"Hey there kiddo, how's it going?" Noah said as he answered the phone after glancing at the caller ID.
"It's happening dad. We're on our way to the hospital now."
"What? You mean.."
"Yes! The baby is on its way! You're going to be granddaddies again! Is papa there? I want to tell him myself."
Noah glanced to the door to the bedroom he shared with Luke.
"Uhm.. now is not a good time kiddo. He's resting.."
"Oh right.. how is he?"
"Ah he's alright, he was just tired so he went to lay down for a while." Noah told his son, convincing himself it wasn't a completely lie.
"Dad.. how is he really? When did the doctor stop by last?"
Noah sighed. He still couldn't keep anything from his kids.
"You know how he is Josh. He needs a new kidney and because he's not exactly 20 anymore.. he's not very high on the transplant list."
"That's stupid. Can't you pull in a few favours? We know people in that hospital. Or maybe call Uncle Aaron or Aunt Faith or Aunt Natalie or maybe Uncle Ethan.. they could get tested. They might be a match."
"You know they all got tested last time. They're only half siblings. The chance was slim they would be a match."
"At times like these I really wish I was your biological son. I would've been a match. I would've given papa my kidney in a heartbeat. I don't need two anyway."
Noah smiled at the mention of his son's name for his husband. At 36 he still calls him papa.
"I know kiddo. Your papa does too. But the meds work for now. We'll deal with the rest when we have to ok? Now you just focus on becoming a papa yourself. Sarah and the baby need you more
than we do right now."
"Alright dad. Tell papa I love him. I'll call you when the baby is born."
"Alright will do. And slow down, you're no use to anyone if you get yourself killed. Have you told your brothers yet?"
"Yeah I already talked to them so don't worry. Ok I have to go now. Sarah is finally done packing her bag. I'll talk to you later dad, love you."
"I love you too kiddo. Give my love to Sarah."
"Will do, bye dad."
Noah smiled as he hung up. He was going to be a granddad again. Their little boy was becoming a father himself.
He walked to the bedroom to tell Luke the good news and caught himself holding his breath when he put his hand on the doorknob.
Don't be stupid, it's just Luke. He'll be fine. The meds work. It's just a little rough patch right now.
He opened the door and let his eyes adjust to the dark room. He saw his husband laying in the bed looking paler and thinner than he'd looked in a long time.. and so still.. almost like.. For a minute Noah feared the worst and his own heart skipped more than a few beats.. until he saw Luke's chest rise and fall in time with his breathing.
Thank god.. he's still with me.
"Luke? Baby wake up. I have something to tell you. It's good news. Trust me, you really want to hear this." Noah said as he sat down on the bed and took his husband's hand in his and softly squeezed it.
Luke slowly opened his eyes. Noah thought he looked tired and a lot older than his 72 years.
"How are you feeling?" Noah asked him, not letting go of his hand.
"Tired. I feel like I closed my eyes only 2 minutes ago." Luke said as he glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. "But it's been 3 hours.."
"Have you taken your pills yet for tonight?"
Luke shook his head.
"They don't work Noah. They only make me feel tired all the time. I'm tired.."
"But the doctor said you were doing better. That the meds seemed to work. I'll go get a glass of water so you can take your pills." Noah said and got up from the bed but Luke stopped him.
"Noah.. didn't you hear me? I'm tired. I've been poked and prodded so much the last 20 years.. I'm tired."
"What? Luke you can't give up. The Luke I know would fight till the end and then some."
Luke gave him a small smile.
"What if this is the end Noah?"
"It's not. You are not getting rid of me that easily Snyder." Noah said as he turned on the bedside lamp."Josh just called, Sarah went into labour. Don't you want to see your new grandchild?"
"Of course I do. But I'm tired Noah. If this is it.. if this is my last night.. I'll be ok with that.. if you just stay with me."
"Of course I'll stay with you. But this is not your last night. You're going to live forever. You and me together forever remember?"
Luke smiled.
"That's what we said when we were kids. That's a lifetime ago, Noah. You and I both know I'm living on borrowed time."
"Well then we might as well borrow some more. I can't lose you Luke. I couldn't back then and I still can't."
"You'll be fine."
"No Luke I won't. You can't give up now. Let me call the doctor. He can give you something to lift your spirits and give you more energy. Don't leave us Luke. Me, the kids.. we love you.. we want to keep you around. Please take your meds. Do it for me.. please."
"Alright.. but no doctors or hospitals. I mean it Noah.. I'm done with those."
"Ok. No doctors, got it. I'll go get a glass of water so you can take your pills." Noah said as he quickly got up before Luke would have time to change his mind.
Luke sighed but decided to keep his mouth shut.
"There, I let the tap run for a little while so it's nice and cool." Noah said as he handed him the glass a few minutes later.
"If you shake me I'll rattle." Luke complained but swallowed the pills.
"That's ok. You will just save us money on baby toys. We'll just shake you instead of buying a rattle."
Luke glared.
"Still not funny mister."
"It is a little." Noah said as he got comfortable on the bed next to his husband. "You always liked my lame jokes."
"Only when I was still trying to get you in my bed. I got that part covered now so I don't have to laugh at your jokes anymore."
Noah laughed.
"See? The meds are working, your sense of humour is coming back already."
"Noah.. please don't get yourself full of false hope. I'm dying and we both know it."
"No. You're not. Not for a very, very long time. I'm not either. I promise. And you know I keep my promises."
"So you're going to fight for me?"
"Someone has to if you won't do it."
Luke smiled and snuggled up to his husband.
"I remember another time where you said you'd fight for me. A long time ago."
"You mean that time when I.."
"Fought Kevin because you thought he wanted to ask me out too?" Luke asked amused.
"We were only 17 and I barely knew you.." Noah said laughingly as he thought back to that Tuesday afternoon all those years ago.
/Flashback/
"Noah! Hey Noah! Earth to Noah!"
"Huh? What?"
"You're practically drooling man.. who is he?"
"What are you talking about? What makes you think I was looking at someone?"
"Who said anything about looking? You were staring.. and enjoying the view from what I could see. So tell me who is he?" Gabe asked as he sat down next to his best friend on the stone bench outside their school. "Is it that guy in the red sweater? Or maybe him. The one with the football."
Noah blushed.
"No.. none of them. I wasn't looking at anyone really."
"Let's see.. you were looking in that direction there are 4 people near that fountain.. and I'm pretty sure you weren't staring at that girl in the flowery dress.. so I have 3 options."
"Gabe, leave it."
