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When they arrived at the hospital the nurse wasn't hearing
anything about two daddies until Liz stood up from the wheelchair and told the
woman that she was going to hold the babies inside until they allowed both
daddies into the delivery room. Of course Liz's water broke at that exact
moment and the nurse relented, urging Liz to sit down and allow them to get her
back into the delivery room.

Jamie helped Liz undress. Kip turned around, trying to give
her some privacy. "Get real Kip, I'm delivering a baby—hell, two babies. I
don't care what you see. I need your help."

Kip turned back to Liz and smiled. He looked solid until Liz
moaned and Kip's face turned pale then went totally white when Liz doubled
over, gripping onto Jamie's hand, crushing it.

"Oh God, Liz, are you okay?" Kip put his hand out,
leaning against the wall. He ran his hand over his face, his eyes were wide and
he looked like he was about to throw up.

"Kip, go sit down," Jamie barked.

"What?"

"Babe, you're as white as a ghost. I have to take care
of Liz." Once Liz stood again, Jamie helped her into a hospital gown. He
rubbed her back as she leaned over the bed, her head resting on her hands in
the middle of the mattress. Liz moaned then the moan turned into a yell. Jamie
stood behind her, keeping her from dropping to the ground.

After a long moment, Liz straightened and dropped her head
between her shoulders. "Shit, that hurt."

A nurse came in, smiling like it was any other day. Jamie's
heart was pounding and his hands were shaking. How the hell men did this for
their wives he didn't understand.

"Okay dear, let's get you up on that bed and let me see
how far along you are," the nurse chirped, her voice so sweet it shocked
Jamie.

Liz groaned and let go of Jamie's hand. He shook it out,
amazed that such a small thing had as tight of a grip. He glanced over to Kip
who was sitting in a chair, his head in his hands. He looked a bit green and
Jamie wondered if he was going to toss his cookies. Funny, Kip was solid on the
ranch with all sorts of nasty shit, but here in the delivery room he was
defeated.

"Oh shit, another one." Liz hadn't made it up on
the bed. She grabbed onto Jamie, her eyes wide and her mouth open as she gritted
her teeth, her fingers twisted in the material of his shirt.

Jamie was at a loss. He didn't know what to do for his
friend. Her pain seemed unbearable and he wanted to help her but all he could
do was stand and watch tears form in her eyes.

After a long moment, Liz relaxed, her breath returning to
normal. "I'm good now. Jamie, help me up on the bed."

He pushed her up, getting her settled in the center of the
bed. The nurse draped a sheet over her knees and put her feet into stirrups
positioned at the end of the bed.

"Okay, here we go." The nurse sat on a stool and
rolled between Liz's knees. Jamie held onto Liz's hand and stroked her arm. The
nurse's eyebrows shot up and her lips pursed. "Well, looks like we'll be
having a baby soon."

"I want an epidural," Liz said.

"Let's see what the doctor says." The nurse stood
and headed for the door.

"I want a fucking epidur—" Liz's words were cut off
as she screamed and half sat up. Jamie's hand felt crushed as she gripped him,
tears running down her face.

The nurse ran back to her. "Don't push yet, hon."

"Fuck," Liz screamed.

"Push that button." The nurse looked at Jamie and
he froze.

"What?"

"The call button. We need the doctor in here now. These
babies aren't waiting."

Jamie grabbed the call button and pressed it. "We need
a—"

"We need the doctor. Now. The baby is crowning,"
the nurse interrupted him, shouting out her commands.

Liz screamed again and Jamie dropped the call button. Kip
came over and stood on the other side of Liz, taking her other hand and
whispering to her. Jamie was proud of his man. He may look like hell and be
uncomfortable with the situation but the man pulled through. Liz screamed again,
drawing Jamie's attention back to the task at hand.

"This is it, Liz. One last push." The nurse's words
shocked Jamie. One last push and the baby, his baby would be here. Would it be
the boy or the girl first? Tears burned the back of his eyes. Could he be the
daddy they needed? He glanced up at Kip, seeing his eyes filled with tears too.
They were going to have a family.

