May to September

[Red Ranger 1]

Many thanks for all the comments, hope everyone likes this one.

CHAPTER 11

Leah nervously fiddled with her top as she lay on the examination bed.Dexter sat in a chair next to her, not sure if offering her a consoling hand would be inappropriate or not.“You done this often?”he asked her.

Leah nodded slowly.“It never seems to go well.”

This wasn’t what Dexter had been wanting to hear.“Still, things went okay with VJ.”He saw Leah give an embarrassed look.“Didn’t they??”

“Well…actually, when I had my scan with him, it turned out he had a kidney problem and the doctors had to do an operation in situ or he’d have died.”

Dexter gulped.“Does there ever reach a point where everything’s all right and you can stop worrying about them?”

“If there is, I’ve never got there.”

Sid appeared in the doorway.“Everything all right?”

“Doctor Walker,”Dexter greeted him ironically,“Do we require your presence?”

“No, Dex, I’m just doing my concerned grandfather bit and checking in on you both.How are you going, Leah?”

Leah gave him a smile.“Fine, thanks, Sid.”

Nurse Gloria appeared behind Sid.“I don’t think we need you at the moment, Doctor.”

“No.”Sid glanced at Dexter.“Make sure you show me a photograph afterwards, all right?”

“Fine, Dad,”Dexter sighed as he left.

“One day this kid’ll find you just as embarrassing,”Leah joked.

“I’m fully expecting this kid to find me embarrassing by the age of two.”

“Just give me a moment to apply the gel and we can get going,”Gloria told them, peeling back Leah’s shirt to expose the abdomen.

Leah and Dexter kept their eyes focused on the screen.Slowly, a series of wavy lines appeared, with a large blob at the bottom of the picture.“Somehow I was expecting something a bit more impressive,”Dexter mused.

“Like what?”Leah asked.

“I don’t know, a 3D hologram floating in mid-air would be kind of cool.”

“I could put in a recommendation to the designers if you like,”Gloria suggested with an amused look.

“Could you?”Dexter asked hopefully.He looked back at the screen and gave a start.“It moved!The baby moved!Leah, did you see that?”

“Yeah, I felt it too,”Leah confirmed.

Dexter stared hard at the screen.“Okay, I guess this is kind of cool too.”

Dexter had an oddly giddy feeling as he walked towards the hospital exit.He’d stopped by the admin desk to show a photo of the baby to Sid, feeling every inch the proud father.It was very much a new sensation to him but he was quite enjoying it.

He felt a slight thump against the back of his leg and looked around to see a small boy sitting on the ground, looking up at him with a slightly perplexed expression.Apparently he’d been running in the corridor and had charged into Dex’s leg.

Dexter lifted the boy up and set him back on his feet.“Guess we’d both better watch where we’re going, little…”He paused as he realised he knew the boy.“William?”

As if on cue, Dallas came hurrying down the corridor.“William, I told you to hold onto my hand, are you all right?”Then she suddenly seemed to realise it was an old friend that her son had run into and looked slightly awkward.“Dexter, hi.I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Well, I guess life’s full of surprises.”A thought suddenly hit Dexter.“Why are you here anyway?Is something wrong?”

“Nothing serious.Just William having hit the running around, bumping into things stage.”She lifted her son up and rubbed his head gently.“We had a bit of a bump on the head, didn’t we, so we thought we should get it checked out.”She looked back at Dexter.“Anyway, what are you doing here? Are you just finishing a shift?”

“No, actually, I’m just accompanying the mother of my child to her ultrasound.”

“Oh.”Then it hit Dallas what Dexter had just said.“Hang on, your what?Are you back with April or something?”

“No, not April.”

“That Ruby girl you were trying to help?”

“No, not Ruby.Leah.”Dexter saw Dallas’ lack of recognition at the name.“Give it a few seconds, you’ll get there.”

Something clicked in Dallas’ brain and her eyes widened in shock.“Leah?The woman who owns the Diner?Isn’t she, like…”

“Thirty-three.”

“Right.So, you two are..?”

