Epilogue
Judge
TODAY HAS BEEN the best day of my life. Wren agreed to become my wife and we got married today.
Lash was the officiant as I was for his wedding.
He brought just enough humor to the event while keeping the ceremony short.
Wren is ready to go into labor any minute but she refused to give birth to our boys without being married.
I was happy to marry her so we made it happen.
We’ve already eaten and had a ton of pictures taken for the day.
It’s been exhausting, but Wren has the brightest smile on her face so it’s all worth it.
My wife being happy and smiling at me makes my world complete in ways I never dreamed would happen.
“Are you okay to dance, Little Bird?” I ask her as the DJ we hired announces our first dance.
“Yeah. It might help me stretch out my back. It’s been bothering me for a while now,” she answers as I help her out of the chair and lead her to the makeshift dance floor Tristan and Zach installed.
More than Life by Chanin starts to play as I pull Wren into my arms and she places her hands on my shoulders.
Today she’s wearing a simple white dress that emphasizes her stomach where our boys lay.
Her shoulders and back are bare and she’s not wearing shoes on her feet.
Wren’s been having a few issues with swelling so she chose to go barefoot today and I don’t care as long as she’s happy and comfortable.
Wren left her long hair down in loose curls because she knows it’s my favorite.
I love being able to reach over and play with the long strands as we simply sit together doing nothing.
Wren lays her head against my chest as I pull her body in close to mine. When I go to slowly spin us, I hear my wife gasp.
“What’s wrong, Little Bird?” I ask her as she pulls away from me, looking between our feet.
“My water just broke, Bray,” she says, panic filling her voice as I look down in shock. “Fuck!”
Wren bends over and grabs her stomach as a contraction hits her. I hold her up as my brothers, Fury, Gramps, and Demolition race to surround us. Lifting Wren in my arms, I carry her through our friends and family while Tristan and Zach race ahead of us to get the SUV.
“It’s gonna be okay, Little Bird. We’ll get you to the hospital. Someone call Dr. Sanchez and have her meet us there. No one else will touch my wife but her,” I order as I climb in the backseat of the SUV with Wren still in my arms.
Tristan is already in the driver’s seat with Zach in the passenger as Fury climbs in next to me and Demolition closes the door. The Prospect drives away the second the doors are closed. I can hear the roar of bikes behind us and know everyone is following us to the hospital.
“It hurts, Bray,” Wren says as another contraction hits.
“I know, Little Bird. If I could take the pain from you, I would in a heartbeat and not think twice. We’ll be at the hospital soon,” I tell her, letting her grab my hand as I rub her back the best I can in the cramped confines of the backseat.
Wren has two more contractions before we pull into the parking lot. I try to talk her through them and remind her to breathe as each one ravages her body and makes her pant. Sweat already covers her skin as she writhes against me.
“The second Tristan stops, Zach go in, alert someone we’re here and grab a wheelchair or somethin’. I want my wife as comfortable as possible,” I order as Wren wraps her body around mine even more since she’s not having any contractions right this second.
“On it,” Zach says as he jumps out of the SUV before it fully stops.
Tristan puts it in park and jumps out to open my door as Fury gets out and rushes to our side.
In a matter of seconds, everything is chaotic.
A group of staff rush outside and I set Wren down in the wheelchair before it’s taken from me.
I have to run to catch up with her and barely make it in the elevator as Fury, Tristan, and Zach miss the ride.
We’re taken into a room and Wren is put on the bed.
I help her change into a gown before Dr. Sanchez makes her way in and checks my wife.
“Wren, you’re about six centimeters dilated.
It’s still going to be a little bit so we’ll have you hooked up to the monitors, get your vitals, and I’ll be back in a few minutes.
You still want to try for a regular birth and not a cesarean section?
” Dr. Sanchez asks her as I move to her side and hold her hand.
“Yes. I don’t want a cesarean section unless there’s an emergency,” Wren tells the doctor before orders are given and everything continues moving at a rapid pace. I have no clue what to expect and I’m honestly scared something will happen to the three most important people in my world.
***
Wren is a fucking champ. She had our boys naturally with no pain medicine or anything.
Dr. Sanchez asked her if she wanted anything when she came back in the room.
Wren said no because she wants to do everything as natural as possible.
I’m not sure why she came to the decision not to help herself, but I fully support her and always will.
After four more hours of labor, our first son was born.
He cried loud as I cut the cord and prepared for Wren to deliver our second son.
I watched closely as a nurse took our boy across the room and placed him in some kind of bed.
She cleaned him up, suctioned his nose, and then did a bunch of other stuff before putting a diaper on him, wrapping him in a blanket, and securing a hat on his small head.
The entire time, Wren was struggling to deliver our second boy.
I could see the exhaustion on her face as she pushed with every ounce of strength she had in her drained body.
I don’t know where she found the determination to keep going, but in a matter of minutes, our second baby was delivered.
Again, I cut the cord before he was taken over next to his brother.
“I fuckin’ love you, Little Bird. You’re so damn strong and have given me two of the best gifts in my life,” I tell her, leaning down and giving her a kiss as I listen to our second son scream and cry like he’s been offended by the world around him.
“I love you, Bray. Thank you for being here with me as we welcome our sons into the world,” she says, her eyes sliding closed as Dr. Sanchez continues working on her.
“Nothin’ could have kept me away, Little Bird. Rest and I’ll keep an eye on our boys,” I tell her, pressing a kiss against her forehead as Dr. Sanchez finally finishes up whatever she was doing.
