"Please tell me you had no idea that your ex-boyfriend was an evil, psychotic prick," Ian said as I drove as quickly as I could to Patsy's Pies, to round up Fiona and Lip. "Please. Just give me that Murphy, at least..."

"You know, I really don't need a lecture right now," I said, trying and failing to keep my voice from shaking. "Look, on the plus side, Debbie is staying at home with Liam and Franny, so we know they're safe. We can't lose any more Gallagher's today..."

Ian dragged his hand through his hair. "Look, Murph, I just... I don't know how to feel right now, about anything..."

"Don't fucking think, then," I replied, my voice trembling as we got closer to the diner. "And, if you have to think, think about how Josh said he wants us to meet at a public place, and that he can't do much to hurt Iana at a public place, and that you'll get her and keep her safe, just like it said on the agreement we had..."

"Murphy, do you hear yourself?!" Ian demanded. "You're actually going to fucking hand yourself over to Josh?!"

"If it means my daughter can live, yes," I replied, pulling up to the diner and dashing out of the car, running inside and finding Fiona counting bills at the counter. "Where's Lip?!" I demanded, feeling Ian hot on my heels.

"Why? What's going on?" she asked.

"Gallagher family emergency—now," Ian said, and I turned to look at him for a moment before I looked back at Fiona.

"Fi, where is Lip?" I asked her.

"Smoke break—what is going on?" she demanded then, looking from me to Ian. "I think I deserve an explanation here—Murph?" she asked, watching then as I walked through the diner, going towards the kitchen door.

"Son of a bitch Josh took Iana," Ian told Fiona.

"Wait—he fucking what?!" she said as I pushed open the kitchen door.

"Hey, wait," said one of the cooks when he spotted me, "you can't just—"

"I'm the owner's fucking sister—keep your goddamn apron on!" I shouted at him, flipping him off and going towards the door that led to the alley and shoving it open. "Lip?" I said, sticking my head out and looking around.

"Smoke break, Fi," Lip replied, not looking up as he puffed away. "It's my constitutional right or some shit..."

"Jesus—do I sound fucking South Side to you?!" I demanded then, and Lip suddenly looked up at me, his eyes widening. "Wrong fucking sister, Lip..."

"No shit," he replied, looking confused as hell at my arrival. "You all right?" he asked, putting out the cigarette, due to the pregnancy, as he stepped forward. "And yeah, you do sound fucking South Side, Murph. Guess it comes with figuring out who you are, and your living here for a few years now..."

"I don't have time for this," I replied, dragging my hands through my hair. "Ian's inside now with Fiona explaining things, and I came back here to get you."

"Why? What's going on?" he asked.

"Gallagher family emergency," I replied, reaching out and grabbing his arm.

"What the hell happened?" he wanted to know. "Debbie? Carl? Liam? Franny?" he asked, his questions coming out rapid-fire. "If this is about fucking Frank—"

"It's Iana," I said, my voice faltering then as I tried to hold back my tears as we stepped back into the kitchen together.

"Whoa, shit. Is she okay?"

I bit my lip, trying to dissuade the wave of tears from escaping my eyes. "Fucking Josh took her from her daycare," I whispered, my voice shaking. "He called to tell me that he's waiting for me in Lincoln Park, and I have to hand myself over to him, let him do whatever he wants—probably kill me, I don't know—and then he'll give Iana back..."

"Whoa, wait—no fucking way!" Lip said as we got back into the restaurant, his eyes locking with Ian's and Fiona's as we got closer. "Murph's officially insane! We are not just going to let her walk back into the arms of that fucking psycho—"

"Jesus, Lip, let's get outside first," Fiona said, speaking through her teeth as she waved to another waitress that she was taking off. She threw her apron down onto the counter and grabbed her jacket, tossing Lip his, as we trekked back outside. "But Lip's right, Murph—we're not gonna let Josh anywhere near you."

"Thank you," Ian said, looking relieved that our siblings were on my side as he turned back to me. "Murph, we're not letting you do this..."

"This is my child!" I cried out then, my voice reaching its breaking point. "This is my baby—my little girl we're talking about, Ian! Josh fucking took her, and he's fucking psycho, so fuck if I know what he could be doing to her!" I said, my voice shaking as I tried not to think about it. "I never let them be alone together, and now he fucking has her all to himself, so god knows the shit he could be doing because he's fucking crazy as shit..."

