EPILOGUE
"I can't believe you didn't have this done sooner," Taylor lamented as he rushed around the room.
"I didn't expect it to be this early!" Winn argued.
"Either way. We have NO time for this." He grabbed a handful of newborn onesies and shoved them into the overnight bag.
"Don't forget his pumpkin socks," she blurted suddenly.
"His what?"
"His pumpkins socks," she said, matter-of-factly. "To wear home with the orange onesie. Did you pack the orange onesie?"
He stared back at his wife, dumbfounded. "I don't--I don't know..."
"Then find them, you have to! He has to have his orange onesie and his pumpkin socks--"
"Winn, he can wear anything--"
"NO!" She blurted in desperation. "No, he has to wear his onesie and his pumpkin socks because he's my little pumpkin and that's what I picked for him to wear home and now he's coming and we can't find his pumpkin socks and his orange onesie!" Suddenly, she burst into panicked sobs. "You have to find them!"
Taylor was torn. Her water had broken as she was standing in the baby's room, and that was only AFTER he'd found out that she'd been having contractions for the last half hour. It was bad enough that he didn't know about THOSE. Now time was ticking away, her water had broken, and her contractions kept coming. Now he was in a mad dash to get her to the hospital to bring their son into the world--and she was stressing about a pair of goddamn pumpkin socks.
Across the room, his eyes lit up as he spied orange on the changing table. The outfit had been right in front of her face the entire time. Darting across the room, he snatched the orange baby outfit off the table and shoved it in the duffel bag just in time to hear Winn cry out in pain. Turning around, he watched her cradle her stomach and hunch her shoulders in pain. "Shit!" He breathed anxiously as he closed the gap between them across the room. "Breathe, baby. Okay? Just breathe, just like they taught us in Lamaze. I got the outfit, we gotta go."
"Did you get the baby blanket?" Her voice creaked out several seconds later.
"Dammit, Winn," he muttered.
"He has to have the baby blanket my mother made him."
Shit. Her mother. They needed to call her parents so they could start being on their way from Texas. He would do that in the silver Durango that they'd traded her Kia for to make accommodations for the baby. Right now, he just needed to get her out of the house.
Plucking the blanket from the crib, he shoved it in the bag and began to zip it up before she stopped him. "Is that everything?"
"Everything? Yeah, sure, it's everything."
"Are you sure? Did you check the list?"
Taylor was going to lose his mind in a matter of seconds. His nerves were shot, his anxiety was through the roof, and he was scared to death that if he didn't get her to the hospital now, that their son was just going to fall right out of her. He knew he might have been overreacting just a little, but it was bad enough that she didn't even tell him she was having frequent contractions until after her water broke. There was no telling what he didn't know at this point. "There's a list? I've been on this wild goose chase this whole time and there's a list?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I need stuff, too. I need underwear and clothes and my toothbrush..."
"That's all the way upstairs..."
"I have to have it."
And then another contraction came. Taylor wanted to die. He made a mad dash upstairs, grabbing up whatever essentials he could get his hands on, shoved them forcefully into the bag and flew back down the stairs, slowing down as he got to his wife, and took her by the shoulder to gently lead her waddling body toward the door. "Okay. I have everything. It's time to go."
"Did you get--?"
"No," he said abruptly. "Whatever it is, I either have it or I don't and at this point it doesn't even matter. Our baby is coming right now and we don't have time to stand around here anymore. Okay? Getting out of the house right now should not be this difficult."
"Okay," she nodded. "Will you warm up the car while I get my coat?"
"I'm not leaving you alone in here--"
"But I don't want to get in a cold car," she pouted.
"A cold--are you kidding? It's mid-September. It's fucking hot as hell outside."
"Not in front of the baby," she shushed him as she rubbed her belly.
"Fine," he said, exasperated. "Don't move."
Rushing outside, he threw the bag in the backseat of the Durango, made sure the car seat was adjusted one more time, and then jumped in the driver's seat and started the car. In his rush to leave, he found himself on autopilot and subsequently put the gear in reverse and started to back down the driveway. It was only when he glanced beside him when he realized he was missing the two key ingredients in this little adventure: the mother and the baby.
Pulling the vehicle back into the driveway, he left the keys in the ignition and cursed himself as he ran back to the house and opened the front door. Winn stood there, obscenely pregnant and devastated, her bottom lip quivering. "You were going to leave me. You can't have a baby without me."
"Baby, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm just excited, that's all. Come on." He took her by the hand and slid his arm around her shoulder, leading her onto the porch. "Watch your step out here, it's dark. You're doing good, okay?"
"Tay? I love you," she squeaked as they walked to the running Durango.
"I love you, too, sweetheart. Let's concentrate on getting you to the hospital now."
Once they were driving down the road, Taylor sent out a mass text, the fastest way he knew to get a message to everyone. Actually, he could have argued that telling his mother over the phone would have been faster, but he texted instead. He had no idea who all he'd sent the text to and at this point he didn't care. "It's time. We're on our way to the hospital." He hadn't even bothered to check the time earlier and he looked at the dash, trying to make sense of the time with everything that was spinning around in his head. However, the dash read something just after eight and he'd been surprised that it was even that early because it felt so much later.
To his surprise, he heard his wife's small voice say cheerfully into her phone as he sped through Tulsa, "Hi, Mama, guess what? Chase is coming early...Yep, my water broke...Yes, having contractions...I don't know, close to an hour now?...Well, the contractions came first and then my water broke and I'm contracting again...Well, he's due next week, so it's not so bad. He's been rough on me this past month so I guess he's had enough and I'm glad for it. I'm so excited!" And then she doubled over with pain as another contraction hit.
"Just breathe, baby," he said as he took the phone from her ear. "Hey, Linda," he said to her mother. "We're almost at the hospital now."
"Drive safe, sweetie. How do you feel?"
How much time did she have?
"Excited. Nervous. Anxious. Everything, I feel everything. If my heart doesn't slow down, I might have a heart attack."
Linda Douglas chuckled gently. "It's okay, you'll be fine. When Winn's brother was born, George could barely function. I spent time between contractions comforting him because he was driving himself crazy. Winn is fine and the baby is fine. You just calm down and be the daddy. Let the hospital to their job."
"Right," he said, grateful for the pep talk. "Be the daddy. Got it."
"You'll be fine," she repeated. "George is already in there, packing a bag. We'll be there in the morning. You take care of you and take care of our girl, okay? Keep up updated on whatever happens. I can't wait to meet that sweet baby!"
No sooner had he ended the call on Winn's phone, did his own phone ring. He knew it was his mother before he even looked at it. "Are you at the hospital, yet?"
"About a minute away."
"How's she doing?"
"Hanging in there. She's doing good, she's doing real good."
"Your father and I and your sister are on our way."
"Okay. We're about to pull in the hospital now."
Taylor expected his phone would blow up after that text and he'd been right. Immediately after hanging up with his mother, a text from Kate came through. "Just called the sitter. Zac and I will be there soon."
Winn was a trooper and Taylor admired the hell out of her. He didn't know first-hand exactly what she was going through, but she recovered from each contraction beautifully. He'd expected this night to be his worst nightmare. He'd expected her to be a complete monster and for things to be crazy and stressful but, instead, she remained perfectly pleasant and cooperative. Interestingly enough, Taylor was the one who was a nervous wreck.
