Ross slowly placed the phone in the dock, his hand continuing to tremble. I covered my mouth with my hand, muffling the happy sobs that were escaping. I noticed tears were freely falling from his eyes, and I didn't hesitate to jump in his arms.
"They really found her?" I sobbed, my tears hitting the crook of his neck. He nodded, letting out sobs of his own. "I'm not going to wake up and find out she's still missing?"
He shook his head, leaning back to look in my eyes. His were red, and I assumed mine were as well. "They found her, Sky. We're getting our baby back."
A laugh mixed with shock and happiness escaped, and I couldn't help but kiss Ross. He kissed back, tangling his fingers in my hair and bringing me closer to his body. I could taste the salt of our tears on my lips, but I didn't care.
When we were finally able to calm down a bit, we headed off to the police station, and I called everyone and informed them about what was going on.
The police actually found Olivia. I was getting my baby back.
I couldn't sit still for one moment while we drove to the police station, and it felt like we were driving for hours before we finally arrived. We practically sprinted into the station, and I had a death grip on Ross' hand as Detective Carson led us into his office. He sat down behind his desk while Ross and I sat on the two chairs available.
"I know you two have a lot of questions, but the most important thing is that your daughter is safe." Detective Carson announced, sending relief through my body. I placed the palm of my hand on my forehead, trying to calm my breathing down.
"Where is she?" Ross asked, unable to hide the shakiness in his voice. I squeezed his hand, allowing him to squeeze it right back.
"She's on her way here right now." Detective Carson laced his fingers together and placed them on his desk. "My officers discovered that Mr. Holt was about an hour way, living in an apartment above a toy store. He used cash to rent out the apartment, which is why we weren't able to track through debit or credit cards."
"Then how did you find him?" I asked.
"The owner of the toy store recognized him from the news reports, and she called in." He explained. "Mr. Holt as been arrested and will be placed in a holding cell as he waits for a court date. But I have no doubt in my mind that he will be locked away for a long time. He won't bother your family again."
"But she's okay? O-our daughter is okay?" Ross bit his lip, anxiously waiting for Detective Carson's answer.
He smiled slightly, nodding his head. "Your daughter is fine. We had a medic check her out immediately, and they didn't find any injuries. She wasn't malnourished and she wasn't underweight." He paused. "When they found your daughter, she was alone in the bath tub, crying. Although we believe that Mr. Holt kept your daughter hydrated and fed, we also believe that he abandoned her multiple times a day."
I clenched my eyes shut, trying to erase the image of my daughter all alone in the bath tub. Whenever she cried, it would always break my heart, but this took it to an all knew level. She was crying, and there was no one there to comfort her.
"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch." Ross muttered, low enough for only me to hear. His jaw clenched, followed by his fist.
If we wouldn't get arrested, so would I.
~*~
I glanced at the clock for what seemed like the tenth time, and chewed on my bottom lip. My stomach was doing flips, and I wasn't sure if the nausea was from the morning sickness or from the nervousness of waiting for Olivia.
Ross, who was playing with my fingers, noticed how I continued to grab my stomach, and shifted slightly in the chair to look at me. "Nauseas?" I nodded; doing my best to keep everything I had eaten down. "I'll go grab you a ginger ale." Before I could say anything, he got up and walked away, returning with a bottle of ginger ale a few minutes later.
"Thanks." I gratefully took a sip, hoping it would help with my nausea. "I forgot how much morning sickness sucks."
"You're also nervous and worried." He pointed out. "I know it's hard, but try to calm down a little. You heard what Detective Carson said; Olivia is fine."
"She's probably traumatized, Ross. H-he left her alone, a-and she could've gotten hurt." I clenched my fist as it began to tremble. "All I want to do is punch and kick him until he stops breathing. He deserves to rot in hell."
"And he will. He's gonna be in jail for a long time, Sky." He pushed my hair back and kissed my forehead. "Let's just focus on Olivia right now. Don't even think about him, okay?"
I nodded, leaning my head against his shoulder. He was right. Thinking about Ben wouldn't do me any good, and I just had to focus on Olivia. I had no idea how two months away from us affected her, but I knew that I would do anything in my power to help her adjust.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment, but they suddenly snapped open when I heard the sound of heavy footsteps and a baby's cries.
