Happy Fathers Day

Nothing made the fathers happier than having their son in their arms. Xander Thomas Barakat had been born exactly at 1:12 p.m. on Saturday, March 1st. A full three weeks premature but, neither man could be happier. Everything was perfectly fine with Xander minus him being premature and for that, both fathers were very thankful. They were in the recovery room and Xander was fast asleep in Alex's arms, the elder male following quickly behind him after all of the labor and surgery to put the stitches in he went through. Alan, Austin, Jolie, Joyce (having arrived ten minutes after Xander's birth) and the kids were in the room with them, Kena and Hayden were once again sitting side by side and playing on their parents phones. "He's so cute." Alan whispered, walking closer to the bed where Alex and Xander lay. The elders eyes fluttered open momentarily, staring at the younger boy. "You wanna hold him for a little bit while I sleep, Al?" Alan's eyes grew at least three sizes before he politely smiled and denied the offer.  "I'd be honored to, seriously. But I think the father should hold him." Alan explained when Alex gave him a curious look. Alex nodded and Jack leant over his husbands bed, carefully scooping his baby boy into his arms and cradling him against his chest. "I love you, Alex." Jack said, watching the mans eyes slip close once more. "I love you too Jay." Alex murmured, voice seeping with drowsiness. Jack chuckled, bouncing the baby lightly in his arms and smiling when he heard Xander coo in his sleep, the baby's small hand curling around Jacks finger. "He really is adorable." Alan said, petting Xander's barely-there hair that adorned his small head. "Do you seriously wanna hold him, Al? Me and Alex have held him practically all day."  Alan bit his bottom lip. "Are you sure?" Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Alan, look. I trust you okay. Here." Alan carefully took the little bundle of blue into his arms and, much like Jack had done, cradled him to his chest, bouncing lightly and swaying, coaxing the newborn back to sleep. Austin came up behind the ginger, wrapping his arms around the males waist and resting his head on the younger's shoulder. "You look great when you hold a baby." Austin muttered, making the ginger laugh. "Thanks. I think." "No, I mean like, you look like you'd make an amazing dad."  Alan blushed at his fiancé's words, giggling like a school girl and making Xander open his eyes momentarily, staring up at the strange man who weren't either of his fathers. Xander let out a small gurgle and kicked his small feet out, stretching his body outwards making Jack chuckle and reach over so his son could come back to him. "Shh, shh, daddy just went to bed. Shh. Alan, go grab one of the nurses please, tell them that Xander's hungry." Jack asked and Alan was quick to nod and exit the room. Jack gently swayed and rocked his son, catching his mothers eye and smiling at her. "You're a great father Jack." Joyce said, laying her hand gently on Hayden's head. "Thanks mom. I learned from you and dad." ~~~ It was another three days before Xander and Alex were finally able to be released from the hospital. Jack had stayed the night, Hayden staying with his mom at their house, and was up and ready to go; gathering Alex's varied items he had about the room and making sure all of it was packed before the nurse came and led Alex and Xander into a wheelchair. There had been no word from Peter and Isabelle in those three days and Jack couldn't deny the fact that his heart broke every time he thought about it. How could a man and his wife hate their son so much that they don't even go to their second grandchild's birth? What kind of sick people do that? Jack shook his head clear of his thoughts when Alex smiled up at him, Xander curled into his chest and fast asleep. "You ready to go babe?" Alex asked and Jack nodded, grabbing the two bags he had of Alex's various things and following as the nurse wheeled Alex from the room. Jack walked beside the wheelchair, thinking to himself as they entered the reception/checkout area. The couple had already been reminded that they couldn't have sex while the stitches were in, Alex couldn't do any heavy lifting, no stretching that may open the stitches and cause further damage; he was basically supposed to remain in bed and recover, the same thing they'd told him to do when he'd had Hay. The nurse wheeled Alex through the automatic doors that led outside into the fresh air, warmth and a scent of...calming entering their systems. "I'll go get the car baby." Jack said, placing the bags down beside the wheelchair. Joyce had driven Jack and Hayden home last night so she could stay with Hayden and Jack had driven back to the hospital after grabbing a few things. He located the couples car and quickly unlocked it, sliding into the drivers seat and starting the engine. He pulled around front and nearly froze at what- no, who he saw.  