When the Walls Come Crashing Down

Ten days after Faith gave birth to Bryson she woke up at three in the morning to the sound of Bryson’s crying coming from the bassinet next to the bed. Automatically she sat up and reached in, picking him up and cradling him in her arms. Joe stirred on the bed and let out a yawn.

“What time is it?” he asked, the sound of sleep lingering in his voice.

“Three,” she said, rubbing her eyes before lifting up her shirt to feed Bryson.

“Do you need me to do anything?” Joe asked, sitting up in the bed. Faith winced as Bryson suckled a little harder than she was used to and tried to think of something Joe could do.

“Just, sing him something to have him fall asleep when I’m done?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder to see a half asleep Joe sitting with his body resting against the pillows.

“No problem,” he said, nodding his head slightly. He threw the blanket off his legs and crawled across the bed to sit next to Faith. Faith smiled but kept her eyes on Bryson as Joe draped his arm around her waist.

“What are you thinking?” Faith asked as Joe rubbed small circles on her lower back.

“I’m wondering if we’ll get a call from Dr. Greene today,” Joe admitted. “I’m nervous because it’s almost been two weeks and I leave in four days. I just really want to know before then.”

“I know you do, babe. So do I. My heart is going a million miles a minute and I pray every night that it’s you.”

“That makes two of us,” Joe said, taking a deep breath. Bryson stopped eating and turned his head to look at Joe, his eyes widening and he started kicking his feet.

“I think somebody wants to see you,” Faith said, lifting Bryson and handing him to Joe. Joe placed him so he was slightly over his shoulder and started patting his back.

“Hey little man,” Joe said, turning his head to kiss Bryson’s cheek. He kept his head there and inhaled the scent that always seems to linger on babies. “Wanna hear a song?” he asked and Bryson responded with a burp.

“I think that’s a yes,” Faith said, climbing back under the covers and lying down. Joe set Bryson in the bassinet and ran his hand over Bryson’s dark hair before starting to sing.

****

A few hours later Faith woke up to an empty bed and an empty bassinet. She raised her arms over her head to stretch her back and climbed out of bed. Wrapping her robe around her body she slid her slippers on and headed downstairs, her mouth watering at the smell of bacon.

“You cooked,” she said in surprise when she saw Joe standing at the stove and not her mother.

“Yes I did,” he said with a smile.

“Where’s Bryson?”

“Lizzy has him in the living room,” he said, nodding his head towards the doorway. Faith leaned over the island and gave him a kiss before going into the living room.

“Morning,” she said to Lizzy as she sat down next to her, kissing Bryson’s hand.

“Hi,” Lizzy said, smiling as she handed a squirming Bryson over to her sister. “Nick called. He wants to come over around noon. Joe said it’s okay.”

“Oh, alright.”

“You’re okay with it, right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It will be interesting, that’s for sure.”

“Do you think Dr. Greene will call today?” Lizzy asked, giving Bryson her finger.

“I hope so,” Faith said, letting out a breath. “It’s nerve-wracking. Just sitting here waiting, not knowing what to do or who to talk to.”

“Well, for the sake of your sanity, I’m pulling for Joe to be the father,” Lizzy whispered, winking her eye at Faith.

“Thanks,” Faith said, giving her sister a smile.

“But,” Lizzy said, pausing as she tried to think of the right wording.

“What is it?” Faith prodded.

“Would it really be so bad if Nick is the father?” she asked causing Faith’s eyes widen. “Hear me out. With Joe leaving in four days for three whole months, wouldn’t it be nice to know that the other half responsible for this gorgeous baby boy is still here to help you out? I know Joe has been amazing with Bryson so far but Nick hasn’t really gotten a chance and there’s still a fifty percent chance that he’s the father so… if things don’t turn out the way we hope… would it really be that bad?”

“Wow,” Faith said, lowering Bryson to her lap. She laid him down in the dip between her legs and watched as he drifted to sleep. “I never really thought about it that way. I guess, if it did come down to Nick being the father he could move in when Joe leaves and help out. A few months ago I did tell him that if he ended up being the father that we would want him to move in so he wouldn’t miss out on anything.”

“But what about… Charlotte?” Lizzy asked.

