Love's New Beginning (a Love Comes Softly fanfiction)

The Way It Should Be

Later that night they lay together in the narrow hotel bed, Clark's arm around Marty's shoulders, her head resting against him, the curls tickling his nose. Across the room, they could hear Missie's deep, even breathing as she slept. Across the street, little Clare lay sleeping, worn out after his hard day.

His, Clark thought with a relief so heavy he could feel it warming him like a blanket. His to keep. His family to love and care for.

He turned to kiss the top of Marty's head. "Thank ya."

"Thank ya fer what?" she murmured. "Fer not knowin' what I wanted, fer puttin' ya through months of worry?"

Clark smiled. "Fer not waitin' another minute once ya were sure."

"I couldn't let ya walk out the door not knowin'. Not—not after today. I saw how much ya love 'im."

"No more'n you love Missie."

"I do. Like she was my own ... an' maybe a little bit more, 'cause she'll always be so special to ya 'cause of her mama. Like Clare will be. A reminder of the people we loved."

Clark nodded. He understood what she meant. "An' maybe somebody else'll come along who'll be special like, too, 'cause he'll be part of both of us."

"Clark!" Scandalized, she buried her face against his chest.

"Ya've never called me that afore."

"It didn't feel right. Ya were still—ya were still somebody else's husband. But now ... now you're my husband, too," she finished in a shy whisper.

"Reckon I am at thet."

"Clark, what would ya have done iffen I had wanted to go?"

He held her more tightly, a chill working through him at the mere thought. "Prayed. Asked ya to stay. Begged, if it came to thet. An' ... an' let ya go iffen ya were dead set on it. But ... I mighta shown up on yer doorstep askin' ya to come back. Would've been a mighty lonesome house without ya."

She leaned up to kiss him gently on the lips. "I'm not goin' anywhere."

"I'm gonna hold ya to thet, Missus Davis."

"When did ya know?"

Clark kissed her again and looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "I can't rightly say fer sure. Maybe it was thet first cup o' coffee. Thet's right good coffee."

She laughed softly. "Ya do like yer coffee."

"An' yers is the best I ever had. Kept me goin' back fer more when I shoulda been chorin', didn't it?"

"I used to wish ya would jest finish up and get on with yer day rather than clutterin' up my kitchen."

"I used to pray ya would learn to like havin' me around."

"I did," she assured him. "Cain't hardly wait to get back home an' back to our lives. Together, now. The way it should be."

"Same here." He tilted her face toward him for another kiss. "It'll be a new beginnin' fer all of us. A family, like we always were meant to be."

Late in the night as it was, there wasn't much time left for sleep—Missie would be waking up before they knew it, and someone should be at the doctor's to be with little Clare when he woke up—so Clark held Marty a little closer, whispered more words of love into her ear, and decided a little lost sleep was a small price to pay for having your dreams come true.