Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.

Beta'd by HollettLA.

ATTENTION STORM FREAKS: This is NOT the end!

Keep this on alert.

A Skip outtake will be coming soon - in a couple of weeks. Please be patient. I haven't started writing it yet, but it IS coming next. Promise! Since all these chapters were ready to go, I didn't see a reason to hold them back - trickle them out slowly. But it WILL be a few weeks before I update with the Skip/Bella POVs. Again, please be patient, and keep this story on alert. Love you guys!

Enjoy!

Thank you for reading, coming back to the Storm series :-)

"Back in the Saddle"

Chapter Eight

Sonny/Santino

As if we'd done it every day prior, we parked the car and trailed into the emergency room. They were quick to see Maggie and check out the goods. My wife was officially in active labor.

All the more nervous now, although Maggie was filled with glee, we were escorted up to the maternity floor.

The necessary paperwork had already been filled out.

A young-looking doctor—Dr. Riley, who's not Maggie's physician—gave her another exam while a nurse hooked her up to the fetal monitor.

And then we waited for an anesthesiologist.

My wife's not stupid. She got one when we had Sonny. She gave birth to Eddie naturally and then said, "Never again," and an epidural became an absolute must.

I hugged my wife, helping her arch her back, as the doc inserted the needle. "You okay?"

"Little pinch," the anesthesiologist said.

"It's not that little." Maggie stiffened.

"Shhh." I placed my lips in her hair, knowing it'd be over in a second, and I was correct.

When Maggie lifted her head to smile at me, I knew her lower half was now numb.

Finally alone, I got in bed with her to cuddle, and she turned the TV on.

Then we waited . . .

I expected Maggie to ask about gossip, to spill whatever info I had, but she didn't.

About an hour later, my mother came knocking. Apparently, our whole family was in the waiting area. Maggie asked Mom if she could call her parents.

"I just said that so she'd leave," Maggie whispered.

I grinned, holding her tightly.

"I don't mind Bella, but they're all gonna trail in—one by one. Watch." She nodded. "I'm a museum exhibit."

"You are not." I chuckled, trying to keep her calm. That Vinny shit really got her upset, which in turn upset me. It wasn't cool. The presence of my cousin's wife incited such a fury that Maggie went into labor? I've never seen my wife get that angry before. Never. And now she's in a mood.

"If Vinny comes in here…Lord, help me." She groaned to the ceiling.

"She's not," I said, leaving the bed. "You want ice chips?"

Maggie nodded.

Overall, she was being too quiet for my liking.

"Hey." I lifted her chin to kiss those lips. "Stop thinkin' about that ho. She's no one. All right? This is our day. You and me."

"Our day," she repeated, agreeing with me.

"I love you…and you're the baddest bitch in the world. My bitch." I grinned. "No one can compare, or even come close."

Maggie giggled, and her face lit up, which had me feeling better.

"My big, bad momma…"

"Yeah," she sighed.

"Good." My lips lingered on hers, and then I left the room.

Under the guise of getting my wife ice chips, I truly checked out the waiting room to see who was here.

"Ohh!" Too many shouted for me to name.

I smiled, waving at everyone.

And I was fast to approach my parents.

And my kids were faster to approach me.

As I got down to my knees to be attentive, I stared up to Mom and Dad. "Immediate family only." I knew Maggie didn't mind visitors, only wary of one in particular.

My parents agreed, and I escorted my children to the room to see their mother. They needed to know she was fine—see her with their own eyes.

"Ten minutes…and don't leave this room." I let them loose before I went to get the ice chips.

I grabbed a pitcher full of ice, a few cups, and I stuffed two of those small cans of ginger ale into my pockets.

"Can you feel this?" Littlest Ed squeezed Maggie's toe.

"No," my wife giggled.

"This…?" Ed pinched another toe.

"You told them about your magical shot?" I asked.

