Page 55 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)

“How can you say that?”

“Because I need to believe that it's true!”

Okay, calm down, Finn. He needs you to be strong.

Ryan looked at the drugs again and didn't seem any more inclined to take them than he did a minute ago.

“Look,” I said. “We can't throw away our shot at a happy ending because things might not go as smoothly as we had planned.”

Ryan considered this for a moment. “I don't know,” he said then. “For me, it's a matter of priorities. I can give birth andthenstart chemo.”

I felt my face fall. “What if it's too late then?” That was a real possibility. “I know the baby's important, and we'll do everything we can to ensure it gets here safely. The doctors okayed this. Don't you care about your own life at all?”

Ryan averted his gaze without saying anything. “I care,” he mumbled eventually. “Just not as much.”

Gently, I grabbed his chin and made him look back at me. “Why?”

He pressed his lips together. After a moment he said, “I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, okay?”

So it was still aboutthat? I let go of him but kept his gaze. “You know I've forgiven you.”

“Yeah...” He turned away from me again. “But I haven't.”

I groaned, overcome with a sudden desire to hop on a plane, pay Jin a visit and punch him. No time for that now, though. I had to figure out how to get Ryan to take those pills.

“We could always bond to make this easier on you,” I suggested. “You know I'd do it in a heartbeat.”

“Yes, I know.” He gave me a small smile. “But I'm not puttingyouat risk too!”

I'd thought he might say that, but I'd had to try anyway. “Just keep in mind that the option is there. And if that's not what you want, we can stop the chemo treatment if we feel things are heading in the wrong direction,” I said, putting a hand on his back.

“I know.” He sighed. “I'm sorry, I'm just... scared that I can't handle this.”

I pulled him in a hug. “You don't have to do this alone.”

“I want to do what's best for our child.”

My heart leaped in my chest at his words, because that was the first time he'd referred to the baby asourchild. In spite of everything, I felt a grin form on my face. Suddenly I felt like we were going to be just fine. “Our child is going to want both of us in his life.”

He took a deep breath. “Okay. I guess you’re right. You’ll… be with me, yeah? Even when I’m sick and unattractive?”

I kissed him, because how could he even question that? “I’ll always be with you, silly.”

“Thank you.” He buried his head in my shoulder for a moment or two, and then finally, he grabbed one of the pills and swallowed it. “Here we go.”