Chapter 11

Morris

 

Mel’s still unconscious and has been since she passed out over three hours ago. Luckily, Rocco caught her before she could fall. We rushed her straight to the hospital. Her parents, mine, and Michelle met us all here. I lied and told them that I was her husband so that I could stay with her and everyone just went with it. I’m sure that I looked a little crazed yelling at the nurses and doctors to figure out what was wrong with her. It didn’t help that I was still bleeding from the huge gashes I caused while trying to get those mother fucking zip ties off. They took her back for testing and forced me to get my wrists and head looked at, well our parents forced me to get looked at, the staff didn’t seem to want to be anywhere near me.

After six stitches to the back of my head where that crazy snatch hit me with that fucking pipe and a shit ton of gauze on each wrist, I was brought back to the room that they placed Mel in. I haven’t left her side once. They said that the tests showed that she has a mild concussion and that’s what caused her blackout. The doctor said that she should wake up at any time. Marc just got here a few minutes ago after finishing up at the scene. When I asked him how it went, he just shook his head no while looking at everyone else. Guess we’ll be having that conversation later. I feel Mel’s hand begin to move and see her open those pretty blue eyes. She looks around confused until she sees everyone.

“Hey baby, how you feeling?” I say, while leaning over to kiss her temple. Luckily, she didn’t need any stitches. She’s going to have a goose egg on her head for a while, a black and blue cheek, and her fingers are going to be really sore, but she will heal.

“My head is freaking killing me.” She looks up at Michelle. “It’s worse than the tequila incident.” I look over at Michelle and she just winces.

“What tequila incident?” I’m very curious about this.

“Oh, that’s when dumb and dumber here,” Marc states while pointing in between the two, “Thought that they could do shots of tequila all night.” Ouch…I can only imagine how that night ended. At my grimace Marc continues. “Yeah man, it wasn’t pretty. They were both throwing up all over the place, including on themselves. I ended up throwing them both in the shower to hose them off and hopefully sober them up a little.”

“That’s how we got into the shower!” Mel and Michelle say at the same time. I look dumbfounded between the two.

“You didn’t know how you got into the shower?” I look at Mel for an explanation. She’s looks sheepish and cute as hell.

“Well...a lot of that night is pretty…fuzzy. I just remember being in the shower with her. I couldn’t remember how we got in there or why the hell we both still had our bras and underwear on.”

“Yeah, I was so not fully stripping the two of you. That crosses way too many lines,” Marc says, on a shutter. Makes sense, if I had a sister, I wouldn’t strip her either. Honestly, he did more than I probably would have. He may act like he loves nothing more than to make her miserable, but his actions speak a lot louder than words. Simple shit like that shows you how much he really loves her. Looking at him now, he looks like he’s aged ten years. I imagine that I’m not looking too much better.

“I’m glad you didn’t. That would’ve been way too weird,” Michelle says, and Mel nods her head yes and then stops and grimaces.

“Let’s get a nurse to see if they can give you anything for your headache.” I hit the call button and wait for the nurse to come in. Instead of just the nurse, the doctor also walks in with her.

“Good evening Mrs. Jackson, I’m Dr. Powell. How are you feeling?” Mel just looks around with a raised eyebrow. Opps, forgot to let her in on the fact that the hospital thinks that we’re married. Luckily, she doesn’t say anything to contradict what I told them but she’s giving me a look that says, “We’ll be discussing this later.”

“Okay, except for my head feels like a jackhammer is going off inside of it. And you can just call me Mel.”

“That’s to be expected. You have a mild concussion. You’ll most likely have a headache for the next couple of days. If it gets worse, or if you experience any dizziness accompanied by vomiting, you need to come back in right away.”

“So, I can get out of here soon?”

