by Ali Vali
"Welcome home Jack," was Harry’s only response. At hearing his name, Jack yawned and gave a small cry. Desi untied the top of her gown and gave him what he wanted. The door opened slightly and Rachel stuck her head in and asked to come in for a minute.
"I promise I won’t take long, but I wanted to see my nephew before I went home. Serena is waiting at home with Butch and I had to get a look so I could describe him." The room was dark and quiet, the only sounds were the small sucking noise that Jack was making as he enjoyed his first meal.
"Come here Runt and meet your nephew Jack," said Harry.
"Oh my God, he’s so cute," said Rachel. For that one moment all the adults in the room forgot about the danger that was coming their way. Byron and his family seemed a million miles from them.
Harry sat in the rocking chair next to the bed and propped her feet on the bed leaning back to get some sleep. The dawn came but went unnoticed by the small family sleeping in the room. Desi was sleeping holding on to a socked foot while Jack slept on the side of Harry in a small bassinet the nurse had brought in for him. Both women were instantly alert when they heard the loud cry a short time later.
"Thank the gods you didn’t carry this bruiser to term Desi. He was two weeks shy of full term and still managed to weigh eight pounds two ounces," said Harry leaning over to pick Jack up. "I think someone is hungry isn’t that right Jack?"
Desi held him against her and fed him as they were both cradled against Harry’s chest. When she was done Harry changed Jack’s diaper and put him back in the bassinet to help Desi into the bathroom. Even though there was no chance that the baby was going to fall out of the bed, it made Desi smile to see Harry rolling their son in after them. When they stepped back into the room Harry took the opportunity to hug Desi to her and not have the large bulge in the way of her squeezing her partner tight.
"At it again?" asked Mona from the door. Their housekeeper had come prepared with a breakfast from home knowing the Harry wasn’t a big fan of hospital food.
"I’m making up for lost time. Come here and meet my son Mona," said Harry not letting go of Desi.
"Unless you are forgetting the little woman in front of you bonehead, I’ll come in and meet y’all’s son." Mona put her package on the bed and moved to the bassinet. The old sure hands picked up the small bundle that was wearing a blue stocking cap and held him against her chest and closed her eyes. Mona sat with him in the rocking chair and unwrapped the blanket from around Jack and just looked at him. "What’s your name little boy?" asked Mona in a singsong voice.
"Jackson Harry Basantes," answered Desi. The smile on Mona’s face was almost as bright as the one on Harry’s from the warmth in Desi’s voice.
"Welcome home Jackson Basantes," said Mona. If there had been any lingering doubts about Harry’s heart and how safe it was in the hands of Desiree, the little baby Mona held against her ample chest put those to rest. Not that people who didn’t love each other didn’t bring children into the world, but the identical looks she saw in the young faces staring at her told her this little guy was not a mistake. He was an extension of the love Harry and Desi shared.
Before Mona got too comfortable the room filled up with both families wanting to get their first look at the new addition. By late that afternoon Desi was holding Jack up to her shoulder to get him to go to sleep while Harry finished up in the shower. Running her hand over the tiniest green scrub suit she had ever seen, Desi smiled remembering Raul handing her the bag in exchange for his grandson. The tears that had come all day started again as Desi thought about the proud looks on Harry’s parents’ faces when they sat and admired the baby. In a small way it was Desi’s way of making up for all the pain that she had caused their own child with the choices she had made years before. Harry had never shared what she had gone through with her parents not wanting to prejudice their feelings when it came to Desi. For the longest time Desi didn’t quite believe that until she sat and had a long talk with Tony about it as she packed for her first trip to Florida with Harry.
"She’s going to hate me isn’t she?" asked Desi. The bag in the corner represented Harry’s quick packing job that morning before heading to the hospital. So far hers was three times the size and still Desi was adding to it.
"No she isn’t girl, stop worrying. Maria doesn’t know what happened between the two of you. What’s got your panties all in a twist sweetie?" Tony asked as he held up a pair of Desi’s silk dark blue underwear.
"I find it hard to believe that the Maria Basantes I remember would not have asked what happened when I suddenly disappeared and Harry got depressed, Anthony." Desi snatched the pair of panties he was twirling on his finger and shoved it back in her bag. She wasn’t aggravated with Tony but she had to take her bad mood out on someone.
"Believe it baby. Not about the asking part, the mother hen does plenty of that, but Harry threatened us with bodily harm if we said anything. For a long time she tried to convince Harry about the virtues of finding someone who would appreciate her. Well tall, dark and hard headed didn’t go for it and it drove Maria into the city every so often to try and reason with her. I just think Maria didn’t want Harry to go through life alone. Then along comes Miss Serena and I thought Maria would volunteer to have children for them, but our esteemed attorney didn’t have the staying power you did Desi girl," explained Tony. The look of open jealously that crossed Desi’s face told him that this was still a sore subject with the small blonde across from him. He reached across and took one of Desi’s hands in his and pulled her to sit on the bed.
"I can’t compete with her Tony."
"You don’t have to love. Serena is beautiful, successful and she loved Harry to distraction."
"Thanks you are making me feel so much better," laughed Desi throwing her hands in the air.
