Chapters 7 through 9

"Raychel, come here. I want to show you this one." Alexis called to one of her best friends, Raychel.

They were in a department store, shopping for maternity clothes for Alexis.

Alexis was now 5 1/2 months pregnant. It was September. What about this outfit?" Debbie called. Debbie was Alexis's other best friend. Also with them was Laura, Alexis's other best friend. She had lived in England, near Alexis, and moved to Tulsa a few months after Alexis did.

Alexis looked over at the outfit Debbie was holding. "Hey, that's pretty darn cool."

Soon Alexis went in the dressing room to try the outfits on. She showed them to her friends, and kept the ones they all thought looked best. Then they were off to the baby stores. They wanted to pick up a few things for the baby, which, they had already found out, was going to be a......

"Oh, look at that blanket." Alexis said, pointing to a soft yellow and pink blanket lying in the window of one of the nicest, and most expensive, baby store in Tulsa.

They four walked in and when they came out, they were loaded down with bags.

"Guys, we should head back to my house. I'm getting pretty tired." Alexis said.

"Of course." Laura said, relieving her of some of the bags she was carrying, "All this shopping has worn you out."

They walked to Debbie's car, piled the bags in the trunk, and got in. Debbie was driving, Alexis was in the passenger seat, and Laura and Raychel sat in the back.

They soon arrived at Alexis's house. She went in, with her friends following her. She sat down on the couch and turned on the tv. Laura sat next to her and Raychel and Debbie sat on the couch next to it.

Alexis was considering telling them about what happened with Zac. She decided not to, since they didn't really know him. It'd be better just to keep things a secret.

They hadn't heard from him since that one time he showed up in the living room. She began to think they had just thought they saw him. Ike and Taylor walked in the room.

"So," Isaac started, "How was the shopping trip?" He squeezed himself in between Laura and Alexis.

"It was great. We got so much stuff." Raychel said.

"That baby is going to be soooooo spoiled." Laura teased. Alexis tossed a pillow at her and it hit her in the face.

"No it won't." Alexis said firmly. Taylor grinned. "Oh, of course not. It already has enough toys to fill Toys R Us and it isn't even born yet."

Alexis and Ike glanced at each other. "It?" they both said.

"You mean you didn't hear what it'd going to be?" Alexis asked. Taylor fowned and shook his head.

Alexis pulled an outfit out of the bag. "Can you tell by the colors of this outfit?" she said, giggling.

Taylor smiled. "Hmm, I wonder. Could it be a..."

DING DONG!

Isaac got up to answer the door. He came back in with a huge smile on his face.

"I have a surprise for you, Lex. You have a visitor." he led a girl into the room.

Alexis jumped up as fast as possible for a pregnant woman. "Heather!" she screamed. Heather dropped her bags and ran over to her. She gave her now pretty chubby sister a hug. "Oooh, Alexis. Look at that tummy. Now why is it so big?" she teased.

"It's the twinkies!" she cried, laughing. She introduced Heather to Raychel, Laura, and Debbie.

"Man, I haven't seen you in a long time. Like, when you came to visit me and dad when we moved to Europe. That was about 6 months after we moved. It's been years."

Heather nodded, a sparkle in her eye. "Well, I want to tell you something." Alexis nodded.

"I'm getting married."

"NO WAY!" Alexis cried. She wrapped her sister in a huge hug.

"I want you to be my maid of honor. Oh, I want you to meet my fiance, Mark."

She looked towards the other room. Isaac led a tall, broad shouldered man into the room. "Ike, did you know she was coming?" Alexis asked in surprise.

He nodded. "We wanted to surprise you." Heather introduces Mark to everyone.

After an hour, Debbie and Laura decided to go home. Laura was married to Jim and she liked to be there when he got home from work. Debbie was getting tired so she gave Laura a ride home.

"I arranged for Heather and Mark to stay here until they find a house." Isaac told Alexis.

"Wait, you're moving here?!"

When Heather and Mark nodded, Alexis got up. "I'll show you your room." She took them upstairs and showed them a very spacious guest room.

"Man, if this is the guest room, I'd like to see the main rooms." Mark joked.

Soon Raychel had to go home. As she was leaving, she whispered in Alexis's ear "Call me later, I want to tell you something."

Alexis nodded. "Bye"

Raychel exited out the garage.

"So," Isaac started. "where should we go for dinner?"

They all agreed on Red Lobster. They piled in Isaac's car and headed to the restaurant.

Chapter 8--Isaac

It was now the end of November. Alexis was 8 months pregnant. Isaac was standing near the refreshment table, which held many little desserts. It was Heather and Mark's wedding. Well, the party. They had a beautiful wedding, very traditional.

