Nice Until Proven Naughty

We had it narrowed down to two, but we were stuck on our final choice. “I really like Jackson.”

“Jackson it is.”

“Your daughter is ready,” the nurse announces.

“Be right back.” Lucas kisses Jackson on the head and goes to get our little girl. “Hello, Rose. I’m your dad.”

If ovaries could in fact explode, mine just did.

Lucas cradles our little girl in his strong arms and sits beside me on the bed. Dani joins us. She’s a blubbering mess, just like me, as she peers down at my babies.

My babies.

I’m a mother.

“Sis, I’d like you to meet Jackson Lucas Dahlenberg and Rose Danielle Dahlenberg.”

Dani’s lips part. “You named her after me?”

“I figured she should be named after her godmother.”

Dani nods and wipes the tears from her face. “Can I hold one of them?”

“Here.” Lucas transfers Rose to Dani’s arms.

She sits in a chair beside my bed, and we all look up when Ben walks in. “Is it okay if I come in?”

“Well, you are my brother-in-law.”

At least he has the decency to cringe. “She told you, huh?”

“You’re on my naughty list, Bennett.”

He leans over Dani’s shoulders and smiles at my baby girl. “Just tell me what I need to do to get off of it, and I’ll do it. I can’t wait until we have kids,” he whispers to Dani.

“Every Wednesday you and Dani come babysit.”

“Done,” he says.

“For at least five hours while Lucas and I sleep or go out on a date or whatever else we want to do.”

“Done,” Dani says.

“This is why I love you,” Lucas whispers.

“Not because I gave you two gorgeous children, but because I secured weekly naps for as long as Ben and Dani feel guilty.”

He holds out his fist, and I bump it. “We make a great team.”

“We sure do. And I’m not even mad at them for eloping. In fact, I think it sounds like a pretty good idea.”

One more epilogue just for fun

Danielle

“You promised you’d be here every single Wednesday,” Sam wails into the phone.

I hold it away from my ear before she blows my eardrum out. The babies are crying, and I would feel guilty about missing a Wednesday, but this is my honeymoon, for crying out loud.