EPILOGUE

HAZEL

FIVE YEARS LATER

"You might want to sit down for this news, Dad." 

Dr. Tanaka gave Liam and I an odd look as she swept the ultrasound wand across my belly. "Over here, where you can see the screen." 

"Is everything okay?" he asked in a worried voice as he moved his chair next to the doctor's and took my hand in a firm grip. With a glance at me, I knew we both feared the worst.

"Yes, everything's great!" she exclaimed and we both breathed a sigh of relief. "You see this little thing here?" she pointed at the screen.

"Yes," we said in unison. 

"And this little thing over here?" 

"Mm-hmm." 

She looked at us, a playful smirk on her lips. "Those two little things looked pretty similar, right?"

"Yeah..." 

She laughed a hearty, cheerful laugh. 

"Those are heartbeats! You two are having twins." 

We looked at each other in shock for a heart-stopping moment before embracing and kissing in gleeful laughter. 

"Congratulations, you two," Dr. Tanaka beamed proudly as she gently wiped the goo off my belly. "I thought it was exciting watching you go through your first pregnancy but this one will blow it out of the water!" 

"It's definitely a bit more than we were expecting," I admitted, feeling the first worried thoughts bubble up. Liam and I agreed on two children after we got married. Having three seemed like a completely different ball game. 

"We'll make it work, beautiful." Liam kissed my forehead and rubbed my neck. "We always do." 

"Thanks to you," I replied, looking up to kiss him with gratitude. Every day, even after five years of being together, I remained grateful that he was alive and mine.

Not only did I luck out in having an amazing partner and lover who made me feel gorgeous, appreciated, kept me physically satisfied whether pregnant or not, he also proved to be a devoted father.

I hardly raised a finger during my first pregnancy with our son Maddox. Once that boy was out of the womb, Liam immediately formed an unbreakable bond with him over dinosaurs, sports, and Legos. 

Now pregnant with two babies, I was going to need all the support and back rubs I could get. 

"I should donate my sperm to science," Liam said as we left Dr. Tanaka's office. "I mean, after Maddox becomes an All-American baseball player and a paleontologist, plus getting you pregnant two more times in one go? Scientists are gonna want to study my juice, babe." 

"Uh-huh," I muttered in an unimpressed tone as I adjusted the seat belt under my baby bump. "How do you know it's your sperm and not my eggs that are worthy of study?" 

"I'm not saying they're not," he protested, giving me an affectionate squeeze on the knee. "It's probably both of us, to be honest. We're creating the next race of superhumans."

I smiled as I rubbed my hand over my belly. Creating smart, wonderful people with the love of my life was such an amazing feeling. 

Are you sons or daughters in there? Or maybe one of each? I wondered. It was too soon to tell if the babies were identical or fraternal but I did hope for at least one girl. I couldn't imagine living in a house with four boys. I'd have to steal Rosie from Dahlia and Ash to balance out the testosterone. 

Speaking of Rosie, our adorable niece was now a bright and curious five-year-old as of that day. We were heading to her birthday party at Ash & Dahlia's house after our appointment. Earlier in the day, we had already dropped off Maddox there while we did last minute errands. 

Rosie did inherit Dahlia's unique pale blonde, almost silver hair that was so on-trend lately. She also got mine and Asher's green eyes and was already proving to be an ethereal beauty. 

Anytime we hung out with the kids in public, people never failed to approach us and comment on how beautiful she was. Ash, the ever-protective father, nearly got in fights multiple times over people staring at her, trying to touch her or just getting too close. Liam was always quick to stand beside him to protect my precious niece. Even if they weren't biological brothers, those two bonded over their fierce desire to protect their families. 

Maddox, always idolizing his father and uncle, stomped his feet and tried to throw his 3-year-old weight around too. Not that I wanted to encourage my son to get into fights, but it was adorable to see those protective genes already expressing themselves in him. 

Whether girls or boys or both, it warmed my heart to know his younger twin siblings would have a wonderful big brother to look after them.

When we pulled up to Ash and Dahlia's, the party was just getting under way. A large castle bounce house had just inflated on their front lawn and the high-pitched shouts of excited five-year-olds rang throughout the air. 

Maddox and Rosie the birthday girl were playing in the sandbox next to the house. They sat hunched over and dug slowly with serious concentration, no doubt looking for dinosaur bones. 

Ash and a couple of other fathers gathered around the large charcoal grill with beers in their hands, chatting while my brother flipped enough burgers and hot dogs to feed a small army. 

Liam and I waved to the other adults at the shaded picnic table and grinned at each other as we approached. They would go nuts once they heard the news. 

"What have we missed?" he asked as we sat down. 

"Well, Maddox gave Grandma a natural history lesson," Dahlia said with amusement in her eyes. "She tried to inform him that God created the earth in six days and he said, 'That's impossible, Grandma! Dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago!'" 

"That's my boy," Liam said proudly as he dug through the cooler for a drink. "Too smart for his own good."

Internally I bristled a little. I would have to talk to my mom later. Ash and Dahlia kept minimal, supervised contact with our parents when Rosie was born, with the understanding that they would not attempt to undermine their parenting. When we had Maddox, we followed their same example. 

Fortunately, I inherited a wonderful set of in-laws. Detective Barnes and his wife Gina were wonderful grandparents and indulged in all of Maddox's curiosities and interests. I didn't have to worry about him coming home from their house asking why people would go to Hell even if they were nice. 

"So how did the appointment go?" Dahlia asked, shading her eyes from the sun as she peered at us.

Liam and I looked at each other and dropped our smiles into serious frowns at the same time. His eyes twinkled mischievously and I knew mine did too. We were always on the same wavelength. 

"Is everything okay?" Dahlia asked worriedly as she leaned forward in her seat. 

"We saw something... unexpected," Liam said, maintaining his serious face as he took my hand and squeezed it. 

I bit my lip to keep from smiling but goddamn it was hard. 

"Oh my God," Dahlia's brows furrowed as she searched our expressions. "What did you see?" 

"We saw... two--"

I couldn't keep a straight face anymore so I buried my head into Liam's shoulder, my shoulders shaking with giddy laughter, although it could have looked like I was sobbing.

"Two? Two what?" Dahlia demanded. 

I peeked at her, letting my joyous smile shine through. 

"Two babies." 

"Two babies?!"

Dahlia looked from me to Liam, confusion still on her face for a moment before she slapped Liam's arm. 

"You jerks! You totally had me worried!" she cried.

"The doctor did the same thing to us," Liam admitted, his smile growing infectiously. "We had to pass it on." 

Dahlia turned in her seat. "Ash, babe! Come here!" 

"What's up, Doll?" Ash meandered over and stood behind Dahlia, rubbing his hand across her shoulders. 

"They're having twins!" she declared, pointing at us. 

My brother's eyes widened at us. "No shit, you serious?" 

We nodded in unison with huge, unerasable smiles as Dahlia smacked his chest.

"Honey, language. The kids." 

"Honey, violence. The kids," he shot back, rubbing where she slapped him before giving her a teasing kiss on her cheek.  

We spread the news to the other parents at the party, bantering, sharing stories and accepting advice and congratulations. Liam's hand remained firmly at the small of my back, never letting go and supporting me through it all.

Through our touches, kisses, and looks, I felt the love, passion, and solidness of our relationship pass through us. 

We didn't have to say the words to know. 

Carrying two infants would be tough. Raising them along with a toddler would be tougher. But we'd get through it because we had each other to lean on. 

After being so close to losing each other once, not even a war would break our love.