"Whenever You Call" Chapters 46 - 50

(~) Part 46 (~)

“Omigod, Lance! This is SO cool! I can’t believe we’re here! This is the best Valentine’s gift ever! GARTH BROOKS...and we’re in the FRONT row!” Despite her rotund size, Amy was already standing...she was only about twenty-four weeks, but she had already put on a good twenty pounds. With TWO of them growing inside of her, she was packin’ on the weight pretty quickly, and that rate would be increasing even more now that she was right in the middle of her second trimester. “The time to become a whale is rapidly approaching!!” She would kid with Lance every so often. He would always just smile and tell her she looked beautiful. Most guys WOULD say that just to shut up their wives/girlfriends...but Lance always said it with a smile - he was just too darn sincere sounding. His overall concern and care was almost overwhelming at times, but she knew it was just out of love.

“Ames, remember...If you start feeling stress or ANY pain, TELL me, and we’ll sit down...” He said, quite seriously.

“Aw, HUSH, you big worrier...I’ll be fine!” She said with a smile as Garth’s opening act finished her last set. He just shook his head and let out a loud ‘Whoop’ with the rest of the screamers.

After about twenty minutes of waiting where Lance MADE Amy sit down, it was time for Garth to emerge. They both jumped to their feet as he came out on stage.

The whole concert, the two of them screamed all the lyrics to ALL of his songs - they were having a blast. Obviously, Garth recognized Lance because he looked at him once in a while with a smile and even shook his and Amy’s hand every so often. For once in his life, Lance was outseated with someone as famous as Garth Brooks in front of him. And being at a country music concert meant not a lot of bubble-gum pop lovers...he had only been stopped three or four times the whole night as opposed to the normal 300 or so.

Lance and Amy held tightly onto each other during ‘The Dance’. He remembered it distinctly as the song that she had tried to sing to him - it had sealed the fact that he was falling in love with her. She remembered it as that...but also as the one she sang to comfort her and her friends when the guys were leaving. It meant so much to both of them.

After a few more songs, Garth announced that it was time to sing his last song of the evening.

“I hope ya’ll have had a great time!” He screamed. “Yeah! I like to hear that!!” was his response to the swell of noise that filled the venue.

“Well, I have one more song I’d like to sing for ya’ll. This is a song that a lot of you know...not only from my album, but also from the movie ‘Hope Floats’...”

Amy’s heart began racing. This song always made her cry...it was the one Lance sang to her before he left to continue touring back in May. It was the one that had comforted her when she was so down all those lonely nights.

Garth continued. “I know you guys love this beautiful song...and this time, your in for an extra special treat. I’m not going at it alone - I’m gonna have a little help from a friend of mine. You may have heard of him...he’s from a pop-group called ‘NSync.” At the sound of that, the group swelled again. Obviously, more people knew who he was than she thought. “His name is Lance Bass...and here he is...” Garth reached out and gave Lance a hand as he pulled himself onto the stage. Amy could NOT believe what she was seeing. Lance got up on stage and gave a shy wave. This was his dream to sing with Garth Brooks - and now it was about to come true. After being handed a mic, he looked down and gave Amy a little wink. He looked so nervous!

Garth gave him a nod and Lance began speaking. “Hey...My name IS Lance Bass, and I’d like to first take this opportunity to thank Mr. Brooks here for this incredible opportunity - he was so willing to work with me here, and I’m eternally grateful.” Garth slapped him on the back with a consenting nod and gave him a reassuring smile. Lance continued on. “The reason I’m up here is that there’s a very special young woman in the audience today. Her name is Amy and she’s the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. This is a song that I sang to her when I said good-bye for a while last May...this time I’d like to use this song not to say ‘good-bye’ - rather than to say ‘hello’...” He gave another shy smile as the song came on. Garth let Lance sing the leads with his sexy bass voice, while he just sang some airy harmonies on top.

