The Perfect Love Story

Chapter 10

I took a deep breath as we sat down to dinner. Over the past month, we were trying to make it a habit to have family dinner together once a week. I couldn't believe that it had almost been a month since we got married in the courthouse.

"How's the apartment hunting going, TJ?" JJ asked him once we were passing the food around. TJ shrugged his shoulders and Melody passed him the basket of biscuits. I guess TJ wanted to get an apartment, a bachelor pad kind of thing for now. He would buy a dream house for his future wife. It was sweet.

"I'm trying to find something that has plenty of space for now. I'm thinking of hiring a realtor because looking on my own isn't cutting it." He pushed his green beans around his plate and JJ nodded his head. He was so close to his brothers; he didn't mind TJ staying here. He was happy to have him. If JJ was happy, I was happy. I was midway through chewing a bite of salad when I felt something wet puddling on my chair and running down my leg. I dropped my fork and all their eyes moved to me.

"My water just broke," I whispered. JJ got up and ran to the bedroom so that he could grab the hospital bag. Melody helped me up from my chair right as my first contraction was starting to hit. I squeezed her hand and tried taking some shallow deep breaths.

"TJ's out getting the car ready. We're finally meeting her tonight. She'll probably be here soon." JJ came and held my other hand as we walked out to the car. JJ helped me into the backseat where TJ had laid out a towel for me and then climbed in. Melody chewed on her lip and played with her hands as TJ started driving to the hospital as quickly as he could. She had told me about a few days after the Fourth of July what had happened between her and Jacob. She had felt so guilty. I felt horrible because she felt guilty. I wish I could have been there to protect her more. She seemed more closed off than ever. JJ was so quick to fire Jacob which I had been grateful for. He was willing to protect her too.

"I can't believe we live 20 minutes away from the hospital. I hope she doesn't get here in the car." I squeezed JJ's hand again.

"I'm driving as fast as I can, Lea. We should be there in less than 20 minutes." TJ said from the driver's seat. I wanted to tell him to be careful, but I honestly wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my breathing until we reached the front of the hospital.

"Okay, babe. Here we go." JJ told me as he helped me out of the car. He was right. We'd be meeting Baby Girl soon. Here we go.

Melody's POV

I paced back and forth in the waiting room while we waited for JJ to come out and give us some news. It was already 4 am. Leanna had been in labor for 10 hours.

"Hey, I brought you some coffee." When I turned around, TJ was standing right behind me. I almost ran into him. We had barely spoken to each other since the day he sat on my living room floor with me and held me when I cried. We saw each other around the house and exchanged small pleasantries but that was about it.

"Thanks," I said quietly as I took it. The cup was still hot in my hands. It wasn't hot to the point where it was burning me, but I could tell that he had gotten it to me as soon as he could. I sat down slowly and took small sips. TJ opened his mouth to say something, but JJ came into the waiting room, looking for us.

"Hey, guys. The doctor said that it was still going to be a few more hours. Leanna is only 3 centimeters dilated. If you want to go get something to eat or go get some sleep, we both agree that you should." He rubbed his eyes, and I could tell that he was tired.

"Do you want anything to eat?" TJ asked him, rocking back and forth on his feet. JJ just smiled slightly and shook his head.

"I'm standing firm with Leanna. I'm not going to eat until she can. Just ice chips for the both of us." He nodded at me and then went back down the hall.

"Do you want to go get something?" TJ asked me and I nodded my head slowly. I honestly wanted to stay with Leanna, but I was starving since we skipped dinner. I got up and TJ put his hand on the small of my back when we left the hospital. There were plenty of people there to try and get pictures of JJ and Leanna. I'm sure they were interested in TJ too, but they were more curious about the baby. They had sent Luis and William home a while ago. We went to a Whataburger; most other places were closed at this hour, and they were open 24 hours. TJ got a burger meal with a Dr. Pepper, and I got a tender meal with a sweet tea. "I was thinking if we could talk if that's okay," TJ asked as he parked the car in an empty lot.

"Sure." I pulled my hair back into a loose ponytail. I didn't know what TJ could want to talk to me about.

"How has your work been?" He asked me and I tried to focus on the food that was on my lap. I took a deep breath and looked at him.

"Is that really what you want to talk about, TJ?" When I looked at him, it felt like he was looking into my soul. I didn't like it.

"I just wanted to have a normal conversation. That's all. We can just sit and eat. It's not a big deal." I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I couldn't tell if he was upset or mad or anything like that. He kept his face neutral.

"Work is going fine, how is training camp going?" I asked him after taking a deep breath. TJ smiled a little bit with a huge bite of burger in his mouth.

"Good." He didn't wait until he swallowed to answer me. I could barely figure out what he had said. He did swallow before adding anything else. "I like being with JJ. He's taught me so much about playing football." He smiled slightly and wiped his mouth with a napkin. We didn't say anything for the rest of the time. One thing that I did appreciate about TJ was that he respected my boundaries.

JJ's POV

It took 37 ½ hours but Kingsley Oakley Watt finally made an appearance in the world. She came in at 6 pounds and 9 ounces. Leanna was so tired that she went to bed within the half-hour of Kingsley being born. I sat in the rocking chair next to her bed, looking down at the prettiest little baby I had ever seen in my life. I was going to love and protect her for the rest of her life.

"You're not dating until you're 30," I whispered to her. She opened her mouth wide as she yawned, a small squeaking noise escaping her throat. "Let's make it 40." I kissed her rosy cheek softly and then put her down in the plastic bassinet that the hospital had for her. "Daddy needs to get some sleep. Try and be a good girl tonight and sleep for mommy." I whispered to her before leaning back in my chair. I put my feet up on the footrest and closed my eyes. I passed out instantly.