After Kennedy leaves, the nurses allow me to remove my oxygen mask. I still feel a small wheezing in my chest, but I ignore the dull ache. Swinging my legs off the side of the bed, I push on the mattress to stand. Outside the windows, it’s dark. Where the hell did she go? The hall’s empty, and I sneak by, holding the back of my hospital gown shut.

The elevator ride to the second floor is quiet. When I asked Kennedy to check on Ben, I didn’t expect her to disappear all day. The young brunette at the nurses’ station leans around the counter and catches me. She doesn’t ask any questions, only shakes her head and grins as I stride by her to Ben’s room. A dry erase board gives his name and other important information. My eyes search the boards of the other children. Every one lists the name of the patient’s parents. Not Ben’s. Where their names should be, his is empty.

That’s not fair.

I ease the door open and walk inside. Kennedy gives me a questioning glance, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Are you supposed to be out of bed?” She stands from the chair she’s clearly been using as a bed, and stretches.

“Technically no.” I shrug. “The nurses were taking too long to ask them permission, so I took it upon myself.”

Kennedy waves a finger in the air, circling my face. “You’re off the oxygen.” Her eyes widen. “Oh god, Graham, please tell me they gave you permission.”

“Do I look like a total idiot?” I ask. “You know what, never mind. Don’t answer that. How’s he doing?” I nod my chin to a sleeping Ben.

“He’s okay. He told me why he ran back in the building.”

My eyes fall to Ben. He looks so helpless and tiny in the hospital bed. If anything would’ve happened to him, I don’t know what I would’ve done. “All for the photos and a stupid baseball. I told him I could’ve bought him new ones.”

“That’s not the point, though, is it?” Kennedy’s gaze falls to Ben.

“No, it’s not.”

Back in her chair, she picks up the remote and flips through the channels. I take the other seat beside his bed.

“Hey, little man,” I whisper to Ben.

“Let him sleep.” Kennedy waves in the air between us.

Her motherly tone makes me laugh. “So, what are we going to watch?”

“How about this?” She stops on some VH1 reality show, and when I immediately shake my head no, she tosses the remote to me. “Why don’t you pick?”

An action movie catches my eye. Instead of paying attention, Kennedy examines me out the corner of her eye. She doesn’t think I notice her, but I do. Every few minutes, I search Ben’s face and reassure myself he’s okay. Then I allow myself the pleasure of taking a detailed inventory of Kennedy’s profile.

When I return to the TV screen, Kennedy blurts out, “Have you ever thought of adoption?”

I sit up a little straighter at the word and turn to her. “Excuse me? What?”

“When I watch you with him, it makes me wonder what would happen if he was adopted by another family. You might never be able to see him again.” Kennedy shrugs. “How does that make you feel?”

“Scared.” I scrub my hands down my face, swallowing the frustrating lump in my throat.

“And why do you think that is?” Kennedy smiles, nudging me in the direction she knows we’ll end up anyway.

“Because he somehow has buried his little ass in the slivers of my heart.”

Kennedy laughs. “There’s that, and also because, for the first time, you see your life how it’s supposed to be, Graham.”

“Growing up the way I did, being a father was never in my plans.”

“Maybe because you’re afraid you can’t be the father you always deserved?”

“How would I even go about trying to adopt Ben? Could I even? I’m in college.”

“My guess is you talk to Betty. She’d probably be able to point you in the right direction.”

I sit back, my eyes on the television, but I have no idea what’s on the screen. When did this little boy come to mean so much to me? What kind of father would I be? My eyes turn to Kennedy, and I realize none of those questions matter. I take a deep breath, tears burning my eyes.

“Are we doing this?”

At the mention of we, Kennedy understands I won’t be doing this monumental thing alone. She’s part of the equation. The decision to adopt doesn’t just lay in my hands. She has a large say in whether or not this happens.

Kennedy’s eyes drop to Ben. His bottom lip quivers, and she laughs through the tears she’s trying to hold back. All I need to know is right here in front of me. Through her eyelashes, she peers at me. All the questions pour from her eyes. They’re the same ones I’m asking myself.

Can we afford to give him the life he deserves? What will our life look like? What will we be giving up?

And then her smile widens, and I realize we won’t be giving up anything.

“Marry me,” I whisper.

“What?” Kennedy’s eyes widen. She clutches her hand to her chest.

“You heard me.” I stand and circle the bed. “I know it’s not going to be easy, and at times we’re going to want to utterly kill each other, but the one thing I’ve always been sure of is, you and I are meant to be together. Until the end of time, Kennedy Lucille Conrad, I will be yours. Please, marry me.”

She trembles as she stands, throws herself into my chest, and wraps her arms around my waist.

“Is that a yes?” Ben’s small voice breaks us apart. The smirk on his face makes Kennedy and me take a deep breath.

“We’re doing this, then? The whole white picket fence, two dogs, and hundreds of children?” Kennedy asks.

“We’re doing this, if you say yes.” I eagerly nod, pulling her flush against me.

“Yes, of course, I’ll marry you.” Kennedy pulls me close, her hands on the sides of my face. Her fingers ruffle my hair.

