"Hi, Josh." Cory, Topanga, and Shawn stare at the small baby. Cory's baby brother had been premature. Now, he was all hooked up to machines and wires, but they were keeping him alive. "I'm Cory."
Shawn stands across from his two best friends, arms folded over his chest, starring down at the baby. Topanga swallows.
"You have to get better, okay?" Cory asks. He slowly reaches out and rests his hand on the glass case, and his eyes never leave the child. "I always wanted a little brother." Cory nods his head over to his girlfriend. "This is Topanga. She's going to be your sister."
Topanga looks to her boyfriend, a small smile given, before looking at the baby. "Hey Josh." She smiles. "Look . . . You gotta let the medicine get you better, okay?" Cory looks up and exhales loudly. He looks down again. "You gotta a lot of people who really love you. Please get better, Josh." That's when she feels tears fall down her face. She gulps, but that does nothing to stop the heartbreaking crack in her voice. "Oh my gosh." She whispers. "He's so helples." She places at hand over her heart before turning to walk away slowly. Cory follows her in silence.
Now, Shawn steps up. "Hi Josh." He begins. "I'm Shawn." He clears his throat and walks aroud to the other side of the case where Cory and Topanga had been standing. "Look, this is the second time I've been in the hospital this year and I don't really like the way the first one turned out, so I want you to listen to me." He stares down at the baby and he feels his throat tighning. "I've been out of town. See, I was in a real bad way and I went looking to see what was important in my life. I met a lot of people out of town that were looking for the same thing." He pauses. "Now you're in a real bad way. And I came back here because I want to tell you something. Don't go out of town. Don't go anywhere. Life is right here with these people." He walks over to his original side. "With your family. With my family." He rests his hand on the case. "We got the greatest family there is, Josh. And we want you to be with us so we can watch you grow and see you change and make great memories together."
He stares down at the child and sighs. He knew, somehow, that Josh was going to be okay. He had to be.
Katy Hunter stared at her huge belly as she laid on the couch in her empty apartment. She was waiting for her husband to get home on the late spring afternoon.
Maya was out with Andrew. The two were now inseparable ever since Andrew's mother, Sally, had past away a few months ago due to bad weather. It was April and the kids were always looking at colleges and jobs they would be interested in.
Shawn was supposed to be coming home any minute now. He had gone to Washington to write about the capitol and to tell if it was a good vacation spot for . She missed him. She really did.
They were having a boy, that she knew. Eric had helped with the nursery and everything was blue and full of duckies. She hoped their baby boy would like it.
Katy couldn't help but look at the clock and to her disappointment, was then passed the time Shawn said he'd be home. She leans her head back against the arm of the couch and lets sleep take her.
The door opens quietly not five minutes after Katy fell asleep. Shawn walks in, his hair slightly wet from the rain outside, with a hand full of red roses. He stops in his tracks when he sees his wife laying on their couch, deep in slumber. He smiles softly and quietly walks over to her, placing the flowers on the coffee table. He bends down and slips his arms under her knees and back. He lifts her up in his arms and she stirs awake slightly.
"Shawn?" Her voice is drowsy. "You're home?"
"Shhh." He shushes quietly as he carries her to their room. "Just sleep right now. We'll talk when you wake up again."
"Okay." She yawns, snuggling closer to the warmth of his chest as he enters the room. He lays her down on their bed and quickly kicks off his shoes. He leans against the headboard and stares at his sleeping wife, her blonde hair slightly covering her face. He brushes her hair behind her ear and leans down a presses kiss to her forehead. His eyes trail to her stomach, now looking like a beach ball was tapped to her stomach, and stares.
His child, his son, was there. His boy was in there and he still couldn't believe it. He was going to be a father. Maya was was going to be a big sister, and now his wife, who was already a mother, was going to be the mother of his child.
For once, Shawn was getting what he'd longed for for a great deal of years. His very own family.
He slides down under the covers next to Katy and places a palm softly to her stomach. He remembers the doctor saying something about talking to the baby. Why not try it now?
"Hey, buddy." Shawn begins in a hushed whisper. "I know I don't talk to you as much as your mommy . . . But I'm here. I'm always here and I want you to know that. I'm your daddy and I'm not gonna let a thing happen to you." He feels a soft pressure against the palm of his hand. He chuckles softly. "Yeah. I bet you're ready to get out of there. Lord knows your mommy, Maya, and I can't wait to see you. We can't wait for you be apart of our family . . . Your family . . . We got the two most beautiful women in our family, Alex. They're incredible, and they're going to love you so much they're not going to know what hit them . . . And I'm going to do the same. We can't wait to watch you grow and make memories. We're gonna do all the things my father and I never did." He pauses at that thought.
"My dad and I never really had a good relationship until it was too late, but I'm not going to do that to you. I'm going to be twice the man he ever was, but I'm going to make him proud. He left me at a young age, and I barely even knew my mother. But I want you to know . . . I'm never gonna leave you." He places a kiss where he felt his son kick softly. "Ever." He whispers.
