He lets her sleep for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of her being cuddled against his side. But he knows she'll be better off in her own bed. He tries to gently shake her awake, but she only burrows deeper into him. He smiles. He can get used to a cuddly Reyhan.
When she doesn't wake, he gathers her up into his arms and carries her back to her room. He takes his time, not wanting to wake her. But also because he loves having her in his arms. It seems like the more he touches her, the more his heart is filled with her. And the more her scent seeps into his soul. She's becoming a part of him.
Her eyes begin to blink sleepily when they get to the room and he lays her on the bed.
"Emir? What are you doing?" she asks him, looking around to see where she is. "How did we get back here?"
"You fell asleep on me, sleepy head," he says with a smile. "So I carried you up here so you could get some real rest."
"You carried me? Through the hospital? Emir!" She's blushing again and Emir officially adds making her blush as one of his favorite things to do. He just loves getting such a reaction out of her.
"You're so adorable when you get embarrassed." He leans over and presses a kiss to her nose, surprising her.
But she quickly gets over the surprise and scowls at him.
"Something tells me I'm going to have to work to make sure you behave in the future."
"Behave? What's the fun in behaving?" he asks, leaning in for another kiss. This time, his aim is the treasure of her mouth. Her eyes widen a bit. In panic? In excitement? He doesn't know.
And he never finds out.
"Emir bey? Oh! Excuse me," a voice calls from the door.
Emir just closes his eyes and sighs at the interruption.
"I'm really sorry," the nurse who interrupted them apologizes.
"It's fine," Reyhan says with a smile, both relieved and disappointed to miss that kiss. This is all still so new to her. She's struggling to keep up with the changes in their relationship. She lifts her hand up to her lips and just thinks about how close he had been. Her heart is still racing.
"What do you need?" Emir asks the nurse.
"Ayla seems a little down," the nurse says. "You asked us to let you know how she was doing. And she's fine. But ..."
"Say no more," Reyhan says before turning to Emir. "You have to go to her. We can't leave her alone. I'll be fine. I'm probably just going to go back to sleep anyway. I'll get some rest and then later, we can all eat together."
"Are you sure?" he asks. "I don't want to leave you."
She reaches out to place her hand over his heart.
"Didn't you say I was here?" she reminds him, smiling when he nods. "Then you won't be leaving me because I'll be with you. But she needs you. She's just a baby. She shouldn't be in a place like this all by herself. We have to put her first."
"Okay," Emir finally agrees. He looks up at the nurse. "Tell Ayla I'm coming. I'll be there shortly."
The nurse nods and leaves, leaving Emir and Reyhan alone.
"Go to her," Reyhan orders.
"I am. I just wanted to stay until you fell asleep again. You," he says, taking her hand, "are my priority too. By the way, this whole maternal instinct thing you've got going on is pretty sexy."
"Emir!" She just shakes her head at him.
"Tamam, tamam. I'll behave," he says with a laugh. He stands and places a kiss on her hand before letting it go. "You behave, too. Get some sleep."
He keeps his smile as he heads out the door. But the minute he's away from her, he starts to miss her. This won't do. Both Reyhan and Ayla need him and he needs to be with them both. He's just going to have to figure out a way to make that happen.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Reyhan can't sleep. Once again, her life is moving at the speed of light and she can't seem to keep up. One minute she's in a coma and the next, she's awakened to a world where Emir cares about her more than she thought. Then she realized she also cares for him. Then Ayla dropped into their lives. And now Emir is teasing about more babies. His touches are driving her crazy. His attempts to kiss her are making her melt. She doesn't know which way is up anymore. Her world has been turned upside down. He really was about to kiss her not ten minutes ago and she was too stunned to stop him. Or maybe she didn't want to stop him. And if she's honest, the idea of making babies with him ....
She feels the heat in her cheeks and realizes she's blushing again. She's grateful he's not in the room at the moment to notice. Something tells her that wouldn't escape his attention.