The party, which was held at a huge banquet hall, was just about over. Alexis and Isaac planned to be the last guests there. Isaac glanced around the room. He saw Raychel and Taylor in a deep coversation. By the way Raychel was looking at him, it was obvious she liked him. And it pretty much looked like Taylor felt the same way. He watched as Taylor led her out of the room.

He shook his head and smiled. Well, at least Taylor finally found someone he liked. He hadn't really gone out with anyone since he broke it off with Dana. That was shortly after his marraige to Alexis. He walked over to Alexis, who was talking to Mark. Well, Mark was talking to her. Alexis was just listening.

He could telk she was tired. And uncomfortable. Fancy dresses just weren't made for pregnant women.

"Lex," he said, "you look tired. Maybe we should go home."

She had a troubled look on her face. She nodded. "Let me tell Heather." she whispered.

She went over to her sister, gave her a hug, and waved goodbye.

"Congrats, Mark." Ike said before leaving. Mark grinned and waved. When they were in the car, Isaac noticed Alexis looking very pale.

"Alexis, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

She shook her head. "Ike, the baby is coming." She grabbed her stomach in pain.

Isaac made a u-turn and headed toward the hospital. He went as fast as he could without getting stopped for a ticket.

They got there under five minutes and he led his wife into the emergency room.

"My wife is having her baby!" he cried. A nurse and doctor hurried over with a wheelchair. Alexis sat in it and they wheeled her away. Another nurse gave Isaac some papers to fill out.

He filled them out and waited in the waiting room, where two other men were. One of them looked nervous.

One man, probably in his early thirties, glanced at Isaac.

"First kid?"

Isaac nodded. One of the other men, who looked about 25, nodded too.

"Not me. Actually, it's my sixth." the man that asked him the question said.

Isaac smiled. That was how his dad was when Mackenzie was born. The man who had asked the question looked at him. "Hey, I know you." He looked at him closer. "You're from that band, Hanson." Isaac nodded.

"When are you doing a tour or another album? It's been a while."

Isaac shrugged. "I don't know. I've been busy. With my wife and a baby on the way. My sister is getting bored with it, and my brother, well, I'm not sure about him."

"Let me think, your brother is...Zac, and your sister is Jessica. Right?"

Isaac shook his head. "My brother Zac died when I was 16." he practically whispered.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I got mixed up."

Isaac just sat there, thinking, oblivious to the mens' conversation that was happening next to him. He had turned 23 a few days before.

***AUTHOR'S NOTE--Or 24, I keep getting mixed up***

Soon a nurse cam in. All three of the men jumped up.

"Mr. Markus?"

The man that looked about 25 followed the nurse. Soon, Isaac was the only one in the waiting room.

He decided to call the rest of his family. Soon, his parents were on the way over, bringing his brothers and sisters with them.

Then a nurse came in. "Mr. Hanson, would you like to see your baby boy?" Isaac jumped up and hurried out of the room. He followed the nurse to where his wife was, in room 318C.

She was holding a baby wrapped in a blue blanket in her arms. Isaac walked ver to her side. He looked at the baby. "Oh my gosh." he whispered. "He's so tiny."

Alexis nodded. The baby had blue eyes and blondish hair.

The baby was premature, weighing only 4 pounds. Well, Alexis had been only 8 months pregnant. She wasn't due 'till December 28th.

10 minutes later, Raychel and Taylor showed up.

"We heard from your parents that Alexis had her baby." Raychel said.

Taylor went to Alexis's side. He looked down at the baby. "Awwww, he's adorable." He touched the baby's fingers. He grabbed Taylor's finger and held on. Taylor laughed softly. Raychel came over. "He's so sweet. What's his name?"

Alexis and Isaac glanced at each other. "We hadn't really thought about it yet. I wasn't due for another month."

"How bout Zac?"

Alexis looked up. "Yeah, Zachary...um, Michael?"

Isaac nodded. "That sounds good. Zachary Michael."

Alexis handed the little baby boy to him. He held his son for the first time.

A few minutes later, Mr. and Mrs, Hanson hurried into the room. Following them was Jessica, Avery, Mac, Melissa, Heather, and Mark. They all crowded into the room.

When Isaac told them the baby's name, Mrs. Hanson started crying. "I'm sorry." she said through her tears. "It's just...Zac."

Isaac handed her Zac. She held him. "He looks a little like Taylor did when he was a baby. But just a little."

Mr. Hanson took a picture out of his wallet. He showed it to them. "Oh my God, Tay. You were......." Alexis burst out laughing. It was such a goofy picture of Taylor. You could tell it was definately him because of the bright blue eyes and the blond hair.

***AUTHOR'S NOTE--If you'd like to see this baby pic of Taylor, go to http://members.aol.com/AlienChiky/links.html . No offense to Taylor, if he ever reads this, but man, he looked funky. You can tell it's him by the eyes. They're a real pretty shade of blue.***

A nurse soon came into the room. "Visiting hours are over." she said softly.

