"My God, man. What did you say to her?" Max asked as he stepped in front of the wheelchair and crouched down to Reine's level. Stroking her blotchy, tear-soaked cheek with his free hand, he looked up at Gabe for an answer.

"We were just straightening some things out." The other shrugged.

"I can see that," Max replied with a grimace. "Are you okay, darling?"

Reine forced a smile. "I'm fine, really. Can we just go?"

Jumping up from the nearest plastic chair in a row against the wall, Noor took a sip from her soda can before throwing it in a nearby bin. "If you're going upstairs, can I come, too? I've been dying to meet little Juan and Jesus." The girl pronounced the names with a distinctive Spanish accent.

Reine turned her head toward her friend. "You haven't seen them yet?"

Noor shook her head, but Max interrupted before she could reply. "Wait. Am I missing something? You didn't name them--"

Reine laughed. "Of course not. It's kind of an inside joke." She alluded to her friend's previous reference to her life being crazier than a Mexican soap opera, and the two babies on DaVinci's chalk drawing they visited in the National Gallery.

"Of course you can come, but why haven't you met them?" she asked Noor as Gabe began pushing her down the hallway toward the elevator.

"They have some rule up there about family-only," the girl grumbled. "Just the two daddies have been let in."

"What?" Reine grabbed her friend's hand as she walked next to her, fearing Noor had inadvertently spilled the secret she hadn't yet shared with the two men.

"Luckily their definition of family is both by blood and marriage," Max answered from her other side. "I hope you don't mind, but none of us were expecting two. Saying Gabe was a bit overwhelmed is an understatement, and I already had some experience with Amara . . .."

"Oh, right. Of course not," Reine mumbled, doing her best not to comment about the awkwardness as they stopped in front of the elevator's closed doors. "How's your shoulder, by the way?" She looked at his reflection in the shiny surface.

"Pretty damn painful." He instinctively touched the injured spot with his right hand. "But nothing compared to what you've been through, so I can't complain."

"So I've heard." She sighed right as the elevator doors slid open. Once they were all in the enclosed space slowly moving upward, she spoke again. "Did your plan work? With Wescott, I mean."

Max, still standing close beside her, put a hand on Reine's shoulder. "Yes, it did. Dodger's been recognized as the legitimate leader of the Order, and Emery's now going to have to quietly slip out of public view," he said.

"How did Greer Wescott fit into all of this? She seemed to be the only one from the Order who not only recognized him, but also was willing to vouch for his identity." She looked up at Max.

"Oh, good old General Agrippa and Lady Wescott go way back." He laughed as the elevator reached the fourth floor. When the door opened and the group disembarked, he continued. "They were lovers right before Emery took over as head of the Order."

"Had the prior head offed, you mean," Gabe interjected as he continued to push Reine toward the nursery.

"Those are the rumors," Max confirmed. "And when Dodger gave up his rightful claim on the position, the deal included Greer, as well."

"Dodger was the Lancelot to her Guinevere!" Reine exclaimed, remembering the Arthurian mosaic portraits in Wescott's country estate.

"I suppose," Max agreed, as they arrived at their destination. "So, here we are."

After collecting four visitors' badges at the nurse's station - Noor temporarily became Reine's sister - they entered the neonatal intensive care unit. The lights inside the large room were dimmed, no doubt to shield the premature and sick newborns' eyes. A dozen or so incubators with clear, plastic covers stood mostly equidistant from each other with the exception of two.

The group headed for these outliers, and Noor hurried ahead.

"They're the cutest things ever!" She gushed, pressing her nose against a protective lid. "Tiny, but perfect."

"They sure are," a nurse who'd been busying herself nearby concurred. "It's very rare for preemies to have so few complications. I suppose you'd like to hold them, momma." She smiled at Reine as Gabe stopped the wheelchair next to the incubators.

Reine nodded, momentarily not trusting her ability to speak. Her eyes had already filled with tears and her throat closed up as she was overcome with emotion at the sight of the two, small, pink bodies among the wires and tubes.

"Don't mind all the equipment," the nurse said, noticing her reaction as she folded back the lid to the nearest incubator. "Most are just sensors to measure blood pressure, temperature, oxygen saturation, that sort of thing. They're both breathing on their own and they've taken to the bottle, so no need for a ventilator or feeding tube like most of the wee ones we have in here."

