Chapter 32

The baby's here!

Steph POV:

I loved my husband, I really did, but right now I was cursing the day I had ever let him lay hands on me. I felt like I was being split in half. I fell back against the bed panting. Carlos brushed my sweaty hair back and squeezed my hand.

"Are you sure you don't want the epidural, Mrs. Manoso?" The nurse asked. Her gaze drifted to Carlos and gave him an appreciative glance.

"I'm sure," I snapped at her. "Now get your damn eyes off my husband."

She startled and scurried out of the room. Carlos chuckled and I squeezed his hand. He grimaced. "It's almost over Babe; just remember after this you'll get to hold our son."

"Carlos, I know. This hurts so damn much."

He kissed the back of my hand. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Do I have a choice?" I asked. He kissed my forehead and helped me slide from the bed. He wrapped his arm around me and helped me walk out of the room.

"Did Tank take the dogs to Rick?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Don't worry about anything, Babe. It's all taken care of, I promise."

I nodded. "Are your parents still flying down?"

"They'll land in about two hours."

We made our lap around the floor and back to the room. As I settled, I had another contraction. Three hours later, the doctor was between my legs and Carlos was holding one of them. His mother was on the other side, holding that leg.

"One more good push," the doctor said,

I bared down, pushing as hard as I could. There was a pause after our son left my body, before a beautiful cry filled the air. Carlos was by my side, brushing my hair out of my face.

"He's beautiful, Babe," Carlos said, kissing my forehead. I smiled.

"One more push to get rid of the afterbirth," the doctor said, Once I complied, I fell back onto the bed.

The nurse approached and laid him in my arms. Carlos slipped into the bed and helped me support him before pressing a kiss to my temple.

"He's gorgeous, Babe."

"Of course, he is. He's my son." I smiled up at him.

He laughed softly. "Very true, Babe."

He opened his eyes, blinking up at us. "Oh, Carlos," I purred.

The baby looked up at us; I knew he probably couldn't make us out but I wasn't focusing on that. His hair was jet black; we couldn't tell if it would be straight or curly yet. His skin tone was only two shades lighter than Carlos's, but no doubt it would darken as he aged. His eyes were dark brown shades, matching his father.

"Have you picked a name yet?" he asked me.

"I know we didn't really talk about it. I don't know yet."

"We don't have to pick right now.

I nodded, and he kissed my temple.

The nurse walked in and smiled softly at us. "We've got to whisk baby Manoso away for a test. When he returns, he should be hungry, and we'll send a lactation specialist in."

I watched as he was taken away, Carlos sat in the bed next to me. I rested my head on his shoulder, my eyes starting to close. "Take a nap," he told me softly. "I'll wake you up when he gets back."

"I love you," I whispered softly.

"I love you, too, Babe."

XXXXXX

I woke up and shook Carlos awake. He shot up in the chair next to the bed. "Alejandro," I said.

Carlos frowned, "Don't tell me you've forgotten your husband's name."

I rolled my eyes and smacked his arm. "We should name him Alejandro."

"My sister's married to an Alejandro," he said. I frowned.

"Jackson?" I asked. He furrowed his nose at me. I rolled my eyes.

"What if we just make him Ricardo Carlos Manoso III?" I asked. "He's your little twin anyway. I've seen your baby pictures."

"Babe," he rolled his eyes. "What would we even call him?"

"Ricky?"

"I hated that as a kid."

"Ric?"

"The guys call me that."

"Carlito."

"Abuela calls me that."

I narrowed my eyes. "RC, Trey, how about you make some suggestions?"

"RC..." He pondered, "That could work."

"Hmmm, let me know how it sounds in the morning," I said. The baby was starting to wake up. Carlos walked to the bassinet and tickled him under the chin before picking him up.

He brought him over to me and laid him in my arms. I rubbed my nose against his before lowering the gown. He latched on quickly and started sucking in earnest. "That's my boy," Carlos said.

"Carlos," I scolded.

"What? He's a Manoso man, of course he likes boobs."

"Ricardo Carlos!" I exclaimed. He chuckled and kissed my forehead.

XXXXXX

"What about Nicolás Matías?" I asked looking up from the paperwork.

"Nicolás Matías..." He nodded. "I like it. Nico."

