Heaven Beside You
Chapter 25: Baby Baking
It was a pretty quiet day around the house as Christina had spent most of her time cleaning. She was bound to pop at any given time but until then she kept herself distracted. Having finished the kitchen, dining room and Roman's man cave, Tina made her way into the living room. Her contractions were getting stronger as she finally sat down to rest and have a nice cold glass of water.
"Oh I know baby boy, I know…" Tina sighed, taking a big sip of water. She propped her feet up and flipped on the TV to find something interesting to watch. As soon as she settled for watching the Food Network the sound of the front door swinging open and little footsteps racing through the foyer filled her ears.
"Mama! Mama!" Noelani shouted as she ran into the living room. Roman chuckled, locking the door behind him as he turned to watch his daughter and wife.
"Well hello pumpkin! What's all the excitement about?" Christina beamed, sitting her glass on the coffee table.
"I won the bake sale and got first place!" Lani rejoiced, flashing her giant blue ribbon and the prize check she received. Tina couldn't have been any more proud of her little girl. All those weekends they spent in kitchen baking cakes and cookies had proven its worth.
"I'm so proud of you sweetheart!" she squealed, hugging Noelani as much as she could given the size of her belly.
"Guess we better go ahead with our plans of getting baby girl her own checking account, huh?" Roman chuckled, pecking his wife's lips.
"Well if she keeps on winning these competitions we're gonna have to…" Christina giggled. "Plus her little piggy bank is full so yeah, we'll definitely look into getting her that account."
"Yay!" Lani clapped as she handed the check to her mom then ran upstairs. Roman sneaked a few cookies from the jar sitting on the coffee table then took a seat next to Tina on the couch.
"So… what have you been up to mama bear?" he asked, rubbing her leg.
"Did a good bit of cleaning earlier and actually just sat down to watch TV before you and baby girl came in. These contractions have been kicking my ass and I'm still adjusting to being at home. I didn't really do this when I was pregnant with Lani. I was such a busy body, but I'm getting used to it." she admitted, turning her body so that she could face her husband.
"Baby… you kept working while you were pregnant?" Roman asked, taking her hand into his. It still stung knowing that his wife continued to bust her ass week in and week out all why she was carrying his daughter. No matter how much she reassured him that things were fine, he'd never forgive himself for being out of their lives for so long.
"Yeah… Aside from getting some help from Brenna, I knew I had to grind it out in order to take care of Lani and myself. Granted Bren and I both had our inheritance money, I still needed to work and finish school." Tina shrugged.
"Coco…" Roman started but was cut off when she placed a finger over his lips.
"Don't do this Ro… I told you there's nothing to beat yourself up about. We went our separate ways and fate still brought us back together. Do you remember what my mom told you the Thanksgiving before she and dad died?" she smiled softly.
"I could never forget." Roman chuckled, kissing the back of her hand. "You and my daughter could be oceans apart and somehow, some way, you'll always find your way back to each other. Conjoined at the hip in more ways than one. Always with my precious Tina… Roman you are my son." he whispered, rubbing Christina's arm as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"I miss her so much. She'd be so proud of us…" Tina sniffled.
"I know baby and I miss her too. Nani was one hell of a woman. Your dad always told me how lucky he was to meet your mom. He said the Navy changed his life and that he was grateful to be stationed in Hawaii. Hell, if you guys wouldn't have moved to Georgia, I never would've gotten the chance to meet you. I see so much of your mom in Noelani every day that, I fully understand everything your dad told me back in the day." Roman smiled as Tina snuggled up to him.
"I love you, Ro…" she whispered, kissing his cheek.
"And I love you too, Coco." he replied, looking over towards the stairs when he heard Noelani making her way back down. He watched as she bypassed the living room and headed into the kitchen.
"Go see what she's up to." Tina giggled, shifting back on the couch so that Roman could get up. He grinned, helping her up to her feet. "Thanks." she nodded sheepishly before waddling off to the downstairs bathroom.
