Adrian exhaled, the sound nearly lost in the breeze. “What do you think… about a baby?”
Logan stilled. He felt Adrian’s hesitation in the way he tensed just slightly, in the way his eyes flickered toward Jay, watching their son with something deep and longing in his gaze before daring to glance at Logan. And when he did, Logan saw it—the want, thehope, shimmering there like sunlight on water.
“Our baby?” Logan asked, his voice quiet, and a smile was spreading before he could stop it.
Adrian nodded, swallowing, his fingers tracing slow circles over Logan’s hand. “Yeah, yes,ourbaby.” He took a steadying breath. “I think we could do that. And Jay, he’d love a brother or a sister.”
Logan grinned, his happiness breaking free. He bit down lightly on Adrian’s shoulder, laughter bubbling in his chest.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding against Adrian’s skin. “Ilovethat idea.” He turned Adrian’s face slightly, pressing a kiss to his temple. “I love itverymuch, actually.”
The words felt bigger than the moment itself. They held the weight of a new beginning, of another chapter they were already writing withoutrealizing it. The idea of a baby—theirbaby—settled between them like something inevitable, something meant to be.
Laughter burst between them, genuine and overflowing, mingling with the sound of the waves and the distant shouts of beachgoers. They kissed between smiles, between whispered words that didn’t need to be spoken to be understood.
And every few moments, Jay’s voice would ring through the air—”Daddy! Abba! Look!”—and they would turn without hesitation, watching him stumble, watching him rise, watching him chase the ocean like it was his best friend.
Logan squeezed Adrian’s hand, their fingers still intertwined. “Another little one running around, huh?” he murmured, glancing at Jay, imagining what their life would look like in a few years.
Adrian chuckled, leaning back into him, warmth spreading between them like the glow of the setting sun.
“Yeah,” he whispered, smiling softly. “Another wave to ride.”
The little boy came running up the shore, grains of sand clinging to his skin, his blond curls plastered against his forehead. His laughter rang through the air, uncontainable and bright, as he tossed the small surfboard onto the sand, right next to Adrian’s, as if he were mirroring his father without even realizing it.
Without hesitation, Jay launched himself into their laps, his tiny body crashing into them like a rogue wave, all limbs and boundless energy. Adrian caught him easily, arms wrapping around him instinctively, pulling him close as Jay wiggled excitedly, his breath coming in quick bursts, eyes wide with exhilaration.
“You won’t believe what happened!” he declared, his voice full of urgency, as if he had just conquered the ocean itself.
Logan bit back a smile, exchanging a glance with Adrian, both of them amused at the way Jay spoke as though they hadn’t been watching his every move the entire time.
“Oh yeah?” Adrian grinned, brushing damp curls and sand from Jay’s forehead. “Tell us everything.”
Jay took a deep breath, dramatically preparing himself, and then launched into his story, arms waving wildly as he recounted every second—how the water tried to push him back, how healmoststood up for real this time, how a tiny fish swam right by his foot (it almost touched me, Abba!), how he fell buttotally did it on purposebecause surfersdothat sometimes, obviously.
Logan listened, captivated—not because he didn’t know the story, but because it wasJaytelling it. Because the wonder in his son’s voice, the way his eyes sparkled, made even the simplest moments feel like the greatest adventures.
The world around them seemed to soften, the rush of the ocean blending into the rhythm of their breath, into the quiet rise and fall of Jay’s small chest against Adrian’s own. The boy had finally begun to settle, his endless energy momentarily tamed by the comfort of his fathers’ arms, his head resting over Adrian’s heart, listening to its steady beat.
Logan’s arms wrapped around them both, the warmth of his touch grounding Adrian in a way nothing else ever could. Their voices drifted together, exchanging soft words, answering Jay’s excited whispers, but Adrian’s gaze was drawn beyond them, to the vast, infinite stretch of the ocean.
The water shimmered beneath the high sun, waves rolling in a slow, steady rhythm, each one kissing the shore before retreating, only to return again.
He had always believed the ocean had a language of its own, a force that moved with purpose even when it seemed chaotic. And now, staring out at the endless horizon, where the sky bled into the sea in seamless shades of blue, heknew—the ocean hadbroughtLogan to him. The currents, the tides, the invisible hands of fate had pulled them together, even at the cost of risking Logan’s life.
Because the ocean hadknown.
It had known Adrian would come for him.
A life given for a life taken.
Adrian had lost so much before—his mother, his soldier, friends in battles, his health, years that had slipped away like water through his fingers. But in return, the ocean had given himthis—his second chance, his love, his family.
Every wave that rose and fell before him was part of something greater, a pattern far too vast to see up close, but now, from where he stood, he could see it in its full, breathtaking design. The ocean followed its own rhythm, a song of its own making, and somehow, in the ebb and flow of it all, it had carried him righthere.
He closed his eyes, letting the wind brush over his face, inhaling the scent of salt and sunlight.
Thank you, Mom,he whispered in his mind, knowing,feelingthat she had a hand in all of it. That she had been watching. That she had been the tide pulling Logan toward him, ensuring that the man who had saved his life would never be lost again.
