"One hot chocolate, please," Gwen smiled, glancing around the skating pond.
Hank was right—coming here with him that day had replaced a lot of bad memories with some very special ones.
She could still feel the joy that had coursed through her body as he had whipped them around the pond—the laughter that had bubbled up in her chest when they had fallen—the pure love that had overwhelmed her.
Who would have ever thought that, after what had happened with Ethan, she'd ever enjoy being at this skating pond again?
Gwen smiled to herself as the lady behind the counter handed her a cup of hot chocolate and a napkin. Humming to herself, Gwen pocketed her change.
"Are you Gwen Hotchkiss?" the lady behind the counter asked.
Gwen dropped her napkin. "How did you know?"
"Just a hunch," the lady grinned, her eyes twinkling. "Here," she said, handing Gwen another napkin, "this is for you."
"Thanks." Gwen's heart leapt as she saw the ink bleeding through the soft fabric. Picking up the napkin she had dropped, she unfolded the one the lady had just handed to her and quickly scanned it.
SHMILY.
Excitement bubbled up in Gwen's chest.
Go to a place that's very special to both of us—the first place I told you I loved you.
"You're really here," Eve gasped.
Mike shook her hand. "It's nice to see you again."
"Thank you for coming . . ."
"Thank you for seeing me." Mike dug his thumbs into his pockets and studied Eve. "I just really wanted to speak with you some more."
"I know Sheridan and Luis have told you a bit about my past . . ." Eve's pulse quickened. "Please, Mike, have a seat."
Picking up her clipboard, Eve returned to her chair and sat down, her heart swelling with hope as Mike sat down, too.
Eve leaned forward and clasped her hands in front of her—and then reclasped them in a different way. "I'm sorry. I'm so nervous. I don't know where to start . . ."
"It's okay." Mike's voice softened. "To tell you the truth, I don't either."
Eve smiled softly. "I've heard that you're doing a lot of wonderful things with your life. You should be very proud of yourself."
Mike smiled. "Thank you. I just want people to have an easier time than I did."
"Oh, Mike." Eve reached forward and covered his hand with hers.
Mike looked down at her hand.
"I . . . I'm sorry . . ." Eve stammered. "That was too forward of me." Eve withdrew her hand. "I just want you to know that if you are my son, I never, in a million years, would have given you up willingly."
"It's okay. I understand." Mike straightened his shoulders. "I'm pretty nervous myself. And I appreciate that you said what you just did about not wanting to give me up. I guess I just needed to hear that directly from you."
"Well, I hope you believe me because I was devastated when the doctor told me my baby had died. . . . I had already planned my entire life around you." Eve buried her head in her hands. "But I made so many stupid choices leading up to your—my son's—birth, that when the worst happened and I lost my child, I just figured it was a punishment I had coming."
Eve swallowed hard and raised her eyes up to meet his. "I should have kept fighting, though. I should have known something wasn't right and questioned it—I should have considered the players involved and figured out that you might not be dead."
Mike leaned forward and touched his hand to Eve's. "From what I understand, you were all alone."
Eve glanced down at Mike's hand and smiled at him, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. "I was, but that wasn't all your father's fault."
"I would beg to differ with that . . ."
Eve and Mike looked up as the door to her office opened.
"Eve's being too magnanimous—I do share a good chunk of the blame for everything that happened." His tone filled with regret, Julian looked at Mike. "If you'll give me a chance, I'd like to explain—and tell you how sorry I am."
"Are you sure you haven't had any more contractions?" Luis asked Sheridan as he turned into Harmony Hospital's parking lot.
"I'm sure," Sheridan reassured him. "I think I just need to lie down. Maybe we should just go home."
Luis parked the car and turned to her. "I'd still feel better if Eve or Dr. Valerii checked you out."
"I really don't think that's necessary, Luis." Laughing, Sheridan glanced down and caressed her belly. "This one's a tough little cookie. I doubt that even a little spat with my father can scare her into coming out."
Luis smiled and stroked Sheridan's cheek. "That's because she takes after her mother."
Sheridan looked up, her eyes glistening. "Do you really think so?"
"Are you kidding, Sheridan?" Luis's smile grew, his eyes sparkling at hers. "I mean, I've always known you're capable of standing up to Alistair, but, today, you just blew me away."
"Do you really mean that?" Sheridan smiled.
"Of course I mean it, Sher," Luis said. "Your father had no idea what hit him."
Sheridan blushed. "I guess he didn't think I had it in me."
"Well, I always knew you had it in you," Luis said. "And now, more importantly, so do you."
Sheridan's heart swelled. "Thank you for being there with me—for supporting me every step of the way."
"I'll always be there for you, Sher," Luis smiled. "Even right now—when you're possibly about to go into the throes of labor and swear that you're never going to let me touch you again."
Sheridan raised one brow and laughed. "You're not going to drop this idea of getting me examined, are you?"