Maggie nodded, her face lighting up again. "Magic." She kissed Beth's hair.

I chuckled, having a seat on the windowsill as I emptied my pockets.

Our children were very well behaved. Well, they were until the boys started throwing ice at each other. They stopped right away, but then the doctor came in to examine Maggie again.

I didn't want to leave, but I had to bring the kids to the waiting room, to my parents.

Then I rushed back to stand at Maggie's side.

She couldn't feel anything, silently gazing up to me.

I held her hand, staring down to the doctor. He was feeling around, his brows knitted together. "What's up, doc?" I asked.

Maggie chuckled.

"I'm going to break your water now." He produced this long, wand-like thing. "It'll help you progress a lot faster."

"Is that a crochet hook?" Maggie asked, eyes panicked.

"Yo…" I hope he didn't think he was sticking that somewhere.

"You won't feel a thing," the doctor said.

Maggie settled back down.

I had mixed feelings and went to stand behind him.

"Santino!" Maggie snapped her fingers at me.

I ignored her.

"Get ova hea!" she barked at me through clenched teeth.

"All done," the doctor announced.

Within the split second I'd taken to look at my wife, he'd done it.

"Where's Dr. DeSoto?" Again, this dude wasn't Maggie's doctor.

"She's away this weekend, but Margaret's name was on the roster of expecting moms." He took off his gloves to toss them into the trash.

"What?" This was the first time I was hearing about some vacation. "Did you know?" I stared at Maggie.

"She said someone from the practice would always be available."

"Right." I glanced back to the doc. "Where are we?"

"Only five centimeters, but your contractions are three minutes apart now," he explained.

Maggie shrugged, looking to me, obviously not in any pain.

The doctor studied the fetal monitor. "I'm going to keep a close eye on you. His heart rate is fine, but you're not dilating fast enough, and we don't want the baby to be in any real, alarming distress."

"What?" I asked.

"He's in the perfect position. He's ready to come out, but you're not ready to push," he spoke to Maggie. "You're overdue and your contractions are coming too fast now—"

"Jordan," Maggie said. "Please, get Jordan in here. I want her."

I was stuck for a second, as I didn't want to leave. The doctor's words didn't make sense. They sounded simple enough, but I didn't know what he was getting at.

Were we worrying about something or not?

I started at a run, but paused before entering the waiting area—not wanting to alarm anyone.

"Yo…" I called Jordan over with my hand.

"What's going on?" Mom asked, but she didn't let me finish.

Like some two-hundred pound football player, she psyched me out—had me thinking she'd go left but went right.

And I couldn't catch her before she ran down the hall.

"What's goin' on?" Dad shook me by my biceps.

"Relax." I bit out while I peeped Jordan follow after my mother. "I'll let you know when I do—I'll keep youse updated." My steps were slow again, but once I knew no one could see, I ran back.

With our permission and our insistence, the doctor broke shit down for Jordan, so Jordan could dumb it down for us. That's what I don't understand about doctors. They went to medical school. Their patients obviously haven't, but they throw around these five dollar words—still sounding cryptic and vague. And to cover their own asses, they can't give you a definite answer any-fucking-way.

The kids' pediatrician is wonderful, ain't like that. He speaks in layman's terms and goofs around with the children. Dame and Jordan are the same way. Sometimes, I guess doctors have huge egos, feel they have to sound smart to gain respect; meanwhile, they'd probably gain their patient's trust if they were more relatable?

Jordan didn't let the doctor speak, turning to face us. "When Dr. Riley broke your water, there was meconium—poop in it, the baby's poop. The heart rate is good—steady but on the high side. Both signs—combined with your fast contractions, and since you're not dilating fast enough—indicate that your little guy might not be happy."

"But what's that mean?" I never claimed to be a genius. I wanted them to spit it out, and I wasn't happy with that explanation either.

"Is the baby in distress or not?" Mom shouted. "It's a yes or a no."

