Claiming Emma (11 page)

When she finally got her mouth to open, she floundered like a fish for a moment, the horror of someone, anyone, not only knowing her secrets but threatening to expose her, was devastating. Emma could have almost felt sorry for her but what she said next obliterated that instinct right quick.

"But what will I do for money?"  As sad and low as her voice was, her words did nothing but piss Noah off, and Emma had to shake her head at the sheer selfishness she was seeing.  Noah was right, with those words she proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, she was well beyond bitch territory, and definitely earned the “c” word.

With that, Emma knew Noah was done.  With his patience strained to the breaking point, he opened the door and thrust her out into the hall, practically into the arms of the hovering nurses.  "Whatever the fuck you do, do it far away from here.  You cut Hannah off with nothing, consider that cut permanent and stay the fuck away.  But first you stop at the nurse’s station and sign whatever you have to sign that makes me or Emma Hannah's spokesperson medically, and you inform whatever lawyers you need to that Hannah is no longer under your care.  Tell dad's lawyers I'll call and talk to them about Hannah when I get the chance.  You don't do that, I see you again, and those pictures go to places that guarantee you get room and board courtesy of the state for a long fucking time."  Then he slammed the door on Marcella's ashen face and that was it.  Less than five minutes after her arrival at the clinic Marcella Hale was gone, Hannah was safe and Noah had guaranteed she would never come after her daughter, or granddaughter should the thought ever cross her mind.  Emma would have breathed a sigh of relief, but Noah was not in any way, shape, or form over his anger.  It filled the room until she could feel the weight of it like a blanket and she had no idea how to help him with it, when there was no one around he could beat the shit out of to let out his frustration.

"That
fucking cunt!
"

Yep, he was still angry, Emma thought wincing.  With a deep breath she let go of Hannah's hand with one final squeeze and walked over to the towering, pissed off army ranger in the room.

"Don't get close, Emma, I'm fucking pissed," he growled out, the scowl on his face hot enough to burn.

No shit,
she thought, but what she did was ignore his words, his body language, and the freaking scary look on his face; and, walk right up to him and wrap her arms around his waist, pressing her body deep, and resting her head on his chest.  He didn't hug her back for the longest time, his body stiff, his vibes angry, but gradually he grumbled out a string of curses, and wrapped his arms tight around her.  Almost too tight, it must be said; but eventually, as she held him without saying a word, his tension eased, his hold gentled, and with one harsher but much softer "fuck," he rested his head on top of hers, and she felt him there, breathing deep, his nose buried in her hair. 

"God I fucking love you," he muttered equal parts gruff and heartfelt, and it was Emma's turn to freeze stiff in his arms.

Noah felt Emma tense with his words and he tried to push her back from him so he could see her face, but she held on, digging her chin into his chest to keep her place.  It was no longer about taking care of him though, just that fast it became about hiding her face and her reaction from him.  A reaction he could read without seeing her face just the same.

"Emma?"

Finally, after a long moment and a deep painful sounding breath when she remembered she had to breathe, she raised her head and met him eye to eye.  "You love me?" she asked.  Words that sounded like she forced them through a closed throat.

He blinked at her question and the shock on her face, shock and pain he did not get.  "Yeah, Em I love you," he said his eyes searching hers as he laid out something he thought was obvious.  "How do you not know that?"

She blinked again, opening and closing her mouth, before she pressed her lips together and finally she spoke.  "Well... you never mentioned it before."

"Neither have you," he said back, his eyes narrowing on her, trying and failing to keep his patience at her continued shock.  "But I still know you love me."  Then some of his frustration seeped into his voice, despite his bid for patience.  "What the fuck do you think we're doing here?"

At his tone and growing scowl, she lost her shock and went straight for narrow eyed temper.  "You don't need to get snippy handsome. It's not quite as obvious as you seem to think how this is all going to play out."

"Are you saying you don't love me?" he asked belligerently.

"No, of course I love you," she snapped back.  "That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what the fuck are you saying?" He could see right away she did not care for his tone, or question, but at that point he was back to being angry himself.

"I can't have kids," she practically shot the words at him.

