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Chapter 132

On the last night of their honeymoon, Claire and Jamie spent the night in. Snuggling in the large bed of their honeymoon suite in Athens, they ordered take-out food and a pay-per-view movie that had been out for months in the States and kicked back to relax and enjoy their last night in Greece.

After nearly two weeks abroad, Claire felt both refreshed and exhausted. It had been amazing to fly out of the country the morning after her wedding and leave all the stresses of the last few months behind. Yet, even in winter, there had been so much to do on the Greek islands that she’d wanted to do it all, and by now, it was starting to catch up to her. Still, the honeymoon had been incredible.

Greece had been a compromise between Jamie and her for their honeymoon destination. He hadn’t wanted to go anywhere tropical, nixing the usual winter honeymoon spots, like Hawaii or the Bahamas. “We live in Florida,” he’d pointed out. “We’ve already got the sand, sun, and surf.” While Tampa was certainly not as beautiful as Maui, she’d been okay with that. Her only condition was that they not go too far north, anywhere that would be cold. It was winter, after all, and while Jamie loved snow and ice, Claire hated it.

He’d been the one to suggest Greece, and she’d jumped at the idea. Neither of them had been, but they’d both heard it was beautiful, a nice mix of sunny beaches and history and culture. Claire was much more keen to see the sites of ancient Greece than lay on the beach, so even when they’d found out the country did tend to get cold and rainy in the winter, she’d given Jamie the go-ahead to plan their honeymoon there. And he had done a fantastic job of it.

They’d spent the first few days in Athens, exploring the city and visiting all the important landmarks. Then they’d gone island-hopping, visiting the islands of Crete, Rhodes, and Santorini, where they’d hiked, sailed, and seen the sights. They had returned to Athens for their last two days, and despite everything they’d seen and done, Claire couldn’t believe they would already be flying home tomorrow.

“What do you think the apartment will look like when we get back?” she asked with a smile, as she lay with her head nestled against Jamie’s shoulder.

“Mm… probably a mess, with your crap junking it up,” he replied teasingly.

She laughed. “Fine by me; the place needs a little color and personality.”

“Hey, it has personality!” Jamie protested defensively.

“Oh, sure… the only thing a person could tell about you by walking around the place is that you like the Cubs. And the color blue.” She giggled, picturing his apartment in her mind. It really was a sea of blue, with blue carpeting in the bedroom, sea blue walls in the living room, blue towels in the kitchen and bathroom, a blue plaid comforter on his bed, a blue and beige couch… The boy liked blue. He also liked the Chicago Cubs. Framed posters and old newspaper articles decorated his walls, along with pennants, a Cubs clock, a foul ball he’d caught in the stands at a game once, and even a Sammy Sosa bobble-head. She liked to tease him about it, but really, she found it sort of endearing, cute in a little boy kind of way.

“Hey, at least it doesn’t look like my dorm room, right?” he reminded her. She giggled harder, remembering his dorm. She’d only seen it a few times, but she could still smell it, that odor of dirty laundry, stale beer, and greasy food that only a guy’s dorm could have. His room had been blue then too, but much messier, old food containers from the dining center piled on top of his textbooks, dirty socks draped over his desk lamp, and a giant bucket of sunflower seeds that always sat on the floor in the middle of the room, right in line with the TV, almost like some gross guy version of a centerpiece. She’d found the dorm room disgusting and hilarious at the same time, and even now, she couldn’t help but laugh when she thought about it.

“Yeah, well, that’s true,” she agreed. “I’m glad you got over that sunflower seed fetish you had going on back then.”

“Mmm, sunflower seeds… remind me to pick some up as soon as we get back to Florida, okay? Seriously, on the way home from the airport. Okay?”

She laughed and playfully jabbed him in the ribs, at which point he grabbed her and started to tickle her. Even if they hadn’t been rolling around in such a nice suite, any outside observer could have identified them as honeymooners, from the way they were behaving, Claire thought as she lay gasping for breath and holding her stomach. Who cares, she thought, relaxing back against Jamie. It’s our last night to be carefree, and then tomorrow, back to reality.

