It happened so fast. They’d been making love, good, sweet love, and then all he’d known was that his omega was in pain. Such intense pain that Logan could feel it through their bond.

The doctor had tried to send him out of the room, but in the end, Logan had stayed for the whole ordeal. Will didn’t have anyone else, and Logan wasn’t leaving him alone with a doctor he barely knew. He stayed by his side, held his hand, shared his tears, and when their baby was tucked into Will’s arms, Logan lay in bed with him, wrapped around them both, gazing down at their baby girl.

“Lisa,” Logan said suddenly, remembering, and kissed her sweet forehead. She cried softly, but settled as they held her and gently spoke to her.

The doctor touched Logan’s shoulder, pulling him away from his daze.

“I want to show you how to make a bottle, and do a check up on him and the baby, and then you three can have your peace.”

Logan nodded, and reluctantly pulled himself away from his mate and their new child. He could hardly believe it. She was real, a real live person, but so small and vulnerable, needing so much from them. He just hoped he could live up to it.

He followed the instructions carefully to make Lisa’s first meal, and then brought it back to her.

“Can I feed her first?” Logan asked softly, and Will nodded, smiling tiredly at him. Logan had thought he’d never seen Will more beautiful than at the climax of his pregnancy, round and ready to give birth, but now, he knew that had only been the beginning. Curls clinging to his forehead with sweat, exhaustion painted over his face, the picture of triumph, Will looked most beautiful now. Logan kissed him.

“Thank you, baby, you’re so brave. You did so well.”

Gently, Logan took Lisa into his arms and nudged the nipple of the bottle between her tiny pink lips. She started to turn her head toward it and suckle, so he pushed more firmly, and she latched on, guzzling as fast as her little baby mouth could.

“Wow, hungry little tyke, eh?” Logan murmured to her. The doctor cared for Will, checking that he was all right, but Logan’s little wolf was hardy, and had gotten through it just fine. He smiled at his omega adoringly.

After Lisa ate, she fell asleep, and the doctor checked her out, too. Logan got a moment to kiss Will and hold him.

“So? What do you think? Ready to do it again?” He teased.

Will laughed. “Actually? Yeah,” he said.

“Really?” Logan laughed with him, amazed. He couldn’t imagine wanting to go through what Will just had. On the other hand, if it gave them another perfect baby…

“Yeah,” Will said, seeming surprised even by himself. “It was totally worth it. Look at her.”

His mate gazed over at Lisa with so much love in his eyes, and Logan felt blessed that fate had chosen someone like Will for him. He was so full of love.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Logan agreed, kissing his cheek. “Worth it.”

* * *

That first day was chaos. Lisa was a very sleepy baby, but they’d been instructed to feed her as often as she would take the bottle, and when she wasn’t asleep, the baby was hungry.

Will was so in love with her, and full of wonder whenever he gazed down into her innocent face and kissed her soft, round cheeks. He had no idea how any creature could be so beautiful.

He was also very tired. It had been very late when he’d gone into labour, and they’d stayed up all night and then all day, switching on and off for feedings.

Finally, when Will had been ready to pass out, Logan took over completely. He sent Will to shower, made the bed with fresh sheets, and tucked him into sleep.

“I’ll take baby duty,” he’d said, and he’d taken Lisa off to the nursery.

Will sighed softly in pleasured exhaustion, his cheek pressed to the cool, clean pillow. He was so happy. Terror had set in when he’d felt how tiny his little daughter was, but it couldn’t overshadow his bliss. His handsome fiancé was taking care of their newborn, and he finally got a good sleep.

Logan had really risen to meet the challenge of fatherhood, Will thought. He was hopeful. Maybe his mate had finally learned to stop running. He loved the man so much, he couldn’t stand to lose him. He had to believe that Logan would never want to leave him, either. Their newborn daughter had made them a family, and Will couldn’t be more grateful for that.

From down the hall, if he lay very quietly, Will could hear Logan murmuring to Lisa, singing softly, some sea shanty. He’d never heard Logan sing before. Fatherhood was going to be full of surprises, he knew that already.

Will was also thankful for his natural healing ability. He couldn’t imagine having to go through that as a human. He was already mostly fine, just a little tired, and could put all of his energy into raising their new pup.

He slipped toward sleep, his eyelids heavy, and in that in-between space between wake and sleep, he began to dream.

…

Ice hit Will’s heart and stole his breath. It was dark, so dark, and he trembled desperately.

…

“Daddy!” a girl’s voice cried out. Will turned toward it, but all he could see was more blackness.

…

It was so cold. He shivered powerfully. His eyelids felt like they were frozen open.

…

“Where are you?” he cried, and the ice-water filled his lungs, strangling him with darkness. He screamed as loud as he could, but the water just kept pushing him down, filling him.

…

“Will! Will!” Logan called for him, but Will was sinking, sinking, deep into the coldest depths of the Bering Sea. He was dying.

…

“Will!” Logan said, shaking him, and Will gasped, oxygen filling his lungs. He blinked, looking into Logan’s hazel eyes.

“Hey. I…” He shook his head. That dream had been terrifying. He was still shivering.

“What were you dreaming about? Was it a nightmare? You were screaming.”

