by Jamie Hill
"Hey!" She hugged her sister as Dean came through the door that evening, loaded with gifts. It was the first time they'd seen each other since Dean flew in from Chicago the night before. "You look fabulous!"
"Hey, sweetie!" Dean deposited her packages and hugged her back. "Me? Look at you! Two kids and skinny as ever, except for them big baby boobs! God, your husband must love it when you're nursing."
"No complaints," Natalie replied, and they giggled and hugged again.
Dean pulled back and looked Natalie in the eye. "There never were. Oh lord, you two are still hot and heavy, aren't you? You'd think two kids might put a damper on all that lust."
"Nah!" Natalie held her sister by the arms. "But look at you! A new, layered haircut, fancy clothes…holy cow, Dean, you've gone big city on me!"
Dean shrugged and reached out to Alex for a hug. "Oh, you know, when in Rome… Hey, brother-in-law."
"Hey, Dean, you do look great." Alex squeezed her.
"Why thank you, darling." She turned back to Natalie. "The ponytail thing just wasn't working for me anymore."
Natalie adjusted her own ponytail, and Dean added hurriedly, "Not that it doesn't work for you, sweetheart. You always look great." She glanced at Alex. "Doesn't she always look great?"
Alex smiled at his wife. "Absolutely."
Dean grinned slyly. "And of course, it works for Sam."
Natalie groaned and turned toward the door. "Speaking of which, where are they?"
Dean rolled her eyes. "Sam had to drive his car. They'll be along shortly, if they didn't get trapped under the mistletoe again."
"What?" Natalie asked, horrified.
"Christ, you should have been there last night." Dean took off her jacket and threw it on the back of a chair. "They had this not-so-private-argument about whether Sam should spend the night with me there. Mom was against it, of course, but Sam won out. I had to turn the TV up really loud to drown out the noise they were making."
"No!" Natalie hollered, and Alex laughed.
He pulled her into his arms. "Face it, sweetie, your mother is all grown up."
She plugged her ears. "I refuse to listen to this!"
"You're lucky you didn't have to listen last night!" Dean rolled her eyes dramatically. "So where are my beautiful niece and nephew?"
"Right this way." Natalie led her sister into the living room where the children were playing.
"Oh my God! Look at you, magnificent girl!" Dean swept Gigi into her arms.
"Ant De! Ant De!" Gigi squealed excitedly.
"She's saying my name!" Dean hugged the child. "I knew you were going to be intelligent." She looked at Natalie. "She gets that from our side of the family."
Natalie made a face at Dean, who realized what she had said. "Oh geez, I didn't mean…Christ!"
"It's okay," Natalie hugged her sister and daughter, and added in a whisper, "It's great, in fact. It means you forgot." She touched the curls on her daughter's head. "Alex is her father. She gets her stubbornness from his side of the family."
"Absolutely," Dean agreed, looking relieved that her slip hadn't caused Natalie discomfort.
Dean set Gigi down and picked up David. "What a big boy you are! Oh, and handsome! Look at that dark hair!"
"Did someone mention handsome?" Alex smiled as he entered the room.
"Your children are incredible!" Dean nuzzled the baby. "Of course I told Nat, they get their intelligence and good looks from our side of the family."
"Of course," he agreed, and smiled as Natalie slid her arms around his waist and gave him a squeeze. "Your mother and Sam just pulled up."
"I can't bear to look at them!" Natalie muttered, but went to the door and opened it anyway.
"Merry Christmas!" Jane stepped in, laden with packages and a big smile.
"Merry Christmas, Mom." Natalie hugged her mother and took some of the gifts from her. "Let me help you."
"Thanks, hon." Jane hugged Alex next and said, "Merry Christmas, Alex!"
"Merry Christmas, Jane. Wow, you shouldn't have. You always do too much." He moved the packages under the tree.
"It's Christmas!" Jane shrugged and laughed giddily.
"Like we weren't sure about that," Dean muttered under her breath, and Natalie nudged her.
Sam took off his coat and handed it to Alex, saying, "The decorations on the house look good, boy. You've got a few bulbs burnt out on the roof, though."
