Owen was smiling at me from where he was sitting in a glider, rocking Jay while feeding him a bottle. "If you keep pacing like that, they're going to make us replace the linoleum because you’ll have worn an Austin-shaped track in it."

"Sorry." I winced. I yawned as I walked over and sat down on the floor beside him, leaning against the wall as I rested my arms over my knees. It'd been a long night and even longer day of stress while we’d waited until Jay's blood could be tested.

"Don't be sorry," Owen said in a gentle tone. "You look exhausted, Austin. I know you've already turned me down several times, but the offer is still open if you wanted to lie down in my bed for a little while. I'd also be okay with you going home to take a nap, if you want. I promise I'd be alright until you got back."

"No." I shook my head, trying—and failing—to hold back another jaw-cracking yawn. "I said I'm not leaving your side, and I meant it. I'm not any different than any other new father. Why should I go home and sleep while you're here with the baby? Not happening."

"If you say so," he said doubtfully. "I hope you know that even if you'd been the one to sire Jay, I'd still be pushing you to go home and get some rest. There is no reason for both of us to be worn out, is there?"

"It's called solidarity, honey. And don't go trying to train him to be a bad husband when he's already eclipsed any expectations I might've had," Houston chided Owen as he pushed his way into the room with Dallas and Kyle in tow.

Kyle pulled up a chair and sat down on the other side of Owen where he could see Jay better. His eyes were filled with concern as he looked over at me. "Any news yet?"

"No." Owen sighed as he answered for me. "They finally took his blood test about half an hour ago, but we won't get the results until Dr. Hunt comes to discharge us in the morning."

“And we still haven’t gotten the results about whether or not Owen is a carrier.” I banged my head against my forearms a couple times before looking up at my brother in frustration.

"Oh, honey." Houston bent to kiss Jay's forehead before taking a seat on the floor beside me and resting his head against my shoulder. "That really blows, tin man. It's gonna be a long night, isn't it?"

Dallas started laughing suddenly, interrupting our conversation with his mirth. I looked up with a frown. "What's so funny? I hope you're not laughing about the long night we have ahead of us. That’d be a real dick move, D. That’s not like you."

"I'm gonna let that slide because I know you're tired as fuck right now," Dallas slowly drawled as he casually flipped me off with a playful smirk. "Now see, what I was laughing about was the fact that you're sitting on a hospital floor. Are you even aware of how many germs and bacteria your ass is in contact with right about now?"

It took me a minute to process what he was saying, and I dropped my head against my arms and laughed. My voice was muffled as I answered. "I can't believe that I'm either so tired or so sidetracked with my family that I forgot about the germs." I looked up at Owen and yawned again. "Remind me to bathe in Purell when I get home."

Houston pushed off the floor and stood, dusting the backside of his pants off as he stalked toward the door. "I'll be back in a jiff. It's ridiculous that you're sitting here so exhausted. Didn't you even think to ask for a cot? Never mind, little brother's got your back. The hussy-ass little nurses are about to get an earful from me."

After he left, I stared blankly at Dallas for a moment. "They would've given me a cot?"

*****

"Good morning, gentlemen. I have good news! You can all go home today because all of Jay's blood tests came back. I am pleased to report that he is perfectly healthy. As long as you take him to see his pediatrician in two weeks, there's nothing left for you to do now but go home and enjoy this baby."

"Wait, are you talking about the regular tests, or the Tay-Sachs test? Because, no offense, but after about a day and a half of waiting, it feels a little anticlimactic for you to come in and just casually say that everything’s aces." Owen sounded as frustrated as I felt as he spoke.

"I'm sorry. You’re absolutely right, I should have led with that about the Tay-Sachs. Didn't you get the news yesterday that your blood test showed you're not a carrier? That should have relieved you a little bit," Dr. Hunt said with a slight frown on his face.

"Nobody told us anything. Not one damn thing." I hated to sound like a jerk, but the way we'd been left hanging was ridiculous.

"Oh, I apologize for that. You should have been notified yesterday morning that Owen isn’t a carrier. And for the record, neither is Jay. Your baby has no signs of any genetic illnesses that we can find at this time."

"So he's really okay?" Owen asked again, as if afraid to believe that all the worry had been for nothing.

"He's really okay," Dr. Hunt gently reassured us. "So like I said, there's nothing left for you to do but go home and enjoy your baby."

After the discharge papers had been signed, Dr. Hunt left the room. I looked over at Owen and was unsurprised to see him crying as he hugged Jay to his chest. I quietly began packing our things while I gave him a moment of privacy.

"All that was a lot of unnecessary drama," he said a few minutes later. "But at least we know I'm not a carrier, right? I mean, if we ever… you know…"

I was tempted to tease him, but after the emotional roller coaster we'd been on, I decided to be gentle instead. "Owen, if we ever get to the point in our marriage where you can finish that sentence without blushing, then I'll say that you're right—it's good information to know.”