Forever Strong (Book 7 in Nemi Forever Series)

Chapter 12

Demi

I had so much fun when Karleigh spent the night. She was such a sweet little girl & I just wanted to hug her & never let her go. Mercy & her got closer & closer after that. They were inseparable. They spent the night at our house pretty often over the next few months. Karleigh became a member of the family. Ellie told me right before Christmas that her mother hadn't contacted her in months. I was relieved to hear that & saw that Karleigh was doing well with her grandparents. It seemed she was better off with her mom not around.

The holidays came & went. We told our family & friends that we were having another baby & then we told the kids. That conversation was interesting. Reid ran off to play, not giving a rat's ass what we were telling him. Mercy was excited & actually was hoping for a sister this time. Jerry was the one who was a little more vocal.

"So you & Daddy got naked again?" Jerry asked, shaking his head. Thank God, Mercy & Reid had left the room.

I looked at Nick who was trying not to laugh. He made a gesture like this one was all me. He had dealt with it enough already. "Jerry, that's not really appropriate to talk about. Mommy & Daddy loved each other & now a baby is growing inside me. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy. I'm gonna be a good big brother. Reid will probably throw the baby, but I won't let him." He said before running off. Nick & I both busted out laughing, then stopped, both of us thinking he was probably right. Now we were worried. We'd have to keep a close eye on Reid. Closer than we did now.

In late January, I had my ultrasound to determine the gender of the baby & I was so excited. Now that Mercy wanted a baby sister, I wanted more than anything to have a girl this time. Nick didn't care, either way. He held my hand as Dr. Anderson moved the wand around my bump. I waited, praying in my head for news I wanted to hear.

Dr. Anderson chuckled as he pointed to the screen, glancing at Nick. "You got some masculine sperm, Nick. That's a penis. It's another boy!" He laughed & Nick was grinning as he looked at me.

My heart sunk & I tried not to look too disappointed, when Nick looked so excited. He kissed my mouth & I was still stunned. I was so sure this one was a girl. "Are you sure?" I finally asked when I was sure I wasn't going to start crying.

Dr. Anderson laughed again. "That is definitely a penis."

Nick's eyebrows lifted as he smirked. I rolled my eyes. "Great." I said.

I didn't say much as Nick drove us home. I stared out the window, gripping the photos of my baby boy in my hand. I felt guilty that I wasn't happier. Tears filled my eyes. Nick sang along to the radio, oblivious to my tears. He opened the car door when we got home & held my hand to help me out of the car. I kept my face down, so he wouldn't see that I had been crying. I went to take a bath when we got home. When I came out of the bathroom, Nick was sitting on the bed, waiting, concern on his face.

"You think I don't know you're upset." He said as he stood up. "You wanted a girl. I know. But, baby, we're gonna have another baby & can we just pray it's healthy?" He reached for my hand.

I took Nick's hand & smiled at him. "Yea, I'm trying. I just had my heart set on a girl." Nick kissed my forehead, then squeezed my hand before he left me alone.

I gave it a lot of thought over the next few days. I was happy to have a healthy baby growing inside me. But, I had a nagging feeling within me. Nick & I were cleaning up the kitchen, one night, after we put the kids to bed. He was loading the dishwasher after I rinsed each dish off.

"I've been thinking." I said.

Nick chuckled. "Uh oh."

I shot him a dirty look & he kissed my cheek to apologize. "I'm not gonna have my tubes tied."

Nick looked at me, then sighed. "So you want me to have a vasectomy." He took a dish from my hand & put it in the top rack of the dishwasher.

"No." I said, making him stop & look at me again. Nick's expression became confused. "I'm not sure I'm done. I may be okay if we have one more after this one." I rubbed my belly.

Nick stood up straight & smiled, one eyebrow up in an adorable way. "You want to try again for a girl." He let out a small chuckle.

I sighed & smiled. "Yea. Kinda." I shrugged.

Nick leaned into me, wrapping his arm around my waist & leaning his forehead against mine. His eyes bore into mine. "Well, we'll have to look into the positions that create girls."

I laughed out loud, my head falling back. "You're so corny. Those are old wives tales."

Nick shrugged, licking his lips. "Can't hurt to try."

"True." I smiled as he kissed my mouth. "We can start talking names now that we know it's a boy." I said as Nick went back to loading the dishwasher.

"Yea, I guess we can. Whatcha thinking this time?"

I chewed on my lip as I thought about it. "What about Bentley?"

"It's okay."

"I was thinking Riley for a girl, but we could name a boy, Riley."

Nick looked at me for a moment. "I think we should save it for a girl." He winked, then grabbed a dish from my hand.

I smiled. "Okay, do you have any ideas?"

"I like Rhys. Or I still like Demetrius." He winked at me again.

"Demetrius Nicholas." I said, flashing him a cheesy grin.

"No. That's too long."

"I do like Rhys, but not for a first name. You don't want to name it Nicholas?" I asked, sticking my lower lip out. I loved his name, but I knew he wasn't a fan. He liked it for himself, but he hated the nicknames that came with it. If someone dared called him Nicky, I swore he could punch something. I never called him that. I remember how annoyed he would get with Miley when she called him that. Nick shook his head, emphatically & I laughed. "What about Christian?"

Nick shrugged. "Christian is okay. Let's keep thinking."

"Avery?"

Nick looked at me & smiled. "I like Avery. Avery Jonas." He nodded, with a smug frown on his lips. "I like it. We can call him A.J. What about a middle name? Rhys? Avery Rhys Jonas."

"I like it." I grinned leaning toward him & puckering, waiting for him to kiss my mouth. "We got our baby boy's name." I said after he pulled his lips from mine.

"Yep & it's a pretty good one. I can see it already in lights or flashing on a tv screen under his picture when he plays in the Super Bowl."

I laughed hard. "Oh... dream big, baby. No pressure." I kissed Nick & we finished up in the kitchen before we headed to the living room to crash. We were exhausted & I started to think, do I really want more kids after this one? I was already pooped with the ones we had now. I laid on the couch with my feet in Nick's lap. As he rubbed them & watched tv, I watched him. I watched his beautiful features that I loved seeing in our children. I loved him as a dad more than any other side of him. I would have a hundred kids with him if my body would allow. I guess I'd settle for a few more. There was a time when I wasn't sure I'd ever have Nick's babies & now I was popping them out like candy. And I've never been happier. "I love you." I said to Nick.

He turned to smile at me as he continued to rub my foot. "I love you, too." He looked back at what he was watching & I went back to watching him. I watched him smile & my heart melted. His long eyelashes fluttered with every blink & I smiled, thinking of our kids with his lashes. I sighed & laid back to get comfortable, imagining what Avery Rhys was going to look like. I fell asleep at some point & Nick somehow got me up to bed. The next time I woke, I was in my bed, Nick's warm body next to me. I wrapped my arm around his waist & snuggled up against him, falling asleep again.