The song came to a close with Amy sobbing and Lance on the verge. Even Garth was a little misty seeing the love the two of them held for each other. Lance took the mic once more. “Well, My Beautiful Rose...that was for you...as is this...” He reached in his back pocket and the got down on one knee right in front of her. The entire crowd went insane at the sight. They started chanting “YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!!!!”

Lance waived this off with a smile. All of his expressions could be seen because there was a camera on the two of them and a huge screen in the back showing it all. “Wait, wait, wait!” He said with a laugh. Amy just shook her head with a HUGE smile plastered on her face, too stunned to even speak.

Lance grabbed her hand. “Amy Lea...you are the greatest thing to ever happen to me...I love you with all my heart. Now that we’re so close, and we’re bonded in more ways than one, I would like have the honor of being able to spend the rest of my life with you...to ‘make you happy, make your dreams come true,’” he said, quoting the song he just sang. The crowd started chanting again, this time, even louder.

Amy couldn’t even form words...the tears were streaming down her cheeks. She simply nodded her head and smiled through her happy sobbing; she reached up to accept Lance’s sweet kiss and embrace. The crowd saw this nod and ERUPTED into cheers, screams, and congratulations. They were thrilled...and they didn’t even know these people. However, no one could have possibly been ANY more excited than the two newly engaged young people from the front row.

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(~) Part 47 (~)

STILL no progress had been made with Kristin and JC. JC was missing Kristin more than ever, but he refused to show it at all. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to be the one to go crawling back, no matter how much he longed for her touch. He continued writing in his journal - everything from the lyrics to the ‘JC Anthem’ to poetry and prose about his love. Every night, he would pray that somehow he could get her to read it without actually handing it to her...his wish would come true shortly.

Kristin still thought about JC often, but she was really starting to lose faith in him. He was SO cold and SO distant and (the worst part) SO rude that she was almost angry with him. There was only a glimmer of hope left inside her that he was actually still a living, breathing, emotion-feeling human being. After she found the journal, though...that glimmer flared up to a blazing inferno as all of his confusing actions actually began to make sense.

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JC had devised a plan - and it was for the one reason of getting Kristin back without losing his (ridiculous, but nevertheless ever-present) pride. He called her over to his hotel room (he was the only one of the five guys not staying with a girl at this point) to pick up some of her stuff that she had ‘left’ the last time she was there. (He had had the group over for dinner a week ago, and actually stolen some of Kristin’s belonging’s out of her purse as an excuse to get her back.) JC had set it up so that he ‘accidentally’ left his journal next to the pile of stuff that Kristin was coming to get. He lied AGAIN and said that he was going to be out when she arrived (he was, if fact, watching from his bedroom).

Kristin wasn’t too happy about going over to his apartment - she found it somewhat peculiar that he was actually making her go THERE...the polite thing would have been to just drop her stuff off. BUT, she remember who she was dealing with and just sucked it up and drove over.

After she let herself in, she walked over to the kitchenette table and saw her brush, lip-gloss, and a few other miscellaneous items lying there. Those weren’t what caught her eye, though. A thin, cloud covered notebook lay about eighteen inches from her things. There was a pen sticking out of the side, obviously marking one of the pages. Being a curious girl, she walked over to its side. ‘JC SAID he wasn’t going to be home...right? It wouldn’t hurt if I just took a look...’ she reasoned with herself.

She reached out and touched it lightly, looking around as if she expected someone to come walking out at any moment. The pen fell out of its place and onto the table with a little ‘clink’ that sounded - to her - like an explosion in the silence of the large hotel room. Kristin jumped as she cursed herself silently. ‘NOW look what you did!! Who KNOWS where that pen could have been? He’s gonna know you were snooping now, Girlie...’ But then another thought crossed her mind. ‘Well, it’s his fault for leaving it out! Ha-HA! And now that the pen fell out, it doesn’t matter if I look at it!’ She greedily scooped up the blue notebook and sat down at the table.