Will sighed. “Yeah. Just a nightmare, sorry. Did I wake the baby?”

Logan shook his head. “No. She’s a tough one to wake. Can’t imagine what she’ll be like as a teenager.”

Logan hugged him, and Will sighed and fell into his fiancé’s arms in relief. Suddenly the sadness washed over him and he began to cry softly, letting out the emotion through his tears, and healing a little in the process.

“I love you,” he whispered to his mate, just wanting him to know that.

“I love you, too,” Logan whispered back. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Will shivered, and Logan wrapped the blankets around him and held him to his chest, comforting him so sweetly that Will thought he might cry again.

“It was cold. Cold like you’ve never known, cold like…”

“Like that night in the ocean,” Logan said softly, frowning with concern. “You never talked to me about that. What it was like for you. Most men after they come out of that, they can never get warm enough again.”

Will nodded, burying his face in Logan’s chest. “Yes. Cold like that. And someone screamed for me and called me Daddy. I think it was Lisa, but no matter how hard I swam, the cold was all around me. It was too dark, too dark to see, and then…” He gasped for breath. He could almost feel the water filling his lungs again, metallic liquid pushing deeper and deeper inside of him.

Logan shook his head, hugging him tightly.

“Shh, baby. It’s not real. It’s gone now. Lisa is fine. Do you want to go see her?”

How did Logan know what would make it better? He always seemed to know.

“Yeah, please,” he agreed, and climbed out of bed.

Logan took his hand and guided him down the hallway to the nursery. Silently, they peeked inside, and Will got to gaze at their beautiful newborn daughter, sleeping peacefully. He sighed in relief, relaxing almost instantly, and hugged Logan.

“Thank you.”

Logan gently shut the door, and took Will downstairs to the kitchen. Will went and sat at the breakfast table as Logan made tea. His fiancé brought over a grey wool throw blanket and wrapped it around Will’s shoulders. Will’s fingers caressed the soft fabric, pulling it tightly around himself. He smiled and shut his eyes when Logan’s full lips kissed his forehead so sweetly. They stayed like that for a long, quiet moment, and then the kettle began to whistle.

Logan left him to pour water into mugs and leaned against the counter, his strong body stretched out casually for Will to admire.

His heart rate had slowed down. Between the comfort of the blanket and the tea, he knew he would be all right, but he was going to let Logan take care of him. It made both of them feel good when his alpha was able to do that for him.

“We should talk about a wedding,” Logan said, as he scooped tea bags free from their mugs and dolloped sugar and cream into the hot dark liquid.

Will watched him carefully balance the full mugs and set them on the table, and then Logan sat next to him, pulling his chair over to sit closer. Logan’s arm wrapped around his waist, and Will sighed happily, picking up his tea and leaning against him.

Wedding. He’d almost forgotten. They’d discussed marriage, but Will had wanted to wait until after he’d given birth, so that he could wear a suit. Now, there were no more excuses not to tie the knot.

“I’ll have to call my parents down,” Will sighed.

“Is that such a bad thing? Shouldn’t they meet their granddaughter?”

“Of course, of course,” Will admitted. But they would also meet his mate, and he hoped that they approved, or at least didn’t make asses of themselves. Logan wouldn’t be sensitive about it, he knew, but it still bothered him when his parents embarrassed him.

“We can worry about guests later,” Logan said. “But we should think about where we want to do it, and when.”

“Here,” Will said, without a second thought.

“You mean in town?”

“No, here. I’ll show you.” Will took Logan’s hand and brought his tea, leading him out the back doors to their porch and the beach.

“Out here. At sunset. As soon as we can,” Will decided. The more he thought about marrying his mate, the more he wanted it.

Logan smiled and kissed him deeply.

“It’s perfect,” he said, and Will smiled, too. Logan tasted like milky tea.

“What about our honeymoon?” Will asked. “We have a newborn.”

Logan nodded. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “We can think about options, but I’m not sure I trust anyone to watch Lisa for very long.”

“I know,” Will agreed. “I’m the same way.” Their trauma made them both too ready to imagine the worst case scenario. “Maybe we can bring her along.”

“We’ll see,” Logan said, leaving it open. “Let’s plan the wedding, first. You need to call your parents if you think they can help us plan it.”

Will groaned. That was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.

“Do you want them there?” Logan asked, searching his eyes.

Will thought about it, and yes, he did. As much of a pain in the ass as it would be to have his parents around, he didn’t want to get married without them there, and his mother would be a great help in planning the wedding. He sighed.

“Yeah, I do. I’ll call them.”

“Good,” Logan said with a smile. He’d obviously been ready to leave the decision up to Will, but he seemed to like the idea of Will having his family there. That made a certain amount of sense, considering his history. “I’d like to meet them; Lisa’s grandparents.”

Will smiled. “You might regret it,” he warned teasingly.

“I’m sure I will,” Logan murmured affectionately.

Logan had built the back porch with a dreamy bench swing, and Will lowered himself onto the cushioned white wood, while Logan sat with him, draping his muscular arm around Will’s shoulders. Will pressed his ear to Logan’s heart and sipped quietly on his tea as they rocked. The sun was setting, and they had the best view in the world.