Hey guys. I am sooooo sorry for the wait. My computer crashed and I lost everything. Rewriting has been brutal. I will try to be faster. Lots of love to those still out there. LKerr
Chapter 15: The Name Game
The recent HCM attack meant that I was looking forward to a weeklong hospital stay. The doctors needed to make sure that I was stable and also that the attack hadn't harmed the twins. Then the medical team would have to figure out how the HCM meds would affect them or if it would allow them to develop immunity to it. Neither Nathan nor I wanted that should either of the twins develop the trait.
I could've used a weeklong vacation, had I not been confined to the hospital bed. Now I was stuck under Nathan's watchful eye, which after only 5 hours had gotten on my last nerve.
"How you feelin' Luke?" Nathan asked for the umpteenth time, drawing me from my thoughts. Looking at him, I could see the stress and exhaustion on his face. His eyes were glazed from sleep deficiency and even though he wouldn't admit it, I knew that killing Dan was eating at him.
I figured that a little humor might cheer him up. "You're asking me again? Nathan I'm fine. My heart rate is steady and my chest doesn't hurt. Are you trying to go for the world record or something?"
"No, smartass. I'm worried about you. I don't like feeling helpless." He chuckled trying to dismiss the emotion in his voice. I watched a forced smile creep across his face.
Nathan stood up from his chair and leaned across the bed to place a kiss on my forehead. "Why don't we look at the baby name books? These boys are expected to make their debut in a couple weeks and we don't have names." He said ruffling through his backpack, pulling out the three large books and placing them on the bed next to me.
Watching Nathan select his book, I considered telling him about my dream. I figured I didn't have anything to lose. "I dreamt about them. The boys. I got to watch them play basketball and go to work." I said softly, thumbing through the pages of the first book. "Descendent of Rog-Hail-Lick".
"Descendent of what?" Nathan questioned, arching his eyebrow all sexy.
"I doubt if I'm pronouncing it correctly but he was a mighty Irish king who died in battle." Sitting there I pondered what that actually meant. Irish kings were often great leaders due to their fighting prowess or their ability to successfully resolve conflicts. So they're strong of mind or strong of body.
"And this has to do with your dream? How?" Nathan asked looking at me like I had six heads.
"We named one of our boys Riley. I was just reading the meaning." I explained before turning back to the book.
I watched as Nathan softened for a moment. I could see that he was mulling the name over in his head. "Like Riley Cote or Riley Odom. I like it."
I couldn't help but laugh at his little sports outburst. "He looks like you Nate. The dark hair, brown eyes, confident for sure. What do you think about Noir (Know-are), for his middle name?"
"It sounds like a good name. What does it mean?"
"Literally black. But it describes film noir where the characters were tough, often in a bleak setting."
"Riley Noir Scott." I smirked liking the sound of it. "One down, one to go." Nathan cheered, doing a little touchdown dance.
I laughed at his playfulness. I knew a part of his was excited about being a dad and the other part was trying to liven me up. "Calm down. We still have another son."
"Well was the name of our other son in your dream?" I could see that Nathan was intrigued. This dream was proving to be the answer to a lot of questions for me.
"Riley kept calling him Lee." I answered starting to feel a little tired. I sunk further into the bed and pulled the covers up.
"No. I hate it. Lee is a girl's name. I will not name my son Lee." Nathan growled.
"Your son?" I yelled, tossing the book at him. I was a little made at his possessive demeanor.
"I didn't mean it like that." Again I watched Nathan soften, letting his anger subside. "I just don't like Lee as a name. It lacks substance compared to Riley." Nathan grabbed my hand, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of my hand. "Why don't we look at the Ls and see if anything pops out."
"I already know which one I like." Again I thumbed through the only book of baby names left on the bed until I found the name.
He stared at me expectantly. "Well?"
"You look first." I ordered, not wanting to take all the credit for naming our children.
Nathan pored over the L section making little notes on each page. I placed the book I held back on the bed near Nathan. The sleepiness was really starting to come on strong. Something about being in a hospital bed makes me sleepy. I snuggled under the blankets and laid my head down on the pillows.
"You tired babe?" Nathan asked, looking at me with concern showing in his eyes.
"Just a little. Keep looking." I nodded my head toward the book he was reading. Hoping that he didn't catch my lie.
Through my half open eyes, I watched Nathan start to put the books away. "I don't need to keep looking. Liam Adai (Uh-die). Liam means…"
I cut him off before he could finish. "Strong-willed warrior. That's the name I chose." I explained my eyes fully closed now. Yawning, I asked, "But why Adai? I've heard that before not sure where but I've heard that somewhere."
I felt Nathan lean in to kiss my forehead without seeing him do it. I forced my eyes to open to look at my dark –haired lover. "My Brother, My Lover. That's where you heard it. The character I wrote to describe you. His name was Adai."
I grabbed Nathan's shirt and pulled him down into me, my lips crashing against his as I put all of my energy into a single kiss. I could feel the heat spread across my face in a noticeable blush. My spine tingled down to my toes and I knew that this kiss was the one were you can feel every loving though the other person has ever had about you in a single moment.
Our need for oxygen took control and our lips separated, visibly swollen and tinged a slight rose color. Looking at Nathan, I caught sight of him blushing as well. "I love you Luke." He breathed rather heavily.
"I love you too Nathan." I snuggled into the warm bed.
Nathan intently read another baby book. This time he read about raising a newborn and what to expect. I could barely make out Haley's name on the cover. I'm sure its one of the many books she pored over while pregnant with Jamie. I remember that she didn't want to leave anything to chance. I can only hope that I'll do as good a job as Haley did.
"Go to bed Lucas. You need your rest." Nathan chastised without looking up from his reading.
"Yes dad." I teased, before closing my eyes and falling into a deep dreamless slumber.
As always Reviews are greatly appreciated and tend to light a fire under me.