So the sad news is there is only one more chapter and an epilogue left in this story. The good news is my next story Love and Basketball will be dropping next week!
Enjoy this chapter! Love ya'll!
Two weeks after Tris and Christina's baby shower, Zeke is sitting at his desk working on a report of his last arrest when he gets a call on his desk phone.
"Pedrad" He answers with a sigh. He needed to get this paperwork finished and it had been one thing after another every time he sat down at his desk. It was 12:00 am on a Friday night and he had made an arrest earlier in the night. He wanted to go home and crawl in bed but he knew if he didn't finish this paperwork now, he would get behind. He rubs his eyes. He was tired and he just wanted to go home and crawl in bed next to Shauna and sleep the next day away.
"Yeah, Where? Ah, Yeah I'll be there in 10, I think the distro on that territory is connected to the case I've been working '' Zeke hangs up and sighs, clicking save on his report.
It would have to wait until later, he had been working a case the past few months trying to nail off the distributors of a cartel in Chicago. This particular suspect had been running drugs and money through a nightclub. Another guy in Zeke's unit had responded to a tip that the guy Zeke was looking for might be doing some type of deal at the nightclub that night.
When Zeke gets there he furrows his eyebrows seeing that the club patrons are all spilling out onto the sidewalk. A CSI unit was putting up the tape to mark off the entry indicating that there must have been homicide at the nightclub. Zeke nods to some of the plain clothes officers he knows that worked homicide. Some of the people in custody had to cross over into the narcotics bust Zeke was working on.
"So much for catching this deal go down in person," he says out loud to himself.
Zeke pulls up and flashes his badge ducking under the police tape at the entrance of the club. The paramedics are rolling a body onto a gurney and Zeke feels his stomach drop as they hoist up the body into the Cook County Coroner's van. No matter how many years he spent on this job that sight never got any easier. The sounds of ambulance sirens pierce through the air as the flashing red lights shine over the darkness of the street. It's a madhouse as some officers are trying to contain the crowd behind the blockades that have been put in place while others are taking statements. Zeke takes in the club that now has the lights on. The bar looks as though someone started shooting as there are broken liquor bottles shattered all along the floor where what appeared to be a glass shelf. Zeke takes in two dead bodies on the floor that look like they were caught in the crossfire of whoever was shooting. The CSI team was taking pictures. Zeke's attention is pulled to where the paramedics are rushing to a body on the floor of one of the VIP lounges.
"Hey, Rodriguez what happened?" Zeke calls out to one of the guys in the drugs crime unit he worked with.
"Apparently there was an altercation between the distro and one of his sellers who was short on their payment. He decided to make an example of her tonight. The distro forced her boyfriend to do coke at gunpoint until he passed out while his girlfriend watched. Then the shooting started. Lots of folks got caught in the crossfire."
"Shit, wild night," Zeke says as he shakes his head. "Who are they working on, the one who was snorting up the product?"
Rodriguez nods in response as Zeke starts to walk toward the lounge. "Vega's over there, he said there was a witness who saw the whole thing"
There were several bodies still on the ground. This had gotten ugly. As Zeke gets closer he sees the paramedics turn the body to the side as the person starts to heave and cough after a few minutes of working on him. Zeke's entire body goes numb as he catches a closer look at the person on the ground. He runs over not feeling as though he knew what he was doing only that he couldn't lose it right now.
Fuck Caleb.
"You know this guy?"
"Yeah's my cousin, what the hell happened"
"He's lucky to still be alive, we received him with the Narcan but we gotta get him to the hospital. He was shot in the side too, looks like the bullet is still inside him too. There's no guarantee he will pull through, he's lost a good bit of blood, could have hit a kidney or maybe his liver."
"Fuck" Zeke nods and confirms wiping his face with his hands forcing himself to focus as well as he could. They are taking him to Chicago Memorial hospital. He needed to go with him. He couldn't leave him alone.
"Vega" Zeke calls out to another narcotics task force member lifting up a sheet over a dead body.
