“Happy Birthday, baby,” Kerrigan answers.
“Damn right, happy birthday. I love my gift,” I smile.
“You do? I’m sorry I didn’t give you something better.”
“Kerrigan, I want this gift for every birthday, Christmas, and Valentine’s day. You can never go wrong with nude photos. Ever.”
“Okay, good. So, I guess you’ll like the other gift I got you.” She got me something else?
“Yeah? What is it?” I ask and I watch Kerrigan stand up and slip her robe off. Dear God.
“Look what you’re doing to me.” I stand up and undo my pants.
“I can’t wait to slide down your dick again,” she says while slipping her hands between her slit. Yep. Getting lucky tonight. Best Birthday ever.
Chapter 22
Maddox
We’re one month away from the trial. I can’t wait to get this over with and get my very pregnant girl here for good. Kerrigan is staying here with me until she delivers. She and our son will return to Kentucky after he turns six weeks. She wants to see the wedding she is planning until the end. And I want her to have that because she has worked so hard for it. We asked for and were granted a pushback on the trial. Luckily, everyone agreed that having her on the stand so close to delivery wasn’t a good idea.
It’s been so nice coming home every day to my girlfriend. I want to say wife, so I’ve decided to ask her to marry me tonight. I don’t want to wait any longer. I want a ring on her finger because once her pregnant belly is gone; there will be nothing to warn the other men that she’s taken.
When I open the door, the apartment smells amazing. And there she is, barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Maybe Kentucky is rubbing off on her. I smile. If it did rub off on her, I’m glad. I can now see my future clearly: Kerrigan as my wife, with our kids running around. I’m not crazy like Noah. They just found out they are having another. I think Kerrigan and I will stop at two. We’ve not talked about the number, but of course, if she wants a dozen, then well, who am I to complain? I walk up behind her like I often do. I rub her belly to tell my son hi, but then I have to greet my girl. I lower my hands and slip them into her panties. It never gets old. Her taste, her reaction to me, and my reaction to her.
“You’re going to cause me to burn dinner,” Kerrigan moans.
“Fuck it. There’s take out.” It’s a shame that whatever she is cooking will go to waste, but I need to be inside her. I turn off the burners and take her to the bedroom.
It’s difficult finding a position this late in a pregnancy. We’ve had to get creative. Tonight I just pull her to the edge of the bed. I drop my pants and push inside her. Kerrigan hikes up off the bed while her pussy greets my dick. I don’t know why her stomach turns me on so much, but it does. I get a steady rhythm going. I place my thumb on her clit and circle it while I push harder and deeper inside her.
Kerrigan
I was really looking forward to the stuffed mushrooms tonight, but I can’t tell Maddox no. I don’t want to either. I mean Maddox is amazing. Watching him thrust back and forth with that look on his face as he is about to cum, well, it’s a major turn on. I have found that Maddox is capable of going all night—five or six times. I can’t tell you the amount of times I haven’t been able to walk right the following day. One time, he was ready for round eight but I was so swollen at that point, there was no way he was getting his dick in. He settled for a blowjob that I happily gave him. As much as he wants sex, he spends twice as much time ‘tasting’ me, as he says. I’m not complaining. When Maddox goes down on me, I can’t put into words what it feels like. It’s like the second his tongue hits my clit; he becomes greedy. He always lets out a deep growl and pushes his head closer to my pussy. It’s like he has been starved and is only eating for the first time in a month. Just thinking about it nearly sends me into the state of bliss.
Maddox keeps thrusting harder, and I’m about to climax.
“Maddox! Harder!” I yell out.
“You got it!” He winks and does exactly what I ask. When he pushes inside me, it sends me over the edge, and I start cumming. I grab onto the sheets and bite down on my lip.
“You’re fucking beautiful, babe,” Maddox says, as he pushes into me one final time before he finds his own release. I watch as that beautiful cocky grin crosses his face. When he slides out of me, I hate it. I feel empty now. I let out a groan.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“There is no better feeling than when you’re inside me.”
“Well I’m ready if you are.” He smiles and just like that, he pushes into me again.
Maddox
After our third round of sex, I call for take-out. Kerrigan is in the bath, and the moment she gets out, I’m going to put a ring on her finger. I’ve carried this ring around since the day she left for Kentucky. I’ve thought about doing it a million times, but the moment never felt right. I wanted to find a way to make it special. I realize now that Kerrigan doesn’t need a production. She needs to know she’s loved. I plan on showing her just how much I love her. It’ll be simple. It’s who I am. For some crazy reason she loves that about me.
The food has arrived, and I realize Kerrigan has been in the bathroom for over an hour. I decide to go check on her. When I walk in, I get the surprise of my life. Kerrigan is in the bath rubbing her belly and practicing her breathing.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Yes,” she responds, “I started timing my contractions, I think this is it.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”
“Well let’s get you out of the bath,” I say, suddenly in a hurry to get her to the hospital.
As I am helping her get her dressed, she leans on me to ride her contractions out.
“THIS FUCKING HURTS, MADDOX!” she screams, digging her fingernails into my back so hard that I’m sure she drew blood.
