A/N: Sorry for the delay, last night I finished the 2020 daily story and I didn't want to rush this chapter just to get it out on time :)

Chapter 79
The Fourth Heart

May 4th 2024

Without ever really putting it into words, ever even actively thinking it to herself, she'd told herself this was the day the baby would be born. It was one day before her due date as determined by her doctor, so it wouldn't have been completely beyond reason to think this would be ideal. But then it had nothing to do with wanting the pregnancy to be over, to finally have her new baby in her arms, no. All it had been was a comment her father had made, when she'd told him her due date. One day off from Star Wars day… She hadn't been able to get it out of her head, even before he'd passed away, so now that he had gone, and they were all counting down the days until she gave birth…

When she woke up that morning, she just sort of lay there, her hand traveling the curve of her belly. The strain it had put on her body this time around, it practically went without saying, had been that much more than the first time around, with Elliott. As much as it made for discomforts, some of them beyond the telling in casual conversation, as she'd navigated these final days, she had come to discover a new appreciation for every little ache. It didn't even make sense to her, much less to others, but… Well, maybe it was just that her life had been thrown into such turmoil with her father's illness and his passing that this, right here, the pain in her back, the cramps in her legs… They grounded her, brought her back to the reality of her life as it was.

"You need to go somewhere," she told Lucas when she turned on to her back and spotted him, at his desk in the corner, reviewing his notes and all the while keeping the wide awake Elliott on his knee. He looked back at her now, abandoning his studying at once as he stood and came over to the bed. Maya smiled, seeing how Elliott brightened at the sight of her. He kicked his legs about, stretched his hands toward her, and when Lucas put him down on the mattress, he crawled over to her until she could pick him up and hold him. "Hey, Sprout, good morning," she spoke sweetly, kissing her son's rosy face.

"Do you need something?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, no, I'm good now," Maya swayed about, the motion making Elliott laugh.

"You said I needed to go somewhere…"

"I did, and you do. To study, without him or me underfoot. We are too tempting to your concentration."

"Maya, you're about to go into labor any day now, I don't think I should leave you unless I really have to, and I can study here just fine. I've been doing it for an hour already," Lucas indicated his desk.

"Can you honestly look at me and say that you haven't been stopping ever couple minutes to reposition him," Maya looked to their boy, "Or looking at me to see if I was still asleep, or doing anything that might mean I was about to start having this baby?" Lucas was looking at them now, his wife, their son, and that oversized belly where their second son was just biding his time now… She was right. She'd been right even as he'd tried to suggest otherwise. And still…

"Do you think I'll do any better if I'm somewhere else? There's no place I can be where I won't be thinking about you three right now." And she knew that, too, much as she would have liked to say there was any other solution. All they could really do was compromise. Maya looked out the window.

"It's a nice day out, isn't it? Got a nice porch out there, comfy place to sit… and study in peace…"

"Alright," he chuckled. "But that's as far as I'll go." They sealed the deal with her extending her hand to him before he reached back and shook it with his own. Seeing this, Elliott stretched out his little hand, too, and his father happily shook it as well.

At least, she would not lack for company. Although Pappy Joe had gone up the road to visit the Sandersons this morning, shortly after breakfast, Maya had it on good authority that she would soon find herself visited by one young aunt and aspiring baker… and babysitter. To her surprise – and a very good surprise – it was two of her sisters who came riding up to the house on their bikes today. Cara was the daily staple, but this time she'd come with Eliza trailing behind her. Lucas had come to let her know when he'd spotted the first and then second bike, and she'd pulled herself to her feet and gone to look, just as they'd turned at the mailbox.

"Two of you today?" Maya asked, smiling and extending her arms as the girls came bounding up the steps and soon hugged her. "Good to see you, Lizard," she told her quiet sister. Eliza looked up at her, and the smile on her face could be said to be her normal smile, but then for knowing how her voice had just up and flown away as of late, since they'd lost their father, it couldn't be near as normal as it came off, could it?

"Well, I thought it would be a good idea," Cara explained, and the emphasis – so excessive as it came – suggested that maybe it had been Abigail who'd turned to her eldest daughter and asked that she take her little sister along with her if she would go again today. Maybe she hoped this would help Eliza to find her voice again. If Maya could do it, oh, she would give it everything she had. It couldn't be forced out of her, they all knew that, but it couldn't be gone forever, could it?

