Cash
C ash felt as though they were all caught up in a whirlwind. The paramedics showed up minutes after they decided on the baby’s name. Mercy also got to name Callan and he and she went traditional. was going to be called Dad and Callan, Daddy. They all knew that once she was old enough to talk, Katie would probably change their names, but they were going to just roll with the punches. This was all so new for him being in love with Mercy and in a polyamorous relationship with her and Callan. Now, there was a baby thrown into the mix and he wasn’t sure that his heart could handle any more. He felt like he was about to burst from just how much he loved the three of them, Mercy, Callan, and now little Katie. They had become his whole world.
The paramedics insisted on taking Mercy and Katie to the hospital, even though Mercy dug her heels in and tried to persuade them otherwise. They told her that it would be best for the baby, and she reluctantly agreed. knew that Mercy worried about facing her old co-workers, but he and Callan would help run interference. His top priority was to make sure that Mercy and their daughter were both healthy.
Mary and Joe promised to head over to the hospital to check on Mercy and Katie later that evening. Emily checked in on Mercy when she first arrived at the hospital. The hospital raised a fuss when they found Emily checking over her friend and the baby since she didn’t have privileges at their facility anymore. There was even talk about having her physically removed from the building until Jackson showed up in his uniform and threatened to personally rip apart whoever laid one finger on his woman. Emily told Mercy that she’d be back the next morning to check in on her strictly as a friend, adding a saucy wink to her statement. loved the way Emily protected her friend, and he was so grateful that she was there to make sure that Mercy and Katie were both all right.
Callan was sitting in the corner of the little hospital room that they put Mercy and Katie in after the doctor told them all to get comfortable. He wanted to keep them overnight, just to keep an eye on their vitals. He was thankful that Mercy seemed to follow all the lingo that the doctors and nurses used because he had no idea what an APGAR test was or why his daughter needed to have her heel pricked twice before they were allowed to take her back home.
sat down next to Callan and kissed Katie’s little head. “You look worried, man,” Callan whispered, looking over to where Mercy finally slept in her hospital bed.
shook his head, “Not worried. I was just thinking about how I can’t wait to get Mercy and this little girl home so we can take care of them.” Callan nodded his agreement.
“I get it —I feel the same way. They are both my everything. You all are. I never thought that this could work out but here we are. The four of us together feels more like a family than any I ever had.” thought about how true Callan’s words were. He felt the same way about their family as Callan.
“When you showed up at my apartment that first night to tell me that you wanted to go after Mercy and make her ours, I thought you were crazy. I didn’t know how this would work between the three of us, but it does. I don’t think that I’ve ever properly thanked you for kicking my ass into gear. I wouldn’t be here holding our baby if you hadn’t. Thanks, man.” pulled Callan in for a quick hug, careful not to smush Katie. The newborn squirmed in Callan’s arms, and he handed her over to .
He looked down at their daughter still not able to believe that she was there. Katie came barreling into their world squalling and causing quite an uproar and she was perfect. “You never have to thank me, Callan. We’re all in this together. It just took a little more persuasion to get you on board, but I wouldn’t change a thing either. I can’t explain why we all work together but we do.” Katie started to squirm, and had a moment of panic, but Callan seemed to know exactly what to do. He leaned in to quietly hum to their daughter and she seemed to settle down again.
“See, we work together. Between the two of us, we have our shit together and we’ll be able to take care of both of our girls,” said. Callan nodded, not missing a beat to his soothing lullaby.
“Yeah, but we need to stop cussing around our little princess here.” Callan chuckled. thought back over what he just said, realizing that he was going to have to stay on his toes if he wanted to clean up his act. It was going to take a lot of work, but his family was worth it—they all were.