“Mr. Flanagan, care to give officer Fulton’s background?”

“No comment.”

“But it’s true that Officer Derrick Fulton was your partner, correct?”

“He said no comment!” Sawyer yelled.

At the hospital, we were swarmed with cameras. As soon as we stepped toward the automatic doors, I felt a hand land on my shoulder. “Mr. Flanagan! I need to speak to you.” It was Ezra Elmsworth, the reporter with the Post.

A rush of reporters came from the other side, demanding a testimony for their audiences to digest. Walking through the crowd, I held my hand in the air. “Listen up, folks. We have no comment,” I said.

“Mr. Flanagan, you promised me a word,” Ezra said.

I paused and reached into my pocket. I pulled out the bullet fragments the medic removed from Sawyer’s arm. “We’ll talk about everything after we get settled. For now, you can take this and use it in one of your articles.”

Ezra looked down at the smashed bullet, barely cupping it in his hand. “And this is?”

“Came from my muscle tissue,” Sawyer said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I need to see a fucking doctor.”

Ezra stepped aside and let us through. As soon as we were in, agents escorted us to the back of the hospital where we were both supposed to undergo a certain amount of tests.

The doctor was adamant about this part. “The urine and blood tests will tell us if there’s any infections or anything to worry about,” she said.

We took the tests and waited hours for the results. When the doctor finally did come back in, she was all smiles. “There are a few more tests I want you to take,” she said, pointing at me.

“Me?” I froze and felt my butt cheeks clench tight.

“Well, it looks like you’re pregnant, dear,” she said.

“Uh.” Brain malfunction. “Excuse me?”

“Your urine test… you mean, you didn’t know?”

I turned and looked at Sawyer. His eyes were wide with shock. I sudden heaviness overtook me. “A baby…” I whispered. “I didn’t know. We didn’t know.”

The doctor cleared her throat and took a step back. “Maybe I should give you two some time,” she said.

“No need.” Sawyer stood up. The doctor stopped walking. “This is the best day of my life.”

The doctor leaned forward and calmly tried to move him back toward the hospital bed. “Sir, you need to be sitting down. We’re not finished here,” she said.

Sawyer took one look at me and started to laugh so hard that he began crying. “God. First, I was shot. Next thing I know, I’m having a baby. What else is coming for us?”

I scowled. “You guys shouldn’t have given him so much morphine,” I said.

“It’s not the drugs. I can’t believe I’m going to be a father,” he said. The tears came to his eyes, threatening to roll down his cheeks. “I feel like we can do anything now.”

I grabbed his palm and squeezed. “We can, baby.”

With my heart in my hands, I gazed into his eyes, unable to hold back my tears of joy. I was ready to give everything to him, to lay my life down if I had to. From the very beginning, he was right for me. I should have known he’d always be my one and only.

As soon as we were out of that hospital with a clean bill of health, we ran toward the car, unable to stop kissing each other’s faces. I rolled my shirt over my tiny belly. Sawyer’s palm glided over it, and a warm smile fell onto his face.

“A baby,” he whispered.

I nodded and let out an exasperated cry of happiness, muffled by the palm of my hand. “It’s happening,” I said.

He rested his forehead against mine. As our eyes closed, our lips crushed together. I tasted his sweet lips, savoring him. His right hand moved up and down my belly and chest, while the other held the bend of my ass.

“Looks like I’m taking over Theo’s bar after all,” Sawyer said, laughing.

“There’s a lot we need to do, but we have time,” I said. “Let’s take this week for ourselves.”

Sawyer playfully bit his lip. “Think I can spend the night tonight?”

“As long as you don’t mind meeting my dad,” I said. “Don’t worry. He stays in the guesthouse at night.”

“You’re finally going to let me meet him?”

My chest tightened, but for the first time in my life, I didn’t give in to the feeling. At that moment, life felt too precious to care about pleasing everyone. My father could handle this. And, if he couldn’t, he’d have to find another roof to sleep under.

“I am. But, fair warning: he’s a dick sometimes,” I said.

“Hey, my dad’s a dick sometimes too. Maybe we should set them up,” Sawyer said.

“Very funny.”

* * *

When we arrived at my block, I slowed down the vehicle to a stop. The case had been all over the news, but my father was absent and never showed up to the hospital. He never stopped to call or ask questions.

My father grew up in an entirely different world. These streets used to be rough. You had to be able to hold your own. For a lot of people back then, shielding your emotions from the world was a means of survival.

My father might never understand me, but that was okay. He didn’t have to. As long as he accepted me, I’d be fine.

Sawyer took my hand and squeezed, pausing briefly. “Are you sure it’s okay I’m coming here with you?”

Sawyer stood in front of me, hurt, with a sling around his shoulder. I looked at him and felt so much love. No matter how my dad reacted, we were going to be together forever.

“Alpha, I want everyone to know about us,” I said.