Thankfully, they had thought to call ahead to the hospital. He guessed he at least had it together somewhat. He walked Winn in and they immediately put her in a wheelchair and she was all smiles as the staff took over to help her. "Hi!" She greeted everyone. "Looks like I'm having a baby tonight!"
And then a contraction would come and the process would be repeated.
Before he knew it, they had her up in the delivery room and she wasted no time adjusting the pillows and making herself at home. She asked for things that Taylor didn't even remember packing but was able to produce and, little by little, as time passed, the contractions grew worse and she grew more and more scary, slowly but surely.
His family came and went, as the hospital only allowed three at a time in the room. When Kate arrived, she'd become a permanent fixture in the delivery room, as Winn had asked her to be there during delivery.
And then it was hurry up and wait.
Somewhere in the process of her labor, things just...came to a stand still. Taylor guessed he expected to come right to the hospital, have a baby, and then celebrate and take him home. He supposed he should have known better from watching his mother go through it so many times.
Three hours later, after he'd nearly put himself in the hospital and after he'd watched his wife ask the nurses in panicked tears why she wasn't contracting as much anymore, the couple was educated on how sometimes labor can slow at the presence of the adrenaline rush in the excitement to give birth. Also, being in the continual stationary position wasn't helping. At this, Winn was already throwing the covers off of her and trying to get out of the bed and it took both Taylor and Kate to convince her to stay put. "I am ready for this to be over," she said through gritted teeth. "Maybe I just need to walk around and get him out myself!"
And then another contraction hit that debilitated her and forced her to stay in the bed.
Soon, the nurse came in and gave Winn a medication that was meant to help get her labor back on track. At this point, they'd been in the hospital over four hours. He'd watched the nurses come and go, checking her vitals, checking the baby's heartbeat, and he watched his wife, hooked up to machines and IV's as she grew restless and impatient. "Tay," her voice squeaked out in a pout. "Why isn't he here yet?"
"Well, he started, taking her hand and forcing himself to stay strong for her. "Because he's a man. And you know how we men are."
"I should have known," she muttered.
Another hour later, Taylor had to go into the waiting room and address his family, who had been there nearly as long as he had, and let them know that they were looking at the rest of the night. "They're saying it could be as long as mid-morning tomorrow," he told them. "If you want, you guys can head home and get some sleep and maybe come back in the morning?"
Zac and Diana stuck around and, as if on cue, Isaac came bursting into the waiting room in a mad dash. "Did I miss it?" He asked, breathlessly.
Taylor shook his head. "You probably could have just stayed in bed. They're saying it's looking like tomorrow morning."
Diana smiled as she sat in the waiting area next to Zac, and she took her son by the hand. "Kate's in delivery with Winn, so you're welcome to hang out with Zac and I if you want. We're not going anywhere."
Nothing read sarcasm quite like the smile that crossed Zac's face in that moment. "Come on, Ike," he encouraged. "You know that's exactly what you want to be doing at two in the morning."
Kelsey came into the waiting room minutes later, a perturbed expression on her face. "Thanks SO much for being a gentleman, Ike, while I made the mile-long trek across the property in the middle of the night alone while I parked the car. Next time I'll make you drop ME off at the curb."
"Oh, the plot thickens," Zac said happily, his hand still in his mother's. "I live for these moments when my brothers are complete idiots." And then his expression read pain as he looked at his mother and met her glaring eyes.
"Mr. Hanson." Taylor turned around at the sound of his name as one of the nurses held the door open. "They're ready to give her the epidural now."
Both Diana and Zac made faces. "Take care of her," Zac said. "That's gonna be brutal."
Walking into the hospital room, Taylor was met by his wife's wide eyes of horror. "Tay, I'm so scared," she whispered, holding her hand out to him. "The contractions are getting worse and I can't handle it anymore, so they're giving me an epidural and--and I've heard horror stories about that, they're gonna put this huge needle in my back--"
"It's okay," he said gently. "I'm here and I'm gonna get you through it."
And then she cried out in screaming pain as the next contraction hit her harder than he'd seen all night. After she recovered, her eyes darkened and she looked around the room. "Fuck it, I need that shit NOW. I hope they stab me to death with it!"
Taylor's eyes widened as it appeared that the devil had taken over his wife's body. He'd have found it amusing if it hadn't caught him off guard for a moment. He wondered if holy water was available in the hospital...
Before he knew it, he was standing in front of her as she sat on the edge of the bed, nearly breaking his hands with her grip as they injected the needle and inserted her catheter as carefully as they could. She squeezed her eyes shut and she whimpered in pain, trying as hard as she could to stay still. "It's okay," he whispered, kissing her forehead gently. "You're doing good, they're almost done."
Nearly an hour later, Winn was back to being all smiles again, but the exhaustion was all over her face. Kate had volunteered to go and get coffee for herself and Taylor and subsequently sent Isaac and Kelsey into the room. Checking the clock on the wall, Taylor read nearly two-thirty in the morning. He was as exhausted as Winn looked.
For the first time that night, he'd allowed himself to collapse and melt into the armchair that sat beside Winn's bed. Sleep was the farthest from his concerns right now, but he knew that if he closed his eyes in that uncomfortable chair, he would probably sleep pretty good.
Winn's eyes lit up upon sight of Isaac and the fact that the two of them were still close unnerved Taylor sometimes, but he was ultimately okay with it. In the time between their wedding reception in February and now, in mid-September, Isaac had sold his condo and moved into Kelsey's house across town. Taylor knew that one of these days, whenever he mustered up the courage to do it, Isaac was going to ask Kelsey to marry him. He wasn't rushing it and Taylor respected him for it. But they'd had the discussion on many occasions and Taylor was proud of his older brother.
Now, however, Winn held on to Isaac's hand for dear life and thanked him profusely for being there. "I wouldn't miss this for the world," Isaac said to her. "You know that."
"Listen," Winn whispered as Taylor finally let his eyelids rest for a moment. "I put you down to be in here during delivery."
At this, Taylor opened an eye and raised an eyebrow.
"You did what?" Isaac said. "You don't--you don't need me. You have Tay and Kate and--"
"Not for me," Winn whispered. "For him. You don't--you don't have to, like, look at all the gross stuff or anything. But he's run himself ragged and he's kinda freaking out and I think he's gonna need just as much support as I am when the baby comes. Be here to hold his hand, not mine."
Isaac nodded, Taylor only able to see the back of his head as he closed both of his eyes again. "Yeah," he heard him answer. "Yeah, of course. I'll be here. Absolutely."
"Thank you," she whispered.
After a few minutes, she hugged Kelsey and Isaac and they left the room, leaving the couple alone together for the first time all night.
"Tay," Winn said quietly, reaching out for his hand. "I love you so much."
He scooted his chair closer to the bed and took her hand in his. "I love you, too, sweetheart."
"Thank you for taking such good care of me. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"I'll always be here for you. You've done so good so far, mama. I'm so proud of you."
"I'm so sleepy. I want to sleep but they keep coming in here constantly and poking and prodding...I wish you could sleep with me."
"I know, baby. I'm okay, don't worry about me."
"I am worried about you--"
"I'm not the one giving birth here."
"Are you worried about me?"
"I'm not worried, so much as I just don't want you to be uncomfortable anymore."
"I'm okay," she smiled. "It's all part of having a baby. Tomorrow morning we'll be holding our son in our arms and all of this will be in the past. It's all worth it."
Taylor smiled and kissed her hand. "You're amazing, you know that?"
