The wave receded and her body, warm and soft, anchored him. Her long hair brushed his sides with every slow breath, slender fingers rested on his outstretched arm. Her head rested warmly on his chest. His own eyes were closed and he imagined her delicate eyelids in their long-lashed drift towards sleep. Sweat cooled slowly on their exhausted bodies. Perfect, he thought, this is perfect.
'Are you awake?' Her soft murmur vibrated through his skin.
'No' he smiled and opened his eyes. The lamp was still on, the soft glow illuminating the smooth planes of her back. She lifted her head from his chest and smiled up at him slowly. Deep brown eyes smiled too, open enough for anybody to see her soul, her emotions. Their honesty shamed him. Eyes like hers could never lie, his eyes had never done anything else.
As if sensing his sudden emotions, a tiny frown rippled her smooth forehead.
'You know I love you?' Her soft accent unfolded the words, her infinite eyes studying his reaction.
His grin was light and masculine. 'You said so before.'
Her light slap tingled his flesh. 'Pig'
The smile changed. 'Of course I know… I love you too'
He had said those words to other women, and never meant them until he met her. The truth of them echoed through him. Every close call brought it home. If he was ever going to die, he would want it to be here, with her, and not on some black-ops mission. He had seen it before, wives and girlfriends left behind to grieve, never knowing where their loved ones had died, or why.
She didn't deserve to be left behind, the image of her standing by his grave in black, a widow, haunted him. If he was a better man he would never have married her but he couldn't live without her and so had committed an ultimate act of selfishness. Her beautiful soul was linked to his, never knowing his true nature, never knowing that while she gave all of herself he only gave what his government hadn't taken first.
'Hello in there' Her soft voice called him back to the present, a perfect moment he had ruined with melancholy visions of the future. 'Are you paying attention? I have something to tell you'
He focused on her beautiful face, and waited.
'I…' Her eyes were suddenly coy, lashes veiling them as she looked down.
'We…I'm going to have a baby. Our baby.'
It took several seconds for him to understand her. A baby. A life they had created.
Happiness filled his soul, his emotions reflected in the eyes of his wife, his soul mate.
A beautiful wife, and now, a beautiful child.
A chill ran through him. An inner voice reminded that what could be given, could be taken away.
Ruthlessly he shoved the thought to the back of his mind and caught his gorgeous, innocent wife in a strong hug. He pressed his face into her hair, smiling though he knew she couldn't see it from her position astride him.
'I love you. More than anything. You *and* the baby' he amended. 'I'm going to love you for the rest of our lives.'