Chapter Twenty-one

"Look at this handsome little man," Gillian coos to her son, who is lying next to her in her hospital bed, happily tucked under her arm.

"Look at him? I can't take my eyes off him," Ryan says as he sits next to them. "Look at these little legs."

Gillian laughs as she reaches over to remove one of the baby's blue socks. "See, he has your toes…there's the weird one that sticks out on the end," she says as she points to the smallest toe on his right foot.

"I'm so glad I could pass that on," Ryan mutters sarcastically, but he is smiling.

Gillian leans her head back onto the pillows and closes her eyes.

"I can leave if you want to nap for a while."

She shakes her head. "No, stay with me. I'm just a little tired."

"You should be. You were pretty amazing yesterday."

Again, she shakes her head. "No, not amazing."

"Yes, amazing. In fact, I don't think I've ever loved you as much as I do right now." He says as he takes her hand in his, smootching her palm. She sighs happily, pulling him close for a longer, deeper kiss. Meanwhile, the baby gurgles happily to himself, peacefully oblivious to the world around him.

The moment is interrupted by the sound of familiar voices in the hallway. "Is this the right room? It says 4-b on the door…Gillian! We finally found you…"

Gillian hugs Eugenia and Dimitri, who offer their congratulations to the new parents. Edmund hangs back from the group.

"This must be my new great-grandson," Eugenia says as she peeks into the bundle of blankets in Gillian's arms.

"Would you like to hold him?" Gillian asks, as she places her son in his grandmother's waiting arms. He gazes back at her in wonderment.

"Have you chosen a name for him?" Dimitri inquires.

Ryan and Gillian exchange smiles. "His name is Charles Frederick Alexi Lavery."

Eugenia gazes lovingly at the child in her arms, her late husband's namesake. "I can't think of anyone more worthy to carry the name of my darling Alexi." She mulls the name over, pronouncing it slowly and deliberately. "Charles Frederick Alexi. It is a large name for such a small boy. Are you sure you can carry it all?"

It may have been her imagination, but it seemed as though he nodded his head in agreement.

***********

After the room had cleared-- Charles to the nursery, Eugenia, Dimitri, and Ryan to lunch-- Gillian startled Edmund by asking him to stay.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about, Gillian?" Edmund says, leaning forward in a chair near the bed.

"This isn't easy for me, you know I like nothing more than to hold a grudge until it eats me alive, but I have to say this, I have to do it." She clears her throat and tucks her hair behind her ears. "I feel, it would be best for all of us, our children especially, if we could put the past behind us, and hopefully, move forward."

"Kit used all of us, Gillian. I stopped caring about the money a long time ago, but I've always regretted that she got in the way of our friendship."

"Me too. Family can't be replaced, and, watching Ryan grieve over his brother made me realize how fast it goes by. There's too little time to waste it being angry with each other. So…if you can forgive me for letting this go on for so long…"

"And you can forgive me for being an asshole."

"Then we have a deal," Gillian says, smiling back at him for the first time in over a year.

They join together in a reconciliatory hug, and Edmund whispers in her ear, "Congratulations Gillian, you're going to be a wonderful mother."


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