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Alice’s P.O.V
Months Later...
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“M-Michael… what if he doesn’t like me?”
“What are you talking about Ali? He’s going to love you. Just like I do.” Michael replies after giving me a reassuring kiss. I cant help feeling scared and nervous. I’m already a mother of 4, can I really take on one more? Well I have no choice, I have to do this for Leah. She needs her baby to have a steady, safe environment and if she trusts Michael and I, who am I to say otherwise? I open my mouth to protest against Michael’s words, but he interrupts me before I can start rambling on. He says when I’m nervous all I do is ramble on about nothing. “Alice sweetie, don’t worry. He’s going to love you with all his heart. Your going to be his new mommy. Okay?”
I stare up into Michael’s eyes and all the anxiety and worry seems to slip away as I stare into my true love’s eyes. Reluctantly I sigh, smile and whisper to keep Michael from worrying about me. “Okay.”
I hear the door open and chains being rubbed against the floor. Snapping my head to the side I see Leah limping out of the door with guards behind her and a blue bundle in her arms. She looks so beat up and awful, just seeing her like this enrages me. I growl, but Michael’s hand on shoulder is what is keeping me down. Michael and I stand meeting Leah halfway. I bite my bottom lip and stare down at the new child in her arms. I feel Michael’s arms circle around my waist bring me against his body. I take a deep breath as I feel the oncoming tears start to escape. This is my new son. The new son that Leah is giving me so he can have a good life. I know it must be difficult for a new mother to give away her baby. I can never imagine myself doing that with Noah, Michelle, Emma or Daniel. I don’t know how Leah’s doing it… actually I do.
She loves her baby so much that she will do anything to make sure it’s life is not messed up and ruined. And if giving him away is what she has to do, she’ll do it. “He’s so beautiful.” Michael whispers behind me as I have not yet found my voice as I stare down at the beautiful child in Leah’s arms. It’s true. He is beautiful. He looks so much like Leah, almost an exact replica with her face and skin color. And I bet when he opens his eyes he’ll have her hazel eyes as well.
I want to ask Leah if I can hold him, but I don’t want to take away the last moments she has to hold him. Leah looks up at us with tears in her eyes and whispers a thank you before looking back down at her son. After a couple of minutes one of the guards nudges her in the back. She growls at them, “You promised I would be able to give my son away to it’s new parents. Nowhere in that agreement did you say I was timed.”
“We should not have given you this, but we did. Your one of the lucky ones, now hurry it up.” One of them barks harshly.
“Hey!” I bark at them shaking my head. “Leave her alone, this is her son. Imagine being torn away from your newborn child.” They don’t reply. Leah bends down and plants a long, lingering kiss on the baby’s forehead than looks up at us.
“What’s his name?” Michael asks getting a closer look.
Leah smiles and holds her son closer to her as she tells us his name.”Christopher… Chris Clearwater Royce- Jackson."
I smile sadly in memory of my fallen friend. His son will grow up and Ill tell him everything I know about his father and mother.
She looks down at her son and kisses his cheek again. “Do you want to meet your new mommy and daddy?... Okay, here you go.” Leah sys her voice full of sorrow and also happiness.
She passes Chris off to me and steps back to give her son time to adjust to the new arms he’s in. Little Chris looks up at me with his eyes half open and half closed. I smile down at him and start whispering lovingly, in the same tone Leah used when she talked to him. “Hi little guy… I’m your new mommy.” I can feel tears escaping my eyes, but I don’t care. I’m carrying my new son, I’m allowed to cry.
“He’s 7 pounds, 6 ounces. Healthy. He’s perfect.” Leah says, tears beginning to stream down her face. I nod in agreement and peck the little boy’s forehead before looking up at Leah. I look up at her and see the guards have just started to haul her away. Leah’s eyes widen and she starts struggling to get to us. “I get to say goodbye.” She tells them sternly reaching for her baby. I try to run up to her, but another guard blocks Michael and I. “I get to say goodbye!!” She screams sobbing harder.
“You already did. Back to your cell now.”
“NO!!! I GET TO SAY GOODBYE TO MY SON!!!!!!!”
“Let her go!!” Michael shouts his voice overpowering everyone else’s. The two guards look at Michael and me.
“We made an agreement and she was to give away the child. She has done that, now the agreement is over.”
“This is her baby, let her go! She has a right to say goodbye!” I growl stepping away from the guard holding me back and walking up to the other holding Leah.
