6. Jules

SIX

JULES

Three Days Later

My phone blares in the middle of the night, and I once again spring up from the mattress, terrified something urgent is happening.

Ava's birthday left us practically comatose yesterday, and with all the celebrations these last few days, we were already exhausted before the toddler tornado made a stop at our house. We also had a very late but quiet dinner last night, the three of us, to remember Rose on the day she passed. We laughed when Jamie and Ster told stories about her, we cried when we talked about keeping her memory alive, and we hugged... a lot.

When we finally went to bed, we all decided on a day in today, to recharge and spend some time together.

But it looks like that's not happening, I see when I grab my phone. It's four in the morning, and the blaring is because Jamie's calling me.

"Jamie," I say, the second I answer the call. "What's wrong?"

"My water broke."

"Oh, God. Oh, Jesus. Okay, don't freak out, we've got everything ready. I'm gonna call Gab so she can watch Ava, and let Ingrid know too. I?—"

"I already did that, just wake up your sleep-deprived husband and come help me walk!" she snaps at me, then I hear her groan painfully.

"Yes, okay, yes." I turn and nudge Sterling. I push too hard, and he flails as he falls from the mattress.

"What the FUCK!" he screams.

"I'm sorry!" I scream back. "Adam's coming. Jamie's water broke."

"Oh, okay." He stands quickly and covers his face with both hands for a long second, takes a deep breath, then straightens. "We've got this." He nods once, then he sprints to the closet. I go after him and get dressed faster than I ever have.

"Get the bag into the car, and the car out by the front door," I tell Sterling when we walk out of our room with our bags.

We've read and listened to every book available for dads. One of the most repeated suggestions is to take a bag to the hospital with clothes, snacks, and anything we might need. When I get to Jamie's room, I get a good grip on her suitcase, then take her hand and smile at her.

I'm pretty sure my smile is shaky at best, but it's the best I've got with my stomach going crazy with nerves. I squeeze her hand once, and she returns a smile just as shaky.

"We've got this." I repeat Sterling's words, not at all convincingly.

She nods, and then we walk out of the room.

Sterling

Gab's car is coming up the driveway by the time I park the SUV as close to the front door as possible. I look from the door to the headlights, then back to the door multiple times. We need to get Jamie to the hospital now , dammit.

Gab steps out of her Bentley SUV without wasting time. She has a bag slung over her shoulder as she walks determinedly to me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't freak out, don't stop holding her hand, and don't take the screaming personally, okay?"

I nod repeatedly. I've been through this before... technically. But Rose was in the hospital during the last few weeks of her pregnancy, and she had a C-section. Jamie wants to have a natural birth, and of course, she'll have some strong painkillers, but they can't give her those if we don't arrive at the hospital in time.

In any case, this time will be nothing like the day Ava was born three years ago.

Exactly three years ago, actually. Damn, but my children will have their birthdays one day after the other. That's okay, they can have two parties if they want, or one.

Whatever they want, they'll get. No matter how much Jamie throws daggers at me with her eyes when I spoil Ava... and okay, maybe not anything they want. I'll love them without limits, but I'll do everything in my power to shape them into good people. That's what matters the most.

Aaand I can think about this another time, I realize when I finally see Jules walking out with an arm around Jamie. I hurry to them and get the suitcase, put it in the trunk, and then hurry to the driver's seat.

I'm aware of them talking to Gab, but I can't focus on the words. All I can think about is putting the car in drive and making sure we get to the hospital in one piece, and as fast as possible.

Hearing Jamie groan in the backseat makes me clench my jaw. Thankfully, Jules climbed in beside her so at least he's there to hold her hand. I will myself not to step fully on the accelerator—this would be the worst possible time to be pulled over.

That has me thinking about the hospital... the emergency entrance... people taking pictures of us.

My teeth are about break with how hard I bite down. Fucking stupid fucked-up world.

I hit the call button on the wheel and say the name of the doctor. Soon enough, the call connects, and I tell her we're on our way to the hospital. She tells me to do the same thing we did when Ava had her allergic reaction, and I breathe easier, knowing exactly what I have to do. When I enter the parking lot, I get my sunglasses out of the overhead compartment and only roll down the window once they're firmly on my face.

It's four in the fucking morning, it's unlikely that anyone will notice me, but I can't take any chances, not today. The last thing we need is for reporters to camp outside the hospital or for people to sneak in for pictures of us while we're here.

Jamie's groaning for the fifth time while I drive up in a spiral, and I curse then mutter a "sorry" to her. This would be the worst moment for her to get car sick, she's in enough pain already.

"Just get us to the door," she snaps back.

"We're almost there," I tell her as calmly as I can, while Jules goes back to telling her to breathe. I stop the car right in front of the entrance and get out to open her door.

