Epilogue - Five Years Later

Epilogue - Five Years Later
(Well, everyone, we have reached the end of the story of Ezra and Alana. I hope you all enjoyed it and fell in love with the characters the way I did when writing it. If you would like it in paperback, the series is available on Amazon, but under E.L. Shorthouse. This was originally two books, but I put them into one for the app. Thank you for reading \`:) )

Alana 

I anxiously pace the halls of the hospital. Ezra stops in front of me. 

“Alana, please, calm down,” he says softly. 

“I can’t help it. I need to know if both our baby and Katie are okay.” I sigh. 

Ezra takes my hands in his. “I am sure they will be fine, my love.” 

“What if Katie changes her mind? What happens if she falls in love with Amelia and decides to keep her?” I whimper. 

“Alana, you know that isn’t going to happen. Katie isn’t ready to be a mother.” 

Katie is only sixteen. Her pregnancy wasn’t planned, so she decided to give the baby up for adoption. She chose us, yet I can’t help but worry she will change her mind the second she has the baby in her arms. I know the love a mother feels the moment she sees her baby. I fell in love instantly with Finlay.

I was the same when we adopted our son Joseph two years ago, freaking out and scared. We didn’t take him from his parents, we got him through an adoption agency after he had been in foster care for a few months. Social services removed him from his home when he was only four years old. Sadly, he had a similar childhood to Ezra with the drug addict parents. They physically abused him and didn’t take care of him. Joseph was scared, underweight, shy, and wouldn’t sleep when we first adopted him. He is thriving with us now, though. Joseph and Finlay are inseparable. I think it helps that there isn't much age difference between them. 

Ezra and I always planned to have a couple of kids of our own and then adopt, but the plan had to change after I had Finlay. There were a lot of complications with my labor, and I was advised by the doctor that it would be too dangerous for me to give birth to another baby. We waited a few years and adopted Joseph. Now, we are waiting for our little princess to be born. 

Ezra pulls me to his chest and hugs me tightly. I bury my face in his tee and hug back. Katie has already been in labor for thirteen hours. Her mom is in the room with her because she is the only person she has. Her boyfriend ended things with her the second he found out she was pregnant. Her dad left when she was a kid. Her mom wasn’t there for her at the start, but Ezra and I helped her out any way we could. Her mom finally realised what she was doing was wrong, and her daughter needed her, so they fixed things when she was six months pregnant. Now she hasn’t left her side. Thankfully, her mom is on board with the adoption, so we haven’t had any issues with her. 

“Everything will be fine, bright eyes. We will be taking our little princess home in no time. Her brothers are eager to meet her,” Ezra says soothingly as he strokes my hair. 

The boys are excited to meet her. They’re at home with Lucy and made us promise to video call them the second Amelia is born. 

“Mr and Mrs Barclay,” a voice says from behind us. 

I quickly turn around and see one of the midwives standing with our little girl in her arms. I instantly start to cry and rush over with Ezra hot on my heels. 

“Is she okay? Is Katie okay?” I ramble. 

“Yes, both are fine. Would you like to meet your beautiful baby girl?” She smiles. 

I nod eagerly, and she passes Amelia to me. I glance down at her and fall in love. She is beautiful. She has a small amount of dark hair and green eyes. I hear Ezra sob next to me. 

“She is perfect.” 

“Yes, she is. Hello, little one. Welcome to the world,” I whisper and stroke her tiny cheek. 

She is staring up at us. “Hello, my little princess. I’m your daddy,” Ezra says through his tears. 

“And I am your mommy.” I am in complete awe of her, and so is Ezra. I am so glad she is okay and healthy. 

“We are going to keep her here for a few hours, but afterwards, you can take her home, as long as there are no issues with feeding, but we can work on that. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.” She smiles. 

“Great, thank you,” I reply. 

"Come on, I will take you to the room," she says. 

"Can you tell me the room number. I want to check in on Katie first, if I am allowed?" I wasn't sure if I would be allowed or not. 

"I can ask, but we can't allow it if she doesn't want to see you." 

"I completely understand.” 
“I will take you all to the room, and then I will go back and ask," she says.

I nod. The midwife leads us to a room which is set up for us. I am happy we can take her home soon. Ezra and I sit down, admiring our beautiful girl. 

"I am eager to get her home. I have missed night feeds." Ezra beams. 

