Right Next Door

Chapter 6

 


It had been two weeks since the night Justin had gone out with Emmett, and in that time he hadn’t laid eyes on Brian. Okay, so he had laid eyes on him, but when he did, Justin managed to conveniently duck out of sight so he didn’t run into the man. Maybe he was being a coward, but he didn’t want to have to explain his behavior. He still wasn’t sure why he’d kissed his neighbor when all Brian was trying to do was help him home. It had been an impulse that came out of nowhere and one Justin didn’t want to think about. Besides, he had too many other things on his mind lately. Namely Molly. She’d been having false labor pains for the last week, making Justin very nervous about leaving her alone. Emmett had called after their night out and apologized over and over again about leaving him alone at Babylon. Once Justin assured him that he’d done nothing wrong, Emmett started pushing for another night out. Justin hadn’t given in, but Molly and their mother had been siding with Emmett, trying to get Justin to go out again. He was beginning to wonder how long he’d be able to hold them all off. He found out on Friday that his time had run out.

He’d been in his studio, working on plans for one of his regular clients from Chicago. Foster Manning had been a good customer of Justin’s for the last five years, ever since they met at a party thrown by one of the firms Justin was doing freelance work for. Foster was a self-made millionaire who bought run down properties, gutted them, and then built them up to be lavish homes, selling them off for a very nice profit. He and Justin got to talking at the party and Foster had asked Justin to take a look at his most recent purchase and give his opinion on what he thought should be done. Although Justin was used to working with a blank slate, he enjoyed using the shell of a house and adding what he felt was needed to make the living space grand. After that first initial job, Foster started contacting Justin more and more, turning their working relationship into more of a friendship. Justin had offered to give his advice freely, but Foster, being a sound businessman, insisted on paying Justin for his services. They’d been working together ever since. The week before, Justin had gotten video footage of Foster’s most recent acquisition, and had been spending a lot of time working on his plans.

He was engrossed in his work when he heard a faint knock and saw Molly walk through the door. He could tell by the look on her face that she was up to something.

“What is it?” he asked immediately, not in the mood for another one of his sister’s guessing games.

“Um…it’s getting late. You should probably go jump in the shower,” she replied.

“Really? Why, do I smell that bad?” He said, noticing her hesitation.

“No, because Emmett’s going to be here in a little while and you need to be ready when he gets here,” she said softly.

“Mol, what did you do?”

“Justin, don’t be mad at me. I’ve been begging you to go out and get a life for months now and I thought you were going to go along with it when you went out a couple of weeks ago, but you’ve just gone right back to your hermit status and I refused to let you stop living because of me,” she said quickly. “And before you ask, I talked to Mom yesterday and she’s going to be here in a little while, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Justin sighed in frustration. “Mol, how many times do I have to tell you that I’m not giving up anything? I’ll have plenty of time to get a life later. Right now, I just want to be here for you and the kids.”

“I know, and I love you for that, but it’s not necessary. I’m a grown woman and I can take care of myself. Financially things have been a little rough lately, and I’ll admit that I needed your help putting a roof over our heads, but I don’t need round the clock care. Go out, have fun, meet lots of hot guys. If you won’t do it for you, do it for me.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll go,” Justin agreed. “Are you sure Mom’s coming?”

“Yes I’m sure. Now go get ready.”

Justin cleaned up his drafting table before heading upstairs to take a shower. By the time he was dressed and ready to go, Emmett was downstairs, talking with Molly.

“Hey Em,” Justin said as he greeted his friend.

“Hey Sweetie, are you ready to have some fun? Babylon awaits,” Emmett said as he jumped up and greeted Justin with a kiss.

“Babylon? Maybe we should go somewhere else,” Justin replied skeptically. He didn’t want to risk running into Brian after managing to avoid him for two weeks.

Emmett sensed his reluctance and knew who was behind it. “Don’t worry. I talked to Brian earlier and he told me he was going to be working at home tonight. His jeep’s right next door.”

Justin smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Okay, then let’s go.” He turned to his sister. “Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”

“I’ll be fine. Now go out and have some fun,” Molly assured him.

