The baby that was hopefully set to come out of the NICU within the next four to five weeks, if all things went well.
The only problem was, there was still no decision made on where the baby would go.
At least, there wasn’t before I’d taken the phone call.
Now? Well, now we had a cut and dry case. She would never be able to come at me again.
I slowly made my way inside, stopping only when I stood just inside the door.
He glanced over almost absently, turned back to the phone, only to return his gaze to me when he registered that I was staring at him.
“What happened?” he asked, standing up with a look of alarm on his face. “Did you get in a wreck or something?”
“No, not exactly.” I licked my lips. “I, uh, I just got a call.”
He blinked. “And?”
“The DNA came back,” I said. “Per court order, remember?”
He frowned but nodded. “Yes. I remember. I gave you my DNA, remember?”
I rolled my eyes at his sarcastic response. “I know. But. Well. While the lawyer was there, he decided to, for shits and giggles, give them Eerie’s DNA, too. She’d left a cup at the NICU. I gave them the straw out of the cup.”
He frowned hard at me. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that Eerie’s DNA didn’t match the baby’s,” I told him bluntly.
He sat up straighter in the seat.
“What are you… are you sure that you got the right DNA?” he asked.
I nodded. “She was drinking this ridiculously stupid drink from a nutrition place to help her with her ‘milk production’ that she had no intention of using,” I explained. “The cup was left with a shit ton of nasty looking green stuff in it. The straw was, too. I know that the cup was hers. She left it there because she knew that I’d have to clean it up.”
“I…” He started to ask why I would have to be the one to clean it up, but everything else won out.
“The baby isn’t hers.”
“If not hers, then whose?” He frowned hard.
I was already shaking my head. “I don’t know. But what I do know is that you need to call the lawyer right now. The only thing that Eerie did at this point was act like a human incubator for seven months. That baby’s not hers at all. He’s yours.”
“And your face?” he asked, finally registering what might’ve happened.
“She punched me. And I let her.” I grinned then. “And Ford arrested her.”
Chapter 22
There should be sympathy cards for Mondays.
-Text from Reggie to Nathan
Reggie
“What do you mean I can’t go in there?” Eerie all but screeched.
I’d been waiting to hear what charges would be brought against her for twenty-four hours. Twenty-four blissful hours where we didn’t have to worry about her crazy ass at all.
I could hear what she was saying because I was standing outside the NICU doors waiting for her along with a security guard.
Nathan was inside visiting his son.
His son that, as of twenty minutes ago, had a few changes in his chart concerning the woman currently glaring daggers at me.
Not only had the judge decided, once and for all, that the baby would be able to go home with Nathan and me, but she’d also ruled that Eerie would have no access to the baby at all.
For once, Nathan’s money and influences were put to use.
The baby now known as Darren Wolfgang Amsel-Cox was completely ours. Darren after Nathan’s biological father. Wolfgang after his adoptive father, Wolf. It was heartwarming.
And last night when Nathan signed the paperwork, I’d cried. I hadn’t stopped crying since we’d come up to the NICU and I got to face off with she-bitch from hell.
“I mean,” I said carefully, “that you’re not Darren’s mother. You’re a surrogate.”
Eerie’s eyes widened into saucers. “Would you stop calling the baby Darren! That’s not his name! And I’m not the surrogate! I’m his mother!”
She was clearly delusional.
“Darren, formerly known as Stanley.” I grinned, knowing it’d piss her off. “We did another DNA test, per court order. As you know seeing as we just went over this yesterday. You were the one that requested the test, remember? They sent both samples, yours and Nathan’s, to the lab. I know that the baby’s lawyer called you and your lawyer yesterday with the news that your DNA didn’t match to Darren’s. So here’s the question, whose eggs did you use to start this whole mess? Does some chick have a baby that she has no idea about?”
Eerie growled in frustration. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! That baby is mine! We’ll have another DNA test to prove it!”
I nearly rolled my eyes at her refusal to see the truth.
“Listen, Eerie,” I said softly, knowing that my lighter tone would cause her to stop screeching. “You’re not getting into the NICU. No way, no how. If you have a problem with the decision made by the judge, appeal it. We’ll be happy to perform another DNA test for you. However, you need to realize that this isn’t going to change anything. If you have a problem with any of this, I would definitely go see someone else that’s not us.” I paused. “And, just sayin’, but if you get yourself kicked out of this place for good, you’re going to regret it since you work here. Think about that before you do anything really stupid. I would hate for you to lose your job like you lost your kid.”
Eerie’s face went slack.
“I’m sorry.” I shrugged. “But maybe next time you’ll remember that Karma’s a bitch.”
Eerie growled in frustration and tried to lunge at me again.
This time the security guards—the same ones as yesterday—caught her before she could make any contact with me.
“That’s enough,” the big security guard said. “Time to leave.”
He all but dragged Eerie into the elevator
