POV: Jasmine
The hospital discharge took longer than it should have. I sat beside Asher while we waited, watching the way he held himself upright, his strength returning but not fully there yet.
“I’m taking you home,” I said at one point, keeping my tone casual, like it was already decided.
He glanced at me. “My apartment is fine.”
“I know,” I said, meeting his gaze evenly. “You’re not going there.”
There was a pause where he considered whether to push it, and then he exhaled quietly.
“Alright,” he said. That was the entire negotiation.
I drove him myself. He leaned back against the seat, one arm resting loosely, his head turned slightly toward the window, not sleeping but not fully engaged either.
When we pulled into the building, Liam was already waiting downstairs, one hand in his pocket, the other resting loosely at his side, his posture relaxed but his attention fixed on the car the moment it stopped. He came around to Asher’s side before I had fully cut the engine, opening the door.
“You look like hell,” Liam said, not unkindly.
Asher stepped out carefully, his hand briefly steadying his shoulder.
“Missed you too,” Asher replied, his voice dry but softer than usual.
Liam’s hand lingered for a second longer than necessary before dropping away, and I saw the relief in him even though he didn’t show it outwardly.
We took the elevator up together, giving Asher the space to move at his own pace. When the doors opened, Aurora was already there, standing just inside the apartment like she had been waiting in that exact spot.
The moment she saw him, she ran.
“Asher!”
He stopped immediately, the impact of her hitting him shifting his balance for a second before he steadied, and then he crouched down in front of her.
“Hey,” he said quietly, his voice soft in a way I had only ever heard with her.
She climbed into him without asking, her arms around his neck, her face pressed into his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her fully, pulling her close, his eyes closing for a second as he held her there.
I felt Liam’s hand close around mine. I didn’t look at him, but I tightened my grip in return.
Finn appeared from the living room, already moving toward us, his expression lighter than it had been in days.
“Look who decided to come back to the land of the living,” he said, stopping just short of them.
Asher opened his eyes, still holding Aurora, his mouth curving slightly. “Miss me?”
“Immensely,” Finn said. “But I’ve been carrying the charm for the both of us, so no pressure.”
Asher let out a quiet breath that almost passed for a laugh, then carefully shifted Aurora down.
“Come on,” I said gently. “Let’s get you inside.”
We moved together, each of us taking something — his bag, his jacket, the small things. Leo stayed in his room, the door closed, the understanding of space as deliberate as everything else in this apartment.
The spare room was ready. Clean, quiet and set up. Asher stepped inside, looking around once before setting his bag down.
“This works,” he said simply.
Liam nodded. “Good. Because you’re not leaving until we say you can.”
Asher glanced at him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “I figured.”
We gave him time to settle, but by evening, the apartment had shifted again.
The kitchen was warm and the table set. I had cooked more than necessary, moving through it earlier in the day with a focus that kept my hands busy and my mind steady.
Everyone was there.
Liam, Finn, Leo, Nora, Asher, and Aurora in her chair, presiding over the entire thing. It wasn’t loud, but it was full, the conversation overlapping.
Asher sat at the table, a glass of water in front of him, his posture still careful but more at ease than it had been that morning.
“This is good,” Finn said, halfway through his second helping. “I’d like to formally request that you never let any of us cook again.”
“You already don’t cook,” Liam said.
“That’s not the point,” Finn replied.
Nora laughed softly beside Leo, her hand brushing his under the table in a way that didn’t go unnoticed, at least not by me.
Leo glanced at her, then at the rest of us, and cleared his throat slightly.
“There’s something we should say,” he said.
The table quieted, attention shifting naturally toward them. Nora looked at him, then back at us, her expression steady.
“We’re together,” she said simply.
For a second, no one spoke. Then Finn leaned back in his chair, exhaling. “Well, that explains a lot.”
Liam smiled, small but genuine. “Took you long enough.”
I felt my own expression soften as I looked at them, at the ease between them that had been building long before this moment.
Asher lifted his glass then, the movement deliberate but steady.
“To this family,” he said, his voice quiet but carrying. “And to the woman who brought us all here.”
His eyes met mine briefly before moving to the others. Everyone reached for their glasses.
“To that,” Liam said. We raised them together.
Aurora clapped her hands against her tray, her laughter cutting through the quiet in a way that made all of us smile.
Dinner unfolded slowly, the conversation stretching and softening until the plates emptied and the moment naturally gave way to the quiet work of clearing the table.
After dinner, the rhythm of the evening slowed again, plates being cleared, chairs shifting, the ordinary work of winding down.
Asher followed me into the kitchen, picking up a dish from the table like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said, turning on the water.
“I know,” he replied.
For a few minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then I felt him shift slightly beside me, and I turned my head just enough to see him looking at me.
“I want to tell you something,” he said quietly. “While I’m here.”
I set the dish in my hands down in the water, turning toward him fully.
“You held this family together while I was on my back,” he said, his voice steady. “Liam. Aurora. The transfer. Margaret. All of it. “I watched you do it from a hospital bed,” he continued. “And I won’t forget it.”
I didn’t say anything, so I just reached for him. He met me halfway, his arms coming around me as mine wrapped around him.
Aurora’s footsteps hit the kitchen floor before either of us pulled away.
“Papa Asher!”
He released me, turning toward her immediately, the shift instinctive as he bent down and lifted her up with both arms, holding her securely against him.
“Time for bed, monkey,” he said softly.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, already settling into him.
He carried her out of the kitchen without looking back.