"What's going on in here Buttercup?" Roman asked, walking into the kitchen. Lani was busy shifting ingredients from the fridge and pantry over to the counter.
"I'm making cupcakes." she replied, grabbing her little step stool to wash her hands.
"Well… would you like some help? I'm not good at baking but I'm good at tasting." Roman chuckled. Lani shook her head as she laughed at her dad giving her a pathetic look.
"Oh all right...you can help, but you don't have to look so pitiful." she stated, making her father gasp pretending to be in shock.
"Who you calling pitiful, little girl?" he huffed, tickling Noelani's sides making her squeal. Christina had finally emerged from the bathroom and smiled hearing her husband and daughter cracking up laughing.
She decided to finish her cleaning, knowing that Roman probably wouldn't approve but she didn't have much left that needed to be done. While Noelani and Roman occupied the kitchen, Tina made her way into the downstairs guest bedroom to dust.
"Coco… Have you seen my Call of Duty game? I can't find it, babe." Roman shouted from his man cave.
"Did you try checking the Xbox? You've got a habit of leaving games in the system." Christina stated as she waddled towards the sound of his voice.
"Already looked there…" he said as she entered the room. "I know it was over here somewhere around or on the TV stand. Did you clean up in here?" Roman asked, looking at his wife expectantly.
"Well yes. I mean… baby it was a bit of a pigsty in here." Tina shrugged sheepishly.
"Why did you have to move my game tho? I've been itching to play it all week and I finally get the chance to and can't find it." he snapped while shuffling through his other games. "Always misplacing stuff…" he grumbled.
"Oh well excuse the fuck out of me for wanting our damn house to be clean, Roman! I've asked you on numerous occasions to clean your damn man cave and the one time I do it, you have the balls to get pissy with me over a fucking game!" Christina snarled, stomping her foot.
"What the fuck do you think I'm supposed to do if I'm just sitting around the damn house all day? I'm pregnant and everything smells weird and shit needs to be clean and you wanna bitch at me about a fucking game…"
"Baby…"
"Nah, don't try to plead your damn case to me now because I don't wanna hear it. Hell I get that you're out on the road working to provide for our family and when you get home you just want to relax, but hell this is an adjustment for me too! You've got some nerve…" she paused, palming her stomach as her eyes widened.
"Christina, what's wrong baby doll...talk to me." Roman panicked, reaching for her frantically.
"My water just broke…" she muttered, looking at her husband in distraught. Roman swiftly began herding Tina over towards the door to get her outside.
"I gotta grab your bag and…"
"My bag is already in the car babe. Get Lani…" Christina panted, opening the door to the garage. After making sure his wife was safely in the car, Roman ran back into the house to get their daughter.
"Noelani… Come on baby girl we gotta go!" he shouted, rushing up the stairs. When he reached his daughter's room, he saw Lani was out cold clutching her stuffed giraffe. Roman couldn't help but smile as he leaned down to scoop the little girl up into his arms and carry her downstairs.
"Daddy…" Lani croaked, rubbing at her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked as Roman grabbed a pair of her shoes and a jacket out of the downstairs closet.
"We've gotta head to the hospital Buttercup. Mommy's about to give birth to your little brother." he answered, setting her down on her feet. She quickly slipped her shoes on and Roman helped her into her jacket. "Daddy needs you to do him a favor, okay." he said while handing his phone to his daughter.
"Okay." Noelani nodded as they rushed out to the car.
"Call grandma and tell her that you and daddy are taking mommy to the hospital because the baby is coming. Can you do that for me baby girl?" Roman asked as he bumped his head getting into the car. "Shit…" he growled, laying a hand on his forehead.
"I would say language but I know I'm probably gonna say a lot worse than that." Christina laughed nervously as Roman backed out of the garage.
"I'm sorry for upsetting you babe. And if it's any difference, I found my game." Roman admitted sheepishly.
