16. Nova
Nova
The panic room was annoyingly quiet except for the sound of the slide of Pops shoes against the concrete.
He had been trying his best to keep his feelings locked inside, similar to the way Crew did whenever something bothered him.
When the doors first closed and I thought I would lose them, Pops had sat with me, holding my hand and giving me words of encouragement.
That was until his nerves of steel had run out.
He had been walking a hole in the floor ever since.
It was easy to see the profound sense of loss from the absence of Crew, Black and Blue on the faces of the people in this room.
Once the massive steel doors were closed the outside world disappeared and we were left with a feeling of dread.
After finishing her duties she’d been hired for and stabilizing Janelle, Dr. Gibson sat with the kids losing at monopoly as she pretended not to be staring at Pops.
There was something going on with them, but I would wait until we got back home in one piece before I investigated that situation further.
Right now, I was watching Tyra’s annoying ass buzz around the room like an irritating fly that constantly evaded the swing of the fly swatter.
She hadn’t given me room to breathe or bask in the depression that had been trying to overwhelm me.
Any sound Peace made she was by his side like he might get up out of his bassinet and walk away.
She was currently pressing her fists into my tender abdomen to encourage my uterus to contract and reduce postpartum bleeding.
It had been an easy birth without many complications, but with bleeding you could never be sure.
Plus, Tyra took her job as my son’s Godmother and nurse seriously.
Mecca and Kema were sitting on the sofa with Del, keeping her company while forcing a sandwich into her, so she wouldn’t dwell on Janelle’s condition.
She had improved but she had still been shot less than eight hours ago.
Her eyes drifted over to Janelle’s sleeping frame every other second.
If no one was here, I’m sure she would have taken up a constant vigil at her bedside.
We were all wrapped up in our troubles but working diligently to not let the others see our pain.
Even the kids had become solemn and quiet, their usual loud, giddy voices now low and subdued.
How could we go on if they never returned, if their absence after a couple of hours could do this, what would a lifetime without them do to us. I hoped like hell we would never have to find out.
“Oh my God. Do you have to be so rough?” I grumbled at Tyra. I knew she wasn’t really trying to hurt me on purpose, but my hormones were still all over the place and anger was the only thing keeping me from crying right now.
“Would you like to bleed out? No! That’s what I thought.
Now shut up all that damn complaining.” She huffed finishing the last knead, before dropping down in the rocking chair next to me like a sack of potatoes.
“And Pops, please stop burning a hole into the damn floor. Yo’ ass is not Sonic the Hedgehog and there ain’t no rings in here for you to catch, so please sit down.
I know we are all worried for one reason or another but y'all have to snap out of this funk. Y’all drivin’ me crazy, well crazier.
We have this brand-new person to love on and spoil.
I’ll be damned if the first vibe he catches is sadness and heart ache.
So, get the fuck up and show my nephew a good time. ” She sassed.
Everybody burst out into laughter at her antics.
Because Tyra was right. Peace was here and Janelle was alive.
It wasn’t everything we wanted but we had to be thankful for what we did have instead of what we wished for.
The laughter of the room was cut short by the sound of the lock disengaging on the panic room door.
“I thought you said the door could only be opened from the inside now that it was closed?” I asked.
“That’s what they told us.” Mecca said, drawing her gun and aiming at the door.
“Nova, get the baby and move to the back of the room with the kids.” Pops roared.
I had never seen him like this, commanding and ready for war in the blink of an eye, it reminded me a lot of Crew. Every person that wasn’t me or a doctor, had a gun aimed at the door that was groaning as it opened.
Please God. Protect my family.
The door opened and the guns aimed its way dropped before the words were completely out of my mouth, but I knew God had heard me, nonetheless. Because standing in the doorway with a relieved smile was Black, Blue and Crew.
The room exploded in an eruption of thanks and tears of joy.
The kids were the first to rush the trio in a tangle of wild limbs, frantic hugs and mumbled cries.
The usually serious men were all wide smiles and glassy eyes as they accepted their rowdy welcome.
Before long, Crew's dark gaze met mine over the children's heads.
Crew picked Timberly up, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck.
He bent to kiss me on the lips, pressing his forehead to mine before he stood and spoke.
“I told you I would always come back to you,” Crew said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me.” The pain of remorse in his voice was audible.
But he had nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t his fault; he had done what needed to be done for our family. And for that I would forever be grateful for my husband.
“You were where you were supposed to be. And now you’re here and so is your son.”
His eyes fell onto the sleepy baby in the bassinet beside me and the tears that he was holding back finally tumbled down his cheeks.
He placed Timberly on the bed next to me before going to the sink across the room and washing his hands with soap and water.
He removed the shirt he had been wearing and walked back over and picked our son up out of the crib.
He sat in the rocking chair that Tyra had once occupied, before placing him on his chest.
It was a beautiful sight. Our family had been waiting to hold Peace, wanting Crew to be able to hold his son before any of them.
I’m sure now that he had him in his arms, the rest of them would be fighting to get their chance.
Crew sat back in the chair, looking down at our baby with so much love in his eyes.
As he rocked him, Crew spoke to him like a little man, introducing himself to the baby.
“Hey Peace, I’m your dad.” He spoke, his voice cracking.
It was as if Peace had been waiting for his father because as soon as he heard his voice, he opened his beautiful grey eyes that were identical to Crews. I gasped at the sight. Crew placed his finger in his hand and Peace wrapped his tiny fingers around his father’s finger, making him laugh.
“I think he’s been waiting for you.” I told him
“I’ve been waiting for him too. Thank you, Princess.”
“For what?” I asked.
“You said yes.”
“I would say yes again, in every lifetime.” I said, thanking God that I had gone to the gala the old owners had hosted. Crew reached over, holding out his hand for mine as he rocked our son on his chest.
“Awe, look at my babies.” Tyra sang, “Ya’ll are so cute. Alright who’s having me another baby, cause ya’ll know the baby shop shut down over here.”
This girl was crazy, but we loved her and she loved us.
My family was whole again and if I was being honest with myself this is all I had ever wanted out of my life.
This is what I had thought I found with Kyle when we first met.
But that wasn’t real. What I have with Crew is the things that fairytales are made of, and it was time for us to go home to live our happily ever after.
Eight weeks had come and gone in a flash and so had our free time along with it.
With a newborn and an energetic eight-year-old at home Crew and I had been really busy.
I wasn’t the type of woman to pay someone else to raise my children so instead of going back to my old job as DON of my facility, we made Tyra the permanent director.
It was time for me to step into the role as owner, that position allowed me to work from home, only attending meetings if absolutely necessary.
Since Crew insisted I take a full six months off for maternity leave, I wouldn’t actually have to put much energy into the business.
If he had gotten his way it would have been a year if I returned at all.
Crew had been very vocal about me not working, but I was able to talk him off the ledge.
Del and Pops had been taking care of the day-to-day duties while we took some time off.
Janelle had recovered physically but Del and Crew refused to let her come back to work full-time until she healed mentally.
Being shot and left for dead would have been hard for anyone but for someone so openhearted it had taken a toll on her.
Crew had been perfect during this time even taking time off to spend time with me and the kids.
Today the whole family was coming together for a BBQ here at the estate.
We hadn’t gotten together as a whole since we left the compound that day, eight weeks ago.
And everyone was excited to spend some time spoiling the baby.
Over the weeks there had been a steady stream of visitors to welcome Peace to the family, but it wasn’t the same as having everyone in one place.
Timberly was so ready to show off her new little brother.
You couldn’t tell her that Peace wasn’t her baby.
I loved how she loved him and hoped that their relationship would be like that forever.