Morgan's currently on a tour. He promised his wife that he'd be back with a month left in her pregnancy, promising to be home in time to finish getting the house set up and ready for their boys.
Haley's asleep on the couch, her feet kicked up on the coffee table with Sam next to her. He's been spending time with her since Morgan left for tour so she wasn't alone.
She jerks awake when she feels a sharp pain across her back and down into her thighs. She groans quietly, her hands flying to her back to rub the area, thinking it's pain from sitting weird.
It goes away and she relaxes back against the couch, slowing her breathing. Sam gives her a side eye as he munches on some chips. "You okay, Haley Mae?"
"I'm fine." She says, rubbing her face.
A couple minutes later, that pain seers through her back again and she winces with clenched teeth. "Haley." Sam sits forward and Haley suddenly grips his wrist. "Somethin' ain't right. C'mon."
"No, I'm fine. It'll go away." She says, staying on the couch.
"C'mon, somethin' might be wrong with your boys." She shakes her head, sinking further against the couch. "Haley, let's go."
"No, I'm not going!" She shouts, pulling her arm out of his grasp.
Same takes a deep breath and grabs her, carrying her to his truck. He wordlessly speeds off to the hospital.
Better safe than sorry.
***
Haley is freaking out.
Like panic attack freaking out.
Her babies are coming now and she's without her husband by her side but she's not alone, her Louisa May is there with her while Sam and Wes are out in the waiting room.
"Momma, no, I can't do this-" She whimpers, shaking her head as she sweats like hell.
"You got to." She responds, unsticking her hair from her sweaty face. She glances down at the nurse between Haley's legs and nods. "We gotta do this again, okay?"
Haley shakes her head but then nods, wrapping her fingers around her mother's bony hand.
A couple hours later, two beautiful baby boys are born.
"I'm so so proud of you, Haley Mae." Louisa May says, kissing the top of her sweaty head. "You did it. My baby had babies." She wipes away a few stray tears then laughs.
"Where's Morgan? Did you call him?" She mumbles out, tears swelling in her eyes.
"One of your brothers did." She says, sitting back in the corner chair.
"Can you call him again? I wanna talk to him."
"Get some rest, baby." Louisa May whispers, tucking some hair behind her daughter's ear.
Haley stubbornly shakes her head but sleep takes over.
***
Morgan is on the verge of tears. His wife is in the hospital and he's in another fucking state.
"I gotta get home now!" He shouts nervously, pacing around the parking lot. "I- She's alone!"
"Morgan-" His tour manager, Jake, starts.
"No, either we get back to Murfreesboro right now or I'm- I'm- I'm walking home."
"Morgan-" He's too worked up to listen, his heart pounding in his throat. "Morgan!" He shouts, his volume stopping the brunette in his tracks. "We cut your tour short. Jason Aldean is still tourin' but just without you openin'. Tyler Booth is openin' for him now. We got you, man."
Morgan breathes out a choked laugh. "Thank god."
"Get back on the bus, we're headin' back now."
***
Morgan bursts through the hospital doors, his chest heaving after running a couple blocks from the studio. He rushes some words out to the girl behind the front desk but none of them make sense. She nervously looks over at the hospital security.
"Morgan!" Sam's voice echos through out the room. "C'mon-"
"Only family can go-"
"He's her husband. I'm her brother." She sighs and waves them through.
Morgan races down the hallway, actually fucking books in his boots. He comes to a boot scuffing halt in front of her door and takes a deep breath, trying to be calm for his wife incase she's still worked up.
He quietly opens the door then steps inside. His worried blue eyes land on his sleeping wife curled up in the uncomfortable hospital bed. Morgan climbs under the thin sheets behind her and rests his hand on her hip, his other arm tucked under her head.
Haley visibly relaxes against him, pulling his arm tighter around her, needing this intimacy. Morgan buries his face in the back of her neck, pressing the occasional kiss to her skin.
Haley stirs awake a few hours later with the sun casting it's shine across her exhausted face. She squints- more like glares at the wide open window then pokes her husband in the side. He grunts quietly but remains asleep so she jabs him again but this time it's more agressive.
"What?" He practically whines in response, crossing his ankles one over the other after stretching his legs out.
"Window," She croaks out, her throat sore from the trauma she had encountered the day before. "Bright. Curtains."
"Huh?"
"Can you close the curtains please?"
Morgan grunts again as he stands, his eyes blearily open while he fiddles with the cords, still half asleep. Haley yawns, cautiously rolling on her other side before her husband returns to the cramped bed.