Ian stepped forward then and pulled me into his arms. "Hey, it's okay," he said softly, reaching into my pocket for my keys, which he tossed to Fiona, who got into my car, Lip riding shotgun—it was a good idea, as I was too worked up to drive carefully. "Come on," he went on, gently dragging me towards the back end of my car, which he opened. He got inside, pulling me after him, and I managed to pull on my seatbelt as he did, my hands shaking a bit, before I launched myself back into his arms.

"What the fuck are we supposed to do?" I whispered. "Josh said no cops—that's a given—and if I didn't give myself to him, then he'd..."

"Let's just get to the park first." Fiona's gentle voice drifted back to me then, and I lifted my tear-stained face to hers.

"It's okay," Lip said then, reaching back and taking my hand in his. "We're going to get her, and take down Josh..."

Ian let out a soft chuckle. "Kind of wish Mickey was here right now..."

"Yeah?" I asked, swiveling my head to face Ian's. "Why? Because he's her father?"

Ian laughed. "Well, that. And he probably would have just the kind of weapon to make Josh cower in fear."

I pulled back from Ian then, fixing him with a look. "Josh coward in fear from my forehead breaking his fucking nose," I replied. "What's a gun gonna do?"

"It'd make him shit his pants," Lip said with a shrug.

"That could be an improvement," Fiona muttered, slamming her palm down onto my steering wheel when the light turned red. "Come on, asshole..."

"No road rage," I said, smirking at her in the mirror.

At once, he eyes locked on mine. "What do you know?"

I grinned. "Only that Rachel has a couple of older siblings and they made the YouTube rounds and may have seen that guy take the baseball bat to that company car..."

Fiona shook her head at me. "As soon as we grab Iana, and you have those twin boys, and are a hundred-percent again, you are gonna get it, sister..."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's just get my daughter back..."

"I second that," Ian put in.

"We're all in agreement, then," Lip said, smiling. "Majority rules. We're grabbing Iana, Murph's gonna give birth to twin boys, and then we get to record Fiona beating her the fuck up once she's back to health."

I managed to work my fist into my other hand, popping my knuckles slowly. "Bring it," I said to her, grinning.

"Always," she replied.

. . .

When we arrived at the park, I'd gotten the text from Josh regarding the meeting place; Fiona, Lip, and Ian were ordered by me to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo, where Josh had sworn he'd just dropped off Iana. I handed over my phone to Ian, already breaking the rules as Josh had told me to dispose of it beforehand, and turned to look at all of them. I knew I shouldn't cry—crying was an admission of defeat, and I refused to not come out on top.

"I'm not going with them," Ian said, speaking before I could. "I'm staying with you."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Ian, we talked about this..."

"Yeah, and now I'm talking to you," he replied, crossing his arms. "Murph, we came into this world together, and if this is how it's going to end, then I'm okay with that. I'm going with you, Murph, because you're my fucking sister."

I sighed, shaking my head. "What about Trevor? And Liam? And Fiona, Lip, Debbie, Franny, even fucking Frank...?" My voice broke then as our eyes locked. "Mickey?" I asked, and found I was crossing my arms as well.

Ian looked away. "You don't need to say it."

I put my hands on my hips. "Yeah, I do, because I'm going to fucking die in a few minutes if shit doesn't work itself out somehow," I said.

"What do you mean?" Lip asked.

"Fuck," I whispered, pulling up my sweater, and revealed to them that a bit of the bulk was not all pregnancy weight.

"Jesus," Fiona whispered.

"Where the fuck did you get a gun?!" Ian demanded.

Quickly, I lowered my sweater. "Bought it after Iana and I got back from Florida—it was after Nicholas told me that Josh was the one behind the accident."

Lip looked confused. "But, the waiting period..."

"I bought it off some jackass in an alley for three hundred bucks," I replied.

Fiona immediately looked concerned. "Murph, it could have a body on it..."

"Well, it will after today," I replied, "because I'm tired of living in fear."

"What's your play?" Ian asked.

I scoffed. "Act like a fucking scared bitch until Josh gets off on it, and then wait for an opportune time to blow his head off. Then, I can legally say that he tried to attack me, so..."

"I'm going with you," Ian said again.

I rolled my eyes. "No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

"Quiet!" Fiona said, moving to stand between us, her arms raised. "Lip and I will go and get Iana from the zoo—poor thing must be scared shitless by herself," she said. "Let's just... Say our goodbyes in case of..."

"Don't say it," Lip said, standing there, hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. "Don't say it, Fi, please. Last thing any of us want is an incomplete family after today..."

