Always and Forever || Evan Buckley || 9-1-1 (Book 3)

Epilogue

E P I L O G U E

As I finished washing the dishes after having dinner, I noticed the sudden silence in the house.

It was way too quiet, considering that there was an overly energetic five-year-old, a newborn, and an adult man who often behaved like a child together under this roof.

Now that there were two little ones, the house was often chaotic. There was no room for quiet between Hazel's every three-hour cries and Maia's constant running around in her imaginary adventures with her father trailing right behind her as a sidekick.

I've slowly managed to appreciate the chaos. Growing up, after my mom passed away, everything in the house was too quiet because my father was never around. I was often alone with my thoughts spiraling in ways I wished they never did.

I finished in the kitchen and went to investigate the baby's nursery. Once I opened the door I found myself with Evan sitting on the recliner rocking chair I used to nurse Hazel. He was dead asleep with a sleeping baby in one arm and Maia in the other. Maia's favorite book was sprawled on Evan's legs.

The scene made me smile as I leaned against the doorframe crossing my arms against my chest watching the three people who have made me love life after hating it for years.

"It's not polite to stare Mrs. Buckley," Evan mumbled with his eyes still closed.

"I can't help it. I could stare at the three of you until I take my very last breath." I said softly, pushing myself off the wall. "We should get them in their beds though before they decide to wake up and be an absolute terror for the rest of the night. And I don't know about you but I don't want to end up getting no sleep for the fourth night in a row." Carefully, I grabbed Hazel from his arm so he could take Maia to her room.

I completely adored being a mother, but the amount of sleep I'd lost in the past month was starting to get concerning. Between trying to get Maia to do her schoolwork which consisted of coloring shapes and counting numbers, to nursing and changing Hazel's diapers there was no time to sleep.

I knew I wasn't the only one feeling that way. The number of times I've caught Evan falling asleep in the most random places was confirmation of that. I have caught the guy falling asleep while doing the laundry twice, but he still denies it.

I had always heard about how bad sleep deprivation was for new parents, but I never thought it was going to be this bad.

Evan and I practically raised Maia, but during those first few months of her life, she was under the care of my father and Cara. By the time I started to take full responsibility for her, the waking up at random times of the night was almost nonexistent.

I sighed in contentment as I looked at my beautiful newborn daughter sleep. After all the babies I lost and the negative pregnancy tests, I never thought I was going to be able to experience motherhood this way. I can't say that my pregnancy was blissful because it was not. It was filled with grogginess, bad moods, cramps, and incredible amounts of pain, but those bad experiences turned into nothing every time I looked at Hazel.

I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and Evan's familiar woody scent surrounded me. "Thank you," I whispered, leaning against his chest.

"For?"

"For asking me a date that was not a date to get cinnamon rolls. For breaking my heart and mending it back together. For fighting for me when no one else would. For making me a wife and a mom. For making me believe in love again."

I felt him squeeze me slightly. "I should be the one thanking you, Aggs. I never felt like I had a purpose in this life until I met you. If it weren't for you I wouldn't be the man I am today."

"I love you, Evan Buckley."

"I love you too." He said, kissing my head before nestling his head on my shoulder as we both quietly watched our daughter sleep. "We make very adorable babies."

"That we do." I chuckled. He was not wrong at all especially because Hazel mostly looked like him.

"How about we go make another one?"

I turned around in his arms to face him. "What?"

Evan smiled down at me, caressing the exposed skin of my waist. "I was thinking the other day that we should definitely have like three more."

I let out a loud laugh before quickly covering my mouth not wanting to wake up Hazel. "You have definitely lost your mind." I said, kissing his lips before walking out of the room and shaking my head.

"I didn't hear a no in that sentence."

Author's Note:

Hi!

As promised here is the last chapter of this book (a year later... I'm honestly sorry). It was intended to be short and sweet, but surprise, surprise... I will be doing a 4th book based on seasons 6 and 7. Not entirely sure of the exact date I will be publishing but I have been rewatching season 6 and writing some possible plots. I promise I won't make you guys who are still here supporting this story another year!

Thank you all for reading!

Coming soon... :)