Gunner (EDITED/REWRITTEN)

Epilogue (EDITED)

Aria:

I couldn't wait to show Walter the ring Gunner finally put on my finger, and there was also no way I could hold back telling him that he was right about me being pregnant. And because of that, I was extremely excited to see him today.

I hurried down the hallway, taking long strides as I headed to Walter's room with a smile as wide as the earth, but that smile soon turned into a frown when I walked in and saw he was sleeping.

Figures...

The one time I waited to tell my brother or best friend something as special as this because I wanted Walter to know first, he's sleeping.

I tiptoed over to the bed and then sat in the chair beside him, trying not to wake him. But after thirty minutes of waiting for Walter to open his eyes finally, I became more anxious to awake him after a bad feeling roamed through me, causing me to feel sick.

I looked at Walter and studied his body, looking to see if I could see him breathing, and when I didn't see anything, my heart stopped, and I jumped off the chair, yelling, "Walter! Walter! Wake the hell up! Please, Walter. Wake up!"

"Damn it, Aria! There better be a fucking fire in the building!" he yelled as I shook his body.

I stopped shaking him, closed my eyes in relief, and exhaled. "You're alive!"

"Of course, I'm alive. Did you think I was dead?"

After seeing the look on Walter's face, a silent giggle escaped me. He looked at me like he was ready to kill me. "I did. You never sleep in this late."

"I'm sorry to break it to you, hun, but I'm very much alive. But unfortunately, I can't be that lucky for my heart to give up. The good Lord doesn't want me, and neither does my wife."

"Oh, Walter," I happily emphasized, "I'm glad you're still here. I don't want you going anywhere just yet. I've got news to tell you," I smiled, wiping away the tears that flooded my eyes.

"Those better be happy tears and not mourning tears; I see falling from those beautiful blue eyes."

"They're happy tears," I smiled.

"So, what's the skinny?"

I reached for his hand and sat, grinning ear to ear. "Well, for one. You were right... I'm pregnant."

He pointed his finger at me, and as his brow raised, he said, "Never underestimate an old man. We're smarter than the bear, you know."

"I never underestimated you, and I know how smart you are. I just don't feel pregnant, that's all. Plus, you never said I was pregnant. All you said was for me to buy a test and that I would like the results. So how am I supposed to know what you meant?"

He tapped his finger against his temple. "It's called wisdom. But, don't worry, you're young. Eventually, you'll learn to use your smarts better," he smirked. "And because you didn't understand what I meant, shows me one more thing about you."

"What's that?"

"You've got the pregnancy brain going on. No wonder you haven't been listening," Walter snickered, his body shaking as he laughed at me. Then he stopped laughing and studied my face again.

Crap. Now, what is Walter searching for?

"I hope you've been smart enough not to be overexerting yourself with exercising and learning new fighting moves while trying to become pregnant."

"That, I can tell you, I haven't been doing. Both Gunner and Neron have made sure of that."

"Good. I like the guy more and more," he winked. "I can't wait to call him my son."