Page 29 of But I'm Still Standing

“Aw, you didn’t have to do that! Thank you!” I look over to Joe who gives his best smile and nods. I know how hard this is for him, seeing everyone together, while the woman he loved betrayed him in the worst way, but he looks genuinely happy today. I will make that bitch pay. She wanted to be a pet; she will be a fucking pet.

“Cami! Hello! Where is everyone! Momma Rosie is here!” I hear Rosie before I see her and can’t help the tears that well up when I do. I get up from my barstool and waddle as fast as I can into her open arms. I have missed her so much. She is literally the only mother figure I have ever had that didn’t turn out to be a complete psycho. She hugs me tight, and cries with me. We both sob for a few minutes before she pulls away cupping my face.

“Savvy, sweet girl, they didn’t break you! You beat them all at their own game. You will always have scars that no one else will see, but you overcame the darkness. Your light is still as bright and beautiful as it has always been.” She kisses my cheek as I reluctantly release her from our hug so we can head back over to our family, who watches us adoringly.

“Hey momma, I hope you’re hungry,” Cami smiles, giving her mom a hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Starving! Smells good! The Doula will be here in a bit. Let’s eat and then we can get Savvy checked out. I bet Christian is ready to hear his son’s heartbeat again.” Rosie gives Sin a hug, patting him on the back.

“You know it momma Rose,” Sin hugs her back, and I can see that she has worked her magic on him as well. He is such a teddy bear with the ones he loves.

“The Saints are also sending over their preferred OBGYN Dr. Cowan, just to make sure you and the baby are okay after what you were put through. We can’t put them off any longer.” Jasper chimes in, pulling Abby in close as he steals a French fry from the tray she is putting together.

“Oh, the gay guy! He is the one I told you about that was supposed to see you at the house. Mark gave me his number in case anything happened while they were gone.” MJ looks up from her iPad for the first time since I’ve been in the kitchen, then slumps back in her chair like she said something wrong.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sure a lot of the Saints had no idea what Fiona was doing under their noses.” I try to calm the looks of horror on thefaces of the ones I love including MJ. Poor thing has been so self-conscious of everything she says in front of everyone. She doesn’t let them see the bubbly girl I know behind closed doors. She thinks because they are all Saints that she is still under a microscope before her wedding. She is slowly coming around.

“MJ, you didn’t say anything wrong. Hey, Mia, would you call our dress friend, Shelby, in the Quarter and see if she would bring some bridal gowns here for MJ to try on tomorrow? I think we need to focus on giving MJ the wedding of her dreams!” I try to make sure MJ knows she is safe as she looks up with big eyes.

“Spare no expense for our niece, Mia’s in charge, MJ, you just tell her everything you are wanting, and until we get Max, we will have everything brought in. You deserve this, have some fun for once and quit worrying so much kiddo.” Sin gives MJ a side hug and kiss on the top of her head before moving to me. He looks at me intently. I nod, knowing exactly what he wants. He puts a hand on my belly while I just sit back and smile, in awe of the man I love most in the world, my Sin.

MJ starts to sob, “How am I supposed to plan a wedding or know what I want when I’ve never even been to a wedding. I have never chosen anything for myself. I’ve always had Fiona telling me what I want.”

“Well, that’s what we are all here for. We will help you with whatever you need. We want to, actually, wedding planning is my thing.” Mia smiles, putting a hand on MJ’s shoulder.

“Mia planned all of our weddings; she is pretty phenomenal.” Abby boasts with a twinkle in her eye, no doubt remembering her perfect day.

“You guys really are just this nice all the time. I’ve never been around women who aren’t trying to stab you in the back constantly. Anytime I acted out, they would take me to the stockyards for a day to help train the pets, to show me what would happen if I allowed myself to be tarnished in my Saints eyes. Until Savvy came, I didn’t know what family really was. Thank you, for making me come here,even though I fought you on it.” MJ looks around the room at everyone with a small smile.