I looked up at Fiona. "Look, I'm sorry if I've been a pain in the ass as a little sister..."

"You're a fantastic sister, Murph," Fiona said, grabbing me up into her arms. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." She pulled back then, cupping my face in her hands, as both of our eyes filled with tears. "I'm going to see you in a few minutes, okay..."

I nodded. "Yeah...yeah," I said, forcing a smile onto my face as she let me go. I turned to Lip then and smiled. "Hey," I said, punching him in the arm. "Look, I know it's been crazy since all this started, but... Know that I love you, Lip."

Lip looked up at me then, and quickly dashed the tears from his eyes before he yanked me at full force into his arms. "I fucking love you, too, Murph," he replied. "You're the best sister any guy could ask for... Sorry I got a little lost in the beginning..."

"We were both lost," I whispered back.

"It's no excuse," he replied. "Once we knew the truth, I should've come together with the family and instead I just lost myself for a while..."

I pulled back then, standing on my toes and kissing his forehead. "Protect my daughter," I said quietly to him. "Promise."

"I promise," Lip replied.

I nodded, pulling away from him and moving towards Ian, who automatically raised his arm and secured me under it. "We're going to take care of Josh now..."

"We've got this," Fiona replied.

I nodded again, trying to reassure myself. "I love you guys..."

Lip forced a smile then. "Yeah. Love you too, Murph."

"Okay..." I said, turning to Ian, and we walked down the path, my heart hammering in my chest, unknowing as to what we were walking into. "As soon as we reach the clearing," I whispered to Ian, "I want you to hang back."

"I said we were facing this together, Murph. I meant it."

I sighed. "I know," I replied, "and I went along with it, because Fiona and Lip were on board. If something goes wrong, I need you to hide so that you can call the cops, get someone down here quickly, in case..."

"No," Ian said, his footsteps ceasing then as he grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me to stand opposite him. "No fucking way. I came in with you, I go out with you. That's our play, Murph, no matter what."

I shook my head, ignoring the tears that fell from my eyes. "I can't let you do this, Ian. Iana needs you. Mickey needs you..."

"Christ, Murph! You need me!" he replied, yanking me towards him and just holding me. "In this moment, you need me, and I'm not running."

"I can't have both of you hurt," I whispered. "I can't leave this world knowing that I was the cause of all this..."

"You're not going to die, Murph..."

I sighed, my shoulders slacking as I pulled back from him. "The minute Josh sees me, he'll know I'm pregnant with Nicholas's babies. He'll want me dead for that, Ian. I know it."

"Murph..."

"Please," I said, shutting my eyes for a moment—I couldn't take that expression on his face, literally begging to be executed beside me. "Don't do this, Ian. I need you here to raise Iana. I need you here to protect my daughter."

"Murph, there's nothing you could do or say to change my mind."

I shook my head then, opening my eyes as I stepped away from him. "Do this last thing for me, Ian—I am literally begging you. I'd get on my knees if I could. Just let me go out with a final bang. I haven't come here to die, but somehow, I think it's going to happen. Just stay hidden—I'm only asking for that. Stay hidden, and if Josh does anything, call the cops and tell them where we are."

"Murph..."

I dashed towards him then, throwing my arms around him—I had to give him a proper goodbye, no matter what the eventual outcome. "I love you," I whispered, holding him close to me then, and I felt whole—on an emotional level, at least, one that could only be compared to Iana and to Nicholas, despite everything—before I let him go.

"I love you, too, Murph..."

"Good," I replied, dashing the tears from my eyes. "Then do me this one final favor and just wait here—watching and waiting. Wait for the thing that'll get Josh taken in. Just please..."

Ian nodded then, his phone vibrating as I moved to get closer to my meeting place with Josh. "I think you should know that Fiona's calling..."

"Keep the call quiet," I whispered back, turning my head around and smiling at him. "It's all going to be okay," I assured him.

"Fi?" Ian asked, taking the call. "What? Slow down..."

I drowned out his words then, stepping into the clearing just before the pond, seeing Josh standing by a tree. I sighed inwardly—the time had come for the final walk. Stepping forward then, carefully, I felt a burst of fear within me as Josh turned to look at me, and revulsion followed at that smile on his lips. "Hello, Josh," I said.

"Murphy," he replied, looking me over, before a look of disgust clouded his face as he gazed at my expanding belly. "What the fuck is that?!"

I let out a chuckle then—I must've run so quickly out of the outside room after his interrogation that he hadn't seen my pregnancy. I guess the police didn't snitch about it either. "It appears that I'm pregnant," I replied.

