“Take a small sip,” Chase said softly as he placed a straw against her lips.
She did as she was told as she slowly became aware of the nasal cannula placed on her face, giving her oxygen, the hard cast wrapped around her leg, the slight ache with every breath that she took and the dull pain on the side of her temple and–
“Deb and Teddy!” Sloane gasped, reaching up to shove the straw away as she frantically looked around the room, searching for them.
“Shhh, they’re okay. Your parents are watching them at the house,” Chase promised her as he placed the cup back on the tray.
“They can’t go back,” Sloane said, shaking her head only to stop when the move caused the dull ache in her head to intensify.
“To their grandmother’s?” Chase asked, sending her a questioning look as he lowered the siderail so that he could move closer to her.
At her nod, he shook his head. “They’re never going back there again,” he said as he gestured to the stack of papers that she’d missed on the other side of the tray. “Your mom did her best to fill out your part and I’m almost done with mine. Ryan’s been able to speed everything along and got us temporary custody until the hearing.”
When she could only frown, he said, “They’re ours and they are very excited about the baby.”
The baby…
“The baby’s fine,” Chase assured her with a warm smile when her lip began to quiver as he placed his hand over her belly. “You’re four months along,” he murmured, answering the question that she’d been wondering about as he watched his hand as it slowly caressed her belly through the thin hospital gown.
“Everything hurts,” she admitted on a pained whimper.
“I know it does, Pookie,” Chase whispered as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“Did everyone make it out?” she asked as warmth spread up her arm. Frowning, she looked over to her right to find a nurse injecting something into her line.
“Yes, everyone is fine. They were able to clear the building and get the fire under control,” Chase said, drawing her attention back to find him watching her.
“What happened?” Sloane asked as a pleasant tingling sensation spread through her body, slowly chasing the pain away.
“An electrical fire. The electrician apparently lied about the renovations after the last fire. Grey and Hunter are pissed. Ryan is currently making the guy regret ever being born,” Chase explained as he continued gently caressing her belly as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
“But everyone’s safe?” Sloane managed to get out as she gave up trying to keep her eyes open and let them close.
“Everyone’s safe,” she heard Chase murmur softly as she felt the bed dip next to her.
She managed to open her eyes to find him sitting next to her, watching her as he ran his fingertips gently down her cheek. “God, you scared the hell out of me, Pookie. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”
“You’re not going to lose me,” she mumbled sleepily, wondering why he thought that he would get off that easily. “You’re stuck with me.”
“Promise?”
“Mmmhmmm,” she murmured sleepily.
“Then marry me, Sloane,” Chase said as she felt his lips brush against hers.
“Okay,” she mumbled with a sleepy smile.
“That easily?” he asked, sounding amused.
“Mmmhmmm,” Sloane mumbled as she struggled to stay awake.
“Why is that?” Chase asked as she felt his lips brush against hers again.
“Because you love me,” she whispered, feeling his lips pull up into a smile.
“More than anything.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later…
“Come on, gentlemen, my daughter runs faster than you,” Chase said, shaking his head in disgust as he leaned down to press baby kisses against the top of his baby boy’s head, careful not to wake Lucas up.
“Why are they so slow, Daddy?” Deb asked, shaking her head in disgust as Chase sat down on the picnic table next to her.
“Because they’re not properly motivated,” Chase said, unable to help but smile down at the little girl that owned a big chunk of his heart.
She was the sweetest little vicious girl, he thought, and she was his. They’d managed to make it official a few months ago and since then, he’d watched her blossom into the sweetest little girl. She was a wonderful big sister and she took her job seriously. She was also a bit of a mama’s girl, but that was okay. He’d let Sloane have that since he knew that he was her BFF.
Well, that and Teddy was a daddy’s boy, Chase thought as his son climbed onto the table next to him. “Are you going to get the hose, Daddy?”
“I’m afraid that we’re gonna have to,” Chase murmured, pressing another kiss against Lucas’s head only to smile when Teddy and Deb jumped off the table and quickly made their way to the garden hose by the back door and–
“Oh, come on!” one of the men yelled a moment later, making Chase chuckle.
“You’re going to have to do better than this if you have any hope of passing the physical,” Chase told the students running past him as he stood up and made his way back to Lucas’s stroller. With one last kiss, he carefully buckled his son back in, making sure to put his favorite teddy bear within reach.
Once Lucas was settled, Chase took in Shadow Training Center’s latest hopefuls. They’d come a long way since they’d started a month ago, but they still needed to learn how to work as a unit. They also needed to learn how to run faster, Chase thought, chuckling as he watched Teddy and Deb chase them with the hose.
Over the past few months, they’d managed to build something amazing with Hunter’s help. He’d overheard them discussing the plans to open up a school when he’d visited Sloane in the hospital and…
Somehow, they’d become partners. Hunter used his resources to make it happen quickly. They taught everything from basic first aid to specialized search and rescue tactics that no one else taught. They had students coming in from all over the world to take their training and a long waiting list. They had contracts with multiple fire departments to take over training, with the military, and with several private companies.
They had a full-time staff made up of firefighters, paramedics, ex-military, and of course, his incredibly beautiful wife helped out when she could. Hunter and Grey taught a few classes when they had time, but Chase ran the school with the help of his adorable assistants, of course.
The security door opening drew his attention to find Sloane walking out of the building with a woman holding a small child in her arms a little boy walking by her side and…
God, he loved that woman, Chase thought as he watched Sloane make her way across the training yard, her limp barely noticeable today. She was more than he’d ever hoped for, so much more. He couldn’t imagine his life without her and the kids, didn’t want to.
After she’d left the hospital, she’d been stuck on bed rest, forced to put up with her brothers, who’d all turned into mother hens when they found out that their baby sister was pregnant. She’d hated being on bed rest and had made the worst patient, Chase thought, chuckling. She’d complained, grumbled, and pouted, but he’d refused to let her out of that bed until the doctor cleared her.