TURNING BACK

Warm Welcome

Chapter 3

Adam let go of Hoss after closing the bedroom door firmly and hurried over to his wife's side. She was resting back against the pillows and had seemed to regain a little of her composure. He picked up a cloth from the bedside table and wiped her sweat-slicked face as she smiled up at him. He glanced over his shoulder.

"Hoss, this is my wife Abigail," he said and moved away to the foot of the bed.

The big man swallowed nervously, but then found himself smiling back when she turned her head in his direction

"Glad to meet you, Hoss," she said from a tight throat and gasped as another contraction started.

"All right, let's get this show on the road," Adam said as he straightened up. "Hoss? Would you help her sit up? She needs to start pushing now."

"Oh thank God!" Abby said as he hurried over to push the stack of pillows out of the way and then sat behind her with one leg folded under him. He moved forward until she was leaning back against his chest and she tipped her head back to look up at him.

"Thank you," she almost whispered and her breath caught as another contraction hit.

"Abby, push as hard as you can now love," Adam said and she reached up to clamp her hands on Hoss's shoulders as she bore down.

"Good girl!" Adam was saying and the big man let out a startled laugh when Abby said "Woof!" sarcastically.

"Very funny Abigail," was her husband's response and Hoss had to shake his head. Then his brow furrowed when he noticed a doctor's bag sitting on the dresser. He opened his mouth to ask about it, but was distracted when Abby's fingernails bit into his shoulders.

"Give another hard push, my love, the baby's starting to crown," Adam said low and Hoss ignored the pain in his shoulders as he helped her sit up again. He heard that low growling sound from her again and Adam looked up to smile at him.

"Don't worry Hoss, she won't bite YOU. I'm the only one she bites when she's in labor," he said with a wide smile, and then looked back down.

"Stop pushing!" he barked and Abby gasped, but obeyed.

"What's wrong?" she said through clenched teeth.

"The cord is wrapped around his neck," Adam answered.

"Remember to stretch it over the head from back to front," she choked out, trembling all over with the effort to not push.

"Calm down, everything's fine…I don't see any cyanosis," he assured her and she relaxed slightly. "Besides, who's the doctor here?" He laughed as he glanced up at his brother's surprised expression.

"Yes, that bag is mine," he said quietly, and then turned his attention back to the baby. "Abby, the cord's out of the way…and the shoulders are now in position. Give me one more big push and this should be all over honey."

Hoss winced slightly as her nails bit into his shoulders even harder and she took a deep breath before bearing down with every bit of strength she had left.

"Good! Just a little bit more…" Adam encouraged her as the child slipped from her body and he carefully held it with both hands.

"Congratulations ma'am, you have another son," he laughed as he cleared the newborn's mouth and a strong cry burst forth.

Abby laughed breathlessly with him and let go of Hoss's shoulders to reach for the child. To Hoss's surprise, Adam handed the baby over and she cradled him in her arms, being careful to not press against the cord.

"Hello Alan," she said softly as her husband straightened up and stretched his back with a deep sigh. Then he turned toward the dresser to unwrap a towel from around a metal urn of hot water and came to spread it over the child. His dark hazel eyes were shining as he briefly paused to put a hand on the baby's head, and then he leaned down to gently kiss her on the lips.

"Good job," he said softly and she laughed.

"Well, practice does make perfect," she said and reluctantly handed the baby back to him, now wrapped in the warm towel. He moved back to the end of the bed, put the child down and held the cord in one hand for a moment to see if it was still pulsing.

In a few minutes he had the cord cut and the baby cleaned up. "Hoss," he said as he wrapped the child up in a warm blanket. "Would you take him downstairs for just a few minutes while we finish up here?"

"Sure," his brother said and propped her up with the pillows again as he got to his feet. He was about to step away when she grabbed his hand.

"Thank you," she said quietly and he realized he was getting his first good look at her face. Damp ringlets of dark red hair framed her oval face and clear gray eyes shone up at him with gratitude. He smiled down at her and she smiled back, deep dimples appearing in her cheeks.

"You're welcome," he mumbled, suddenly feeling shy but gave her hand a quick squeeze before turning away to take the tiny infant in his huge arms.

"Don't stay down there long," Adam said and Hoss answered, "I won't!" as he hurried for the door.

