Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews and PMs. I really appreciate it! I'm having so much fun with this story, and I hope you readers are enjoying it as much as I.
"It's been seven months, and I still can't get used to this."
"Taylor," Joss said with a groan, beyond ticked with her son's mantra. She'd heard his spiel so many times that she could recite it by heart, and that was not a good thing. The fact he was eating one of her nectarines and had one of her apples in the other hand wasn't helping. She was retaining water, her back hurt, all traces of her once svelte figure disappeared months prior, and she had to deal with Taylor's unsolicited opinion. Not a good combination. Although, being in the midst of one of John's heavenly foot massages greatly enhanced her dour demeanor and turned her on something fierce.
"I see your stomach, I've felt the baby move, and I still can't believe you're pregnant. I mean, I can believe it, but I can't believe it." He polished up the nectarine and tossed the pit in the nearby waste can.
"Give it a rest, Taylor," John remarked, glancing at the young man for a moment before returning his attention to his Joss's swollen feet.
"I wish I could."
John flashed Taylor his look. "You can," he said.
"Oh, Mr. Badass, once you've been seen wiping the dirty backside of a baby girl, your death stare sorta loses its impact."
Joss chuckled, both amused by the truth in her son's words, John had become blissfully domesticated, and humored by the fact her dangerous husband could be perceived as a pussycat. She likened it to someone wanting to pet a lion because it appeared docile. Some things you just didn't do. Only family could get away with saying something like that to John, and the look he shot Taylor said as much.
"Seriously, it's mind-blowing," Taylor continued. "My mom is having a baby. My daughter is going to have an uncle younger than she is. What in the world?" Taylor shook his head. "I get you guys are newlyweds, but…" He shivered. "Thinking you're getting busy is one thing, but knowing it happened with visual proof." He bristled. "Ick!"
"Go home, T," Joss said.
"This is my home, Ma." Taylor polished the apple on his shirt and took a big bite.
"Your apartment," John clarified. "The place you moved into last week, remember?"
"The apartment is my dwelling, John. This is home," he said, extending his arms. "At least that's what you guys said when you moved into this ritzy brownstone last year."
"I remember that," Joss replied. "I also recall you insisting it would be practical for you to have your own place, because somehow the baby would interfere with your study habits and raising Nikki."
"Not interfere, Mom, make things more challenging. I'm a full time student, I have to study, and a newborn interrupting my sleep patterns, not to mention what it would do to Nicole's schedule, would just be a little too hard. Don't worry, you'll still see us all the time. I'm here now, helping to commemorate your last official day of work before baby brother makes his debut, you guys have to find a name for this kid, and Lauren's always going on about how this pregnancy is just so sweet, but whatever." He rolled his eyes and ate more of the apple.
"Weren't you leaving?"
"No, Ma, I wasn't, but I know when I'm being dismissed." Taylor laughed. "I'm just having fun with you guys. In a few more weeks, I'm going to have a little brother, and I'm happy about that, if not a little freaked out. And lucky for him, he's not going have to deal with the stigma of being a sophomore in college and having a newborn sibling, compliments of his mother. See, I'm looking at the bright side. Plus, it's better this happened for me in college than high school. I would've never been able to live it down. My mom still doing it." He shivered deeply. "Ew." Taylor was still trembling when he disappeared out the front door.
"He thinks it's disgusting now, wait till he pops up here thirty-five years from now and finds me naked and chasing behind you with a walker." John dragged his thumbs down the arch of each foot. Joss moaned. That felt incredible. Between John's voice and his hands, he could bring her to orgasm without ever undressing. "The joke's going to be on him."
"That's some amazing imagery," Joss said with a laugh, "but thirty-five years from now, hand-holding will seem like an orgy."
"Holding your hand always gives me a thrill, but as long as I have a pulse, I'm going to want you. That's whether I'm forty-five or one-hundred and five. I'll be a humping geriatric SOB." John snickered. "And I'm laughing, but I'm serious."
Joss scoffed. "That's what's scary." She nudged him with her foot and discovered she wasn't the only one affected by his massage. "You're going to be a dirty old man!"
"I'm going to be your dirty old man." He kissed her feet. "How does your back feel?"
"Not great." She said, trying to get comfortable on the couch. Much to John's chagrin, she had been willing to work right up to delivery, but her captain had assigned her desk duty at the beginning of her eighth month and she'd grown tired of sitting at her desk, so she applied for early maternity leave. "It's been worse, but it's been tons better, too."
"Let's go to the bedroom. I'll give you a back massage."
Joss's lady parts tingled. John's massages had a way of turning her whole body into one big erogenous zone. If she could run, she would've made tracks to their master suite. "A massage sounds wonderful."
"I was hoping you would say that," John said, standing from the sofa and carrying her to their room.
John pressed a kiss to Joss's shoulder as he spooned against her. She purred like a contented kitty. He'd heard that sound a lot over the past few weeks. Joss's food cravings hadn't been too unusual, lots of fruit for the most part, but her libido had been raging out of control, and he loved it. When she first started showing, he'd become hesitant about making love with her. He'd read tons of books and knew sex during pregnancy was perfectly fine unless otherwise instructed by the doctor, but his above average endowment made him concerned about hurting Joss and the baby. Joss straightened him out PDQ. "John, it's a penis, not a baseball bat. You won't bludgeon the baby and me." He laughed at the recollection.
"What are you laughing about? And, please, don't say me. I don't think my self-esteem could take it."
He propped his chin on your shoulder and gazed into her lovely face. The pregnancy had her face fuller and she was more beautiful than ever. "Why would I be laughing at you?" he asked.
"Because I'm fat."
"No, Joss, you're pregnant, but -"
"Even if I weighed a thousand pounds, you'd still only have eyes for me. I know."
"Good." He kissed her cheek. "Actually, I was laughing about the memory of Little John not being a baseball bat. Remember that?"
"Do I?" Joss laughed. "You have a very impressive package, but…"
"But?" He repeated. There was no place for a but when it came to LJ.
"I never worry about you hurting me. Have I gotten a little achy, for sure, but it's the best ache in the world. You are all about pleasing me and loving me, and you are very good at both. And considering my current physical condition, it's also a good thing you are so imaginative." Joss flipped from her side to her back and stroked his cheek. "Your TLC is the best medicine in the world. I feel wonderful."
"I aim to please." He chuckled. "No pun intended." He kissed her deeply and dusted feathery soft kisses to her neck. "Now that you're fully massaged and sated, let's give coming up with a name for our little boy another shot."
"Yes, and since Little John is definitely not a go..."
"Definitely not, that name is already taken."
"Still, I would love for our son to be honored with your name." Joss paused. "I met, fell in love with, and married John Reese, but the man John Reese was born Steven Jacob Davis. What if we name our son Davis? He'll be Davie. Are you okay with that?"
John smiled. His wife was as bright as she was beautiful. "I'm okay with it," he said with a nod. "I like that a lot. Since you are doing all the hard work in this production, our little boy should be named after you, too."
"Jocelyn?" she quipped.
"No." John chuckled. "I was thinking Davis Taylor. It will definitely make Anna happy, and we'll keep your maiden name going. So, have we come up with a name?"
"We've come up with a name. Davis Taylor Reese it is."
John closed his hand around Joss's belly. The baby kicked enthusiastically. "I think he likes it." He kissed her stomach. "We'll be seeing you soon, Davie."