At Peace (The War Trilogy #3) (10 page)

~ Chapter Ten ~

~ Dennis ~

A strange ringing pulls me from my sleep. When I’m coherent enough to realize it’s my cell phone, I reach for it where it’s sitting on the nightstand. With my head still smashed into my pillow, I swipe my thumb across the screen and put the phone to my ear.

“Hello?” My voice is muffled by the pillow and gravelly from sleep.

“Dennis!” Lizette gasps into the phone.

Her tone has me pushing up to my elbows. “Lizzie? You okay?”

“On our way to the hospital, my water broke about an hour ago,” she says quickly before groaning in pain. “Contractions are getting bad.”

I’m pretty sure my heart just took a flying leap off a building. “Holy shit! Holy shit! Okay! We’ll meet you at the hospital!”

“Okay,” she grits out and hangs up.

When I turn to wake Tucker, I find him already getting out of bed. He obviously heard me. I sit up and put my leg on, but then I just sit there in utter shock, my little sister is about to have a baby.

“Hey,” comes Tucker’s curious voice from the opposite side of the bed.

I look over my shoulder at him.

“You okay?” he asks as he pulls on a T-shirt.

“I just can’t believe it,” I murmur in awe.

Tucker chuckles. “Well, believe it, you’re about to become an uncle.”

I smile. “So are you.”

Tucker’s smile softens. He doesn’t respond but he doesn’t really need to; I can tell that he’s just as excited as I am. And I know he’s going to love this baby as if it were his own blood.

We quickly finish getting ready then make our way to the hospital. My nerves are just about shot by the time we get there and find out where we have to go. Tucker takes my hand as we walk down the hall to the room that Lizette is in. Of course with Beau being a huge celebrity, the security on the maternity ward floor has been upped. We had to get checked in by a security guard outside the ward’s doors, who had a clipboard full of names. I’m assuming only people who are on the list can enter the ward to visit the other families that are here, too.

The door to her room is closed, so after taking a deep breath, I knock. The door opens a moment later, revealing Beau’s head. I can see the stress and worry written all over his face. He brightens slightly when he sees that it’s Tucker and me.

“Hey guys, come in,” Beau says, opening the door wider to let us in.

We walk into the room and Beau shuts the door behind us. I let go of Tucker’s hand and go straight for Lizette, who is clutching the rails of her bed with her eyes squeezed shut, her teeth bared as she pants. As soon as I reach her side, she relaxes and whimpers.

I smooth the stray strands of hair back from her forehead then lean down and kiss the top of her head.

“Hey, Lizzie,” I murmur. “How you doing?”

“I can’t take it anymore, Dennis! I need an epidural now!” she cries, fisting my shirt.

The pain in my chest is immediate. I hate seeing her hurting like this, and she’s obviously in a lot of pain. Before she can say anything else, she lets out a strangled cry and yanks on my shirt, while her other one flails for something to hang onto. I grab her other hand and let her squeeze mine. Once the contraction is over, I look at Beau, who is pacing on the other side of the bed looking helpless. 

“Did the doctor call the anesthesiologist yet?” I ask him.

“Yeah, they should be here any minute,” Beau croaks, shoving his hands into his hair, obviously distressed.

“How many centimeters are you dilated?” I direct my question at Lizette.

“About 7.”

“Good.”

I glance at Tucker. He gives me an encouraging smile and a wink before he goes and sits on the end of the bed. He moves the blanket off Lizette’s right foot then starts massaging the bottom of it, making her sigh with pleasure.

“Do you have names picked out?” Tucker asks.

I see what he’s doing; he’s trying to distract her from the pain as much as possible.

“Beau Jr., if it’s a boy, and Gia, if it’s a girl,” she replies wearily.