"I think it's a good idea, too," she told Cara, turning a smile back to Eliza. "Let's just go inside though. He needs to study, and I need to sit down again…" she breathed, nodding over to Lucas, who still looked like he would have wanted to follow them inside, get her settled in… "Study," she mouthed the word, squinting at him, and he held his hands in surrender, sitting back down with a smirk.

"Hi, Elliott!" Cara went over to the playpen at once, finding her nephew standing there like he was very close to figuring out how to climb out. But then there she was, and he squealed, if for no other reason than that she would probably get him out of there, which she did. "I got you now," Cara told him as she went to set him down. She meant to put him on the ground, as she'd done since he could sit and crawl, but he responded to the descent as an invitation to extend his legs now, to land on his feet, and so he resisted going any lower until Cara comprehended and helped him to stand. This development made Eliza very happy, and she pressed her hands together, gasping. "He's been doing that more, yeah?" Cara told her before turning to her older sister.

"He has," Maya confirmed, watching them even as she did her best to adjust the cushions at her back. She could never move once she found her ideal position, it seemed. If she moved, the cushions would move, too, and then it would all go wrong. "If you hold his hands, he'll take a few steps. He's getting better at that, too."

"I think he needs a new diaper," Cara frowned, confirming with a scrunch of her nose.

"Of course, he does," Maya sighed, moving to rise again. The timing was never on her side these days.

"Oh, I can do it!" Cara told her before she could stand. "Can I?"

"Knock yourself out," Maya pointed to the stairs. What was she going to do, say no? Her back was really getting to be too much today. "Thanks, Lizard," she breathed when her younger sister came around and tried to help fix the cushions for her. "That's the one right there… That's good, thank you," she closed her eyes for a moment, letting relief wash in before looking back to the girl once more. "I'm really glad you're here today, you know that?" Maya asked her, clasping her hand in hers. Eliza nodded, and there was that bright smile again, making Maya want to ask her why she wouldn't speak anymore. She couldn't do that, she knew.

Eliza stood there with her, her hand almost skimming over her belly like she might have thought that setting her hand down in earnest might somehow make the baby come. To Maya, it looked also like she was very aware of the silence now sitting between them, because she wouldn't talk, and she needed to do something with herself.

"You know, I'm not going to be getting around a whole lot today. Maybe we could watch a movie once they get back from up there?" Maya offered, and Eliza nodded at once. "Got any ideas? You can pick something. Take my phone right there." As Eliza busied herself with her search, Maya called up the stairs to see how Cara was doing with the diaper.

"Still cleaning him!" her sister called back, sounding like she was holding her breath halfway.

Maya's instinct here was to go and help her, not wanting to pull Lucas from his studies for a diaper change, and not seeing how sending Eliza up there would change much of anything. She was not looking forward to leaving the couch, especially when she finally had everything set up to keep her back comfortable, and with the prospect of having to go up and down the stairs, but it really just made more sense.

"Okay…" she took a breath, moving to put her feet back on the ground. Eliza was watching her as she started to push up and rise on her feet, and when she sat right back down, the girl moved to her side. "Don't worry about it, lost my footing for a second there…" Maya told her, even as the pain in her back gave another surge, and from there it all got to feel just a bit more… "Actually, it might be longer than that, I…" she breathed.

Eliza put her hand against her sister's belly now, and Maya nodded. Yeah… it was starting to look that way. At once, Eliza bolted toward the door and opened it, almost leaping on to the porch. Lucas startled, looking up when the girl appeared and opening his mouth to speak.

"The baby's coming! Maya needs help!" Eliza's voice came as though it had never left, though the surprise of it could only last so long for what its return had signaled. This was not the time to wonder if it would be a one-time thing or if she was just talking again now. Lucas left his notebook there with the rest of his books and hurried past his young sister-in-law to join his wife at the couch.

"Hey, hey, are you sure? Do you…" he asked, crouching. Maya was taking breaths as best she could in order to keep calm.

"Let's say 95% right now," she told Lucas, grabbing his hand to stop him before he could go hurrying into hospital mode. "Go upstairs, go help Cara with Elliott, his diaper was a mess," she pointed loosely. "Not rolling into that hospital to have them think we can't keep our kids clean. Hurry up."

"Okay, okay," Lucas stood, looking around, spotting the concerned Eliza Hart. "Stay with her?" he asked, and Eliza nodded, hurrying back to her sister while he bolted up the stairs at once.