Josh looked angered. "With Nicholas's child?" he guessed.

I nodded. "Yes. Like you, I've moved on. Or tried to, at least..."

Josh appeared enraged then. "Chrissy is nothing," he replied, growling the words that poured from his lips. "She always meant nothing."

"Oh?" I asked. "Then why were you hiding out at her mother's house?"

"Convenience purposes only, I assure you," he replied. "I was hiding out there before I could escape to the border."

"Uh-huh," I replied, not fully convinced as I crossed my arms. "But let's return to the matter at hand, Josh—regarding the kidnapping of my daughter," I said, and Josh looked mighty pleased with himself as I brought it up. "Just promise me that she's at the meeting place..."

"Did you send members of your family to collect her?"

I gave a stiff nod. "As we agreed."

Josh chuckled, stepping forward then, and I automatically moved backwards—I didn't want him anywhere near me. "Murphy," he said, his tone condescending, "I always believed that you were the intelligent type..."

I scoffed then. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?! Of course I'm intelligent—I'm a fucking lawyer, for Christ's sake!"

Josh clicked his tongue for a moment—I think it was impatience. "Oh, Murphy, Murphy, Murphy... Just what are we going to do with you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, seriously, I don't know what the fuck you're on, but you're not going to do anything to me..."

"Really?" Josh asked, a smirk on his face as he suddenly lunged forward, grabbing me by the wrist and hauling me against him, raising his eyebrows. "Oh, what do we have here?!" he asked me then—rhetorically, of course—and yanked up my sweater, finding the gun immediately. "A pregnant woman shouldn't have this—I'll take it for you," he said, making a grab for it before pistol-whipping me to the ground.

"Jesus, god!" I yelled, quickly maneuvering myself so I didn't land on my stomach. "What the fuck is the matter with you, Josh?!"

"You're the only woman who ever denied me," he replied, holding the gun aloft—a perfect aim to shoot a target. "I won't have that, Murphy—I won't!"

"So why take my daughter?!" I demanded through gritted teeth. "She did nothing to you!"

"You loved her over me, and, in so doing, would choose her over me..."

I sighed, feeling the warmth of the blood on my scalp slowly proceeding to ooze down my skull, but the warmth did nothing to comfort me. "What's with all this bullshit, Josh?! Of course I fucking would!" I replied, feeling nervous as my vision going fuzzy, but I refused to back down, going so far as to get on my knees. "I mean, please—she's my fucking daughter, Josh. Why would you even think for a second that I would ever choose a man over her? My daughter means everything to me..."

"Which is why I could've killed her," Josh replied, and my heart lurched for a moment at the thought of Iana—lifeless, no longer laughing, lying before me, "but it was much easier to lure you here under the illusion that I'd taken her."

I felt my eyes widen then at what Josh had done. "What?" I whispered.

Josh laughed down at me then, likely thinking I was the most pathetic being alive. "I find that it's so easy to get what I want, once I dangle an incentive before the proposed target..."

"You...fucking...bastard! Why the fuck would you do something like that to me?!" I screamed then, launching to my feet then and running towards him, no longer caring. "I am going to fucking kill you—!"

Three things happened then—two of the same, in reaction to what happened first—and none of us were prepared for it. The gun went off—firing, the blast echoing off the surrounding trees and causing many birds to leave their roots—and two separate people yelled out, "No!" from directly behind me. Once the blast fired, it took a moment to hit me and, once it did, I let out a scream of shock and pain as I fell, hard, to my knees. Immediately, I gripped myself just below my ribcage as blood seeped through my fingers, the warm, red liquid looking very surreal to me as I raised my eyes to Josh's, bewilderment filling my entire being.

In the next moment, I heard sirens going off from all sides, and was shocked when Ian ran towards Josh like there was no tomorrow—who dropped the gun—and immediately tackled him to the ground. He was shouting profanities at him, one after the other, and was punching him all over his face. I thought about laughing, in the milliseconds that followed, due to the notion that a second Gallagher was fracturing his near-perfect, frat boy face...

"Shit," I whispered, lowering my eyes again, unable to move, as blood continued to seep through my fingers. "Fuck..."

"Murphy!"

I looked up then, and gasped aloud when Nicholas came into view. "What are you...?" I whispered, shaking my head. "You don't have to be..."

"Of course I'm here," Nicholas replied, seeing what had happened. "Fuck..."

I shook my head. "It's nothing..."

