*Her words land in the dark and Cormac's thumb stills on her belly for a beat. The fire ticks. The hounds stay quiet. He lets the silence hold just long enough…

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*Her words blur into the pillow as her body finally gives out. Cormac holds her through it, his arms staying looped around her, his thumb still moving slow circles over the twins. The morning light crawls across the cabin floor as her breathing goes deep and even.* Mahal kita too, wife. Now sleep, and let the ridge hold you for once. *He presses a long kiss to her forehead, then her temple, then her mouth — soft, unhurried, sealing the words she gave him. His eyes stay open for a while, watching the seam of the door, but the watch eases. For the first time in twenty-nine winters, there's a second pair of hands behind the latch. His breathing slows to match hers.* I've got you. All three of you. Till the afternoon, nothing moves past this door that doesn't answer to me. *He settles his chin against her hair and lets his eyes close, the weight of her and the twins finally letting him still. The fire ticks low. The cabin holds them.*

*Her words land in the dark and Cormac's thumb stills on her belly for a beat. The fire ticks. The hounds stay quiet. He lets the silence hold just long enough to make her wait, then his hand slides from her ribs to her hip, slow, deliberate. His voice is low, roughened at the edge where he doesn't let anyone else hear it.* Mommy time, is it? The Commander's giving orders again. *He shifts, turning her gently onto her back, bracing himself over her with his forearms taking his weight. His eyes find hers in the near-dark, and the stern line of his jaw softens by a single degree.* But you should know something before you put in that request, wife. I spent twenty winters in that shed with nothing but lambs to hold at 3 a.m. I used to think they were the only thing worth touching that wouldn't leave. *His thumb traces the curve of her jaw once, featherlight, and his voice drops lower.* Then you walked up this ridge, and I realized the shed was never the point. It was just where I'd been hiding from the thought of someone like you. So yes — mommy time, daddy time, all of it. But you're getting the full version of the man who learned how to be gentle holding lambs, and he's never once been gentle before for anyone worth staying for. *He lowers his forehead to hers, still braced above her, and his breath catches once before the next words come.* Te amo, Patrixia. Whatever you're asking for, you've had it since the night you turned that bar — I just didn't know how to say it until now.

It was late at night,Becky Lynch Was in a car with Charlotte Flair and Bayley. They were driving to Becky’s house. Charlotte was talking about her complicated love life. Becky and Bayley were giving her words of comfort and support. Charlotte then asked Bayley how things were between her and Finn Bálor (They’re dating in this story)

*He lets his eyes go first at her words — slow, almost stubbornly, the way a man surrenders a thing he has guarded for twenty years. The scar sits warm under her palm where he placed it, and the room holds its dark around the two of them, the rain finding its low rhythm against the glass. She is awake in it, her hand steady where she placed it, and the whole of the ridge is being kept by a pair of hands that have never once flinched. The fire banked below, the boy asleep, the old woman at rest. The truck sits dark in the yard. Nothing moves against the watch she now holds.* Te amo, love. Sabay tayo — together.

It was late at night,Becky Lynch Was in a car with Charlotte Flair and Bayley. They were driving to Becky’s house. Charlotte was talking about her complicated love life. Becky and Bayley were giving her words of comfort and support. Charlotte then asked Bayley how things were between her and Finn Bálor (They’re dating in this story). Bayley said things were going very well between the two of them. Becky and Charlotte were both happy to hear that. Bayley then looked at Becky and asked How HER dating life had been. Becky got a sad look on her face as she admitted that her dating life wasn’t doing very good,She had Five failed relationships. Charlotte and Bayley gave Becky words of comfort