Hi Readers: I hope that you guys are enjoying the chapters that I have written for you today. Now, I am not going to delay this anymore. Here we go with Chapter Ninety-Nine.
Chapter Ninety-Nine
Congratulations Future Mom
Halstead Hospital Room, Cedars-Sinai NICU
Walking into his and Alex's hospital room with Max, Jay smiled as he looked at his beautiful wife this morning; the wife who is just waking up from her latest nap, which is very much needed. Unfortunately, the nap was not the best; especially not when her husband isn't here with her at the moment, which is scaring Alex. "Jay? Jay?" Hearing his wife call out for him, Jay started to rush over to her so that he can sit here. "Hey, take a breath Alex; it's okay, I'm right here." Turning to look at Jay when he said that, Alex started to relax. "Sorry, I just…" Jay shook his head when he heard Alex try and apologize, especially when she's worried right now; that's something that they both are, worried for her health (as well as the health of their twins). But right now, Alex didn't need to worry about anything, because he's here. "I was just talking Max out and going to get some breakfast." Alex agreed with Jay as he told her that, before looking at Max; meanwhile, Jay proceeded to set the breakfast that he got for him and Alex down on her side table.
"Here, do you want me to help you sit up? That way, you can just relax?" Alex agreed with Jay when he asked her whether she wanted him to help her sit up, as that most definitely is something that she wants. She wants to sit up, and she wants Jay to cuddle up to her in the bed; but first, she decided to ask her doctor whether she could. I mean, she might as well do so while a doctor is in here. "I mean, if that's okay with the doctor." Turning around from checking on niece and nephew, Natalie smiled as she looked at Alex. "I promise Alex, we'll make sure that you can sit up." A bit surprised, Alex smiled when she heard Natalie's voice. "I thought that you said that you might not be able to be on my case." Natalie smiled as she looked at Alex, before turning to look at Jay. "I may have used Jay's status to get in." Jay was confused as he heard Natalie say that, before going to grab Alex's hand. "What are you talking about?" Natalie smiled. "I mentioned that you're a veteran with PTSD, and that you'd rather have people who you trust take care of your kids."
Jay agreed with Natalie as she said that, as that most definitely do trust her. "Of course, we trust you Natalie, I hope you know that." Alex turned to look at her husband when he said that, grabbing his hand. "Seriously Jay? Did you really have to say that?" Jay smiled as he bent down and proceeded to kiss Alex's forehead softly, before turning his head and looking down into her eyes; after which, he bent down and proceeded to kiss her softly. Taking things nice and slow with the woman he loves more than anything in the entire world, Jay smirked due to the fact that this is the life that he's wanted for a while; and someday soon, it's the life that Natalie is going to get it. Now, he wonders whether she's told Alex yet. "So Natalie, who other than you, my brother, and your doctor know about your news?" Natalie smiled when she heard Jay say that, not even realizing what she said that. "God, Maggie is so happy for us. She's already…." That's when Natalie realized something, and that is that Jay knows their news now. "Wait, when did you find out?"
Jay smiled as he looked at Natalie when she said that, before turning his head and looking at Alex (who was still unaware of what news the duo were talking about); after all, only Jay knows that Natalie is currently pregnant with her and Will's first child. "Me and Will just had breakfast together before his shift. Apparently, he spoke to the head of the ER and asked to have breakfast with me before his shift." Natalie shook her head when she heard Jay say that, clearly not happy that Will did that. "I'll have to talk to him about that." Jay laughed as he heard Natalie say that, before getting up so that he can go hug Natalie; but first, she needs to tell Alex the news. "So, are you going to tell my wife your news? Or do I have to tell her so that she understands why I'm about to hug you?" Natalie smiled as Jay asked her that, before looking at her sister-in-law. "It's really early, but we're thinking early May." Alex just looked at Natalie when she said that. "Shut up!" Natalie agreed with Alex when she said that, smiling at her. "Yeah. I want a boy." Jay then smiled at Natalie.
"Come here first." Natalie agreed with Jay as he told her that, before going to hug him. "Congratulations sis." Natalie agreed with Jay when he said that, before smiling at him. "So, how about you just give us the update that we need for our children? I want to have that." Natalie agreed with Jay as he said that, before going ahead with giving him the update that he wants right now. "Well, Michael…right? I forgot their names after all the events." Alex agreed with Natalie. "Yeah. Michael and Olivia." Natalie smiled. "Adorable. But, okay. So, I thought that we might not need the kids to stay on the vents other than overnight; but I think it's best that we keep them on." Taking a breath as he heard that, Jay turned to look at Alex; clearly seeing that his wife would rather have him be next to her, Jay walked over to her so that he could hold her hand as they listened to this. "Yeah, maybe I should've told you to go sit with Alex before I started to speak." Jay agreed with Natalie as she said that, before going to sit down with Alex.