I try to hurry as fast as I can while gathering all the things we need for the hospital. I quickly send a text to Noah that the baby is on his way. We have a system in place: I text Noah and he will text everyone else. I told him not to rush because this is our first baby, and Noah says it can take hours, or days even.
“Dammit, Maddox! HURRY!”
And I do. I drive as fast as I possibly can to the hospital. When we arrive, we go straight up to labor and delivery. Kerrigan has had to stop several times because her contractions were getting stronger. I’m so panicked that I want to pick her up and run her up the stairs. Once we get there, the nurses take us to our room and get Kerrigan hooked up to the monitors. The room is your typical hospital room. It’s all sterile, which I know is what you want in a hospital room. Still, I wish it were more inviting. About thirty minutes later, the doctor comes in to check her. We find out she is only three centimeters dilated, but she is in active labor. That means we don’t have to leave like we did the first couple times, when she had Braxton Hicks contractions.
Dr. Chaney decided to go ahead and break her water. Not too much longer after that, the contractions become more painful. Kerrigan refused pain medicine. I thought she was crazy, but she said she wanted it that way. After another long seven hours of painful labor, and only progressing to six centimeters, she finally caved and got the epidural. I was relieved when she did because it was tough watching her go through that. Not to mention, I have no fingers left for her to break. I smile, feeling so proud that I am here to help her bear this pain. It’s the least I can do. She’s giving me a son. After another five hours, it’s finally time to push. I’m moments away from meeting my son. I grab her hand and place my arm under her back to help support her when she starts to push.
“Alright, Kerrigan, give me a push. We are going to count to ten,” Dr. Chaney says.
It’s killing me watching her in this much pain. She is exhausted, sweating, and her hair is a mess, but she has never looked more beautiful.
“Again, Kerrigan!”
After a few times of doing this, Ker
rigan gives up and starts crying. “Maddox, I can’t! I’m sorry. He won’t come out!”
“You can, Kerrigan. I promise, you can. Just look into my eyes and listen to my voice as I count,” I say, and she does what I ask. After we finish counting, she falls back. I decide to peek because if he isn’t close to coming out, I’m afraid Kerrigan won’t be able to handle it. When I look down, I can’t see anything. Well, I can see, but I don’t think I’m seeing what I should be seeing.
“Dr. Chaney?” I ask.
“He’s coming. I promise. Watch with the next push.”
I do as he says and holy shit, I see the top of my son’s head. After another hour of pushing, we finally hear the words we’d been waiting for.
“One more push, Kerrigan, and your son will be here.”
We get to nine, and there he is! I’m a father!
Kerrigan starts crying. I admit I had tears of joy in my eyes. It’s an overwhelming feeling of joy. I lean down to kiss her.
“Thank you, babe. Thank you. You did amazing. I’m so proud of you.” I look at Kerrigan, and she has a huge smile on her face. She is so exhausted.
“Here you go, daddy,” says the nurse, as she hands me my son. I lock eyes with the most precious thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. I can’t stop staring and smiling. Okay, and crying. I can’t wait for Kerrigan to get her first look at him, so I walk him over to her.
“Want to meet our son?” I say to Kerrigan.
When she doesn’t say anything, I look at her. Her eyes roll to the back of her head, and there is a flurry of activity around us.
“Call the OR, let them know we are coming!” shouts Dr. Chaney.
“What’s going on?” I look to everyone in the room for answers.
“Maddox, here,” says a nurse, “give me the baby. We need to check him out. We will update you when we can.”
Just like that, Kerrigan and my son are gone, and I’m left standing alone in this now cold room. What the hell is happening? What’s wrong with her? I don’t know what else to do, so I call Noah because he is the only one I know that might be able to give me answers. He answers on the first ring.
“Is he here?” Noah asks.
“Noah, please find out what’s going on. Please. They just took Kerrigan to surgery.”
“Of course. What happened?”
“She just delivered our son. I went to show her our baby, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yes, he’s perfect. What’s wrong with Kerrigan?”
“It could be a number of things. I’ll call and see what I can find out. I’ll call you back.”
I wait for what seems like forever, but in reality, it was only maybe five minutes when Noah calls.
“What’s going on?” I ask
“Kerrigan has what they call ‘postpartum hemorrhage’,” Noah explains. “In most cases, the doctor can manually stop it, meaning massaging the belly to help deliver the placenta. Once Dr. Chaney delivered the placenta, the bleeding continued. She has a cervical laceration. They are giving her blood transfusions. Most of the time they work, but you should be aware they may have to do a hysterectomy.”
“All I care about is...is Kerrigan going to die?” I am barely able to utter the words.
“Shit, Maddox, it’s possible. But that is highly, and when I say highly, I mean highly, unlikely.”
I just hang up. I don’t know what else to do.
I pace the floor of the hospital for about thirty minutes, thinking of all we’ve been through. We both finally found happiness. She has overcome so much. Please, God, don’t take my wife. I know technically she isn’t my wife, but I don’t need a legal document that says she is. I might not have said any vows, but I don’t need to. I just know that I’d love her for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until dea– NO. God, that can’t happen.