"Option A: Blonde guy with questionable fashion sense. Really.. who wears stripes these days anymore? Or maybe Option B: Blonde guy from the basketball team.. but I'm pretty sure he's straight so you wouldn't be looking at him. And then there is option C: Hot guy that likes to take his shirt off a lot during gym." Gabe continued, ignoring his friend.
"Gabe.. just forget it."
"I know I'd go for option C. What I wouldn't do to get a taste of him. Gym is my favourite class since he got transferred into our class.. but I have to remember to wear baggy shorts these days. He doesn't have to know exactly how much I enjoy gym now."
"Gabe! Ever heard of the phrase Too Much Information?"
"But you're Noah and you don't go for guys like him. You like to play it safe. So that only leaves Blondie with the Striped t-shirt. Want me to go find out if he's interested?"
"What? Are you insane? NO! I can get my own dates, thank you."
"He won't know you're interested if you just sit here staring at him you know. He'll only think you're some creepy stalker."
"He won't." Noah grumbled. "We have a few classes together.. he knows me.. but that other guy is always hanging around him.."
"Which one? The hot one?"
Noah sighed. He and Gabe had been friends forever and shared a lot of interests but in some ways they couldn't be more different.
"No, the other one. The guy in the white shirt."
"So? He's straight, I'm sure he is." Gabe said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Yeah and we both know how well that gaydar of yours works. I only say: Michael Goldsmith, prom, last year."
"Hey, he kissed me back, and he liked it!"
"Sure, he liked it so much he gave you a black eye as a thank you."
"Who says I'm talking about the kiss on the dance floor?" Gabe said grinning.
"I know there wasn't another kiss because I took you home after he punched your lights out remember?"
"I remember..but he came to see me later. He came to my house after you went home."
"Sure, let me guess, this is the part where you tell me about your secret affair? The story of your undying love for each other?" Noah said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
"Nope, it's not. I'll tell you that story some other time. We were talking about your love life here remember? Or well.. what would be your love life if you'd actually make a move sometime."
"I can't just go up to him and ask him out if that other guy is hanging around him." Noah sighed and wished he had a way to get Luke alone.
"What's his name anyway? I know people, I can find out if he's dating anyone." Gabe offered.
"His name is Luke. Luke Snyder. I know he's not dating anyone.. he told me."
"So you know him already? Then why are you still sitting here with the creepy stalker act? Go talk to him. Ask him out."
"I can't.. the guy in the white shirt is always around him. I guess I'm not the only one that's noticed Luke.."
Gabe sighed.
"If you're so sure White Shirt is after your man, go get him. Ask Luke out before that other guy can."
"You think I should? Maybe he's already dating that guy.. I haven't talked to him in a while.."
"If you won't I will. I'm curious to see what's under that striped shirt."
Noah rolled his eyes as he got up from the bench.
"Everything is about sex with you isn't it?"
"Yep." Gabe grinned. "Go get your man tiger."
Noah took a deep breath and walked over to Luke and his friends.
I can do this. What does that other guy have that I don't? A jacket with the school logo? I bet he can't even spell the school's name. Oh god he's seen me.. he's smiling at me. Smiling is good. God he has a nice smile.. those dimples are adorable..
"Hey, Noah, right?" Luke said friendly when Noah walked up to him.
"Yeah, yeah, it's Noah. Hi." Noah said and surveyed the guy in the white shirt from the corner of his eye.
He doesn't look happy. Well too bad sucker. You snooze you lose. I'm asking him out now.
"So.. what's up?" Luke asked.
"I uh.. can I talk to you for a minute? Alone."
Luke glanced at his friends for a quick second.
"Uhm Luke we're kind of in the middle of something here. The party.." The white shirt guy said, giving Noah a get-lost-NOW- look.
"This won't take long. I'm sure your party can wait a few minutes." Noah said, looking the guy in the eye.
"Yeah, I'll be right back Kev, the party isn't for another 3 weeks anyway, we have plenty of time to talk about it."
"No, we don't. We were just talking about who to invite. This clown can wait until we're done." Kevin said, daring Noah to reply.
"Clown? Who are you calling a clown? I just want to talk to Luke for a minute and neither of us need permission from you." Noah replied, stepping into the guy's personal space.
"Who said anything about permission?" Kevin replied, taking a step closer to Noah so they were practically chest to chest. "You were interrupting something. Just go away and come back later when
Luke is free."
"Who are you? His secretary?" Noah asked, looking down at Kevin. "Are you worried I'll ask him out before you can and he'll actually say yes to me?"
"Like he'll say yes to you. Luke can do way better than you, the school freak."
"Better? Should he date someone like you then? Poor little rich kid with your expensive clothes. How did you even get into this school? Did daddy bribe them?"
"You take that back. You don't know anything about me or my family so don't even think about them!"
"Truth hurts doesn't it?" Noah smirked.
"You know what else hurts? My fist in your face."
Noah laughed .
"Give it your best shot.. Shorty."
"You think I won't do it."
"I know you won't. Fighting will get you suspended. That won't look on your college application. Daddy will have to make it go away again by slipping someone a few 100 dollar bills."
The next few moments were a blur of fists and screams and before he knew it Noah was on the ground trying to dodge the fist aimed at his face.
"Get off of me you freak!" Noah yelled, trying to push the other boy off of him or roll them over.
"Kevin! Are you crazy? Get up!" Noah heard a girl yell right before he felt a first on his jaw.
Damn that's going to leave a bruise.
Noah noticed a small crowd had started to form around them as he managed to roll them over.
Great. Just what I needed, an audience.
Just when he was about to give Kevin a taste of his own fighting skills Noah felt someone yank him off of the other boy.
"What the.. GABE! Let me go!" He yelled, glaring at Kevin who was being pulled away by the guy Gabe had dubbed The Hot One.
"Oh I'll let you go. When we're at the nurse's office. You're bleeding you idiot!" Gabe said as he dragged him inside.
"You seriously want me to believe you got this from falling over?" The school nurse asked Noah as she finished cleaning him up and putting a bandage on the cut in his eyebrow.
"It was a really bad fall miss Henderson. One minute we were talking and the next BAM there he was on the ground." Gabe explained putting on his most angelic face possible.
"I'm sure it was.." The nurse replied, obviously not believing a word of the boy's story. "Oh hello, can I help you?" she said looking at someone behind Gabe that had just walked in.
"Uhm.. I just came to see if Noah was ok." The other person said and Noah's heart sped up.
"Your friend will be just fine after his fall." She said. "He just has to stay put for a little while so I can call his parents to come pick him up."
