Chapter 22

Reba was extremely happy that they hadn't unpacked anything. She quickly stuffed her nightgown into the overnight bag. When they checked out she wasn't sure if she was happy or angry with herself that they left. Since they did leave they might miss the birth of Cheyenne's son and Reba definitely didn't want to miss that but if they hadn't of left they would probably never had gotten married and they would be fighting for months with Barbara Jean trying to convince her that she was not dressing up like the Bride of Frankenstein for her wedding. She hoped they made it in time.

Vic tried to go as fast as he could down the road but he didn't want to get pulled over. That would be terrible. First they get interrupted on their honeymoon and then they would get a ticket. That would something to tell their child when he or she got older. Of course, he would definitely leave the part about Reba coming out of the bathroom barely wearing anything. He understood why they had to leave though. He wouldn't want to miss seeing Cheyenne's son either. He loved Reba and so he had grown to love all of her children like they were his own. Even little Elizabeth was starting to call him Grandpa. He didn't mind and he was happy no one else did either because it always filled his heart with joy.

Reba tapped her foot nervously against the floor of the car as they drove silently down the street. They had just arrived back into Houston and Reba was becoming increasingly anxious to get to the hospital. "You can't go any faster?"

Vic sighed. "I am going to the speed limit. Do you want to add a ticket to our list of honeymoon stories?" Reba glared. "Sorry, I know you're anxious to get there but I really can't go any faster." Reba nodded understanding but continued to tap her foot against the car floor. Vic glanced at her as he turned a corner. "Are you all right?"

Reba gave him a small smile. "I'm fine, just worried. I know she is over due and it's obvious she was going to go into labor soon but I am worried, I was worried when she went into labor with Elizabeth, so this is natural for me." She said with a chuckle. Vic smiled and tried to pick it up a bit, knowing Reba would appreciate every second they were closer to the hospital.

Vic turned down another street and drove about three blocks before he pulling up to the hospital parking attendant. Vic handed him five dollars for parking, which was ridiculous for parking, and then pulled into the first parking spot he had spotted. "We have to hurry. I don't want to miss it." Reba said as she struggled to get out of the car.

Vic pushed the alarm button on his car and Reba grabbed his hand and they practically ran through the parking garage and up to hospital doors. Reba rushed through and went straight to the right, she past the elevators and the huge wall of windows and straight to the reception of the Maternity Ward. Reba tried to calm herself before she looked up and smiled at the woman behind the counter. "Hello, I'm here for Cheyenne Montgomery. I'm her mother."

The woman typed away at the computer and then turned back to Reba and Vic smiling. "She's right threw those doors and to the right, room 1120."

"Thank you." Reba said as she rushed past the desk. She walked through the doors and turned right. Vic was trying to keep up with her but it was hard considering she was practically running down the long hallway. Reba kept checking the numbers and she didn't rest until she came upon room 1120. She stopped just outside the door and waited for Vic to catch up. Vic smiled and motioned for her to enter. Reba placed a gentle hand on his chest. "Wait here a minute."

Vic nodded and Reba walked inside. The sight before her made her sad and completely filled her with joy at the same time. Her baby girl, her first born was holding her new born child in her arms. Reba smiled as she watched her family surrounded by Cheyenne and the baby, cooing and joyfully happy. "This is my last one." Cheyenne said smiling.

Reba chuckled. "That's what I said when I had Kyra." She smirked, stepping all the way into the room.

Cheyenne's head shot up and she smiled. "Mom, you finally got here, come here." She said excitedly. Reba walked over and her grin widened as she stepped closer and was able to catch her first glimpse of her new grandson. "Meet Daniel Brock Montgomery." Reba sniffed a bit and let one single tear slide down her cheek as she took her grandson from her daughter. "He is so cute."

"Thank you." Van said buffing up his finger nails.

Reba chuckled and walked over to a chair to sit down. "Why did his middle name have to be Brock?" She asked giving Brock a smirk. He just glared.

"I felt bad about the promise I made, plus Daniel Brock doesn't sound that bad." Cheyenne said trying to sound convincing.

Reba shook his head. "No one will use his middle name anyway."

Brock frowned. "I will." He muttered to himself.

Reba ignored the rest of them and just looked at her beautiful, sleeping grandson. She had been looking forward to his arrival since she found out from Van Cheyenne was pregnant again. She already saw the small patch of blond locks on his head and she had to of course check his toes, fingers to make sure he had ten of each, she was just in awe and to think in about five months she was going to be holding a bundle of joy of her own again.

Her eyes then shot up. "Vic!" she said suddenly remembering that he was waiting patiently outside the door.

Cheyenne looked at her mother curiously. "Where is Vic?"

