***All persons depicted in sexual situations are over 18***
Late June
Year 3 of Us
Wednesday
Cathy was on the exam table in the sonogram room, covered by a sheet while I sat next to her, holding her hand. She turned her head and looked at me, her green eyes bright.
"Are you okay, Wyatt?" I nodded and she snorted.
"Then why is your hand sweaty?"
I pulled it free and wiped it dry on my pants leg. I swallowed and when she reached out for me, I took her hand again. I looked into her eyes. "I'm not a big fan of hospitals."
"I know, love." She gave me a gentle smile. "This is a good reason to be here, though, isn't it?"
I smiled back. "Yes, it is."
"I know Lacey surprised you with hers, but we decided that you *had* to be here," she said. "Oh! I know! Baby names!"
I grinned at her. "Shouldn't Lacey be involved in that, too?"
Cathy giggled. "She and I have already decided what our choices are. I'll tell you after you tell me your choices! Okay?"
"Okay." I sat there for a few moments. "If it's a boy, I'd like to name him Grant Cody. If it's a boy, I'd like her name to be Juliet Catherine."
"Oh!" Cathy got very quiet.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"No." Cathy shook her head. "You'd want our daughter to have my name, too?"
"Yes. First, though, tell me your choices!" I smiled at her and caressed her face with my free hand.
"Okay. If it's a boy, we'd like Cameron Stewart, and a girl we'd like Jean Kirsteen."
"Wow!" I leaned my head back a bit. I looked at her smiling face and made a decision. "I like your boy's name!" She smiled widely. "Can we mix the two girl's names? Jean Catherine?"
Cathy's smile somehow got even bigger, then she softly said, "I like that, Wyatt." She leaned forward a bit and I kissed her, softly and quickly. There was a tapping at the door and Cathy said, "Come in!"
A young woman walked in, wearing a white uniform. "Hi! I'm Fran, and I'll be doing your ultrasound this morning!" She smiled and looked at the clipboard she was carrying. "Can I have your name, please?" Cathy told her and answered the other questions as the tech nodded. "Okay. Let me get some things set up here, and we'll get started."
She looked past Cathy at me. "Are you Ms. Roche's father?"
Cathy giggled. "No, but he is the father of my baby."
Fran looked at me and I just smiled at her. I could see her adjust her outlook and then she got things ready. She pulled the sheet back, and said to Cathy, "This gel should be warm enough. Let me know if it isn't."
Cathy nodded and held her breath. When a small drop of the gel landed on her tummy, she blew out through her mouth and laughed. "That's fine!"
Fran smiled, her teeth white against her dark skin, and started the exam. She talked us through what she was doing, and then she smiled again. "Would you like to know if it's a boy or a girl?"
Cathy looked at me, then at Fran. "Yes, please!" she said eagerly.
"Should I draw this out, for dramatic effect?" Fran shook her head. "No, I'm not mean. You're going to have a little girl! Congratulations!" Fran began cleaning Cathy up and I gently placed a hand on her tummy once the gel had been cleaned off.
"Hello, there, Jean." I leaned closer. "I'm your Daddy, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you have a wonderful life." I kissed Cathy's tummy and looked up to see both Cathy and Fran looking at me, gentle smiles on their faces. "What?"
Cathy caressed my cheek as Fran said, "I'll let you get dressed, Cathy, and then you can come out to the desk for a copy of the image."
Cathy nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Fran!"
"You're welcome, sweetie." She looked at me. "And congratulations, dad!"
"Thank you," I said as I began helping Cathy sit up. I reached over and got her pants from the chair while she slipped into her blouse. I held the pants as she slid into them.
"Are you going to do this type of stuff a lot?" Cathy's voice was light, but when I looked at her, there was a bit of concern in her expression.
I shook my head. "Not really, but I have to do something right now, or I'm going to burst." We walked out, stopping long enough to get that image, then Cathy put her hand in the crook of my left elbow. My phone chirped at me, and when I looked at it, there was a message from Lacey.
I read it and laughed.
"What?"
"She says that they're out front, and Duncan has a found a stick that he likes."
