Petrichor: The Finale

DANIEL

Spending three months in rehab without seeing my friends and family was one of the hardest thing I think I've ever done. At least I got something good out of it. The counselors all claimed addiction couldn't be cured, only tamed. I was perfectly fine with that as long as I could still be able to have an occasional drink here and there. I just couldn't over do it, like I used to. Substituting one lethal addiction for a less damaging one had been the hard part. I was now up to five chewing gum packs a day.

Pushing through the exit door, I stepped into the chilly October afternoon weather and was greeted by copies of my smile and a very pregnant ex-wife of mine, leaning against the brand new SUV she'd apparently gotten while I was away. She'd call every day while I was in this shithole, and just hearing her voice helped me get through some of the heavy stuff during group therapy, where we had to share bullshit about our past. I didn't believe for a second my problems had to do with a father I never got to meet. How could someone who's never been in your life leave that much of an impact anyway? The counselor wanted us to find others to talk to about it outside of rehab and the only person I could think of was standing right in front of me, waddling her way towards me as she held onto her swollen stomach and tip toed to kiss my cheek.

"Ready to go home?" she asked with a smile, her face glowing as the sunset filled the sky with its different hues and made her look that much more beautiful.

"When did you get so hot?" I teased as I leaned in to kiss her but she pulled away as she chuckled and pulled me towards the truck. We've been running and chasing after each other for years on end and I don't think I'd ever get tired of it. Not when I loved that woman more than words or actions could say.

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Michael, Freddy, Marley and Jesse had all stopped by to see how I was faring shortly after we arrived, and we tried not to let the Cold War that was brewing between Serena and Marley ruin the get together they had thrown in my honor at our place. Jesse and Serena looked to have squashed any kind of hostility between them while I was gone, and they were actually having a conversation without growling at each other by the pool in our backyard. It might have something to do with the fact that Serena and I were fixing to leave for South America after the baby is born and while Jesse had wanted to let Serena buy out her share of the mechanic shop, I convinced her to stay and run it with Michael while Serena and I were gone. We'd come back of course, just not as often as I'd like. It was time for a change. And this time, it was me who had asked for it. Maybe leaving Pasadena for the first time in years would do us all some good. Besides, Serena had mentioned something about helping to repair hurricane zones throughout the South American countries. It would keep us out of trouble while we helped others in need, putting all this money we were making to good use. The woman could be as cold-hearted as she pretended to be, but I've always known her heart was made out of more than just gold.

"I think the apocalypse is coming," Michael's stupid comment made me laugh as he pointed the tip of his beer bottle towards Jesse and Serena, who were placing the floaties around the boys' waist so they wouldn't sink all the way down into the eight foot deep pool.

"Too bad we won't be here to witness it," I jested, Michael smirking as he looked over to his pregnant wife, who was busy talking to Giselle about whatever it was she reading on her kindle.

"Are you sure you want to leave this place?" he asked and I shook my head, leaning against the doorway of the patio as Freddy finally pulled away from his phone long enough to join us.

"Not at all. But you know me, I never think things through before I do them," I reminded them both with a proud grin and they both shared a laugh as they shook their heads at me. Freddy was in a much quieter mood than usual and I wondered if it had anything to do with his problems with Lynn.

"You and Lynn still fighting?" I asked my cousin and he sighed deeply as he reached into the cooler for a snow cone. Serena hadn't filled me in on much of the details, but I recognized that look on Freddy's face and I knew he was about done trying to work things out between him and Lynn. I never thought they'd make it this far anyway, but he was a grown ass man. And he liked to learn the heard way anyway.

"I sent her the divorce papers last week. She's not too happy about it but I just can't deal with it anymore. I told her we should only communicate through our lawyers from now on. Now she wants to take half of my shit," Freddy explained, taking a bite out of his snow cone, shaking his head when the brain freeze got to him.

"Women, man," Michael chimed in and I raised an eyebrow at him, which only made him shrug.

"You think she'll clean you out?" I asked, hoping Freddy had signed the fucking prenup I told him to before he married Lynn. She was a nice woman, don't get me wrong. But even the nice ones could suck the life out of you. And not in a good way.

