by Maddie Wade
“Yeah, if I’d known that earlier, I would’ve had lessons.”
Liz shook her head. “No, you wouldn’t. Then wasn’t our time, now is.”
He leaned in and kissed her as the lights twinkled down on them, surrounded by family and friends, and knew she was right. Now was their time.
“I love you, Elizabeth Smith.”
“I love you, Whittaker Smith.”
“Ready for our next adventure?”
“Always if you’re with me.”
Head to toe in blue scrubs, he held Liz’s hand as his heart almost beat from his chest with nerves and excitement. Today was the day he got to meet his son or daughter, a day he never thought would come and yet, here they were about to do just that. Liz was having a planned caesarean section because of the damage to her pelvis. They’d been lucky, and Liz had only spent four weeks on bed rest.
Liz held tight to his hand as he sat beside her, the doctor working the other side of the green sheet to deliver their baby into the world. “I can’t believe it’s happening. I’m so excited to meet him or her.”
“Are you okay? Can you feel anything?”
Liz shook her head, squeezing his hand. “No pain at all. It just feels weird like someone is washing up in your belly. It’s hard to explain.”
He arched an eyebrow. “That was a pretty good description, babe.”
The sound of a loud cry broke his smile, and he glanced in that direction as the doctor held up a pink-skinned, dark-haired baby girl who was letting the world know she wasn’t impressed with any of it. His eyes began to water at the sight of her, relief washing over him that she was here, and both her and Lizzie were okay.
“A very healthy baby girl, congratulations.”
He lost sight of her then, but Liz pushed him. “Go see her. I’m not going anywhere.”
He felt torn for a second but then stood, kissed Liz, and walked to where the nurses were cleaning his daughter. His throat closed up as he realised he was now a father. He loved Mateo like a son, but he’d never experienced this part of it, coming into his life so much later.
He looked on in wonder as his daughter bellowed out her disdain for the world, her face screwed up in anger and he instantly fell in love. It was a feeling he never thought to have happen once, let alone twice. The first time being with her mother and he’d even worried that he couldn’t possibly love anyone like he did Liz, yet now he realised his heart didn’t have just one amount of love to give, it was infinite.
The nurse wrapped his daughter up and turned to him. “Would you like to introduce your wife to your daughter?”
He nodded as the tiny, perfect bundle was placed in his arms, tears forming as he moved with so much care and sat beside Liz. Her eyes never left their child, the love there almost bringing him to his knees because he felt it too. It was a feeling unlike any other in the world, and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
“She’s so perfect.” Liz reached out to touch her tiny fingers, as he laid her across Liz’s chest, his hand on her back to keep her safe. Her eyes opened, and she blinked and turned her head as he stroked her silky cheek.
“She is.” He stopped speaking as happy tears burned his throat. He never thought he could be happier and yet every day he was amazed by the beauty of his life now.
Later, when Liz was finished in surgery, they lay in the bed together, and he held both his girls in his arms. He watched Mateo move into the room, excitement shining on his face. He held up his hand and beckoned him to join them. Mateo stood in the crook of his arm and Smithy adjusted his hold so he could turn their daughter to meet her brother.
“Son, this is your sister, Grace Elizabeth Smith.”
He saw the same wonder he’d worn as Mateo looked at her tiny face. “She’s so tiny.”
Liz looked up into his face and smiled a tired but happy grin before turning back to Mateo. “She’ll need her big brother to look out for her.”
Mateo looked him in the eye man to man and lifted his chin proudly. “I’ll always protect her.”
Again, Smithy felt the salt of tears and wondered if he was going soft but realised it was okay to show emotion. He was safe here and always would be.
He wrapped his hand around Liz’s nape and turned her head gently. “I love you so much, Lizzie. You gave me a family and I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life making sure I’m worthy of that.
“I love you too.”
She nestled back in his arms, and a sense like no other came over him.
Home—he was finally home.
Epilogue
“Smithy!” Liz turned from where she was sitting with her feet on Ty’s lap to the angry bellowing sound of Kanan’s voice. He was striding towards where they were sitting around the firepit at Zack and Ava’s home.
Her husband cocked his head leisurely towards the angry call of his name and raised an eyebrow in question. “What’s up?”
Kanan came to stand beside them and looked down furiously as everyone waited to hear what he was so het up about. “What’s up is I just caught your son with his tongue down my daughter’s throat.”
Roz was marching up behind him with an exasperated look on her face. “Calm down, K. It was only a kiss.”
Kanan whipped his head around to his wife, hands on his hips. “Just a kiss? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“They’re two consenting adults, what’s the problem?” Smithy said.
Liz loved how calm he was but wondered if he’d be the same if it were Grace or Olivia. When it came to his daughters, he was very different. At fifteen and fourteen, they were becoming women, and her husband was in complete denial about it. Olivia—especially as the youngest and a surprise baby less than a year after Grace was born—could wrap her daddy around her little finger.
“We both know it’s more than that.”
Smithy stood then, and she could see Lucy and Jace snickering across from her. Her husband faced K, hands on his hips, two protective fathers about to go to war for their kids, and she groaned.
