Authors Note:/ I do this when I'm burned out on stories, it's an attempt to get the juices flowing. I started writing this for my files and to put it there for you know, to die. But it was really good in my opinion and I just had to share it with you. For the international people, if you have no idea what Thanksgiving is, come to America in November and observe people on the 24th and 25th, because in between those two days, we will have eaten so much food that we can't walk
I know it's nowhere near thanksgiving, but you know what the hell.
Oh and to give you an idea, this is about 9 Months after Anything and Everything Remnant. Two weeks after Rose gives birth.
Anything and Everything: Thanksgiving
"And what are you thankful for," Rose spoke in a baby tone over the stroller and made a ridiculous face when speaking to her new two week old daughter Kailey Long, "Mommy's boobies, is that what you're thankful for today?"
Rose narrowed her eyes slightly when she heard her husband's voice laugh behind her. She hadn't meant to be heard talking like this to her third daughter, but what the hell, she'd let Jake have one. She almost laughed herself when she heard his answer, "I know I'm thankful for them babe."
"Oh sure," Rose turned and scowled playfully at her husband, "Establish yourself as the pervert to the kid before she can walk, great parenting…"
Jake scrunched his face up and stuck his tongue out at her before slipping his coat over his shoulder, "I just called Alyssa, she's got Michael and Daemon settled, thanks for having the foresight to send them over beforehand. Do you want me to take the baby? You get DJ and Rachel?"
Sighing, Rose felt that urge to tell him to fuck off, she had felt it with all of her other children and this one was no different. Looking back to Jake, she smiled sarcastically, "You know, sometimes I forget that I had children with a Dragon, you see I was raised to believe that the mother deals with the children and protects them. I think I killed about seven people who tried to block my way out of the Huntslair with Alyssa in my arms…"
Jake's eyebrows rose and he folded his arms over his chest, "Ok, when did we get sidetracked here Rose? All I asked you was if you would like me to carry Kailey and you went off on this whole, rant about children, you okay?"
Nodding her head, she offered him an apologetic smile, "No, why don't you take DJ and Rachel over there and I'll catch up, I wanna have a moment."
His eyes briefly turned to his newborn daughter, who was watching them with avid infant like interest and then back to Rose. All he could do was nod smile, walk forward to kiss Rose and then lean down into the stroller to kiss his daughter then walked back to get his other children. He understood her reasoning for being alone. She liked to have little moments with their children when they were babies. Jake didn't know if she had done that with Alyssa, but he knew for a fact that she had done it with DJ, Rachel and the twins. Lord knows she talked to them a lot in the middle of the night.
She had of course done it when she thought that he was sleeping, but he had caught her many times doing it. When it came down to it, Rose was like every other mother. She just portrayed this badass to everyone else for god knows what reason. But when she was talking to those babies when she was sure that she was alone, Rose Long became the Rose that he had first met all those years ago, before that skiing trip in Middle School. It was a habit of hers. She'd tell them her dreams, her dreams for them and her prayers for them, not to mention her guilt of leaving her first child.
Jake was tempted to stick around, hide and listen to her. But he had to get Rachel and DJ over to their sisters for Thanksgiving Dinner and it was best that he not be late. Besides, he'd hear her talking to her later.
After making sure that her husband and children had left for Alyssa's apartment, Rose sighed contently and looked down into the stroller and into the face of her blue wide eyed daughter. This was her last child. She swore to the high heavens that she was never going to push another human being out of her loins. She would be getting her tubes tied next week anyway as a sure fire precaution. It hadn't yet hit her that this was the last time around that she'd be caring for a baby, so she'd have to take her time with Kailey.
Bending down to scoop Kailey out of the stroller, she remembered the night that she gave birth.
When Rose had awoken that night with a wet spot near her crotch, she was embarrassed beyond all belief. But not soon after that, her uterus had begun contracting and it was clear then that her water had broken. That had led them there to Mount Sinai. In tow were the unusual people, Alyssa, Johnny, Jake and their children, but this time also had so new additions. Erin, Jackie, Mark, Marissa and their children as well, but Rose was too preoccupied with the fact that she was about to pass a human out of her loins to care about that right now.
"Mrs. Long! We have the private room you asked for," One of the nurses told her.
"You think I give a shit! Just get this baby out of me now!" Rose shouted to the poor little girl. Normally she wouldn't have talked this way to anyone –besides her husband- but again she was in too much pain to give a shit. She really didn't.
Gripping the arm of the wheelchair that they had forced her in, she felt Jake's arm squeeze her shoulder. The sound part of her mind told her that he was just trying to comfort her, but the feeling itself was entirely different. If felt as if he was trying to rip her shoulder off from the shooting pain that was now going through her shoulder, "What the hell are you trying to do idiot, tear my arm off!"
"Don't bite my head off," Jake withdrew his hand, "Bitch."
Rose threw her head back and scowled at him, "Loser."
"Shrew," Jake bit back, not caring that he was gaining the attention of everyone.
"MR. SOFTIE!" She shouted back in irrational anger.
His demeanor softened when he saw her face contort in pain. She had just experienced her first contraction, "I love you Rose!"
"I love you too Mr. Softie," She managed to smile.