"I hope not," he answered, Michael and I hanging our heads in defeat. I understood Freddy was a traditional shithead, and he wanted the woman he ended up marrying to be his first and his last, but in this day and age, that kind of thinking could make a man lose everything, including the shirt on his back. My cousin might've been a pain in the ass, but he didn't deserve the kind of hell that Lynn was about to put him through.

"Whoa," the comment came from Marley from across the pool, who froze as some kind of pain enabled her from moving. I hurried over to her, along with Freddy, grabbing her arm, placing it over my shoulder as Michael and I helped her to sit down onto an empty lounge chair.

"What is it? Where does it hurt?" Michael asked, probably worried something might be wrong with the baby. She wasn't due for another month or so.

"Rib shot. I'm sorry. False alarm," Marley apologized, and Michael only glared at her as she smile up at him sheepishly.

"Dee!" Jesse called for me and I lifted my head up to see where she was standing near the pool, as she grabbed a hold of Serena's hand as she held onto her stomach while she stood in the middle of a puddle of water. Panic arose, and I froze when I realized what was happening.

"Daniel. Daniel! Snap out of it bro!" Michael's urgent tone brought me back and I shook my head as I hurried over to Serena. She was breathing deeply, barely able to walk inside the house before she bent over again, paralyzed by the pain.

"I don't think she'll make it to Houston Gen. We're going to have to do this here," Michael observed as he followed us in and helped me set her down onto the kitchen table.

"Here? I can't give birth on a kitchen table!" Serena shouted, continuing to groan in pain, the boys surrounding her as she tried to keep her legs closed for their sake.

"Have you done this before?" I asked Michael, holding Serena's hand as she kept breathing through her pain, hoping he still remembered how to deliver a baby safely from the residency he did at Houston Gen before he went to prison.

"Twice before. But I think we can manage if you guys get me what I need," Michael answered, ordering Jesse and Freddy to get some towels, disposal gloves, a sowing kit, and some blankets and a pillow. As they hurried to find those supplies, Marley entered the room, the twins and Giselle standing on either side of her as she walked towards Serena and took her hand. Serena let her, nodding towards her as she closed her eyes, her head falling back as she took deep breaths. Michael signaled for me as soon Jesse and Freddy arrived with the supplies he had asked for, handing me a pair of gloves after he placed a pair on his own.

"Come on, I'll guide you through it," Michael informed me, and I took a glance at Serena, for permission.

"Daniel, unless you want another man's hands inside the cookie jar, I suggest you pull it together and help me bring this baby into the world," Serena ordered, and I nodded quickly, placing a kiss on her forehead as I slid the gloves down my hands and Michael finished placing towels underneath her shaking body.

"How far apart are her contractions?" Michael asked his wife as he sat me down onto the stool before Serena's pried open legs, taking my two fingers, sliding them inside of her. My eyes widened when I could practically feel the baby's head about to pop out.

"About a minute. I think she's ready to push," Marley replied as she took a damp towel from Jesse's hand and wiped the sweat from Serena's forehead.

"Come on boys, let's go wait for your sister or brother to be born in the other room," Freddy encouraged the twins, taking their hands and Giselle's as he escorted them away from all the chaos.

"Okay, Serena. On my count. One... two... three... push!" Michael ordered, Serena following through as she used what strength she had left to push. The baby's head was now in my hand, the slimy warm texture of the amniotic sac sticking to my gloves as I did my best not to pull more than I should.

"One more and then you're good, mamma. One... two... three... push!" he ordered again, holding her legs apart while I dipped underneath her dress and she pushed as hard as she could. I kept my gaze on the baby, and ignored everything else that would probably scar me for life, tugging gently until I could grab a hold of the baby's tiny body in my hands. The second I pulled her up against my chest, Michael took a turkey baster and used it to suck up any excess fluid from her lungs and nose, while Jesse handed me a smaller blanket so I could wrap the baby up before I could hand her over to her mother.

"There she is," Marley acknowledged with a bright smile as I carried my baby girl and handed her over to Serena, placing her gently into her mother's arms, "Oh, Danny. She's gorgeous!" Marley's excitement only caused the quiet baby to finally let out her first cry.

"Let's give them a minute before I start repairing stuff down there," Michael mentioned, pointing towards Serena's opened legs, as he pulled off his gloves and escorted his own pregnant wife and Jesse out of the kitchen.

