Breathless

24. Freedom

"Earlier today, fan-favorite sweethearts, Chris and Sebastian Evanstan, appeared on Ellen Degeneres' show. This was their first public appearance since the launch of the End of the Line Foundation, and it was absolutely heartbreaking."

"I saw the footage, and we'll show the same clips here in a moment, but for those that haven't seen it, what happened? You described it as 'heartbreaking.' Why?"

"While they were there, Chris got personal, he left no holds barred, and he told Ellen about the trial that he and his husband endured following the shooting that occurred at the premiere of Captain America: Reforged. He described his friends' testimonies, how they shocked the jury and the judge, but he couldn't describe his husband's. The reason why? He wasn't in the courtroom when Sebastian was on the stand. But, he did see the video of his testimony, with the rest of the world watching. Ellen showed Sebastian's testimony live, on the air, directly alongside live video of Chris reacting to it."

"Do you think his reaction matched the emotional nature of Sebastian's statement?"

"He was in tears before Sebastian even spoke, and by the end of the testimony, he was clinging to his husband, sobbing. And their friends, the survivors that stand so proudly beside them, were in tears as well."

"How did Sebastian react to seeing his own testimony?"

"He was in shock, and he was holding onto Chris just as tight."

"So, what exactly did they say of the testimony?"

"Chris said he never expected Sebastian to be so open about the consequences of nearly losing him, how hopeless he felt sitting outside of countless hospital rooms, what he was preparing himself for if he did die due to complications. Chris had no idea that Sebastian had retrieved a copy of his will, and then had his own formally prepared."

"Why did Sebastian prepare his will after getting ahold of Chris'?"

"We'll see this in a moment, but Sebastian said, and I quote, 'The love of my life was bleeding out, my hands provided him no relief, and my heart was broken. I felt as if it had been ripped from my chest. I saw the light leaving Chris' beautiful, ocean-blue eyes, and I couldn't bear it. I'd looked into those eyes countless times, and I'd taken it for granted. I was losing him, the man I so desperately wanted to spend forever with, and I realized that if he were to die as a result of this nightmare, I absolutely would not survive. I realized that I was fully prepared to die, by my own hands or another's, so I could follow Chris to a better, safer place where there isn't any pain or suffering, where we can spend forever together. Not once in my life did I ever consider suicide, or at least I didn't until the dust settled and the shaking stopped, until I pulled my fiancé out from under blocks of concrete, until I was standing outside of the operating room listening to the doctors tell me he had to be revived twice...only then...only then did I consider suicide. That is why I retrieved a copy of his will, and that is why I prepared my own.'"

"Oh my God."

"Baby, are you okay?" I hear, snapping my attention away from the TV screen.

"I'm okay," I tell him.

He's in the kitchen making pasta. Dodger is sitting in the doorway watching me with sad eyes.

"You're watching talk shows, aren't you?" He asks, glancing over his shoulder at me.

I quickly grab the remote and switch to Netflix. When I look up, he's standing behind the couch I'm curled up on, and he's far from impressed.

"Seb, honey, you don't have to lie to me," he says softly. "What do you need from me so we can get through this?"

"How are you okay?" I ask him after a moment.

He sighs, looks at Dodger, and says, "Go find Scarlett, okay, bud?"

Dodger hops up from the floor and scampers off down the hallway.

I'm in trouble.

Chris extends his hand to me, saying softly, "Come on. I have something for you."

I take his hand and stand up, saying, "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"Not at all," he tells me, pulling me close to him as he leads me down the hallway.

I follow, holding tight to his hand as we walk. Just before we reach our bedroom door, he brings us to a stop and steps back, his back pressed to the door.

He takes both of my hands in his as he says, "Before I open this door, I want to tell you that you have been such a light to me, such a strong, unrelenting supporter, and you've made our journey together so incredibly easy." I can't help the tears that roll down my face as he goes on. "If it weren't for you, I'm not sure that I would have made it out of that premiere alive, and every single morning, when I wake up and find you still beside me, I thank God for placing you in my life. You make me want to be the man that you believe me to be, and I love you, so hopelessly and desperately for it."

     "I love you," I tell him, hardly managing a whisper through my tears.

     He nudges the door open, and my heart lurches in my chest when I spot a pet carrier on our bed.

      "I wanted to give you something to thank you for saving my life, and all of the gold and diamonds and hugs and kisses in the world can never amount to the weight of your worth to me," he says softly as I walk toward the blue crate. "And, I know that you've been looking at shelter pages, and that even though you love Dodger to pieces, you want a little furbaby to call your own."

     Baby.

     He rests his hand on the small of my back as I peer inside the pet carrier. I burst into tears when I find a German Shepherd puppy staring back at me.

      "Sebby, sweetheart," Chris says as I open the door and take the puppy out of the crate, "I want you to meet Freedom. One of the police officers that rescued us reached out to let me know that they had puppies, and that the puppies' mom was the one in the ambulance with us on the way to the hospital. Freedom's mom, Liberty, retired shortly after that, and so did her handler, Officer Peggy Thoreaux."

     The puppy licks my face, tail wagging as I take her into my arms, and I fall to pieces.

     He got me a puppy.

     And her mom is the K9 that helped me out of that nightmare, helped get us to safety.

     Oh my God, baby, this is unreal.
    
     "She's beautiful," I whisper, trying to wipe away tears and hug Freedom at the same time.

     Chris smiles and joins me on the floor, pulling both me and Freedom into his arms.

     "Just like you," he says, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

     Dodger comes in, tail wagging, followed by Scarlett and Lizzie.

     "Hey, dude," Chris coos as Dodger walks up, eager to meet the newest member of our family.

     I smile and turn my head to press a kiss to Chris' cheek as I say, "I love you."

     He wraps his arms around me and rests his head on my shoulder, softly saying, "I love you more."