Life Straight Up (reposted - feedback wanted)

Epilogue

Cole's POV

Eight months later

After months and months of building my strength back up, I was finally able to walk by myself. I was certainly more than glad to see the crutches and walking stick go. I hated them, they made me feel weak and useless. It had been a little rough between Ray and me, these last few months. I hated not being able to do things I used to do and unfortunately, I took my frustration out on her. She never once complained though and always showered me with love and support. Whenever my physiotherapy wasn't going as well as I liked, she was always there to brighten my mood. She amazed me more and more each day. She had grown so much from the girl sulking at the bar I once knew. She was strong and capable of being in charge, she took on a lot of responsibility while I was in my coma and I was impressed with what she was able to achieve. Of course, she had Alec to guide her and man had he stepped up. Long gone was the goofy teenager who saw everything as a joke. In his place was a serious, reliable Beta that any Alpha would love to call their own. He hadn't lost all of his sense of humour, he just knew when it was appropriate. He had helped my Ray every step of the way, giving her strength when she was close to giving up. Just like Alec, Helena had also grown into a strong Beta female and a marvellous mother, helping Ray with the triplets, whenever she began to struggle. I was thankful to have both of them in our lives. I was also thankful to have my babies, they gave me something to keep going on for. I wanted to be able to play with them, to teach them to walk. I wanted to show them how to ride a bike and help them through their first shift. I wanted to do everything a father was supposed to do with their children. More than anything, I wanted to be able to protect them and keep them safe. I wanted them to be proud of me.

I stood in the kitchen, looking out of the French doors to the garden. Ray was sat on the grass on a big blanket. Cody was sat on her lap, giggling as Cein tried to pull himself up to standing. All three of the kids were trying to get to grips with walking. Cein seemed more determined than the other two and easily got frustrated when he failed. Cody would have a go every now and then, but then decided he'd get to things quicker if he crawled. Cerys would pull herself up to standing, but would then sit back down again. Even now she was still the smallest of the three and many would call her cautious. Although, I had seen her when she thought no one was looking. I found her to be fearless. She was napping at the moment in the living room. That's why I wasn't outside with the others, I was waiting for her to wake up. Hearing another loud giggle erupt from Cody, I couldn't help but smile. Cein had managed a step but had fallen on his bum. He just sat there on the grass pouting, his bottom lip trembling. I watched as Cody wriggled out of Ray's lap and crawled over to his brother. He got right up to him and hugged him, knocking them both back onto the ground. I waited for the tears to start, but instead was greeted by their laughter along with Ray's.
"Da da," I heard a soft voice say from behind me.
I turned to see Cerys crawling into the kitchen.
"Hey baby girl," I said, as I knelt down on the ground with my arms opened wide.
Instead of coming towards me, she stopped and giggled. I watched in amazement as she pulled herself up to standing. She just stood there for a second or two giggling to herself, before taking a step towards me. With each step, she became more confident and finally made it over to me.
"Da da," she shouted.
"Wow my little angel, aren't you a clever girl. Let's go show mummy," I said, picking her up and kissing her cheek.
She giggled and rested her forehead on my cheek, as we stepped outside.
"Hey sleepy girl," Ray said, as we got closer to the blanket.
I sat down next her and kissed her on the cheek.
"Well Strawberries, it would seem our little Cerys has beat them to it," I said smirking.
"What do you mean?" she asked, as Cerys got up and walked towards her brothers.
"See for yourself," I chuckled.
"Oh wow, my clever little lady," Ray smiled, with tears in her eyes.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my lips passionately.
"What was that for?" I asked a little taken aback.
"Have I told you today how much I love you and our little family?" she asked in reply, smiling.
"No I don't think you have, your slacking Ray," I chuckled.
"Well then Cole my darling, I love you with all my heart. You and our little ones are my world," she said, before she kissed me again.
Our little make out session was interrupted before it got too intense by the giggling triplets jumping on us. This really was the best time of my life, there was just one more thing I needed to do to make life perfect.