I Believe

Treasure

Am I dead right now?

No, just asleep. It's okay.

Ok.

My knee is itchy.

Something's tickling my nose.

Where am I?

Can I open my eyes?

Do I dare to open my eyes?

Where would I wake up?

Let's find out.

I started feeling the pain in my stomach and face. I was waking up. Slowly and carefully, I opened my eyes to see two men sleeping on chairs on either side of me, their heads on my legs. One was holding my hand. But I was still half asleep and couldn't quite make out who they were. It was an easy guess, though.
The one holding my hand was obviously Link. And on my left, Rhett. But as my sight recovered, I noticed another figure sleeping on the couch whom I didn't recoginze. At first.
I squeezed Link's hand gently to let him know that I was awake. I don't think he was actually sleeping.
He smiled and pulled his chair up closer to me.

"Finally. I've missed you," he said and kissed me on the cheek. "That was the longest night ever."

How long was I unconscious? I wanted to ask.

"Is James Lincoln okay?" I asked instead.

He nodded and stroked the blanket where my tummy was. His bedhead was adorable.

"It was just an allergic reaction. At first we thought it was because of the peanuts on the plane but then we realized that shrimps might've been the cause as well. They did some tests and, yes, you have a shrimp allergy which causes you to have an anaph... Anaphyla... Oh gosh... Anaphylactic reaction. If that's how you say it."

"Well, I'm not that into shrimps, so I guess I don't have to worry about it too much. But I'm so glad that the baby's okay. I don't know what would've I done if something bad had happened to him."

"Hey, look." He took my hand with a serious look on his face. I laughed and looked out the window. He grabbed my cheeks and made me look straight into his eyes. Then he leaned closer.

"James Lincoln Neal is the most healthiest-"

"Most healthiest?" I laughed.

"-most healthiest baby boy in the world. He's going to have awesome friends like the Mythical Beasts, amazing stories like Buies Creek and a love of his life like me having my Christy Kay."

"That is literally the best thing you've-"

I was interrupted by a kiss. Thank god. I probably would've said something stupid anyway.
And that's when the nurse entered the hospital room and Link amd the other two had to leave. I felt like an abandoned baby.

"Love you."

Those were his last words before he was rushed into the corridor.

^*^ ^*^ ^*^ ^*^ ^*^ ^*^ ^*^ ^*^

"Link!" I exclaimed from my bed.

"JL?!"

KABOOM. Something fell.

"Rhett! Are you guys there?!" I shouted again and got up carefully.

"THE CAR KEYS, LINK!"

Another BOOM. Then something that actually sounded like car keys. And another WAPAOW. Followed by Rhett bursting into my room with a dramatic look in his eyes.

"Are you sure? Not a false alarm?" He finally managed to get out calmly as if he wasn't panicking at all. Almost a dangerous tone of not-panicking-Rhett.

I nodded. "You're going to be uncle Rhett."

A small grin dancing on his lips, Rhett picked me up as if I were a basket of feathers and ran downstairs. Before I knew it, we were in the car and on our way to the hospital. I panicked quietly. But was excited, too.
But panicking as well...
Still mostly excited.
Link was the exact opposite. He was panicking and trying to calm me down at the same time. If he had been driving, we would have ended up hitting a tree and Rhett would've given me a piggy back ride to the hospital. How weird would that be?
Wait, now that I think about it...
Oh please, I'm begging you, don't think about it!!!

It felt like a thousand knives stabbing my tummy at the same time and it got worse every minute. It just seemed that Rhett was deiving around the town aimlessly. When I couldn't get any more words out of my mouth, I just grabbed Link's hand and tried to hold his gaze. Every few seconds I commanded Rhett to drive faster, but he wouldn't listen to me. Probably just as nervous as I was.

"Link, can you believe this?"

"I don't think I'm dreaming. So yes, yes I believe. James Lincoln, please make it as easy as possible for the love of my life, okay?" He whispered as he stroked my stomach and gave it a kiss. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to us."

I couldn't help but smile through the pain. Sometimes, it feels impossible how sweet things Link can say.

"But what about me?" Rhett said with a pout as he pulled up in front of the hospital.

"What?"

"What about me being the greatest thing that has ever happened to you?"

Link and I laughed a little. For a moment I actually thought that Rhett was being serious, but felt a huge wave of relief when he laughed with us.

"Just kidding. You guys are amazing. NOW LET'S GO MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!" 

And we did.

In a matter of hours, we were laying/sitting on the hospital bed. The four of us. Link, Rhett and James Lincoln.
Our James Lincoln in Link's fatherly arms. No words needed.
I couldn't help but marvel.

James' gorgeous baby blue eyes. Link's eyes, to be exact. Lucky little bastard, James Lincoln Neal.

And the spark in my fiancé's eyes as he held the baby in his arms like a treasure. Which he was. Which they both were.

And that's when I knew that I had finally found my happily ever after.