She opened it to the first page and a wave of emotion hit her. The first page was blank - but a faint whiff of JC’s cologne filled her nose. All she could think about for that moment was how wonderful it was to lose herself in his embrace. After she got her senses back, she turned to the next page and began reading.

The first entry was dated the day after they returned from their excursion to the cabin in the woods. It talked about the trip - Amy’s news, the revenge on Aaron, and how they got snowed in. There wasn’t anything about Kristin yet, and she was pretty disappointed. She was hoping to see if he had, in fact, sang the extra verse directly to HER in ‘All I Want Is You This Christmas’, like she had originally thought. She hungered for more, though, and turned the page to find a few very short poetry passages. They were positively beautiful; they almost sounded written by a professional - but JC’s handwriting was scrawled all across the pages, and there were even cross-outs and additions to show that it was his own work. They always spoke of a lost love that an unnamed man longed for. She began getting misty as each one added one more clue to the fact that SHE was the lost love and JC was the unnamed man that was just too shy/confused/vain to actually approach her.

The pages after were filled with more of the same type of poetry. The ‘JC Anthem’ was written soon after as well. Kristin shook her head as she continued to read verse after heartfelt verse. She was too shocked to cry...she had no idea he was so passionate - and talented - when it came to poetry. The words he wrote seeped into her depths as she finally understood what was going on in his poor, suffering mind.

“He DOES still care...” She whispered breathlessly.

“I DO still care...” A faint, emotion-filled declaration followed her own realization. JC’s slumped over, raggedly clad figure emerged from the shadow of the dark bedroom.

Kristin jumped in her seat as his unmistakable voice pierced her heart. She didn’t feel guilty, though. It all made sense...he WANTED her to find this - this, the key to his soul. The shocked feeling passed as some tears escaped from her closed eyes. Covering her face with her hands, she hung her head where she sat; she sensed him walk over and sit down in the seat next to her. He reached out his warm, soft hands - the hands she had always loved the beautiful satisfaction of simply holding - and touched her face gently, wiping away a tear.

He spoke gruffly, obviously choked up. “Kristin, I...I still...”

She finally opened her eyes, the crystalline blue made almost transparent by the rivers flowing from their corners, and reached out her own hand. She covered his mouth with her fingers - her touch sent a shiver through his body and he kissed them softly. Her other hand still clutched the journal, now in her lap. She closed her eyes again. “Joshua, you don’t have to explain. It’s all right here...”

She had never called him Joshua - or even Josh for that matter - before. It was almost as if that simple action sealed the fact that she was a part of him - she had found her way into his own being - and that was exactly where she belonged.

JC leaned forward and kissed each of her eyelids gently. They fluttered open and their eyes locked for a good long time. Finally, the two let them shut slowly as they melted into one of the sweetest, yet most earnest kisses they had ever shared. They were back...their souls finally re-discovered the one partner that was the only one they would ever need...the only one intended for them from the very beginning.

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(~) Part 48 (~)

The group was DEFINITELY on the upward path at this point in time. Everyone was happy and back together - this time, it seemed, for good. They hadn’t even gone more than a week at a time without getting together for some kind of group activity. It was now the middle of May and things were looking wonderful.

The shooting for the movie had begun and it was more fun than they guys could have ever imagined. It was a romantic comedy set back in the mid-1960’s (think ‘Grease’) that had JC cast as the main character with Chris as the psycho roommate with all the bad jokes (how appropriate!), Lance as the best friend with all the advice, Justin as the meat-head/stupid-jock friend who’s IQ was smaller than his inseam, and Joey as the pimp-like playboy that tries to come between JC and his girl. It was really set up to be quite a winner - they were expecting a hokey, ridiculously stupid, low budget plot, so they were quite pleasantly surprised. Katie Holmes was JC’s love interest, Kirsten Dunst was Justin’s, as well as some other up-and-comings for the other guys. AND they even got two huge names - Angelica Houston played a small part as JC’s mother-in-law and Robin Williams was the priest at the wedding...now if that isn’t a funny concept, the guys didn’t know WHAT was.

