A Heart Worth Healing

Epilogue

"I feel as big as a house," Kirsty groaned, collapsing on the couch beside Derek. She was clutching a huge bowl of ice cream and she began to devour it, spoonful by heaping spoonful.

"Well, of course you will, if you keep eating so much," Derek answered, rustling the pages of his newspaper.

They were silent for a while as Kirsty ate her ice cream and Derek read the newspaper.

"Did you paint today?"

"Only a little," she replied. "My back has been aching for the past few days, so I can't stand at my easel for very long."

In alarm, Derek looked at Kirsty and asked with concern if she was feeling okay.

Kirsty giggled at his paternal tone of voice. For the past eight-and-a-half months, he had been treating her like a fragile egg instead of a mother-to-be. She gloried in his concern, milking his attention for all it was worth.

"Of course I'm okay," she answered happily. "I'm sure the back aches are nothing compared to labor pains."

Derek folded his newspaper and put it on a table.

"Are you sure you want to go through natural childbirth?" he asked worriedly for the thousandth time.

"Of course I'm sure," she replied lovingly. "I will go through anything as long as you are there beside me."

"To hear you scream in my ear, no doubt," Derek said, making Kirsty laugh.

"But seriously," he continued, "why does something so miraculous have to hurt so much?"

"I don't know," Kirsty replied, shrugging. "To make it feel like a miracle when it's over, I guess."

"We did have a hell of a lot of fun making her, didn't we?"  Derek asked, caressing Kirsty's extended belly with the palm of his hand.

Kirsty nodded, amused at his choice of pronouns. She hoped he would not be disappointed if they had a boy. They both actually just wanted a healthy baby, no matter what the gender was.

Suddenly, Derek grabbed the bowl of ice cream out of Kirsty's hand.

"Hey!" she yelled, trying to reach for it. "I need that."

Derek put the bowl on the coffee table and nuzzled Kirsty's ear.

"Tell me something," he murmured, his breath warm on Kirsty's neck. "if we were stranded on a desert island, which would you rather have: a bowl of that ice cream or one of my kisses?"

Kirsty needed no time to consider her answer.

"A kiss, of course," she replied, without hesitation.

A long time later, Derek raised his head and said, "Have I told you lately that I love you, Mrs. Gibson?"

Enveloped in pure joy, Kirsty replied, "Not since this morning. I think you have been lax in your duty to remind me."

Derek chuckled and kissed her forehead in silent apology.

"Is my apology accepted?" he asked, a moment later.

"Mm," Kirsty whispered, cuddling close to him. "Absolutely."

The End

Author's note: Thanks to everyone who has voted for this story. I hope you have enjoyed it. I tried my best to modernize it since it was written twenty years ago. I'm grateful for your support and I hope to continue writing in the future.