When John and Bailey rushed to the hospital to greet their daughter when the birth mother went into labor, they were a bundle of nerves and ecstatic as hell. "I'm going to be a mom," a tearful Bailey whispered to her husband when they stepped out of the room for a minute or two for a break.
He kissed her forehead. "I can't wait to see you with our baby." She was already a great stepmom to Henry but he had been a grown adult when they met. John already loved seeing her with their friends' kids but he knew it was going to be different with their own child.
Aurora Rainbow Nolan came into the world a few seconds after dawn broke over the city, and her parents cried the minute she was placed in Bailey's arms. "We love you, sweet girl," she sobbed.
"You're ours," John agreed.
They were allowed to take Aurora home that afternoon, and Bailey promptly took to motherhood. The crying kept them on their toes and they didn't even complain the first night she kept them up. "Have any regrets?" Bailey teased her husband, even as she feared his answer.
"None at all," he responded before kissing them both. Seeing Bailey with their daughter warmed his heart. He was an older parent now, sure, but he was glad he waited to become a dad again. Bailey was the perfect partner.
When their parental leave was up only six weeks later, they were a tiny bit reluctant to leave Aurora with the baby-sitter (especially after Nyla and Angela's nightmare nanny experience). "Mommy will call as soon as she gets to work and when she's not busy," Bailey promised.
"Daddy will try and stop her but he also won't be able to resist," John cooed at her as Aurora grabbed his hand. He melted. "Look at that tiny little fist. Are you going to punch me?"
Aurora smiled at them, they hugged and kissed her, and then the two of them headed off to work. True to their word, they both ended up calling quite a few times that morning and annoying the poor understanding baby-sitter but by afternoon, their work intersected.
John and Bailey were called to the same accident scene and arrived within minutes of each other. Bailey took one look at the scene in front of her, whirled around, and vomited into the bushes. "Whoa, you okay?" questioned a concerned Lucy.
A still pale Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. No clue what that was about."
"You sure?" a concerned John pressed, ready to hold her hair back in case it happened again.
"I'm sure. Totally fine," an insistent Bailey lied right before she turned back to the bushes and threw up one more time.
"Maybe this is a stress response to leaving Aurora and you should go to the doctor?" he asked her, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Probably not but I appreciate you worrying about me." She flashed him a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
He definitely didn't buy it. "Bailey," John warned.
"John," she mocked.
"How long have you been feeling like this?" He crossed his arms and started staring her down.
Bailey rolled her eyes and felt instant regret at the action. "Just like the last three days," she admitted. "But I figured it was just anxiety about my maternity leave ending and missing out on time with Aurora." Then her eyes widened and clapped an arm over her mouth.
John was about to ask if she was going to throw open again when realization hit him too. "You don't think?"
"What is happening?" asked a confused Lucy as she finished clearing the scene.
She shrugged. "Maybe?"
He laughed. "Only us."
"I'll stop and grab a pregnancy test." She didn't dare hope for a miracle pregnancy after fertility issues but Bailey still wanted to rule out the possibility to put her mind at ease.
Sure enough, the tests were all positive when she finally took the next morning before heading out to work. "Aurora's going to be a big sister. Bailey, we're having another baby. Our little miracle."
Bailey battled both excitement and fear - they had apparently beaten the odds, but she was too jaded to hope for the best. She wasn't going to get her hopes up yet until she visited the doctor. She made the appointment, and they got her in as quickly as possible.
When it was confirmed that she was about three months along, the two of them celebrated by taking Aurora to the park. "Can't believe we're going to have two babies that are less than a year apart."
"We'll figure it out," John assured her as they pushed Aurora's stroller around the park. He was definitely too old for this but they'd roll with the changes. They'd done it before.
Their family expanded several months later when Bailey gave birth to Sunshine Amaya Nolan. Aurora took one look at Sunny and burst into tears. Henry snorted out a laugh. "I had a much better reaction when I became a big brother," he teased his father and stepmother.
"Yeah, laugh it up," John shot back with a grin.
"I'm glad they'll have each other," Bailey admitted with a yawn. Labor and delivery had taken a lot out of her
"Our little miracles." John leaned against her, love filling his entire body. Watching all three of his children together for the first time took his breath away. They had been through a lot in the past year, and he wouldn't change it for anything (even though they were about to experience a ton of chaos with two babies in the house). Deciding to adopt was the one of the best decisions he and Bailey had ever made, and Aurora was theirs in every single way that mattered. Sunny completed their family in a way they hadn't expected - their girls (and Henry) meant everything to them.
Aurora didn't take too kindly to Sunny at first but she eventually adjusted and started loving her little sister. John and Bailey embraced the sibling rivalry and the stress that two young kids brought into their lives, enjoying mostly every minute of it.