Missing You (Sequel to Somewhere In Neverland)

Running From Lions

Alex's POV:

I felt drained. Awake for so many hours at the hospital. I let Marina sleep on my shoulder while I held Peter. He slept through most of it. I was sitting in the passenger's seat. Marina thought it best if she drove, seeing as I was so tired. Both the boys were asleep in their carseats in the back. Jack was running over his house to grab some things. It might be a while before he returns, all of Jen's stuff to remind him of her.

"I want to complain about the bad luck. I want to cry for Jack so much. But I gotta be strong. Being strong is so hard." Marina lightly spoke.

"We've been through so much. This is just another setback. We can do it." I said.

"Oh, face it Alex. Nothing has been as bad as this. When Em's baby died, they moved past it and had another child. It made them so much stronger. When we broke up, it hurt, but we got back together and learned so much. There's no upside to this. Jen died, and we don't get her back. We don't learn anything about ourselves. To put it plainly, this sucks."

I always knew things had gotten bad when Marina was no longer optimistic. I had to think of what she would normally say, and say it myself. "We'll gain something. I didn't think I could gain anymore trust in you, but from the moment you gave me those eyes, the ones to move Jack in with us, I never felt so safe in my entire life. You always do the right thing, without compromise. I already love you even more. Let's see what the future holds before we judge."

She sighed. "You're always right."

"Only when it comes to my faith in you." 

We arrived home. She slung the baby bag on her shoulder and grabbed Max. I took Peter. We went inside. I had traveled the whole world over and over again, but no place is quite as lovely as home. I looked forward to my wife. She was moving to the nursery. I followed. She set Max down in the crib. God, he looked exactly like Jack. I took Peter and placed him beside Max. Peter looked like me. They were destined to be best friends.

I wrapped my arm around my beautiful wife. She turned to face me, leaning her head into my chest. "Alex, this is going to be so hard."

I rubbed her back. "But it'll be so worth it. You'll see the boys grow up, and Max will always have a mother to nuture him and love him, even if it's not the one who birthed him."

"I don't doubt that for a second. This is all worth every little drop of effort."

I felt fatigue wash over me again. "I think we should sleep."

She laughed. "That means we have to move the boys again!"

We kept the crib in the nursery for daytime naps, but we had one next to the bed that we could drop the side of for middle of the night snacking. Yes, Marina breastfed. And yes, she would be breastfeeding Max too. It's so much better for the baby, and the time between kids meant it was still the right nutrients for Max. 

"I'll get Max. You get the little shit." I picked up Max.

"You should stop calling our son a little shit. He's an angel." She carried him off.

I followed. "He's gonna be a little shit. No child of mine would ever be well behaved."

"No child of mine would be a little shit." She set Peter down. 

I watched as she wandered to our closet, picking out the Ravens sweats and a baggy shirt. She tossed me some plaid sweats.

"I don't need a shirt, baby. I'm hot enough." I referred to her. I still loved her body. Her tummy was still a bit potruded and mangled. But most of it was gone. Her arms and legs were still as toned as ever. Her chest was even bigger than before. She had stretch marks on her hips. But still, I couldn't help but feel drawn to every inch of her. Her body was so much more beautiful now that she did something so amazing, like birthing a child.