Don't Walk Away

Chapter Thirty

(The Following Morning)

Chloe could feel his arms slip around her and he drew her close to him. She sighed softly but kept her eyes shut, as he gently kissed her neck. Brady laid a tiny kiss on her earlobe and whispered softly to her.

"Good morning..."

Chloe nodded and snuggled closer to him, letting her eyes open sleepily. "Yes, very good."

Brady grinned at her and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"Stay right here, and never leave."

"Not that I think that's a bad idea... But what else? Do you want to take a drive in to the city, go sightseeing around Hollywood?"

Chloe shook her head. "Nope."

Brady paused thoughtfully and continued. "Do you want to go to Disneyland?"

"Definitely not."

"I just thought that... Well, you've never been to California, and I thought you might want to see some of it while you're here."

Chloe shook her head again and smiled at him. "Nope. I don't care about that. I just want to be here with you. Besides, you promised me a trip to the ocean... and would you look at that? There's an ocean right outside that window over there."

Brady smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Okay then... How about breakfast?"

"Yes, please."

Brady slipped from under the covers and threw some clothes on quickly. "Alright, I'll go see what I can dig up in the way of food."

Chloe nodded and watched him walk away happily. They had made love under the stars, with the ocean crashing in the background through the night. Then they held on to each other until Chloe was too tired to stay awake. She vaguely remembered Brady carrying her in here, only waking up long enough to say good night to him.

***

(After breakfast and a good swim in the ocean.)

Chloe sat down on the blanket that Brady had brought down from the house, and wrapped a beach towel around her shoulders. She was glad that she had made the last minute decision to pack her swimsuit. Chloe stared out into the waters ahead of her, the sun beating down on her skin. She looked to the right and then the left, a gasp catching in her throat when she realized what she was looking at.

Brady plopped down beside her and handed her a bottle of water. "Chloe... You look like you've seen a ghost."

Chloe turned pale suddenly and she nodded in agreement. "I... I know this place. I've been here before."

"I don't think you have... What are you talking about?"

"It was in my dreams, Brady. I wasn't sure at first, but now that I look closely at it. It's all exactly the same as I remember it."

Brady raised his eyebrows in confusion. "In your dreams? You're saying that you dreamt of this exact beach before you had ever been here?"

Chloe nodded and looked into his eyes. "I did. I... I haven't mentioned this before, but... When you were in your coma, I had these dreams, several of them. And, in them, you were healthy and you talked to me. You encouraged me, and you made sure that I never gave up hope, and then you gave me all these cryptic messages."

"Who me? Cryptic?"

"Yeah, you warned me about Phillip before it happened. And all kinds of other things that didn't make sense then, but did later on when I was awake."

Brady nodded, but he was still confused. "And this beach was in your dreams?"

Chloe looked around it and then back towards Brady. "Not all of them. A couple took place in the hospital, one was at the gazebo, and two of them were here. The night you woke up, I was dreaming that I was here, and you were on a raft in the water. You were speaking, but I couldn't hear you, and then the raft floated away and you waved goodbye. I know it sounds crazy, and it kind of is, but it's true. I know this place."

"It doesn't sound completely crazy. I told you that I don't really remember much about that time. And, I still don't. It's hard for me to even understand what my mind was going through. I remember your love, your strength, your hope and faith. I remember you, Chloe. So, I don't know, maybe you're not crazy after all."

"Maybe... maybe not. But whatever it means, I'm here. I'm in the place that I dreamt about... And, that's just creepy."

Brady chuckled softly. "Life is strange sometimes. And, very surprising."

Chloe looked away from him and thought of the baby again. An unexpected surprise, something she would have never thought she wanted, and yet, now she couldn't think of anything better.

Chloe shrugged and replied, "You mean, *all* the time. Brady... By the way, have you thought about what we talked about? About coming home with me?"

"I... I have."

"And...?"

"Are you really sure that it's time? That we can start the things the way they should be? Are you *absolutely* sure?"

Chloe sighed in frustration and looked at him again. "Brady, please don't make me get mad at you. I have thought about this every day since you left. What you did... I don't know if it was necessary or not, and I tried to go along with it and be understanding. I tried not to be angry about it from the beginning. But, it's hard. Part of me totally accepted it when you made this decision, but part of me hated the fact that I stood by your side for twelve days and then you left me."

Brady sighed and looked away from her, muttering quietly. "Twelve days..."

"That's right, twelve days. Which, in the big picture of the thousands of days we've already lived and will have in the future, doesn't sound like a lot. But, it was twelve days of pure hell. And, every second of those twelve days, I stood by your side when you needed me and I never once thought of walking away from you. So, please, don't walk away from me again. Come home where you belong, because I need you."

"Chloe, I never meant to hurt you... And, when I made the decision to come here, I was scared. Afraid that I would hurt you, and that I'd regret it. I do regret creating all this suffering for you, for both of us. But, I don't regret coming here. It gave us space, and time to heal. And, it's obvious that we needed it. Look at us, we've both recovered and come through this just fine."

Chloe grabbed his hands with her own in desperation. "I know, Brady. And you were right. As much as I hated being separated, it worked. And, that's why I'm telling you that you need to come home. Everything is good, it's better now, it really is. There is nothing I want more than to begin the next chapter of my life with you as soon as possible."

Brady nodded in understanding but didn't reply. Chloe frowned and continued on. "Brady, do you love me? Really and truly? Are you in love with me?"

Brady looked into her wide blue eyes and nodded. "Of course I am. You know that. I love you more than anything."

"Is my happiness important to you?"

"Chloe... Geez... What kind of question is that? Your happiness is the most important thing to me, more important than my own happiness."