Noah wanted to protest but Gabe interrupted.
"That's a great idea, miss, I'll help you." He said as he lead her out of the room.
Luke walked up the exam table where Noah was still holding an ice pack against his jaw.
"Hey..how are you feeling?"
"Like someone used my face as a punching bag. Your boyfriend has issues."
"Boyfriend? You think Kevin is my boyfriend?"
"Isn't he?"
Luke laughed.
"No, we've been friends for years but I'm definitely not his type. Kevin is straight."
"Oh.. right." Score!
"You just.. pushed his buttons in all the wrong ways.. I don't know why but he doesn't like you.. or your friend Gabe.. and the comments you made about his father.. well.. they didn't help either."
Noah nodded his head and regretted it right away. Bad move Mayer. No nodding after someone punched your lights out.
"But I believe you wanted to ask me something?" Luke said sounding hopeful.
"Uh.. yeah.. I uh.. I was hoping you uh.." Noah stammered. "Will you go out with me Friday night? On a date?" There, I said it.
Luke smiled.
"I'd like that a lot."
/ End Flashback/
Luke chuckled and traced the scar in his husband's eyebrow.
"I still can't believe you actually fought Kevin over me."
"We barely knew each other back then. I didn't know he wasn't gay and his father was an alcoholic that kicked the shit out of him and his mother and sister and he didn't know my father kept telling me to stop hanging out with Gabe and be a man and get my act together."
"Winston told you that. Not your father." Luke corrected him.
"Well.. I didn't know that yet back then."
"True." Luke said and chuckled. "Speaking of fathers.. do you remember mine walking in on our first kiss?"
"Like I could ever forget. I'd been wanting to kiss you all night and when I finally found the courage to do it when we said goodnight.."
"We got a little carried away and I leaned against the doorbell.. and my dad came to see who was at the door." Luke said laughingly.
"Yeah I think that was pretty much the most embarrassing moment of my life."
Luke laughed.
"I thought that was that time Danny walked in on us when he was 3 and thought you were in pain because you were making all these weird noises."
Noah groaned.
"Don't remind me. How do you explain THAT to a three year old? I don't even remember what we told him."
"Or that time we came home early from.. something and we caught Aiden and.. what was her name again.. Diana, I think, making out on the sofa."
"Oh yes, you gave him the whole safe sex lecture and I told him to lock the door and shut the curtains next time."
"Do you think we did a good job raising our boys?" Luke asked after a few minutes of silence.
"I like to think so. They all turned out alright didn't they?"
"Yeah I guess they did.. but Danny just got divorced for the second time.." Luke sighed.
"Well.. nobody's perfect. I'm glad he's back over here now though. France is too far away"
Luke smiled.
"You didn't mind the distance when we went to Paris. Do you remember that?"
"Of course I do. I especially remember the many, many cups of coffee I had to serve before I had enough money to book that trip. But the look on your face when I told you we'd be celebrating our anniversary in Paris.. made it all worth it."
"It was the best present ever. I expected vouchers for a back rub or something. Maybe tickets to one of your artistic masterpieces of cinema.. but not a trip to Paris."
Noah rolled his eyes.
"After all these years you still make fun of my taste in films."
Luke laughed.
"I just still don't get what is so special about films in black and white that are older than we are. Things my grandma watched as a little girl."
"Well my taste in films still beats the stuff they show on airplanes." Noah argued. "I remember the first time we flew to Paris.. that was a LONG flight."
"It was worth it though. Worth the wait."
/Flashback/
"So.. here we are. Paris." Noah said smiling as he and Luke walked out the door of their hotel. They had arrived the night before but had been too tired from the flight to go sightseeing.
"I can't believe we're actually here.. we talked about it so much and now.. we're here. We can take a walk by the river.. go to a museum.. go see the Eiffel tower.." Luke trailed off, knowing his boyfriend wasn't looking forward to see that last bit of the city.
"I heard the Louvre is amazing. Let's go there. And then later we can grab some lunch nearby.. we have dinner reservations at this really nice place the guy at the front desk suggested. It's supposed to be near here." Noah said quickly dragging Luke to the metro station.
"It's ok, I know you're afraid of heights. I can go up the Eiffel tower on my own." Luke said, trying to sound sincere and not tease his boyfriend about his phobia.
"I'm not afraid of heights!" Noah protested. "But do you have any idea how many people fell down from that thing?"
"It says here, in the travel guide book you bought, that you have to take the lift to the top and that it's all closed up there to prevent people falling.. or jumping. Come on Noah.. we can't be in Paris
for 2 weeks and not go on the Eiffel tower at least once."
Noah sighed
"Alright, I'm promising you right here, right now that before we go home we will have seen Paris from the top of the Eiffel tower."
~1.5 weeks later~
"Noah.. we're going home in two days.. we still haven't been to the Eiffel tower.. and why won't you tell me where we're going?"
"Because it's a surprise. And I promised you we'd go up that tower before we go home. Just relax.. and put on that nice green shirt.. and a tie." Noah said and gave his confused boyfriend a small
kiss on the lips. "Trust me."
"Just tell me where we're going." Luke pouted.
A knock on the door interrupted them and Noah went to answer the door.
"Monsieur Mayer, your taxi is here." Luke heard a man with a thick French accent tell Noah.
"Thanks, we'll be right down." Noah told the man.
"Taxi? Why aren't we taking the metro?" Luke asked, wondering what exactly Noah had planned for them.
Noah smiled.
"Let's just say I want tonight to be special. I want you to remember it forever."
"Remember how you kidnapped me in Paris?"
"It's not kidnapping if you go with me out of your own free will."
"What if I don't go with you?" Luke asked daringly.
"Then you won't find out what I planned for tonight." Noah said smirking.
"This is where we're going? I thought we were going for dinner?" Luke asked as they got out of the taxi after Noah paid the driver.
"We are. Here."
"We're having dinner on the Eiffel Tower?"
"Unless you'd rather go get dinner at McDonald's." Noah said laughingly.
"But.. Noah this must cost a fortune.."
"It's ok. Don't worry about money.. just enjoy tonight."
When they got to the second floor restaurant a waiter led them to a table near the window and lit a candle for them.
"As long as I don't look down.. the view is pretty spectacular." Noah said, looking at the Parisian lights.
"Well I just have to make sure you have more interesting things to look at than the ground." Luke said grinning."Hey they forgot to give us menus."
"Nope. They already know what we want. I called ahead. I had some help from the guy at the front desk at the hotel. I told him I wanted to do something special for you and he helped me plan things."