Lizette has one more contraction before the anesthesiologist walks in with a rolling tray and a nurse trailing behind her. She looks to be in her mid-thirties and is very attractive. Her eyes land on Tucker first, where he’s still massaging Lizette’s feet, then her gaze lifts to look at me, where I’m petting the top of Lizette’s head. Then she looks at Beau before addressing Lizette.

“Mrs. Kennedy, I’m Dr. Crews, I’ll be administering your epidural.”

“Oh, thank God!” Lizette sobs in relief.

Dr. Crews chuckles. “Which one of these handsome men is the daddy?”

Beau raises his hand. “That’d be me.”

“Great, I’m going to need your help,” she tells him with a gentle smile.

I watch as Beau swallows hard. “Uh…what do you need me to do?”

“We’re going to have mom sit on the edge of the bed, with her back to the window. I’m going to need you to stand in front of her, help her breathe, and keep her from moving since we have to do this while she’s having a contraction.”

Beau nods and comes around to the side of the bed where I’m standing. I help push Lizette into a sitting position then Beau takes over and helps her sit on the edge of the bed. Tucker goes and stands in the corner by the windows so he’s out of the way.

“You’re a lucky woman to have all of these good-looking guys doting on you like this.” Dr. Crews grins as she gets stuff ready on her tray behind Lizette’s back.

“Dennis here is my brother.” Lizette points to me then hikes a thumb over her shoulder. “And Tucker over there is his fiancé.”

Dr. Crews eyes lift for a second to meet mine before turning back down to continue what she’s doing. Her smile widens and I tilt my head curiously as I wait for her to say something.

“That’s great. I have an uncle who is gay. He and his husband are my favorite uncles; they are the absolute coolest guys I know. This little person is very lucky to have them.”

I can’t help the smile that breaks across my face. “I have to agree, I am pretty damn cool.”

Tucker barks out a laugh from the corner, and Beau starts snickering next to me.

“What? I’m cool!” I argue.

Lizette takes my hand and pats the back of it. “Of course you are, Denny,” she teases.

Everyone has a good laugh, and then it gets serious when Dr. Crews administers the epidural. I can see the moment it starts working. Lizette’s whole body relaxes. Beau and Dr. Crews help her get situated in bed, then the doctor says her goodbyes and leaves.

A couple more hours pass before it's time for Lizette to start pushing. As the doctors and nurses get everything ready, I go to my sister to wish her luck before I leave.

“Good luck, Lizzie.” I press a kiss to her forehead.

She grabs my hand. “Don’t leave, Denny. I want you to stay,” she pleads.

I frown and stare down at her pretty face. “Really?” I’m actually pretty shocked that she wants me to stay in the room while she gives birth.

She nods and I can see the fear in her eyes. Of course she’s scared, she’s having her first baby, she’s never done this before. Most women would probably have their mother present. Well, that isn’t possible with us and I’m the closest thing to a parent she’s ever had.

“Yes. Tucker, too.”

My eyebrows shoot up at that one. I glance over at him and he looks equally shocked.

“You two mean everything to me and I want you to be here.”

“I…uh…okay…” I stutter.

I am now officially terrified. I’ve never seen a baby being born! I haven’t even been around any pregnant women except for Lizette. I have no idea what to do or how to even handle this. Tucker comes to stand with me on Lizette’s right. Beau stays on her left, where he leans in to give her a kiss and words of encouragement.

Nothing on this earth could have prepared me for the next hour. The pushing, the screaming, the coaching from the doctor, more screaming. Beau is holding her left leg while I have her right. Never did I ever think that the words, “The head is out,” would make my entire body sag with relief. Minutes later, the baby is born and wailing.

“It’s a girl!” the doctor exclaims.

Lizette and Beau both burst into tears as they press their foreheads together and say how much they love each other. The doctor suctions out the baby’s nose and throat before cleaning her off a little and placing her on Lizette’s chest. Tucker’s arm snakes around my waist as he steps up next to me so he can see the baby, too. I drape my arm across his shoulders and tug him closer. Never has a baby crying ever sounded so beautiful. I brush away the tears that start down my cheeks. I press a kiss to Tucker’s temple and pull in a shaky breath. What a day.