Grabbing her husband's hand, Alex proceeded to intertwine their fingers and just held him close to her; after which, Jay wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm right here Alex." Alex agreed with Jay when he told her that, well aware that was the case. After all, it's where he's been the entire time; he's been by her side, giving her the comfort that she needs. Cuddling up to Jay's side, Alex held him as Natalie spoke to them. "Okay, like I was saying. We need to keep them on the vent for a while, just to make sure that they're okay. Their esophagi aren't yet ready to carry the air that they breathe in down to their lungs, and then back to their mouth and nose; nor are they ready to eat through their mouths, which is why we're going to need to feed them intravenously for a while. I know that isn't ideal, believe me; it breaks my heart as their aunt to have to do this to them, but it's what's the best. And I promise that we're going to do whatever we can to make sure to they're okay." Jay agreed with Natalie as she said that.
"We know that you will Natalie, I promise that." Jay then turned his head and proceeded to press a kiss on Alex's forehead. "Now, when it comes to your recovery Alex; I already spoke to your surgeon, and they would like for you to remain in bed. And that means that you can't go see your twins yet, but you will be able to do so on this." Natalie said, going to grab a tablet that they have for all of the new moms in their side table; after which, she turned it on and opened the special app. "What are you doing Natalie?" Natalie smiled as she went to open the app that she needs to give Alex, before making sure that the lights were okay. "Perfect, this is nice." Natalie then proceeded to give Alex the tablet. "This is something that you're going to like." Alex was confused as she heard Natalie say that, before grabbing the tablet; after which, she saw what she was able to see on the tablet. And that would be their children. Cuddling up to Alex, Jay smiled as he held her close and then kissed her forehead softly. "See, you can still see them all the time."
Natalie agreed with Jay when he said that. "And you can also order food and change the TV channel from there. I think there's also some games on there, and I would play on that more than your iPad; then you can keep your husband away from the work e-mail." Jay snickered as he heard Natalie say that, because he doesn't think that's going to happen; however, Alex most definitely does like that idea. Grabbing Jay's hand, Alex smiled as she turned her head and looked up at him. "I don't want you to work right now Jay, let's just concentrate on this new life that we're starting." Jay agreed with Alex as she said that, before bending down so that he can kiss her softly. After which, he started to take things nice and slow with the woman he loves more than anything in the entire world. "I love you." Alex agreed with Jay as he told her that, smiling at her loving husband; after which, she laid her head down and cuddled up to him. Turning his head, Jay smiled as he proceeded to kiss her forehead softly. "I need to talk to Natalie for a minute, okay?"
Alex agreed with Jay as he said that. "Go ahead. But don't be long, because I like the breakfast over there; and I want to have it." Jay laughed as he said that, before getting up; after which, he bent down and proceeded to kiss the woman he loves more than anything in the entire world. And he truly means that, because Alex is the love of his life; and that will always be the case. "I already spoke to Matt yesterday, and he told me to take however long I want off. He's going to put Antonio in charge of all the projects that I was working on, so you don't need to worry about that. All you need to worry about right now is relaxing, taking it easy, and getting better. I promise Alex. Also, we have no rush to leave here; I already worked it out with the hospital for us to be able to stay here the entire time that the kids are here, because of my PTSD." Alex agreed with Jay when he said that, loving that idea. "God, I love you so much." Jay agreed with Alex as she said that, before kissing her forehead softly. "I'll be right back, okay Alex?" Alex agreed with Jay.
After which, Jay got up so that he could talk to Natalie in the hallway; after all, he does want to hear everything, without her sugar coating it. There was just something in the way that she was speaking to both him and Alex in their room, that made him know that she was sugar coating something; and that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to hear the truth, or his mind was going to wander all of the time; because that's something that just happens when you have PTSD, you can't think straight at times. You have major anxiety, and you worry all the time. So, you always need to get the complete truth, which is exactly what Jay is going to get.
Walking out of the hospital room together this morning, Jay and Natalie made their way over to the nurses' station that was just outside their room; that way, they can talk to each other close to the room. Yet, they can also (hopefully) keep this conversation out of earshot of Alex. And there was a reason for that, and that would be that Jay doesn't want her to be all stressed right now; right now, she needs to recover, and just take it easy. And thanks to him doing this, he believes that he's going to help her do that. So, hopefully this does work. Just walking up to the desk, Jay looked at his sister-in-law with the hope of her telling him the truth; and that was going to something that he's going to make sure that Natalie knows from the start, that he doesn't want any BS. Taking a breath, Jay looked at her. "Listen Natalie. I don't want to put stress on you because I know you're pregnant, congratulations about that again." Natalie laughed as she heard Jay say that, before smiling at him. "Thanks Jay. Now, what do you need to know from me?"
