Here we are! Thank you so much for hanging in there with this story! I had so much fun with this one, it was much more challenging than I anticipated crafting it from the movie but I loved the way this turned out. I can't tell you how much all the reviews, follow and favorites mean.
Thanks to everyone who asked for a Hana and Evelyn showdown! Your wish is my command!
Once Marlene has Christina taken care of, Tobias helps her up so Rose and Marlene can help her clean up.
"Shauna you can bring the kids down now" Rose calls up once they have her descent and the sheets and towels in the washer.
"Have you and Uriah picked out any names?" Shauna asks as the boy crowd around Christina as he introduces them.
"Well we have a few front runners, but nothing firm."
"Meet your new baby brother," she says softly.
"Wow, he's so little, was I this little?" Justin asks wide-eyed.
"Yes, you were," Christina says, stroking Justin's head with her free hand.
"I think we should name him LeBron," Jalen suggests as he inspects his new brother, deciding he should be named after his favorite basketball player.
"That would be a no," Christina laughs out as Tobias, Marlene, Rose, and Shauna all laugh. Shauna has to hold onto Jada so she doesn't grab the new baby. Christina can already see she's not going to give up the spotlight easily.
Marlene breathes a sigh of relief when they hear sirens. Christina seemed fine, but she still needed her and the baby to get checked out, there were so many things that could go wrong.
"That must be the ambulance. Finally" Marlene reasons.
Christina asks Tobias to take the baby while Shauna takes the kids back upstairs and Marlene and Rose help Christina gather her things for the hospital. If everything was fine she would be home in two days just like she was with Jada.
Tobias feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and he hands the baby to Rose.
"Shit" he curses as he fumbles to answer it. It was his father calling. There had to be something wrong with Tris. This day was shaping up to be one of the most nerve-wracking of his entire life.
"Dad, is everything okay?"
"It looks like Tris is in labor and has been for quite a few hours after her telling me how she has been feeling. We need to get her to the hospital"
"Okay, Okay, I'm on my way" Tobias hangs up quickly. He takes a second to close his eyes and breathe deep. He had to stay calm and focused.
"What's wrong?" Rose asks as she walks over to hand her new nephew back to Christina.
"Tris is in labor"
"For crying out loud" Rose sighs. This day could not possibly get any crazier.
"We thought this was going to happen, it's okay, it will take a while hopefully since this is her first birth." Marlene nods but prepares herself for the worst-case scenario.
The paramedics come in and take Christina and the baby with Rose to the hospital while Shauna stays with the kids. Tobias and Marlene head back to his house. They both need a shower but Tobias isn't sure when that will happen now.
When Tobias walks in the door he rushes straight to the couch where Tris is lying with a washcloth on her head and her hand on her belly grunting in pain. He walks over and gets on his knees and takes Tris's hand.
"Hey Baby, I'm here now, I'm going to be right here." he soothes. Hana had braided her hair just last week because she had been too tired to keep it up. Tobias runs his hand along her hairline to help relax her.
"I'm never doing this again" she whines as she feels a contraction roll over her and Tobias chuckles as she squeezes his hand tightly. "What the hell is wrong with Chris doing this four times!"
Tobias coaches her through breathing through the pain just like they practiced in birthing class as best he can while Marcus gets her some ice chips and a cool washcloth.
"Is Chris okay?" Tris asks after the contraction subsides and she's able to breathe normally again.
"Yes, you have a new nephew," Marlene tells her with a smile as she comes over after washing her hands thoroughly in the downstairs bathroom to take a look.
"How far apart are the contractions?" Tobias asks Will, who was standing looking at his watch as if he was timing them as Marlene does a quick exam. Since Marcus was a surgeon he had never delivered a baby but he had known enough to keep Tris comfortable.
"About 15 minutes" Will responds.
"I think she is only about 4 centimeters dilated. We've got time to get to the hospital" Marlene reasons.
"Do I have time to take a shower?" Tobias asks, looking down at his clothes. There was blood over the front of his pants from Christina's delivery.
"Yeah, be quick though, we should get going" Marcus instructs.
"Be right back Baby, just hold on" Tobias promises as he kisses Tris's forehead.
