Primary Target - 12. Chapter 12

Beep beep…. Beep beep beep…. Beep beep.

Where was that coming from? Why was it so loud? I wanted to shut it off, but I couldn’t move. The mere thought of moving made me groan in horrible pain. Excruciating pain. Nearly unbearable pain.

“A-Alex?” a voice distantly asked with huge amounts of worry etched into the name. My name. Why were they so worried about me? I was in lot of pain, but I don’t remember why I would be. “Alex, are you awake? If you are… please, do something. Anything.” I felt a reassuring squeeze on my hand. While it was done with affection, it also hurt. Even my hands were sore. I wanted to let this person know I was okay; I was alive – albeit barely from my point of view. I sent all my strength to that one hand and I think I at least made it twitch in an attempt to squeeze back. It was all that was needed. “Xander, babe! Oh, thank God! It’s me – y-your Mason! Come back to me, babe! I’ve m-missed you! I-I love you so much!” He started crying and I felt a weight depress into the bed next to me, his sobs muffled by the mattress. My eyes finally fluttered open and I felt entirely drained from the strenuous activity.

Since they were open, I took in my surroundings. All I saw were ceiling tiles – bland ceiling tiles. I looked towards my left, taking in the touching sights of stuffed animals, balloons in varying stages of helium loss, and cards. Lots of cards.

A door opened and my eyes struggled to swivel that way. A very surprised Conner stood in the doorway, holding food enough for two. He nearly dropped it all over the floor. “Oh my God! Xander! Buddy! You’re awake!” he nearly screamed the roof off in pure excitement. He set the tray down and carefully enveloped me, causing me to still groan a bit. Slowly, he backed up and grabbed the tray again, sitting next to Mason. I wanted to talk, ask what was going on, but my mouth was too dry, my throat feeling like sandpaper. Mason had his face up, tear-streaked and all, staring happily at me.

He saw that I tried to talk and held a finger over my lips gently. “Shh… babe, hang on a second. Let me get you an ice chip for you to suck on.” He glanced at the tray and saw a fresh cup of ice chips. He took the cup and extracted a sliver and placed it to my lips. Weakly, I opened my mouth for it to slide in. The cooling relief was absolutely heaven. I nodded my head a couple of times. “Another?” Again, I nodded. A slightly bigger chip entered my mouth and I greedily slurped it down.

“What… happened?” I barely managed to get out. Again, my throat felt like I just drank sand. I flicked my eyes at the ice and Mason offered up another for me.

“Well…” Mason started but then stopped. He looked to Conner. Before my brother could speak, a nurse came into the room.

“Oh, you’re awake! That’s good, really good! How do you feel, Alex?”

“Tired… sore… hurts everywhere.”

“Well, that’s to be expected given what happened to you. I think you had a good support system to pull you back. These two rarely left your side since you’ve been here. Only when your father came by were they forced to leave for a while.” All during her talking, she checked various instruments before she examined me quickly. “Okay, everything seems to be okay for the moment. I’ll be back with the doctor.”

I was released a month after I came back from whatever it was I fell to. No one told me what happened, but I made a few hazy guesses to myself; each time I asked, a nurse or doctor came by for a quick check on my progress, ruining the moment. Or a friend would come and visit. I was really happy to see them all – Kat, Eric, Ben, Josh, and Jess. They all visited frequently and usually in small clusters if not altogether. Dad poked in from time to time, mainly to order Mason and Conner home for some rest and some showers. He always made sure to bring Richie with him and the kid practically threw himself at me, so happy to see me doing better. I think he even threatened me to never get hurt again, complete with near perfect English – he wasn’t even irate to boot! Hearing that put a huge smile on my face, so happy to hear Richie almost back to his old self.

The drive home from the hospital that day was quiet… almost too quiet. Conner picked me up and Mason sat in the back with me. I wasn’t fully recovered, but I was far enough along to be sent home – much to my relief. Living off of hospital food was comparable to living off the high school food, if not worse. I never actually thought I’d think high school food was better than anything. Many times I begged for handouts from my friends and family, desperate for some food with, you know, flavor.

I tried to start a few conversations, but both Conner and Mason seemed reluctant to talk, almost like they were afraid even speaking to me would send me back to the emergency room. So, I just gave up. It was probably for the best, as I started to grow tired. I placed my head on Mason’s familiar shoulder and lightly dozed. I felt his hand caress my cheek in affection, furthering my fall into slumber.

The car stopped suddenly and the engine cut, waking me up jerkily. Mace gently pushed me up and held me until Conner came around and helped me down and out of the Santa Fe. Once on the ground, both Mason and Conner helped me into the house.

“Welcome home, son,” Dad said, a bit more emotionally than I’d have expected from him. But I guess seeing me hurt was the reason, so I just mentally shrugged that thought away. He stepped to the side and I saw the whole game together again, huddled in the kitchen with various grins and smiles. “Ben wanted it to be a surprise, but I didn’t want risk you hurting yourself again, so we compromised on this.”

“Guys…” I said, holding back some tears. “You didn’t have to do this, you know.”

“Don’t be silly, dude,” Eric said. “Stevie and Adrian understood I needed to be here today – I was originally supposed to stay with them today. They said that you needed me here so much to the point they rescinded my invitation!” He laughed a bit at that.

“Yeah, Hordie,” Josh said. “I almost gave up the game for you. Almost. I expect you to be in shape soon enough – the arenas are boring without you there!”

The rest of the gang said a few things relating to me getting better pronto as we relocated to the living room. Everyone started chatting with one another, bringing a smile to my face. I really had great friends. Truly great. Seeing them here for me, while a bit overwhelming, was heartening for me. I felt a swell of pride for each of them, glad I could count them among my rather small list of friends. I sat on the loveseat by myself for a moment and just took the scene in before me. I felt someone sit next to me rather closely. An arm gently snaked around my waist.

“You can’t know how glad… how happy I am to have you back, love.” Mason turned my head towards him and he stared soulfully into my eyes. Almost like he was… searching for something. I didn’t break away and just let him look – it seemed important to him somehow. His smile brightened, finding what he hoped and slowly leaned in. I tilted my head to the side and our lips met. God! It was like kissing him for the first time, that slow, loving passion filling the void between us. I felt him massage my temples and cheeks with his hands as he suckled on my lower lip, starting to slither his tongue towards my own. I accepted willingly, letting our tongues tango from my mouth across the divide into his. One of us let a small moan escape from the depths of the throat. Slowly, reluctantly, we broke apart. We stared into each other’s eyes, content and smiling. “I… missed that,” he giggled as he bit his lower lip. “A lot.”