“We would like to keep you overnight for observation.” The doctor looks around the room and seems a bit uncomfortable. “I have a few things to discuss with you about the blood work that we did. Would you like me to ask everyone to step outside, so that we can discuss the results in private.” There is no fucking way that I’m leaving. Whatever he has to say, he can damn well say in front one me. Whatever the results, Mel and I will figure out a way to deal with together. I look over at her trying to convey this with my eyes. She looks worried for a moment before she just smiles and shakes her head no.

“It’s okay Dr. Powell. I have a feeling I know what the bloodwork showed. It’s okay if they all stay.” The doctor smiles at her and then it hits me why he didn’t want anyone else in the room.

“So, it’s safe to assume that you know that you’re pregnant?” My whole world stops…pregnant…not just thinking she’s pregnant…but actually pregnant. Holy shit…I’m really going to be a dad! I can hear the gasps from our parents. I look up and both of our mothers already have tears in their eyes. Marc and Michelle are just smiling at us with huge cheesy ass grins.

“I took a pregnancy test but was supposed to go to the doctors this afternoon to confirm it. Obviously, that didn’t happen. But yeah, I haven’t had my period the past two months and get nausea at the drop of a dime. So, yeah I had a pretty good idea.” Mel looks at me sheepishly.

“We would like to bring in an ultrasound machine and do a transvaginal ultrasound to make sure that the baby is okay. I would suggest having everyone, but your husband step out for that one.” The doctor smiles and chuckles a little at Mel. I don’t get it though…why would everyone have to leave. Don’t they just throw some goop on her stomach. Marc looks just as confused as I do.

“Sweetie, that means that they’re doing an internal ultrasound. I really don’t need our parents and my brother seeing all of my girly bits.” Everyone but Marc and I start laughing, he just looks grossed out. Me on the other hand, I’m worried.

“Will this hurt her or the baby?” I glare at the doctor. Bastard just smiles at me.

“No Mr. Jackson. It is perfectly safe for momma and baby. But since she doesn’t think that she is too far along, it will be the best way to see the baby. We won’t get as clear of a view if we do an eternal ultrasound. And after everything that momma went through today, I want to be 100% sure that your baby is okay.”

“Okay, sounds good then.”

“Alright, let me go get a machine and we’ll have a look at your baby.”

“You’re the one doing it?” Hell no! He doesn’t look much older than us. There is no way that I’m letting him near my woman’s pussy. I can hear Marc and our fathers snort, probably knowing exactly what I’m thinking. I look over at Mel who is shaking her head in exasperation at me. “Isn’t there any female doctors who can do this?”

“For Christs sake Morris he’s a freaking doctor!” Mel looks over apologetically at the doctor who thinks that he’s actually getting anywhere near my woman.

“Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable with a woman?” I ask her sweetly. She narrows her eyes at me.

“No, I would feel more comfortable with him getting the damn machine that way I can see for myself that OUR baby is okay! Think that you can deal with your caveman tendencies for like two freaking minutes?” I have a feeling that she wasn’t really asking me. The glare she’s giving would make lesser men cringe. I look up and my dad and Martin are both making a gesture of slashing across their necks. I look back to Mel who looks like she’s about to spit nails.

“Of course, baby. I was just thinking about you.” I’m smart enough to know that I like my balls attached to my body and if I don’t shut up they might not be for very much longer. I hear a few snorts but can’t fully place them. The doctor shakes his head chuckling as he walks out the door. I look at Mel again and now she looks really sad.

“What’s wrong baby? I couldn’t have upset you that much. Hell, that was even one of my worse moments.” She looks up and smiles at me a little.

“No, it’s not that. I had this whole thing planned out on how I was going to tell you. Well actually, I bought a little onesie and was going to wait for you to read it and watch your reaction. I was just really excited about that.”

“What’s a onesie?” I’m sure that I should probably know this, but I really haven’t been around a lot of children.

“Ah Ha! I’ve got it right here. When Marc called and told me that they found you, I went into the office and got it out of your bag. I figured the baby elephant in the room was going to come out eventually. Here ya go.” Michelle says all that while digging in what could easily be described as a suitcase and hands Mel a tiny piece of fabric.