He decides to let Katy sleep, not feeling tired at all, and he walks into the kitchen, closing the bedroom door softly.
"Dad?" Maya's voice is heard as she enters the apartment. "Hey." She smiles.
Shawn smiles. "Hey, kiddo. How was college hunting?" He grabs out a mug from the cabinet as she sets down and sighs.
"Terrible." Maya pouts.
"Really?" Shawn licks his lips. "Why's that?"
Maya looks down at her hands. "Riley and Lucas are going to the same college while I have no idea where I want to go." She looks to her father. "Andrew is thinking about Harvard."
"Harvard?" Shawn raises an eyebrow. "That's expensive."
"Yeah," Maya frowns. "But it's where he wants to go. I just . . . Don't know what I want to do yet, you know?"
"Don't worry." Shawn fills his mug up with coffee. "You'll figure it out."
"How do you know?" Maya challenges.
Shawn takes a sip of his coffee. "Because I'm your father. I know everything." He teases. Maya just looks at him and then back to her hands. "So . . . You and Andrew?"
"Dad -"
"I'm not going to question you or anything." Shawn tells her as he walks and stands on the other side of the island. "I just want you to know that I'm happy for you."'
Maya stares at her father and then smiles. "Thanks, Dad . . . So, the baby's coming soon. How you feeling?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Shawn admits. He and his daughter share a moment of silence, realizing that their lives were really changing, and there was nothing they could do about it.
Suddenly, Katy's voice is heard from the bedroom. "Shawn! Maya!" Her voice is panicked and the two don't waste any time running to the bedroom and seeing Katy laying in bed, water between her legs.
"Uh - Oh." Maya says under her breath.
"I HATE YOU!" Katy cries as she grips Shawn's hand in a bone crushing grip. "YOU GOT ME INTO THIS!" Tears were streaming down her face and she was screaming in agony.
The Hunters were at the hospital once again and Katy was in the middle of giving birth. Shawn honestly thought she'd break his hand off, but that didn't seem to be the case at the moment when he asked the doctor, "Are they always like this?"
"It's just the pain talking." Dr. Nickles explains to them. "She'll calm down in a moment or two . . . Katy, I need you to give me a big push on the count of three okay?"
"No!" Katy cries. Shawn looks at Katy. Her hair was pulled into a sweaty bun and she looked like an extra in The Walking Dead, but right now she never looked more beautiful. He kisses her temple.
"Katy," He whispers. "You can. I'm right here, and our son will be here soon. You can do this." Katy hesitates before looking back at Dr. Nickles and breaking into a scream of pain again.
"One . . . Two . . . Three!"
Needless to say, Shawn was terrified when they arrived at the hospital, but when he heard the cries of a newborn baby, he felt his whole world shift. He looks to Katy who smiles weakly and who's trying to catch her breath, and then he looks as Dr. Nickles holds the baby out to him.
"Would you like to cut the cord?" Nickles asks, to which Shawn nods nervously. He takes the scissors from one of the nurses and Nickles instructs him. Once done, Nickles hands the crying baby to a nurse, who then takes the baby to get clean.
Shawn catches Katy staring at him and he blushes. "What?"
"You're a dad." Her voice is weak and her eyes shift back as the nurse places the baby onto her chest.
"And you're a mom." Shawn kisses her forehead as he stands and leans over to see his son better. The baby's eyes are hazel, much like Shawn's, and he has a patch of chestnut hair on his head. "Hi, Alex. I'm your daddy." Shawn feels his throat get tight.
The baby lets out a small yawn and Katy grins. "And I'm your mommy."
She looks down at her son. Her son. She had a son and she felt tears come to her eyes despite how tired she was. He was precious, absolutely precious. She knew Shawn was the only man to hold her heart, but she felt a little piece of her heart capture again by this little boy.
He looked like Shawn. Almost everything about him was her husband. She could just picture him when he got older. Maya would tease him about his girlfriends and he would be an uncle when Maya would have children of her own one day. The thought of Maya getting pregnant made Katy a little nervous, but they were interrupted by a tired yawn escaping her lips.
She passes the boy over to Shawn. He hesitates before taking his son in his arms and he's scared to death. Absolutely scared to death now. He was a father. This was his son. Despite the fear, he has an apiphany. His life was now beggining. Everything Cory had told him, about how when Riley was born his life began, Shawn finally understood what that meant. He finally knew.
He stares into those hazel eyes of his son's and he feels tears form in his own. He sniffs, forcing them back.
"Shawn?" Katy takes notice. "Sweetie . . . Are you . . . Are you crying?" She can't help the smile that plays out on her face.
"N - No . . ." Shawn lies. "Just something in my eyes."
"Sure." Katy whispers sarcastically before leaning back against the pillows and falling asleep.