“Mason, I love you. To the depths of my being, I truly do,” I said as water filled my eyes. I tenderly brushed a strand of his hair off his forehead, hoping to tuck it back into place. “I love you for staying by me through this. Whatever it was.” I couldn’t stop saying it. I felt in less pain all thanks to the drug sitting next to me. The happiness on my boyfriend’s face dimmed a bit, causing mine to dim a bit. “Mason?”

“I-I love you too, babe. You bring me joy just by sitting next to me right now.” He stopped. “But we need to talk… about what happened to you. I know you want to know, but we really weren’t allowed to tell you until you left the hospital. I-I wanted to, babe. I really did. I-I j-just hope you’re not m-mad at me.” He turned away from me.

My smile strengthened. “Babe, look at me.” Slowly, his gaze found mine again. “I’m sure it was doctor’s orders or something. I get it.” I thought for a second. “If I have to get mad, I’ll yell and blame the doctors, alright?” I giggled a bit, hoping he knew I shouldn’t get mad and was kidding. Like a sloth in the forests, a smile lazily crept onto his face.

“Okay,” he said once the smile reached its full, blinding intensity. “I can accept that. Doctors, what do they know?”

“Not like they go to school for a hundred years or something crazy,” I laughed when a small pain made me stop. “Ow… I guess I can’t laugh that hard just yet.” I realized that the crowd around us was quiet, almost somber. I took a visual tour of the room. I saw them all looking at me, but slowly turned away when I caught them. What was going on?

“Son,” Dad said. “This party was mainly to welcome you home, but it also is serving another purpose – one we’ll get to in time. We’re here to help you understand what happened to you as best we can. First though, what do you last remember?”

I had to think… what did happen? It took a couple of minutes but out of a haze, a faint memory rolled into view. “I was in a classroom. It was empty, except there was a girl there… and Mason.” I closed my eyes, hoping to sharpen the fuzzy fragment. “It was related to the GSA. I was helping her with an issue. But after some time, she needed… a break. Her nerves were shot. Something about a Xanax. She tried to stand but couldn’t…. Mason and I were about to go together to get her water, but she wasn’t to be left alone; said her doctor wanted someone with her until she had the medicine in her system.” Slowly, a painful horror bubbled to the surface behind the fragment of memory. “M-Mason was taking a while t-to come back. I-I started to get w-worried about h-him. T-Then…” I froze, it all coming back to me. “T-That j-junior from the da-dance – the o-one I was h-helping – tied my hands behind me! She pressed something to my face! She wh-whispered something b-before I lost consciousness!” The fear from that day, along with my other fears smashed into me hard and I started bawling. Swiftly, Mason pulled me to him, shushing me that he was there for me now.

“That sounds about right, from the police reports I was given,” Dad nodded once I settled down again. “Do you remember anything else? Something that might’ve happened after that?”

I struggled to think. Nothing jumped out at me readily and I just shook my head.

“Okay, most everyone here knows what happened to you." Dad turned to my friends. "If anyone doesn’t want to hear it rehashed, feel free to help yourselves to the cake or head outside to the backyard to hang out. Whatever you’re comfortable with.” Jess and Kat both wiped their eyes and stepped towards the door that led outside. Jess paused with the green foliage as her backdrop, looking at me forlornly as Kat slipped past her.

“S-Sorry, Xan. I- I can’t hear this again.” She stepped outside amongst the greenery.

Wait. Wait a minute.

Greenery? I was confused all of a sudden. How could things be green when I last remember seeing the brilliant New England autumn? Something wasn’t adding up. Not at all.

“What’s month is it?” I suddenly asked, cutting Dad off as he attempted to start up again. All of them looked a bit confused as well for a second but realization hit them all at once. Mason jumped in, turning me to him.

“Babe, there… isn’t any easy way to say this,” he said as he took my hands into his and applied gentle pressure to each of them. “But you were attacked back in October. It’s… it’s now June.” He took deep breath as my mind began shutting down. “You were… missing for about two months and… comatose for about six more after that.”

Eight months. Of my life, just gone. Just like that. I couldn’t believe it. I almost wanted to refute it, but I couldn’t – Mother Nature doesn’t lie. She can’t make the trees magically sprout greenery just after shedding last season’s coat. It just doesn’t work that way. As I felt myself sinking into a depression, somehow I caught myself. All of the people here stood by me, to make sure I’d make it. As much as I wanted to sulk, all I did was frown hard in exchange.

“Uh… eight months?” I said, trying to be at least neutral about it, but I don’t think I was doing a good job of it. “What about school? I guess I’ve missed a bit.”

“Xander, you'll have to attend summer school to play a little bit of catch up, but I’m also going to hire you a tutor or two to help out as well. If you want to, I’ll help you so you don’t have to repeat the ninth grade and so you can also stay with your class.” Dad grabbed Mom’s chair and slid it in front of me and sat down. “Whatever you want to do, son. It’s okay with me.”

“I for sure want to stick with my class!” I nearly shouted. “I’ll… do whatever I have to catch up.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that,” Dad smiled. “Now there’s yet another matter that we have to discuss. One that might change your mind about that.”

The phone started ringing and Conner stood to leave the room to get it. He paused on the way and just stared at me before a slow, relief-filled smile covered his face. He shook his head before he disappeared to get the cordless. “Okay, but I don’t think anything will change my mind on that. I really want to stick with these guys. They’ve helped me so much…”

Dad took one of my hands from Mason; it got my attention. “Son, I don’t want to go into details of the story just yet – I think you need some time to heal first – but I’ll give you a cursory view, alright?” I nodded, accepting this. It’d be better than nothing. “Okay, well when Mason got back to that classroom he found that you were gone. Totally gone – you were abducted most likely by that girl you were helping.”

I felt Mason shaking. “I-If I would h-have n-never left the r-room…” He couldn’t finish, but I pulled him gently to my shoulder, allowing my boyfriend to cry.

“Babe,” I whispered into his ear. “It’s not your fault. I do remember getting a gut feeling when all that stuff came down, but I chose to ignore it, thinking I was just being paranoid. I should’ve stuck with my gut reaction and just ended the session. We both had no way of knowing, really.”