As she imagined going home, she started thinking about what life would be like when the reality of married life really did sink in. She didn’t expect any major upheavals; after all, she’d lived with a man before, and she and Jamie had known each other for what seemed like forever. But still, they’d reached a milestone and had a future together ahead of them. She was already wondering what the next step would be, now that they were in this new phase of their lives.

“Hey, Jamie?” she asked after a few minutes of silence, deciding she couldn’t focus on the movie they were watching. Her mind was too full of thoughts and plans and possibilities.

“Hey, Clairie?” he mimicked her.

She smiled. “I was just thinking… were you serious when you said you definitely want to have kids?” He’s said so on her birthday last year, and several times since then, but she wanted to be sure. Now that they were married, thinking about trying for children seemed like the next logical step.

He shifted in bed, rolling over so that they were face to face. “Of course,” he replied. “I’ve always wanted kids; you know that.”

She nodded, smiling. “I know. I was just making sure.”

“Yeah? Well, why are you asking? You think we should get started on that right away?”

She pursed her lips in contemplation. She didn’t want them to rush things; she had heard of couples who got pregnant on their honeymoon and later regretted not taking the time to just enjoy married life before they brought children into the mix. On the other hand, children were something both she and Jamie wanted, and it wasn’t going to be as easy for them as it was for the average couple. There was no chance of her sleeping with Jamie and waking up pregnant the next morning; no, for her, science would have to intervene before she could get pregnant.

And that was what worried her. Conceiving through in-vitro fertilization was not a guarantee; with many couples, it took several cycles before the woman actually got pregnant, and even then, there was the chance she would miscarry and have to start all over again. Claire was already almost twenty-eight, and due to the side effects of her cancer treatments, her body was like that of an older woman in many ways. Though she knew that IVF had been successful in much older women, she was scared that if she waited too long, her chances of a successful pregnancy would diminish. Her life had proven to her that there were no guarantees, and she was afraid of letting a precious opportunity slip away without even realizing it.

And there was another factor to consider. She and Jamie had already gone through the first phase of IVF, fertilizing her harvested eggs with his sperm and cryogenically storing them until she was ready to use them. But that had been five years ago. She’d done a lot of research before she’d had the procedure done, and she knew that the studies on the pregnancy rates using frozen embryos only had data for embryos that had been stored less than five years. There were no statistics for the chances of achieving a successful pregnancy with an embryo that had been frozen for over five years. She had just passed that point, and that was another reason she was afraid of waiting too long. She’d delayed treatment to have the IVF, sinned against her church, and caused a rift between Nick and her. After all of that, she didn’t want to discover it had been for nothing.

“Claire?” Jamie asked. “What are you thinking about?”

Realizing she’d gone quiet on him, Claire cleared her throat and started telling her husband all of the things she’d been thinking. When she was finished, he paused for a few seconds, looking at her, and then he leaned forward and planted a light kiss on her forehead. “You’re right,” he said. “We should definitely get started on making some babies.”

She giggled at the way he said it, but, looking into his eyes, she could tell he was being serious. A thrill of nervous excitement passed through her, and she draped her arm around his neck, pulling him closer to steal a kiss from his lips. “I love you,” she whispered.

He smiled, his dimples showing. “I love you too.”

***

In Los Angeles, California, Nick was half a world away from Claire, but thinking of the same thing: babies.

He’d been spending time with Kevin and Kristin, who was as big as barn and still glowingly beautiful in her ninth month of pregnancy. She was due any day now, and as the middle of February approached, he was expecting to get an ecstatic call from Kevin at any time.

The call came early on the morning of February fourteenth, and as soon as Nick had hung up with Kevin, he clicked on his phone again and dialed AJ. “Looks like Kev and Kris are going to have a Valentine’s baby,” he told his friend, unable to hold back his smile. He wasn’t the type to get all gooey over new babies; in fact, the thought of being in a delivery room with a woman giving birth downright scared him. But Kevin’s excitement was infectious. Nick couldn’t wait for the little squirt to be born, especially since no one even knew what the sex was. Kristin had insisted on having it be a surprise, and it was sure going to be.

AJ was excited for their older brother too, and so, later in the day, they decided to go up to the hospital, figuring Kevin might need their moral support. His family was all on the other side of the country, and they imagined he would be a basket case, pacing the halls, harassing the doctors and nurses, and bugging the hell out of poor Kristin.

