“Yes, Dr. Meadows in Port Charles referred me…” Alexis said as her hand unconsciously ran back and forth across her stomach

Ric watched, he couldn’t help but watch

“Alexis Davis – Lansing. Yes L-a-n-s-i-n-g…Tomorrow at 2:30?”

Alexis looked over at Ric as he shook his head ok

“Yes 2:30 will be fine… Ok thank you”

Alexis hung up the phone

“Dr. Alexandra Brinkley is now officially our new obstetrician”

Ric grinned

Alexis rolled her eyes

“You’re not gonna get all sappy because we have an obstetrician?”

“It just makes it seem more real that we have one!” Ric said reaching to run his hand under her shirt and across her flat belly

She held his palm against her skin for a moment in silence

God, his skin on her skin

It felt perfect

“I just can’t believe we got an appointment so quickly” Alexis said leaning in to kiss him

“Well Dr. Meadows said she would set everything up…”

“I know but tomorrow?”

“The sooner the better!” Ric said wide eyed

“I know you’re excited but, you’re not the one that gets to be poked and prodded!”

“No I not but, I will be with you every second that you are. And just know that I am eternally grateful that you are such an incredible woman and that you’re having our baby”

“You’re insanely too cute!” Alexis said rolling her eyes once again but this time grinning

Ric still grinned

“I try”

Alexis looked around

“Honey?”

“Hmm” He said wrapping his arms around her from behind kissing her neck

“Honey…” she was now trying to take his attention from her neck “Look at all of this stuff!”

Ric looked around at the boxes surrounding them

“Is it too late to change our minds?” she questioned

“Oh it’s definitely too late!”

“We should have just sold everything and started over!”

“It’s not that bad… well, it’s not too bad”

“Honey I’m not sure how two adults and a toddler could fit this much stuff in an apartment in Port Charles”

“Well that’s why we moved here…”

“To get a bigger apartment?” She questioned amused

“Did we have some other logical reason to?”

Alexis shook her head

“For the life of me I can’t remember if we did” she said grinning

“I think we decided to move because we had a better view here”

Alexis laughed

“Well we definitely have a better view!”

Ric gave her a kiss to the cheek

He looked around again

“You’re right we should have just started over” he said sounding defeated

Alexis’ cell rang taking all of their attention

Alexis and Ric both looked around the room for where the sound was coming from

“I think it’s over there… maybe on the couch?”

Ric muddled through the things piled on the couch finding her cell

He handed it over

She grinned at the sight of the number on her caller ID

“Jaaax!” She said as a wide smile appeared on her face

The great, wonderful and charming Jasper Jacks

Ric to this day still couldn’t convince himself that Jax wasn’t the one man who could steel his wife’s heart right out from under him

The smile on her face

Now Ric was rolling his eyes

She was giggling…

“… staring at boxes…. yeah, I know” she giggled again “No Ric is making sure that I’m behaving… no exhausting myself, no heavy lifting… I know I know. You two are like broken records! Yes… Yes, I promise he’s taking care of us…”

She giggled again

“Ok I’ll call you soon… I’ll miss you… I love you too, bye”

Yep Jax could definitely steel her heart right out from under Ric if he wanted

“How’s the ex?” Ric asked before she could sit down her phone

“Just checking in, making sure you’re going to be waiting on me hand and foot because I’m having your baby!” she joked

“Oh he was, was he?”  

“He said you better be taking care of us!”

“Well you can assure him I’m going to take care of you and our children for the rest of my life”

“You promise?”

“I owe you that much for giving me everything”

“What? 2.3 kids and a chance at a boring, conventional life?”

“Honey there ain’t nothing boring and conventional about the life I have with you!”

She grinned

“I have no earthy idea what you mean by that!”

Ric began to kiss her “The apartment with the view, the 2.3 kids, the jobs, everything that goes with it… I love it all!

Alexis suddenly gave him a half hearted smile

“What?” Ric questioned

“Nothing” she said returning a kiss

“Alexis?”

“What?”

“You’re still not sure are you?”

Not sure… not sure

She laughed nervously

“Not sure about what?”