She nods as she breathes deep. She kept willing her body to relax but it wasn't working. As soon as Marlene left to go to see about Christina, Tris couldn't relax. Marcus and Will had done a great job of making sure she relaxed but when she kept complaining of a backache, and then contractions started, Marcus had a good feeling she was in labor.
Tobias emerges downstairs 15 minutes later after the fastest shower known to man and grabbing Tris's hospital bag. Thankfully she had packed it a few days before with her nesting even though Tobias told her she had time.
Marlene and Will stay behind so Marlene can lock up and Will can take the dog out before going home to shower and change to meet them at the hospital. Marlene called the hospital to see if someone could step in for her for the first part of her shift. There was no way she could make it with the craziness going on.
When Marcus pulls up to the front of the hospital to get Tris into the ER a fire truck comes whizzing around the corner with the lights and sirens on. It comes to a stop on the street and Uriah jumps off the truck and runs to the front entrance. He had gotten a call over the radio after Shauna called the fire station to have him check-in with her. He was filthy and tired after the night he had but he was about to hop a cab to get to Chris when his captain redirected
"T. what are you doing here?" He asks and then his eyes go wide when he sees a nurse helping Tris into a wheelchair.
"Looks like I'm going to be a Daddy today too" Tobias smiles.
" Good Lord, This is turning into a crazy day! Thanks, Man, Shauna told me how you helped out Chris today"
"That's what family is for," Tobias smiles.
"Look, Did Shauna fill you in on everything? I know she has the kids so she couldn't say much"
Uriah looks at him with a confused look and Tobias knows right then that he doesn't know about Caleb and Cara. He takes a few minutes to fill him in. It had been hours since he talked to Zeke but with Christina and Tris, he hadn't had time to think about it.
"Fuck, no wonder Chris and Tris went into labor" Uriah sigh pinching his nose between his fingers.
"I have no idea what floor they are on or anything, it's been a hell of a morning"
"No Doubt, go take care of Tris, Focus on her. I need to see about my wife and kid and then I'll figure out what's going on"
"Bet," Tobias says as he shakes hands with Uriah before jogging into the ER to find out what was happening with his wife.
Thankfully Tris wasn't going to deliver immediately so they had time to get her to the labor and delivery floor. The nurses were nice enough to give Tris and Christina rooms next to each other when Rose explained the situation to them. Once Tris gets her epidural she's much more comfortable and the contractions are easier to handle.
Rose was able to go between both rooms to check in on Christina and Tris before going upstairs to see about Caleb. Uriah washed up so he could hold his son. He was filthy from fighting the warehouse fire half the night. The nursing staff gave him some scrubs the residents kept in case they needed to change clothes. Christina's room had a shower so he was able to get clean from the fire. Once Christina falls asleep he walks the new baby over to meet his cousin while Christina gets some much-needed rest.
"Auntie Tris, I'd like for you to meet your new nephew Jeremy Maxwell Pedrad" Uriah smiles as he walks over with the baby.
"Hi, there" Tris coos. "Oh he looks so much like you and Zeke already"
He was on the small side but after being checked out the Dr. said he was doing well. Christina had already fed him and he was fast asleep again. Jada was the spitting image of Christina, while Justin and Jalen were a mix of Uriah and Christina. But Baby Jeremey you could already tell was all Pedrad.
"Yeah, I think he's going to have green eyes like us too," Uriah says proudly. He visits for a little bit when Hana comes rushing in frazzled.
"Oh my babies, is everyone okay? I've been running around and…."
"Ma, Breathe, we are fine, come hold your grandson" Uriah laughs. He knew his mother was going to be frazzled but he hoped that the babies would help take her mind off Caleb.
"Oh my don't you look just like your Daddy" Hana coos as Uriah places him in her arms and Jeremy sighs as he moves his arms and legs. Hana loved being a grandma, she loved being a mother, she would trade nothing for it, but her grandbabies were something extra special.
"Where's Zeke?" Uriah asks.
"Poor thing fell asleep in the family visitation room in the ICU. He had been up all night. I just let him sleep. I was going to wake him up after a few hours and send him home but then when Shauna called and said Christina had the baby I figured I'd let him sleep a little longer since we would all be here"
"How is Caleb?" Tris asks softly.