"Calm down," she tells herself, her hands going to her stomach when she feels fluttering inside. Butterflies. She has actual butterflies thinking about him. Is this what love feels like? How could it have happened so fast?
But if she thinks about it, this has been a long time coming. Thinking back on their marriage, there was always a pull of attraction between them. No matter how much she tried to keep her heart safe from him, she's been falling from the moment she met him. The way his mother treated her was just an excuse to keep him at arm's length. But sometimes that wasn't possible.
Their first night together comes to mind. She had been so terrified of what was about to happen to her. But despite his anger and resentment, he was kind to her. He took care of her that night. She thought it was going to be a promising start for them. She had even gotten up the next morning and prepared his breakfast, struggling to learn how to make the filtered coffee she heard he preferred. But as gentle and attentive as he was the night before in his bed, the complete opposite was true at the breakfast table the next morning. He was cruel. Mean. Distant. Did she do something wrong? She couldn't help but wonder about that then. And she still can't help but wonder about that now. Is that why he hasn't taken back to bed? Is that why he swore to never touch her again? He seems to want her now. But will he only end up pushing her away again later?
Her ringing phone shakes her from her wandering thoughts. Reaching over to see who it is, she hesitates when her uncle's number appears on the screen. She hesitates to answer. For whatever reason, he seems to be trying to tear her and Emir apart. She remembers when she was still in the hospital in Istanbul how her uncle tried to make her think Emir didn't want her. That he was trying to divorce her. And then again earlier today when he had visited.
"I can make it so your marriage never existed."
That is no longer an option for Reyhan. Maybe at the beginning she wanted to leave. But now, she can't imagine life without Emir. She's just going to have to make her uncle understand that. She never wants to see that heartbroken look on Emir's face ever again when he thought she might agree with what her uncle had said.
"Hello?" she says into the phone when she finally answers it. "Dayı? Have you made it back safely?"
"Evet, Kızım. We're home. How are you feeling?" he asks her. "Did you think about what I said?"
"There's nothing to think about. I'm not leaving my husband," she tells him, making her choice clear. "I just don't understand what's making you be this way about Emir? We're just trying to make a life for ourselves."
"Kızım," he sighs. "I hope that's true. But I'm not convinced."
"I am," she interrupts him. I love him and he loves me, she wants to add. But realizes they haven't made those confessions to each other yet. Emir should be the first to hear how she feels about him.
She actually wasn't sure how she felt until just now. Until she realized she was ready to fight everyone, even her beloved uncle, for Emir. No one is taking him away. She loves him. She just hopes she has the courage to tell him one day soon.
"Trust me, Uncle," she continues. "And trust Emir. This is what we want. Some time away from everything and everyone will do us good."
"You mean Cavidan. And her tricks." Hikmet lets out another sigh. "Kızım, I'm so sorry I didn't protect you."
"You didn't protect Emir, either," she adds softly. "He was the most vulnerable to her."
Yet another epiphany for Reyhan. In a way, Emir was Cavidan's victim too. That realization only softens her heart even more for him. And it makes her grateful that no matter what his mother said or did, Reyhan was always able to touch some small part of his heart. Otherwise, they wouldn't be where they are now.
"I never thought of it like that," Hikmet admits. "I'd like to say that Cavidan hasn't always been the way she is, but that would be a lie. She's always been determined to beat her enemies. I just never imagined she'd consider you an enemy and go as far as she did. And I just don't know how I can make it up to you. To either of you."
"Just give us this time alone. Apart from everyone else. We need to heal before we can face Cavidan hanım again."
"I understand," Hikmet says, his voice sad but determined. "Consider it done."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Where are you taking us?"
Reyhan glares suspiciously at her husband while trying to hold a wiggling and giggling Ayla on her lap. She's sure they're breaking some kind of hospital rule by having Emir push her in the wheelchair while Ayla rides on her lap. But something tells Reyhan that's the least of the rules Emir is breaking. The mischievous look on his face tells her he's up to something.
