CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

When Nick opened his eyes the next day, the sunrays streaming through the window made it hard for him to see anything else. Once he got used to the blinding light, he turned to his side; the bed was empty. He ran his fingers on the sheets next to him; he could still feel the warmth left there by Adalind's body. He got up and put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. He walked out of the bedroom and went downstairs. First he went into the kitchen, and then into the living room, but there was no sign of Adalind. He looked out the window and finally saw his wife; she was sitting on one of the chairs on the porch, wrapped up in a wool blanket. She looked gorgeous as always, her wavy blond hair dancing in the chilly morning breeze. He opened the door and walked out to join her.

"Hey, I thought I'd let you sleep in" she said as soon as she saw him.

"How are you feeling?" Nick asked as he planted a light kiss on her forehead before sitting down on the chair next to hers.

"Good... better."

"Again?"

"Yeah... I think our little Grimms are having fun at my expense" she said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure it'll get better soon" Nick responded as he tenderly rubbed her burgeoning belly.

"Hopefully, I can't keep anything down lately."

"You want me to make you some herbal tea?"

"No, it's ok. I had some earlier."

Nick took Adalind's hand in his and squeezed it gently. She looked up at him with her sparkly blue eyes. She always managed to make his heart skip a beat every time she looked at him.

"I love you" he said.

"I love you too" she responded.

Nick pulled her hand, forcing her to get up from her chair. He sat her down on his knees and wrapped his arms around her. The heat emanating from his body warmed Adalind up instantly. She cuddled up against her husband and lovingly gazed up at him.

"Has anyone ever told you just how amazing you are?" she whispered.

"Yeah... you" he replied as he leaned in to kiss her.

They remained in each other's arms, their foreheads pressed together.

"This house is absolutely beautiful" Adalind said after a moment.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Yeah, the view is breathtaking" she said, admiring the lake that sparkled underneath the morning sun. "And the house is so spacious, not to mention the numerous bedrooms. The family that lives here is really lucky."

"They sure are" Nick replied, a smile spreading across his lips.

"How did you find this place anyway?"

"In the 'properties for sale' section of the newspaper."

Adalind's eyes widened as she started to realize the real reason why Nick had brought her here.

"Welcome home Mrs. Burkhardt" Nick said, tightening his arms around her.

"Are you serious? This house is ours?"

"Well, I figured the loft would get a little tight when these two little miracles are born" he said, caressing her stomach. "So when I saw this place in the newspaper last week, I immediately called the owner to come by for a visit. I knew right away that you'd love it."

"I do! It's perfect!" she said, taking his face with both her hands and kissing him repeatedly on the lips.

"There's something else I want to show you" Nick said as he lifted her up and took her hand. "Come with me."

He led her to the backyard, where Adalind saw a huge swing set with four separate seats; a regular one for Diana and three smaller ones with safety belts for Kelly and the twins.

"Oh, Nick..." she said turning around to face him. "They're going to love it."

"That's not all..." Nick said as he nodded his head towards the right side of the backyard.

Adalind turned around and spotted a treehouse. She walked towards it and noticed there was an inscription carved on the trunk: 'The Burkhardt Family – Established October 28, 2011'. She turned back to Nick, who was standing behind her, and looked at him with a puzzled look on her face.

"I know we got married yesterday," he said "but our life together started on the very first day we met. Sometimes I think about that day and I wish I had followed you instead of letting you walk away. I know that fate ultimately brought us together anyway, but I should've listened to my heart..."

Nick wrapped his arms around Adalind and pulled her close to him.

"I feel like we wasted too many years apart when we should have been together from the start. But I want you to know, I want our children to know, that our story started back on that day. And that the best is yet to come."

"Nick, I can't believe you did all of this for us" Adalind said, tears in her eyes. "You are simply the most amazing man I have ever known. I love you more than life itself."

"I love you too, you and the kids. I'm the luckiest man in the world."

"We are the lucky ones, to have you love us so unconditionally. You sacrificed your life more than once to make sure we got here. We owe our lives to you."

"That's not how I see it" Nick said, cupping Adalind's face with one hand. "I am here because of you; you gave my life its entire meaning and I owe you everything I have. You and our children are my reason to live. And I'm going to dedicate my life to make sure that you all have everything you could possibly dream of."

"We already do" Adalind said, wrapping her arms around Nick's neck and lifting her head to kiss him.

Nick tightened his arms around his wife, not wanting to let her go. As he held her, kissing her, an overwhelming sense of completeness came over him. But he didn't see it as the perfect ending to their story; he rather considered it as the beginning of a lifelong journey that had always been written in the stars and that would lead them, every day, for the rest of their lives, to their very own happily ever after.

THE END

(I hope you enjoyed reading this story just as much as I did writing it. Thank you all for your great feedback, it means so much to know that you liked it. I'm already working on a new Nadalind fanfic called 'Listen To Your Heart', so stay tuned!)