2. Chapter 2

2

Chapter 2

Pops

“Look at all these idiots,” I mutter under my breath. Not quietly enough if Takoda’s snort is anything to go by.

With Tav’s measly belongings now in Blanche’s house, he’s back at the clubhouse on prospect duty. I take a draw of my beer and watch him and Jimmy try for the 40th time to put the lights exactly where Nat wants them. I mean, to be fair, Nat changes her mind every two minutes, but she can do that. The woman is ready to pop at any moment. Let the pregnant woman have what she wants.

“Nat, please, for the love of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the little donkey they rode in on, please tell me that is the last string of lights?” Jimmy begs from the top of the ladder.

They’ve strung lights all around the inside of the common room, and I must admit, it does look nice, even with Dayz’s dildo’s still decorating the walls.

“Yes, Jimmy. That is the last set of lights.” She smiles at him as he lets out a sigh of relief. “For the INSIDE,” she cackles, her baby bump bouncing in front of her.

“Baby, you’re not going outside. It’s too cold and you might slip and fall -” Savage’s mouth shuts so fast I hear his teeth clack. “Or you can do whatever you feel is best for you. If you want to go outside, baby, then I will be right there beside you to make sure you’re safe.”

“Aw, thank you baby, you’re just so sweet to me,” Nat sniffles.

“Is that normal?” Rider whispers to me as he sits his big ass on the bar stool next to mine.

“Totally normal.” I reply, eyes still glued to Savage groveling to his wife. I have no idea why it gives me great glee watching this, but it does.

“Remind me never to knock anyone up,” he shudders.

“I feel sorry for the poor woman that ends up lumped with you, kid, I really do.” I shake my head sadly.

“Hey! I’m fucking delightful!”

“Yeah yeah. Anyway, have you seen Debs? I figured she’d be here getting ready for Christmas and stuff.” I check my phone, the text big enough for me to see without my glasses. The kids like to give me shit about it but I dont give a fuck. Hmm, no messages from her, that’s odd.

“No, I haven’t seen her all day, come to think of it. Huh,” He knocks twice on the bar top before taking his beer with him to god knows where.

“She’ll be in soon, Pops, she’s never late for dinner. You know what she’s like. Something would be really wrong for her to miss feeding her boys,” Takoda says in that deep as hell voice of his, a smile on his face.

That’s the type of emotion Debs brings out in people. Especially people who are lost or lacking the love of a mother. Much like a lot of the men here. Come to think of it, apart from Wire and Takoda, no one else seems to have a mom around. That’s the type of thing a shrink would love to look into. Why MC men have no moms and terrible taste in women. Apart from Tav, Rhodie, Wire and Savage of course. Although I don’t think those men had much of a choice. Their women chose them, and these guys latched on knowing they’d never find a better woman to love them.

That’s when it hits me. I’m just like these men. I have a good woman wanting me and in return she’ll give me her heart. And here I am pussying out because I’m old. Well fuck that. I may be old but I’m not stupid. I’m going to do what these boys have done. I’m going to grab on to Debs and love her for the rest of my days.

“You alright Pops? It looks like you’ve been hit upside the head,” Takoda asks, worry etched on his face.

“Yeah, kid. Just had a pretty big boot up the ass, so to speak.”

I’m going to make Debs mine. I can’t just tell her though, I need to do something big. Something exciting.

“Oh - oh - OH!” Nat’s voice gets higher and louder, all of us snapping our heads in her direction.

“Baby, you good?” Savage grips her hand, looking into her face.

“No, I think the baby might be on its way. I’ve been having cramps all day but this feels different,” she murmurs through gritted teeth, her shoulders tense for a moment before relaxing a little.

“Shit, OK baby, just breathe,” Savage says gently, then yells almost in her face, “Someone bring Nat’s hospital bag!”

There’s commotion as brothers stampede around the clubhouse, I’m not even sure what half of them are doing. The clever ones, like Tank and Judge, let us know they’re going to bring the club SUV closer to the door, ready to load Nat in. Dex has called ahead to Jimmy to get the gates open and brothers are heading out to their bikes, ready to roll out as soon as Savage and Nat do.