“Mason, Xander’s right. This isn’t your fault. How could you know that she would pull that? We all agree she shouldn’t have, but beating yourself up over it isn’t healthy.” Mason looked up and just nodded weakly as he got under control. “Okay, now for some of the harder stuff. Xander, you were missing for almost a month, maybe two before your coma as Mason said. We did everything we could to find you, but it was like you just disappeared. There were no leads, no trails to find. But one day, sometime in either December or January, someone knocked on our door. Mason was the one that got to it before any of us.”

Mason’s tears streamed down his face. I tried to wipe them away from his face, but they were replaced with fresh ones. “B-Babe, you were at the door. Barefoot. N-Naked in the snow. T-T-Totally b-beaten t-to an inch of y-your life. Y-You didn’t e-even g-get to say anything – you j-just passed o-out. I-I caught you b-before you hit the ground.”

Dad cleared his throat, obviously affected by this retelling like Mason. “There was something that you had clutched to your chest, refusing to let it go even in your unconscious state. We didn’t have time right away to worry about that as I grabbed a blanket once I saw it was you. I gently wrapped you up in it and took you straight away for the hospital. We were actually lucky for the cold weather – it helped to keep a lot of your swelling down, but of course it left you prone to hypothermia. The doctors had to balance raising your temperature while making sure to be ready to take care of your other injuries. It was this time that we were able to get that envelope from you and when you slipped into an induced coma.”

“W-What was so important that I had to hold onto that badly, Dad?” I asked. “It’s not making any sense right now.”

“It will here in a second, son,” Dad said as he wiped his eyes.

Conner burst back into the room, eyes filled with a strange emotion. “Dad, it’s happening. Actually, it’s been happening, but we need to go now.”

“Now?” he asked.

“Yeah, we need to go now.”

“Damn it,” Dad muttered before he ran his hands through his hair. “Alright. Mason, you know the rest right?” He nodded. “Pick up where I left off while we’re in the car or when we get there. C’mon.” Dad quickly addressed my friends, saying that they could stay here until we returned. The last thing I saw was Josh going out the back door to get Kat and his sister.

I almost balked when, after I asked where we had to go so soon, I was told back to the same hospital. Quickly reassured I wasn’t going back to stay for a few more days, I relaxed a bit. Mason did request a wheelchair for me once we got back to the entrance. He didn’t want me to overexert myself. I told him I was fine, but he pushed the point that I wasn’t fully healed yet and at least suggested we have one ready for when I do get tired. I agreed to this and he smiled in relief. Dad and Conner rushed away from us and I wanted to follow. Mason stopped me in the waiting area.

“Babe?” I asked, glancing between him and the fading silhouettes of Dad and Conner.

“Sit,” he said gently, indicating the wheelchair. I did as he locked the wheels and looked back at him once he sat in a chair in front of me. “I feel before we follow them, I finish where your dad left off. It’s important that I do – it explains why we’re back at the hospital. Where did he leave off again?”

“Balancing hypothermia with my other injuries and it managed to get me to let go of some envelope before I was forced into a coma…” I quickly recalled the last thing he said.

He nodded. “Right, okay. So, your dad got that envelope from you and saw it was actually had his name written on it, a bit hastily. We’re not sure, but we think you wrote on it.” Mason paused. “D-Dad thinks you d-did that in case you… d-didn’t make it.” Again, my boyfriend paused. He took my hand into his and squeezed. I squeezed back, hoping to give him the strength to continue. He smiled weakly through his tears. “A-Anyway, Dad opened the envelope and I don’t think I-I’ve ever seen him get so upset, so angry at once. He slammed it all down onto the floor of the waiting room and demanded to see a doctor. Before I could see what he threw down, I heard him screaming that he needs to tell the doctors… t-the doctors t-they n-needed to p-perform… a-a rape kit on you.”

“I… was raped?” I asked, feeling the shameful tears pool into my eyes. “B-B-But… m-my first t-time was t-to b-be w-with y-you!”

Mason stroked my cheek, calming me a bit. “Love, I know. Baby, I really do know that. It’s not your fault. It’s okay. When you’re ready, I’ll make sure you only remember our time and not that skank’s.”

“Skank?” I asked, confused. “Wait, I think I missed a step. How was I raped?”

Mason steeled himself from his own rising anger. “After I heard your dad shout, my eyes immediately went to the pictures on the floor. One of them showed you… being ridden by that bitch. There were a few others like that. You were strapped down to a table, unable to resist. You were also either drugged or unconscious during it – your eyes were closed, almost like you were sleeping and not having forced sex. A few other pictures showed that a bottle of Viagra was in the mix, so what was surmised is that you were kidnapped, drugged or beaten into unconsciousness, given a Viagra so you’d get hard so she could have sex with you. V-Vaginally.” Mason almost threw up at that word. It almost made me laugh, but what we were discussing was definitely no laughing matter.

“So why are we back here then?” I asked, a bit annoyed. I figured this could’ve been told at home. Why come back here if it wasn’t needed? And what did Dad and Conner have to rush here for in the first place?

“Babe… t-they didn’t use protection on you. So… we’re here about your… kids.”

“K-K-Kids?!” I screamed, flying out the wheelchair. “I… I-I… I-I-I’m a… father?!” I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Me, a dad already?! I’m only fourteen! I’m too young to be a father! And I’m gay for that matter! I’m not supposed to have kids the natural way! I wanted kids someday, down the line, no question about it. I just expected to do it via adoption or egg donation – not being raped by some slut! But then another thought hit me: Mason pluralized “kid”. That means more than one. “WAIT! You said kids? As in at least two?!”

“Twins,” Mason said. “We’ve been following Marissa’s pregnancy the whole time you were out and once she was in custody. By that time it was already too late for an abortion. So Dad wanted to make sure they’d be healthy and perfect when they’d be born at least since they had to be carried to term. He even made sure to do a paternity test to be absolutely sure that you were really the father. But… you’re a daddy now, Xan.” Mason’s emotions were severed from his words, making them sound robotic.

“M-Mason, what’s wrong? You don’t sound like you,” I said, lightly gripping his bicep and pulling him to me.

“I-It’s just not fair for you, you know?!” he said. “You’re not even fifteen and you’re already a dad! I-I can’t believe that Marissa destroyed your childhood because of her ‘need’ to have you!”

“Huh?”

