Mother


Sequel to "Girlfriend"


They’d been married for two years, so it didn’t come as a surprise to you  when they told you they wanted to start a family. You grinned from ear to ear  and hugged them both tightly, squealing at the thought of having a “niece” or  “nephew” running around the house.

Unfortunately, they weren’t going to  make it that easy for you.

“We want you to carry our child.”

Once  you had picked your jaw up from the floor and remembered how to breathe again,  Lance led you to the couch and helped you sit down to regain your composure. He  rubbed small circles on your lower back, lovingly pressing his lips to your  temple every few minutes, while JC and Justin sat across the room, looking at  each other nervously between stolen glances in your direction.

“Are you  ok, baby?” Lance whispered, brushing your hair out of your face. You nodded and  leaned against him, taking a deep breath.

You just needed to think, you  told him, because this was a huge decision. You looked at Justin and JC and  smiled, motioning them over.

“Listen, Brit, we know it’s a lot to ask…”  Justin said, reaching out for your hand.

“But we don’t want some random  person to be the mother, and you’re just so…” JC said, smiling shyly.

“We  understand if you don’t want to, Britney. We love you no matter what. But you’re  our first choice…”

Somewhere during their babbles, you decided that  having their child was the right thing to do. Of course, you didn’t tell them  this yet, because you had to talk it over with your husband, but in your mind,  your decision was made.

You were going to be a  mother.

***

“I love you, Britney,” Lance said that  night after you’d made love. He kissed your forehead and rested his hand on your  bare stomach, nuzzling your neck tenderly. “And I know how much you care about  them, and I know you’re probably going to do this no matter what I say. So I’m  not going to say anything. I’m fine with whatever you decide.”

When you  told him you were going to do it, he held you close and kissed you again, but  you heard him sigh heavily and knew he had major reservations about the whole  thing.

You told him you loved him more than life itself, and this  wouldn’t change anything. After all, the baby was Justin and JC’s.

You  tried to ignore the fact that this would actually be  yourbaby inside you,  not just theirs.

***

You’ll never forget the look on their  faces when you told them you’d do it. JC’s eyes lit up and you’d never seen a  smile as bright as the one Justin wore.

“God, Britney, you are the best  person I know,” Justin gushed, squeezing you tightly. “You have no idea how much  this means to us.”

“Thanks, Brit,” JC whispered in your ear, brushing a  kiss across your cheek.

“As soon as possible,” they told you when you  asked them when this whole thing was going to take place. Lance avoided eye  contact with you when you looked over your shoulder at him, and you sighed,  hoping this wasn’t going to damage your relationship with him.

Two weeks  later, you went with them to the clinic, trying not to giggle when a red-faced  Justin emerged from behind a closed door and motioned for the doctor to “pick it  up in there.”

A month and a half later, you found out.

“You’re  pregnant, Britney.”

You thought Justin was going to leap out of his skin,  and your heart soared when JC pulled him into a crushing hug. “I love you,” you  heard them whisper to one another.

You placed a hand on your stomach and  wondered what the next nine months of your life were going to be  like.

***

Seeing the baby for the first time on the ultrasound  screen was, needless to say, amazing. Your breath caught in your throat when you  heard the tiny heartbeat and saw the mass that was your child. At that thought,  your brow furrowed slightly, because really, this baby wasn’t yours. You weren’t  going to take it home, you weren’t going to take care of it, you weren’t going  to be called mommy. You tried to ignore the sick feeling that was building in  the pit of your stomach and instead squeezed Lance’s hand and focused on the two  men who were also gazing at the screen intently.

JC’s eyes glimmered with  tears, and Justin kissed each one of JC’s knuckles individually, his eyes never  leaving the image of his unborn child. “That’s our baby,” he whispered, and a  single tear slid down JC’s cheek. Justin reached out and wiped the tear  away.

“I love you,” JC whispered, leaning his head on Justin’s  shoulder.

You squeezed Lance’s hand tighter and tore your eyes away from  the screen, fighting back tears of your own.

