Crossroads

-Zacky’s POV-

I hung my towel up on the rack before pulling on my pants and noticing I left my shirt and socks on the bed. I walked into mine and Joanna’s room to find her sitting on the bed Indian style. She had Alaina next to her sitting upright with a pillow behind her for support playing with a set of toy keys, she was having a ball. At the foot of the bed I saw my shirt and socks just as I figured.

“Flick it. Twist it. Spin it. Bop it.” I heard as I walked over.

“You’re still playing Bop-It?” I asked her. She had gotten it for her birthday but lost it when they were touring and it just so happened to pop up. She’s been attached to it ever since.

“Yeah, I gotta beat my high score.” she said not looking away from the toy.

I looked over at Alaina who was laughing hysterically and trying to show me her keys. I sat down in front of her and started to play with her for a bit. I noticed her eyes drooping and her head nodding and knew right away she was getting tired. I grabbed her pacifier from off the dresser and laid her in her pack and play. She cooed a bit as she started to drift off.

I looked over at Joanna as she looked at her Bop-It with a very determined expression. I walked over to her and smacked it out of her hands. She looked up at me with a pissed expression until I knocked her over and climbed on top of her. She smiled as I pressed my body against hers and placed my arms on both sides of her head. I kissed her softly, but guessing by the way she gripped my hair and deepened the kiss, it wasn’t enough for her.

We started getting a little too “involved” and I let my hands roam around her body as I started to pull off her shirt when we heard Alaina stir. We stopped for a moment, but she fell back to sleep and we picked up where we left off.

I got her shirt off and threw it somewhere in the room. She pushed me over so she was on top and I smirked up at her. She leaned down planting a rough kiss on my lips and played with one of my lip rings with her tongue. Soon after she moved down and started to nibble on my neck which always sent me over the edge.

A moment later I was back on top. I pinned her arms down and started to kiss her jaw bone down to her neck. Just as I reached her neck we heard a scream.

“AHHH! BRIAN! JOANNA! ZEE SOMEONE HELP!”

It took me a moment to respond but Joanna was up in a second. She pushed me over and jumped off the bed and headed for the door, grabbing my sweat shirt off of the door as she ran out the door putting it on. I was on her heels in a second. We ran down the hall as Brian passed us and into their bedroom.

“What’s wrong?!” Brian asked urgently while he looked her over. Joanna leaped over the both of them and onto the bed looking over her as well. I stood at the foot of the bed taking everything in, trying to figure out what was going on. She was curled up, well she was curled up the best she could around her belly, pointing at the wall.

“It’s so huge!” she whispered.

We all looked in the direction she was pointing and saw what was bothering her, it was decent sized spider.
We all looked back at her.

“Really?” Brian asked, “Really? That much excitement over a spider? Ugh.” He walked over and smacked it with a shoe. We all looked back to her and Joanna on the bed.

“You alright skank?” Joanna asked.

“Yeah asswipe.” She replied smiling at her and rubbing her belly. “Wait, why are you wearing Zee’s hoodie with it halfway unzipped?”

She pondered for a millisecond before her face lit up. I felt Brian nudge me as I heard him snicker. “Nuh uh! You and Zee were doing the nasty?! Eww!” she said grimacing.

“No we weren’t doing the nasty. Close but no mister spider had to interfere.” She said giggling and crawling off the bed. “Plus, how was Jude created? Sunny D?”

I heard my phone ringing from my room so I left them to their little chattering and went to see who it was. When I picked it up I saw the it was Zina, so I answered it.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hey, do you wanna come out to lunch with me today? Your niece and nephew would love to see you.” She asked. I didn’t even have to debate on the offer.

“Hell yeah! When and where?” I really missed them and haven’t really seen them since before we went on tour.

“Uhm, how about that place you, mom and dad took me for my birthday?” she replied.

“Sushi on Fire on Main Street? I thought you didn’t like the sushi there.” I said letting out a little laugh.

