Chapter One

All he could pay attention to was the small, fragile form held within Melissa's cradling arms.  The two or three attending nurses, one pumping away at the air filled strap around Melissa's arm, the doctor that assisted in the delivery, none of them existed.  It was only her and their daughter, the only beings that existed in his world at the time.  It was a feeling like none he had ever felt before.  As much as he had wanted a normal life, he had never been able to achieve it.

The angelic face of the woman he loved gazed down at the child in her arms.  The tiny body wrapped in a pink towel, looking somewhat like a cocoon waiting for the butterfly within to spring forth.  "Xavier, honey," she said in her oh so gentle and soothing voice, her deep brown eyes turning upwards to look into his, "Someone wants to see you."

All he could think of was their father, years ago, kneeling in front of him with a similarly wrapped bundle of life.  His voice and full of a hearty bass, authoritative yet calming, "Xavier, there's someone you should meet."  As young as he was, he was somewhat intimidated with the idea of holding something like an infant.  Terrified he might drop here and shatter her into a million pieces; it was all he could do to keep from trembling as he took her into his arms, their father showing him exactly how to hold her as he had.  The eyes, little did he know the person that was behind him, only that she was his sister and that he loved her as one.

He felt as if he were stumbling forward as an idiot, one unsure step after another until finally reaching her bedside.  Arms outstretched, palms facing upwards, he gingerly took to gift she placed into his arms.  He had almost forgot he had to bend down some to get at the right level to hold it just right.  But he did at the last second, standing back up straight, the back of its head resting against his bicep, the right side of its head resting on his chest, over his heart.

His and Melissa's eyes were the same shade of brown, but the eyes staring back at him were something different entirely.  They were his, but were not at the same time.  They were the same as the ones he looked into all those almost nineteen years ago.  Instead of belonging to his sister, they were those of his daughter.  "She's beautiful," he finally choked out with much effort, "Thank god she looks like you, Mel.  If she looked like me, she'd grow up to be one ugly chick."

Melissa let an exhausted laugh pass from her mouth, the labor had lasted hours and she needed to get some rest.  He had expected as much.  Returning his eyes down to the life in his arms, he thought he saw a faint smile crack from her lips.  Was it a smile or was he just imagining the whole damned thing?  Wishful thinking?

"She is a beautiful child," said the only remaining nurse in the room, "What are you going to name her?"  Lost in the moment, he had lost all track of things.  Everyone else beside the three of them and a nurse had stepped out the room.  The door remained open still, the echoing hospital traffic filtering in.  He and Melissa had discussed it for months, but could not settle on anything.  Right now, however, the debate on something as simple as a name was stupid to him at this point.  He nodded to her, acknowledging the fact that he was conceding to go with the names, first and middle, she wanted to name her.  A slight smile, her head laying back against the pillows and saying with pride, "Kelsey Oktober."

She had a name now.  No longer a fetus in the womb, a dream for the normal life they both always wanted.  No, the small piece of life in his arms was a legal human being, and their daughter at that.  Married once, his ex-wife had miscarried, later divorced only to remarry with the most unlikely of people.  This moment alone made it all worthwhile.  Who cared what people thought about them and the life they lead?  They were happy and that was all that really mattered did it not?  For the first time in his life, Xavier could say that he was truly and honestly happy.

Chapter Two

The onslaught of human traffic assaulted them the second they walk through the opened glass door into the world outside.  Manhattan, Fifth Avenue, in the middle of the day, someone shoot him now.  Damn near elbowing a short little Indian woman in the chin that came rushing in past his side.  Maybe he tried to hit her as a punitive measure for her annoyance of presence but missed.  The point was mute after she passed him, resigning himself to holding the door open for Shane coming up behind him with her own steaming cup sealed at the top with the typical cheap shit plastic lid.  A foot or so behind him, he proceeded out into the beating, midday sun as she followed in toe.

