The Dance Part 2

Chapter 298 Somebody's Baby

Bam rested his chin on Lila's shoulder as they navigated to their next drop-off. It had been quite some time since she had gone on a run with him. He worried about her pregnancy as it clearly was different from her first two. She experienced more morning sickness then before and her energy levels weren't as high. She clearly was having a more difficult time but in her normal fashion, she pushed through with few complaints.

Lila stayed between his arms and the wheel of the boat trying to stay focused on the horizon while keeping an eye on Jace, Colton and Luke. Bam had given the boys rope to practice tying knots. If they wanted to learn the ropes of manning a boat, he would literally teach them the ropes. The three sat crosslegged on the bow as Lucas attempted to show Colton and Jace how to tie a basic knot. Bam chuckled at their unsuccessful attempts but as his father, Billy, had taught him, practice makes perfect. The boys reminded him of Matt, Bear and himself before their family had grown to five brothers and two sisters.

Lila fidgeted constantly in her husband's arms. "Do you want to sit down? I can grab a stool for you to make you more comfortable."

"I'm good, Joshua. I like being close to you and I want the baby to hear your voice. She seems to move more often when she hears you."

"She?" He asked slyly. "Do you know something I don't?"

She turned to face him. "I don't know for sure. Would it matter either way?"

"What matters to me is that you and this new Brown baby are healthy. If I am destined to have an all girl crew, then let it be. Jace and I will be outnumbered but he will have fun bossing his sisters around as my bosun."

Lila felt her stomach flutter and placed Bam's hand in the exact spot of the movement. It never got old for him even after two pregnancies to feel the wonder of a new baby. Thoughts of whether the baby was his or Nato's never passed through his mind. He had long made peace with the notion because anything that came from Lila would always be as perfect as she was to him.

He asked, "Have you thought about names?"

"I have but since I named the last three babies, I thought it only fair to let you have a shot at a name this time."

He removed his sunglasses showing his widened eyes. "You are going to trust me with that task?"

"Uh-huh! But I get veto power if you pick a stripper name."

Bam laughed heartily. "Oh ye of little faith."
He reached in his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper. He smoothed it out and handed the paper for her to read

"Oh my, you're already one step ahead of me."

Lila read the names silently to herself, nodding in approval. "I'm impressed."

A small grin broke across his usually stoic face. "Aurora."

"I thought I would put an Alaskan twist on this one." He felt a sense of pride at Lila's approval.

"Aurora Lilith Brown. It's a beautiful name for a girl."

"What about the boy name?" He asked hoping for a similar reaction.

She pondered the name saying it out loud.

"Jaxon Cooper Brown."

"Jax....for short or Cooper Jaxon Brown."

Lila giggled. "Jaxon Brown...like "Running on Empty."

"Okay. okay, you know I like the classics."

Jackson Browne-Somebody's Baby