“She’s just a friend.Who I happen to have got pregnant.”Now that he’d got over the shock of seeing Dallas again, Dexter found all sorts of feelings and memories were suddenly rushing to the surface.It might not have been the best time but then maybe she was the one person who could understand how he was feeling.“Do you want to go for a coffee and catch up?”

Dallas smiled.“I think both William and I would like that a lot.”

[Red Ranger 1]

Thank you, everyone, for your comments.Hope you like this one.

CHAPTER 12

VJ leaned on the counter at the Diner.“Mum wants a herbal tea.And a cushion.”

“Well, I can do the herbal tea,”Roo replied,“And she keeps a cushion in the back room.”

While VJ went through into the storeroom, Roo carried Leah’s drink to her table.“You look like you could use this,”she commented.

“Do I ever,”Leah agreed,“You forget just how many aches you get when you’re pregnant.”

“I remember it was enough to stop me ever going through it again.”

“Smart person.”

Roo had a quick look around to make sure there weren’t too many customers before sitting down with her.“Well, I hope Dexter’s doing his bit.”

“Yeah, I can’t fault him,”Leah agreed,“He’s handling it better than a lot of boys his age would.”

“Knows just what to do?”

“No, but at least he’s trying.”

“Where is he now then?”

“He’s spending time with Dallas.You know, that girl who..?”

Roo nodded.“Yeah, she stayed at the caravan park for a bit.I didn’t know they were still in touch.”

“They ran into each other again a few weeks back.”

“I hope he’s not going to start neglecting you.”

Leah shook her head.“It’s good for him to spend time with someone nearer his own age.And she had a child when she was young too, so they’ve got that in common.”

“Yeah, I suppose if anyone’s going to make sure he does the right thing, it’s someone like that.”

VJ came back with the cushion.“Here you go, Mum.”He helped her position it behind her back.

“Who needs another man around when I’ve got you?”Leah teased, putting an arm round him and hugging him.

“Mum!”VJ complained.

Roo eyed him suspiciously.“You were back there a long time.”

“Yeah.”VJ shrugged.“You might find you’ve got less buns left than you thought.”

Dexter had carefully marked out a square of sand on the beach and was methodically heaping sand into it to form a sand castle.“Now, the thing you have to understand about building sand castles, William,”he explained,“is that you can’t just give yourself a big pile of sand.You need to have a plan in mind, a design, a blueprint for exactly what your masterpiece is going to look like.”

William grinned at him, then began beating at his castle with a spade and kicking it, demolishing most of the construction.

“But I guess you just like throwing sand around, which is also good.”He patted the boy on the head. “Mind you don’t get any in your eyes,”he warned him, before heading over to the towel where Dallas was sitting, dropping onto the towel next to her.

“I think he’s missed you,”Dallas remarked.

“Yes, he’s probably missed having someone he can push around.”Dexter shot her a guilty look.“I did mean to keep in touch with you both when you moved away but things always seemed to get in the way.”

“Well, don’t beat yourself up, it’s not like I didn’t know where you were.”

Dexter brightened up slightly.“That’s right!You were as rubbish as I was!”

“We’ll just have to make sure we do a better job of keeping in touch this time.”

“Right.It’s not like I’m going to be particularly busy over the next few months.Just a little thing called a new baby.”

Dallas smiled at him.“I think you’ll be great at it.I wish William’s dad had been like you, I was left doing everything on my own.But I don’t regret it now.”

Dexter nodded.“He’s a great kid.I like spending time with him.”

“Oh, is that why we’re here?”Dallas asked in mock offence.

“Obviously I like spending time with you too,”Dexter replied placatingly.

Dallas’ expression suddenly became serious.“Do you mean that?”

Dexter looked at her uncertainly.“Yes?”he offered cautiously.

“Because I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner.”

“With you and William?”

“No.Just with me.”

Dexter nodded slowly.He would be lying if he said he wasn’t attracted to her.More than that, he felt at ease with her in a way that he didn’t usually feel around girls.And the prospect of having dinner with her he found oddly exciting.

“I think I could do that,”he said at last.

[Red Ranger 1]

Thank you, all of you, for your comments!

And wow! You got another avatar!

Yes, I do that sometimes.

Hope y'all like this one!