“Thanks Shell, I appreciate it,” Mel says looking like she’s about to start crying. Michelle bends down and hugs her tight.

“No problem momma to be. I’m just glad that you’re okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you girlie.” Both of them are now sniffling and hugging each other. Marc walks over and pulls Michelle off of Mel and walks her back across the room. I look at Mel who is now teary eyed but smiling at me.

“I really wanted to see the surprised look on your face when I gave this to you.” She has the cutest pout on her face and figure that I should tell her that I wouldn’t have looked all that surprised.

“Honey, I kind of already figured that you were pregnant. Why do you think I was standing out by your car today?” She looks at me in shock, all wide eyed looking like a baby deer.

“But…how?” I just smile at her and shake my head. She’s too fucking cute sometimes. I hear Marc snort behind me.

“Seriously sis? You aren’t exactly stealthy. Especially when your accomplice is even worse at lying than you are.” The girls just look at each other and shrug.

“Oh my God Martin! Remember the time they tried to tell us that they had a stomach virus. They were so drunk that they could barely stand and tried to convince us that it was side effect of being ill. Lord I didn’t know whether to beat their butts or just shake my head,” Mel’s mom says with a warm smile. Everyone in the room just laughs and shakes their head.

“Whatever.” Mel mumbles. “That was a really good excuse. Anyway, how did you know when my appointment was great detective?” I like her snarky side, she’s a lot of fun when riled up.

“Remember how I wanted to add songs to your phone for you to listen to?” Mel shakes her head at me.

“And here I thought that you were actually being sweet.” She gives me a pout and a glare for good measure. “Well, since you won’t be surprised anyway…here.” She hands me the tiny little fabric that fits into one of my hands. Holy hell…is our baby really going to be this small? I look down, read it and smile up at the love of my life.

“What does it say?” My dad asks.

“Some heroes wear capes mine wears Kevlar.” I hold it up for all of them to see. This thing is fucking awesome! I can’t wait until our baby is in it! Everyone makes sounds of approval. I look into the blue eyes that make my heart race. I’m about to say something when there’s a knock on the door. The doctor walks back in with what I’m guessing is an ultrasound machine.

“Okay, everyone but mommy and daddy please go out into the waiting room,” Dr. Powell says. They all give us smiles and walk out, closing the door behind them. The doctor puts the machine beside Mel and takes out this crazy wand looking thing. He puts an actual fucking condom on it…you have got to be kidding me.

“Okay Mel, I’m going to hand this to you so that you can insert it.” The doctor looks at me with a smirk. “I have a feeling that your husband would prefer that. Just let me know when I can grab the handle and start looking for your baby.” Your damn right I prefer her doing it!

Mel does as he asks and a few seconds later the room is filled with a weird swooshing sound. I look at Mel and she has tears streaming down her face. She grabs my hand and smiles at me through her tears. I have no idea why she’s crying and must look clueless.

“That sound, Mr. Jackson, is your baby’s heartbeat. It’s a nice and strong beat. If you look to the monitor, this little blob looking thing is the first picture of your baby.” The doctor points to something on the screen that looks exactly like a blob. I stare at the screen completely enthralled. I can’t believe that tiny little thing is our baby.

“Everything is okay?” Mel asks through her tears.

“Everything looks great. You’re measuring around 9 weeks 3 days. You’re looking at a December baby. Congratulations!” The doctor prints out a few pictures for us and removes the wand thing from Mel. “I would suggest following up with your OBGYN in a few days. They’ll be able to set you up with all of the information that you will need. Again congratulations,” he says before taking the machine and leaving the room.

“We’re really going to be parents. I mean I knew that but seeing this tiny little picture is crazy. Can you believe that this tiny little thing is in me and going to grow to be a baby?” Mel has the most beautiful smile that I have ever seen. You can see all of her love and excitement. I’ll remember the way she looks right now for the rest of my life.