I see her give Jules a murderous glance and send them on their way down the hallway with a whispered Godspeed to my husband. I'll be with them very soon, but I have to park the car and get all our stuff.

I grab everything. The suitcase bumps into my shin, making me curse again, but I drag it all in with me only for three startled nurses to greet me on the other side of the door.

"Jamie Wright?" I ask them, and they point me down the left hallway and tell me to go to the elevator and up two flights.

I follow their instructions and focus on my own breaths.

I find Jules pacing outside a door and he looks up sharply when I call out his name.

"She's changing," he tells me, then throws his arms around me.

I'm trapped by his arms, by all the damn straps of our bags, Jamie's purse, and her suitcase, but I do everything I can to hug him back.

It will all be okay.

We're together, the three of us, and everything will be just fine.

Adam Michel is born at nine in the morning on July second, and we all fall in love instantly. Jamie's in perfect health, thank all the deities in the universe. We cry, we laugh when Jules assures us he's very much one hundred percent gay—fuck fluid sexuality—after seeing Jamie give birth, and we hug.

Jamie can't stop smiling or looking at Adam, who's now nursing and in her arms.

"I get to pick the next one's name," she declares in a moment of silence and peace. The nurses have been great, but we really haven't had much time for only the three of us.

"You're already thinking about the next one?" Jules asks her with a perplexed look on his face.

"Yeah," she laughs. "It's all the good drugs and the oxytocin flooding my brain. Maybe it'll wear off." She shrugs then and Adam protests, but she just rearranges him and he latches on without a second's hesitation. The nurses helped her feed him right after they cleaned him up and there were no issues with her breastfeeding.

"It's okay if it does, you know?"

"Yeah, I do." Jamie smiles up at me and reaches out her free hand. I take it and rise from my seat to kiss her forehead.

"It's not like we're going to miss you telling us we're the worst people on earth for getting you pregnant."

Jamie chuckles at that. "I'm not even sorry, you both know I don't think that, and I was in a lot of pain."

"But you did great," Jules assures her, rising too and sitting next to her hip. He throws an arm over her shoulder and stares down at Adam.

"Amazing," I add.

"You're an absolute superhero." Jules nods.

"The most amazing woman who ever lived."

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Jamie keeps laughing for a minute. "It's not like we have to decide now, right? We still have lots of time."

"We do," Jules whispers.

"And we can always adopt too. Not like any of us give a shit about DNA or heritage or whatever."

"Yeah," they both agree in unison.

Then we all just keep staring at Adam. Fuck but it's an amazing sight.

Four Months Later

I come home tired from a day full of meetings and a rare interview with a radio show in LA. I flew out at an ungodly hour and landed home only forty minutes ago, and thank fucking God for the private airport on the outskirts of the city. I also took Ava with me and dropped her at my parents' place. She was so happy about spending a whole week with her grandparents, that she barely looked at me when I kneeled in front of her for a goodbye hug. They promised lots of fun as well as a few days in Disneyland.

It's a good thing, I guess. She adapted to nursery school like a champ since she started last November, and after a brief time when Adam first got home, she now has no problem spending days away from us. She was confused, and even angry when we first brought Adam home, unhappy with not seeing us in the morning when she woke up.

We did the best we could to explain we were making sure Mom and her little brother were healthy and safe, and she eventually forgave us a few days later when Adam smiled at her for the first time. I guess it's to be expected that we all cried buckets of tears when witnessing their bond start to form.

All in all, life as a family of five has been perfect. We've found our new normal, and with Jules in the off-season we've managed every little thing that has come up. It's been especially important since Jamie started dating that...

She's been dating the new GM of the pirates— Jake , I think with disgust—for a few months, and yeah, the dude has a great job, he's kinda nice I guess, he's good with Ava too which... is actually great.

He loves talking hockey with Jules of course, but he's also a big fan of mine, and he worships the ground Jamie walks on. That's really all that matters to me. I sigh as I open the door.

There's not one negative thing I can say about him. He's even hot, with a classically handsome face. Completely black, wavy hair, an always trimmed beard, and deep green eyes. And, like Jules told me with a teasing smirk a few weeks ago, his name starts with J, so it's probably fate.

Jules is all for them being together now, he actually has been rooting for them almost from the start. He got over the shock a few days after the celebration at Gab's place.

I walk into the house to find Jamie and Jules on the couch, Jamie sobbing, and Jules holding her tightly and whispering in her ear.

"What's wrong?" I demand as I rush toward them and kneel at their feet. "What happened?"

"I-I'm... Oh God!" Jamie stutters, then keeps crying uncontrollably. I look at Jules for answers, but instead of telling me what the fuck happened, he looks down at Jamie.

