Pucking Ever After(Jacksonville Rays, #2.5)

by Emily Rath

I glance over my shoulder. The nurse is gone, disappeared through the door. But I’m not alone. They’re here. My team. My brothers. I stumble down the hallway towards them, all but falling against Sully as he puts out an arm to catch me.

Novy is holding a big stuffy of our team mascot, Pelly the Pelican. It looks like he’s wearing a pink Rays jersey with my number.

Aww

“I’m gonna be bailing you out of jail tonight, aren’t I?” Morrow says with a shake of his head. “Hey, anything for my new niece,” Novy says with a shrug.

“We Rays gotta stick together, right? Especially when it comes to the baby Rays.” He drops into the seat opposite me, the pelican perched in his lap.

From the seat next to me, Mars reaches out, placing his hand over mine on the armrest. He doesn’t say anything, he just sits there, holding my fucking hand. Fuck, I’m gonna cry again.

Remembering what I’m supposed to be doing, I jerk my scrub shirt off and hand it to him. Novy wolf whistles and the guys laugh.

As soon as my lips touch her body, I break. The guys say nothing as I fall perfectly apart, hands clutching to my daughter as I cry for her mother.

I’m so fucking scared. I just need someone to walk out the door and tell me Tess is alive. Sully and Mars both wrap an arm around me. Jake, Novy, and Morrow all pull their chairs closer, each placing a hand on me too—my knees, my thigh.

“Just tell me she’s alive,” I beg, my voice breaking. She smiles and I can fucking breathe again. “She’s alive. Doctor Ballard got the bleeding under control.” “Oh, thank god,” says Sully, dropping his forehead to my shoulder.

Tess looks back down at her, stroking her silky pink cheek with a gentle finger. “Emma,” she murmurs. “Her name is Emma…Emma Rose Langley.”

Of course, he’s being Mr. Cool Calm and Collected about all this. I bet he was looking for any reason to leave his IKEA birthday party early. The imminent arrival of Little Baby Flörp is an ironclad excuse.

Alright, so am I being a little overly dramatic right now? Yes, obviously.

that's Jake for you lol

Yeah, I couldn’t find my chill right now if I was Dora the Freaking Explorer.

There’s nothing left for me to do but wait. Which just so happens to be one of the things I’m worst at.

He catches my grin and glares at me, his dark eyes narrowing. “What?” “Nothing,” I reply, still smirking like an asshole. “You’re just cute when you’re nervous.”

His glare deepens as he raises a subconscious hand, flattening his curls. I snort and he drops his hand again.

“I’m up for a fun little case of foreign object removal,” I tease. “So long as you’re the foreign object.”

“Are you gonna be doing that all night?” Cay asks for all three of us. Mars turns on him with a scowl. “She’s the medical professional. She needs accurate information.”

“Oh, no, we’re all daddy,” I say quickly. She glances between us. “You’re all…” She looks back down at her tablet.

“It’s a pernicious case of polyamory, Caitlin,” Caleb droles. “Careful, it’s catching.”

fans even do polls and shit, like ‘fuck, marry, kill’ and ‘who would you choose’? I’m competitive enough to let it rankle me knowing just how many people wanna fuck my Cay, marry Mars, and kill me.

Whatever, I’m the glue of this whole dynamic.

This is the fucking worst. I just want to know what I can do to help her. I want to take away this pain, fast forward to tomorrow when our baby will be safe in our arms.

Are they talking about a C-section? Oh, fuck no. The guys and I all have a primal fear of C-sections thanks to Tess. No way am I sitting in the hall as they cut our girl open. Not if there’s another option.

“Do you know what it feels like for us, watching you get to know and love our child these last nine months? Do you know how jealous we are? Do you have any idea how frustrated we’ve been, wanting to share in this with you?”

Slowly, he smirks. “Get the epidural, and Jake and Mars will make out for one minute.” She snorts a laugh, easing the tension in the room, and I smile, lifting my free hand to brush her hair back from her sweaty brow. “There she is.”

We’ve been here for fourteen hours and still no baby. First thing I’m gonna do is buy this kid a watch.

lol

I huff another forced laugh, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Why do they have to do this now? Scratch that. Why do they have to do this period?

We’re not rehashing all these hurt feelings again. I dealt with it two fucking years ago.

“She’s our wife,” I counter. “And his name is Mars Price. God—why the fuck did you even come here?”

I jerk away, stepping back. “Yeah, but you’re not trying, are you? Look, I know I freaked you out when I first came out. But it’s been over two fucking years.

I understood when it was weird for you at first, but you gotta catch the fuck up already. I’m legally married to Cay, yes. But I am married in every way that matters to Mars and Rachel too. I love them all, and we’re a family—”

“Can you give us a minute, dear? This is a family matter.” “Which is why I’m here,” Mars replies, his tone icy. “Protecting my family.”

“We need to speak to our son alone,” says Dad. “No.” One word, spoken so powerfully. It echoes in the space between us, scaring the bunnies in the basket. Not looking at me, Mars takes my hand.

“You don’t approve of Jake’s choices,” he says over her. “You certainly don’t approve of me. You’ve made that abundantly clear. You’ve been making it clear from the moment we met. But, unlike my husband, I neither seek nor need your approval.”

“We just want what’s best for him,” Mom says, wiping away her tears. “And is Jake not the best judge of that?” Mars counters.

“He’s open-minded and highly empathetic,” Mars corrects. “That is not being impressionable. That’s being willing and able to grow, learn, and change.”

“Standing by my side,” Mars replies solemnly. “Showing me every day how to be the father our child deserves. A father who leads with kindness and honesty. A father who is loyal. A father willing to admit when he’s wrong and be willing to change.”

I squeeze his hand, heart in my throat, as I look at my parents like they’re strangers. How can they claim to love me and treat me this way, treat my partner this way? Do they even care about what I want? Or do they only care about what they want for me? Do they even know me at all?

“Your son is the kindest and best man I have ever known,” Mars goes on, determined to shred me into fucking pieces. “I am honored to share this life with him. It was wrong of you to come in...

That’s what Mars does for me—he holds me together. The others can’t do it. Only Mars.

Our broody Finn is the only one who can quiet all the shit spinning in my head. They sent me who I needed most in this moment. Because, unlike my parents, they understand me. They respect me. They love me.

“Good,” Mars soothes, his thumb brushing the tears from my cheek. “You’re alr...

“In this moment, nothing else matters,” he soothes. “Look at me. That’s it…only at me. Breathe.” I nod, calming down enough to swallow. Feeling so fucking spent, I drop my head forward, resting it against his.

“Did Cay send you out here?” His hand is at my back, steady and strong. “I wanted to come.”

I lean away, holding his gaze again. “Why?” He smiles at me, brushing his thumb over my parted lip...

How long has it been since we stood in the living room of his bungalow, and I threatened that he can only call me that if he begs? All I remember is Tess standing in a towel....

“Is this you begging me?” I tease. His expression doesn’t change. “I don’t beg.” I roll my eyes, dropping my hand...

But he holds fast to me, his hand shifting to grip the back of my neck. “You do know,” ...

“You know me, Jake,” he says again. Lowering his hand, he presses it palm-flat to my chest over my heart. “You know this. You know us.” Oh, fuck him. Fresh tears are about to fall and this time it will be his fault.