"Not nothing," he replied, taking off his jacket and pressing it into me, and looking shocked when I screamed quietly in pain. "Jesus, I'm sorry," he whispered, as several police cars and an ambulance surrounded us.

"He lied to me, Nicholas," I whispered, and I felt his eyes on me then. "He said... He said that he took Iana..."

"Ian filled me in," Nicholas replied.

I sighed. "I was so scared..."

"Ian gave me a call—I went to her preschool myself," he replied. "You conveniently left me on the pick-up list, so when I got the call that she needed someone to get her..."

"You took her home?" I whispered, my voice shaking.

He nodded. "Yeah, of course I did. I was able to take her to your place and leave her with Debbie. I rushed right over here afterwards..."

I shook my head. "Thank you," I whispered.

Nicholas smiled. "You're welcome."

"Sir, I'm going to need you to step back now," said an EMT, rushing forward with a stretcher for me, already set up.

"Can I help?" Nicholas asked, and I watched as a couple of officers dragged Ian off of Josh and, due to the circumstances, seemed to be understanding.

"We'll take it from here," the EMT replied.

"Can I go with her?" he wanted to know.

"What is your relationship to her?"

Nicholas sighed. "Her name is Murphy Gallagher. And I'm..."

"He's my boyfriend," I replied, and Nicholas immediately looked down at me. "We seriously need to discuss things, I know, but..."

"Immediate family only," the EMT replied, cutting across me as we moved toward the ambulance at a hasty clip. "Once you get to the hospital and are in the state to do so, you're allowed to sign a release saying who you do and do not want there with you."

"Ian?" I said, my voice elevating as they lifted me up, and Ian immediately moved to my side. "I want him with me..." I begged.

"What is your relationship to her?" the EMT asked, just before he loaded me into the ambulance, clearly growing impatient.

"Twin brother," Ian replied.

The EMT looked slightly surprised before shrugging his shoulders. "All right," he replied, and Ian got into the ambulance behind me, where the doors were slammed.

I peered through the windows then, as they fitted me with a respirator, seeing Fiona and Lip running onto the scene, and I saw Nicholas explaining what had happened to me. Seeing the three pairs of eyes staring back at me, I forced a smile to my lips. I felt my eyes growing heavy then as I turned to Ian.

"Hey," he said, taking my hand in his, as the other was fitted with an I.V. "I'm here, Murph. It's okay—just sleep."

"Sleep..." I whispered, feeling the word elongating itself as I felt the fuzziness overtaking me then, my grip on Ian's hand slacking as I fell into sleep itself, greeting it like an old friend, as the feeling of a warm blanket surrounded me.

. . .

When I finally felt the sensation of the warm blanket leave me completely, I opened my eyes, the scent of the sterile environment tipping me off as to my location. Looking around, I spotted Ian immediately—passed out in a chair beside the bed—and smirked at how he looked, wishing that I had my phone so that I could take a selfie. Shaking my head, I immediately became aware of the tubes in my nose, as well as the I.V. in my arm, and the sensation of sporadic pain flowing through the area below my ribs.

Images filtered through my mind then—Josh had shot me, I remembered that much. And there had been blood—so much blood; I hadn't seen so much blood since my miscarriage. Oh, shit, I was pregnant! Was I still?! I thought, managing to lift the hospital blanket from where it was tucked around me—which annoyed me to no end, as the concept of tucking in seemed to be keeping young children prisoner in their beds. Did parents not care about overheating?! I thought to myself, staring at my expanded stomach. Well, I could still be pregnant, although I was well-aware of the fact that a woman's belly remained swollen for days—if not weeks—after they delivered their children...

I dropped the blanket, feeling slightly uneasy as I turned to Ian. "Ian?" I whispered, placing my hand upon his arm. "Hey, Ian?"

He moaned slightly in his sleep, dragging his hand across his eyes before he opened them, and looked amazed that I was awake. "Holy shit, Murph!" he cried, launching himself at me without thinking and hugging me.

"Careful—ow!" I said, half-sarcastically. "Please! I'm fragile."

Ian sighed, kissing my forehead. "I'll go get the doctor..."

"Wait, Ian," I said, grabbing his arm before he could walk away from me. "Just tell me... How long was I... You know. Out of it."

Ian dug around in his pocket for his phone, which lit up immediately. "It looks to be eight a.m. on October twenty-third," he replied.

"Shit," I whispered, remembering that we'd arrived at the park around four the last afternoon and shook my head. "Okay... Get the doctor."

