What Life May Bring
By: Heather

"Well Baby Hayes I need to catch that beam of light and you need to go and cut that rug." Jerome spoke to Baby Hayes as Maddie doubled over in pain. In the background David could be heard. He was yelling for someone to call for an ambulance.

The ambulance arrived about ten minutes later. David was kneeled down on the hard linoleum floor cradling Maddie in his arms, whispering comforting words in her ear. She was obviously in excruciating pain and David wished he could be enduring that pain instead of her. The EMTs immediately ran to Maddie and lifted her onto the gurney. David insisted he be by her side in route to the hospital, so he was permitted to ride in the back of the ambulance with Maddie.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Maddie could be heard screaming obscenities all the way to the waiting room. Maddie had never felt so much pain in her entire life. Having David by her side during the duration of the birth was comforting and proved he did, in fact, love her. At 3:30 a.m., and about eight hours of labor later, Matthew Alexander entered the world. Weighing six pounds, he looked remarkably like his mother.

Maddie lay there with remarkable blue eyes staring up at her. Her son was perfect. He was the angel she wasn't sure she had even wanted to have. Now there was no mistake about the choice she had made.

David sat next to her in awe of the life he still thought he helped create. He gingerly stroked the baby's head, which was full of golden blonde hair. "Ya know Blondie, he looks just like you except he has a...."

"David!" Maddie interrupted David before he could speak an inappropriate word.

"I know, no dirty talking around the baby." David uttered as he sat back in his chair.

Matthew just lay there looking up at his mother in awe of her beauty. "Man, I hope I get a girl that looks like she does, when I grow up," Matthew thought. Then he turned his head and looked over at David. David leaned forward and started making funny faces towards Matthew. "Ha ha you're funny."

Just then an old, wrinkly plump nurse came into the private hospital room. She picked Matthew up from Maddie's arms and made her way to the nursery. "Get your hands off me you old hag. Where are you taking me? I want my mommy."

David turned to Maddie after the nurse exited the room with Matthew. "I guess I'll let you get some sleep. I’ll go make the call to your parents and then call the rest of the universe, that seems to be on this mile long list you gave me." David said as he kissed Maddie lightly on the forehead. "I'll check up on ya later." David then exited the room the same way the nurse had, quietly yet noisily.


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Matthew lay in the nursery sulking. " I guess no one cares in this place. First they take away my mommy and now they don't even have the courtesy to change my butt and give me a bottle. Nobody ever listens to me. I feel so neglected." Matthew started to fuss. Just then a younger and much prettier brunette nurse came walking up to Matthew. She picked him up from the incubator and cradled him near her ample bosom. " Now that’s what I call lunch." Matthew thought while eyeing her breasts.

The nurse carried Matthew back down the long fluorescent lighted corridor towards Maddie's room. Matthew hadn't stopped fussing yet. When they entered the room, Matthew's crying immediately woke Maddie from her peaceful sleep. "I think he’s hungry. It’s time for him to eat." , the nurse explained as she handed a fussy Matthew to Maddie. As soon as Matthew was lying in Maddie's arms he instantly quieted. "Now that's more like it." Matthew thought as Maddie started to feed him.

David entered the room about a half and hour later. Matthew was quietly nestled in the crook of Maddie's arm. David started to speak, but his volume was a little too high, and startled Matthew awake. "Ssh, he just went to sleep."; Maddie spoke in a whisper.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be loud.", David apologized as he quietly sat down in the blue cushioned chair next to Maddie's hospital bed. " As I was saying, when I talked to you mother earlier she said they’ll be out here this weekend. She wanted to come sooner, but your father is in the middle of closing a business deal that could set him for life. If he closes this deal, he won’t have to work anymore, unless he wants to. They both think I have everything under control and said to say hi. She also said to tell you they miss you and can't wait to get here Friday night." David then leaned forward and brushed his lips on Matthew's forehead.

Maddie acted as if she hadn't noticed David’s display of emotion, but was well aware of how David was growing attached to Matthew already. Silently Maddie started to think about what she was going to do about getting Matthew a father. Maddie didn’t want her baby growing up fatherless. She immediately thought of Sam, but she was still unsure if she should call Sam and tell him about Matthew or not Fear of Sam not wanting Matthew made her think not calling him was the better choice. Then here sat David. He was there during her pregnancy, and had prepared himself for fatherhood, even taking Lamaze classes with a total stranger. David would be the perfect father. He was already passionately in love with Matthew and he was only one day old. David was kind of committed to her son in a father type of way. He was willing to help Maddie after Matthew came and who better to be a father than David, who was a big kid at heart.