"You even planned what we'll eat?"
"Yeah after five years together I know what you like. I know how to please you."
"We're not just talking about food anymore are we?"
Noah laughed.
"We'll get to the rest when we get back to the hotel."
"Hmm.. I like the sound of that." Luke said and leaned over the table to kiss his boyfriend.
"I thought you might." Noah said and took a deep breath, got up from his seat and kneeled down in front of Luke. "I hope you will like the sound of what I'm about to say too... I'd planned to do this after dinner.. outside, all the way at the top.. but.. I can't wait that long." He said and pulled a small box from the pocket of his trousers.
"What.. Noah.. are you.. oh my god.." Luke stammered as he saw what was in the box in Noah's hand.
"Luke Snyder.. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
Luke didn't trust his voice not to squeak so he just nodded and held out his hand so Noah could slide the ring on his finger.
"Is.. is that a yes?" Noah asked.
Luke nodded again.
"Are you going to actually say it too?" Noah said grinning.
"Yes, it's a yes. It's a yes there's nothing I want more than marrying you Noah Mayer." Luke said smiling brightly.
Noah slid the ring on Luke's finger.
"I was hoping you'd say that." He said and kissed his fiancé.
/End Flashback/
Luke smiled.
"That was a nice trip."
"Yeah it was. I wanted to actually get married there too.. but I figured your mum would've killed us if we got married without the whole family present." Noah chuckled.
"We had a nice wedding though didn't we?" Luke asked. "Even though it wasn't legal at the time.."
"Nice? It was the best day of my life." Noah said and kissed his husband. "Do you ever regret it? Not doing the whole thing again when they finally changed the law?"
Luke shook his head.
"No. Do you? I mean we just.. went to sign the papers."
"I remember.. and Gabe and Kevin as our witnesses. We did it on their lunch break."
Luke laughed.
"Oh yeah, I remember that. I didn't even tell Kevin what it was for at first. He thought he was just meeting me for lunch."
"Well we did have lunch, afterwards."
"Yeah and a nice dinner with the boys that evening."
"Ah yes, the boys. We decided not to take them out of school for it remember? Trying to explain to three teenage boys why their fathers wedding didn't get them a day off school.. was the hardest
thing I ever did." Noah said laughingly.
"We did make it up to them by taking them to Paris that summer."
"Ah yes.. three weeks of them complaining about having to do the boring cultural stuff with us and asking when we'd be going to Disney land."
Luke laughed.
"It was better than the first family trip to Paris. I think Danny was.. 11 or 12 maybe. Josh was only 6 or 7."
"And I thought it would be a good idea to take them to the Louvre.."
"It was a nice idea. We weren't the only parents with small children there.."
"No.. but our kids were the only ones playing tag in the halls and trying to climb the statues.."
/Flashback/
"Dad.. do we really have to go to this stupid museum?" Aiden whined as he followed his parents into the Louvre. "You said we could go do some fun stuff today."
"This is fun. This museum is famous you know. They have the Mona Lisa." Noah told his son, trying to get the boy interested in what he was about to see.
"Who is Mona Lisa? I don't know her. You promised we would go to Disney land."
"Not who. What. It's a really famous painting. People from all over the world come here to see it." Noah explained.
"We're here just to look at a painting? We can do that at home. Aunt Natalie makes paintings. Can we go to Disney land now?"
"Maybe they're a little too young for this Noah.. maybe we should go do something else." Luke suggested.
"You're never too young to look at cool stuff, right guys?" Noah said trying to get his children excited.
"Do they have robots?" Danny asked his parents. "Or monsters?"
Noah sighed.
"No I don't think so. But they do have really old statues. Famous paintings. Your papa and I came here every day for a week once. Just so we could see everything we wanted to."
"We're not going to do that are we?" Danny asked.
"No.. we'll just take a little look around. I'm sure you'll see some stuff you like."
"And we'll go do something else after that?"
"Yes, we'll go do something else after that." Noah sighed. "But I promise you, you will like this."
"If you say so.." Danny said, making sure his father knew he'd much rather go on the Ferris wheel he'd seen on their way to the museum.
"Can we get ice cream?" Josh asked hopeful. "I'm hungry papa."
"Josh we only just had breakfast at the hotel." Luke said to the boy tugging on his jacket. "How can you be hungry again now?"
"But that was weird French stuff. They don't have cereal here.. so that doesn't count." The little boy explained.
"So the breakfast at the hotel wasn't breakfast?"
Josh shook his head.
"And now you need ice cream to have a real breakfast?"
"Yes. Because I'm still hungry papa."
"But that would be French ice cream. That wouldn't count either then, would it buddy?" Luke asked his son.
"Ice cream is ok." Josh said happily.
Luke laughed.
"Ok we'll see if we can find some French ice cream later. Let's just have a look around this museum first. Your daddy wants to show you some cool stuff."
The boy nodded.
"Okaaay."
Luke smiled and ruffled his hair.
"Alright, why don't you go see what your brothers are looking at over there. Your dad and I will be right behind you."
"See? They're not too young. They like those Egyptian statues." Noah said a few minutes later as he wrapped an arm around his husband's waist and nodded at their sons.
"Aiden! No touching! You look with your eyes, not with your hands." Luke warned his son.
"But papa.. it doesn't do anything.. and Danny said he saw it blink."
"Don't believe everything your brother says."
"Just look guys. No touching unless it says you can touch it." Noah told his kids.
"Maybe we should've taken them somewhere else.. where they're allowed to touch stuff."
"No, they'll be fine. They just have to learn you can't touch ancient statues. They'll never learn if we keep taking them to places where they can poke at everything and run around."
"Yeah.. and what's the general opinion on climbing things? Is that frowned upon?" Luke asked his husband.
"What?"
"That." Luke said and nodded to their oldest son trying to climb a sphinx statue.
"What the.. Danny! Get off of that thing right now!" Noah said rushing over to his son. "No touching means no climbing either. That thing costs a fortune. You have to pay if you damage it and your
allowance does not cover that, trust me."
"But dad.. no-one was looking, I checked."
"That doesn't matter. We're in a museum.. you don't climb things in museums. Understood?"
"But.. but." The boy stammered.
"No Danny, no buts. You either behave or I'm taking you back to the hotel and you can spend the rest of the holiday in the room." Noah said putting his best strict dad voice on. "Are we clear?"
Danny nodded.
"Ok. Don't make me warn you again." Noah said and led his son back to the rest of their family.
"Are we good?" Luke asked when his husband joined him again.