Hana sits down so she can rock the baby, her face etched in worry. She had lost all feeling in her body when Harrison knocked on her door early that morning. There had been no words to describe losing her husband and her sister. When Harrison lost his wife and child she held it together, losing Stephanie had almost broken her but she was strong for Max, Christina, and Rose. But this, she loved her nephew just like she loved Zeke and Uriah, and she couldn't imagine losing any of the children, it was just too much. She takes a moment, looking down at her newest grandson to compose her words.
"He's in the ICU, on the 11th floor. They worked to repair his kidney but he hasn't woken up yet. He lost a lot of blood, he had to have a blood transfusion. We need him to wake up so they can see if there is any damage from the overdose."
Tris nods and wipes a tear before she places her hand on her belly.
"Take a deep breath baby" Tobias reminds her and she nods, breathing in deeply from her nose.
"Where is Cara? Was he with her?" Tris asks, looking around the room. She notices Uriah, Hana and Tobias look between each other.
"What are you not telling me?"
Tobias wipes his hand across his face not sure of what to do. He had intentionally left Cara out when he told Tris about Caleb. Now he was backed into a corner.
Hana motions for Uriah to take the baby which he does. She gets up to go and sit on the edge of the bed and takes Tris's hand while Tobias goes by her side.
"Sweetie, Cara is dead," Hana says gently. She knew Tris wouldn't let it go so they had to bite the bullet and tell her.
"What? How?" Tris cries out. She didn't like her and she hated what had become of her brother but Tris never wanted Cara to die.
"Baby, when Caleb overdosed and was shot, he and Cara were in a club. Cara was apparently dealing drugs and things went bad. Some of the dealers wanted to make a statement and they forced Caleb to do coke until he passed out and then shot Cara"
"Oh my God" Tris whispers. This was much worse than she thought.
"Please stay calm" Hana whispers.
"I'm trying, this is just a lot to take in"
"Which is why I didn't tell you everything this morning," Tobias says, rubbing her shoulder.
"I understand" Tris starts to cry now, why was all this happening is all she could think.
"All you need to worry about is making sure that baby boy is okay," Hana says, placing a hand on her stomach.
Tris sucks in a breath and nods as another contraction hits her.
The next few hours, Tris labors. Zeke wakes up and comes to check on Tris and Christina. Uriah can see he's visibly shaken from finding Caleb in the state he was. Zeke wasn't a crier but he had broken down seeing Caleb in the ICU when he and Uriah went up to visit. Tobias was in a weird state, happy and excited that his child was being born but seeing everyone going up and down with emotions about Caleb was hard. Around mid-afternoon Marlene, Will, and Marcus arrive at the hospital bringing food for everyone.
When Hana steps out of Christina's room she sees Evelyn approaching and realizes she is going to Tris's room. She had on her designer shoes and handbag, a cup of Starbucks in her hand, hair, and makeup fully done. She looked like she was going to a photoshoot where everyone else looked like hell, having thrown on whatever they could find to get to the hospital. Marcus, Will, and Marlene had been there since the morning but Evelyn finally showed up in the late afternoon. Hana had bit her tongue during the wedding but now she wasn't willing to stress Tris out any further. Her blood pressure was elevated and she needed to stay as calm as possible during this delivery. She didn't need Evelyn's performance.
"You need to leave," Hana says curtly.
"Excuse me?" Evelyn scoffs as she looks Hana up and down.
"My family is dealing with a lot, Tris does not need the added stress with you here right now"
"I have every intention of seeing my grandchild."
"I'm not saying ever, but NOT right now. No one needs your fake concern right now" Hana emphasizes standing her ground as she emphasizes the word not.
Evelyn rolls her eyes in response and purses her lips together before responding.
"Look, Tobias is MY son and I have every right to…" Evelyn defends points at her chest.
Hana cuts her off before she can ever finish her statement.
"I could care less about you and how you feel right now. What you did to my niece and your son was low down, nasty, and frankly disgusting. However, they have chosen to forgive you and give you another opportunity to be in their lives but that doesn't mean that you get to waltz around here like mother of the year for show."
Hana's face is stone-cold, letting Evelyn know she means business.
"In your little society, reality tv world, that kind of mess may fly but it does not where I'm from. Hell will freeze over before I let you upset anyone in my family again. Trust and believe if you EVER try to hurt either of them again I will come for you"
Evelyn stands there with her mouth open for a minute but her nostrils flare and she glares at Hana before she turns on her heels and heads back out to the waiting area.
