Page 22 of Theirs to Have

“Sorry,” Callan whispered.

Cash handed the swaddled infant to Mercy, and she held the baby to her chest. The sight just about took his breath away. He didn’t think that he could be any more in love with Mercy but up until this moment, he was wrong. He loved her so much more, especially now that she had given him the most perfect gift in the world.

“What are we going to call her, little one?” Cash kissed Mercy’s forehead and he sat on the bed next to her. Callan took his spot on her other side and gently rubbed the baby’s little foot that stuck out from the makeshift blanket.

“Well,” Mercy bit her lip, thinking about a name for their daughter. They hadn’t had much time to talk about things like names or what the baby would call him and Cash. Having two dads might confuse their daughter and having names picked out might help cut down on any confusion.

“I was thinking of Katherine after my mother.” Mercy seemed so unsure as she looked between the two of them. “If you two are okay with that name?” Mary cleared her throat and the three of them looked over to where she stood in the doorway.

“Joe says that the ambulance will be here in just two minutes. And, if you’re looking for an old woman’s opinion, I think that Katherine is a beautiful name. Although I may be a little biased.” Mary winked at Mercy and walked back out of the room, giving them a few private moments before the ambulance showed up.

“I for one, love the name Katherine,” Cash said quietly. “How about you Cal?”

Callan nodded his agreement, “I love it but it’s such a big name for a tiny girl. Can we maybe call her Katie, for short?” Mercy gifted him with her smile, and he couldn’t help but gently kiss her lips.

“I love that, it was my mother’s nickname too.” Mercy looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms and kissed her forehead. “Katie,” she whispered.

Cash

Cash felt as though they were all caught up in a whirlwind. The paramedics showed up minutes after they decided on the baby’s name. Mercy also got to name Callan and he and she went traditional. Cash was going to be called Dad and Callan, Daddy. They all knew that once she was old enough to talk, Katie would probably change their names, but they were going to just roll with the punches. This was all so new for him being in love with Mercy and in a polyamorous relationship with her and Callan. Now, there was a baby thrown into the mix and he wasn’t sure that his heart could handle any more. He felt like he was about to burst from just how much he loved the three of them, Mercy, Callan, and now little Katie. They had become his whole world.

The paramedics insisted on taking Mercy and Katie to the hospital, even though Mercy dug her heels in and tried to persuade them otherwise. They told her that it would be best for the baby, and she reluctantly agreed. Cash knew that Mercy worried about facing her old co-workers, but he and Callan would help run interference. His top priority was to make sure that Mercy and their daughter were both healthy.

Mary and Joe promised to head over to the hospital to check on Mercy and Katie later that evening. Emily checked in on Mercy when she first arrived at the hospital. The hospital raised a fuss when they found Emily checking over her friend and the baby since she didn’t have privileges at their facility anymore. There was even talk about having her physically removed from the building until Jackson showed up in his uniform and threatened to personally rip apart whoever laid one finger on his woman. Emily told Mercy that she’d be back the next morning to check in on her strictly as a friend, adding a saucy wink to her statement. Cash loved the way Emily protected her friend, and he was so grateful that she was there to make sure that Mercy and Katie were both all right.

Callan was sitting in the corner of the little hospital room that they put Mercy and Katie in after the doctor told them all to get comfortable. He wanted to keep them overnight, just to keep an eye on their vitals. He was thankful that Mercy seemed to follow all the lingo that the doctors and nurses used because he had no idea what an APGAR test was or why his daughter needed to have her heel pricked twice before they were allowed to take her back home.

Cash sat down next to Callan and kissed Katie’s little head. “You look worried, man,” Callan whispered, looking over to where Mercy finally slept in her hospital bed.

Cash shook his head, “Not worried. I was just thinking about how I can’t wait to get Mercy and this little girl home so we can take care of them.” Callan nodded his agreement.

“I get it Cash—I feel the same way. They are both my everything. You all are. I never thought that this could work out but here we are. The four of us together feels more like a family than any I ever had.” Cash thought about how true Callan’s words were. He felt the same way about their family as Callan.

