Marita's night was restless. Those nagging cramps woke her every hour and she would wait for the gush of water Aunt Eleanor told her would come. While she waited for the dam to break, she would fall back to sleep. Marita did not wake Sean because Auntie had told her that a lot of men lost their head during the birthing process and it would probably be best to alert Sean at the last possible moment.

When the morning light shone in the room, Marita did not even budge. She had just fallen back to sleep before the sun rose. When Sean finally opened his eyes and saw Marita still sleeping, he was surprised because, unlike him, the morning light usually woke her. She had gone to bed early and he wondered if the baby had tired her out because Aunt Eleanor had told him that as she near her delivery she might become more tired. He chuckled as he looked at her lying on her back thinking that her stomach almost reached the ceiling. He knew Marita would kill him dead if she knew he thought such a thought.

Sean lovingly rubbed her stomach. "Hey in there" he said after he had bent and kissed the side of the mound. "I'm really anxious to meet you. When are you coming out?" he asked. "Your mother will be happy too when she gets to meet you. And I'll be glad when you get to meet her. You will love her the minute you lay eyes on her. And do you know how I know that? Because I fell in love with her the first time I laid eyes on her. There's just something about her that we Logan men can't resist" Sean laughed. He was convinced he had sired a male child. "She's beautiful, inside and outside and she's gonna be the best ma this world has ever seen. You are so lucky to have her."

Sean continued to talk to his son for the next few minutes, telling the baby all about Marita's wonderful qualities and how lucky he was that she had fell in love with him. When he lifted himself back up to his pillow he saw that Marita had awakened and she was crying.

"What the matter baby?" he asked in his loving voice as he wiped her tears.

Marita turned and looked at him through her tears. "What did I do to deserve you?" she asked as her tears continued to flow.

Sean smiled, realizing she probably heard his entire conversation he had with the baby. "The question is what did I do to deserve you" he said as he leaned over her to kiss her lips.

Sean then kissed her all over her face before propping himself up on his elbow and resting his hand on her stomach.

"When do you think he's coming out?" Sean asked as his eyes focused on her stomach.

"Soon" Marita said as she lay her hand on top of his.

"How did you sleep last night?" Sean asked, his attention and eyes turning back to her.

"OK" she said, not wanting to tell him about her cramps.

"You look tired" he said.

"I am a little tired. I kept waking up."

"I gonna put you to bed when I take you to Pa's" he said.

For the last month, Sean had become attached to Marita. He did not want Marita to be alone for even a moment. If he could not be with her, he made sure she was with somebody. If Aunt Eleanor did not come to the house to stay with Marita while he went to work, he took her to Ned's. This particular morning, he knew Auntie would not be coming.

Marita would become annoyed with him hovering over her. On more than one occasion, she would be mean to him, hoping he would leave her alone. She was never left alone. Sean simply ignored her and continued to hover. One afternoon, Marita was exceptionally vile to him and all he did was go outside to her garden she had started and pick her a flower. When he handed to her, she realized that nothing she could do would push Sean away. She threw her arms around his neck, laid her head on his shoulder and cried. Sean had become accustom to her crying for no apparent reason and just rubbed her back until she stopped. He did not even bother asking her why she burst out in tears.

After they had prayed and read their bibles, Sean got out of bed and helped Marita do the same. They washed up and dressed. Sean insisted that Marita not cook because she was tired and said they could get something to eat at Ned's. When they made it to the house and walked into the dinning room, Clay and Vivian were eating. Vivian had not yet been able to boil a pot of water correctly, so Clay and Vivian at Ned's table was a common sight.

"Morning" Sean said as he walked Marita to her chair.

"Morning" Clay said.

Sean pulled out her chair and helped Marita sit down. "What do you want?" Sean asked.

"Some eggs, grits, bacon and a biscuit. And juice."

"OK" he said as he went to prepare their plates.

Conversation was lively between the couples when Ned came into the dinning room.

"I thought you boys were married and had your OWN homes" Ned teased.

