Fall Into Place (Taking the Fall #5)(24)
Epilogue
Samuel
Five years later…
“Mudak!”
“Come on, kitten. Don’t be mad at me. You were the one who said you didn’t want any drugs.”
“You gave me a baby with a giant head and now I have to push it out!” She lays her head back on the pillow, exhausted after three hours of pushing. “I can’t do it anymore.” I see tears form at the corner of her eye, and my heart breaks.
“You’re almost there, kitten. A couple more good pushes and the baby will be here.”
The doctor is encouraging and has been an amazing coach. She’s talked Nika through the worst of the pain because she knew her plan was to tough it out. I’m thankful she’s here because I feel powerless.
I need to help Nika see through the pain and to focus. Leaning over, I get close to her face, wiping away the sweaty hair that’s stuck to her forehead. “Zhena.” She looks me in the eyes after I say the Russian word for ‘wife.’ “You can do this. You’re the strongest woman I know.”
“I’m scared, Samuel.” My heart clenches, but I have to be her rock now. I can’t let her feel afraid.
“Is my wife afraid? Because the Nika who took down those two wrestlers in Mexico by herself because she refused to wait for my backup wasn’t scared. The Nika who jumped from the top of a building to the next because her husband was ‘slowing her down’ wasn’t scared. The Nika who took a stray bullet outside a gator farm in Florida but still managed to carry that skip kicking and screaming out of a swamp wasn’t scared. And the Nika I met in the bar of the Blue Diamond casino, that Nika who stole my wallet, watch, and then my heart sure as hell wasn’t scared.” She smiles at my words, a tear falling down her cheek. I hold her face with both hands and try to give her all of my strength. “Now you tell me, kitten. You gonna toughen up and bring our baby into this world, or you gonna sit here scared?”
She grits her teeth and nods her head, letting me know she’s focused. When the pain gets to be too much, fear can take over and that’s why I’m here. To remind her that she’s a badass and can do anything she damn well feels like.
I let go of her face and she turns her attention back to the doctor. “Let’s do this.” She grips the sides of the bed and takes a few short breaths before bearing down and pushing hard.
“That’s it, Nika. Push, push, push!”
I knead her lower back with my fist, helping with the contraction and mentally cheering her on. She can do it, she’s got it.
She lets out a cry at the same time the baby does, and we all breathe a sigh of relief. Leaning down, I take her face in my hands and kiss her hard. Our tears mix together as we both hear the sound of our baby crying for the first time. Quickly, we break apart, anxious to see him or her. We didn’t find out beforehand. We wanted a surprise.
“Congratulations, Mom and Dad. It’s a boy.”
The doctor passes our baby boy over to Nika, and she wraps her arms around him, and I wrap my arms around them both.
We decided after last year when Nika got shot it was time to hang up the cuffs. Luckily for both of us, it just grazed her leg, but the thought of something worse sat hard with us. We’d been talking about wanting a baby for a long time, and this was just the sign we needed. Our families had pushed for us to stop long ago, but we wanted it to be on our own terms. After that it wasn’t a hard decision.
Nika and I moved back to my home because we wanted to be close to family when we had kids. Nika’s mom and dad followed, settling down a few hours away from us, wanting to be close to their grandkids when we got around to having them. It didn’t take me long to put my baby in her, and Nika says I’m too proud of that fact. I just keep telling her my seed is strong, and she rolls her eyes.
Now after the doctor has left and the nurses have taken care of everything, we’re left alone with our son. I’m laid on the hospital bed beside Nika, cradling her and our baby next to me. I couldn’t possibly be more happy and in love than I am right now.
“Samuel Viktor,” Nika says, gently touching his cheek.
“It’s a strong name. I think it will suit him if he’s anything like his mama.”
Nika looks at me and smiles. Seeing how happy she is makes everything worthwhile.
I kiss her forehead and tuck her under my chin, looking down on my little family. I know the rest of our families will be in here in a few minutes, so I’m just enjoying the quiet time with just us.
I couldn’t be more thankful for meeting Nika and having her as my wife and partner. She’s my rock, my world, and my reason for living. I give her another kiss on her forehead and entwine our fingers. One day I hope to find the words to tell her all of this, but until then I’ll just keep showing her.
Acknowledgments
To all of you who have read the Taking the Fall series and fallen in love with the characters, thank you.
Thank you for coming on this journey with me and for loving Cherry, Carter, Jeanette, Saint, and now their kids as much as I have. This was a beautiful story to write and the one that means the most to my heart.
Thank you for supporting my work and for allowing me to do something that I love. This novella has been asked about since I released the final part of Taking the Fall, and I’m happy to say that this is the end. These two novellas (Anthony and Mary; Samuel and Nika) close the chapters in their world. I’m leaving them in their blissful Happily Ever After, making babies and being in love.