He arched a brow at her hesitation. "But what?"
"I'm not so sure about this. We still have Coyote out there, gunning for both of us. If I put this in you, you'll be mortal again and you'll be able to die."
"I can die now."
She shook her head. "Not as easily and you know that."
"I'll still have my powers though."
True, but she wasn't sure it would be enough. There was no telling what tricks Coyote might come up with next. "It's not the same. Do we have to do this?"
"No. I have my soul back. Technically, I'm out of Artemis's service. As far as I know, there's nothing that says I have to restore my soul once I have it again. But we won't be able to start a family without it."
"We already have a family. You, me ... and one irritated Squire."
He laughed at that. "Yeah, I guess Andy is our ill-mannered adopted son."
Abigail closed the box. She had a bad feeling deep inside that wouldn't ease. Something more was out there and it would be coming for them. "I don't want to take a chance on losing you, Jess. Not again. Let's wait on this."
He took the box from her hand. "All right. We'll wait."
That was one of the things she loved most about him. He never pushed his will onto hers. The decisions they made, they made as a team. Together.
She looked down at the simple wedding band that rested on her left hand. Even though Dark-Hunters couldn't marry, they'd eloped six nights ago. It was Vegas, after all. And Sin had a small chapel inside his casino that had provided a perfect setting. Zarek had been the best man and Hannah her maid of honor. Kat, Sin, Sasha, Choo Co La Tah, Ren and Andy had also been there as witnesses.
Yes, they'd jumped the gun, but given everything that had happened to them, it'd seemed most appropriate. And neither of them had wanted to take a chance on anything else going wrong.
Carpe Noctem. Seize the night. That was exactly what they'd done.
"You sure you don't want a diamond to go with that?" Jess had been nagging her about that since she'd declined an engagement ring. But that wasn't her style.
"I have everything I need and he's standing right in front of me."
Jess savored those words that had been her wedding vow. Even with her in front of him, he couldn't believe she was here and that they were finally together. That it was her face he now carried in the watch she'd returned to him. "I will spend the rest of my life, however long it is, making damn sure you always feel that way."
In the deepest part of himself, he sensed that Coyote would be coming for them again. He didn't know what tomorrow would hold, but today he knew what he would be holding.
Her.
And that was all he needed.
Bonus Scene
New Orleans
April 16, 2011
Holding on to her husband's huge, strong hand for dear life while they were surrounded by their closest friends and family in the bedroom of their home, Soteria Parthenopaeus leaned her head against the stacked pillows behind her and pushed with everything she had.
Ah, gah, it hurt.
It really, really hurt!
And it hadn't stopped for hours or was it days or weeks? Funny thing about labor, it made time slow down so that one minute in human time equaled three hours to a laboring mom. Maybe longer.
Yeah, definitely longer.
She reverted to her breathing techniques that all three (because her husband's paranoia feared one might not be good enough) of her midwives had taught her, but that was about as useful as all the pushing she'd been doing.