"It takes an amazing man to make an amazing woman," she whispered. "At least in this case, anyway." Then she scooted herself over as far as she could and patted the bed beside her. "Here. It's not meant for two, but we can make this work."
"Winn, I'm fine. Really."
"No. Come lay with me. I want you to lay with me."
Hesitantly, he took her up on her offer, kicking off his shoes and climbing in the hospital bed, adjusting himself on his side to face her. It was uncomfortable as hell, presumably for both of them, but neither of them cared. They both drifted off into a light sleep amidst the visits from the nurses every few minutes.
A few hours later, Taylor was woken up by a sudden cry from his wife. His eyes snapped open and he jerked his head up. "Winn, baby, what's the matter?"
"Something feels different. It hurts different. It's lower. Tay, I don't know what's going on, but I think our son might be coming. Go get someone!"
Taylor Hanson hadn't moved so fast in his entire life.
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Winifred Hanson didn't know what she would have done without that epidural. She didn't know what she would have done without her brother-in-law or her sister-in-law that stood on either side of her with each of her hands in theirs. She did know, however, what she would have done without her husband, and that was not be in this much pain with an epidural that had been downgraded so that she could "feel" her childbirth, as it was apparent that the baby was very much on his way.
Who in the fuck wanted to feel their childbirth?!
As it stood, Taylor was at the other end of the bed as her feet sat spread eagle up in the stirrups and he wore the hospital gown and cap he'd been given, surrounded by hospital staff who was there to assist in the delivery. As he listlessly encouraged her to push and told her how good she was doing, he began to break a sweat and look a little green in the face. He took a step backward, his eyes in a daze. "Tay!" She cried in objection. "You can't faint! You did this to me, you don't GET to sit this one out!"
"Winn, you have to calm down," Kate said to her gently. "You have to calm down and relax."
"I can't relax, he's gonna miss the birth of his child!"
At that, Isaac let go of her hand and stepped toward Taylor. "You go calm her down, take a breather," he said. "She needs you."
Taylor nodded, still in a daze. "Right. Okay."
Trading places with Isaac, her husband came to the head of the bed and took her hand and kissed her forehead. "You're doing excellent, sweetheart. Just breathe and push, just like we practiced."
"Come on, Winn," the doctor encouraged her as she sat at the end of the bed. "Push for me. He wants to come out."
Winn could feel her gloved hand rooting around just inside her as she felt for the head. She wanted so desperately to just get this over with and push him right on out. Why was it taking so long?
"Come on, Winn, you got it," the doctor said. "Just a few more pushes and he's out. You're doing good."
Feeling Taylor push her forward, she took a deep breath and pushed as hard as she could. During this one, she managed to catch a glimpse at Isaac, whose eyes had widened at the end of the bed. "Tay, switch with me," he said suddenly, closing the gap between them.
"I gotta be here for Winn--"
"I'll stay right here," he said quietly. "You go bring your son into the world. It's happening."
"Come on, Winn," the doctor coached her. "One more big push!"
Taylor darted toward the end of the bed and was suddenly very interested in what was going on between Winn's legs, a far cry from what he looked like just minutes earlier.
Suddenly, cheers erupted in the room and Winn heard Chase's screeching from the other end of the bed. She couldn't see what was going on for the blanket that lay over her legs, but she saw her husband's face and that told her everything. "Oh, Winnie, baby, he's beautiful!" He said excitedly. "He has...a head full of very dark hair..."
"My mother's half Italian," she replied breathlessly.
"Really?" Taylor replied, confused.
Winn nodded.
"Anyway, he's gorgeous! He has all ten fingers and toes, both hands, both feet, and...uh...well he's definitely his father's child."
Before Winn knew it, one of the nurses was opening the front of her gown and laying her son onto her chest. Winn's breath caught in her throat as she laid eyes on her baby for the first time, feeling his soft, baby skin against her own. "There's my baby," she whispered, tears of joy springing to her eyes. "There's my little pumpkin. Oh, Tay, he's beautiful. He's so beautiful."
Taylor was by her side in an instant, wiping her hair from her forehead and kissing her. "You did good, sweetheart. You did so good, I'm so proud of you."
As Winn held their son to her chest, she smiled and looked up at Taylor. "We did it. We really did it." Then she looked at Kate and then Isaac and her smile widened. "Look, baby," she whispered to the tiny bundle that whimpered against her. "Your family's here. There's your Aunt Kate and your Uncle Ike. You guys, meet your new nephew, Jordan Chase Hanson, already a bona fide heartbreaker."
After a moment, they had to take the baby away to clean him up and swaddle him, much to Winn's dismay, while the doctor dealt with the rest of the issues that needed to be taken care of down below before Winn could be moved into a private room. With Kate and Isaac now cooing and gushing over the baby, Taylor had rushed out the door to spread the good news to the hoards of family that was likely in the waiting room early that sunny morning.
The moment they had laid her baby on her chest and Taylor had stood at her side, she felt the most surreal feeling of completeness that she'd ever felt. Her life was complete. She had her husband, she had her son, they had their family. She was content and she was happy, and she didn't care that her legs were still spread apart for the entire world to see. There was nothing that could have happened to ruin that moment for her.
ONE MONTH LATER
Chase was a little bundle of warm, squishy joy. That's what Winn liked to call him, anyway. It was the truth, though. Taylor tried to refrain from using such phrases to secure his own manhood and leave his son with a little dignity, but the truth was, she never called him anything that wasn't true. His hair had thinned and lightened up just a little bit over the past month and the big excitement of the day today was that he had smiled for the first time after Taylor had come home and burped him after feeding him.
"I'm pretty sure it's just gas," Taylor tried to reason with Winn.
"No, it isn't, it's a smile. It's a real smile, he loves you! He gets so excited when you come home, it's so adorable."
"Excited? Please, he's barely mobile--"
"I know my baby, I'm with him all day. I know what his little faces mean and I CERTAINLY know what his gassy face is. That was a real smile. He knows his daddy."
Taylor couldn't lie. He'd been proud of his boy and he couldn't help but be flattered that his first smile was for him. It was easy to see already that this guy was gonna be his best pal.
Now it was later in the evening. Chase had eaten one more time since then and Winn had bathed him in lavender to help him sleep. When Taylor walked into the nursery, Winn was leaned over the changing table, cooing at their son as he lay there in his diaper. "You have the sweetest baby fingers," she cooed softly. "And the sweetest baby toes, and the sweetest baby nose. And Mommy LOVES that little pumpkin belly. Because you're mama's little pumpkin, aren't you?"
"If you don't dress him and put him to bed, he'll never go to sleep," Taylor said as he crossed the room.
Suddenly, he saw the baby's legs start to kick and Winn grinned at Taylor excitedly. "Who's that?" She asked the baby softly. "Do you hear your daddy? Is that your daddy?"
As Taylor approached the changing table with Winn, the baby's arms and legs both started to move. Winn giggled softly, extremely thrilled with the progress. "Tay, look at him. Look how excited he is to see you!"
Taylor had to admit, his heart melted into a million puddles over this. "Hey, buddy," he said, giving his son his finger to hold onto. "Are you in here giving your mother a hard time?"
"Never," Winn whispered.
Taking his finger from the baby's hand, he stood there and allowed her to dress him and get him ready for bed. His expression turned serious as he watched her care for their son. "I know you're exhausted," he whispered. "I wish you'd let me handle some of this. Or at least start putting him to bed earlier."