Dr. Riley gave her a short nod. "It's nothing to panic over. I'm monitoring them closely—"

"Get him out," Maggie cried. "Do whatever. Just get him out!"

"Shhh." Jordan soothed her, murmuring encouraging words.

I agreed with my wife. "If she's in danger—even slight." My body stiffened, fear nearly crippling me. "This is my wife…" I pointed to Maggie. "If anything—" Mom grabbed my hand, and I shut up for a second, just a second. "Do something now to fix this. We're not waiting until whatever-the-fuck. Do something before something happens." I bent low to kiss Maggie's cheek. "You're gonna be okay. I promise."

"You have to relax," Jordan said. "He's not happy, but he's not in alarming distress. Okay? They have to monitor closely—make sure it doesn't get any worse." But my sister-in-law didn't look happy as she stared at the doctor. "I'll apologize from now, for crossing a line." She folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not your superior. I don't work here, and I tried to respect and support your course of treatment. But I disagree with you. I'm not the slightest bit cavalier when it comes to patient care. There haven't been any changes within the last fifteen minutes. If this was my patient, she'd be prepped and draped for a Caesarean already."

Dr. Riley looked back and forth—from Jordan and to us. "Is that what you want, Mrs. Cullen? The recovery period is much longer, and having your child vaginally is significantly better."

"It's easier for you—lazy." Jordan scoffed.

Dr. Riley ignored her, staring to Maggie. "I was thinking we'd medicate you to slow your contractions down—"

"That's a maybe." Jordan shrugged. "That might work. If it doesn't, you'll have wasted valuable time while placing Maggie and the baby in potential danger." She walked closer to Dr. Riley. "You'll be in danger, too. This isn't a family you wanna fuck with, so I suggest you take my advice...before there are any serious problems—dire complications that'll include you as well." She sounded like Damion—calm, slightly menacing, and yet deadly. "Understand?"

Taken aback and despite all she'd said about possible risks, I smiled for a brief second—proud of her. I was able to breathe a little easier, knowing Jordan had our backs in this.

"I understand." Dr. Riley nodded. "And I respect everything you just said, but she's not your—"

"She's my sister, which makes her more important than one of my patients. What year are you?" Jordan asked while Maggie reached to squeeze her hand. "I'm going to take a wild guess—you're a resident."

"Third," Dr. Riley said.

"Who's the senior physician on-call? Or, on the floor?" Jordan fired off more questions.

Dr. Riley seemed a lot more nervous now, and the way I felt…he had every right to be. Who the fuck was this kid? And if he's some dumb fuck, I didn't want him to be Maggie's doctor. If there was someone more experienced around, I wanted that doctor. "Go get someone who knows what-the-fuck they're doin'!" I shouted.

He ran out of the room, and I went to follow.

"Sonny, don't!" Mom hopped onto my back. "Not here."

Tense, too fucking tense now and scared, I turned back to Maggie. My wife had her eyes closed, doing some breathing exercise she'd learned from Dame. I know so because that's how she calms herself down as of late. "You're okay." I palmed her cheek, looking up to Jordan. "She needs a C-section?"

She was studying the fetal monitor. "Lemme see something first…Bella, watch the door." Jordan grabbed some exam gloves while Mom kept guard at the door. "Tell me when someone's coming." She went on to explain how she had no privileges at this hospital as she started poking around down there. "You're still only at five…I, personally, I don't take those chances. That doesn't mean anything…but it could go either way, and there's nothing wrong with having a Caesarean. It's actually safer, more controlled than a vaginal delivery. At this rate, your body's simply not progressing fast enough for the little guy, and he wants out. If you wait too long, the chances of the baby panicking, because he can't get out, are significantly higher. Then, he'll be in distress, and you'd need a crash C-section—it'll be emergent and high-risk."

"I want him out now." Maggie sniffled, holding back a sob. "I don't wanna leave anything up for chance. I know enough about the procedure," she cried, turning to me.