“No, Matt didn’t like it.” She replied giggling, “He’s the only one aside from mom in our family who doesn’t like sushi. I guess we didn’t teach him the Baker way growing up.” She laughed.

“Well invite him, we will teach him the way.” I suggested.

“Alright, I shall. OH! You should bring Joanna! Ma told me how much she liked her. I saw her when you came back from visiting and when I saved her from the floor but I would like to see my future sister-in-law!” she said.

“Wait, what? Sister-in-law? What are you talking about?” I said baffled. I have to admit, I have thought of the idea, but never heard it out loud.

“Oh come on Zackary. You live with the girl. And when I saw you two together, it’s like she’s all you see in the world. It truly is the cutest thing in the world.”

I was silent for a moment, “What time?”

“How bout an hour?”

“That’s fine, we’ll be there.”

She squealed, “AH! Yay! See you guys then. I’m gunna call Matty. Love ya, bye!” she finished as I heard the beep from my phone letting me know the call ended.

I turned around just as Joanna walked back into the room. She took off my sweatshirt and hung it up on the back of the door, walked over to the bed and flopped back onto it and grabbed the Bop-It. She started playing and I laid down next to her.

She looked over at me and furrowed her brow, “What’s wrong?”

I noticed she was still shirtless and smirked, “Nothin. Wanna go get some sushi with Zina and Matt?”

“Sushi?” she asked me. She looked confused.

“Yeah, sushi. You know, that uncooked fish that you eat?”

“What? Baker’s not gunna bake?!” she asked.

I laughed and rolled over, “Shut the fuck up. Wanna go?”

She smiled, “Yeah lemme go find a shirt. Wait, do I have to dress nice?”

“Nah. Just a shirt. Hell if it were up to me I’d say go as you are but, for some reason the public frowns upon shirtless people unless they’re going swimming.”

She walked over to her dresser and looked through a few drawers before picking out a shirt. She grabbed a red one and put it on then turned around. I saw it was an LA Angels shirt and smiled, “Ah, my girl.” We told Aden and Brian where we were going, then we got our shit together and left.

The drive there didn’t take long at all, about a ten to fifteen minute ride. We arrived a lot earlier than them so we sat in the car and thumb wrestled for a bit.

I had no idea that they had arrived until Matt smushed his face into Joanna’s window. Then I turned around to see Gianna and Gavin in my window jumping up and down screaming “Uncle Zee”. Smiling, I climbed out of the car and kneeled down to hug them.

“Hey guys.” I said kissing them on top of their heads.

“And look who he brought kids!” Zina said to them. I looked up and she was pointing to Joanna. She smiled respectfully and waved to them, this was one of her shy moments.

“Auntie Jay!” they both yelled as they ran up to her and hugged her waist.

She looked probably just as shocked as I did, “Well, Hey there guys!” she said rubbing the top of their heads.
I looked over at Zina, “Auntie Jay?” I whispered to her. She just smiled and nodded for me to go inside. I sighed as I gave my little brother a hug.

“Matt, this is Joanna. Joanna this is my brother Matt.” I said introducing the two.

“Hello Joanna.” She said giving a small smile.

“Hey.” She said smiling in return, “Wait, you were in The Dear and Departed for a time weren’t you?”

I pulled Zina ahead with me while Gianna and Gavin stayed back with Joanna and Matt as they apparently hit it off flawlessly.

“What are you doing Zina?” I asked.

“Why are your panties in a bunch Zee? You need to chill your overreacting.”

“Auntie Jay? Don’t do that.” I said getting frustrated.

“I didn’t.” she said in a calm tone.

“What?” I asked.

“They came up with that on their own. I told them we were going to lunch with you, Matty and Uncle Zee’s girlfriend. They asked how long you two have been together and I said a little over a year. So they just consider her a part of the family and started referring her as ‘Auntie Jay’. That’s not me Zee, that’s all them.”
I stood there in silence for a moment but was pulled away from my thought as I jumped when Joanna placed her hand on my back.