My baby's cries.
Olivia was wrapped up in a blanket, curled up in an officer's arms. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and they continued to get replace as more tears rolled down her cheeks. I didn't hesitate in jumping out of my seat and running towards her, Ross right behind me.
As if she knew what was happening, Olivia looked at the two of us and cried louder, outstretching her arms. "Mama! Dada!" She wiggled in the officer's arms, wanting to get out, and I quickly took her from him. I sobbed as she buried her face in my neck, her sniffles echoing in my ear.
"You're okay. We got you." I murmured, rubbing her back softly. I looked at a teary eyed Ross, who kissed her head repeatedly as he rubbed my lower back. Her cries began to lessen, and I started running my fingers through her hair.
She turned her head on my shoulder and looked at Ross. "Dada," She outstretched her hand and placed it on his cheek.
He kissed the inside of her palm. "I'm right here, princess. You're okay." He looked at me, lowering his voice. "We're gonna be okay."
Yeah. We were definitely going to be okay.
~*~
I gently placed Olivia in her crib, covering her little body with a blanket and tucking her bunny under her arm. She didn't stir even a tiny bit, and I knew she had to be exhausted. Ross stroked the back of her cheek with his finger, humming softly.
I wrapped my arm around his bicep, leaning my head against his arm. I couldn't take my eyes of my little girl. I was afraid that if I looked away, she would be gone and I would never see her again. The only thing that was really putting my mind at ease was that Ben was in jail. We would never have to see him again, and he could never hurt us.
We were finally free of that bastard.
"We should probably go to bed." Ross whispered, continuing to stroke her cheek.
I shook my head. "I don't want to leave her. I can't leave her."
"She's not going anywhere, Sky. She'll be here when we wake up." Before I could object, he grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room, setting me down on the couch.
"I thought we were going to bed." I wondered, watching as he walked into the kitchen and began rummaging through the fridge.
"We will once we eat. Especially you." He quickly heated up some left over Chinese food and brought it over, placing the plate in my hands. I quickly thanked him before digging in, not realizing how hungry I was until this moment.
"Your parents aren't mad that we didn't come over, right?" I questioned, twirling some lo main on my fork. He shook his head, chewing on his shrimp before swallowing. "Are you lying to me?"
"They're not mad, Sky. They completely understand why we didn't come over." He squeezed my knee in reassurance. "We only got her back today, and you see how exhausted she is. Besides, I didn't want to overwhelm her with seeing everyone."
I glanced back at her room, the urge to hold her increasing at the moment. But knowing that would only wake her, I resisted and stuffed my face with food.
Once we were finished, we changed our clothes, brushed our teeth and got into bed. Today had been truly exhausting, and I could feel my body shutting down by the second. And it wasn't helping that Ross was continuously running his fingers through my hair, increasing my exhaustion and causing my eyes to droop.
"I still can't believe you're pregnant." Ross' voice broke through the silence, and I lifted my head off his chest to look at him. He was already staring at me, a small smile creeping up on his face. "Olivia's finally back in our arms and we have a baby on the way."
"Crazy, isn't it?" I murmured, a slight shiver running down my spine as he placed his hand on my flat stomach.
"Definitely crazy." He agreed, nuzzling his nose against my cheek. "I never imagined my life would be like this. I never imagined I'd have a daughter, a baby on the way, and a wife. I never imagined my best friend being my wife because I was always afraid of rejection. I knew that if you broke my heart, that would be it. I would never be able to find someone else as great as you."
He rubbed my bottom lip, pushing our foreheads together. "I'm so incredibly happy that our life turned out the way it did. You, Olivia, and new Gummy Bear are the greatest things that have ever happened to me. I wouldn't change my life for anything."
I stared deeply into his eyes, my fingers tangling in his hair. "I wouldn't change my life for anything either." And with that, I pressed my lips to his, feeling all the love and passion building up between us.
I never thought Ross becoming the Substitute Father would lead to this, but I was so glad it did.
And that is the end of Substitute Child. But there will be an epilogue, so it's not totally over. And for those who asked, there will not be a third book. If I did write one, it would be boring and uneventful. Let me know what you thought of the chapter, and don't forget to vote. I'll try to publish the epilogue as soon as possible. Love you!