"I'll make sure," I promised, kissing her hand.

About a minute later, a middle-aged male entered the room. He introduced himself as Dr. Paulson. He gave Maggie another quick exam, and he agreed with Jordan. He'd agreed with everything she'd said without having heard her words.

We actually calmed down a bit.

Knowing a C-section isn't necessarily something to be scared of, we were soothed by our new physician's confidence. He was taking action right away, and everything moved so fast after that.

A pair of scrubs were thrust into my arms while they started wheeling Maggie's bed away.

"Whoa!" I tried to stop them.

A nurse stepped in front of me. "We'll get her settled. You change into these, and I'll come right back for you."

Between a rock and a hard place, I sprinted out of the room to kiss my wife. "I'll be right in."

Maggie, calm and yet a little nervous, grinned at me. "It's going to be fine."

"I know." I gave her another kiss.

After changing into the blue scrubs, I had no idea what to do with my shit—my nine, my money, my clothes. I wrapped my heat in my jeans, leaving everything else in my pockets.

"Sonny?" Dad knocked.

"Thank God." I tore the door open. "Hold this."

Dad took my clothes, tucking them under his arm. "How you holdin' up?"

I honestly didn't know what to say, afraid to speak at length—too fucking anxious and not wanting to cry.

"She'll be all right. No need to be nervous or scared. I promise. Mom had three C-sections. Youse all came outta the surgery fine, even if she had complications." He massaged my shoulder. "Sonny, do you trust me?"

"Yeah." I rasped, quick to clear my throat.

"Good. I'm glad. You should trust me. With this and the thing. I'd never steer you wrong." Dad hugged me tight and kissed my cheek. "I love you, kid."

"Love you, too." My hands were shaky, still so scared and concerned for Maggie. But, in this moment, I realized that I do trust him. The other day, talking about how I can't trust anyone—business-wise—was crap. My father's word is his word, and I had a shit-load of faith in the man. Love and admiration, too.

"Right, good shit. Now go." He pointed, all edgy as well, judging by his jittery demeanor, but he's always like this when someone has a baby. It's kind of cute, and seeing him worried helped my nausea ebb, for some odd reason.

This shit really wasn't about me. Now, I had to step up to the plate. Be the—cool, calm, and collected—dad, Maggie's husband, her rock to see her through this.

And we've done this three other times, although previous births weren't as exciting or complex...

I could do this.

Maggie could do this, and everyone was going to be fine, healthy, and happy.

Again, the doctors were fast, too fucking fast for me. By the time I'd entered the small operating suite, they'd started the procedure already.

"You okay?" I hugged Maggie's head, resting my forehead to her temple.

She let out a large breath. "Yeah…what do you see?"

Looking up, all I saw was blue, and I didn't want to see beyond that. Trust that I don't have a weak stomach, but seeing Maggie's blood, my wife's insides would make me panic—I knew that. "Nothin'." I placed more kisses on her cheek.

"He's out!" Dr. Paulson announced. "Oh, he's a big one!"

Maggie's eyes widened. "Why isn't he crying?"

I swore my heart stopped, as I strained to listen.

"Santino…he should be crying," she sobbed. "I can't hear him."

The doctors weren't saying jack shit. Only half a minute had gone by, but it felt like an eternity—waiting to hear our son cry, waiting to hear anything while I swore my heart stopped since I wasn't breathing.

"Hey…" I snapped myself out of that shit and shot up, trying not to look beyond the drape, but to see my son.

Another doctor was giving him an exam, rubbing down his back with a blanket.

But then our son wailed, which filled me with immense relief.

I nearly collapsed back down.

"He's fine," Dr. Paulson said. "Sometimes it takes a minute. He didn't expect us to go in there and get him—help him escape his womb." He chuckled.

"He's okay," I told Maggie, and I'd leaned away as a nurse brought him over.

