Chapter 25
Today is D day.
And by that I mean delivery day.
Sutton held on for as long as she could and made it to thirty-four weeks.
A few days ago her vitals took a dip, and her blood pressure kept rising even with the medication the doctors were giving her.
We didn’t want to take any chances, and with the neonatal team, Melissa assures us is going to be the best, we are about to be taken in for a caesarean section to help deliver safely for both my wife and baby boy.
My wife.
The moment that seventy-two hour waiting period was up, we recited our vows in the little hospital chapel. I know it’s not the most ideal way to get married, but I’ve promised her a big celebration and renewal once she and baby boy are out of this prison.
“You ready, Dad?” I hear one of the nurses say as she comes in with a pair of scrubs in her hands and extends them out to me to put on.
“As long as she and the baby are fine then I’m ready,” I say with confidence.
What I don’t show is how I’m a nervous wreck on the inside.
I’m putting my woman and baby’s life in the hands of someone else, and that doesn’t sit right with me.
It’s hard to trust anyone after all the shit we’ve been through the last few months.
That is why Melissa, Ian, Raegan, and Ivy will all be in the operating room with us.
Ian and Melissa to be an extra pair of hands and to make sure her OB does everything right.
Raegan and Ivy are here for moral support and to take video and pictures.
Sutton and I decided that once they take the baby to the NICU that I’d be the one to stay with him, and the girls will stay with her.
I didn’t like it at first, but once she pleaded with me about someone watching over him, I couldn’t deny her that request. Raegan and Ivy will switch with me once baby boy is settled in, and then I can be with my wife.
At first the hospital was against that many people, but Melissa and Ian pulled some strings, and even if they didn’t, I’d find a way to make whatever Sutton wanted happen.
“She’s in good hands,” the nurse assures me.
An older woman comes in with a man by her side. Dr. Doris is in her early sixties with no plans of retiring anytime soon.
“How are you feeling, Sutton? Ready to meet that baby boy?” the doctor asks.
“You sure he’ll be okay coming this early?” Sutton worries her hands, twisting them. I reach out and wrap them in mine giving her the support she needs.
“We’ve got the best team ready to receive him. You and he are going to do great, and hopefully this time next week, we will be discussing his release date,” Dr. Doris says then points over to the man beside her. “This is Dr. Thompson, he’s your anesthesiologist.”
The next few minutes the doctors go over the procedure, step by step from the moment we go through the operating room doors. They answer every question Sutton and I have and leave nothing out.
“If there is nothing else, we’ll see you soon,” Dr. Doris says then they leave to prep for surgery.
“How you feeling, Angel?” I ask, sitting on the side of the bed.
“Ready.” She puts on a brave face, but I can see through it. “Anxious.”
“Everything is gonna be fine. You and baby boy are in good hands,” I tell her and she nods.
“I love you,” she says leaning up as much as she can and I meet her the rest of the way for a kiss on the lips.
“Love you too, baby.”
“Oh, did you get Zane’s present?”
“Gave it to Martha already,” I say. “We’ve got the whole crew takin’ up the entire waiting room.”
“Knock, knock! They’re ready for you,” the same nurse that brought me my scrubs comes in with another nurse.
“You ready to grow our family by one?” I ask looking down at my wife and smile. God, I couldn’t have picked a better woman to have as mine.
She gives me a bright smile in return then nods. “I’m ready to meet him.”
They roll her down the hall to a set of elevators down to the ground floor where the operating rooms are in the hospital. When we get in, all our people are there waiting outside the door. Raegan and Ivy start snapping pictures as Melissa comes over.
“Sweet girl, you’re going to do so great in there,” she reassures Sutton.
“Thanks.”
They ask us to stay in the hall while Dr. Thompson does a spinal block to numb her from the waist down.
“You doing okay?” Raegan asks me.
Why is everyone so worried about me?
“Just want her and the baby to be fine,” I say as I try to peek in the room to see what is going on. “You ready for all this?” I ask and point down at her very prominent pregnant belly under her set of scrubs.
A smile graces her lips as she places a hand on her stomach. “I can’t wait for this little one to come.”
“They’re in good hands,” Melissa says as she bounces on her feet with anticipation.
