Chapter One-Hundred and Fifty-Nine

Julia let an EMT take her daughter from her to check her health, leaning onto her husband's shoulder as she listened to John snore on the tiny recliner in the corner of the apartment.

One of the EMTs pulled up a chair beside the bed, a pen in hand along with a new birth certificate. "What's baby's name?" She asked, noticing that both of the parent's glanced at the sleeping teen in the recliner.

"Johanna Bentley Thatcher." Julia smiled, letting Frank get up to check on John as he whimpered in his sleep. "After the man who delivered her."

Frank chuckled as John's dark eyes opened, taking his daughter from the EMT who'd done a health check on her and offering her to John to hold. "Would you like to hold her?" He asked, showing John the exact way to hold her as he seemed hesitant to hold her. "If you can deliver her, you can hold her."

John laid Johanna's little body on his arm, tucking her tiny feet under his arm and holding her head with his free hand. "What'd you guys name her?" He asked, smoothing his thumb through her head of dark hair.

"Johanna Bentley." Frank smiled, noticing that John had become so gentle with the child.

He lifted his eyes to the father, his movements slow as Johanna slept in his arms. "You… you named her after me?"

Frank nodded, adjusting his daughter's swaddling blanket around her. "It seemed like the right thing to do. After all, you were the one who delivered her."

"You didn't have to name her after me… you should have named her what you wanted."

Julia shook her head, looking at the teen as he rocked in the recliner with her sleeping child. "We want her name to be Johanna." She smiled as John's long fingers supported Johanna's little body and head perfectly. "She might not be here without you."

John gave a small smirk, watching as Johanna's shockingly blue eyes opened to peer at him. "Hey there, Cupcake… I'm your uncle John."

Clarissa rushed around the house, making sure everything was perfect to properly welcome the new child that John had told them about. "Cody, that left side needs to be a little higher." She pointed to the congratulations banner that Cody and Tyler were trying to hand above the doorway to the dining room. "Is something burning?" She sniffed the air, able to smell something off in the kitchen.

She limped her way into the kitchen, gasping as she realized that she'd burnt the cupcakes. "Shit!" She pulled the cakes from the oven, holding her head in her hands as she looked at the ruined deserts. "Goddamn it."

John placed his hand on her back, smiling as she looked up at him. "It's okay. We can whip up a new batch in no time." He pulled out a box of cake mix, and a bottle of food coloring that would turn it bright pink. "That's what instant cake is for."

She chuckled, patting his cheek as she noticed that the light behind his eyes had returned. "How do you know these folks?"

John smirked, taking the egg carton out of the fridge as well as the milk jug. "Frank works at the shop with me, and he needed a ride to the hospital when Julia went into labor so I gave him one."

Claire dipped her fingers into the frosting as John and her mother started pouring the new cupcakes into the pan. "I was wondering where you disappeared to when I brought you some food."

"I was waiting for a baby to be born, that's where I was." He kissed Claire's lips, licking the purple frosting from her mouth with his gentle, loving touch. "I would have called you but I didn't know which number you would be at." He turned as Amelia thundered into the kitchen, swinging her onto his hip with a grunt. "Dang girl! You're getting big!"

She giggled, showing off her two front teeth that were just barely starting to come in. "When do I get to see the baby?" She asked, jumping on John's hip until he winced as she hit a sore spot against the bone.

"She'll be here pretty quick." He smiled, setting her on the counter and plopping a little icing on the tip of her nose. "Chad and his folks are coming too."

"Shit!" Dominic cursed from the other room, making John and Clarissa look to see what had happened. "I hate these Goddamn things." He stated, attempting to wrap a box of diapers and baby clothes in a new sheet of paper. "Why can't Brian do this shit?"

John shook his head, kneeling beside his cousin to help. "Because Brian is currently working on shopping for games and party favors."

Dominic flipped his cousin off, taping down the paper as John held it. "I could have done that."

Mary placed a leaf in the dining room table, making it even bigger than it had been so it would be able to fit everyone. "Just wrap the presents boys."

Andy rolled a new bassinette into the living room, smiling at the amazing work his mother had done on it. "Gosh, can you imagine when all of us have kids?" He asked, looking at John as he noticed a small smile creep onto his face. "I mean, John and Claire will be the first ones to get pregnant I'll bet, but still."

Allison finished up with the decorations, making sure that there were camera's in each room per John's request. "I hope they like it all."

Jade grinned, jumping away from the window as a couple small cars rolled up. "They're here!"