Epilogue

"Close your eyes," he whispered.

"Why?" she inquired with a mischievous smile.

"Because I said so, baby," he said in a husky voice pulling her closer to him with one hand as he produced a blindfold.

"Why do you need that?"

"You ask too many questions."

He blindfolded her before he took her hand, leading her out of the house as she felt the cool breeze blow against her face.

"Marcel, where are we going?"

"Shut up, woman," he growled into her ear before kissing her cheek, a smile playing upon his lips.

"Fine," she sulked as he continued to lead the way.

"Patience, my love," he whispered.

"Fine."

"I love you," he said softly.

"Fi...I love you too," she smiled as he led down the path towards the lake.

"Tell me again why I agreed to this outdoor weekend of yours?" she grumbled, feeling the wet leaves beneath her shoes.

"Because you love the privacy and seclusion," he whispered with a smile upon his lips as she felt a light kiss on her cheek.

"Still sappy as ever," she smirked.

Slowing down, she felt him move to stand behind her. Tugging the blindfold, it slowly fell off her eyes as he took it, tossing it to the ground. Taking in the scene before her, a wide smile replaced her smirk as she instantly turned, giving him a short peck on his lips, surprising him.

"That's all I get?" he asked, flabbergasted as a sharp whistle broke the silence. The two dogs perked up upon hearing the familiar whistle as they turned towards her. Running towards her, she laughed at their state. Just before they reached her, she commanded them to stop.

Turning to look at Marcel, he gave a questioning look.

"What, I don't want my clothes getting soaked," she said, letting out a gasp as water droplets came into contact with her. "Sasha!" she shrieked before a laugh escaped her lips as both dogs shook the water out of their fur. With a single hand movement, the dog moved forward, barking in excitement.

She had missed them, and so had they. "You didn't kill them," she said with tears running down their cheeks.

"And here I was wishing you dead at the time. I'm sorry," she broke down as he looked at her, worried.

"It's alright, sweetheart, please don't cry," he said, cupping her cheeks, wiping away her tears. "Why don't we go sit down," he gently said.

"But...but," her words died on her lips as he parted her lips with his tongue.

Taking his time to deepen the kiss as he silenced her from whatever complaining she had in stored for him. Pulling her closer, he grumbled as the baby bump made his efforts to bring them closer futile as their lips danced. The snap of a twig had him aiming his gun in the direction of the newcomer as he slowly pulled away from her. His gun still raised, he smiled at her thoroughly kissed form as she leaned more towards him, obviously tired from standing too long and the lack of oxygen.

Opening her eyes, she couldn't help but keep the smile on her lips as her hands settled on his chest in a relaxed manner.

Turning to their unexpected guest, they found his gun already lowered as he looked down at his chest. The red lights on his chest indicated his impending death if he made any wrong moves.

Two men ran towards him, knocking him out before taking him towards the house.

"Come," he said, putting his gun away before wrapping his arm around her waist, taking her hand with the other.

Leading her back to their house, Mario came charging towards them, an adorable smile upon his lips as Marcel lifted him up before he tackled his mother down.

With a sigh, she sat down on the sofa, closing her eyes in pure relaxation.

Tiny hands landed on her tummy as she opened them to see her son waiting for the impending kick. A sharp one at that she knew as she felt the sharp jab watching him quickly move his hands, covering his mouth in glee, his giggles reaching her ears just as Marcel returned with a glass of orange juice for her. He uttered his own version of kick, which had her smiling.

It seemed to be their favorite game to feel her tummy for the baby's kick. Something she had come to appreciate as their family time.

"Mama," she heard as she received a wide grin from her boy. His eyes zeroed in on the glass of juice, and not before long, they were sharing that same glass. 

"Leave some for me, will you?" Marcel interrupted them. 

"This drink is for my son and I, thank you very much. You can always go get your own glass, but just know I will be sending him your way," she chuckled, keeping an eye on Mario so he wouldn't spill the drink.

"Is that so?" He said with a cocky grin.

"Yes," she said with an arrogant tilt of her chin.

"Uh-oh," they both heard.

Looking at Mari, they followed his gaze looking at the puddle of water forming on the ground.

