Stealing the Show (PolyAm Fam #3)

Epilogue

several months later

raine

Pregnancy is not for the faint of heart, but I did find it to have a few good points. People were so nice to me, opening doors, asking if they could carry things for me. Though I could have done without the unnecessary requests to grope my baby bump.

Delivery day was upon us. We had planned a home water birth. Leo and Maggie had everything set up, but, as seemed to be par for the course for me, things did not go according to plan. This little Nugget, as we’d taken to calling him or her, refused to come out.

That meant I was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to a bunch of tubes and wires, and the eviction process was well underway.

“Baby looks great,” Noah assured me as he joined the cast of characters encircling my hospital bed. “When was the last time the doctor checked you?”

“When she broke my water,” I explained, “about two hours ago. She said that would speed things up.”

Aris laid a hand on my shoulder. “It could still be a long time, though.”

It was strange to see my second-favorite throuple without their new addition, but they’d left their sweet baby girl with Cynda so they could have a bit of a break. Apparently, watching me in labor was their idea of a date? Weirdos.

“You’re doing great.” Leo patted my arm and wrapped his massive paw around my hand, completely engulfing it as he squeezed gently.

“We’re so proud of you,” Maggie agreed, bending down to press a kiss to my cheek.

I’d gotten an epidural shortly after the water breaking, so I was sort of coasting through at this point. Laughing and joking with my found family made the time go faster.

“Knock-knock!” came a deep voice from the door.

“More visitors? Aren’t you Miss Popularity!” Danielle grinned. She walked over to the door and swung it open, revealing a familiar figure.

My brother, Tyler.

In addition to my found family from the polycule, I’d developed a relationship with my biological half-brother. We met in person for the first time around the holidays, but he wanted to come back and visit when his niece or nephew was born. We thought the baby would already be here by the time he arrived, but, as previously mentioned, the Nugget had their own timetable.

“Hey, Raine!” He walked to my bedside and glanced at the monitors. “How’s it going?”

“Oh, you know, I love being center stage, putting on a show for everyone. Like my costume?” I tugged at the sleeve of my blue hospital gown.

“For now,” Danielle warned, “but the Nugget’s gonna steal the show as soon as they get here. Just wait. You’re about to lose your Raine identity and become Nugget’s Mom.”

“Hey, since they’ll have two moms,” Leo pointed out, “maybe she’ll get to retain some of her Raine persona? I happen to be rather fond of that persona, you know.”

Maggie laughed. “We’ll be able to give each other lots of breaks, since there are three of us to care for our little Nugget.”

“Having three parents is definitely the way to go,” Aris agreed. “So much easier to divide and conquer.”

“You make it sound like we’re going to war,” Noah pointed out.

“Well…you know what they say,” Aris grinned, “all’s fair in love and dirty diapers.”

“You’re all making me think twice about just marrying one woman,” Tyler interjected. “Maybe I need to be on the hunt for two!”

Leo wrapped his arm around Tyler and stage-whispered, “Just so you know—two are a lot of work.” Then he turned toward me and Maggie. “Not my lovely ladies, of course. You two are always easy!”

We all laughed, but I started to feel an ache in my back and a tightness around my midsection that quickly made my smile disappear. When I looked at the contraction monitor, I noticed they were coming faster and peaking higher. I must have grimaced because Leo immediately noticed.

“Hey, do you think you’re getting close?” He brought my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “I can get the nurse if you want.”

“I think it’s about time to kick everyone out who’s not a parent to this Nugget,” I said between peaks.

“Consider it done.” Leo puffed out his chest, and, going into cop mode, ushered everyone out the door amidst a chorus of well wishes.

“Good luck!”

“You can do it!”

“Can’t wait to meet the Nugget!”

A few minutes later, I had an overwhelming urge to push.

This is it…finally!

maggie

I took the washcloth and wiped the sweat off Raine’s brow. “C’mon, baby, you can do this. Not much longer now.”

“But I’ve been pushing for an hour!” she whined. “And it fucking hurts!”

“Your epidural is worn off now,” Dr. Cameron said. “So your pushes are becoming more productive. Just one or two more good ones, and we’ll deliver the head.”

“‘We’ll’?” Raine grumbled. “I don’t know where you’re getting this ‘we’ business. It feels like I’m the only one doing any of the work!”

I bit my lip to suppress a smile. God, she was gorgeous like this, her dark hair clinging to her sweat-soaked brow, eyes glistening, and cheeks flushed with her exertion. She was gorgeous as she worked hard to bring our baby into the world, a baby who was already so loved, so cherished, and we didn’t even know their name yet.

“You can do it,” Leo cheered her on. “The Nugget has a ton of black hair. I can see it!”

Raine gritted her teeth and looked at the monitor. Her knuckles went white as she gripped the bedrails. “Okay, I’m trying.”

We all counted while her face turned bright red, her jaw clenched, and she gave it everything she had.

“Whoa, stop right there! Relax and breathe,” Dr. Cameron coached her. “Head is out!” She suctioned the baby’s nose and mouth. “Okay, on the next contraction, we’re going to deliver the body.”

“Here we go with this ‘we’ shit again!” Raine’s nostrils flared as she bore down again for another push.

“Oh my god, you’re doing it!” Leo rushed over to where I was standing on the other side of Raine’s bed and put his arm around me. “I can’t believe it. It’s finally happening.”

As the sound of our son’s first cries filled the room, my husband’s gaze met mine. “We have a little boy!” I cheered.

As soon as our Nugget was placed on Raine’s chest, Leo moved back to the other side of Raine. Tears streaked down her cheeks as we pressed kisses to them and got our first look at the brand-new life we had created together.

leo

I backed away from the bed, letting my son’s two beautiful mothers have a moment to bond over the baby while I took photos. Looking at their happy tears, I thought about all the miracles that had to happen to bring us this joy, this moment, which was a miracle in and of itself. The nurse took the baby away to clean him up, and I joined the circle, our perfect family circle which had now grown by one member.

“I don’t know what to say…” I flicked away a tear stinging at the corner of my eye, trying to keep any from falling, but it was too late. Two streaked down, getting caught in my beard. “This is the most amazing day of my life.”

“Congratulations, Daddy,” Raine said, her flushed face radiating with joy and a sense of accomplishment.

“You were amazing.” I bent down to press a kiss to her lips, then Maggie did the same.

“I can’t wait to show Max off to all our friends!” Maggie said. “He’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“So, we’re definitely going with Max?” I glanced from one mom to the other.

“Leonard Maximillian Katz,” Raine declared. “It sounds so distinguished. It’s got my vote.”

Maggie grinned. “Mine too. And Max for short.”

“Leo, Max, Maggie, and Raine—sounds like a perfect family to me,” I agreed.

The nurse brought the baby back to Raine, and she cradled the freshly wrapped bundle in her arms. His little scrunched face was pink, his cheeks adorably chubby, and his tiny little nose and lips were perfectly sculpted. As we stared at him in wonder, his little eyes popped open. He looked at the adoring faces staring at him and promptly went back to sleep.

I hoped we’d always be able to make him feel this safe and loved. I had a good feeling about it, and from the looks on his moms’ beautiful faces, it was pretty clear they did too.

THE END