Once they let us in the room, everything happens so quickly. Before we can blink, Dr. Doris is calling out orders and commands as I sit down on a circular rolling chair by Sutton’s head. They have a large towel hanging in front of her chest and her arms are out wide, strapped down.
Within minutes, we hear Dr. Doris announce, “Okay, Mom and Dad, here he is.”
There’s a pause of silence in the room, and my head peeks over the hanging towel as I watch the doctor pull our baby from Sutton’s body. The small sound of crying immediately fills the room, and I hear Sutton let out a sob, bringing my attention from our boy to her.
“You did it, Angel,” I praise her and kiss her lips.
“Want to cut the cord, Dad?” I hear asked.
With great pleasure, I stand and use the instrument outreached to me. I cut the supply chain from my woman and our child. I didn’t realize the emotion that would flood me, but then I remember back when Zane was born and having the same reaction.
“Go check on him,” she urges as I stand there frozen in my thoughts.
Dr. Thompson, who is on the other side of Sutton, says, “I’ve got her, go ahead.”
Melissa comes over and after she sits down where I just was, I hesitate for a brief moment before rushing over to the corner where a clear plastic box and machines are stored.
There is a large team of people in scrubs all working in sync as they check over my baby, all calling out numbers and orders.
“Five pounds, five ounces…”
“Head measuring…”
“Length is eighteen point two inches…”
“Temp is…”
“Apgar is seven, setting timer for five minutes…”
I stand there for a few minutes and watch as they work him over, checking every inch of his perfect little body. I find myself counting each of his tiny toes and fingers.
“Let’s show him off to Mama before we take him upstairs,” one of them says. Melissa and I made sure to tell the staff that the first person to touch or really get a chance to see him was Sutton. She’s the one who has been doing all the work, and she deserves to have that moment.
I trail behind them as the nurse walks our boy over to his mommy. Raegan and Ivy, who I completely forgot were in the room, snap pictures and videos as the nurse approaches Sutton.
“Little guy needed some love from his mama before going up to his room for a bit,” the nurse tells her as tears leak out the corners of my wife’s eyes.
“He’s perfect,” Sutton whispers as the nurse positions the baby on her chest so that our boy can feel his mother’s skin. Sutton kisses everywhere she can reach as our boy places his little hand on her cheek. I feel something cool slide down my cheek and realize that my own tears are falling.
“Do we have a name for this precious baby boy?” another nurse asks beside us.
Sutton breaks her eye contact with our son to find mine. I give a nod. We’ve talked about the names over the last several weeks, and we just knew that this was the one we wanted for our son.
“His name is Rocco Kit Roberts. Rocky for short, if that’s okay with you and Phillip? I’d love to tell him when he grows up that he’s named after our very best friend who saved our lives,” Sutton explains our choice to Melissa who stands next to me.
She lets out a sob and then covers her mouth.
“We’d be so honored for this beautiful little baby to be called that,” Melissa cries and when I look around there’s not a dry eye among our people.
They take little Rocky up to the NICU for further evaluation with Melissa hot on their tail, keeping a watchful eye over him.
Melissa told us that she’d stay by our boy’s side until after I made sure Sutton was settled in.
The original plan was for me to go with our boy, but my need to make sure my wife was stable and okay first ruled that out.
Once he was gone, they rolled Sutton into our room for the next four or so days to recover from surgery.
I’ll be so ready to get the fuck outta this place and home, all under the same familiar roof.
Zane doesn’t like going home at night without me or Sutton, and I have to say I don’t like us being separated right now either, especially since we’ve been apart for so long.
“You did good, Mama,” I say sliding onto the bed next to my wife, careful of all her wires and IVs.
“We did good,” she corrects. Her eyes lazily blink, and I know she’s exhausted.
“Take a nap and rest before everyone comes to see you,” I tell her. “Melissa said that I can wheel you over to see little man once you can move around a bit.”
“Okay.” She doesn’t even put up a fight as her eyes close.
Later that evening, I’m wheeling Sutton over to the NICU as my brothers line the hallway, waiting for a chance to see our son. Each of my brothers places a hand on her shoulder as we pass by, and she makes sure to thank and squeeze each of their hands.
