A Reason to Love

He coughed for a few moments, a little bit of blood coming up, before he murmured, "Go and get the firebox, and my keys, Kitten. I want to show you something..."

"Rest, Master," she murmured, then at the stubborn tilt to his chin rose from the bed to fetch the firebox and keys as he ordered. She placed the firebox on the bed, then handed him the keys before curling around him to hold him. "I love you."

"I love you. I think I loved you as long as I loved your sister, just different. And I didn't realize that I needed that difference. But we fixed it by accident," he murmured, opening the firebox and pulling out a sheet of cardstock. At the top, it read 'Certificate of Matrimony'. He handed it to her and murmured, "Tell me what you see."

She looked at him, then looked at it, "It's... that's my name," she breathed. "I...," she trailed off and tears started again, "I thought you would hate me for pretending to be her, that I was a terrible person."

"You pretended to be her to protect me. Unless I am the worst judge ever, however, you have never pretended to be my wife," he observed. "Just as I have never pretended to be your husband, even after I knew. It was who we were. The day I found out, I got my lawyer to go down to the courthouse and file for an administrative correction." He paused, then pulled a much larger, thicker envelope out of the box. "Then I had him change this." He handed it to her and nodded for her to open it.

She sniffled, "I love you," she murmured, then carefully opened the envelope. "I love you, my husband, my Master." What she pulled out was a will. As she read, she found that the bulk of his estate was left to her and any children that they might have together.

"You've seen what that entails roughly. That wasn't quite everything, but it was close. Somewhere just north of half a billion. You get everything except the restaurants. Each one goes to the manager at that location. They've been my team for a couple of years now, and they wouldn't be as good as they are without them. I wanted to give back. But...," he trailed off. "You'll never have to worry about money again if you're careful." He took her hands. "I'm going to fight this thing, Kitten. I'm not giving up. But... I couldn't let you not be taken care of. Not after...," he coughed slightly again, before looking into her eyes and pleading for her to understand what he was trying to do. That he wasn't abandoning her.

"Yes, Master," she murmured, then looked down at him, "I promise to be careful." She cupped his face, "But I'd rather have you, so you have to keep fighting. Not just for me, or for us, but for this little miracle." She placed his hand on her stomach. "They'll want to know their daddy and just how strong and wonderful he is."

He nodded. "I've never had so much of true value to live for, Kitten. I'm not going out without a fight, and I want to tell our baby myself. But if I don't, you tell them. You tell them I loved them a lifetime's worth in the time I had. That I love their mother...," he choked as he lifted up to kiss her, "a lifetime's worth..."

She kissed him softly, then carefully put all the documents back in the firebox before putting it away. She crawled into bed beside him again and wrapped him in her arms. "A lifetime's worth." She kissed his temple. "I take it your lawyer has a copy just in case?" She kissed the top of his head. "What if... what if Iz comes back and wants you again?"

His eyes turned sad as he took her hand. "Brina... Kitten... maybe you didn't hear what I told you... You... are my wife. How could I ever turn my back on someone willing to sacrifice like that... for me? Isabella sacrificed me... for her. You sacrificed yourself... for me. I will fight through hell itself to stay with you. Iz doesn't have anything that could tempt me from you, Kitten. Nothing at all."

"OK," she breathed softly, wrapping around him as she cried into his shoulder, "I just... I loved you first, I can't lose you, I can't lose you."

He laid back and tucked her into him. "You won't lose me. You can't. You're my Kitten. I'm your Master. That's forever."

"Forever," she agreed, holding him tightly, "Will never leave you, never let you go." She nuzzled into him. "I love you, my Master." She kissed him tenderly, then stroked her hands down his back, "Rest, you need to sleep, we keep fighting this, together."

He closed his eyes and began to drift off, arms gently cradling her. "My Brina. My Kitten. My wife. Together...," he breathed.

They fought their way through one more round of chemotherapy and then a round of radiation. He looked so frail compared to how he had always been around her, but he was still fighting, he was still smiling, and he was still talking in 'us' and 'we'. Finally, they scheduled the surgery to remove his kidney as they found they had arrested the spread of the cancer but not killed it. She took him into the hospital and as they wheeled him back, he turned his head and called, "I love you, Kitten."

"I love you, my husband, my Master. Keep fighting, come back to me, to us." She rested her hand on her stomach. "We need Daddy."

He made a fist in the air and a small smile before they wheeled him past the sliding doors to the operating rooms. It was a couple of hours later before Doctor Hassan came out, looking tired. "Hello, Mrs. Walsh. So... good news. He's out of surgery. I think we got it all. While we were in, I took the opportunity to peek at his other kidney. It looks healthy still. He's resting. You should be able to see him in about another hour. I put him in a double, but there's no one in the other bed so you could move it...," he offered, trailing off.

"Thank you, Doctor Hassan," she murmured, her eyes welling with tears. She flung her arms around him, "Thank you for saving my husband."

"He's not out of the woods yet, but it's looking better all the time. Besides, he told me he's got something new to live for... I believe congratulations are in order," he smiled softly at her.

She sniffled, and released him, "Yeah, I tested positive, we're having a baby, the OB said I was looking healthy. I was waiting until after his surgery to have the sex checked." She sniffled, "Of course, my hormones are out of whack. I started laughing and crying yesterday about a smashed donut." She stepped back, reaching up to wipe her face, "I'll let you get back to work."

