Anna bowed her head, not thrilled about it, but clearly accepting her fate. Griffin, however, wasn't accepting it at all. "No, I don't think so." Walking over to Kellan, he gently removed his daughter from his arms; Kellan seemed reluctant to let her go.
Anna snapped her head up; hope was in her eyes that maybe a better option was available to her. Crossing my arms over my chest, I wondered what option Griffin might come up with. As everyone turned their eyes to him, he locked gazes with my sister. "I don't want you to go. I want you to stay on the bus with me." Griffin turned to stare me down. "After they let her go, you bring her to me." By the heat in his expression, it was clear he wasn't asking.
I couldn't help my startled expression. "You want a newborn on a tour bus with you?"
Griffin shrugged and looked around the room. "Sure. Why not?"
Anna seemed conflicted. Her maternal instincts had kicked in, and they were fighting with her natural, carefree spirit. "I don't know, Griff. It seems unsanitary."
Griffin snorted. "I'm probably the dirtiest thing on the bus, and you sleep with me every night."
I tried not to laugh at that. And failed miserably. Kellan elbowed me as he shook his head in amusement. Anna still seemed uncertain. She looked from Gibson to me. "What do you think, Kiera?" Her eyes were wide, fearful. Now that Gibson was a tangible object, Anna was terrified of doing something wrong. She was desperately afraid of making a bad choice.
I could feel Griffin boring holes into me, and I could see the hope on my sister's face, but if I was going to honestly answer her question, I needed to put the two of them aside and think about Gibson. What would be best for her? If she were mine, what would I do? I really didn't know much about babies, but I knew a lot about the people on our bus. Aside from my parents, who both had jobs that they couldn't just abandon to help my sister, there was no one better on earth to help raise this baby than the D-Bags.
Turning to my sister, I told her, "I think in most cases, having a baby on a bus, living the life we live, is absolutely insane." Anna frowned, and Griffin started to protest. I held up my hand to stop him. "But in this particular case, I think it works." I focused on Anna. "Your baby was never going to have a typical childhood, and I can't think of anywhere else that she could possibly be loved more than that bus."
As Anna's face broke into a tearful smile, I added, "Besides, didn't the nurse say they mainly sleep, eat, and poop for the first few months anyway?"
Griffin nodded his thanks to me, then seemed to realize he'd placed quite a burden on the rest of his band. "You guys . . . cool with that?"
Kellan wrapped his arms around my waist as he kissed my neck. "I think it sounds great."
Evan nodded in agreement; nothing much fazed him. Matt smirked. "Loud crying coming from your room at all hours of the day and night"-he twisted to look at Evan and Kellan-"I think we're already used to that."
After light laughter went around the room, Kellan frowned and looked over at Matt. "We'll have to have a talk with Holeshot."
Matt nodded. "Deacon is pretty easygoing. I'm sure he'll be fine with it."
Twisting my head, I told Kellan, "They can always hop on Sienna's bus. Didn't she say she was tired of riding alone?"
Kellan let out a laugh that startled Gibson. "That is an excellent idea."
Griffin glared over at him. "Dude, keep it down. You freaked out my daughter."
Kellan grinned at his bassist. "Sorry." Then he made a whipping noise like Griffin frequently made. I had to bury my head in Kellan's shirt so I didn't laugh too loud and get yelled at by the overprotective new father.
Kellan and the boys left a little while later. The show was over, and the process of tearing it down and moving on was probably already underway. I waited in the hallway with Evan, Matt, and Kellan while Griffin said goodbye to his family. Kellan was hugging me while we waited. "I'm going to miss you," he said.
Resting my chin on my chest, I peered up at him. "I'm going to miss you too, but you're only going to East Rutherford. That's not far."
"Feels far." He smiled at me, then looked over to Anna's door. "Do you think Griffin will be a good father?"
Smiling, I looked over to the closed door as well. He'd been in there saying goodbye to his wife and child for over fifteen minutes. "Yeah, surprisingly, I think he'll be great." I was still shocked by that fact.
Kellan turned back to me. "Do you think I would be a good father . . . one day?"
Tightening my arms around his neck, I eagerly nodded. "I know you will be." Kellan smiled at the subtle promise of our future in my words. Kids wasn't a matter of if for us, just when.
When Griffin finally emerged from Anna's room, he was subtly swiping his eyes dry. I gawked at the raw emotion on his face. I'd never seen him look so distraught. He frowned as he glared at all of us. "What?" Then he moodily walked down the hall, away from the two people who had just become his entire world.
Matt and Evan hurried after him, Evan tossing an arm over his shoulders while Matt playfully punched him in the arm. Kellan watched them leave then sighed; his smile was a sad one as he gazed at me. "Guess I'm off to work. I'll see you soon." His brow bunched in concern as he twisted me to face him. "Please be careful."
Leaning up, I placed a tender kiss upon his lips. "I'm always careful. I love you."
"I love you too."
As he walked away from me, I tried to not think about how much I was going to miss him while we were apart. Watching the way his clothes molded around his body helped with that. He turned at the door and gave me a small wave before exiting. I noticed a young nurse nearby sigh as she blatantly stared at him. Laughing a little, I waved back. When he disappeared, I exhaled just as forlornly as the nurse had.
Twenty minutes after he left me, my phone rang. I hurried to answer it. "Miss me already, Kellan?"
"Of course." His happy tone fell as he added, "Hey, I just wanted to warn you, there was a group of fans forming outside of the hospital as we were leaving."
