Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



I looked down at the man in front of me, literally on his knees, crying at the idea that this was nothing more than a dream that would vanish like smoke in the morning.

The surprising thing was that he wasn't wrong. Since we went through this cycle over and over again for thousands of years, there was no guarantee that we would wake up in the same puppy pile as we fell asleep in.

"I think we are safe," I said slowly, not wanting to make any promises that I couldn't keep. "We have learned from the past and will not make the same mistakes in the future."

"Never," he said quickly as he buried deeper into my stomach as if he thought that if he held on hard enough, everything would be fine. "You are the only thing that makes this life worth living. I just hate myself for taking so long to realize that."

"It's not entirely your fault," I assure him, enjoying the quietness of the evening, just the two of us alone to talk things out. "You are War. There is no denying that. And as much as I hate it, I now understand that you need to let that part of you out to be truly happy."

I held up my hand when he opened his mouth to interrupt. "I understand that now. I saw the four of you in the Reaver encampment when you guys did what I created you to do. I can't claim to love you and not accept every aspect of you. That is my fault, and I am sorry about it."

"I don't feel the need to answer the calls," said Wang Chao. "It is like after letting loose in the encampment, I felt a peace that I had never felt before."

"Then this is what we will do. When you no longer feel that peace and the four of you can agree on which calls to answer, I will go with you. That way, I don't feel like I am always being left behind, and you don't feel guilty for answering the calls. Deal?" I asked, trying to find a compromise that would work for us.

"Deal," he said, and I could feel his relief. "But only after the twins are born and only if it is safe to leave them alone… and only if you aren't pregnant," he tacked on. I let out a low chuckle and pulled him up to his feet. 

There would always be fights and disagreements. In my opinion, any good relationship has plenty of them. But it was how you worked through them that was the most important.

"More kids? How about I have these two first, and then we can discuss it," I joked, coming to my toes so that he could give me a mind-blowing kiss.

Once I managed to form a thought, I looked at the two people dead in the bed. Honestly, I had completely forgotten about them, but it was nice that Wang Chao cared enough about my feelings not to let any loose ends pop up in the future.

I threw out my blue flame, watching it engulf the two of them until there was nothing left. They weren't worth my time or my worry.

"Let's get back to bed, okay?" I asked, looking up at him. "I'm still sleepy but can't sleep without all of you in bed."

"Sorry, little one," he said, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead before blinking us back into his room.

"About time," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng, sitting cross-legged and hugging my pillow. "This is definitely not the same."

I burst out laughing as I jumped on him. The guys completely freaked out, worried that I might hurt the babies if I did that. But I wasn't concerned at all. I knew some would catch me before I landed.

And I was right; Chen Zi Han plucked me out of mid-air and gently placed me in the middle of the bed. It wasn't all that big, maybe only a king-sized one. However, we had placed both Wang Chao's and Liu Wei's mattresses together after taking out the actual bedframe out of the room. It was good enough for now.

If the guys wanted to stay longer, though, we would have to change things around.

"Rest now. Everything can wait for the morning," muttered Chen Zi Han, giving me a kiss on my forehead before pulling me into his arms. My giant. My killer. My caretaker. I loved him in a way that I never thought I would love anyone. He was my safety net, but never once had he held me back from doing what I wanted to do. He just stood behind me, always ready to catch me if I fell.

I buried my head in the crook of his neck, taking in a deep breath of his scent and letting it wash over me. No. This wasn't a dream, and I refused to let it turn into one. This was my happily ever after… even if I wasn't the main character of the story.

I moaned as I felt Liu Yu Zeng pressing up behind me, his arms wrapping around me as if I were his private body pillow. If Chen Zi Han was my safety net, Liu Yu Zeng was my sky. My joker was more than willing to do anything, always up for a challenge or to just spend the day in bed. He never once pushed me beyond what I was comfortable with. He let me spread my wings and fly, making sure that he was flying right beside me the whole time.

"I love you," I said out loud, the feeling building up in my chest and throat until it came out. "God, I love you so much."

The men were silent, knowing that I needed to say the words, but I didn't want any words in return. This was my confession to them, to all of them. So that they knew without a shadow of a doubt my feelings for them. Just like I knew theirs for me.

"Good night, Trouble," said Wang Chao from the other side of Chen Zi Han.

----

Morning light streamed in much sooner than I was willing to wake up, but there was still a lot of stuff to do.

The first thing to do was to make sure that the Healer was being looked after. Hopefully, she would be awake by now, but if not, that was fine too. I was asleep for almost a week before I woke up.

After that, I needed to know what was going on in the city. I had sent the zombies this way all those years ago, and it was almost time for them to arrive. If the city was worth saving, I would. If not, I would let it collapse like a house of cards.

Finally, I would need to talk to the guys to see what they had in mind for the future. Would we continue to travel around? Would we return to the ranch with everyone else? Or would we go back to the cabin in the mountains, away from everyone else?

"All that is well and good," said Chen Zi Han, picking me up from the mattress and carrying me out of the room. Setting me down on the couch with a blanket over my lap, he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Whatever is in your head will happen, but first, breakfast. What do you want?"

"I'll take pancakes with hash browns, bacon, sausage, a fruit salad, and a cup of orange juice," said Liu Yu Zeng, strolling in behind us and making himself comfortable on the couch by my feet. Picking up one in his hand, he started to massage out the kinks.

There was a brief smack as Liu Wei followed his bother into the living room. "No one cares about your order. You can get your own damn breakfast. However, our Queen needs a proper breakfast that not only agrees with her stomach but also is high in the vitamins and minerals that she needs."

"One of us should run to a store and see if they have any prenatal vitamins, just in case. I have heard that folic acid is essential for the children's development," muttered Chen Zi Han as he tied on an apron that Wang Chao had hanging on a hook in the kitchen. I couldn't help but smile at the most feared enforcer in the country wearing a pink apron with a blue teddy bear sewn into the corner.

"Good idea," muttered Liu Wei, pulling out his notebook. "I'll head out now to see if I can find anything. In the meantime, freshly squeezed orange juice, pancakes with strawberries, and bacon should be okay."

Liu Yu Zeng and I shared a look while the other two were deep in discussion over what I should and should not be eating. Honestly, it was pretty adorable. Pulling out two pieces of chocolate cake from my space, I handed one to the man beside me and dug into the other. Pancakes and bacon sounded great, but what I was really craving was sweets.

I took my first bite of the chocolatey goodness and almost puked all over the place. No… this couldn't be happening!