Ezra did most of the night feeds when Finlay was born since I couldn't breastfeed due to not producing enough milk. He loved them. He loved sitting on the rocking chair in his room, feeding him. It helped relax him, but it was also a way for them to bond. I did do some, too, but they were more Ezra's thing. He is such an incredible father. Our boys are lucky to have him. 

I rest my head on his shoulder. "Me too! I can’t wait to get her home and settled." 

We fall silent as we watch Amelia, both fascinated by her. 

"Sorry, I have stolen her since the midwife brought her to us. Would you like a cuddle?" I laugh. 

Ezra chuckles. "Yes, please." He takes her from my arms carefully and cradles her in his. 

"Aren't you precious and perfect, Amelia," he coos down at her. 

The midwife stopped by ten minutes later. “I am sorry, Mrs Barclay. She doesn’t want to see you. Katie said it would be too hard, but she told me to tell you thank you for everything you have done for her. Also, she is glad Amelia was adopted by you both because you are amazing parents, and without you, she wouldn’t be doing so well. Katie said she will be forever grateful for you and knows Amelia will have a great life having you both as her mum and dad.” She smiles. 

“I wish she would have spoken to me, but I understand. As long as she is doing okay after giving birth.” I am sad she didn’t want to see me, but even though she isn’t ready to be a mom, it wouldn’t be an easy thing to give up your baby. I just hope she makes a life for herself that she wants. 

“I will go make a bottle up for Amelia and see how she takes to feeding.” 

“Thank you.” I smile, and she leaves. 

“Should we call the boys now or wait until after Amelia has her bottle?” Ezra asks. 

“I think after is best.” I want to make sure she will eat first. Ezra nods and kisses me softly. 


Amelia took to feeding with no issues, thankfully. The doctor checked her over again and said we could take her home in a couple of hours, but first, we are going to video call our boys. 

Ezra has Amelia in his arms. He is utterly smitten with her. I take my cell from my pocket and call Lucy. She answers within seconds; she must have been waiting for our call. 

“Oh my God, look at her. Everything okay?” she gushes and holds her hand over her heart. 

“Yes, she is perfectly fine. We will be home in a couple of hours!” I exclaim. 

“I can’t wait to meet her in person and get cuddles.” 

Lucy is an incredible Auntie to our boys, and I know she will be the same for our girl. 

“Are the boys there?” Ezra asks. 

“Joseph! Finlay!” she calls out. 

We hear them running towards her. “Mommy and Daddy want you to meet someone,” Lucy says softly. 

Our boy’s faces soon appear on the screen, “Mammy, Daddy!” they chorus. Since we are raising them in Scotland, our boys talk with a Scottish accent and use Scottish words.

“Hello, my sweet boys. Mommy is missing you.” 

“We miss you too, Mammy.” Finlay pouts.  

“We will be home soon, promise, buddy. But first, we wanted to let you meet your little sister.” Ezra grins. 

“Amelia!” Joseph celebrates. The boys stare at her, not saying another word for a moment.

“She is so cute!” Finlay says excitedly.

“Yes, and I am sure she can’t wait to meet you both. We will be home soon with Amelia. We should be back before you need to go to bed.” I smile. 

We chat on video call with them for a few minutes before hanging up. Amelia is now sound asleep in her daddy’s arms. I am sure she will be a daddy’s girl. 

“So, tell me, sweetheart, is our little family complete now?” 

“Hmm, ask me in six months.” I laugh. 

“You want more kids?” He chuckles. 

“Possibly. I love being a mother.” It is my most favorite thing in the entire world, next to being a wife. It can be a little tricky when Ezra is working, but Lucy is always around to help. He isn’t away often. He only flies to LA once every few months now, and he works primarily from home when it comes to our other business with affordable housing. I am so proud of him and everything he does, and in the last five years, he has helped over a hundred families between here and LA find a home. 

“You are an amazing mother, Alana. I love being a dad too, so we can adopt again if you want more kids.”

“I think we are doing a great job, if I may say so. We will see how the next six months go and decide then.” I smile brightly. 

“We are!” he agrees. 

“For now, what we have is enough. We have each other, our boys, and now our sweet little princess. I have more than enough.” 

Maybe we will adopt again, or perhaps we won’t, but either way, we have our little family, and that is all I need to be happy. What has happened in the last five years is unbelievable, but I wouldn’t change anything. I am ready for the next fifty-plus years with Ezra.