“I’ll take a plate and a coke, thanks,” the large bastard sitting on the other end of the couch said, sounding bored as he gestured for Darrin to get on with it.

“Then I suggest you get up and get it,” he said, gesturing towards the kitchen.

“I would, but I’m too busy sitting here, holding my wife’s hand, giving her the love and support that she desperately needs as she does her best to provide your unborn children with a warm, nurturing environment in which to grow,” Trevor said with a long suffering sigh as he placed his hand over the soft swell of Zoe’s stomach.

“I see,” he murmured, chuckling even as he headed for the kitchen to get his pain in the ass cousin a huge plate of macaroni and cheese.

Trevor had more than earned it, he decided as he opened the oven and grabbed one of the pans of macaroni and cheese that his mother had dropped off an hour ago on her way to the airport when she’d stopped by to check on Marybeth. Thinking about Danny stuck down in Florida in that hospital turned his stomach the way it did anytime he thought about his brother. He should be down there helping his brother and watching over Jodi, but he couldn’t leave his wife. She was still having a hell of a time after her surgery and probably would continue doing so for a few more months.

Her surgery had been brutal. There had been a lot more damage from the tissue than they’d expected. They’d only been able to discover the extent of the damage once they’d removed her uterus and then…

Then the real work had started. The tissue had grown past her lungs, over her spine and had been heading north. Thank fucking God they’d moved her surgery up, because he didn’t even want to think about what could have happened if they had put it off any longer. They’d removed as much tissue as they could, but it had taken two additional surgeries to do it.

She’d been scared out of her mind while he’d been fucking terrified. The only thing that had kept them sane was Zoe and Trevor and the promise that they had made them to try to carry a child for them. The fact that three embryos had taken was more than they could have ever asked for.

“Can I get a plate of that?” Marybeth asked, smiling as she slowly walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

“You should be resting,” he reminded her, leaning down to steal a kiss.

“And you should be getting my food,” Trevor pointed out as he walked into the room and headed for the fridge where they kept a case of ginger ale for Zoe.

“Is her stomach upset?” Marybeth asked, looking concerned as she stepped out of his arms and grabbed a cup of ice for Trevor.

Trevor chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. She’s got this.”

“I don’t think we’ll ever be able to thank you enough for doing this for us,” Marybeth said, still managing to look as shocked today as she was when he’d told her about the gift that Trevor and Zoe had offered them.

“No worries,” Trevor said, taking the cup from her with a wink, “it’s what Bradfords do for each other.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking close to crying, again, as she reached up and wrapped her arms around Trevor. “Thank you so much,” she said, sniffling as Trevor carefully returned the hug all while he glared at him and mouthed, “I still hate you.”

Grinning, Darrin mouthed back, “I know.”

With a kiss on the top of her head, Trevor stepped back, grabbed the plate of macaroni and cheese out of his hands and headed for the living room. As soon as they were alone, Darrin took his wife back and in his arms and closed his eyes, intent on savoring the feel of the woman in his arms.

“I love you,” she said as she held him tightly.

“Not as much as I love you,” he promised her as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Nodding with a sigh, she stepped away and headed for the fridge. “That’s probably true.”

Chuckling, he stepped up behind her and carefully wrapped his arms back around her. “It really is a shame,” he said, kissing her throat.

“What is?” she asked warily, going still in his arms.

“I feel a double dare coming on,” he admitted with a smile and a chuckle as his words sank in and his wife tried to make her escape, but unfortunately for her, she didn’t move fast enough.

A Little Something Special as a Thank You…

“Take the painkillers, Jodi! For the love of God, take the painkillers!” Danny begged, biting back a scream even as she released a bloodcurdling scream that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

“Take the pills!” Darrin begged from the other side of the table where he was taking his turn holding Jodi’s other hand. “Oh God, take the pills!”

“I can’t!” Jodi growled, tightening her grip around their hands just as another contraction tore through her, earning twin shouts of pain and pleas for mercy.

“Jodi,” Aidan quietly said, drawing Jodi’s rage towards him while Danny sagged in his chair, not sure if he’d be able to survive another contraction without drugs, “you’re only at two centimeters, sweetheart. I think it might be time to start rethinking your choice for a natural childbirth.”

“No!” she bit out through clenched teeth, sounding somewhat demonic and scaring the ever-living hell out of all three of them. “I will remember having these babies!”

“Baby,” he said slowly, hoping not to startle his wife into turning her homicidal rages on him, “I understand that you don’t want to go into one of your ‘states,’ but I don’t think that you want to be in this much pain for the next few hours either. Do you?”