Resolutions (TP3)

39 - JACK

Jack was serious about his therapy and as Maddie's pregnancy progressed coped. Not every minute, but he didn't have panic attacks. He doted on her more than he should have, but she let him. She accepted, it was part of his past.

More than once, he told her this was it. "No more babies. I'll make an appointment with the urologist. I'm man enough to do it because I like spontaneity."

Maddie just laughed. "With a teenager, a soon to be three years old and a newborn, there will be no spontaneity. Our honeymoon was not a phase, it was two days."

"Thirty-six amazing hours." Jack winked. Over six months later, he still smiled when he thought about his first two nights with his wife. He had to stop thinking before he embarrassed himself. Even pregnant Maddie kept him extremely happy, but she was getting closer and tired. He remembered - no, keep memories in the present with Maddie, he reminded himself.

Two weeks before her due date, Jack was starting to feel more nervous, even though she was well past the point when Emma was born prematurely. Luckily Maddie's doctor knew Jack's history and agreed to induce her early. The doctor didn't think Jack's anxiety was helping Maddie's blood pressure which was higher than she liked.

Jack was a basket case the night before. She finally told him to sleep downstairs, because he was keeping her awake on her last night without a newborn. Her parents were back from Florida and were staying with the girls. He had never driven more cautiously than he did on the way to the hospital the next morning. If he frustrated Maddie, she hid it. The minute he parked in the garage, his entire body relaxed. He was ready and excited to meet their child.

Maddie had been wonderful, allowing Jack to make decisions and have some control over the pregnancy. Because he knew from the ultrasound Emma was a girl, he didn't want to find out. He was excited to know whether he would have another daughter or a son. It took forever before the Pitocin started the contractions. Eventually, the doctor ruptured her membranes, and things moved along faster. They had been in the hospital for almost twelve hours when poor Maddie was finally ready to push. She had to work so hard and aside from encouraging her, he couldn't help. She was tired, and he loved her more at the moment she finally mustered enough energy for that last push. A cry filled the room, and tears filled his eyes. He had a son, and he was there for his birth. His wife was amazing and, thank the Lord, he was alive and well.

The following afternoon, he brought his daughters to meet their new brother, John Patrick Harris, the third. Maddie insisted they continue the legacy. Emma ran into the room when she saw Maddie. She missed her after a little more than a day.

"Mumma, mumma, baby!" She squealed.

Jack lifted her onto the bed warning her to be gentle. Rory gathered round and looked down on him. He was small by everyone else's standards, but not by Jack's, not compared to Emma. He looked from Rory, his daughter who was a gift when he married Nicole, to Emma, Nicole's parting gift, to JP, because they had a John and a Jack, who was Maddie's gift to him. Then his eyes met Maddie's. Both their eyes glistened with tears, but full of love.

Without realizing it, at the same time they looked up because the one they needed to thank was Nicole. Jack knew she had a role in bringing him back to The Point to find Maddie. He believed this was her plan for him, Rory and Emma. She was smiling down on them. He felt sure their future would hold far less sorrow and a whole lot of love.

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Jack, Rory and Maddie are back in the fourth book in the series, The Players.

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