by Susan Hayes
Vance knew exactly what Dane meant. “In that case, floor it. Just make sure we get there in one piece.”
* * * *
Ciara held Annie on her lap, trying to keep the little girl distracted so she didn’t cry again. Annie didn’t understand what had happened to them. All she knew was that she had scraped knees, bruised hands, and no donuts.
She wasn’t happy about any of it, and Ciara couldn’t blame her.
They’d arrived a few minutes ago and been taken straight to an exam room. Since then, several nurses had come and gone, taking down information and making notes. Ciara knew a doctor would be by any second, but she hated sitting around doing nothing. She could treat their injuries herself. Apart from her scraped up knees and hands, the worst of her injuries were some bruised ribs and a goose-egg sized lump on her forehead from hitting the road face first. She had a splitting headache, but that was it. She and Annie were fine—which was a miracle.
The door opened again, and this time someone new arrived, one that looked familiar. It took Ciara a moment to place her. The brunette from the patio the other night. The one who thought Vance looked happier than she’d seen in a long time.
The new arrival took one look at Ciara and grinned. “Hello, again. I’m Dr. Daphne Stone.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced. I’m Ciara Fanning, and this young lady is Annie Sterling.”
“Oh, I’ve met Annie before. We’re old friends.” Dr. Stone crouched down in front of Annie and smiled at the little girl. “You come in with your Daddy Vance some times. Do you remember me?”
Annie snuggled deeper into Ciara’s arms. “No.”
Ciara gave the other woman an apologetic smile. “Sorry. She’s still shaken up over what happened. It’s been a hell of a morning for us.”
“So I heard. In fact, I heard you got hit by a transpo. I have to say, you look pretty good if that’s the case. Do you mind if I take Annie for a minute? I want to pop her onto the med-scan so we can take a look and make sure she’s okay.”
“She’s all yours. I think she’s okay, but I’d like to be sure. Her daddies are going to be out of their minds with worry. I’d like to be able to tell them their daughter’s fine.”
“You got it. I’ll make this quick.” Dr. Stone lifted Annie into her arms, ignoring the wail of protest that tore at Ciara’s heart.
“I’m right here, Annie. The doctor needs to take a quick look, that’s all.”
“Maybe you should come over here, too. Hold her hand? It won’t affect the scan.”
Ciara was up in an instant and limped over to the med-scan. The moment she took Annie’s hand, the little girl’s cries faded. “I got you, sweet pea.”
“Perfect, thanks. So, what happened to you two?”
“A transpo was coming down a hill when its brakes failed. There wasn’t room for him to steer around us, so I did the only thing I could think of. I got Annie out of its path, then took a dive. Lucky for me those big transpos are high enough off the ground he drove over me instead of into me.”
“Holy nova. That close?”
Ciara could still remember the roar of the engine as it passed over her head. She’d been terrified and convinced that she was going to die, but she hadn’t. The chassis had been high enough it hadn’t touched her. Thank the stars the driver hadn’t tried to swerve, or she’d have been crushed by a tire. “I guess it wasn’t my time. How’s the driver doing?”
“Broken arm, some facial lacerations. He’ll be fine. If he didn’t hit you, what did he hit?” Daphne asked. As they spoke, she’d taken a bit of gauze and was carefully wiping Annie’s face with it, cleaning up the worst of the dust and scratches. Her touch was so gentle Annie hadn’t even noticed.
“To be honest, I’m not sure. A street light maybe? Or maybe it was the corner of the building on the other side of the intersection. I was too busy checking on Annie to notice. Once I knew Annie was okay, I wanted to go help the driver, but by the time I got there, someone already had a bandage on his head and I could hear the ambulance coming.”
The med-bed readout beeped softly, and Dr. Stone glanced up to read the results. “All done. She’s fine. A little upset, but that’s to be expected.”
Ciara sighed with relief. “I’m so glad to hear that. You’re good, sweet pea. And you were very brave.”
The door to the examination room flew open at that moment. Dane and Vance came charging in, both of them looking ready to do battle. “Annie! Ciara! Are you okay?”
Daphne stepped aside, and Ciara found herself and Annie caught up in a double bear hug that threatened to break her already bruised ribs. “I’m fine. We’re fine. I promise.”
“I’ll leave you all alone for a minute, but I still need to finish my exam and treatment before you go anywhere,” Daphne said before exiting the room.
“What treatment? You said you were fine!” Vance asked.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. Ciara knew he was using his abilities to check her over, but she didn’t mind. It felt good to be back in their arms. When she’d thought she’d never get this chance again, it hurt her more than anything she’d ever known.
“I was nearly hit by a transpo, so ‘fine’ might be a relative term,” she said, burrowing deeper into their arms.
“Cuts. Bruises, knee, ribs…” Vance eased his hold on her. “She’s got sore ribs, Dane. Ease up on the hug. We’re hurting her.”
“You’re not hurting me.” Ciara took a breath. “But it is easier to breathe when you’re not squishing us.”
“Squishy hugs!” Annie giggled.
Dane listened to his daughter laugh and knew it was going to be okay. The two women he loved were both alive and safe. “How about you take Annie for more squishy hugs, Vance?” he suggested, knowing his partner would want to check on Annie’s health next.