Reba gestured towards the door. "He is waiting outside. Can someone tell him it's okay to come in?" Brock walked to the door and stuck his head just outside the door. Reba heard him telling Vic he could come in and Reba smiled when she saw Vic's handsome face enter the room. "Come look." She said standing up and meeting him half way. Reba smiled. "This is Daniel Brock Montgomery."

Vic smiled down at him and was in just as much awe of him as Reba was. "He's gorgeous." It was true though, he was a gorgeous baby. His blonde hair, his soft rosy baby cheeks, he even had that sweet baby smell already. Vic didn't think he had ever seen anything so beautiful, so precious.

"Would you like to hold him?" A voice said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Vic looked up to Reba with wide eyes. "Huh?"

She smiled. "Do you want to hold him?"

Vic backed away and shook his head. "I really don't think I should. I…"

Reba rolled her eyes and stepped toward Vic. "Nonsense, you need the practice. Now here…" She gently handed over the small little body over to Vic and he cringed just a bit. "Support his head." She said chuckling. Reba thought he was so cute. He seemed so uncomfortable. "Haven't you ever held a baby before?" she asked curiously.

Vic held the baby quite stiffly and shook his head. "No, I mean, my friends don't have babies, only one has a baby and I passed on holding their daughter. I was afraid I would drop her. I don't have any cousins or brothers or sisters. So..."

Reba smiled and rubbed his arm gently. "Just relax. Don't stand so stiffly."

Vic tried to relax. He was truly afraid of holding this baby. He breathed in and out, trying to calm himself. If he was this nervous about holding someone else's baby, how was he going to handle his own child? He looked down at the baby boy in his arms and smiled. He was so precious. He could only look forward to when his child was born and he was able to hold him.

Reba smiled as she watched Vic finally relax and walk over to the chair to sit down and bond with the child. Reba sighed happily as she watched her…husband hold her grandchild. Vic was her husband. She grinned widely. It was the first moment since she got the call that she realized that they were truly married. They actually did it and now they wouldn't have to worry about planning of a big wedding. All she had to worry about what telling her family. How in the heck was she going to do that?

"So where did you and Vic go?" Barbara Jean asked, bringing Reba out of her thoughts.

She didn't expect the questions to start so soon. She smiled nervously. Should she tell them now? Now might not be a good time. "We were just going away for the weekend, trying to get away from people." Reba said giving Barbara Jean the eye. Barbara Jean didn't think anything of it but just smiled. Reba had to roll her eyes but she smiled as well. She looked over to Vic, who was still holding the baby. He was looking at her with curiosity.

"You must have gone far out of town because Brock, Jake, Kyra, and Henry got back before you did. Kyra's gig was canceled." Barbara Jean explained. "They just arrived back in town when Cheyenne went into labor."

Reba turned her head back toward Cheyenne who started laughing. Reba raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. "What?"

Cheyenne shook her head and tried to control her laughter. "I was just thinking of something Kyra said."

Reba turned her head to her other daughter. "What did you say?"

Cheyenne just shrugged and waved it off. "She just said you two probably eloped but we know that isn't true. You guys wouldn't do that to us."

Reba's eyes widened and she just laughed nervously. "W..w…wo…would that be so bad, if we eloped?"

Cheyenne frowned. "Yeah, I want to be there when you two get married. It would hurt me deeply if you two got married without us. It would hurt us all. I mean Barbara Jean and I want to help plan and yes I realize our ideas might be a little much but if you guys just wanted to go to a judge and get it over with that's okay with us. We just want to be there when it happens."

Reba smiled and seemed completely happy on the outside but on the inside she was racked with guilt. Her family wanted to be there and they didn't care whether it was a big wedding or just in front of a judge. Reba sighed and walked over to Vic. He smiled up at her and handed Daniel over to her. Reba gladly took him back and then handed him back to his mother as he began to cry for food.

Everyone but Van left so Cheyenne could feed the baby. Vic and Reba took a walk down to the cafeteria to get something to eat, realizing they hadn't eaten in a few hours. It was really Reba who had gotten hungry once more. Vic made her sit while he ordered for her. Reba frowned knowing it was going to be some healthy crap and of course he went straight for the salad.

Reba gave him a look when he set the fruit salad and water in front of her. He just shrugged and sat down across from her. Reba sighed and poked at her salad. "Everything you chose for me is nutritious, low in fat, and well cooked. I don't know whether I'm pregnant or I should go on a diet." Vic smiled and watched her as she ate. They didn't say anything as she quietly ate her mangos and melons. Once finished she set aside the dish and quietly sipped her water. "Thank you for getting the food." She said quietly. She knew she didn't say it often enough, mostly complained about the lack of grease or fat in the food. He was just worried about her and wanted her to give birth to a healthy baby.