They all laughed and Sean and Clay joked about now having two homes instead of one. And that was more truth than fiction. Ned had expressed to each of them that this would always be their home and they and their families were welcomed anytime, day or night. After talking with them all for a few minutes, Ned left and the couples finished eating. Clay and Vivian said 'goodbye' and left and Sean walked Marita upstairs to his old bedroom.

"I don't want you over working yourself" Sean admonished her when she was lying in bed and he was sitting by her side.

"I seriously doubt if I can over work myself doing the books" Marita said.

"Well you don't need to get up until you feel rested."

"Yes DOCTOR!"

Sean grinned, kissed her goodbye and left. Marita closed her eyes the minute he closed the door. She was able to sleep for an hour before waking up. The cramps had started coming more frequently and Marita decided to get up. She waddled her way downstairs and into the study to do the books because she had become restless. She worked on the books for an hour then went to help Alice polish the silverware. After they finished that chore, Marita went around the house replacing the wilting flowers with the fresh flowers Alice had picked earlier that morning.
When that chore was done, Marita went back to the study to work on the mortgages and wait for Sean to come home for lunch.

Five minutes after Marita sat down, she felt a gush of wetness. She sat there in shock for a few seconds. This was it. The baby was coming. Her heart started pounding from the excitement of finally seeing her baby's face. The feel of something wet trickling down her legs Marita from her shock. She stood up to go and get help but an extreme cramp doubled her over in pain. Lexy was walking by the study and heard Marita moaning in pain.

"Marita, are you OK?" Lexy said as she rushed into the study and toward Marita.

"Get Sean" Marita breathed as she put her hand on the protruding stomach. "The baby's coming".

Wide eyed, Lexy did not break stride as she turned and headed back out the study. When she opened the front door, Sean was coming up the steps. "Sean! Marita!" she pointed toward the study as she jumped up and down. "The baby! The baby!"

When Sean heard the first "baby", he shot past Lexy into the study.

"Marita" he ran to her and put his arm around her waist.

"Sean, the baby's coming" Marita gasped as she gripped his shoulder for support.

Sean picked her up and headed upstairs. "ALICE!!!! "

Alice came running "Yes".

"Send Clay, Jeremy, somebody, anybody for Aunt Eleanor!!" Sean yelled.

"OK" Alice said anxiously as she turned to find the first available person.

Sean took Marita up to his old room and Lexy followed to see if she could be of any help. When Sean set Marita on her feet, he turned and saw his little sister looking worried. "Lexy, would you help me take off Marita's dress and get her comfortable in bed?"

"Sure" Lexy was glad she could help.

"Would you unbutton her?" he said to Lexy as he held Marita's hand. Then he looked at Marita. "How do you feel?"

"OK" she breathed as she held her stomach. "The cramp stopped."

When Lexy had unbuttoned Marita's dress, Sean pulled it forward and pushed it to the floor.

"Lexy, pull back the covers" Sean said as he grabbed hold of Marita's hand again.

"AH!" Marita moan her pain as another cramp hit her.

Sean held her by the waist. "You alright?" he asked, not know what to do or how to comfort her.

"NO!! I'm not alright!!" she snapped as she hit him in the chest with the back of her hand. "AH" she moaned again as she rubbed the side of her stomach, hoping she could ease the pain.

Sean felt stupid for asking and just held her until the pain waned.

"You want to lay down?" he asked when her pain subsided.

"No, not right now" she breathed. "Let me walk around."

"Alright." Sean held her by the waist with one arm and held her hand with the other as they walked around the room.

After several minutes of walking, Marita was ready to lie down. Sean helped her get into bed and lay on her side because she felt the most comfortable in that position.

"Sean, would you rub my back?" Marita asked.

"Yeah baby." Sean used his strong hands to massage lower back. "Feel better?"

"Um hum" she said as she closed her eyes.

"Can I do anything else?" Lexy asked.

Before Sean could answer, Marita said, "Would you hold my hand?"

"OK" Lexy said happily as she got in bed with Marita and took hold of her hand.

Another cramp came and Marita squeezed Lexy's little hand. Lexy tried to be brave but the cramp lasted longer than Lexy's strength.

"Marita, you're hurting my hand" she said just before Marita released her hand.

Marita took a deep breath, thankful that the pain had stopped. "That hurt Sean" she lamented as Sean took her hand in his while his other hand continued to rub her lower back.

