Chapter 90

*5 months later*

Alex woke to the crib rattling, as her nine month old daughter stood in the crib shaking the bars on the front that slides up and down, a sign that she's done sleeping even though the two adults were far from it. She tried her best to ignore it, but it didn't work. Phoebe had a really loud conversation with herself when she noticed her monkey in the corner of the crib.

Over the past few months she learned how to get up onto her feet by leaning on any structure that was stable enough as she walked along the edges of it, but sitting back down was a challenge that often ended in her crying since she didn't know how to go from standing down to sitting, which was the situation right now. She started crying and Ryan got up helping her out of the crib and retrieving the monkey carrying her over to the bed.

Alex held out her hands to retrieve her daughter but Phoebe refused to leave her father's arms, turning her head away from her mother whenever Alex tried to get her. "Phoebe, it's me. Your mommy, please come to me." She pleaded with the nine year old who didn't pay her mother any mind.

"She's just not that into you." Ryan laughed.

"Phoebe I love you. I gave birth to you, why don't you like me?" Alex whined as her daughter laughed at the sad faces her mother pulled. It took some coaching from her father until she finally stretched out her hands towards Alex. The vibration of Ryan's phone interrupted the little family time they had.

"Shelby hates me. She keeps saying these really rude things to me and I don't know what else to do. She told me to leave her alone so and that she doesn't want to see me right now." Caleb rambled and Ryan had no idea what he was talking about.

"I don't understand a word you're saying, care to start over?" Ryan tried to get clarity, smiling at Phoebe's delightful laughs as Alex tickles her sides. "Shelby's in labor and she's yelling at me. Never mind I don't even know why I called you." Caleb hung up leaving Ryan with a confused look on his face staring at the phone in his hand.

"And now?" Alex looked up with concern at her husband as he stares at the phone he put on the bed.

Their daughter distracted herself, and took the chance to grab her father's phone when he put it down on the bed, stuffing it in her mouth. Her mother grabbed a hold of it prying it out of her hold as she fights with the little strength she had to keep it in her reach, but failing at the task at hand. Bottom lip pointed out when Alex grabbed hold of the phone. "No, it's not a toy." Alex lectured the crying baby substituting it with one of her minion teddy bears. Intrigued by the yellow bear her crying stopped while she inspected the bear, turning it around in her hands and placing it from one hand to the other.

"Shelby's at the hospital. And Caleb just called not knowing what to say to her, because she's yelling rude things at him. He sighed not really sure if he summarized their brief encounter correctly.

"I'm the worst friend ever. I forgot about it, she's a week late and she said they might induce her but I didn't think it would happen so soon." She remembered what the blonde told them a few days ago when they went to visit her at home.

"So that's more painful?" He questioned looking at her confused. "No Ryan. It's a walk in the park." Alex laughed hitting him with the pillow on his chest as he lays back down, smiling as he grabs a hold of it so she won't start this game over again. "It's like squeezing an orange through a wine bottle. So yeah, it's kind of sore." Alex said looking at him and he just nodded, not wanting to continue this conversation.

Shelby laid in the hospital bed, Claire Haas at her one side and her husband standing at the door looking at his wife with concern in his eyes. To him it made no sense, how these two women communicate and understand each other without saying anything verbal. It's not like all of this is his fault, well he had a part of it but it was a mutual thing, he thought resting his head against the door.

The monitors next to the bed started beeping and nurses rushed inside. Caleb had no idea what was happening but he got up and walked over to her side. "What's going on? Is she okay?" He asked looking at them as they checked on her. "Her blood pressure is dropping, it could be a side effect but if it doesn't stabilize we'll have to do a C-section." One explained.

"No, no. I cannot deal with that. Please don't cut into my body." Shelby tried to explain through panting breathes but the doctors would have none of that. "This is for your own safety ma'am. And the baby's.

"But I'm sure there's something else you can do. Caleb tell them!" She cried but her husband was torn between wanting the best for both is wife and his unborn son. "Honey, they wouldn't recommend it if it wasn't necessary." He tried to get her to understand it. "Shelby you're going to be fine. Both of you." Claire supported the two statements the medical team and her son made, and it took some convincing after which she gave in, and accepting the surgery.

