Epilogue - Part D
Tony entered his parent's house through the patio and walked through the kitchen, into the laundry room. He had his jacket, tie and shirt in his hand and not knowing exactly what to do with it, he simply dropped it on top of the washer; he'd ask his mother to deal with it later. He could hear the majority of Dee's entourage in the living room and wondered if she had started any more indications of delivering her baby. He noticed that his mom had evidently folded his clothing that he started washing earlier in the day, so he grabbed a pair of jeans and underwear as well as a t-shirt. He could still feel the dampness of his pants that had soaked all the way through, so he stripped off the wet items. He was just about to pull on his boxer/briefs when the door opened and an unsuspecting tall blond-haired man entered, holding what appeared to be a pair of maternity pants. Blue eyes met blues eyes and Tony immediately smiled at the other man. But the other man made a face of distaste as he looked at him.
"Tony–I'd say it's good to see you–but that's just plain nasty!" He dropped the maternity clothing on top of the washing machine along with Tony's discarded clothes. "Get your clothes on! No one's in the mood for a peep show."
Tony watched as his old friend turned and left the room, prompting him to rapidly get dressed and follow in the direction he had gone. He entered the living room where he found not only his brothers and sister, but Jessica and Ryan as well.
"That date was a short one. Home by eleven," Jackson said as he flipped through the stations on the television. "I wouldn't blame you, though–one jump with that wrinkly old crone would be more than enough for me. God, she looks just like–um–uh–that old witch who used to. . ."
"Jack! Watch your mouth," Tony scolded as he walked into the room. "We've got more pressing matters to discuss than what I did with my evening."
"I should say so," Dee said as she lay on the opposing sofa with her feet propped in her husband's lap as he massaged her ankles. "Like whether or not you should be instructed to wear clothes while in the house."
"Yeah, poor Ryan came out of the laundry room whiter than a sheet. You damn near gave him a heart attack!" Jackson told them. "You know he hasn't seen a naked person since Dee got too big for him to want to look at anymore."
"What makes you think he doesn't look anymore?" Dee laughed when Jackson made a face of disgust, then she turned a glare onto her husband. "Did you tell him you don't look at me naked anymore?"
"No, princess," Ryan answered as he sat, totally relaxed on the sofa with her, leaning his head back as he watched is wife. "I don't discuss our private moments with your family like you seem to take pride in doing."
"I do not," she said, then stuck her tongue out at him. "Toad!"
"Where are mom and dad?" Tony asked as he moved a little closer to the girl who was sitting in the chair on the other side of the room..
"Where else?" Jackson told him. "Once all the excitement with Dee was over, Dad mumbled something about Ryan not knowing how to impregnate his daughter correctly, otherwise she would've had this baby by now–then he said he was going to bed and would appreciate it very much if Mom would go with him."
"Still his favorite person, huh?" Tony smiled at Ryan as he sat on the arm of the chair Jessica was sitting in.
"Let's just say he doesn't hit me with his cane quite so much anymore," Ryan answered as he continued stroking Dee's calves.
"Actually," Dee started slowly as she looked over at her oldest brother. "We didn't think you'd make it home tonight–so–we–sort of. . ."
"You sort of what?"
"We sort of put our things in the apartment. I didn't feel like going all the way home tonight."
"She doesn't want to be too far from her mom," Ryan teased. "She had to have her there holding her hand when we were taking her to the hospital tonight."
"Oh, shut up!" Dee scolded him. "Look who's talking. Who called James and Lisa right away and asked if they could meet us there. I didn't see you pushing away any extra maternal care that Lisa was giving you."
"So–what you're getting at is that you want me to bunk in with Jackson or James tonight," Tony said, noticing how Jessica's relaxed position when he first entered the room was becoming stiffer and stiffer.
"No!" James complained. "I get to go over and sleep on Jack's air mattress. Jess is sleeping in my room tonight."
"No, really, James–I'll drive home. If anything happens, I'll have my cell next to my bed. I can come back immediately."
"Good," James sighed. "I didn't want to put up with Jack's snoring all night."
"I don't snore," Jackson told him. "I breathe deeply."
"That sofa pulls out into a queen-sized bed, doesn't it?" Tony gestured toward the sofa where his sister and brother-in-law were. When Dee nodded her head yes, he glanced behind himself at the girl with the big brown eyes. "Jess and I can sleep down here–then James doesn't have to sleep in Jackson's room."