"Oh don't worry… I'm gonna pay you back for that sh...crap." Tina panted.
"Grandma and Grandpa are meeting us there…" Lani chimed in, handing Roman his phone.
"Thanks Buttercup!" he replied, swerving past a semi-truck in the process.
"Easy on the wheel there, Speed Racer… We need to make it to the hospital in one piece." Tina huffed, palming her belly. Her breathing intensified as another contraction hit.
"Almost there Coco, just hang in there baby." Roman said as he could see the hospital off in the distance. His timing couldn't have been better as his parents were standing at the entrance to the ER.
"Mom… Pop…" he started, hopping out of the car.
"You get Coco inside. Your father and I will park the car and keep Lani with us." Patricia smiled, helping her daughter in-law out of their car. Roman nodded and quickly kissed Noelani's cheek as he grabbed Tina's bag from the backseat.
"Mommy and Daddy love you very much, baby girl! We'll see you soon…" he said.
"And you'll have a baby brother!" Tina shouted as a nurse wheeled her into the hospital.
"Come on Christina, give me one more big push and baby boy will be right here with us!" Dr. Jennings encouraged.
"You got this baby… You're doing so well." Roman added, gritting his teeth slightly. He was equally excited and nervous but he for sure thought his wife had probably broken at least two of his fingers. Tina definitely had a death grip. She let out a primal scream as she gave everything she had in her final push.
"And we have a baby!" Dr. Jennings rejoiced as the sound of infant cries filled the room. She lifted the beautiful baby boy up for the proud parents to see before clamping and cutting the umbilical cord.
"You did it Coco… You did so great baby." Roman sniffed as tears rolled down his cheeks. Tina was completely exhausted but she couldn't help but smile feeling her husband pepper kisses all over her face. "I love you, Coco…so very much." he whispered, pecking her lips.
"Alright… who's ready to meet their beautiful, bouncing baby boy?" the nurse said as she made her way over to Roman and Tina with their son. She carefully handed the newborn over to Christina who was practically beaming with joy as she held him.
"Welcome to the world baby boy… And look at all this hair." she cooed, strumming her fingertips over her son's head full of black hair.
"My boy's a true thoroughbred just like his daddy." Roman gloated as he watched his wife interact with their son.
"Well… you are quite the stallion. And we so need a name for this little handsome man." Tina giggled.
"Man look at him tho… He's like a mini me." Roman chuckled.
"Like a mini you… Roman, he is a mini you. Now what are we going to name him?" Christina laughed.
"Hmm… let me get a closer look at little man." he grinned, extending his arms out to hold his son. Before handing him over, Tina carefully adjusted Roman's arms so that he could carefully cradle the little guy.
"Sorry. It's a habit…" she blushed.
"Nah, you're good babe. Just making sure I didn't forget what I learned in class huh?" he smirked as Christina gently maneuvered their son into his arms. With the exception of falling in love with Tina and meeting Lani, Roman had never felt this much joy before. He could barely contain his excitement as he took in his little boy's features. He saw so much of himself in their son but he couldn't get over his cute button nose. That was definitely a feature he inherited from his mother.
"It's nice to finally meet you little man." he whispered, kissing his son's forehead as he sat back to study his son more. "What do you think about Colt?"
"I...think you're definitely sticking with the thoroughbred theme." Tina snickered.
"Babe… I'm being serious here." Roman pouted.
"I know… And Colt is...it's cool but what about Colton? I mean, it goes with your thoroughbred theme and to be fair, my dad's favorite team was the Colts." she grinned, watching Roman hold their son.
"I can definitely roll with that. Any middle name ideas?"
"Joseph." Tina replied with a sheepish grin.
"Paying homage to your dad… I love it." Roman smiled as the nurse returned to collect their little bundle of joy.
"Okay mommy and daddy… I've got to take this little guy and get him all cleaned up and check his vitals. Dad, you can bring the family around to the nursery to see him in there." she smiled brightly as Roman eased their newborn over to her reluctantly.