“Marry me.” She tilts her head at me with a confused look.

“Ah yeah sweetie, I kind of already agreed to do that.” She’s giving me a look that clearly says duh.

“Soon. Tomorrow.” I don’t want to wait another minute to make her mine completely. After today and thinking that I was going to lose her, is making me realize that I don’t want to wait.

“I am not marrying you tomorrow crazy man! There is a ton of stuff that goes into a wedding. And I sure as hell am not getting married at a courthouse!”

 

“We’ll see.” I reply…she will be Mrs. Jackson…very soon!

 

****

Mellie

We did not get married the next day like my crazy man wanted much to his dismay and plentiful protests. I swear he was absolutely ridiculous! The shithead even tried to bribe me with sexual favors to get me to agree, but I held firm. I didn’t want some courthouse, shotgun wedding. Okay, so it was kind of a shotgun wedding since I was knocked up, but we we’re engaged before I became pregnant, so it doesn’t really count. We did, however, get married within three months. Those months are nothing but a blur!

If it wasn’t for our mother’s I don’t think that it would’ve been possible. They worked tirelessly to make sure that we could be married quick enough for Morris to stop bitching and for me to have a beautiful wedding. In the end, it was absolutely perfect, and I couldn’t have imagined anything better! I got to marry the man of my dreams while having our family and friends around. A year before I could’ve never dreamed that I would be Mrs. Morris Jackson.

We decided to have it outside in the backyard since we got married at the end of August. Our mothers totally transformed the deck and backyard into something magical. Twinkle lights were everywhere along with nothing but sunflowers. We had it catered but Michelle insisted on doing our cake, and who am I to deny my best friend? The cake was amazing, three tiers covered in white with a bunch of silver accents. She truly outdid herself and of course, tasted just as good as it looked. We only had our immediate families, along with Michelle’s parents and all the guys of SWAT. It was cozy and very laid back.

My belly decided to pop a few weeks earlier, so in all of our pictures you can see my little baby bump. I think that I looked like I ate a small basketball but everyone else told me to shut up and that I looked adorable. Not exactly what a woman looks for on her wedding day, but whatever. Since our ceremony and reception were at the house and my belly was growing, I went with a strapless white silk dress. It was form fitting enough to show off the bump but flared out at my legs allowing me plenty of room to walk. Since it was August and I don’t do well in heels, I found cute white flip flops with rhinestones all over them.

We said our vows under a little archway that my mother commanded all of the guys to put up. Michelle and I spent hours laughing at the guys. My mother became a little bit of a tyrant and ordered them around for days before the wedding. She said that she wanted everything to be perfect and that they had plenty of muscle to spare. At one point she couldn’t find them, so Shell and I decided to help her out and look for them. We found them hiding in the back of the garage, all huddled together, trying to look as small as possible. They tried to bribe us with everything under the sun to not tell mom where they were. Hysterical watching a bunch of grown bad-asses hiding from one woman. Being the good daughter that I am, I made sure to point out exactly where they were hiding. There was no way that I was dealing with her wrath! And people say it’s the bride who goes crazy!

We said “I Do” right as the sun was setting. With the twinkle lights and the sky, a pretty pink, everything felt magical. It was the happiest day of my life. Morris was wearing black slacks, slip on black loafers and a green button-down shirt per my request. He questioned me about it, saying that my brother and Michelle were wearing silver. I told him that green makes his eyes look even more amazing. He just smiled indulgently and agreed to wear the shirt. I was right, his eyes that day hypnotized me more than they ever have before. I also told him that he has to have at least two days’ worth of stubble. He thought it was for pictures, when in reality it was for our wedding night, I love feeling his scruff rubbing on different parts of my body. Life as a married woman has been amazing.

