Danielle and Venus were at the hospital visiting Josephine and the twins. It was about three in the afternoon and they both got off work early. They sat in the hospital room and watched as Josephine flicked through the TV channels as the twins slept soundly.
�There is nothing on,� Josephine complained. �You�d think this hospital would have MTV but they don�t.�
�I feel your pain,� Venus said.
�Good,� Josephine said. �So did ya hear about Sunn?�
�Yeah,� Danielle said. �Maddie called last night. She said Nick was a total mess the other night until Dr. Martin told him Sunshine was going to be fine.�
�He came up last night and he was still a mess,� Josephine said. �I felt so bad for him.�
�I do too,� Danielle said. �At least she�s going to be all right.� They nodded. �Maddie asked me about the baby and I had no idea what to say.�
�You said something, didn�t you?� Venus asked.
�I just told her I didn�t know anything,� Danielle replied. �That�s Sunnie Jo�s place to say.�
�Yes it is,� Venus said. �But it didn�t stop you from telling Maddie about the first time Sunn and Nick had sex.�
�She has a point,� Josephine said siding with Venus.
�I made a mistake there,� Danielle said. �Everyone does.�
�Yeah, but I wouldn�t spill someone�s sex secrets,� Venus said. �That�s personal stuff.�
�Very personal,� Josephine added.
�This is different guys,� Danielle said. �Her life depends on it. She could die.�
�Don�t remind us,� Josephine said. �Alright?�
�Sorry,� Danielle apologized.
�Look who came to visit,� Howard said stepping into the room with Nickolas and Sunshine.
�Hey,� the girls said.
�Hey,� Sunshine said.
�How do ya feel?� Venus asked.
�Fine,� Sunshine replied. �But I have to be pushed around in this damn wheelchair. I can walk.�
�You know what the doctor said,� Nickolas stated.
�Unfortunately,� Sunshine said. �When do ya leave, Jo?�
�Dr. Martz said at six,� Josephine replied. �I can�t wait. What about you?�
�Hopefully Monday. I want to go now. I�ve seen enough doctors to last me a lifetime.� They all laughed. �I�m serious. You think you know, but you have no idea.�
�She�s just still stressed,� Nickolas stated. �She won�t try to calm down either.�
�I am calm.�
�Of course you are.�
�Here, Sunn,� Howard said. �Hold Tyler. He�s sure to calm you down.� She just looked at Howard then at Tyler. �You can hold him.� She shook her head and they all looked at her. Nickolas sighed and they looked at him as he just shrugged.
�Can we go?� Sunshine requested looking at her husband.
�We just got here,� Nickolas reminded her.
�I want to go,� Sunshine almost snapped. �I�m tired.� She looked at him again.
�Alright,� Nickolas said. �We�ll see ya guys later.� They all just grinned and Nickolas wheeled Sunshine out of the room.
�I wonder what that was all about,� Howard said.
�I have no idea,� Danielle stated. �Any other time she would jump at the chance to hold a baby.�
�I think she�s just scared,� Venus said.
�Of what?� Josephine asked.
�She did decide to go ahead and have the baby,� Venus reminded them and Howard just looked at her. �So Nick can be happy. She�s probably afraid she won�t live to see her child grow up. That�d be enough to scare me and not want to hold a baby.� They looked at her. �I�m being serious you guys. This is very difficult for Sunn. She wants to have this baby, but might lose her life, because of it. I�d be scared shitless.�
�So would I,� Josephine admitted. �It�s unbelievable.�
�No, this is as real as it gets,� Howard said. �This is a big part of our lives as it is theirs. You three and Des have known Sunn your whole lives and are practically sisters. Me and the guys each had some kind of relationship with Sunn and Nick�s out little brother just like he�s family to you guys. We can�t ignore this no matter how hard we try. It�s totally impossible.� They just looked at him thinking about what he said.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
�So, Honey,� Danielle said sitting beside Brian at the dinning room table later that evening. She put her chin in her hand and smiled.