CHAPTER 13

Dexter arrived at the back door to be greeted by the sight of Leah unplugging a boiling kettle.“Don’t do that!”he protested, rushing forward and grabbing the hot kettle from her hand.

Leah looked at him in bemusement.“Why not?”

“Because it’s hot!You could burn your hand or you could slip and pour hot water all down you…” He noticed the way her eyebrows were getting higher and higher on her forehead.“And I’m being overprotective and should probably put the kettle down and take a step back.”He put the kettle down and took a step back.

“Right.Now that’s settled, was there a reason why you came round, other than to protect me from kitchen appliances?I mean, there doesn’t have to be a reason, but…”

“Oh!Yes.”Dexter held up his mobile.“Just to let you know that I will have this with me all evening, so if there are any baby related emergencies or kitchen related emergencies or any problems at all that require my immediate presence here, give me a call and I will be right with you.”

“Okay.But why are you telling me this about tonight rather than any other night?”Leah suddenly noticed that Dexter was wearing what she assumed was his best suit and jacket.“And why are you all dressed up?”

Dexter blinked.“Oh, I haven’t told you that either, have I?”He cleared his throat.“I am going on a date with Dallas.”

Leah smiled.“Well, good for you.She’s a lucky girl.”

“Is she?Do you mind if I mention to her that you said that?”

“Might not be the best thing to say in the circumstances?”

Dexter mulled this over.“You might be right.Don’t want to raise her expectations too high.Play it cool.I just want you to know, that however this night goes and whatever may or may not happen between Dallas and I, you will always hold a special position as the mother of my firstborn.”

“I’m very pleased to hear it,”Leah replied, trying her hardest not to laugh.

Dexter held up his phone and pointed to it as he backed out the door.“Mobile.On.”

Dallas held on to Dexter’s arm as he walked her back to her flat.“Seriously, I had the best night,”she reassured him.

“Really?”Dexter rubbed his elbow.His suit still felt slightly damp and he was sure something was starting to turn crusty.“Because I found that all my attempts to be witty and charming fell slightly flat the moment I realised I had my arm in my soup.”

“You recovered from it well.”

“It’s nice of you to say so.”

“Seriously, there aren’t many guys who’d be brave enough to pick themselves up and carry on after an embarrassment like that.”

“So, basically, I have no shame.”

“You’ve got no ego, Dex.I like that in you.You’re not afraid to help people even when it’s not cool. You’re not afraid to crawl around on the floor with William.And you’re not afraid to step out of your comfort zone and go on a date with me.Which is a bit outside my comfort zone because I haven’t been on a date in a while.”

They had come to a halt outside the building.“Seriously?”Dexter asked,“You, the virgin slayer?”

Dallas lowered her eyes.“Those weren’t dates,”she said at last,“They were distractions.A way for me to stop being a struggling single mum for a night with someone who wasn’t expecting any more than I was.And I’ve got you to thank for showing me it didn’t have to be like that.”

Dexter looked slightly abashed.“I don’t think I’ve ever been anyone’s inspiration before.”

“Well, you are now.”She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, gently at first but slowly deepening.

For a moment, Dexter was stunned but as he relaxed slightly the kiss began to feel natural.She wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her body, feeling the contours of her back as they slowly explored each other’s mouths.

The kiss broke.Dallas gripped his hand.“Do you want to come inside?”

Slowly, feeling slightly detached from reality, Dexter nodded.

When Dexter woke the next morning, he was aware that something was different.The bed that he’d slept in didn’t feel like his own bed.And for some reason, he seemed to be wearing only his boxers. He rolled over and found himself face to face with Dallas, sound asleep, wearing her vest and pants.

Oh yes.Tthat was what was different.

Dexter stared hard at her for several seconds, not quite sure what he was supposed to do.With Leah, he’d quickly slipped out of the room before she’d woken up and taken refuge in the kitchen.But that had just left him with a lot of confused thoughts until they’d actually talked things over.Maybe it was best just to bite the bullet and deal with it now.

He took a deep breath and began gently nudging her.“Dallas?Um, do you want to wake up now?Or something?”

Dallas sleepily opened her eyes and looked at him, the corners of her lips turning upwards in a slight smile.“Morning, Dex.”

