We Are Free

Huge Surprises

*The Next Day*
Halo will be released tomorrow. Zac and the kids have come to visit again. Anna came by to. Emily held her and so did Andrew. They go to school tomorrow.
   Zac will take them and we will pick them up. I have been staying with Halo. She has been sleeping just because she is so tired. Rebel is in the nursery most of the time.
    She got her first bath this morning and she absolutely enjoyed it. I lay in bed with Halo some of the time. I am really proud of her. She is proud of herself to.
    24 hours ago we were just Jace and Halo. Now we are mom and dad. We want one more baby. We want to try for a boy. I lay in bed with her as she holds Rebel.
     "So, we have a boy, we still naming him Ethan?" I ask her.
     "Yup. Let's take our time. Rebel is only a day old."
     "Okay." We just watch her as she feeds off a bottle. Halo laces her hand in mine. We put our heads together. Yup, if I had to go through everything I have gone through since I was 15 I would do it again just to have this moment again.
    Rebel is taken to the nursery again. We are brought a bunch of paper work. We fill out her birth certificate. We fill out all her paperwork and our paper work. I run out to get some food.
    I go to Zac's he wasn't home. Chloe was home and Ryker. He was walking around the house with just shorts and a diaper on. He sees me and pulls on my leg until I pick him up. I put him on my side.
     "How is Halo?" Chloe asks me.
     "She is good. Where is Zac?"
     "He took the kids out. Ryker didn't want to go threw a fit."
     "Are you a mamma's boy?" I ask him. He smiles saying yes. We laugh at him. I go to our room and I keep him on my waist. "Well I need to get your cousin an outfit." I grab a onesie and some socks. I grab some footie pjs for Rebel. I eat something and leave. Ryker throws another fit until I put a shirt on him grab his shoes and take him with.
    We go to the hospital and to Halo's room. Ryker claps his hands. He lays down next to her. It is going to be another long day.
*Next Day*
Halo is going to leave around noon. She is feeling really good. She is moving good and is just happy that Rebel is out. I can't say I blame her to much. I pack her bag back up.
    I grab the collection of balloons, cards, and flowers she got. I take them to the car. I have Rebel's car seat in the hospital room. I am going to put her in the car seat and carry her out.
    They cut Halo's bands off. Zac comes by. Chloe has the kids. Emily and Andrew are with Zac.
     "When we leave you need to follow me." Zac says.
     "Why?" I ask.
     "Just promise me that you will stay behind me the whole way there."
     "Okay I am up for it but can we go get some food?"
     "Sure babe." I kiss her cheek. They bring Rebel in and hand her to me. I lay her in her car seat. I buckle her up. I lay her blanket over her. I stick her pacifier in her mouth.
    She was wearing pink Zebra striped footie pjs. Her bag was pink and her blanket was white, blue, and pink. I put a blanket over the car seat. They put Halo in a wheelchair. They take her outside.
    We follow the nurse. She gets to the door and we walk outside. We thank the nurse. We go to the car. Halo gets in and I put Rebel in the back. She is in the middle. The kids sit on both sides of her.
    We follow Zac to a restaurant. We get out and Halo grabs Rebel. We go inside and get a table. We set Rebel on the floor and take her out of her car seat. She lays in Halo's arm.
    We order our food. Halo grabs a bottle out of the diaper bag and hands her to me. I feed her while Halo runs to the bathroom.
     "Jace." Emily says.
     "What?"
     "Can you pick me up from school tomorrow?"
     "Yeah, I won't be working for a couple weeks."
     "Can you bring Rebel?"
     "Why?"
     "I want to show Ava."
     "Okay, I can bring Rebel." She smiles.
     "Is Halo going to work?" Andrew asks me.
     "No."
     "Why?"
     "She just had a baby. She won't be working for a couple months."
     "Oh, when can Rebel talk?"
     "Not for a long time yet. She can start at 6 months
     "Awe man." We laugh at him as our food is set in the table. We eat lunch. When our lunch is over we pay for our food and leave. We follow Zac. I know the path he is taking.
    I promised I would follow him no matter what. We finally pull up to see destination. I get out of the car and so does Halo. She grabs Rebel. The kids get out and gasps. He took us home. Why? The house isn't ready yet.
    We walk up the gravel drive way. We step up the 3 steps and stand on the porch. I am so confused I can't find words. We go inside and all of your jaws drop. Everything was perfect. The toys in their bins. The blankets on the back of the couch.
    Rebel's rocker by the couch. The turtle tank set up and the turtles inside it. Bowser comes running. She jumps on me and starts wining. I take Rebel and set her on the counter. I take her out of her car seat.
    I bring her down to Bowser's level. She sniffs Rebel and gently lays her head on Rebel's stomach as if she is saying I love you. I get back up and we walk around.
    We go to her room it was just as we had it to begin with. The kids rooms were back in one piece and they had huge smiles on their face.
     "How?" I ask.
     "Well I thought Rebel deserved to come home to her home, so some sleepless nights and a lot of coffee later, here we are." I hug him. I don't know what to say. Halo starts crying and Rebel opens her eyes. She looks at me and does a short smile. She moves her head around a little before letting out a small cry and going back to sleep.
    Her bassinet was in our room at the foot of the bed. We go to the kitchen and move her car seat. We sit down and Halo grabs her rocker. I lay her in it. It's not going to be easy anymore but I am ready. Life is about to get very interesting but that's just the way I like it. Zac leaves the house and heads home. We look at Rebel.
     "What do we do now?" I ask Halo.
     "Take it one day at a time and enjoy it while it lasts."
     "I like that idea." We kiss and look at our beautiful baby girl.