"Oh…" Maggie was crying and laughing.

I was doing the same, staring at my son. He had a head full of dark hair, and he was decent-sized. He'd also quieted down fairly quickly again. All of our other kids screamed their asses off once out. This quiet little dude just surprised us. "He's beautiful." I kissed Maggie's lips.

She was still beaming, touching his tiny hand with her finger. "He looks like a Mikey."

"Michael…" I could dig it, agreed with my wife. "Michael Damion."

"Perfect," Maggie cried.

"We're gonna take him to the nursery now." The nurse pulled him back, turning to place him in the bassinet.

"Go with him," Maggie told me.

"What?" I asked. "He's fine. You're not done yet." As much as I loved the new addition to our family, as quickly as I'd fallen in love with him—Maggie still needed to be stitched up, and I wasn't leaving.

My wife told me to go three more times, and I refused.

"I'm not leaving you." I hugged her again, placing my lips in her hair.

I just couldn't fucking do it.

I couldn't walk out of that room without Maggie.

"He's big, right?" she asked, having calmed some.

I nodded, counting my blessings. "Yeah…" The tears continued to fall down my cheeks—a mixture of happiness and relief. "At least you didn't have to push."

"My bikini wearing days are over."

"'Cause I let you wear bikinis," I laughed through my nose.

"I was kidding…if I work hard enough, I might pull off a two-piece." Maggie rolled her eyes.

"You rock whatever the fuck you wear, baby." I nipped her lips. "I'm serious. You're sexy…my sexy momma."

She grinned. "Yeah, okay," she sighed. "I want an IUD after this," she whispered. "It's removable…I'll be twenty-six in a couple of months. Maybe in a few years we'll want another? But…"

"Whatever you wanna do." I smiled, fine with that. "We have four beautiful kids, baby. They're enough." Three was enough. Two was enough, but if we'd stopped at two, or one, or even three—we wouldn't have had Littlest Eddie, Angelface, or our new addition, Mikey.

She chuckled, nodding to agree with me.

Twenty minutes later, I was actually kicked out of the room. There were too many people in there. Maggie was all stitched up, and the procedure was over. They needed to move her back onto her bed, and I stood in the hall to wait for her.

From this end, I couldn't see the waiting area or anyone in particular.

But I was able to peek into the nursery.

I saw my parents and our children all the way on the other side—through the other glass window.

I doubt they noticed me, but they waved, smiled, and crooned down to Mikey.

Maggie needed to chill out in the recovery area. She was still awake and she wasn't in pain. But they gave her something anyway, because her epidural was due to start wearing off soon. Whatever it was made her smiley and her nose itch. I had to keep reaching over to rub it, which I did with a smile.

They urged Maggie to rest, but she refused.

She wanted our kids—for them to at least see her, see she was all right.

No one fought against her wishes.

They hadn't brought Mikey back just yet, but I was able to go grab the kids.

Before I let them in the room, I crouched low to get their attention. "Did you see the baby?"

"He's big!" Little Sonny widened his arms.

"He's my new baby brother," Beth said.

"What's his name?" Littlest Eddie asked.

"Mikey." I smiled. "Short for Michael."

"Mikey!" Beth shouted. "Where is he?" She looked around me. "Is he with Mommy now?"

"He's still in the nursery. The nurses are gonna watch him for a little while so Mommy can rest. Mommy's fine…but she's tired." I nodded. "I need you guys to take it easy. Don't jump on her, or on the bed. Youse can hug her, but be gentle."

All three agreed with me, and then I granted them entrance. They were fine. They didn't hug Maggie too hard or pounce on her.

Little Sonny kept his distance, though.

"Hey…" I touched his cheek.

"She looks sick," he whispered, holding back tears.

Maggie was almost lying flat, but she wore a smile. To me, she just looked exhausted, like she was fighting sleep—still so beautiful but maybe paler than usual. "She's just tired," I said. "I promise…She's okay."