"I know" he said, trying to be sympathetic.

"NO!! YOU DON'T KNOW!!" she hollered as another cramp started.

As Marita's gripped on his hand tightened, Sean realized that he really did not know the kind of pain she was in.

Aunt Eleanor arrived in the middle of Marita's most intense cramp.

"I WANT THIS PAIN TO STOP!!! GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME SEAN!!!" she cried as she squeezed his fingers.

"OK! OK!" he said, experiencing his own pain. "We'll get him out" he said trying to pacify her.

"GET IT OUT NOW!!!" she cried.

Lexy had looked up when she heard the door open. "Aunt Eleanor! You gotta help Marita. She's in a lotta pain!!"

"OK Marita. Auntie is here" Aunt Eleanor said as she walked over to the bed. "Alright Sean, I'll take over from here. You can wait down stairs."

"I'm not going anywhere!"

Aunt Eleanor was a liberal thinker for her time, but a man in the room during the birthing process was extreme for her.

"You need to wait downstairs" she tried to use her intimidating voice.

"I'm not going anywhere!" he repeated.

Auntie just shook her head and knew she should have expected Sean to stay with Marita.

"Come on Lexy. Let's wait downstairs" Alice said as she walked into the room with the items Auntie had told her to bring. She put everything on the floor next to the bed and walked over to Lexy and took her by the hand.

"Is Marita gonna be alright?" Lexy asked Aunt Eleanor.

"She's fine baby. You go on downstairs and wait. I'll take good care of her."

Lexy hesitated for a second then decided to trust Aunt Eleanor to take care of Marita. Alice had to pulled her out the room because she was taking her time exiting. Aunt Eleanor helped Marita get in position to deliver the baby.

Sean held Marita's hand through out the delivery. He was a source of steady strength for her. He wiped her brow, he made her laugh between fierce cramps, and took all the insults she threw at him during the cramps. At the end, when Marita gave one final push, her and Sean's first born popped out.

"It's a boy!" Auntie proclaimed with great joy.

Marita lifted her head to she her baby covered in a blood and a creamy, white film. He was beautiful. Marita started crying as she reached out her hand to him.

"I wanna hold him" she cried.

"OK baby" Auntie said as she whacked the baby's bottom and he let out a healthy cry. "Let me get him cleaned up".

Sean had stood up and he watched as Aunt Eleanor handled his son. His son, Sean thought, was finally here. As Marita lay back on the pillow and closed her eyes, she heard a THUMP. She was startled and opened her eyes.

"Lord have mercy!" Auntie said.

"What's the matter?" Marita said in an anxious voice as she lifted herself up.

"The boy done fainted!"

"Is he OK!"

"I'm sure he is" Auntie said as she walked over to the basin and washed her great nephew.

As Marita looked down at her husband sprawled out on the floor, she could not help but laugh at him. She lay back down, still laughing at the image that stayed in her head - Sean had fainted.

A few seconds later, Lexy stuck her head inside the door. "I heard crying. Is everything OK?" she said, then saw Sean on the floor. "What's wrong with Sean!"

"He fainted" Marita laughed. "He's OK. Can you get some smelling salts for him? Cook should have some."

"OK" Lexy said as she turned to go to the cookhouse.

At the bottom of the stairs, Clay asked her "Is everything OK?"

"Yeah" she said without breaking her stride. "Sean just fainted."

"He WHAT!" Clay laughed.

"He fainted. I'm going to get smelling salts."

Clay could not hear her over his laughter. Oh, he would not let his big brother live this one down!

Lexy rushed back into the room with smelling salts to revive her brother. "I don't understand why you fainted" she said as she waved the salts under his nose and he came to.

"Yeah, well..." Sean said as he sat up.

"You've never fainted before" Lexy was concerned.

"I'm OK Lexy." Sean reassured her.

"Are you sure?" she asked as she patted his shoulder.

"I'm sure" he said, knowing Lexy would spread the news of his fainting spell.

"OK" she said after giving him a concerned look.

Alice stuck her head in the door. "Everything OK?" she said then saw Sean sitting on the floor. "What happened to you Sean? Why are you sitting on the floor?" she asked with a frown.