“You heard her Justin, let’s go have some fun,” Emmett said as he led Justin out of the house.

Molly watched them go with a smile on her face, happy that her brother was finally starting to get a life of his own. Unfortunately, buy eleven o’clock she was beginning to regret her decision to push Justin into going out. When she originally planned the evening, she had called her mother, and Jennifer had agreed to come over and stay with her to help ease Justin’s mind. She’d been telling the truth on that. What she failed to mention to Justin was that Jennifer had called that morning and explained that Craig was being called away on business to Las Vegas, and that he wanted the two of them to go so they could spend a few extra days enjoying the city. Molly had made a snap decision to keep that information from Justin and proceed with her plan. Although she’d been experiencing false labor pains, a trip to the doctor the day before told her that everything was fine and that the pains she was experiencing were quite normal. She had no doubt that she would be fine home alone for a few hours.

Now she was beginning to have her doubts. The pains kicked in shortly after Justin left and at first she just assumed that it was another false alarm, but as they began coming in shorter intervals with increasing intensity, she was starting to think that there was nothing false about them. She tried calling Justin on his cell phone, but she didn’t get an answer. She didn’t bother leaving a message. She didn’t want to worry him. She’d just have to try calling back again. As she paced the floor, so many possibilities ran through her mind, making her wish Steven was still there with her. She reached for the phone again, considering calling for an ambulance, but she didn’t want to worry the children unnecessarily. As soon as she dropped the phone back in the cradle, her body was wracked with yet another contraction. This one far worse than all the rest.

“Shit,” she exclaimed as she clutched her belly and headed for the nearest chair.

“Mommy, are you okay?”

Molly looked over and saw her son standing at the foot of the stairs looking sleepy.

“Jared honey, what are you doing up? You should be in bed.”

“I woke up and I was thirsty. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Sweetheart,” Molly replied as the pain began receding. “Why don’t you come in the kitchen with me and I’ll get you a glass of water.”

Jared took her hand and went into the kitchen, watching his mother closely. He could tell that something was wrong and suddenly wished that his uncle was there. He’d heard him go out earlier. When his mother handed him a glass of water, Jared took his time drinking it. He didn’t want to be sent back to bed until he was sure that his mother was okay.

“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Molly finally said as she recognized her son’s stall tactic. “Put your glass in the sink and…” another pain hit her, literally taking her breath away. This wasn’t good.

“Mommy, what’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Molly breathed through the pain, fear gripping at her heart. “I’m okay. I just have a bit of a tummy ache. Go on back to bed. I’m just going to go lay down for awhile and wait for Uncle Justin to get home. Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Jared wanted to argue, but he knew it was no use. Everyone around him still thought of him as a baby and never listened to anything he had to say. He started back to the stairs slowly as he watched his mother go into the den to lie down, but as soon as she was out of sight, he went to the phone and tried calling his uncle. He’d memorized the phone number by heart and knew that Uncle Justin would know what to do. When he didn’t get an answer, Jared started to get really worried. He needed to do something to help his mother. He immediately thought of Brian. He was a grown up. Maybe he could help. He darted up the stairs and raced into the bedroom, calling out for Hailey as quietly as he could.

“Jared?” Hailey asked sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

“Hail, there’s something wrong with Mommy and I can’t get a hold of Uncle Justin. You have to go downstairs and keep an eye on her but don’t let her know you’re there or she’ll just send you back to bed,” Jared explained as he slipped on his shoes.

“What’s wrong with Mommy? And why are you putting your shoes on?” Hailey asked in confusion.

“I don’t know what’s wrong, but I’m gonna go get Brian. He’ll know what to do.”

“But you can’t go out! It’s dark outside,” Hailey exclaimed.

“Shhh…keep your voice down. I don’t have a choice. Uncle Justin isn’t answering his phone and there’s something wrong with Mommy!”

“But…”

“Hail, please just go down and watch Mommy. I’ll be right back.”

