The Flashbacks

Chapter Fifteen: Girls Rule

Steph's POV

I swiped on some lip gloss after getting dressed for the gender reveal. I went to the kid's bedroom. Jax was wearing a button-up the same color as my top and a cute little blue bow tie. He said he wanted Sarah to have a boy. I picked up Ava. She was wearing a pretty burnt orange dress.

"Ready to go downstairs, bud?" I asked Jax. He was playing with the blocks that Ethan bought him. They were the same as the ones he played with at Luna's house. Jax nodded his head once and stood up. I held his hand as we walked downstairs together. Sarah and Elyse were finishing hanging up balloons. Sarah and Ryan were so happy to be pregnant in general, they decided to go with a neutral gender reveal theme. "Where's Luna?" I asked Elyse once Jax went out into the backyard with Ryan.

"Ethan and Alex are going to bring her. She was taking a nap when I was ready to go and I didn't want to wake her." Elyse smiled softly, reaching for Ava, asking if it was okay with her eyes. I handed her over, Ava going willingly. Elyse was a familiar face since she was Ava's doctor.

"I heard you and Alex are trying for a baby, congratulations." Sarah smiled as we walked into the kitchen. I hoped Elyse wasn't upset that I told my sister about something personal. Elyse smiled and bounced Ava, rubbing her back.

"Thank you. It feels weird to try and get pregnant. I got pregnant with Luna because our condom broke." Elyse sat down at the island, kissing the top of Ava's head.

"Pizza's here!" Ethan and Alex came in, holding about 2-3 pizza boxes each. Luna was walking between them, running outside to play with Jax as soon as she saw him.

"You guys are the best, thank you so much." Sarah rubbed her stomach. We were supposed to have the gender reveal two months ago when she was five months along. Things just got chaotic and busy. She was now seven months pregnant with twins.

"Happy to help." Ethan grinned and I immediately felt my heart race. Alex stood next to Elyse and Ava grabbed his finger, giggling. Ava really loved attention, but she didn't let just anyone hold her. She rested her head on Elyse's shoulder and watched Alex curiously.

"We're here! Where are my babies?" I heard my mom come into the house. Sarah sighed softly and gave me a small smile. I hadn't spoken to my parents much since I told them I left Tyler.

"We're in here, momma," Sarah replied, sighing softly. Ryan brought the kids into the house. We were just waiting on some of Sarah's friends from work and then we'd be getting started.

"There's my little Jax." My mom picked up Jax as soon as she saw him. Elyse smiled softly and handed Ava back to me. "And who's this sweet little girl?" My mom noticed Luna, waiting patiently for Jax to come play with her.

"That's my daughter, Luna." Elyse smiled anxiously. I think she was remembering how my father reacted to me telling them about Tyler.

"It's nice to meet you, Luna. Let me give you your friend back." She put Jax down and the two of them ran off to go play. I smiled slightly and shook my head. I handed Ava to my mom and looked at my dad.

"Hi, dad." I rocked on my feet. He smiled slightly at me and pulled me in for a hug. He kissed the top of my head and then went outside to talk to Ryan and watch the kids play. "Is he still upset with me?" I asked my mom and she shook her head.

"Steph, sweetheart, he was never upset with you. He was just in shock. You know how your dad can be." She bounced Ava and rubbed her back. I picked up Ava's binky and handed it to my mom. Ava took it happily and I could see her eyes starting to droop. Sarah went to go get the door when the bell rang.

"They're here. We can get started." She smiled when she came back into the kitchen. Ryan was really excited and wanted to do the reveal right away and then just enjoy the party. We found biodegradable confetti poppers. That's what Sarah wanted to do. We went out to the backyard; Daisy was running from person to person. She loved the attention she was getting. I handed both Ryan and Sarah the tubes that said "Baby A" on them. I stood next to Elyse, both of us ready to take pictures from different angles. They twisted the bottom of the poppers and pink confetti flew into the air. I smiled at my sister's reaction. I knew she was happy with either gender, but Sarah had always wanted a little girl. I was two years younger than her and she always treated me like her little barbie doll. My dad handed them the second tube that said "Baby B." Sarah took a deep breath and looked at Ryan. They made eye contact with each other and you could see the love on both of their faces. They twisted the bottoms and blue confetti started mixing with the pink. Sarah's hand went over her mouth as she started crying. She hugged Ryan and he kissed the top of her head. I could see tears in his eyes too. They were happy with whatever gender the babies were going to be, but I knew Sarah was secretly hoping they'd be a boy and a girl. That way they got one of each. I heard her telling Ryan the other night.

"Okay, everyone," Sarah said, wiping her eyes. "Let's get some food. These babies are starving." Everyone laughed a little and half of the people went inside to get food. I was going to go inside to grab Jax a slice, but Ethan was already on top of it. He was the first one out of the kitchen. He got Luna and Jax wrangled at one of the shorter tables. He served them both a slice of pizza, garlic bread, and a juice box. It was attractive as hell to see him help take care of my son.

"He's really good with kids." I didn't realize that Elyse was standing next to me. She smiled slightly and I smiled back at her.

"Good to know." I ran my hand through my hair. I glanced back at Ethan. He was talking to Ryan, a glass bottle of soda in his hand. Sarah opted to have a dry gender reveal, but there were plenty of other drink options for everyone.

"I brought you a slice of pizza." I turned to look at my dad. He gave me a small smile and held the bronze paper plate out to me.

"Thank you, Daddy," I said softly as I took it from him. He had followed my gaze and was looking at Ethan and Ryan now.

"Is that your new man? The cop?" He asked me and I processed what I wanted to say, chewing on my pizza.

"We're just talking." I finally decided. Ethan and I hadn't decided to make anything official yet, no matter how mind-blowing the sex was.

"Good for you. You deserve to move on." He said and I turned to look at him in shock. He had been so against me leaving Tyler. Well, he wasn't against it, he was in shock when I told him.

"Thank you, daddy." I gave him a small smile. He returned it and then started walking to meet my mom. Ava had started to get fussy, so my mom passed her onto Elyse to take her inside. She was probably ready for her nap. This was honestly a really good day for the Jacob's family.