Melissa taps on the glass window of the NICU where he is being kept for observation. He needs a little oxygen and to fatten up a bit, but other than that he’s in perfect health. The nurse that was there earlier comes over pushing our son who’s sleeping in the incubator to where we can all see him.
“So, do we have a name for the little fellow?” Brass asks, not taking his eyes off of the baby.
Sutton looks up at me, and I help her stand from the wheelchair.
Melissa holds onto Crusher as our old prez gives me a reassuring nod.
We’d asked him to come by our room after Sutton woke up from her nap.
We asked him if he’d be okay with us naming our little guy after the son that he lost such a short time ago, and he was floored.
I’d never seen the man so choked up, except for when he lost Rocky.
Raegan and Ivy decided not to tell anyone and to let us announce the name.
“Brothers, I’d like to introduce Rocco Kit Roberts to the family,” I reveal.
“With Melissa and Crusher’s blessing, we’ve got a little Rocky back in the family.
We’ll never be able to replace our fallen brother, but there isn’t another name that could match for our son.
Rocky is the reason we have Sutton and this little man here with us today, so we want to honor him.
We can only hope that our best friend is keeping a watchful eye over our son. ”
As bad as we miss Rocky and how he was taken from us too soon, the energy and joy from the brothers as they jump up to congratulate us is infectious. While I get slung around, Sutton is gently hugged. Stone is the last brother to approach us and has remained very quiet during the celebration.
He clears his throat then looks us in the eyes. There are so many emotions flashing in them that I’m not sure what his reaction will be.
“When Rocky died, a piece of me died along with him,” he begins then clears his throat again and looks at Sutton.
“When you and Raegan came into the mix, he was immediately drawn to you, and I couldn’t figure out why at first. The more I got to know you, the more I understood.
A lot of people avoid those who have a disability or are lacking what society deems normal, but you didn’t.
You always made time for him and included him in everything.
Rocky could be a handful at times, but you never showed that it bothered you.
When Melissa roped you in on the house project, you jumped in with both feet not even batting an eye, and he loved doing those projects with you.
Blaze and I started feeling like you were his only sibling in the world when we had family meals and you were all he could talk about.
” Stone pauses for a second then sniffs.
“There isn’t a single person on this earth that I’d be more honored to carry that name, and I swear on my life that I’ll protect you and this baby.
” He turns and points over at our brothers loitering the hallway.
“They will protect you and this little one with their lives.”
Each of the brothers takes their palm and hits their cuts over his hearts, sending a loud thud echoing on the walls.
“Thank you,” Sutton whispers as she cries and then steps into Stone’s waiting arms. He whispers something that I can’t hear and she nods.
Later that night, I watch as Sutton peacefully sleeps in the bed.
Zane is coming up tomorrow to meet his little brother.
We video chatted earlier, but he was more interested in showing us his new building blocks than looking at the baby.
I have a feeling that he’s going to have a hard time sharing Sutton with his brother.
“You’re still awake?” my wife sleepily asks.
The light to the bathroom is on, and it lights half the room up.
Being shut in a dark tornado shelter for two months with little light has her not wanting to be in dark rooms. Melissa said that it’ll take some time for my wife to adjust to sleeping with the lights off, but it only fuels my blood to make the man responsible hurt a little more each day.
We’ve got good ol’ Shepherd Walter strung up in our guesthouse.
Been there for weeks. He receives daily whippings and is on ice until I’m able to leave my little family and give him the attention I think he should have.
We still have some questions that need answers, and until I’ve made sure that Sutton and little Rocky are good and safe, I’m putting him on the backburner.
“Just thinking about stuff,” I answer.
“’Bout what?”
“How lucky I am that Stone kicked my ass the day we met, and I went for a ride and stopped to have a drink at Frankie’s,” I tell her. Our paths were going to cross at a later time, but I’m sure glad I got to taste heaven that night.
“Come lie down and hold me,” she mumbles, not even opening her eyes.
Slowly I get up from the chair and make my way over to the bed. I slide in next to her as she attempts to scoot over. She molds to me like a second skin, brushing up against my dick.
“Careful, Darlin’, this is how we ended up here in the first place,” I say next to her earlobe.
She moans at my words, “Okay, but the next one better be a girl, I’m a little outnumbered here.”