"Do you want me to tell him?" he asks her. Jamie nods furiously and wipes at her cheeks even while more tears fall. Then Jules finally turns to look at me. "Jamie's pregnant."

"What?" I demand, seriously confused. "But we haven't gone to the cli—" That's when it clicks. "Oh, oh ." Well, putting those dots together took me an embarrassingly long time. I look at Jamie, seeing her in so much distress reminds me of when Rose told me she was pregnant. A deep pang of sadness hits me, and I let myself feel it. The only way out is through after all. Then I focus on what's in front of me, not on the past. "What do you want to do?" I ask Jamie, knowing whatever she says is what'll happen.

"Well of course I'm having this baby, Josh, for fuck's sake. It's just so soon. Adam's not even six months old, we're gonna be changing diapers forever. Oh shit, well not we , we. I don't even know if Jake wants kids. Fuck, I didn't mean?—"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there," Jules interrupts—thank God, I was about to fucking explode. "Whatever you do, we're still a family. The three of us plus our angels. Adam, Ava, Ster, you, and I. We're a family, and the three of us are parents to all the children in this family. If Jake doesn't want kids, he'll pay alimony, but if you want this baby, then this is our son or daughter, got it? The three of us can handle all of this, Jamie, we can."

Jamie looks at him—eyes wide and tears still steadily streaming down her face—for a long minute, and then she nods once, twice, then jumps into his arms.

"I love you guys so much," she wails against his shoulder. I sit on her other side and hug them both. The doorbell rings before any one of us is ready to let go, but I need to get it before whoever it is buzzes again and wakes Adam, who I assume is having his afternoon nap.

Jamie jumps back and looks from me to Jules with panic in her eyes. "It's Jake, he's supposed to pick me up for a date." She bites down on her lower lip nervously.

"I'm gonna go make sure Adam's okay." Jules squeezes her shoulder once, then walks down the hallway to the nursery.

"You want me to be with you while you tell him?"

She shakes her head as she wipes angrily at her cheeks—the tears have finally slowed. "I can do it," she assures me.

"Of course you can," I tell her while walking backward to the front door. "But just know that you don't have to."

"Thank you," she mouths at me, and I smile before turning to open the door.

I try to not let any emotion on my face show as I greet Jake and tell him Jamie's in the living room. I see her nod at me when I pass on the way to the nursery.

I find Jules staring down at Adam who, like I thought he would be, is sleeping in his crib. "C'mon," I whisper, and pull him out of the room.

Staring at a sleeping baby is just begging for trouble. If he doesn't wake up just because he wants to, then we'll have hell to pay. He's just like his mother, this one. Though, to be fair, Jamie hates being woken up by anyone other than her kids. If Ava climbs into her bed in the morning she even smiles.

"Wanna spy on them?" Jules asks me once we close the door behind us. He looks so fucking sexy, with his mischievous smile. I kiss him and back him up against the hallway wall. I have to somehow express how fucking happy I am.

"We're gonna have another baby," I whisper against his lips.

"We are." He's smiling just as big as I'm sure I am.

"Let's go, then." He nods then he's the one pulling me back to the opening of the living room. We press our backs against the wall so Jake and Jamie won't be able to see us like we know what the fuck we're doing, and listen.

"Jamie," I hear Jake whisper in a voice that sounds strangled. My whole body tenses while I try to figure out if that's good or bad. "A baby," he croaks. "This is amazing, pretty girl." My whole body relaxes and I turn to see Jules smiling sweetly.

I'm about to suggest we join them when Jake speaks again. "Jamie Wright?—"

"Oh, God," she interrupts him. Why? What's happening?

"Will you marry me? Will you let me join this incredible family you've built with those two amazing men? Will you let me be another father to all of your kids?"

I choke up, and Jules' eyes are glistening with unshed tears. This man's gonna make me want to kiss him, dammit.

"Yes," I hear Jamie say in a voice full of emotion.

Jules and I embrace and kiss again. This is amazing. Our family's gonna grow exponentially.

"We're gonna have to come up with another name that starts with A," Jules whispers.

I smile and nod. "Good thing the kids still won't outnumber us." I voice my thoughts way too loudly, forgetting we're supposed to be anywhere but overhearing their tender and romantic moment.

I wince when I hear Jamie let out a watery laugh.

"Come out you two," she calls out.

We walk like two kids who are about to get grounded and she just shakes her head at us.

"So, now you'll have a kid from each of us," Jules says with a shit-eating grin.

I burst out laughing. " Damn . You get around, Jamie."

She stands and hits me over the head with no remorse. It doesn't stop Jake, Jules, and I from laughing, though. And eventually, she joins in.

This is one crazy life we're going to have.