by Lyssa Layne
***
Nick chased after Katy as she left the ballroom, but she refused to speak to him, much less get in his Yukon to ride home together. Nick texted Jesse asking to come take her home while he went to the hospital to get stitches.
Katy sat silent on the drive home, her blood pressure through the roof which she knew wasn’t good for the baby. She understood they’d only been together for a short time and neither of them had the opportunity to fully disclose all of their dirty laundry. Still, Katy couldn’t shake the thought that Nick wanted this baby more than her.
When they pulled in the driveway and Jesse turned off his truck. He turned to her and said, “Nick’s a good guy.”
Katy shot him a look , but Jesse shook his head and continued. “He’s got a past, we all do. Weren’t you engaged to some doctor co-worker of your own?”
Katy’s eyes got narrower as she shot him the look of death, but Jesse went on.
“Nick’s been ready for a long time to start a family, but don’t let Missey make you think he only married you to become a dad.”
“Then why did he marry me?”
“Hmm, let me think….because he’s head over heels in love with you! Kate, you guys slipped up and now you’re having a kid. He didn’t do it on purpose. It’s obvious to everyone that you’re meant to be together so whether you have kids now or ten years from now, what’s it matter?”
Katy listened to what Jesse was saying and knew he was right. She knew from the moment she slipped on the ice at the park that he was going to be the father of her children. She just hadn’t expected it all to happen so quickly.
“And you need to stop worrying. We’re firefighters, our job is dangerous. You may have lost your father to the fire, but you aren’t going to lose Nick to it, too. Nick is smart, he’s one of the best guys on the crew. The fact that he has you and the Peanut now makes him work even smarter because he has you both to come home to which is all he’s ever wanted. Kate, you’re his whole world now.”
Katy wanted to believe every word Jesse said. The fire had taken her dad but it wouldn’t take her husband. After all, she now had two people promise her.
***
Katy lay in bed wearing a black sheer chemise with pink satin material that covered her enlarged breasts. She had bought it for Nick’s birthday and was shocked when it barely fit less than two months later. She heard the front door unlock and walked to the bedroom door to meet him.
Nick tossed his keys on the table not seeing her at first. He took his jacket off and threw it over the back of the couch. He saw a shadow on the floor where the moonlight should have been and looked up.
He stood frozen as he saw his beautiful wife in the moonlight. She slowly made her way over to him. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed his lips softly, his hands immediately sliding under the chemise. He started to open his mouth to apologize but she put her finger to his lips.
“You don’t talk, just nod yes or no.”
He nodded obediently.
“Do you love me?”
He nodded yes.
“Would you love me if I wasn’t pregnant?”
He nodded again.
She kissed him once more, using her lips to part his and sliding her tongue in between, letting their tongues circle.
“Do you promise to love me even when I’m nine months pregnant, can’t tie my shoes, and am waddling around?”
He laughed and nodded yes. Then he lifted her up, pulling her legs around him. He laid them down on the rug in the moonlight and made love until they both had no more energy to pick themselves up off the floor. Nick held his wife in his arms on the floor with an afghan over them thinking life couldn’t get better than this.
***
Katy lay in Nick’s arms, exhausted from the emotions of the night before and their physical intimacy that lasted well into morning. Nick lay naked beneath her, her head resting on his sculpted chest. She glanced down at the chemise hanging on her and laughed. Apparently, her chest had grown more than she thought and the strap popped on one side. Nick took it as an invitation and ripped the other side as well making it “easier access” he explained.
As she tried to adjust the top to cover herself, Nick pushed her hand away. He kept his eyes closed as he massaged her bust. Katy closed her eyes feeling her nipple harden between his fingers. She swallowed a moan as he continued to touch her and she felt electricity shooting through her body. She wouldn’t be surprised if she climaxed purely from his touch. Some days she felt she might just by the sight of him in his bunker gear.
Nick continued this for a while then softly whisper, “Are we okay?”
