We Don't Have to Feel Alone

Epilogue

Two years later.

As time went on, Sariah eventually decided to stop working for Chris...

Because Easton had asked her to come on as co-owner of the club.

It overjoyed Sariah, because then her life with Chris would no longer be a "job". She could still live with him and take care of Nova like normal, but not have to worry about work in the off-chance that their relationship didn't work out. They were fairly certain that that wouldn't be an issue, but Sariah loved being at the club and helping Easton with business matters anyway; it made sense for her to start getting paid for it. Plus, Easton basically allowed her to make her own schedule, so that she could balance Nova's needs as well.

It was spring time, and Chris was home for a week before jumping on a whirlwind of several summer festivals and tours. In the time in between tours, he cherished spending time with Nova and Sariah. He was so happy that he and Sariah had managed to figure out their relationship with how weird of a beginning it had. He was also happy that she and Easton were excelling as a team in working at the drag club. Sariah brought a lot of great ideas to the table and business was booming. Chris couldn't have been more proud of her.

In the time that they'd been together, Chris grew to be great friends with Easton and Jason as well. He'd gone with Sariah to their wedding, and the two of them were grateful to have a friend in their lives that was a parent when they decided to adopt their first child.

"She'll like you for sure, but she's a little bit shy," Sariah explains to Nova.

Obviously, since Easton and Jason both knew ASL due to Sariah, they were perfectly okay with the idea of adopting a deaf child. Children with disabilities were unfortunately the least likely to get adopted, and Easton and Jason's now daughter, Kaia, had been in foster care since she was three; she was now eight. She was beautiful and playful, but because she was deaf and did not have a cochlear implant or any sort of hearing help, not many parents were willing to take on the task of learning ASL in order to adopt her.

Since Easton and Jason already knew ASL, they bonded with her quickly upon meeting her.

Kaia had been home with Easton and Jason for about two weeks now, and they were introducing her to new people slowly. She'd met Sariah first, as Sariah was now her aunt and was also deaf, so she was someone that Kaia was easily able to grow comfortable around. Easton and Jason didn't plan on putting her in public school until after the summer so that she could get used to everything around her that had changed as it was. However, they thought that it would be a good idea for her to make friends with other children as well.

Enter Nova.

"But I know tons of signs now!" Nova says.

Chris chuckles, "We know, and you're very good at it. Just be patient with Kaia while she gets used to you, okay? She's doing all these new things and meeting all these new people super quickly, so it might all be a little scary for her at first."

They pull up to Easton and Jason's house and Nova unbuckles herself the minute the car stops, excited. She loved Easton and Jason, but the fact that they now had a daughter her age made her all the more overjoyed. Jason opens the door and smiles in greeting.

"Hey, you guys," He says.

"Hi, Uncle Jason!" Nova exclaims.

They walk into the house and Easton appears from another room, wearing sloppily applied pink nail polish that Kaia had put on him the previous evening.

"Is that my angel?" He asks.

"Easton!" Nova exclaims, running up to him and hugging him.

"You get taller and taller every time I see you," Easton comments.