Everyone looked up when he reached the head of the stairs and he had to stop for a second, his eyes widening in disbelief at the sight of so many children packed together on the sofa. Then he hurried down the stairs.

"What is it, Uncle Hoss?" Aaron asked when he reached the bottom.

"A boy!" Hoss answered and the two older girls reacted with theatrical groans of displeasure as they threw themselves back on the sofa in defeat. The boys, with the exception of Aaron, clapped, hooted, and rolled around with glee. Amber was still snuggled in her grandfather's arms and didn't react beyond taking the thumb out of her mouth and leaning forward as Hoss bent down to show Ben his new grandson.

"Another boy!" Alec crowed at the top of his voice and the sound level rose as the boys continued to celebrate. Aaron shook his head, not exactly pleased to have another younger brother, and Ben was about to admonish them to calm down when they all heard someone loudly clearing their throat. The children instantly fell silent and looked up at their father who was leaning against the railing at the top of the stairs.

"What the hell is going on down there?" he said, his dark gaze sweeping across his children as they scurried to cram themselves onto the sofa again.

"Didn't I warn you all to be on your best behavior?" he asked as he slowly came down the stairs and every child except Aaron and Amber hung their heads.

Hoss had moved over to show the new baby to Joe and now he turned around.

"Should I take him back upstairs?" he asked and hurried away when Adam gave him a brief nod. He reached down to take Amber from his father's arms and moved to sit on the low table in front of the sofa. His eyes narrowed as he watched them for a few moments, and then he sighed as he turned his head to meet Ben's amused gaze.

"Just how badly have they been misbehaving?" he asked his father and Ben tried to tone down a wide smile.

"Not very, besides some yelling and one biting incident," he answered, trying to be suitably serious while really wanting to laugh.

Adam's sharp eyes noticed Alec turning slightly red and Aaron casually putting one hand over the other.

"Alec, why did you bite Aaron's hand," he demanded and Alec looked up at his father, startled. Then he stuck his little chin out stubbornly. "Aaron was being mean, he put his hand over my mouth," the little boy answered and his father raised one brow as he turned to his eldest son with a questioning look.

Aaron sighed. "He was yelling again about strangers and wouldn't stop."

"I see," Adam said quietly and turned back to Alec who quickly ducked his head to avoid his father's narrow-eyed gaze. He stared at the boy consideringly for a few moments, and then took a deep breath.

"You and I will be having a talk about that tomorrow," he said firmly and the boy's head sank further down. Then Adam had to hold back a smile when Alec's lower lip pouched out.

"Right now I want all of you to look out that window and tell me what you see," he said with a nod toward a side window. Every child except Aaron and Amber looked and then turned back to their father with puzzled expressions.

"What did you see?" he asked and his brows rose as he waited for an answer.

"It's too dark out to see anything," Amelia finally answered, her hazel eyes exactly like his looked at him warily.

"Correct!" Adam smiled at her. "Now what does that mean?"

The children glanced at each other and Andrew's eyes narrowed as he figured it out. "He means it's time to go to bed!" he laughed and stood as sounds of protest swept through most of the group.

Adam shook his head, "Oh moan, groan, and complain. Come on now, I've let you stay up later than I should have." He stood to hand Amber over to Aaron and the tall boy began herding the smaller ones toward the stairs.

Andrew started to follow, but stopped to look up at his father.

"What?" Adam asked and the boy swallowed nervously before answering.

"I don't think it's fair that Aaron gets to stay up later," he said and almost flinched when his father frowned slightly down at him.

"First, Aaron acts responsibly. Second, he is three years older than you, and third did I ask for your opinion?"

"No, but…" Andrew started to argue and his eyes opened wide as Adam leaned down.

"Now is not a good time to be testing my temper, Andrew," he said in an ominously soft voice. "And if you are not up those stairs in the next thirty seconds boy, you are NOT going to like what is going to happen." Adam straightened up and stood there with his hands on his hips as he watched his son hurry away and scramble up the stairs after his siblings.

He sighed as he looked down at his father who was desperately holding on to a serious expression. "Why don't you two come up in about fifteen minutes so you can finally get to meet Abby?" he glanced at Joe before turning back to smile tiredly at Ben. "And you better let that laugh out before you choke on it, Pa" he finished and moved toward the stairs as his father and brother gave in and laughed until they cried.