"Hey, Lizard," Maya breathed, pushing a blond fringe from her sister's face, holding her cheek. "It was good to hear your voice for a bit there," she smiled. Eliza nodded, and it was as good as telling her that this had been an exception, in case of emergency. It also suggested a possible root for this silence, and maybe to distract herself from what she was feeling right then, Maya went ahead and asked it. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Eliza looked down, and Maya touched her arm. "Because he couldn't speak in the end either?" Eliza's response was just to – carefully – hug her older sister, and Maya returned it as much as she could. "It's okay, Lizard… Take as long as you need."

When Lucas made up the stairs and into the nursery, Cara was finally just about done cleaning up Elliott, getting ready to put the new diaper on him.

"Here, let me finish, I…" Lucas told her.

"I can do it," Cara quickly looked back without letting go of the boy, who was prone to flopping around if left unattended.

"No, I know you can, but it'll be faster if I do it. I need your help, like we talked about," Lucas stepped up to the changing table, and at this the girl stepped aside at once, understanding.

"You mean…"

"The Bee's fleeing the hive," Lucas nodded, calling up the code they'd established. Cara snapped to business, letting him finish with the diaper while going downstairs to find her sisters. "There, see, all done," Lucas breathed as he closed up the diaper and dressed Elliott up again. "You're about to be a big brother!" he told his son, in an excited but not so loud voice, which was enough to make him emulate this feeling. "Let's go," Lucas picked him up, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he made sure to grab Opie Bunny for him. The day had the potential of being very long, and he'd need his buddy.

Lucas carried Elliott across the hall and into the master bedroom, where he went digging for the sealed envelope where he'd hidden it. He slipped this into his pocket before taking the pre-made bag and returning down the stairs. At least this time he didn't fall and hurt himself.

"How's it going down here?" Lucas asked, finding Maya had managed to stand and walk over to the door, where she remained, one hand at her belly, the other holding to the wall for support, while Eliza stayed right with her. Meanwhile, Cara had Maya's phone and was in the process of making the calls she'd been asked to make when she and Lucas had constructed The Plan. She'd be calling the Hunter Hart house, and the elder Friars, and her mother, and then she'd call Riley, who'd rally the troops as far as their friends went. Just from watching her and listening, he had a feeling she was on the line with his mother in that instant.

"Definitely not a false alarm…" Maya breathed. "Can't say for sure, but it feels like it's coming fast, oh…" she paused. Lucas hurried to her, and Eliza stepped up to take the bag from him. He carefully passed her Elliott as well, and she received him gladly.

"Fast like we won't make it to the hospital?" Lucas asked, already thinking through what they might need to do if this was the case. He'd looked things up, to prepare himself for this, back in the first pregnancy and then brushing up again on this one, but if he had to decide…

"Fast like you'll have to drive as fast as you can without crashing us or I will definitely have this baby in the car, and no one wants that… least of all me," she leaned to him.

"Okay, come on, we're going. Cara?" he called back, and his assistant appeared at his side. He gave her his keys. "Car doors, trunk, go, go, go."

"Going!" Cara ran out ahead. By the time Lucas had gotten Maya there, he was able to settle her in her seat. Eliza had brought Elliott out, too, and once Lucas took him to put in his seat she ran back for the bag, which she'd pass to Cara, who'd get it in the trunk before moving for the two of them to get in the car with the others.

"I didn't add anything in the bag, are we missing anything?" Lucas asked Maya.

"I…" she paused to think, breathing, breathing… "No, I don't think so… It's fine, hurry up."

So, he hurried around the car, climbing into the driver's seat. With everyone buckled in and ready to go, they were off. He sped up as much as he reasonably could, staying within limits though his foot could have easily pushed to pour on some more speed. He didn't want to get them in an accident, and he didn't want them to get stopped, though he wouldn't be above flagging down a cop car if he saw one, if it meant that they'd arrive faster and Maya would get to deliver in a hospital. Cara was still making her phone calls, while Eliza was entertaining Elliott with funny faces to distract him from his mother's advancing distress.

Maya had no real notion of the ride, except she knew, eventually, that they made it to the hospital on time. Every bit of her concentration was on keeping the baby right where it was until she was on a bed, and this continued as she was helped out of the car and into a wheelchair. Surely the others were following along, but she wasn't aware of them again until they'd made it into the hospital and her room.

"Lucas?"

"Right here, hey," he appeared, grasping her hand.

"Where's Elliott?"