Maddie was startled out of her thoughts by the wiggling of her son. He was now wide awake and starring up at Maddie with a look on his face that said any second he was going to burst out into a fit of crying. Maddie immediately started to rock him and whisper comforting words in his ear, but it was too late though, Matthew started to cry. " Let me try." David suggested when he seen Maddie was having no luck calming Matthew down.

Maddie carefully handed Matthew to David. " Be careful David, support his head. Yes, just like that." Matthew immediately stopped fussing and settled down once he realized who was holding him and that he was in no danger. "It looks as if he likes you David." Maddie whispered as she observed David and her son. Matthew had already started to drift off to dreamland once more. "Well good, because I love him."
Maddie was stunned by David’s admission of love for her son, but let his comment slide. She laid her head back on her fluffy white pillow and closed her eyes. She was peacefully resting her eyes when, out of the middle of no where, came the million-dollar question. "What’re you gonna to do about Matthew‘s father?" David asked then eyeballed Maddie for the answer.

Maddie‘s blue eyes shot open instantly and met David’s questioning brown ones. She dropped her head and started to speak. "I don't know yet David, I was just thinking about that a little while ago. I am still unsure as to what to do." Maddie explained. She sat there wringing her hands and not making eye contact with David.

"What about me? I could be his father. I thought I’d be part of his life anyway, but sitting here now, with Matthew in my arms, I know I want to be more than ‘Uncle Dave‘. I want to be his father." David explained with a serious look on his face. This scene proved that David did, in fact, own a serious face and there was a serious and sincere side to him.

Maddie sat there stunned. She hadn't figured he would voice his opinion. He was being extremely serious and wasn't going to back down on this subject. He wanted to be Matthew's father and that was it. No ifs ands or buts about it.

"I'm not ready to have this discussion right now David." Maddie then attempted to change the subject, but had no luck.

"You don't think I’d make a good father, do ya Maddie?" David questioned with a hurt expression on his face. "I didn't say that." Maddie rebutted.

" I don't understand. I love you and been here for you during this entire mess. I’ve never gave up on us, but it looks like you have. I love Matthew as much as I love you and I want us to be together and raise him together. It don’t matter to me whose baby he is biologically. I want him to be mine. Biology don't make a father Maddie, and I think I’d be one helluva father." David stood up and laid Matthew back in Maddie's arms. He started to pace the gray linoleum floor. If the floor had been carpeted there would have been a gigantic hole in the carpet.

"I think you would make an excellent father David." Maddie looked at David with sincerity in her eyes.

"Then what’s the problem Maddie?" David moved closer.

"I don't know David, I'm confused."

"When ain’t you not been confused?" David muttered under his breath

"What’s there to be confused about? Do you love me?" David again moved closer.

Maddie's pulse began to quicken. She was speechless. He had all of a sudden gotten very close; so close she could feel his hot breath on her neck.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love me. If you can look me in the eyes and tell me, I’ll leave you alone and won’t mention anything about being Matthew‘s dad again."

Maddie turned her head to tell him, but his lips met hers in a lingering kiss. The kiss started to grow hotter and they were interrupted by Matthew starting to get fussy again.

After Maddie calmed Matthew down and he returned to sleep, David looked at Maddie and said, "I believe you were going to tell me something." Maddie turned her head to speak what her mind wanted her to say, but could only speak what her heart wanted say. All her heart was telling her to say was " I love you David."

Just then a middle-aged nurse with salt and peppery hair rudely interrupted them. She had come to confiscate Matthew once more. Upon her leaving she told David he would have to leave so Maddie could get some sleep. Then the nurse turned to Maddie and explained to her that she would, more than likely, be leaving the next morning. David turned to Maddie and kissed her lightly on the lips and exited the room. "See ya tomorrow Goldilocks." Was all he uttered as he walked out the door.



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David walked in the next morning to hear the gray haired Doctor giving Maddie a clean bill of health. After filling out the release forms, she and Matthew would be permitted to leave. The doctor than excused himself, leaving Maddie and David alone. David had stopped by Maddie's house and picked up some clothes for her to wear home. "Here, I went by your place, thought you could use some comfy clothes."

"Thanks David" Maddie replied taking the bag from David's grasp.

An intern came into the room and handed Maddie the correct papers to sign. After her signature was on the appropriate papers the intern hurriedly left the room. "I'm going to get dressed now, would you mind going to the nursery and picking up Matthew?" Maddie asked David as she made her way to the bathroom.

