*Sorry for not updating sooner, I was really busy and came down with a bad case of writer's block. Thanks to, Vale, Amber, Erin and Stacey for reviewing this! Ok, and on with it!*

Later that month, my parents invited us over for a Sunday evening dinner. At that point the only, "congratulations" my father gave us was that we should have waited and we were to young to be going through this. I can always count on my father to bring the worst out of the best situations.

On the day trip back to Capeside, we visited Bessie and Bodie, and took a walk around downtown, remembering everything we missed.

***

We went back to my parent's house around 4:00pm. My father was conveniently asleep in his chair while watching the Red Sox game on TV and never even heard us come in. "Hello?" I called out. My mother stuck her head out of the kitchen, "Oh hi!" She walked over and hugged us. "It's so nice to see you guys." "Oh, Joey, look at you, you look great!" "Thanks, you too." Joey said.

"Oh, where is your father?" She asked. She walked into the living room, "John, john, John!" "Wake up!" She yelled. "Uh, what the?" He said as he was jerked awake. "Your son is here." "Uh, he rubbed his eyes, "you had to wake me up for that?"

"Oh, John, come on, dinner's almost ready." My father got up, a beer in hand and walked toward us. "Hello, Joey how are you?" He mumbled. "Hi, Mr. Witter, I'm fine." My mother had made her famous minestrone soup, one of my favorite things she made for us.

We sat at the table and there was a brief silence surrounding us. I personally did not want to talk to my father, for fear of having another screaming match. So I did my part and kept my mouth shut. In between my father's slurping my mother spoke up. "Well Joey, in all this excitement, you never told us when you're due." She said.

Joey smiled, "November 7th, yeah we found out they're twin boys." "Oh, twin boys that's wonderful!" "Isn't that nice John?" My father looked up with half a bread roll in his mouth. "Uh, yeah, great, I just hope you can raise the kids." "Oh, John, I'm sure they'll do a great job." My mother said as she smiled at me. "Ah, you never know with Pacey he can't even take care of himself." He chuckled to himself, enjoying humiliating me. "Don't you worry pop, I'll be a much better father than you ever were."

"Now Pacey I'm sure you'll be a great father." My mother said, trying to ease the tension of the situation. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" He cracked at me as if he didn't already know. "Oh, please, like you care anyway." I said. "I'm not doing this." I got up and began to walk toward the door. I was ready to open it, when my father then decided to make a wise crack.

"Geez, Pacey, these kids aren't gonna amount to anything are they?'" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Joey put her head in her hands. I stopped in my tracks and turned to face him as a flame grew inside of me. "Don't you say one word to me right now, you son of a bitch!" "Every single time I come here I gotta deal with your stupid under the breath one liners." "You know what, I have had it!" "My entire life I have had to listen to you insult me and bash my abilities and what I have become!" "God!" "You don't know how hard you push me when you make a dumb-ass crack about my unborn children!" I said through gritted teeth. "God dammit!" I slammed the door on my way out. My father never uttered another word.

***

We ended up leaving about fifteen minutes later despite the pleads from my mother. I could tell Joey was upset with me by the way she stared straight ahead and had a blank look on her face. I exhaled,

"Jo, I'm sorry about that." "No, you don't have to apologize, but why does this happen every single time we meet, Pacey." "Can't you just talk to him and end it between you finally?" "It's getting out of hand." "Joey, I have disagreed, argued and yelled at him for my entire life, the way I see it it's him that has to come forward and say something." "No, it's not Pacey, it's you." "You have to say something stand up and apologize an- and, finally end it between you two or,"

"Or what?" I asked. She faced me, "or you're going to regret that you never forgave him and told him how he's hurt you because one day you're going to wake up and realize that's he's gone." I knew she was talking about her father. I didn't say anything back to her. I reached across the seat and took her hand, knowing that everything she said was right, I just had to figure out how to do it.

***

The second week in August we started shopping for the things that we needed. Of course, two kids equaled doubled the load and weighed in heavy on our tight money situation. We decided on buying one crib first and 2 car seats. We had another spare bedroom next to ours, which, at the time, was storage and we soon started cleaning it out for the kids' room.

Joey wasted no time in telling me her plans for how the room should look. Over the next two weeks, we made frequent trips to Baby's R Us and other stores to buy paint and furniture. We decided on an All-Star sports theme for the room and bought shades of blue paint.

Then on one Saturday morning, Joey woke up with really bad morning sickness and, well I'll just say that she spent more time in the bathroom, than she did lying in bed. She was sick for a couple of days, and her doctor instructed her to strict bed rest.

On those late afternoons when Joey was asleep, I would sit out on the deck and watch the kids in the neighborhood play an evening game of baseball in the street. From our deck, you could just barely see the twinkling lights of the city. That was my favorite thing to do, sit out there and relax on a cool summer night.

Joey was back to her usual self in about a week.

I called Doug over one Thursday afternoon to help me paint. Of course, that day had to be right smack in the middle of record-breaking heat wave in Boston. It was sweltering hot. With two fans and just about every window opened in the house, the paint took an eternity to dry.

Joey had left to go grocery shopping to get away from the paint fumes. Doug and I quit early and had a beer out in the shade of the garage.

Across the street, the neighborhood kids, opened up the fire hydrant and crazily danced and splashed in the cool water. Just then, Joey drove up the driveway.

"Hey, did you finish?" She asked me. I set my beer down and got up. "No we're just taking a break, it's gonna take a long time for the paint to dry in this heat." "Uh, look at you, you're all sweaty." She said to me. "Mmm- hm, sexy huh?" I joked as I kissed her and walked to the back of the car to get the groceries.

"Hi, Doug." Joey said. "Hello, Joey how are you?" "Really good now, yeah I feel better than ever." "Doug! Get over here!" "Don't think that you can sit on your ass and not help." I yelled at him. "Hey, Pace, I'm on break." He said as he leaned back in the chair.

I walked over to him with bags of groceries in each hand. "Yeah, you best get over there before I make you." Joey and I walked inside.

"You owe me for this!" He whined at me. "Yeah right!" I called back to him.

***

Needless to say, the paint dried and the layout of the room came out pretty good. It was a little cramped, but still, I was proud of it. Of course Joey loved it; so much that it almost moved her to tears.

September's beginning came and went as we went apple picking the first weekend and visited with our friends on Labor Day. The next week and a half went by slow. Work was getting to be a hassle with commuting and late nights.

Joey started to have intense back pain and was put on some light medication by her doctor. Most nights, I'd sit with her on the couch and she'd fall asleep on my shoulder within minutes. I knew she was in pain and I wanted to be there for her in any way that I could.

That feeling was put to the test on that alarming and life-altering night of September the 14th. I will never forget it; after all, it was the scariest night of my life.

***

Joey woke me up at 2:40 in the morning, with severe pain in her back, what turned out to be, high blood pressure and bleeding. I immediately called the hospital and I rushed her down there as fast as the explorer could take us. Joey was admitted right away.

"This shouldn't be happening." She kept saying as she was wheeled down a long hallway. "Pacey, Pacey what's going on what's wrong?" "I-I don't know what's the matter, I don't,"

I blanked out. Everything became a blur, and to my alarming disappointment, this frightening nightmare was all true.