Dexter had a feeling she hadn’t quite grasped the situation.“Ah, I think something happened between us last night.”

She raised an ironic eyebrow.“You think?You mean you don’t remember?”

Dexter allowed his mind to drift back over the events that had led to them waking up in the same bed, finding a number of what he had to admit were actually rather pleasant memories there.“I remember,”he admitted,“So, should I get dressed and do a walk of shame and never see you again?”

“Dex, I asked you out on a date, I let you walk me home and when we got here I invited you in. That’s the beginning of a relationship, not the end.”

“Relationship?”Dexter mulled the word over.He quite liked the sound of it.“Well, that’s okay then.” He settled back into the bed, relaxing again.“You realise you’re probably pregnant now?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, this is only the second time I’ve had sex and the first time someone ended up pregnant.”

“I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Dexter heard a sudden movement from the doorway and looked to his right.He saw William standing next to the door, dressed in his pyjamas, sucking nervously on the ear of a teddy bear.“Hey there, little boy,”he greeted him.William continued to stare at him uncertainly.Dexter got the message. “I’m in your place, aren’t I?”

“Budge up, Dexter,”Dallas told him before glancing over the top of his reclining body at her son. “William, come up here.”She patted the space next to her.

William crawled over Dexter and got into bed between him and Dallas.

Dallas looked at Dexter, suddenly worried.“Do you mind?”

Dexter looked at the pair of them and found that actually he didn’t mind a bit.“No,”he answered,“I don’t mind.”

[Red Ranger 1]

Thank you all for your comments!I'm determined to finish this story before I go on holiday on Monday so here's another chapter for you.Hope you like!

CHAPTER 14

Dexter led the way through the double doors of the hospital, followed by Dallas carrying William, followed by Indi and Sasha.They were greeted by a bemused looking VJ.“Why are they all here?”he asked.

“Moral support,”Dexter explained.

“How’s it all going?”Sasha asked.

VJ shrugged.“Don’t know.Mum wouldn’t let me in there.”

Dexter clapped him on the shoulder.“You don’t know want to do that, Veej.A woman in labour is a horrifying sight.Sweating and screaming and with a deep loathing and resentment of anyone unfortunate enough to have been born male…Actually, you can go in instead of me if you like.”

Sid came over.“Dexter!Leah’s been taken through to the delivery room and everything’s proceeding well.She’s been expecting you.”

Dexter looked pained.“Really?Couldn’t she be expecting VJ or one of the girls?Or how about Dallas, she knows what it’s like.”He looked beseechingly at his girlfriend.“For me?Please?”

“Dexter, this is your first child,”Indi pointed out,“My first niece or nephew.Entering the world.Do you really want to miss the chance to brag about what it was like?”

Dexter looked even more pained as he weighed up the pros and cons.“Oh, okay,”he sighed at last.

Dallas kissed him on the cheek.“We’ll all be waiting here for you.”

Dexter gestured to Sid.“Lead the way, Doctor Walker.”

Leah was lying on the bed in the delivery room, acting pretty much as Dexter had predicted she would, as he entered the room.The midwife gave him a sympathetic smile.“You’re the father?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Come on in, there’s no need to be scared.Just hold her hand.”

Dexter inched over to Leah and took her hand as instructed.He nodded towards the midwife, speaking quietly to Leah.“She’s taking all this in her stride.”

“Your dad told her what to expect.Oh boy…”

“What?”

“Contraction.”

“Oh boy.”

Leah screamed.So did Dexter.She looked sideways at him.“Why are you screaming?”

“Just trying to empathise.Plus, you’re squeezing my hand really hard.”

The rest of the group were sat in the reception area, looking slightly uncomfortable.“How long is this going to take?”VJ complained.

“I don’t know,”Indi answered,“I’ve never had a baby.”

“It can take a while sometimes,”Dallas noted,“I was in labour for five hours with William.”

“Five hours?”Sasha asked.She checked her watch.“I’ve got a homework assignment due in in the morning.”

“It might not take that long,”Dallas continued optimistically.

“Maybe we should ask Dad,”Indi suggested,“He’s probably got some idea how things are progressing.”

“Good idea.”VJ ran down the corridor to where Sid was working.“Doctor Walker!How long until my brother or sister’s born?”

