Someone Like Us | Completed ✓

Chapter Nineteen: Her Boys

December 10

"No, no! Keep your eyes closed!" Joan exclaimed.

Ace tripped over his own foot and struggled to regain his balance, his eyes squeezed shut. "I don't see what would be so surprising that you need me to close my eyes," he mumbled.

"You'll see when we get there," Joan chirped. Ace couldn't see her face, but he could tell that she was smiling.

"Can you at lest give me a hint?" he whined. "The suspense is killing me!"

"Don't die on your son," Nick joked.

"Wait, so the surprise involves Davian?" Ace said.

Alyssa groaned. "Nick, you gave it away!"

"Sorry!" Nick said. "I couldn't help it!"

"You're going to be so excited, Ace!" Kyle said.

Ace groaned. "How much longer until we get there?"

"Not long," Joan said. She guided him into the elevator and pressed a button. The elevator glided up.

It was silent for a few seconds. "Do you know how creepy it is to be on an elevator with you eyes closed?" he said.

"I can imagine how it could be," Alyssa said.

The elevator lurched to a stop, and Ace yelled. "See?!" he cried. Nick and Joan laughed.

"It's not funny!" Ace said, but he was smiling, too.

"Okay," Joan said. They walked down the hallway. "When you open you eyes, you can't yell or anything, because I think he's sleeping. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Ace said.

"Alright," Joan said. They stopped. "We're here. You can open your eyes!"

Joan let go of his arms, and Alyssa squealed. Ace opened his eyes and blinked in the light, then looked around.

"Over here," said the nurse standing by the crib. She had a big smile on her face.

Ace rushed over to Davian's crib and looked inside. He gasped. "What?" he cried. "He's... he's..."

"Do you want to hold him?" the nurse asked. Ace laughed. "Yes!" he cried. "Yes, I want to hold him! Please!"

The nurse chuckled and lifted Davian out of the crib. She placed him is Ace's waiting arms.

Ace looked down at his son with wide and surprised eyes. There was his precious little boy, without oxygen tubes and without a feeding tube. The only IV's he had were in his arm and leg. He actually looked... normal.

The room was silent for what had to be at least five minutes, until Ace said, "When did this happen?"

"Two days ago," the nurse answered.

"I was going to tell you right away, but I thought it would be more fun to surprise you since you've been so busy with midterms and all," said Joan. She blushed. "You're... not annoyed, are you?"

"Nah." Ace rocked his son in his arms and stroked his soft hair. "This was better. I was totally unprepared for this! You guys are the best!"

He went over to the group and carefully gave everyone a group hug. Alyssa kissed Davian's head and Nick tickled his foot. When he did this, Davian's eyes popped open, he squirmed, and smiled.

"Awww!" Joan said. "Ace, did you see that?! He smiled!"

"Yeah, I saw!" Ace said. He kissed Davian. "How cute are you, baby?" he cooed. He tickled his foot, and Davian smiled again.

"Huh, so you like that?" He tickled him again, and again Davian smiled and kicked his legs.

"YOU ARE SO CUTE!" Ace raved, giving his baby butterfly kisses. Joan laughed.

"You're such a great dad, Ace," she said. "I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am for you!"

"I'm thankful for you, too," Ace said. He kissed her, then kissed Davian. "And you, cutie." He smiled at Nick and Kyle. "And you guys. You've been so supportive."

"I'm thankful for you too," Kyle said with a smile. Ace bent down to hug him, and Kyle hugged him back and rubbed Davian's tiny fist with his finger.

"Would you like to bottle-feed him, Ace?" the nurse asked.

"Can I?" Ace said.

"Of course!" the nurse said. "Just sit down with him and I'll get a bottle ready for you."

Ace sat down in the recliner, and the nurse handed him a warm bottle. She showed him how to hold Davian and feed him, then Ace put the nipple of the bottle in Davian's mouth.

Ace watched his baby closely as Davian sucked. His eyes were closed for a few minutes, then he put his little hand on the side of the bottle and looked up at his dad.

Ace smiled. "Hey, honey," he whispered. "How are you? It's nice to eat by yourself, huh?"

Davian made a soft grunting noise. Ace laughed.

"How long until he can come home?" Kyle asked. "Or, you know... come out of the hospital. Since he's going to live at Joan's house."

"He needs to gain some more weight, so he'll be here for a little bit longer," said the nurse. "But the doctors have been talking and thy think he'll be able to go home around his due date."

"That's only a week until he can come home!" Alyssa exclaimed. She hopped up and down and squealed again. "So close!"

"You're doing such a good job, Davey!" Ace said. "You're such a brave little fighter, you know that? I'm so proud to be your daddy." He kissed his head.

Davian opened his mouth and cooed, and only then Ace realized he'd emptied the entire bottle. He raised his eyebrows, pulled the bottle out away and looked at it. "Whoa."

The nurse took the empty bottle, then handed Ace a burp rag and showed him how to burp Davian. As he patted his back, Ace smirked. "Looks like he inherited his big appetite from his uncle," he joked.

Kyle scowled and stomped his foot. "Hey! I don't eat that much!"

"Nobody would be able to tell unless they were behind you in the lunch line at school," Nick laughed. "You're as skinny as a stick."

He tried to give Kyle a noogie, and Kyle scowled at him and shoved him away.

When Ace was finished burping Davian, the nurse took the burp rag and Ace stood up and rocked his son.

His kissed Davian's nose and smiled at him. "I love you so much," he whispered to him. "You'll never know how much I love you."

Joan stood next to him, wrapped her arms around him, and laid her head on his shoulder. "I love you," she said.

"Which one of us?" Ace asked.

Joan smiled. "Both of you." She kissed Ace and stroked Davian's hair. "My boys. The only two boys I'll ever love. Well, you know, besides my dad."

Ace smiled and kissed her back. He couldn't help the tears forming in his eyes. He never would have guessed that becoming a dad would make him this emotional.

"I vote we eat out at a buffet in honor of Davian and he and Kyle's appetites," Nick said.

Kyle growled.

"Nick, stop picking on him," Ace said. "And you have my vote, too."

"And mine," said Alyssa.

"Mine, too," said Kyle. "But not the part about my appetite."

"I guess we're heading over to Golden Corral, then." Joan kissed Davian's nose. "I just wish you could come with us," she whispered.