“What do you mean?” Faith asked. “She’s going to be with Joe.”

“Exactly,” Lizzy said, nodding her head and Faith furrowed her brow. “Well, we all know that Charlotte’s with Nick now but we also know that she used to like Joe.”

“Yeah, but they got over that hump and became best friends.”

“You can be best friends with someone and still like them,” Lizzy prodded.

“But Joe told me that she helped him out when he was trying to express how he felt about me. She’s part of the reason why Joe and I are together,” Faith countered.

“Valid point,” Lizzy said with a laugh. “But still, with her gone and Nick with you…”

“What?” Faith asked and Lizzy looked down at her lap.

“Well, remember at Dad’s funeral when Nick said he had never stopped loving you? What if he’s still in love with you? Being around you, he could remember what he had with you and act upon that.”

“I don’t think that would happen,” Faith said slowly.

“You don’t sound too sure,” Lizzy said.

“But you and Mom will be here. You can like, monitor or something. Warn me if you see something suspicious.”

“Sure but I’m not going to be here for very much longer. I leave for college in just a little over a month and Mom said she’d work at the daycare center to fill in for you. So for two months out of the three, it will mainly be you and Nick.”

“He has a job too, remember?”

“He’s a musician, Faith. He spends most of his time at home or in the studio writing and recording. Not too much else,” Lizzy said.

“Well, I’m not going to let it worry me now. Let’s just wait for the phone call and see what the results are before we start jumping to conclusions,” Faith said as the doorbell rang.

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” Lizzy said, getting up to answer the door. “Hey, Nick. Come on in.”

“Thanks,” Nick said, walking into the living room as Lizzy closed the door.

“Hello Nicholas,” Meg said, walking down the stairs. Nick turned to smile at her before walking over to Faith.

“Hey,” he said, looking into her eyes before looking down at Bryson.

“Hi,” she said. “Do you want to hold him?”

“Oh, um… it’s been awhile since I’ve held a baby,” he said nervously.

“Didn’t you hold him at the hospital?” Faith asked, giving him a questioning look.

“No, actually.”

“Oh well, come here. You won’t break him,” she said, giving him an encouraging smile. With slight hesitation, Nick sat on the couch next to Faith.

“Ok, what do I do?” he asked.

“Just crook your elbow and I’ll hand him over. Remember to support his head in your elbow and then hold his butt up with your other hand,” she said, lifting Bryson. Nick positioned his arms and tensed up as Faith handed Bryson over.

“Oh,” Nick let out as Faith slid her hands away and it was all up to him to hold this little baby. “He’s a little heavier than I was expecting.”

“He’s about nine pounds,” Faith said, letting out a slight laugh. She looked up when she heard footsteps and smiled when she saw Joe walking in.

“Hey Nick,” Joe said, nodding to his brother.

“Hey,” Nick said, not looking up from Bryson. He just couldn’t take his eyes off him.

“Breakfast is ready, if the two of you are hungry,” Joe said and Faith stood up.

“You want some, Nick?” Faith asked, standing next to Joe and resting her head on his shoulder.

“No, I’m good. I’ll watch Bryson while you eat,” he answered.

“You sure?” Joe asked.

“I’ve got it,” Nick said, looking up and smiling at them. “Really, it’s okay.”

“Oh, well, thanks,” Faith said, smiling before turning to go into the kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Joe hesitate before turning to join her.

****

As Faith was putting her breakfast dishes in the dishwasher she heard Bryson crying and immediately stopped what she was doing and went out to the living room to see what was wrong. She stopped when she saw Nick lift him up and sniff his diaper. Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried not to laugh when Nick’s face scrunched up in disgust when he realized his suspicions were true. Controlling herself she walked into the living room and over to Nick.

“I’ll take him,” she said, holding her hands out for Bryson.

“Actually, I’d kind of like to change him. If you don’t mind,” he said quickly, noticing the look of surprise on Faith’s face.

“I don’t mind at all,” she answered. “Do you need some help?”

“Please. The last time I changed a diaper was when Frankie was a baby,” he said, standing up and following Faith to the stairs.

“Everything okay?” Joe asked, walking towards them, his breakfast dishes in his hands.

