"Come on, princess, you got this!" I cheered while gripping Amber's hand.
"Yeah, fuck! I think we're almost there." She replied wearily. She was coated in sweat, but she'd never looked more beautiful than right now, as she was delivering our daughter.
"Okay, one more push and your little one will be here!" the OB/GYN called from between Amber's legs. We'd been seeing Dr. Luiza Ruiz ever since the first pregnancy appointment, and she had reassured us every step of the way. We'd found out the baby's sex months ago, not worrying about needing a surprise when she was born and were well prepared to handle a newborn.
It didn't hurt that we had a full house of people who couldn't wait to help too.
Since I got $5 million more in the trust fund than Lynn, I tried to give her $2.5 million to make it even. She flatly refused, pointing out that she'd been spoiled by trips, gifts, attention, love, and cars for years while I got nothing, and she already felt guilty about it. In her mind, we were already even, but I refused to say no, and we ended up settling on me giving her $1 million instead. The money was nice, but my job was paying well and I was doing well enough to get a big bonus too, so I really wanted to share it with her. In the meantime, she had transferred up to Boston University for school, and Amy took over Amber's assistant manager position in the Braintree gym while she finished her degree too.
Oh, and we finished the basement and made it into an apartment, which is where they were currently living while they waited on finishing school when they could then decide where to buy a house. It was wonderful having them living with us, and it made it a lot of fun to have meals and movie nights together.
We just never told them what we did in their room before they moved in. Multiple times.
My mom briefly moved in too, staying in the loft that we'd made into a media room, like the one that Kenley and Shiloh had at their place, with a big murphy bed. She loved living with us, mostly because it really let her catch up with all of us after having been apart from us for so long. But she only stayed till Thanksgiving.
Late in the summer, after my father had folded quicker than a tent in a hurricane and given her the divorce she wanted and an equitable split of the assets, she had taken Owen up on his offer to take a motorcycle ride out to Provincetown. He'd been 100% correct on in his estimation that there were a lot of people that loved MILFs, or GILF's, out there, and many of them were women that made my mom's head spin.
After being with my father for 20 years, it was like a dream for her to be wooed by all those women, and my mother didn't say no to anyone. No, she didn't sleep with anyone out there, but she got to spend time dancing with a bunch of them, and then ended up making out with one in particular, a stunning black woman named Kinsey who was ten years her junior.
Kinsey was a commercial house painter and artist who lived in Sandwich, which was a town on Cape Cod not too far from Harper, Kenley and the rest, and kept coming up to visit my mom every weekend. You know how kids say that they were traumatized when they walked in on their parents having sex as kids? Yeah, it isn't any better when you're in your 20s and walk in on your mom wearing nothing but leather chaps and nipple clamps while riding her girlfriend's strap while you're there to tell her the Thanksgiving meal was done. Sure, it might be funny in a few years, but in the short term it was mortifying for Lynn and I. But Kinsey sure got my mom across the finish line judging by the moans that we heard as we ran for our lives.
The next weekend our mom moved down to Sandwich with Kinsey, just to make sure that something like that never happened again.
But with our little one coming any minute, the two of them were going to be taking the guest room again and would be helping out for the next month. Mom was the only one of us with any tiny baby experience, so we needed the instructions! We also told her she better close and lock that damned door.
Having Kinsey become a part of the group worked out well. She was a fun woman and fit in so well with the group on the cape that Kenley and Shiloh had already used her commercial painting skills on several of their municipal jobs. My mom had been quickly accepted into the group at our wedding, and now Kinsey was added just as fast once my mom introduced her. She was very kind, and even helped us paint some of the other rooms in the house, since the master bedroom was done, but refused to let us pay her. It was nice to see her and my mom so happy together, and I really wanted them to work out, though I knew it was still early on, and she was my mom's first relationship with a woman. But they looked so cute, that I thought they had a good shot.
We didn't even tell my father about the birth. Hell, we never told him about the pregnancy for that matter. As soon as the divorce was over, he moved back down to New York and away from us, and we were more than happy with that. I'm sure he'd be able to tell anyone who cared just why every woman that lived under his roof left him and removed him from their lives, and no doubt they'd pity him instead of wondering why he was the common denominator in that equation.
Amy and Lynn were planning a wedding for the summer and were still insanely happy with each other. They were waiting on kids though, as they were a little nervous about having one. Maybe seeing our little one would change their mind? I knew they would need to do something with a donor like Kenley and Shiloh, and Kate and Gloria had done if they wanted one, but for now they were just enjoying being together.
And speaking of our little one, she was indeed one push away, and Amber gave out a final yell, and squeezed my hand while doing just that. Moments later, there was a little cry, and we had Harmony Katherine added to our family. The nurse working with Dr. Ruiz cleaned her up, weighed and swaddled her in a blanket, and then handed her to an ecstatic Amber who looked down at her in wonder. She was a little thing, with Amber's dark hair but my blue eyes, and I couldn't have been more thrilled to meet her.
"She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Amber whispered. "Thank you so much for making her with me."
I leaned down, kissing Amber's weary forehead, and then Harmony's newborn one. "You're both beautiful." I know we'd rushed into the whole having a baby thing, and it had been scary for a while, but seeing little Harmony in Amber's arms made all of that fly out the window. "I can't believe this little girl is ours, she's you and I together."
She snorted a little, then looked up at me. "Yeah, she is. We sure make good things together, just like those pictures."