Jared didn’t wait for a reply. He went back downstairs as quietly as he could; pausing to make sure that his mother wasn’t around. As soon as he knew the coast was clear, he unlocked the front door and opened it gently, slipping out unnoticed. As soon as he hit the bottom step of the deck, he ran across the yard and right up to Brian’s door, ringing the bell over and over again. Brian’s jeep was in the driveway. He just hoped the older man was home.

Brian was sitting at his computer typing away when someone started ringing his doorbell. He growled in frustration, wondering what crazed lunatic was pounding on the bell. He stormed to the door and pulled it open, ready to tell off whoever was on the other side when he came face to face with the boy from next door.

“Jared, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Brian, there’s something wrong with Mommy and I can’t get a hold of Uncle Justin. You’ve got to help her,” Jared said as he reached out and grabbed Brian’s hand, pulling him outside.

“Hang on a second. What are you talking about? What’s wrong with your mom?”

“I don’t know. She said that she didn’t feel good, but I can tell that there’s something wrong. She told me to go back to bed, but I’m really scared. I think she’s in a lot of pain. Please Brian, please help my Mommy,” Jared pleaded.

Brian could see the fear in Jared’s eyes and knew something was wrong. “Hang on a second and let me get my shoes.”

“Okay, but hurry.”

Brian did.

Molly was lying down on the couch when another pain hit, worse than all the rest, and only five minutes after the last one. It was time to admit that there was a possibility that the pains were the real thing. She waited for it to pass and then got up to try calling Justin again when her water broke, confirming her worst fear. She was in labor and by the look of things, she was pretty far along. “Damn!”

“Mommy?” Hailey said softly from the doorway.

“Honey, why are you out of bed? You’re supposed to be…”

“Mommy, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Honey. I just think the baby’s coming. I need you to go upstairs and get your brother.”

“He’s…um…but…” Hailey stammered. She didn’t want to get Jared in trouble by telling on him. Luckily she heard the front door open and knew he was back.

Molly heard the front door open to and breathed a sigh of relief. “Justin?”

“No Mommy, Brian’s here,” Jared called out as he dragged Brian into the den.

“Brian, what’re you doing here?” Molly asked.

“Jared came and got me. He told me that something wrong and by the looks of things, I think he’s right,” Brian replied as he took in the scene before him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Molly’s water had broken.

“Jared! You went outside at this time of night? You know you’re not allowed…” Molly’s rant was cut short by another forceful pain.

“Okay, that’s enough for now. You can punish him later. Right now I think we better take care of that baby,” Brian said, hoping he sounded a lot more confident then he felt. “I take it you haven’t been able to reach Justin.”

“No, and I…” Another pain hit, causing Molly’s legs to buckle. Brian caught her right before she hit the floor.

“Kids, we need to get your mom to the hospital right away,” Brian said as calmly as he could. The fear in both Jared and Hailey’s eyes matched his own. He was way out of his league.

“Brian,” Molly panted. “I don’t…think we have…enough time for that. The baby…is coming…now.”

Brian wanted to argue with her, but another pain wracked her body, leaving her a moaning, groaning mess. He knew he should’ve gone out earlier. He could’ve been sitting in Babylon drinking a Beam instead of holding up a woman in labor, wondering how he got into this current mess to begin with.

“Okay, change of plans,” Brian said as he scooped Molly up into his arms. “I’m going to take your Mom upstairs to her room. Jared, I need you to call 911 and tell them what’s happening. Ask them to send an ambulance right away. Hailey, you go sit by the front window and watch for them to show up. When they get here, bring them upstairs. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” the twins responded in unison.

“God Brian…please…hurry,” Molly groaned. The contractions were right on top of each other.

Brian moved as quickly as he could, finding strength from somewhere within and took the steps two at a time. “Which room is your, Blue Eyes?”

“The…one…at the…end of…the…hall,” she panted.

Brian burst threw the door and placed Molly as carefully as he could on the bed. “Now listen, the only experience I have in this type of thing is watching my neighbor’s dog give birth when I was twelve, so I’m gonna need some assistance here, okay?”

“I’m scared, Brian,” Molly whispered.

“You’re not the only one, but we can do this, alright? You just hang in there.”

