*Author's Note*
Thank you for all the follows, faves, and reviews.
An April Arrival
Shaw POV:
The last couple of months Jessa's brought Silas to see me at my office just like she said she'd do. Given it was just a monthly visit, but I was grateful for it. Hell, I was just happy that she agreed to my terms and let me see our kid. Albeit, I had to leave Tolbert alone, but in order to see my son I'd let my grudges stew for now instead of acting on them. It was now April and I haven't seen Silas yet, but I wasn't worried since I knew Jessa would bring him to my office sometime before the month was up. She knew what was at risk if she didn't.
I hope she doesn't come by to bring him over today tho since I'm stuck sitting on my porch, waiting for Olga to pop out the baby. She woke me up at 'round 2 or 3 in the mornin' with contractions, causing me to ride around the country side to fetch everybody (like my dad, Levicy, Allie, Vera, and of course Doc.) By time I got back to my house with Doc my porch was swarming with all of my male family members that were of age to be at a birth. Abel, much to my dismay, was present too. Damnit, I can't stand that two-faced lying traitor piece of shit. I had told him back in January that I knew he was banging Nancy and that he needed to stop poking that McCoy whore cause it was detrimental to our family, but he just laughed at me and told me that whatever I heard was wrong and that he wasn't with Nancy. Liar, I knew that Jessa wouldn't have told me if it wasn't true, if she wasn't worried since Nancy knew about our son's paternity (and the only way she would know would be if Abel told her since he knows for a fact that Silas is mine).
As I sat on my porch, staring a hole in the back of Abel's head, my mind drifted back to the day back in January that I confronted him about Nancy.
*Start Of Memory/FlashBack*
I trotted by horse up to the shithole of a shack Abel lived in on the upper northwest edge of the county. Goddamn, Johnse's pathetic cabin looked more put together then Abel's. Nancy coming here to fuck with him (both mentally and literally) meant she was a gutter rat cause no self-respecting woman would set foot in the Freeland dump. Brown and half-dead weeds were wild all around the shack, creating a border for it. If I didn't have a reason to be here, I wouldn't have come. God, I dread having to go inside of this shithole.
I pulled my horse, Whiskey, to a stop in front of the stable attached to the house and then quickly dismounted him. I hitched him up to the stable's beam and then walked a few feet over to the front door of the shack. Slamming my hand repeatedly against the crudely pieced together door, I shouted, "Abel Freeland, get your ass out here! We gotta talk, now!"
In less then a minute the door swung open. Abel stood in the doorway, his long-john shirt on with a pair of wrinkled pants. Christ, seems like if he doesn't send his wash to either Levicy or Allie it doesn't get down. "What is it, Shaw?"
"I know your girlfriend ain't here, so are you gonna invite me in or make me stand outside?" I told him with a stone cold face, my arms folded across my chest.
"I don't have a girlfriend." Abel backed away from the door, giving me leeway to enter his shithole of a cabin (shack, thing's a fucking shack…)
"Don't lie to me, man. I know you've been fucking around with Nancy McCoy's bitter whore ass." I angrily spat, walking into the shack and taking a seat at the table a few feet away from the door.
The door shut accompanied by Abel ordering, "Hey, don't talk 'bout her like that." While joining me at the table he tried to make me feel bad by saying, "It's disrespectful, ain't right."
I didn't feel bad about what I said. I smirked before telling my cousin-in-law (or should I say outlaw?), "But it's the truth. That woman's so salty that she could season a bag of Classic Lays."
"You come all the way up here to talk shit to me? If so you can get out of my house and leave."
"No, I've come all the way up here to tell your dumb pussy chasing ass to leave Nancy McCoy the hell alone."
"I'm not with her." Abel lied, his eyes drifting down to look at the small table we were sitting at.
"I know you're lying so drop your innocent act. Just stop seeing her, there's a lot at stake."
"For who, you?" He asked before shaking his head and chuckling, "You're afraid somebody's going to find out that Silas isn't Tolbert's, but is really your bastard instead, aren't you? Oh, that's it, you don't want that getting around on the other side of the river."