"I just want to make sure everything's really quiet in there." Luis kissed Sheridan's belly and smiled up at her. "Like I said—I think there's a really good chance that our daughter is going to be a force to be reckoned with," he insisted, his eyes twinkling at his wife's, "—just like her mother is."
"You're Sheridan's brother." Mike rose up from his chair.
"Yes, that I am." Julian bowed his head. "I want you to know how sorry I am for what a coward I was when I was younger. If I could do it all again, I would be braver."
Mike swallowed hard and fixed his eyes on Julian.
"It's . . . it's not easy to stand here and admit my mistakes," Julian stammered, "but I made so many when it came to my relationship with Eve back then." Julian looked up at Eve, his eyes locking on hers. "She's the love of my life, yet I left her—all because I was afraid of my father."
"Your father's a monster, Julian," Eve said softly. "And you were barely out of law school when all of this happened."
"Thank you for saying that, Eve, but there's really no excusing what I did," Julian frowned. "I was terrified of losing what I mistook for a father's love, so I tossed aside yours instead."
"This father of yours . . . why is he such a monster?" Mike asked.
"That's the million-dollar question." Julian looked at Mike. "He's tortured so many people throughout his life that sometimes it's hard to believe that he's even human."
"It's hard to believe any of this." Mike dug his hands into his pockets and shook his head. "It's hard to wrap my head around all of it."
"Take all the time you need," Julian said. "Just, please, whatever you do, don't hold it against Eve. She's the innocent in everything that happened."
Mike nodded. "I would like to get to know you better, Dr. Russell," he said. "I mean . . . especially, if I am your son."
A smile tugged at Eve's lips; a single tear slipped down her cheek. "I'd like that, too, Mike. I'd like that very much."
Mike smiled at her.
The hospital's loudspeaker clicked on. "Dr. Russell to the nurses' station. Dr. Russell to the nurses' station."
Eve glanced up at the speaker on her wall and then back at Mike. "I'm sorry, but I need to go."
"No worries," Mike said. "We can finish this conversation later."
"I don't want to leave you like this . . ." Her face creasing with pain, Eve rose up from her chair and picked up her stethoscope.
"It's okay," Mike reassured her. "We're not done talking about this. I promise you that I won't disappear."
"Dr. Russell?" Nurse Anastasia Dualla poked her head in.
"I'm on my way, Anastasia." Eve straightened her lab coat and started toward the door.
"I just thought you'd want to know," Nurse Dualla said, glancing at Julian, ". . . that Sheridan Lopez-Fitzgerald just came in for an evaluation."
"Sheridan?" Eve gasped. "Is she having contractions?"
"No," Nurse Dualla said. "She was experiencing some pain, but it's subsided. Her husband just wanted her to get checked out, and—given everything that's going on with Alistair Crane—Dr. Valerii agrees."
Eve furrowed her brow. "Everything going on with Alistair Crane?"
"Yes, I thought you'd heard, Dr. Russell. Alistair Crane was released."
Eve's eyes flew to Julian's.
"That's actually why I came here," Julian admitted. "I wanted to tell you in person. From what I understand, Sheridan and Luis just visited him in jail . . ."
"No wonder your sister was in pain . . ." Eve grabbed her clipboard. "Please tell them I'll be right down, Anastasia."
"Thank you for watching out for Sheridan, Eve," Julian said. "You know you're quite special to her."
Eve squeezed Julian's hand. "She's very special to me, too, Julian. She has been since the moment I met her."
Gwen opened the door to her apartment; her breath caught in her throat. The entire living room was lit with soft candles, rose petals scattered everywhere.
Tears sprang to the corners of Gwen's eyes. "Hank?" Gwen gasped as he stepped out of the shadows, her hand flying to her mouth. "What's going on here?"
Hank took Gwen's fingers in his own and brought them to his lips. Gently pressing a kiss down upon them, he led her to the center of the room. "Since the second you caught my eye, you've turned my entire world upside down." Hank swallowed hard, his eyes fixing on hers. "You've made me want to be a better person—made me feel like I have a real purpose in life."
A tear slipped down Gwen's cheek; her eyes glistened at Hank's. "You've done the same thing for me. I don't know where I'd be without you . . ."
"I have a feeling you'd be doing just fine." Hank smiled softly at her. "But I'm still grateful that you've been letting me stand beside you while you reimagine your life."
Her voice choking with emotion, Gwen cupped his face. "I can't imagine doing it with anyone else."
"Neither can I," Hank said. "After Sheridan was buried alive, I never thought I'd be able to look myself in the eyes again. But you've helped me find my way back—believed in me at times when I didn't even believe in myself."
Gwen smiled through her tears. "I love you, Hank."
Hank turned his head and kissed her palm. "I love you, too, Gwen."
Lowering himself down onto one knee, Hank took a deep breath in and pulled a ring box out of his pocket. His face lighting up, he looked up at Gwen—his eyes shining at hers as he opened the lid. "Gwen, will you marry me?"
