Learning to Live Again (7 page)

Five years later

The doors to the hospital waiting room opened and
shut repeatedly, bringing in people from all walks of life. Rachel leaned in closer to Austin, resting her weight against him. Sensing her restlessness, Austin pulled her to him and rubbed her shoulders.

It was hard to believe that it had been almost five years since Rachel had come into his life.
It had only taken Austin three days after leaving Colorado to know that he needed Rachel in his life on a more permanent basis. They had spent almost a full year commuting back and forth between Philadelphia and New York, until Austin had finally had enough. The following Christmas he proposed to Rachel and then informed her that he had put in for a company transfer to Philadelphia, much to his boss’s dismay.

They were married just four short months later, and Austin had spent every day of the last four years with Rachel like they were
each a precious gift—one he felt so privileged to have received. They had built a life together, traveling and working and spoiling their nephews, as well as Tom and Talia’s boys, and Nick and Chelsea’s girls.

They were both completely content with their life, and so when Rachel started feeling extremely fatigued and nauseous, it had made her very nervous. When she started waking up with night sweats, she finally told Austin. Rachel called her oncologist who suggested she come in right away for some testing. The wait was excruciating. Austin and Rachel were supposed to meet everyone at Trevor and Ava’s after they received the results.

“Mrs. Montgomery?” The petite nurse stood in front of them, snapping them both back to the present. Austin stood up and pulled Rachel into his arms.

“Whatever this is, love, we will get through this together
,” Austin spoke softly into Rachel’s ear, causing her to shiver. “Okay?” Rachel nodded and followed the nurse through the door.

“The doctor will see you now.” She led them both to an office and smiled softly before turning and walking away. Austin knocked. “Please come in, both of you.” The doctor motioned to two seats across from her desk. “Please have a seat. We
got the results of your tests and have some things to discuss.” Austin took Rachel’s hand and squeezed it. This was the moment of truth.

**
*

Austin pulled the car to a stop outside Trevor and Ava’s house. The entire group
—except for him and Rachel—had moved to the suburbs. It was a very nice area, and just four train stops to Center City. Ava and Trevor had made the move first, shortly after their first son, Aidan, was born, and a few months later, Talia and Tom purchased a townhome about a mile away. It didn’t take long for Nick and Chelsea to find a home. They ended up just around the corner from Ava and Trevor. It seemed like a natural progression.

“How are you?” Austin ran his hand over Rachel’s cheek.

“I’m just in shock.” She shook her head. “Come on, we need to go tell everyone.” Rachel opened her door and waited for Austin to walk around the car before walking to the door hand in hand.

Before they could even knock, the door swung open. “Uncle Austin! Aunt Rachel!” Aidan rushed to them, grabbing their joined hands, pulling them through the door. “They’re here!”

Austin shook his head and chuckled. “For a four year old, he has a huge voice.”

“I’m four and a half, Uncle Austin
,” Aidan corrected.

“Oh, sorry buddy.” Austin ruffled his hair as three year old Michael barreled around the corner with Talia in pursuit.

“Michael, let me wipe your hands.” Talia finally caught the little guy and cleaned him up before he touched anything.

“
Hewwo.” Michael waved his little hand before running off after Aidan.

“Hey guys.” Talia smiled. “Come
on, let’s get you something to eat.”

Austin and Rachel followed Talia into the great room. A variety of food was set out on the table in the dining area. Ava and Trevor waved as Austin and Rachel made their way to the food, helping
themselves.

Ava sat with fourteen month old Lucas in her arms. He was sleeping peacefully
against her shoulder, completely unaware of the chaos around him. Just as Austin and Rachel took a seat on the love seat, two giggling girls ran into the room with red curls bouncing. “Daddy, guess what?” the four year old twins squealed in unison as they climbed up into Nick’s lap.

“What
, my princesses?” Nick placed a kiss on the top of each of their heads.

“Aidan kissed us!”
Sophia exclaimed as her sister, Lexie, covered her mouth and nodded.

“What the
—” Nick glared in Trevor’s direction. Trevor held his hands up and chuckled. 