"How're you feelin'?"
"Sore."
Morgan sighs, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, holding her close. When he starts rubbing her back, she hums contently. "How are the boys?"
"I don't know." She mumbles back. "The nurse said we could see them soon."
"You decide on any names?"
"Nuh-uh."
He nods, resting his chin on the top of his wife's head. There's a soft knock on the door and Haley suppresses a groan. "Come in." He answers for her, rubbing her back.
"Good Morning. If y'all're ready, I can take y'all to see your boys." The nurse says in a soft yet cheery tone. "No rush or anything, okay?"
Haley glances around and stays quiet, not really sure if she wants to see her children after what she did to them; premature birth.
Morgan sighs when he realizes she won't say anything so he speaks up for her. "Can we see them now?"
"Absolutely." She grins. "I'll bring 'em down here for y'all."
Haley groans out right when the door closes. "I- I don't want to see 'em, Morgan." She mutters, feeling incredibly guilty. "I can't."
He furrows his brows. "What?"
She starts to cry, looking away with tears in her eyes. "I just want to go home."
The door opens. "Here they are." The nurse says quietly. "Got names yet?"
Haley shrugs, picking at a loose thread on the blanket coverings her legs. "Given it some thought."
"Awe, good!" She grins. The nurse hands the married couple their boys then steps out of the room.
Haley clears her throat, hating herself for how little and premature her boys are. She carefully lays the one she's holding back down in the bassinet then turns to her husband. Her heart would've melted at the sight of the country boy she loves with her whole heart holding one of their children but she feels... nothing.
She reaches behind her and presses the big red button on the remote attached to the bed.
"You buzzed?" The same nurse asks, looking between the sleeping twins and the new parents.
"When can we leave?"
"If all goes well, tomorrow."
***
"You got names yet?" Michael asks, looking down at the tiny boy in his arms.
"I think Hales came up with somethin'. I know I did but, y'know." He whispers back.
Haley comes around the corner and yawns, rubbing her eyes. "Oh shit, hey y'all." She mumbles, startled by the company sitting in their living room; Michael, Caleigh, Wes and Louisa May.
"Hey, baby." The new grandmother greets, wrapping her in a gentle hug. "You hungry? I made some supper."
"Oh no, I'm good. Thanks though."
Morgan raises his brows. "You haven't eaten all day, babe."
"I said I'm fine." She snaps back suddenly, sitting on a chair across from everyone. Louisa May sighs and squeezes her shoulder before heading back into the kitchen.
"How're you feeling?" Caleigh asks.
"I'm tired."
"You have any name ideas?" Michael asks, handing one of the boys off to his girlfriend.
"I wanted to use Mack and Clayton."
"Mack Cole is what I came up with." Morgan says, brushing his thumb over the soft hint of brown hair sprouting from his other son's head. "And she came up with Clayton Mitchell."
"Those are so sweet." Caleigh awes, looking down at the boy she's holding.
"I didn't want to use Mack Clayton in one name. I'd be scared of favoritism." Haley admits, messing with the strings of the hoodie she's wearing.
Louisa May looks her daughter over, she can tell somethings bothering her. She just quietly runs her fingers through her hair, letting her know that she's there with her.
Haley quietly gets up and heads outside to the porch wearing Morgan's sweatshirt and a pair of shorts with socks on her feet. Morgan hands Mack over to Louisa May, picks up a nearby blanket then joins his wife on the porch.
"Leave me alone, Morgan." She mumbles, looking down at her hands while she picks at her nails, the tip of her nose chilling in the cool fall breeze.
"What's goin' on, Hales?" He asks in a soft voice, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders.
"I'm a horrible mother." She whimpers, unable to hold her tears back any longer. He pulls her against him, letting her cry against his neck. Haley sobs quietly, gripping his shirt tightly.
"We've been parents for not even a month, baby. You can't make that decision on a couple weeks." He whispers back, rubbing her back. "We don't know what we're doin'." She forces a weak laugh, wiping her eyes. "I think you just need to relax for a little, okay?"
"I'm fine, Morgan." She says, trying to convince herself. Haley knows that there's something wrong. "I just need a hug."
His heart breaks at those words, immediately hugging her tighter. He keeps a hand on the back of her head, holding her close against his chest to help calm her down.
Soon, her sobs subside into quiet whimpers and sniffles, her eyes closing from exhaustion.
