Last chapter of this 'memorable' story. Hope you enjoyed it. Best wishes to everyone for the holiday season!

Chapter 19

The last week in May rolled around and the weather was gorgeous. After the mild winter, spring had been early and there were already flowers blooming in the garden behind the house on Meadowbrook Street. Neal loved his garden and he took particular care to stage it in order to have something blooming all the way through - from May to late September. As it was a beautiful spring morning, he had brought out his easel and was working outside enjoying the crisp morning as he sipped his coffee and studied the photograph from which he was working. It was picture of Hope that Sara had taken at her birthday party; actually, it was a photograph of both he and Hope as they rolled around in the colored balls at the indoor playground they had visited and Neal was really struggling with getting his own features just right. He had never painted himself before and he took this as an opportunity to continue to evolve as an artist and develop new skills.

Sara was due any day now and she was feeling rather miserable. She wasn't sleeping well and she was having trouble getting up and down the stairs and just generally moving around. She was home now during the day and Hope was still in school for a few weeks until summer break, giving Sara time to rest and prepare for the baby's arrival. Neal's studio, which had been located in the third bedroom upstairs, had been moved to the finished basement making room for the baby and after a lengthy discussion with Hope, she had elected to remain in the smaller room she was occupying preferring to leave the larger one for her baby brother. Peter and Neal had recently moved all the baby furniture that had been stored in the basement up to the second floor and Neal had even painted a more modest version of his mural on one of the walls, creating a new keepsake for the family.

Two weeks before, Neal had returned to his job at Finch and Johns. Although he had been off since the accident, they had kept the position open for him and he had finally returned to the job he'd only had for a day before his terrible mishap. They had been very welcoming and Neal was enjoying the challenge of authenticating art and the pure pleasure of holding valued pieces in his hands without having to steal them to enjoy them.

Neal's memories had continued to return, slowly but regularly, sometimes little details, other times major recollections. Neal had stopped stressing about it which made the whole experience a lot more bearable. He had decided to accept the fact that he might not remember every single detail of every single memory and as time went on, he was thankful that, for each new day, he was creating new memories with Hope and Sara. Soon, he would be able to add the arrival of his little boy to his collection and he was eagerly looking forward to the blessed event.

He could hear Sara moving around in the house and he popped his head through the open patio door off the family room to see what she was up to.

'Neal!' she yelled, not realizing he had his head in the door

'Yes' he responded, quietly

'Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you were right there. I can't reach that damn cup in the back' she said, struggling and impatient, as her huge belly got in the way of reaching into the back of the cupboard

Neal stepped into the kitchen, coming up behind her and snaking his arms around her stomach as he kissed her neck.

'Neal, stop it, I'm serious' she said unable to stifle a laugh as his kiss tickled her skin 'Didn't you get enough this morning?'

'I never get enough of you' he said, throatily as he ran his hands up and down her belly 'and besides I was just doing my part to induce labor, there was no pleasure involved whatsoever' he added as he lingered on her neck.

Sara turned to face him. 'How do you always manage to make me smile even when I'm miserable?' she asked, kissing him

Hope walked into the kitchen and looked at her parents, mid-kiss. 'Why don't you two get a room?' she said, in a 'know it all' tone. She seemed to have gone from five years old to teenager overnight.

'Okay, that's it, you're not spending any more time with Uncle Mozzie' said Neal as he turned to look at his daughter. 'Now, go get ready. I'm taking you over to your Uncle Peter's in five minutes'

Peter and Elizabeth had been having Hope over for Saturday sleepovers since she was a baby. It had begun as a chance for Sara and Neal to have some alone time but over the years, it had evolved into more of an opportunity for her godfather to spoil Hope by taking her out somewhere special just the two of them followed by her Aunt Elizabeth preparing one of Hope's favorite meals (usually mac and cheese) and letting her stay up late to watch a movie complete with popcorn and candy.

Hope reappeared a few minutes later, lugging her backpack and tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for Neal to finish getting ready.

'So, what are you and Uncle Peter doing today?' asked Sara as she sat sipping her coffee

'We're going to the library and then he's taking me out for lunch' said Hope, reverting back to her five-year-old self

'Wow – lunch, just the two of you. Nice' said Sara as she put her arms out to hug Hope goodbye

Hope strolled over slowly, dragging her feet and rolling her eyes – it wasn't so cool to hug your mom when you were five

'Mommy, your stomach is even bigger that it was yesterday' she said as she tried to get her arms all the way around her mom's neck

'I know, it's hard to believe, isn't it?' said Sara, reluctantly agreeing

'Well, don't have my brother while I'm gone' said Hope, frowning

'No guarantees, sweetie. The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned. Are you excited about seeing your baby brother?' asked Sara as she held Hope close

'Yeah, but I still think we should call him Donatello' said Hope, giving it one more shot. He was her favorite Ninja Turtle because she loved anything purple

'Or maybe, Raphael' said Neal who had snuck into the kitchen undetected

Sara gave her husband a major eye roll as she gave Hope a kiss on the forehead sending her off.

