Addison was having the best dream ever when the phone woke her. She should have put it on silent, but she was worried that if someone really needed her, they wouldn't be able to get her. She'd been so tired recently, and she couldn't even blame work since she'd officially quit her job several weeks before. Grabbing the phone, she saw it was an unknown, so she let it go to voicemail and fell back to sleep. "Baby," Bryce whispered near her ear."Why you home so early?" she mumbled at him."It's almost six. You feeling okay?"Addison sat up and looked around, "I can't believe I slept that long. I'm sorry."He smiled at her, "You sure you're okay? You're usually not this out of it.""Yeah," she said before a big yawn."Well, let me get changed, and then I'll help you make dinner.""No need," she told him as she stretched. "I knew I was dragging so I picked up something to throw in the pressure cooker. Dinner will be ready in like twenty."Addison sat on the edge of the bed, and went to s
"It's so good to have all you kids home for the holidays," Penny said as she looked around the table at each of the boys. The girls had all gone shopping so it was just Bryce and his brothers with his parents for lunch. It reminded him of the time not too long ago when Josh had first brought Payton home. Things had sure changed since then.When crying came from the other room Jackson and Bryce both jumped up to grab the munchkin. With a smile, Josh sat back in his seat, "Knock yourselves out boys. I change enough of those twenty-pound diapers." With that remark Jackson wrinkled his nose and sat back down. Realizing he'd won, Bryce did a fist pump in the air and headed down the hall to find his favorite niece. He loved that kid and didn't care if he had to change her, feed her, or put her to sleep. He was going to spend whatever time he could cuddled up with the little princess.Bryce slowly opened the door to the room she was in and stuck his head in. Sophia was standing in the portab
Christmas morning... The final frontier...Christmas last year, Payton had been on bed rest, and none of his brothers had been around. This year everyone he cared about was there. His parents were sitting over on the sofa next to each other watching Sophia move around the room, and his brothers and their significant others were cuddled together laughing and talking. Josh wrapped his arms around his beautiful wife, and couldn't believe that in nine short months they'd have another baby in the family. What the fuck had happened? Again?Josh watched as his mom got up and started handing out gifts, and everyone went to work opening what was sitting in front of them. When Payton had told him she had told the girls she was pregnant, he was sure that his brothers both knew too, but they hadn't said a word. There was still the fact that they needed to tell his parents too. Honestly, he was still in shock about it. He had heard Payton crying one night the week before and had gone to find out wh
FIVE MONTHS LATER"Good morning, this is Alyssa from Doctor Bryant's office. We got your blood work back, and he wanted me to give you a call. If you could give me a call back as soon as you get this so we can schedule an appointment, that'd be great."Emma listened to the message several times worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She knew she shouldn't work herself up over what the doctor had to say until they actually told her what was going on, but she had a sinking feeling she knew. Addison and Emma had been through a whirlwind the past couple of months getting ready for the surrogacy. They had so many appointments, pills, shots, hormone replacements; the list went on and on. She wasn't sure she'd do this for anyone else, but she'd gladly do it for her future sister and brother-in-law again if she had to. And that's why the nurse was calling.When Emma had gotten pregnant with Hope she might not have known she was pregnant, but looking back, all the signs were there. Her bo
Babies. He was going to have babies, as is more than one, and they were going to have them in nine short months. His mom was going to be beside herself when she found out. She'd been so excited to find out about Josh and Payton having a baby and having three grandbabies. What would she say when she found out she was going to have four? It was then that it hit him that they implanted three embryos and there was a good chance he could be a dad of triplets. "Oh shit.""What's wrong, hon?""What if it's triplets? We'll need a bigger house, and we'll have to get a minivan. I mean I could totally rock a minivan, but I don't know how you feel about a van. With two babies we could get by with the car you have now, but with three, we'd for sure need that van.""Babe, you gotta turn that mind of yours off. If there are three babies, we'll figure it out. We have time.""If you say so."Addison leaned over and kissed him, "I do.""Hey, why aren't you freaking out?""I'm not getting my hopes up.