"Your husband is a fighter. Strong as I've ever seen. You don't give up hope either, OK, young lady?" he said, straightening up and taking on something of a fatherly tone.

"I won't," she sniffled, "He promised to keep fighting, so I will stay strong. I love him ever so much."

"He loves you too. Both of you," he murmured, nodding toward her abdomen. "I'll see you both tomorrow, probably." He turned and walked off down the hallway.

She watched him go, then eagerly went back to his room when the hour was up. She sat on the bed beside him and smiled down at his slowly opening eyes, "Hello, Master. I've missed you." She shook her head when he tried to speak, instead feeding him an ice chip. "Just rest, we're here, I have you." She kissed his forehead softly. His eyes softened as they looked up at her and his hand shifted tiredly. Slowly, he stuck his thumb up and managed a weak smile.

She smiled softly, "My Master, we're doing it," she leaned down and kissed him, then curled up at his side, holding him. "Rest Master, we're going to get through this, one day at a time." He closed his eyes, exhausted, but with a peaceful expression on his face. The monitors beeped at their regular, stable intervals and the drip bag pumps did what they do as well. Other than that, the room was quiet and she could hear his soft breathing.

He was released three days later and she took him home to begin caring for him again. One by one, each of his managers visited to encourage him to get back to full strength soon so that he could come and take back his job so that they didn't have to work the books anymore. Not one of them enjoyed it, and all of them were profoundly appreciative of what he did.

He grew stronger, and she started taking him out for walks at the park, slow ambles that were good for both of them as she grew bigger around the stomach. She would often giggle as he would reach over and rub her stomach, "We made a baby," his voice always had a tone of wonder. It was nearly four months after the surgery when she was resting on the couch and he was massaging her feet when there was a knock at the door. He set her feet on the couch, then went to answer it. "Hello, Miss Dorian. What do you need?" Isabella was in the doorway.

"Justin, baby, I've got something to tell you, your wife isn't me. I'm Isabella, she's Brina and she's an imposter."

"Wow. That's pretty serious. That would mean...," he trailed off in a dramatic pause. "that you abandoned me and left your sister to pick up the pieces," he finished in a flat voice, glowering at her.

"No! She... she stole my place... I was confused...," Isabella turned on the waterworks and the most heartbroken wobegone expression, the one that would often have him do what she wanted just to make it stop.

"And you just happened not to be confused anymore now...," he said sarcastically. Glancing over he saw Brina trying to get up out of the chair and he put out his hand to stall her.

"You know you love me," Isabella said and flung herself towards him, "You're all better now."

Slowly, he removed her arms from around him and pushed her back. "Iz... you sacrificed everything... for you. I married someone who sacrificed everything... for me. You will never understand what she's been through... for me. It's time for you to leave." He started closing the door.

"Wait! I'm your wife, on paper, you owe me, Justin!" She screamed at the door, "I'll have her arrested for fraud and identity theft. Or, you can forget her and get back with me, where you belong."

He locked the door. "By all means, if you think you can prove that you are my wife on paper, go ahead. But I am not leaving the woman who stood by me through cancer for the one who did not."

Brina looked up at him, then reached for his hand, "I love you," she sniffled, tears falling. "God I love you, that was so hot. Can we have sex?"

"What did I tell you? I'll always show up," he replied with a smile.

"Yes, Master," she reached for him, then drew him down to kiss him desperately, "My Master, I love you." It didn't take long for sounds of pleasure and need to fill the living room, enraging Isabella outside even more before she stomped off to her mother's to file a complaint about Brina.

It was a week, then a very polite police officer came around, Brina helpfully showed him the marriage certificate with her name on it. Then when she went to court the judge stared at her over his glasses after looking at the paperwork trail Justin and his lawyer, who was standing next to her, had, then clicked his gavel, "This is the dumbest case I've ever had. Missus Brina Walsh? You are free to go."

Brina smiled at him wanly, "I'm afraid... I'm going to have to ask for an ambulance. My water just broke."

They raced to the hospital with a police escort and made it just in time to wheel her into a birthing room for her to start pushing. Fifteen minutes after they arrived, they had a healthy baby boy, "Hello, Junior," Brina murmured, smiling down at the baby, "Look, Master. We made a little one." The baby lifted his head and gave a sniffling wail before latching onto her breast, causing her to giggle softly.

He looked into her eyes and looked at their son and breathed in echo, "We made a little one... Oh my God..." His eyes began to tear up as he looked at his family and smiled. "Our little family..."

"Yes, Master, our family," she leaned into him, then murmured, "It might be little now, but it's going to grow. I love you so much." She lifted up to kiss him tenderly.

"I love you, Brina, my Kitten. I will love you forever," he murmured, gently holding her and their newborn son.

The rest of their lives were filled with joy and happiness. Finally, the two of them moved East to Minnesota and went no contact with her family. Before he left, he gave each of the managers their restaurant, then smiled, "I'm starting a new one up north. I love you guys."

For each one, the response was the same. The initial shock that he was actually the owner, and then gratitude for the years he had spent with them and the trust he had given them. The pair moved to Minneapolis and began new lives there, having two more children before they stopped. As it often does, the cancer resurfaced, and Justin did not live to see his retirement, but his wife and his children knew beyond any doubt that while he had been with them, he loved a lifetime's worth.