When David returned ten minutes later with Matthew, Maddie was already packed and ready to leave. She couldn’t wait to get home and sleep in her own bed and eat something besides hospital food.

There was a teenaged orderly there to take Maddie and Matthew to the car. " I guess I’ll go pull the car around." David said, then handed Matthew to Maddie and headed out of the room, in search of the parking lot.

The orderly was pushing Maddie in a wheelchair while Matthew slept soundly in the crook of her arm. As they approached the BMW, David opened the door for her. "Your chariot awaits." David spoke and motioned her, with his hand, to enter the car. Maddie hesitated to get into the car though. "What's the matter Maddie? You forget something?" David asked with a confused look on his face.

"David, you got the car seat in wrong." Maddie said eyeing the car seat.

"Boy, is this guy stupid or what? I could put in a car seat." Matthew thought as he watched David struggle to put the car seat in right. Once the car seat was in and Maddie felt comfortable putting Matthew in it, they were on their way home.

David pulled up in front of Maddie's house about twenty minutes later. After getting everything out of the car, they entered the front door of the beautiful mansion Maddie called a house.

" Nice place, many things to break when I get older." Matthew thought eyeing Maddie's breakables.

"I think I’m going to take him up and put him to bed." Maddie said and started to climb the spiral winding staircase. David was right behind her. When Maddie reached Matthew’s room, she stopped abruptly in front of the closed door. "David, I haven't even bought a crib yet. Where is he going to sleep? I can't put him down until I do some shopping. I am so unprepared for his homecoming. I hardly have anything for him." Maddie started to get tears in her eyes. " I didn't want him coming home to an empty room. I wanted him to have a wonderful surrounding, but all he is going to see are half painted walls."

"Don't worry about it. Just take him in and show him his room. He’s a baby and really don’t understand cute teddy bears on the walls yet anyway." Maddie hesitantly turned the doorknob and entered, stopping abruptly once she was inside the doorway. "David, where did all this come from? Did you do this?"

"Yeah, I thought it’d be a great surprise. I knew you weren’t ready for him yet."

"Thank you David, Maddie replied and lightly kissed him on the cheek, before entering the room.

Matthew's room was decked out with toys and baby furniture. There were teddy bears piled in one corner and a toy box overflowing with hundreds of dollars worth of toys in another corner. In front of the window there was a beautiful crib that Maddie had been eyeing since she found out she was pregnant, but hadn’t bought yet. She had showed David the crib when they were at the mall a few weeks earlier on a case. He had insisted she buy it, but she reminded him she still had time.

"I struck gold!" Matthew thought as he eyed the toys David had gotten him. "I knew I loved this guy." Matthew looked up at David and David had the look of love on his face. He was happy to be there the day of Matthew's homecoming.

Maddie walked over to the mahogany crib. She gently placed her son in the crib, but stood near to watch as his eyelids started to flutter closed. David swiftly walked up behind her and placed his strong arms around her semi slender waist. She leaned back into the hardness of his slightly muscular chest and watched as her baby drifted off to sleep.

Her baby! Wow. The realization hit Maddie like a lightning bolt. She had never, in her life, imagined she would be standing there, in the arms of the man she loved, watching their child sleep peacefully. THEIR child!? Where did that come from? Her mind started to race. How could she think that? She knew, all too well, that Matthew was Sam’s and not David’s. But what was it David had said yesterday in the hospital? "I know he’s not mine biologically, but mentally he is. I wanna be his father." Why shouldn’t she let David be Matthew’s father? She loved David, he loved her, and they both adored Matthew. What was the problem?

Maddie shook her head to clear her thoughts and continued to stare at a sleeping Matthew. "He’s so beautiful, isn’t he David?"

"Yep Maddie, just like his mother!" David replied as he pulled Maddie closer to him.

"I think we should go downstairs and let him sleep. I’ll turn on the baby monitor so I can hear if he begins to fuss." Maddie said and then pulled away from David’s embrace. They made their trek down the stairs with David hard on Maddie’s heels. "Sit down and I’ll get us something to drink." David ordered, as he made his way past her, brushing up against her elbow, causing shivers to meander up her spine.