“Here’s your bag brother!” Rider says, coming to an abrupt stop in front of Savage and Nat, who’s now standing. “Do you need me to drive - what the fuck!?”

Nat’s water has just broken in a gush of fluid over his boots and all goes still and silent. Savage and Rider mirror each other with horrified looks on their faces while Nat has burst into tears. Everyone else is absolutely silent. Holding up my hand with my five fingers up I slowly bring them down, one by one in a countdown. By the time I tuck my last finger down Rider’s gag reflex has kicked in, snapping everyone out of their shock.

“Let’s go baby, let’s get you to the hospital,” Savage gently leads his wife by the hands, stopping to slap a hand on Rider’s shoulder. “Sorry, brother. See you at the hospital,”

“Let’s roll out brothers, we got a baby on the way,” Marx circles his hand in the air and the brothers start to leave, heading for the hospital.

“Need a ride, Pops?” Rhodie asks, his arm around Dayz who looks less than enthused.

“Not excited Dayz?” I ask, trying hard not to laugh.

“I can’t take Chomper with me so he’s in his enclosure,” she grumbles. She’s been obsessed with her gator since she got him. “Also, it’s too soon. A first baby can take anywhere from 12 to 24 hours to be born. That’s a long time to wait. I’d rather work on my Christmas craft with Chomper,”

My brows hit my hairline, at the same time that Rhodie smiles down at her like the sun shines outta her ass.

“Since when did you start crafting? And how does Chomper craft?” I ask.

“Since I accidentally ordered too many dicks, and he keeps me company.”

“Fair enough. Anyway, you two go on ahead, I’ve got my pickup. I’ll drive myself over after I let Debs know what’s happening.”

“She already knows, Wire bulk messaged the ladies and she said she was on her way,” Rhodie goes to drop a hand on my shoulder, and then thinks better of it. “See you there old man.”

I nod absently. It’s not like Debs to not tell me what her plans are throughout the day. She hasn’t gotten sick of me dragging the chain, has she? Shit, I gotta make it up to her. What did Lovely say? Christmas is the time for miracles? Well, I’m gonna plan something that blows generic Christmas miracles out of the water.

“Dayz, do you want to help me with a Christmas thing?”

She raises a brow, “What kind of thing?”

“A big thing,”

“How big?” she asks. Rhodie’s head is looking back and forth between the two of us.

“BIG, big.”

“Explosions big?”

I think about it for a moment. Explosions always make things better, right? “Maybe,”

She blinks twice. “I’m in.”

“Good. We’ll reconvene after the birth. Let’s go.”

Debs

My feet are killing me. We got the first leg of our shopping done fairly quickly. We ticked Rider, Tank, Judge, Fox and Nitro off the list first. Then I got a cup of coffee and fed Bee. She’s such a good little girl. She doesn’t fuss a lot, and is remarkably quiet. A lot like her mama I guess.

While I fed Bee, Blanche went off to check on the shoe salesman that’s been having a little too much fun in the store room with an employee. She’s been back for a while now and we’ve decided to hit a couple more stores before heading home.

“What do you think of this for Dex?” She holds up a face bandanna thing with a skeleton jaw on the front. I’ve seen the brothers wear these types of things when out on a ride, probably to stop getting bugs in their teeth.

“I think that would suit him, he’s a bit of a dark horse and all. Put that in the basket for his stocking. Now, do you think all the boys would like Nerf guns?”

Blanche snorts and then looks at her watch, tapping it a few times. “Whoa, we gotta pack up Mama, Nat has gone into labor!”

I clap my hands in excitement, ditch our basket and speed walk toward the door, using Bee’s stroller as a battering ram. We have places to be, people! In no time I have that sweet baby out and in her car seat, Blanche tossing bags and the haphazardly folded stroller into the back of her car.

“Get in lady, we got rubber to burn!” She hollers, starting the engine as I climb in beside her, buckling up as she pulls out of the parking lot like a bat outta hell. “So, what do we think she’s going to have?”