"What happened to this one? I need to get to the hospital behind the Bus, that vic was my cousin"
"Shit, Pedrad, I had no idea. There was a deal that went bad, one of the cocktail waitresses was hiding in the employee lounge, she's still shaken up but she told us everything that went down. Looks like your cousin got caught up with someone who owed a lot of people money for her habit, she started mouthing off and the distro made her and her companion shoot up right here. The supplier was pissed because he wanted his money, not a body, and a shootout ensued"
"Fuck" Zeke says whipping his face.
"You wouldn't by chance know this chick he was with?"
Vega bends down and lifts the sheet and as Zeke had felt there was Cara.
"Her name was Cara, that was his girl, came here from New York. Shit Vega, I think I know how all of this is connected but I need to see about Caleb"
Vega nods "Get out of here Pedrad, Check-in later after you see about your family"
"Thanks, Man"
Zeke runs out of the club and heads to his unmarked CPD vehicle, turning on the lights and sirens as he sped to the hospital.
"Zeke you sound like hell," Tobias says as he answers Zeke's phone call. It was 6:15 am and Tobias was up taking Pharaoh out for his morning walk.
"Yeah, I just pulled an all-nighter. Are you near Tris, can she hear you?"
"Nooooo, I'm actually out walking the dog"
"T. I need you to make sure Tris stays calm, I do not want to harm the baby. I'm telling you first because I'm going to need you to help out" Zeke says slowly.
"You've got me worried Bro, what is going on"
"I got called in on a case and I found Caleb, he overdosed…"
"Fuck...is he…" Zeke and Tobias had a conversation just the week before about the worst-case scenario if Caleb didn't come around. They didn't want to upset the rest of the family but Zeke was being realistic.
"No, he's in the hospital. The EMTs had to revive him at the scene and sent him off in an ambulance, he had been shot too but that's not all of it"
"Oh God" Tobias braced himself. This was already bad how could it be any worse.
"Cara was with him, she was shot too. She's dead"
"Shit" Tobias stood there holding Pharaoh's leash and his phone, not sure how he was going to break this to his wife. Tris was eight months pregnant, she could go into labor if she was too shocked.
"Look, the docs are coming out to talk to me. I gotta go. T. I need you to get to help out, I can't leave Caleb. The girls and Ma are going to flip. Uncle Andrew is going to need to get here. Uriah's at the Fire station. There was a building on fire I think that he called out on."
"I got it, Can you have Shauna go to Christina? I'll have Lene and Will come sit with Tris until we know more. Text me, I need to get home and get to Tris. Call me as soon as you can"
Zeke rushes of the phone and Tobias calls Marlene who sleepily answers the phone.
"T. why are you calling me at 6 in the morning? I have to pull a double tonight"
"Lene this is important, Tris's brother was shot and overdosed, I need you here with Tris while I help deal with the fallout. Call Dad if you have to but I want someone with medical training with Tris in case this sends her into labor and I can't be in multiple places at once"
"I understand, What about Christina? Will wake up, we need to get dressed"
"I haven't gotten that far yet, Uriah's at the fire station but Zeke was going to send Shauna to her. I need to get to Hana too."
Marlene promises to be there in 15 minutes.
Tris rolls over and reaches for Tobias but sighs when she doesn't feel him. Her belly was so big it was becoming difficult for her to get comfortable at night in bed. She was excited to meet her son but she over being pregnant. With only 4 weeks left she was having a hard time bending over. She had been cleaning and organizing all of the baby's things the past two weeks with Tobias fussing for her to take it easy. Uriah and Hana both assured Tobias that Tris was fine, and nesting was part of the process especially since Christina had been doing the same thing. Tris had been getting her blood pressure checked every day with Marlene or Marcus stopping by to check in with her to note any elevation. Dr. Matthews and Dr. Johnson were both feeling good about her heart but with the added stress and her slightly elevated numbers, everyone wanted to be overly cautious. Tris grounded as she rolled over, her lower back had been killing her since the night before. She figures he still must be taking Pharaoh for a walk when she looks at the clock seeing its 6:30.