"Yeah. He didn't actually get on it. No damages.. and no-one saw.. I think." Noah replied and rested his head on his husband's shoulder. "I'm beginning to think you were right.. that taking the boys here was a very bad idea.."
Luke kissed the top of Noah's head.
"Ah they're behaving now. I feel for the person that has to clean the finger prints off the display cases tonight though."
Noah chuckled.
"We better make sure they don't steal anything then. Their fingerprints are all over the place."
Luke laughed.
"Do you think mum would mind if we told her we left her grandkids in a French jail?"
"Aaiiideeeenn!" A familiar voice wailed as a blur of 9 year old boy rushed past them.
"Come get me Josh, you're it now."
"But Aiiideeennn you're too fast."
"You can catch me. Come on Josh, come get me. Run. Come on, come on, come on." Aiden taunted as he ran further away from his little brother.
"Aaaiiideeennn you're mean!"
"What was that about French jails again?" Noah sighed.
"Aiden Snyder! Come here, right now!" Luke yelled at his son while Noah went to get their youngest child. "What did I tell you about running indoors?"
"But.. I was only trying to entertain Josh." Aiden protested.
"Aiden.. where are we?" Luke asked.
"Uhm.. Paris?"
"Where in Paris?"
"Uhm.. I.. uh.. don't know.."
"Aiden.. what kind of place is this?" Luke asked, trying to remain calm.
"A museum?"
"Yes.. now take a look around. What do you see?"
"Uhm.. old stuff?" Aiden shrugged.
Luke nodded.
"And do you see any other people running around? No. So why are you Aiden?"
"Am I in trouble now?" The boy asked quietly.
Luke sighed. He could never stay angry at his kids.
"Don't make me say it again. Behave. I don't want them to kick us out of this museum."
/End Flashback/
"You always were too soft on them." Noah teased his husband.
"And you weren't? I remember this one time when Josh was grounded for something but a friend had his birthday party that week. And you let him go."
"Well.. the kid had just moved here. I didn't want people to cancel on his party."
"Oh of course, you only did it for the other kid. The fact that our sons had and still have you wrapped around their little finger has nothing to do with that of course." Luke teased.
"Oh shut up old man. We were both too soft. But they still turned out alright."
"Yes, they did. Even after we thought Aiden would turn into a serial killer."
"God yes.. his obsession with death phase. That really made me want to cancel cable.. and internet. The things he found." Noah said shaking his head at the memories.
"Remember that time when he sat us down to talk about the family holiday? And he had a whole list of places where people committed suicide or had been murdered in some horrible way."
"Oh I remember.. and I remember wanting to get him to a therapist right away. I wondered where we went wrong with him to make him turn into a psychopath."
"At least he didn't kill the cat or pull the legs from spiders. That's where they usually start don't they? Our kid just.. had a weird teenage obsession." Luke said and laughed. "He's a Snyder after all."
"I half expected him to get a job in a morgue.. or work as an undertaker or.. something." Noah said. "I should've gone on one of those talkshows. What did your kids do that shocked you the most? My son got a job in a supermarket!" He said, mimicking the headline with his hands.
Luke laughed.
"You would've been a ratings hit, I'm sure."
"Of course." Noah joked. "I only would've had to ask our family to watch and the ratings would've gone through the roof."
"Our family isn't that big."
"No but mum and Lucinda would've made everyone they knew watch."
"Yeah, yeah I guess they would have." Luke sighed. "I still miss them you know."
"Me too." Noah admitted. "I thought Lucinda would outlive us all.. but she never even met Aiden and Josh.."
"I know.. but she spoilt Danny rotten. I don't think any kid his age had that many toys. She bought him everything he wanted and then some." Luke said and sighed. "I remember trying to explain to
him what happened when she died. He was only three or four and wondering why everyone was so sad."
"Oh yeah you told him she was in heaven and he kept looking up at the sky all day to look for her."
Luke laughed
"Well she was Lucinda Walsh you know. It wouldn't have surprised me if she would've made them change the rules up there so she could keep an eye on her great grandchild."
"I always imagined her getting up there and telling everyone how things should be done and just taking over." Noah said laughingly.
"You know, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what she's doing right now" Luke said smiling. "Remember when we took Danny home to meet the family for the first time?"
Noah smiled
"Of course. How can I forget? Everyone was gushing over him and he was scared of my dad at first."
"Yeah hard to believe they got so close when he got older. He always wanted to go see grandpa Dusty while Josh was always in the stables with my dad."
"And Aiden and his uncle Aaron."
Luke groaned.
"Don't remind me. Cool uncle Aaron that got him a motorbike when he turned 20. I still don't know what he was thinking with that gift."
"Ah at least it came with a helmet and he taught him how to ride."
"That's what you said back then."
"Well it's still true. Aaron would never have done anything to put any of the kids in danger. Ali wouldn't have let him." Noah joked "And their girls turned out alright didn't they?"
"Gemma was a professional motor racer! That girl has seen the inside of a hospital more times than I have!"
"She quit that years ago, Luke. You just wanted Aiden to get on a horse instead of a bike."
"Yeah.. I guess so.." Luke admitted. "But Josh always liked riding. Remember his first lesson?"
/Flashback/
"Ok put your left foot in there and your hands there and there and then just pull yourself up. I'll help."
"I know papa, I saw it on TV." Josh told his father as he pulled himself up onto the horse's back. The horse his father had picked out for him.. the old one.. that always looked like it was about to fall asleep. Not the cool black one grandpa Holden bought a few weeks ago of course.
"Watching someone do it on TV is very different from doing it yourself. Ok both feet in the stirrups and grab the reins like this." Luke told his son. "Make a fist but keep your pinkie out of it and then
you turn your wrist so your thumb is on top. Yes, like that"
"When can I ride the big one grandpa bought?"
"Flash? Not for a while yet buddy. When you and Jerry can work well together we can start thinking about getting you a different horse."
"But.. Jerry is always sleeping papa!" Josh complained.
"Well then you have to wake him up. If you nudge his stomach with your heels he'll start walking. Give it a try."
"Can I come with you and grandpa when you go riding?"
"Josh this is only your first lesson. You have to practise more if you want to do more."
"But I am practising now."
"Yes, yes you are. But you have to practise more. You're only at the beginning." Luke explained to his son.
"Alright.. can I go faster then?"
"Later. Try making him Jerry go left first. Just gently pull the left rein. Gently because it's attached to the bit in his mouth remember?"
"I know, I know." Josh told his father as he followed his instructions. "Can I go faster now?"