Everyone but Alexis and Isaac left the room. The nurse took Zac back into the room where they keep all the babies.

"I think I'll stay here overnight." Isaac said to Alexis.

"You don't have to. It'll be uncomfortable on a chair." Alexis said.

"I'll just stay on the bed on the other side of the curtain."

Alexis nodded. "Okay, I think I'm gonna go to sleep now." She closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep.

Isaac kissed her lips and laid down on the other bed. He too, fell asleep quickly.

Chapter 9--Jessica

'Man, dishes suck.' Jessica thought to herself. She had just gotten home from the hospital. Her and her family went to see Alexis and Ike's baby. She wanted to call Joey, but her mom insisted on her doing dishes first. Even though she was famous, her parents made sure she did her equal share of housework. She rememberd Ike, Taylor, and Zac had to do the same thing.

Jessica smiled. It was cool how they named the baby Zac. When her mom heard his name, she had started crying. The last time she had seen her mom cry was at Zac's funeral.

She loaded some dishes in the dishwasher. She finished ten minutes later. After putting soap in the dishwasher, she turned the dial to start it.

Then Avery came in the kitchen holding dirty glass. "Here's another one, Jess."

Now she was pissed. ALWAYS, when she finished the dishes, someone came with more.

"Thanks a lot." she grumbled.

Avery grinned. "You're welcome." she said before prancing out.

"Bitch" Jessica mumbled. he put the cup in the dishwasher and went upstairs.

She picked up the phone and dialed Joey's number.

"Joey's room."

"Hey Joe, what's up?"

"Nothing much. I just set up an account for myself on AOL."

"Hey, cool. I was thinking about getting one too." she replied.

"I'll call you later, when I'm finished setting this up."

"'K, bye."

"Bye"

Jessica hung up the phone. She hurried to her parents' room, where her mom was cleaning out her closet.

"Mom, you know how before, Ike, Tay, and Zac had an account on AOL?" she started.

Mrs. Hanson nodded.

"Can I get one for myself?"

"Um, sure. Ask your father to set it up."

"Thanks mom." she gave her a quick hug and hurried downstairs. Mr. Hanson was watching tv.

"Dad, mom says to set up an account for me on AOL."

"Okay." Mr. Hanson turned on the computer and went to AOL.

"What do you want your name to be?"

"Oh, I didn't really think of that. How about....babybop14?"

Her father typed that in. "Password?"

Jessica glanced around the room and said the first thing she saw: "Petey". She was referring to their little green parakeet. 5 minutes later, babybop14 was an official name.

"You have the teen access." her father told her.

"Thanks dad" she said. She hurried up to her room. She turned on her computer, where she could acess AOL. The computer had it's own phone line, so she called Joey while it was loading.

"Joey speaking."

"What's your screen name?"

"Why?"

"Just wanna know."

"dude69"

"Okay, see ya."

She hung up and logged in.

"Welcome!" a voice said.

She went to buddy list. She added 'dude69' for Joey, and 'Taybear20' for Taylor, IkeyPooh for Ike, and 'leximosso99' for Alexis. Leximosso was a nickname Laura had given her. Alexis didn't particularly like it, so only Laura could call her it. She used it as a screen name cuz Laura thought it'd be cool. They were very close, so of course, she dd it. She highlighted hdude69 and hit IM. A little screen popped up.

she typed in.

Then she pushed send. A few seconds later, she heard a little sound, meaning she got an IM. Another screen popped up.

She quickly replied.

She waited for his response.

She clicked on chats. Then private rooms. She created private room JESS. She was the only one in the room. Two seconds later, dude69 came in.

dude69: hey babe
babybop14: this is cool
dude69: nice name. wonder where ya got the 'bop' part from
babybop14: hmm, I wonder
dude69:
dude69: (o) (o)
dude69: ( )
dude69: _______
dude69:
dude69: I'm watching u
babybop14: hehe, nice graphic
dude69: i'm getting a program that has real ones like roses, teddy bears, ppl
babybop14: do u have a punter?
dude69: a what??
babybop14: the thing that can kick ppl outta chat rooms
dude69: no, i have email and IM bombs.
babybop14: i was at my friend's house and she got an IM bomb
babybop14: those things suck
dude69: gotta go. my mom wants the comp
babybop14: c-ya
dude69: bye

Jessica saw ( ) go around his name on the buddy list, signaling that he got offline.