Katy had come to terms that Nick had a past, hell, she did too. There were probably a few things she should come clean about herself. The whole Missey situation was still nagging her so she asked, “What really happened with Missey?”
Nick opened his eyes and rolled to his side propping himself up on his elbow. He faced Katy, sliding his hand to her waist as he spoke.
“Missey and I had been dating a few months when she got pregnant. I told her we could get married, even before the baby came if she wanted. She considered it and carried the baby to seventeen weeks. Then she changed her mind and got an abortion while I was at work one day. She didn’t tell me until after the fact. I knew she’d been scared and she promised she wanted to have kids with me…one day when we were married. I thought she meant it so we kept dating. Then I came home one night and caught her in bed with her now husband and that was the end of us.”
Katy could see the pain in his eyes. She didn’t have to ask, she knew by seventeen weeks they would’ve known the sex and she could only assume it was a boy. Suddenly, Katy didn’t care about her research although it used to be the only priority in her life. Instead, she decided she would do anything in the world for Nick and wanted to give him ten million kids if that’s what he wanted. She smiled, it was crazy what love did to you.
14 CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It was mid-May, exactly six months after Katy and Nick had first met, and it seemed as if overnight, Katy’s flat belly had popped into a perfectly round bump. Nick said her loved the baby bump while Katy still wasn’t a fan. Lately, he spent his time lying in bed at night talking to the Peanut, telling the baby stories from his and Ryan’s childhood, talking about his mother, and bragging to the baby about Katy. But Katy’s favorite moments were when Nick would tell the baby his plans for him.
Katy lay propped up on her back wearing one of Nick’s FDNY T-shirts, which he had pushed up so he could see the bump while he talked. His rubbed her belly. “Now, your first birthday party will be fire engine themed, of course. Grandpa Andy will get you a Radio Flyer wagon just like your Uncle Ryan and I had when we were little. After the big party, we’ll go visit your Grandma Lisa.”
Katy smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead as she turned off the light. Nick moved his head to the pillow, but left his hand on her belly—it’s how he fell asleep every night. He kissed her neck and confirmed, “So, tomorrow we find out?”
Katy nodded. “Yes, tomorrow you’ll find out for sure that you’re going to be the father of a princess.”
Nick shook his head in the dark. “No, it’s a boy. I just know it is.”
“Why are you so hell bent on a boy? Are you going to be disappointed if it’s a girl?”
“Of course not! I’ll love a girl just as much. After Ryan was gone, I moved in with Abby for the next couple years to help her with the girls. Alayna was almost one.” He smiled as he reminisced. “On my days off, I would watch her so Abby could get a break. I loved taking naps on the couch with her asleep on my chest. Nora was a snuggler, too, so no, a girl would be great. But…I don’t know, I feel like this baby needs to be a boy to make up for the loss of Ryan.”
Katy and Nick had never really talked about Ryan’s death. Nick had told her many stories about him growing up, but any stories he shared post 9/11, Ryan was never mentioned. Katy suddenly felt a pang of guilt as she
realized how selfish she’d been. She’d wanted the baby to be girl so that she wouldn’t have to worry about him fighting fires, too. Now, more than anything, she prayed this baby was a boy.
***
Nick tapped his fingers anxiously as he sat next to Katy who was seated on the exam table. So far, he’d made it to every one of her doctor’s appointments, even if he just rushed in to hear the heartbeat and right back out to his waiting crew. Today though, he had taken the entire day off.
He tried to be patient while Katy and Dr. Keller discussed birth plans. He had no idea what they were talking about nor did he understand why they were discussing it. In his mind, the birth plan was to get the baby out as safely as possible. He heard Katy mention that she wanted everything natural, no drugs, and he could tell she was serious about not wanting to be induced unless medically necessary. She repeated it at least four times and started reciting a bunch of medical research for her reasoning. Nick decided it was her body so whatever decisions she made, he would back her up.
After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Keller told Katy to lie back and she started the ultrasound. Nick grasped Katy’s hand tightly. Katy smiled and watched him instead of the screen.