More then a slight annoyance, having to weave their way to the corner was nothing short of a pain in the ass.  He wondered if it would be a troubling thing if he "accidentally" just shoved one of them off of the curb.  Probably, and the effort to do such a thing was more work then it the self-satisfaction would be worth.  Finally at the corner, he cast a glance backwards to make sure Shane had not been carried off with the wave after wave of humanity, before turning off into the shadows of Fortieth Street.

Call him neurotic, but he hated having to fight his way throw a crowd of idiots.  Melissa did love the city, however, so he guessed he could deal with it.  Besides, it did make it easier with her school, at least that was an upside to the whole thing.  As always, he was putting her happiness and ease of mind ahead of his own.  For now, he was contented by the fact that the shadows created by the buildings around them created a haven from the growing heat and shine of the spring time sun.  Most of the busy traffic they had just fought through continue on their way and did not bother to follow them.

"What the hell is it you call this crap," she said as she walked up along his right side.  "Coffee, Shane, coffee," he said mockingly, "You know, that stuff from a Seven-Eleven you get everyday.  This is just a bit more refined then that garbage."  She held the cup to her nose, taking a sniff of the steam wafting up from it before turning away as if she had just smelled an already used toilet, "No you ass, this isn't coffee.  That fag didn't even say, 'Thank you, come again.'  That right there means it's not the real shit."  He tried and failed to stifle the laugh that came out, the irony of her criticizing someone's sex life more then amusing to him, "You're not exactly the best one to make fun of gays, or do you just not like the flamers?"

She punched him in the arm, making him only laugh even more, knowing he had just scored a direct hit.  The tone of her voice showed that she was not going to let him have the last word, firing the last shot of the verbal battle, "Asshole, I'd rather be a lesbian than screw my brother.  Why can't Mel be the same?"  "You know me, I just have a thing for turning the carpet-munchers straight," he turned slightly looking at her with a smirk with the reference to their own past.  She only gave him her usual look that told him he was an asshole, rolling her eyes to the side and looking away from him, "Where the hell are we going?"  "Right over her at the end," he said with a gesture of his hand down the street on the right side, "Mel said she was going to take Kelsey for her first walk outside.  It's warm enough now I guess, and she knows what she's doing with the mother stuff."

Indeed, it had gotten warmer over the last week or so.  Gone were the biting winds whipping through the man-made canyons on the island of Manhattan.  Occasionally, a softened breeze nudged at them both as they nonchalantly strode towards the greenery of Bryant Park.  A distant laughter of children, probably two or three.  It caused Xavier to take a genuinely concerned look to Shane, "How's Ben been coping with the new school?  Being the new kid sucks ass for him I bet."  "Are you kidding," she laughed with a wave of her hand, "He acts like such a damned rock star sometimes.  Either nothing can knock him for a loop or he's a damned good actor."

He obviously got it from his mother.  Shane was an expert of hiding the tension and emotion bubbling underneath the surface.  Like an active volcano, however, there were brief periods of time when it seemed to erupt with an explosive force that would later make her feel drained.  It shocked him with it's abrasiveness at first, but years of getting used to it made you realize that was just how she was and she did not really intend to offend those who were only trying to help.  It was just how she was.  It was also why he tended to act like such a dick with his sarcastic sense of humor.  Laughter, it is said, is the best medicine.

"And how are you coping?," he pressed on.  The look in her eyes said it to him of what she was feeling.  A harsh sniff from her nose as she wiped a finger under her nose.  Addiction was never an easy thing to break, but quitting cold turkey was a whole other ball game.  He knew himself how difficult it was going to be, the rocky road ahead of her, and it was only going to get harder as she went on before it got any easier.  He considered a reassuring hand on the shoulder, but thought better of it.  Better to give her the space she needed, attempting to only give a shot to her confidence verbally, "Hang in there, Shane.  You're doing fine by not breaking so far."