Jay sighed. "Listen, I know that you're probably already juggling a lot. You're both my sister-in-law, and our doctor. On one hand, you want to protect us; but on the other hand, you need to give us all the information that we need. So…" Natalie sighed as she got the gist of what Jay was trying to ask her. "You think that I'm holding some things back?" Jay sighed when he heard Natalie say that, as he hates the fact that he's even accusing Natalie of this. "Natalie, I hate that I'm accusing you of this; because I know you better than anybody, other than your husband. And I know that you'd never hide important information about our children from us, but I still need to know. I know that you do this for all your patients already, but you know how my brain works; my brain works differently because of my…" Natalie then realized what Jay was trying to tell her. "Because of your PTSD." Jay sighed as he looked at Natalie. "I hate that I'm asking you to treat me special because of my PTSD, but I just need to know ahead of time if I need to…" Natalie shook her head.
"Hey, look at me Jay." Jay agreed with Natalie as she said that. "Jay, the twins are okay, and you're going to be okay; you and Alex are okay, and I meant everything I said in there. And I promise, I will always tell you the truth. Now, do you also want me to tell everything to Alex? Or would you rather I shield her?" Jay took a breath when he heard Natalie ask him that, before turning to look at his wife. "I think that we should just be honest with her. I know Alex, and she'd kill me if she thought that I was hiding things from her; especially when it relates to the kids." Natalie agreed with Jay as he said that, before going to grab his hand. "Jay, I really hate that you're in this position; I hope you know that." Jay agreed with Natalie as she told him that, well aware of the fact that she hates that they're int his position. "Hey, of course I know that Natalie." Natalie agreed with her brother-in-law as he said that, smiling at him before going to hug him; after which, she leaned back and looked at him. "Hey, you listen to me okay?" Jay agreed with Natalie, doing just that.
"You have nothing to worry about right now, because you have me on your side; I'm going to take care of my niece and nephew, because I want them to be okay when their cousin is born." Jay snickered a bit when he heard Natalie say that. "Aw, now I see why you want to be on our medical team; you have your own reasons to make sure that they're all healthy." Natalie laughed as she agreed with Jay. "Oh, I most definitely do. But seriously, I just want what's best for you guys; you're family, and family always takes care of family." Jay agreed with Natalie as she told him that, as that most definitely is the case. "Thank you so much Natalie, you have no idea how much it means to me that you're taking care of us; and that you're doing it while you're also pregnant, because I know that there's stress on you." Natalie smiled when she heard Jay say that, as that most definitely is the truth. "Hey, there's nowhere I'd rather be; I want to be here, taking care of your family…. because they're also my family." Jay agreed with Natalie as she said that, smiling.
"And you're also their godmother." Natalie was a bit taken aback when she heard Jay say that, as she didn't expect that. "Wait, you want me to be their godmother?" Jay laughed, agreeing with Natalie. "There's nobody I'd rather have as their godparents, other than you and Will." That's when Jay heard Antonio walk up to him. "Not even me? The one who is a full-time practicing Catholic, and who goes to church every Sunday?" Turning to face his friend, Jay smiled. "Natalie, how about you get to work?" Natalie agreed with Jay as he said that, grabbing his hand. "I'll be back in an hour or so for a check-in. If you need anything, call my cell phone and I'll be right there." Jay agreed with Natalie when she said that, before watching as she walked away. At the same time, he turned to look at Antonio. "So, how are you guys doing?" Jay sighed as he proceeded to go ahead and hug his friend. "I'm glad that you're here, we need to have someone other than family here." Antonio laughed as he heard Jay say that, before following him into his room.
Shortly after walking into Jay and Alex's hospital room this morning, Antonio smiled at Alex while hearing Jay talk to him. "Now, if you…" However, Antonio was already on his way to the sink so that he could wash his hands; that being something that he had to do the last time he was in a hospital room, with a mom who also gave birth prematurely. "May I remind you that my sister did give birth prematurely too?" Jay then realized that, smiling at his friend when he said that. "Right." Antonio smiled as he heard Jay tell him that, before going ahead with washing his hands. "Well, I sure know someone who doesn't need to wash his hands when he comes in here." Jay was confused when he heard Antonio say that. "What are you talking about?" Antonio smirked, before looking at Max. "Last time I checked, Max is on your bed." Jay shook his head as he heard Antonio say that. "Shut up Antonio." Alex then turned to look at Jay. "At least he has a sense of humor." Antonio smirked as he heard Alex say that. "Burn much." Jay just looked at his wife as she said that.