By 6 pm Tris is 10 centimeters dilated and the doctors usher everyone out but Hana and Tobias.
Tobias smiles the biggest smile he thinks he's ever had in life when the nurses place Baby Harrison in his arms while they work to get Tris cleaned up.
"Hello, there little man. I'm your Daddy" Tobias whispers. He wasn't as tiny as Jeremy, Tobias noticed as he looked to see all his fingers and toes. At only 3 weeks early the doctor did a quick exam to make sure he was okay, Tobias isn't sure that with how big he is Tris would have lasted the final three weeks as he already weighed 6 pounds 5 oz. Tris looked exhausted but so beautiful.
"Thank you," he says as he kisses her when he places the baby back in her arms. She smiles a tired smile.
"I love you," she says as she looks between her son and her husband.
Andrew, Max, and Harrison make it down to see the new babies after Tris has had some rest. Andrew is in love with his grandson the minute he sets eyes on him. Tris and Tobias had kept Baby Harrison's name a secret even though they had decided months ago what his name would be. They wanted Harrison to be the first to hear his name today.
When Tobias places him in Harrison's arms, he smiles.
"Uncle Harry, I would like for you to meet Harrison Bakari Eaton," Tris says from the bed as Harrison's face drops in shock.
"Harrison, Tris, Tobias, really" Harrison was overcome with emotion. He lets a tear shed as he looks down at the sleeping baby in his arms. "Thank you"
"You still think you never want to do this again?" Tobias teases as they watch Harrison talk to his namesake.
Tris laughs, "Well maybe one more time"
Tobias kisses her on the forehead and smiles.
Rose looks up for her place in the ICU waiting room. She was dead on her feet, everyone was at this point. Andrew and Max were in with Harrison at the moment since only two people were allowed in at once. Hana and Tobias were downstairs with Tris and Christina. The hospital had worked to give them rooms next door to each other understanding their unique situation. Hana had forced Shauna to take Zeke home and get some sleep even though he had refused at first since he had been up for 48 hours. Uriah had to go home and shower but was coming back to the hospital. Shauna had dropped Jalen and Justin off at school and had Jada with her. The doctors were feeling confident they could move Caleb out of the ICU the next day.
Rose sits up when she sees a nervous-looking Susan Black getting off the elevator looking around nervously as she approaches the nurses' station. Susan was short and stature, usually quiet and reserved. Her
"Susan, over here" Rose motions.
"I'm sorry to just show up, but I went to the restaurant and saw the sign that you were closed and my mom heard that Caleb was in the hospital and I just had to come" Susan rattles off nervously after she walks quickly over to Rose while clutching her purse on her shoulder.
"Oh Susan," Rose says quietly, pulling her into a hug as she starts to cry.
"I know we were trying to get to know each other again and after Tris's wedding, he just disappeared. I don't know what happened but I just needed to know he's alright even if he doesn't want to see me"
Rose sits Susan down and tells her about Caleb and rehab, his involvement with Cara in New York and how he ended up back home, and his relapse when she showed up again in August and how he ended up here in the hospital.
"Why didn't he tell me?" Susan sobs.
She could tell Caleb had gone through something. He never wanted to talk about New York. He seemed so content just listening to Susan talk about California and her new job as a social worker here in Chicago. They had enjoyed a few dinners, a walk in the park, and Tris' wedding. She had been confused in August when he disappeared and stopped returning her calls. They had held hands, he kissed when he dropped her home after their last dinner. The last time they spoke he had said there was something he wanted to talk with her about. She kept thinking she misread the signs but she was sure they had reconnected again.
"He was embarrassed and working up the courage to tell you before Cara showed up again. Once she had her claws in him again he just fell back into using again. We hadn't seen him for a month before this happened." Rose says getting choked up now. Caleb was so smart and brilliant. He was a bit more laid back like she was than Uriah, Zeke, and Christina but he had a good heart. It was so overwhelming watching his implode when Cara showed up.
Susan nods as she takes in everything Rose tells her. But after a moment, she makes a decision. She knows it's the right one.
"I don't care if he is a recovering addict, I love him. We went through so much when my dad died in high school. He helped me so much. I know we said we didn't want the pressure of a long-distance relationship when I chose to go to Stanford and when he got into NYU. I wanted to be there for him when your mom died but he started pushing me away"
"He pushed us all away Susan," Rose says quietly, trying to give her something to hold on to.