Contractions began shortly thereafter. They were far apart and as second time parents, Neal and Sara were a little more relaxed than the first time. They spent the rest of the afternoon on the deck with Neal painting and Sara admiring both his work and her husband's silhouette as he painted. Neal always wore a sleeveless t-shirt when he worked and Sara loved admiring his arms and shoulders, the way he held himself as he concentrated and moved around his piece of art.

Sara had brought along a notepad and began jotting down the duration and frequency of her contractions and Neal would stop each time and sit with her, holding her hand or rubbing her belly. By early evening, nothing much had changed and the couple sat curled up on the couch watching a movie and talking once again about baby names.

'I think we should just wait until we see his little face' Sara was saying. 'With Hope, we knew the minute we saw her'

'Yeah, but we already had the name Hope on a short list by then' argued Neal. 'C'mon, so far we've got Aidan, Liam, Colton and Jacob'

'Take Colton off' said Sara 'Colton Caffrey – really?'

Neal suddenly turned serious. 'Can you believe it – this is really our miracle baby! The odds were stacked against us and somehow, here we are. Whatever his name is, he's going to be an amazing little guy' he said touching Sara's face

Sara nodded. 'Hey, did you ask Mozzie, yet?' she asked

'No, I don't want to freak him out. I knew June would be thrilled, but I'm just not sure how Mozzie will react' said Neal

'Well, you're running out of time, Caffrey. The baby could be here by morning at this rate' said Sara, struggling to get more comfortable

'I never thought you'd be the one to suggest asking Moz to be godfather to our son' said Neal, smiling at his wife 'You two sure have come a long way'

'Mozzie and I have an understanding...' said Sara, letting her voice trail

By bedtime, there was still no significant progress so they headed upstairs, wondering if they would be waking in their bed when the sun came up. They needn't have wondered.

'What – the – heck?!' Neal was saying as he turned in the bed feeling wetness on the sheets

'Oops' said Sara 'My water just broke'

'You okay?' asked Neal as he realized what had happened. He had been at work when Sara's water broke for Hope's birth so this was a first for him.

'I'll call Dr. Cooper's service. Can you get changed okay by yourself?' Neal asked as he helped Sara off the bed

'Yeah' said Sara, taking a deep breath. She knew what was ahead over the next few hours and she wasn't looking forward to labor. If her first delivery was any indication, she was about to turn into a screaming, insensitive banshee and she sighed thinking about what her husband was going to have to endure before their son arrived.

They had to drive all the way to Lenox Hill in Manhattan since that was where Dr. Cooper had hospital privileges and they arrived shortly after midnight, Sara in the middle of a major contraction as Neal stepped up to the admissions desk. This time, they weren't as lucky and neither of the birthing rooms was available so Sara had to settle for a regular hospital room. By the time Dr. Cooper made an appearance, Sara was already dilated by 5 centimeters which was welcome news for the young couple.

'So, how are you two, or should I say you three?' asked Dr. Cooper, patting Sara on the arm and smiling at Neal

'Ready to give this a whirl' said Sara, breathing heavily

'Well, you're already half way there. How's the pain?' she asked

'Not nearly as bad as last time' answered Sara

'Well it does help when you begin to dilate so quickly. Anyway, I'll be back in another hour. Don't be a hero, Sara; if it becomes unbearable, take the epidural'

'I learned my lesson last time' she answered to Neal's relief

He sat with her on the bed and talked her through her contractions, giving her small sips of juice and keeping her spirits up. They began to reminisce about Hope's birth and the many hours of labor Sara had had to endure.

'Neal, I think you should go get the doctor, I feel like I need to push' said Sara suddenly, following a particularly intense contraction

'Whoa, whoa, wait Sara, I'll be right back' said Neal, alarmed. Dr. Cooper returned within minutes and sure enough, Sara was fully dilated and less than two hours after arriving at the hospital and with Neal holding her hand, she delivered their baby boy at 2:18 on a Sunday morning in May.

The phone rang at the Burke house at 8:00 a.m. and Hope, who liked answering the phone, was the first to pick up.

'Burke residence' she said, exactly how she'd been taught

'Well good morning, I'm looking for Miss Hope Caffrey' said Neal, playing along

'This is Hope Caffrey' she said

'I'm calling to tell you that you are officially a big sister!' he announced, his voice booming

Hope shrieked and dropped the phone running into the kitchen where Elizabeth and Peter sat having their morning coffee.

'My baby brother is here! My baby brother is here!' she exclaimed as she ran around the kitchen, followed by Satchmo, wagging his tail

The extended family congregated in room 204 of Lenox Hill Hospital on Sunday afternoon to meet the new arrival and congratulate his parents. He was a beautiful baby, smaller than his sister had been with very light, reddish hair and blue eyes. He gazed up at his mom, as she breastfed him while his dad stood by, regaling everyone with the tale of his birth, how quick and painless it had been and how he was already the perfect baby, having slept four hours in a row following his morning feeding.

Liam Theodore Caffrey was passed around to his Grandma June, his Aunt Elizabeth, his Uncle Peter and his godfather, Uncle Mozzie, who had reacted most favorably and unexpectedly to the parents' special request.

Hope sat in a chair with a pillow under her arm, cradling her baby brother and whispering softly 'I love you, Donatello'

This was a day, Neal thought, that he would never forget.

La fin