After her phone call with her uncle, Reyhan did manage to get some sleep. Then she met Emir and Ayla down in the hospital cafeteria for dinner. She was a little suspicious at his insistence on them not eating in the room, but she's sure now he has some sort of plan in action. She stares next at Ayla and the little girl is so excited, but surprisingly able to keep a secret. But Reyhan tries to crack her anyway.
"Ayla," she says, using the tone her mother used to use on her. "What is Emir abi up to? Where are we going, Tatlım?"
"We're almost there!" Ayla giggles, clapping her little hands together. "Close your eyes, Reyhan abla!"
Not wanting to ruin the fun for Ayla, Reyhan gives Emir one last squinty eyed glare before complying with their wishes and closing her eyes. Emir pushes her a little further and she can tell when they enter a dark space. She barely holds in her laughter when she keeps hearing Emir trying to shush Ayla. Whatever these two have planned, they are certainly pleased with themselves. And it makes her happy that they're both so happy. For the first time in a long time, she's starting to feel like she has a family again.
"Ready, Ayla?" Emir asks before lifting Ayla off Reyhan's lap.
A light flips on and Emir tells Reyhan to open her eyes. When she does, she can hardly believe what she's seeing.
"Surprise!" Ayla yells, a huge smile on her face. She wiggles out of Emir's arms and runs over to the other side of the room.
"Yavaş! Ayla, the doctor said you have to slow down!" Emir reminds the little girl. And once again Reyhan can barely hold in her laughter when the little girl begins to move in exaggerated slow motion.
"What are we going to do with her?" Emir sighs, shaking his head. But also trying to hold in his laughter.
"What am I going to do with the both of you?" Reyhan counters, looking around the room. She can't believe that the two of them did all this behind her back. "Emir, what is this place?"
"It's our new room. A family room," he explains. He reaches out a hand to her and helps her up out of the wheelchair so that she can explore. There's no need to remind her to go slow because she can't move very fast yet.
"This looks like a hotel," she marvels, continuing to look around. With the exception of the area in the corner that's obviously used for medical examinations and treatments, the rest of the room looks like it could be in a five star hotel. "How did you do this?"
"You have to remember this is a clinic that specializes in illnesses that may require long term care. I just had to speak to whoever was in charge and let them know we needed the extra space so we could all stay together. Both you and Ayla should be released within the next few days anyway. As soon as I can get the private nurse lined up, I'll be taking both of you home."
"Both of us?" Reyhan spins around to face him when she realizes what he said. "You mean ..."
"Defne called earlier," he says with a smile. "She's bringing the paperwork for us to sign tomorrow."
"We can keep Ayla?" Reyhan jumps into his arms with more strength than he realized she had, her arms hugging him tightly.
"This is the start of a very long process," he cautions her. "We'll start with fostering. Once we get out of the hospital, they'll come and inspect the house and interview us officially. Then after a few months, we'll be eligible to adopt her if it's what we all want. But yes. For now, she's ours."
"Wow," is all she says. She starts to wobble on her still weak legs and Emir helps her to the very large bed that's even bigger than the one they used to have back in Istanbul. He settles her on one side and then gets himself comfortable on the other side. Ayla runs over - despite the warning glare from Emir - and demands to join them in the middle. She turns to cuddle with Reyhan.
"Aww. Baby Girl." Reyhan brushes her hair off her forehead and places a kiss there.
Emir leans over to do the same to Reyhan. He wraps his arms around them both as a feeling of peace like he's never known settles over him. This is everything he never knew he wanted. But now that he has his precious little family, he knows that he will fight to the death to keep it. As he drifts off to sleep, his entire world in his arms, he can only pray that it won't come to that. He plans on living a long, long life with his girls. He pities anyone who tries to take them away from him. Even his own mother. Because something tells him she's going to be trouble.