Cathy giggled and we walked through the doors and were greeted by Duncan and Sam walking towards us. They were getting better every day, and Duncan was very proud of his stick, holding it up to Cathy with a smile on his face.
She knelt and examined it before giving him a kiss. I took Lacey in my arms after I picked up Sam. After we moved over to a set of benches under some pines, I sat between Lacey and Cathy. Lacey looked at us. "Well?"
Cathy and I looked at each other. "It's a girl!" Lacey smiled and leaned past me to give Cathy a kiss. Duncan and Sam were very excited by the smiles on our faces.
"Which name?" Lacey asked, her eyes curious.
Cathy looked at me and nodded, so I said, "A combination. Jean Catherine."
Lacey looked at me, then at Cathy, her smile getting wider. "It's a beautiful name," Lacey said softly. For some reason, I felt a weight leave me and I sighed.
"Wyatt?" Lacey looked at me.
"Yes?" I looked into her eyes, and then I smiled. "For some reason, I was worried."
She laughed and reached for me. I took her hand, and she leaned her head onto my shoulder while Sam laughed in reaction. "You get worried about some strange things at times, Wyatt," Lacey said lightly.
I kissed her, then had to kiss Sam, who was patting my chest. I said, "This could have been one of those times when I dug in my heels."
"Really? Why?" Lacey looked at me, then Cathy eased against me, her free hand touching my thigh.
"Yeah, Wyatt?"
I kinda shrugged, then sighed. "I don't know *why*, my loves. It just seemed right, though."
Cathy said, "It does seem right."
When I looked at her, Lacey nodded. I smiled at everybody, then sat up, turning my head from side to side. "Should we head home?"
"Yeah, let's go home!" Cathy said, and the twins echoed her with "Home! Home!"
We got back to the house, then I wheeled the new family van towards the garage. As I parked and started the garage door closing, Lacey laughed.
"What's funny, my princess?"
"Oh, I just think that we need to adjust the driving schedule," she replied as we got out of the van and took the now sleeping twins into our arms.
"How so?" asked Cathy, as she opened the door into the kitchen and stepped in past the dogs, to turn off the alarm.
"Well..." Lacey looked at me, then at Cathy as we headed for the stairs. "Wyatt's been doing most of the driving. I think we need to rotate."
"Oh, honey..." I started, "I never meant to make..."
Lacey shook her head, her voice staying low. "No, I think that your drive to care for us is wonderful!"
We started up the stairs, the dogs tagging along behind us. "I just think that *we* should get a chance to show how much we care about *you*!"
"She's right, Wyatt," Cathy added. I felt her hand on my lower back as we turned to the twins' bedroom. "Let us care for you. Please? Please?"
"Man, you two ladies are tough," I said lightly, making Lacey giggle softly.
"I know," she replied. "We're so mean to want to take care of you!" She stepped into the twins' bedroom and moved over to Sam's bed. They were no longer in the cribs -- well, sort of. The cribs could be modified to lower the mattress almost to the floor, with just a low rail to keep them in bed. That rail was important, as Duncan could move all over the bed while he was sleeping.
Lacey lowered Sam to her bed, and I did the same for Duncan. They were sleeping hard, so all we did was slip their shoes from their feet. Cathy checked the monitor, Lacey made sure the rails were up, and I paid attention to the dogs.
Cathy took my left hand and Lacey took my right. We walked along the hall and as we passed the stairs, Lacey stopped.
She looked at the opening, and then turned to me. "When's Bert going to bring that gate over?"
"He said it would be finished this afternoon, and he'd bring it over after lunch tomorrow."
"Did you tell him what we were doing today?"
"No." I looked at her. "Should I?"
Lacey giggled. "Send him a text and ask him to bring Betty along."
"Why?"
Cathy laughed and covered her mouth with her free hand. "He's going to find out about Jean," as she patted her tummy, "and she'll be annoyed if she doesn't hear about it first-hand."
"Might as well make a little party of it," I said. "Erica, Mir, Tina, and Roni will want to know, too."
Lacey's smile was huge. "Perfect!" She looked at me. "Great idea, love!"