I turned to her and she started giggling, “Why are you so jumpy?”

I just smiled at her and put an arm around her as we were lead to a table.

“What is this?” Gianna said poking a piece of sushi with a chop stick. “It looks yucky.”

“Well that’s because it’s uncooked fish.” Matt said leaning over next to her.

“Ewwww!” she squealed.

Everyone at the table laughed as Gavin looked at it saying ‘COOL’. I looked at Joanna who had a pissed off expression she was failing to hide on her face.

I put my hand on her lap and squeezed lightly until she looked at me. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

She tilted her head to the side, motioning to the table next to us. I looked over and saw an old couple with what I took to be their children. I noticed the older woman glancing over at Joanna and grimacing and shaking her head when she looked away.

“What, are her dirty looks bothering you?” I asked her.

She wrinkled her nose for a second and shook her head, “No, her saying to her kids that I am a worthless piece of shit and a disgrace to society for the way I look is bothering me.”

“She what?!” Zina exclaimed, almost making me jump out of my seat.

“Zina, keep your mouth shut. Let it be.” I told her. She looked like she was about to go off. “Zina, the kids.” She looked at them with her mouth ready to run, but then she settled down and shook it off.

I looked back at Joanna who was about to put another bite of sushi into her mouth when her phone started ringing. She looked at it before picking it up and I turned my attention back to my food.

As I put the last piece of sushi from my plate in my mouth, Joanna yelled, making me jump for the third fuckin time today.

“WHAT?! NO! Alright we’ll be right there!”

We all looked at her with very confused expressions. “We-we gotta go. Aden’s water just broke.”

“What?!” I said in total shock.

“Yeah they’re on their way to the hospital now. The others are on their way too.”

“I’m so sorry Zina. Matt. We gotta go.” I said getting up and giving them all a hug and kiss. “I’ll see you kids soon.” I added to the kids. Joanna said goodbye to them all and promised to see them as well. With all that being said and done, we left for the hospital.

When we ran into the waiting room we saw Lexi and Lucy sitting on the far end by the nurses’ station. We walked over to them and hugged them.

“Where’s Katie?” Joanna asked them.

“Alaina was being too fussy, so they took her home.” Lucy replied.

I looked over at Lexi, who looked horrified. “You okay Lexi?” I asked.

She shook her head slowly, “You should have heard her Zachary. She says some funny mean things all the time, but now? Oh no. She could have made Satan curl into a ball an cry.” Joanna and I both let out a laugh as we were lead to Aden’s room.

I was expecting to walk in and see monitors or hospital personnel flying across the room but instead I saw a calm Aden lying in the bed and Brian pacing.

“Hey Brian.” Joanna said walking over to him and giving him a tight hug.

“Hey.” He replied hugging her back.

“Ready to be a dad?” I asked smirking. He looked at me and nodded.

“Yeah, and I feel a little better knowing my life isn’t in danger. They gave her the epidural a little while ago, now she’s, well, she’s this.” He said pointing to her.

We spent a little more time with them before we were escorted back to the waiting room.

This time was different. Lucy had come prepared with cards and Uno. This way we couldn’t die of boredom. But to our surprise, four hours later, Jude Elwin Haner was born at a whopping 7 lbs, 4 oz. He was a bit more whiney than Elaina was when she was born but he made up for it by the looks he made. We could tell he was going to have a golden personality and just an amazing person to have around.

Joanna sat in the chair next to Aden with Jude in her arms. She was brushing her hair over his face as he gurgled in laughter. “Joanna.” Aden said.

“Yes spawn bearer?” she replied.

“You’re his godmother.” She said groggily.

“What?” she asked in shock.

“You’re his godmother. No if’s, and’s or but’s.”

“Yes ma’am.” She said as she smiled at her.

“And you Zack. Would you be his godfather?” Brian asked me with a smirk on his face.

I could tell I had a shocked expression on my face but I accepted and walked over to Joanna and Jude with a smile on my face.