“C’mere, sweet pea. Daddy Vance needs a whole lot of hugs.”
Annie squealed as Vance swung her up into his arms. “Missed you!”
Vance cradled his daughter close to his heart and kissed the top of her head. “We missed you, too.”
“You want to explain how a simple trip to the bakery for donuts resulted in…whatever the hell happened to you?” Dane asked.
“I’ll explain everything, if you let me sit down first. My knees got scraped up when I hit the ground.” Dane helped her to the nearest chair and dropped to his knees at Ciara’s side, unwilling to be away from her. He wasn’t sure he’d be leaving her alone any time soon. They’d come so close to losing her and Annie that his heart ached just thinking about it.
He held tight to her while she described what happened, grateful to have the chance to hold her again. The thought he might not have had this chance rocking him to his soul.
“…I thought I was a goner, but at the last second, I saw how much clearance there was underneath the chassis. I figured better a slim chance than none at all and dove for the ground. The universe must have plans for me still, because my insane plan worked, and he drove right over me.”
“You risked your own life to save Annie’s.” Vance’s voice cracked.
“If I hadn’t done anything, it would have been both of us facing death. It only made sense to make sure she was safe. She’s got her whole life ahead of her.”
“Spoken like a mother. You put Annie’s life ahead of your own. I’m so glad it wasn’t the last thing you ever did. Fuck, we came so close to losing you.” Vance leaned in and kissed her. “I love you.”
Dane leaned in and stroked her cheek. “Motherhood looks good on you, angel.”
“I love you both, but watch the language, will you? Little ears are listening.”
Both men blinked at her, then laughed.
“And a momma-bear is born,” Vance said.
“I want another name. Momma-bear doesn’t sound very sexy to me,” Ciara protested.
Dane gave in to temptation and rose up to slant a kiss across
her lips. “Oh, trust us, it is. Very, very sexy.”
Ciara kissed him in return, grateful to be back with them again. One thing nearly dying had clarified for her—she was where she wanted to be, with the people she wanted to be with. It wasn’t her clinic, or her patients, or her life in the badlands she’d thought of in those final seconds. It was Vance and Dane and their little girl.
There was a sound of movement in the room, and when Dane ended their kiss, she opened her eyes and discovered that that Vance was on his knees beside Dane with Annie settled between them.
“Uh, why is everyone on the floor?” she asked.
“Tradition,” Vance replied, holding out his hand to her.
Dane mirrored the move, and Ciara found herself taking both their hands. They both looked solemn, and her heart beat a little faster as they glanced at each other, then at her.
“Do you love us?” Vance asked.
“Very much. When I…I thought I was…” She broke off and swallowed several times, trying to remove the lump in her throat. “At the end, all I could think about was that I wanted more time with the three of you. That’s all I wanted. So, yes, I love you.”
“We love you, too. We want you to be part of our lives forever. Will you?” Dane asked, looking at her with love shining in his sky-blue eyes.
“Yes. Hell yes. I don’t think you could get rid of me now if you tried.”
They both grinned, and even Annie laughed and clapped though she was too young to truly understand what was going on.
“Close your eyes, Ciara,” Vance said.
“Bossy ’leet,” she muttered.
“Yes, I am. Get used to it. Now, close your eyes.”
“Trust us, angel,” Dane added.
She closed her eyes. “I’ll always trust you.”
Vance’s voice was thick with emotion. “And we trust you, with everything we are, and everything we have. We want you in our lives, Ciara.”
Someone’s hand touched her left cheek, smoothing back her wind-tangled hair. There was a touch of something cool against her skin, then a brief tingle. “What the hell did you do?”
Two voices answered her in concert. “We choose you, Ciara.”
Her eyes flew open. Both men were staring at her, their identical expressions one of smug male possessiveness. Vance moved his hand away, and she immediately spotted the marking device he held.
Her hand flew to her face, but she couldn’t feel any difference, even though she knew everything had changed. They’d claimed her. Her heart soared, and her thoughts reeled and bounced around the inside of her head. Could they even do that?
“What have you done?” she demanded, already looking around the room for a mirror or anything that would show her reflection.
“We claimed what was ours,” Dane said, grinning now.
“And it looks damn good on you.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because you’re ours, and we want the world to know it.” Vance got to his feet and offered her his hand. “Mirror is over the sink. This way.”
Dane stood too, scooping Annie into his arms on the way up. “Doesn’t she look pretty, sweet pea?”
Annie nodded. “You drawed pretty picture on Ciara’s face. You draw on me next?”
Dane groaned. “Uh. Sure. With something that washes off easily. No drawing on yourself, though, okay?”
Annie sighed heavily. “Okay, Daddy. But is pretty!”
Ciara couldn’t help but laugh at Annie’s commentary as Vance led her to the mirror. One look at her new reflection, and she had to agree with her newly acquired daughter. It was a lovely design. The letters were dainty, but her bonded’s initials were still easy to see. Her bonded. That’s what they were. Her mad, wonderful, incredible men had bound themselves to her forever.
“You aren’t going to get in trouble for this, are you?” she asked as she traced the design with her fingertips.
