This time it wasn’t Noah’s voice I heard — it was a pair of gasps, followed by heels clicking rapidly across the floor.
“Oh my god, she’s awake—”
“LIZ!”
Before I could even brace myself, I was enveloped in warmth — arms around me, gentle but trembling, faces wet with tears, laughter breaking through sobs.
Mary clung to one hand, Lillian to the other. Their mascara was smudged, their cheeks pink from crying, but I’d never seen anything so beautiful.
“We thought we lost you,” Lillian choked out, smoothing my hair away from my face like a sister would. “You—you flatlined forthreeseconds in surgery. And we were just standing there… helpless. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Mary nodded rapidly beside her, her hand squeezing mine. “We couldn’t breathe, Liz. You’re our best friend. We’re supposed to grow old and laugh about all the insane missions we pulled off and wear ridiculous hats to brunch when we’re 80—not this.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Tears blurred my vision again, but this time they weren’t from pain. I squeezed both their hands.
“I’m okay,” I said softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
They both let out a sound somewhere between relief and another sob, and Lillian leaned down and kissed my forehead like a protective older sister. Mary just kept holding me, not letting go, like she was anchoring herself to the fact I was still alive.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” I whispered.
“You didn’t scare us,” Mary said, voice cracking. “You broke us. But we’re putting ourselves back together, okay? With you.”
Before I could answer, there was a soft knock on the door and a kind-looking doctor stepped inside. A nurse followed with a tablet, eyes lighting up as she saw me conscious.
“Miss Delacroix,” the doctor said, smiling.
“You scared all of us,” he said, coming to my bedside and checking my vitals on the screen. “But you pulled through. Stronger than anyone expected.”
Mary sniffled. “She does that. It’s kind of her thing.”
The doctor glanced at the nurse, then back at me with a strange twinkle in his eyes.
“Actually, we have… a bit of a surprise. While treating the abdominal trauma, we ran a series of scans. You were given pain suppressants during the procedure and have been monitored very carefully since.”
My brows knit together. “Okay…?”
The nurse turned the tablet toward me, displaying an ultrasound image.
And then it hit me.
“Oh—my God.”
Two little pulses.
Two little flickers of light.
“You’re pregnant, Miss King,” the doctor said gently. “With twins.”
The room stilled.
My breath caught in my throat.
Lillian’s hand flew to her mouth. Mary gasped, and tears began streaming again — this time paired with stunned laughter.
“Twins?” I whispered.
My free hand moved to my stomach, bandaged, bruised, but now something so much more.
