“I would mind if you didn’t. Remember, I asked you to not disappear?” Randy said pulling her as close as she could without hurting her leg.
****
Sam sat in the rocking chair in NICU holding baby Jace. “You sir, are a pig. I can’t believe you have doubled your weight in five short weeks buddy! You should be proud of your accomplishment! Now, with any luck, today you are going to get that nasty breathing tube out.” She crooned at him.
Jenna stood silently in the doorway watching the interaction. She had stopped by on her morning break to see Jace and found Sam there already. Her hand went to her belly subconsciously. She was two months pregnant now and the only other person that knew was sitting in front of her holding their tiny son. “Good morning baby. I didn’t know you were coming back this morning?” She leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “Where is Jackson?”
“I figured he was old enough to stay home alone, now that he’s a big brother, twice over.” Sam stuck her tongue out.
“Ha, ha, ha. Very funny smart ass. As someone once told me, don’t stick your tongue out unless you intend to use it! I don’t think you’re crazy enough to leave our fourteen month old son home alone.” Jenna laughed.
“He is hanging out with Rebecca for a bit. I wanted to come back because it’s an important day for him; they are taking his breathing tube out.” She smiled up at Jenna.
Jenna was struck by the beautiful picture in front of her. The woman she loved and shared her life with was holding a tiny, perfectly created little baby who had come into their lives at the most unexpected time. “I just talked to Doctor Ryder and he said that if Jace takes to eating from a bottle well and continues to gain weight, they might take his feeding tube out by the weekend. He also said that depending upon how his breathing goes when the tube comes out, it might be a matter of a few weeks before he’s comfortable allowing us to take him home!”
Sam’s eyes grew big. “Well, we asked for it! I guess while Jackson is napping today I’ll pull out the bassinet and car seat from downstairs. We won’t need another crib for a while yet. Really, probably all we need to buy for him is some premie clothes and diapers; we can reuse everything from Jackson.
“I guess our bedroom is going to be a revolving door for a while. Jackson inhabited it with us for a while, now Jace will and before we know it, this little one will be here taking up residence.” She patted her belly.
Sam caught Jenna’s hand and brought it up to kiss it. “You really are amazing you know that? You opened up your heart to loving Jackson before he was ever born. Now you’ve done it again for Jace here, who lost his mother before he had a chance to even know her. Soon, this little one you’re carrying will be here and our lives will be crazy, but they will be full of love. I can’t imagine having a more amazing person to share it all with, than you.”
Jenna’s eyes filled with tears. “Don’t make me cry honey. I’m doing really well with the emotional thing so far. I love you too, with all of my heart and more. I have to run now, but when I get home I promise I will show you just how much.” She kissed Sam goodbye and gently kissed Jace’s head. “Bye buddy. Mama will be back by to see you before I leave tonight.”
Sam watched her walk until she couldn’t see her any longer. I can’t believe she’s mine. She looked down at Jace. “You’re one lucky little boy, you have now have two mama’s that love you. We will never let anyone hurt you. Just you wait until you meet your big brother; he will take care of you too.” And I need to make sure that all of you are taken care of, and the best way I can think of to do that, is to marry your mama. A huge smile spread over her face as the idea took hold. I’m going to ask Jenna to marry me!
Several hours later, the doctor has successfully removed Jace’s breathing tube and for the first time in the five weeks since he had been born, they heard him cry. His little voice was hoarse from the irritation to his vocal cords that the tube caused, but Sam couldn’t think of a more beautiful sound in the world. She even pulled out her phone to record it so Jenna could see it. She sent a quick text to Jenna with the video attached and typed Your son is practicing, are you ready to hear this in the middle of the night again? If you can come down here on your lunch, they are going to let you try to feed him from a bottle!
She snuggled Jace back into his incubator after she had him back asleep and was preparing to leave when her phone buzzed in her pocket.
Tell them I’ll be down at 1 to feed him. I love you. I will take the crying in the middle of the night any day over missing out on the joy that they bring us.
Sam smiled. Marry me. Yep, I’ve got some errands to run so I better get moving. She let the nurses know that Jenna would be down at one on her lunch and hurried to her car. She dialed Rebecca as she started the car so her phone could run through the car speakers and she could drive while she talked with her. “Rebecca? Hey, I know it’s a lot to ask of you right now, but I