As we walked up to small Brooklyn brownstone home, I could see my father standing next to the closed door, smoking a cigarette. When he saw me, he flicked the butt onto the street.

“Dad...”

In my twenty-four years of life, I had never seen my father cry. But as I walked up those porch steps, I saw the tears behind his eyes. “Son,” he whispered before straightening his back with resolve. “I haven’t been there for you. I’m sorry for everything. For letting you down. For not being there for you when you needed it most. For not believing you.”

“Really?” I hugged him and closed my eyes. “Sometimes, I feel so distant from you, dad. It tears me apart inside. It makes me feel like dirt. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to feel proud of me. Let me know that I’m the son you always wanted to have.”

My father opened his arms and looked at me with earnest eyes. “Marcus, you’ll always be my boy,” he said. “I can’t believe I trusted in the department’s word for so long. I’ve failed you as a father.”

I collapsed into his arms once more and felt the sharp jerks of his cries. “Everything can be okay if you treat me better from now on,” I said.

He pulled away from me and wiped his eyes dry. “I won’t ever let you down again,” he promised.

I had been let down before, but I believed my father. At times, he was problematic, but he was never one to lie.

Sawyer stepped forward, kindly raising his hand in front of him. “Mr. Flanagan. Hey,” he said.

An odd smile formed on my dad’s face. To my surprise, he pulled Sawyer in for a hug. “You must be my son’s boyfriend,” he said.

“Dad, you knew?” I asked.

He nodded. “I used to think acknowledging it meant giving up,” he said. “I thought you’d lose your standing with the department, that you’d follow in the same path as me.”

“Dad, do you know how long I have waited for this day?” I asked.

“Far too long,” he said. There was a new sense of understanding with him, the gentle ease that comes with a change in perception. “It’s nice to meet you, Sawyer. I’m Harley Flannigan.”

“Dad, there’s more.” My fingers rested against the midsection of my stomach.

“Lay it on me,” he said.

I felt my entire mouth turn dry, and my body stiffened. “I’m pregnant, dad,” I said. “I’m having a baby.”

Sawyer stepped up to my level and wrapped his unscathed arm around me. “We’re having a baby,” he said.

Silently, my dad took both of our hands and led us inside. He walked into the living room and started to dig into the bookshelf until he found what he was looking for inside.

“Dad, what’s going on?” I asked him.

Revealing a thick photo booklet, he decisively flipped the pages until he stopped, eyes starting to water again.

My dad waved us both over to him. “Come here,” he said. “You see this guy right here? That’s me. And this woman here is…”

“Nancy,” I whispered.

My father put his arm around me, squeezing down on my shoulder with love. “So, you remember?” he asked.

It was an unspoken topic, but I remembered her as plain as day. When my father lost his job, she took off. My dad always remained silent about her, but I knew how madly in love they were, and when she left, my dad grew cold and often distant.

“Of course I remember,” I said.

My dad wiped the tears away from his face and took a painful breath in. “Losing her meant losing a part of myself,” he said. “But there’s no point in burying things down. You’re bringing life into this world. It’s a new opportunity for us all.”

“You’re my hero, dad,” I said. “You always will be. We just need to get on the right track again.”

My dad folded the photo book back up and placed it back into its cubby. “The only things I ask is that you hold onto your happiness. Don’t ever let yourself forget what it feels like to fall in love.”

I looked over at Sawyer, bandaged up and weary from battle. I would never forget what it felt like to fall in love with him. What we went through together could only strengthen our bond.

“We will, dad. We’re going to have a great life together. All three of us.”

“This is serious,” he said, scowling. “Marcus, promise me that you both will constantly remind each other that you love each other.”

“Okay, dad. I promise.”

“I promise too,” Sawyer said with a serious look on his face. “I nearly lost my life last night. I’ll never take this for granted.”

I never thought of my dad as someone who had any fears at all, but it was suddenly so obvious he had been fighting his own demons on a day-to-day basis. Admitting to his wrongs was hard for him, but I felt so much closer as a family now.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I was so sad about all of the time we had wasted as a family, about all of the time I spent running from my truth. But I was incredibly happy and grateful for Sawyer and my family. I was happy that everything was starting to come together for us.

When we went to bed that night, we couldn’t stop smiling and gazing into each other’s eyes. The world felt so much lighter.

As I turned around, Sawyer’s strong arms curled around me, pulling me closer to him. “How are you feeling?” Sawyer asked.

“Somehow, I’m okay,” I said, truthfully. “I’m shocked by what happened, but I feel like I was given a second chance. You’re here with me now, and that’s all that matters.”

Closing my eyes, I remembered the first time I met the man of my dreams. He was walking home, cold from the snow. I almost turned away, but I felt the glimmer in his eyes draw me in. It was like I already knew him.

That’s when I felt the truth knock me on my ass. He was going to lead me on the journey. He was going to take me home.