Choosing Love

Chapter 5: Joy

After telling her husband about her pregnancy, Lauren felt a thousand pounds lighter. To see his excitement over their future child warmed her heart. She happily informed Louise who was overjoyed for her, but she wanted to wait and tell Declan. She hatched a plan to tell him right around the time her adoption of him became legal- with Ian at her side, of course. It was about a month after she had told her husband that the good news had come to her- the adoption papers had gone through, and she was legally Declan's mother. She decided to go out and celebrate, so the three of them went to a high end restaurant and were taken to a private room to dine in.

She looked at Declan, who was all of twelve, and couldn't help but smile. He was a brilliant and inquisitive boy who filled the entire villa with joy. And now he was legally hers to love and protect. It made her heart beat a little faster, and she reached over to squeeze Ian's hand.

"Declan," she began quietly, "I have something to tell you."

He looked up at her, curious about what she would say. She had his full attention.

"When I married your father, I wanted to you to feel like you could come to me with anything. I wanted you to know that I would always be there for you, no matter what. I wanted you to know how much I love and care about you. So a while ago I filled out some papers and today they came back approved. Do you know what those papers were?" Declan shook his head no. "Those papers were adoption papers. I loved you so much that I wanted to make you a part of my family legally. And now I finally have."

The smile that lit up his face was dazzling. He looked to his father.

"Does that mean Lauren's my mom now?"

Ian grinned and squeezed his wife's hand. "Yes it does."

He went over to her and gave her a big hug.

"I never had a Mom before. But I'm really glad that you're my Mom now."

The words were so beautiful they almost made her cry. "That means a lot to me."

"I love you... Mom." She couldn't stop a few tears from leaking down her cheeks.

"I love you too, Declan." She said, kissing the crown of his head. "And I have one other thing to tell you."

He looked at her. "What is it?" She looked at Ian for support. He nodded encouragingly. She looked at her son, smiling.

"You're going to be a big brother. We're having a baby."

His eyes flew open wide in surprise. Clearly it wasn't something that he was expecting, so she gave it a minute. When he didn't say anything after a while, she gently put a hand on his arm.

"Are you okay?" She asked. He shook his head and blinked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just really surprised." She nodded.

"It is a lot to take in." He nodded. She gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. "You'll be great."

Finally, he smiled.

When they got back home later that evening, they spent the rest of the night as a family, watching movies and eating popcorn. When Declan started falling asleep on the couch, Ian and Lauren helped him to his room and tucked him into bed. They both kissed his head, and he smiled sleepily.

"Goodnight, Declan."

"Goodnight Mommy."

The word gave her butterflies in her stomach and put a big, stupid grin on her face. As she shut the door, she twirled herself into her husband's arms. He smiled, and she leaned up and kissed him.

"This has been one of the best days of my life."

"Mine too. To see Declan so happy brings me such joy."

"And now there are no more secrets in our house."

"Well... Mostly."

"No more unnecessary secrets." She amended.

"There you go."

Lauren moved out of her Husband's arms to hold his hand as they walked to their bedroom. She could hear water running and moved into the bathroom where her husband was getting into the bathtub, clearly waiting for her. With a grin, she got in and started kissing him. The joy of the day was reinforced by a passionate session of love making. Afterward, the two of them relaxed in the warm water.

"Have you thought about names yet?"

"It's a little bit early to be thinking about that, don't you think?"

"I thought most women already had those picked out."

"Do I look like most women to you?"

"Point taken."

She sat there quietly for a few minutes. "Do you have any ideas?"

Ian chuckled. "I had several ideas when Declan was born. I still like a few names."

"Such as?"

"Siobhan. Braden. Erin. Kathleen. Reagan."

"More girl names than boys. I'd be lying to say I wasn't surprised."

"I used them for Declan."

"And all of them are Irish, too."

"You know I'm proud of my heritage."

"And I respect that. But I don't want to just focus on one aspect. We should keep our options open when it comes to names."

"I know. I haven't ruled anything out. But I'm curious- what do you think?"

"I tend to gravitate more toward Italian names since we live here."

"Any ones in particular that you enjoy?"

She thought about it for a minute. "I like Anthony. I always thought it was beautiful. And Gianna. There's just something I like about them that I can't explain."

"I like them too." He paused for a moment. "Anthony Braden Doyle."

She looked up and smiled at him. "That sounds perfect. But what if it's a girl?"

"Gianna Kathleen."

She paused. "I really thought that figuring that out would take a lot longer."

"Great minds think alike, love."

"That they do."

Satisfied with their choices, they got out of the tub, put on their pajamas. and went to bed for the night.