“I’m so…sorry…about this. I never…”

“Shhh, don’t worry about that now. It’s not like I was busy tonight anyway,” Brian teased, hoping to alleviate some of Molly’s fears. “Now I’m guessing that we should…um…get your…uh…pants off. It looks like we’re about to become very well acquainted with each other.”

Molly was once again caught up in her pain so Brian took a deep breath to steady his nerves and disrobed Molly from the waist down. Now wasn’t the time to worry about modesty. “Molly, I’m going to run to the bathroom and wash my hand and grab a couple of towels. I’ll be right back.”

Moving on autopilot, Brian scrubbed his hands as best as he could and grabbed a couple of towels off the towel rack, pushing aside the fear that was trying to strangle him. He needed to focus on Molly.

“Brian! I think the baby’s coming!” Molly called out.

“Fuck!” Brian cursed and then went back to Molly’s side. “Okay, this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to take a look down there and see what’s going on. Just keep breathing and everything will be okay.”

Brian positioned Molly’s legs apart and looked between them in horror. Despite his lack of knowledge, it was easy to see the baby’s head ready to break through. “Where the hell is that ambulance?”

“I…don’t…think…I can…wait. I…have…to…push.”

“Are you sure?”

“Brian!”

“Okay…take it easy. Let me just get ready.”

Brian climbed up on the bed and knelt between Molly’s legs. He draped a towel on the bed underneath Molly, and then draped another one on his lap. Another glance told him that he had about two minutes to mentally prepare himself for what was about to happen.

“Okay Blue Eyes, I guess I’m ready when you are. You do what you’ve got to do and I’ll handle things at this end.”

Molly barely heard Brian’s words as another pain struck and her body began pushing involuntarily. She tried to stifle her screams, not wanting to upset the children, but the pain was unbearable and she was scared to death. She was actually going to give birth in her bedroom and her baby was going to be delivered by a man she’d only known a short time.

Brian could see the baby slowly coming into view and reached out, gently grabbing its head and shoulders to guide it. He’d heard stories about how childbirth took hours, but everything was happening so quickly. It was only a matter of moments before he found his hands filled with a wrinkled mess. Seconds later the baby let out a soft wail, announcing its presence.

“Brian?” Molly moaned.

“It’s a girl,” Brian whispered, completely in awe of the squirming bundle in his arms. Before he had a chance to say anything further, the door flew open and two paramedics barged in, bags in hand.

“I guess we’re a little late,” the one man said as he took in the sight before him.

“Actually, you’re right on time,” Brian replied as he handed the baby to the second man, who was gloved up and ready to take charge. He took a third towel from the stack he’d grabbed and wiped off his hand as he went around the paramedics and squatted down alongside of Molly.

“You did it, Blue Eyes,” he said softly.

“We did it,” Molly replied with tears in her eyes. “Brian, thank you so much. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been here.”

“It was nothing. Piece of cake,” Brian teased.

“Ma’am,” the paramedic said, interrupting the moment. “Obviously the baby needs to be checked thoroughly, but so far everything looks good. We need to get you to the hospital now. Your husband can get your other children and follow us in his car.”

“I’m just the neighbor,” Brian pointed out.

The reminder of the twins brought Molly back to reality. “Brian, Jared and Hailey…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll stay here with them until Justin gets home. You go with that beautiful baby of yours and get checked out, alright?”

Molly grabbed Brian’s hand and held it to her chest. “Thank you.”

“Hey, that’s what neighbors are for,” Brian smiled.

Twenty minutes later, after a tearful goodbye between Molly and the twins, Brian was alone in the house with Jared and Hailey, the excitement just a memory.

“Brian, are Mommy and the baby really okay?” Jared asked, his eyes showing his fear.

“Yeah, they’re going to be just fine,” Brian assured him.

“I was really scared,” Hailey said. “I’m glad you were here.”

“I’m glad too, short stuff,” Brian said as he ruffled Hailey’s curly blond locks. “Why don’t you two go on up to bed? I’m sure you’re tired.”

“Can we stay here with you for a little while longer, Brian? Please?” Hailey pleaded.

Brian couldn’t resist her teary blue eyes. “Okay, let’s see if we can find something on TV.”