"You go on babe, I'll be fine. Besides, I've gotta get cleaned up and I'm probably gonna snooze while you're out with the family." Tina yawned. Roman nodded as he leaned over to kiss her sweetly then pushed some of her hair away that was plastered to her face.
"I love you woman… I love you so much." he sighed happily before turning to walk out of the delivery room. Tina looked after him with sleepy eyes until she could no longer keep them open, dozing off afterwards.
"Do you think my little brother will look just like Daddy when he was a baby!" Noelani asked her grandparents while she played a game on her iPod.
"I think your brother will look exactly like your father." Sika chuckled, poking at Lani's side.
"And I think he'll look like your father but still have many features from your mommy as well." Patricia added, making her granddaughter smile.
"I bet he's the cutest little brother ever!" Lani rejoiced.
"And you're right buttercup, he is the cutest little brother ever." Roman chuckled as he approached them.
"Daddy!" the little girl shouted nearly launching herself out of the chair to hug Roman. He smiled lifting her up into a big bear hug then sat down on one of the couches in the waiting room.
"Everything go well?" Sika asked, looking at his son expectantly.
"Pop… You guys have got to see this kid. He's a mini me with a head full of black hair." Roman beamed as Lani settled back against him.
"Oh my goodness… I can't wait to see him." Patricia squeaked.
"Well they're prepping him in the nursery and getting mommy moved to a new room. We can head around and see him now though." Roman grinned.
"Let's go!" Noelani said as she hopped down from sitting in her dad's lap. She was more than eager to see her new baby brother.
"Yeah, I'm with my little sweetheart on this one. Let's go!" Patricia giggled, offering her hand to Sika as he stood up beside her. Roman grabbed his daughter's hand and quickly lead everyone around to the nursery.
"Coco must have got that hat for him." Roman chuckled as he pointed out his son, Colton, who was wearing a little Roman Reigns beanie instead of the standard blue baby beanie that the hospital issues.
"That's our girl…" Sika grinned. "And you two make some beautiful children."
"Yes they do." Patricia sighed happily after giving Lani's cheek a little pinch. Their family was truly blessed.
"Thanks." Roman blushed as he lifted Noelani up to get a better view. "You see your little Uce?" he asked kissing her temple.
"Yeah...he looks like you only smaller and with mama's nose." Lani smiled.
"Oh so you're saying daddy has a big nose?" Roman teased, tickling the little girl. Noelani simply shook her with a devious grin.
"Excuse me, Mr. Reigns…" one of the nurses interrupted. Roman turned to face the woman instantly.
"Your wife is all set and we're about to take your son up to her room. If you'd like, you and the family can follow me." she smiled.
"Lead the way." Roman said, motioning for his parents to follow. When the thought finally hit him, he slid his phone out of his pocket to send a quick text to his cousins and Dean about the baby's arrival. Once they made it to the room, he began to tear up again as Lani quickly moved to join Christina and her little brother.
"Hi mama…" Noelani said softly as she saw her brother was sleeping.
"Hi pumpkin. This is Colton… Colton Joseph Reigns." Tina whispered.
"CJ for short." Sika smiled as he and Patricia flanked both sides of the bed to get a better view of their grandson. "What do you think son… Do we have another little football player on our hands here?"
"Oh you know it." Roman laughed and winked as he caught his wife shooting him a glare.
"And to think… You're here with us now, all because your daddy started an argument with me over a video game." Tina smirked looking at her husband. Roman couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. This was quite a joyous day for the Reigns family and things couldn't have been any more perfect.
Thank you all so much for your patience! I kinda lost my way with writing these two for a bit as RoDeja suddenly took up all of my creative space lol. But baby boy has officially arrived! I'm still working to get so sort of order to my posting time as work and school have me tied up, but I'm still writing. Thank you guys so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Again, for those of you that have been extra patient with me, I can't thank y'all enough. Till next time...
XoXo
-S