Out Of The Friend Zone (35 page)

A few hours later, Brynn was finally situated in a private room, feeding her new daughter for the first time. For an instant, the room was quiet. Too quiet. Then, as luck would have it, she heard two little voices from down the hall, with a deep voice following not far behind.

"Mommy!" both kids yelled, as they threw open the door to Brynn's room.

"Hi guys! Come meet your new sister!"

Both kids walked closer to the bed where Brynn held Jasmine.

"She's bald," Barrett said when he got close enough to see.

"Yeah, she doesn't look like us at all," Willow said. "But I think we'll keep her."

Brynn laughed. Chandler and Madilyn came into the room, and everyone took turns passing around the baby. Both kids got the chance to hold her, too.

When the nurse came in to take the baby back to the nursery, Chandler told everyone they had an announcement to make. "Just before Brynn gave birth, we got a preacher to come into the delivery room and marry us," he said excitedly. "Since you guys weren't there with us, I wanted you to be here to see this part of it."

Chandler took two small boxes out of his pockets. They had had their rings picked out for a few weeks, even though they still weren't sure when they were going to get married. It turned out that buying the rings early, on a whim, was the best move they could have made.

Chandler took Brynn's ring out of its box and walked over to her. He took her left hand in his and looked into her eyes. "Baby, I know this wasn't exactly the wedding that you wanted, and truthfully, it wasn't how I imagined it either. But I know all that matters is that you are now my wife, and we are bound together for eternity," he said.

"You know, it seems like all of our romantic moments happen in a hospital," he said with a smile, thinking back to when he proposed.

"That's a trend I would be happy to end," she said, laughing, her eyes already glazed with tears.

"Brynn, I don't know where I would be without you in my life. I was lost for so long, and now I feel I have found my way back to living again. I owe it all to you. You came and mended my soul when I thought it was a lost cause. You have brought me more happiness than I ever thought possible, and I vow to spend the rest of my life making you as happy and as complete as you've made me," he said, then slid her ring onto her finger.

The tears spilled over for Brynn. "Well, I don't have a speech planned, because this is kind of a surprise, so let me see if I can wing it," Brynn joked, trying to get herself to stop crying after hearing her husband's touching words.

"Last year, I think I had given up hope of finding my true love. I felt like my life was stuck in a rut, and I wasn't sure how to get out of it. I didn't think I could ever trust a man again, let alone be so close to one, but Chandler, you proved me wrong. I feel like my life truly began the moment we met, and I realized that all the pain and grief I had been through was worth it if it brought me to you. I was headed for such a lonely, sad existence, when you came and stole my heart."

She took the ring box from him and removed the ring for him, holding it delicately between her fingers. "I vow to you that I will give you my heart forever, and as your wife, I will do everything I can to keep you happy," she said, then slid his ring onto his finger. Chandler leaned over and kissed her tears away.

"And I vow to be a good daughter!" Willow said, as she jumped onto Brynn's bed and cuddled against her.

Barrett walked over to the bed, trying to be strong and show no emotions. But the look in his eyes as he looked at Chandler said more than words could. He was asking for the approval and love from Chandler that he never got from his biological father, and when Chandler picked the young man up and hugged him, Chandler offered Barrett the world.

Madilyn looked on from the hospital room door. The family was such a perfect fit, and there was no doubt they all belonged together. At that moment, all was right in the world.