Her mouth slams against mine. I skim my tongue over her bottom lip as she jumps into my arms. My hands roam up the back of her shirt until I hear someone’s throat clearing. We are slow to break the kiss. Ben is pointing at the door with an amused smirk on his face.

“Did we interrupt something?” Mr. Conrad’s familiar voice has us twisting around. “You might want to cover up, son.” He aims his attention to the back of my hospital gown. Ben’s giggle has the rest of us smirking.

Kennedy squeals, jumps down, and wraps her parents in a hug. Mrs. Conrad ducks out from her daughter and husband, and wraps her arms around me.

“Is my mom with you?” I ask.

“Of course, I came with them. My only son, the idiot who runs into burning buildings.” She waltzes into the room, her big personality swallowing up most of the space. Since my father’s incarceration, she’s gotten her groove back, for lack of a better word.

“They’re getting married,” Ben’s sweet, tender voice breaks the second of silence, unaware of the bomb he had dropped on our parents.

I turn to him and whisper, “Thanks a lot, little man.”

He shrugs unapologetically.

“What?” my mom screeches, pulling Kennedy’s hand to her face. She runs her finger over Kennedy’s bare finger. “It’s usually customary to give a ring, son.” She shoots me a disapproving glare. “Where’s the ring?”

“Mr. Conrad, do you have a second to talk?” Their gazes settle on me. “In the hallway, alone.” Passing Kennedy, I whisper, “I love you,” and wink to damper her worries as I follow her dad into the empty hallway.

“I know what you’re thinking, and before you kick my ass, let me explain to you why I love your daughter.”

“I’m listening,” he offers, leaning against the wall. His eyes scream he’s smiling, but his face hasn’t exactly caught up.

“You probably already know this, but your daughter is the most selfless, compassionate person on this planet. Somehow she’s complicated and predictable, all at the same time.” I take a long deep breath. My eyes burn when Mr. Conrad lays a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Mr. Conrad, your daughter has this ability to make me want to be a better man, and I know it’s because you and Mrs. Conrad raised her right. So thank you for creating this person who has the capacity to love someone like me.”

“If you could watch yourself through her eyes, you’d know that it has nothing to do with the capacity of her heart, Graham.” He pokes me in the chest. “It does, though, have everything to do with what’s in here. If you’re asking for permission to marry my daughter, you don’t need to. You had my permission the minute you allowed her to heal, even when it tore you apart to step away.”

“Thank you, sir.” I turn to walk back into the room.

“Graham,” Mr. Conrad calls out. I turn, my hand on the door knob. “You’ve grown to be quite the man. None of this has been easy, but I need you to know my wife and I would be honored to have you as our son.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a hug. In his embrace, my mind tries to remember the last time my own father hugged me.

Ben’s hospital room door swings open. Mrs. Conrad walks out and replaces her husband’s arms around me with her own. “Are you positive you want to marry our daughter? She can be a pain in the ass.”

“Mom,” Kennedy shrieks from behind us.

I release my hold on her mom and wrap an arm around Kennedy’s waist. “I’ve grown immune to her pain-in-the-ass-ness.” She smiles when my lips graze her temple. Her nose scrunches up, and she playfully smacks my stomach.

“We should probably get you back to your room. I’m sure the nurses are losing their mind right now,” Kennedy explains.

The parents leave to eat dinner, and Kennedy and I duck back into Ben’s room.

“Will I be able to be at the wedding?” He bounces up and down on the bed.

“We wouldn’t get married without you,” she whispers. Ben notices the tears fighting for their escape.

“Why are you crying?” Ben looks to me for an answer, and I shrug.

She kisses him on the forehead. “I just need some air is all. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I see the struggle she’s having to hold her emotions inside. “Ben, I love you.” And then she runs from the room.

“Why is she so sad?” Ben asks. I sit down on the mattress beside him. “Did I do something?”

“You didn’t do anything, buddy. A lot has happened tonight, and I think it’s all hitting her right now,” I explain.

“Like you guys getting married?”

“Yeah, that, and some other things, but it’s nothing you need to worry about right now.” I pat his leg.

“It was weird that she said I love you to me.” He crinkles his nose.

“You thought it was weird?”

“You’ve said it to me before.” Ben finds my hand and squeezes.

“I have.”

“Can you tell her I love her, too?”

“If that’s what you want.” His bright smile makes my heart soar. “I better go find her.”

Ben slinks down onto his pillow, barely able to keep his eyes open. When they finally shut, I creep the rest of the way out of the room. Kennedy sits, her head between her knees.

“You okay?” I crouch down in front of her, resting my hands on her knees.

She looks up at me, excitement flooding her eyes. “We’re really doing this? The marriage and trying to adopt him?” She tilts her head toward Ben’s door.

“I love you, Kennedy, and tomorrow, even if Betty tells us we’re misplaced in the idea of adopting Ben, I will still want to make you my wife and have hundreds of children and the white picket fence.”

She wraps her arms around my neck. “Okay, then, we’re doing this.”