"Ems, you look breathtaking."Tears started to slip from her eyes as she walked up to her brother and hugged him. "Don't get me started or I'll never stop. Besides, I can't look that good. I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt that a baby on the plane spit up on."Wrinkling his nose, Matt laughed, "That's what that was, eau de baby spit up. Smells good on ya sis. Jax," Matt said extending his hand."Hey, good to see you again.""You're looking good.""They're kicking my ass in PT.""Good. Well, let's get your bags and get the hell outta here. Everyone's at the house waiting for y'all. I was going to bring the paddy wagon for Jax, but I was told it was in poor taste. You'll have to live with the minivan." Rolling her eyes Emma told him, "Showing your age, old man. No one calls a cop car a paddy wagon. And I would have killed you.""It's not good for you to be fighting in your condition, sis.""My condition?" she huffed, "Being pregnant is not a condition. Besides, I can actually get away w
"You're making me nervous," Bryce told Addison as he placed his hand on her bouncing knee. She gave him a sheepish smile, "I'm trying."Looking around the waiting room, he realized just how much it looked like any other doctor's office might. Sure they all differed in shape and layout, but it seemed like they all had the same kind of chairs and the same stupid magazines that didn't hold any male interest whatsoever. Thank fuck for his phone. "Mr. and Mrs. Portwood?" Addison jumped when called by the nurse, "We're ready for you now."He watched as his wife gathered their things, and he placed his hand on the small of her back as they were led from the waiting room to the exam room. When they entered Emma was on the exam table already with a sheet draped over her and Jackson was sitting next to her holding her hand."This is amazing."His wife's words had him looking at her, and then he saw that she was looking around the room. He noticed that there was a small loveseat in the room and
"Oh, I forgot my purse," Emma said as she stepped out of the bridal salon."I'll go grab it," one of Emma's sisters said and headed back in. Addison was a bit overwhelmed with the events going on that day. She couldn't imagine what Emma was feeling. Addison knew she had to be stressed with all the details and people, but then again, Emma was from a big family, so maybe it was only the wedding that was stressing her out. Well, there was the pregnancy too. Emma's family had been amazing to her and Bryce ever since they'd arrived, and she could see they were totally supportive of Emma, and waiting on her hand and foot. Addison could tell that was wearing on her nerves. "I'm going to go get the car," the other sister spoke up."Liv, it's just a few blocks away," Emma protested."Yeah, but between the walking, this heavy dress, and everything else, it'll just be easier. Don't you think so, Hope?""Yeah, way to go. Drag your niece into it."The little girl grabbed her aunt's hand as they a
NINE MONTHS LATERWes looked up at Hailey in awe. She had overcome her fears and had rocked the shit out of her time on the stand. When she had decided to stay in DC, it was to support her friend who was pressing charges against the two guys sitting not far from Wes, guys he'd like to take outside and punch a few times. They both thought the process would be over somewhat soon, but the whole thing seemed to take time, a lot of time.During that time, they'd grown closer. They'd spent many nights talking on FaceTime and the phone. They'd only been able to see each other in person one other time, and that was in April. Wes had flown to DC to see Hailey again. He'd brought Cali with him that time, and he'd spent a week with her. While he was with her, she took him to see some of the sites. They were down at the National Mall, and as they walked by the Tidal Basin with the trees full of Cherry Blossoms, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. They'd gone home, and sh
"You did what?"This conversation wasn't going like she planned. She had envisioned telling Wes she'd turned down the amazing opportunity, and he'd say how much he loved her and appreciated that, and they'd ride off into the sunset together. Instead, it sounded like he was... mad? How was that possible?"I thought you'd be happy.""You gave up a great opportunity on a whim? Yeah, that's something to be excited about.""I don't get you, Wes!" She yelled into the phone. "First, I don't move in with you after college, and you break up with me. Now I give up my job, and you're mad. What's a girl supposed to do?""That's just it. You didn't even bother to ask. You just made the decision on your own. It's the same as last time.""But... but I gave everything up for you."Hailey heard Wes sigh over the phone, "I don't want you to give it all up. I want us to be a team. Isn't that what you want?""I just thought that I was doing this for us.""Maybe if we'd have talked about it, we
Wes waited around like a kid waiting for his crush to call. He wanted to pick up his phone the second he knew Hailey got off work, but he didn't want to overwhelm her. So, he'd held off and was waiting for her to call. Only he was losing it because it had been hours since she should have gotten off work, but he hadn't heard anything at all, not even a text.When it came time for him to crawl in bed, he took Cali out, looked at his phone one more time, and finally gave up on the idea that he'd be hearing from Hailey. He hated that he still felt like she didn't include him in her life, but that would come, he hoped.Just as he was about to fall asleep, his phone rang. Grabbing it from his nightstand, he looked at the screen and was surprised to see Hailey's name there. She was a total night owl, but with her having an hour on him, he figured she'd have been in bed a long time ago."Hey," he answered."You're mad." It wasn't a question."Not mad. I'm more hurt."He heard Hailey le