Mason grabbed his hair. “Marissa. She explained once she was caught that she knew were gay, but that couldn’t stop her from wanting to have your babies or something like that. So she concocted this scheme to get you, raped you, and made sure she was ovulating so she could get pregnant. It’s… rather twisted.”

I sighed. “Yeah, that’s… twisted, alright.” I made Mason look at me. “Do you know my babies’ genders?”

“Actually, I don’t. I think your Dad made sure to keep it a surprise from everyone – even that whore. He didn’t want her doing something stupid because the babies were a certain sex or not, even if she was chained to her bed most of the time.” Mason paused. “As much as I want to slap her right now, Dad said it wasn’t completely her fault, if you can believe it. Something about being off her meds for some condition she has.”

“Oh,” I said simply. “I hope my kids won't have the same thing if that’s what people like that can do.”

Mason cocked his head to the side. “You seem to be taking this rather well, considering your outburst a few minutes ago. You okay babe?”

I had to think about it. Am I okay? Or am I just overwhelmed with this onslaught of information and am in some kind of shock? The more I thought about it, I decided I’m rather alright for finding out I was raped and am going to be the father of twins. Father. I’m a father. Suddenly, I couldn’t let go of that fact. I had to know. “A-Are we here because M-Marissa’s giving birth?”

Mason gently placed a hand on my arm. “Yeah.”

“I want to go see my children,” I said simply.

“Are you sure?” Mason asked. “Because Dad was thinking you’d want to give them up for adoption and–”

“NO.” I said firmly. “No. I don’t care how they were brought into this world, but I’m their father. They are not being put up for adoption!” I felt the hot tears in my eyes. “After what happened to my mom, I made myself a promise Mason. I promised myself that when and if I had kids of my own someday, that I’d be there for them all the time. No matter what. I don’t want them growing up without love, without compassion. I saw what those men did to my own mother…! I-I don’t want my kids being raised by another hand t-that might teach them to do those things!”

“Hey…” Conner’s voice startled me as he placed a hand on my shoulder. He knelt next to me. “I heard what… you just said. Are you sure about this, buddy? You are only fourteen after all.”

I glared at my brother before I gave the same glare to Mason. I turned back to Conner. “If half of my DNA is in those kids, I want to be their father… no, it’s my responsibility to be their father. I know I’m only fourteen, too young, blah blah.” I practically stamped my foot. “Come hell or high water, I will be their father!” Conner stared to say something but I cut him off. “Conner Ryan, the next words out of your mouth better be something along the lines of, ‘It’s time to go see your kids.’ Nothing else.”

Conner brought his other hand to my back. “Alex, it’s time to go see your sons.”

“B-Boys?!” I said, letting go of my momentary anger. “T-Twin boys?”

“Boys,” Conner nodded, a smile on his face. He chuckled through some tears. “I-I can’t believe I’m an uncle already. From my gay little brother no less.” He shook his head as I laughed lightly. Mason slipped his arm around my waist and leaned into me.

“If you’ll let me, I’d be honored if I could help you raise your kids, Alex.” Mason lifted his head and gazed into my eyes. “That is, if you still need me.”

“Of course I still need you, Mace! I love you, you idiot. If anything… I-I was a bit afraid you’d leave me.”

“Now who’s being the idiot?” Mace said as he placed a gentle kiss to my lips. “Xander, I love you too. And I’d really love to help you with the boys. I always wanted to be a father someday – like you, I guess – but I didn’t really see how it could feasibly happen with me being gay. I really thought it’d happen after college though, not before it.”

I shook my head. “You and me both, babe. You and me both.”

We stood outside the nursery, waiting for my sons to be placed into their hospital cribs. I couldn't stand still. “Where could they be?” I asked. “I want to see my children.”

“Easy, Xan,” Conner chided. “I just talked to Dad and they’re still cleaning them off a bit. Oh, I think that’s them!” He pointed to two babies being brought into the room and placed side by side in adjacent cribs. I squinted to see the last names on the cribs and, sure enough, I saw my last name on both of them.

“M-My boys…” I said, a tear coming to my eye. “I-I still can’t get used to that. I-I’m a… dad.”

“And that makes me a grandfather,” I heard Dad’s voice carried a bit before he actually showed up next to us. I didn’t even turn to see him – my eyes were transfixed to my baby boys. I watched as they cried their little heads off, kicking and flailing in that cute, baby way. “Conner told me what you said. We’ll have to talk about that when we get home.”

“Dad, I’m not giving them up!” I said adamantly. “I refuse!”

“I understand, son,” Dad said softly. “We’ll just have to go over logistics on how to go about it. That’s all.”

“Oh, okay then.”

“Have you given any thoughts on what to name them?” Dad said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. He squeezed it lovingly.

“No, not really,” I frowned. But a quick thought came to me. “Mason, what’s your middle name?”

“It’s Scott. Why?”

“What’s Richie’s?”

“Tyler.”

“I want him,” I said as I pointed to the twin on the left, “to be named Scott Tyler and,” I again moved my finger so I pointed to the twin on the right. “I want him to be named Ryan Alexander.” I laughed a bit. “No offense Dad, but I absolutely refuse to inflict the sort of pain to name him Ryan Montgomery.” I shuddered. “I hate that name…”

“I understand, son,” Dad said with a laugh. “By the way, that was your mother’s father’s name. Alex is my father’s name.”

“Alex…” Conner said. “I-I’m touched… that…” He couldn’t finish that thought as he just grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. “You’d name one of your… sons after me in some way.” Mason looked just as touched if not more so. My brother held me for a few moments when a nurse came out.

“Who’s the father of the twins?” the nurse asked with a polite smile on her face. I raised my hand excitedly. “Would you like to hold them?”

“Y-Yes, very much so!” I said. “Can my boyfriend come with me? I’d like him to hold one too.”

“Sure,” she said. “If he wants to.”

Mason smiled but he held his hands out in deference. “No babe. I think you should go alone for this. You are their father by blood. You get to hold each of them before anyone else. It’s your right.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yes, I’ll get my chance, don’t worry. Go… spend some time with your kids!”

“We’ll be right here for you, son,” Dad said. As I followed the nurse, I heard him comment to Mason, “That was especially generous of you Mason. I’m proud of you.” I went through some doors before I was told I need to at least put a hair cap on. I nodded that’s all I wanted as I removed my shirt – I read somewhere that skin contact is pretty important for babies to bond with their parents. I wanted to bond as much as I could with my kids. A nurse smiled at me after the cap was placed on my head and escorted into an adjacent room next to the nursery. I sat in the rocking chair provided. Eventually, the two screaming babies rolled their way into the room.

