“Owen, stop pacing. Come over here.” Ginny pats the side of the bed, and reluctantly, I do as she tells me. Pacing helped with my tension.

“I just wish they’d hurry up.”

She looks at me with all that love, and I realise I don’t need to pace. “They’ll be here soon, and I’ll be fine. You heard the doctor. It’s straightforward.”

I nod. “I know. I’ll just be glad when it’s all over.” Reaching for her face, I cup her chin. “Then I get to take my girl home and pamper her.”

“Right now, your girl needs to go to the toilet, so get out of the way.”

I take her hand and help her off the hospital bed. Why they always seem so damn high, I’ll never know.

She shuffles from the bed toward the bathroom.

“Hey, Gin.”

“Yes?” She turns as she reaches the door.

“Do you think you could bring home the hospital gown?”

She frowns. “What for?”

“Because I could watch your naked arse for hours.”

Her mouth drops open, and she turns her head to check. When I meet her gaze, amusement is written all over her face.

“My bum is not on display.” She laughs.

“Made you look.”

As the door closes, I sigh. Making her laugh is important to me. I love seeing her eyes sparkle, and her cheeks flush pink.

I love her so much.

Today is important in so many ways. It’ll give us both hope, and whether that turns into something beautiful or not, we’ll always have that.

All I want is for Ginny to get pregnant and carry our child to term. It’s not too much to ask. Surely.

And I want it for her sake. While I want to hold our baby in my arms, it’ll be so good for her to have this happen. We grow closer all the time, but every now and then she stops and stares into the distance, this wistful expression on her face. I can’t wipe it away, no matter how much I joke or tease.

I want in.

The door opens, and she does a little wiggle, holding her hands behind her back like she’s covering her bum.

All I can do is laugh. “You are the most beautiful woman I think I’ve ever seen.”

“Would I be even with my arse hanging out?”

I waggle my eyebrows. “Especially then.” Grasping her hands in mine, I squeeze them. “I hope they get this over with soon.”

“So do I. I’m starving,” she says.

“If you’re a good girl, I’ll bring you a cheeseburger for dinner.”

The door opens, and a smiling Dion Philips enters the room with Drew.

“Hey, Gin.” Drew grins.

Ginny drops my hand and turns toward Drew. He kisses her on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she says.

“Me too. I can’t be in the surgery, but I can take care of this one for you. Hayley’s looking forward to seeing you both.”

Dion nudges Drew’s arm. “I’ve told Drew that if it goes well, I’ll release you into his care for the night.”

Ginny smiles. “We were just talking about that.”

“You’ll get the very best of care,” Drew says.

“I’ll just be glad when it’s all over,” she says. She’s putting up a brave front, but I can see a little fear in her eyes.

He nods. “I bet. You’ll be fine, Ginny. It’s my pleasure to have you guys with us tonight.”

“Thank you.” She beams me a smile.

She’s so damn happy to be having this surgery.

I hope this works.

Drew gets paged almost as soon as Ginny goes into theatre, and he doesn’t come back for almost an hour.

“Hey.” Drew grips my shoulder as he sits beside me.

“Hi.”

“Sorry I had to go. Babies never stick to a damn timetable.”

I laugh, despite my anxiety. “I’m just glad you’re here now.”

“Are you doing okay?”

I swallow hard, and close my eyes for a moment. “I had a bit of a realisation.”

“What’s that?”

“So, this whole thing. I want to make Ginny happy, and Ginny wants a baby.”

“Okay.”

“I hadn’t actually thought about how much I want that, too.” I turn my head to see my brother with a reassuring smile on his face.

“It’s about time you realised that,” he says.

“What do you mean?”

“You need this as much as she does. It’s not like you had the chance to be there for Ava when she was a newborn. If you and Ginny work through this and it happens for you, you two get to do it together.” He leans back. “And I can tell you now, there’s nothing better on this planet.”

“That good, huh?”

“Hayley and I grew closer when we had the twins. We bonded with them, and as a family. You guys already have a head start on that with Ava. Sharing this with her and Ginny will just bring you all closer.”

I sigh. “I miss having Ava here.”

“She would have hated sitting around the hospital, dude.”

“I know.”

Drew grabs my arm. “Want a coffee? I’ll go get us one while we wait.”

“That’d be great.”

I look up to see Ginny’s doctor walking toward us.

“Owen. Drew.” He nods.

“How did it go?” I ask.

“It went well. She’s just in recovery now, but she’ll be brought in shortly.”

“What happened?” Drew asks. I nod toward him as if asking the question too.

“Confirmed as endometriosis, and the removal of it was clean. It certainly isn’t the worst case I’ve seen, but I can see why she’d have had pain and discomfort.”

Drew nods.

“You know I can’t make any promises, Owen, but if you and Ginny have any chance of having a baby, now’s the time to try. After she recovers of course.” The doctor grips my shoulder. The way he speaks to me makes me grateful he’s a friend of Drew. At least I know he’ll talk to us in plain English.

“Thank you for giving us hope,” I say.

Drew throws his arm around my shoulders. “Our girl will be here in a minute, and once this guy clears her, we can take her back to my place. Just pamper her for the next couple of weeks.”

“I pamper her all the time.”

He leans his head against mine. “I know you do, bud. Just watch Ava doesn’t jump all over her.”