Finally, the nurse comes in. “You want to sit and wait with your son?” I nod because I want nothing more than to be with the gift Kerrigan has given me. Kerrigan and I had tossed around names but couldn’t come to an agreement. I couldn’t agree to the name Kerrigan picked out. Holden Maddox Stone and she was serious. I laughed when I first heard it. Right now, it seems so small in the scheme of things. It’s possible my son will grow up without his mother. When I walk into the nursery, they bring him to me, and I tear up. There is so much emotion. I’m so overwhelmed with the love I feel for my son. I never knew how much love a heart could hold. I’m scared I might not see Kerrigan again. What will I tell Holden? Will he blame himself for his mother’s death? I won’t allow that to happen. Even in this terrifying time, I know my son is not to blame. I sit, rocking him in my arms for about twenty minutes, when Noah walks in. Noah? I’m bursting with pride and at the same time, dying with fear. I walk Holden over to him.
“Thank you for coming,” I say.
“Of course. Can I hold him?” he asked. I don’t want to let him go, but I do.
“Sit down, Maddox,” Noah says in a professional tone. He knows something I don’t.
“No, just tell me, Noah.”
“Kerrigan is going to be fine,” he says. I let out a long relieved breath. “They had to do a hysterectomy, though.”
My heart sinks to my stomach. Knowing the decision to have more children was taken out of our hands; my heart hurts for her. But Kerrigan is going to be fine—that’s all that matters. Holden will have his mom. We can and will get through this.
The nurses tried to take Holden, but I refused. He is going to be the first thing his mother sees when she wakes up. It’s another four long hours before she wakes up. I watch as she looks around and tries to place things.
“What happened?” she asks.
“You had a lot of bleeding,” I reply. “They took you to surgery.” She looks around and finally realizes her son is in my arms.
“Is that him?” she asks.
“It is” I walk over and place him onto her chest. She starts crying and I join her. The love on her face is priceless and a look I will never forget.
“Kerrigan?”
“Yeah?” She looks up at me with her beautiful eyes.
“Babe, they couldn’t stop the bleeding. They had to do a hysterectomy.”
“We can’t have any more kids?” she asks with sadness.
“No, babe. I’m sorry.”
“No, no sorrys. We have a perfect son. I’m all right, really. It’s all right. A year ago, I thought none of this was possible. I mean it. I’m good.” She says it with such honesty that I don’t give it another thought to not having any more children. She’s right. We have what we need right here in this room.
“Yes. Holden is perfect.” I say with a laugh.
Smiling, she asks, “You’re agreeing to Holden?”
“Well, yes. You gave me this gift. It’s what you want. I’m fine with it.”
“You’re wrong, Maddox. You gave me this gift. Meet Eli Maddox Stone,” she says.
“You sure?” I ask.
“Yes.”
I smile down at Eli and Kerrigan. All is right in this world.
Chapter 23
Kerrigan
The day is finally here; the one I used to dread. But I’m ready. Ready to face Aaron in court. He needs to know that I’m happy, that I’m strong and he is nothing to me. Right now, I’m standing outside the courtroom with Maddox, waiting my turn.
“You can do this babe. Just look at me.”
“I know. I’m just ready for all of this to be over.” Maddox smiles, leans down to kiss me and whispers, "I love you."
The bailiff opens the door and calls me in. I grasp Maddox’s hand and hold on. As I walk into the courtroom, I stare straight at Evan, who is giving me a reassuring look. I head to the witness stand and raise my right hand, swearing to tell the truth. The whole truth. I sit down and swallow the fear that's starting to rise. It’s not Aaron that I fear. It’s Maddox hearing everything.
The defense atto
rney starts and most of the questions don’t bother me. They’re easy to answer. How did Aaron and I meet? How long did we date before moving in together? Those sorts of things. I still haven’t looked at Aaron yet; I just focus on Maddox and Evan. Looking at Maddox helps me draw strength. He nods and winks to reassure me he's there. I do notice, that once my eyes break contract with his, he's staring daggers at the back of Aaron’s head.
“Miss Andrews, isn’t it true that Mr. Reeves caught you in several lies during your relationship?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“What about the day you told Aaron you were going to work. Did he find you with Maddox Stone?”
“Yes. But I…”
“No need to explain. It was a simple yes or no,” Mr. hotshot attorney says.
“Is it true that Mr. Reeves caught you and Maddox Stone hiding out at the Police Officer's Ball?”
“We weren’t hiding. I was leaving the bathroom.”
“It just happened to be the same time Mr. Stone was leaving the bathroom?”
“Yes.”
“And Miss Andrews, did you and Maddox Stone just have a baby?”
“Yes.” I can’t help it; I smile.
“Miss Andrews, you told Mr. Reeves about an incident in high school. One that included allegations of rape and almost rape.”
“Yes.”
“Did you press charges then?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I was young and embarrassed. And they didn’t rape me,” I say, getting pissed.
“But according to you, they did rape your friend.”
“Yes.”
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