“Which one is which? From looking into the nursery on the outside?”

“This one would have been… on the left,” the male nurse pointed out as he had to imagine the room. I held up a hand – that’s all I needed. Gently, the nurse told me how to pick up my son and did so with care. I supported Scott’s head like I was handling fine china. In respect, this precious boy was far more valuable than any china in the world. As soon as I held him in the crook of my arm, the baby settled down and just lay there in my arm. His tiny little fingers found my chest and just stayed there, most likely absorbing some extra warmth.

“Is it safe if I hold both at once?” I asked the nurse.

“If you’re careful about it, sure. Here, let me place the other one in your arm.” Carefully, he placed Ryan into my other arm. Once he was there, he settled down too and mimicked his brother. I felt tears in my eyes as I stared down at them – my sons! My beautiful, precious boys! I felt a sob of pure happiness escape my throat as I looked up. I saw Mason, Dad, and Conner looking at me with varying degrees of emotions. Dad had a proud and happy face, Conner was more reserved but still happy – he’s always been a bit skittish around kids since we helped Richie out. He wants kids someday, he told me, but I think he’s just afraid that he might end up hurting them or something. I looked at my boyfriend and suddenly a camera went off. Mason grinned as he pulled my Canon down. I shook my head as I stared back down at my little angels and I hoped Mason was taking more pictures. I wouldn’t ever have enough of these tykes.

After a while, the nurse came back asking if I wanted to try feeding them. I readily agreed. For this I had Mason come in and help and he willingly accepted. He held Ryan while I held Scott, with both of us shirtless and gently rocking the chairs back and forth. I faintly heard the whirring of my camera from behind the glass, and chuckled, glad another picture was taken. Damn! I’m going to have to start baby books for them! That’ll be a project I’d be happy to take up.

“Penny for your thoughts babe,” Mace said as Ryan finished his bottle. My boyfriend shifted the baby to his shoulder, a towel already draped over it. He gently tapped Ryan’s back after the nurse demonstrated a bit, encouraging him to burp. The nurse stepped away for a moment.

“Just thinking about all the things I suddenly need for these two,” I sighed as Scott finished his bottle a few seconds after his twin. I started patting Scott on the back as he leaned into my towel-covered shoulder. I heard a few burps come from little Ryan and I smiled. Mason carefully propped the child in arm and took the towel off and wiped Ryan’s face with it. I was brought back when little Scott did the same thing. “That’s a good boy, Scott!” I took the towel and cleaned his face off. Again the nurse came back in.

“Alright guys, I’m sorry but it’s time to cut this short.”

“When can they come home with me?” I asked.

“Probably in a day or so – there’s nothing indicating they need to stay longer than that. We’ll keep you posted, of course.”

“Oh, and do you know of any parenting classes I could take? I really don’t know the first thing about caring for a baby, but I want – no, need – to learn.”

“Well, the shirt thing was a good start. It helps the babies smell you, to get comfortable with you. Clothes tend to mask it enough where they can’t smell it. So that’s a start.” He went over to a station and pulled out two forms. “Here are some forms to get signed up for the classes. In the meantime, I think you have a good teacher waiting out there.” He pointed to Dad. “Make sure to let your own father guide you with what he did for you and your brother. He’s got the practical knowledge down for sure – looks like he raised two healthy boys in my estimation.”

“Thanks, for everything. Make sure to take good care of them.”

“Do you have names for them yet?” He grabbed two ankle bands and a pen.

“Yeah, the one I have here is Scott Tyler. My boyfriend is holding Ryan Alexander.” The nurse jotted it all down and slipped Scott’s name bad around his left ankle. He did the same on Ryan’s left ankle.

“That’s just so we don’t mix them up and you start using the wrong name on the wrong twin. Also saves our sanity a bit.”

“Bye-bye, Scott! I’ll see you tomorrow and hopefully you’ll get to come home with me,” I cooed as I set the sleeping child in his bed. I gently poked his cute button nose. Mason made no move to stand right away – I think he was hesitant to stand with Ryan in his hands. So I took my other son from Mace. “And tomorrow I’ll spend some time with you little Ryan! Don’t think I’m neglecting you at all. Nope, not at all.” The sleeping form of Ryan kicked a bit but otherwise he settled down in the crib. Another nurse popped in from the nursery and helped wheel my kids back with the other babies.

I slid my shirt back on as I walked back to Dad and Conner, Mason right behind me. But my boyfriend stopped me and suddenly drew me into a loving kiss. Just lips and a rather quick one – only thirty or so seconds, but who’s counting? – before he pulled back. There was a glow about his eyes. It made me weak in the knees. “You, Alexander, are fucking adorable with your kids. My God! I almost lost it watching you talk to your sons! So cute!” He pulled me into a hug. He whispered into my ear. “I was bit reserved like Conner in you being a young father, but you’re absolutely perfect.”

“Thanks, Mace,” I said. A few thoughts started swimming in my head, but I held my tongue. I wanted to confer with my Dad a bit before anyone else. I swung by the nursery window again and placed my hand against the glass, watching my boys sleep. I already miss them, I thought to myself. Mason placed a hand on my shoulder, breaking my moment. With a sad smile, we left the hospital.

The next couple of days were really exciting for me. I found out that the only thing I really needed to buy was car seats since mine and Conner’s from long ago were either damaged or nonexistent. Dad recommended new cribs and playpens too and I agreed – I’m not sure how well I abused my old stuff when I was their age. But once all the purchases were made, courtesy of their grandfather, it was time to turn to some minor renovations.

The first time I went into my room since I awoke, I saw a few changes occurred. First, Richie’s bed was gone – my bed sat where his used to be behind newly constructed walls. The book shelves sat behind a sheet, giving the illusion of a windowed wall or something. When I peeked into my cozier bedroom, my bathroom door was still in the same spot. A few new walls were erected in a couple of spots over in the unused portion of the space, drastically cutting the size of the open room down. A new doorway was placed on the far end, near my bay window. I opened it out of curiosity and it led into a freshly painted nursery. I saw Conner smile up at me along with Mason as they assembled the cribs that Dad bought.

“You like babe?” Mason said as he stood up. He dusted himself off before he hugged me. I nodded with tear-filled eyes. “Well, Conner and I need to come clean with you a bit.”