“Oh
, come on, dude. He is four.” Tom laughed, grinning at Trevor and giving him a thumbs up, only making Nick glare even harder.

“I don’t care, man. I don’t want
any
boys kissing my girls.” Nick frowned as he pulled the squirming girls tighter into his lap as if he was shielding them. Chelsea pried Nick’s arms off the twins and smiled as they ran off, still giggling. Chelsea picked up Nick’s hand and placed a kiss on it, softening his frown.

The irony of Nick having the only girls in the group was not lost on anyone. It had been quite amusing to watch the former womanizer become the doting daddy to twin girls. God help the poor boys who decide
d to date them in the future. They wouldn’t be able to pull anything over on Nick. He had done it all, and would be one step ahead of them.

Trevor leaned forward, suddenly very serious. “Did you get the results of your tests
, Rachel?”

Rachel nodded as she chewed a bite of hamburger.

“Well … did they find anything, Rach?” he asked nervously.

Rachel looked at Austin and then back at her big brother. “Yes, they found something.”

Trevor jumped to his feet and began pacing. “Okay. It’s okay. You did this before. You are so strong, Rachel. You can do this again, we can all do it again, right?” Everyone nodded as Austin and Rachel looked around the room. Rachel felt the tears welling up in her eyes at the love and support she saw in each of their faces. “When do you start treatment?” Trevor asked as he sat back down next to Ava.

Rachel cleared her throat. “Um, I’m not doing treatment.”

“What? No, Rachel, you have to!” Trevor stood back up, walking to her and dropping to his knees in front of her. “You can’t give up, Rachel, you have to do treatment. You can do this.”

Rachel handed her plate to Austin and placed her small hands on her brother’s face. “I don’t need treatment, Trevor.
It’s not cancer.”

“Wait, I don’t understand
,” Trevor whispered.

“I don’t have cancer. I’m pregnant.” Rachel’s tears finally spilled over as Trevor stood up, pulling his little sister into his arms, swinging her around.

“Pregnant? You’re pregnant?” He pulled back and looked into Rachel’s eyes, laughing when she nodded again.

Nick stood and pulled Austin up into a hug. “Welcome to the group. It’s exhausting and scary, but it is the most rewarding thing you’ll ever do.”

Ava, Talia, and Chelsea wrapped Rachel in a group hug as they laughed, clearly relieved. Trevor hugged Austin, and then Tom did the same. After several minutes of celebration, they all took their seats again.

“The fatigue and nausea make perfect sense now.
The doctor also said the night sweats are probably due to hormone fluctuations, but other than a baby with a very strong heartbeat, everything else looks one hundred percent perfect.” Rachel grinned as she leaned into Austin’s arms.

Austin and Rachel had basically accepted that they wouldn’t have children. She had been told that sometimes those who went through such vigorous treatments had fertility issues. They had just planned on spoiling the other couples
’ little ones, and not fretting over the fact that they couldn’t have their own, so when they had found out that it was a baby causing all of Rachel’s symptoms … needless to say, they were a bit shocked.

“How far along are you?” Talia asked.

“They think I’m around thirteen weeks,” Rachel answered, unable to control her smile.

“God, Rachel, this is incredible
, little one.” Tom grinned as he pulled Talia down onto his lap.

“You’re a fighter, girl.” Talia winked at Rachel.

“Anything in my life that is worth fighting for, I already have.” Rachel tilted her head up and kissed Austin. “Spending precious time with friends and family makes life worth living.”

The padding of little feet grew louder until four
little ones rounded the corner, launching themselves into each of their parent’s laps.

Austin and Rachel looked around the room.
Ava and Trevor snuggled with their two boys, smiling at each other. Tom and Talia tickled little Michael as he giggled and squirmed on their laps. Nick and Chelsea each rocked a little girl as they sucked on their little thumbs, eyes growing heavy. It didn’t take much for them to see that you don’t need to share blood to be family. Love and loyalty, laughter and tears … all of this was what made up family. At the end of the day, each of them was truly happy. Maybe they didn’t all have everything that they wanted, but they sure had everything they needed in each other.

They finally figured out that you can’t look too hard for the happy ending, or you just might miss the best part of the story.

Love is a special thing.