Chapter 258

The next morning they moved her into a regular post-partum room. It was great to see the family, but she missed the quiet time with just the three of them in their dark cocoon. Throughout the night, everytime she woke – or Peanut got hungry – she’d found him there, asleep in the chair beside the bed. She was a little surprised that the hospital let him stay, but she was grateful that he was there.

“Tori! You’re okay!” Ava came running in to hug her. “I was so scared!”

“Hi Bean. Yes I’m okay.” Tori squeezed her.

“Where’s Peanut?”

“Daddy’s got him. I’m not sure where they went.”

“Do you get to hold him at all?” Joan asked as she finally caught up with Ava.

Tori rolled her eyes. “Only when he’s hungry.”

“There’s Nana and your big sister.” Richie was talking to the baby as they walked in the door.

“And Mommy?” Tori responded dryly.

“Of course Mommy.”

“Where were you?”

“I took Stevie down to the nursery. There’s a few babies down there today.”

Tori just stared at him and shook her head. “You’re……I don’t even know how to describe it.”

“Ugly? Loud? Stupid? Obnoxious?” David’s voice came from outside the door.

“In the way!” Karin pushed at Richie who was still standing in the doorway.

“Oops, sorry Charlie.” Richie stepped aside allowing them to enter the room.

Karin went straight to the bed to hug Tori. “Don’t EVER scare us like that again! When Jon called to let us know what had happened, I thought my heart was going to stop!”

“Us? You were in Jersey then?”

Karin nodded. “As soon as I heard you were in labour I headed down.” She hugged her again. “You’re really okay?”

Tori nodded. “The doctor says that everything’s looking good. They’re still monitoring me closely, but hopefully I’ll be able to get out of here in a couple days.”

“Well, you look beautiful.” David leaned down to kiss her.

“Thank you.”

“Uncle Shirley, Aunt Charlie, come see my brother!” Ava called from where she was sitting, the baby held carefully in her arms, Richie’s hands ready to help if she needed it.

“Yeah, let me see Little Stephen.” David chortled.

Tori’s eyes met Richie’s. She grimaced, he just smiled wryly, shrugged and rolled his eyes. She hadn’t meant to give the Joker any ammunition, but she should have expected this.

A little while later, the baby woke up and started to cry. Tori held her arms out, then hesitated. “Shirley, why don’t you take Richie down to the cafeteria and make him eat something.” Richie started to protest, but she cut him off. “You haven’t eaten hardly anything in almost two days!” She caught his gaze and shot a look towards David as she gathered the baby to her.

Suddenly the light bulb went off for him. “Oh, yeah, okay. Come on Shirley it can’t be any worse than some of the shit we used to eat on tour.”

When the men left, David grumbling something about spoiling his fun, Karin gave him a swat and shut the door behind them. “I thought for a minute there you were going to have to flash David for them to clue in.”

“So did I.” Tori admitted as she opened her nightgown and began to feed Stevie.


By mid afternoon, the room was full of family, and flowers, including a huge bouquet with balloons sent by Tico, Alejandra, and Hector. And there were lots of presents as well.

“I think Stevie’s got enough clothes to last him until he walks!” Helen shook her head in amazement at the array of sleepers, pants and little shirts. Then of course, there was the Rock Star Baby collection, complete with stroller, diaper bag, pacifiers, hats and clothes, including one of the new t-shirts that read Suck Milk.

Tori shook her head at that one. “Nice, guys.” She looked at David. “You come up with that?”

He tried to look innocent. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“You have to admit though, Aunt Tori, this biker jacket is cute. Look, it’s got Bad Bad Medecine down the sleeve.” Steph held it up.

Romeo reached for it. “Daddy, can I have one? Prease?”

“Sorry Big Man, they only make them for babies. Like this little guy.” Jon stroked Stevie’s tiny cheek and rocked him gently.

“Yeah, it’s cute. Thank you all so much.” Tori smiled at all of them, tears of gratitude gathering in her eyes.

Richie hesitated, then reached into his pocket for the box he’d had his mother bring him. “This is for you.”

Tori’s hands were shaking a little as unwrapped and opened the box. She drew in a sharp breath. “Richie, it’s beautiful!” The bracelet was a gold chain with letters hanging off of it like charms. The letters were made of diamonds and sapphires and spelled out Mommy.

“You can add more charms as you want.” He pointed out.

She nodded and lifted her gaze to his, her eyes shining. “Thank you. I love it.”

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I love you.”

The nurse walked in and stopped dead. “Whoa! Is this all your family?”

Tori shook her head. “No, this is only about half of it.”

“You still need to rest you know.”

“I know. They just wanted to make sure I was recovering.” Tori assured her.



Finally, Joan stood. “Come on Ava, it’s time we got going.”

Ava frowned. “But Nana….”

“Tori needs to rest still. We can come back and see her and Stevie again tomorrow.”

“Take Richie with you.” Tori began. Richie’s head snapped up, the look of devastation in his eyes, almost did her in. “You need to get some rest. You only slept a couple hours at a time last night.” She crooked a brow at him. “You do have the induction tonight, do you not?” His eyes widened, as did Jon’s before he glanced at his watch and sighed in relief. She laughed. “Don’t tell me you’d forgotten!”

“Well, I’ve had something more important to concentrate on.” Richie defended himself.

Tori smiled. “And I appreciate everything you’ve done. Now I want you to go to your mother’s, have a nap, and go get your very much deserved spot in the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.”

“I’ll come back right after.”

“Why don’t you just get a good night’s sleep and come back in the morning?”

He shook his head. “Because I want to be here. If I go to Ma’s I won’t sleep at all!” He looked mutinous, held his breath and waited for her reaction.

She sighed and gave in. “Suit yourself. Just don’t get snippy with the rest of us because you’re tired. One of us short on sleep is plenty.”

“I promise.” He kissed her forehead.

They all started to gather their belongings and make their departures. Karin and David were the last to leave.

“He’s a beautiful baby. I’m glad you’re okay.” Karin hugged her again. “And I’m glad you’re not shutting Richie out.”

“He is his father. I want him to be a part of his life.”

“And maybe you’re doing a little thinking about him being a part of yours?”

Tori hesitated, then nodded. “But we have a lot of talking to do first.”

David approached, carrying the baby. “Let me know if you need someone to fatten his other lip. Who finally slipped your leash anyway?”

“Jon. When Dorothea told him what happened in the delivery room, I guess he let his concern get the best of him.”

“Can’t blame him. I’m amazed that he kept it under control this long.”

Tori rolled her eyes. “Look. I’m very grateful for all of you supporting me and wanting to defend me, really, but he and I need to work this out – one way or another – between us.”

“We know that. We just don’t like seeing you hurting.” David explained.

“Well, he’s hurting too.”

“But he brought it on himself. You’re the innocent victim here.”

“Oh, I’ve done my share of hurting him.”

“But he started it.” David refused to let Richie off the hook.

“Do you think there’s a chance you can work it out and stay together?” Karin ended the blame game.

“I honestly don’t know. We need to sit down and talk and then we’ll see.”

“Let us know if you need anything.” Karin patted her hand.

Tori nodded. “Thanks, I will.” She watched them walk towards the door. “Uhhh…Shirley?”

“Yes?”

“Can I have my son back?”

David looked down at the baby he was still holding. “Oh, yeah, sorry.” He settled the baby in her arms and turned to leave, a grin spreading across his face.

Tori looked down only to see Stevie’s knit cap gone, a little bandana in it’s place. “SHIRLEY!” She could hear his chuckles down the hallway.

Karin’s voice drifted back to her. “What did you do now?”