“What if it is more? What the fuck is wrong with my son? He not good enough for your girl?”
K went red. “I’m not saying that.”
“Then what the fuck are you saying?”
Roz pulled her husband to sit beside her and Celeste, who was sitting in Zin’s lap. “What my husbutt is saying is that nobody on the planet is good enough for his girls. He doesn’t mean anything by it.”
Kanan frowned but sat down quietly as he accepted the truth of the statement. Smithy lifted her legs and sat, rubbing his hand up her calves.
“Roz, were you the one that actually ended a fight?” Zin asked with a chuckle.
“I can be diplomatic when I want to.”
“Of course you can, sis.”
“So, Zack, when does Riley get back from Iran?” Daniel asked as he kept one eye on the pool where their teens were lounging, far too cool to be sitting with the oldies.
“Next week. I can’t wait to see him.”
“You think he’ll go for selection at some point?” Dane asked.
“Not sure but I expect so.”
“When does Paige get back from Cyprus?” Will asked Daniel
“You tell me, brother.”
“She still dark?”
Daniel nodded. “Yup, still on some secret mission she can’t or won’t talk about.”
Paige had shocked them all when she joined the Army and said she was going for SAS selection when she’d done enough time in. Daniel, she knew from her sister, was worried sick over it but tried to be supportive of their daughter. She and Ty had discussed it and he’d agreed he’d be a wreck if one of their girls joined the military. Liz also knew her brother was relieved that Riley and Aaron were in the same regiment and wished Paige was too, but she’d deliberately joined a different unit because she didn’t want her cousins and friends protecting her.
“You must be proud of her, though?” Mara asked.
“Incredibly proud, but
it doesn’t stop me worrying sick over her. The military is hard, and even harder for women.”
“She’s strong. She’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure she will be, but I have no choice, either way. She’s her own person, and I have to support that.”
“She’s fine, brother,” Will said, and Liz knew he’d been using his connections to make sure the girl they all loved was safe.
Zack took a sip of his beer. “Look what we all survived.”
“Yeah, we were pretty badass in our heyday.” Jace toasted his bottle of beer to Zack.
“We sure were, but I think now is our heyday.” Smithy rubbed her knee and she felt the thrill of his touch like they were teenagers still and knew she always would.
“Absolutely, you’re only as old as the woman you feel.” Will laughed and Aubrey groaned.
She chuckled as a chorus of ‘here, here’ went up from Zin and Zack. “Oh, please, do not encourage him.”
“Seriously though, we survived some shit and we’re still here, and I know our kids will be the same.
“I hope so, although I’d prefer they not have to go through anything like we did.”
Smithy agreed with Daniel. “Me either.”
“True, but if you had known it would lead you here, would any of us have done it differently?” Meg asked as she placed her head against Daniel’s chest in comfort.
Not a single one of them spoke because they all knew the answer. Hell was worth it if heaven was the reward.
The sun beat down and laughter continued as they ate, drank, and celebrated love and friendship. Her mind wandered to Nazareli and the soldiers, some of which had not been as lucky as them. Nazareli had been whisked away by Jack and Eidolon for some secret Shadow Team after she had recovered thanks to Rykov.
Liz had seen her once or twice since the night in her home and the woman had changed. She would always have an edge to her, a bit like Roz, but then that wasn’t always a bad thing.
The soldiers with the chips had been a different story. Some had survived and gone on to recover but most had ended up with life changing illnesses or debilitating PTSD. Mara and Peyton still worked with several of them to help them cope with daily life.
A small number had even gone on to work for Jack and his Shadow Team. Which she shouldn’t know anything about but she and Smithy didn’t keep secrets from each other and he had worked with Jack to give these men purpose and help them find a new path.
Liz heard a splash and a screamed laugh and turned to see Drew dive-bombing the kids, his twin boys of ten years jumping on him the minute his head came through the water. He picked them up and tossed them back into the water, and they shrieked again with delight.
“Umm, don’t look now but I think Maddox is about to kiss Grace.” Kanan pointed to where Zin and Celeste’s eldest was about to kiss their daughter, and Liz almost found herself on her ass as Ty jumped up fast.
He frowned as she grabbed his hand. “Ty, you sit your ass back down. You’re not going to spoil our daughter’s first kiss.”
“Not so chilled now are you, mate?” Kanan laughed and then yelped as Roz punched him in the arm.
“Pack it in,” Roz said with a glare.
“Sit down, Ty. It’s all normal. In fact, I think we were the same age when we met.”
He frowned. “That isn’t helping. I still remember the thoughts in my head about what I wanted to do to you.”
“Eww, gross. That’s my sister you’re talking about, mate.” Dane made a gagging noise, and Lauren dug him in the ribs, but he pulled her forward and kissed her with a laugh.
“And look how we turned out.”
Ty smiled in answer but stayed on his feet, watching his daughter by the pool with her crush. “I think I fancy a swim. Anyone else?” In seconds most of the men were on their feet as they all went to protect their teenage daughters’ honour.
“Can you believe them?” Lucy laughed as Harlow rolled her eyes at her father as he sat between her and Deacon, Roz and Kanan’s son.