I think for a moment, then come to a decision.“I think it’s going to be a little girl.”

Blanche holds her hand up for a high five, “Yup, Savage needs another Nat in his life,”

We both cackle at this and make our way to the hospital, which takes little to no time at all given that we weren’t that far away to begin with, and Blanche drives like a maniac. Well, maybe less of a maniac, more of your average school run mum. Quick and efficient with a tinge of NASCAR.

Pulling up to the main doors, Blanche switches the car to park, runs to the back of the SUV, pulls out Bee’s stroller and then rolls it toward me. I put Bee in making sure the pepi is as snug as a bug in a rug and I push her toward the reception desk, while Blanche finds a parking spot. Before I can even open my mouth to ask for directions to the maternity ward, the frazzled nurse behind the desk speaks.

“Let me guess, you’re somehow related to Natalie Clarke?”

I suppress my giggle, and instead grin at her and nod.

“Level 3. I’m sure you’ll be able to find the other 100 family members crammed up there. Dr Manning is on duty, so you’ll hear all the updates in real time.” I suppress a laugh because Dr Manning, Switch, has a voice like a bullhorn.

“Thank you, love. Here,” I quickly rummage in my bag, triumphantly pulling a chocolate bar out with a flourish. I place it on the reception desk and push it toward her, her face lighting up.

“Oh you absolute angel! Thank you!” She smiles wide and I give her a wink.

Pushing little Bee toward the elevators I check on her for a moment while we wait for the next available car. A “ding” sounds out when the elevator arrives and the doors slide open revealing a frazzled looking Rider.

“Whoa, are you alright?” I ask, knowing that clearly he isn’t. He’s somehow green and pale at the same time.

“Nope. Not at all. I’m going to take a walk and think about my life,” he mumbles.

He moves to walk around me and I can’t help myself. I reach out and pull him into my arms, giving him a tight squeeze. He stiffens up a moment before he curls himself around me, his large hands patting my back gently.

“You’re a good brother. You came all this way to support Savage and Nat, and I’m proud of you, knowing how squeamish you are,”

He huffs out a laugh and then lets me go. “Thanks, Mama Debs. It’s been a long time since I had a hug like that.” He bends and peeks in at Bee, rubbing his finger over her chubby cheek before standing, patting me on the shoulder and then walking off, eating up the floor with his long stride.

“Come on Bee, let’s go see if this pepi is here to meet us yet.” Rolling her into the lift, she gives me a snuffle and a fart before settling down again.

I watch as the floor numbers tick over. I’m glad that I’m familiarizing myself with the hospital now, so I’ll know where to go when Ana goes into labor. With her and Nat due at the same time, it’ll be a matter of days, rather than weeks before I hold my newest grandchild in my arms. The baby won’t be my first, that was Jovie. Then Niko, Sage, Cove, Elio and Bee came along. Savage and Nat’s baby will join that pack soon too. Ana and Gus’s baby will be the youngest in my list of grandies, and I can’t wait. The doors slide open and I see what the nurse was talking about. The waiting room is packed with giant men in leather, the Tombs’ and Lovely. As soon as she sees us she swoops in for a hug and then fusses over her baby. I get it, this is the longest she’s been away from Bee in her short little life.

“How’s it all going?” I ask as she drops kisses all over the sleeping baby’s face.

“Good, there’s some good noises coming from the room and Switch yelling encouraging words, so it sounds like things are moving along quickly. Rider got a little curious and peeked into the door.”

“Lemme guess, that didn’t go well?”

A grin stretches across Lovely’s face, “Not at all,” she giggles. “Come sit, Pops saved a seat for you,”

“Aw, he’s such a good man.”

“That he is. He growled at anyone who even hovered around it. That’s why Jules is sitting on the floor.”

I look to where Lovely is pointing and roll my lips between my teeth to stop myself from laughing. Jules is sitting on the floor, his back against the wall glaring at Pops who is glaring right back at him.

“Who’s winning?” I ask them.

“Oh babe, you’re here, I saved you a seat,” Sid says, standing and kissing me on the cheek, his stubble rasping my skin a little.