�So, Honey,� Brian said looking at her.
�I want to have another baby.� Brian raised an eyebrow. �I�m serious.�
�Adi�s not even two.�
�I know. If we get pregnant now Adi will almost be two when the new baby comes. They�ll be a year apart.� Brian just smiled at his wife. �It�ll be fun and you like to have fun.�
�Yes I do.�
�What do ya say?�
�I have to work on this song.�
�You have all week.�
�But I really want to get this done.� She just looked at him. �Adi�s awake anyway.�
�No she�s not. She just went to bed.�
�It�s only 8:30.�
�Her daddy wore her out. After I put on her PJ�s she climbed right into bed. She was sleep before I left the room.�
�Oh.�
�Yeah. I think this songwriting of yours can be put off for the night. I think you should spend some alone time with your wife.�
�Why would I do that?�
�Because she�s the only one who can take care of your needs.� She smiled. �I wouldn�t be suggesting this if I wasn�t serious.� She moved over onto his lap and kissed him. �I love you.�
�I love you too, Mrs. Littrell, but I got work to do.�
�So do I.� She kissed him again and started unbuttoning his shirt.
�Danielle, I�m serious.�
�So am I.� She took the pencil from him. �Let�s just put this on the side for now and spend some time together.�
�You don�t give up do you?�
�Not if I really want something.� She grinned. �And I want you.�
�We�ll just have to fix that won�t we?�
�I hope so.� He kissed her then pushed his stuff off the table. He put Danielle on the table and smiled as he went to kiss her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
�Hey, Kev,� Venus said rejoining him in the parlor.
�Hey, Love,� Kevin said as Venus sat beside him.
�Ya know Sunn did the strangest thing today when she was visiting Jo and the twins.�
�How is Sunshine? I haven�t gotten the chance to go see her.�
�She said she�s fine, but I doubt that.�
�Why?�
�She�s still stressed and the whole baby issue isn�t helping her get better any faster. Nick said she had heart failure, very mild though, and that�s part of the reason she collapsed.�
�Like a small heart attack.�
�More or less. All the stress she has in her life was just too much for her heart. Dr. Martin said she was lucky someone found her when they did.�
�Who found her?�
�DJ. Apparently he wanted to play with his Aunt Sunnie and went into the bedroom to get her. He went back out to the kitchen and laid on the floor and said that�s what Sunn was doing. Nickolas had DJ show him and there was lying on the floor.�
�DJ�s a little hero then.� Venus nodded. �Good for him.�
�Yeah.�
�So what was this strange thing Sunshine did today?�
�Well, Howie was holding Tyler and he handed him to Sunn to hold and she said no. She would not touch Tyler. She was only in the room for, like, two minutes and wanted to leave right away.�
�That is strange�even for Sunn.�
�Very.�
�Well this whole issue�s got to be hard on her. Seeing babies won�t make it any easier on her.�
�That�s what I was thinking.�
�We just have to be there and try to understand what�s going on and what she�s going through. That�s the most we can do even though we wish we could do more. If I could do more for Nickolas and Sunshine I definitely would.�
�Yeah. I thank God he ain�t making us go through this, but I�m sorry for Sunn and Nick though. They�ve been through so much the past six years and just keep going through more.�
�We just have to pray for them. God does answer prayers. We might not believe it, but he does.�
�I know, because he answered my prayer.� She smiled.
�Which one?�
�You.� They kissed.
�Well I�m glad he did.�
�So am I.�
�He�s answering another one.�
�Yes he is. I can�t wait.�
�Neither can I. I didn�t think I�d be 36 when I had my first child, but I�m just glad I am.� She smiled. �Little Kevin Scott.�
�Misha Danielle.�
�Whichever.� He kissed her. �Boy or girl will be fine with me.�
�Same here.� She sighed then yawned. �I�m going to go up to bed.�
�Ok. I�ll be up in a little while.�
�Alright.� They kissed. �Good night.�
�Goodnight.� Venus got up and went upstairs.
CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 13
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