The nurse moved just a bit, repositioning her body. Jamie
glanced down to Liz's body, seeing the head of the first baby poking out. The
tears came fast and hard. Liz pushed and the baby slipped free.

"Oh God, Kip. Look."

Kip gasped and Jamie glanced up. Kip smiled down at the baby.
The look on his face made Jamie's knees weak. Another nurse rushed over and
took the baby. The door opened and a woman in scrubs walked in.

"I understand we are having a baby. Well, look there. I
guess I'm not needed. I'm Doctor Laurel. Looks like we have plenty of people
here to see the birth too. Who is the father?"

"We both are," Kip said.

"Not traditional, but who cares. We like non-traditional
around here. So, the baby is here. I guess that only leaves the placenta."

"Nope," Liz groaned. "Twins."

Doctor Laurel paused and glanced down at Liz. "Twins,
and no epidural."

"I wanted one," Liz whined.

"Yes, well too late now. Nurse, I'll take the
seat." The doctor settled on the stool between Liz's legs and frowned.
"You've got about two to three minutes to rest, sweetheart, and then
you're going to be doing it again. Twice the fun, but twice the pain."

"Excuse me." The nurse who'd taken the first baby
interrupted them. "Would one of you like to hold your daughter?"

"Kip?" Jamie asked.

Through thick tears, Kip smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll
hold her." Kip strode across the room and gently took the baby, nodding as
the nurse told him how to hold her. Jamie watched his lover cradling their
daughter. His head was bent over the baby, and he cooed, gently stroking her
cheek with his free hand. Kip looked up and smiled. It was the most beautiful
sight Jamie had ever witnessed. His heart stalled and his sucked in a breath,
wondering how he'd gotten so lucky.

"Jamie," Liz yelled. He turned back to Liz and
stroked her cheek, making sure she was okay for the next session of pushing.
Their boy was born quickly, coming into the world with a cry that split the
air. Jamie smiled and felt so much pride he didn't know if he could stand
himself.

The nurses and doctors took care of Liz and he drifted away,
over to the little table where they cleaned up his son. The nurse smiled at him
over the scale where she was weighing the baby. "He's healthy. Eight
pounds three ounces. And he's tall. I've got twenty-one inches."

Jamie didn't understand the swell of pride, nor did he
understand the funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had a son and a
daughter. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he'd have one kid, and now
he had two. The nurse swaddled the baby and handed him over. The first moment,
when the little tyke was placed in his arms, Jamie felt like his whole life
before that moment held no meaning. Every hope, wish and dream were focused on
his babies. He wanted their lives to be good, he wanted them to have a future
and he wanted to love them. He looked up, catching Kip staring at him. They
both laughed then cried. Kip stepped near. With the babies between them, Kip
leaned in close and kissed Jamie. The moment was the sweetest, purest moment
he'd experienced in his life. This was love, no doubt about it.

"Kip, Jamie," Liz called.

Jamie turned to her, praying like hell she never asked for
the babies back because he didn't know if he could let them go. The love he
felt was overwhelming, bigger than he ever dreamed.

"Yes," Jamie said, hoping his voice sounded normal.

"The paperwork is in my bag. Would you pull it out so I
can sign?"

His heart stalled then sped up. She wasn't going to ask for
the babies. "Sure." He handed the baby to the nurse who took the
child and placed him in an incubator. The nurse placed her hand on Jamie's arm.
"Just a second, hon. I need to tag you. Hold out your arm." The nurse
placed a band around his wrist and one around the baby's leg. "Now, you
and Kip are the only two who can check the babies out of the nursery." The
nurse took a clipboard over to Liz and smiled down at her. "You have requested
to relinquish your rights, am I correct?"

"Yes," Liz nodded, her gaze on the nurse.

"Okay, I need to cut the tag off your arm." The
nurse snipped the tag that would have allowed Liz to take the babies with her.
Jamie looked for disappointment or anger, but Liz showed none.