The only dark spot was right after everything that happened that day. I began having nightmares a few days afterwards. I thought that they would go away but they seemed to get worse and worse. I would wake up screaming and struggling calling out for help. The first time it happened, Marc ended up running into our room with his gun. When they persisted for more than a month, Morris made me go talk to a Psychologist. He was right to make me. Talking with her has helped me out a lot with just understanding everything that went on. Especially dealing with watching Ashley die. I still dream of her looking lifelessly at the ceilings some nights, but not very often. The hardest part was trying to understand why she did everything that she did. A few weeks after it happened we were able to get answers so some of the more pressing questions.

Ashley Delannas was extremely ill and should have had better medical treatment. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was a child. At the age of 19, she was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. She spent time in a mental health facility and was released at the age of 24, after the death of her mother. Her mother was her healthcare proxy and without her choosing to keep her in the facility, Ashley was released. When she was released she was supposed to continue her antipsychotic medication and therapy. At some point she must have stopped both, none of the medication was found in her system during the autopsy that was performed.

She started dating Josh shortly after she came back home. But because of her psychosis, she thought more of the relationship than it actually was. Where she was convinced that they were in love and meant to be together, Josh was just casually seeing her, as well as Amber. The detectives think that Ashley finding out about Amber is what caused her to go further into psychosis. She no longer had a firm grasp of reality and without taking her medicine, she became fully unstable. The detectives on our case called the police department in her old town.

Josh and Amber were listed as missing persons, however, since they were young, the detectives didn’t look into the case as well as they should have. They figured that the two of them ran off together and would turn up eventually. The woods around her old home was searched, their remains were found and given to their families for proper burial. The only good thing is that now their family members can have the closer that they deserve.

It seems to be bad luck that she saw and fixated on Morris. He looks enough like Josh for her to have attached herself to the idea of them. The detectives feel that at the beginning she wanted me out of the way so that she could have Morris. Somehow in her mind, he ended up becoming the bad guy and me the person that she needed to save. Her scrap book was filled with tons of information on us, as well as Josh and Amber. I didn’t want to look at it, but Morris did. He said that there were tons of pictures of both of us going back for months. It detailed how she needed to save me from Morris and how to make me listen. I told him that I didn’t need to know anymore.

I honestly don’t really know how I feel about her and everything that she did. I know that she killed two people and would’ve killed us, but I can’t help but feel sad that she lost her life. If she had had better medical treatment I feel like everyone would still be alive today. I feel that if that facility had kept her there or made more of an attempt to keep up with her afterwards that none of this would’ve happened. I don’t know if I actually blame her. Everyone does and says that their glad that she’s gone. But she was sick and needed help. I don’t even think that she really knew what she was doing was wrong. I guess I just feel sad for the life that she could’ve had.

It's been over six months since it happened and we’ve all moved on the best that we can. Marc moved into Morris’ old apartment about two months afterwards. He said that we needed our privacy and we both agreed with him. Him and the rest of the guys are still a permanent fixture at our house though. I actually find it weird to come home and not have any of them around. They’ve all be a godsend in helping us get the nursery ready, as well as baby proofing the house. I tried to explain to them that the baby proofing wouldn’t be necessary for close to a year until the baby became mobile. They just stared at me until I said forget it and walked away. They are all so excited that I’m afraid that they might try to wrap this kid in bubble wrap. Poor baby.

We didn’t find out the sex and are waiting to be surprised. I think that waiting to find out the gender is complete and utter crap! We don’t have specific clothes, or anything else gender specific. It is driving me insane! Morris said that since we didn’t really get a surprise reveal with the pregnancy announcement that we should have one in the delivery room. He looked so excited that I stupidly gave in. I changed my mind a few days later but my shithead of a husband already got to my doctor and told her that under no circumstances is anyone to tell me the sex. To say I was pissed is an understatement. Can you believe that he didn’t have enough faith in me, that he went behind my back to my doctor? To get back at him I woke him up one night around midnight for a week straight and cried until he went to get me Wendy's. Hell hath no fury, like a pregnant woman!

