Becki's surgery went as planned. Her recovery took about five weeks and during that time, she stayed with Nathan and Elizabeth as planned.
Now, she was sitting in a room at the hospital, hooked up to an IV which was dripping poison into her veins. Yes, she was aware that's what chemo was, and it still made her uneasy.
As a gift, Beth and Evie had given her a Kindle so she would have a never ending supply of reading material.
Right now though, she didn't want to read. She put her kindle down and looked over at Beth.
"I'm glad you're here, Beth."
"Me too."
"How is Allie doing with Topher? More importantly, how is Nate doing knowing Allie likes Topher?"
Beth chuckled. "He's every bit a protective father. He is afraid his little Al is growing up way too fast."
"Kids tend to do that for sure. It was like I blinked and Cammie was three. I don't even know how it happened."
They chatted about so many things over the next two hours. Once the nurses checked her out, they left and Beth took her home to the rental house near the hospital.
Becki insisted she was fine and to go home so Beth promised to video call her around Cam's bedtime so she could talk to him and then started driving.
That night after Evie helped Beth read books to the younger ones, she got an idea. "Eve?"
"Yeah."
"Would you listen for Cam if Uncle Nathan and I went grocery shopping?"
"Sure. I'll put the monitor by my bed."
"Thank you."
Beth found her hubby in the living room by the fire, reading. "Hon?"
He looked up at her and smiled, taking his reading glasses off. "Hi."
"Hey. Would you like to go to the grocery store with me?"
"What about the kids?"
"Evie will listen for Cam."
"Sure. I'll go with you." He stood and pulled her close. "It'll be like a date."
"That's what I was thinking too."
"Its been awhile." He hadn't been feeling well for so long...he felt like they'd missed out on some of the key elements of being newlyweds. Since his surgery anyway.
"It has." His last appointment with Dr. Yost went well and his headaches had all but disappeared. "I'm not sure we should be intimate just yet though."
"Why not?" he asked, kissing her neck below her ear, making her shiver. "How are we going to have a baby unless…"
"Babe, what if it's too soon after your surgery?"
"I cleared it with Yost."
She looked up into his blue eyes. "You did?" There was a fire there, one she had missed seeing for a while.
"Yep. Its been six weeks and I'm doing alot better. No headaches, dizzy spells or nausea."
"It just makes me nervous."
"Let me tell you what I was thinking. How does a glass of wine and some dessert sound?"
"What would this dessert be? I think we have ice cream."
"Strawberries dipped in chocolate? Maybe by the fire in our room."
Her eyes lit up. She loved sitting on the loveseat by their fireplace. "Let's go, Doc. Sooner we go, sooner we get to that dessert."
Her mind was absolutely on that part of the evening the entire shopping trip.
"Beth?"
"Hm?" she asked, putting more items into the cart.
"Babe, stop. We don't need five bags of flour."
"Huh?"
He laughed and took her hand. "Distracted?" She looked down in the cart and turned red. "What's going on?"
She just shook her head and buried her face in his chest. "I'm just...I wish we were home."
He looked past her and then behind him and then covered her mouth with his, wrapping her up in his arms. "I...we could just go," he whispered.
"No. Then I'd have to come back...and I'm not sure when I'll have time with classes and everything." She kissed him again, patted his rear and smiled. "Lets just do this. I can control myself." She pushed the cart a few more feet. "Oh and by the way, that didn't help at all."
Over the next few weeks, it was much of the same. Beth sat with Becki through her chemo, went to her classes a few days a week and spent the rest of her time with the family.
One day in mid- December, Nathan got a phone call with news that he couldn't wait to share.
At dinner, while they all ate homemade mac and cheese and broccoli, he tapped his glass with his fork to get everyone's attention.
Cam thought it was funny and giggled. Everyone else stopped and looked at him.
"Hey, guys. I have news."
"What, Daddy?" JJ asked, his mouth full of noodles.
"Back in October, I talked to my lawyer about adopting Al and Julian. I filled out some paperwork and left it with him. He called me today."
Everyone had stopped moving, talking and even chewing.
"Dad! What did he say?!" Al asked, plenty of teenage drama in her voice.
"He said everything is all set. Al, January 2nd, you will officially be my daughter and Julian, January 18th, you will officially be my son."
"Our daughter and our son, love," Beth gently corrected.
"Why did it take so long?" Julian asked him.
"Well, he had to make sure that your birth father had given up his rights."
"I could have told you that. He left us. He didn't want any of us." Julian pushed his plate away. "May I be excused?"
"Sure," Nathan told him.
Al burst into tears and hugged Nathan. "Al? Are those happy tears?"
"Yes. I'm so happy. Love you, Dad." Then she turned and hugged Beth. "I love you, Aunt B...Mom."
"We love you too, honey," Beth told her, holding her tight.
"Am I 'dopted too?" JJ asked. "I call you Daddy already."
"Do you want to be a Grant?" Nathan asked, picking him up and setting him on his lap. "JJ Grant instead of JJ Thornton?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, sweetie," Beth told him. "I bet we can just change his name," she told Nathan.