Chloe nodded and looked him straight in the eye. "And, barring unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, am I the one you want to spend the rest of your life with? Because... all of that is exactly how I feel about you. I love you, your happiness is more important than my own and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, I can't think of one single reason why you shouldn't get on that plane with me tomorrow. Can you?"

Brady paused thoughtfully and then smiled at her. "I can't. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, Chloe Lane. And, I want the rest of my life to start as soon as possible."

Chloe's face lit up and her mouth grew into a wide smile. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Are you serious? You're coming home?"

Brady kissed her forehead and then kissed her lips, smiling as he broke away from her. "I'm coming home... for good."

Chloe breathed a loud sigh of relief and threw herself backwards on the blanket, staring up into the clear blue sky. "Oh, thank God..."

Brady lay down next to her, propping himself up on his elbow and resting his head on his hand. "You were right, there is no reason why I should stay here. Since the moment I saw your face yesterday, I knew that I couldn't let you go home without me."

"Well, why didn't you tell me last night?"

"I wanted to be sure... I wanted to make sure I wasn't so happy to be seeing you that I was making a decision too quickly."

Chloe smiled happily and grabbed his hand, laying it on top of her bare stomach. "Brady, that makes me so happy... Because, now I can tell you what I came here to tell you."

Brady's eyebrows furrowed with worry. "What is it? Is something wrong? You're not sick, are you? Is somebody else sick?"

"Calm down, calm down. Nobody is sick. This is good news. At least I hope you'll think so. I didn't really know what to think at first. It's nothing I expected, or would have ever planned or wanted. But, now that it's happening, I'm really happy about it."

Brady looked like he was lost in a maze and he stared at her trying to decipher what she was saying. "What? What's going on?"

Chloe took a deep breath in, closing her eyes for a moment. She opened them again and looked up into Brady's brilliant blue eyes. "You're not going to believe this, I didn't believe it either. But... I'm pregnant."

Brady's look of confusion turned into a look of pure shock. He stared at her like she had just grown an extra eye in the middle of her forehead. When he finally gained enough to composure to speak, he barely stammered out his reply. "I... I... Is there water in my ears? Am I hearing you right? Did you just say you're pregnant?"

"Yes, you heard me right. I just found out the day before yesterday. I've been sick for over a month, and I didn't suspect it because we used protection. But, it's true. I guess not all safe sex is one hundred percent safe."

Brady looked at his hand that was resting on her belly. Chloe laid her hand on top of his and smiled. "Well, Brady? Say something, please. Say anything."

"I... I don't know what to say. You're right, I don't believe it."

Chloe sat up and Brady sat up with her, still keeping the hand on her stomach firmly in place. "Brady, I know that this is... a huge surprise. It was to me too. And, I understand if you're not ready to be a father. But, I'm not giving up this baby, not for anything in the world."

Brady nodded, still in a daze. "I would never ask you to, Chloe. Never."

"And, with or without you, I'm going to raise this child. But, I'd much rather do it with you, because it was our love that created this baby. Our baby."

"Our baby." Brady rubbed her stomach gently and repeated himself again. "Our baby."

"I know this is too soon, and it's a huge change for our lives, and we'll have to make a lot of sacrifices. But, I want to do it, because I know it will be worth it. I love you so much, and I can't think of something that would be more amazing than to have your baby."

Brady looked up into her eyes and smiled, finally breaking the haze and nodding in understanding. "We're having a baby..."

Chloe nodded and smiled back at him. "We are. We're having a baby. We're going to have something that belongs to you and me, something that's a symbol of our love that will be around even after we're gone. So... Are we in this together?"

Brady wrapped his arms around her and held her close, kissing her gently on the lips. "We're in it together, Diva. You and me - forever. I... I'm gonna be a daddy. And you... are going to make the greatest mother."

"Oh Brady... I am so glad that you're happy about this."

"I don't know how else to feel about it. I know not everyone will approve, but it just feels right."

Chloe nodded, shedding a few tears of joy. "I know, that's how I feel too. And, you wouldn't believe how wonderful Nancy and Craig are about this. They are so supportive."

Brady looked at her curiously. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I just found out the day before yesterday. I wanted to tell you in person, so that's why I came here."

"But, you waited. You didn't tell me last night."

Chloe bit her lower lip and shrugged innocently. "I wanted to. But, I decided to wait until you made your decision about coming home. I know you, and I know that if I had told you about the baby right off the bat, you would definitely come home. But, I didn't want you to come back just for that. I wanted to see if you'd come back because you wanted to be there."

Brady nodded and gave her a quick kiss. "I understand. I do. So... uhm... What happens next?"

"That's a good question. I'm new to this whole thing too, remember?"

"Right, yeah... Well, I guess first thing's first, you should move into the loft with me."

Chloe smiled slightly and nodded in agreement. "Okay, that sounds like a good idea."

Brady stroked her cheek gently. "It's weird, because that's where my mother and father lived when she was pregnant with me. It's where I lived when I was a baby. And, now our son or daughter will live there too."

"It's like coming full circle. That's why it was meant to be."

"Chloe... What are you going to do about school? About Julliard?"

Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "I can still go. Not this fall obviously, but someday... After the baby is born and old enough. It's not like I have to give up all of my dreams for this. And, neither do you. We made it this far together, and we can do anything with our futures. I really truly believe that."

Brady placed both of his hands on her face and looked at her lovingly. "You... You amaze me."

Chloe smiled bashfully and gave him a quick kiss. "You're pretty amazing yourself."

She rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh and Brady kept her encircled in his arms. They stared out into the ocean together, amazed at what had happened to them in just a couple of months. Chloe had never faith in miracles, not until recently, and now she knew for sure that anything was possible.

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