Epilogue #6
Fish had known Bryan was different from most kids when he was talking at nine months. By the time he was two, he was using complete sentences and he’d even picked up Spanish from their nanny.
Fish had hired the woman when Bryan was six months old, when Bryn had gotten so involved in researching something she’d literally forgotten about her son.
She hadn’t meant to, and she was devastated when she’d realized Bryan had been screaming his head off for quite a while and she hadn’t even noticed.
Maria was a godsend. She came in every day and spent time with Bryn and their son. She made sure both were eating properly and she also kept the house clean.
Fish loved his wife, but was aware of her quirks. Wanting to keep her safe, as well as his son, had made the decision to hire Maria easy. Now neither of them could imagine life without her. She was like Bryan’s second mother, and everyone was happy with the arrangement.
At the moment, Bryn was explaining to their son how the heating coils in the toaster worked.
Bryan was sitting exactly like his mother and their heads were almost touching as they bent over the electronic.
There were parts strewn on the carpet around them and it looked like they’d been at it for quite a while.
Fish grinned.
He must’ve made some sort of noise, because Bryan looked up and saw him standing in the doorway.
“Hi, Papa!” he said happily. “Mama is teaching me how the toaster works!”
“I can see that,” Fish said, pushing off the doorway and walking toward his family. He settled himself on the floor next to them then leaned over and kissed Bryn on the temple. “Good morning, love.”
“Morning,” she said distractedly. “So you see, Bryan, when electricity flows through a wire, energy is transmitted from one end to the other. Think of it like water flowing through a pipe. The electrons in the wire get jostled around and run into one another over and over, giving off heat. The thinner the wire is, the greater the electrical current and the more the electrons run into each other…thus…”
“Making more heat!” Bryan said energetically.
“Exactly!” Bryn said approvingly.
“But how does it know when the toast is done?” their son asked.
Fish smiled as Bryn went into an explanation of thermostats inside the toaster and how the dial for the different level of toasted-ness worked. Every day, his wife amazed and impressed him. He had no idea how he’d managed to create a human as smart as Bryan, but he figured it was mostly Bryn.
His wife had been opposed to kids for a while, but Fish had known she was just scared. She hadn’t had the best upbringing and didn’t trust herself. But after spending time with Annie and the other children of his Delta Force buddies, she’d loosened up.
Hiring Maria had eased all her worries, and she’d since taken to being a mother better than anyone he’d ever seen.
She never got upset with Bryan. Instead, she tried to analyze and figure out why he was crying, unhappy, frustrated, etc.
It was fascinating to see her take an academic approach to motherhood.
But it wasn’t all facts with her. Every day, she told Bryan how much she loved him and how proud she was of him.
She made his lunches for school, including little notes letting him know he was loved.
She frequently took him to the library, and to Coeur d’Alene to visit the zoo, museums, and even to antique stores, so they could find things to take apart to learn how they worked.
“Hungry, Bryan?” Bryn asked.
“Yes, Mama.”
“Want Daddy to make you pancakes this morning?”
“Yes!” Bryan leaped up, forgetting about the toaster, and threw himself into his father’s arms. Fish caught him with his good arm then leaned over and snagged Bryn around the waist with his stub. He hadn’t put on his prosthetic this morning, which he only did when he left the house.
He rolled around on the floor with his wife and child and did his best to tickle them, and to keep them from tickling him in return. When they were all winded, they lay on the floor, trying to catch their breath.
Fish turned to Bryn and said, “I love you.”
“I know,” she returned.
Fish merely smiled. He turned to his other side. “I love you, son.”
“I know,” Bryan replied, unconsciously echoing his mother. “I’ll go get the stuff ready for pancakes!” And with that, he leaped up and headed for the kitchen.
“How’d you sleep?” Bryn asked once they were alone.
“Good. Although I hate when you get up without waking me.”
“I heard Bryan up around five. I figured I’d get up to see what he was into.”
“Probably smart. Maria would have a fit if she came to work on Monday and the house had burned down.”
“Yeah, she wouldn’t be happy.”
Bryn still had a hard time understanding when someone was being sarcastic or kidding with her. But it didn’t matter to Fish. He loved her exactly the way she was.
Bryn sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. Then she began fiddling with the pieces of the toaster that were still strewn about. “Oh, I took that pregnancy test this morning. It was positive.”
