Epilogue—Sebastian

We were walking down the tunnel from the locker room. It was the final game in the season. Just like Emma had said, nothing could go wrong. I was fit, and nothing was holding me back. The vacation was just what I had needed. Time away from here and to spend more time connecting with the one woman that I had loved practically my whole life. She said that we had moved too fast; that we needed to take it slow, but love waited for no one and as I headed out into the bright lights of the field, I thought about her sitting in the stadium carrying our child. 

She was going to be a mom; the last few months had been hard for her. She was used to being a doctor. Worrying about her career and now she didn’t know what was going to happen to that. 

I had kind of had an idea. She had been going to meetings, even conferences just to keep herself busy while I had been at games and practices. The idea of being a stay-at-home mom felt too small for her. Something that she had never considered, but I knew once our son came out, once he was born, her fears would be a thing of the past. 

It was the start of a new game, an opportunity for us to win the finals. It felt great, especially for me. I felt like a champ at the moment. And there was only one thing on my mind and that was to score another touchdown. 

I don’t know why it meant so much to me. Maybe because I knew that when we played another season I would be a dad. The thought of it all would have scared me before, but now I felt completely different. 

Two new people were going to be in my life. 

They weren’t associated with football or my extended family. No, this would be my own little family. 

Next came the inspirational speeches and the hand clapping, but I was deaf to them all I was determined to make that touchdown today. 

Everyone knew exactly what was on my mind. It meant the world to me. I had gone a whole season without playing.

Tonight had to be the night. 

It had to be. 

As we huddled and started to play, I took a deep breath in as I started to focus. This time we were back in the game and I didn’t miss a beat. I snapped the ball and the defense misses me. 

“Fuck!”

I was nearly there. I just kept running. I felt as if my heart had wings; it was as if I was deaf to everything and anyone. 

My focus was on the line. I just had to make it. I needed to make it. 

All that energy and focus made me drop the ball and myself at the same time and scream like some fucking madman, “Touchdown!” 

Shit, I couldn’t believe that I had made it. The crowd went wild. I didn’t even know that the commotion hadn’t been so much about the touchdown, but what was waiting for me on the other side of the stadium. Emma had been so damn excited that her waters had broken!

Her baby.

Our baby.

Was on its way now. I rushed out of the stadium with the same urgency I’d had on the field once I got the news. I knew that I shouldn’t miss a game. But fuck it, this was more important. I wasn’t going to miss the birth of my first son; nothing could keep me away.

That was when I saw Dad by the locker room. “Son, this way.” We moved to his car, then he was driving like crazy. I still had my gear on. My boots, helmet. The whole works. I just started stripping at the back of the car.

“Dad, I need clothes.”

He laughed. “Trunk son. They’re in the trunk.”

Mom could laugh about Dad, but the man was prepared. He always had a spare set of clothes in the trunk. He always said that you never knew when they would come in handy. Just this time it consisted of a pair of shorts and a shirt. They were both a bit too big. Good job Dad was on the larger side. Dad gave me his phone and I began calling. Obviously, no one picked up, but as we arrived at the hospital, I was still disappointed. The one thing that I hadn’t wanted to miss, I thought I had missed as I approached the room.

“Sebastian Ross, they’re waiting for you,” the nurse said as she directed me to the right room. I took in a deep breath. Shit, I didn’t even know if Dad was behind me anymore.

The doctor was talking, so damn fast. Giving me instructions, he said that Emma had refused to give birth without me and he was worried that the baby was distressed. Not my boy. Not our son.

He was tough like his parents and I knew that he would be okay. As soon as I put my scrubs on, Emma was ready to go. I held her hand and as our son’s head started to peep through I shouted, “Touchdown!”

She laughed. “You did indeed. You did it!”

Within seconds, our son came out. I watched as they carefully took him and I heard his lungs working as he cried lustily. Emma looked exhausted; the nurse had said that she had held on to him for a little too long. Hoping that I would be in the room. It wasn’t the best decision in the world, but I loved her even more than I already did for doing it.

I kissed her on the head and said, “I love you Emma.”

And she replied, “I love you even more.”

It was music to my ears and as they gave me my son to hold, I never had seen such beauty in my life. The last thing Emma said before she went to sleep was, “Don’t you dare call him Touchdown.”

I hadn’t thought about it, until now! 

The End.

NOTE FOR READERS: This is officially the end of the story. However, the author has written six bonus chapters that focus on Mason and Sophia, set two years after the events of the main book. You may continue to those next if you want to see what becomes of them.