Page 81 of Omega's Fire

My heart stops, then restarts with painful intensity. “Leo—”

“I thought about what you said,” he continues, moving closer. “About making sure I was choosing this for the right reasons. And I am. I’m choosing you, Nash. Not because I’m grateful or overwhelmed or chemically programmed to need alpha protection. I’m choosing you because I love you. Because I want to build a life with you. Because I can’t imagine raising Emma anywhere else.”

The words wash over me like absolution. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Leo reaches for my hands, intertwining our fingers. “I mean, I still think you’re full of shit about half the time. Your faith in the institution is naive, your attitude to omegas drives me crazy, and you’re way too stubborn for your own good.”

I laugh despite the emotion threatening to choke me. “Those sound like criticisms.”

“They are.” Leo’s smile is soft, fond, absolutely certain. “But Ilove you anyway. All of you. Even the parts that make me want to argue.”

“I love you too,” I tell him, lifting our joined hands to kiss his knuckles. “More than I thought possible.”

Emma stirs in her carrier, making the soft sounds that mean she’ll be awake soon, demanding attention and food and the constant care that newborns require.

“We should move her bassinet into the bedroom,” Leo says practically. “She’ll be up every few hours.”

“Whatever you need.”

Leo watches as I move it into the main bedroom, holding Emma as I push the furniture and bring in the changing table.

“There,” he says finally, settling Emma into the bassinet once I’m done. “That should work.”

We get ready for bed quietly, aware of our sleeping daughter but also of each other. Leo borrows one of my t-shirts, the fabric hanging loose on his smaller frame, and the sight of him in my clothes sends a possessive thrill through me.

“Just sleeping,” Leo says as we settle into bed, but he curves against my side like he belongs there. “I’m still recovering, and she’ll be awake soon anyway.”

“Just sleeping,” I agree, though holding him like this feels more intimate than sex.

“Nash?” Leo’s voice is soft in the darkness.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for waiting.”

I press a kiss to the top of his head, breathing in his scent, feeling the solid weight of him against my chest. “Thank you for choosing me at all.”

Emma makes a soft sound from her bassinet, not quite awake but stirring toward sleep. In a few hours she’ll be hungry and demanding attention. In time, Leo will be more recovered and we’ll have to navigate the physical side of our relationship.

In six months he’ll start his new job and we’ll figure out how to balance career and family and everything that is different about us.

But right now, in this moment, Leo is in my arms and our daughter is safe in her bed and we’re finally, truly, home.

Leo

Epilogue

“We’re live in five, four, three...”.

The producer counts down the final seconds silently with her fingers, red light illuminating on the camera. I shift in my seat, adjusting the microphone clipped to my lapel.

“Welcome to another episode of ‘Compatible Minds,’” I begin, looking directly into the camera. “I’m Leo Torres.”

“And I’m Dr. Nash Thorndike,” Nash adds from beside me, his voice carrying that perfect blend of academic authority and approachable warmth he’s perfected over the past year of broadcasts.

“Today we’re discussing the Bureau’s newly announced registration initiative,” I continue, “which represents the most significant shift in policy in over a decade. But first, a warning to our viewers—”

“This episode may contain evidence of functional co-parenting, mutual respect, and reasoned debate,” Nash interrupts, the script we’ve carefully crafted together flowing naturally between us.

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