Maya's boots click against the floor of the hospital as she paces in the waiting room. She had been in the hospital so many times now in the past year, she almost remembered everything about it.
"Maya," Andrew laughs in delight at his girlfriend. "They'll be fine." He sits and watches her again and takes her hand in his comfortingly.
"Are you excited?" Riley asks with a wide smile on her face. "Big sister."
Maya nodded and takes a deep breath. Shawn and Katy were in the delivery room and they had been in there for a long while. Maya glances up at the clock. 5:07 am.
Finally, Shawn walks out in scrubs and Cory is the first to spot him. He and Topanga stand up, smiling.
"Well?" Topanga pushes. "How'd it go?"
Shawn hesitates, nervous."Good . . . Really, really good." A small smile appears on his face as he turns to look at Maya. "Ready to see your little brother, kiddo?"
Maya swallows and nods. She looks back at Andrew, who smiles at her, and she then follows her dad into the room.
As she walks over the threshold, Maya was completely lost. This was her brother she was going to go see. Someone who she would protect at all costs, but the fear entered her body as to if she wasn't going to be able to.
Katy is sleeping in her hospital bed, looking exhausted, and a baby lay in a small cradle next to the bed. The baby looked squishy and pink looking, but that was okay. This was her baby brother. The baby is wrapped in a white blanket and has a blue cap to covered the patch of brown hair on his head.
Shawn walks and picks up the newborn and smiles at his son. He shows Maya how to hold him and Maya can't believe it. The fear was gone now, and what it left was a huge hole in her heart that only this small, tiny thing could ever fill. This was her baby brother.
"Hey, Alexander." Maya grins. "I'm Maya. I'm your big sister." The baby stares at her and Maya notices that he has Shawn's eyes. "What's his full name?"
"Alexander Chet Hunter." Shawn smiles proudly. Maya smiles at her dad and her sleeping mother.
"You did good." She comments. "You did good."
"Yeah." Shawn lets out a small smile. "I guess I did."
Despite having had a lot of accomplishments in his life, marrying Katy and becoming a father to Maya being a few of them, that little comment she said really set the bar from him. He did good. He was good and so was his family. His whole world was changing and he was doing good. He was happy and he had a son. He had something that was him, aside from his girls. He had done something good. He was a father to Maya and a husband to Katy, and now he had a son to welcome to the family.
As he saw Maya hold her little brother, he thought. Yes, Shawn Hunter thought of something. He thought about how his son would be. Then, the fear set in. What if his son hated him? What if he wasn't going to be as good of a father as he thought he was?
Alex let out a small cry and Shawn's eyes widened at that. He looks over and sees Maya smiling.
"What?" Maya coos. "What big man? Are you tired?" Shawn wanted to laugh at her baby voice. "Yeah, I bet you are. Had a long trip, haven't ya?" Maya smiles down at the baby and Alex looks up at, without crying. Shawn swallows as he watches.
It was like his newborn son was having a conversation and Maya was listening to the silent words spoken only between them.
"You're gonna like it here, kiddo." Maya grins before placing a kiss to her baby brother's head. She stands up and passes the baby over to Shawn and smiles at him. "I'm going to go back into the lobby. I'll come back when Mom's up." Shawn nods as he watches her walk away.
Shawn looks at Alex again. "I did good, huh? Your daddy did good." Shawn grins before Alex smiles up at him tiredly.
Okay, so story time.
What I found with sort of a strange irony was that I had written the flashback scene after I wrote the chapter, and it actually fit a good deal with where Shawn is now. Expect the whole bad place thing.
Also, I want to share something a little personal. I can sort of relate to Josh, because my twin brother, the one who has autism, and I were both premature. You see, my mom has the gene in her that makes her go into labor early. So, five months before my brother and I were due we were born. I weighed 1 pound and 8 ounces while my brother weighed 1 pound 12 ounces.
I remember, my mom told me a story of how my brother wasn't going to make it. The doctors told my mother they'd get a coffin ready for him, which I find one of the most heartbreaking things ever. And anyway, my brother ended up getting a heart transplant and now we both have scars to show for being premature.
My family always said that they prayed for me, and I can't imagine what that must have been like to go through. I noticed on Girl Meets World that Josh didn't have scars like my brother and I. I'm not even sure if all premature babies have scars after treatment and whatnot, but still. I found it a little saddening, and I don't know why.
On the clip to the side, I got a little taste of what my family went through. My brother and I were in the exact same thing Josh is in, but with us you couldn't tell which twin was which. :/
Anyway, there's a little fact about little ol' me.
Anyway, I'd love to here your thoughts about this chapter and I would like to thank you guys so much for voting and leaving a comment. They always brighten my day. That being said, and I never ask this, but would you guys mind maybe getting the word out about this story? Believe me, you don't have to. However, if you did and you could tell me I will give a shout out. Even if you ask me, I'll still give shout outs. Hehe.
Thanks so much lovelies!
hml1999 xx