Alex took the coat. "Well, I guess they're going to stay that way until next year. Once they're up, they're up."
Sam put the pipe, which he rarely lit, between his teeth and waved a finger at Alex. "Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Remember that."
"I'll try," Alex promised, and looked to Natalie for help.
She caught her husband's glance and stepped up. "So Sam, will you get to see your son over the holidays?"
"His mother took him skiing this year," Sam replied, referring to his fourteen-year old boy who lived in New Mexico. "I'm thinking about flying out there for a week after New Year's, to spend a little time with him before the new semester starts."
"That sounds nice," Natalie agreed. She thought it was weird that a fifty-eight year old man had a son that young, but it didn't seem to bother anyone else. Her mother had met the boy, and apparently, they got along fine.
"Something smells wonderful!" Jane stuck her head into the kitchen. "Can I help?"
"Yes." Natalie grabbed both her mother and sister by the arms and told Alex, "We'll go finish up dinner, if you gentlemen will keep an eye on the children."
"You got it," Alex told her. "Come on in, Sam, have a seat."
They had a pleasant dinner and opened packages afterward. Gigi was exhausted after her third round of Christmas gifts, and when it was over, she collapsed into Alex's arms and fell asleep.
"Too much Christmas." Jane fawned over her granddaughter.
"Yep." Alex rubbed the child's back. "She's had it."
"It's been a lovely day." Natalie smiled at her husband and daughter.
"It has for us, too." Jane practically beamed at Sam.
He squeezed her hand.
Natalie sensed an announcement and stood up rapidly. "I need to feed David and put him down." She looked at Dean. "Keep me company?"
"Sure." Her sister stood and followed her into the other room.
"I should probably put Geege down, too," Alex hoisted up the girl. "Excuse us, please."
"Need any help?" Jane stood and kissed the sleeping child's forehead.
"Nah, thanks, you two just relax out here for a few minutes. We'll be right back."
"She's a beautiful little girl." Sam stood next to them and spoke to Alex as he touched Gigi's hair gently. "Pretty as her mama, but I think she looks more like you."
Alex gave Jane a slight nod. "I think so, too. Be right back."
He changed Gigi's diaper and put her in pajamas without waking her. He tucked her into her crib and kissed her goodnight. "I love you, sweetheart," Alex whispered softly, and pulled her bedroom door closed.
In the hallway, he rapped once on David's door before sticking his head in. "Gigi's down. How we doing in here?"
"Almost finished," Natalie told him.
"Hurry on out. You mother looks like she bursting to tell some news."
"I know!" Natalie looked horrified at him then at Dean. "Do you know anything about this?"
Dean shook her head, laughing. "I swear to you, I don't. But Christ, they might as well make it legal. Course I'm not sure what they were doing last night is legal in all fifty states, anyway."
"Stop it!" Natalie pulled the sleepy baby from her breast and passed him to Dean. "Burp him, would you?" She refastened her bra and adjusted her sweater.
Alex watched her admiringly for a moment. "I'm afraid you'd better get used to the idea. Just keep telling yourself that you want her to be happy."
"He's so weird, Alex!" she whispered in hushed tones.
Alex grinned and pulled her into his arms. "
You don't have to live with him."
Natalie snuggled up to her husband and sighed. "I guess. I could never live with a guy whose ponytail is longer than mine, anyway." David let out a large burp, and Natalie muttered, "You got that right, kiddo."
They all laughed.
"Now that it's just us adults, we brought some champagne to celebrate," Jane announced when they were all in the living room again.
"What are we celebrating, Jane?" Alex took the bottle from her.
She looked at him then from one daughter to the other. "Sam asked me to marry him, and I said yes!"
"Congratulations, Mom." Dean gave Jane a matter-of-fact hug.
"You don't seem surprised," Jane said.
Dean shrugged. "What surprise? You've been goofy all evening, we knew something was up."
Jane reached out to hug Natalie. "Did you know, too?"
Natalie had a look of shocked pleasantness plastered on her face. "We, uh, suspected," she admitted.
