*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much*
"Honey, I'm home!" I call out as I walk into the foyer of mine and Willow's home in Tampa. I just got home after traveling for 21 days. We had Wrestlemania, had a couple days of a break and then we were on a European tour which kept me on the road for 21 days and being the WWE champion I had autograph signings and media events to cover. It has been a busy three weeks. I'm just ready to be home with my wife, spend time with my daughter and get some rest before I head back out on the road in a couple days.
"BABY!" she says excitedly as she meets me at the door. She hurries over to me and wraps her arms around my neck as I wrap my arms around her. "I'm so glad you're home," she says with a smile before she kisses me softly. I pick her up off the floor and she wraps her legs around my waist as we continue to share our kiss.
"Did you miss me?" I ask with a smile as I set her down on her feet.
"You have no idea," she says with a smile. "How was Europe?" she asks as we make our way to the kitchen where I smell my welcome home meal. She knows how to make my welcome home the best. I love home cooked meals I love her home cooked meals and after being on the road for three weeks there is nothing that I want more than a home cooked meal.
"It was fun; busy but fun," I answer her. "It would have been better if you came with me."
"I wish I could have come with you but it was better that I stayed home you had a lot to do."
"You can't even imagine," I say as I walk to the fridge and pull out a cold beer. "So what's for dinner tonight?" I ask opening it.
She smiles at me and says, "Parmesan crusted tilapia, garlic and herb scallops and seafood linguine."
"It smells delicious I'm starving for some home cooking you always deliver."
"I do my best I guess this makes me barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen huh?" she jokes as she stirs the pasta. "I better get used to it, this is my life now. I don't know if I am going back after the baby is born."
"You're just going to give it up like that?" I ask taking a swig of my beer.
"It's not like I want to just give it up and walk away, Joe. You know that. You know how much I love this business but what about the baby? What am I supposed to do about the baby?"
"We'll figure it out when the time comes but I don't want to see you give up on your dreams, Willow."
"I know, Joe," she says. "So I see you have a match with AJ Styles for the championship at Payback, how did that even happen?"
"I have no idea," I say. "It just happened. I had no idea they were going to throw AJ Styles at me. I hear Seth is going to be returning soon."
"Really?"
"Really, he's healing well. I was expecting a Wrestlemania return but he wasn't cleared yet. He still has some work to do. I can't wait for that epic feud," I say.
"You know you and Seth have never really finished out your feuds. It seems every time you get close to that final step in your feud something happens, you had emergency surgery then he tore his ACL. You two have not had any luck. I think people want to see it."
"People want to see my lose," I say honestly before taking another swig of my beer. "People hate me."
"Does it matter if they hate you or not? I think you're pretty awesome and you have a little girl that thinks the world of you. And you're going to have a son or daughter that is going to think you're a superhero. Haters are going to hate, I don't know what their beef is with you but it doesn't matter."
"I know," I say, "so is our appointment tomorrow?"
"I had my tests done a couple days ago for the amniocentesis. The doctor has the results and wants to go over them with us tomorrow."
"I see," I say as I put my beer down on the counter and walk over to my wife. I know how hard this down syndrome diagnosis and talk has been for her. It hasn't been easy for either of us. We have been trying to be positive and hope that the ultrasound was wrong. We're prepared to deal with it either way but that's not what you expect or hope for during a pregnancy. You don't want to hear that come from the doctor but sometimes things happen that we don't expect. "Hey," I say wrapping my arms around her waist. "Everything is going to be okay, all right?"
"Yeah," she says before she stops stirring the pasta. She turns around to face me wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head on my chest. "He could have given me the results that day but I wanted to wait for you. I think we should find out together because you and I are in this together."
"I agree," I say as I hug her tightly, "no matter what those results say we're going to be okay. We'll figure it out. We'll go to support groups and whatever resources we can to get through this. It won't be easy but we'll get through it."
"I hope so," she says burying her head into my chest. "I missed you," she says, "it was a long 3 weeks. I'm really glad you're home."
