“Fucking terrified,” Craig said. “Seriously, Doc, my stomach is in knots and I’m feeling lightheaded quite a bit. I had to sit out of training the other day because I was so off balance.”
“And Alec? How are you doing?”
“Oh, he’s good,” Craig piped up. “Really solid. I mean, he really has a handle on this. I mean, it’s scary for sure, but he’s really holding us all together.”
Dr. Sunshine nodded while Alec and I grinned. It was just too funny. “So, Alec and Florrie, how do you feel about this? Is this moving too fast?”
“We’re good,” I grinned, linking my fingers with Alec’s. “It was hard to get to this point, but it was definitely worth it.”
“And what about your trust issues?”
Alec glanced over at me, smiling at me the way he always has, with that dangerous love in his eyes. “It’s not perfect, but we’re working on it every day.”
“And we’ve got this little one to worry about,” I added. “That kind of trumps all the other crap that we’re bickering about.”
“That’s good, but keep in mind that those issues won’t just go away. Masking them with the baby is only a temporary fix. Keep talking and working through those smaller issues so they don’t build. Remember, you’re stronger together than you are apart.”
There was one thing that had been bothering me, and I sort of felt like this was the only place that I could voice that concern. “One of my biggest fears right now isn’t losing the baby,” I admitted. “My fear…” I looked to Alec and felt tears build in my eyes. His brows furrowed and he slipped his arm around me, pulling me in closer. “My biggest fear is that we’ll lose this baby and we’ll be back to hating each other. I know now that I can handle a lot, even losing this baby if it’s not meant to be, but I can’t handle losing you.”
“Baby, you’re never gonna lose me. We’ve fought through hell to stay together. Nothing can tear us apart now.”
I nodded as tears slipped down my cheeks. I loved him so much, and making it through losing Reid and all the other crap had just strengthened our relationship. I occasionally had lingering thoughts of him cheating, but I knew that it was a one time thing. It was a flurry of emotional wreckage that temporarily tore us apart. But we were both continuously learning from our mistakes and talking more than we ever had about things that were bothering us. I knew this time we would make it.
“Aw, that’s so beautiful,” Craig said tearfully.
“I think that I can give your boss the all clear from me.”
“No more sessions?” Craig said in a panic.
“No more sessions. If you need me, obviously, I’m here, but I think the two of you have reached the point that you really don’t need me anymore.”
“But…but what about me?” Craig asked. “Doc, I’m serious. I’m having these massive pains in my chest. My stomach is cramping and I feel nauseous all the fucking time. My back hurts so much that I can’t sleep.”
“Have you tried putting a pillow between your legs when you sleep?”
“Will that help?”
“It should,” she smiled.
“What about the nausea?”
“I would eat a few crackers before you get up every morning. Sip some ginger ale.”
He nodded furiously, taking it all in. “What do you think I have?”
“Well, you’d have to see your physician, but I think you Couvade Syndrome.”
His eyes widened and he sank back in his chair. “Oh, God. Is that bad? That sounds bad. Doesn’t that sound bad?” he asked, turning to Alec and I.
“It’s a sympathetic pregnancy. It doesn’t surprise me, based on how close the three of you are.”
“So, we’re going to be like…pregnancy partners?”
“No, asshole,” Alec said, slapping him upside the head. “I’m her pregnancy partner. You’re just fucking weird.”
“Hey, don’t hit me. You could hurt the baby.”
“You don’t have a fucking baby,” Alec retorted.
“You could hurt her baby through me. You heard her, I’m having a sympathetic pregnancy. We’re connected and shit.”
“No, you’re connected through her,” Dr. Sunshine clarified. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t affecting Florrie in the same way.”
“Wait….so, this is all me?” Craig asked, completely stupefied.
“I’m afraid so.”
“So, we don’t have this really great connection?”
Dr. Sunshine shook her head. “I’m afraid not, but if that’s something you really want to explore, I could suggest a few fantasies you could play out.”
“No!” the three of us shouted.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVENTony
I ran through the parking garage as fast as I could, messed up the code three times on the elevator, and then burst into the middle of a meeting in the conference room.
“I’m a dad!”
A round of cheers filled the room and Sinner walked over to me, slapping me not the back. “Congrats, man.”
“Yeah, I know. It was intense, but…whew!”
“So, what is it?” Cap asked.
“A boy.”
“Aw, the Taco man has a little taco boy,” Storm said. “That’s so cute.”
“He’s not a taco. In fact, I named him an Italian name so that he’ll never be confused with a Mexican.”
“What is it?” Storm asked.
“Marcello,” I said proudly, puffing out my chest.
“Marcello,” he grimaced. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I’m dead serious, and I can call him Mark for short.”
“Aww,” Sinner beamed, “you named your kid after me.”
“I did not name my kid after you. I just chose a name that was most definitely Italian.”
“But also my name,” Sinner added. “Which anyone could misconstrue as him being named after me. Hey, I don’t have a problem with it. In fact, I think it’s pretty cool. I’ll have a little kid that’s all mine to screw up.”
“You already have a kid to screw up,” Cap reminded him. Two, in fact.”
“Well, yeah, but it’s not the same. They don’t have my name.”
“They have your last name,” Cap said incredulously.
“You know, you’re really raining on my parade right now.”
“It’s my parade,” I reminded him. “I’m the one that had the baby. He’s my kid, and I didn’t name him after you!”
“Geez,” Sinner