Being irrational was one of her things, and when she was pregnant she was very irrational. Gripping the arms of the wheelchair so tight that she thought it would break. The doors to the back of the emergency room opened. She knew the process she had given birth to all three of her sons in this hospital but this was the first time that she had ever actually been in labor on her way into the hospital. Looking up to the nurses who were rushing her, she growled, "Get this fucking kid out of me now! I want it out! GET HER OUT OF ME OR I WILL SUE YOU, not the HOPSITAL, YOU, I WILL SUE YOU! DO YOU GET ME YOU LITTLE BIT-…"
"Mrs. Long," Her doctor appeared ahead of her in what was so sort of emergency birthing room, "No need for language, the nurse who brought you in when you had your twins because of that. Now when did you water break? A hour ago?"
As the nurses helped Rose onto the table, she sneered at the Doctor. She didn't care, and she was sure that he didn't. He had probably dealt with women who were a lot worse than her if there could have been such a thing, "I was sleeping and when it happen I woke up in a puddle, I thought I had pissed in the bed but-…"
"No need to share all of the information Mrs. Long," He smiled at her warmly.
Rose nodded and picked up feet up to be placed in the metal stirrups. It might have been a little odd at first glance. But when you had been in the delivery room as much as she had, she knew the drill and she didn't need to be told to. She had been wearing a gypsy skirt and no underwear. Perhaps that was a good thing to, seeing as she wanted to know how far she was from finally popping. Leaning forward on her elbows, she threw her head back to get her hair out of her forehead and looked to the doctor, "So, what's the bad news doctor, will I have to wait?"
"You're seven meters dilated," He said looking up at her, "That's perfect. It'll give you enough time to get changed and comfortable. At the rate that you've been dilating I expect a half an hour before you're baby arrives, you're a freak of nature."
Trying to take the Doctor's joke in stride, Rose nodded, "Bring in my Husband?"
The doctor nodded and pointed to one of the nurses, "Right away Mrs. Long."
Rose laid back on the bed and nodded, she was very nervous.
When Jake walked into the delivery room, he was greeted by this sight of his wife's ehh… birthing canal that was exposed by the stirrups. He looked up to her and smiled coyly, "Jesus Rose, care to, you know …shut your legs, it's kind of gross…"
"You've never really had any complaints," She responded tersely.
Jake looked back down at the sight again, "Well I usually don't but the stuff that's coming out kind of looks like grape jelly, not an image that I want to see again."
Grasping her stomach, she choked down a gag, "Thanks for the picture."
Sighing, he walked over to the side of her bed, "So, how are you doing?"
"Oh, a tad uncomfortable," She said mockingly, "I'm a few minutes away from spewing forth another one of your spawn from me, but it's just another great day!"
Jake sighed and sat down in the chair next to her, "I'm gonna miss those hormones, and having sex five times a night every night for two straight months."
Smiling, Rose reached over and patted his knee, "I know, I will too, that's my excuse for bitching at you over the slightest thing and when it comes to sex, around the third time I just lay there and think about what the hell your doing."
He narrowed his eyes at her, "That's it, as soon as you're able to, I'm gonna take you back into the bedroom lock us in there for a day and rock the house."
"Looking forward to it," Rose said and then her voice contorted into a scream.
She had just had another contraction.
Twenty minutes later, Rose's voice had gone hoarse from all the screaming, her husband was having his hand stitched up from when her finger nails had dug so hard into them when she was actually giving birth. And after the dust had completely settled, she was cradling her knew child in her arms. She was doozey, partially from the fact that she was drugged up and numbed from her arms down, but she wasn't going to miss this for a moment. Looking up, she saw her family, including Jake with his newly set hand come into the dimly lighted room.
"Hello little baby," Rose cooed to the gurgling child, "You just tried to kill me."
Rose looked up and smiled tiredly to Jake who walked up next to her to stare down at their child. Inwardly, he knew, he just knew that this girl would be a complete and total heartbreaker. With her bright blue eyes and her delicate features, he came to realize that the child looked exactly like Rose and Alyssa by extension, if you didn't count the eyes. Wanting to hold the still unnamed child, he took his daughter from Rose's arms and began to rock her back and forth gently.
Looking fondly to the sight, she heard Alyssa clear her throat and Rose turned back to her daughter and first born child with a smile, "What's the matter Lyss, Jealous?"
"Not in the slightest," Alyssa smiled and looked over to the sight of her father and her newborn baby sister, "I was wondering if you had decided on a name?"
"Yes Mrs. Long," The attending nurse said from the corner, "A name?"
She looked back to Jake with a wide smile, "Well Jake? It's your call."
"Kailey," He smiled down at her and back to his daughter, "Kailey Long."
Giggling slightly when Kailey began to play with her ear, Rose smiled and held her daughter close to her chest, "Listen you, you're in it for the long haul, there are a lot of twists and turns and sometimes it won't be easy, but you'll get through it. It's in your blood to persevere. And you know your daddy and I will be there for you."
Letting out a soft and fond laugh, she picked up the bag that contained her diapers and some of her smaller playthings and heaved it over her shoulder. She loved her children, her life, her husband and the state of things in general. Not to mention the little blessing on her shoulder, for that, Mrs. Rose Long was truly thankful.