~ Tucker ~

Is it possible to fall in love with someone all over again just by watching them hold a newborn baby? My heart is ready to burst out of my chest from all of the love I feel toward Dennis right now. He’s sitting in the rocking chair, in the corner of the room, with Gia swaddled like a little burrito in his arms. He’s staring down at her in awe as he whispers to her. I don’t know what he’s saying and it really doesn’t matter. I adore him.

Lizette is napping and Beau went to get something to eat. I’m sitting in a chair next to Lizette’s bed, unable to take my eyes off of the gorgeous man with the dark hair and bright green eyes. He looks like he was born to have a child in his arms. He makes holding a baby look like the most natural thing in the world to do.

Dennis glances over at me, a curious smile tilting his lips when he sees that I’m watching him. “What?”

“I love you,” I state, shaking my head in amazement.

He chuckles. “Love you, too, babe. Wanna hold her?”

“Hell yeah, give me that little munchkin.” I grin as we both stand from our chairs. I go over to Dennis and he hands me Gia and tells me to sit in the rocking chair. So I sit and automatically start rocking gently. Dennis stays by my side, unable to move too far away from Gia, which is so fucking sweet.

My eyes study Gia’s beautiful little face. It’s so crazy how immediate the love is when a baby is involved. I brush my finger over her rosy cheek. It’s so soft and smooth. She squirms a little and blinks her pretty little eyes open. She stares up at me and I know she really can’t see me clearly but she looks intrigued.

“Hi, Gia. I’m your Uncle Tucker,” I coo. “Get used to this face because you’re going to be seeing a lot of it.”

Dennis laughs softly and threads his fingers into my hair. She stares at me for another moment before her face contorts and turns red before letting out a little goat cry.

“What? I’m not that ugly.” I snicker to her.

Dennis barks out a laugh and Gia’s cry becomes more insistent.

“She’s probably hungry,” Lizette’s weary voice says, bringing our attention to her.

She barely has her eyes open as she holds out her hands for the baby. I get up and bring her over. After handing her to Lizette, I lean down and give her and the baby a kiss on the forehead.

“We’ll give you some alone time,” I murmur.

Dennis gives both girls a kiss, too. “We’ll be back tomorrow.”

Lizette nods. “Okay. Thank you guys for being here today, it meant a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome, Lizzie. Love you,” Dennis says, giving her one more kiss on top of her head.

“Love you, too.”

Dennis and I leave her to nurse Gia. We actually run into Beau on our way out. We say goodbye to him then make our way to the parking garage where our car is parked. Dennis hands me the keys and asks me to drive. I can tell that he’s mentally drained, it’s written all over his face. Once we’re in the car, Dennis shoots Duke a text to let him know that the baby has been born. Once we’re on the road, I bring up the subject that has been on my mind all day. Kids.

“Would you want to have kids?” I glance over at Dennis when I ask and see him pale slightly.

He shakes his head. “I wouldn’t make a good father.”

I give him an incredulous look. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

He turns his face toward me and I can see the fear in his green eyes. “I have too many emotional issues, Tucker.”

“That’s why you’re on medication, Denny, to keep you level. You’ve been doing great on them.”

Dennis turns away from me to look out the window. “After Zara died, I never even entertained the idea of having kids. I figured it wasn’t in the cards for me.”

“Well, things are different now, Love. You have me. It’s not like you would be raising a kid alone.”

When I glance at him again, I can see a little lopsided grin on his face.

“What are you thinking?” I ask him.

“You just called me ‘Love.’ I like it.”

“Noted.” I smile. After a few moments of silence, I say, “You’d make a great father, Dennis. You’re great with Max, and I know without a doubt that you are going to be great with Gia.”

Dennis looks at me, his eyes studying my face. “I thought you didn’t want kids?”