"Don't you ever talk 'bout my son, you lying sack of shit." I growled, jumping up from my seat and jacking Abel up against the wall. My knuckles were turning white as I tightly held onto the front of his shirt. "You call off that shit with Nancy right now cause if anything and I mean anything happens to my son you're both dead."
"You don't scare me, Shaw." Abel shoved me off of him. I teetered backwards for a mere second before regaining my balance. "I was in the army, seen some bad shit that makes hell look like a cake walk."
"You better be afraid, cause the army hell cake walk is nothing compared to what wrath I'll unleash if somebody fucks with my son and his mother." I promised that one track minded liar before storming out of his shack. I'll do anything and I mean anything to keep Jessa and Silas safe (especially since they're living in the lions' den). If that means I have lie, steal, cheat, or kill then so be it, but I will protect them.
*End Of Memory/Flashback*
My trip down memory lane was broken whenever a loud scream from Olga followed by a baby's cry echoed out into the air from the house.
"Congratulations, proud papa." Commended my dad, who was sitting next to me, while clasping my shoulder with a grin.
I just nodded at him. Everything felt so surreal, so wrong. I should be outside of my porch waiting for Doc to tell me about a baby with Jessa, not Olga. I wasn't supposed to be with Olga, I was meant to be with Jessa. Well, I should be having my second-born with her, not my housekeeper.
"You don't sound too happy 'bout becomin' a pa." Cap told me, his mismatched eyes staring at me with a pointed, knowing look, as he leaned against one of the porch posts smoking.
"I'm happy, just waiting for Doc to come out's all." I smoothly lied, earning me a slight headshake from my one-eyed cousin.
"Ah hell, he don't know how to deal with having one kid t'raise and 'nother he just steals glances of." Uncle Jim loudly and bluntly spoke up from his spot on the steps. He patted his dog's head and spit a large wad of tobacco juice onto the ground while everyone just gave him cautious and incredulous looks.
Eh, so my son with Jessa and my feelings for her were still the white elephant in the room. Good to know.
The door creaked open, causing me to stand to my feet. "Shaw, you got a daughter." Doc told me, walking onto the porch and stopping right in front of me. "She's a bit small, so I left a nursing bottle on the table so you and Olga can supplement her with cow's milk; fatten her up."
"She'll be okay even tho she's small?" I asked, feeling concerned for my newborn daughter. I had made up my mind months ago that I didn't want her, but once Doc told me she was small and needed bottle fed I immediately felt the need to protect her, to make sure the she got fattened up and survived her infancy.
"As long as she gets fed with the nursin' bottle and gains extra weight, yes, she should be okay." Was the answer Doc gave me as he adjusted his wire glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"Shaw, you should go see them." Levicy told me as she walked out of the front door, interrupting the conversation I was having with Doc.
"I will once I'm done talking with Doc." I assured her, causing the Hatfield matriarch to just nod and walk over to her husband and in extension all of the men in the family to announce the news of my newborn daughter.
"One more thing before you go in." Doc said, letting a lull of silence hang in the air to signal that what he needed to say was important. I nodded my head as Allie and Vera walked out the door, giving me unreadable looks as they passed by me and the old doctor. "Some woman just aren't built to bear children and I'm afraid Olga's one of them. This birth, which was considered an easy one, took a toll on her. She's very weak and nearly had enough strength to birth the baby."
"You're advising me to pull out or become a monk." I stated since that's the impression I got from his lecture.
"If you want your daughter to grow up with a mother, then yes that's what you need to do." Doc told me with a slight nod before firmly telling me, "The next time I doubt she'll make it thru the birth.", and walking away from me.
Shit, now I need to be more careful in bed. Great…
I pushed open the bedroom door and walked right in only to see Olga (who looked like she was dragged thru the ringer) propped up against some pillows holding a tiny bundle in her arms. Upon hearing my boots shuffle across the floor, Olga's brunette head popped up and she beamed, "We've got a girl."
"I know, Doc told me." I simply told her, making my way over to her bedside.
