Willow went into labor the following week and we were all camped out in the waiting room. Dash refused to take any chances and paid the hospital to secure a private floor for the birth. It was forty hours after her water broke and still no baby. Kennedy was well behaved despite the long hours, but it was Keenan we had to try and keep contained. He circled the waiting room with a video camera, insisting on interviews from everyone and hourly updates. He also announced he was making a documentary for when he and Sheldon had six more kids. She cut her eye at him but wisely, remained silent. I discreetly laughed at her situation because he was determined to pump her full of babies, and she was determined to ensure that didn’t happen until she was ready.

I shook my head because we all knew Keenan was spoiled and would get his way sooner than later.

Eight hours later, their son was finally born. Kennedy had jumped up at the news and demanded to see her baby cousin. The nurse warned that only two were allowed in at a time, but as soon as her back was turned, we all bum rushed the room until it was overflowing.

We found her appearing half-alive and sitting up as she held onto him. Dash stood over them, staring down at his son swaddled in a blue blanket. I could see a thin splatter of copper, much tamer than his mother’s hair, on his tiny head. I inched closer just as his eyes opened and inhaled as much air as I could.

He was beautiful.

“What’s his name?” Keenan blurted, still filming.

“Haven Jasper Chambers,” Dash announced.

“Can I hold it now?” Kennedy questioned.

“Your cousin is not an it,” Sheldon scolded.

Kennedy rolled her eyes upward. “Ok, but can I hold him, Mama?”

“Not yet, Ken Doll, but when he’s bigger you can.”

“Daddy says I grow an inch every day. Can I hold him tomorrow?”

Everyone laughed at her impatience. “We’ll see,” Sheldon answered, cooing over Haven. I could see Ken wanted to argue, but the nurse came back just then.

“All right, everyone. Shoo. We have to get this little guy fed.” Keiran took my hand after the nurse kicked us all out and slowly led us to the elevator. I noticed he had been silent for most of the day but had grown even more distant when Haven was born. I could see the vulnerability in his gaze when he stared down at their son, and I wondered what he had been thinking.

 

* * *

Three days later, it was my birthday and I hadn’t seen one sign of Keiran since I had awakened and found his side of the bed empty. I slowly dragged myself from the bed to begin my morning ablutions. I had been in the middle of brushing my teeth when the doorbell rang. I descended the stairs with my toothbrush in hand and found Keenan and Sheldon’s porch overrun with my friends.

“Happy Birthday!!!!” They screamed it so loud, Haven, who Willow held in her arms, woke up with a hitch-pitched cry.

“Well, shit,” Dash muttered and took him from Willow. He brushed past me with his son and sat on the couch.

“You gonna let us in?” Keenan questioned with a lifted brow.

“It’s your house, Sherlock. Why were you outside anyway?”

“Dramatic effect,” he called over his shoulder and disappeared into the kitchen. I looked at all my friends standing around in the living room and giving me weird looks and glancing away just as quickly.

“What?”

“Nothing,” they all answered too quickly. My eyes narrowed, but they wouldn’t meet my gaze.

“Listen, has anyone seen Keiran? He’s not here.” I tried not to let my agitation be known, but waking up on your birthday to find your boyfriend missing after three days of distance was not the way I saw this going down.

“He had something important to take care of,” Dash answered without taking his eyes away from Haven.

“And he couldn’t tell me that? Better yet, it couldn’t wait?” He only shrugged, but he still wouldn’t meet my gaze, so it only pissed me off more.

“We came to take you out to breakfast to get your birthday started.” Sheldon giggled. It sounded forced, and I had the feeling she was only trying to take the heat off Dash.

“I’m not hungry.”

“But we are, so put this on,” Willow stated and passed me a garment bag she took from the coat closet. Inside was a simple white dress that would easily sweep the floor.

“Um…?”

I looked up at Willow feeling odd. It was then I noticed they were all a little dressed up for a simple breakfast.

Even Kennedy wore a baby blue dress with a bow tied around her waist. 

“It’s a really nice restaurant,” Dash offered at my bewildered look. Keenan came out of nowhere and nudged me toward the stairs. When I reached Keiran’s old bedroom, I laid the garment bag down with shaking hands.