"I'm okay. You have a lot on your plate at work, you don't need to come home and bear my load, too. This won't last long, he'll sleep through the night before we know it."
She took the baby from the changing table and lowered him gently into the crib, turning on his mobile and covering him with his blanket.
"Winn," Taylor whispered as he came up behind her and rested his hands on her waist. "I need him to go to sleep. I NEED to do vile and obscene things to you and then I need you to rest. I don't think I'm asking for much."
She turned her head into him and she smiled. "Tay. Not in front of the baby."
"It's okay, he doesn't know what I'm saying."
She rubbed the baby's belly as his eyes started to grow heavy. "He had a big day today, didn't sleep as much as he normally does. I think his tummy was upset a little. He should have no problem going to sleep tonight."
The truth was, sex was scarce nowadays. It was scarce anyway before the baby was born and even more scarce now that he had arrived. Taylor missed his wife. He craved her and he wanted her and he understood the circumstances they were under, but he just couldn't take it anymore and he'd come home with the intention of tonight being THE NIGHT.
He took it upon himself to turn on the baby's planetarium, turn on his small lamp, and turn on the mix of soft lullabies that sat in the CD player by the lamp. Within a few short, miraculous minutes, the baby had fallen asleep and Taylor nearly had to tear Winn from the crib.
Once in the hallway outside the nursery, Taylor didn't waste any time. He shoved Winn against the wall and he kissed her, letting his hand slide desperately up her shirt. "Let's go upstairs," he whispered.
To his surprise, she responded to him immediately, tearing at his clothes as well. "No time for that. Just come in the guest room."
Grabbing his hand, she led him to the guest room and they both instantly began to shed their clothes. There was no foreplay. There was no pillow talk, no teasing, no playing. Both of them had an immediate need and an immediate desire to take care of it.
Backing her onto the bed, he climbed over top of her before she even had time to settle herself. Spreading her legs apart, it only took him a second to shove himself inside of her, shamelessly uncaring if it hurt her or not. Judging by her expression, it did hurt, but she didn't make a big deal of it. He suspected that she didn't care, either.
She felt better than ever and he let out a breath as he took a moment to savor her. "Fuck," he breathed in her ear. "That feels so good. Baby, I'm not gonna make it tonight."
"It's okay," she breathed. "I want it rough and I want it hard. I'm just as deprived as you are. Make it hurt."
She needed say no more. He rested his elbow alongside her and he hooked his arm around her leg and he pounded into her, each thrust feeling better than the last. They lasted mere minutes, which was much longer than he'd expected to and he came when her cry of ecstasy tore through the quiet air.
With barely enough time to calm down, the baby started to cry at the top of his lungs from just down the hall. "Shit," Taylor breathed with a laugh as he rolled off of her. "Not a moment too soon."
"I think I woke him up," she replied breathlessly. "I'm sorry."
"Wow," he replied. "He is PISSED."
Winn sighed and rolled herself off of the bed and started getting dressed. "It's okay. It shouldn't take me long to get him back to sleep."
Taylor felt horrible as he watched her and he got off the bed and he turned the covers down. "No," he said. "No, I'll get him. You lay down and go to sleep."
"Tay, it's--it's okay, really."
"Winn, you need to sleep. When's the last time you slept a few hours straight?"
She didn't answer and she didn't have to because he knew the answer to the question. Pulling on his pants, he kissed her cheek and he led her back to bed. "Get in the bed. I'll handle this tonight. Okay?"
"But, Tay, you have to work tomorrow--"
"I'll be fine. Don't forget who you're talking to, remember? I don't need sleep."
Making sure Winn was comfortable, he left her in bed to go and see what was going on with Chase. He entered the dark nursery, leaving the dim lights the way they were and not turning on any more.
"Hey, big guy," he said softly as he lifted his son out of the crib and rested him gently against his chest. "What's all this fuss about? You gotta let me spend at least a little time with your mama. I love her, too."
Chase's cries turned to whimpers as Taylor picked the blanket up out of the crib, draped it over the baby's back, and settled with him in the rocking armchair, choosing to forego the rocking and reaching down to release the recliner, propping his feet up comfortably, and adjusting the baby against his bare skin. He rubbed his son's back lightly through the blanket as he spoke in a low, soothing tone. "I think you and I need to get some things straight here. You and I are the men of the house now. We gotta work as a team. We're both very lucky to have an amazing woman in our lives that loves us and takes good care of us. But we gotta take care of our woman, too. That's your job when I'm not home. It's your job to use those pipes Daddy gave you to scare the monsters away. Okay? And you're good at that, don't get me wrong. But when I'm home, it's MY job to keep the monsters away. You see how this works? We've got a lot of testosterone around here, we gotta balance it out. You get to see your mama much more than I do. All day long, you get the cuddles and the kisses and the smiles--help a guy out when he walks in the door, huh? I don't think that's too much to ask, do you?"
The baby's body bounced in staggered sighs before he melted into Taylor's chest and made a suckling motion with his lips as he drifted into a deep sleep. Taylor smiled and rested his head against the back of the chair. "Yeah, I didn't think it was, either."
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Winn couldn't sleep. She was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. What if Chase was sick? What if he was hungry? Did he need a diaper change? Taylor knew where his diapers were, right? Was it too hot in the nursery? Was it too cold? Was the music too loud? Did she have the baby monitor with her?
The baby monitor. She at least needed to have her hands on THAT.
Getting out of the bed after several minutes of hearing silence in the house and seeing no signs of her husband, Winn crept two rooms down and peeked her head in the doorway. The sight took her breath away and she couldn't help but smile. There were both of her men, sound asleep, with Taylor's arm tucked underneath Chase's little baby butt as it rested high in the air under the blanket.
With the intention of putting the baby back to bed, Winn crossed the room and touched Taylor's arm lightly, causing him to open his eyes sleepily. He smiled at her and then he quietly shushed her. "You don't have to take him, he's okay," he whispered.
"What in the world happened in here?" She whispered.
"The boy and his old man had a heart-to-heart. As you can see, it worked out in my favor," he smiled. "He's okay right here, you don't have to take him."
A smile crept across her face. "You're gonna spoil him."
"We'll worry about that tomorrow. Will you do me a favor and grab a blanket and throw it over us?"
"Are you not coming to bed?"
"I'll play it by ear."
Doing as her husband asked, she brought a light blanket and draped it over her little family as they rested, content, in the recliner in the nursery. Kissing her husband and then her son, she left them to slumber as she stopped and watched them for a moment from the doorway.
It was just a year ago this week when Taylor Hanson breezed through the door to her office and flashed the smile that changed her life. From that day forward, she dreamt only of his blue eyes and felt the safe comfort of home that merely being with him provided for her. In a year's time, she'd left her home for the first time, found her true love, married him, and had his child. She smiled as she watched them again, smiled at how much Chase looked like his father. He had his lips and his nose and the way he crinkled his little eyebrows up like Taylor did sometimes made her giggle. And not to mention the set of vocal chords on the boy. Those were a force to be reckoned with.
In a short amount of time, Taylor and Winn had been through it. Meeting and getting to know each other on the streets of Tulsa, it was like catching up with an old friend, as if they'd known each other forever. If she hadn't believed in love at first sight then, she sure believed in it now. Because that's what had ultimately happened. Winn was planted in the Brady District in downtown Tulsa especially for Taylor to find her--and Taylor was shoved through the door of her office especially for her to discover him. Fate was on their side. It always had been.
He was her best friend. Her husband. Her love. Her wish come true.