On the homestead, Amy was a small planet by now. She had probably consumed enough food to keep a mid-sized, third world country fed for two years. The twins were growing even a little AHEAD of schedule, which was great news...they were a good five pounds each (which for twins, was a good size already) and Amy had almost six weeks until her due date. Lance and Amy didn’t want to know the gender of either one - surprises are always more fun! - but they did have all the pre-natal tests done and it was determined that there were two healthy he’s/she’s/one-of-each’s inside of her. They had been toying around with names as well, trying to come up with two of each - just in case of identicals or same-sex fraternals - but all the discussion came down to the decision that they’d just go with their gut instinct when they saw them for the first time in the hospital.

Things with Kylie were working out wonderfully, also. She was always there when either Lance OR Amy needed anything. She cooked, cleaned, shopped - and always with a smile. Not only was she helpful, efficient, and pleasant, though, she also never got in the way. Any time the two wanted some time alone, they didn’t even have to ask; she always seemed to know and was out of sight almost before THEY even knew they wanted to be alone.

Because the group was working as a unit with no more anger or tension (and also, class was over for the year!), there was tremendous strides made in the planning and arranging of Amy and Lance’s future to ease the stress of the newly engaged, soon-to-be-parents, couple. The team of Kristin/JC and Jen/Justin headed up ‘Project: Baby’ - gathering up all the necessary cribs, bassinets, swings, bedding, clothing, toys, soap, bottles, diapers, etc. They had also done a BEAUTIFUL job turning the new house Lance had bought for them (it was a surprise he unveiled on his own birthday, actually) into a baby-ready mansion. The twin’s room was a gorgeous ‘Winnie The Pooh’ motif, filled with every supply imaginable, just now waiting for the arrival of its inhabitants. The team actually did most of the decorating of the WHOLE house, under Amy’s direction, and also, the moving in of the old furniture and belongings. The house was only six minutes exactly from the old apartment, so that was no biggie, and Amy and Lance (AND Kylie) were already there.

The other four, Caroline/Joey and Megan/Chris, and actually, Amy/Lance as well, were in charge of ‘Project: Wedding’. All plans had been made in a matter of three months, with the ceremony scheduled for the first weekend in October. At that point, the babies would be somewhat settled in, but it was soon enough for the anxious couple. The only thing that had to be finalized was the wedding dress. Amy had picked it out before she was TOO large, but the fittings would be squeezed in once she had returned as close as possible to ‘pre-twin, pre-eating spree’ weight. Even the invitations, reception details, bridesmaids/usher attire, and flowers had already been taken care of. Now it was time to just sit back and watch Amy grow as her due date slowly approached.

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One evening, as May was almost to a close, Amy and Lance were sitting at home, finishing yet another delicious, home-cooked meal by ‘Kylie - The Wonder Girl’ as they so lovingly nicknamed her. Amy got up from the kitchen table to put her plate and cup in the sink after Lance had already made his way to the living room for their nightly ritual of a ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ viewing. She walked - rather, she waddled over to the couch, one hand supporting her grossly curved back (from the immense strain of TWO!) and the other hand holding the spot where ‘Baby A’ (the more active of the two) had just given her a GOOD (future soccer player?!?) kick.

“‘Baby A’ is at it again, huh, Rosebud?” He said with a smile as he helped her ease her big ol’ self onto the couch.

“Oh yeah, with a vengeance!” She giggled. She settled back against some propped up pillows as Lance slipped off her socks and began rubbing her swollen ankles and aching feet.

Just as the strain of an extra thirty-five pounds was starting to lift, she felt the nagging distress of a full bladder.

“Oh, CRAP...gotta pee...” She grumbled as she slowly rocked herself into a sitting position. “I was just gettin’ my mountain of a being comfortable!” She laughed. Lance stood and hoisted her up to her feet with a joking, strained look and good, deep groan. Amy returned that groan, but with a strange expression.

“Are you mocking me, Miss Amy Lea?” He said, chuckling.

