Chapter 18 - Jonah
Emma woke to darkness, a dry mouth, and Nathan asleep in a chair beside her bed.
For one terrible second, she could not remember the baby.
Then she heard a tiny grunt.
A bassinet stood beside the bed.
Inside was a red-faced newborn wrapped in white.
Emma began crying before she could stop herself.
Nathan woke instantly.
"Hey."
"Is he okay?"
"He's perfect. You scared everyone more than he did."
Emma reached toward the bassinet.
Nathan stood. "Can I bring him to you?"
She nodded.
He lifted their son with surprising gentleness and placed him against Emma's chest.
The baby opened dark eyes.
"Hi," Emma whispered. "We've been waiting for you."
Nathan looked away to hide tears.
"Have you held him?"
"Once. After they told me you were stable."
"Why did you wait?"
Nathan sat down.
"Because I heard you asking if he was okay, and then I heard them saying you were bleeding. Everyone kept telling me to go with the baby."
"And you didn't."
"I couldn't leave you again."
Emma closed her eyes.
That sentence reached somewhere old and wounded.
They named the baby Jonah Bennett Whitmore.
Bennett was Emma's mother's maiden name.
Nathan did not question it.
Over the next two days, he changed diapers badly, learned to swaddle, and slept in the chair.
He took business calls in the hallway only after Emma said it was okay.
When the board demanded his return to New York, he declined.
"They may replace me," he told Emma.
"How do you feel about that?"
Nathan looked at Jonah.
Emma did not tell him that was the right answer.
She did not have to.
On the morning of discharge, Grace called.
Martin Voss had been arrested on fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy charges.
Olivia had accepted a cooperation agreement related to the privacy violations and harassment.
The altered prenup was void.
Emma should have felt relief.
Instead she felt tired.
"What now?" Nathan asked.
Emma looked at him.
"Now you go back to New York."
His face fell before he controlled it.
"Okay."
"I need to learn how to be Jonah's mother without deciding whether I'm still your wife at the same time."
Nathan nodded.
"Okay."
He packed his bag that afternoon.
Before he left, he kissed Jonah's forehead.
Then he looked at Emma.
"Can I call tomorrow?"
She thought about it.
"At seven."
Nathan smiled through tears.
"Seven."
He walked out.
Emma watched from the window.
May you like
For the first time, he had left because she asked him to.
And somehow that hurt less than all the times he had left without asking.