“Well, I don’t rightly know, Veej,”Sid answered,“But from what I’ve heard, it could be any time now.”

“Dex, you can open your eyes now,”Leah said quietly.

Dexter slowly opened one eye, then the other, then took a number of deep breaths.“Just making sure I didn’t faint at an inconvenient moment,”he explained,“Is it over?”

The midwife smiled at him.“Congratulations, Mr.Walker, Mrs.Patterson.You’ve got a baby boy.”

Dexter looked down at the baby as the midwife handed him to Leah.“Oh wow.He’s going to be so embarrassed of me when he gets older.”

“Any idea about names?”

Leah looked at Dexter.“What do you think?”

“You’re asking me?You think I’m gonna come up with a sensible name?”

“Give it a go.”

Dexter thought for a long moment.“Albert,”he said at last.

“Albert?”Leah repeated, not sounding very enthused by the idea.

“After Albert Einstein.”Dexter seemed to pick up on the fact Leah wasn’t so keen on the idea. “Okay.How about Stephen, after Stephen Hawking?”

Leah mulled the name over.“Stephen.Yeah, I could get used to that.”

“There’s a lot of people outside who want to see you,”the midwife revealed,“They can come in so long as they don’t stay too long.”

VJ, Sid, Indigo, Sasha, Dallas and William all filed in.“Wow!”VJ exclaimed,“Is that really my brother?”

“I can definitely confirm that,”Leah agreed.

“I would confirm it,”Dexter put in,“But I had my eyes closed.”

“I can’t believe I’m an auntie,”Indi exclaimed.

“I can’t believe I am,”Sasha added.

Dexter took William off Dallas and held him so he could see the baby.“William, meet Stephen.He’s your new stepbrother, kind of.”

Dallas kissed Dexter on the cheek.“You’re gonna be a great dad.”

“Well one thing’s for sure,”Sid noted,“Your life is about to change more than you can imagine.”

[Red Ranger 1]

Many thanks for all your comments, here, as promised, is the conclusion to this story.Hope you like!

EPILOGUE

Dexter stuck his head around the doorway.“Am I late?”

Leah gave him an indulgent smile, then called in the direction of the bedrooms,“Stephen!Daddy’s here!”She turned back to Dexter.“He shouldn’t be too long.He’s putting on his shoes and refusing to let anyone help him.”

“Ah.Independently minded.I can relate.”

VJ came through.“I’m just going out, Mum.Hey, Dex.”

“VJ, my main man,”Dexter greeted him,“How’s the study going?”

“Okay.”

“Don’t need me to give you some of my famous tutoring sessions?”

VJ gave him a sarcastic look.“No, thanks.I know where that leads and I don’t really want another brother.”

Dexter sighed.“That was over two years ago.Aren’t you ever going to let me forget?”

“Nope.See you!”VJ headed out.

“Dallas didn’t come with you?”Leah asked Dex,“You know she’s always welcome.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’m making her rest.”Dexter bit his lip, as if realising he’d made a mistake.

It took Leah a few seconds to realise the significance of Dexter’s comment.“She’s pregnant? Congratulations, Dex, I know you’ve been trying.”

“Just got to explain it to William and Stephen now.We seem to be toting up quite a few children between us.”

A dark-haired little boy came toddling into the room.When his eyes lighted on Dexter, he smiled and hugged his legs.

Dexter lifted the boy up with a grin.“Hey, Stevie, you’re getting pretty heavy.Now you’re a big boy, you’re going to have to start walking a bit more.Even if it takes us twice as long to get to the beach.” He looked at Leah.“You’re sure he’s okay to stay overnight?”

“Yeah, just so long as you remember to drop him off at preschool in the morning.”Leah kissed their son on the cheek.“See you tomorrow, Stephen, okay?”

As Dexter and Stephen disappeared out the door, Leah smiled to herself.If anyone had asked her three years ago how she hoped to become a mother for the second time, then the way it had actually happened would have been pretty far away from her mind.Yet somehow it had worked.Stephen was growing up with two parents who loved him and she knew that he was blessed with the thing she had most wanted for her children:He was happy.And so were his parents.

Comments