"I'm not sleeping on that sofa with you!" Jessica objected as she stared up at him.
"Why not? I don't snore," he teased, bring laughs from both of his brother.
"No–you don't snore," Jackson said sarcastically. "You'd get more sleep lying next to a train station."
"I don't care if he snores or not!" Jessica said, not appreciating their antics.
"There–ya see? She doesn't mind if I snore or not. No problem." Tony winked at Jackson, bringing a chuckle from his brother.
"I would think that one woman a night would be quite enough for you," Jessica whispered indignantly as she got to her feet and attempted to walk past him.
"Oh, don't go, Jess!" Dee stopped her. "Knock it off, you guys! They're only teasing. If you don't feel comfortable sleeping in James's room, you can sleep down here and Tony can sleep with Jackson."
"That's alright, Dee," Jess smiled gently at her friend from where she stood in the doorway. "I really don't mind driving home. Like I said, I'll only be a phone call away."
"No!" Dee argued as she tried to quickly get up, only to get stuck in her position until Ryan helped her into a sitting position. "I don't want you to go! Please, Jess. It's important for me to have you here"
Tony watched the scene before him, a bit surprised at the panic that crossed his sister's face at the thought of not having her life-long friend with her in her time of need. Then suddenly Dee grasped onto her abdomen and grunted, grabbing onto Ryan's hand tightly.
"Are you alright?" Ryan asked quietly as he moved until he was squatting in front of her.
Dee's response was looking at her husband's face and showing a little fear, but more pain. "I don't know," she whispered to him.
"Oh, don't tell me you're starting again," Jackson said as he watched his sister's discomfort.
Jess was sitting next to Dee in an instant. "Are your contractions starting again?"
"I think so–I have a lot of pressure down there." She put both of her arms around Ryan's neck. "Help me up–it's hurting my back this way."
"Do you want to walk?" He asked gently.
"Yes, help me out to the hallway," she answered just as gently as he put his arm around her and helped her out of the room, then she glanced back in at Jess. "And don't you go anywhere!"
"I'm right here," Jess assured her. "Jackson, write down the time. We'll start keeping track again."
"But what if it's another false alarm?" Jackson complained.
"But what if it isn't?" Jess scolded him. "If you don't want to time her contractions, then give me the tablet and I'll do it."
"I–can write down the time," Tony told her as he picked up the tablet and wrote the time on it.
"Should I go get Mom?" James got to his feet and walked out next to his sister.
"No–not yet. She hasn't had much of a chance to rest today. Let her get her sleep until we're absolutely sure."
"If I know Dad, she isn't getting any rest now, anyways," Jackson scoffed.
"Jack–what is your problem? You're obsessed with sex. Give it a rest," Tony told him.
"Me? I'm not the one who took out one old crone tonight and then came back offering to sleep with Jess."
"Jack, be quiet," Jess hissed, then turned back to Dee and watched as the taller woman put her arms around her husband's neck and leaned against him as he held his arms around her waist. "What Tony offers and what happens are two different things."
Ryan started swaying gently as he rubbed her back and looked down at her. "How's this? Is this helping?"
"Mm-hmm," Dee said dreamily as she smiled at him. "This reminds me of the night of the blizzard–do you remember?"
"How could I forget? That was the night my new paralegal turned back into my princess again." He soothed her as he looked into her eyes.
She moaned as she leaned her forehead against his shoulder. "It's all Jess's fault, you know."
Tony glanced over at Jess to see her smiling as she stared at the floor, not wanting to intrude into the couple's intimate moment, but not being able to avoid hearing them.
"How is it Jess's fault?" Ryan asked as he kissed her hair.
"She's the one who talked me into applying for the job in your office."
"Oh, I see," he smiled at her. "It couldn't have been because I suggested it to her first, could it?"
"Did you? Really?"
"Of course I did. I remembered you from your childhood. I knew that if anyone could argue a case–it was Dee House! With determination like hers–I'd never lose a case."
"And that's the only reason?" She asked as they continued swaying to a music that only they seemed to be able to hear.
"That and the fact that when I saw her graduating from college, she had grown into the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. And you had a knock-out ass," he added as an afterthought, making her laugh at him.
"You never let me know until the night of the blizzard," Dee told him.
"I know. After six months of being told I was nothing but a damn toad who overworked his secretary and needed to get off my throne–I was a little intimidated."