***

“Are you  hungry, baby? Can I get you anything?” Lance asked, looking at you anxiously.  You smiled and shook your head, propping your feet up onto his lap.

I’m  fine, you told him, just a little tired, and he relaxed underneath your touch  when you ran your fingers through his hair.

It had been six months since  you found out you were having this baby, and things were going smoothly. Justin  and JC, however, were always underfoot, rubbing your stomach and cooing. When  the baby kicked for the first time, Justin screamed. Literally screamed. JC ran  to his side, scared out of his mind. “What’s wrong? Justin, what’s  wrong?”

“It…the baby…it…”

When you smiled and told JC that the  baby had kicked, you half expected him to scream, too. But he didn’t. He just  leaned over your stomach and placed a gentle hand there, waiting patiently for  it to happen again. When it did, his smile was enough to light the evening sky,  and he leaned forward and kissed you cheek. “It kicked, Brit. It really  kicked.”

“Do they have to be here allthe time?” Lance  asked you one day, releasing an exasperated breath. “I feel like I can’t even  touch you anymore.”

You laughed and kissed him on the lips before telling  him that they were just excited and didn’t want to miss anything. He sighed  again and buried his face in your neck, running one hand down the slight bulge  of your stomach. “I love you,” he whispered, and you didn’t protest when he  picked you up and carried you upstairs, because right then, you needed him as  much as he needed you.

***

Shooting pains woke you up one  morning, and you shrieked as you sat up in bed.

“Britney?” Lance  mumbled, leaning up on his elbows. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Contractions,  you told him. Painful ones. You squeezed his hand tightly and took a deep  breath, trying to calm yourself down and waiting for the next wave of pain to  hit you.

“Should I call Justin and JC?” he asked nervously, kneeling next  to you.

You nodded and laid back down, sure that you weren’t going into  labor just yet and that you probably had about twelve more hours of contractions  to endure before your water even broke.

“She’s having contractions,”  Lance said into the phone, and you could tell by the tone in his voice that he  was scared as hell. You couldn’t help but laugh as you ran a hand down his back  and he jumped, startled. “They’re on their way,” he told you as he hung up the  phone. “Is there anything I can do for you? Are you okay?”

You told him  to stop being such a worrywart and puckered your lips, hinting that you wanted  him to kiss you. He smiled lightly and leaned down, brushing his lips against  yours. You told him that you loved him, and he laid down next to you and buried  his face in your neck.

The loud clamoring downstairs ten minutes later  signaled the arrival of Justin and JC, who were bounding into your bedroom  seconds later.

“Are you ok?” Justin gushed, kneeling down next to the  bed.

You smiled and nodded, then looked up at JC, who was still on the  other side of the room.

“Josh?” Justin said. “What’s wrong,  baby?”

“Nervous,” he whispered, swallowing hard.

You loved  watching them interact. The way Justin’s hands knew just where to touch JC to  get him to relax, the way his lips fit perfectly against the older man’s mouth.  Justin cooed into JC’s ear and kissed his cheek before joining hands with him  and leading him to your side.

It was a long day. Justin paced, JC sat  quietly, and Lance…well, Lance stayed attached to your side. The contractions  were coming closer together now, and you whispered to Justin that he should  probably call the doctor.

He rushed to the phone and dialed, speaking  quickly and hanging up. “He said we should get to the hospital.” All the color  drained from JC’s face, and for a moment you thought he was going to pass out.  Justin noticed it too and ran to his side, cradling JC in his arms and  whispering soothing words. The only ones you could make out were, “We’re gonna  meet our baby,” and for some reason, you cringed.

***

Things  happened very, very quickly once you got to the hospital. Your water had broken  in the car, and the pain you were experiencing was blinding.

You’d heard  of women having very quick deliveries, but you ever imagined that within twelve  hours, you’d be lying on a hospital bed, knees up and legs spread, dialated to  ten centimeters and ready to give birth.