(silence)

“Ames, you OK?” Concerned, Lance tried to look into her eyes. She seemed to be looking at him, but it was almost as if she was looking THROUGH him. “AMY?!?”

Finally, she broke this eerie stare and looked at HIM. “Lance, it can’t be...it’s too early...isn’t it...?”

His jaw dropped and the normal panic set in. “No, no...Dr. Rosenberg said it was OK at any time. W-wait, y-you, you...”

She sighed deeply and produced a nervous, forced grin. “Yeah, I, uh...I just had a contraction, Lance.”

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(~) Part 49 (~)

Lance and Amy arrived at the hospital a little after 7:30 p.m. that Thursday night - May 29th. Her contractions were speeding along quite rapidly at this point, with only about six minutes between each one. Also, her water had broken with a rush right before the young couple headed out the door; now she was sure she’d be in for a (hopefully!) rather quick and easy delivery.

Although she was still almost five weeks away from her due date, this wasn’t unusual for twins...there’s only so much space inside one female’s womb! The doctor HAD said (like Lance had mentioned back at the apartment) at her appointment the week before that the babies would come at any time, and that a pre-mature delivery shouldn’t be a cause for concern. Five pounds or maybe even a little more (‘Baby A’ was a good deal larger than ‘Baby B’ - he/she was always in front and obviously got to the good food before the other) was great for twins, so she basically had the green light. NOW, it was just a matter of squeezing TWO somethings the size of bowling balls out of something usually the size of a large marble...hmm, pleasant concept.

After they got her admitted, Lance slipped away for a few moments to call the other nine (Kylie was included, of course!) as well as both sets of parents. Lori and John were in upstate NY for a family party, so they decided to just wait to hear the news and then make the four hour trek back to see their new grandchildren. Diane and Jim were just as excited down in Mississippi, where they had been staying with Diane’s mom for the past few months...they said they’d be right by the phone anxiously awaiting Lance’s call. Lance returned after the calls to all thirteen of extremely excited people...the nine young people were on their way to wait in the lounge until the arrival.

With a nervous smile, Lance ‘suited up’ and cautiously made his way back into the waiting room about an hour after he had left. It was now around 9:30. Amy was in between contractions, and therefore had a smile on her face. “Hey, Baby...” She said with a tired smile. “They said I’m almost fully dilated. It’s gonna be pushin’ time VERY sooooOOOONNNN...!!!” She barely got out the last word as another vengeful contraction came on. Lance ran up to her and grabbed her hand - she clutched it with an iron grip as the two began the famed ‘who-who-heee’ breathing pattern until the contraction passed. After it moved on, he shook his hand in joking pain and just shook his head in disbelief.

“I simply cannot believe I am now standing in a hospital room with my future wife, helping her give birth to our twins! This is so amazing...such a miracle.” He said with a smile.

“Yes, it is...” She returned the smile. “I didn’t think I’d be doing this for a very long time...but I’m so glad I’m sharing it with you.”

He just bent and kissed her sweaty forehead, smoothing the golden hair out her eyes. Afterwards, he sat by her side to await the next contraction - and there he stayed for the next three hours...until it was time to push.

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Around 1:00, early that Friday morning, they wheeled Amy’s gurney into the delivery room. Her strong contractions had come on quite quickly...these two were just as anxious to get out as Amy was anxious to get them out!

After one more strong contraction, they gave her the green-light to push. She leaned up in her bed, one hand gripping the side of the stretcher, the other one squeezing the life out of Lance’s poor hand. He coached her on as she yelled and groaned through her first push.

“Alrighty, Amy...you can do better than that. ‘Baby A’ wants out!” Dr. Rosenberg said with a smile.

All joking was gone from Amy now. She raised her eyebrows with a viscous look. “Yo, DOC...I am doin’ the best I can...so LAY OFF!!” She half snarled/half screamed.

