Chapter 21: Confessions

Taylor was sitting out in the backyard of her and Eric's house waiting for their friends to arrive. They were all thrilled to hear about the new baby and they all wanted to come and see her. Even Lucas and the others were going to travel back in time one last time to see the new baby.

Eric smiled and walked over towards his wife. "Here, let me take her," he insisted. Taylor nodded before handing the baby over to him. Eric sat down as he held the baby in his arms.

"You really got the hang of holding her," she commented.

"Trust me, every time I hold her, it makes me more nervous," he informed.

Taylor smiled as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're a great dad so far, Eric. Think of how you're going to be with her while she grows up," she assured him. Just then, she went to answer the door. "Cole! Alyssa!" She gasped.

"Hey, Taylor," Alyssa greeted.

She hugged her friends and then she smiled to see a boy around a year old burying his head in Cole's shoulder. "This can't be little Aaron," Taylor insisted.

"This is our little sweet heart," Alyssa replied.

Taylor smiled as she touched the boy's hand. "Hey, you remember me, it's your Auntie Taylor," she reminded.

"Where's Eric?" Cole asked.

"He's in the backyard, still getting used to holding our daughter," Taylor replied.

Cole laughed as he handed Aaron over to Alyssa and went outside while both women sat down. "So…how have you been doing? I mean…I know it's been a year since the incident," Taylor started. Alyssa bit her lip as she looked at her son.

"Sweet heart, go find daddy," Alyssa instructed.

Aaron ran off to find Cole and Taylor placed a hand over Alyssa's. "At first…when the doctor told me I was pregnant, I wasn't sure if he was Cole's or Roger's. I was scared out of my mind praying to God that Aaron was Cole's, because God knows what I would've done if Aaron was Roger's son," Alyssa started. Taylor sighed and looked out at the backyard to see the scar on Cole's bicep from when he saved Alyssa from her nightmare. "When Aaron was born, I still wasn't sure if he was Cole's, I had the doctor perform a DNA test to see if he was truly Cole's son. My prayers were answered when the doctor told me that Aaron is Cole's. But…sometimes at night, I can still see his face haunting me. Calling me his and his alone," Alyssa started to explain. Taylor sighed as she regretted bringing the subject up. "It's okay, Taylor. I've been keeping this in for too long," Alyssa assured her.

"But the pain of talking about what he did to you. I feel terrible for mentioning the incident," Taylor commented.

Alyssa smiled at Taylor. "You know as well as I do that when it comes to this point, it is hard. I'm just lucky that my baby is Cole's son and not that monster's," Alyssa answered. Taylor smiled as she hugged Alyssa.

"And I know you're very happy," Taylor murmured.

Alyssa nodded with a smile.

Eric had set Elektra into her crib while talking to Cole. "So…how's Alyssa been doing since…the incident?" Eric asked.

"She's healing slowly. It gets hard sometimes during the night. Sometimes, the nightmares come back and I have to shake her in order to get her to wake up," Cole explained.

"How are you doing?" Eric asked.

"I'm doing all right. I just care about Alyssa and Aaron," Cole replied.

Eric stayed quiet for a second, but then his curiosity got a hold of him. "How did you know that Aaron was yours?" Eric asked. Cole sighed as he looked over at his son, who was playing with the stuffed lion and tiger he and Alyssa gave him.

"I didn't," he replied.

Eric looked at him confused. "When Alyssa first told me, I was happy, but then as the due date came near, I started to panic. I was worried that he was Roger's son, but then again, if he was Roger's son. I was going to make sure that this boy turned out to be better than his dad, if he was Roger's. I was thrilled to know that he was mine," Cole explained. Eric nodded and looked over at his sleeping daughter. His thoughts went back to that mission, the mission he wished to forget. When he had to help save Alyssa from the man that almost destroyed Cole and Alyssa. However, he was brought out his thoughts when the rest of the Rangers came.

(Hours Later)

Eric got out of the shower and was walking by the nursery when he saw Taylor rocking Elektra to sleep. "Hey, how's our little Eagle doing?" He asked. Ever since Elektra was born, Eric always called her his little "Eagle". Taylor smiled as she placed the sleeping infant into her crib.

"She's doing fine. She's finally asleep," she replied.

Eric wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her head while looking at the sleeping baby. "I spoke to Cole today," he stated.

"Yeah, I know. I was talking to Alyssa too," Taylor answered.

Eric pulled back and sat down. "I don't know what I would've done if that were you in that same position as Alyssa," he stated. Taylor sighed as she kneeled in front of her husband.

"Eric, it sort of did happen to me. The day you came out of the coma," she informed.

Eric's heart stopped and Taylor placed a hand over his. "I fought him though. He tried, but I fought him as hard as I could," she assured him. Eric sighed as he touched her face, regretting all that time he was in that coma. Taylor held his hand and kissed the palm. "It's the past, it's over with. Nothing really bad happened. Besides the beating and the attempted rape, but nothing else," she assured him. Eric stood up and held her hand. Without saying another word, he led his wife out of the nursery and into their room.

Author's Note: If those of you who don't know what Eric, Cole, Taylor, and Alyssa were talking about. It's all in the story "Lion and Tiger" and it explains the whole incident in there. And no, I didn't choose the name Elektra because of the movie. No crossover, I just like the name.