"Well–for one thing–Grace is kind of old, and you did overwork her. . ."
"Until you started picking up her workload for her when you thought I wasn't looking," he interrupted, bringing another laugh from her.
"And–for another thing–you should have gotten the hint that I was attracted to you, as well, considering that I saw you up on a throne to begin with."
"But, still, I was a toad."
"And then the night of the blizzard," Dee brought up.
"And then the night of the blizzard."
"You insisted on driving Grace home, then had to come back to see that I was alright."
"And being the skillful driver that I am, I slid into a ditch and had to walk back the last four blocks to the office. Thank God you were still there or I would have froze."
"Your head was bleeding. And my toad turned into a very gallant prince." She stroked her finger along his cheek. "How could I not fall in love with you? We had the radio on and drank hot chocolate to keep us warm. Then after a while–we didn't need the drink to warm us anymore."
"I was afraid to touch you," Ryan whispered against her hair. "I thought you were the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on–and you'd think I was nothing but a dirty old man."
"At thirty-seven? Hardly old–maybe a bit dirty–but that's okay," she laughed as she gazed up into his eyes again, then moaned with another contraction.
"Alright–enough of that," Jackson said from where he sat in front of the television. "We don't need to hear about the first time you did it."
"Hush, Jackson," Jess told him. "It wasn't meant for your ears, anyway."
"That was about five minutes, Dee," Tony alerted her. "Let me know when it ends."
Dee silently nodded her head yes, as she held onto Ryan, then looked at Tony and gestured that it was over.
"That was almost forty seconds," Jess told her.
"Do you think we're going to have to go back to the hospital?" James asked from where he now sat on the stairs, leaning his head in his hand and showing his sleepiness.
"Go to bed Jamey," Dee told her youngest brother. "We'll wake you if anything happens, okay?"
"Are you sure?"
"Mmm-hmm."
They all went back to their jobs as James went upstairs; Ryan holding Dee, Dee holding Ryan, Jess sympathizing, Tony keeping track of the time and Jackson watching television in case he had to make a mad dash for more Coke slushes.
Jackson made it through two reruns of MASH before looking back at his sister who was now sitting on the chair again with Ryan standing behind her and rubbing her shoulders. He had been listening to them keeping track of contractions for the past two hours, ranging from five minutes apart and forty seconds long, to two minutes apart, lasting one minute, to ten minutes part, lasting twenty seconds. It was clear to him that nothing was going to happen in the next few hours, so he opted for some sleep up in his room also.
After another hour of timing contractions, Tony noticed that Jess had fallen asleep on the sofa, as Dee and Ryan were back to pacing. And by four o'clock Dee and Ryan gave up the hope that their child would be born before sun-up, and left a now sleeping Tony (who was slumped in a chair) and Jess, who was lying awkwardly on the sofa, and returned to the apartment above the garage for some much needed sleep as well.
It was only about a half hour later that Tony woke from his slumber and looked around the room. He got up from the chair and moved over to the sofa where he stood watching Jess sleep. Seeing that she still wore her glasses, he pulled them off her face and placed them on an end table, then turned Jess until her legs were stretched out on the length of cushions. In the process of doing this, she startled awake and tried to sit up.
"Where's Dee?" She asked quickly.
"I guess they went up to bed. It doesn't look like anything's going to happen yet."
"Where are my glasses?" She looked around.
"Why? Can't you see me?" Tony smiled at her as he squatted in front of her.
"Yes–but I don't have my contacts in and I need my glasses to drive."
"You're not driving anywhere," he said quietly. "Go back to sleep. It's almost morning anyway. Mom will be down insisting that we all eat a hearty breakfast before you know it."
"No, there's no place for you to sleep. I can drive home."
"No need. Just lie down and go back to sleep."
"But where are you going to sleep?"
"Don't worry, I can sleep anywhere. It comes from years of working in the emergency department. I would catch naps whenever I could. Go on, off to sleep now before I change my mind and decide I would be better off pulling that sofa out into a bed." She looked up at him and he smiled again. "Go to sleep, Jess."
She awkwardly lay back down and he pulled a throw blanket down until it covered her, then he reached for the lamp and turned it off, leaving them in blackness. He grabbed a pillow from a neighboring chair and put it on the floor next to the sofa, then stretched out his tall frame and allowed sleep to overcome him with thoughts of the voluptuous tidbit sleeping only a few inches from him.
