Persevere

Chapter 24

A/N: I have thanked you all so much but I still think that there aren't enough words to really thank you for coming along on this trip with me. I wish I could dedicate this chapter to everyone and all that have given Penny love. This last chapter is for you.

He didn't open his eyes, Luke just turned his head to the side and kissed the palm of my hand before looking straight up again. I bent over and kissed the top of his head before getting off of the bed. He smiled at me, really smiled and that hasn't been happening a lot. More recently I've started to see that smile again, it's a welcome sight.

I started to feel like a bad weight, like my worries and hesitation were dragging him down and making him unhappy but the therapist said that happens. Every marriage goes through ups and downs, there are worries, there are doubts, no marriage is perfect and together, both her and Luke helped me get rid of those worries. He said . . . he told me to take my time and to feel comfortable and I do, we do. We're getting back to each other and it feels good.

"I'm so sorry." I told him.

"Sorry? Babe, why?"

"I . . . when we were in London, I saw the red flags and . . ."

"Penny, no . . ."

"Let me finish, please. I saw the red flags, I saw her getting closer and I didn't say anything then which was my mistake. Then I just let it happen right in front of me and when it got to be too much I ran off instead of talking to you, instead of working through it. Then again, I was already contemplating shooting her at her own request."

"Both of us handled this badly but babe, we're here." he said, kissing my palm again.

"We're here where we belong."

"Penny, when's your doctor's appointment?" he asked, sitting up.

"In a week, why?"

"I would like to go."

"I had already assumed you were. It's in the morning so we can get the girls ready and either leave them with Lisa or take them with us."

"What do you think they're gonna do?" he asked.

"I know that Sam said she wants to go but I don't know if Lani wants to go." I said, thinking back on that.

During my time in Samoa, I didn't go to the doctor but I spoke with my doctor in LA over the phone. She was on vacation when I returned so we've had to wait for a little before being able to actually see her.

"She'll go with us, I'm sure." he added.

"Okay, I . . . uh, I'm going to bring you your dinner and then I'm going upstairs." I muttered, rubbing my belly.

"Okay, good night." he sighed, kissing my belly and laying back down.

As I showered I thought about my husband, about our relationship, and the issues we're working on. No marriage is perfect and while I can't just forget what he did, I don't want to walk away from my husband, our marriage, or our family. I also can't deny that there are a million different ways I could've handled it. After I got dressed, I went back downstairs and hesitated outside of the bedroom door. Do I want to share a bed with my husband again? Yes, of course, I do. Do I forgive him? I'm almost there, seeing him with another woman messed up my self-confidence more than I'm willing to admit. Is he putting the work in? Yes, he absolutely is, both of us are.

Over the past weeks, he's been very attentive. He's been taking on more of the parental duties that I normally take care of because he's not around. It's a lot of the little things that he's stepped up to do because he's home now and he can. The girls love doing anything and everything with him so it's really to see them have that time again. Luke is and always has been a great dad but I handled a lot of the day-to-day things with the girls.