I hop off my barstool and hug my sweet niece, knowing how hard this is for her, “I’m proud of you. You know this is your family, always.”

“Yeah, good luck trying to get rid of any of us now.” Cami puts a cup of coffee in front of MJ, “Try it, everyone else is biased and I need real criticism.” She smiles at MJ hoping to draw her in with her cup of magic as she does everyone. MJ picks it up and takes a sip, then another with her eyes going wide, “This is amazing, what is it?” Cinnamon praline with a dash of nutmeg. I think it will be a hit for the holidays, even if it is just here.

SIN

I was able to talk to the girls into helping set everything up in our room with snacks and a pillow bed on the couch, while we are with the doctor, doula, and Rosie. I want to surprise Savvy tonight and let her relax a bit. Charlie is running out to Tableau for her favorite gumbo and dessert. I can’t wait to spend tonight loving my angel, sex, or no sex, I’m just excited to be able to have her next to me again, hopefully without her flinching every time I touch her. She has been amazing today, almost like her old self, making jokes, staying close to me all day, and kissing me at random moments. I can’t imagine what she has had to wrestle with in her head to make it back to this point with me, but I’m grateful.

Savvy asked that we have the appointment in my office, she feels like it’s the perfect room to give birth in with all the windows and Old Ben always playing his saxophone from across the street. She loves sitting in here reading as he plays while I am working in the office.

“Ready to hear his heartbeat?” Doula June asks as she gets her little doppler out, putting lubricating jelly on it before placing it on Savvy’s belly. We both nod in excitement. The next sounds make my heart swell as well as my eyes. The swooshing mixed with anextremely fast paced beat lets me know he is okay. Savvy is smiling at me as tears run down her face holding my hand to her chest with hers on top, letting me feel her heart. In her own way, letting me know that she is okay too. I lean down and kiss her forehead. She doesn’t still or jerk away from me, but instead, pulls me closer.

“one hundred and thirty-two beats per minute! He is definitely going to be a very strong and heathy boy!” Dr. Cowan interrupts our little moment sounding all too happy as he opens what looks like a chart and makes a note.

“The ultrasound machine will be here shortly, I thought you might want to see what he looks like with a 4D ultrasound. I never got the chance to do that before. Thankfully the bitch did take good notes so we have a full chart now if you both would like to look through it. I know you missed out on most of this pregnancy Sin, I’ll leave it here for you both to look through. No need for it to leave the house if Savvy is planning on a home birth.” He looks me in the eyes with a nod to let me know this is a kindness he is offering.

“Thank you! MJ let me know how wonderful you were, sorry I never got the chance to thank you before now.” Savvy blurts out, maybe to keep me from telling him to fuck off. He is a Saint, and he knew where she was.

“I would like to give you a full checkup, considering you were showing signs of pre-eclampsia. Fucking asshole Max wouldn’t let me see you, saying you were back to normal. I knew better. Had I known you were not his covenant, I would have helped you, I just wanted you to know that. How is your swelling?” He gets right to business, showing me that he really cared for Savvy, and not only did he have no clue who she really was, but also had no control. I gently remove myself from Savvy’s grasp and round the bed towards him and extend my hand. He looks mortified for a moment, but finally shakes my hand when he realizes I’m not going to hit him.

“Thank you for taking care of my wife when I couldn’t.”

Chapter 18

Savvy

30 weeks

Ilay here on my mountain of pillows covered up by my favorite blankets looking at a picture of my perfect little boy, as I have for the last four days. Once everyone agreed that I have a very specific birth plan and I agreed to have all the proper equipment just in case something goes wrong. Dr. Cowan agreed to allow me to stay home, as long as I go on bedrest. and take medication to help with my blood pressure. Apparently, my swelling is back, and my blood pressure is up again. At least he caught it early this time. I will stay down until he is born. I won’t jeopardize my baby to get my revenge. Then again, maybe I don’t have to be the one doing the damage, I could just watch…

---