Alex knew that deep down, she truly hoped there had been another surprise afoot, like maybe they were going on a cruise or something. But apparently, no such luck. She kept the plastic smile firmly on her face.
He chuckled and hugged his mother-in-law. "I think it's wonderful. We hope you'll be very happy. Let me see if I can't open this champagne."
"Great!" Jane told him.
"I'll help!" Dean said quickly, and they left Natalie standing by Jane and Sam who were now holding hands and cooing at each other.
"Great!" Natalie repeated through barely gritted teeth.
* * * *
Jane and Sam were married the following spring. Natalie grew fonder of the professor as she watched how tenderly he treated her mother. She didn't admit it, but Alex could see she'd developed genuine feelings for the man.
He could also see how much Natalie wanted another child. He was able to hold her off until after the wedding, then house-hunting for a bigger place took several more months. But as soon as they started trying, Natalie became pregnant and was as happy as a clam for nine months.
He was their biggest baby yet. Matthew Theodore Jameson weighed in at nine pounds, six ounces.
"Holy cow!" Alex exclaimed, clutching the baby's roly-poly hand in his own. "What a big guy!" He leaned over and kissed Natalie's temple. "How are you doing, Mama?"
"Pretty good," she replied. "Glad he's here. This one wore me out."
"It was a long labor," the attending nurse chipped in. "Seventeen hours, and didn't you go awhile at home before you came to the hospital?"
"She had contractions for at least four hours at home," Alex said. He kissed her forehead again. "I'm glad it's over for you. I should go make a few calls. Do you want me to phone your mom or would you rather—" He watched her eyes roll back and grabbed the baby from her limp arms. "Natalie! Doctor!"
"Whoa, what's going on here?" The doctor returned to her side. "Natalie, wake up!" He shook her then looked at the nurse. "Hang another unit of blood, she's losing a lot and I haven't even delivered the placenta yet. Alex, step back and give us some room, would you?"
Clutching the baby to his chest, Alex took a step backward and watched the medical team work on his wife. They delivered the placenta and gave her more blood, but she still seemed groggy. He looked down at the sleeping child in his arms and prayed silently that Natalie would be all right. He wasn't an extremely religious man, but Alex couldn't imagine a God who would take her from him at this point in their lives.
It had been a difficult pregnancy, but Natalie had wanted another baby so much she rarely complained. Alex thought part of the stress was having a three-year-old and a two-year-old to take care of, and he tried to help as much as he could, but of course the lion's share of the burden was on Natalie. The doctor advised bed rest when her feet began swelling in the last month, and both their mothers helped her some each day. Dean even came up for the last week, but she was better at playing with the children then she was at actually taking care of them.
Now Alex watched as the nurse injected one thing after another into the arm of the woman he loved more than life itself, and prayed harder than he ever had before. When she finally stirred and all her vital signs had been checked, he was allowed to sit with her again.
"She's doing better," the doctor advised him, and turned to Natalie. "You had us worried there for a few minutes, young lady. We're going to keep the IV in for a while to make sure you don't get dehydrated. You should start feeling better pretty quickly."
"I do feel better." Natalie nodded then looked at Alex. "Is he okay?"
"I'm fine," Alex teased her. "Oh, you meant our son? Yeah, he's perfect. Little Matthew couldn't be better."
"Good." She sighed and closed her eyes. "I just want to rest a minute."
"Take all the time you need." Alex kissed her forehead, breathing a sigh of relief and silently thanking God. She was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine.
They kept Natalie and the baby three days in the hospital to make sure all was normal, and before she was allowed to check out, the doctor visited them one last time. "I just looked in on your boy. He's a keeper, that one."
"Oh yeah," Natalie told the doctor. "We're pretty proud of him."
He pulled up a chair and sat alongside her bed. "Natalie, I need to talk to you about something. I don't like what happened to you in the delivery room this time. Your blood pressure went off the charts and for just a moment there it was touch and go."
"That serious?" She looked at Alex, who raised his eyebrows, then looked back at the doctor.