She did not bother replying to his encouragement, contenting herself with the non-offensive silence rather then snap at him at they crossed the street to enter the small park.  It was half of a city block, but enough to provide an oasis from the urban landscape of steel, glass and stone surrounding them.  About ten or so feet within the green confines of grass, a woman sat cross-legged on a cherry finished wooden bench, a pink baby carriage at her right side.  She seemed completely absorbed in the large bundle of white paper, pen in hand, her shoulder-length brown hair draping down the sides of her face and looking at the carriage with a smile every few seconds.

His hand lain atop the sleeve of her t-shirt, palm sliding along the purple cotton wrapping around the top of her body.  She looked up with a start, her brown eyes magnified by the wire-rimmed lenses.  It took a moment for her to relax and smile at him with a shake of her head, "God, you scared the hell out of me."  "Sorry, hon," he said as bending down, their lips meeting with a quick kiss.  Redirecting his attention to the carriage at her side, he took a few steps still bent over to it, "And how's our little girl?"

"She's fine," she said as she closed the bundle of bleached white parchment to its probable closed positioning, "Spit up on me before we left, but she's been quiet here and letting me figure out this registration for next semester."  "Hear that, Shane?," he said standing up now and looking in her direction, "She's spitting already.  She'll be giving you competition in the distance rankings before you know it."  Shane only shrugged off the nudge at her upbringing and where she grew up, already firing back, "That's OK, you're little Inbredina can have the title to herself."

Melissa uncrossed her legs, and got up to move over to the carriage, "You want to hold her?  Wouldn't have brought her out if it was a couple weeks ago, but it's like sixty now."  "No, that's OK," said Xavier looking around nervously, "You know... there's people around and... you know... guys aren't supposed to be all like that."  She shook her head with a slight laugh, reaching inside the carriage, making sure their daughter was still sound asleep, "God, you're such a macho stoic."  He smirked, reaching back and laying a hand on her waist.  The palm of his hand running at her navel and the black leather belt looping through the olive green khaki pants conforming to her body.  "You know I love it when you talk nerdy," he whispered into her ear.  "Xavier," she said trying to sound stern with him and not allow the temptation to sink into her, putting a hand onto his, "Not in public remember?"

Shane coughed uncomfortable, fighting the urge to throw up right then and there in a public park, "Yes, please, consider me public.  I hope you do eventually blame on giving Inbredina a brother, because it'll suck for her if she has to go the rest of her life single."  "Oh hey Mel, did you know wants our help with something," Xavier said sarcastically as Melissa turned around, "Insulting our daughter is just how she shows her love."

Shane grunted, growing aggravated by the idea that she would ever ask them for help.  She sat down on the bench in the spot where Melissa had sat not a minute before, rubbing her forehead and doing her best not to snap at them, "Bullshit.  I'm not looking for a handout of your help, it's just an offer for you to come into this with me."  "She wants us to do this wrestling thing with her," Xavier butted in, moving to the side slightly to his sister.

A look of confused filled her face, her thin eyebrows drew close together as she looked at Shane then Xavier nervously, "Wrestling?  I do my classes online anyway, but Xavier, we kind of have a daughter now.  It's not like we can just leave her at home label her bottles and food with the day she's supposed to eat them."  "I only suggested you come with him because I know you used to get involved here and there," Shane reasoned, nodding to Xavier's crotch with a smirk, "That was until you two started re-enacting the trailer park version of 'Look Who's Talking.'"

"Better then being a redneck reject from 'Bound'," Xavier countered at Shane, dropping the asshole personality before directing himself to Melissa, "It'll be good for you.. for us.. I think.  Doing something together besides the usual stuff and you've pretty much been housebound for almost a year now.  Besides, we'll only be away a couple days a week, we can just hire a nanny to baby-sit her for those couple days.  Screw dropping her off with mom, she still doesn't even know, which explains why she hasn't dropped dead from a heart attack yet."

Melissa crossed her arms over her chest, sighing to herself and biting her bottom lip.  Back to the world of wrestling huh?  Well, no one ever said they were going to be a normal family.  She looked up at Xavier, towering over her by almost a foot, "Our anniversary had better kick so much ass."