His brow shot together.  "I know that Emma," he said back just as sharply.  "And?"

"And?" she asked back, her brows lowering in confusion.  "And what?"

"That's my question, Em," he said, losing what was left of his patience.  "What about it?"

She blew out a breath and her anger just seemed to melt away.  She face planted into his chest and spoke low and muffled against him so that he had to strain to hear her.  "You will make a wonderful dad Noah, and eventually you are going to realize it and want that for yourself."

Noah gritted his teeth and reached for patience.  "The only thing I want for myself," he said, squeezing her tight as he talked.  “The only thing I'm ever going to want is you."

She lifted her head back and since he was tipping his neck down she met him eye to eye.  She searched his face, his eyes, from bare inches away.  "You say that now," she said quietly.  "You may even mean it now, but eventually..."

He stopped her words with a hard squeeze of his arms.  "I start to need more than you, Lucy, and Hannah when she eventually beats this thing, we'll talk about adopting.  Right now, we concentrate on what we have, and you get your crazy girl posse and no doubt the rest of this one horse town together and plan the wedding."

The shock on her face took what was left of his anger and impatience away so that he almost smiled.  She was just too fucking cute, and she loved him, the rest was just details.

"Is that a marriage proposal?" she finally sucked in enough breath to ask him, her voice ringing with something that sounded somewhere between temper and panic.

Noah chuckled, then before she could blast him, he kissed her: hard, deep and long, until she melted for him and he knew he had her undivided attention.  Then he pulled back, kissed her nose, each of her eyes, and then pulled her into his chest and kissed the top of her head, tucking her close.  "Marry me, Emma."

It still wasn't put in the form of a question, but with a deep sigh he could feel over his heart, she answered like it was, with a breathy "'Kay," he felt in his dick.

That was when the door opened and Doctor Nicolette Brown walked in, the now seriously curious nurses right behind her, and stopped at the sight of their huddle.

"What did I miss?" she asked, looking between the two of them.

At her words Emma started laughing, and Noah smiled, enjoying both the carefree sound of it, and the feel of her breasts moving against him as she did it.  Finally, she got herself under control long enough to tell her friend that she had missed quite a bit, and most of it good.  "Hannah's safe, she's staying here, her mother is no longer an issue," then as what sounded like an afterthought she went on.  "Oh, and Noah loves me and has announced we are getting married."  She looked up at him with her pretty green eyes shining, and her lips forming a blinding smile.  "Did I leave anything out?"

He just shook his head and ignored the gasps of surprise from the doctor and the suddenly tittering nurses.  "Can't think of anything."

Emma turned back to her friend and smiled that same smile, only up another notch.  "I think that covers it."

Yeah, it did,
he thought with satisfaction, looking at that smile. 
It fucking did.

***
Three weeks later.

"Doc gave the OK to bring Lucy in to see you finally,” Emma said, holding the baby in her lap as she sat beside Hannah at Briar Rose.  "I know it's probably been driving you crazy.  All I talk about these days are the wedding plans and all you probably care about is Lucy."  Emma stopped and pressed her lips tight. She took a deep breath and went on with a cheer that she was not feeling at the reminder that Hannah was not feeling anything at the moment.  And may never.  "Anyway she's here.  So I'm hoping she makes some gurgling sound or laughs or something so you know it."  Emma placed the sleeping Lucy on the bed, in the crook of her mother’s arm, as it lay lifeless on the blanket.  "She's sleeping right now, but she's due for a feeding soon and our little Lucy of Little Town makes her presence known when she's hungry."

Feeling a tingle on the back of her neck Emma turned to see Noah was standing just inside the door, leaning against the wall while he listened to her talk to Hannah.  She gave him a mock glare.  "Must you be so stealthy?"

His intent expression didn't change even when he spoke and she could hear gruff humor behind the words.  "You telling my sister something you don't want me to hear?"

"Maybe I am."  She batted her eyes at him.  "That thing you did when you woke me up this morning was worth a conversation."

Noah looked suddenly pained.  "Do not talk to my sister about our sex life," he growled.