"These babies just keep getting uglier and uglier," Serena teased in heavy sarcasm as she gazed down at the perfect baby girl in her arms. I grinned and leaned down to take her little hand in mine and when her tiny fingers wrapped around my own, I melted completely. This little girl was going to give me gray hairs very early on life. She had her mother's pale complexion, while her facial features leaned more towards me and her dark hair looked to be more on the wavy side, a good combination of both her parents. Her eyes hadn't opened yet but I already knew they'd be just like her mother's, a bold and genuine gaze, maybe a dark brown color or hopefully the light brown and almost hazel that floated around within the generations in my family.

"Daniel," Serena called my name and I turned to face her,"you're crying," she finished as she reached up to wipe the tear away from my cheek.

"Can't a man cry over his baby girl in peace?" I teased and she chuckled just as Michael returned so he could repair the damage it took to bring Thea Simone Carter into this world.

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We took Serena and the baby to the hospital a few hours later when Serena could manage to move without being in too much pain, and had them both checked out to make sure everything was good. Thea was born seven pounds and eleven ounces, a normal and healthy baby weight according to the doctor. She encouraged for them to stay an extra day just in case and Serena would've left sooner if Michael hadn't just informed us Marley was going into labor right down the hall from Serena's hospital room.

She was six hours into her induced labor when Serena called me back into her room, claiming she needed to tell me something.

"How's it going over there?" she asked, as she cradled Thea in her arms, holding her close against her chest as she breastfed her. I was completely in love with that baby girl and I couldn't wait to hold her again.

"She's hanging in there. Cursing up a storm at Michael but if anyone can take her filthy mouth, its him." I answered with a short laugh, leaning over to kiss my daughter's temple. Her eyes finally opened, those big light brown pools of innocence making my heart swell with joy as they looked up at me.

"I forgot to mention it earlier, but Pablo's widow has been trying to reach you for a couple of weeks now. Since you were in rehab, I didn't want to trigger anything but she wants you to stop by whenever you can," Serena informed me, and I raised an eyebrow, wondering what that was about. I'd only met Janet briefly during Pablo's funeral but the woman had been so struck with grief, she hadn't really been in the best state to talk to anyone at the time. She'd cared for him alot, that much I knew and I wondered if Pablo's high school sweetheart would've attended if she hadn't been waiting for him on the other side.

"Did she mention what it was about?"

"She did," Serena replied, pursing her lips as she looked up at me. She wasn't one to hold her tongue back and wondered if I even wanted to know what it is Janet had to tell me.

"Is it something that can wait?"

"That depends," she baited and I sighed, giving her an exasperated look before she continued, "is knowing who your real father was something that can wait?"

I froze as her words penetrated me in a way I hadn't expected and I stared blankly into nothing. My mind put the pieces together slowly as I came to the conclusion that I didn't need to dive into that worm hole just yet. The sound of my daughter fussing as she spit her mother's nipple out was the only thing that brought me back to reality.

"Not today, Serena," I told her, not willing to drop everything that was going on right now to uncover family secrets that didn't really matter anymore, and she nodded as she covered herself up and carried the baby over her shoulder so she could burp her.

"Uncle Danny! It's time!" Giselle busted into Serena's room along with the boys to break the news and they quickly ran back out. I leaned in to kiss the mother of my children, lingering momentarily on her full lips before I pulled away.

"Daniel," she called out for me as I turned away, forcing me to look at her again, "I love you," she confessed, holding my gaze steady, and although I'd heard those words spill out of her before, it was a rare occasion. Which I intended on taking full advantage of when I got back from meeting Marley and Michael's baby girl. I responded to her with her favorite cheesy smile and a wink before I headed towards Marley's room.

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"How crazy is this? Both of our kids being born within hours of each other," Michael mentioned in bewilderment an hour after his baby girl Camilla was born. She sported her mother's thick and wavy hair, while she inherited Michael's light brown skin tone and strong eyebrows. Everything else was a mixture of both of them. Including her chubby cheeks. She was born almost ten pounds and twelve ounces. I had no idea how Marley wasn't still in pain after pushing that precious baby out but I had to give her credit for it. Camilla was already smiling and opening her beautiful brown eyes, giving her mother hell every time she tried to carry her since she apparently preferred to be in Michael's arms.

"I know, man. You know what that means right?" I questioned and Michael sighed as he shook his head while he sat next to the vending machine right outside of Marley's room.

