When Brian and Casey learned about her pregnancy, they threw themselves into parenthood once they adjusted to all of it. This had been unplanned but they adored their nieces and nephew, and knew they were ready for this. They were actually pretty excited about the baby, surprising even themselves. One night four months in, neither of them could sleep. His hand splayed across the swell holding their child, Brian's mind raced. "I think I know what I want to name this kid, boy or girl?"
She yawned. "Yeah? Are you ready to share with the class?"
His head bobbed up and down. "What do you think about naming the baby after Joe?" His hand started rubbing circles on her stomach, wondering if the baby would feel the motion and choose to interact with a kick.
"You want to name the baby after your brother?" She wasn't really surprised - despite their differences and the fact that they still argued with each other, it was obvious Brian and Joe loved and adored each other.
"Yeah. He raised me, and I never really thanked him enough for giving up his childhood for me." Despite their mother's brief reappearance in their lives, they hadn't seen or talked to her again. He had tried to get back in contact with her for a while (longer than he should have) before finally admitting defeat and giving up.
"He knows. And hell, you did run Sandpiper for a year by yourself because it was his turn to do something he wanted," Casey reminded her husband. By the time Joe and Helen returned, she and Brian were together and had decided to stick around Nantucket. They had taken a vacation, however, deciding they had earned it.
"I know but I want to name this kid after my brother, boy or girl." Brian leaned over to give his wife a quick kiss and then turned his attention to the ceiling, hoping it'd quiet his racing brain.
"Sounds good to me but I get to pick the middle name," Casey firmly declared, giggling when the baby kicked. She didn't think she'd ever get used to how weird pregnancy was.
"That's fair. But nothing too ridiculous, you got it?"
"Got it," she assured him, rolling her eyes.
They somehow both managed to fall asleep within the hour but it wasn't easy.
As if he could read their minds, Joe pressed them on the name just days later. "This is a big responsibility," he told his brother and sister-in-law.
"And we're taking it seriously. The baby is going to be stuck with this name for the rest of their lives," Casey teased.
Brian glanced at his wife and she nodded. "We're naming the baby after you," Brian told him.
Joe snorted. "Yeah right."
"We're serious," Casey chimed in, grabbing a fry off Antonio's plate. She ignored the glare he sent her way. Helen looked ready to burst into tears but Casey put a stop to that immediately because her sister crying would only set her off and that would be bad for everyone involved.
"You are so sweet." Helen gave her sister a half-hug and then sat down to eat herself.
"You're serious?" Joe didn't buy it, sure they were both fucking with him. There was no way either of them had come up with a name that quickly, let alone deciding to name the baby after him. It just wasn't happening.
"One hundred percent serious," Brian told him.
"Whatever." Joe flashed them a smile, sure he'd find out his niece or nephew's actual name whenever they were born.
When Casey gave birth to a little girl just over five months later, Joe and Helen were first in line to meet their niece. "So she's named after Joe?" Helen excitedly questioned, holding out her arms. She peppered kisses all over the baby when Brian reluctantly handed the newborn over.
"You go ahead," Casey urged her husband.
Brian pulled his brother in for a hug, checking in on his daughter. "Miss Josephine Helen Hackett, meet your uncle and aunt."
"We're calling her Josie." Casey had decided the baby needed a nickname pretty quickly, especially once they figured out her full name. She had come up with the middle name rather quickly once Brian made his decision.
Joe stopped dead in his tracks, frozen by shock. "Hello, Josephine Helen. I love you already, and your cousins are going to feel the exact same way," Helen cooed, rocking her back and forth.
Joe finally recovered, shaking himself out of the shock. "You actually named her after me? Like for real?"
"We've been telling you for months," Brian reminded his brother.
"I didn't think you were actually going to do it! Wow." Joe watched his wife and niece interact, his heart warming at the sight. He was so incredibly proud of this kid, happy with the man he had become (despite some obvious bumps in the road).
"That was the best part of this," Brian joked. "Joe, you literally raised me for years when Mom and Dad were incapable of it. You're my big brother, the man who's always taken care of me and been there when I needed him the most. Of course we named her after you."
Joe let out a sob, which set off both his brother and Casey and despite the baby between them, the four of them managed to hug anyway. Brian and Casey were technically returning the favor, to be honest - Joe and Helen's oldest had Cassandra as a middle name, and their youngest, a little boy, had Brian as his.
Joe and Brian were stronger than ever, their falling out years earlier long past them. Nothing could ever come between the Hackett brothers ever again, even though their personalities still tended to clash often. They wouldn't be them if they didn't fight, after all. Helen and Casey helped a lot to ease the tension too, which went a long way, and the kids just made everything better (most of the time).