"I'll talk to Parker," he said with a nod.
Julian came out of his room around 8pm. He found Nathan in the office, doing something on the computer.
"Dad?"
Nathan looked up from the computer and held his hand out. "Come here, bud."
Julian stood next to Nathan and wiped his eyes. "I don't understand," he cried.
"What don't you understand?"
"Why didn't he love us? Aren't dads supposed to love their kids?"
"Maybe he simply didn't know how."
"But...you love us."
"Of course I do. Very much."
"You're not going to leave like he did, are you?" he asked, wiping his tears again.
Nathan moved so Julian was standing right in front of him. "I will never, never choose to leave you. I promise."
Julian nodded and accepted Nathan's hug. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, son."
"Dada!" Cam said, running in the room.
"Hi, Cam! Where are your jammies?"
"My room," he said with a shrug.
"Well, why don't you go pick out which ones you want to wear?"
"I wear Paw Patrol!" he told him positively. "I sleep with boys tonight?"
"With Julian and JJ?"
"Yep."
"What do you think, Julian?"
"Sure. But he's sleeping with JJ."
After video chatting with his mom and going through his entire routine, Cam climbed up into JJ's bed with him to sleep. "Night, Dada," he said, putting his thumb in his mouth.
"Night, Cam. I love you." Nathan kissed his forehead.
Nathan then kissed JJ. "I love you, JJ."
"Love you, Daddy."
Nathan gave Julian a hug. "I love you."
"Love you too, Dad."
Nathan leaned against the wall outside the boy's room and fought his tears. There was so much love in his heart for those boys. How could his heart not explode?
"Night, Dad," Allie said, hugging him as she walked by.
"Night, Al."
"Night, Uncle Nathan," Kendra and Evie said in unison.
"Night girls. Love you."
"Love you too," they told him.
"Night John-Boy," Beth teased from the master room doorway.
"Funny! I want them to know, Beth. They've been through so much. Every one of them. I need them to know they have us and always will."
She took his hand and pulled him into their room. "You're a wonderful man, sweetheart."
"Thank you and guess what?"
"What?"
"I love you."
At school the next day
Allie blushed when she saw Topher Flynn walking towards her. He did funny things to her stomach. Like now, it was flipping and fluttering and making her slightly nauseated.
"Hey, Al," he said, reaching for her hand. She let him and she always had.
"Hey, Topher. How was P.E.?"
"Good. Coach had us running sprints outside. At least its not snowing yet."
"Yeah."
"Hey, do you want to go to a movie with me?"
"Yes. But, I'm not sure my dad will let me unless we go with a group."
"We could find a group easy enough." He flagged down one of his soccer buddies. "Dude, wanna go see that Star Wars movie tonight? Maybe bring Hayley?"
"Sure. I can see if we can get a ride."
Topher turned back to Allie and grinned. "See? Easy. So can I pick you up at 6? The movie is at 6:30."
Evie walked up then. Apparently her ride was there.
"Only if Evie can come too," Allie told him, slipping her arm through Evie's.
"Go where?"
"The movies. With Topher and a few other people."
"I don't know if Uncle Nathan will be okay with this."
"He will if you go too and you help me convince him. Please, Eve?" Allie kissed Topher's cheek boldly. "I'll call you after we ask." Then she and Evie walked away.
"I can't believe you kissed his cheek," Evie whispered as they left the school.
"Not a big deal."
"Not sure Uncle Nathan would agree but I suppose its not."
"Will you help me? Please. I'd help you."
Evelyn knew she would. They were best friends and confusingly, essentially sisters. "I'll try."
"Thank you! Now, what should I wear?"
"Can I tell you something? Sister to sister?" Evie asked her quietly.
"Anything."
"I think you should get a bra." Allie looked down. To her she looked the same as always.
"How?"
"Aunt Beth will take us. Just you, me and her."
"Do you think we could go now? And maybe she would get me a new skirt too?"
"Let's ask."
Allie climbed in the rear of the Tahoe. "Mom? I need a bra. Can we go get one?"
"Well, hello to you too, Allie," she chuckled. "Yes, we can go. But we have to drop Julian and JJ off at home first."
"And a new skirt?"
Beth looked at Allie, cheeks flushed. "What's got you all flushed, Al? Topher?"
"Sort of. Do you think Dad will let me go to a movie with him if Evie comes?"
"How does Evie feel about it?"
"She said she would."
Evie nodded. "I'll go. Maybe I can bring someone too."
"Oooo like…."
"Shhh," she said, cutting Allie off.
"Sorry. Yes, ask him," she whispered.
"Evie?" Beth asked. This was the first she'd heard about Evie liking someone.
"He doesn't even know I exist."
"How is that possible? You're gorgeous, sweetheart, and so smart."
"He's a year older," she said with a shrug.
After taking the boys home and checking with Nathan, Beth took the older girls to the mall. "I talked to Nathan," she told them. "He isn't crazy with his "little Al" going on a date but since Evie is going, he said okay."
"Awesome!" Allie said with a little squeal. "This is gonna be great!"