"Let me finish. Serena was all those things Desi, but the one thing she wasn’t was you.
Harry’s mind was made up so long ago that if she had settled down with Serena or anyone else it would have been a case of just that, settling. I hope that makes sense to you at all? What she felt for you, and still does, is something you could write some sappy romance novel about. Instead of feeling sad about what happened, you should feel glad that Dr. Basantes didn’t give up on her dreams, because my little hayseed, her dreams were all about you."
"Thank you," Desi whispered over the baby’s head. Maria had welcomed her back with arms wide open once she had seen the smile on Harry’s face from the minute they stepped off the plane. Desi remembered the week as a learning experience of all things Harry, and laughing at the odd combinations the tall doctor liked to eat.
"For what?" asked Harry stepping out of the bathroom toweling off her hair. She had just gotten back from rounds in the hospital, comfortable in leaving Desi and Jack in the room with their collection of friends and family. Jack’s pediatrician, Kenneth had made a room call and declared the little guy healthy and extremely cute, so he had been allowed to stay in their room.
"For loving us so much and for giving me and Jack such a wonderful place to go home to." Harry pulled the towel down around her shoulders and watched her family lounging on the bed. She nodded her head at Desi’s pantomimed question as to if the baby was asleep, then moved to pick him up and put him into the bassinet. Once Harry had him covered and had kissed his forehead, she moved to the larger bed in the room to follow the crooked finger aimed at her.
"It is my pleasure loving the two of you baby," answered Harry. Desi pushed Harry onto her back so that she could snuggle up to her side resting her head on the broad slightly damp shoulder.
"Speaking of home, when do we get to go back there?" The staff had been more than accommodating to Desi, but she was anxious to start enjoying the baby at their own place.
"If you promise to be good and not strain yourself I’ll send you home tonight," said Ellie from the door. Her partner was trailing behind her and moved to the baby she had heard so much about from the nursing staff while Ellie finis
hed her conversation.
"Really?" asked Desi.
"Really. I figure you have Dr. Harry, Maria and Mona. If that list of characters doesn’t keep you in line, I see a prison sentence in your future," answered Ellie. Her comment didn’t get the laugh she thought it would and Ellie wondered about the suddenly grim look on Desi’s face. It was the first time she had thought about Byron and his family since the labor pains had begun and not hearing anything new, Desi guessed that they had not been found yet.
Harry felt Desi stiffen over her and jumped in before Ellie could dig herself in deeper. "Don’t worry about Desi, she’ll be fine. With everything happening in our lives I’m sure we would all feel more comfortable at home," Harry directed the comments to Ellie. With two fingers she gently moved Desi’s head up until she could see the green eyes that still held a touch of fear in them and spoke more gently. "I am not going to let anything happen to you or Jack baby, so stop worrying about that. Byron and his goony family will have an easier time getting to meet the President than they will getting close to you. I’m going to get us checked out and bring the car around, how’s that sound?"
"That sounds like the best plan I’ve ever heard. I love you honey and I believe you." Desi pulled Harry’s head down and kissed her.
"Would you girls keep my partner company for a minute while I run out to the garage and get the car?" In less than an hour Harry had taken care of their paperwork and pulled up to the front of the hospital to pick up Desi and Jack. Ellie and Sam stood behind the wheelchair the blonde was sitting in holding Jack and wheeled the two outside as soon as the Range Rover pulled up to the curb.
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"Get in and make it fast," said Dexter as the van he was driving pulled into the deserted garage. The four men dressed only in their underwear came running out of the woods and into the back as soon as Tyrell recognized his friend behind the wheel. Dexter had stolen a moving rental van as soon as the business closed down so that the police hopefully wouldn’t be looking for it until morning. By then he would have it parked back in the lot with only the mileage as a clue that it had been used.
"Hey man thanks for doing this for me," said Tyrell sitting in the back as Dexter slowly pulled back out onto the road.
"No problem. Hey I guessed at some sizes and there’s some clothes back there. The blue bag is your stuff Ty, your little bit sent it to you."
Tyrell was looking forward to seeing his sister without a bunch of guards looking on. In his time behind Angola’s walls Diana had not had much opportunity to come and see him because of the difficulty of traveling in her condition, but had written to her brother every week. It made him angry that even though she couldn’t move her legs, his sister was still in constant pain after the accident that had left her paralyzed. "Thanks."
"No need Ty, she misses you man. She didn’t want to see you get out like this and be hunted forever but she is going to take what life gives her and deal." Byron listened to the conversation trying to figure out who the two friends were talking about. Sitting in the woods all day Tyrell had never mentioned some woman waiting for him at home, nor did he tell them the name of the friend that was picking them up and bringing them back into the city. Tyrell had listened though, to both Byron and his father, talk about the women that had been to blame for them being in jail. Their escape had to do with payback, but his was to look after his sister. One person that the younger Byron talked about captured Tyrell’s attention, that person was someone named Harry. This doctor that Byron hated so much was the first person Tyrell was going to find and barter with once he was back in town.
They traveled the rest of the way in silence, the fugitives falling asleep almost immediately to the droning sound of the tires. They had been moving almost constantly from the moment they sprinted out of the bathroom and through the back gate into the swamp.
