Disclaimer: I don't own anything here (except for Al) and am just doing this for fun and to pass the long months until Season 4.
A week and a half after Jason and Lyla's wedding, Billy and Tim were sitting in the office, drinking beer. It was Friday, after all.
"So, Al's picking up her new car?" asked Billy.
Tim nodded.
"And what is it, again? A Saab or something yuppie like that?"
"It's a VW....a Passat station wagon. You know, we gotta have room for George too."
"Right. A Passat. So tell me, does this mean you have to start going to yoga classes and eating organic food?"
"Shut up, Billy. Least it's not a minivan."
"I've got four kids, what the hell else am I going to drive?"
"The Passat's not bad. Best thing about it is you can set the position of the seat and mirrors and program the key to remember it, then when you unlock the car, it knows which key you used and the seats and mirrors automatically move to where you need them."
"OK, see, that right there is worth buying a car like that."
"No kidding. You know I couldn't even get in the car after she test-drove it, the seat was so close to the steering wheel?"
"I'm surprised she can see over the wheel.....Hey, should you be drinking beer before baby school?" Billy finished his beer and opened another.
"Probably not. I know this is important to Al, and the stuff about the actual birth is good, but the rest of it....just seems too far off to worry about. All I care about right now is getting that baby out safe – we can figure the rest out later."
"Yeah. I'm so glad Mindy never went in for that stuff."
"We even had homework this week."
Billy snickered. "You get a rally girl to do it for you?"
Tim rolled his eyes. "We were supposed to sit down and talk about family traditions and rituals that were important to us and then discuss how we were going to combine these into our new family."
"I bet that was a short conversation on your side."
"No kidding. Good thing Al's crazy family has enough traditions for a couple of families."
Billy put his feet up on his desk and leaned back in his chair. "You getting excited?"
"More like terrified." Tim shook his hair out of his face and put his feet up on the desk.
"Just stay away from the business end of things and don't try to tell her to calm down. You'll be fine."
Tim grinned. "You know Stephen passed out when Avery was born?"
"Is it just me, or does Stephen sound like a major league weenie?"
"Completely. But she loved him."
"Yeah, and now she loves you. I seriously gotta worry about the girl's standards and sanity."
Tim kicked Billy's feet. "Thanks a lot."
"So, she going to go for the drugs or try to tough it out?"
"This is Al, what do you think?" asked Tim with a smile.
"No drugs. Too bad, that epidural thing seems to be like magic. So, she tell you what you're supposed to do through all this? She come up with one of those.....whatchacallits? Birth plans?"
"Yeah....mostly. She wants me to keep her hair off her face, make sure none of the nurses call her 'Mom' or 'Mama' and she wants to squeeze my hand."
"Damn, you're going to have broken bones for sure. Look, Timmy, just treat it like a hostage situation. Do everything she says and you'll get through it alive."
"Nice, Billy, real nice. Inspiring advice."
Billy shrugged. "Just don't panic, Timmy. That shit's contagious. And you're going to feel completely helpless and be scared out of your mind, but you can't let her see that."
Tim nodded and then finished his beer. He was mentally debating having a second one when the office door swung open.
"Nice to see you guys are working hard," said Mindy as Amber and TJ ran into the office and greeted their father and uncle.
"How's school?" asked Tim, since they'd just started first grade that week.
"Great," said Amber. "I have the nicest teacher and my best friend Sarah's in my class and we sit next to each other."
TJ scowled. "We gotta sit still....a lot. I don't like it."
"What's up with this unexpected surprise?" asked Billy, who was now sitting up and trying to look business-like.
"Mommy got your birthday present," giggled Amber.
"Is that so?" asked Billy. "You going to tell me what it is, Amby, or do I have to tickle it out of you?"
"I'll tell you myself. If you got plans for the 16th through the 18th, you better cancel 'em because we're going go be at the Embassy Suites in Midland and going to see the Monster Truck rally," said Mindy.
"Seriously?" The thousand-watt grin on Billy's face was priceless.
Mindy nodded.
"You need me and Al to watch the kids?" asked Tim.
"No way, Timmy. I got Celia to do it. You two don't want to spend one of your last baby-free weekends babysitting," said Mindy, who was now sitting in Billy's lap.
"Hey, kidders, who wants to go to the waiting room and feed the fish?" asked Tim as he stood up.
Both kids rushed out the door toward the waiting room. Tim winked at his brother and left the office, closing the door behind him. When he caught up with the kids just outside the waiting room, they were talking to Al.
"A girl would just be really nice. I'm sick of boys," said Amber.
"I know, but it's not like ordering something on the Internet. I can't just check the box that says 'girl'," said Al, smiling as she saw Tim approaching.
"Mommy says she's done – no more babies are going to come out of her belly, so you really need to have a girl. It's the closest I'll get to having a sister," pleaded Amber.
Tim looked at Al with wide, surprised eyes as he tried not to laugh. "We're going to feed the fish. Want to come?"
"I want to sit down on that couch in there and maybe never move again," she replied.
TJ pulled open the door and held it open while they all walked in. Amber and TJ each had a turn feeding the fish, which involved Tim picking them up and holding them while they dropped brightly colored flakes into the tank. Then the kids stood there and watched the fish while Tim joined Al on the couch. He put his arm around her and smiled, feeling content.