"He fainted" Lexy answered as she stood to her feet.

"He fainted!" Alice laughed.

Sean knew this was only the beginning of the ribbing he would get. When Clay heard about this, he will not let Sean live it down.

"Everything's OK. I'm fine" Sean said in a sour voice as he rose to his feet.

"Alright" Alice said as she gave her brother one last look. "Come on Lexy, we'll come back later to see the baby."

"Alright" Lexy said. She turned to Marita. "See ya later Marita" she waved.

"OK. Thanks for your help Lexy." Marita said.

"You're welcome" Lexy smiled.

Sean got up off the floor to find Marita laughing at him. "I'm sorry honey for laughing at you, but it is funny". Sean saw his first born cradled in Marita's arms sucking her breast and forgot all about his fainting spell and sat next to Marita. "He's beautiful" Sean said with amazement as tears formed in his eyes and slid down his cheeks. "Thank you so much Marita" he cried and touched his son.

"Yes he is beautiful" Marita said as she too admired her first born. "And thank you" she said as she turned to look at him. She wiped his tears and kissed his lips.

Aunt Eleanor had eased out the room in order to let the new parents enjoy their baby.

Both parents looked down at a product of their love. Marita rubbed his soft little hands and counted each finger. Sean counted his toes.

"I can't believe he's ours" Sean said as his tears continued to flow freely. "That we made him" he uttered in awe.

"Me either" Marita said as she continued to stare at their baby.

Sean could not seem to take his eyes off his son. A son he had created with the woman he loved. The baby had his parents captivated.

"You think he looks like a Sean-Michael?" Marita asked.

"Um hum."

Mother and father sat staring at their baby for the next half-hour until Marita began to yawn.

"You sleepy?"

"A little. He kept me up most of the night" Marita laughed.

"Why don't you take a nap?"

"I think I will. I can hardly keep my eyes open" she said as she laid an already sleeping Sean-Michael next to her.

Marita scooted down and lay on her side facing the baby. Seconds after her head hit the pillow, Marita was asleep. Sean went around to the other side of the bed and lay down. He looked from his wife to his son to his wife to his son with a huge smile on his face. He would give everything he had for these two. He lay there for the next hour just staring at them. He was too excited to fall asleep and decided to get up and go downstairs and find something to do until Marita woke up.

"Well, I heard a rumor that I have a grandson" Ned said when Sean walked into the study.

"You do" Sean smiled as he watched his father rise out of his chair and meet him in the middle of the study.

"Congratulations son" Ned said with a tear in his eye.

"Thanks Pa" Sean said as they embraced each other and patted one another on the back.

"How does it feel being a father?" Ned asked when they parted.

"I'm not sure yet. I really can't describe what I'm feeling now."

Ned nodded in understanding. "It's a pretty awesome feeling."

Father and son conversed about fatherhood and Ned shared with Sean his experiences when each one of his children was born. They both talked about Libby, wishing she were there to see her first grandchild. They talked for an hour before Sean went to check on Marita and the baby. Marita was still asleep and would not wake for another 2 hours.

When Marita finally woke up, the family was more than ready to see her and the baby. After Marita had gotten something to eat, Sean told the family that mother and child were ready visitors. Ned and Lexy were the first to see him.

"Hi Marita" Lexy smiled as she walked over to Sean-Michael, who was lying on his stomach next to his mother. He was fast asleep. Lexy rubbed his cheek. "He's so soft and little" she said in amazement as she sat next to her nephew. "Are you still going to name him Sean-Michael?"

"Yes" Marita said.

"Can I hold him?" Lexy asked.

"Sure. But I'll have to show you how to hold him. You'll have to be very careful because he's not very strong on his own" Marita said with a bright smile.

"OK. I promise to be real careful" Lexy said as she continued to stare at her nephew. "He's so cute Marita, but I can't think of who he looks like, you or Sean."

"I think he looks like Sean" Marita smiled as she looked down at her son.

"I'm only 13 years older than Sean-Michael" Lexy said. "Will he still call me Aunt Lexy? I don't feel like an aunt" Lexy reasoned.