She carefully reached in and picked up the baby. "The most invasive thing they have are their umbilical catheters for the IV, but it's really the same thing you have there on your hand." Cradling the tiny body - wearing a much too big diaper - in her arms, she gently pulled the attached wires as far as they'd go. "Ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Reine stood and took the few steps forward. Facing the nurse, she made a cradle with her arms and allowed the woman to hand over the sleeping infant. As soon as her bare skin touched his, a feeling like none she ever experienced before ran though her.

It was a mixture of excitement and fear, curiosity and anxiety. Not knowing what to say, she just stared at the beautiful little creature in her arms.

"He looks like you," Noor broke the silence.

Reine giggled, as a tear fell out of her eye and rolled down her cheek. "How can you tell?" To her, he looked like any other newborn she'd ever seen.

Noor shrugged. "I don't know. He just does."

"I agree," Max chimed in. "He has your nose."

Reine felt her face blush. "Maybe." She sniffled. "I suppose you two have had a few days to think about it."

"They've been excellent," the nurse agreed. "You're lucky to have not one, but two such devoted . . . ahem, partners."

Reine's eyes widened at how she was going to correct the nurse, but the woman continued. "Would you like for me to get Baby B out, as well?"

Reine shook her head. "Not yet. Can you give us a minute?"

The nurse smiled. "Of course. You know where to find me if you need anything. But then again, these gentlemen know what they're doing." She patted Gabe on the shoulder before leaving.

"So, you're Baby A, huh?" Reine gently rocked from side to side as the infant began to wake.

"Yeah, he's my little runt." Gabe stepped beside her and adjusted the baby's cap with a smile.

"You just picked him because all he does is sleep." Max laughed from behind.

Reine looked over her shoulder and wrinkled her brows. "What do you mean? You've divided them up?"

"Sort of." Max tilted his head and looked past her. "Since there's two of us and two of them, it's just been easier to share the workload while we're up here."

A wave of warmth ran through her body, and Reine felt like she was going to burst from happiness. Her hands began shaking and she pulled the baby to her chest. Crying tears of joy, she pulled his cap aside before kissing his fuzzy, blonde head.

"What's his name, Rennie? Baby A is cool in here, but the other kids will tease him out there." Noor playfully wrinkled her nose.

She cleared her throat before she could answer. "Liam. I thought we'd name him Liam Moran."

Gabe, who'd been standing silently in front of her, smiled. "My dad's name is William."

"I know." Reine nodded, stepping to him and handing over the baby.

"Seriously?" He grinned. "He would have loved that."

"Isn't your father still alive?" She adjusted a wire connecting one of the sensors.

"Yup, but I'm not," Gabe explained, stroking the baby's cheek. "Not to my parents, anyway. So I can't really introduce them to their grandchild, now can I?"

"Oh, God. I completely forgot." Reine sighed before her eyes lit up. "But even if you can't, I could."

He momentarily took his eyes off the baby. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would," she whispered.

"I appreciate the offer, but the thing is," he cleared his throat, "I never even really told them about you."

"Oh." Reine's smile disappeared.

"It's not that I didn't want to, I just couldn't." Gabe nodded toward the man standing behind her. "You have to admit things were complicated: first with Max and then with you being immortal."

"No . . . no, don't worry about it," she said, rubbing her increasingly throbbing temple. "I understand. But if you ever change your mind--"

"I'll think about it, but I doubt it's a good idea," he cut her off. "Like you, they've had months to get used to the idea of me being gone. Telling them now that they have a grandchild would just stir things up again."

"Ahem. You seem to be forgetting someone," Max interrupted, stepping aside and opening the lid of the second incubator where baby B had just begun crying. Using just his free hand, he deftly lifted the infant into his arms.

"We couldn't forget about Grumpy if we tried." Gabe teased with a smile.

Reine walked to Max's side and tickled the baby's tiny foot. "Grumpy?"

"He's a bit more fussy than his brother," Max explained, rocking the newborn in an attempt to calm him. When after a few seconds he began wailing even louder, Noor stepped forward.

"I'm going to go find some bottles for the little dudes." She mimicked plugging her ears from the sound and hurried toward the nearest nurse.