“Why aren’t you looking?”
“Because I’ll be able to tell before you do. I want to see your reaction when you find out.”
Nick grinned and kissed her hand.
Dr. Keller started scanning the baby, showing Nick the spine, a foot, and listening to the heartbeat-that noise had quickly became his favorite sound. Finally, she looked at him and asked if he was ready. He was about to jump out of his skin in anticipation. Yes! He was definitely ready.”
The doctor moved the wand further to the left and then stopped, freezing the frame. She pointed at the screen. “There.”
Nick leaned forward and a smile washed over his face as he saw Peanut had something between his legs. Katy laughed at his reaction. “It’s a boy!” she exclaimed without even looking at the screen. Nick jumped up hooting and hollering. After sharing a passionate kiss with his wife, he grabbed Dr. Keller and spun her around the room as she laughed as his antics. The door opened and Tiffany peaked her head in. With a grin, she said, “I take it, it’s a boy?”
Katy laughed watching Nick pick Tiffany up and swing her around. The FDNY was about to have a new brother.
***
Dr. Keller left the room and Nick calmed down, kind of. Katy got dressed as he bounced around her. He was already on the phone with his dad, delivering the good news.
“Dad, you’re having a grandson!” Through the phone, Katy could hear Andy’s reaction wasn’t much different than Nick’s.
Nick tied her shoes and they headed into the hallway. Katy saw Jeremiah who glanced over his shoulder at her. He snapped the chart in his hand closed and walked off. She hated seeing him hurt like he was. But she was happy and wasn’t that what he said he wanted for her?
They left the hospital heading to the fire station. As they pulled in front of the station, Nick leaned over and kissed Katy, still giddy from the realization that he was having a son. He asked, “Have you thought of any names?”
She thought he was crazy, they’d known less than an hour that it was a boy. She hadn’t even begun to think of names. She shook her head no.
“If you’re okay with it, I’d really like to name him after Ryan.”
Katy touched his cheek softly and nodded, she had a soft spot for fallen firefighters. “Of course.”
He kissed her again, letting his lips linger for just a second. Katy leaned her forward against his thinking how wonderful a father he was going to be. Before she was table to tell him, he quickly jumped out of the car, running around to her side to let her out. He ushered her into the station and up the stairs to the kitchen. She laughed at how excited he was and she found herself hoping that there’d more more kids in their future. Smoke filtered out of the room as the Garritys walked into the unofficial smoking quarters of Firehouse 58.
“Pregnant lady on deck!” Murph yelled and they all quickly smothered their smokes waving the air around them to make the vapor disappear.
Jesse leaned against the counter, laughing at the crew.. Katy was thrilled to learn that Jesse had given up smoking. Being outrun by a girl half his size did have that kind of effect, she guessed as she strolled over to him with a grin. Katy waved hello to everyone after she gave Jesse a quick peck on the cheek and he draped his arm around her shoulders.
Nick cleared his throat trying to hide the grin that had been on his face since he found out he was having a son. “Gentlemen, as you all know, my beautiful wife and I are expecting. Today was the day of the gender reveal and I’m happy to announce that in twenty years, there will be another Garrity joining the FDNY. It’s a boy!”
The guys all let out loud cheers and stood up to congratulate the expecting parents. Jesse glanced down at Katy and whispered in her ear, “You okay?”
Katy looked up at him and nodded, surprised that he knew her so well. She pointed at Nick and said, “Look how happy he is.”
Jesse nodded and kissed her forehead as Nick handed them all cigars to which they all got a good chuckle from the irony. The Chief asked if they’d talked about names yet.
Nick glanced over at Katy who nodded her assurance before he said, “We’re going to name him after Ryan.”
As Nick said that, silence fell on the room, the guys giving their unspoken respect to their fallen brother. Murph broke up the moment and said, “Great, another Garrity to bust our chops about smokin’!” The guys all laughed and held up the cigars Nick gave them.