"Of course he will. You know, since you and Sean-Michael are so close in age, you can be a big sister to him" Marita said.

Lexy liked that idea. This would be her chance to show the family that she was no longer a 'baby'. Sean-Michael was now the baby of the family.

"Yeah" Lexy said with a bright smile. "I can teach him how to climb trees, ride horses, play stick ball, swim. I can teach him to count, to read. I could teach him French. There's SO much I have to teach him" Lexy said.

Marita smiled. She knew her son would be in goods hands with Lexy.

Ned stood next to Lexy and smiled down at his first grandchild, his first grandson. "You did good Marita" he smiled at her and bent down to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Thank you, Mr. Logan" Marita said.

"Marita, you have given me my first grandchild. Don't you think it's about time you called me Ned?" he said. He had tried to get Marita to drop the formality.

Marita just smiled. She loved her father-in-law dearly. He was a second father to her, but he would always be 'Mr. Logan' to her.

Isaac came in with a big smile on his face. "How's my baby girl and my first grandson" he said as he approached the bed.

"We're find Pa Pa" Marita smiled as she kissed Isaac.

"Congratulations, son" Isaac said to Sean as he shook his hand.

"Thanks, Isaac" Sean said with a big smile on his face.

Isaac turned his attention back to Marita and Sean-Michael and sat down next to Marita and took her hand.

"I'm proud of you" he said and raised her hand to kiss it.

"Thanks Pa Pa"

"He's a healthy looking one. Eleanor said he had strong lungs."

"He was kinda loud" Marita laughed. "Where is Auntie?"

"She said she'd come see you tomorrow and that she'd better not catch you out this bed" Isaac warned her.

Alice and Jeremy came in next to welcome the new Logan. "Hi Marita" Alice said as she and Jeremy approached the bed.

"Hi" Marita said.

"Oh! He's so cute" Alice said as she sat on the bed next to the baby. She rubbed his little curls and just stared in amazement.

"Congratulations, Marita" Jeremy said as he stood with his arms crossed.

"Thanks Jeremy" she said.

"So what's his name?" Jeremy asked.

"Sean-Michael" Lexy answered.

Clay entered the room with a big smile on his face and walked over to see the baby. "Hey Marita. Congratulations" he smiled as he looked from his nephew to his sister-in-law.

"Thanks, Clay" she smiled.

"So, big brother" Clay said as he approached Sean. "How are you feeling" he said with a big smile.

"I'm feeling very lucky, little brother" Sean said.

"So, did you hurt yourself?" Clay asked.

Sean was confused and just looked at Clay. He had momentarily forgotten that he had fainted.

"When you fainted!" Clay burst out laughing. He laughed so hard tears started rolling down his face. The men turned in unison when they heard that Sean had fainted. All eyes, with the exception of the women, where on Sean. They could not believe he fainted.

"You fainted!" Jeremy asked in disbelief as Clay's laughter infected him.

They teased him mercilessly but he took it all in stride.

"Alright, that's enough" Marita came to Sean's defense. "Leave him alone" she said.

The family gathering was pleasant and joyous as usual. Clay told everyone that Vivian had gone to the bank to help William. He had done something and Vivian was trying to see if she could straighten out the mess he had made. Ned and Isaac began to tell stories about their children in their earlier years and laughter and love filled the room. When Sean-Michael woke up for his feeding, everyone said their "see ya laters" and left the new family alone.

Marita unbuttoned her nightgown and position Sean-Michael to receive her nipple. He latched on immediately as he laid his little fist against her breast.

Again, Sean sat in amazement as he watched Marita feed his son. When Sean-Michael drained her left breast, Marita shifted him to the right one.

"He must be hungry" Sean laughed.

"He must be" Marita agreed.

After Sean-Michael finished his dinner, Marita asked, "Do you want to burp him?"

"Yeah" Sean said.

Marita laid the cloth across Sean's shoulder and handed him the baby. Sean's hands shook as he used one hand to support the baby's neck and the other to hold his rear end. He gently laid the baby on his shoulder and lightly patted his back.

Marita looked at her two men and knew she would love them until the day she died. And then she would love them for an eternity.

To Be Continued......................