He nodded, furrowing his brow, staring at his mother.

"She's fine. Just tired...Go say hello." I poked his side.

"Come here, you!" Maggie wiggled her fingers for him, while the other two were real close—leaning their heads on the bed.

When Little Sonny joined the group, I grabbed my phone to take a picture of them.

"We didn't say cheese," Beth reminded me, wearing a frown.

"Sorry." I chuckled. "Okay. Say cheese."

"CHEESE!" They all shouted, even Maggie, while I snapped a few more pictures.

We let the kids visit for another ten minutes before I brought them back out to my parents. Mom didn't wait for instruction. She just walked to the back again.

"You can't tell her nothin'," Dad said. "She don't listen."

I looked around for the Sullivans. "They're not here? Robert and Kathy didn't come through?" That was unlike them. Even though we don't see them quite as often as my parents, they never miss a birth. They always come to the hospital.

Dad shrugged. "Your mother tried to call them. I bet they saw it was her and wouldn't pick up." He snickered. "My vulgar wife."

"Right." I shook my head, my eyes landing on my brother.

Damion threw himself at me, hugging me tightly.

I laughed, patting his back. "We named him Michael Damion."

He nodded. "Awesome name."

"Thank God for Jordan…" I looked around for her.

"She snuck in with Kylie—right after Mom." He pointed.

I widened my arms. "Maggie's supposed to be resting."

"He's gorgeous." Dad palmed my cheek. "He looks like you did."

"I think he looks more like Littlest Ed…" I admitted.

"Me?" My son pointed to himself.

"Yes." I squeezed his shoulder.

"It's a newborn," my brother laughed. "They all look like…well, newborns."

"I saw a resemblance." I nodded.

"Saw a resemblance." Damion patted my back. "That's four out of five. Good for you." It was a Katie joke.

"You're such a dick," I laughed, truly not caring.

"You don't care."

"I really don't." I continued to smile, as I hadn't given that bitch any thought in over eight years.

"Oh, shit." Dad chuckled. "Four out of five." He finally got it, glancing over his shoulder at Aro, but his hands were full. He had my sons under each arm. "We should take these guys home." He held their jaws in his palms. "It's getting late."

I nodded, looking over to where Beth and Izzy were playing with their dolls.

"She's fine." Dame nudged me.

At the same time, Little Peto came running toward our group. He didn't stop. He just threw his fist out to punch Dame in the junk. My brother bent over, holding his crotch. "He got me...What the fuck?" He rasped.

We were all laughing our asses off.

Big Peto, Gio, didn't think it was funny. "You don't hit." He bent low to talk to his son. "Especially not below the belt." His eyes widened, but he was teaching his son a valuable lesson. It's important because, if that's a new habit, I didn't want to be next...I bet Gio was thinking the same.

My sons were laughing so hard, they were almost drooling on themselves. Dad, too.

Little Peto frowned. "But Nonno told me to."

Gio slumped his shoulders.

We all looked to Aro, who was holding Lala, and he waved to us.

Dame shook it off, but he'd be getting Aro back in the near future. He's an evil genius when it comes to pranks, punking people. In fact, I couldn't wait. It was bound to be hilarious—whatever he decides to do.

"I'm sorry, Unka Maymen," Little Peto said. "No tell my momma."

"Don't sweat it, squirt." He winked, holding his cheek. "Gimme a hug." Dame bent low to give him a squeeze.

I sighed, turning back to my father and the boys. "You guys be good."

"Send my wife out," Dad said, pointing to the hall.

After another lengthy goodbye, reassuring each of my children that everything was fine—and I think that was more for me, my benefit—I raced back to Maggie's room.

Mom had the baby in her arms, which was no surprise, while Kylie and Jordan hovered.

My wife was still in bed, looking tired but beautiful.

"Hey." As carefully as I could, I scooted into the bed with her.

