TEARS IN HEAVEN
Chapter Twelve
Two Weeks Later
"I still want to name it after you if
it's a boy," Rose announced, flipping through a baby name book.
Jack rolled his eyes. "We went over this
with Josh. The world doesn't need one more Jack Dawson."
Rose kissed him on the cheek. "You're
right. The world needs a lot more than one more."
"You're crazy. You know that,
right?"
"Yep. All right, so it's Jack William
Jr., for a boy..."
"Rose!" Jack exclaimed. "We're
not naming it after me!"
Rose sighed dramatically. "I'm carrying
it for nine months and I can't name it what I want? Oh, woe is me!"
Jack burst out laughing. "You got that
right, sister. We have to agree on names and I don't agree on Jack, Jr. So,
lets move on, shall we?"
Rose stuck her tongue out at him, only to
have him lean over and kiss her. "Mmm," Rose mumbled, pushing him
away. "We're not going to get names picked out like this."
Jack grinned devilishly. "It's more fun,
though."
"Jack! This is our child's name we're
talking about here."
"All right. All right. Keep going."
"Matthew James?"
"That I like."
"K. One more boy's name." Jack took
the book from her, stole another kiss, then handed it back to her. "You
are bad, Mr. Dawson."
Jack gave her an impish smile. "I'm as
bad as you make me, Mrs. Dawson." Rose muttered something and opened the book
again. Jack peered over her shoulder. "Jonathan Kenneth? For both our
fathers?"
Rose looked thoughtful and then nodded.
"I like that. Now girl names."
"Rose Marie, Jr."
Rose shot him a baleful look. "Now I
know you're on something. Besides, you don't call girls junior."
Jack laughed at her expression. "Okay, I
get it. What's your suggestion?"
"Kayla Rose."
"Kayla Rose Dawson. I really like
that."
Rose smiled. "Good. One more and we're
done."
"Can we go to...ahem...bed then?"
Jack asked, winking.
Rose yawned. "I'm not in the
mood..."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right.
You're never not in the mood."
"Humph. One more name, dammit."
"Lillian Ruth."
"Ooh, perfect. Mom would love
that."
"Great. Can we go now?" Jack
whined, giving her a puppy dog face.
Rose sighed and got up. "Coming, my dear
husband?"
Jack semi-sprinted towards their room.
"Already ahead of you."
Two days later
"What should we get the twins for their
birthday?" Rose asked, coming into the living room.
Jack glanced up from his drawing. "How
about we just give 'em the money and they can shop themselves?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "They're two,
Jack. While they're intelligent, I don't think they're capable of that."
Jack put down his portfolio and pulled Rose
into his lap. "You sound aggravated. What's wrong?"
Rose sighed and leaned her head against his
shoulder. "I'm scared, Jack. About having another baby. And how the kids
are going to react to it. Josh was too young to understand when the twins were
born, so he adjusted without a problem. But they're all old enough now. How am
I going to handle four kids at once?"
Jack wrapped his arms around her.
"You're not going into this alone, Rosie. I'm going to be here every step
of the way. Don't worry about the kids. They'll be fine. With both of us here,
they're never going to be lacking a parent."
"I know, but they're all very possessive
of us. How are they going to take sharing us with another child?"
"I don't know. You're not regretting
this, are you?" Jack asked worriedly.
Rose smiled slightly and shook her head.
"No. I could never regret us creating life from our love. I'm just worried
that it's going to make the sibling rivalry they've already got going on
worse."
"Ah, don't. Sibling rivalry is part of
having siblings. You know that. Everything will be fine."
"I wish I could be as sure of that as
you."
Jack kissed her neck, slowly making his way
to her mouth before replying. "Just let it go, for tonight at least. Come
here. I want to show you something."
Rose stood up so Jack could too, and followed
him downstairs to his studio. Jack led her over to the far corner, where his
easel was. "I was planning on waiting until your birthday to show you
this, but tonight seems to be the right time." Slowly, he turned it
towards her and she gasped. On the canvas was a beautiful image of their
family. Colin was on the left, next to Rose. Josh was in the center, with Jack
and Janelle on his right. And nestled in Josh's arms was a baby. The twins had
their arms reached out to the baby, both Jack and Rose gazing fondly at their
offspring.
"Oh, Jack...it's beautiful..." she
said quietly, running her hand over the carefully drawn lines. She smiled at
the familiar JD, May 7, 2005 in the bottom corner. "I don't know how you
do it, Jack. No matter what the problem is, you can always make me feel
better."
Jack enveloped her in his arms and rested his
chin on her shoulder. "You more at ease about it now?"
"Yes, thank you."
"It'll all be fine. Trust me."
"I trust you."
"Good. Come on, we've got an early
morning tomorrow. Let's go to bed."
Rose nodded and they went upstairs to their
bedroom. After donning their bed clothes, Rose climbed into bed after Jack,
lying on his chest, his arms circling her. "We're going to have to clear
the playroom out. What are we going to do with all those toys?"
"I've been thinking about that. How
about I have Tommy and Fabri come over...and we'll build them one downstairs?
You've been wanting to finish the basement since we moved in...we could do that
as well."
"Can we afford all that with a baby on
the way?"
Jack nodded. "We're fine, financially.
Once I get the check from that painting I sold, we'll have more than enough to
do the basement and not have to take anything from the account."
"Then I think its a great idea. Do you
think we'd have enough to recarpet? Stain resistant, perhaps?"
Jack chuckled, remembering the many Kool-Aid
stains they had put the couch over that morning, while rearranging the living
room. "The whole house?"
"Yes. I especially want carpet in the
baby's room. I won't feel comfortable having the wood floor in there."
"Well, why don't we go over to the
carpet place after the doctor's tomorrow and check out prices? Then maybe we
can take the kids to the zoo like they've been begging us to."
Rose eyed him. "Are you really
considering driving all the way to San Diego with those three?"
Jack laughed and pulled her closer.
"Come on, it'll be fun. We'll say it's for the twins' birthday. Then it'll
wear 'em out, they'll come home and sleep, and we can get everything planned
for this weekend."
Rose sighed and then flashed him a brilliant
smile. "Maybe my Mom will take the kids Friday night. Then we
can...ahem...work something out for my birthday."
"Hmm, I like that," Jack murmured,
kissing her.
"Do you think we take advantage of my
mother too often?"
He chuckled. "Maybe. But that's what
grandparents are for."
"I guess so." Rose yawned.
"I'm going to sleep. Love you."
"Night, Rosie. Love you."