Vic nodded. "You're welcome." He smiled.

Reba sighed and looked toward him, wondering what he was thinking but she was also somewhat sure of exactly what he was thinking. "Let's talk." She finally said, leaning forward a bit.

"I want to know why we can't tell them." He said, not looking up.

Reba sighed. "Did you hear what Cheyenne said in there? It would hurt them if they knew we are already married. I think we should just do it again in front of a judge with them present."

Vic shrugged. "I guess we could."

Reba smiled and took his hands into hers. "If you think about it, it's actually quite romantic."

Vic finally looked up and gave her a questionable look. "How?"

Reba smirked and rubbed the back of his hands. "Well, we can celebrate one wedding anniversary with the family and then we can have our own private celebration of our real anniversary."

Vic finally smiled and returned the hand holding. "I like the sound of that." He said with a chuckle.

Reba smiled but her smile soon left her face when she heard a voice behind her. "So, it's true then." Reba turned sharply to see her daughter Kyra standing there with her arms crossed. Kyra stood there for a moment, staring at her shocked mother and, apparently, her new stepfather. She approached them and pulled a chair up to the table and sat down. "You two are married already."

Reba sighed and nodded. "Kyra, now I know you might be angry but…"

Kyra scoffed. "Angry? I don't think so. I am happy for you two but I am also happy you didn't have a big wedding. We've had enough of those. So…" she said smiling, "You're not going to tell the rest of the family that you eloped?" Reba and Vic glanced at each other and silently shook their heads. "You know they might find out someday, eventually."

Reba gave her daughter a look and shook her head. "They will never find out because the three of us are NEVER going to tell ANYONE. You got me young lady?"

Kyra couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Trust me mom, I won't say anything and it is kind of cute."

Reba gave her daughter a smile. "You said cute."

Kyra's smile faded and she glared. "Don't rub it in."

Reba laughed but then got extremely serious. "So…we're all in agreement?" she said glancing at both of them. "We say nothing…ever." Kyra rolled her eyes and Vic nodded.

It was quite late by the time they arrived home. Van, Cheyenne, and the baby would stay in the hospital overnight. They would be able to go home tomorrow morning. Elizabeth would be staying with them tonight. Kyra and Jake went straight to bed and Kyra offered to take Elizabeth with her to her room so they could be alone and added a wink as she walked upstairs.

Vic and Reba were able to crawl into bed at almost one o'clock in the morning. Reba snuggled herself beneath the covers and pulled Vic close. Vic gladly accepted the closeness and soon started putting the moves on Reba. "Vic, honey…" Reba said politely. "I know it's our wedding night and all but I am so tired and…" Vic nodded and pulled himself slightly away from Reba. Reba sighed and sat up, turning on the light. "What is wrong?"

Vic just sighed. "I know you're tired, it's just you're my wife and tonight is our wedding night…" He paused and glanced at Reba. He was stupid to bring this up. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't even bring this up." Vic turned himself away and tried to sleep.

Reba frowned and wrapped her arms around him, as much as she could around his muscular build, and kissed his shoulder. "Honey, I'm sorry. I know I've been neglecting my wifely duties…" That got Vic to chuckle. "I am frustrated too but if I wasn't so tired, trust me, I wouldn't turn you down. We have the rest of our lives. Why rush?"

Vic nodded and turned his head slightly to kiss her on the lips. They both smiled and snuggled up against each other again after Reba turned out the light. Reba was still holding onto him and he kept a firm grip on her tiny arms. "Daniel was a gorgeous baby, don't you think?" Vic said to the darkness.

Reba's eyes popped open and she smiled. "Yeah, he is a gorgeous baby." She re-closed her eyes. "I can't wait for our baby." She mumbled into his shoulder.

Vic nodded. "Yeah…" he said with a smile. "I just hope I'm a good father." He mumbled. He wasn't sure if Reba had heard him or not. She had.

Reba pushed on his shoulder to make him turn and look at her. "You listen to me Victor Mariano." She said taking his face in her hands, staring into his eyes. "You're going to be a great father."

Vic scoffed a bit. "I couldn't even hold the baby without being completely afraid I would drop him."

Reba smiled softly. "That is normal. I went through it the first time I held Cheyenne. I understand the feeling but it's going to be all right. I'll be there to help you and in turn you will help me when I can't do it all." She said giggling.

Vic smiled and caressed her soft cheek. "I love you Mrs. Mariano."

"I love you Mr. Mariano." Reba kissed him lightly on the lips and they both drifted into a peaceful sleep.

End of Chapter