A couple of minutes later David stumbled into the living room and sat down on the cream colored sofa next to Maddie. "Maddie, I wanna continue the conversation we were having in the hospital." David took a sip of his drink and turned to Maddie expecting a rebuttal. Instead all eyes were on him waiting for him to continue what he was saying. "As I said in the hospital, I wanna be Matthew’s father. I wanna be with you. I love you and no running to Chicago or marrying Walter is going to change that. You’re the only thing on my mind when I go to sleep at night and the first thing I look for when I wake up. I don’t feel whole unless you’re there beside me. I’m not asking you to marry me, yet, but I might some day. I just wanna be an ‘us’ and raise Matthew together. I don’t care if he’s Sam’s biologically or not. He’s mine right here." David said, pointing to his heart. "I love that baby just as much as you do and I ain’t giving up without a fight. Not this time. Last time I didn’t go to Chicago and fight for you, this time I ain’t giving up until I get what I want and what I want is you. You know I’d go to the ends of the earth for you because I love you Maddie. Do ya love me?"

"Yes, I love you David. That is probably the only thing I am not confused about. I have learned to accept that, but we are just now getting back on a friendship basis. Things got pretty difficult while Walter was here and I am not ready to say ‘yes David I want you and not just for me but also for my baby.’ I need time, I know you hate hearing that, but I do. I need to figure out if you are the right person to spend my life with. I know your not asking me to marry you, yet, but you do plan on it. I don’t want to lead you on and make you think I want to have a life with you, when I really don’t. I need to find out where I stand." Maddie spoke as she held David’s hands in hers. "I don‘t want my baby calling you Daddy and then me changing my mind. That would do nothing but hurt Matthew. You can come around as often as you like though. If, by the time he starts to talk, I have decided I don’t want that life with you than you can be ‘Uncle David’, but by some fluke of a chance I do decide I want you, than you can be his father. I know this sounds unfair, but this is the way it has to be."

"As long as it don’t mean I have to quit trying." David said as he looked into her beautiful blue eyes. Just then a huge wail was heard over the baby monitor.

"I think he’s hungry. I better go feed him." Maddie said and excused herself from the living room making her way up the crazy staircase and down the beige carpeted hall, towards Matthew’s room.

"Do ya need me to stay and help out with the bambino tonight?" David yelled up the stairs in Maddie’s direction.

"You wouldn’t mind?"

"Not at all Blondie."

"Great, thanks David, I can use all the help I can get. My parents will be here tomorrow night."

"I’ll go pick up some dinner and head back to my place to grab some of my things. Will ya be ok while I’m gone?" David had already put on his leather jacket and was in the process of grabbing his car keys.

"Yeah, I’ll be fine. Hurry back, I’m starving."

About forty-five minutes later David came stumbling through the front door carrying Italian food. As soon as he opened the door he could hear Matthew’s screams from upstairs. Maddie heard the door open and made her way down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, David noticed she had been crying. "Maddie, what’s wrong? Have you been crying?"

"Right after you left, Matthew started fussing again. I did everything known to man to stop him. I rocked him, sang to him, and I even put on some music and danced with him, but nothing worked. I was getting scared because I didn’t know what was wrong with my baby. About ten minutes ago I called the doctor. He said it sounded like Matthew had colic and colicky babies fuss a lot. I just got off the phone with him when you got here. He said it was normal and that I did nothing wrong. Matthew will be fine, but I was scared to tears. I have never been that scared in my life. My life isn’t my own anymore. I have his life to think about also, and he can’t talk to me yet, so I assumed the worst. I’m fine now." Maddie said with a slight smile

David hugged her and assured her everything was indeed all right. David took Matthew from Maddie’s arms and he finally succeeded in calming him down. He laid Matthew in his baby carrier and proceeded to the kitchen to eat. Maddie was right behind him, but had lost her appetite.

After dinner, Maddie and David tucked Matthew in his crib and proceeded to their separate rooms to get some well-deserved sleep. At around three a.m. the unexpected hungry wail from the next room filtered through the baby monitor and abruptly woke Maddie from her sleep. She trudged next door and proceeded in feeding and changing Matthew. When he was all nice and comfortable in her arms, she sat down in the rocking chair and began to rock him to sleep.

The baby’s cries had also woken David. David stood outside the nursery door and watched as Maddie softly sang Matthew to sleep. When he was all tucked away in the crib once more, she turned to go to her room and found David in the doorway, eyes fixated on her. "I told ya a couple a years ago you’d be a great mom, but you didn’t believe me. So now I’m gonna tell ya again. ‘You make an excellent mother‘." Maddie’s cheeks started to turn a bright shade of pink.

"Thank you David, I think you will make a wonderful father someday." Maddie said and then started to make her way back to her bedroom. David stopped her at the doorway to her bedroom and turned her to face him. Then without warning he kissed her passionately on the lips. "I thought I’d give you somethin to dream about. Night Blondie." With that said, David made his way to the guestroom.