When she hears the door open and more than one voice downstairs she wonders who is in their house. She grunts as she tries to scoot up to lean against the headboard as Tobias comes into the bedroom.
"Hey, who's downstairs?" Tris asks, looking at Tobias trying to figure out what was happening.
"Lene and Will are here. Tris, I need you to stay as calm as possible with what I'm about to tell you" Tobias says sitting on the bed.
"Okay….You're freaking me out"
"I know I'm sorry" Tobias takes a deep breath and takes her hand. "Zeke called this morning, Caleb's in the hospital, he overdosed and was shot last night"
"What! Oh my God, Oh my God, my dream…" Tris gets out. Tobias can see her chest rising rapidly as her breathing becomes shallow.
"Breathe, Tris, Please"
'I'm..I'm trying" Tris couldn't focus her thoughts. Was Caleb going to die? Why was this happening? Hadn't her family been through enough already?
Pharaoh can sense Tris is upset when he noses into the door. Normally Tris and Tobias don't allow him on the bed but he leaps onto the bed and settles next to Tris whimpering.
"I need to go tell your father and uncles so they can get to the hospital, Caleb's in the middle of surgery. They are doing everything they can to save him right now."
"Okay," Tris says quietly as the tears start to fall.
"Lene and Will are going to stay with you, okay. Can you stay with them until I get back, Uriah's at the fire station and I need to make sure Chris doesn't go into labor either"
"Go, Daddy needs to know" Tris felt her anxiety rising at Tobias leaving her right now but she didn't want her father to hear this over the phone.
"I love you," Tobias says softly while giving her a quick kiss and sensing the hesitation in her voice. "Be Brave, we will get through this"
"I love you too" She nods as she speaks and rubs Pharaoh's head as she takes a deep breath.
Tobias heads downstairs. He looks down at his Adidas sweatpants and his fraternity shirt he had thrown on the walk Pharoah. It was going to have to work right now.
A minute later Marlene pops her head in the door to check on Tris.
"Hey, do you want to stay in bed or come downstairs?"
"I think I need to go to the bathroom first, but maybe I should come downstairs" Tris was feeling anxious still and she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts.
"Okay, let's take it slow" Marlene suggests. "Will is going to make breakfast"
After a shower to calm her nerves Tris moves downstairs with Marlene and Will.
Tobias knocks on the side door and rings the doorbell to Andrew's apartment above the restaurant. He knew Andrew was an early riser, usually up drinking coffee while reading the newspaper before he started his day.
"Tobias, is Tris okay? What's going on?"
"Tris is fine right now, can I come inside?"
"Yes, son, come on in"
Tobias makes sure Andrew sits down as he relays all the information that Zeke told him. Andrew's normally rich umber skin goes pale as he processes what has happened to Caleb and Cara. He picks up the phone to call Max and then Harrison. Harrison would take care of Hana but with Uriah fighting a fire and Tris and Christina pregnant, Andrew was already overwhelmed with the news his son was fighting for his life.
Just then Tobias feels his phone vibrate. He looks at it to see Zeke calling. He knows it's an update on Caleb. He was a bit nervous to answer, fearing the worst was happening. When he picks up he sighs with relief as Zeke rattles off what was happening. The doctors were trying to repair his intestine from the bullet wound. The bullet had shattered and the fragments and the surgeons were trying to remove them. Zeke had been on the phone with other officers trying to track down how shot Caleb along with piecing together the crime scene from pictures while he was at the hospital. Tobias wishes Caleb had been taken to Northwestern so Marcus could have gotten involved but since he was at Chicago General all they could do was wait.
"Have you had a chance to get to Uncle Andrew?"
"Yeah, I'm with him now"
Tobias hands Andrew his phone. Tobias can see the worry etched on his face as he listens to his nephew. After so much heartache and loss in their blended family, Tobias can only imagine what they all are feeling. After listening to Zeke for a few minutes Andrew hands Tobias back his phone.
