Coming Home to You

The weight of seven months had settled in her chest. She had thought about this moment countless times—what it would feel like to see Doc again, to finally hold him the way she used to, to let everything fall away and just be.

But now that she was standing in front of him, in the hallway of the house that used to feel like her sanctuary, it was harder than she’d imagined.

She knew he was standing there behind the door, waiting. His presence was like a soft, familiar hum that pulled at her, wrapped around her, but there was still so much distance between them. She felt the space, the unresolved emotions, the things left unsaid.

But as she stepped forward, the moment she saw him—truly saw him—everything else melted away. His eyes softened, his body stiffened, and for a brief, suspended second, they just stood there, two people on opposite sides of a chasm that now seemed impossibly small.

“Doc,” she whispered, her voice thick with so many things she couldn’t say, couldn’t explain.

His lips parted, but no words came. Instead, his hands reached for her. He was hesitant at first, like he was unsure if he had the right to touch her, to hold her again after everything. But she didn’t give him the chance to pull back. She stepped closer, pressing her hand to his chest, feeling the rhythm of his heartbeat—the same beat that had always kept her grounded.

Without thinking, without any more hesitation, she slid her arms around his neck and pulled him in. His breath hitched when she kissed him, a soft brush of lips, tentative but urgent at the same time. She felt the years apart, the months of longing, crash into her all at once. The emptiness she had carried was suddenly filled with the warmth of him.

Doc’s hands trembled as they found her waist, drawing her even closer. He deepened the kiss, his mouth moving against hers with a hunger that she hadn’t realized she missed so much. His lips tasted like home, like safety, like everything that had ever been right in her life.

He pulled away, just an inch, his forehead resting against hers. “I missed you,” he murmured, voice raw. “I thought I lost you forever.”

The vulnerability in his words unraveled her. She didn’t want to be strong anymore. She didn’t want to carry this weight alone anymore. She wanted to fall into him, into the solace of his arms, and let the world fall away.

“I’m here,” she whispered, voice shaking. “I’m here. I won’t leave you again. Not now.”

Doc’s hands slid down her back, settling on the curve of her waist and hips, feeling the evidence of her pregnancy pressing against his chest. His eyes flicked down, and for the first time, Andrea saw something shift in his gaze—a kind of fierce tenderness mixed with desire, a raw yearning to claim her, to hold her, to remind them both that they were still together.

He kissed her again, deeper this time, his hands moving to her back, urging her closer until their bodies were pressed together. She could feel the heat rising between them, the unspoken need for connection, for intimacy after so much time apart.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he groaned against her lips, his hands sliding beneath her sweater, caressing the soft skin of her back. She gasped when his touch trailed over the sensitive curve of her belly.

“I’m here, Doc,” she repeated, her hands tangling in his hair as she pulled him closer. “I’m came back for you.”

His kiss became more desperate then, more urgent, as if he needed to remind himself that she was real, that she was here, and that despite everything—despite the pain and the time lost—they were still the same.

He started to back her toward the couch, his hands exploring the curve of her waist, sliding over the edges of her belly, as if he couldn’t quite believe that she was carrying their child. Their baby. The life they had created, despite everything.

“I’ve waited for this,” Doc whispered, his voice low, thick with emotion. “I’ve waited for you to come back, Andrea.”

She felt the same surge of emotion welling up in her chest, her body shaking with a need to reconnect, to make this moment last. And as he lifted her, moving her into his arms and bringing her back to the familiar safety of his embrace, she let everything go.

The house, the time apart, the uncertainty—they all fell away. There was nothing but him and her, their bodies, their hearts finally finding each other again after the distance had kept them apart.

“I’m never leaving again,” she promised, her voice shaking with emotion as he laid her down on the couch, his body pressing against hers in the way that made her feel complete.

“I won’t let you,” he said quietly, his eyes dark with longing.

And in that moment, they both knew—no matter what the future held, no matter the challenges ahead—they were here. Together. And nothing else mattered.