“Oh?” I raised my eyebrows at the pair.

“I’ll explain so you don’t end up in the doghouse,” Conner laughed. “What we’re saying is that Dad already had an idea of what you’d decide with the twins even before they were born. He knew you’d want to have them, but he did share our reservations about if keeping them was what was best for the boys. He basically sent us to do the dirty work and try to dissuade you or something.”

I frowned angrily. “Then why didn’t he just demand that I place them up for adoption?”

“He could’ve done that – being assistant director of the DCF,” Mason said. “But as their grandfather, he knew it was your decision alone that mattered. You are their father.” Mason smiled. “Plus, he really hoped you would want them because, even though he’s not ready to admit it, he’s all raring to go playing the grandfather for you.”

I wanted to be mad at my father, but seeing him step up and do some things to the house to prepare for my sons’ arrival touched me to the point that the anger couldn’t. In fact, it overrode it. I just shook my head.

“Would someone care to give me the grand tour of my newly redesigned room?” I asked the two of them.

“Go ahead Mace – I’ll finish these up.” Conner went back to the instructions and started searching for a part.

“You know now that if those things fall apart, it’s their uncle to blame,” Mason giggled.

“Whatever… I don’t want them to fall apart in the first place!” I rolled my eyes. “So, what’s with these new ‘rooms’ within our room?”

“Well, you just saw the nursery – eventually to be the twins’ bedroom when they get older. It’s the bigger of the two spare rooms, and conveniently close enough that Dad was able to install a door to it. Next up, we have…” Mason paused for effect when he pushed open the swinging door leading into a sectioned off space. “Ta da! Your own kitchen, complete with mini-fridge.” My jaw hit the floor. Dad built me my own kitchen?! There was a small two-burner stove, a small oven sitting over newly laid tile floors. There was some counter space to work on some dishes. The mini-fridge that Mason pointed out wasn’t really that “mini”. Granted, it wasn’t a full-sized one, but it could hold a couple gallons of milk easily. The mini-freezer attached could hold a few boxes of stuff.

“Holy shit…” I breathed as I marveled at the new space. My fingers ran across the new counter top, afraid I was hallucinating.

“That’s not all,” Mason grinned. He stepped out of the kitchen, holding the door open for me. As I cleared Mason let go of the door and it smacked me in the ass, causing me to jump. He laughed. “Don’t worry – happened to me a lot when I was helping build this.” He went over and pulled the sheets off of a window that led back into the kitchen and allowing anyone in the kitchen to peer back into the room. “Sorry, we had that up from the construction. Didn’t want dust to get into your new kitchen. You have your own office here and over here you have a small laundry room of sorts. Mostly, it was built so the chute to the basement was hidden – this was the best spot for it. Next to the chute is a nice, sealable trash can. You probably know what that’s for.”

“Ugh, I forgot about that part,” I giggled. “Dirty diapers are not going to be fun.” I turned and almost ran into the small dining set sitting in the floor that I didn’t see earlier. “Even a dining room table? Really?!”

“I bet you didn’t even see the changes to the hallway outside your room,” Mason smirked. I had to go see as I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. But when I stepped outside, there was a door in the middle of the hallway. The other spare room’s door was on the outside of this new construction while the original door that led to the nursery was inclusive of it.

“Why is this door here?” I asked. Suddenly I heard keys fly through the air. I was caught off-guard a bit, but I still managed to catch them. I saw Dad standing in that new doorway.

“I’ll tell him Mace,” Dad said as my boyfriend spoke up – or tried to, rather. “You see son, you’ve shown me that you are really responsible for someone of your age. You’ve shared a bed with your boyfriend for, what, two months before your kidnapping and nothing happened between you two? In any case, I feel that you didn’t do anything wrong in that situation. Now, you are a dad too. With that title comes heaps of more responsibility. You want to be a dad, then guess what – you are.” Dad motioned for us to go back to the room and we did. He took a seat at the table and wanted us to sit with him so we did. “So here’s how I think this will work. You stay here, with the boys, and make sure they get the best upbringing you can give them. With Mason’s help, of course.”

“Of course!” Mason grinned. “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon!”

“Anyway, in exchange, you give me your best when it comes to school – that includes college.”

“But how can I go to school when I have two sons to raise?!” I asked a bit panicked. “Who’s going to watch them when I’m–”

“Easy, Xander,” Dad put his hands in the air, trying to push the brakes on my mouth. “If you’ll let me finish… You’ll still go to school. But… a bit differently than you do now. The tutor I was going to hire for you to help you catch up also is a licensed teacher – one of the best. Granted I had to help her relocate and do a few other additions to the house…” He trailed off into a grin.

“No! No way!” I exclaimed, getting excited. “You didn’t!”

“What?” Mason asked. “I’m a bit lost.”

“Don’t you see?!” I shouted. “Mrs. Petersen was the best teacher I had… from Ohio.”

“Oh!” Mason said as he got it. “Jared?”

“Jared!” I jumped up and down. “Dad, you don’t know how happy you just made me! Oh my God! I get to show Jared my kids! He’s going to flip his stack!”

“Calm down, Xander,” Dad laughed, watching me as I bounced around my “dining room” like a two year-old. “Yes, a few things happened with the Petersen family and they can’t stay in Ohio. That’s about the time I knew you needed a tutor. Mason was talking to Jared about your condition and I overheard some of the bad news.”

“Oh?” I asked. “What’s wrong with my buddy’s family?”

“Son… Tom passed away finally.”

“No…” I was devastated. That man was like a second father to me. He always struggled with some kind of cancer and last I heard, he was in remission. “T-The cancer?”

Dad nodded. “It came back with a vengeance. He was gone within a month of the diagnosis, sadly. But Alice and Jared couldn’t stay in the same house and even eat with the bills for such a place. It was too much for the two of them. So that’s when I asked Mace to hand me the phone and I asked Jared to put his mother on. Alice and I talked and she was distraught on what she could do for salary to keep Jared in school and fed. So I offered her a job.” Dad coughed. “She’s going to be teaching you, Mason, and Jared at home here. Well, at least you – the other two need to decide what they’re doing. She knows all about your sons but I told her to not tell Jared – I figured that would be your Trojan horse to deal with. In addition, she’s also going to help you out with the boys along with myself when you need it.”