"We're going to have to buy some shotguns when they get older. Save them for all these boys that'll be chasing after them," Michael concluded, making me laugh as I nodded. Freddy finally joined us after taking Giselle and the boys to Freddy's parents place up in Waco for the night, which wasn't too far from here, and took a seat next to me.

"Any more babies about to pop out out of nowhere?" Freddy asked before he relaxed into his chair. Michael and I shook our heads as we both did the same, the three of us exhausted if not more than the mother's who'd given birth today.

"Jesus, today's been a long day," he claimed, letting out a deep breath.

"Speaking of, Janet's been calling to talk about Pablo," I blurted out, raising an eyebrow when I didn't see a look of confusion or surprise in neither of their gazes. I chalked it up to them being too tired to react and continued, "And she mentioned something about Pablo being my father. Crazy, right?" I added and again watched their expressions. I swallowed hard and tried to keep calm when Freddy turned towards me and rubbed his tired face.

"What if it were true?" Freddy asked cautiously, reading my face carefully as he and Michael shared a look. I jumped out of my chair and rubbed the back of my neck.

"I mean, it's fucking not. Carmen would've told me," I insisted, and started doubting my words as they came out. Did my mother actually manage to keep me away from my real father while knowing exactly where he was all these years?

"Shit, we might as well tell him now," Michael joined in and I looked at him sharply.

"Tell me what?"

"Daniel, you need to relax and sit down first," Freddy suggested.

"Fuck off, Freddy. I'm not a fucking child. Now what is it that you're not fucking telling me?" I persisted, trying to keep calm since the nurses were minutes away from calling security. Michael stood up first and I braced myself for whatever it was he had to say.

"Freddy and I knew Pablo was your dad. We caught him and your mom talking about it when we were kids. They made us promise not to say anything and--"

"Are you fucking telling me you two knew about this shit this entire time and didn't bother to tell me?" I inquired angrily. I was close to punching a wall but one wrong move on my part, and Serena would take off without me again. I couldn't let them down. Not now. Not when Thea and the boys still needed me.

"It wasn't our secret to tell, Daniel. Besides, there must've been a reason Carmen didn't tell you about him. Now's your chance to find out," Freddy explained as he stood up and placed his hands on my shoulders, holding me steady. I was about to punch his skull in if he didn't leave me the fuck alone soon.

"I don't give a shit anymore. They're both dead so what does it matter now?"

"He's right. It don't," Michael commented and I rolled my eyes at him trying to appease me, like I wouldn't take a swing at him too.

"Well, whatever you decide to do, we're all here for you," Freddy answered, trying to be all supportive and shit. Well where the fuck was this version of him when Pablo was alive?

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"Are you sure you don't want to say goodbye to them?" Serena asked as we settled into our plane seats and buckled up. The boys were sitting beside her, entertained by the phones I bought them, while I held a sleeping Thea in my arms. She'd only been born a week ago, and we were supposed to stay until the end of the month, but I wanted to put as much distance as possible from me and the place I used to call home. Once Thea and the rest of us had all our vaccinations done and we were cleared to fly with her, I decided there wasn't anything holding us back anymore. Jesse knew how to run the shop all on her own. Serena had hired a manager to oversee all of her projects and the domestic violence sanctuary. There was nothing else tying us back to Pasadena except for our friends. And not even they were enough to keep us there anymore. Not after the big secret Michael and Freddy had been keeping from me all these years. Marley had remained neutral and she would've been the only person I stayed for if she and Serena had finally mended their friendship. Neither ended up happening, so here we were, on a plane to our first stop of this South American renovation project, Aruba.

"No. They wanted us gone, right?" I reminded her and she shook her head as she patted my cheek and tended to the boys. I had them, I had my baby girl, I had Serena willing to stand tall beside me and more money in our accounts than we knew what to do with. I also knew I couldn't trust Michael or Freddy anymore, and that pissed me off more than anything. We've had each other's backs since day one and for them to do me dirty like that, was fucking uncalled for and stupid.

"We still have time to turn back, Daniel," Serena mentioned and I looked at her as I took her hand in my own and held it against my cheek, the shiny and expensive engagement ring I'd put on her finger just yesterday gleaming under the lights above us.

"There's nothing to turn back for anymore, preciosa."