TENACITY

CHAPTER FORTY

Trey scoffed. "Bull," he growled. Then he turned to Jason. "Is that why you didn't tell me? You thought I'd brush you off and say it was nothing? You know me better than that."

Jason nodded slowly. "I do know you, and that—like you're doing now—you'd rather help someone else than worry about your own heap of problems." Trey sighed. "We're talking about you here, Trey. Have you heard from her doctor?"

Trey shook his head. "Not really. Since Roberta went in for blood samples and for the blood pressure check, I haven't heard anything on that end." Then he massaged his temples. "I'd say it's been two hours or more since everything began—the surgery and all."

"I know," Jason said, knowing exactly how long it'd taken him to get there from where he'd been contacted in the middle of a purchase.

Trey ran a tired hand through his hair. "How I wish our life wasn't such a movie."

"Sad truth is, we all can't get what we wish for," Jason told him, patting him on the shoulder.

Trey nodded his agreement, then a thought occurred to him. "Does your wife know you're here?"

"No," Jason replied. "She'd mentioned going to visit Samantha and the baby, so calling her means informing them and I'd rather not. Samantha is still in pain from birth and Mitch does most things for her, so letting them know might not be the best idea. They might want to come regardless, so I'd rather call her later."

"I agree actually," Trey murmured, thinking back to their stubborn refusal to not attend the anniversary dinner just a few days ago. Trey was content with just his best friend at the moment. It assured him he wasn't alone in all this.

"Which reminds me," Jason said, lowering his voice. "I know Donovan is behind bars or supposed to be. Truth is, I don't trust that any jail cell can hold him. And he did tell Alexandra to kiss her babies goodbye." Trey cursed himself for forgetting. "So, we'll have to take turns looking after them."

"I can't ask you to throw away your time like that," Trey said, shaking his head. "You—"

"I'm not asking for your permission, Trey," Jason cut in, eyes hard. "We will take turns till your security comes to relieve us." Then he looked up when the door opened. "Here comes her doctor."

Trey shot out of his seat, walking off to meet her halfway, with Jason following at a distance. "Mr. Robinson, hi," Roberta greeted when she got to him. "How are you holding up?"

"Good enough, I suppose," he replied, shrugging lightly with a calm he didn't feel. His emotions were a raging storm inside him. "All things considered, I think it's a miracle I'm not pulling my hair out."

Roberta chuckled, admiring his inner strength. "That's good, because no hair pulling might be necessary." She paused when Jason joined them, inclining her head in response to his greeting. "Are you okay with me speaking in front of him?"

"Yes," Trey answered with a nod. "Please go ahead."

Nodding, Roberta continued, "I don't know what to say other than to admire how you handled things. Alexandra woke up once as I was checking on her and admitted not really feeling the babies since she'd woken up. Her blood pressure was the highest I've seen it go at 139/87."

Trey swore harshly, and Jason placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "She never tells me when she feels something is wrong. It's always when it's almost too late. I don't understand why she does that."

"Well," Roberta said, patting his arm lightly, "you have to understand where she's coming from. Losing as many kids as you have may render her paranoid about every little thing, and you might've gotten frustrated if she'd told you of every little bit of fear she's felt.

"But waiting till she was sure it wasn't her paranoia always made you act quickly, didn't it?" He nodded reluctantly, and her hand fell away. "So let's just say, she knows you very well."

"I think I'd prefer her telling me every little thing to this fear I felt and still feel," he admitted, a shudder passing over him. "How are they?"

Roberta smiled. "We need to monitor the babies for a couple of weeks, but that aside, they're fine for preemies—better than I expected, to be honest. But I don't want to get ahead of myself."

He allowed himself to breathe a little, then asked the next question. "What of Alexandra? Is she fine?"

"I can't affirm that for you until after a couple of days filled with monitoring and checkups. Her blood pressure has reduced but it's still higher than normal. Hopefully, with the help of the drugs she'll be taking to aid her recovery, her blood pressure should come back to normal in about a week or two. But if it persists or is still unreasonably high, I would like to keep her here as long as the babies."

Though hard, Trey nodded. "I understand," he responded. Then he smiled, his heart filled with love for the little humans he was yet to meet properly. He couldn't wait. "You know, you never mentioned the genders. I figure I have one boy, from the way you said 'he' when I cut the cord."

Roberta laughed. "I'm sorry; you got a boy and a girl Mr. Robinson—a perfect balance." Trey smiled brightly and Roberta straightened. "I have to go check on her once more before I move on to other patients of mine. A nurse will come for you when I'm done."

"Both of us?" Trey asked, not wanting to be alone.

"I don't see why not," Roberta said with a light shrug. "Just be careful with her because of her stitches. She's already propped up in case she needs to drink water or eat something. And if she needs to use the loo, press the button and a nurse will escort her."

"Alright, thank you so much."

Roberta smiled. "It's an honor," she replied, then she turned away to go check on Lexi.

Then it really sank in for him. He was a father of two. Trey turned to Jason, eyes wide. "I'm a father," he whispered, as if he still couldn't wrap his head around it.

"You're a father!" Jason exclaimed, pulling Trey into a hug, both crying as they squeezed each other. "I'm glad this day finally came. After everything, you definitely deserve this. I'm so happy for you. I call godfather!"

"And I call godmother," Melissa chipped in from behind, handing them both cups of coffee.

Trey laughed. "It's already yours," he replied, pulling away to wipe his cheeks free of tears. "Both of you. You don't even need to ask."

Jason pumped a celebratory fist into the air,then accepted his coffee cup, thanking Melissa. "So, I get to choose a name?"

"No," came Trey's immediate answer, almost spilling his coffee with how quickly he turned. "I don't trust you to not name my children like a man high on pot."

Jason burst out laughing, and it wasn't long before Trey and Melissa joined in, not because anything was funny, but because this was the first semi-good news they'd heard in a while.

And while they kept their fingers crossed that Lexi and the babies would make full recovery, they were happy they'd made it through a major storm. A throat was cleared next to them, and they settled down, giving their full attention to the nurse next to them.

"Mr Robinson, I've been asked to escort you and your friend to your wife's room." The poor girl looked red in the face, flustered by the undivided attention she was getting from the three famous people.

Trey gave her a smile, almost chuckling when the nurse turned a deeper shade of red. Note to self: don't smile at an already flustered female that isn't Lexi. "Lead the way."