“Thank you, Sid. But again, how long were you staring at each other?”

“He can stare all he wants, he isn’t getting the chair,” Sid says seriously. He holds my gaze and in my periphery I can see his hand raise, middle finger up at his grandson.

Jules just shakes his head and looks down at his phone. Of all the kids he’s the one I worry about the most. Gus, Tav and Tuesday all found their people, partners that fit them like a glove. I want that for Jules too, but I can see he doesnt think he deserves the same happiness. I don’t know what happened to make him think like this, but I’m sure that with the right person, he’ll be able to drop those walls and see that he deserves to be loved and so much more.

I take a seat next to, I want to say my man, but we’ve never really said what we are to each other. I know I have deep feelings for Sid. I’ve grown to love the wild man, but I’m not sure that he’s quite there yet. I know that he worries that he’s too old for me, but what’s 9 years in the scheme of things? It’s nothing. We’re not dead yet so we may as well make the most of it.

He grabs my hand and twines our fingers together, giving me a little wink. I squint at him but let him move our entwined hands into his lap. He’s up to something. He’s acting all weird.

“Are you OK?”

His head snaps around, and he gets that look that Chewy does when she tries to lie to her family. Eyes wide, he tries to smile. “Of course, babe. Just excited for the baby is all,”

I study him a little longer before shaking it off. If there’s one thing I know about Sid, it’s that he does love babies. Before I can drill him a little more the door at the end of the corridor swings open and Savage comes rushing out, glowing with pride and looking disheveled.

“We have a daughter! She’s so fucking beautiful and she has dark hair just like her momma and I think she has my eyes but it’s hard to tell,” He’s giddy with joy and we all rush up to offer our congratulations and hugs. Well, us women give him hugs, the men all do that hand shake back thumping stuff.

“Congrats brother, you deserve all the happiness,” Marx says to Savage before turning to the room, “To the newest DRMC member!”

The men all whoop and Savage runs his hands down his face, still not able to wipe off his smile. “Thanks brothers, oh man, it’s just, wow. Just fucking mind blowing. A baby girl. What the fuck am I going to do with a daughter?” He starts looking a little pale and the brothers all laugh at him before promising to help him kick any future boyfriend’s asses.

Once they settle down Marx slaps the new dad on the shoulder, “Get back to your family brother. I’m leaving Dex here for security, but if you need anything, just text.” Dex nods and moves toward his brother and ex-Pres.

Looking around the room at my chosen family I see everyone is moved by the birth of the new member. Fox and Nitro have started handing around cigars, Tank and Judge are collecting takings for the brothers that bet Savage would have a girl. And Ana is sobbing.

“Ana! What’s wrong kotiro ?”

“I’m fucking terrified! Nat made it look so easy, she didn’t even know she was in proper labor until her water broke! Then she rolls in here and not even an hour later squeezes out that baby!” she wails. Gus is white knuckling the armrest of the chair on one side, his other hand being crushed by his panicked wife.

I kneel down in front of my daughter, placing both my hands on her thighs and squeeze gently. I open my mouth to offer her support but Sid beats me to it.

“Listen here girl, no matter how scared you are, and how long it takes, you’ll come in here when it’s your time, do the hard work and at the end of it hold that precious baby in your arms. All the fear and pain will be insignificant to what you feel when you look into the doughy little face of Gus’s mini me.”

He was doing so well too. Ana freezes for a moment and then bursts into laughter, all her worries melting out of her. OK, maybe he did do a good job.

“You got this sweetheart.” He drops a kiss on her head and I hear her whisper her thanks. Gus stands to give his Pops a hug and then wraps his arms around me.

“That’s gonna be us soon. I was, am terrified, but knowing that we have all our family waiting out here for us makes me feel better.”

Marx’s big hand slams down on his shoulder, gripping him tightly. “ All your family, brother.”

Gus stares at Marx a moment before tipping his chin. “All our family.”

Marx gives him a little shake, releasing his grip, and then whistles to the brothers who are still milling around. “Let’s roll out. We’ve got Christmas shit to get done.”