"Your sisters have him, they're out in the hall," he assured her. "Okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, breathing, breathing… "It's happening so fast, I…" Maybe it had been going on a while and she hadn't noticed? She'd been so focused on the pain in her back, she hadn't even considered… But now here they were, and she looked to Lucas, and they could finally have this moment, to look at each other, to know… They were having a baby today. She laughed.

"What is it?" Lucas asked. Inside, it kind of reassured him to see she was smiling.

"May the fourth be with you," she told him, and after he stared back in slight confusion, he put it all together and he laughed along with her.

"It's weirdly appropriate, when you think about it," he told her.

"Why, you think our kid's a Jedi?"

"No, just that… he or she will be the fourth… of our family… and will be with us," he explained. Maya just smiled and shook her head at him.

"Need you to kiss me right now, before everything goes haywire again," she reached out, and he moved to do as asked, as he'd been about to do anyway. "I love you so much," she kept his gaze as he pulled back, staying close.

"I love you more every day," he replied, and she gave him a nod, moving from agreement to a signal that everything was advancing again.

It was impossible to think that they were back here like this, having this baby, when not one year ago they were here, too, actually in this very same room… They didn't have time to even really settle in all that much, didn't know when anyone of their families, their friends, might have arrived. There wasn't even time to think a great deal about Elliott, though they trusted that he would be safe with his young aunts, and soon enough there would have been others to come along and keep an eye on the three of them.

This baby was coming along as fast as Maya had predicted, and they had not been in that room more than ten, maybe fifteen minutes, when the newborn's cries pierced into the world, announcing its arrival. It felt like an echo through time, bringing them back to that moment when they'd heard Elliott for the first time. The sound of their Bee was no less life changing, and Maya and Lucas both received it like the babe had grabbed hold of their hearts already tighter than before, and they welcomed it wholly.

"Got yourselves another boy here," the doctor announced with a laughing voice.

Lucas had known this, of course, but it still hit him to hear it, even as he looked to Maya, as she received this news for the first time. They would have loved to have had a girl this time, no doubt, one of each and all that, but she was presented with another son, and he was laid on top of her, and she was weeping the happiest tears, touching his back, looking at him, as he exercised those new lungs.

"Hello, little bee… hello…" she spoke with such emotion, looking back up to Lucas as he leaned closer to them. He touched the baby as well, adding his own reassuring presence, which soon seemed to help the boy calm down. "That's our boy…" Maya breathed, and Lucas kissed the side of her face, trying to clear some of the tears blurring his vision by wiping his face on his sleeve.

As they'd taken the baby, to clean him and examine him before returning him, Maya asked Lucas to go check on Elliott, at the same time letting everyone know how it had gone. When he stepped out into the hall, the change of air, of sound, left him almost dizzy for a moment, but in a good way. Their baby boy, the little he'd been able to see, looked so much like Elliott when he'd been born. He might have been just a bit bigger than his older brother at the time, but then it might have had to do with how Elliott had been born a couple weeks ahead of time.

"Lucas!" he heard a voice calling his name as he was nearing the waiting room.

Looking up, he found his father standing by, and his mother with Elliott in her arms, and Katy and Shawn, and Abigail, and then there were the kids, there was Sam, holding little Alex Hunter, and there were Nellie, and Gracie, and MJ, and there was Wyatt Hart, and Cara and Eliza with him… Elizabeth Hart was here as well, and then nearby there was Pappy Joe… They hadn't thought to call him, as he would have been at home with them, but then when the car had gone speeding by, he'd guessed what was happening and hurried to follow, which explained the presence of Mitch and Missy Sanderson, making a return after having been on hand the day of Elliott's birth. Those of their friends, their older friends, who were in Texas were up in Houston, and so they would still be on their way at this point. But then there were some of their parent group who had already made it, there was Billie, and Ainsley with her, and no sign of Stormy or Cam, so they must have left them with others before coming along…

"Did she have the baby? Is it here?" Sam asked at once, and Lucas only had to smile for them to know that yes, Maya did have the baby, and it was here, sending the group into a selection of happy reactions, of hugs and tears and jumping around.

"Maya just gave birth to our second baby boy," Lucas finally revealed, calling forth a second wave of cheers, though he swore he heard a 'I wanted a girl this time!' out of Nellie Hunter.

"Does he have a name?" Katy asked, all the while slipping a casual hand over the little brunette's mouth.