Fish gaped at his wife.
He knew she had missed her last two periods, but had thought it was because she’d been sick recently. She’d had a nasty bout with the flu and had lost a lot of weight as a result.
She didn’t seem to realize the magnitude of the news she’d just shared with him. Fish reached out and took her hands in his good one, making her physically stop fiddling with the electronics. He knew he’d never get her attention otherwise.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yes. I believe I just said that.”
“You’re having my baby?” Fish was having a hard time wrapping his head around the bomb she’d just dropped on him.
“Well, technically it’s half mine, but yes, it looks like I am.”
“Oh, Smalls,” Fish said, and put his hand on her cheek, making her look at him. He couldn’t even come up with the words to tell her how he felt.
“Are you…okay with this?” she asked.
For the first time, Fish saw the trepidation in her eyes. She was worried he wouldn’t be happy?
Turning them so she was under him, Fish looked her right in the eyes and told her what she needed to hear. He’d learned that beating around the bush with her wasn’t good. “I’m ecstatic. I’m more than happy. I’m over the moon.”
“Did you know that the expression ‘over the moon’ originated from the sixteenth-century nursery rhyme called ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’?”
“Hadn’t thought about it,” Fish told her.
“Hmmm,” Bryn hummed. Then she leaned up and kissed him. “Love you, Dane.”
“Love you too, Smalls.”
“Hey! Are you guys comin’? I’m hungry!” Bryan said as he came back into the room and saw them still on the floor.
“We’re comin’, keep your pants on,” Fish said.
“Of course I will! Why would I take them off to have breakfast?” Bryan asked before heading back into the kitchen to wait for them.
Fish chuckled, and made a mental note to call Ghost and the others and let them know the good news later that day. He sat up and helped Bryn to her feet as well. Then hand in hand, they walked into the kitchen together, ready to start a new day.
“I’m the luckiest man alive,” Fish said later as he watched his son eat his chocolate chip pancakes.
“Maybe so. But if you are, then I’m the luckiest woman alive,” Bryn said with a small smile.
Fish had no retort to that. She was absolutely right.
Beatle and Casey, eleven years after the weddings.
“I can’t do it again,” Casey said, looking up at Beatle with huge tears in her eyes.
Beatle thought his heart was going to break. They’d done everything they were supposed to this time. Just as they had the last three times, and it hadn’t worked.
They’d started trying to have kids a few years after they’d gotten married. They’d wanted to wait until Casey’s university job was a bit more secure. After she’d gotten tenure, they’d started trying to get pregnant right away.
After a year with no results, even though the attempts were more than enjoyable, they’d seen a specialist. Thus had begun six years of doing everything they could to have a child.
They’d just found out that the last round of in-vitro fertilization had failed. Again.
Beatle held Casey as close as possible and didn’t say anything as she cried on his shoulder. His own eyes welled with tears. He hated seeing his wife so upset. Nothing tore at his heart more than not being able to give her what she most wanted, their child.
It wasn’t that they were opposed to adoption. They’d talked about it, and had followed Truck and Mary’s journey to adopt overseas closely. But Casey had really wanted her own child.
Knowing now wasn’t the time to bring up adoption again, Beatle closed his eyes and simply held his wife and thought about the calls he needed to make.
He needed to call Blade and let him know that the procedure had once again failed.
Needed to tell their parents. Needed to let the other women know, so they could do their thing and surround Casey with love and friendship.
But for now, he’d simply hold her.
How long they sat on the couch and soaked up the much-needed love and affection from each other, Beatle had no idea, but he jerked in surprise when his phone started ringing in his pocket. He was going to ignore it, but Casey pulled away and wiped her eyes.
“You should get that,” she said softly.
Nodding, Beatle pulled the phone out and clicked to answer. He didn’t recognize the number, but he always answered, just in case. “Hello?”
“Is this Mr. Lennon?”
“Speaking.”
“This is Doctor Harris from the fertility clinic.”
“Yes?” Beatle wasn’t sure why their doctor was calling them. They’d just seen him a couple hours ago, when he’d told them the bad news.
“This is highly unusual…but I just received a call from a colleague who’s an OBGYN. He just delivered a baby to a teenaged single mother who wants to give her up for adoption.”