All In: Raising the Stakes (17 page)

Eight Weeks Later…

Joe

"Deep breaths, sweetheart. Come on, it's almost over," Will assures Lacy. God, I really want him to be right. Seeing Lacy in pain is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

"Ugghhh! I'm gonna kill…whichever one of you…knocked me up!" she screams at us.

The delivery room is hotter than hell even though it’s January, but there are a lot of us packed into it. Lacy had told us we didn't have to stay, but for whatever reason, all of us had. Probably because on the chance it’s our son or daughter, we want to be present for their birth.

Zack Bradford's big ass looks like he’s going to pass out, even though he’s sitting down. Chad's white dress shirt is drenched with sweat, and he can't stop moving or fidgeting. Will’s holding Lacy’s hand, trying to help her get through the contractions that are clearly getting worse. The stubborn woman won't let them give her any pain medicine.

"Joe?" she calls out for me.

"Yeah, Lace?" I ask, moving to the side of her bed. The blonde hair around her face is soaked with sweat, her face is blood-red, and her eyes are so tired. I know she’s exhausted.

Her fist unexpectedly grabs a handful of the front of my blue dress shirt to pull me down closer to her face. "Go find the doctor…Tell him to get this baby out of me
now
or you’re gonna charge him…with assault on a female!"

"Yes, ma'am," I reply, so she'll let me go before she chokes me out.

I leave the room and inhale a clean breath of fresh air in relief when I get to the hallway. I calmly ask the nurse to check on Lacy to see if she’s further along, then I go out to the waiting room to give everyone an update.

Lacy's dad, her friends Kylie and Erica, Jules and Dylan, Will's parents, Katie, and Zack's new wife, Natalie, all look up expectantly. "Not yet, and dear God I hope for all our sake's that it's soon," I tell them.

"
Son of a bitch
!" The curse comes through the waiting room door from down the hall.

"Was that Lacy?" her dad asks.

I nod. "Good thing Drew's with the babysitter or his vocabulary would be rapidly expanding." After our reunion with him at the police station, he and Katie moved in with me. Maybe some people might think it was too soon, but we wanted to spend every available second of the day and night together. Not being with Katie and Drew is unimaginable now. Chad stays with us most nights, but he hasn’t officially moved in. I’m sure he would, but I haven’t asked him to. Even though I’m starting to wonder if I picked Katie over him because it’s easier and more…acceptable to be with her, I’m still holding back. I absolutely, without a doubt, love Katie and Drew. They offer me something I’ve never had before, their love fills the cold emptiness. I may love Chad the same way I love Katie, but I just don’t know where he fits into our life, our future…which has a whole new type of guilt weighing on me lately. 

"How are all the guys holding up?" Will's mom asks, snapping me out of my musing.

"Ah, well, Will's being a trooper even though Lacy's giving him hell. Chad's sweating buckets, and Zack looks like he's going to pass out. It's…crazy in there, but they won't leave."

"What are you doing, taking a break?" Katie asks me with a smile.

"Yes, oh, and Lacy told me to go yell at the doctor to get the baby out or I’d have him arrested. I'll tell her I gave him a
really
hard time when I go back."

"And you want me to go through all this with your gigantic spawn?" Jules asks Dylan. "No way!"

"Come on, baby, we need an heir," he teases with a smile while Jules shakes her head adamantly.

"Joe, let's go! The doctor said she's ready to push," Chad shouts when he throws open the waiting room door.

"Oh shit," I mutter, running both hands nervously through my hair. "I'll see you guys soon," I tell them, then we’re rushing back to her room. Lacy's screams are louder now, and when we walk in, I immediately know why. The baby's freaking head is coming out of her. Zack's head is now hanging between his legs, and I'm sure when this is all over, I'll find that hilarious and never let him live it down.

"Okay, Lacy. The head and shoulders are out! Just one more push, and you've done it!" the doctor tells her. I avoid the business end and just focus on watching Lacy and Will's reaction when the baby's cries suddenly erupt into the room.

"Oh God!" Lacy mutters trying to raise up and see. "Healthy? Boy or girl?"

"It's a girl, and she appears to be very healthy," the doctor replies, letting Will cut the umbilical cord before a nurse takes the baby from him. Lacy slumps back in relief against the hospital bed. "Thank God."

I’m standing next to the bassinet when the nurse brings the baby over and starts cleaning her, so I pull out my phone and take a few pictures. After the exam, she’s deemed healthy even though she’s three weeks early.  She’s so tiny; weighing six pounds and three ounces. Wrapping a blanket around her and pulling a pink cap over her light hair, the nurse finally hands her to Lacy.

I snap a few pictures of her smiling down at her daughter, holding her for the first time and then slip out to tell everyone in the waiting room.

"It's a girl!" I say, and they all come out of their seats with excitement. 

"They're both doing great," I add, showing them the pictures I'd snapped. After everyone gets a look at the photos, I promise them we'll get them back to see Lacy and the baby as soon as possible.