"Don't be so impatient kiddo. You've only been on that horse for five minutes. Listen to your papa. He's a really good teacher." Noah said while leaning on the fence watching his son and feeling more
than a little proud.
"Dad! Papa won't let me go faster and Jerry is falling asleep. Can't you teach me? You know how to ride too don't you?"
"He sure does." Luke said and winked at his husband who was giving him a shut-up-now-look and trying to hide his blush from their son.
"Yeah.. yes.. but.. your papa.. he uh is better at teaching. He uh.. has more riding experience than I do." Noah stammered.
"Ah yes, that's true, I do. But your dad is a pretty good rider too. Just a little out of practise maybe."
"But daddy, you have to practise a lot. Or you'll never get better. Papa just said so."
"Yeah, Noah you should practise more." Luke said teasingly.
"I'll keep that in mind. Now weren't you two doing something here? Apart from picking on me?"
"I want to go faster but papa won't let me." Josh complained.
"I'm sure he'll let you later kiddo. Just do what your papa says ok?"
"Yes, I'm good at giving instructions, aren't I Noah?" Luke grinned.
"Papaaa Jerry is falling asleep. He wants to go faster too."
Noah climbed over the fence.
"Alright, I'll run with you. Do you know how to make him go faster?"
The little boy shook his head.
"Just nudge him with your heels again. Like you did before." Luke said. "Works every time, doesn't it Noah?"
Noah coughed.
"Uhm.. yes.. yes it does." He said as he started jogging to keep up with the pony and at the same time making sure his son wouldn't fall off.
"Can he go faster?" Josh asked, smiling brightly, enjoying the action.
"He can. But I'm not sure your dad can too buddy. Jerry has four legs, your dad only has two."
"I'm good, I can handle a bit more speed." Noah said, hoping the pony wouldn't go too fast.
"Alright then. Josh, nudge his stomach a little harder, a little more and he'll go faster" Luke explained. "Harder and faster, right Noah?"
Noah hoped no-one would notice him blushing. He was going to make Luke pay for those comments. Tonight. At home. In their bedroom. Behind a locked door.
/End Flashback/
"You always did like to tease me in front of the kids."
Luke laughed.
"You weren't any better mister. And you and your dad together.."
"We were never that bad." Noah protested.
"Oh no? Remember when we told everyone we were buying a house because we wanted kids? He said if we wanted to impress adoption agencies and social services and the like we should get a dog too. And we should get a female dog and call her Lucinda."
Noah laughed
"Ah yes that was a good one. And the look on Lucinda's face was interesting too."
"Yes. I still can't believe he lived to tell the story. "
"They didn't hate each other as much as you think. Especially after we had Danny. They both loved him to pieces."
Luke smiled.
"They did. And he loved spoiling all three of them. She would've done the same if she'd met them all. He let them do anything and everything we told them not to."
Noah nodded.
"Yeah like the time he took them to see that new vampire horror film when technically they were still too young."
"Don't remind me. Josh was convinced the vampire was hiding in his wardrobe and we had to have garlic all over the house for weeks to ease his mind." Luke said and groaned at the memory. "Or the sleepovers where they'd stay up half the night with him watching old westerns and kept the local pizza place in business."
"And the boys loved it all. And we didn't mind the free nights."
"Hmm no.. the kid free nights weren't bad at all. But I also loved the nights where it was just us two and the boys, watching bad TV and eating take out." Luke said snuggling up to his husband a
little more.
"Me too." Noah admitted. "Sometimes I really miss those nights."
"Yeah.. but now we have the sleepovers with our own grandkids. Those are pretty special too. Especially back in the day with Evelyn.. because she was the first. That's when I finally understood the urge to spoil, spoil, spoil." Luke said laughingly.
Noah smiled.
"Ah yes our little Evelyn. The best thing to come from Aiden trying to kill us with his "sit down I have to talk to you because I have news" tricks."
"Like when he came out to us.. and told us he was straight."
/Flashback/
"Dad, pa, I have something to tell you. Sit down for a minute."
"What's wrong?" Noah asked his son. "Is everything ok? You didn't get kicked out of school did you?"
"No, no I didn't get kicked out of school.. but it does have something to do with it.. in a way.."
"Aiden.. what's going on? Are you in trouble? Am I going to get a call from one of your teachers again?" Luke asked, wondering what was going on.
"No, no.. wait.. what do you mean again? When did you get a call from my school?"
"When didn't we get a call from your school. Honestly kiddo, between you and your brothers we're on a first name basis with the principal."
"Well.. I'm only trying to uphold the family reputation. The name Snyder comes with a lot of responsibilities you know?"
Luke snorted.
"Aiden your only responsibility is cleaning up your own mess around the house and nine out of ten times you don't even do that without me or your dad threatening you with grievous bodily harm."
"From what I've heard from uncle Aaron I definitely have to think of the family reputation. He's told me some stories.." Aiden trailed off ignoring his father's comment.
"Don't believe everything your uncle Aaron says. He has a bad case of selective memory."
"Anyway, didn't you want to tell us something?" Noah interrupted, trying to get the conversation back on track.
"Ah yes, yes I did." Aiden said and turned serious. "Promise me you won't be angry or shocked ok?"
"Aiden.. what are you trying to tell us? Are you sure this is something to do with school?" Luke asked, thinking he knew where all this was heading.
"Just promise me you won't get angry or be all disappointed."
"You could never disappoint us Aiden. What's going on?" Noah said, urging his son to continue.
"Well... you might have already guessed.. but.. well.. it might still be kind of a shock.."
"Aiden.."
"Ok, ok, don't be so impatient pa. What I'm trying to tell you is.. well.. I met someone. At school. Someone really great. A girl. Dad, pa.. I'm straight." Aiden told his parents, trying not to laugh at their
reaction.
"Jesus Aiden! I thought something was wrong! I was getting worried!" Luke yelled at his son. "There are easier ways to tell us you have a girlfriend!"
Aiden grinned.
"Yes but this way is more fun."
"Well who is she then? That girl that was.. getting comfy on the sofa with you a while back?" Noah asked.
"Who? Diana? No. No way." Aiden said making a face. "That was.. a uhm.. temporary lapse of judgement."
"And this girl isn't?"
"No.. she definitely isn't." Aiden said smiling brightly.
"Are you going to tell us more about her? Like.. her name maybe?"
"Her name is Layla. We've been dating for a while now.. and she's amazing. And I invited her over for dinner tonight so you could meet her."