Ian nodded, stepping out of the room for a moment before returning. "Nicholas has been asking for updates. Should I tell him that you're awake?"

I smiled. "Well, yeah. Did he tell you we kind of got back together as I was bleeding out?" I asked him, a laugh escaping me, before I immediately gripped my stomach.

"Careful," said a doctor as they stepped into the room.

My eyes widened then. "Grace?" I asked.

"Murphy, hello!" she said, smiling at me. "Well, I wish we weren't seeing each other under these circumstances. Shall we wait for Nicholas?"

I nodded. "Yes, please."

"I had a feeling you might say that, so I sent a nurse to fetch him," she replied.

I smiled up at her. "Thank you," I replied. We made small talk for a few moment before Nicholas stepped into the room, and I immediately found myself straightening up. "Hey," I said, utterly surprised when he crossed the room and kissed me. "Jesus," I whispered, pulling back and grinning up at him. "That must've been disgusting for you..."

"Kissing you will never be disgusting, Murph," Nicholas replied, sitting on the corner of my bed and smiling. "Hello, Grace."

"Hello, Nicholas—nice of you to join us," she said, waiting for Ian to take his seat before assessing the clipboard in front of her. "Well, Murphy there's no easy way to say this..."

"Are my babies okay?!" I demanded, interrupting her, literally on the edge of the seat as I felt Nicholas's arm going automatically around my shoulders. "My... Our babies—our sons. Please tell me they're not..."

Grace smiled. "The bullet missed them completely—they're absolutely fine," she assured me. "I would recommend you sit down for this next piece of news but, thankfully, you already are. So, Murphy, you sustained a gunshot to the kidney."

I nodded. "Okay..."

"We had to do an x-ray, and, unfortunately, there was nothing to be done for it," she replied. "I recommended emergency surgery, and we successfully removed it."

I raised my eyebrows. "I've got one kidney?" I whispered, sensing Ian and Nicholas stiffening on either side of me.

"You're still perfectly healthy, Murphy, and your babies are marvelous," Grace assured me. "I wouldn't worry about it."

I nodded. "Great. Yeah," I said, forcing a smile. "Not worrying."

"Well, I'll have a nurse give you more pain medication, and then I'll leave you alone for a couple of hours," she said, slipping out of the room.

I sighed, turning to Ian. "Fiona and Lip?"

"Downstairs in the cafeteria."

"And Debbie and Iana? Where...?"

"Still at home, with Franny... Plus, Frank showed up."

"Not here?!" I demanded.

Ian shook his head. "No. At home. Claims he's worried or something..."

"Jesus," I muttered, shaking my head. "Listen, why don't you give Fiona and Lip an update for me, okay? I need a moment with Nicholas..."

Ian nodded. "Sure," he replied, squeezing my hand before leaving the room.

I turned and looked at Nicholas then and sighed. "Look, I know it was crazy for me to just say you were my boyfriend, but I panicked..."

He nodded. "Did you mean it?"

I smiled. "That's sort of up to you, too, you know..."

He retuned my smile. "Of course I want you back, Murphy. I never wanted us to end in the first place, although I accept full responsibility for us ending..."

"Nicholas..."

"No, you were right," he said, taking my hand in his. "You were right. Even though we said no more secrets, I was still keeping things from you. I shouldn't have done that, Murphy, I know that, but it's just that I have this desire to protect you. It's not that I'm not giving you the information to be vindictive, but because I want you to be safe, because I love you. And I don't want anything bad to happen to you..."

Shaking my head at his words, I lean in and kiss him, cutting him off. "I love you, too," I replied, and was filled with warmth when he smiled down at me, relieved. "And... I can't live without you, Nicholas. Not anymore."

He leaned his forehead against mine. "So, what does that mean?"

"It means we face this head-on and figure it out," I replied, "because we're adults. Adults who figure shit out for a living. Teenagers are the ones who are allowed to cut and run, Nicholas, but we can't be those people anymore who freak out when shit gets tough and just bail. I can't bail on any of this—I'm a soon-to-be mother of three, and I want this life, and even if you don't want this, I'm in it. For good."

Nicholas smiles then, leaning down to kiss me. "I'm in this, Murph," he replies, placing his hand on my stomach, "and not just for the babies, or for Iana, but for you. I love you, and I'm not ever going to try to get out of this. I need you in my life."

I smiled, feeling the tears pricking the backs of my eyes. "And so, at last, we're on the same page. Finally."

Nicholas grinned. "Finally," he replied, and I reached up then, gentlypulling him downwards so that he can kiss me again.