26. Chapter Twenty-six
Jax
Jax looked over to see Ford flat on the floor, face pale. He wanted to laugh, but the woman was in distress. He rushed to her and held her hand, smoothing her sweaty, black hair away from her face. “Rosa, tell me what’s wrong?” He lifted her head to rest against his left thigh.
“I don’t know. I started bleeding as I was making the bed. Please, please, call the doctor. I don’t want to lose my little boy.” She sniffled as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Ambulance is on the way. Is she in labor?” Cade rushed over to the other side of the woman, feeling her pulse.
“If she is, something’s terribly wrong. I forgot he faints at the sight of blood. Which reminds me, you need to go with him to get tested because somebody’s gotta hold his hand. I relinquish that duty to you. I get tested all the time for everything under the sun, so I know I’m fine. You two get tested, and we can toss condoms for home play,” Jax suggested.
Cade giggled. “As tempting as that is to undertake immediately, we have bigger things on our plate right now.” He glanced at the woman leaning against Jax.
“Do you feel any pains, Rosa?” Cade asked.
“Every few minutes,” she told them before she began screaming just as the sirens stopped in front of their building.
Ford finally woke and turned his head. “Tell me what to do.” His eyes jumped between Cade and Jax.
“Go show the paramedics where to come. She’s in labor, but I’m not sure—don’t turn around. Go!” Jax ordered.
After he was steady on his feet, Ford raced out as Cade returned with towels. He gently shoved one under Rosa’s skirt before he took a hand towel to dry her face. Jax picked her up and began making his way to the elevator, knowing it would be faster to take her down than wait for them to come up. When they got out of the elevator car, the paramedics were standing in the lobby with a gurney and gear.
“Here. This was faster. We heard her scream about twenty minutes ago. I broke into her apartment to find her bleeding on the floor. Nobody else was there with her. She’s lost a lot of blood, and she’s in pain. Where are you taking her?” Jax placed her on the gurney.
“Chicago General,” a female paramedic told him.
“ No! ” Jax demanded. “Take her to Hope. I’ll pay the bill myself, but she’s not a stray dog. She’s pregnant with a little boy. Take her to Hope.”
“You better come with us. If she doesn’t have insurance, they won’t accept her,” the male paramedic stated, pissing off Jax.
Jax turned to Cade and smiled. “Chère, get my checkbook and bring my car. Ford needs to get his head looked at, anyway.” The two men chuckled as Cade nodded before he took Ford by the hand to catch the elevator back upstairs.
Jax went with the new neighbor, praying for her the entire way to the hospital in the ambulance. They’d started an IV and gave her oxygen. The female paramedic was speaking to the hospital over the radio, getting instructions from a doctor, or so Jax hoped.
The male who wasn’t the driver continued staring at him. “You’re Jackson Delacroix, number seventy-nine,” the man stated with a hint of awe in his voice.
Jax turned to him as he continued to hold Rosa’s hand. “I am, but we have more immediate concerns at the moment, don’t we?” He motioned to the woman, who was suddenly unconscious.
When they pulled up in front of the hospital and the back doors were opened, Jax released her hand as the medical staff hurriedly pulled her out of the back while the female paramedic was spouting statistics. The male looked at Jax and smiled, sticking out his hand. “Roger Grimes. I’m a big fan.”
Jax looked down to see his pants were covered in blood. “Roger, nice to meet you. I need to get inside to see what’s going on with this young woman.” Jax hurried into the emergency room but was halted by a large nurse with an unamused look on her face.
“ You are? ” She was definitely the one in charge. Jax didn’t see Rosa anywhere, and he worried.
“I came in with my friend, Rosa. She was hemorrhaging. She’s pregnant.”
“Are you the father?” The woman’s face was puckered into a snarl.
He pondered the best way to answer, quickly deciding he had enough of a public relations mess on his hands regarding his personal relationships and adding a Latina and a son wouldn’t help, so honesty was the best policy.
“No, ma’am. I’m her neighbor. I heard her screaming in her apartment and found her on the floor in a puddle of blood. I just… I don’t really know her at all, but she was in awful shape. She doesn’t seem to have anyone because she moved in alone. I helped her move some boxes last week after she signed her lease. She seems like a nice young woman, and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her,” Jax explained.
The nurse’s expression softened, and she smiled. “So, you’re her brother? I see the family resemblance already. They rushed her to labor and delivery. If you don’t mind sitting in—how about you come sit back here in this conference room? No need to cause a stink in the waiting room, Cajun.” The woman smiled at him.