Dr. Sanchez let me know the nurses will take the twins for their first bath and to finish running the tests on them.
The second they’re done, they’ll be brought back in the room with us.
I’m not good with them being out of my sight.
Fury went with them and kept an eye on things while I remained with Wren.
A nurse helped clean her up and change her gown.
When Wren walked to the bathroom with my help, I saw the nurse change the sheets and blankets on the bed so everything would be clean when my wife gets back in.
Wren did her business and I held her while she washed her hands. She’s weak and it’s to be expected after everything her body just went through. I couldn’t have done even a portion of what she just did.
Wren’s been sleeping on and off for the last hour as I hold our sons in my arms. They’re both so tiny and barely weigh anything at all.
One of them is wrapped in a blue blanket with a matching hat while the other one is covered in light green.
I can’t stop looking at them and for the first time in my life experience unconditional love at first sight.
There is no way I’ll disappear on them the way my parents did with the three of us.
I can’t imagine being away from my sons or wife for any length of time at all.
Going on runs moving forward is going to be hard as hell.
“I promise the two of you right now that I will always be here for you. I might have to go on runs every now and then, but you’ll know when I’ll be back and it won’t ever be for very long.
When you get a little bigger, I’m gonna teach you everythin’ you’ll need to know about bikes, family, and the club.
I’ll take you to games, watch any sports you play, and celebrate every achievement you accomplish.
You’ll never feel as if I don’t want to be your dad and give you everythin’ I never got to experience growin’ up.
Your mom will keep me in check and make sure I don’t ever fuck up as badly as my parents did,” I say, keeping my eyes locked on the babies in my arms.
“That’s right I will,” Wren says, her voice weak as I look up to find her smiling at me.
“You’re gonna be a great dad, Braydon. There isn’t a doubt in my mind.
I won’t ever have to kick your ass or keep you in check because you’ll do it yourself.
You already love the boys so much and won’t ever be able to make them feel as if they’re not important to you.
Now, we have to come up with names for them. ”
Standing up carefully, I hand one of our boys over to Wren. I’m nervous holding them, but they’ll never know it because I can’t get enough of them. I stare down at the little boy in my arms and try to think of a name.
“What about this one being called Luka Parker?” Wren asks me as I move closer and look down at him. The second my wife says the name, he opens his eyes and yawns. We both start laughing. “Yeah, I think you like that, Luka.”
“I like it. For this little guy, what if we call him Noah Alexander?” I ask as he starts to whimper in his sleep while moving around. He opens and closes his mouth as we once again start to laugh. “Welcome to the world, Noah.”
“Are you guys up for visitors?” I hear my brother Nolan ask from the doorway.
“Come on in,” Wren answers as I sit down in the chair next to her.
Wren’s room is soon filled with my brothers, sisters-in-law, Gramps, Fury, Demolition, Tristan, and Zach.
They let us know everyone else is waiting their turn but right now it’s time for family.
As we talk, I notice Wren get really quiet and a look of sadness fills her face.
She’s thinking of Leah right now and wishing she were here for this monumental moment in our lives.
“She’s watchin’ over you right now, Little Bird. Don’t ever doubt Leah is with you every single day,” I whisper as Gramps moves closer and I know he’s waiting to take my son from me. “Gramps, I’d like you to meet Noah Alexander Winston.”
Gramps takes my son in his hands and holds him close, looking down at him. I notice Bronwan and Kelsey have their phones out, taking pictures and I’m thankful they are because I wouldn’t have thought to do that. Nolan steps up next to Wren as she carefully hands our other son over to my brother.
“Nolan, meet Luka Parker Winston,” she says, laying back against the pillows as Tristan steps up with the bags she’s had packed for weeks. I take one of them and open it to find the blankets she put in there. My girl is always freezing in the hospital.
I cover Wren up with the two blankets she brought for herself.
There’s a few more in the other bag for the babies.
Each one has two of them so they’re warm enough while we're here. Wren has clothes, pajamas, and other stuff I have no clue what it’s for.
I’ll leave that all up to her. I’ve got clothes packed away in one of her bags because I don’t need that much.
We also have one bag dedicated solely to snacks so she can eat whenever she wants.
I packed the bag for her and Wren laughed when she realized what I was doing.
“How are you feelin’, Wren?” Fury asks when I get done making sure she’s warm enough and covered completely.
“Like shit. It’s hard work delivering babies,” she says as we all laugh and she smiles.
“She did that shit without anythin’ for the pain,” I tell the room and watch as Kelsey stops laughing immediately.
“Are you kidding me?” she asks, shock filling her voice.
“No. I wanted to experience it as naturally as possible. If there’s a next time, I won’t make the same decision. I will beg for anything they’ll give me,” Wren says as we all laugh with her.
Gramps hands my son to Tristan who looks down at his nephew with wonder in his eyes.
Nolan hands my other son to Brice as Bronwan steps up close to him so she can meet her new nephew.
Everyone takes a turn holding the boys until they start to cry and it’s time to nurse them.
After everyone lets us know they’ll be in the waiting room so the next group can come in, we’re left alone.
Wren feeds our boys and I change and burp them.
Luka almost pees on me when I change his diaper.
My wife finds this hilarious as she feeds Noah.
It’s only day one and I’ve already almost been pissed on.
Fatherhood is going to be a wild ride and I can’t wait to experience every single second of it.
Wren has changed my life in the best way possible and I can’t wait to continue building our life together and becoming the best version of myself for her and the boys.
I don’t know why I ever thought I would be like my parents, but I will do everything in my power to ensure I never miss a moment with the three people who are the center of my world.