"I want to name her Imogene Evangeline." Olga informed me as I sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed next to her.
"Olga, I thought I told you the other day I didn't like those names." I sighed, taking the baby from her arms. Doc was right, my daughter was a very small baby. She couldn't be more then 5 pounds if she was lucky. "I already told you, I like the name Lydia Margaret and want her named that." I reminded Olga of the girl name I'd given her to use when we had the name discussion a few days ago.
"But, Shaw, she's the only baby I'll ever have. Can't we name her Imogene Evangeline?" She asked, trying to plead her case for that cringe wothy name she liked, as I cuddle my daughter in my arms and watched her sleep. I could tell that she already had my nose and my hair color.
Looking up from my daughter only to cut my honey eyes at her mother, I firmly told her, "No, we're naming her Lydia Margaret." Before she could argue with me I told her the harsh truth of, "Imogene Evangeline sounds like an old cat lady's name."
"But we can call her Jenny for short." Goddamn, she just couldn't take no for an answer.
"I said no, Olga. Her name's Lydia Margaret and that's final." I sternly said before getting up. "Get some rest, I'll go make her a bottle." I told her before walking out of the room, leaving her to get some sleep since I knew she was exhausted.
Allie POV:
"I don't think Olga and Shaw's going to last." I told my husband, breaking the silence between us, as he drove our wagon towards his parents' house so we could pick up our son, who was being watched by Wall and his wife.
His head snapped and he gave me a raised brow look. "Why'd ya say that for, darlin'?"
"After Olga had birthed her baby Doc told her not to have anymore. It's too much of a strain on her body." I revealed in a heavy sigh, feeling very bad for what Olga was told, as our wagon rolled along the green grass and tree lined road.
"Oh…" My husband nodded before going on to ask, "So you think Shaw's going to find somebody else to be his bedmate?"
"Yea."
Cap snapped the reigns, making the horses pull the wagon faster, as he tried to give Shaw the benefit of the doubt with the remark of, "Maybe so or maybe he'll just be more careful."
"Or maybe he won't give a shit; risk her life." I bluntly blurted out, not even caring if I sounded rude of not.
"Was the birth that hard?"
"It wasn' hard in the sense the baby was small, but it was hard cause Olga got tired to fast. The birthing process drained her so bad she nearly passed out and was struggling to push in the end."
"So she's not made for bearing many chil'ren." Cap concluded as we got closer to the main house.
"No, she's not." I sadly said, feeling for Olga since I considered her to be a friend.
"Maybe he'll turn a new leaf since this is the only child he'll ever have."
"Cap do you really believe a word that's coming out of your mouth right now? Hell, we both know that Shaw's got a bit of an obsessive love for Jessa; won't stop fighting for her. I doubt he'll turn over a new leaf."
"Hey, he hasn't gone after Tolbert since the New Year's Eve fight so he must be changing a bit." My husband pointed out, causing me to just roll my sapphire blue eyes.
"I don't buy it, bit hopefully fatherhood with a kid he's with 24/7 will make him act more normal and level headed." After Shaw got Cap into a bar fight and arrested in Kentucky (the land crawling with McCoys and whackbags), along with his luke-warm treated of Olga, I didn't have much use for the jackass. Shaw might be kin and Sully's son, but he's not damn good. Hell, I even made Cap slow down his hanging out with him from twice a week to a couple times a month. Also, just cause Shaw didn't try to kill Tolbert a couple weeks back at the Easter service doesn't mean shit, hell he was oogling Jessa and Silas throughout the entire sermon (just like he did on Christmas Eve).
Jessa POV:
Shaw, true to his word, has been leaving Tolbert alone due to the visitation arrangement we have. Today I was bringing Silas to the livery office for his fourth visit with Shaw, something that I still felt a bit torn and guilty about. I felt guilty because I was lying to Tolbert, telling him that I was going to town to buy some beef scraps and bones in order to make a stew with. Sadly, he bought the lie since I had told him the reason I wanted to make a beef stew once a month was to show my love and appreciation for him since I felt bad that he'd been beaten so badly on New Year's Eve. Oh, if only my husband knew the truth about why I was going to Mate Creek for. Hell, he'd feel so betrayed. Sadly, I'm stuck in my pact with Shaw so that Tolbert stays safe.
