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Fuck.

Shoving those thoughts to the back of my mind, I focus on her as I step over the edge of the tub with her in my arms. We go slow, slower than I ever would have thought possible but I don’t want to jostle her at all, if I can help it. When I’m finally standing in the tub with her in my arms, she looks up at me.

“You can put me down now.”

I shake my head. “No. We’re doing this my way.”

“Good lord,” she whispers, letting out a sigh. “Whatever therapist you found to help you not be so stubborn is going to have a field day with you.”

“Keep it up, baby. You’re just racking up the punishments.”

“Oh, no,” she whispers, her voice full of faux concern as I lower myself down to my knees with her still in my arms. Once I’m on my knees, I set her down in the water on her butt.

“Go ahead and scoot up so I can sit down and then you can come sit between my legs.”

She does as she’s told, scooting forward toward the faucet slowly while I sit down with my back against the opposite edge of the tub.

“Okay, scoot on back, baby,” I say, spreading my legs so she has a comfortable place to sit. “But go slow.”

In all her defiant glory, she rises up on her knees and turns to face me.

“Lennon, what the hell are you doing?”

She ignores my question, moving across the tub towards me on her knees, her face twisted in pain but it doesn’t stop her. As soon as she reaches me, she climbs into my lap and straddles my legs. Her head rests on my shoulder, her warm breath fanning out across my neck and her body slumps on top of mine.

“You could have just told me this is what you wanted and I would have made it happen,” I growl and she shrugs, not even bothering to lift her head.

“And I can do it myself.”

“Do you think it’s a conflict of interest for the same therapist to work on both of us?”

She huffs out a laugh. “Maybe but it’s not a problem because I’m not going.”

“I can’t help but feel like I’ve created a monster,” I tease and she lets out a little giggle. Those have been few and far between since she woke up in the hospital and I want to hear another one.

“Hyde two point oh.”

“God help everyone in our general vicinity.”

She pulls back and meets my eyes, a soft smile on her face. “You and me against the world, baby.”

“I love the sound of that.”

“I love you,” she says, almost immediately and warmth rushes through me.

God.

I’m never going to fucking get tired of hearing that.

Ever since those words first came out of our mouths at the hospital, we haven’t been able to stop saying them. But that’s not a problem for me. I’ll tell her every single minute of every goddamn day. And I’ll never get tired of hearing her say them back.

Jumper is getting sick of hearing it, though, but fuck him.

Besides, no one is making him hover like a goddamn mother hen.

“I love you more, sweetheart.”

She shakes her head and leans in for a kiss. As soon as she pulls back, she whispers, “Prove it.”