"They are still working on him since the bullet hit his intestine, it's been a tricky surgery, but it could be a few more hours"
"You head to the hospital, I need to check on Shauna and Christina, I'm worried all this might cause Tris or Christina to go into labor"
"Yes, I'll need to handle the deliveries for today and tell Edward we are closing and I need to... " Andrew rattles on nervously as he looks around the empty restaurant.
"Go, I can handle it, I promise," Tobias says sincerely, seeing Andrew's hands shaking.
"Thank you, Tobias, I…" Andrew starts as he looks at his son-in-law.
"We are family now, this is what you do for family" Tobias replies.
Andrew nods and gives Tobias a firm handshake and pulls him into a hug. Andrew points to a few things for Tobias to take care of and hands him the keys to lock up the place before he runs upstairs to put on clothes and rush to the hospital.
It takes Tobias just over an hour to secure all the things. Andrew let him know that Hana, Harrison, and Max were heading to the hospital as well. He calls Amar and tells him what is going on and that he wasn't going to be in the office that day. He made sure to place a sign on the door that the restaurant was closed until further notice and left his number to call if there were questions about deliveries. He had to take things one step at a time to stay focused. Next, he heads to Chris and Uriah's house where Shauna is.
Tobias knocks on the door and is surprised to see Rose open the door. Rose is shaking. She's so upset while Shauna has Jalen and Justin playing video games in their room to keep them from knowing too much of what was going on. They've been saying Uncle Caleb has been sick for the past month with the boys asking where he has been.
"Tobias, We need to get Chris to the hospital, She saw on the news that Uriah's precinct was battling that big fire and then Shauna got here and told us about Caleb and Cara and she started freaking out, and then she started having contractions," Rose relays frantically as Tobias walks through the door.
"Fuck, Okay how far apart are the contractions?" Tobias asks, taking a deep breath. This is what he had been afraid of. He was worried about Tris but he needed to focus on helping Christina. At least Tris was with Marlene and Will.
"About 12 minutes but this my 4th kid, it's not going to take long but at least my water hasn't broke," Christina says before she takes a deep breath from her nose as another contraction hits her.
"Oh my God," Christina's eyes go wide and she looks from Rose to Tobias and then down at the sofa which was now soaked with liquid. "My water just broke"
"What! This cannot be happening right now" Rose cries out, she was already in tears and her heart pounding.
"Okay Rose, get some towels"
Tobias pulls out his phone and calls Marlene while hollering for Shauna to come downstairs and moves to help Christina get on the floor.
"Why are you yelling," Marlene asks as she picks up.
"Chris is in labor, I need you to get here, her water broke, what do we do, she says the baby is coming like right now, I don't think we can get her to a hospital quick enough"
"No you would risk having her deliver in the car, I'll be there in 15, call an ambulance right now" At first Tobias thought it was overwhelming that all of Tris's family was so close to where they lived. He and Tris weren't much further away but now he was thankful for the close proximity of everyone at this very moment.
Shauna runs down the stairs with Jada on her hip as Christina lets out a scream with the boys chattering behind her.
"Back upstairs right now" Shauna instructs the boys.
"What's happening Auntie Shauna?" Justin asks trying to look around the edge of the stairs
"Your mom is having the baby"
"Cool! Can we watch? I want to tell everyone at school about this" Jalen asks excitedly, bouncing on the stairs trying to maneuver past Shauna.
"No!" Shauna, Tobias, Rose, and Christina all shout at the same time. The boys trudge back up the stairs complaining about never getting to see the cool stuff as Jada starts to cry.
"You handle the kids Shauna, Rose, and I can hold this down until Lene gets here" Tobias instructs as he goes to call 911.
"Somebody call Uriah and tell him to get his ass here now!" Christina yells out as another contraction hits her and she leans back against the couch and clutches her stomach.
"He's battling a fire Chris," Tobias says as he talks to the 911 operator.
"I don't care, he put this kid in me he better get his ass here now! " she whines as she tries to breathe.