He brushed her bangs out of her eyes

“Everything”

Her eyes, her beautiful dark eyes turned away from him

“Sweetheart?”

“I, I…” She was stumbling “You’re right I’m not sure. I’m not sure about anything.”

“And that’s ok” Ric said trying to assure her

“Sometimes it is…” she said her voice trailing

Ric took a moment to look at Alexis

At that moment he could see how truly unsure she was about everything that was happening to her

She suddenly looked scared

Suddenly Ric realized everything she had went along with in the past few weeks she was absolutely terrified of

“Sweetheart, what’s happening in our lives is a really great thing. We have the chance to have a life that we’ve both always wanted. We have a family, we’re happy… Alexis we’re here, we have a healthy daughter…”

“I know, I know and there’s nothing I want more but…” Again another nervous breath “But I can’t help but think it could all just disappear. That someone is going to remind me who I am and it will all just disappear”

“No, no honey that’s all in the past”

“It’s never in my past. Everyday I wonder, everyday I wait for something to happen…”

“Why didn’t you tell me you felt this way? Why didn’t you come to me, trust me to help you through it, or at least be there for you? You’re keeping this l inside and it’s obviously hurting you so much” Ric reached for her, making her look in to his eyes “Baby, please don’t do this to yourself…”

What Ric thought he knew about his wife, her thoughts, her fears… he was realizing maybe he didn’t know the depths of them at all

Alexis tugged at her eyes trying desperately to stop the tears from falling down her face

“Hey, hey” Ric said helping her catch her tears “You and me, one step at a time ok. When you have fears about something, when I have fears about something… we talk it through. Promise me we’ll talk it through. No bottling things up, no being alone. We have the opportunity to have this life. We’re here in New York where we chose to be. We have our daughter and a baby on the way… It‘s a life neither of us knew we could have. But guess what? We got it! And I know I will fight like hell for you and me and our children if anyone even thinks of disrupting it”

“You make it all sound so noble, so simple”

“And maybe it is… and maybe it isn’t. But I will do my bets everyday to make you, my best friend, love of my life and my children believe that it is. Because that’s what I want for you”

“A happy ending huh?”

“God I’ll do my best”

Alexis shook her head

“Me too, me too”

Ric again tried to wipe her tears from her face

Alexis grinned

She let out a deep breath

“Sorry for the breakdown”

“Honey, you have every right to not be sure of things. But at least let me know about what you are and aren’t sure of. I’m here…”

“Ok. I promise…”

“Mama!”

Both Ric and Alexis turned to see Kristina peering around the corner looking a bit disoriented from her surroundings

“Hey sweet girl!” Alexis said gravitating towards her “This apartments a little bigger than our other one huh?” Alexis asked now scooping her up in her arms “Did you have a good nap in your new room?”

Kristina shook her head yes

“How bout we find some toys so you can play while mommy and Ric unpack?”

“Baby dolls” Kristina cheered

“You want your babies?” Let’s see where we packed them…”

Alexis put Kristina’s feet to the floor and Alexis nudged her to a stack of boxes marked “Kris’ Toys”

Ric rushed to help lift the box on the top to the floor

“I could have gotten that”

“You don’t need to be lifting heavy boxes”

“Honey I’m fine… and it wasn’t that heavy…”

“Just let me… for me, ok?”

Alexis leaned in and kissed Ric quickly before turning her attention back to Kristina

She wanted him to know that despite her protest she was so happy that he was there to be overprotective 

Alexis helped Kristina open the folds of the box and then leaned back to let her dig in to all of the “baby dolls” inside

Kristina’s eyes lit up

And Ric couldn’t help but watch his girls, watch his family right there in front of him

Alexis then turned to look at Ric as he watched them

He grinned

She grinned

For everything she was uncertain about or feared all she had to do was remind herself of the way he looked at that moment

“Ok you play and we’re going to unpack”

“Me help!” Kristina said pulling doll after doll from the boxes to the floor

“Thank you” Ric said placing a kiss to the top of her head

Alexis looked at Ric again then made her way towards the kitchen

“Hey where are you going?”

Alexis laughed

That familiar laugh he loved so much

“I’m unpacking the boxes of dishes before Kristina decides she wants to!”

End Ch. 15