"I'll be taking a lot more of them, I can tell. All our kids are going to be spoiled and have their pictures all over." I ran my hands through Amber's hair, still damp from all of the hard work she'd just gone through. "How are you feeling?"
She sighed happily. "I'm sore, but I'm so happy. I'm glad I did the epidural though!"
"We'll take care of you, princess." I wasn't sure what the next steps from the doctor would be, but I hoped that Amber wouldn't be in too much pain in her recovery. "You get to be my princess and relax and home and let us pamper you till you're feeling better."
"But wouldn't Harmony be our princess now?" she wondered.
I just shook my head. "Nope. We'll treat her like the little queen she is, but you're always going to be my princess. Nothing will change that. I could be old and wrinkly and need a crane to get hard, and you'd still be my princess."
She blushed crimson at that, and then puckered her lips for a kiss that I gladly leaned down and gave her. "I'll gladly be your princess forever, Shay," She whispered once we broke our lips. "And Harmony here will be the first of our queens and kings."
"Are you sure that you'd be up for more?" I asked quickly. "It wasn't too much?" I'd spent months massaging her feet and rubbing skin lotion into her belly to help with stretch marks, and I just didn't want her to overdo it. As much as I'd love to have more babies, I'd never jeopardize her health.
She hummed happily, gently cradling Harmony some more. "Oh yeah, I'm very sure. I know it wasn't easy but look at her! She's everything I'd ever want in a little girl, and I want more."
"Then that's what we'll do," I assure her.
At that point the nurse took Harmony to give her a quick little physical, and I just sat next to Amber and held her hand as she lay back with her eyes closed and a broad smile on her face. I didn't disturb her, since I could tell she was exhausted, and instead just watched her. I'd known Amber for a little over five years, and we'd been together for over three of those, and I'd never been happier. She was so strong, and so kind, and I don't think I could ever ask for anything but her at my side and a bunch of kids running around our house. I was so glad that we got over our initial hurdles, because it just strengthened our bond once we finally did get our act together. Okay, once I got mine together, because she had always been there for me, and I was the insecure fool that should have trusted the girl that had supported me from the second she met me. I was just glad she had the patience to put up with me.
I was the luckiest person alive.
After a bit, they brought Harmony back to us, and I got to hold her while Amber rested a little more. When I saw her stir after a few minutes, I stroked her hand a little. "Hey, princess. Did you get a little rest?"
"Yeah," she murmured sleepily. "I wouldn't mind more."
"How about we get people in to see you and our little queen, and then you can get a good nap?" I suggested. "Are you ready for everyone to come meet Harmony?"
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. Maybe bring them in a few at a time. I really love the idea of a nap."
"You deserve one. Let me handle everyone else." I leaned down, giving her a quick kiss while gently handing her Harmony once more. With a big smile, I headed to the waiting room, where Lynn, Amy, my mom, and Kinsey were waiting.
"Is she here?" Lynn asked, rocketing to her feet and running over to me.
"Yeah, she's here, and she's beautiful. We can handle two at a time, so who wants to go meet Harmony?"
"Take Lynn and your mom," Amy quickly suggested. "We all want to see her, but I know they've been freaking out here the entire time." Everyone nodded at that, and I escorted my mom and sister into the room where Amber waited with Harmony.
"Oh my God!" my mother gasped when she saw the little bundle in Amber's hand. "She's precious! You made a little treasure!"
"She's the perfect mix of you both," Lynn added. "She really is so pretty, and I'm not just saying that because she's my niece!"
"And my granddaughter," chimed in my mom. "Amber, you did so well, I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks, Sharon. She was worth every bit of it."
"Damnit, now I want one!" Lynn said with a little pout. "Can I hold her?"
Amber passed her over, and Lynn and my mom both cooed at the little girl.
A few days later, I was laying in bed with Amber as Harmony suckled noisily at her breast. It had been a challenge with her home, but I had paternity leave so I was taking all the nighttime feedings with milk that Amber had pumped. Everyone else was helping by changing diapers, running errands for us, and cooking meals as needed. Our friends from the cape were coming up to visit on the weekend, and we'd introduce everyone to the newest member of our little family.
"I can't wait to have another one," Amber said wistfully as she looked down at Harmony. "This is such an incredible experience, and I'm so glad I'm on this journey with you."
"We have a long way to go too," I reminded her. "We'll have a long time to have fun with our kids, and we'll make sure they are as happy as we are right now."
"I'm not happy," she said. "I'm so far beyond happy that I can't even see happy. Thank you for loving me, Shay. Thank you for everything that brought us here."
"No, Amber. Thank you. You've always been the one that made me happy, even when I fucked up-" Her finger shushed me, and she just shook her head.
"None of that, Shay. We were always going to be here. Look at what we got out of it though. You, your mom, and Lynn have never been closer, your mom found Kinsey, and we have the most amazing creation, right here. This is our life, and it's only going to get better."
She spoke so forcefully that I couldn't help but nod along with her. She was right, we were right where we belonged. I looked down, and noticed that Harmony had fallen asleep, so I picked her up, and burped her. "Let me get her to sleep. Do you want me to bring you anything?"
She smiled up at me. "Bring me a little ice cream?"
"Of course, I even bought cones." Yep, right where we belonged.
***
A/N - And there we go. This is the end of It Will All Work Out, though (as always) you never know if I might have some of these characters show up in some future books. Every time I write a book, I tend to fall in love with the characters, but I think that Amber and Shay will always have a little spot in my heart. This was by far my longest book, and I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for the support!