50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Chapter Sixty-Four

    "Baby? Are you okay?"

    A blur surrounded by bright lights.

    "Answer me. Are you okay? That's it, I'm calling the doctor."

    Aubrey reached out and grabbed onto fabric. A shirt. The sleeve of a shirt. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and his vision cleared. He was on the cold, tiled floor of a bathroom. The bathroom looked familiar and completely unfamiliar, all at the same time. His gaze centered on the one thing in the room that was familiar, through and through. His brows drew together as he cupped his hands around Destiny's face. "You're back."

    "You mean you're back," she corrected him, helping him to stand. "You fainted, right in front of me. I think you should go in to see a doctor. You're worrying me."

    He shook his head. "No, I should be good now." But he raised a hand to his throbbing temple, giving her suggestion a second thought.

    "I told you that we had more than two kids, and you just...crumpled to the ground," she told him, her eyes wide. "I've only seen you faint like that once, a long time ago."

    Kids. That's right, we had kids. "Four...I have four children."

    As if on cue, a loud wail sounded throughout the house.

    Destiny smiled sheepishly. "That would be our youngest," she said. She touched his arm lightly. "Are you okay?"

    He turned his head in the direction of the baby crying, feeling a sense of panic. "Yeah...yeah, I'm okay."

    "I have to go to her. Stay here, and I'll be back." Destiny jogged out of the bathroom.

    He couldn't stay put, not with the sound of the tiny baby cry trapped between his ears. Wringing his hands together, he followed Destiny out of the bathroom, out of the master bathroom, and into an upstairs hallway. She was already out of sight by the time he stepped out into the hallway, but all he had to do was follow the sound of the crying and the accompanying sound of Destiny's soothing voice. He turned into the room at the end of the hall and leaned heavily against the doorjamb.

    Destiny stood at a crib, holding quite possibly the most beautiful baby he'd ever seen. Big brown eyes, a complexion that hadn't yet decided to be light brown or medium brown, thick curly hair, chubby little legs. The baby peered at him over Destiny's shoulder, then stuck a chubby finger in her mouth.

    Aubrey felt tears gathering in his eyes at the sight of her. She had his eyes. The same shape, the same thick lashes, the same color. He straightened his posture and entered the room slowly. The baby watched his movements, her cries quieting.

    Destiny glanced over her shoulder. "You didn't have to come in here, not...in your condition."

    He continued staring at the baby. "She's beautiful."

    Destiny beamed. "I wanted a little girl with your eyes, and God gave us one."

    Tears rolled down his cheeks as he raised a hand to the baby's head.

    Destiny reached up and touched his jaw. "Hey...baby, are you okay?"

    He nodded. "I'm sorry, I just...this is a lot to take."

    Her face fell.

    "I don't mean anything bad by it," he rushed to say. "I'm just overwhelmed. I never thought I'd see this. I just...I didn't think it was for me."