“But–”

“I know, son. I know. You want to do it all yourself. I applaud you for wanting to do that. But there will be times when you can’t either be with them or take them with you. So she’ll also a part-time nanny. You know how well Jared turned out – what better nanny could you ask for?”

“Wait, you implied that they’re living here, with us. Am I right?”

Dad smiled. “I turned my office downstairs into Alice’s room. The office that you and Conner shared is going to be Richie’s room and the room across from the nursery is Jared’s. Oh, before I forget. The keys I tossed you, they’re the keys to your door. You can deadbolt that door in the hallway for privacy from the rest of us. If certain… things… are happening.”

“‘Things’? Are you implying…?” I asked.

“Yes, I am. We had you tested after your rape and you came up clean both then and at the six-month follow-up – just before you came back. Mace mentioned that he wanted tested too so they got him at the same times and he’s clean as well. I’ve seen the way you two look at one another, how you hold hands, when you boys kiss one another. It’s the same way… I-I used to see Lindsay. The way we looked at each other while we courted I saw in you two.” He blinked back a few tears as he recalled his earlier times with Mom. I blinked a few of my own back. “So… this is where I’ll leave it to you two. All I ask is to be courteous to each other, respect the word ‘no’, and by God don’t neglect the kids to do it!” He laughed a bit. He stood up and glanced at his watch. “It looks like we have an hour or so before we go pick up Ryan and Scott from the hospital…” He winked at me and I blushed profusely.

“Dad!” I drew out as I stood up and pushed him towards the door. As embarrassed as I was for him to say that, I felt the urge stronger than ever. I wanted my old man out of the room now. As soon as he pulled that new door shut, I slid the deadbolt in place. Coyly, I sauntered back into the room.

“I’ll take care of the back door,” Mace said.

“Back door?”

“Yeah, you can come and go as you please through this door here,” Mace said as he slid that deadbolt shut. He also drew the curtains, cutting off the outside world. “Stairs lead to the ground in the back yard. I’m going to get shower quick. Why don’t you get one too after I’m done?”

“Okay,” seeming a bit disappointed but covered it well. Mason disappeared into our bathroom. While Mason got his shower, I decided to see Dad about something.

“Dad? I have a question for you.” I said as I sat down at the breakfast bar. Dad turned and leaned into his end.

“What’s up son? I figured since I just gave you the go-ahead to get it on that you and Mace would be… busy for a bit.” He laughed.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh trust me, it’ll happen soon – very soon. But no, I had a question about marriage.” Dad perked up at this. “How old were you and Mom when you two figured out you were destined to be together?”

“Well,” Dad said. “We got married at about seventeen I think, but we were together a lot longer than that.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, we were ‘middle school’ sweethearts. I started dating your mom back in seventh grade and we got married over Christmas our senior year.” Dad’s eyes brightened. “I know what this is about! Give me a second to think about this, son. It’s not every day my youngest son beats out my oldest in both having kids and getting married to the boy he loves. Even if he only has known him for technically two months.”

I looked at him funnily. “What are you saying?”

“Son, as I said I’ve seen how you two look at each other. Your two months is equal to the same length of time I spent with your mother, I feel. And, I did a bit of research on your situation as it unfortunately differs from society’s view of ‘normal’. You already knew you could get married here to any boy thanks to same-sex marriage laws. But as for age requirements for that, I didn’t find any out but ones for opposite-sex couples. And that law says that if both applicants to get married are under eighteen, parental consent is necessary to sign off on the license.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’d have to sign us both off, since you are Mason’s legal guardian and my father?”

“Correct.” He paused and turned around and pulled something out of the microwave. He came back over to the counter and set a velvet-covered box on the counter. “That box contains the ring your mother gave me when she asked me to marry her.” He laughed. “I never got the chance to propose to her – she knew what she wanted all along and just went for it. She didn’t care that it’s customary for the man to propose – that was nostalgia to her at best.” Dad picked the box back up and put it in my hand. “Go ask that boy to be your husband – I’ll sign off on the papers.” Right there, Dad slid out two pieces of paper, legal documents from the state of Vermont and signed his name on both – one was for me, the other for Mason.

I sat there, speechless. My dad. My own father just gave me permission to marry my boyfriend! I just couldn’t get over the fact that it was so easy a sell. I didn’t have a fight with him about it – I expected to have to cite reasons why we should get married and here he just says okay without so much as a fist being thrown into a hard surface! “D-Daddy… I-I… thank you!” I flew out of my chair and squeezed the stuffing out of him. “N-Next to holding my boys… t-this is one of the happiest m-moments of my life! Thank you so much!”

“Don’t mention it. Now go ask him so I have something else to do – I never really got to plan a wedding before. And a gay one at that.” I laughed as I wiped the happy tears from my eyes. I bounded up the stairs and blew past Richie and Conner with a quick comment about telling them later. I pulled our “house” door shut as well as my old bedroom door. I’ll have to ask Dad about maybe taking it out, along with the other door to the nursery and making that area more of a foyer type of thing. I saw Mason sitting on the bed, wearing only a towel.

“There you are, babe. I was wondering what happened to you,” he giggled. He saw something in my eye and the giggle stopped. “Babe? Something the matter? You look like you were crying.”

I said nothing as I walked over to his side of the bed. “Mason Scott Jackson. You’ve stood by me when most other sane person might have left me. You’ve shown me heart, courage, and that your character is without question one of the best in the world.” I took this pause to kneel next to the bed. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my husband, now and forever?”

Mason just sat there, stunned. A few things danced in his eyes – confusion, a bit of fear, but the biggest one won out – his love for me. He went to say something but stopped and closed his mouth. I laughed a bit and pulled the box that Dad gave me out of my pocket. “Mason, will you marry me?” I flipped the box lid open and showed him the ring. Finally, dawning settled into his head what I wanted and the tears flowed down his face.

“Yes! Oh God yes Alex! Of course I’ll marry you!” I smiled as I took the ring out of its holding. It was a very masculine piece of jewelry – white gold band with a dark sapphire set in a big oval at the top. It almost looked like a class ring and as I looked at it closer, it was in fact. It was Dad’s class ring. I took Mason’s right hand and slid the ring onto his ring finger. Surprisingly, it fit rather well on him – I was expecting it would have to get adjusted. He couldn’t contain his emotions as he glanced down at the ring upon his finger. Quickly he pulled me up and pulled me in for a really big hug. “Xander you’ve just made me the happiest boy in the universe!” But I felt him sag. “But I don’t know if I can wait until we turn eighteen…”

“Why don’t you talk to Dad? Maybe he has some ideas?” I grinned, knowing what sort of ideas he already had. “While you do that, I’ll hop in the shower.”