"I can't believe you didn't have this done sooner," Taylor lamented as he rushed around the room.
"I didn't expect it to be this early!" Winn argued.
"Either way. We have NO time for this." He grabbed a handful of newborn onesies and shoved them into the overnight bag.
"Don't forget his pumpkin socks," she blurted suddenly.
"His what?"
"His pumpkins socks," she said, matter-of-factly. "To wear home with the orange onesie. Did you pack the orange onesie?"
He stared back at his wife, dumbfounded. "I don't--I don't know..."
"Then find them, you have to! He has to have his orange onesie and his pumpkin socks--"
"Winn, he can wear anything--"
"NO!" She blurted in desperation. "No, he has to wear his onesie and his pumpkin socks because he's my little pumpkin and that's what I picked for him to wear home and now he's coming and we can't find his pumpkin socks and his orange onesie!" Suddenly, she burst into panicked sobs. "You have to find them!"
Taylor was torn. Her water had broken as she was standing in the baby's room, and that was only AFTER he'd found out that she'd been having contractions for the last half hour. It was bad enough that he didn't know about THOSE. Now time was ticking away, her water had broken, and her contractions kept coming. Now he was in a mad dash to get her to the hospital to bring their son into the world--and she was stressing about a pair of goddamn pumpkin socks.
Across the room, his eyes lit up as he spied orange on the changing table. The outfit had been right in front of her face the entire time. Darting across the room, he snatched the orange baby outfit off the table and shoved it in the duffel bag just in time to hear Winn cry out in pain. Turning around, he watched her cradle her stomach and hunch her shoulders in pain. "Shit!" He breathed anxiously as he closed the gap between them across the room. "Breathe, baby. Okay? Just breathe, just like they taught us in Lamaze. I got the outfit, we gotta go."
"Did you get the baby blanket?" Her voice creaked out several seconds later.
"Dammit, Winn," he muttered.
"He has to have the baby blanket my mother made him."
Shit. Her mother. They needed to call her parents so they could start being on their way from Texas. He would do that in the silver Durango that they'd traded her Kia for to make accommodations for the baby. Right now, he just needed to get her out of the house.
Plucking the blanket from the crib, he shoved it in the bag and began to zip it up before she stopped him. "Is that everything?"
"Everything? Yeah, sure, it's everything."
"Are you sure? Did you check the list?"
Taylor was going to lose his mind in a matter of seconds. His nerves were shot, his anxiety was through the roof, and he was scared to death that if he didn't get her to the hospital now, that their son was just going to fall right out of her. He knew he might have been overreacting just a little, but it was bad enough that she didn't even tell him she was having frequent contractions until after her water broke. There was no telling what he didn't know at this point. "There's a list? I've been on this wild goose chase this whole time and there's a list?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I need stuff, too. I need underwear and clothes and my toothbrush..."
"That's all the way upstairs..."
"I have to have it."
And then another contraction came. Taylor wanted to die. He made a mad dash upstairs, grabbing up whatever essentials he could get his hands on, shoved them forcefully into the bag and flew back down the stairs, slowing down as he got to his wife, and took her by the shoulder to gently lead her waddling body toward the door. "Okay. I have everything. It's time to go."
"Did you get--?"
"No," he said abruptly. "Whatever it is, I either have it or I don't and at this point it doesn't even matter. Our baby is coming right now and we don't have time to stand around here anymore. Okay? Getting out of the house right now should not be this difficult."
"Okay," she nodded. "Will you warm up the car while I get my coat?"
"I'm not leaving you alone in here--"
"But I don't want to get in a cold car," she pouted.
"A cold--are you kidding? It's mid-September. It's fucking hot as hell outside."
"Not in front of the baby," she shushed him as she rubbed her belly.
"Fine," he said, exasperated. "Don't move."
Rushing outside, he threw the bag in the backseat of the Durango, made sure the car seat was adjusted one more time, and then jumped in the driver's seat and started the car. In his rush to leave, he found himself on autopilot and subsequently put the gear in reverse and started to back down the driveway. It was only when he glanced beside him when he realized he was missing the two key ingredients in this little adventure: the mother and the baby.
Pulling the vehicle back into the driveway, he left the keys in the ignition and cursed himself as he ran back to the house and opened the front door. Winn stood there, obscenely pregnant and devastated, her bottom lip quivering. "You were going to leave me. You can't have a baby without me."
"Baby, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm just excited, that's all. Come on." He took her by the hand and slid his arm around her shoulder, leading her onto the porch. "Watch your step out here, it's dark. You're doing good, okay?"
"Tay? I love you," she squeaked as they walked to the running Durango.
"I love you, too, sweetheart. Let's concentrate on getting you to the hospital now."
Once they were driving down the road, Taylor sent out a mass text, the fastest way he knew to get a message to everyone. Actually, he could have argued that telling his mother over the phone would have been faster, but he texted instead. He had no idea who all he'd sent the text to and at this point he didn't care. "It's time. We're on our way to the hospital." He hadn't even bothered to check the time earlier and he looked at the dash, trying to make sense of the time with everything that was spinning around in his head. However, the dash read something just after eight and he'd been surprised that it was even that early because it felt so much later.
To his surprise, he heard his wife's small voice say cheerfully into her phone as he sped through Tulsa, "Hi, Mama, guess what? Chase is coming early...Yep, my water broke...Yes, having contractions...I don't know, close to an hour now?...Well, the contractions came first and then my water broke and I'm contracting again...Well, he's due next week, so it's not so bad. He's been rough on me this past month so I guess he's had enough and I'm glad for it. I'm so excited!" And then she doubled over with pain as another contraction hit.
"Just breathe, baby," he said as he took the phone from her ear. "Hey, Linda," he said to her mother. "We're almost at the hospital now."
"Drive safe, sweetie. How do you feel?"
How much time did she have?
"Excited. Nervous. Anxious. Everything, I feel everything. If my heart doesn't slow down, I might have a heart attack."
Linda Douglas chuckled gently. "It's okay, you'll be fine. When Winn's brother was born, George could barely function. I spent time between contractions comforting him because he was driving himself crazy. Winn is fine and the baby is fine. You just calm down and be the daddy. Let the hospital to their job."
"Right," he said, grateful for the pep talk. "Be the daddy. Got it."
"You'll be fine," she repeated. "George is already in there, packing a bag. We'll be there in the morning. You take care of you and take care of our girl, okay? Keep up updated on whatever happens. I can't wait to meet that sweet baby!"
No sooner had he ended the call on Winn's phone, did his own phone ring. He knew it was his mother before he even looked at it. "Are you at the hospital, yet?"
"About a minute away."
"How's she doing?"
"Hanging in there. She's doing good, she's doing real good."
"Your father and I and your sister are on our way."
"Okay. We're about to pull in the hospital now."
Taylor expected his phone would blow up after that text and he'd been right. Immediately after hanging up with his mother, a text from Kate came through. "Just called the sitter. Zac and I will be there soon."
Winn was a trooper and Taylor admired the hell out of her. He didn't know first-hand exactly what she was going through, but she recovered from each contraction beautifully. He'd expected this night to be his worst nightmare. He'd expected her to be a complete monster and for things to be crazy and stressful but, instead, she remained perfectly pleasant and cooperative. Interestingly enough, Taylor was the one who was a nervous wreck.