"Did you just..." Marcel said, his words dying on his lips as Nyasha glared at him, begging him to finish.

"My water just broke," she told him, already contemplating the pain she was about to endure.

"Come on, let's go get you cleaned up, then we can go to the hospital," he said, standing up, careful to avoid the puddle.

Reaching the staircase, she buckled over as the first contraction hit her.

"Breathe, baby," he said gently as he massaged her lower back.

"Does it look like I am not breathing," she snapped as he smiled back in return.

As the contraction passed, she stood up straight before saying, "Can we go see our guest," as he looked at her in utter shock about to protest. Making their way to the room, they found the man chained to a chair, looking rather comfortable.

"Can I get that cane? I just need something to lean on whilst you question him.

Buckling over in pain as a guard walked over with the requested cane, she grabbed the cane, swinging it in the direction of their guest, who cried out in pain from the first contact. 

"What - whack - type - whack - of man - whack - would want to kill a pregnant lady," she said, taking deep breaths. 

Timing her contractions, they were still far apart as he realized if he was not careful, they would be in here much longer.

"Listen here, my friend, if you don't want another taste of that cane, I suggest you start speaking. As you can see, my wife is in labor, and if I were you, I would talk—because it's going to get really bloody in here." Marcel stated.

"Boss phone for you," one of his men said, handing him the small device.

"Oh, hi, Alexis. Yeah, we are pretty tied up at the moment. Yes, she is. We will be there in, let's say, twenty minutes tops. Yes, she is very busy blowing off some steam before it gets..." he said, stopping when Nyasha turned her gaze towards him. "Umm, we will be there very soon. Oh, and I will need you to send a guy over to keep this idiot alive," he said, looking at the sorry state of the man before him.

"Love, please let's go now," he said, taking her hand, removing the cane from her hand. "You can finish him off, I promise," he said reassuringly.

"Fine," she sulked as they made their way out of the house.

Contraction after contraction, they finally reached the hospital and made their way to her room.

"Alexis, get this thing out of me!" She yelled angrily as Marcel smirked at her unexpected outburst upon seeing her friend. "I swear, if you keep that smirk on your face, I will castrate you when you least expect it," she snapped as another contraction came.

"Sorry, baby," he said as Neil chuckled, stopping only when Tariro looked at him in question.

"Is that the best you can come up with?" She cried out in pain, squeezing his hand dangerously hard.

"I'm sorry, Marcel," she broke down as tears ran down her cheeks.

"It's alright, love, you are doing great," he said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Reaching her room, he helped her change into her gown.

"Can someone turn up the air conditioning in here? It's flipping hot!" She snapped as Marcel begged her to lay down only for her to grab hold of his collar pulling him closer.

"I am hot, agitated, and about to push a human being out of me, so don't tell me what to do, Marcellus," she said, releasing him as he stepped back, looking worried and somewhat scared.

Looking out the door, he saw Neil buckled over in laughter. He had argued with Neil that a woman in labor was no big deal for him. After everything he had done, what else out there was frightening? Neil had simply looked at him with an "are you really sure?" kind of look.

Now he understood what exactly he had meant. Nothing would ever replace the fear he was feeling right now. He was not afraid of his wife, no, he was afraid of the pain she was experiencing.

"Make yourself useful and get me some ice," she snapped.

Her mood swings he was used to, but this here was another level as he grabbed the ice chips giving some to her.

"I hope you are happy, this is all your fault," she all of a sudden began crying as he pulled her into his arms, feeling the blood flow in his hand become restricted.

Had it been like this with Mario, he hadn't been present for his birth but had sworn to be present for this baby’s birth.

Walking around the room with her, she noticed the goosebumps on his arms, realizing he was cold.

"You know what I really hate right now, Marcel? You!" She spat as he took a deep breath.

"Did you just sigh at me?" She asked in a venom laced tone just as the door opened.

"Goodness me, it's freezing in here, Nyasha. Let's change the temperature in here, for the baby’s sake, right?" Alexis said gently.

"Okay," Nyasha said softly, surprising Marcel. "Are the others here yet?" She asked, referring to their parents.

"Yes, they are here."

"I just need to step out for a bit," Marcel said.