As it turned out, they weren’t too far off the mark.

They found Kevin in the hall, talking to a squat woman in scrubs that were printed with pale pink and blue teddy bears, obviously a nurse. “But the contractions are getting closer together, and the pain’s been worse. She’s got to be close now, right?”

The nurse shook her head. “We just checked, and she’s not nearly dilated enough yet. It will be at least a few more hours.” Kevin sighed, and she put a reassuring hand on his arm. “Like I told you earlier, first-time moms tend to be in labor a long time. Just hang in there, and tell her to do the same. Hold her hand, encourage her to breathe… it’ll all be over before you know it.”

Watching the nurse, Nick could tell she’d had a lot of experience with nervous new dads. She was good at what she did; her soothing voice had seemed to temporarily calm even Kevin, who looked slightly less high-strung as he and AJ warily approached.

Kevin’s weary face brightened when he recognized them. “Hey! You came!” he exclaimed, breaking into a grin as he hugged Nick and then AJ, clubbing them on the backs. “Well, Kris is well into labor now, but they’re saying she’s not dilated enough to deliver yet; it’ll probably be a few more hours…” Repeating everything they’d just heard the nurse tell him, Kevin babbled on and on as he led them slowly down the hall.

“Hold up,” said Nick, stopping suddenly as he realized they had reached Kristin’s room. “Are you sure-? Well, I mean, is it okay-? Will Kris mind if-?”

“Nah, come on in. She’ll be happy you came,” insisted Kevin, waving Nick and AJ into the room. When they didn’t budge right away, he rolled his eyes and added, “Really, don’t worry. She only screams during the contractions, and you’ve got another-“ He paused to check his watch, and just as his eyes started to bug, an agonizing moan rose from inside the room.

The three men exchanged glances, and then Kevin bolted into the room. They could hear him murmuring, “Here, honey, squeeze my hand… breathe, now… just keep breathing…”

“Let’s find a waiting room,” AJ suggested, looking as uncomfortable as Nick felt.

Nick nodded emphatically. “Yes. Let’s.”

***

Several hours later, Nick and AJ sat just outside a private exit they’d been shown by one of the nurses on staff. AJ was smoking, as usual; Nick was just staring into space. They’d both been in to see Kristin, but only for a few minutes at a time, until the pain of her contractions drove them both out again. She was progressing through her labor rapidly now, and Nick suspected this might be AJ’s last cigarette break before the new Backstreet baby arrived.

AJ seemed to realize this as well, for he savored his cigarette, taking long drags and blowing smoke out slowly. The warm breeze wafted the bitter smoke towards Nick, and he coughed as it made its way into his lungs, stifling him. Eying Nick warily, AJ hesitated, then stamped out his cigarette.

“You didn’t have to do that,” rasped Nick, his voice hoarse from coughing.

AJ snorted. “I think your lungs have been through enough without adding second-hand smoke to the mix, kid. Trust me, I’ll live.” But while Nick fell into a peaceful silence once again, AJ fidgeted. Finally, seeming desperate for conversation, something to take his mind off of his apparent nicotine craving, AJ asked out of the blue, “So... when’s Claire get back from her honeymoon?”

Nick’s stomach clenched unpleasantly. He and AJ had gotten through the whole day without talking about Claire or Jamie or the wedding or any of that. It had already come up once, when Nick first arrived in LA last week, and he’d done a pretty good job at letting everyone know he didn’t really want to discuss it again. But he supposed after a whole afternoon of waiting around this hospital, he and AJ had just run out of other things to talk about.

“She’s back,” he answered flatly. “Got an email from her the other day.” Claire had sent a mass email to all of her friends and family, letting them know she and Jamie were home safely from Greece, sharing the highlights of what they’d seen and done on their honeymoon, and thanking everyone again for coming to the wedding. He hadn’t replied, but maybe he would tonight, once the baby was born. That was news she’d probably want to hear.

“Ah,” AJ murmured, but he didn’t ask anything else after that. They fell into silence, each staring off at the Los Angeles skyline on the horizon, until finally AJ said, “Well, we should probably get back. She looked like she was gonna pop that kid out any second.”

Nick laughed, nodding in agreement, and they both got up and went back inside.