In the early morning before dawn, Dexter pulled into an empty parking lot in downtown New Orleans and pulled out a large pistol from his waistband. Tyrell nodded his head and got out of the passenger side to open the back of the panel van. As soon as the door opened, all three Simoneauxs woke up and looked out to see Tyrell standing by the back door in a dark t-shirt and jeans. The three of them were wearing differing outfits that smelled like Dexter had found them on the sale rack at some thrift store but it beat the alternative.
"Get out and forget you ever met me," ordered Tyrell. Dexter and he had decided to drop them off someplace far away from their own destination. If the three got caught, they wouldn’t have much to say about how they had gotten there and where Tyrell had disappeared.
"I ain’t getting out here big man," said the younger Byron. The middle of the city was not where he wanted to get out of the van. By sunrise the place would be crawling with workers and cops.
"I think the man asked you all polite and all to get out of the van," said Dexter cocking the nickel plated pistol in his hand and holding it out in front of him. Mike was the first one out, followed by his brother and father. Before they could lodge any more complaints the yellow Ryder van pulled away and turned at the corner.
"Let’s go home and have a talk with your mother boys." Byron Sr. turned in the direction of their old address and started walking, expecting his sons to follow him. After he administered an adequate punishment for Monique’s sins, Byron was thinking of heading toward his garage and seeing how things were running.
"I’m not going to fucking tell you again daddy, she is gone. You fucking killed her and that’s the end of the story. Now let’s find someplace to hide until I can think of what we need to do next," said Byron. The mistake of not having left his father back in Angola was coming back to bite him in the ass now. Staying in a group and not getting caught was going to be difficult enough without having to drag a crazy old shit with them.
"How about we head toward the French Quarter? It’s Friday so it should be crowded by tonight and during the day today we can hang out by the river," suggested Mike. Maybe I can grab a burger before we get sent back and put in some hole for doing this, thought Mike as he watched Byron nod his head.
"Great idea Mikey. There may be hope for you yet little brother." As the two young men walked in the opposite direction their father had been headed the one thought that ran through Byron’s head was, "Where are you Dr. Basantes, and are you ready to see me?" In the van that was miles away from them the same thought ran through Tyrell’s mind. The tall surgeon was someone he was looking forward to meeting.
Comments to: [email protected]
All It Took Was You
by
Ali Vali
Special Note. I wanted to thank Raven for helping me with this part and changing some of the story line.
Part 5
The first two weeks of Jack’s life were spent at home relaxing in the rooms upstairs. Harry had taken the time off and was starting to get the hang of parenthood, though the thought of going into surgery with only four hours of sleep a night was making her head spin. Desi promised her that when the time came she would buy Harry some earplugs and hope for the best. Serena had kept them updated on the manhunt going on from New Orleans to the gates of Angola, but so far it was as if the swamp had swallowed the four remaining men whole and it was not ready to give them up.
Mona had been acting as secretary for Harry as well as cook for the family since Dr. Basantes had turned off her beeper the minute they stepped through the door with the baby. The two sets of grandparents were enjoying their short babysitting stints when the girls squeezed in a nap, and the hospital and medical school had called only in cases of drastic emergencies for phone consultations, knowing that Harry wasn’t going to leave the house under any circumstances.
Harry’s medical offices ran as scheduled with other attendants seeing the patients that couldn’t be rescheduled and the easy work load had allowed all her employees to come by the house and meet Jack. The clinic phones had gotten busier toward the
end of the second week since the patients knew Harry was due back by then, so it wasn’t suspicious to Irma the receptionist when a man called Friday afternoon trying to schedule an appointment with the tall doctor.
"When will she back?"
"She should be back in the office Monday morning sir. Would you like for me to check and see when the first available appointment is for?" asked Irma.
"I really need to see her before then if it’s possible."
"Well sir it’s Friday afternoon now, so Monday is your best bet unless you want to go out to the free clinic at the Desire Housing Development tomorrow. Dr. Basantes is helping a friend administer free immunizations tomorrow." Irma looked at the appointment book for Monday’s schedule and went on, not realizing that the free information she had just given out was exactly the opportunity he was looking for. "How about Monday at three in the afternoon Mr. ?" The only answer Irma got was the dial tone from the other end signaling the man had hung up.
Harry took the steps two at a time after finishing her run on the treadmill in the workout room. It had taken her waking Jack up a couple of times before Desi had exiled her from the room to burn off some energy. Harry had found that their son had the same effect on her as his mother when it came to physical contact. She loved looking at him as he tried to focus on her face when she was talking to him, and she loved the way he felt in her arms when she held him. Going back to work was going to be a nightmare.
Stepping quietly into the room, Harry saw both Desi and Jack in the bed taking a nap. Desi was on her back with a hand on the baby lying next to her. When she heard the shower running Desi opened her eyes and smiled. At least she’s learning.. The recovering blonde figured the baby would be spoiled rotten in a month’s time if Harry kept up at the rate she was going, not that she was fairing any better in the holding him category. It was so much nicer to hold him while he slept that it was a struggle to let go of him when naptime rolled around.