Jax returned it and followed her to a small, private waiting room with a television and a fancy coffeemaker, along with a sink so he could wash up at least. “My friends are on the way with my checkbook. I’m signing for her care, okay? Kincade Hayes and Branford Thomas are their names.”
The nurse chuckled. “I’m well aware of who they are, Mr. Delacroix. I’ve seen you in the papers, and seriously, you’re extremely lucky. They’re both hot. Anyway, stay outta sight. I’ll direct them back here,” she assured.
Jax nodded in appreciation and did what he imagined men had done through the ages… he paced. No, it wasn’t his baby, but he’d met the woman the week before they went to Dallas for the game, and she seemed nice. He’d been more than happy to help her carry boxes while he waited for Cade and Ford to come home from the club that night.
At first, Rosa had rejected his offer of assistance, but Jax’s charm—or so he told himself—won her over. He smiled as he remembered meeting Rosa.
Ford and Cade showed up a few minutes later and were led into the room by the same nurse. “What’s the deal?” Ford asked.
“I helped her move some boxes the other day. Her name is Rosa Torres. That’s as much as I know.”
Cade made them coffee, and the three of them sat on the hard chairs. They watched the Monday night game between Green Bay and Detroit. Jax and Ford took turns pacing while Cade kept making coffee from the fancy machine, finally proclaiming, “So, we have time to talk. Let’s decide on this moving business together .”
“Look, we thought it was better if you lived with us because we believe—” Ford turned to Jax for support.
Jax grinned. “We believe you’ll feel more secure if you live with us, Cade. You staying at our place is fine, but it’s too easy for you to leave if there’s a blowup before we hash things out. We need to discuss our differences of opinion if this is ever going to work.”
“You guys, it’s only been a couple of months,” Cade reminded, which Jax didn’t want to hear.
“A lot of gay guys fall in love in a matter of days, okay? You can’t measure against a calendar. When you feel it, you feel it.” Jax’s statement brought a laugh from his boyfriends.
Their laughter stopped when the nurse walked in. “Rosa’s brothers? She’s in surgery. They need to deliver the little guy by C-section. I’ll keep you posted.”
When she walked out, Cade and Ford turned to Jax. “Huh?”
“We have an understanding, okay? She’s nice.” Based on their initial meeting, he was surprised he’d concluded she was nice.
Two hours later, the same nurse returned to tell them Baby Boy Torres was born a month premature, but he was healthy. He weighed four pounds and eight ounces. He’d be in the NICU for a few hours, but the prognosis was good.
“How about his mother?” Cade asked.
The nurse sighed. “She’s in recovery. She… Do you know how to contact next of kin? That might be important.”
Ford stepped forward. “I’ll go to her place to see if I can find anything to help. Is she conscious?” The nurse shook her head before she left.
“Fuck,” Jax hissed. He prayed he was never in the position of having no one to call in a crisis. It was a shitty spot for the woman to be in.
Ford went back to the apartment building after leaving Cade and Jax to find out about Rosa Torres’ condition. She was a complete stranger to them until that afternoon when Jax had the great idea to move Cade’s things into the apartment to begin the settling down process they both wanted so much.
Ford wasn’t in favor of invading the young man’s privacy without a discussion, but his lover could be persuasive when he wanted something. In the end, it came down to a coin toss, which Jax won.
Ford went to Rosa’s apartment, pushing open the door, which was barely closed. He made a note on his phone to call someone to repair the damage his hulking boyfriend had caused, and he readied himself to go through the woman’s private papers to find information.
He looked in kitchen drawers but failed to find even an address book. He moved to the living room, not finding anything regarding Rosa’s family among her sparse furnishings.
The spare room had only a crib and changing table. He opened the drawers under the table to see baby clothes, so he went to her bedroom, finding a desk in the corner. He opened the drawers and found them empty. There weren’t any papers, aside from the lease she’d signed.
He grabbed it and looked around, finding a purse with a wallet, lipstick, a mirror, and a bus pass. Inside the wallet was twenty-eight dollars, along with a picture of three women who looked like her holding hands.
No driver’s license or passport or even an ID card. Nothing identified the young woman beyond the name on the lease, Rosa Torres .
Ford left everything the way he found it and went back to the apartment he, Jax, and Cade were supposed to share. He grabbed a change of clothes for the three of them, along with toothbrushes, toothpaste, and deodorant.