/End Flashback/
"Ah I remember that." Luke said smiling."She was so nervous but Aiden was so sweet to her. It was hard to imagine I was looking at the same kid who had an obsession with death only a few years
before that."
"I know. It's amazing that they're still together. People marrying their high school sweethearts doesn't happen that often anymore."
"I don't think her parents were too happy though when she got pregnant when they were in their second year of college."
"WE weren't too happy with that either, Luke. They were so young. Younger than we were when we got Danny."
Luke nodded.
"Yeah but everything turned out alright didn't it? They made good parents and Evelyn was a perfectly happy and healthy little girl."
"True but remember when they told us? You weren't this calm. You yelled at Aiden that you were too young to be a grandfather."
"That was the shock. My 20 year old son just told me his girlfriend was 3 months pregnant.. just days after my other son told us he was going to study French.. in France."
"And we thought he might meet a nice French girl there.."
"But we got Jean-Pierre."
"You never liked him did you? Even before the whole mess with the divorce."
"I always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.. Danny loved him.. and I thought him and I both loved Danny.. so I tried." Luke explained. "But then the bastard cheated on him, divorced him and robbed him blind."
"And then there was Jason who used him as a punching bag and made him run back to France.."
"Is it bad to be happy that he's dead?" Luke asked. "He used and abused Danny and just as Danny has the courage to come back and do something about him.. he gets killed by a drunk driver. Karma."
"I'm just glad he can't hurt anyone anymore.. but I hated seeing Danny so upset at his funeral."
Luke nodded.
"Me too. He wasn't worth the tears."
"That.. and well.. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love. I felt so bad for him but there's nothing we could've done."
"He's a good guy.. but he makes the worst decisions when it comes to love." Luke sighed. "He takes after his father."
Noah pulled his husband close and kissed him.
"We both made mistakes in the past. We were kids, kids screw up from time to time. Everything turned out pretty good didn't it?"
Luke smiled.
"That it did. And I really hope Danny will find someone who will treat him right."
"Me too. But he did tell me the other day he had met someone and that they'd been out for coffee a few times." Noah told his husband.
"Really? Someone? Male of female? Anyone we know?"
Noah laughed.
"I don't know, he didn't tell me. But if you want to know, give him a call and ask him."
Luke snorted.
"Like he'd tell me who he's dating. He's never done that. Even when he told us he's bisexual he told you and asked you to tell me."
Noah shrugged.
"Teenage angst. Surely you remember that. We had plenty of it."
"Maybe, but you've always been his favourite. Because you let him get away with everything when he was little."
"You keep saying that but I wasn't the only one raising those kids Snyder."
Luke laughed and tried to hide a yawn from his husband.
"Are you tired? If you want to take a nap I'll just grab a book and entertain myself. Or we could just go to sleep. It's almost morning now."
"No it's ok. I am a little tired but I don't want to sleep. I want to be awake when Josh calls about the baby."
"That could be hours from now. Close your eyes for a while. I promise I'll wake you up when he calls."
"No.. I'm ok. I can sleep later. I just want to lay here with you and talk. We haven't done that in so long."
"Alright.. if you're sure."
"I'm sure. I'm ok."
Noah sighed. He learnt a long time ago not to argue with his husband when his mind was made up.
"Alright then." He said and got a little more comfortable on the bed. "It's hard to believe Josh is going to be a dad. It only seems like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital."
/Flashback/
"How many straps does this damn thing have?" Noah swore as he tried to strap his sleeping 6 days old son into his car seat.
"You'd think that after two kids you'd know which strap goes where." Luke teased and pushed his husband out of the way.
"Not if you insist on buying a new seat for each baby. While the old one is still perfectly fine."
"He's going to need his own seat. Aiden is still using the old one" Luke replied while fastening the straps. "There, all done."
"And by the time I've figured this one out you'll want to buy a new one." Noah complained.
"Maybe for the next baby." Luke joked.
"How many kids do you want? Do you want to start your own football team?"
"Well.. I did always say I wanted a big family." Luke joked as he got in the car.
"You drive." Noah said, handing him the keys. "I'm going to sit in the back with Josh."
"And I'm the fussy parent?" Luke teased as he started the car.
"I just don't want him to feel alone. We've been with him pretty much since the minute he was born.. I don't want him to miss us."
Luke smiled and looked in his rear view mirror.
"You two do look cute together."
"I'm glad you think so. Now come on, let's go home. I want him to meet his brothers."
"We're home!" Noah called out as he tried to carry his new son inside and get his keys out of the front door about 45 minutes after they'd left the hospital.
"I'll get the keys, you take care of the baby" Luke told his husband and gently pushed him inside.
"There you are." Lily said happily.
"Hey mum, how are things here?" Luke said as he kissed his mother on the cheek "Where are the boys?"
"The boys are out back. Aiden got a little nervous so Danny and your dad took him outside to play basketball and blow off some steam." Lily explained. "Now can I see my new grandson?"
"Of course." Noah said holding the little boy. "But maybe we should get dad and the boys back inside first"
"I'll go get them." Luke said and walked to the garden. "Hey guys, we're home."
Aiden dropped the ball he was holding at the sound of his father's voice.
"Did you bring the baby too?"
"He's our brother stupid. Not the baby." Danny said, rolling his eyes at his brother.
"He's still a baby too. So you're both right." Luke told them. "Are you ready to meet your little brother now? He's inside with your dad and grandma."
The two boys ran inside and Luke couldn't bring himself to tell them not to run.
"So, number three is home now huh." Holden said as he pulled his son in for a hug. "Congratulations."
"Thanks dad. He's got ten fingers and ten toes.. and he's perfect." Luke said, hugging back.
Holden smiled.
"Of course he is, he's a Snyder. Did you get all the legal stuff sorted out?"
"Yeah that's all taken care of. Jade said she'd sort out the last details for us.. but we signed everything we had to sign and he's officially our little boy now."
"Good, good. Who would've thought Jade would ever go to law school huh?" Holden said as he walked inside, his arm wrapped around his son's shoulder.
"Ah I guess being married to Tom and Margo Hughes' son has that effect on you." Luke joked.
"He looks like a doll." Aiden commented when he saw his new brother in his father's arms.
Noah laughed.
"He's not a doll, trust me. You were tiny like this too. Danny was even smaller."
Aiden stared at him in disbelief.
"We'll show you the pictures sometime kiddo." Noah told him.
"Now where is my new grandson?" Holden asked as he entered the room with Luke.
"Right here dad."
"Oh Holden, look at him, he looks just like Luke when he was a baby." Lily said stroking the little boy's cheek.