“When you showed up at my apartment that first night to tell me that you wanted to go after Mercy and make her ours, I thought you were crazy. I didn’t know how this would work between the three of us, but it does. I don’t think that I’ve ever properly thanked you for kicking my ass into gear. I wouldn’t be here holding our baby if you hadn’t. Thanks, man.” Cash pulled Callan in for a quick hug, careful not to smush Katie. The newborn squirmed in Callan’s arms, and he handed her over to Cash.

He looked down at their daughter still not able to believe that she was there. Katie came barreling into their world squalling and causing quite an uproar and she was perfect. “You never have to thank me, Callan. We’re all in this together. It just took a little more persuasion to get you on board, but I wouldn’t change a thing either. I can’t explain why we all work together but we do.” Katie started to squirm, and Cash had a moment of panic, but Callan seemed to know exactly what to do. He leaned in to quietly hum to their daughter and she seemed to settle down again.

“See, we work together. Between the two of us, we have our shit together and we’ll be able to take care of both of our girls,” Cash said. Callan nodded, not missing a beat to his soothing lullaby.

“Yeah, but we need to stop cussing around our little princess here.” Callan chuckled. Cash thought back over what he just said, realizing that he was going to have to stay on his toes if he wanted to clean up his act. It was going to take a lot of work, but his family was worth it—they all were.

Mercy

Mercy woke to the sound of someone humming what sounded like a lullaby and she smiled to herself. After causing quite a scene at check-in, the nurse on duty decided to let both her guys stay with her. It didn’t hurt that she was a friend of Mercy’s and felt bad about the way she was let go. She even joked about finding two men for herself and the guys let their guards down a little. They watched over her and little Katie like two centuries standing guard. Cash didn’t like that they were going to keep her overnight, but Katie had jaundice, and they wanted to keep her for twenty-four hours. Mercy was fine with that but a part of her hoped that she wouldn’t run into any of her old co-workers that spoke out against her. She was hoping for an uneventful visit—in and out of the hospital, quickly.

She stretched and noted all the aches and pains that would fade in a few days. She was so thankful that Katie was healthy, especially with her fast entrance into the world. As a maternity nurse, Mercy knew of all the complications and problems that could have happened with an early delivery. She opened her eyes to find her two guys huddled in the corner, Cash holding Katie and Callan humming a beautiful melody to her. It wasthe sexiest, sweetest thing she had ever seen. They were both completely in love with their baby. She knew that her daughter would never want anything, and she’d have her two big daddies watching and protecting her at every turn. The thought made her smile, and she was pretty sure that she had never been so happy in her whole life. But that’s what the guys did for her, made her happy. She wasn’t sure how she had gotten so lucky, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Cash saw that Mercy was awake and watching the three of them. He stood and crossed to her bed, handing the baby over to her. “Our princess is getting hungry. I think she’s going to want her mama soon.” She took Katie from Cash and kissed her little face, watching as the newborn squirmed and routed for her dinner. She started nursing Katie and Cash and Callan sat next to her on her hospital bed.

“You two look like hell,” Mercy said. Callan barked out his laugh.

“Thanks, baby. We’ve had a long day and we’re a little tired,” he said around a yawn. Mercy looked them both over and she was mad at herself for not seeing how exhausted they both were. They needed to keep their strength up as much as she did. Mercy thought of the three of them as a team and her teammates were tired and needed to be benched.

“You two need to go home and get some sleep.” Cash started to protest, and she held up her hand, effectively stopping them. “Don’t start with me, Cash. For once, would you just listen to me and do as I ask? I need my rest and Emily said that she was going to come in to check us both out after she finished cleaning up at our place.” Callan shot Cash a look and she didn’t miss the fact that her guys had developed a secret language that they shared. It was almost like they could just look at each other and know exactly what to do or say. Honestly, it was nice to see but it pissed her off not being in on their secret lingo.

“At least let one of us stay with you, little one,” Cash asked. Mercy knew that if one of them stayed she wouldn’t get much rest.

“No, you two go home and make sure that everything is set up for Katie and me. You can come back bright and early in the morning and spring me from this joint.” It was a good plan. Her family needed to stick together and stay strong. Mercy knew that for that to happen, she was going to have to put her foot down and force both of her guys to get some sleep.

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