I nod. “She’ll be so excited to see us when we get home.”

“She sure will.”

I extend a hand to Doctor Phillips. “Thanks, doc.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll come back and see Ginny in a little while. In the meantime, hold tight.”

“I’ll grab that coffee,” Drew says.

I nod, and sit down, letting out a loud breath. It sounds good. Please let this work.

Burying my face in my hands, I don’t notice Drew’s returned until he nudges my arm. I look up, and he hands me a takeaway cup.

“Here you go. You okay?”

I take the cup. “Nervous, but holding it together.”

“When Hayley had that emergency caesarean, I was terrified. I mean, I was right there while she was having the surgery, and I could see how well it was going, but …” He takes a sip of his coffee. “It’s still scary.”

“She’s my whole life, you know?”

Drew nods. “I know. Believe me, I know.” He grips my shoulder, and I meet his gaze. I’m so glad I have him with me.

Drew knocks my knee with his. “Now, drink up before it gets cold. I’m sure it won’t be much longer.”

I get down half of my coffee when they wheel Ginny back into her room.

Her eyes are closed, but I place the cup on the bedside cabinet and sit on the bed beside her anyway. I smile as those green eyes open, and I’m lost in all the love I have for Ginny.

I lean over and plant a lingering kiss on her forehead.

“Hey,” she whispers.

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

“Pretty rough.” Her eyes are still so hazy. “But not as sore as I thought I would be.”

“We’ll make sure you have plenty of pain relief,” Drew says.

She shifts her gaze to him. “Thank you so much for everything. We owe you and Hayley big time.”

He sits on the other side of the bed. “I hope it’s successful. That’s all the reward I want.”

Ginny tears up, and he leans over to give her a hug.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help you two get what you want. We won’t give up, Ginny.”

Ginny’s cleared to leave by early evening, and Drew goes ahead of us to his place.

As I’m driving, she closes her eyes. “I’m so glad that’s over.”

“So am I. I know that they’re the experts, but I still sat and worried while you were in surgery.”

She touches my arm. “I’d be the same if it was you. It’s a scary thing.”

“And now I get to take you home and treat you like you’re made of china for a while.”

Ginny laughs. “I might get used to that.”

“I don’t mind. But you’ll have to be careful with Ava for the next few days at least.”

“She’s a good girl. Maybe we just need to tell her that I’ve been in the hospital and we all have to be gentle.”

I nod. “You’re right. She loves you so much that she’ll hate the thought of hurting you.” Flicking a glance at Ginny, I grin. “Our little girl.”

We follow Drew into his driveway, and when I turn off the car, Ginny reaches for my hand. “Just give me a second.”

“Sure.” I reach for the door handle.

“No, I just want a second with you. In the quiet.”

I nod, and lean over to kiss her. “Love you, beautiful.”

“I love you, too. Do you think this is going to work?”

Shrugging, I reach up to palm her face. “There’s only one way to find out. Once you’re recovered, you’re going to have a lot of sex with me.”

She laughs. “Define a lot.”

“At least three times a day. You might even have to sneak home in your lunch break for it.”

“I only have half an hour.”

I waggle my eyebrows. “Half an hour is all I need.”

She grins, and inhales deeply. “Let’s go and see Hayley.”

“I thought you wanted a moment with me.”

“I do, but …” She licks her lips. “I just need to pull myself together if we’re going to see the twins. Today’s been pretty emotional.”

Suddenly, I feel like the biggest arsehole in the world. “Shit, babe. I didn’t even think.”

“I’ll be okay. They’re my beautiful niece and nephew. At least I’ll be able to get cuddles.”

I nod. “If you’re ready, let’s go. I’ll just grab our bag from the boot.”

She’s already at the front door by the time I’ve rounded the car. Hayley’s there, hugging Ginny and greeting her warmly. She ushers us both in.

Hayley smiles at me. “Want anything to eat?”

Ginny shakes her head. “I’d love a coffee.”

“Coffee, coming right up.” Hayley loops her arms around Drew’s neck, giving him a kiss. “Good to have you home, too.”

“I hope the twins have been behaving.”

“We sat on the floor playing until they went to sleep.”

He frowns. “I missed them?”

She laughs. “We both know they’ll be up around two to have their night-time snack.”

Grinning, he pecks her on the cheek. “Owen’s used to getting up in the night. Defrost some expressed milk and he can feed them.”

Hayley rolls her eyes, letting him go. “Do you want a coffee too, Owen?”

“That’d be great.”

“Dinner’s in the slow-cooker. If you’re hungry, help yourself.” She walks into the kitchen. I sit down.

“How are you doing?” Drew asks Ginny.

Ginny nods. “Sore and tired. You wouldn’t think I’d be sleepy after being knocked out for so long.”

“Anaesthetic will do that to you,” Drew says. “If you need me to check anything, or if the pain gets worse, tell me.”

She nods. “I will. I don’t know if I can ever thank you enough for what you’ve done.”

He smiles. “Told you, when you’re being driven mad by a baby old enough to crawl, I’ll be happy.”

I laugh. “As awful as that sounds, it’ll be great.”

I catch Ginny’s gaze. She does look tired, but so happy. If Drew thinks it’s okay in the morning, we’ll go back to Copper Creek.

I’m looking forward to being reunited with my daughter.

It’ll be good to be home.