Ryan walked downstairs with Phoebe and sat her down at the bottom of the stairs as he made some coffee, while Alex showered. Forgetting how fast his daughter crawls he stood there with his back towards her and turned around when he heard the glass shatter onto the white tiled floor. Phoebe pulled at the end of the drape that covered the dining room table and the tree glass candle holders fell and broke on the floor.

"Phoebe Grace!" Ryan cried when he saw what happened and walked over to where she sat, looking up at him with big blue eyes stretching her arms up in the air to be picked up. He walked over to the kitchen inspecting her to see if he can find broken skin in case she might have hurt herself but everything seemed fine. Leaving her there he walked over to clean up the broken pieces.

"What happened?" Alex asked appearing on the stairs.

"Our daughter happened." Ryan explained as he swept up the last bits of glass discarding it in the bin when another sound came from the kitchen and a white powder like substance showed up in the air making it look like fine snow falling. Ryan and Alex rushed over and walked towards the cabinets where the noise came from. Ryan forgot to close the cupboard door when he took the coffee out and there the tiny human was, legs covered in flour playing happily as she kicks her feet around seeing how it shifted and spread across the floor.

"Phoebe." The both groaned in unison not thinking this is how their morning would start. They need to do some serious baby proofing if this is going to be the case in what they're dealing with.

Shelby laid in the operating room twisting her hands around each other nervously. Her lower body was numb and she couldn't feel a thing which added to her anxiety. "I'm scared." She said in a small voice looking at her husband dressed in hospital scrubs. "It's gonna be okay. In a minutes we'll get to meet our baby." He told her trying to get her to calm down.

The doctor explained that she might feel some pressure and tugging but other than that she should be fine and shouldn't feel any pain. She nodded and Caleb kissed her cheek grabbing a hold of his hand as they started the process. It wasn't long until she heard the cries of her baby. "You want to cut the umbilical cord dad?" The doctor asked and the blonde nodded getting up and walking over to the end of the table, but as soon as he saw the amount of blood he turned a shade of pale Shelby hasn't seen before and with a thud he landed on the floor.

"Did he just faint?" She asked the doctor not sure what just happened. "We get that a lot." The doctor laughed as the finished with the baby and closing her abdomen while someone else attended to the passed out father.

CJ had blonde hair, which didn't come as a surprise to any of the parents with their fair complexion and brown eyes. A miniature version of his father. He had no idea what happened but he woke up in a hospital bed with his mom by his side smiling down at him when he opened his eyes.

"Not such a tough guy like you thought you were huh?" Claire smirked when he stroke a hand through his hair. "Mom that was something I've never seen before. Where are they?" He asked getting off the bed, and she pointed down the corridor.

"And your father blacked out." Shelby told the sleeping baby who laid in her arms.

"That is not true it was an act." The new father defended himself as he walked over to the two of them. Kissing her forehead admiring this moment. He reached over and took the baby. "He is so beautiful." Caleb smiled looking down at his son, little hands grabbing hold of his index finger.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore. And uncomfortable but I'll be fine." She answered and he raised an eyebrow at her, knowing that she is downplaying whatever pain she might have right now.

"I've always imagined this day, but I had no idea how overwhelming this would be." He confessed looking at Shelby. "I know, it's the best feeling in the world." She smiled but her smile soon disappeared.

Caleb sat down on the couch looking up at her. "What's on your mind?" He asked softly seeing something is off about her.

"I just wish my parents were here to meet CJ." She whispered blinking the tears away. Caleb laid the baby down in the crib and sat down on the bed next to her not knowing what to say to make her feel better, he held her hands and gave her a hug. They stayed in the embrace for a few minutes until a knock on the door made them look up.

Claire stood in the doorway smiling broadly. "Congratulations you two." She said as she picked up her grandson with sparkly eyes. "Welcome to the world CJ. I'm your Grandma, and if your parents ever make you mad, you come tell me." She spoke to the sleeping baby as of the parents weren't present.

"You're amazing. I am so proud of you." Caleb smiled thinking back to what his wife went through after giving birth to their son and in how much pain she is right now. All of those things made the love he felt for his wife so much stronger.

"Can you believe we made that?" She asked looking at Claire and her son walking up and down in the room as his grandma shows him the traffic outside through the fourth floor window. "We're not too bad at this whole baby making thing." Caleb laughed.