Brothers & Best Friends

by Rose, Ashley

  “Here it comes, Janine,” he whispered into her ear. A moment later, he came, a long groan escaping his lips and finding itself hot against Janine’s neck. Balancing himself against the desk, Jess took a few moments to catch his breath, then gently pulled Janine to the bed, folding her up in his arms.

  “I love you so much,” he said.

  She snuggled into him. “I love you, too.”

  ***

  Over the next couple weeks, Jess thought about what Janine had said that day about missing John, although he never talked to her about it again. It really wasn't fair to keep Janine from her family, and he wished there was something he could do to make it better.

  On February 27th, half an hour before Jess was supposed to get off work, Alicia called to tell him that Janine's water had just broken and they were taking her to the hospital.

  He stood rooted to the spot, speechless for a moment, then stammered that he would be there soon.

  On the way to the hospital, he called Scott to ask for a favor.

  Janine's labor didn't go as easily as the pregnancy had, and twenty-three hours later she was still pushing.

  "I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't do it," she said, shaking her head, her face red and streaked with tears. "He doesn't want to come out."

  "You're doing great," Jess assured her, for no reason except that the nurse had told him to keep telling her that.

  Another contraction hit and she tried not to scream, her face scrunching up in pain that made Jess grimace.

  "Are you sure she's okay?" he asked the doctor.

  "He's almost here, Janie, keep pushing," the doctor said.

  "Really?" she asked, relief in her voice.

  Nodding and glancing up briefly over his glasses, he told her, "I can see his head. I need you to push for me, okay?"

  After a labored breath, she pushed again, and just a few minutes later the sound of a newborn's cries filled the air.

  Falling back in relief, Janine said, "Let me see him."

  The doctor held him to show Janine, and told her that they were going to clean him up a bit before they handed him over to his mommy.

  Smiling with relief, Jess said, "Do you think he'll like us?"

  "After all the work I just did, he better," she stated.

  "He's angry," Jess remarked, listening to the tiny screams.

  "Well, it was probably much warmer where he was before. I hope he likes Colorado."

  "I'll teach him to snowboard. He'll love it."

  Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No. That sounds dangerous."

  "It's fun. Don't worry, I'll wait until he can walk."

  Sighing, she said, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. I just want to hold him, what's taking so long?"

  Raising an eyebrow, Jess asked, "Did you see the messy little bundle that the doctor held up?"

  "I want to hold him," she said tiredly. "And take a nap, but mostly hold him."

  Smiling, Jess brushed the hair back from her face and said, "I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty glad I don't have to give birth. It looked bad."

  "You have no idea."

  "Eager to start trying for another one?"

  "Ask me again in a year or two when the memory of this pain is a little more distant. I officially think those women who have like 8 kids are insane."

  "I've always thought that," he told her.

  The nurse came over then, holding a quiet little bundle wrapped up in a blanket.

  Janine's heart raced and she grinned, taking her newborn baby boy and holding him for the first time.

  Lightly touching his red little cheek, Janine said, "He's perfect."

  Jess leaned over and looked at him, touching his much bigger hand to the baby's tiny little hand. "Wow," he said quietly.

  Janine looked from the baby up to Jess. "Nathan?" she asked, waiting for him to confirm that the name they had decided on was the right one.

  "Nathan," Jess said, satisfied.

  Grinning from ear to ear, Janine looked at Jess and said, "Isn't he perfect?"

  "He's perfect," Jess verified, looking a little stunned. Then, looking up at the nurse with a little concern, he said, "Why is he so quiet now? He couldn't shut up a second ago."

  Chuckling, she said, "He's been on a rough journey. He's tired now."

  "I know how he feels," Janine sympathized.

  "Daddy got the easy part," the nurse said, winking at Janine.

  A few more minutes passed in the room, the doctor finishing up what he needed to do and leaving, and the nurse helping Janine with getting the baby latched on for his first feeding.

  A while later, after Janine was settled in her recovery room, a nurse asked if she was ready for visitors.

  "Oh, sure," Janine said, nodding. "Let them in."

  Scott and Alicia came walking in, Alicia already cooing over the sight of the baby in Jess's arms, and Janine offered a tired smile.

  Then, behind Scott, an unexpected third person came into the room.

  Janine's jaw dropped and she sat up, staring. "John!"

  Grinning, her big brother came walking over to her bedside to give her a hug.

  "What are you doing here?" she asked excitedly. "How did you even know…?"

  "Jess," John replied simply.

  Looking over at Jess gratefully, she said, "You called my brother?"

  Shaking his head, Jess said, "Actually, no. Scott did."

  Janine looked to John for a better explanation, and John briefly told her that since shortly after Valentine's Day, Scott had had a renewed interest in their friendship, and he had been calling pretty regularly just to talk. Then, the day before, Scott called John and told him he needed a big favor—for John to get on the very next flight and come visit him. John had thought it was incredibly strange, but he also wasn't one to ignore a friend in need, so he packed a little bag and booked the flight.

  "You got tricked," Janine said, grinning.

  Nodding, he said, "I guess I did. I'm so glad, though. Now I know where you are and you can both explain to me why the hell you just disappeared without warning and never bothered to tell anyone where you were going. Do you have any idea how worried we have been for the last three months?"

  "Later," Janine replied, turning her head to look over at Jess and Nathan. Smiling, she said, "He's so perfect, John. You've got to hold him."

  "You should have been here for the labor," Jess remarked while John went to wash his hands. "You wanna talk about a party…"

  "Yeah, right," Janine said, smiling a little as she closed her eyes. "I've never worked that hard in my life. Our next baby better come a lot quicker than that."

  "We'll study up on how to make that happen," Jess assured her.

  Janine leaned back and closed her eyes. When Jess handed Nathan over to John to be held, she sensed the movement, and her eyes flew open.

  "It's okay," Jess assured her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

  Smiling up at him, she took his hand and brought it to her lips, kissing it lightly. "It's okay. Who needs to dream when things are this good?"

  "Things are pretty good," he agreed, nodding. "That is one impressive baby you just had."

  Nodding, she said, "I think he might be the best baby ever born."

  Chuckling, he kissed her on the forehead and said, "Why don't you stop fighting it and just go to sleep? We'll all still be here when you wake up."

  "But John came to visit…"

  "John will still be here when you wake up," Jess promised.

  Smiling, she opened her eyes and said, "You know something?"

  "What's that?" he asked, looking at her tenderly.

  "Getting on that stupid bus to New York City was the best idea I ever had."

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