Disclaimer: I don't own the people or the song. This song was provided by Travis Tritt.
"I hope this doesn't sound strange but will you hold me."
"It doesn't sound strange. You know I always jump to the chance to hold you in my arms." He walks over to the bed. She lays her head on his chest. Jarod says, "Do you really like Kyle? If you don't we could talk about something else."
"No, Kyle is fine. I would like to name him after Sydney but Sydney doesn't go with Kyle."
"What about his last name? We could use it. Beside we can save Sydney for our next child." replied Jarod.
"Our next child. I don't think so. This is it."
"Come on, wouldn't you like to have another child?"
"Well, let me put it this way, right now no way. After a few days of feeling better maybe. We can talk about it in a few years. Now back to the name, Kyle Green Russell. I don't know. It could work."
"Think about it. We have a couple of days to decide." Jarod says as hold her tight. He rubs her arms with his hand. He pulls out a ring box and hands it to her.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Something I picked up for you today. I was going to give it to you when you had him so here."
She opens the box and sees a diamond ring with five little diamonds on the band. On the side of the ring the words, "I love you" were printed. "Thank you but you didn't have to."
"Yes, I did." he answers. He slips it on her finger. "I love you." he whispers.
"I love you too." she answers. Then she starts to fall asleep.
Catherine comes to the door. She peaks in. "You can come in." Jarod says he sees her peaking in.
Parker raises up and sees Catherine. She comes over to the bed and sits down. "What do you think about your brother?" Parker replies.
"He's okay." she answers.
"Come here." Parker says.
"Be careful with mom." Jarod tells her.
Catherine moves closer to her mother. Parker holds her tight in her arms. She gives her a kiss and says, "I love you."
"I love you too mommy."
Jarod says, "I think I hear your brother crying. I'm going to see what is going on." He gets up and leaves.
Sydney hands him Kyle. "Jarod, we are going to leave. Parker needs her rest. I will talk to you later.
"Okay, Thanks for your help."
"It was nothing." he responds. Jarod walks everyone out. Then he goes back to the bedroom.
He hands Kyle to Parker. "I think he's hungry."
She takes Kyle in her arms. Then reaches over to Jarod and takes his hand. "Jarod, thank you for your help."
"You don't have to thank me. I am glad I was here. You couldn't have done this alone."
Catherine moves closer to her mother and watches her feed Kyle. She whipsers in her ear, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"
Parker answers, "Yes, you sleep with me tonight." She kisses her daughter's cheek.
*********
A week later Parker came in the kitchen where Jarod was cooking breakfast. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
"Jarod." she says with tears falling down her cheek.
"What is it? What happen?" he asked concerned.
"I can't fit into any of my clothes." She says as the tears keep falling.
Jarod puts his arms around her and says, "You just had a baby. It's going to take a while until you get your figure back."
"Oh you think I am fat!" she says as she pulls aways and stomps off to the bedroom.
"Melissa, come back. I'm not saying that." he yells after her. It was too late she was already gone. He goes into the bedroom and finds her laying across the bed. By this time her face was red and the pillow was wet from her tears. "I'm not saying you are fat." he says as he touches the top of her head and gives her a kiss.
"Then what are you saying?"
"I'm saying you just had a baby. Give it time."
"I wasn't this fat after I had Catherine. It's all your fault."
"And how is it all my fault?" he asked.
"If we still lived in Blue Cove, I would be chasing you. The weight would come off faster."
"Do you want to go back to Blue Cove because I don't. I like having my family together everyday. You know what will happen if we go back. Do you want that?"
"No, I don't want to go back if I can't have you with me." she answers as she looks up at him.
He takes her in his arms and holds her. "I love you, Melissa. Nothing is going to change that. I don't care if you get your figure back or not. I will always love you and I want you to know that."
She looks into his eyes and knows he is telling her the truth. "I love you too." she says. Jarod contiues to hold her in his arms.
**********
Parker is sitting in the floor with Kyle. He is 7 months old. "Mama." she tells him.
"Dada." he says grinning.
"No, say mama."
"Dada."
Parker getting frustrated says, "Mama, mama. Come you can say it. Say mama."
Kyle looks up at her with his big brown eyes. "Dada." he says as he grins.
Jarod walks down the steps and hears them. He watches Parker for a while. Then says, "He will say it when he is ready."
"I want him to say it now, not when he is ready."
"Dada is easier for babies to say."
"I don't care. I want him to say mama."
Parker keeps on trying to get Kyle to say it. Jarod shakes his head and goes into the kitchen. After a while Parker gives up. She goes into the kitchen. Kyle crawls in there. Parker starts talking to Jarod when Kyle says, "Mama."
They kept on talking. Then Jarod said, "Did he just say mama?"
"I doubt it. I think you are trying to make me feel better."
"No, I think he just said it." He picks Kyle up and says, "Say mama."
Kyle wouldn't say anything. "See I told you." Parker said. She turns to walk out and Kyle says, "Mama." Parker turned around and said, "Did he say that or did you?"
"It wasn't me." Jarod answered.
Parker took him from Jarod's arms and said, "Say it again."
Kyle just rubbed his eyes and laid his head down on her shoulder. Parker rubs his head with her hand and kisses it. Then she goes to the rocking chair and tries to get him to sleep.
"He will say it again. He's just tired." Jarod said trying to comfort her.
"I know." she says knowing what Jarod meant by it.
*********
Four months later, Jarod rolls over in the bed. His hands move up his wife's body. "Let's make love." he whispers.
She doesn't move. "Not tonight." she answers.
"Why not?"
"I'm not in the mood."
"Come on, it's been a while. I want to feel you next to me."
"I said not tonight. I have a headache."
"You had a headache last night."
"Jarod, please not tonight."
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, I just not feel like making love tonight. Can we drop it?"