I immediately stood and looked out of the window. Anna's room overlooked a courtyard in the center of the hospital, though, and not the front doors. "Kell-Sex fans? Here?" I asked. "How did they . . . ?" My voice trailed off as I remembered stupidly announcing to a room full of fans that I was heading to a hospital. The more ambitious ones must have followed me in hopes to see Kellan there . . . or possibly to confront me . . . I wasn't sure.
Kellan sighed. "Yeah, I think so. We left out of the ER doors, so they didn't see me. They may think I'm still in there . . . with you. I've already called the hospital to give them a head's up, so I don't think you'll be bothered on the inside. But just be careful when you do leave, please? I still haven't had a chance to explain that photo."
"Yeah, thank you." Great. Was I really going to have to deal with a bunch of rabid fans who probably hated me while trying to get my newborn niece back to her rock star daddy? And just when I thought my life couldn't get anymore surreal.
I woke up the next morning with a knot in my back, not feeling rested at all. Someone had come in every few hours to run tests on the baby, and I'd woken up every single time. When I fully came to life, Gibson was gone. Guess I'd finally slipped into a deep sleep early this morning, if she'd been removed without me knowing. While I was pretty sure Gibson couldn't be taken out of the hospital without someone noticing-much like expensive merchandise, the babies all had bracelets around their ankles that sounded an alarm if they passed through the front doors-a slice of fear shot up my spine anyway.
Anna was gone too, so I figured she was with her daughter. Slipping on my shoes, I debated scouring the hospital room by room to find my niece. That was panic talking, though. The more rational part of me knew I could simply ask a nurse where she was. When I stepped into the hallway, I saw that it was completely unnecessary. Anna was walking toward me, dressed in a hospital gown, cooing to Gibson as she cradled her in her arms. Relief instantly replaced my fears. Then amusement swept over me. A male nurse was walking a few paces behind Anna, and he had his arms weighed down with a car seat, flowers, and two bulging duffel bags. Even hours past delivering a baby, my sister could still get men to do anything she wanted.
Smiling as she walked past me, Anna chirped, "Gibson just had her hearing tested. She's perfect, of course." Giggling at her daughter, Anna instructed the nurse to put the things on her bed. He looked quite happy to do so, and even asked Anna if she needed anything else. She shook her head, her eyes never leaving Gibson.
After the nurse reluctantly left, I twisted to Anna and pointed at her supplies. "You, uh, go shopping this morning?" We'd left for the hospital with only the clothes on our backs.
Anna kissed Gibson's cheek. "No, Sienna sent it by. She knew I ran out of there and probably didn't have anything . . . and figured none of the boys would think of those kinds of details." Anna laughed; her face was completely worry free.
I blinked as I examined Sienna's gifts. That really was very thoughtful of her. I hoped there were toiletries in the bag; I would do just about anything for a toothbrush. "That was nice of her," I said.
Anna nuzzled her face against Gibson, then set her in her clear plastic bassinet. "Yeah, she even had a car and driver stay behind, so they can take us back to the tour when Gibson and I are cleared to leave." Walking over to the bags, she started removing clothes for her, clothes for the baby, and surprisingly, an outfit for me.
Disbelief washed over my curiosity. "You know, when she's not trying to manipulate the public into believing that she has a steamy, album-selling relationship with my husband, she's actually pretty considerate."
Anna paused in her clothes sorting. "You still think she's after Kellan?"
I frowned. "I don't think she's actively pursuing him, but I don't think she'd turn him away either."
Not worried, Anna sat on the bed and resumed emptying the bag; she cringed a bit when she sat down, and I figured she was still sore. "Would anyone turn him away, Kiera?"
Grabbing the smallest pink and white onesie I'd ever seen, I told her, "Well, I hope you would."
Anna snorted as she rubbed a soft pink blanket against her cheek. "That's a given . . . same goes for you too, you know." She raised an eyebrow, her expression completely serious.
I choked on my own saliva and started coughing. "Griffin? You're worried about me and Griffin?"
Anna started laughing so hard she had to wipe tears from her eyes. "No, not at all. I just wanted to see that look on your face." Sighing, she shook her head in amusement. "That was priceless."
A pediatrician from the hospital came in after lunch to give Gibson a thorough physical examination. Slinging his stethoscope around his neck when he was finished, he told Anna, "Your daughter looks perfect, and every test has come back within normal ranges. She seems well-fed, but are you having any problems with breastfeeding?"
My mind replayed earlier this morning, when Anna had sworn like a sailor while trying to get Gibson to latch on. Apparently, it's not as seamless a process as you would think. But Anna had successfully attached her daughter . . . eventually. Anna didn't mention any of that though. She also didn't mention that she'd be raising the baby on a tour bus filled with rock stars. The doctors would probably put her up on the pysch ward if they found out about that little detail. "Nope, we got it."
The doctor smiled and nodded. "Then I see no problem with the two of you being discharged today."
Three hours later, after watching a very boring video about "Taking Care of Your Newborn," Anna and Gibson were officially released from the hospital. While I called Kellan to let him know we were about to head out, Anna finally called our parents. Dad didn't handle the news very well. Cringing, Anna held the phone about a foot from her ear. Every so often, she said things like, "Dad . . . but . . . I'm . . ." Dad never let her finish, so she stopped trying to explain herself. Rolling her eyes at me, she played with her daughter's fingers while she half-listened to Dad vent about her life choices.