Wes: You're ignoring me. Stop it.Hailey looked at the text the next morning and realized that she needed to call Wes. Picking up her phone, she dialed his number. It didn't even ring twice before he picked up."Glad you decided to call. I was giving it until tomorrow, and then I was looking at plane tickets.""Wes, get serious. And here I was worried I'd be waking you up.""Oh, I've been up for a while. I haven't been able to sleep right since I got back. And I am serious. Cici has been all over my ass since I came back to work. She said the only people who can stand me are the animals. Most of them can't stand being around me either. Thankfully Cali doesn't seem to mind my mood.""She must be a good dog." "She is.""You didn't tell me much about her. When did you get a dog?" she asked."A few months ago. I went to Kentucky for Sexy Kenny's bachelor trip. We went away hoping to be doing nothing but drinking and relaxing in the woods and ended up rescuing a mom and her p
There's no two ways about it, Wes was miserable. He missed Hailey, it was colder than crap out, and things just seemed to be going downhill since he got home. On the way home, Wes' flight had been delayed overnight due to weather, so he'd got stuck in Chicago. When he got home, he found out that not only had his pilot light gone out on his furnace, but his pipes had frozen too because it'd been so cold. Thankfully they hadn't burst. Because of all that, he'd been staying at a hotel. His landlord told him that with the weather warming up next week, it should fix the issue, but there was no guarantee. The icing on the whole craptastic cake, Hailey had been distant, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. Even Cali had been standoffish sensing his foul mood.A knock at his office door had him barking out a, "What?""Geeze boss, I thought you'd have come home in a better mood," Cici said as she wondered in. "One of us was alone with a member of the opposite sex, and th
Christmas music filled the space, and Wes wondered what time it was. Ever since he'd got to DC, she'd been up early, most of the time beating him up. It looked like she beat him up again. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he found his sweats and slid them on before heading out to see what she was up to. He hoped she wasn't going to any trouble. A flurry of activity was going on in the kitchen, and Hailey was moving around in a whirl. Pulling out a pan from the oven, she set it on the counter, and then looked up and spotted him."Hi," she said with a small smile."Hey.""I made breakfast."Smelling the rich aroma made his stomach growl, "It smells amazing.""It's just omelet muffins. It should hold us over until I can get lunch made.""I'll help with lunch," he told her as he reached over and grabbed one of the muffins burning himself in the process."You don't have to.""I want to."The pair ate breakfast together but didn't really talk about what had happened or what
The pounding on the door started again, and Hailey curled up tighter. She just wanted it all to go away."Hailey, you in there?""Wes?" she asked knowing he couldn't hear her.Slowly she stood, trying to get her bearings. Her legs didn't want to work, and she was worried they might give out on her. When the loud knocking started again, it scared her so bad she jumped and held her chest hoping it would slow her heart. Checking the peephole just to make sure, she confirmed that Wes was there, hopefully alone, and opened the door."What's going on?" he asked looking angry at first and then when he took her in, his face softened. "What happened?"Reaching around Wes, Hailey looked out the door just to make sure no one was there, and then closed the door and locked it again. It wasn't until she'd done this that she could breathe again. When Wes' hand landed on her shoulder, she yelped and jumped."What the hell happened while I was gone, Hailey?""It... it was nothing.""Bullshit. Y
"Is that bacon?" Wes asked half asleep as he made his way into the kitchen the next morning."There's something else that smells like heaven in a pan?"Snatching a piece from a plate sitting on the counter, Wes took a bite and groaned. "If I didn't love you before, I'd totally love you now."A small noise escaped her and Wes wondered if he'd pushed it a bit too far. He'd already told her he loved her, and when she hadn't said the same, he wondered if she just needed more time. He didn't doubt that she did love him. She wouldn't let him touch her much less bring her pleasure if she didn't. He just knew she wasn't ready to jump off that bridge yet. "How'd you sleep?" she asked as she worked over the stove."Would have been better if I were sleeping next to you, but not too bad. You?""Like the dead... well after," she didn't have to finish for Wes to know what she meant. "I've had nightmares almost every night since that happened. I feel like I actually got some good sleep in."
"Get off me!" Hailey yelled even though it didn't matter. No matter how what she did, she couldn't stop the man from getting what he wanted."You can fight all you want, princess. We both know deep down you want it.""NO!""Hailey.""I said get off me." She kicked her legs and felt a sense of satisfaction when her hand connected with his face."Shit! Damn, I'm bleeding. Wake up, Hailey. Don't make me bleed on your bed."That didn't sound right. Why would Michael care about that? It was then that she realized she wasn't being held down at all, and the voice; it wasn't the one from her nightmare. The realization woke her like a bucket of ice water being thrown on her. "Wes?" Opening her eyes, she saw him sitting on the edge of her bed covering his nose. "Oh crap! I'm so sorry. I'll go get something for it. How bad?"Still holding a hand over his nose, she saw him try to smile, "It's just a flesh wound. I'll go take care of this if you're okay.""I'm awake." She wouldn't