They were just in time. As they reached Kristin’s room, they nearly bumped into a nurse who was backing out the doorway, pulling the foot of Kristin’s bed. “We’re heading to the delivery room!” Kevin announced when he spotted Nick and AJ. Kristin, who was gripping Kevin’s hand, just nodded, looking excited and terrified at the same time.

Nick and AJ exchanged glances again and said, almost at the same time, “We’ll wait.”

They retreated back to their private waiting room while Kevin went with Kristin to the delivery room. “So, it’s almost time – boy or girl, Nicky, what do you think?” asked AJ, sinking down into a chair.

Nick sat down beside him. “Odds are, another boy. Look at Kev and Bri’s family – it’s dominated by men.”

“Ah, see, I disagree,” AJ contended. “I think because Baylee turned out to be a boy, the next Backstreet baby’s bound to be a girl.”

The debated it back and forth for a good half an hour, until the heard the pounding of footsteps outside the room. The door to the small waiting room flung open, and Kevin appeared, looking sort of clammy and out of breath. “He’s here!” he gasped, staggering into the room. “Brayden Jerald Richardson is here!”

“He? Brayden?” Nick repeated. “So it’s a boy?”

“It’s a boy, Captain Obvious,” said AJ, thwacking Nick on the back of the head.

“It’s a boy!” Kevin nodded, his eyes bright with excitement.

“Boo-yah! Told you it’d be a boy,” Nick remarked slyly to AJ, winking. While AJ was rolling his eyes, Nick asked, “So Kev, how’d it go?”

“It was… it was… great!” exclaimed Kevin, rendered almost speechless at first. Then he started to gush. “I can’t even describe it! The doctor was telling Kristin to push, and she was pushing and squeezing my hand, and then, all of a sudden, there he was! He let out this amazing cry when he slid out into the doctor’s hands, and I just… wow… it was the coolest sound I’ve ever heard. The most beautiful sound in the world.”

Nick couldn’t help but smile at how happy Kevin looked. He was every bit the proud father, and Nick couldn’t have been happier for him. He knew Kevin had been waiting for this day for a long time. “That’s awesome,” he said sincerely. Realizing Kevin must be antsy, he added, “You should probably get back to Kris, huh?”

“Yeah, they should be bringing her back to her room any minute. They were going to go wash the baby and then bring him back to her for a little while. You guys wanna come see him? You’ve been waiting here all afternoon.”

“Sure!” Nick and AJ agreed, and they followed Kevin back to Kristin’s room. Kristin had just been wheeled back; she looked exhausted, but surprisingly serene. When a nurse showed up a few minutes later, carrying a tiny bundle wrapped in blue, Kristin’s face lit up, and she opened her arms. The nurse placed the baby gently in them and backed away so the others could see. It was a perfect fit, a perfect image – Kristin in her hospital gown, holding a newborn infant.

“You can come closer,” she said to Nick and AJ, speaking in a quiet tone. As they crept up to her bed, she shifted, holding the baby closer so that they could get a better look.

To Nick, Brayden Jerald looked something like a pink baby gorilla, with his red, wrinkly skin and a head full of surprisingly thick, dark hair. He wasn’t “adorable,” or even “cute,” really, but to Kevin, Nick knew he was probably beautiful. His own siblings had all looked like aliens when they were born, at least the ones he remembered, and his mother had called them all beautiful anyway. He’d thought her crazy at the time, but though he hadn’t experienced parenthood yet himself, he understood now why she would say that.

“Aww, he’s got Kevin’s hair,” cooed AJ, smiling with uncharacteristic tenderness at the sleeping baby. “Hope that doesn’t mean he’s gonna sprout caterpillars over his eyes too.” He and Nick and even Kristin looked over at Kevin, but the new father didn’t bat an eye. He was too busy gazing at his son; Nick wasn’t sure he’d even heard AJ.

“He’s perfect,” said Nick, deciding that was the right word to use. Eight pounds, three ounces, with ten little fingers, ten little toes, and a mommy and daddy who couldn’t their loving eyes off him, Brayden Jerald Richardson could be nothing else but that. Perfect.

***

AN: Thanks to Bianca for the name – “The Force,” girlie!!