"I'm starting to feel things now, like, my toes...and pain." Yet, she was fucking beaming.

Knowing she needed her rest, I looked to the other women in the room. "Ma, Dad wants to get going."

"He can wait." She held Mikey close.

"It's my turn!" Kylie scolded through a whisper.

"Fine." Our mother wasn't happy while she handed him over. Her heart looked as though it was breaking when she walked over to us.

"We're taking him home...keeping him. He ours, Ma, which means he's yours, too." I smiled.

"My sweet boy." She kissed my forehead before diving for Maggie's. "I'll call your parents again, or knock on their door when we get home."

"Bella…" Maggie used the controls on the bed to sit herself up a bit, slightly wincing. "Instead of church tomorrow, just bring the kids here. We'll chill out or something." She even sounded tired.

"Don't worry about that now, baby." I touched her chin, softly kissing her lips. "They'll be fine doin' whatever. You need your rest."

"Ugh." Mom held her chest. "You guys kill me…I love youse." She wiped her eyes and then left the room.

"What'd I say?" I asked, wondering what Mom's tears were about.

Kylie giggled, coming closer with Mikey. "I bet Na-Na breaks that no fucking while the babies are around rule…She's emotional, happy, she sees you guys still so in love…" Her face fell, tears flooding her eyes now. "I get it." Her words came out warbled; she'd started to cry. "It's precious."

I laughed at her. "Are you pregnant?" It's par for the course. When one female has a baby, another is due to have one, too.

Kylie's eyes widened. "Fuck, no! You crazy?" She winced, rocking the baby a bit more when he stirred. "After what I just went through with Lala...Are you insane?" she whispered. "It'll be a while before we have another. Probably when Lala starts school. I don't know." She rambled away.

"It's just a very happy time." Jordan massaged Kylie's shoulders to soothe her and shut her up. "That's all. Having a new baby touches everyone."

"Thank you," I told her. "Thanks for lookin' out, taking the initiative…"

"Don't thank me for that shit." Jordan chuckled. "I was just doing my job. When Maggie's up and chasing all the kids again, you guys can take the girls for a weekend. Damion and I need a vacation. We can use an actual get-away."

"Definitely," I promised.

Jordan gave Maggie and me smooches on our cheeks and then left the room.

Kylie was the last one standing. "Oh, did you wanna hold him?" she asked me.

I shrugged. "It'd be nice…He's my son and all."

"Ass." She leaned forward to place Mikey in my arms. "I'll be back sometime soon." She waved, blowing us a kiss and backing out of the room.

When it was finally just Maggie and me, I leaned back, placing Mikey between us.

"He's beautiful," she whispered.

I nodded. "He gets that from you…"

"Stop." Her tears were instant, and I didn't know I'd said something bad.

"Hey…" I placed my lips in her hair.

"Happy tears," she clarified between quiet sobs.

"All right." I could live with that, knowing she'll be an emotional yo-yo in the immediate future. "I love you."

"I love you…my Santino." Her eyes were glassy, but I could see the love shining brightly.

It choked me up again, and I nodded. "I know that…Thank you…for all that you've given me." My life would be nothing without her in it. I'd have nothing, if it weren't for her and our children.

"And all that you've given me…we…I mean, our love made them," she cried, whimpering and squeaking, "our babies."

I jutted my lower lip out, as I leaned even closer, Mikey still sleeping between us.

"Cherish this." Her words sounded so final. "We won't be having another one…for a long, long while, and by that time...maybe none at all, depending on how old we feel." She shrugged. "Four is enough."

I actually smiled.

Because she was full of shit.

Maybe two or three years will roll by…and then she'll get that baby itch again.

It's Maggie, not necessarily me.

Regardless, I know we'll be back in the saddle soon enough, on our way to the rodeo...again.

Thank you for reading.

Please leave me your thoughts.

Keep this on alert.

A Skip outtake will be coming soon - in a couple of weeks.

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