She had never done this without an epidural and the pain was killing her. Rose helped her reposition on the floor. But she was scared, Uriah had been there through all of their kids' births and she was terrified something would go wrong. Rose ran upstairs to get some pillows and blankets while Tobias held Christina's hand while explaining the situation to the 911 operator.
"Rose I need you to look and see if you can see the baby's head" Tobias relays from the phone when she comes downstairs.
"Uh, yeah I can see it," Rose says as she lifts up Christina's nightdress. "Breathe Chris,"
"Ahhhhhhh" Christina screams out and Tobias feels as though he's going to have a broken hand as he winces from the death grip she had on him.
Just then the door flies open with Marlene running in, still in her sweatpants and pajama top she and worn when Tobias woke her up to head to his place.
"Oh Thank God" Rose breathes out when she sees Marlene coming through the door. She had no idea how she and Tobias were going to deliver a baby.
"Yes, my sister is an ER Doc she just walked through the door" Tobias relays and passes the phone to Marlene who puts it up to her ear and goes into the kitchen to wash her hands.
"Yeah I got it, send them when you can, will do" Marlene relays as she motions for Tobias to take his phone.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"There's a pile-up on the interstate traffic is stuck and they are dealing injuries there and the fire at the factory. They will get an ambulance here as soon as they can so it's just us. Don't worry Chris, I've had to deliver babies in the ER before, we can do this"
Christina nods, feeling more comfortable now that Marlene was there. Marlene doles out instructions to Rose and Tobias. Marlene looks down at her smartwatch noticing how close Tris and her contractions are after they get her settled and towels in place. She was glad she got here when she did. This baby was coming fast. It wasn't going to take long.
"Come on Chris, push for me"
Christina has Rose and Tobias holding both her hands and helping her sit up as she pushed.
"I can see the head, you are doing so good Chris, can you give me another one"
"I can't do this, I need Uriah," Christina whimpers she was in so much pain and already tired.
"I know, he'd be here if he could but you got me and Rose. You can do this" Tobias reassures her.
"Yes, Sis, you can do this! I want to meet this new niece or nephew of mine" Rose says, wiping Christina's forehead with one of the washcloths she had brought down.
Christina gives another push and cries as she does while squeezing Tobias and Rose's hands.
"That's it, one more Chris, just one more push" Marlene instructs.
Christina musters up every ounce of strength that she has left and gives one final push just as Marlene asks and there in all his glory is her and Uriah's newest son wailing his lungs away.
"There we go, There we go" Marlene coos to the new baby as she cleans him up and wraps him in a blanket.
"It's a boy" she smiles as she passes him to Christina who was sweaty and worn out but smiling.
Tobias smiles and falls over-breathing a sigh of relief as Marlene sits back on her heels for a minute wiping her forehead with her upper arm as best she could.
"How was Tris when you left?" Tobias asks as he keeps his eyes on Christina and the baby.
"Anxious and worrying, I really hope I don't have to deliver two babies today T." Marlene replies honestly. "I called Daddy on my way over here and he said he was going over to your place."
Tobias blows out a breath. All the adrenaline from the last few hours was waning, it was only around 9 am and he was already exhausted. If Tris went into labor it would only make this day crazier and he hadn't heard an update on how Caleb was doing. After a few minutes of Rose and Christina fawning over the baby and making sure he had all his fingers and toes, Marlene asks Tobias to take the baby so she can deliver the placenta.
Tobias takes the baby in his arms and stands up and walks holding him gently in his arms. He could see his skin tone was a golden brown already and he had a head full of dark curly hair. Tobias was amazed at how small he was, his little arms and legs moving as he yawned. He and Tris had participated in birthing classes at the hospital and done tours of the birthing wing to get ready. He had learned how to put a diaper on a baby doll and other things in the parenting classes but he could tell from being around the Pedrad kids there was always going to be something he wasn't ready for. He was ready to meet his son, hold him like this, watch Tris nurse him but he wasn't ready to meet him today.
Do you think the family will welcome two babies in the same day? Do you think Caleb will pull through? Let me know how you are feeling?