Thankfully, they had thought to call ahead to the hospital. He guessed he at least had it together somewhat. He walked Winn in and they immediately put her in a wheelchair and she was all smiles as the staff took over to help her. "Hi!" She greeted everyone. "Looks like I'm having a baby tonight!"
And then a contraction would come and the process would be repeated.
Before he knew it, they had her up in the delivery room and she wasted no time adjusting the pillows and making herself at home. She asked for things that Taylor didn't even remember packing but was able to produce and, little by little, as time passed, the contractions grew worse and she grew more and more scary, slowly but surely.
His family came and went, as the hospital only allowed three at a time in the room. When Kate arrived, she'd become a permanent fixture in the delivery room, as Winn had asked her to be there during delivery.
And then it was hurry up and wait.
Somewhere in the process of her labor, things just...came to a stand still. Taylor guessed he expected to come right to the hospital, have a baby, and then celebrate and take him home. He supposed he should have known better from watching his mother go through it so many times.
Three hours later, after he'd nearly put himself in the hospital and after he'd watched his wife ask the nurses in panicked tears why she wasn't contracting as much anymore, the couple was educated on how sometimes labor can slow at the presence of the adrenaline rush in the excitement to give birth. Also, being in the continual stationary position wasn't helping. At this, Winn was already throwing the covers off of her and trying to get out of the bed and it took both Taylor and Kate to convince her to stay put. "I am ready for this to be over," she said through gritted teeth. "Maybe I just need to walk around and get him out myself!"
And then another contraction hit that debilitated her and forced her to stay in the bed.
Soon, the nurse came in and gave Winn a medication that was meant to help get her labor back on track. At this point, they'd been in the hospital over four hours. He'd watched the nurses come and go, checking her vitals, checking the baby's heartbeat, and he watched his wife, hooked up to machines and IV's as she grew restless and impatient. "Tay," her voice squeaked out in a pout. "Why isn't he here yet?"
"Well, he started, taking her hand and forcing himself to stay strong for her. "Because he's a man. And you know how we men are."
"I should have known," she muttered.
Another hour later, Taylor had to go into the waiting room and address his family, who had been there nearly as long as he had, and let them know that they were looking at the rest of the night. "They're saying it could be as long as mid-morning tomorrow," he told them. "If you want, you guys can head home and get some sleep and maybe come back in the morning?"
Zac and Diana stuck around and, as if on cue, Isaac came bursting into the waiting room in a mad dash. "Did I miss it?" He asked, breathlessly.
Taylor shook his head. "You probably could have just stayed in bed. They're saying it's looking like tomorrow morning."
Diana smiled as she sat in the waiting area next to Zac, and she took her son by the hand. "Kate's in delivery with Winn, so you're welcome to hang out with Zac and I if you want. We're not going anywhere."
Nothing read sarcasm quite like the smile that crossed Zac's face in that moment. "Come on, Ike," he encouraged. "You know that's exactly what you want to be doing at two in the morning."
Kelsey came into the waiting room minutes later, a perturbed expression on her face. "Thanks SO much for being a gentleman, Ike, while I made the mile-long trek across the property in the middle of the night alone while I parked the car. Next time I'll make you drop ME off at the curb."
"Oh, the plot thickens," Zac said happily, his hand still in his mother's. "I live for these moments when my brothers are complete idiots." And then his expression read pain as he looked at his mother and met her glaring eyes.
"Mr. Hanson." Taylor turned around at the sound of his name as one of the nurses held the door open. "They're ready to give her the epidural now."
Both Diana and Zac made faces. "Take care of her," Zac said. "That's gonna be brutal."
Walking into the hospital room, Taylor was met by his wife's wide eyes of horror. "Tay, I'm so scared," she whispered, holding her hand out to him. "The contractions are getting worse and I can't handle it anymore, so they're giving me an epidural and--and I've heard horror stories about that, they're gonna put this huge needle in my back--"
"It's okay," he said gently. "I'm here and I'm gonna get you through it."
And then she cried out in screaming pain as the next contraction hit her harder than he'd seen all night. After she recovered, her eyes darkened and she looked around the room. "Fuck it, I need that shit NOW. I hope they stab me to death with it!"
Taylor's eyes widened as it appeared that the devil had taken over his wife's body. He'd have found it amusing if it hadn't caught him off guard for a moment. He wondered if holy water was available in the hospital...
Before he knew it, he was standing in front of her as she sat on the edge of the bed, nearly breaking his hands with her grip as they injected the needle and inserted her catheter as carefully as they could. She squeezed her eyes shut and she whimpered in pain, trying as hard as she could to stay still. "It's okay," he whispered, kissing her forehead gently. "You're doing good, they're almost done."
Nearly an hour later, Winn was back to being all smiles again, but the exhaustion was all over her face. Kate had volunteered to go and get coffee for herself and Taylor and subsequently sent Isaac and Kelsey into the room. Checking the clock on the wall, Taylor read nearly two-thirty in the morning. He was as exhausted as Winn looked.
For the first time that night, he'd allowed himself to collapse and melt into the armchair that sat beside Winn's bed. Sleep was the farthest from his concerns right now, but he knew that if he closed his eyes in that uncomfortable chair, he would probably sleep pretty good.
Winn's eyes lit up upon sight of Isaac and the fact that the two of them were still close unnerved Taylor sometimes, but he was ultimately okay with it. In the time between their wedding reception in February and now, in mid-September, Isaac had sold his condo and moved into Kelsey's house across town. Taylor knew that one of these days, whenever he mustered up the courage to do it, Isaac was going to ask Kelsey to marry him. He wasn't rushing it and Taylor respected him for it. But they'd had the discussion on many occasions and Taylor was proud of his older brother.
Now, however, Winn held on to Isaac's hand for dear life and thanked him profusely for being there. "I wouldn't miss this for the world," Isaac said to her. "You know that."
"Listen," Winn whispered as Taylor finally let his eyelids rest for a moment. "I put you down to be in here during delivery."
At this, Taylor opened an eye and raised an eyebrow.
"You did what?" Isaac said. "You don't--you don't need me. You have Tay and Kate and--"
"Not for me," Winn whispered. "For him. You don't--you don't have to, like, look at all the gross stuff or anything. But he's run himself ragged and he's kinda freaking out and I think he's gonna need just as much support as I am when the baby comes. Be here to hold his hand, not mine."
Isaac nodded, Taylor only able to see the back of his head as he closed both of his eyes again. "Yeah," he heard him answer. "Yeah, of course. I'll be here. Absolutely."
"Thank you," she whispered.
After a few minutes, she hugged Kelsey and Isaac and they left the room, leaving the couple alone together for the first time all night.
"Tay," Winn said quietly, reaching out for his hand. "I love you so much."
He scooted his chair closer to the bed and took her hand in his. "I love you, too, sweetheart."
"Thank you for taking such good care of me. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"I'll always be here for you. You've done so good so far, mama. I'm so proud of you."
"I'm so sleepy. I want to sleep but they keep coming in here constantly and poking and prodding...I wish you could sleep with me."
"I know, baby. I'm okay, don't worry about me."
"I am worried about you--"
"I'm not the one giving birth here."
"Are you worried about me?"
"I'm not worried, so much as I just don't want you to be uncomfortable anymore."
"I'm okay," she smiled. "It's all part of having a baby. Tomorrow morning we'll be holding our son in our arms and all of this will be in the past. It's all worth it."
Taylor smiled and kissed her hand. "You're amazing, you know that?"