I’m now about to pop and am so excited! And I mean literally pop, my water broke a few minutes ago and I’m waiting for my husband to stop running around like a damn chicken without his head. At the rate he’s going, I have a feeling that he’ll be halfway to the hospital before he realizes that he didn’t take me with him. What he’s running around for I have no idea. I changed my clothes and cleaned myself up, and now I’m sitting on the couch enjoying the entertainment. I figure that I can watch him for a while since my contractions aren’t close yet. I even have the hospital bag that I packed two weeks ago sitting next to me. The car seat is already in too, so I really have no clue what he’s actually doing, but it’s funny. I made sure to take pictures and a video for everyone since I’m nice like that.

I moan out as a contraction hits. Yup I want to get to the hospital now. I am not one of those women who wants a drugless birth. The more drugs for me the better! I manage to wiggle my way to a standing position and go look for my husband. I walk down the hall and find him in the nursery just staring. He’s not moving at all. Just standing in the middle of the room, staring at the crib. I walk up behind him and place my hand on his back.

“You okay sweetie?”

“We’re really going to be parents.” Well yes babe, I’ve been pregnant for what feels like years now. Really you should have come to this conclusion already. Trying my best to keep my snarky side down since I know the pain that I’m feeling is making me bitchy, I try to get through to him.

“Yes, babe we are. And we kind of need to get going so that we can meet this little one.” So that mommy can get drugs and have this kid in a sterile environment…not in our house. That seems to shake him out of whatever was going on in his mind.

“Shit! Right! We need the bag and the car seat. Should we start those deep breath things?” He starts moving around aimlessly again. I know that I’ll look back on this and think that it was so cute, but right now I just want to get to the mother freaking hospital!

“Morris! Look at me.” He does as I ask thank God! “The bag is waiting by the couch and the car seat is already in the truck. All we have to do is pick up the bag and get in the truck.” I feel like I’m talking to a two-year old but screw it.

“Okay. Okay.” He takes a deep breath and seems to finally get a grip! “Alright let’s get in the truck and go have a baby.” He smiles hugely at me before grabbing my hand and power walking to pick up the bag. He practically drags me out to the truck, picks me up and places me in the passenger seat. The crazy man even buckles my seatbelt for me before he tosses the bag in the back and runs to the driver’s side. He starts the truck and pulls out of the driveway. Another contraction hits and I yelp. Damn these things hurt!

“Shit baby…what’s wrong?”

“Just a contraction. Please keep your eyes on the road, I don’t feel like getting into a damn accident! I just want drugs…please get me to the drugs!”

“Okay honey. Should we call our parents and let them know that they’re about to be grandparents?”  He’s smiling so adorably.

“I already sent out a mass text while you were running around like a moron.” Okay I’m being bitchy again but screw it. He’s not the one who has to give birth…he can just deal.

“Ah…okay.” Yeah babe you should just keep quiet for a while. Luckily, he gets us to the hospital without getting into an accident. He stops right in front of the emergency entrance and rushes around to help me out. My contractions are getting closer, enough to be painful, but not quick enough for me to be giving birth anytime soon. A nurse rushes out as I’m bent over in pain. She takes one look at what’s going on, goes back in and comes back a few seconds later with a wheelchair.

“Sir you can’t park here. I’ll take your wife inside and start to get her admitted, if you could please go park in the lot.” Morris looks like he’s about to argue with her. The last thing I need is any of the people about to help me getting pissed off.

“Sweetie, it’s okay. I’ll be fine. They need to get all of my info and stuff. Just park really quick and come in and find me.” He looks torn, but I just nod my head that he should go park the freaking truck and sit in the wheelchair. He bends down and kisses the top of my head.

“I’ll be right back honey. Don’t start before I get in there!” He turns and runs as fast as he can back to his truck. I hear the nurse chuckling behind me.

“First baby?”

“That obvious, huh?”