"Where the hell do you think you are going?" She asked.

"I will be back, Nyasha," he said slowly, trying to keep his cool.

"But you can't leave me alone. I can't do this without you," she begged as he reluctantly turned to face her.

"Can I at least use the bathroom," he begged as her lower lips trembled. 

"Okay," she stated quickly, rushing to the bathroom.

"Marcel, I need you to get scrubbed, the baby will be here soon!" Alexis shouted.

Returning in a gown and cap, he stood beside Nyasha as Tariro and Ella stood opposite him, encouraging her as she began the task of bringing their baby to this world.

"And you have a baby girl!" Alexis beamed as she held the infant in her hands. A slap on her rear had her crying her little lungs out as Marcel looked at Nyasha, wiping away the sweat. Marcel cut the cord with a proud smile on his face before returning to stand beside Nyasha. After Alexis checked the baby, she brought her over to her mother, laying the child on her chest.

Looking down at her, he counted her little fingers and toes, just admiring perfection at its best. Just like her mother, he knew that if she had her mother’s spirit, she would be the death of him. Her tiny fingers curled around his finger as he smiled down at her. 

"Thank you," he whispered in a choked voice as Nyasha swallowed the lump that had already formed on her throat.

The constant beep of the machine suddenly became loud and irregular as Alexis moved towards them. 

He saw Nyasha's eyes slowly drooping closed.

"Take the baby, Marcel," she said. Marcel did as instructed, stepping back as he saw her gown soaked with blood. He was used to the sight of blood, but not the sight of his wife's blood as she lay hopeless on the bed.

A nurse came to get his daughter as he remained rooted in place.

"Alexis, please save her," he begged as he refused to leave the room. 

"She will be fine, Marcel. I just need to stabilize her. Then she will need a transfusion, that's all," Alexis smiled at him, giving him a nod in dismissal as he willingly left.

Seeing his family, he saw the excitement hidden underneath their worry.

Tariro and Ella had it good as they exchanged their hands for hers as she squeezed the life out of them, Marcel realized looking at his hand trembling hand. Clenching it into a fist, he let out a long breath smiling as he recalled her snapping at him here and there.

Bringing their perfect little angel into the world, she had done all of the work he had done nothing really. It was there and then that he knew he would never want another woman the way he wanted her, needed her, and loved her. Her going to beat up that poor guy whilst in labor was truly a memory he would use to tease her for the rest of their lives.

Alexis stepped out of the room with a smile on her face a while later.

"You can go see her for a few minutes. She needs to get some rest," she announced as everyone beamed in her direction.

"Don't ever do that again," he whispered before planting his lips upon hers in a light kiss.

"Well, if I get to see you this worried, I could try something else," she whispered, earning a chuckle from the others as he looked even more worried. "Fine, I won't," she said, rolling her eyes.

After a few minutes, the rest of the family left them alone. 

"You forget the bag," she said, seeing his eyes widen in horror about to turn and leave the room.

"Relax, I had Alexis keep one here just in case," she chuckled.

-----

"You should be off your feet!" He growled, scooping her up into his arms.

"I just wanted some water," he said sweetly.

"I will get a glass for you, please just rest," he said softly.

"Alright, love," she said as their daughter made her presence known with a loud cry.

"Angel, what's the matter, did daddy wake you up?" Nyasha smiled, taking her from Marcel.

After feeding, he took her from her mother’s arms to burp her and lay her in her cot.

"So can I please go kill that bastard who tried to kill us the other day?" she said with a wide grin. "I will be very, very grateful," she said in a husky voice.

"Hmm, will you now?" He smirked.

"What exactly will I get in return if I let you leave this bed?"

Leaning close to his ear, she whispered, "We might not leave this bed when I am feeling better," she smirked, pulling back to watching his Adam's apple bob up and down.

"I might just take you up on that offer."

"Great choice," she beamed as he helped her up. "I love you, Marcel," she whispered.

"That's not what you were telling me a week ago at the hospital," he smirked, seeing her frown. "But know this, no matter what you say to me, my love for you will never waver, only grow in intensity. I love you too, sweetheart," he said, cupping her cheek to brush his lips against hers.