“It was pointed out to me by someone in authority that there is nothing in the laws stating we have to claim a fertile woman. So, no. We’re not going to be in trouble. And if anyone says anything, we’ll point them in Regent Travers’ direction. They can argue the point with him.”
“I knew I liked him.” Ciara turned and opened her arms. Within seconds, she had her family surrounding her, and she hugged them hard, tears of joy flowing down her face as she kissed each of them in turn.
“Does this mean you like it?” Dane asked. “If you do, I’m totally taking credit. If not…Vance did it.”
“I love it. And I love all of you. Annie, sweet pea, would you like me to stay with you always?”
Annie squealed and bounced in her father’s arms. “You be my mommy?”
Ciara’s heart soared as she kissed Annie’s cheek, covering her sweet face in tear flavored kisses. “Yes, baby. I’ll be your mommy.”
As she held on tight to her bonded and their daughter, Ciara’s heart overflowed with amazement and joy. This was more than she’d ever dreamed of, more than she’d ever dared to hope for. She didn’t know what the future would bring, but whatever it might be, she had a feeling fate would see to it they faced it together.
***
EPILOGUE
Ciara pushed back from her desk and sighed. She wanted to keep studying, but her brain wasn’t cooperating. She had too much on her mind. Since the day of the earthquake her life had changed in so many ways, all of it good. Still, there were times she missed her old life. At least back then, her days had been quiet.
Quiet wasn’t part of her vocabulary any more.
Her days were different now, fuller and far busier. There was school, and Annie, and she was working with Alayna as a liaison between the Alliance and the residents of the badlands. She made frequent visits to the new hydroponics farms that were being built near Fort Saken by the former residents of Black Springs. She brought Vance with her so that the people there could be seen by a proper doctor. At first it had been hard to step back and let someone else take care of the people she considered hers, but it was for the best. For everyone.
She didn’t have to worry about Will Aster ever bothering her again, either. He’d been found guilty on all charges and was already serving the beginning of what would be a lengthy sentence. He was out of her life forever.
She rose from her chair and stretched before taking a slow walk around her room. She hadn’t made many changes since she’d moved in to this bedroom. The desk was new, but she’d picked one that was made from the same honey-colored wood as the other furniture. It sat in one well-lit corner, usually half buried in notes and data files that were part of her assigned reading. She’d been back in the paramedic course for more than a month now, and if she could keep up her pace, she’d be done in another year or so. Her time as a medic in the badlands had given her experience and training that made parts of the course a whole lot easier than it had been the first time she’d attempted it, and she’d even been given credit for some of the practical elements.
Of course, it also helped that she had her own personal physician to study with. Every night after Annie had gone to sleep, the three of them would gather in the living room to share the details of their day, and she’d talk to Vance about what she was learning. It was one of the best parts of her day.
On the shelf above her desk was the ledger she’d saved from the wreckage of her clinic. The last name she’d written in it had been Annie’s. It stood as a reminder that she didn’t have to be a medic or live in the badlands in order to make a difference.
Coming to that understanding had also helped her let go of her anger at her parents. In the past, she’d pretended she hadn’t cared what they’d done to her. She’d buried the pain and tried to move past it, but the hurt was still there. Her feelings had influenced her choices whether she’d admitted to them or not. She’d hidden herself away in Black Springs in part because she hadn’t believed in herself. She’d tried to define her worth by how much good she c
ould do in the world. She hadn’t walked away from her past. She’d carried it with her wherever she’d gone.
She didn’t want to carry that dark weight any more. It was time to forgive and let go. Old ways of thinking died hard and some days it was easier than others, but she was getting there. She’d finally come to understand that she was good enough. That she deserved to be happy.
A knock sounded on her door, and she knew it would be Dane, coming to check on her. It was part of their daily routine. She’d study until her brain hurt, and somehow he always knew when to appear at her door.
“Come on in,” she called.
He opened the door and leaned up against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest and a smile playing across his lips. She could see the top of his bonding tattoo showing along the side of his neck, the black lines that made up the initials of all their names vanishing beneath the collar of his shirt. She’d spent hours tracing each and every line on Dane and Vance’s body since their bonding ceremony and had every intention of doing so every night for the rest of their lives.
“Damn, you’re dressed. I keep hoping one day, I’ll open the door, and you’ll be studying naked,” Dane drawled.
“And one day, I will be. Just not today. You’ll have to try your luck again tomorrow.”
“I live in hope. You hungry? Dinner’s nearly ready, and afterward, Alayna and her bonded are going to drop by.”
“They haven’t had much time to be social lately. It would be nice to catch up. But first, dinner. I’m starving.”
He held out his hand to her, and she walked over and took it. In all the amazing ways her life had changed since she’d arrived in Fort Saken, the one she still marveled at was the fact she didn’t have to face life alone any longer. Good days or bad, no matter what, she was surrounded by people who loved her.
Later, they sat in the living room talking, Alayna curled up between her men, and Ciara snuggled in between hers. Annie was on the floor between them, all her attention on the drawing she was working on. It wouldn’t keep her occupied for long, but for now, Annie was quiet.