The police immediately surrounded Brady, handcuffing him and briskly ushering him down the stairwell, pushing Chloe aside in haste.

Chloe crumbled to the stoned floor, seeing what a broken man Brady had become.

Brady was held for a few days for evaluation and then released. Those words burned in his brain the entire time, 'I never loved him', but it couldn't have been real. In that short time, he came to believe that Chloe might have lied just to help the police, to talk him down. But as he left the precinct, his eyes groggy, he spotted her and he could feel the heat in his cheeks.

"Chloe!?" He questioned, running his fingers over her face to make sure she was real.

"I've looked for you, this entire year. So much has happened. You've missed so much."

Chloe took him by the hand and lead him away, strapping him into her car and bringing him to a quaint home. "This is where I live." She announced shyly as she stopped the car in front of the double garage.

"It's nice." Brady told her, still a little unsure of himself.

Chloe took his hand and led him to the door, through the entrance and up a wide set of stairs, to an upstairs bedroom. She cracked the door and listened to the silent sounds of one at rest. She continued to lead Brady into the room, past the tiny change table and beside the crib. "Brady..." Chloe started but didn't have to finish, not when she looked at Brady's face to see that he saw the tiny little boy, asleep. A golden mane of blonde hair and he was sure under those thick eyelashes were intense blue eyes.

Brady's eyes welled with unshed tears and he let them fall, when he realized what he had almost lost a few days ago. Chloe picked up the small child in her arms and placed him into Brady's strong hands.

"Chloe..." Brady breathed airily.

"I could never hate you, not after you gave me him." She told him, bending down to gently kiss her sweet boy's forehead.

"What's his name?" Brady asked, sweeping the tiny hairs against his sons ear away.

"Brady Devon Black."

Brady looked up, still aware of the salty tears in his eyes. "You gave him my name!?"

"Of course. When you left....I didn't know...I wasn't sure you would ever come back and when I found out I was pregnant, I knew it could only be yours."

"How? How did you know?" Brady asked, shyly.

"I knew it in my heart. Only in love could we create something, so precious, so right. I loved you then Brady. Even though I said those things to you. Those horrible things. I didn't meant it, not one word. But your grandfather, he knew. I never loved Philip and the truth was that night I had to blame someone because I hated myself for what I had done to you and to Philip. The real truth is that when they pulled out his body, I found myself hoping he was dead and when he was, I was so ashamed, so very ashamed. I know forgiveness is asking a lot. But my son needs a father and I need you."

Brady set their infant son down in his crib and took Chloe's hands in his. "I'm not the man I was." He told her, keeping his eyes downcast. "A lot has happened, but I need you and I want to be there for ...our son, if you'll let me. I'm not proud of the things I've done, god knows I want things back to the way they were, but that's impossible. So how's about we start over? No blaming, no lying, no cheating."

"I'd like that more than anything." Chloe told him through misted eyes. She cupped his cheek in her slender hand and stood on her tippy toes, bringing him closer to her. He closed his eyes, feeling her warm breath on his skin and his body shook at the overflow of sensation. He leaned down and gently swept his lips against hers gracefully, almost shyly, unlike the confident passionate kisses formerly, but somehow it seemed so right, so touching Chloe felt the tears slip down her cheek. His lips moved over hers unhurried, touching her so softly as if she would break. It was the first kiss either had shared in a year, with each other or anyone else, and somehow they knew that kiss would always be remembered as the beginning of forever.

THE END