When I step back into the delivery room, Will’s holding the baby and the doctor and nurse are finishing up and heading out. I ease beside him for a closer look.

"Well, she's beautiful, so she's definitely not Zack's," I joke, teasing the arrogant, handsome man.

"Her hair's light, though," Will says softly, meaning he thinks she might be Zack's or Chad's, but Lacy has light hair, too.

"I guess, we'll know soon, right?" I ask. All of us have swabbed our mouths, and blood was supposed to have been collected from the umbilical cord.

"Do you want me to go ahead and take the sample on over to the lab?" Chad asks.

"If you don't mind," Lacy says sweetly now that she’s no longer in pain. "We'll know in two to three days. Finally!"

"Wait," Will says suddenly. "Who else has a chin cleft besides me?"

"Not me," Chad says in relief, falling backwards into a chair.

"Me, either." Zack blows out a breath.

I rub my fingers over the dip I've had my whole life, never knowing if it came from my mother or father, maybe both. "I do."

"Then it's down to you and me since Lacy doesn't. This little girl definitely has one, and it's a hereditary trait," Will says, rubbing his fingertip gently over her tiny chin.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Lacy exclaims. "No offense Chad and Zack."

"You know I'd do what I needed, but it's a damn relief," Chad tells her.

"Ditto," Zack agrees.

"You want to hold her?" Will asks me.

"Oh shit," I mutter when it actually hits me. "There's a fifty-fifty chance that she’s my daughter."

"Welcome to the program, Joe," Lacy teases.

"No, I mean when it was a quarter of a chance it seemed so much smaller…but fifty percent is…really freaking high."

"Wow, he's great at math, too," Zack comments. I flip him off before taking a seat in a chair since I’m feeling a little off balance. Okay, a lot off balance. I’m about to hold a baby girl that might be mine. She may be the first blood relative I’ve ever actually known, and if so, I’ll have a responsibility to for her the rest of her life. Along with Lacy and Will, it’ll be my job to make sure she’s happy, loved, and has everything she could ever want.

Will gently places the small, warm bundle down in my arms. Looking at her tiny, scrunched up face, she’s…incredible, and I’m completely torn. I know she’s Will and Lacy's no matter what, but I want her to be mine. I want to be a part of creating something so amazing, but at the same time I know I should be sharing this life-changing feeling with Katie. I've bought her a ring and I am just waiting for the right time to ask her to be my wife.

…

Katie

The group in the waiting room helps make the time pass by quicker than I imagined. They’re all a hoot, especially Dylan and Jules who I’ll always feel indebted too even though the bastards never got a penny of their money. Lacy’s dad seems the most uncomfortable with this…complicated situation, but Will and Jules’s parents are laid back and as happy as they can be about becoming grandparents, regardless of who the real father turns out to be. 

Finally Chad and Zack come out of the room so that Will's family could go visit.

"Not mine!" Chad says to us.

"The baby's not mine, either," Zack tells his brand new wife Natalie. She stands up to hug him. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Hopefully we'll have our own soon."

Wow, so I guess that means the baby is either Will's or...Joe's. I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about that when Joe walks into the waiting room, giving me a smile and wrapping me in a hug.

"So what about you? You still in the running?" I ask him.

"Yeah," he says, rubbing his chin. "She's beautiful and she has a chin cleft. Chad and Zack don't."

"Will has the same cleft I take it?”

“He does.”

“So now we wait?” I ask, and he nods. I hug him again, because of how hard this is on him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Katie Kat,” he says into my hair. “No matter what, I know you and Drew will always be my family. And I can’t wait to marry you and make it official.”

I gasp so hard I almost choke on the sudden influx of air. Maybe I misheard him. But then he pulls away and goes down on one knee, leaving no doubt as to what he said.

“Katie Albright, you took my breath away the first time I saw you. I knew then that you were the one for me, it just took some time to convince you. Now I think you know how much I love you and Drew. You’ve given me something I’ve always wanted and never had before. A family. A home. Unconditional love. So will you agree to marry me and let me adopt Drew to make you both mine forever?”

I nod because I’m not capable of saying the one word that I’m shouting in my head. I’m too surprised and happy. No, happy doesn’t begin to cover it. I’m beyond elated.

“Yes?” Joe asks with a huge smile.

“Yes," I finally say. "On one condition.”

"Anything," he says seriously.

"Chad has to be a part of this package deal, too."

Joe hangs his head for a second before he responds. "We've talked about it, and he knows that this is what I want more than anything. Yes, I love him, too, but when it's a choice between you and him, I'll always choose you."

"Why would you choose me when you love him, too? And why does it have to be a choice between me and him?" I ask him. "Why can't you have both?"

He glances over at his best friend and lover, who's standing against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, a smile on his gorgeous face. Chad and I have had our own discussion without Joe, too.

"Unfortunately, that's not how it works," Joe finally answers when he looks back up at me sadly.             