Something was up. I just couldn’t pinpoint why they were all acting so strange, but I had a feeling Keiran’s disappearance had something to do with it.

I jumped into the shower and turned the hot water on full force. Thirty minutes later, after drying and curling my hair, I returned to the bedroom and stood with a towel wrapped around me as I stared at the white dress that could almost pass for a gown.

I unzipped the bag and carefully lifted it from the plastic. “What the hell was Willow thinking?” I questioned out loud to no one. The strapless gown—because I couldn’t think of it as anything but—was even more beautiful without the clear plastic surrounding it. It was the tiny, pearl-like beading, decorating the bodice that transformed it from simple to elegance.

Inside the bag, I also found a white panty and garter set and thought she had gone too far, but then I reminded myself it was Willow so I would humor her. The doctor warned that it would be a while before her hormone levels returned to normal. In other words, tread carefully.

Once I finished dressing, I used the full-length mirror in the corner and stared at my reflection. Despite how bad I felt about Keiran missing on my birthday, the dress made me feel beautiful and wiped away every negative feeling I’d had since waking up.

That was until I studied how the gown teased the tops of my feet and realized I had no shoes that would go well with the dress. I hurried for the door and opened them, only to find Dash standing there, holding up the familiar nude wedges Keiran bought me for our first Valentine’s date.

“Wha—How did you get these?”

“Magic happens on special days like these. You look beautiful,” he whispered.

“Thank you.” I took the shoes and studied them. They were hardly the best option for the dress. “They don’t really go.”

“He insisted,” Dash simply said and kissed me on my forehead before sauntering away. I slid the shoes on and followed after him. Everyone was waiting downstairs when I made it down. Willow stood a few feet away, and when she saw me, she started crying for some reason. I tried to go to her, but Keenan pulled me in the opposite direction.

“Hormones,” he muttered and led me out the door. I began to feel a nervous flutter as we drove away in separate cars. Keenan and Sheldon drove me while Dash and Willow followed behind with Kennedy and Haven. I looked down, my hands shaking in my lap, and took a deep breath.

God, get it together. It was only breakfast.

I told myself I was only upset because I still hadn’t heard from Keiran.

I concentrated on the clear summer sky and thought about classes that would be starting in a few days. The arrests and the time spent in jail caused me to flunk out of my summer courses, so I was now behind a quarter to graduation.

The car slowed to a stop, jolting me from my distraction when I realized we were at the playground. I was no longer afraid of this place and the bad memory from sixteen years ago, but it didn’t mean I forgot everything it represented.

The car door opened and I found Jackson standing there with his hand outstretched.

What the fuck was going on?

I took his hand and was even more freaked out when I saw Aunt Carissa standing by with her hands over her mouth and crying.

This was turning out to be one emotional breakfast. I had no idea my birthday meant so much to them. I felt inadequate because I had no idea what to say. To be honest, all I wanted to do was to go back and crawl under the covers and wait for Keiran to remember me.

“You guys are back.” I hugged Jackson and then Aunt Carissa, who finally managed to stop crying long enough to speak.

“I couldn’t miss this.”

“And we need to talk later,” Jackson added in a stern voice. I knew they must have heard about my arrests by now. Over the years, he willingly and wholeheartedly took on a father figure role. He really was a good guy, and I think even Keiran respected him. “But first,” he held up his arm for me to take, “will you allow me the honor?”

“Uh, sure.” I took his arm and looked around but everyone had already disappeared. He started walking me across the playground, and as we passed the swings and sandboxes, I inhaled as I realized we were heading for the monkey bars. “Is this where we’re having breakfast?” I frowned because Dash had said it was a really nice restaurant. “The picnic tables are over—”

My legs stopped working, and I sucked in a sharp breath when I saw the tall, familiar figure a short distance away.

Keiran stood under the monkey bars, which were decorated with blue and white flowers. A trail of flowers made a small path from where I now stood all the way to him. Dash, Keenan, and Q stood with him while Willow, Sheldon, Di, and Jesse stood to his left. A man dressed as a priest also waited at the end, and that’s when my brain finally caught up.

OH.