My Stolen Identity (Complete)

Chapter 48 - Uncle Knox

***** Juni's Point of View *****

"I realized in that moment that I still love you and I had to kiss you," Tyler said hesitantly.

I laid there in that hospital bed, frozen and stunned, with my mouth hanging slightly open in shock. I swallowed hard and blinked a couple times, trying to process what he just said. Did he really just say he loved me?

He looked at me with a vulnerability I hadn't seen from him before as he waited for my answer. My mind was cloudy and I wasn't sure what to say. This was all too much.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this right now Tyler. I mean, I just went through hours of labor and giving birth and I'm exhausted. Can we just talk about this later?"

He looked disappointed, but he just nodded and said, "Oh yeah. Ummm sure," looking back down at Noah in his arms.

I was so confused and my mind was reeling. Part of me wanted so desperately to give him another chance, because deep down I knew I was still in love with him, but the other more reasonable part of me knew that was a very bad idea.

***** Elodie's Point of View *****

"Knox!" I shouted downstairs. "The nurse from the hospital just texted and said it's time to go back! Juni's about to deliver!"

I got my stuff together really fast and rushed down the stairs, out of breath. Carrying this extra baby weight made me wear out a lot faster than I used to. I looked in the living room and it was empty so I went through the door into the kitchen.

There was Knox sitting at the kitchen table looking pale and I could tell something was really wrong. It stopped me in my tracks and my smile faded.

"Knox? What's wrong?" I asked, sitting down in the seat next to him and laying a hand on his arm.

"I'm worried. You know, giving birth is pretty dangerous. There's a lot that can go wrong," he said, slowly lifting his head to look at me. "Juni's the only member of my family I have left. What if something goes wrong and I lose her too?"

I took his hand in mine and looked into his worried eyes, wanting to reassure him.

"It's not like it used to be Knox. I mean, I know it's still possible, but I've never known anyone who died in childbirth. I can't even remember the last time I heard about it happening. It's probably pretty rare with all the advances in technology we have now."

He let out an exhale and rubbed on my hand. "Yeah. You're probably right. I just can't get my mind to shut off and stop worrying."

That made me smile and I said, "You're worried because you love her Knox. That's normal."

He looked down at our hands, thinking. "Out of all my family, I was always the closest to Juni. I've always been protective of her, but this is something I can't protect her from. There's nothing I can do and I hate that feeling of being powerless."

I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Everything's going to be fine Knox. I know it. Just think, pretty soon you're going to have an adorable little nephew to hold and love on. Isn't that exciting?" I asked with a smile.

He looked over at me and a smile slowly formed. "You're right. I'm about to have a nephew. What the hell am I doing sitting around here wasting time? We need to get to the hospital."

"That's the spirit!" I laughed.

When we got to the hospital we were lead to a waiting room and told that someone would come get us soon. They said Juni was at the very end of giving birth right now, so it wouldn't be long.