Undercover

41. Take Two

Fortunately, it only took another few more weeks for me to find work. It still involved kids but this time it was at one of the universities nearby. They had a children's center where the children of students or staff would stay while their parents worked. I had become a support teacher and while I was worried that I hadn't majored in child development, it seemed that they weren't too concerned with that aspect. They did, however, ask me why I had lost my job at the elementary school. Of course, I had to tell them that a dangerous criminal had kidnapped me and while they were very forgiving, they weren't going to be able to wait for me forever. I understood that. I was just so excited to be able to work at a place that took good care of children. If I ever had any children, I would think about finding a place like this, although I do know that child care is crazy expensive.

If anything, I was already falling in love with all of the children that I worked with. Sure, changing diapers was always one of the worst experiences, especially when they had a big blowout, but it was something they would eventually learn to do on their own. All of the children made my day and that was something that I don't think I would change for anything. I knew that they were not my children, but they were as much a little bit my children as they were their parents'. I know that I could never take their parents' place, but they made my day so much brighter.

There was especially one girl, whose name was Lilia, who stole my heart. I knew it was wrong to have favorites, but there was something about her. If I could have a baby soulmate, I think she was it. Her little smile whenever she walked in the room and saw me there melted my heart. She would run towards me and hug me. It was always easier for her to go down during a nap if I was the one helping her. She's still a baby but everything about her just made me fall in love. I would never favor her instead of another child, because they all deserve equal attention, but she just stole my heart.

I felt arms wrap around me from behind me. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked me as he planted a kiss on my cheek.

"I'm thinking about work. Just how much I already love those kids even though they aren't mine." I said, and he gently turned me around and planted another kiss on my nose.

"We can have some of our own later on, you know. I wouldn't mind."

I looked up at him. "You're okay with having a few kids?"

"Of course. As many as you want."

It was then that I knew that I had made the right decision with him. I didn't need anything else. Our relationship isn't perfect, but it was what I needed. Despite everything that had happened, it was amazing how comfortable I was with him. I was so glad that he had survived and that we were finally getting our happy ever after. there was so much we still had to do together and I realized that he was the one I had been waiting for. Even though I had met him at a young age, he was all there was. He was the love of my life, the one that I had always thought about. The one that everyone talks about in the movies or in the books, Aiden was it. There was no doubt in my mind about it. And I thank the universe for placing him in my path that fateful day. I knew I was still relatively young, but that doesn't mean that I didn't know what love was.

He helped me with my nightmares. It was as if he knew that my nightmares would hit me in the middle of the night. When I awakened from one, he was already up with me. That was the kind of sacrifice I had never had someone else do. I knew that he had to work the next day and yet, he was still willing to be up for me when the nightmares scared the crap out of me. They had started combining Daniels and Julliards into one and it was terrible. But I think whenever he was there with me, it wasn't as horrible as it could be.

"You know we have a date tonight right?" Aiden asked, effectively bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, is that right?" I asked him.