"Uh, not yet, but almost. He will by the time you see him," Lucas promised, without being able to go into details. He has a name, it's in my pocket, I just don't know it yet.

His father gave him a great, big hug, and still holding Elliott, his mother followed and did the same. Elliott saw his father and of course wanted to go to him. Lucas very much wanted to take him, to hold him, but he couldn't take him back there just yet, so for now he cradled his head and pressed a kiss to it before excusing himself and returning to the room to find Maya and the baby.

They had just given him back to her, now clean and wrapped in a blanket. He'd stopped crying now, but his eyes still stared, wide open, like everything was so new, too new, and there was too much information for him to comprehend.

"Yeah, I know, bud," Maya spoke quietly, taking in his face like she'd hold this very image so deep in her memories that it could never leave her. They had two sons now, and later it might feel so overwhelming to think about, but here, now… Oh, she was so in love. "Are they here?" she asked Lucas, keeping the quiet tone, when he walked back into the room.

"They are," he confirmed. "Some of them are still on their way, but they should be here soon."

"Come here," she smiled. She held out the small bundle and he received it, holding his son for the first time, and he had that same look to him she must have had, this pure wonder…

"Did they…" Lucas started to ask.

"Everything's good," Maya nodded. "Eight pounds, just like Elliott."

"Really? He looked bigger, didn't he?"

"Taller, actually. A whole inch," Maya explained, giving him a squint like this was his claim of 'seven tall sons' taking root. He bit back his laughter, focusing instead on their son. "I am this close to going down for a nap right here, so just one more thing to settle, and this one was yours to handle, remember?"

"I remember," Lucas walked up to the bed again, reaching into his back pocket. Sitting on the edge of the bed, with the baby in the crook of his arm, he presented her with the envelope.

"Very official, huh? And I thought I was the dramatic one in this…"

She paused, her eyes locked on the front of the envelope, discovering her name written there, in her father's handwriting. She looked back to Lucas, speechless, confused.

"That time we went into the doctor's and we brought him, I had to go back for your vest and the picture was still on the screen. Didn't mean to look but, you know…" he shrugged. "I didn't want to ruin the surprise for you, but you'd already told me I should find his name for him, so, well… Open it," he indicated the envelope. "I haven't seen what it says."

Maya's hands shook, from emotion, and maybe from exhaustion, too. Through so much of this pregnancy, she'd been forced to accept the fact that her father would likely never meet this baby, would never hold him, would never… never even know his name. And now he was gone, but… but he had known his name, before any of them did. She remembered sitting with him, near the end, remembered how he'd touch her belly, and just look there… Now, it felt like she knew part of the reason why.

She had to take a deep breath, had to wipe at her eyes, before pulling the paper from inside. He hadn't just gone and written the name, and finding these new words from him, written with a steady hand, she had to wait again, to collect herself before she could actually speak and read it aloud.

Dear Maya, dear Lucas,

I hope these words will not stir up too much on this joyfully emotional day. I wish I could have been there with you, but even now I don't see how I will be. I want you to know that this doesn't frighten me. The only thing I feel now is regret, to know that I will never get to meet this beautiful boy. I have to imagine he will be a lot like the two of you, as Elliott already is, and that has helped me make my peace with this situation of ours.

Lucas, when you came to me and told me I would have a second grandson, it was truly one of the best gifts I ever got. And then on top of that, you handed me the privilege of finding his name. I have to tell you, I was as honored as I was terrified that I wouldn't find the right one, or that I wouldn't find it in the time that I had left.

Maya… Last year, I sat in that waiting room, after Elliott was born, and it was a day I never believed I would ever get to see, least of all with you. So when I got to hold my grandson for the first time it was just one of the best moments of my life. It reminded me of the first time I held you, the day you were born. Even though I would never hold this new boy of yours, I looked for his name, and I did it with those memories in mind, to help me find the one which would ring most true.

For his middle name, I asked someone for their own. He won't know why yet, but he will soon. The honor belongs to him.

I love you, all four of you. I hope you think of me when you say his name. I will think it to him, as often as I can, as long as I can.

Kermit

The very bottom of the page was folded over, keeping the name hidden until the letter had been read. Before she could do so, Lucas suggested they swap, and so she was given the baby to hold in her arms, as he took the page again, holding it where she could see, where they could both see it as one.

Noah Patrick Friar, born May 4th 2024, at 12:07pm, in Austin, Texas… Eight pounds exactly, twenty-two inches long… All was well.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners