Promises to Keep

boy, oh boy

"Everything okay?" Tayla asked Tyler, who had been uncharacteristically quiet since the end of the gender reveal party earlier that evening. After discovering the trick Justin had pulled, and discovering they were having a boy, Tayla was overcome with joy. The rest of the evening seemed like a blur; it was all surreal.

"Yeah" Tyler replied automatically, before remembering his conversation with both Jamie, on the road, and Cassidy just a few hours earlier. He had to talk to Tayla about his feelings; she would be hurt if it was something he withheld from her. "Okay, no" he then admitted, turning to face her. She sat on the couch, looking as beautiful as ever.

"What's up?" she asked, her face laced with concern.

"About Justin..." Tyler trailed off, unsure of how to even approach talking about this.

"What about him?" Tayla asked, a little confused and surprised. "Did he go too far with the party?" she asked, knowing he hadn't wanted to even attend to something so silly. "I know you didn't even want to have one, and I didn't either at first-"

"No, no. It wasn't the party; it was actually pretty cool" Tyler admitted, though it wasn't something he wanted to necessarily admit. "It's just, I guess I'm a little envious of him" he wasn't sure if he worded what he felt correctly.

"Envious how?" Tayla asked, not fully understanding.

"I mean," Tyler sighed heavily. "I mean, he's been able to go with you to all your appointments, he found out what we were having before either of us did... I guess I just feel like I should be the one to go with you to those appointments, not him. I want to be the one there for you, not him... you know?" he rambled. The more he spoke, the worse he felt about opening up about his feelings.

"Ty..." Tayla trailed off, frowning. "I know you want to be there- trust me, I wish you were but I get it! And besides," she smiled, sliding closer to him. "There will be plenty of opportunities to be there once the future Dallas Star is born" she whispered in his ear, sending shivers down his spine.

"I can't believe we're having a boy..." Tyler trailed off, smiling and fully realizing how lucky he was. "Do you have any names in mind?" He asked her, realizing that it was something neither of them had actually discussed. Did he have his own thoughts? Sure; but it wasn't something that they had vocalized.

"I had a lot of girl names" Tayla admitted, fully expecting she was going to have a girl. "I haven't really come up with a boy name I really like... or one that flows well with your last name" she mused.

"My last name?" Tyler questioned, not really thinking much into it.

"Well, I mean since we have different last names I figured he could take yours?" It came out as more of a question than anything. Tyler quickly realized that it was true; they did have different last names. In all the hoopla about her pregnancy, he had forgotten about his plan of proposal and marriage. He knew it was something he wanted; there was never any question about that. "I mean, as long as that's okay..." she trailed off, feeling a little unsure of herself.

"No! No, of course it's okay" Tyler quickly interjected. "How about... Grayson?" he pulled a name out of his ass, and he wasn't overly sure he was fond of it.

"Uh- not a fan of that one, honestly" Tayla admitted sheepishly. "I've always like Evander" she confessed.

"Can't do Evander- reminds me of Evander Kane" Tyler pointed out.

"Fair" Tayla laughed. "But you can't say no to every name because it reminds you of someone you play against" Tayla added, slightly sternly.

"Yeah, yeah I know that" Tyler sighed. "But you know how you can like a name, but you know this one person who has it who kind of ruins it for you?" he asked her, and she nodded, rubbing her stomach.

"All too well" Tayla smiled. "But hey, we still have time to figure it out- I'm sure we'll think of a name" she yawned, jolting upright immediately.

"What? Are you okay?" Tyler asked, alarmed. Tayla simply grabbed his hand, and set it where she just felt the baby kick. Tyler looked at her curiously, before feeling the kick for himself. His eyes went wide with surprise, and a big smile spread across his face. "That was amazing" he breathed, truly in awe.

"Amazing, but also a pain sometimes" Tayla laughed, looking into Tyler's eyes. She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing happily. "We'll figure out a name" she then spoke, more so for her own comfort than anything else. The feeling seemed surreal to her, choosing a name for a person. It would be what they'd be called their entire life; the whole thought of it terrified Tayla slightly for no particular reason. Did other people feel this way? Did they also get freaked out by the thought of having to pick a name?

"I know we will" Tyler smiled, feeling truly happy. He wasn't sure if Tayla would forgive him after everything that had transpired, but here they were; a few months away from having a child together. Deep in his heart, he didn't feel like he deserved to be forgiven. Deep down, he still have thoughts of Tayla realizing the same, and leaving. Not only would she be gone from his life, but so would their unborn child. Would she take him away from him like that? Would-

"Ty, you okay?" Tayla asked, eyeing her boyfriend curiously. "You look like you saw a ghost" she commented, slightly laughing, slightly concerned.

"Just scared. What if I'm not a good father?" He half lied. Sure, he was terrified of becoming a father, but that wasn't the most of his anxieties. Would this be how it would be for the rest of his life? Would he constantly be beating himself up over this, constantly living in fear one day, Tayla would leave?

"I'm terrified too" Tayla admitted. "But I know we can handle this- were a team, after all" she smiled up at him.

"We'll be a great team" Tyler whispered, knowing what he had to do.

"I think we already are" Tayla told him softly. Tyler kissed the top of her head, mentally trying t9 figure out how he was going to pull this off.