“Okay,” Mason said with a giggle.

“Oh, can we tell Conner and Richie together? I want to see their reactions to the news.”

“But what about Dad’s reaction?” Mace said as I closed the door to the bathroom, pretending I didn’t hear that question. I went ahead and busied myself with my shower, humming some random tune. I had to be the luckiest kid alive. I have a loving father and brother in a wonderful home and in about a half-hour, I’d get to bring my sons home from the hospital with my soon-to-be husband. Life couldn’t get any better.

I walked out of the bathroom with just a towel on and I saw Mason sitting there with a knowing smirk on his face. “You snake!” he laughed as he pulled me to the bed. “You knew that Dad knew, didn’t you?”

“Truce, truce!” I shouted, trying to hold the towel around my waist as my fiancée tickled me. He stopped and I just lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling. I saw peripherally that Mason stared at my chest before his eyes slowly climbed to my face, causing me to grin. “Yes, he only knew because I wanted to ask him if he was okay with me asking you anyway. I already had it in my head I wanted to marry you. He was the last roadblock, so to speak.” I turned to face him. “Did he help you with that problem you were having after I asked?” I grinned harder, if that’s possible.

“Yes, he did indeed,” Mason smiled as we both fell into a kiss. It started off slow, sensual, passionate. Seconds turned into minutes and passion turned into lust. I was moaning into my boy’s mouth before he broke away. Feather kisses traveled down my cheek to my neck before he kissed my Adam’s apple. From there, the feathery kisses traveled down my neck to the center of my chest before he slid over to my left nipple. He took it into his mouth and I bucked in response. A low moan escaped me as I was turned on so much right at that moment. He did it for almost a minute before he kissed his way over to my right one and repeated.

By the time he was done with my nips, I was writhing around in exquisite torture. My hands found their way to the back of Mason’s head as I tried to encourage him to go lower. Slowly he did, as he stopped off at my belly button. I giggled a bit as I felt his wet tongue slide around down there – it was a weird sensation. He wasn’t there long before his hands grabbed my towel and, with my hips raised, yanked it off and flung it across the room. For the first time, Mason stared directly and admirably at my straining dick.

“It’s beautiful,” Mason breathed. “My quick glances haven’t done it justice.” Tenderly, he reached for it. As soon as there was skin on skin contact, I almost blew my load then and there.

“Oh, Mason…” I moaned. “So… close…”

“Guess I better hurry,” he giggled again. God I love his giggle! Before I knew it, I felt his tongue snake its way across me. He flicked it under the skin and traced his way around the glans, increasing my moans. I couldn’t control my eyes any longer – they constantly blurred and dimmed as all my attention focused on what I felt in between my legs. I felt my balls churning, getting ready to experience my first conscious orgasm with someone else. This was what my first time should – no – is. I completely erased from my memory that supposed time, any thoughts about it were gone. Then I slid deeper into his mouth.

“Oh… oh Mace… I… I think…” I couldn’t talk any longer as he only bobbed his head for about a minute before I erupted into his mouth. He never took his lips away as I just shot and shot into his eager mouth. I dreamily gazed down at him as I came down from my high and watched him swallow.

“Mm… delicious,” he grinned as he climbed onto me and kissed me a few times. “Better than I imagined it would it taste. You taste… perfect.”

We kissed a few more times. “I bet you taste better.”

“Oh really?” Mace asked with an eyebrow raised. “And how are you going to find that out?”

Before he knew it, I flipped us over, a coy grin at the ready. “You’ll just have to wait and see, fiancée.” Oh man! I think I almost made my boy lose it right then and there! I felt him shudder underneath me, but it wasn’t long enough to be counted as an orgasm. I mentally wiped my brow – I didn’t want him to shoot until my lips were locked around his hot shaft!

I slowly lowered myself until my face hovered over his shorts-clad crotch. I unbuttoned them and lowered the fly with my teeth as he giggled at me. I think I sprang another boner just hearing his giggle. I reached into his shorts and through his boxers and fished out my prize.

Holy shit, it’s amazing! As Mason said, my quick glances when we changed weren’t enough to do his tool justice. It stuck proudly out of his clothing at I assumed to be about five inches. Five millimeters or five yards – it’d have been perfect in any size. I saw a clear drop ooze from the tip. Teasing myself along with him, I took my tongue and ran it along the length of him, right up until I was able to swipe that pearl away with the tip of my tongue.

“Holy shit!” Mason shouted as the feelings passed through him. “Xan… oh Xan…” he moaned as I stopped with the foreplay and took it as far as I could, teasing it with my tongue as I buried it in the back of my throat with little difficulty. I made a swallowing motion with my throat and it drove his cut tool wild. “Oh my God! Xan… oh… so close… Xander… don’t stop!”

I decided to go for the kill and started bobbing at a furious pace, all the while Mace squirmed with pleasure and anticipation. He groaned and moaned all the while as I titillated the tip along with the slit. I felt him engorge that much more before Mason cried out some unintelligible sound. I slipped up to the top as the first shot rocketed across my tongue. As soon as my taste buds reported the flavor to my brain, I felt I was taking in the most flavorful substance known to man. A bit salty, but enjoyable nonetheless. I swallowed the first shot just as his second cleared and fell into my mouth. I didn’t miss a single drop.

“Baby… oh Xan…” Mason cooed. “That was… wonderful.” He pulled me up to his face again as we traded kisses once more. No eagerness was there, just love. Pure, unfiltered love flowed between our beings. After a minute of post-coital kissing, I slid off my fiancée and just rested my head on his chest. He reached down and tucked himself back into his shorts and zipped up as we just sat there for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying each other’s presence. After a while, he giggled again. “You might want to take a quick rinse again before we get the boys. And you know, some clothes might be needed too. You know, at least to go outside and stuff.”

“I guess,” I giggled back. “Meet you at the car?”

“Sure babe,” he said as he leaned down and kissed me one last time. “I’ll get the car seats ready.”

“Kay,” I called after him as I ducked into the bathroom with a set of clothes. I jumped back in the shower for a quick rinse and hopped out. Getting a fresh towel, I dried off and got dressed before heading to the garage.