“Yeah, first time dads are the funniest guys to watch. They’re so cute looking all scared and clueless.” She laughs as she wheeled me inside. “We’re going to take you upstairs to labor and delivery. They’ll get all of your information once you’re a room.” I just nod my head okay.

We get to the floor and they place me in a very spacious room. They have me go into the bathroom and change into a hospital gown. As I’m in there it really hits me that I’m about to be a mom. Holy crap! I put the gown on and thankfully they gave me another one to wear as a robe so that I’m not flashing my butt to everyone. I lay back in the bed as two nurses move about the room. One places a belt around my stomach to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. And the other starts asking me a bunch of questions. Just as we’re close to being done Morris walks in looking so disheveled. My big bad ass man looks so lost that I wish I had my phone handy to take a picture. I smile up at him as he walks over, kisses my head and then collapses into the chair beside my bed. I reach out, take his hand, lean back and close my eyes. Soon I get to meet my baby!

 

****

Morris

We’ve been at the hospital for about two hours now. Mellie is all calm and collected, where I feel like I’m on a livewire. Although I have a feeling that she’s just happy that she got an epidural. She made sure to tell everyone that came into contact with her that she wanted one. When I suggested not getting one in case it hurts the baby, her head swung toward me with a glare on her face so quickly that I thought I was in the Exorcist. Between Mel’s death glare and the nurse shaking her head at me like I was an idiot, I decided that it would probably be best to keep my thoughts to myself.  

I can’t believe that soon we’ll actually be parents. I know that we’ve been planning for this for months, but it just seems so surreal. Everyone has been a huge help with getting us ready for the baby. Our parents went crazy one day and decided to go shopping together. They came back with everything that the kid could need until college. They bought all of the furniture for the nursery, diapers, creams, swings, a bouncer, a tiny tub, towels and even a fucking tiny baby bath robe. When I told our fathers that they should have reigned our mothers in better they both looked down at the ground. Apparently, it was them who decided the we needed the entire store and both mothers just stood back shaking their heads. I guess they’re both really excited to become grandfathers.

All of the guys have helped me make the house as baby friendly as possible. We may have gone a little overboard but seriously, do you know how much bad shit there is for them to get into? We all probably shouldn’t have watched so many YouTube videos about accidents involving babies. But at least now everything is nailed to the wall, all outlets are covered, we have foam around the corners of tables, locks on all cabinets, baby gates mounted to the walls and the nursery complete. I think that we did a good job. Mel just rolled her eyes at us and went back to doing whatever it was that she was doing when I asked what she thought.

The first few months after the kidnapping I was really anxious that something happened that would affect the pregnancy. Mel wasn’t the only one having nightmares, fortunately she never knew about mine, since her screaming would always wake me up. I’ll never forget seeing that crazy snatch about to bring that knife down onto Mel’s chest. I would wake up in a cold sweat thinking that it was still happening or that Damon didn’t get there in time.

I honestly owe him everything. We found out later that it was him who took the shot. When Mel found out she ran and jumped into his arms hugging the shit out of him. Normally seeing my woman in another man’s arms would’ve had me seeing red, but I understood where she was coming from. He not only saved our lives, but the life of our baby. It also helped that he looked so fucking uncomfortable that it was hysterical. Marc and Dec made sure to snap a few pictures for good measure. He finally pried Mel off of him and awkwardly patted her head. Funniest thing that I’ve ever seen! Though they have become extremely close within the last few months. I owe him everything, so if she wants him as her new bestie than I’m all for it. However, I think that she has an ulterior motive in the form of her blonde bombshell best friend. I have a bad feeling that my wife is trying to play matchmaker, well maybe to at least get Michelle a little more open to it.

