Piper woke with a headache and obvious confusion, but that quickly cleared when she saw Gretel hovering over her, and Weston’s face in the corner of her vision. She looked at him first, managing a small smile and a raspy, “Hello.” She blinked as the last few minutes came back to her, and with a gasp, she brought her hand to her neck to feel the puffed flesh. “It was Frink. He tried to kill me.”

“He failed,” said Weston coldly. He didn’t bother to share Frink’s fate with her, and she didn’t ask when he added, “You’re safe now.”

Gretel dismissed the EMTs, and it was just the three of them. She looked visibly upset. “Did he know?”

Piper was reluctant when she said, “He overheard you telling me he was the father.” She stretched a hand in Weston’s direction, clinging tightly when he took it. “You aren’t the father, as we suspected.”

“That’s fine. This is still our baby.”

Piper nodded as she looked at Gretel again. “Please make sure the paternity doesn’t appear in the records, Gretel.”

Gretel frowned. “I don’t know if I can. This has gotten bigger than just a DNA test.”

Piper battled a wave of protectiveness that swept through her so she could find her voice again, feeling it nearly buried under the sudden onslaught of emotion. “If they find out Weston isn’t the father, and she was conceived in an unauthorized relationship, the next Coalition rep will force an abortion. You know that’s true—and you should also know I’ll never allow that. I’d go on the run first.”

“And I’ll be beside her.” Weston’s hand tightened around hers.

Gretel hesitated before she nodded. “The rules are draconian, and I want to help you, but I’m not sure how to hide this.”

Silence fell for a moment before Weston spoke, “It’s simple enough. All we have to do is modify the records so it reflects that he was angry with me for some reason. We’ll think of a pretext. He decided to hurt me by first getting rid of Pippa, and then going after Piper. That way, his crimes are recorded, but not the true circumstances. I can live with that little lie if you two can.”

“Without hesitation,” said Piper firmly.

Gretel licked her lips for a moment, and then nodded. “Under the circumstances, I certainly see the need to slightly distort the official record. As far as I’m concerned, the DNA test never happened, and once the child’s born, and your name is on her birth certificate, Weston, that will be all that’s legally required to preserve her citizenship status if the truth ever comes out.”

“Thank you, Gretel,” said Piper as she sat up. Her throat still hurt, but she was breathing freely now. “Can I go now?”

“No,” said Weston and Gretel together.

She shot them both a disgruntled look. “I’m not sure I like it when you two team up on me.”

“Too bad,” said Weston, but with an indulgent chuckle.

* * *

When they returned to his quarters almost an hour later, she was cleared for resumption of duties, but ordered to use an ice pack and take inflammatory reducers for the next twenty-four hours. As soon as the door closed behind them, Piper turned and collapsed into Weston’s arms. “I don’t know how you managed to know I was in trouble, but thank you for showing up when you did.”

His arms tightly around her, and it was the best feeling in the world. “I found out the beam nearly falling on you wasn’t an accident. I thought maybe he was anti-alien for a moment, and it wasn’t until Central Dispatch told me he was with you that it occurred to me he was probably the father of Pippa’s child. I came running.”

She snuggled closer. “Thank you. If you’d been even a few minutes later…” She shuddered as she trailed off, unable to remember much past him strangling her to a state of near unconsciousness before taking her up the stairs, when he’d dragged her five flights by her shoulder and shirt, paying no attention to how he bruised her skin, or the way he slammed her against the stairs over and over.

Once they’d reached the top, and Baxter told her she was going to have an inconvenient fall, he’d resumed strangling her before she could get away from him. That was all she remembered until waking in Medical, and she was relieved that she wouldn’t have to carry those memories for the rest of her life. A blank spot in her memory seemed like a kindness under the circumstances.

“It didn’t take long to figure out his mistakes. The biggest mistake he made was going after the woman I love.”

Piper froze, staring at him with wide eyes. “Are you talking about me?”

He arched a brow. “Of course I’m talking about you. I think we’ve established by now that Pippa certainly wasn’t the love of my life. She was my biggest mistake.”

Piper licked her lips. “I just didn’t expect you to love me already, I guess.”

He frowned. “It’s been weeks, and we’ve been through a lot together. I hope the drama’s over now, but don’t be alarmed. I don’t expect you to feel the same way for me yet. It’s going to take time, and I—”

She reached out to put her finger against his lips in a gentle gesture to shush him. “I love you too, Weston. I’ve loved you for years, even when I thought I had managed to stop loving you.”

He pulled her close, and she melted against him as his lips covered hers. They shared a long, intense kiss before she gathered her thoughts with a deep breath when they broke apart moments later.

“You’re sure about raising the baby as ours?” It was too late to change her mind and had been since she’d agreed to host the growing fetus, because she couldn’t terminate it now. The reality was, he could change his mind though, and the thought frightened her.

“Of course I’m sure. Are you?” he asked warily.

She nodded. “I’d like us to be a family.” She felt shy as she made the admission and was unable to meet his gaze after she said the words.

After a moment, he nudged up her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his. “I’d like that too. I love you, Piper.”

She leaned against him again, brushing her lips against his before saying, “I love you too, Weston.” She was finally getting everything she’d always wanted, and she managed to let go of the last of her anger and resentment toward Pippa as Weston kissed her again.

Her sister hadn’t deliberately brought them together. In fact, she’d done everything she could to keep them apart, but Pippa was no longer part of the situation. Her petty games and jealous whims no longer mattered. Even if she’d still been alive, she couldn’t have hurt either of them again when they were this secure in their love for each other and future together.