quick glance over at Aiden, my father looked at me. “It’s Ben. He calms him.”
All I could do was nod. My father knew about Aiden’s PTSD? How? Before I had time to dive deeper into my thoughts, I heard Ben speak. “Bird!”
Everyone stopped moving and all eyes swung over to Aiden and Ben. Aiden was almost to the table, with Ben looking back over his shoulder out the window.
“Did he just say…bird?” I asked in an almost whisper.
A wide grin spread over Aiden’s face. “Yes, he said bird.”
“Bird!” Ben shouted this time and followed it with a giggle as he pointed out the window.
“I taught him how to say bird!” Aiden nearly shouted with glee.
“You’re going to make an amazing father, Aiden,” my mother said, turning and winking at me.
Then Ben faced away from the window and looked at Aiden. He placed his little hand on Aiden’s face and said, “Dada.”
Not the babbling dadadada that he did. He said Dada.
Aiden’s eyes snapped up and met mine. I brought my hand up to my mouth, fighting to hold back my tears.
“Is he saying—” Aiden’s voice broke off and he looked at Ben, who smiled at him with an innocent and loving look on his face.
I turned to look at my parents, who were both staring at the scene before them. My mother wiped a tear away, and all my father could do was rock on his heels and grin.
Finally, I was able to move my feet, and I rushed over to the two men I loved more than anything, taking Ben from Aiden’s arms and hugging him as I looked up at Aiden.
“I’ll have you know, he hasn’t even said mama yet!” I laughed. Aiden smiled before he leaned down and pressed his mouth to mine, not even caring that my parents were standing only feet away.
When he broke the kiss, he stared into my eyes and whispered, “Thank you.”
Aiden
I sat on the sofa and threw a small ball up in the air and caught it as Dr. Sharpe sat patiently in his chair and watched. It was our second meeting, and the first was pretty much the same as this one. He waited, asked a few questions; I answered them as shortly and sweetly as I could. I had a feeling this time he was going to push a bit harder.
“How are you adjusting to life outside of the Navy, Aiden?” he asked.
“Okay.”
“Do you miss being a SEAL?”
I swallowed and dropped my hand to my lap. “At times I do. I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would, if I’m being honest.”
“Why do you think that is?” he asked.
With a shrug, I went to toss the ball back up into the air, but then an image of Willa and Ben flashed through my mind. “I think it has to do with Willa and Ben. When I’m with them, I feel…happy.”
“You make that sound almost as if it’s a bad thing.”
I looked out the large window. It took less than ten seconds for an image of Walker to appear in front of me. I shook my head and tossed the ball back up in the air.
“Who did you just think about, Aiden?” Dr. Sharpe asked.
“John Walker. He was new on our team and fired up, ready to prove himself.” I smiled as I looked down at the ball in my hand. I squeezed it as I continued. “He was married and had a baby on the way. He used to carry a picture of his wife in his pocket, as well as a letter, in case anything ever happened to him. It’s not uncommon for any of us to carry letters on us.”
Dr. Sharpe sat quietly as I glanced back out the window. “He took a round to the head from a sniper. I’d looked everywhere for the bastard and couldn’t find him. It took him shooting John for me to pinpoint where he was. I took him out and rushed over to John.”