“Mum, tell Dad.”
Lucy laughed and threw up her hands. “I have no control over your father, honey.”
Harlow gave her a disgusted look and stormed off to sit with Daniel and Zack’s girls, Zoey and Ella. Jace gave his wife a satisfied smirk, knowing his ploy had worked.
“I swear they think our girls are going to be nuns at this rate.” Aubrey shook her head as she watched Will dunk Ryan, Lucy and Jace’s son, for even talking to his eldest daughter Erin.
Liz nodded her agreement as she watched the men in their lives with the children they loved. Not all of them were here for the annual BBQ. Riley and Aaron were both in the Army now too. Noah was working in London as a lawyer, and Leah was travelling with her friend Kiera, much to her father’s annoyance.
All of the Fortis family had survived the horror that was the Divine Watchers, and she sometimes wondered if they would all be here together without that period in their lives. Mostly she was just grateful.
“Do you see the gooey eyes Lois is giving Beau?” Aubrey asked of her youngest daughter, who clearly was crushing on Zin and Celeste’s middle child.
Liz nodded, but she was looking at Olivia, who was also making goo-goo eyes at Beau. That boy screamed bad boy just like his father, and it seemed there was trouble brewing for the next generation as they began to navigate the fun, sometimes heart breaking, but always beautiful when you found it—waters of love.
The End
The Fortis Family Tree
Dane and Lauren—Leah and Aaron
Nate and Skye—Noah and Nora
Lucy and Jace—Harlow and Ryan
Zack and Ava—Riley and Ella
Zin and Celeste—Maddox, Beau, and Cora
Roz and Kanan—Natalia, Katarina, and Deacon
Daniel and Megan—Paige and Zoey
Will and Aubrey—Erin and Lois
Drew and Mara—Lucas and Tate
Smithy and Lizzie—Mateo, Grace, and Olivia
Sneak Peek: Gunner
An Eidolon Black Ops Novel: Book 6
Gunner tugged the mittens on, and with a final look to make sure his grandmother was busy, he slipped outside into the frigid air of the Icelandic afternoon. Running toward the lake, he breathed in the cool air, laughing when he exhaled, his breath forming patterns. Throwing out his arms, he whirled as the sense of freedom made him giddy.
He loved his amma, but she didn’t understand his need to be free, to feel the sea air and the earth under him. She was old but she loved him, and he loved her, and if she didn’t know she couldn’t worry. She worried a lot. Milla said it was because she’d lost her child. His mother and father had died in a boating accident when he was three, but he wasn’t sad because he couldn’t remember them really, although that sometimes made him sad.
He had Milla though. She was his best friend and his sister. She was protective like amma was, but she let him have fun and kept his secrets—like the time he snuck onto the fishing boat they had at the dock instead of going straight home from school.
Stopping at the edge of the crystal clear water of the lake, he grinned when he saw that it had iced over since his last visit. He glanced around knowing he shouldn’t go out onto the ice alone. Amma and Milla had drilled it into him time and again, but he would be fine, he was strong, and he knew this lake better than anyone.
As he tested the strength of the ice with his toe and found it had no give, he felt excitement sizzle in his blood. As he slipped and skidded, Gunner moved further out and that was when he heard his sister’s voice.
“Gunner!”
He spun, hearing the anger in her voice, and as he did, he felt the ice crack beneath his feet and his heart plummeted to his belly. His arms shot out to balance himself as he stood frozen with fear.
“Milla.” He heard the terror in his voice and saw the same in his big sister, but she was calm when she spoke to him.
“Gunner, stay still. I am going to come get you, okay.”
Milla went to her belly and as she inched her way out to him, he kept his eyes glued to his sister, his hero and best friend. He would never tell the boys at school that; they would make fun of him but Milla was his best friend. He dreaded the day she went to college and left him and his grandma here alone.
“Gunner, I need you to lie flat and crawl towards me.”
Milla lay with her arm outstretched toward him. He felt numb with shock, his belly dipping until he thought he was going to be sick. With his legs almost frozen with fear, he began to kneel until he was belly to the ice, the cold burrowing under his clothes until his skin prickled with it or maybe it was the abject terror he was feeling.
Inching forward with the slightest movements, he almost wept when his fingers brushed his sister’s outstretched arm. Her eyes held his as she nodded her encouragement, and he focused everything on Milla.
“Come on, Gunner, keep going.” He felt his belly lurch into his throat when the ice moved under him and he heard the frantic desperation in his sister’s voice. “Move, Gunner, now.”
Her voice ringing in his ears, he crawled his way toward the shore, his breath seizing in relief when his knees hit the hard-frozen ground of land. His fright began to abate and for a split second he felt euphoria that he was okay. As Gunner spun to hug his sister and thank her, he heard the booming crack as the ice gave way. His entire world stopped in that moment as time suspended.
The smell of the air, the feel of the cool breeze on his cheeks, the way the winter sun dappled ice making it shine like the most brilliant of diamonds. Most of all he saw the look of love on Milla’s face followed by the realisation that she was going under the ice and there was nothing either of them could do.
As the hiatus ceased and everything began to move at speed again, he moved to set foot on the ice.