She went to list chats. Under entertainment, she found a room called music. She decided to go to that one.

windex420: hehe, 420 rox
sk8dude21: u don't even know what it means
sailorv169: hi babybop
dfreak3632: 420=police code for kids on drugs
babybop14: thats not funny
sailorv169: what?
tacoboy5: NIN!!!!!
hyperchic1: hanson rox
babybop14: thank u
sk8dude21: shut up danielle, i asked laura
dfreak3632: use sn's--dfreak and windex
hyperchic1: thanx for what?
babybop14: i'm Jessica from Hanson
babyspice2002: bull s**t
hyperchic1: are you really?
babybop14: yup
sk8dude21: prove it
babybop14: ok, i know my sis-in-law, alexis, just had her baby.
windex420: duh, it's on the news
SKAtegirl39: i saw it on the news
babybop14: then what's his name?
windex420: don't know
dfreak3632: i don't know
babybop14: Zachary Michael Hanson
sk8dude21: u really are that chick from hanson
dfreak3632: u know i hate it when u call ppl chicks
sk8dude21: suck my cock.

Jessica noticed that sk8dude21 left the room. 'I wonder why.' she thought.

sailorv169: jess...can i call u that?
babybop14: um, just use babybop
sailorv169: did you make a profile?
babybop14: not yet. i'll make one now

Jessica clicked on preferences and 'My Profile'. She set up a few quotes and her name and b-day. Then she went back to the chat room.

dfreak3632: that's what u get
sk8dude21: u didn't have to use that damn punter. unfair advantage.
babybop14: i made a profile
sk8dude21: i'll get u back danielle
dfreak3632: just try it and i tell ms cook how u cheated on laura's test in english
windex420: u WHAT!!!!!???? thanx for telling me danielle
babybop14: u go to the same school
sailorv169: yup
sk8dude21: unfortunately
dfreak3632: yeah, in south florida
tacoboy5: i'm not in any of their classes cuz i'm in gifted.
windex420: tell her how you got in, John
tacoboy5: there was a smart kid sitting next to me when I took the gifted test
hyperchic1: i live in VA
babybop14: me in Oklahoma
sk8dude21: like we didn't know that.
sailorv169: shut up mike
babyspice2002: do u have a new album coming out soon?
babybop14: don't know. we haven't practiced together in a while
mnsnrulez: hi ppl
dfreak3632: manson does rule
windex420: NO WAY!!!!!!!
mnsnrulez: babybop...that sounds like that gay mmmbop by those girls
sailorv169: shut up...she's jessica from Hanson
mnsnrulez: in that case, HANSON SUXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!!!!!!!!!
tacoboy5: manson is cool, but dude, get a life
SKAtegirl39: hi guys, i'm back
sk8dude21: where'd ya go heather?
SKAtegirl39: bathroom
babybop14: u go to their school
SKAtegirl39: yeah

"Jessica! Taylor is here. He need to talk to you."

babybop14: back in a minute. taylor needs to talk to me
sailorv169: c-ya

Jessica stood up as someone knocked on her door. "Come in." Taylor walked in. "Hey Jess. Me and Ike were talking earlier. We wanted to know what you think about us as a group. I mean, if you wanna stay together."

Jessica shrugged. "I like doing the music, but if you guys don't want to......"

"No, we were just thinking of taking a break. Cuz of the baby and stuff."

"Yeah. Hey, wait. I need to ask you something."

"What's up?"

"Were you serious when you said you saw Zac?"

Taylor frowned. "It's weird. Me, Ike, and Alexis all saw him. But it's like, I don't know. He was gone so fast and we haven't heard from him in months. Maybe we just dreamed the whole thing."

Jessica looked at her brother sympathetically. He wasn't quite the same since Zac died. Maybe we was losing his sanity.

"Ok, just wondering. I'll ask Ike and Lex what they think." Taylor nodded and left the room.

Jessica went back to the chatroom.

babybop14: i just talked to tay
sk8dude21: i can't believe u heather
sailorv169: what about?
dfreak3632: how could u heather?? that's soooo mean!
windex420: totally

Jessica sighed. Having a private conversation was hard in a chat room. She decided to IM sailorv169.

she hit send. A minute later, she got a reply.

Jessica clicked into her new room. Sailorv169 soon got there.

babybop14: what's your name?
sailorv169: jackie.
babybop14: well, u know mine
sailorv169: how long have u had AOL?
babybop14: just got it today.
babybop14: i had an account that i shared w/my family, but that's it
babybop14: don't tell lots of ppl about this room. i only want it 4 friends.
sailorv169: 'k
sailorv169: wanna cyber w/some1?
babybop14: what do u mean?
sailorv169: find a guy online and.........
sailorv169: it's up to your imagination.
babybop14: umm, ok, maybe sometime.
sailorv169: gotta go. c-ya l8r
babybop14: bye

Jessica added Jackie to her buddy list. Along with sk8dude21, windex420, dfreak3632, SKAtegirl39, tacoboy5, babyspice2002, and hyperchic1. She grinned. Some of these names are real funky.

"Jess, dinner!" her father called. She signed off and went downstairs.