Brian ended up putting on a DVD from the kids’ vast collection and sat down on the couch with a child on either side of him. They snuggled up close, needing the reassurance that only an adult could give them, and Brian found himself almost enjoying the contact. Within minutes, both kids were sound asleep, their heads resting on his shoulders. He thought about waking them up, but he really didn’t want to disturb them. They’d had a very traumatic night and it was obvious that they were exhausted. Instead of moving them, Brian sank down further on the couch and stretched his legs out on the coffee table in front of him, making himself comfortable. He quickly fell asleep.

*****

Justin waved to Emmett and watched his car drive away before turning to head into the house. He’d had an enjoyable night, making sure to limit his drinking so he wouldn’t have to suffer afterwards the way he did the last time he drank. He glanced over at Brian’s house and momentarily wondered what the man was doing home on a Friday night, but then shook off those thoughts and went inside. He could hear the faint sound of the TV coming from the den and figured his mother or Molly was still up. He was shocked when he walked in the room and found Brian sound asleep on his couch, with his niece and nephew asleep on either side of him. He took a moment to study the vision before him before reality set in. What the hell was Brian doing there?

Careful, so he didn’t wake the children, Justin walked over and tapped Brian’s leg and waited while the other man came to.

“You’re home,” Brian mumbled softly as he slipped his arms out from behind the kids and gently laid them down so that he could get up.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Molly?” Justin demanded quietly.

Brian put a finger to his lips to silence Justin and then walked out of the room, confident that Justin was right behind him. He turned once they were in the kitchen and looked Justin in the eye.

“You weren’t answering your phone,” Brian said, his voice holding a touch of accusation.

“I didn’t hear it ring,” Justin replied as he reached into his pocket. Sure enough the screen read that he’d missed five calls. “What happened? Is Molly alright?” Panic began to set in.

“Yes, she and your niece were doing fine the last time I saw them,” Brian replied.

“My niece? You mean? And where’s my mother? How come she’s not here with the kids?”

“Molly decided to have the baby tonight. Here, as a matter of fact. And I have no idea where your mother is. Jared came over and got me when Molly’s labor hit. When I got here, it was just her and the kids,” Brian explained.

“Wait a minute. What do you mean here?” Justin was completely confused and running out of patience. “I was only out for a few hours.”

“Well, apparently it was long enough to miss all of the excitement. By the time I got here, Molly’s water had broken. Everything happened rather quickly after that and your new niece decided she didn’t want to wait for help to arrive before meeting her mommy.”

“What? How…but…”

“You’re very articulate tonight. Look, Jared came to my door and told me that there was something wrong with Molly. I came right over and found her in pretty bad shape. I brought her upstairs, leaving the kids down here to call 911 and wait for the paramedics. They got here right after the baby was born. They looked them both over, claimed that everything seemed fine and then loaded them up and took them to the hospital. I promised to stay here and wait for you to get home. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve had a very long night. I’d like to go home, take a shower, and go to bed.”

“But, if the paramedics got here after the baby was born, then who…” Justin’s voice trailed off as his brain tried to wrap itself around what he had learned.

“Who do you think?” Brian replied dryly.

“You delivered Molly’s baby?” Justin asked incredulously.

“Yep. Not my idea of a perfect Friday night, but it sure kept me from being bored. I’m sure Molly will tell you all about it in the morning. Later.”

Brian walked towards the door but stopped at when he heard Justin call his name. He turned around and watched the blond approaching him.

“I’m not sure exactly what went on here tonight, but whatever happened, thank you. I’ll never forgive myself for not being here for Molly, but at least she had you,” Justin said, his voice choked with emotion.

“Don’t beat yourself up too much. Circumstances might have kept you from being here tonight, but you’re a good brother to Molly and she loves you. Trust me, that’s not always the case with siblings.” Brian turned back around and opened the door, making it half way through before looking back at Justin. “And in the future, you might want to put your phone on vibrate when you’re out in a noisy crowd. Later.”

Justin couldn’t respond as he watched Brian disappear into the darkness.


End of part 6
09/29/06

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