I smiled as my son finished nursing before I moved him to my shoulder to burp him. I rubbed my hand over his back, and after a few moments he let out a little sound that was similar to a burp.

"Can I hold him?"

"You don't have to ask, Carlos," I said. I lowered him into his arms, and he sat next to me on the bed. There was a knock on the door, and we looked up to see Tank and a very pregnant Elena.

"Hey." I smiled softly. They walked in holding a teddy bear. Elena sat in the chair and cooed at Nico. A minute later Les and Bobby walked in holding two more teddy bears, bickering back and forth.

"Won't the two of you shut up. The baby is asleep!" Tank whisper yelled.

I smiled. "Hi guys."

"We brought him something," Les said. Bobby shot him a look.

"Seems like everybody got him a teddy bear," Carlos muttered under his breath. I snickered.

They rolled their eyes. Elena motioned for Carlos to hand over the baby. He did and she cooed at him. Nuzzling into his neck. Soon he was passed around the room, before eventually being settled into the bassinet.

"So, what's his name?" Elena asked, looking over the bassinet.

"Nicolás Matías Manoso," Carlos announced.

"Oh, that's such a cute name." Elena cooed. I raised an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Baby hormones." she said.

I laughed softly. "I just want to hold him and snuggle with him."

"I can't wait for this little girl to come out," she said, rubbing her stomach.

"It's a girl?" I asked. Tank shook his head.

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise," he said with a smile. "But it's a girl."

"Oh, Pierre Baby, I'm sorry." Elena pouted. He kissed her softly.

"They were going to find out anyway." He assured her.

"I'm so happy for you two," I said. "Little girls are so fun."

"So are little boys." She said, "TJ was the sweetest."

"Was?"

"Mmm, he's going through a little bit of a stage." She sighed. "I think the new baby coming is stressing him out."

I nodded sympathetically. "Julie went through a little of that at the beginning. Once we explained that the baby wasn't going to change our relationship with her, she grew okay with the idea."

She sighed. "I hope he grows out of it before the baby comes."

"Just make sure he knows that you're still going to love him even after the new baby comes."

She nodded. "I can't wait until you get to come home with him."

"I can't either," I said, gazing over at him in the bassinet.

XXXXXX

I woke up slowly, stretching, I heard Carlos shushing Nico as he walked him towards the bed. I smiled and stretched. "How long did he sleep this time?" I asked as I opened my eyes.

"Four and a half hours," he said, bouncing him softly.

I sat up, pushing my pillows against the headboard. I sat back against them and lowered the front of my maternity nightgown. Carlos sat on the bed next to me and put Nico in my arms; he made a happy sound as he latched. I smiled down at him as he suckled earnestly.

I glanced at my husband. I watched as he licked his lips, staring. "Really?"

"I can't help myself," he complained. "Six weeks is a long time."

I shook my head. "You're not the only one that has to wait," I reminded him.

He kissed my shoulder and rested his chin on it. "I think I want another," he said.

I slid him a look. "Can we get this one out of the breastfeeding stage first?"

"So, you want more?"

I ran my fingers through Nico's short black hair. "How could I not?"

He smiled. "I want another little girl."

"Well let me just get to work on that," I said. He chuckled.

He leaned up and kissed me softly with a smile. "I don't want you to be barefoot and pregnant." His fingers brushing over my arm. "I would love more kids, but I don't want you to feel like all you do is pop them out. I want you to still do what you love to do and run your business."

"And I will, but I do want a big family." I grinned before switching Nico to the other breast. "I think we'll be able to manage both. I cut back my hours when Julie came home. Now that she's starting school in a few months, if I keep the same hours, I'll be home with Nico and work. I do have an assistant for a reason."

He chuckled. "I'm not going to argue with you," he said. "If you think you can do it, then do it."

Nico popped off, and I brought him up to my shoulder to burp him. Once he was burped, Carlos took him into his arms. I snuggled up next to him as he laid Nico on his chest. I smiled, watching them. They made an adorable picture.

Finally, Carlos put him back in the bassinet, crawling back into bed with me. I winced slightly as I moved towards him. He held me gently as I threw my body over the top of his, basking in his warmth and scent.

"I'm not made of glass," I said against his chest.

"Babe."

"Carlos," I said, cracking an eye open. He chuckled and tightened his arms around me.