Christian waved goodbye then went back inside. Shea had just walked into the living room as Christian walked into the house. Christian shut and locked the door behind him. When he turned around, he was immediately enveloped in Shea’s arms. Christian hugged him back, tucking his face in Shea’s neck. Christian pulled in a deep breath through his nose, pulling in Shea’s scent. He smelled like his body wash and laundry detergent, since he was freshly showered and his clothes were clean.
“You okay?” Christian asked him.
“Yeah, are you?” Shea replied.
“Yeah, I am.”
“Good.”
“They all know,” Christian whispered.
“Yes, they do,” Shea said. Since his face was tucked against Christian’s, he couldn’t see his smile, but Christian could hear it when he spoke. “And they didn’t care.”
“You were right.”
“Aren’t I always?” Shea chuckled.
“No, shut up.” Christian snorted.
Shea pulled back from their hug first. He gave Christian a soft kiss on the lips.
“We’re gonna be daddies tomorrow,” Shea said.
Christian shook his head at the crazy thought. “That’s insane.”
“I know, right?” Shea scoffed.
“We’ll be fine,” Christian said, rubbing up and down Shea’s arms.
Shea nodded, a determined look on his face. “Yes, we will.”
~Chapter 9~
Holy shit Batman! Shea was nervous as hell. Christian and he were making their way up to the maternity ward in Children’s Hospital. He was actually shaking from being so nervous. They were meeting up with Jackie, so she could go over a few things before letting him see the baby. Christian took his hand and squeezed it as they walked through the doors of the maternity ward. Shea took a deep breath and stepped up to the desk.
“Hi, I’m supposed to be meeting Jackie Young,” Shea told to nurse at the desk.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Dempsey, right?” the nurse asked as she stood.
“Yes.”
“Okay, let me get Jackie for you,” she said, walking through a door behind her.
A few minutes later, she returned with another woman in tow. Jackie smiled a warm motherly smile as she came out from behind the desk. She was probably about the same age as Christian’s mother. She had soft, caring, hazel eyes and short auburn hair. She held out her hand to him.
“Hi, Mr. Dempsey, I’m Jackie Young,” she said, introducing herself.
“Hi. Please, call me Shea,” he replied with a tight smile.
Jackie nodded. “Okay,” she said before turning her gaze to Christian. “And you are?” she asked, holding out her hand to him.
“Christian Beck,” Christian murmured softly and shook her hand.
“Christian is my boyfriend,” Shea informed her.
“Oh, wow, don’t you two make a handsome couple, jeez,” she said, fanning herself.
Christian fought not to smile while Shea couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Thank you,” he said.
“I’m so glad that you decided to take her. I would hate to see another child go unnecessarily into foster care. I’m just going to need you to sign some paperwork and then I’ll take you to meet her,” Jackie said.
“What will happen if it turns out that she’s not mine?” Shea asked hoarsely.
Jackie smiled gently. “Let’s not worry about that yet.”
Shea nodded.
Shea signed a whole bunch of paperwork and let a nurse take a swab of the inside of his cheek for the paternity test. Jackie then led them down a hallway toward the nursery. Shea took a deep breath when they stopped outside of the door that separated him from the baby that was possibly his daughter.
“There is a sink just inside the door. I’m going to ask that you both wash your hands,” Jackie said before opening the door.
Shea and Christian followed her inside and did as they were told. After they both washed and dried their hands, Jackie led them over toward the windows where there were a few swings set up. Shea’s heart pounded as she stopped in front of a gently swinging swing, where the tiniest baby he’s ever seen was sleeping. Shea’s breath caught as Jackie turned the swing off and turned to look at him.
“You can pick her up if you want,” she said with a soft smile.
Shea opened his mouth to decline but nothing came out as he just stared at the baby.
“How much does she weight? She’s awfully small,” Christian said.
“She was weighed this morning and she is five pounds, ten ounces. Even though she was a month premature, she is in perfect health, and is big enough to leave the hospital. She’s eating great and should put on weight fairly quickly.”
“Shea? Do you want to hold her?” Christian asked quietly.
Shea shook his head. “I can’t.” He breathed. There was no way in hell that he could hold a baby that small. What if he dropped her?
Christian slipped his arm around Shea’s shoulders. “Do you want me to pick her up?”
Shea nodded quickly. “Yeah, sure,” he croaked.
“I’ll give you guys some time with her while I go get the discharge papers. I am also going to ask that you start thinking about what to name her,” Jackie said before leaving the nursery.