Dr. Rosenberg just laughed it off as Lance raised his eyebrows with a disbelieving chuckle. The obstetrician had heard MUCH worse...some of the most petite, delicate young women turned into fiery monsters with mouths worse than truck drivers during a difficult delivery. Amy was actually being quite calm!

Another contraction came about a minute later and Amy leaned forward again for another heave. THIS one was worse as ‘Baby A’ began crowning with a passion. She was DEFINITELY angry this time: “JAMES LANCE BASS...If you EVER come near me with that pathetic little DICK of yours whipped out AGAIN...I WILL BEAT THE EVER-LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU!!! You BEST be keepin’ your pants on you SON...OF...A...BITCH!!!” She gave him a look to kill as the contraction/push finally came to a conclusion. When she felt at least a small amount of relief, she looked over to Lance with a feeble grin. “Sorry, Hun...And I, I was kidding about the ‘little’ part...”

“No problem, Ames. Just keep going...I kinda expected some kind of outburst like that.” He winked at her and took his hand away for a break...she had a grip to crush bones!

“All right, Amy...this time I’m serious.” Dr. Rosenberg said. “This first one’s ready to come out. It’s already crowning...one more good push should get the little bugger out. It’s gonna be tough to get out the shoulders, so you gotta keep with me, OK?”

“OK, OKAAAAYYY...oh, dear GOD, here comes another...!!!”

“Come on, push, Baby, PUSH!” Lance coached as she gave it her best.

“We’ve got a head! Keep going and it should be out...PUSH!” The doctor urged.

Lance left her side to watch his first child being born. “Amy, I can see it’s head...go, go, GO!!”

“AND...it’s....OUT - 2:24 a.m. on May 30th!!” ‘Baby A’ slid out and right into the doctor’s awaiting arms.

“It’s a BOY!” Lance was jumping up and down. “We have a son, Ames...We have a SON!!”

Amy began crying lightly from happy tears AND from utter pain as the nurse briefly plopped her son down on her chest. He was squawking in that healthy baby way and opened one eye briefly with a ‘Why the HELL did you just take me out of that cozy, warm spot?!? It’s freezing out here!!!’ expression. He was puny, shivering, blue as a smurf, and slimy as a worm...but he looked beautiful. Lance kissed her on the forehead as he gazed into his son’s face (and one opened eye!) with a proud smile. They whisked him away a minute later, though, to get cleaned up.

“Don’t stop on me yet, Miss Amy. You still have one more in there...we gotta get his brother or sister out! We’re gonna push again on the next contr...wa-WAIT, no, don’t push...” He stopped her mid heave. He had looked over at the fetal monitors with a concerned look.

“No, no, NO!...‘Baby B’ is in distress. Its heart rate’s dropped. We have to do a Cesarean section to get it out quickly.” Without another word, they wheeled her immediately out to another room and curtained her up for the C-section. Lance was terrified, and so was Amy - he could see it in her face. He had to stay strong for her, though, he HAD to.

Within minutes, they had her anesthetized and open. Lance watched in shocked disbelief as the doctor lifted their second child out of Amy’s belly with one clean swipe. They took it away from them before either could see the sex. They didn’t hear any crying this time - and that scared them out of their mind.

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(~) Part 50 (~)

They sewed Amy back up quickly. She was exhausted from the pushing, but quite alert out of sheer fear. She wanted to know what was wrong with the baby...he OR she. The only information they got out of a hurrying nurse was that the umbilical cord had wrapped itself around ‘Baby B’’s neck. She flew by before they could find out anything more or the gender.

They put Amy back into recovery and gave her some narcotics to ease her pain. Lance sat by her side and held her gently as the frustrated/angry/frightened tears streamed forth. She was thrilled about her son, but she NEEDED some information about her poor second child. The two held a prayerful vigil as they awaited news.

FINALLY, after over an hour of waiting, Dr. Rosenberg himself came into the room where they sat. His expression was serious, but soon a smile crept over his pudgy face.