"Mum, dad, we want you to meet your new grandson. Joshua Dustin Snyder." Luke said taking the baby from Noah and sitting down on the sofa so everyone could take a better look.
"Dustin?" Lily asked, not looking up from her grandson's face.
"After my dad" Noah explained.
"I have your name don't I grandpa?" Danny said, proud of himself that he knew this. " And Aiden has grandpa Damian's name."
"Yeah that's right." Holden told the boy. "You can't have any more kids now guys. You ran out of parents to name them after." He joked, turning to his sons.
"They can still have a girl and name her after her grandmother." Lily said, only half joking.
"We'll see mum." Luke told her. "Right now we have our three boys and we couldn't be happier."
"Can I hold him?" Danny asked. "I'll be careful."
Luke looked from his son to his husband who nodded at him.
"Alright then. You have to support his head, like I'm doing now. Do you think you can do that?"
Danny nodded.
"Alright, sit down and hold out your arms." Noah said and carefully placed the baby in the other boy's arms after he'd followed his father's instructions.
"Am I doing it right?"
"Perfect" Noah told him. "Hey Josh, this is Danny, he's your big brother and that's Aiden, your other brother." He said as he sat down and pulled Aiden onto his lap.
"He's so small.. I still think he looks like a doll.." Aiden said, staring at his brothers.
"He's your little brother. You can teach him all kinds of stuff when he's older. You could teach him to play basketball. Just like Danny taught you." Luke told his son.
"Yeah? Can we start tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow might be a bit too soon. But you can practise. So that when he's old enough you both can teach him how to play." Noah said.
"The day after tomorrow then?"
Luke laughed.
"Yeah maybe."
/End Flashback/
"We should get a new frame for that picture mum took that day." Noah suggested to his now snoozing husband.
He tried to get out of bed quietly so Luke could get some sleep when the sound of the phone ringing ruined that plan.
Noah answered without checking the caller ID.
"Snyder."
"Dad! She's here!"
"Josh? Is that you?" Noah asked and checked the number on the screen.
"Yes, yes, it's me.. and Sarah. You're on speaker dad. She's here. I'm holding her. Meredith Talia Lorraine Snyder. Dad she's beautiful!" Josh said happily.
Noah smiled.
"Congratulations kiddo. You too Sarah."
"Thanks dad. Are you and papa going to come see her? The nurse told us you don't have to wait until visitation hours start."
"We'll see how your papa is feeling when he wakes up. He's resting now." Noah said.
"I'm fine. Is that Josh?" Luke asked, taking the phone from Noah's hand without waiting for an answer. "Josh? Is that you? How is everything going?"
"It's going great papa. I'm holding my daughter in my arms and she's absolutely gorgeous like her mother." Josh said and Luke could hear the smile in his voice.
"When can we come see you three? Is Sarah up for visitors yet?"
"You're both more than welcome to come meet our Meredith." Sarah said in the background. "Just don't expect me to do my hair and makeup."
Luke laughed.
"I think I can handle that."
"I already called Aiden and Danny, they're on their way over. Layla is staying home with the kids. I can ask them to pick you and dad up if you like."
"No that's ok son, we'll take our own car. We'll see you soon ok. What room are you in?"
"Uhm second on the right on the maternity ward. Just ask a nurse."
"Alright, we'll be there soon. Bye kiddo." Luke said before hanging up.
"Are you sure you want to do this now? I mean.. you weren't feeling too well earlier.. maybe we should take it easy for a little bit.. go over there tonight or wait until they're home."
Luke was already getting up from the bed and looking for something more suitable to wear than his pyjamas so Noah figured he'd better do the same since his husband had decided they were going
to the hospital right now.
"I'm just eager to meet my new granddaughter." Luke said while putting on a sweater. "So I can die happy."
"Don't even joke about that sort of thing." Noah warned him. "Are you sure you're up to it?"
"Yes, Noah, I'm alright. My meds work and the little nap I took with my husband didn't hurt either."
About 45 minutes later Noah pushed Luke's wheelchair through the double doors of Oakdale memorial's maternity ward.
"What did he say again? Second door on the right?" Noah asked.
"Yeah I think so.. oh there it is, there's Danny. Danny!" Luke said when he saw his eldest son.
"Oh hey papa, why didn't you call me you wanted to come see the baby too? I would've picked you up." Danny said as he greeted his parents. "And why are you in that chair? Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine" Luke said, waving the comment away with his hand. "Your dad just has this crazy idea that I'm old and sick and too weak to walk all the way from the car to here"
"Hey, don't make me the bad guy here.. and you're not exactly twenty anymore you know."
"Ah you're only as old as you feel, right papa?" Aiden said laughingly.
"Exactly." Luke said and got up from his chair. "Now, I want to see my new granddaughter."
"Here she is papa." Josh said, looking like he was about to burst from pride and happiness. "She just woke up again from her nap."
"And so did I. Hi papa, hi dad." Sarah said sounding a little sleepy and tired. "Did the guys bring you here?"
"No we drove here ourselves. How are you feeling?" Noah asked as he kissed her cheek.
"Like I just had a baby."
Noah chuckled.
"I think you actually did have a baby."
"Ah, that explains why Josh is holding a baby girl then."
"Yeah, mystery solved. You're going to be a great mum."
Sarah smiled.
"I hope so."
"Hey Meredith, how would you like to get to know your old grandpa?" Luke said, gently taking the baby girl from her father's arms.
"Hi little one, I'm your other grandpa" Noah said, stroking the little girl's cheek with his index finger. "Welcome to the world sweetie. I plan on spoiling you rotten."
"Just like you do with my kids." Aiden said laughingly. "Now it's your turn Dan. You and your new man need to get yourself a baby too so they'll have another kid to spoil."
"Yeah I don't think that's going to be happening any time soon."
"New man?" Noah asked.
Danny smiled.
"His name is Alex Benson. I know him through work. He's a good guy dad.. you'll meet him soon enough."
Noah wanted to ask more but a knock on the door interrupted the conversation.
"Mister Snyder?" A doctor said walking into the room.
Noah thought he might be an intern, he looked young and slightly nervous.
"You're going to have to be a bit more specific doctor." Josh said giving the man an encouraging smile.
"Uhm. Mister L. Snyder?" The doctor said, checking his papers. "I.. was told I'd find you here."
"I'm mister L. Snyder." Luke said surprised while rocking his new granddaughter in his arms.
"Ah I'm sorry to interrupt sir.. but we have found a donor for you sir. We have a kidney for you."