"Thanks, sweetie," Reine called after her right as baby Liam also began to fuss. "Oh, there he goes, too." She giggled.

"Yeah, Grumpy's the troublemaker, always riling his brother up." Gabe laughed, bouncing up and down with the infant against his shoulder.

"All right, all right." Max raised his harnessed hand as much as he could in protest at the silly moniker. "You've had your fun, but I think this little guy needs to know what his real name will be."

Reine stepped closer until the squirming baby in his arms was gently pressed between their bodies, which calmed him immediately. "Your father was called Luca, so I hope you don't mind if we call this little guy Luke, in his honor," she said, looking directly into Max's eyes.

He took a deep breath, obviously holding back tears at the revelation. "Huh. Luke. No, that's good. I mean, it's a bit unexpected, but I suppose Luke Moran has a nice ring to it."

Reine shook her head before glancing over at Gabe. "Not Moran." She looked back at Max. "Luke Baldovini."

He gasped. "Baldovini? Why?"

"This is actually what I wanted to tell you earlier." Reine turned toward Gabe. "But you misunderstood what I was getting at."

"What are you getting at, Reine?" Max urged her to face him again.

She bit her lip and took a deep breath. Lowering her voice to a whisper so the nearby strangers couldn't hear, she made the revelation she'd been holding in for so long. "I was pregnant when I first became immortal. I think Luke is your son."

"You . . . you think he's mine?" Max's expression went blank as he stared downward into the small face. "How long have you known?"

"That day at the racetrack when I fainted and you took me to the hospital," she said, touching his arm. "When the doctor showed me the ultrasound with two very different sized babies, I was immediately suspicious. Of course it's not definite unless we get a DNA test--"

"No," Gabe interrupted. "No tests. I don't think that's a good idea."

Reine turned her head toward him at the unexpected statement. "But without it we can't be totally sure."

"I agree," Max seconded. "I trust your judgment."

"Really?" she asked. "You're okay with that?"

"Let it go, Rennie," Noor said, returning with two small bottles of baby formula. Having overheard the tail end of the conversation, she handed Gabe one bottle before standing next to her friend.

"You should be happy they're both taking this so well. Here, give him to me." She nudged Max to hand over the baby. "Now go out in the hallway and finish this conversation privately."

"But this involves all of us," Reine protested, looking at Gabe again. He'd just sat down in the armchair by the incubator, getting ready to feed his son.

"Go. Really. We've got this." He nodded at the baby in his arms furiously sucking down his lunch. "You know how I feel. Now give Max a chance to tell you his side."

Feeling cornered, Reine stopped herself from arguing further. Slowly shuffling along with Max at her side for support, she stopped when they'd exited the room. The hallway was thankfully empty, giving them a chance to finally speak one-on-one.

"So, what now?" she asked, biting her lip as she faced him.

He placed his good hand on her shoulder. "I suppose the first thing you should tell me is do you want me to be part of your life?"

"Of course," she replied without thinking. "We'll figure out a way to make things work. I know Gabe wants to be involved--"

"No, I asked if you wanted me to be part of your life, Reine," he whispered, emphasizing the word and moving his hand up to her cheek to caress her face.

Reine instinctively closed her eyes, leaning her head in to his touch. Every previous worry, each nagging pain suddenly left her body as thoughts of the man in front of her filled her consciousness.

She saw him as a teenager in Florence, when their relationship only consisted of taking casual strolls alongside the Arno River or watching street performers in the Piazza della Signoria. Moving from their extended - and chaste - courtship to their almost magical Christmas Eve wedding ceremony sent a shiver up her spine, before the recollection of that passionate night brought a smile to her lips.

The look of agony on his face as the Venetian Lagoon swallowed her and their centuries' long separation after that stormy night made her somber once again as Reine turned her thoughts to their final chapter. Remembering their reunion - including Max's continued reference to her as his wife and his admirable attachment to Amara - filled her with hope for the future. Not even his jealous plotting or brief dishonesty could damper her feelings.

He had always said they were made for each other, and she finally believed him.

"Do you, Reine?" Max prodded after her extended pause.

A simple yes didn't seem adequate, so instead Reine placed her hands against his chest, pushed herself up on her toes, and pressed her lips against his.