Despite the pain, a million  thoughts were racing through your head. You’d never really discussed what was  going to happen after this baby was born. What if you weren’t ready to give the  baby up? Were JC and Justin just going to take their child—which was actually Justin’schild and yourchild—and run, and  you’d never see them or the baby again? Were they going to shut you out of the  child’s life, making you pretend that you didn’t carry it for eight and a half  months?

“Come on, Britney, push, hun,” the doctor urged. You clenched  your eyes shut and did as you were told, imagining JC and Justin and your baby  living a happy life without you in it. You opened your eyes and looked up at  Lance, who had tears in his eyes as he leaned down to kiss your sweaty forehead.  You knew he knew what you were thinking by the way he was looking at you, and  you loved him for knowing you so well.

“It’s gonna be ok, Brit,” he  whispered, brushing your hair out of your eyes. “I promise, it’s gonna be  ok.”

You sat up a bit and looked at JC and Justin, who were sitting knee  to knee on the other side of the room, eyes closed, fingers laced together. And  suddenly you hated yourself for thinking all those things. These were your best  friends you were talking about here. They would never do such a thing to you.  They loved you and trusted you enough to ask you to do something so important  for them, and here you were hating them for it.

They were going to be  the best fathers a child could ever have. And you were going to be the best  mother, because you knew that’s how they would want  it.

***

“She’s beautiful,” Justin whispered as the doctor  brought his daughter into the room. JC’s eyes glimmered wetly; his hand had  still not left Justin’s.

You smiled as the doctor walked towards you and  tried to hand you your daughter. You shook your head and nodded to the two men  next to you. They hold her first, you told him.

“Britney, are you—“ JC  said, eyes grateful.

You shushed him and nodded; you knew you were  glowing with happiness when the doctor placed the baby in Justin’s  arms.

“Hannah…” he whispered, brushing the lightest of kisses across her  head.

“She’s so tiny,” JC breathed, smiling when his daughter squeezed  his finger in her little hand.

“Our daughter,” Justin said, smiling  through his tears. He leaned over and kissed JC tenderly. “I love you so, so  much.”

“I love you too, baby.”

Justin looked up at you and  grinned. “You wanna hold her, mommy?”

Your heart leapt through your chest  when he used the word, and you couldn’t help the tears that spilled down your  cheeks.

“Brit, what’s wrong?” JC asked, frowning.

You didn’t  think they were going to call you that, you told them, wiping at your  face.

“My god, Britney, we would never do that to you. We want our baby  to have a mother…that’s why we asked you do to this…honey, I can’t believe you  thought we’d just take her away from you.”

You stopped breathing when  they laid her across your chest. She was breathtaking. Absolutely beautiful. 

“Room for one more in here?” Lance poked his head into the room and you  smiled. “You doing okay, sweetheart?” he asked you, and you nodded, rubbing  small circles on Hannah’s back. “Beautiful baby you guys have here,” he said to  JC and Justin, who just nodded and clung to one another, eyes never leaving  their daughter.

Hannah cooed softly in her sleep, and your heart beat  faster.

So this is what it felt like to be a  mother.

***

She’s two months old now, and getting more beautiful  by the day. You can already tell she’s going to have curly hair just like her  daddy, and he’s proud as a peacock.

You don’t see her every day. You told  them you didn’t want to confuse her or make her think that you would always be  there, because you wouldn’t. You were her mother, but not full time, and they  were going to be there with her all the time.

You’ve heard that sometimes  children lower marital satisfaction, and that jealousy can rear its ugly head  when a baby comes in to play. It’s the total opposite for them. Their eyes gleam  with the same love and adoration for one another as they always have. Hannah  seems to have only added to their devotion, and you couldn’t be happier for  them.

You lean back against Lance’s chest and think about how far you’ve  come and how many different things you’ve been during your life. A best friend.  A girlfriend. A lover. A wife. And now, a mother.

You look up and smile  at your husband, kissing his chin and nuzzling into him.

Things couldn’t  be any more perfect.



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