I’ll never forget how helpless I felt tied to that fucking chair! Mel being Mel feels bad for what happened. I know that she feels guilty that Ashley died but I sure as hell don’t. I get it that she was sick but that still doesn’t make what she did okay. Granted she should’ve been in a facility somewhere and that her doctors failed her, but I’m glad that she’s gone. She almost took away my reason for breathing and just for that I’ll never care that she’s dead. I’m sure that make me a heartless bastard but so be it. My family is whole and safe, and that’s all that I care about.

I’m brought out of my thoughts by doctor Glibb telling Mel that it’s time to start pushing. Holy hell this is really happening! Everyone that we love is out in the waiting room. Mel decided that she wanted it to be just us in the delivery room. Her mom looked like she was about to put up a fight, but Martin was able to guide her away. Marc practically ran out of the room when she said that he didn’t have to be there. She screwed with him for months, telling him that he would be in the room holding her legs. Knowing him he probably would’ve if she really wanted him too…poor sucker.

“Okay Mel, you’re fully dilated. It’s time to meet this baby and see if it’s a he or she.”

Dr. Glibb has been great throughout the entire pregnancy, especially dealing with all of our questions. She’s maybe 5’2 and in her mid-forties. I actually think that some of the babies that she delivers are bigger than her.

“Daddy go on and stand up by momma’s head and hold her hand.” I do as I’m told and stare down at my beautiful wife. “When I tell you to, start pushing.” Dr. Glibb instructs as Mel nods her head and holds my hand in a death grip.

Mel’s face is turning red as she pushes with everything that she has. Dr. Glibb tells her to relax and then they start again. This goes on for what feels like forever and I start to get worried that something is wrong. Just as I’m about to say something, the doctor speaks again.

“Okay momma, the head is out. Just give me one last big push and you’ll finally get to meet your sweet baby.” I look down at Mel and she looks exhausted but determined.

“You swear just one more push? I’m so tired.” Mel says through a pant.

“Yes Mellie, one more huge push and you’re done.” Her doctor encourages. Mel pushes so hard that I’m afraid that she’s going to pop a blood vessel in her eyes. But that was all it took, and I hear the most amazing sound in the world…our baby crying.

“It’s a boy! Daddy do you want to come over and cut the cord?” Dr. Glibb asks me.

I look down at Mel and she nods her head with a huge smile on her face. A boy…we have a son! I walk over and cut the cord between the clamps. He is wailing like crazy and it’s the best sound ever. The nurse grabs him and places him on Mels chest. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen her look more beautiful than she does right now staring down at our son. He stopped crying the minute that he was placed in her arms like he knows that his momma will make everything all better for him.

“Look what we made. Isn’t he perfect?” Mellie asks me with tearing streaming down her face.

“Yeah honey…perfect.” The two together are the most perfect beings that have ever lived. I can’t believe how lucky I am that they’re mine.

“Do you have a name picked out?” Dr. Glibb asks us.

“Yes, meet Michael Joseph Jackson, or MJ for short.” Mellie says smiling widely

After that it was a whirlwind of the nurses cleaning MJ and Mel up. Then everyone came in to meet the newest member of the Jackson family. Both of our mothers and Michelle cried the entire time. The guys took turns holding him and looking thoroughly uncomfortable about it. Well except Damon, if I didn’t know any better, I would swear that he has a ton of kids. Just snatched him right up and cradled him to his chest. Who knew the quiet one liked kids. I wasn’t the only one surprised either. Everyone just stared at him like he had grown a second head. Not that he seemed to notice. He just kept his eyes on MJ with a small smile on his face. Wouldn’t even give him back until the nurse came in to kick everyone out.

Later that night when it was just the three of us, I sat just holding MJ to my chest. Mel had passed out an hour earlier after being exhausted. Both of them have the cutest little snore and seem to be in sync with each other. Not that I’ll be telling Mellie that she snores. She swears that I’ve been lying to her about it. I really never knew that my life could ever be so perfect. Who knew that looking into a pair of crystal blue eyes would change my entire life. She really knocked me on my ass. I never saw her coming, but I wouldn’t give her up for anything.