Catching the look and the embarrassment behind it Emma burst out laughing.  When he crossed him arms over his chest and looked mulish, Emma shook her head.  Before Emma could stop laughing long enough to remind Noah his sister was in a coma, Lucy woke and made no bones about the fact that she was hungry.  Choking back her laugh, Emma motioned to the diaper bag that Noah had brought in with him, and that was presently resting at his feet:  "The bottle is in the side pocket."

She reached over to pick Lucy up and noticed something that had her freezing.  Her eyes stayed on Hannah's pale hand across the blanket next to the crying baby.  She waited another minute while Lucy just got crankier, praying it hadn’t just been her imagination.  The fingers moved again.

"Noah," she whispered on an excited breath.

"I see it."

Emma did not turn around to look at him, but she could feel him coming up behind her.  She kept her eyes on Hannah and let the baby cry.  A moment later the blankets covering her feet shifted, and Emma put her hand over her mouth, tears filling her eyes as she waited for more.  Hoped and prayed for more.  Another finger wiggle and then miracle of miracles her eyes fluttered.

"Noah."

"I see it," he growled again.  "Hit the nurses button."

Without taking her eyes off Hannah, Emma hit the button on the side of the bed.  Another shift of the covers, another eye flutter.

Over her shoulder Noah handed her the bottle.  "Feed Lucy Em," he said.

That drew Emma's eyes to his briefly.  "But..."

"The nurse is going to want to check her over, and she can't do that with the baby there."

He made perfect sense, but Emma bit her lip.  "What if she..."

Noah reached over and pulled Lucy out of the bed, one hand under her bottom, the other bracing her head.  Absently, Emma thought he was getting good at that, then the baby was in her arms and Noah was pulling them all back from the bed, the nurse coming through the door behind them.  Lucy quieted as soon as Emma gave her the bottle, and as she fed her, Emma rested her back against Noah as he explained what was happening to the nurse.  Emma kept her eyes on Hannah.  The nurse, whose name Emma never remembered, called to someone back through the door to "get Nicki here," before she pulled the stethoscope and went to check on Hannah.

Emma did not let out a breath until there was another flutter of movement, even after the baby had stopped crying and was contentedly sucking on her bottle.  Emma sucked in a deep breath and pressed herself back firmer against Noah, her breath hitching at the end.  "Noah," she breathed.  And said nothing more.

His arms wrapped more tightly around her middle below Lucy and his head dipped so that his mouth was right at her ear.  "I know."

"She knew her babies cry," Emma said, letting the tears come as they would.  Noah lifted one of his hands across her body and wrapped it around her neck and squeezed gently.  She felt his head dip and rest briefly on the top of hers.

"Yeah," he said a little raggedly, and Emma knew he was just as moved as she was.

"She's coming back to us," Emma whispered, watching more and more movement in the room, as it filled with nurses and aids, taking vitals and checking machines.  Meanwhile on the bed, Hannah continued to flutter, her head turning on her pillow, her whole hand lifting weakly off the bed for a moment.   Then her confused eyes opened and she looked around, blinking hard against the light before closing them again.

Emma's breath caught at that, and she had to remind herself she needed to breathe.  She knew Noah saw it, because the hard body that was cocooning her jerked like someone had poked him when it happened.

Then Hannah's eyes opened again, blinking, her face scrunched up again as if the light pained her, but this time they stayed open.  She looked around.  Started to get scared, they could all see it, when the nurse spoke softly to her.

"You're alright," she said firmly but gently.  Hannah blinked again but the sound of her voice drew her confused eyes to the nurse.  "Can you tell me your name?"

Hannah kept blinking, her face showing every emotion as she ran the gauntlet in her head.  Emma could see the struggle she was making to answer.

Emma turned in Noah's arms and buried her face against his chest, her breath hiccupping as she tried to hold back a sob.  The move dislodged the bottle in Lucy's mouth, and before they could right it she let out a wail of protest that drew the attention of everyone.  Emma had pulled back to readjust the baby and the bottle but when Hannah spoke she froze, they all did, because Hannah said the one thing that guaranteed irrevocably that she was awake and had not lost herself to brain damage.

She said "Lucy?"  Her voice was low, unused and tentative but it was there.

And so was she.

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