"I can make you do more than laugh though." Antonio then started to get disgusting. "Okay, TMI!" Alex laughed as she heard Antonio say that, well aware that they're sharing too much information; after which, Antonio made his way over to Alex so that he can hug her. "Congratulations Alex." Alex agreed with Antonio when he said that. "Thanks. I just wish it didn't happen this way." Antonio agreed with Alex as she said that, well aware that was the case. "Believe me when I say this, you're going to be okay after you get out of here. That's all that matters at the end of the day." Jay agreed with Antonio when he said that, before watching as he walked over to him. Going to shake his friend's hand, Antonio smiled. "Congratulations Jay." Jay agreed with Antonio when he said that, smiling as he proceeded to shake his hand. "Thanks Antonio." Antonio then smiled as he turned to look at Alex. "So, what's it like to finally have kids?" Alex laughed as she heard her friend say that, as she wouldn't know. "It's still something that I'm getting used to."
Jay agreed with Alex as she said that, before walking over to her so that they can have breakfast. "How about you go sit down in the recliner? Me and Alex are going to sit together and have some breakfast, if that's okay?" Antonio shook his head. "No, it's okay. I was just going to stop in quickly. I just finished up at my AA meeting." Jay agreed with Antonio when he said that, well aware that was something that he goes to every Saturday. "I'm glad that's the case. Now listen, while you're here…." Alex then turned to look at her husband. "If you talk about business, then you're sleeping in the recliner tonight instead of in bed with me." Antonio laughed. "Jay, I already know that you aren't working right now. Matt and I are going to talk about it either today or Monday about it, and we're going to hire more staff to help me with some of the projects while you're out." Jay agreed with Antonio when he said that, glad that's the case. "Good, because I was going to suggest that." Antonio smiled as he looked at his friend. "You just relax for a while Jay."
Jay agreed. "You can always ask my brother for help. Also, you need to talk to him and give him the same speech you gave to me after me and Alex found out that we were expecting." Antonio was shocked when Jay said that. "Wait, are he and Natalie expecting?"
He just finished making his way down to the Emergency Department where his friend's brother is currently working as he waits for the Casey Clinic they're going to be building here in California to be finished, that way he can talk to him; and, of course, give him some congrats on behalf of himself and the family. Walking over to him at the counter, Antonio smiled. "So, I heard that somebody else in the Halstead family is having a baby." Looking up at Antonio when he said that, Will laughed a bit. "When did you get here, and who told you Antonio?" Antonio smiled. "I was just upstairs saying hi to Jay and Alex, and your niece and nephew. God, they're adorable." Will agreed with Antonio when he said that, smiling at him. "Tell me about it. I just hope that my kids are half as adorable as they are." That (unfortunately) did not make the doctor's wife very happy. "Excuse me?" Turning his head, Will looked at Natalie. "Love you Natalie." Natalie shook her head as she heard Will say that, before walking up to him; afterwards, she put her hand on his face.
Kissing him softly, Natalie smiled. "You over me a foot rub tonight." Will agreed with his wife as she said that, well aware that was going to be something that he's stuck doing tonight. "You're stuck doing that Will." Will agreed with Antonio when he said that, before smiling at him. After which, he smiled at Antonio. "So, you're pregnant; congratulations man." Will agreed with Antonio when he said that. "Thanks Antonio. But can you not tell your sister? Natalie specifically told me that she wants to tell Matt herself, as they've been friends for almost a decade now; remember, she went to medical school with Hallie." Antonio agreed with Will when he said that, well aware of that fact. "Of course Will, I promise not to say a word." Will smiled as he heard Antonio say that, before feeling him shake his hand. "Congratulations again Will, and enjoy the pregnancy; because I can tell you something, you will never get this time with your wife back. You're going to miss them when it's going." Will agreed with Antonio as he said that, before smiling at him.
"I an only assume that you speak from experience?" Antonio agreed with Will as he asked him whether he speaks from experience. "My marriage with Laura was never the same after we had Eva. Speaking of which, I need to get back to them before they wake up and start fighting; then, they might wake up Matteo and Noah." Will agreed. "Did we wake you guys up today?" Antonio shook his head. "No. But thanks for asking. Now listen, I'm going to let you go before I get you in trouble." Will agreed with Antonio when he said that, before walking away to go take care of some of his patients. Taking a breath, Antonio smiled as he watched his friends walk away; at the same time, Antonio went to make his way back home (where he's in charge of taking care of his nephews today). And there's a reason for that if you forgot, which would be that Matt and Gabby could still have their weekend alone; and that most definitely is something that they're going to have. They're going to get some time alone with each other, as he takes care of their kids.
Heck, he doubts that he's even going to see them today; other than when Matt makes them some food.