"You're glad that I am home so I can go to Taco Bell for you in middle of the night," I say with amusement.
"Well, yeah," she says with a smile making me smile. I love when she's happy and she's smiling. I love to be the person to put the smile on her face.
"I'm going to let you finish dinner and I'm going to go unpack. Is there anything you want me to do?"
"Can you throw in a load of laundry?"
"Of course," I say. "Let me know when dinner is ready."
"Okay," she says as I let her get back to cooking while I go to unpack my things before I throw in a load of laundry for Willow before she calls me to the kitchen to have a nice dinner for two which I enjoy spending time with her, listening to her tell me about all the things she did with Alani while I was away and we talk about baby things and baby shopping. When dinner is over I draw her a warm bath with bubbles and put on a movie for her to watch while she relaxes in our Jacuzzi bathtub while I clean up from dinner, do the dishes by hand and put them away before cleaning up the kitchen.
Once everything is cleaned up in the kitchen I make my way upstairs after turning off the light and setting the alarm. I walk into our bedroom and smile as I see Willow sprawled out in our bed in one of my t-shirts, her red curly hair falling to her waist and partially covering her face while she sleeps. I walk over to the bed and cover her up with a blanket so she stays warm. I watch her sleep she sleeps like an angel. She's perfect. I don't want to wake her so I carefully get into the bed after stripping down into my briefs, I turn the TV on quietly and turn off the lights to catch up on a few TV shows before I call it a night while she sleeps peacefully.
The next morning I surprise Willow by making her breakfast in bed, I serve her French toast with my special scrambled eggs and turkey bacon with a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice so that she doesn't have to do anything before our doctor's appointment. I can tell she is nervous about the results of the test. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous because my nerves are out of control. I'm doing everything I can to keep busy to keep my mind off of it. I am not even sure what to expect.
Sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office is more nerve wracking than I thought it would be. Neither Willow nor I have said a word to each other since we walked in the door. I hold her hand as we wait but that's the extent of our contact. My leg bounces nervously and I can't concentrate on a magazine so I look over my phone but can't stay focused on it. Willow sits quietly next to me staring off into space as the nurse calls for us to go back to the doctor's office. I help Willow up and hold her hand as we make our way to the doctor's office to find out the results we have been waiting for. "Are you ready?" I ask Willow as we wait for the doctor.
"I guess," she says letting out a breath. "Actually I'm not ready," she admits.
"I don't think I am either," I say, "but we need to know."
"We don't have to know we want to know," she says. "I don't know, Joe would it be too much to be surprised to know if our baby has Downs or not?"
"I don't want to be surprised about this, Willow. I'm allowing us to be surprised about the sex and keeping the name a secret but this I don't want to keep secret. I want to know. I'm not ready to know but I don't want to not know if that makes sense. I want to know the truth and I want others to know."
"I don't care what others think of our baby," she says. "It doesn't matter it is our choice."
"I know," I say as I rub her back softly. "It's going to be okay. I know it is."
"I hope so," she says as I rub her back before the doctor walks in with a file.
"Good morning, Joe and Willow," he says as he takes a seat after shaking our hands. "How are you today?"
"Just ready to find out the results," I say.
"Understandable," he says, "I have had your results for a couple days but Willow wanted to wait for you to come home so that you two could find out together."
"She explained it to me last night," I say as I continue stroking her back.
"I have gone over the results a couple of times," he explained opening up the file. "Do you know what amniocentesis is?" he asks.
"Not really."
"It is a test that we do to determine chromosomal abnormalities and to determine the sex. What we do is we take a sample of amniotic fluid containing fetal tissue from the amniotic sac. We check the sample to see if there is anything abnormal about the chromosomes. We also can determine the sex, did you two want to know the sex of the baby?"
"No that's going to be a surprise," says Willow.
"All right," he said, "I have your results are you both sure that you want to know the results?"
"Yes," we say together.
