KRISTIE MISSED her own bed. It felt like ages since she had been able to sleep in it. In reality, it had only been about three days. She tried telling herself that as she stared up at the hospital ceiling. She ran her fingers over her baby bump. Not long now, she thought to herself as she waited for the doctor. But it would be a dangerous final two months until the baby was born.
Severe morning sickness. What was the fancy name the doctor had for it all those months ago? Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Kristie could never remember the exact name. All it meant to her was that the violent vomiting she had experienced early on wasn’t the typical morning sickness. It had only increased as she got farther along in her pregnancy. There had been a particular nasty bout of it this week. Gray had begged her to go into the hospital, for the baby’s sake, and Kristie had finally relented.
It was a good thing she had. She was extremely dehydrated. Now she was waiting to hear if she would be released today. Gray said he would be by soon with Megan. He had been to see her this morning but had to go to work.
Kristie closed her eyes, suddenly missing Megan, who was growing so rapidly. It felt like just yesterday that they had taken her in after Kass and Rick had been murdered. At the thought of her best friend, Kristie felt a pang in her chest. Her best friend, gunned down by the Infernos, leaving only Megan alive.
Taking in Megan had been unexpected. Both Kristie and Gray had struggled when they’d become parents. They had barely taken in Megan when Kristie found out the impossible had happened – she was pregnant. She had given up hope of having a child of her own and had decided that she would fully focus on Megan. The next thing she knew she was pregnant, vomiting over a toilet bowl while Gray tried to take care of Megan.
Gray had handled the news perfectly. For some reason, Kristie had been completely terrified that he would be enraged at her pregnancy. They had just taken Megan in and Gray had lost his best friend. But he had been overjoyed at the news and slowly, over the course of her pregnancy, he had begun to change.
In fact, everything would be perfect if it weren’t for the Infernos. But wasn’t that always the case? Kristie had noticed a shift in Gray, as if he was finally backing away from the gang. But the tendrils of that life refused to fully release Gray. Sometimes Kristie would wake up, having to pee a million times a night, and he would be in Megan’s room, watching her sleep, lost in thought.
Breaking her own thoughts, the doctor came in to tell her she was going to be released today. Relieved, Kristie went to call Gray.
***
“Thanks for watching her the past few days.”
“No problem,” Lionel replied, handing Megan over to Gray. “I’m glad we could help.”
“I’ll have Kristie call Pamela once she gets home.”
Lionel nodded and gave a small wave as Gray tried to juggle Megan and all of her things toward the truck. She was fast asleep. She could sleep almost anything. Gray envied her as he put her in her car seat. She gave a soft noise and settled back into her slumber.
Gray got into the driver’s seat and headed toward the hospital. He was glad Kristie was coming home. She knew that she had been going stir crazy in the hospital. He remembered his own time in the hospital and could relate. Being pregnant on top of it must make it even worse.
It was silly but Gray still hadn’t fully wrapped his mind around the fact that Kristie was pregnant. It seemed almost unreal to him. They had tried for months, and there had been nothing. Now a baby boy was on the way in two months. Gray glanced back at Megan at a red light. She was sleeping soundly. She was the perfect mix of Kass and Rick.
His mood turned dark at the thought of his best friend. Gone from this world, struck down by the Infernos. Gray had sworn revenge for everything Armand had done – shooting Kristie, killing Rick and Kass and leaving Megan an orphan. But the urge for revenge had begun to fade. With Kristie pregnant and Megan under their care, it seemed selfish to drag out the violence any longer than he already had. If he died, what would happen to Kristie and their two children? Rick had realized he was growing up and was trying to leave the life as well. It seemed foolish not to go.
But leaving the gang was harder than it looked. Even if Gray pulled out of the group and stopped interacting with them, Armand and the Infernos wouldn’t let him leave. They would still track him down and try to hurt him. It was now a personal grudge by now. They would either kill him or make sure he went to jail for the rest of his life.
So Gray found himself stuck between trying to settle down as a family man and trying to detangle himself from gang life. Kristie had been stressing the importance of communication to him, as if Gray could simply invite Armand out for a cup of tea and settle everything that way.
He pulled into the hospital parking lot. The hospital held such terrible memories for him. He hoped Kristie’s pregnancy would offer him something good for a change. He put Megan into her carrier and headed up to get Kristie.
She was sitting upright in bed. The TV was on some daytime judge show, but her eyes were glazed over from boredom. Her skin was pale, as it had been since her violent morning sickness had begun. But when Kristie saw him, her eyes lit up.
“Hey,” he whispered, pointing to the sleeping Megan.
She nodded and gave a small wave. Discharge took forever and by the time they wheeled Kristie out in her wheelchair, Megan had woken up and was fussing loudly.
“My mom called me right before you came into the room,” Kristie said as they headed home. “She wants to come over for dinner in the next couple of days. To see how I am doing.”
Gray made a non-committal noise. Things had only mildly improved after they had adopted Megan. Pamela, Kristie’s mother, hadn’t been thrilled upon hearing Kristie was pregnant. It had made things incredibly awkward for Gray. His uncle still was hung up over the fact Kristie and Gray were cousins. Pamela still blamed him for Kristie’s shooting. She had been hoping her daughter would divorce him. Being pregnant wasn’t part of the plan.
“I think they want to spend more time with Megan,” Kristie was saying, not noticing Gray’s face. “I said it was fine. Of course I had to say it was fine.”
“I understand. They’re her grandparents. They’d want to see her.”
Kristie nodded, although her facial expression told Gray all he needed to know. She understood how awkward it could be for everyone involved.
They arrived home. January snow fell gently. Gray made sure Megan was warm and snug before taking her out of the truck. They headed toward their apartment. Gray thought that even though Kristie had just gotten out of the hospital, she still looked beautiful.
They had moved again. This time to the complex where Rick and Kass used to live. Kass’s parents and Gray’s own uncle helped out with the rent each month. His uncle had said that Pamela helped out as well, but Gray wasn’t so sure about that. In any case, with people pitching in to help pay for a bigger apartment, it meant they were able to live in an apartment complex with much better security. It had two bedrooms, unlike their last apartment, in which Megan’s room had been a glorified office space. It was all inside, which always made Kristie feel safer, and was nicer than their last place.
They stepped inside and Kristie scooped up Megan, who badly needed a diaper change and a feeding. Gray offered to help but his words were lost on Kristie, who was giggling and cooing over Megan as usual.
As he watched Kristie tend to Megan and looked around their new apartment, he thought everything had a shot at being perfect. He just had to get out of the Devil’s Advocates.