“Everything’s fine,” Faith said, smiling at him. “Bryson just needs to be changed. I’m going to supervise Nick and give him some help.”

“Oh, alright,” Joe said solemnly, walking backwards into the kitchen and Faith frowned at his attitude. He hadn’t acted this way at all since bringing Bryson home. But then again, Nick hadn’t been there at all during that time.

“Okay,” Faith said, walking into her and Joe’s bedroom and over to the changing table. “Just lay him down here.”

“Alright,” Nick said, gently lowering Bryson onto the table.

“Now unbutton the clasps on his butt and pull the flap up. Then just pull the diaper off and put it in this bin,” she said, pointing over to the special diaper bin. “The wipes are on the first shelf there and just wipe front to back, gently.”

“Okay, that’s gross,” Nick said, turning his head and taking a deep breath. “You do this every day?”

“Multiple times,” she said, nodding her head and scrunching her nose. “You get used to it after awhile.”

“Joe does it too?” he asked, tossing the dirty wipes in the bin.

“Yeah, he does,” she answered. “Okay, now just spritz a little bit of baby powder on him so he doesn’t get a diaper rash. It’s on the same shelf as the wipes. Now you are ready for the brand new diaper down on the second shelf. Slid it under his put and then you can lower his legs. Just pull the tabs, fold the top up, and stick them on the middle tightly, but not too tight, and you’re done!”

“There,” Nick said, sticking the second tab in place. “How’s it look?”

“That, is one very well done first diaper,” she said, applauding him and he laughed.

“That wasn’t too awful,” he said, buttoning Bryson back up and then lifting him into his arms.

“You did better than Joe did on his first diaper change,” Faith said, letting out a slight laugh as she recalled the moment.

“Really?” Nick asked, a bit of pride in his voice.

“Oh yeah,” she answered. Just then the phone rang and her eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat.

“Hello?” they heard Lizzy answer. Both Faith and Nick stood in silence, looking at each other, straining to hear what was next. “Just a minute. Faith! Nick! Joe! It’s Dr. Greene.”

“Oh my God,” Faith said, turning to go downstairs. She practically flew down the stairs and met Joe at the bottom of the staircase. Nick joined them and handed Bryson over to Meg as Joe hit the speaker button.

“Hello Dr. Greene,” Joe said.

“Good morning Joe,” she said, her voice crackling through the speakers. “Are Faith and Nick there as well?”

“Yes,” Nick said.

“We’re here,” Faith said, grabbing Joe’s hand and squeezing it tight.

“Good. Well, I have the results of Bryson’s paternity test here,” she said and Faith’s heart beat faster and faster. She could feel Joe tense up next to her and behind her she could hear Nick’s heavy breathing. “It turns out that Nick is Bryson’s father. I’m sorry, Joe.”

It was silent as the three stood, staring at the phone. Faith’s jaw dropped when she heard the words and she heard Nick let out a slight sob behind her.

“Thank you,” she choked out, hanging up after Dr. Greene said goodbye. She turned to look at Joe whose eyes were staring at his feet. He had tears silently dripping down his cheeks.

“Congratulations,” Lizzy whispered to Nick. “I’m going to put Bryson down.”

“Thanks,” Nick whispered.

“Joe?” Faith asked quietly, reaching a hand up to Joe’s face to wipe away the tears. He raised his arm to block her and turned his head away.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice thick with sadness. “I just... need to be alone.”

“Okay,” she whispered, watching him as he walked behind Nick and up the stairs. She listened as he walked above her and closed the bathroom door.

“Faith,” Nick whispered. She turned to look at him and saw tears on his face as well. “I’m sorry it didn’t turn out how you wanted.”

“Don’t be. We knew this was a possibility,” she said.

“I know but, I really thought it was going to be Joe,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“So did I,” she whispered, turning her back to him and walking into the kitchen where she folded herself in her mother’s arms, her shoulders shaking with her sobs.

“It’s all going to be okay,” Meg whispered, kissing the top of Faith’s head as she held her daughter tight.

“I don’t want him to be mad,” she said, choking on her words.

“He’ll be fine,” Meg said. “All three of them will.”

“I hope so,” Faith whispered thinking of Joe, Bryson, and Nick. At that moment she hoped that for once things would go right for once.