"It takes an amazing man to make an amazing woman," she whispered. "At least in this case, anyway." Then she scooted herself over as far as she could and patted the bed beside her. "Here. It's not meant for two, but we can make this work."
"Winn, I'm fine. Really."
"No. Come lay with me. I want you to lay with me."
Hesitantly, he took her up on her offer, kicking off his shoes and climbing in the hospital bed, adjusting himself on his side to face her. It was uncomfortable as hell, presumably for both of them, but neither of them cared. They both drifted off into a light sleep amidst the visits from the nurses every few minutes.
A few hours later, Taylor was woken up by a sudden cry from his wife. His eyes snapped open and he jerked his head up. "Winn, baby, what's the matter?"
"Something feels different. It hurts different. It's lower. Tay, I don't know what's going on, but I think our son might be coming. Go get someone!"
Taylor Hanson hadn't moved so fast in his entire life.
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Winifred Hanson didn't know what she would have done without that epidural. She didn't know what she would have done without her brother-in-law or her sister-in-law that stood on either side of her with each of her hands in theirs. She did know, however, what she would have done without her husband, and that was not be in this much pain with an epidural that had been downgraded so that she could "feel" her childbirth, as it was apparent that the baby was very much on his way.
Who in the fuck wanted to feel their childbirth?!
As it stood, Taylor was at the other end of the bed as her feet sat spread eagle up in the stirrups and he wore the hospital gown and cap he'd been given, surrounded by hospital staff who was there to assist in the delivery. As he listlessly encouraged her to push and told her how good she was doing, he began to break a sweat and look a little green in the face. He took a step backward, his eyes in a daze. "Tay!" She cried in objection. "You can't faint! You did this to me, you don't GET to sit this one out!"
"Winn, you have to calm down," Kate said to her gently. "You have to calm down and relax."
"I can't relax, he's gonna miss the birth of his child!"
At that, Isaac let go of her hand and stepped toward Taylor. "You go calm her down, take a breather," he said. "She needs you."
Taylor nodded, still in a daze. "Right. Okay."
Trading places with Isaac, her husband came to the head of the bed and took her hand and kissed her forehead. "You're doing excellent, sweetheart. Just breathe and push, just like we practiced."
"Come on, Winn," the doctor encouraged her as she sat at the end of the bed. "Push for me. He wants to come out."
Winn could feel her gloved hand rooting around just inside her as she felt for the head. She wanted so desperately to just get this over with and push him right on out. Why was it taking so long?
"Come on, Winn, you got it," the doctor said. "Just a few more pushes and he's out. You're doing good."
Feeling Taylor push her forward, she took a deep breath and pushed as hard as she could. During this one, she managed to catch a glimpse at Isaac, whose eyes had widened at the end of the bed. "Tay, switch with me," he said suddenly, closing the gap between them.
"I gotta be here for Winn--"
"I'll stay right here," he said quietly. "You go bring your son into the world. It's happening."
"Come on, Winn," the doctor coached her. "One more big push!"
Taylor darted toward the end of the bed and was suddenly very interested in what was going on between Winn's legs, a far cry from what he looked like just minutes earlier.
Suddenly, cheers erupted in the room and Winn heard Chase's screeching from the other end of the bed. She couldn't see what was going on for the blanket that lay over her legs, but she saw her husband's face and that told her everything. "Oh, Winnie, baby, he's beautiful!" He said excitedly. "He has...a head full of very dark hair..."
"My mother's half Italian," she replied breathlessly.
"Really?" Taylor replied, confused.
Winn nodded.
"Anyway, he's gorgeous! He has all ten fingers and toes, both hands, both feet, and...uh...well he's definitely his father's child."
Before Winn knew it, one of the nurses was opening the front of her gown and laying her son onto her chest. Winn's breath caught in her throat as she laid eyes on her baby for the first time, feeling his soft, baby skin against her own. "There's my baby," she whispered, tears of joy springing to her eyes. "There's my little pumpkin. Oh, Tay, he's beautiful. He's so beautiful."
Taylor was by her side in an instant, wiping her hair from her forehead and kissing her. "You did good, sweetheart. You did so good, I'm so proud of you."
As Winn held their son to her chest, she smiled and looked up at Taylor. "We did it. We really did it." Then she looked at Kate and then Isaac and her smile widened. "Look, baby," she whispered to the tiny bundle that whimpered against her. "Your family's here. There's your Aunt Kate and your Uncle Ike. You guys, meet your new nephew, Jordan Chase Hanson, already a bona fide heartbreaker."
After a moment, they had to take the baby away to clean him up and swaddle him, much to Winn's dismay, while the doctor dealt with the rest of the issues that needed to be taken care of down below before Winn could be moved into a private room. With Kate and Isaac now cooing and gushing over the baby, Taylor had rushed out the door to spread the good news to the hoards of family that was likely in the waiting room early that sunny morning.
The moment they had laid her baby on her chest and Taylor had stood at her side, she felt the most surreal feeling of completeness that she'd ever felt. Her life was complete. She had her husband, she had her son, they had their family. She was content and she was happy, and she didn't care that her legs were still spread apart for the entire world to see. There was nothing that could have happened to ruin that moment for her.
ONE MONTH LATER
Chase was a little bundle of warm, squishy joy. That's what Winn liked to call him, anyway. It was the truth, though. Taylor tried to refrain from using such phrases to secure his own manhood and leave his son with a little dignity, but the truth was, she never called him anything that wasn't true. His hair had thinned and lightened up just a little bit over the past month and the big excitement of the day today was that he had smiled for the first time after Taylor had come home and burped him after feeding him.
"I'm pretty sure it's just gas," Taylor tried to reason with Winn.
"No, it isn't, it's a smile. It's a real smile, he loves you! He gets so excited when you come home, it's so adorable."
"Excited? Please, he's barely mobile--"
"I know my baby, I'm with him all day. I know what his little faces mean and I CERTAINLY know what his gassy face is. That was a real smile. He knows his daddy."
Taylor couldn't lie. He'd been proud of his boy and he couldn't help but be flattered that his first smile was for him. It was easy to see already that this guy was gonna be his best pal.
Now it was later in the evening. Chase had eaten one more time since then and Winn had bathed him in lavender to help him sleep. When Taylor walked into the nursery, Winn was leaned over the changing table, cooing at their son as he lay there in his diaper. "You have the sweetest baby fingers," she cooed softly. "And the sweetest baby toes, and the sweetest baby nose. And Mommy LOVES that little pumpkin belly. Because you're mama's little pumpkin, aren't you?"
"If you don't dress him and put him to bed, he'll never go to sleep," Taylor said as he crossed the room.
Suddenly, he saw the baby's legs start to kick and Winn grinned at Taylor excitedly. "Who's that?" She asked the baby softly. "Do you hear your daddy? Is that your daddy?"
As Taylor approached the changing table with Winn, the baby's arms and legs both started to move. Winn giggled softly, extremely thrilled with the progress. "Tay, look at him. Look how excited he is to see you!"
Taylor had to admit, his heart melted into a million puddles over this. "Hey, buddy," he said, giving his son his finger to hold onto. "Are you in here giving your mother a hard time?"
"Never," Winn whispered.
Taking his finger from the baby's hand, he stood there and allowed her to dress him and get him ready for bed. His expression turned serious as he watched her care for their son. "I know you're exhausted," he whispered. "I wish you'd let me handle some of this. Or at least start putting him to bed earlier."
"I'm okay. You have a lot on your plate at work, you don't need to come home and bear my load, too. This won't last long, he'll sleep through the night before we know it."