When I stopped my wagon in front of S.E.'s Livery I pushed all the guilt-ridden feelings I had deep down within myself. I took a deep breath, pulled the brake, tightly held my son, and got down from the wagon. After my feet touch the ground, I quickly made my way up the sidewalk and over to the front door. I opened it, causing the bell to ring, and walked right in.
"Jessa, I'm glad you brought him today. I could use the distraction." Shaw told me with a slight smile, putting down his paperwork, as I walked over to him.
"A distraction for what?" I asked, wondering what's got his mind all twisted up, as I stopped by his side.
"Oh, I've got a lot on my mind." Shaw told me, swiftly taking my son from my arms. Settling him on his lap while I went to take a seat on the other side of the desk, he revealed, "My new baby came yesterday. It's a girl; I named her Lydia Margaret."
"Oh, well, congratulations." I smiled, trying not to sound or seem too fake, before honestly telling him, "You gave her a pretty name too." I did like the name, Lydia Margaret flowed nicely off the tongue.
Shaw was waggling his fingers at our son, making him giggle, while telling me, "Yea, her middle name's to honor my mom."
"I thought so." I nodded, watching Shaw stop teasing our son only to ruffle his full head of golden-brown hair.
"Doc told me that Olga can't have anymore kids." Shaw blurted out, taking me aback since I didn't think that was something he needed to share with me. It was a personal matter between him and his girlfriend.
I didn't know if he expected me to answer him or not, but as I sat across from him with his desk as the barrier between us, I softly told him, "I'm sorry to hear that." And I truly was considering I was given the news that my chances at having more children are a dice roll since I made the rash decision to cut Silas out instead of risking a stillbirth.
"Yea…guess I'm just gonna have the two kids. Silas and Lydia." Shaw told me, his voice a bit down and dejected. In a snap of a finger, he changed his demeanor and asked, "How's our son doin'? Did that tooth he was teethin' on come in yet?"
I was thankful for the change of subject. I'd rather spend my time during this vist talking about or son then his problems with his homelife. "He's doing good and yes, that tooth came in." I told Shaw before pointing to the baby boy in his lap and adding in, "Actually, he's got another that's popping in right now."
Shaw turned Silas slightly in his lap and smiled at him while cooing, "You're gettin' another tooth. Oh, now you're gonna have 3-teethers." Gently tickling our son, making him smile and laugh, Shaw beamed, "Oh, I see them milk teeth." Continuing to tickle Silas, he chuckled, "You, buddy, have a cute smile. Yes, you do, Silas." Turning his attention to me, the honey-eyed man asked, "He been moody and fussy with the teething?"
"Yea, but rubbing some apple cider vinegar on his gums and letting him gnaw on hard crackers seems to calm him down."
"That's good." Shaw nodded, bouncing our son on his knee. His facial features got soft as he told me, "You're a good mom, Jessa."
"Thank you." I told him, holding back tears. I never expected to ever hear him utter those words. Tolbert, yes, but not Shaw. Taking a few minutes to compose myself, I told my baby's daddy, "I need to get going soon. I have to bring home beef scraps for a stew."
"I know, honey, you gotta use that as your cover." Shaw sighed, sounding down that I had to leave soon. Hell, he was probably just bummed that his visit with Silas was coming to an end.
AN:
Hope you guys liked this chapter. It was a filler, but the stuff had to be mentioned so… Sorry, no Tolbert this chapter, but he'll be in the next one. Anyways, next chapter we have a small time jump to summer. Oh, how do you guys think Shaw's going to react to seeing Tolbert playing poppy to Silas at the 4th of July festival? Will Shaw stay true to his word or will he flip his shit and beat Tolbert's ass? Also a certain McCoy is going to catch a certain Hatfield's eye even tho he doesn't make a move yet.