"Okay. I won't bother you anymore." He rolls back over and watches the clock. He wanted to touch her.
Parker lays awake. She wanted to touch him but was afraid to. She didn't feel good. Her breast were sore and she was late. She quit taking her pills until she could find out for sure. She hoped she wasn't. Kyle was was only 11 months old. While she laid awake, she could hear Jarod snoring. Then she fell asleep shortly.
The next morning she slips out of bed hoping not to wake him. She goes into the bathroom. She pulls out a pregnacy test. She reads the box, "Blue you are pregnant, clear you are not. This seems simple enough."
She sits in the bathroom waiting on the test. "This is the longest five minutes." she says to herself. She looks at the test and comes out of the bathroom. She goes over to the bed, straddles Jarod and hits him saying, "It's blue."
Jarod still half asleep says, "What's blue?"
"This." she says and hands it to him.
Jarod rubs his eyes and looks at the pregnacy test. "You mean....we are going...."
"Yes, we are going to have another baby." she says as she moves off of him.
Jarod excited hugs her. He sees a tear fall from her eyes and rolls down her cheek. He holds her close to him and she pulls away.
"Is this why you didn't want to..."
"Yes." she quickly sobs.
"When did you think you were and why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to know. I was hoping it would go away. I knew I would have to explain sometime, why I wouldn't let you touch me." she lowers her voice.
"Why wouldn't you let me anyway?"
"I quit taking my pills when I was late. I was hoping I was just late but when I didn't start again this month I knew I had to be."
"This is great. We are going to have another baby."
"Yeah, wonderful. Great."
"What's wrong?"
"You don't have to go through labor again, carry this baby for nine months, or even have your hormones and body go crazy. And Kyle..."
"What about Kyle?"
"He's only 11 months old."
"So."
"So, is that all you can say?" she says sarcastically.
"I'm sorry. What do you want me to say?"
"Sorry. It's always sorry with you, and what do you mean 'what do you want me to say?' " she says hatefully.
"I'm leaving for a while. You need to calm down before one of us says something we don't mean. We can finish this conversation later." Jarod gets up, dresses, and walks out.
"Oh, sure leave. Just walk out that is so male." she yells as she walked down the stairs. Jarod knew she had to get the last word in. He just kept on walking.
Parker sat there for a few minutes. He was right, she needed to calm down. She got dressed and went down stairs. Catherine was flipping through the channels for some cartoons. She passes the CMT and it caught Parker's eye.
"Go back." she says. Catherine flipped back a few channels. "Leave it here for a moment." Parker tells her. She listens to Travis Tritt sing....
She stayed up all night and cried into her pillow
And fought off the urge to just break down and call
Angelo comes to the door and Parker lets him in. She sits back down and listens to the song while Catherine and Angelo play some board games.
"Daughter is upset." he says.
"I don't want to hear it Angelo." she says.
Last night to fine the fault seemed so darn easy
But now whose to blame don't matter much at all
She thinks if she calls him it just shows weakness
So the hurt goes on with every tear she's cried
Angelo just looked at her then started playing again. She looks over at him and says, "I'm sorry." She sits down on the floor next to him. "Angelo, how did you know I was upset?"
"He just does." Catherine answers.
Ain't it sad to see a good love fall to pieces
Chalk another heartbreak up to foolish pride
"Great." Parker says to herself while listening to the song.
*********
Jarod walks over to Sydney's. He knew his friend could help him. When he got there Sydney was listening to the same song.
Turn off the lights the competition's over
The stubborn souls are the losers here tonight
And while the bridges burn, another hard-hard lesson's learned
As through the ashes passion slowly dies
And this romance goes down to foolish pride
He sits on the couch. He starts talking about their fight when the song catches his attention. Sydney tries to give him some advice when he hears.....
He relieves every word they spoke in anger
He walks the floor and punches out the wall
To apologize to her would be so simple
But instead he cries I'll be damned if I'll crawl
If he loses her he's lost his best friend
And that's more than just a lover can provide
So he wrestles with emotions that defeat him
Chalk another love lost up to foolish pride
Jarod gets up and leaves quickly. He hurries home. As he is walking he keeps hearing one line over in his head, 'Chalk another love lost up to foolish pride.' He says to himself, "That's not going to happen to us."
She starts to get up when Jarod walks in. He walks past her goes to the bedroom. She follows him. "Where have you been?"
"Sydney's." he answers.
"I'm sorry, Jarod. It's not the baby that has me upset. It's me."
"What?...Why?"
"Well, I'm Parker. I'm daddy's heartless little girl. I'm suppose to be tough and bitchy. That was until....." her voice changes.
"Until what?"
"Until you came along and changed my life. I just couldn't see myself a wife or even a mother."
"What are saying?"
"I'm saying, a few years ago I couldn't see myself settling down with one man and raising a family."
"And now."
"And now it's different. I love being a wife to you and raising our children. It just three kids. Kyle will be over a year old when this one is born. I love you. I don't regret any of it. I want you to know that." she rabbles on.
"I don't either. I told you, I love you. You know I will help you. I have never let you down before and I'm not going to now. We will make it."
"I know. I love you too but we are not having more kids after this one. One of us is getting fixed. I think it should be you."
"What? No way, am I getting fixed. It will hurt."
"Oh and like three labors don't. Come on, Jarod. It won't hurt that bad. It's an outpatient procedure."
"Can I think about it?"
"Yeah, you can think about it, but you won't be touching me anymore after this baby is born if one of us is not fixed." She smiles and walks out.
She goes down stairs and he follows her. "Okay, you're right. It can't hurt as bad as three labors. I will do it." he says in a real low voice.
"Really. You mean it. You will do it." she says smiling.
"Yes." he says but thinking, 'What have I done?'
The End!