She took the baby from the changing table and lowered him gently into the crib, turning on his mobile and covering him with his blanket.
"Winn," Taylor whispered as he came up behind her and rested his hands on her waist. "I need him to go to sleep. I NEED to do vile and obscene things to you and then I need you to rest. I don't think I'm asking for much."
She turned her head into him and she smiled. "Tay. Not in front of the baby."
"It's okay, he doesn't know what I'm saying."
She rubbed the baby's belly as his eyes started to grow heavy. "He had a big day today, didn't sleep as much as he normally does. I think his tummy was upset a little. He should have no problem going to sleep tonight."
The truth was, sex was scarce nowadays. It was scarce anyway before the baby was born and even more scarce now that he had arrived. Taylor missed his wife. He craved her and he wanted her and he understood the circumstances they were under, but he just couldn't take it anymore and he'd come home with the intention of tonight being THE NIGHT.
He took it upon himself to turn on the baby's planetarium, turn on his small lamp, and turn on the mix of soft lullabies that sat in the CD player by the lamp. Within a few short, miraculous minutes, the baby had fallen asleep and Taylor nearly had to tear Winn from the crib.
Once in the hallway outside the nursery, Taylor didn't waste any time. He shoved Winn against the wall and he kissed her, letting his hand slide desperately up her shirt. "Let's go upstairs," he whispered.
To his surprise, she responded to him immediately, tearing at his clothes as well. "No time for that. Just come in the guest room."
Grabbing his hand, she led him to the guest room and they both instantly began to shed their clothes. There was no foreplay. There was no pillow talk, no teasing, no playing. Both of them had an immediate need and an immediate desire to take care of it.
Backing her onto the bed, he climbed over top of her before she even had time to settle herself. Spreading her legs apart, it only took him a second to shove himself inside of her, shamelessly uncaring if it hurt her or not. Judging by her expression, it did hurt, but she didn't make a big deal of it. He suspected that she didn't care, either.
She felt better than ever and he let out a breath as he took a moment to savor her. "Fuck," he breathed in her ear. "That feels so good. Baby, I'm not gonna make it tonight."
"It's okay," she breathed. "I want it rough and I want it hard. I'm just as deprived as you are. Make it hurt."
She needed say no more. He rested his elbow alongside her and he hooked his arm around her leg and he pounded into her, each thrust feeling better than the last. They lasted mere minutes, which was much longer than he'd expected to and he came when her cry of ecstasy tore through the quiet air.
With barely enough time to calm down, the baby started to cry at the top of his lungs from just down the hall. "Shit," Taylor breathed with a laugh as he rolled off of her. "Not a moment too soon."
"I think I woke him up," she replied breathlessly. "I'm sorry."
"Wow," he replied. "He is PISSED."
Winn sighed and rolled herself off of the bed and started getting dressed. "It's okay. It shouldn't take me long to get him back to sleep."
Taylor felt horrible as he watched her and he got off the bed and he turned the covers down. "No," he said. "No, I'll get him. You lay down and go to sleep."
"Tay, it's--it's okay, really."
"Winn, you need to sleep. When's the last time you slept a few hours straight?"
She didn't answer and she didn't have to because he knew the answer to the question. Pulling on his pants, he kissed her cheek and he led her back to bed. "Get in the bed. I'll handle this tonight. Okay?"
"But, Tay, you have to work tomorrow--"
"I'll be fine. Don't forget who you're talking to, remember? I don't need sleep."
Making sure Winn was comfortable, he left her in bed to go and see what was going on with Chase. He entered the dark nursery, leaving the dim lights the way they were and not turning on any more.
"Hey, big guy," he said softly as he lifted his son out of the crib and rested him gently against his chest. "What's all this fuss about? You gotta let me spend at least a little time with your mama. I love her, too."
Chase's cries turned to whimpers as Taylor picked the blanket up out of the crib, draped it over the baby's back, and settled with him in the rocking armchair, choosing to forego the rocking and reaching down to release the recliner, propping his feet up comfortably, and adjusting the baby against his bare skin. He rubbed his son's back lightly through the blanket as he spoke in a low, soothing tone. "I think you and I need to get some things straight here. You and I are the men of the house now. We gotta work as a team. We're both very lucky to have an amazing woman in our lives that loves us and takes good care of us. But we gotta take care of our woman, too. That's your job when I'm not home. It's your job to use those pipes Daddy gave you to scare the monsters away. Okay? And you're good at that, don't get me wrong. But when I'm home, it's MY job to keep the monsters away. You see how this works? We've got a lot of testosterone around here, we gotta balance it out. You get to see your mama much more than I do. All day long, you get the cuddles and the kisses and the smiles--help a guy out when he walks in the door, huh? I don't think that's too much to ask, do you?"
The baby's body bounced in staggered sighs before he melted into Taylor's chest and made a suckling motion with his lips as he drifted into a deep sleep. Taylor smiled and rested his head against the back of the chair. "Yeah, I didn't think it was, either."
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Winn couldn't sleep. She was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. What if Chase was sick? What if he was hungry? Did he need a diaper change? Taylor knew where his diapers were, right? Was it too hot in the nursery? Was it too cold? Was the music too loud? Did she have the baby monitor with her?
The baby monitor. She at least needed to have her hands on THAT.
Getting out of the bed after several minutes of hearing silence in the house and seeing no signs of her husband, Winn crept two rooms down and peeked her head in the doorway. The sight took her breath away and she couldn't help but smile. There were both of her men, sound asleep, with Taylor's arm tucked underneath Chase's little baby butt as it rested high in the air under the blanket.
With the intention of putting the baby back to bed, Winn crossed the room and touched Taylor's arm lightly, causing him to open his eyes sleepily. He smiled at her and then he quietly shushed her. "You don't have to take him, he's okay," he whispered.
"What in the world happened in here?" She whispered.
"The boy and his old man had a heart-to-heart. As you can see, it worked out in my favor," he smiled. "He's okay right here, you don't have to take him."
A smile crept across her face. "You're gonna spoil him."
"We'll worry about that tomorrow. Will you do me a favor and grab a blanket and throw it over us?"
"Are you not coming to bed?"
"I'll play it by ear."
Doing as her husband asked, she brought a light blanket and draped it over her little family as they rested, content, in the recliner in the nursery. Kissing her husband and then her son, she left them to slumber as she stopped and watched them for a moment from the doorway.
It was just a year ago this week when Taylor Hanson breezed through the door to her office and flashed the smile that changed her life. From that day forward, she dreamt only of his blue eyes and felt the safe comfort of home that merely being with him provided for her. In a year's time, she'd left her home for the first time, found her true love, married him, and had his child. She smiled as she watched them again, smiled at how much Chase looked like his father. He had his lips and his nose and the way he crinkled his little eyebrows up like Taylor did sometimes made her giggle. And not to mention the set of vocal chords on the boy. Those were a force to be reckoned with.
In a short amount of time, Taylor and Winn had been through it. Meeting and getting to know each other on the streets of Tulsa, it was like catching up with an old friend, as if they'd known each other forever. If she hadn't believed in love at first sight then, she sure believed in it now. Because that's what had ultimately happened. Winn was planted in the Brady District in downtown Tulsa especially for Taylor to find her--and Taylor was shoved through the door of her office especially for her to discover him. Fate was on their side. It always had been.
He was her best friend. Her husband. Her love. Her wish come true.