"I love him and I'm not going to let him push me away again," Susan says confidently, wiping her tears away.
"Good," Rose said with a soft smile as she grabbed Susan's hand. She had always liked Susan, she was one of those people that just had a good spirit and was always helpful. Caleb needed her, and Rose was happy that she's wasn't going to give up on him.
Shauna brought the kids by briefly before bed to see Christina, Uriah, and Tris, and their new cousin. Shauna takes them home after about an hour. Justin and Jalen both begged to hold baby Jermey, and Harrison and promised to be careful.
"You two are such good big brothers" Tobias comments as she watches them, each with a pillow on their lap and Hana and Max hovering to make sure they didn't drop the babies.
"I've had a lot of practice," Justin says, causing everyone to laugh.
"Yeah, I think Harrison should sleep at our house so he doesn't get lonely. We can make room for him in Jeremy's crib" Jalen adds as Hana takes baby Harrison from him.
"Well, I think your Uncle Tobias and Auntie Tris might not be okay with that idea" Max replies with a chuckle as he takes Jeremy.
"You two will see him all the time I promise," Tobias says loving how the boys had taken to the role of protector for his son already.
Christina and Tris would be going home soon but it still wasn't known how long Caleb would be in the hospital. To everyone's relief, Caleb wakes up late that evening.
Caleb feels like he's in a fog when he wakes up. His throat is scratchy and his body aches. He struggles to see where he is.
"Thank God, Caleb son, can you hear me?" Harrison asks. Andrew and Max were down visiting with the girls. "Zeke go get the nurse" He instructs. Zeke does as he's told and quickly runs out of the door.
"Uncle Harry? Where am I?" Caleb struggles to say.
"Don't try to move too much, you're in the hospital" Harrison informs him.
Caleb can feel his heart start to race. He was struggling to remember where he was last. When Zeke returns with the nurse, they call for the doctor and do a few exams.
"I'm so glad you are awake bro" Zeke lets him know, patting him on the leg. He was still coked up. It had hit him hard seeing Caleb like this.
"How long have I been here?" Caleb asks after the nurse gives him some ice chips to soothe his throat.
"Almost two days. What's the last thing you remember?" The doctor asks, looking over his vitals.
"Ummmm being at the restaurant…" Caleb squints his eyes looking at Zeke and Harrison. His speech was better.
Harrison and Zeke look at one another and then to the doctor with a shared look of worriedness in his eyes. The doctor shines a light in Caleb's eyes to check his reactiveness.
"Zeke why don't you go downstairs and tell everyone Caleb is awake"
Zeke nods and does as he's told. Harrison asks the doctor to step outside with him. After a brief conversation, he lets Harrison know that it's common for people to wake up with limited memories of the most immediate events, especially if they were traumatic. It might take Caleb a few days to piece things back together again. The doctor knew about the situation that Caleb had been brought in on and he had created a treatment plan that wouldn't cause any additional harm to his addiction.
The next morning Caleb is moved to a regular room and the nurses allow Christina and Tris to be wheeled down to see him. He's overwhelmed when he starts to remember what happened at the club and understands that Cara is dead and the entire situation sent Chris and his sister into labor.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I keep trying and I keep failing." Calebs says dejectedly. Tris wipes a tear from her face, she hated seeing her brother like this. She knew recovery was a difficult journey but she was starting to understand how rough things had been for him and how he had been battling against himself.
"You are going to be okay Caleb, and you have all of us and we aren't giving up on you," Zeke says.
"I don't want to be like this anymore," Caleb says as he lets out a gut-wrenching sob.
Tris reaches over from her wheelchair and grabs his hand and squeezes it tightly. "It's okay, we are going to help you," Tris says through her tears.
Rose crawls into the bed on the other side of Caleb wrapping her arms around him as best she could, being careful of his dressing from the surgery.
"We've got you Caleb" Rose whispers through her own tears as Caleb continues to sob. Zeke, who was also crying, places his hand over Tris's.
It was an emotional moment but for the first time in months, everyone feels that their family is on a path to true healing.
The first chapter of Love and Basketball should be up tonight or tomorrow!
Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Tell me one thing you want to see in the epilogue!
