Bad Luck or Fate?

Chapter 54

I walked out and saw Mom sleeping on Dad's shoulder, Winnie was sleeping in Nancy's arm, and she was sleeping on Higgin's shoulder, Gloria on the other. On the other side of the room, John and Karen were sleeping across a few chairs as Drew and Jake were busy watching the televison. I cleared my throat and Drew jumped up, startling Jake. I smiled at her and Jake and walked up to everyone. Drew shook John who woke up Karen and Jake woke up my mother, who, of course, screamed at the top of her lungs at the sight of Jake towering over her, waking everyone else up. I rolled my eyes. "Ma, this is the delivery waiting room, and it's the middle of the night, could you be a little quieter?" I whispered, looking around. 

"Well, I'm sorry, it's not everyday you are shook awake by a strapping young man." I scoffed and she sat up straighter as Karen walked over to me. "How is she? Is my daughter doing okay? Her scar tissue... is it giving her trouble?" I could hear the apprehension in her voice and there were worry lines on her face. I grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a hug. "She's perfect and her scar tissue held up just fine." Karen looked back at John. "Wait, held up just fine... so... so she..." She looked up into my eyes as I let a smile spread across my face. "She's a mommy." I nodded and started to tear up. 
Karen gasped and covered her mouth. "My little girl is a mommy. I'm.. I'm a grandma." I laughed and pointed to John. "And you're a grandpa." They started crying and so did I. She laughed and wiped the tears off my face and then she pulled me in for a hug. "Oh, thank you, Jimmy. Thank you for making me a grandma." I pulled back. "Thank you for letting me be with your wonderful daughter. She did so great in there. I'm so proud of her." I hugged John and Jake. I walked over to Drew and gave her a hug as well. "Thank you for being there while I was gone." She grinned and clapped my back. "No problem, Jimmy." 

"Well, give us the details, son." I heard Dad say. I stepped back and let out a giggle. "Right." I clapped my hands together. "Thomas Andrew Fallon was born at 12:37 this morning. He weighs 6 pounds and 9 ounces. He is 21 inches long and has a full head of hair. He is simply breathtaking and he's got a full set of lungs, let me tell you. I could hear him down the hall when they took him to the nursery for a few moments. He is beautiful just like his mom. Everyone is happy and healthy. Breckyn is resting at the moment but she did a phenomenal job in there. She was absolutely amazing. Gosh, he's so cute and I couldn't be happier." I laughed and wiped my eyes as I finished. There was mascara on the back of my hand. Great. My make up was running. "Told you you should have gotten waterproof, you rookie." I looked up and Higgins was wiping his face off as well. I walked over and hugged him.

"Hey man, you can blame Brecks when you see her. This is her makeup." I let go and gave him a good clap on the back and he hugged me again. "I told you I would get you here. I wouldn't let you miss this for the world. Congratulations, brother." I held him at arms length and touched my heart with my left hand. "Thank you, Higs. I love you brother." I walked over to Pops who held out his arms and pulled me in for a hug. "I'm so proud of the man you've become, son." I wiped my eye and rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, Pop, if I can teach Thomas to be half the man you taught me to be, then I'll consider myself to be the luckiest man alive." Pop smiled at me and grabbed Mom who was, naturally, a blubbering mess. "Ma, why are you crying so much?" I said as I pulled her in for a hug of her own. She blubbered into my shoulder and pulled back, blowing her nose in a Kleenex. "I'm just so happy to be a grandma." I laughed at her. "Ma, you already were a grandma, a couple times over." She wiped her nose and waved her hand. "I know, I know, I'm just happy to be a grandma again." I shook my head and that's when I looked over at Nancy. 

She was holding Winnie to her shoulder and rubbing her back. Her eyes were glossy with tears and she was smiling. I sighed and let out a small smile for her and held my arms out to my side. "Can you believe it? I have a little boy." I said as she walked towards me and gave me a side hug. "Good job, Daddy. I'm sure you were great in there. Congratulations. I'm.. I'm really happy for you Jim." She gave me a smile, but I could tell she was trying to mask something. I didn't want to push it. She turned towards me so I could see Winnie sleeping on her shoulder. She rubbed her head and woke her up. Winnie sat up and rubbed her eyes and looked up at me. "Daddy." She said softly, with her sleepy voice. I held my hands out towards her and scooped her up as she reached for me. Nancy handed her over and rubbed Winnie's back as she laid her head down in the crook of my neck, cuddling into me. I lowered my cheek onto her back and rubbed her back, lightly boucing up and down, kissing the top of her head. Nancy watched me and smiled. 'Someone fought sleep for quite a while trying to stay up to meet their little brother." I nodded and gave her an apologetic face. "I'm sorry, she's going to be a handful tomorrow. She's gonna need an extra nap. If I knew it was going to be this time of night, I would have waited until the morning. I hope you're not upset." I swayed back and forth with Winnie as Nancy patted my arm. "No worries. It's fine. Besides, its not everyday our daughter becomes a big sister." I nodded and looked at Winnie who was fast asleep again. "Thank you for being here." Nancy kept smiling as she grabbed Winnie's hand and kissed it. "Of course, someone had to bring the little princess here." I stopped swaying and pulled her in for another hug. "No. Thank YOU for being here. It means more than you'll know." I kissed the top of her head. "It means a lot that you're here, too. You're..... you're my best friend. Plus, you're one of the few that truly knows what this means to me.. so just.... Thanks Nance." She pulled back and nodded slowly, clearing her throat. "It's not a problem, Jim. I'm happy for you."