The paperwork was easy to complete, but emotional. Liz signed
on the dotted line and a welfare worker showed up, making sure Liz had made the
decision without being coerced. They were concerned that Liz didn't know the
name of the father, but when she told the welfare worker that she didn't even
remember what the guy looked like, the woman allowed Liz to sign the documents.
There would be a waiting period and the adoption would take a few months to
complete, but Jamie and Kip walked out of the hospital three hours after the
birth of the babies as guardians to the twins.

The babies were still in the nursery and were staying the
night, which gave Kip and Jamie time to pick up a few things they would need.
Kip held to Jamie's hand and it felt as if they were walking on air. "We
need to come up with a few names. I don't think the names we discussed earlier
fit."

"I know, I wasn't expecting this. Well I was, but not
today." Kip squeezed Jamie's hand.

"What is your mother's name?"

"Angela Lynn," Kip's voice wavered as he spoke.

"My mother's name was Tawny Marie."

"What about Angela Marie?" Kip asked.

"God, I love that. Now for our son." Jamie stopped
walking. The air whooshed out of his lungs. He had a son.

Kip turned to face him and cupped his cheek. "Our
son—damn, that sounds so good."

"Robert Dylan, was my father's name."

"Author Jackson." Kip stroked Jamie's arm. The love
he felt was overflowing and he reached up and kissed Kip. Jamie pulled back
quickly and glanced around, glad that they were alone.

"How about Robert Jackson?"

"God, I love you."

"It's amazing isn't it?"

"More so than I thought. When I was holding our little
daughter—Angela Marie, that's a good name—but when I was holding her, I've
never felt like that before."

"Me either. I can't describe it, but wow. So we have
Angela Marie and Robert Jackson. I like it."

"Me too."

Jamie felt as if the world were his. If he'd know how good
having a child was he would have done it earlier but then he wouldn’t have been
doing this with his husband. Kip made everything better. Things would be
different, but somehow he knew they could handle the differences. With Kip at
his side, he could take on the world and win.

Chapter Twenty

Mike pulled up in front of the treatment facility. Four weeks
had flown past since he'd left Connor here. He hoped Connor still cared for
him. They'd had one phone conversation two weeks ago. It had been short and
Connor hadn't said anything other than telling Mike what day he could come for
the visit.

The visiting room was full of families and then Connor walked
in. It was as if the air grew thinner when he saw the man. His head buzzed with
excitement. At first Connor looked intense, his frown firmly in place, then the
man smiled and Mike wondered how he'd gotten so lucky.

"Connor," Mike said when Connor was near. "I've
missed you."

"Let's go for a walk. We'll have a bit more
privacy."

Mike glanced around the room, noticing a large number of
families. He nodded and followed Connor outside. They hadn't touched yet and
worry twisted through Mike.

"This has been very good for me. Thank you for making me
take this step."

"Sure. I'm glad that it's good for you." Mike
didn't know what to think. His heart sank. He'd wanted a relationship with
Connor, but he was happy that Conner was getting the help he needed. At least
the man would have a good chance at staying sober and making a life for
himself.

"It's been excellent. I've had time to think."

"And?"

"I'm still thinking, but I will be putting the house up
on the market once I leave here. I can't go back to Riley's house."

"That's good."

"I'm not sure where I'm going to live."

"Will you be going back to work?"

Connor was silent for a while. They'd walked around the
housing facility to a large lake at the back of the property. Connor took a
seat on a bench and reached out for Mike's hand. "Do you think we have a future?"

Mike's heart raced and he drew in a long breath so he didn't
overwhelm Connor with his excitement. "I do."

"I don't want a long-distance relationship. I've done
that before and it doesn't work."

"I would have to agree."

"I'm thinking about moving to Dallas."

"Really?"

"If we're going to work, I think I need to be
there."

Mike brushed his fingers over Connor's face. "That would
be nice."

"I don't want us to move too quickly. We need time to go
slow, to build something good."

"Connor, I'm willing to take as much time as you need.
You see, I really care about you and I think we would be amazing together.
You're kind, compassionate and strong. We could have a wonderful future
together."

"I think so too. That's why I've asked my boss to let me
have my job back but in the field office in Garland, just outside of
Dallas."

Mike squeezed Connor's hand. "I like that."