He nodded. "Add to that the pre-eclampsia you suffered from during the last months of your pregnancy, and I have to tell you, I don't feel good about the thought of you getting pregnant again."
"Well, not right away, of course," she said, and smiled. Her smile faded when the doctor's face remained like stone. "You mean, ever?"
"Natalie, you've had three healthy children, but each pregnancy has been a little harder on you. I can't predict the future, but research indicates a significant risk of pre-eclampsia with ensuing pregnancies. I can't say that won't have a negative outcome on you, or the next baby."
"Oh my God!" She burst into tears and Alex cradled her.
"It's all right, Nat. We haven't talked about more children, anyway. I have a feeling when we get Matthew home we're going to discover three is the magic number."
"But there was always the possibility of having more children. I liked knowing there was the possibility." She sniffled and continued to cry quietly.
"I know," Alex rocked her in his arms. "But I won't do anything to risk your health. You can't imagine how I felt when you passed out in the delivery room. It was horrible, Nat, just horrible." He lifted her chin to face her. "I don't want to make this journey without you, kiddo." He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "Besides, I can't stand reading Goodnight Moon over and over again like you can."
She chuckled, and he kissed her forehead. They turned to face the doctor. "We'll keep in mind what you told us," Alex said.
"Excellent. My office will call you in a couple days to check on you, and they'll give you an appointment for six weeks. You know the drill, but any problems or questions, just call."
"Thank you." Natalie rested her head against Alex's arm.
When the doctor left, Alex helped her dress, and the nurse had her sign papers for her and Matthew's release. They watched the woman cut off Natalie's wristband and made sure the numbers matched the band on the baby's tiny wrist.
"He's ours," Alex verified, and Natalie grinned.
"I knew he was. I'd know him anywhere, already."
"He looks just like you," the nurse said, and they gathered everything to leave.
"I think he looks like his daddy." Natalie studied the baby's face as they settled her into a wheelchair.
"He's the best of both of us," Alex agreed, and kissed her cheek. "Okay, you've got the baby, the nurse has you, and I've got the suitcase and the cart with all your
flowers. That it?"
"I think so," she agreed, and smiled at him before turning her gaze on her new son.
The nurse watched them strap Matthew correctly into his car seat before she left them. Alex settled Natalie into their new minivan and headed toward home.
"Is everyone going to be there?" Natalie asked, wincing.
"Nah, my folks agreed to wait until tomorrow. Sam's working, so it'll just be Dean and your mom."
"How have they gotten along with Gigi and Davey?"
"Pretty great, it seems. Everyone was happy and content when I left this morning."
"Oh, I hope so. Gigi wasn't even used to sleeping in her new room when I went into the hospital. I hope that hasn't been a problem."
"Actually, I think Aunt Dean has been sharing a room with Geege the past few nights," Alex admitted. "I had Davey in bed with me one night, but last night he slept straight through in his big boy bed."
"Good, I hope they're adjusting."
Alex chuckled. "I hope this is the last move we'll be making. You always seem to arrange them to occur in about your eighth month of pregnancy, when all you can do is direct traffic."
Natalie pouted. "Then I guess this is our last move."
He glanced at her. "I'm sorry, Nat. I didn't mean anything. I know how hard you're taking what the doctor told us today."
"I just can't believe this is our last baby." She glanced back at the sleeping child. "This is the last time we'll be bringing a baby home from the hospital."
"Natalie," he chided gently. "Don't make yourself crazy thinking about 'lasts'. Enjoy Matthew. He's three days old, for crissakes! We have a lot of 'firsts' ahead of us. Let's dwell on those for a while."
"You're right, of course," she said quietly. "He's a beautiful baby, and we have a beautiful huge new house, a beautiful daughter who has nightmares about horses galloping through her room, and a beautiful son who stays dry every day and wets the bed every night."
Alex grinned as he reached over to squeeze her hand. "So we got that going for us, which is nice."
Natalie burst into laughter as he recited the movie line from their first date, and she grabbed a tissue from her purse to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Oh lord, you still crack me up. Was that really five years ago?"