"Says who? Society? Churches? Tradition? Screw them all. We can do this however we want. We both love you and think you deserve to have a family and to be happy for the first time in your life, even if it means making exceptions to the rules. He and I are starting to love each other, too, all because of our common interest.
You
." 

"You're serious?" Joe asks, looking back and forth between me and Chad.

"We are," I tell him.

"Well, in that case, let's do this," he says with a smile. Getting to his feet, he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small black box and opening it. He takes my hand and slides a beautiful three stone diamond engagement ring onto my finger, ironically symbolic, and a perfect fit, just like him in all of our lives.

“Don’t you have something to ask Chad?” I prompt Joe. After a quick kiss he turns to the other man.

“Will you move in with us?” he asks.

“In a heartbeat,” Chad replies before the two embrace each other, in public, unashamed.

“Good,” Joe says on an exhale when he finally pulls away. And then offering me his hand, he tells Chad and me, “Let’s go home.”

Joe

I walk into my normally loud, crazy house that’s strangely silent. Katie’s car is in the driveway so I know she picked up Drew from preschool and they’re home, and Chad's Camaro is also out front. It’s just too...quiet. That’s when I finally notice the note with “Daddy” written front and center, standing up on the middle of the living room coffee table.

Throwing my suit jacket over the arm of the couch, I pick up and open the piece of paper that says in Drew’s handwriting with blue crayon, “We’ve got a surprise for you, Daddy! Come find us in the backyard!”

A surprise? It’s September, so not even close to my birthday in March. Shit, did I forget our anniversary? No it’s not until February. Drew’s birthday is in November, Katie’s is in May, Chad's is in December and Audrina’s first birthday isn’t until January. So I haven’t missed anything there. Still puzzling over it, I walk through the kitchen and step out through the back door.

“Surprise!” All our friends and family are standing in the yard, smiles on their faces. Tyler and Jess with their twin girls. Lauren and Caleb, who still can’t keep their hands off each other. Dylan and Jules with her pregnant belly starting to show. And of course, Lacy, Will, and Audrina are out here with Chad, Katie, and Drew. Clearly I'm missing something.

“Um, hi everyone. What’s going on?” I ask, looking to Chad and then Katie, who's holding Audrina.

“Here, your daughter wants to tell you since Drew got to write the note,” Katie says with a smile. I hold my arms out for my girl who mutters “Da-da” when I take her.

“Hey, baby girl,” I kiss her cheek, thinking she’s grown since I saw her just last weekend.

After the prison escape coverage, Lacy had a ton of job offers. She accepted one here, so she and Will could move back to Greensboro. Will easily transferred to the local Daughtry plant to run their IT network. They wanted to be closer to Will’s family, and of course, I was ecstatic knowing I would get to spend so much more time with my daughter since they’d only be minutes away instead of hours.

“Bay-Bay,” Audrina babbles, and everyone in the yard goes still and silent like it’s her first word or something. She’s only eight months old, but she’s been saying a few words for months now. “Bay-bay, bay-bay, bay-bay.”

“I have no idea what bay-bay is, but you’re really cute saying it. And you look so grown up in your little tutu and-”

I hold her out at an arm’s length to read the glittery pink and purple words on her white shirt that matches her tiny skirt. It says, “I’m the big sister.” I consider it for several seconds but figure Lacy just bought the shirt because it matches the pink and purple frilly bottoms. Then she says “bay-bay” again.

“Baby?” I ask aloud. When I look over at Katie and Chad again, they both laugh before he says, “Finally! I thought you were quicker than that, counselor.”

“So she’s saying baby?” I ask. “So the shirt…you’re pregnant!” I exclaim when it finally hits me.

“I’m pregnant,” Katie replies. “She’s telling you that when the baby comes, she’s gonna be a big sister.”

Drew looks up, and asks, “Daddy, am I gonna have another sister or can I have a brother this time?”

I laugh and bend down to give him a hug. “Well, buddy, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

I stand up and reach for Katie, pulling her to me with my free arm. After I kiss her, I start my direct examination. “How far along? When are you due? Are you feeling okay?” There are a million questions coming to me.

“Six weeks, so I’m due May tenth, and I feel great.”

“And this one is definitely mine?” I ask with a smile, still holding Audrina on my hip while rubbing Katie’s lower belly. Just a few months ago, Katie and I agreed that she should come off her birth control pills, so we could start trying. Since then, Chad's been required to wear condoms while I try to knock my wife up. Sure, the three of us aren't in a traditional relationship, but we're all happy, so that's the only thing that matters to us.

Katie blushes before she answers. "Ninety-nine percent chance it's yours.” Right, because condoms leave that one percent chance of leaking or breaking. I'll take those odds any day.

“Thank God!” I say before kissing her again, and then Chad and Lacy. 

In a way, it sometimes feels like I lucked up and got several families instead of just one. There’s more love in my life than I ever thought possible. And now, we’ve got a little more love on the way.

The End