He drove Jax’s Hummer back to the hospital and after parking it outside the emergency room entrance, he carried the bag inside, unsure if they were going to be spending the night. It would be up to the big man. Rosa Torres was his cause.
Ford felt a nudge to his arm and opened his eyes to see Jax. Cade’s head was resting on Ford’s lap. He didn’t remember where they were for a minute, but then it all came rushing back. Pregnant woman… blood… passing out… hospital. All very ugly.
“Let’s go home. The cops were able to find Rosa’s family. Not our responsibility anymore.” Jax leaned forward and kissed Ford on the lips.
“What if… Do you want kids, Jackson? We’ve never discussed it.” Ford’s left hand rested on Cade’s chest, feeling the inhale and exhale of his lover. It was like feeling his own heart beating.
Jax sat down on the other side of him and kissed his cheek. “I could never fathom raising a child, babe. My parents were so fucked up, and I was raised in such a strange way. I couldn’t begin to figure out how not to fuck up a child. You?”
“No, not a small child, but…” He trailed off for a moment, wondering if it was the right time.
“But?” Jax asked.
Ford closed his eyes and counted one… two… three. “Jackson, will you marry me?”
He heard Jax take a deep breath, but he also heard Cade take a deep breath before he sat up, looking expectantly at Jax. After a few seconds, Cade whispered, “Answer him, you big dummy.”
The three of them laughed. “As tempting as that sounds, Branford, I’ll have to decline. We have someone else to think about.” Jax took Cade’s hand and pulled him onto his lap.
Ford chuckled. “Oh, I’m not letting him get away either. I’ve had research done into the situation, and I have an excellent solution to our problem.”
“So?” Jax enquired.
“So, will you marry me?”
Jax stared at Cade, whose head was bobbing like a bobblehead doll. “I… Yeah, I will, babe.”
The three men hugged each other just as the nice nurse came into the room. “Before you leave, Ms. Torres would like to see you guys.”
They filed to the room where Rosa Torres was sitting up in bed with a beautiful little boy in her arms. As they walked into the room, Ford grabbed both Cade’s and Jax’s hands. They walked up to the side of the bed where no equipment was in danger of being disturbed.
Rosa looked at each of them as she teared up. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did. My parents and I weren’t speaking because they were unhappy about my pregnancy, but the police were able to track my contact information and get to my parents who called the hospital. My doctor spoke with them and explained things, so they’re going to take us back home with them when we can leave in a few days. I’d appreciate it if you’d watch my place until I can get my brothers organized to help me move. Also, I know you’re Jax,” she stated and pointed at the big redhead.
“Jackson, Rosa. I’m Jackson. This is Branford, and that’s Kincade.”
Ford extended his arms. “Maybe could I hold him?”
Rosa gently handed him the baby, ensuring he was supporting the small head, and she smiled. “So, my son’s name will be Jackson Branford Kincade Torres. We’ll call him Juan, but I want him named in honor of the men who saved both of our lives.” She wiped tears from her eyes as Jax reached for the little boy.
Ford turned to see the big man holding the tiny baby, who looked even tinier in his arms. He reached for his phone and snapped a picture of the two of them. He turned to look back at Rosa, seeing a look of concern on her face.
“Is he holding him wrong?” Ford asked.
“Did I offend your friend? I was only trying to honor him by adding his name.” She glanced at the space next to Jax where Cade had been standing. He was gone.
When Ford and Jax arrived home later, Kincade wasn’t there, and neither were a lot of his clothes. There was, however, a note on the counter.
Ford had to dry the tears in his eyes to finish reading the letter. The proposal wasn’t meant to exclude Kincade. It was meant to be a stabilizing factor for the three of them. He turned to see Jax with tears streaming down his face.
“I didn’t think you wanted… What was the but ?” Jax wiped his hands across his eyes.
“I had Robin look into it, and she came up with an old-school solution. You and I get married and then we adopt him. Adult adoption is easy. That way we’re a family with equal rights. We can share a last name and everything each of us has belongs to the other. It was commonplace before civil unions became accepted and legal,” Ford explained, not able to stem his flow of tears either.
“Did he know?” Jax asked.
“I was about to explain it before the nurse came in. I don’t think there’s any way the three of us could be legally married, but this way, we can become a family,” Ford continued to explain.
“Well, we have a problem,” Jax stated.
Yes, they had a problem.
To be continued...