“Well, ‘Baby B’ gave us quite a scare - it was unresponsive for over two minutes. Yes, that’s no oxygen at all for that whole time. But it’s doing fine, now. We got it resuscitated about forty-five minutes, and now it’s returned to normal color and breathing and heart patterns. Everything gonna be just great.” He smiled again, quite satisfied.

Both looked relieved...but he left one important detail out. “IT? IT? What IS it?!?” They said with anxious stares.

“Oh, how could I forget?!? I’m so sorry! Congratulations, you have a little girl!! She’s four pounds, seven ounces and nineteen and a half inches long. The little boy is five pounds, four ounces, and twenty-one inches long. Both are doing just fine. The nurses will bring them in shortly.”

Lance let the tears loose now as Dr. Rosenberg left the room. “It’s a miracle...we have a boy and a girl...an instant family. I love you, Baby...”

His joyful tears were matched by her own. “I love YOU, James Lance. We did it...” She said in a groggy voice.

“YOU did the hard part!” He returned with a proud smile. He kissed her head gently once more. “I’m gonna go make two pretty important phone calls and then tell the group. They’re all here.”

“They’re here?!? Oh, that’s wonderful! Wait, though. We have to name them first...and I have a great idea that we never thought of before for the names.” She told him the plan as a smile crept over his face.

“That’s perfect, Amy. I never even thought of that. That’s what they are, then!” He walked out quickly to call the new grandparents and inform the group.

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After a little while, and a LOT of pleading from Amy, Lance, and the group themselves, they moved Amy into a large room to bring in the babies for the first time. The nine friends crammed themselves into the room and made a semi-circle around Lance and Amy. There were oodles of congratulations until they parted to reveal a nurse carrying a blue bundle.

“SO?!? What did you name them?!? Why won’t you tell us?!?” Jen prompted.

“BECAUSE...there’s an explanation with each one.” Amy said with a smile.

Lance scanned their faces. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet our son...Justin James.”

Justin face was shocked as his name-sake was placed in Amy’s awaiting arms. “Y-you named him Justin?!?” He stuttered.

“Yes, we did. The James is obviously for me and my father’s first name...the Justin is for the incredible man and friend that was, for a while, possibly HIS father.” Lance said with a smile.

Justin beamed as they pulled away the blanket to reveal a small, but perfectly shaped, radiant baby boy.

“Oooo’s” and “Ahhh’s” followed as each took a good look at him

Lance took him out of Amy’s arms and placed him in front of Justin. “Hold him, J. It’s all right...”

Justin looked skeptical and nervous, but Lance and Amy urged him on. He opened his arms and Justin James was placed inside. “He’s so light!” He said as a tear slipped out of his baby blues. “He’s beautiful...” He said with a gushing laugh.

The proud parents were the ones beaming this time as they watched Justin Randall holding THEIR Justin - Justin James. A few minutes later, a pink bundle was brought into the room as well.

“And here’s the other half...” Lance started. “Meet our daughter, now...Kylie Grace.”

Kylie’s hand covered her mouth as she heard the news.

Amy smiled again. “We couldn’t have done it without you...both with the pre-pregnancy and pregnancy surprise help you gave to Lance AND the household help you gave to us. The Kylie’s obviously for you, and the Grace is because it was by a small miracle...the ‘grace’ of God that she was given to us. We almost lost her, but God kept her with us.”

Kylie Grace was placed in her name-sake’s arms. Kylie beamed this time as she broke down into happy sobs. The younger was revealed as an extremely tiny, but nevertheless perfect little angel after Lance pulled the pink blanket away a little.

“You got two cue-balls, Little Buddy...they ain’t got any hair!” Joey kidded. “At least, nothing like mine...” He fingered his fire-engine red locks.

The group had a good laugh and spent the next hour (until they were kicked out so Amy could feed them and get some rest - they left for home, but then returned for another visit the next day) talking and enjoying the company of the newest members of the word - Justin James Bass and Kylie Grace Bass.

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Onto the next five chapters...
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