Your Guardian Angel

Epilogue

"Oh my God, you bitch! Get in here!" Katie grabbed Cassie by the arm and practically pulled her into through the doorway. "I haven't seen you in forever!" She hopped around all giddy and brought her best friend into a hug.

Cassie hugged her tight and let herself be swayed dramatically back and forth. When Katie pulled away, she looked at Cassie suspiciously. "What's going on?" She asked. "You look different. Are you growing out your hair?"

Cassie scoffed. "Fuck no! You know I haven't grown my hair out since eighth grade and I sure as hell won't start it again now!" She walked more into Katie's house and went into the kitchen. Katie got a bottle of wine and went to open it. "Uh...actually, Kate...there is something different about me...and it's the reason I can't drink that wine."

Katie was momentarily confused, but only very momentarily. When it clicked, she squealed and leapt up and down around the entire kitchen. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my...!" She gasped and her mouth dropped open. She went from being ecstatic to pissed. "God! Are you here because Ben is pissed again!? I swear to fucking God, I'm going to make it on Dateline and I will be asked why I murdered my best friend's husband! I won't even deny it! I am going to be a very protective Aunt!"

Cassie smiled widely. Knowing she had a friend like Katie made life so much more meaningful. "Actually, he's the most excited I have ever seen! Really, Kate, he's over the fucking moon about it and so am I."

Katie looked like she wanted to cry. She opened her arms and they hugged. "I'm so happy," she cried. "You're pregnant, you're probably going to get engaged soon and you're getting the best sex of your life. God, you so deserve all of this, babe."

"You deserve something like this, too," Cassie told her. "It'll happen, just you wait."

Katie scoffed, "Yeah, once I stop dating criminals and fuck boys. Speaking of, who is this Tom guy you and Ben keep not-so-subtly bringing up to me?"

Cassie shed a tear thinking about that day with Katie. It was such a good day. They celebrated, talked, cried, hugged, watched Rom-Coms, and ate nothing but junk. She went home to Ben with a massive smile from seeing her best friend again after so long.

Ben smoothed down her hair and gave her a sympathetic smile. He knew she was thinking about her because he was, too. As he looked down at his beautiful baby daughter all snuggled up in her mommy's arms, he knew they were about to agree on something. They talked about it once years ago, but not in the last nine months oddly enough. He thinks it's because they just didn't need to and that they would just know.

Cassie looked at him and he kissed her forehead that was still sticky with sweat from the labor. "You know what name I think would suit her?" He asked. She took in a deep breath and willed herself not to cry.

She held it in until she croaked out, "Katie."

He nodded, then smiled down at his daughter. "Katie May," he said. "Rings a bell, don't you think?"

She was full on crying now as she nodded. "Mom's going to lose her fucking mind," she laughed through tears. "Should we bring him in?" Ben nodded and promised he'd be back in a minute, allowing to have a moment with her daughter.

"You're named after my best friend," she told the newborn. "Named after your Aunt. Your Guardian Angel now. I so wish she could meet you. She would spoil both of you absolutely rotten and enjoy every single second of it. I'm so happy you're here, Katie."

Ben peaked his head in just in time to see her kiss their daughter's head. He smiled warmly at the sight and gave her another moment. Once he was sure the little moment was over, he gently led Peter in by the shoulders. He was holding onto a stuffed animal for dear life and looked nervous.

Once he saw his mom, that went away. "Mommy!" He bolted over to the bed and struggled to get up. Ben chuckled and picked him up. He sat down next to Cassie and put Peter in his lap. The moment he saw Katie, he practically gasped. "Is that sissy?"

Cassie smiled at her boy and said, "It is. This is Katie."

Peter let out a little "wow" and went to touch her head, but got nervous and pulled his hand away. "It's okay, Bud," Ben assured. He took his hand and put it on Katie's head. Peter then started crying, getting concerned looks from his parents. "What's wrong?" Ben patted at his chest.

Peter sniffled and cried, "I want to be the best big brother."

This got tears from both Ben and Cassie. "Oh, baby," Cassie cooed.

Ben sniffled a bit, then cleared his throat. "You will be, my sweet boy," he assured. He kissed his son's head. "You're going to take care of her, aren't you?"

Peter nodded, tears still flowing down his cheeks. "Does she have Aunt Katie's name?" He asked.

Ben nodded with a sad, yet happy, smile. "She does. We wanted a way to always remember her."

The little family sat their a little longer. Eventually, Peter shyly asked if he could hold her. Ben situated Peter at the end of the bed, then brought over Katie. He gently put her in his lap while showing him how to properly support her. Once he had it down, he smiled proudly up at his dad.

"Look at you," Ben chuckled. "Look at you both. My perfect babies." He kissed Peter's head, then Katie's. He then sat back next to Cassie and kissed her on the lips. "My perfect family."

They leaned into each other and watched Peter look at his sister. He started talking to her about all the things he was going to teach her, like how to walk, read, play games. He even promised to share his toys.

Ben took Cassie's hand and laced their fingers together on the bed. "Going up to you on that beach is the best decision I have ever made. I've always known it, but this moment...it couldn't be more perfect."

Just as he said that, Peter put his stuffed animal next to Katie and told her she could have it "to keep the bad dreams away forever".

Cassie squeezed Ben's hand. "I agree. Best decision you could have ever made." He laughed loudly at that, causing Peter to look up at his parents. He gave them his little heart melting smile that showed some of his missing baby teeth.

"Can we take her home now?" He asked. "I want to show her my room. Oh, and my toys!"

"Soon," Ben smiled. "She and mummy need some rest first. How about you go back to the house with me so we can make sure Katie and mummy have everything they need for when they come home?"

Peter shook his head. "I don't want to leave, daddy."

Cassie put a hand on Ben's arm and said, "Our moms already did that. When my mom relived you of your perfect husband during labor duties, she told me they had already stocked our fridge, changed all the sheets on the beds, dressed the crib, the whole nine yards."

He sighed in relief. "Thank God because I really didn't want to leave, either. Cradle her head, Bud," Ben gently told Peter once he saw his arm shift. Peter nodded in understanding and put his arm back the way it was. "If she gets too heavy for you, just tell us."

"I'm fine, daddy. I can do this for hours!"

Cassie chuckled, "Well, good, because you're our official babysitter."

Peter took that with pride, but they were sure he'd resent the title when he gets older. Still, they'd take what they have now and that's this picture perfect memory. They laced hands again and Ben leaned the side of his head against her's.

If you told him before he got on that plane to Mexico that he would meet his future wife, he would have scoffed in your face. If you told him that girl would turn out to be his student, he would have called you insane. If you told him he would have two children with his woman, he might have walked away from the conversation all together.

Oh, how things change.