Morgan sighs to himself and gets to his feet, his wife still secure in his arms as he makes his way back into the house. He heads to their bedroom and tucks her in under their gray and white striped sheets. He presses a kiss to her head and then returns to his friends in the living room.
"She okay?" Caleigh asks, concern lacing her voice.
"Yeah." Morgan sighs back, pushing his growing hair out of his face.
Louisa May silently heads to the master bedroom to check on her youngest child.
Michael muffles a yawn. "We're gonna get goin'." He stands then picks up his keys and wallet.
He and Caleigh give Morgan a hug then head out the door.
"She might have postpartum depression." Louisa May whispers to her son-in-law.
"What's- what's postpartum depression?"
"Depression after having a kid." Wes pipes up. "My wife, Kennedy had it after she had Gracie."
"She okay now?"
"Yeah. She was back to herself a couple weeks after having our girl, but everyone is different." Wes stands, picking his hat up from the hall table. "You just have to ride it out, Bubba. It's gonna be rough but y'all're gon' figure it out."
***
Haley's buried under her bedsheets, wide awake. She feels frozen, unable to actually get up to take care of her children. Every time she does, she feels like a babysitter and not like a mother. She doesn't feel like a real mom and it really upsets her.
Morgan, on the other hand, has been in and out of the house trying to help his best friend out with a record. He misses his wife and kids but it's kind of nice to be himself again.
Louisa May has been taking care of her daughter while she's struggling with her current state and her twin grandsons. She's fine with it but she wants the boys to be taken care of by their mother.
"There she is." Louisa May says in a soft voice when she sees Haley come into the living room for the first time in God knows how long. She looks exhausted and she's lost a serious amount of weight. "My beautiful baby."
"Oh stop it, momma." She mumbles back, leaning against the doorframe. "How're they doin'?"
"They're missin' their mama." She responds.
Haley rolls her lips in her mouth as she looks over her two kids. She slowly picks one up from the crib and he stirs awake.
"Clayton." She whispers, sitting in the armchair in the corner of the room. She brushes her thumb over the growing brown hair sprouting from her youngest's head and sighs. "I'm not cut out to be a mother."
"Baby," Louisa May sighs. "I felt the same way when I had Wes. I couldn't function and it wasn't until I got some medication that I felt back to normal. Your aunt helped me out with Wes and Sam until I felt better."
"What about daddy?"
"He was busy with the farm. Wes had put him behind so he was still tryna to catch up." She looks down at the sleeping infant in her lap. "You're gonna be a great mother, honey. I know you will."
"I dunno-"
"Don't talk yourself down. Take a deep breath and parent your children, okay? You got this, Haley Mae."
Haley nods and clears her throat. Clayton starts to cry quietly and she starts to panic. Louisa May talks her through what to do and sure enough, she gets it figured out.
He's just hungry.
Morgan sighs heavily as he climbs out of his truck. He really doesn't want to be home. It's hard for him to say, even think, that he hates how his wife is acting because there's nothing he can do to help.
He closes the front door behind him and drops his keys, wallet and notebook on the table then makes his way to the nursery to check in on his mother in law.
He stops in his tracks at the sight of Haley laying on the floor, laughing with their boys as she tries to get them to move around on their own.
She's been in this funk for six months and now she's breaking out of it. He's beyond happy to hear his wife laugh again, to be herself again that it brings tears to his eyes. He chokes out a laugh as he sits next to her, his hand rubbing across her back. Mack looks up and with a gummy grin, tries to make his way to his father.
"You got it!" Haley cheers on her oldest son, scooping him up when he crawls his way to them. Morgan picks up Clayton while his wife has the other then leans over to kiss her, his heart full of love for the first time since their kids were born.
Haley looks up at Morgan and smiles, scrunching her nose up at him when he does that to her. "I love you." She says, giving his hand a squeeze.
"I love you too." He responds sounding king of choked up, tears swelling in his blue eyes.
Louisa May quietly excuses herself, heading out to her car then heads home.
Morgan gets their boys set in the living room, his wife cooking up a meal for the first time in months in the kitchen. He smiles when he hears the radio playing with his wife singing along for the first time in months. He missed her and he's glad she's back.
His family finally feels like a family and he is truly blessed to have Haley by his side and their boys with them.
•••
Hey!
Another one down! I've got a Riley Green one up next and a Hardy one on deck! You should expect to see 'em pretty damn soon so keep an eye out!
Thank you to all who've gave my MW stories love, I really appreciate it.
Much love 🤍