"What happened? I thought that my heart stopped when we saw someone stuff you inside of a van."
"It was Brayden."
I stilled. "Brayden? Your former co-founder Brayden?"
"His company fell apart." Chris shrugged as much as he could. "And he wanted to take it out on someone, so he chose me."
I was filled with anger. "And what'll happen to him?"
"I sent the police back to find him. They found him unconscious in the cabin where he held me. He'll go away for a long time."
"Who would think that the two of us would be kidnapped in such a short time period?"
"I think I've had all the kidnapping I can stand in a lifetime, Nora."
I leaned in and kissed him. I heard his heart rate pick up a little bit … and then it picked up a lot.
"Let's make a pact never to get kidnapped again, okay?"
"It's a deal."
Chris' eyes closed, and I put my free hand on my tummy. The three of us were a little family, and we were safe and sound again.
Epilogue
"It's a girl!"
I felt my heart fill with pride as the slimy baby was picked up by the doctor. We hadn't wanted to know the gender before the baby was born. We just kept all the stuff that we'd bought for the first baby. We were well-equipped to bring this little life into the world.
The nurses and doctors whisked our little girl off to be washed, measured, and pinched. I heard her crying as they spanked the baby, and it was a good sound. Her lungs were just fine.
I went to stand by my sweaty wife. She had never been more beautiful to me.
"We're never having another one," she croaked. "You're never getting another baby."
"That's what they all say," the obstetric nurse told us. "But it's funny - when you fall in love with your first, it's hard to resist making a second one."
Nora shook her head. "You're going to get snipped," she commanded. "I'm never going through labor again."
I kissed her hand, the hand that had squeezed all the blood out of mine while she had gone through agonizing hours of labor.
"I love you," I told her. We would hash out the rest later.
"I love you, too."