"A child normally has 46 chromosomes but a child with down syndrome has 47 chromosomes," he says as my leg bounces. "And when we looked at the sample it was determined that your child has 47 chromosomes. We call it Down syndrome or Trisomy 21. Trisomy 21 is when the 21st chromosome doesn't completely split apart during conception or an extra 21st chromosome came from the mother or the father you each give 23 chromosomes resulting in the 46 but one of you gave an extra chromosome giving the baby a total of 47 chromosomes."
"So the baby has Down Syndrome?" asks Willow as her voice cracks. I hand her a tissue. We knew it was a possibility but knowing for sure changes everything, it's shocking to hear. This is not what we expected or planned but that's life.
"Yes," says the doctor. "But I don't want you to panic. Most children with down syndrome grow normally but hit milestones later. They suffer some handicaps but they aren't completely mentally incompetent. Many children with Down syndrome go on to live happy and normal lives despite their disability. With technology their life span has increased over the last few years. There are support groups you can join and classes you can take. It's not going to be easy but it is going to be worth every complication. Children with Down Syndrome are some of the sweetest children I have ever met." Willow breaks down crying at his words. "I know it seems scary right now and it is shocking to hear. A lot of moms and dads feel the same way when they find out the news. It's overwhelming and it is scary no one really expects it but you have time to adjust and accept the news. I don't know what your religious beliefs are but God blessed you with this baby because he believes you're strong enough to handle it. Everything will be all right. You're going to hit some speed bumps but every day is going to be a blessing with your baby."
"I think Willow needs some time to digest all of this. We knew it was a possibility but hearing it said is hard. I understand what you're saying to us though we don't think of this baby other than a blessing," I say. "It's just a lot to take in right now."
"I'm going to give you a card and some brochures of support groups that you can attend to talk with other parents with children with Down syndrome. It always helps to talk to someone that understands your situation and you can make friends. Everything is going to be all right. It is going to take some time for this all to sink in but once it does you'll start to accept it more and it won't seem so frightening. They are like normal children except their a little slower than most normal children but that doesn't mean they can't have a happy and healthy life. I have known both of you for five months now. You seem like good people, you seem happy with one another but what I really know is that if anyone can give their child the world, give them a happy and normal childhood it is you two. You're going to be the best parents any child has ever had. I can see how much you love your son or daughter already. It won't be easy but it will be worth it I promise," he says.
After our appointment Willow and I are driving home. "You know we have to tell our families the news."
"I know," she says looking out the window as she rests her hand on her stomach. "We should have a family cookout and tell them the news."
"That works for me," I say. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm fine, Joe. It's been a long day already. I'm just taking it all in. I don't know what we're going to do."
"We will figure it out, we always do. Everything is going to be okay but I think it is good that we go to one of the support groups and talk to other parents. It might be good for us."
"I'm sure it will be," she says. "Do you think we can do this?"
"I know we can do this, Willow."
"I know we can too, I think I love the baby even more now," she says. "I loved it before but now my love for our child is even bigger. I can't wait to meet it and just as he made the announcement I felt it move."
"It moved?"
"I'm pretty sure," she says with a smile. "It was like it was telling me everything was going to be okay."
"Because everything is going to be okay, Willow," I say with a smile. "You heard the doctor it isn't going to be easy but it will all be worth it."
"Babe, nothing in life is ever easy," she says, "and it is the most difficult things in life that are worth the most. We'll be okay." She gives me a promising smile before taking my hand into hers. "I think we should start baby shopping. We don't have much time till it is here. I'm excited to give it the best life we can."
"Me too," I say with a smile. "And it will."
*A/N: What do you think of Joe helping Willow out as much as he can by cleaning up and making her breakfast? Does she deserve it? What do you think about her test results and it coming back the baby has 47 chromosomes? Do you think they handled it better than you thought they would? What did you think of what the doctor said to them? Will it be worth it for them? Will the give their baby the best life they can? Is it good for them to join a support group to talk with other parents of children with Down syndrome? What do you think of their support in each other as a married couple? How do you think it will go with telling their families? Please review and thank-you for reading.