Prologue

Beep….Beep…..Beep…..

This is the sound that greeted him as he enters the room. The sting of the sterileness of the room assaults his nose. He listens to the sound of the ventilator.  How the hell did this happen to him?  12 weeks ago, he was on top of the world… then it all came crashing down.  Fate is a bitch. 

His once tanned olive skin is now ashen.  He looks warry, even in this state.  The doctors had taken him out of the induced coma, but he refuses to wake.  He has nothing left to live for… not without her.

“Your highness,” the doctor bows.

“What happened to him? Why is he not waking up?” he asks.

“That is hard to say,  his body has been through a lot of trauma, but it seems to me that his spirit and will, they are what is broken. All of the advanced medicine in the world cannot heal a broken spirit. Not without his help.’

“Thank you, Dr…”

“Dr. Niva Kakaris.” she smiles.  She checks his vitals, then turns to leave. “You can talk to him, he may hear you, help him want to stay here.” 

“Thank you.”

Leo turns back to Liam… What the fuck were you thinking Li? 

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“Alright, Ms. Masters…Your labs have come back.  Congratulations, you are going to have a baby.” 

“What!!??? Are you sure you have my file?  I can’t be…”

“I take it this wasn’t planned. Well, I know that this is a shock, but let’s see how far along you are. Just lie back and lift your shirt.” 

Zira nods her head still not believing what she was just told. She couldn’t be pregnant. Could she?  They were careful…what am I going to do?  Zira’s pulled back to the present by the warming sensation on her skin.

“ Most people say this stuff is usually cold,” she says.

The doctor laughs, “I like to not put you into anymore shock than you already are.” Zira nods.

“Ok, mom, let’s see what we can find.”  Just then the picture emerges on the screen. Zira cannot believe what she sees.  “Well, that would explain the higher levels. You are having twins.”  Zira’s eyes start at the screen, she cannot believe it. They had created not one but two babies. “Well with what the measurements and looks of their development, I would say you are about 7- 8 weeks along. Would you like to hear their heartbeat?”

 Zira can only nod, her eyes never leaving the screen. As the whooshing of their heartbeats fills the room, she can no longer hold back the tears. They were going to be parents. 

What the fuck were you thinking, Zira?

***************************************************

“Shit! Shit! Shit!”  he paces back and forth in the apartment they share. He had walked into her bedroom to get the trash, and there it was…words still visible. Pregnant…  How could you get so drunk, Walker? It’s bad enough you cannot provide for your firstborn, but now you go and sleep with your best friend’s girl, now she is pregnant. Yes, I flirted with her, but I never thought she would choose me. I was just trying to make myself feel better.  I shouldn’t have kissed her.  I don’t think of her like that…do I?  FUCK!!!!!

Turning back to the mirror, “What is she going to say? Walker, you really fucked up this time. She will never forgive you, neither will he.”

What the fuck were you thinking, Walker?

The clicking of her heels announced that she was on a mission and could not be bothered.  She had to get to him. She had to see him. She arrived at his door and from the window, she could see that he wasn’t alone.  He was there with him.  His shoulders shaking as he silently sobbed into his hands.  She had never seen him cry. They both looked so broken. How could she do this to him? How could he do this to us? 

She slipped into the room and place her hand on his shoulder. “How is he?”

“Liv, what the hell happened?”  

“Well, Leo, it started with your father. He pushed Madeleine down Liam’s throat. Then he releases the scandal, Zira was humiliated. Once they realized it was him that was behind it, the damage had been done. He lost her, Leo. She didn’t come back,” she pauses, though she has no proof of what it means…”Neither did Drake.”

“What do you mean Liv, he wouldn’t do that to Liam, or to you two.” Leo puts his hands in his hands again. No way he could do that to him, to them, could he? 

“Liv, I will leave you to visit with him, but we need to talk, but not in front of him. Can you meet me back at the palace?”

“Sure, I have to pick him up, but we will be there in about an hour.”

“Call me if anything happens.” with that, Leo leaves Liv to sit with her oldest friend.

What the fuck were you guys thinking?

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A few hours later she walks into the room. He is sitting on the couch.  He looks up at her and sees the sorrow in her eyes.  He stands, walks over to her.  His lips collide with hers. He holds her tighter to him. She melts into his arms. Their tongues intertwining around each other. How could he let her go? How could he almost let her marry him?  He needed her like he needed air to breathe. She was his life preserver in the stormy sea, that was his life. She kept him afloat.  This feeling right here was what he wanted for Liam.

He picks her up, her legs wrap around his waist and he carries her to the bedroom, never once breaking their kiss.  He needed to show her just what she meant to him.  He was going to do it all night long. He was never going to take her for granted again. He will never let her go. She was his home.