***
Nick took Katy on a quick tour of the firehouse since she’d only stopped by a few times. The last room they visited was the locker room. Nick opened his locker to reveal pictures lining the door. The newest pictures were of her from Thanksgiving, a picture of the both of them on New Year’s, and the sonogram picture from their first doctor’s visit. There was also a picture of Nick, Ryan, and Andy from when Nick was in the fire academy and one of Nick and Lisa from his graduation. Then there was Ryan’s obituary.
She looked at Nick and saw him reading it although he’d told her that he had memorized it years ago. He nodded at the locker next to his, and Katy knew he didn’t say anything for fear if he did, he would break down in tears. Katy looked at it and saw on that top that it said “R. Garrity.”
Jesse walked in and put his hand on Nick’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Nick didn’t look up. Jesse opened Ryan’s locker for Katy to look. The same picture of the three Garrity men were there, plus a picture of Alayna as a baby and Nora, maybe three, holding her baby sister. There was a picture of Abby and him from their honeymoon on the beach and another one of Lisa smiling proudly with all three of her FDNY men in their dress uniforms.
Katy looked at the hooks and saw there was a plaid button-up shirt with a pair of jeans hung up. On the shelf, there was a half-used bottle of cologne, a rolled up tube of toothpaste, and other toiletry items.
Jesse nodded at the locker, speaking for his friend. “It hasn’t been touched since 9/11, everything was left the way he had it.”
Katy closed it and walked over to Nick. She softly said, “He seemed like a great man.”
She rested her hand on his back as Jesse commented, “He was, just like your little man is going to be.”
As Jesse said that, Nick turned to Katy, tears streaming down his face and hugged her. All he could do was whisper, “Thank you.”
***
Katy had the entire weekend off and was looking forward to sleeping in, but Nick had other ideas. Lying on her side, she dreamt of running through Central Park with a flatter stomach and a jogging stroller in front of her. She felt the warmth of Nick’s breath on her neck as he kissed her. She hoped it was a dream, because it’d been a long week at the hospital. She was already getting tired from standing during surgery and making rounds. She had no idea how she was going to make it another twenty weeks.
&
nbsp; “Katy,” Nick whispered in between kissing her neck. She tightly shut her eyes wishing Nick would let her sleep. It was true that her sex drive had increased during the second trimester, but if hers had doubled then Nick’s had tripled. The sex was amazing, but exhausting at the same time and her belly was starting to get in the way so they were having to get creative. Heat flooded down her body as his lips continued to move over her shoulder. She sighed and rolled on her back to see Nick grinning.
“Morning, Momma. Happy Mother’s Day!” Nick rubbed her belly and pressed his lips against it. How was she supposed to be mad after that? She could tell he had something up his sleeve so she kissed him back and sat up.
“Is today Mother’s Day?” She gave him a sly grin.
He nodded. “And I have the whole day planned for you. First, I’m going to make love to you until your toes curl. Then we’re going to go pick out flowers to plant in the front yard. After lunch, I’m going to head to Abby’s to plant flowers with the girls while you go for a nice pre-natal massage then we’ll end the day the same way we started.”
Katy rolled to her side and rubbed his chest. “Sounds like a plan to me.” Then the two of them pulled the covers up and started their day.
***
After Nick picked Katy up from her pre-natal massage, they headed to Abby’s for an afternoon of gardening. En route, he’d filled her in on the Garrity Mother’s Day tradition. Her hormones had been on high alert this week and she bawled the whole way to the nursery to pick out flowers.
Nick hadn’t intended for her to help, but rather to sit on the porch and watch. However, his stubborn wife was on her knees putting peonies in the ground while he covered the roots with dirt. Katy reminded him of his mother in so many ways and he couldn’t wait to see her with their son.
He smiled as he guided a wheelbarrow of mulch across the lawn and thought about the fact that he was having a son. In the past six months, he went from single and not sure he’d ever find Mrs. Right to being married to the perfect woman who was pregnant with his son. Every day, things got better and better. He was hoping the next twenty weeks went fast so he could meet his son and they could start on baby number two.