It was the soft brush of fingers against my cheek that roused me. I opened an eye before lifting my head from where it had lay beside Sin’s hand.

It took a few moments to realize that the only other person in the room who could have touched me was Sin.

I turned to face him slowly, trying not to get my hopes up that maybe I had just dreamed it.

His beautiful blue eyes held mine. They were filled with emotion that inflated my heart. It was the most beautiful sight.

“Tay,” his voice was husky. His voice washed over me, blanketing me.

My heart soared and I burst into tears.

“Don’t cry,” he whispered.

I stood and leaned closer to him. “You’re awake.” I still couldn’t quite believe it.

He nodded and groaned when he shifted.

“You’re awake,” I repeated still hoping it wasn’t a dream I was going to wake up from.

His hand lifted to brush the tears from my cheek. “I’m awake.”

I felt so relieved. All the pent up hope and tension eased from my body.

“I was so worried,” I whispered. I couldn’t stop touching him, like I was trying to make sure it was real.

“How long have I been out?,” he asked, taking in his surroundings.

I swallowed. “A few days.” It had felt like much longer.

I could not stop the tears. All the pent up worry, fear was breaking free and there was no stopping it.

“I’m sorry Tay.” He was pale. His deep blue eyes held mine.

“You’re okay. That’s all that matters.” I was still so emotional. I had nearly lost him.

It had been so close I couldn’t allow myself to think about it. Mack had nearly destroyed us but we were finally free.

But with every traumatic event I had ever survived, there had been scars. Maybe not the physical kind but the ones deep inside that rarely healed.

“I love you,” I whispered hoarsely, needing to tell him how much he meant to me especially when I hadn’t been sure I would ever be able to say that to him again.

“I love you too.”

I pressed my lips to his.

The door opened and Slater walked in. He stopped.

I straightened to see the emotion play across Slater’s face as he took in the scene in front of him.

“You scared the crap out of us man,” he said flippantly, hiding how worried we had all been.

Sin managed a weak smile. “Things didn’t go as planned.”

“That’s the understatement of the year,” Slater said coming to opposite of the bed. “Next time the crazy gangster from our past comes out of the woodwork you tell me.”

A brief look of sadness mixed with another emotion pulled at my heart strings. I squeezed Sin’s hand gently to reassure him that he wasn’t alone. He had never been alone. I had been right there with him.

“I’ll remember for next time.” Sin’s eyes darkened from the memories that would haunt him.

So much passed between the two of them without words. There was bond that would stand the test of time.

“So I hear I’m going to be a God father,” Slater said, breaking the emotional and heavy atmosphere.

Sin smiled, his whole face lit up. “Yeah.” He looked to me. “I still can’t quite believe it.”

“The morning sickness is real,” I muttered, affectionately. It had still be a struggle but I was finding ways to ease it. Besides there was still hope that it would ease as my pregnancy progressed.

Having nearly lost the baby, I knew how lucky I was so I would do everything I could to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

There was a knock and the door opened.

Matthew walked in, looking like he hadn’t slept. “I got here as soon as I heard.”

His presence was unexpected but I was just so happy to see him.

“Connor called.”

A bought of emotion caught me as I rushed over to hug him.

He wrapped me in his arms and bear hugged me as I shed a few more tears. These were at least happy ones.

“It’s good to see you awake,” he said to Sin when I finally let him go.

Jordan entered the room. “Is there a party going on here?” She smiled when she saw Sin. “Good to see you’re awake sleeping beauty.”

“Connor is going to be pissed he missed all the excitement,” Jordan said, smiling as she hugged Matthew.

These were my people, the ones who stood with me like family.

The doctor and nurses made us leave so they could check Sin over. I paced outside, not wanting to be too far away from him. The fear of something happening was still too raw in me. We had lived in fear for too long to brush it off without a second thought.

“He is fine,” Jordan reminded me.

“I know. It’s just…you know.” I let out a deep sigh.

Matthew touched my back gently. “It’ll take time to deal with everything that happened. But don’t forget what you overcame. It could have ended very differently.”

I nodded, feeling emotional again. I began to tear up again. He put an arm around my shoulders.

“Damn pregnancy hormones,” I muttered, wiping the wetness from my cheeks. It felt like I had endless supply of tears.

“What?” His eyes wide.

Then I remembered I hadn’t told him yet. His eyes went to my flat stomach.

I nodded. “I’m pregnant. Only a few weeks.”

“That’s awesome news. Congratulations.” He kissed my cheek and hugged me. “You’re going to be an awesome mom.”

A mom. It was a strange word that didn’t feel like me yet.

“Me either.” There were times it felt a little unreal.

“You happy?” he asked when he released me.

I nodded. “It was totally unexpected but I’m happy.”

“It’s definitely going to take a bit of getting used to. I can’t quite picture Sin changing diapers.”

I laughed. We would figure it out.

For the first time my whole existence wasn’t focussed on survival. I could now look to the future, a future with Sin and our baby.

I wanted normal. The house, baby, the life I had envisioned with Sin.

I caught sight of Connor walking down to where we stood. “What’s happening?”

“He finally woke up,” I said, making the move to embrace my brother.

He hugged me back. He kissed the side of my head before letting me go.

I wanted to thank him for everything he had done for me. From the moment I needed him he had dropped everything to fly across the country to be there for me. He would do anything for me and even at times when I got annoyed I appreciated it.

“Thank you,” I whispered, feeling over come with emotion again.

He smiled. “I would do anything for you, you know that.”

They weren’t just words, he meant what he said. He had proved it over and over again. I didn’t how if I would be were I was without him.

Even if at times he could be suffocating, I appreciated that I had him. I realized that not all sibling relationships were like ours and it made me appreciate ours.

“I’m sure Shannon can’t wait for you to get back,” I murmured.

“She’s going to join me here for a while,” he said.

“Really?”

He nodded. “We are looking at buying a property around here so we can split our time between here and New York so I will get to see you more often.”

My heart lifted.

“I want our children to grow up together.”

And that made me tear up again. “I want that too.” I swallowed hard.

He put an arm around me and hugged me to him.

Matthew was talking to Jordan, Slater was waiting patiently by the door for the doctors to finish with Sin. My brother stood beside me as I stared at the most important people in my life. The ones that showed up when you needed them. The ones who were there to get you through your darkest hours.

They were my people. Family.

My heart felt so full, it felt like it was bursting at the seams. I had been through so much but it had led me to every person that stood by me and that I could never regret.