He smiles softly. “I already know you’re going to be a wicked amazing mom.”
“Yeah?” I ask, feeling a little doubt. Who wouldn’t? Being a parent is the biggest responsibility there is.
“Definitely.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Ben kisses my cheek. “We’ll talk to Sera and Cage. They always seem to know everything. Hopefully they can point us in the right direction of a great lawyer who knows his shit.”
“Of course they know everything. Cage is Batman, after all,” I tease.
Ben chuckles. “I’m beginning to wonder.”
I snicker as I rest my head on his shoulder. “It’ll take time. Time and patience. The first, I have a lot of now that I’m in remission. The second, I have very little of when it comes to waiting.”
Ben laughs. “Don’t I know it.”
I elbow him and laugh with him.
“But we’ll be okay. We’re going to go through this together. No more handling things alone, Nicole. Not like you’ve been doing the last few weeks,” he chides.
I sit up and hold his gaze. “I know. I just needed to think it through. All of it. I willalwayswant to have your baby. Always. No matter what, that will never change. I think the longing will ease when we find our children, though.”
“Children. How many are we talking?” he asks with a grin.
“Two for sure. As an only child I can tell you it gets lonely.”
“That sounds perfect.”
He pulls me close and kisses my lips, sipping at them, pulling them between his own.
When he pulls back, he looks at me. He’s serious. This is super serious Ben. More serious than I’ve seen him in a while.
I run a fingertip over his eyebrow and give him the time he needs.
“You’re so young, Nicole. If you’d rather wait until after you graduate…” he begins.
I take that fingertip and press it to his lips. “I don’t want to wait for anything anymore. I want tolive, Ben. The future for me, health-wise, isn’t certain. I want to live as much life as I can while I can.”
His breath catches. “You won’t get sick again. I won’t be able to live in a world without you in it. I won’t be able to…”
“I’mhere, Ben. I’m here.”
He presses his forehead to mine. “Thank God.”
“I love you.”
“Nicole, I love you, too.”
“Show me,” I breathe.
Ben stands and carries me over to the bed, lying me down softly.
“You never have to ask.”