“Not in here she doesn’t.” I place a hand on his chest handing Leah the baby carefully.
She looks up at me, whispers a thank you and leans down to kiss Chris. She hugs him tightly for a couple minutes before nodding her head. “Okay, thank you Alice. I love you so much my boy and I’m only doing this for you. Mommy loves you so much… so much.” Giving him one more kiss, she hands him back to me and goes with the guard willingly taking glances back at Michael, her son and I until the door closes.
“Time for you to leave.”
I growl at the guard and storm past him angrily. If I have to spend 5 more minutes in this place I’m going to kill someone myself. Michael follows after me closely keeping an arm under the one carrying baby Chris. Opening the back door I climb in and strap Chris to his new baby car seat we bought him 2 months ago. Instead of making my way around to the passenger side I stay in the back right next to him staring at him for the longest time. I’m surprised Michael hasn’t even told me anything. Either he’s waiting for me to adjust or he’s staring at Chris as well. The scene we just experienced will stay in our memories forever. Nothing can burn the hatred we feel towards the officers that took Leah.
After a while I turn to look at the still silence Michael and find him, not watching the baby, but me. I meet his eye and he reaches out to caress my cheek. “You okay?”
I take a deep breath, rubbing my temples and nodding my head. “Yeah… can I stay back here with him? I don’t want to leave him alone back here?”
“Of course.” Michael turns around and we both put our seatbelts on before he starts driving.
...
When we arrive home, I take Chris upstairs to Noah's nursery and place him in her crib. “Goodnight my little prince, mommy loves you.”
I close the door and make my way to the room where I find Michael laying in bed with Michelle and Emma under both his arms and Daniel sitting on Michelle’s lap and Noah sitting in Emma’s. “Aw, look at all my babies in the same bed together.” I tell him making my way over to them.
“Mom go get Chris that way we can all be together as a family.” Emma says excitedly rocking Noah who starts to wake up.
“Baby I just put Prince to sleep.”
They all look at me in confusion, but Daniel is the one who voiced his confusion. “Whose Prince?”
I smile at them giggling, “Prince is what I'm calling baby Chris. The name suits him."
Michael smiles up at me and nod his head confirming that he liked the name for his new son. “Go get Prince then!” Michelle says shooing me away with her hands making Daniel, Emma and Michael laugh.
I rush back to Prince’s room grabbing him from his crib. “Hi beautiful, hi my sweet boy.” I rock him all the way back to my room. Opening the door I pick up Prince a little so the others are able to see him. “Everyone meet your new brother. Christopher Clearwater Royce- Jackson. Also known as Prince Jackson.”
Daniel crawls out of Michelle’s lap and jumps off the bed running over to me. He tugs on my sleeves. I bend down so he can meet his new brother. “Hey buddy, finally I have a brother. I was overpowered by girls before you came. Now at least I can hold my sanity through you.”
I kiss both my boys forehead and lead the way back to the bed. I hand Prince to Michael and pick up Emma well aware of Noah in her arms and sit her in my lap. Michael’s arm goes around me immediately and I lean my head on his shoulder while Emma leans back smiling. “I like this.” She whispers softly. Everyone turns to look at her, but her attention is on Noah in her arms. Caressing her face, kissing her forehead and holding her close, Emma sighs… “Having my family together. Doing nothing, but holding each other. You’ll like this too. Both of you.” She says to Noah and Prince taking Prince’s tiny hand in her own.
“Everything will be better now. Your lives are going to be perfect with mom and dad as your mother and father. Just like mine is.” She kisses Noah’s forehead and reaches to kiss Prince’s. Michael and I stare at our little girl. She’s growing up so fast and I don’t think we are keeping up with her. “I love you mommy… I love you daddy.”
I smile down at her, and brush the hair out of her face. “Mommy and daddy love you too Emma. All of you. You are our lives.” Michael replies hugging Daniel, Michelle and Prince closer to him as I hold Emma and Noah.
This is my life now. I've made mistakes along the way, but I’m glad I did. Because it wouldn’t have led me to the family that I love now. Michelle, Emma and Daniel were never mistakes. They were just the beginning of everything and without them Michael and I never would’ve gotten through such a difficult time back then. Our children are ours and no one else’s. And if someone tries to take them away, they’ll be sorry.
Because no one takes a mother’s cub away from her or their daddy.