There, standing beside Alex's wheelchair, the nurse still there, was Peter and Isabelle. Jack pulled up to the curb and hopped out, walking up to the group and awkwardly clearing his throat when he got close. Alex looked just as shocked as Jack thought he himself looked. "Mom. Dad. W-What are you guys doing here? H-How did you even know?" Alex asked, the nurse looking very awkward where she stood and Jack smiled and told her that he could take it from here. She smiled reassuringly at the couple before turning and re-entering the hospital. "Your um... Husband had something to do with that." Peter said, the word husband sounding like venom. "Yes, I called you guys. Three days ago. Why're you just now deciding to come up? You missed the birth." Jack said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Because we thought we'd give y'all some space for family." Isabelle said. "But, you guys are family." Alex said, unnoticeably holding Xander closer to his body. "Yes, but we figured you guys didn't want to see us right away, considering how unsupportive we've been." Peter explained. "Dad, if I didn't want you there, I wouldn't have called." Jack said, placing a hand on the back of Alex's wheelchair. Peter looked at his son-in-law with a look of pure... Disgust. The look absolutely tearing through Jack. "I wasn't talking to you, Jack." Peter said. "We came to speak to our son and see our grandson, not to speak to you." "Enough dad. Look, I'm glad you came, but I didn't call you. Jack did. He wanted you there for me. The least you could do is respect him and me. If you're going to disrespect him, then you should go ahead and leave. You weren't there for our wedding, you don't support us, hell, you weren't even there for your own granddaughters birth. So I don't know why you're trying to change it now." Peter clenched his jaw, as did Jack and Alex. All three men glaring at each other, the testosterone levels shooting up rapidly. "Look, Alex. We didn't come to argue. We came to speak to you and see our grandson. We're sorry for not being there for your daughters birth, not being there for your wedding. But you have to understand how we felt when we found out about your... Preference." Isabelle said. Alex scoffed, turning his glare onto his mother. "Hayden. You don't even know your own granddaughters name. It's Hayden." "Either way, we are sorry."  "If you're so sorry, then why're you waiting till now to do something about it?" "We wanted to start over fresh. Please allow us?" Isabelle said, staring at her son and his husband with wide eyes. Jack ran one hand through his husbands hair while the other ran through his own, thinking about the pros and cons. The pros? Alex would have his parents back in his life. The cons? Alex's parents would still judge them and disapprove of everything they did. "Fine. One chance, that's all you get." Alex said, surprising Jack and apparently it surprised his parents as well, seeing as how their faces went from basically showing no emotion to showing shock and awe. Peter cleared his throat after a second of silence. "So, um, what did you name him?" Alex looked down at the newborn in his arms. "Xander. Xander Barakat." "He's beautiful." Isabelle said. "Thanks."  Jack shifted his weight onto his other foot, jingling his keys in his hands. "You guys wanna follow us home so you can meet Hayden?" Isabelle looked at her husband for a second before nodding her head yes. "That'd be lovely. We'll buy dinner." "Mom-" "No, Alexander. It's the least we can do." Alex sighed, leaning back into his chair in defeat. "Fine. Follow us and then you guys can go out and get dinner for tonight, as long as you stay." "Of course." Alex nodded and Jack carefully took Xander from his husbands arms, opening the back door and buckling him into the carseat that had been in there for a good week now it felt like. After that, Jack and Peter carefully raised Alex out of his wheelchair, allowing him to lean against his husband as he opened the back door and helped him in so he could be beside Xander. Jack shut the door, walking to the front of the car and opening the driver side door. "Hey Jack?" Peter called as he and Isabelle walked away to their own car. "Yeah?" "Thank you." "For what?" "For taking care of Alex when we couldn't."

Notes

KINDA SAD THAT THERE'S ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER AFTER THIS AND IT'S THE EPILOGUE AND AFTER THAT IT'S OVE R WOW I MIGHT ACTUALLY CRY WHEN I WRITE THAT BUT I WANNA SAY THAT I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS WHO HAVE COMMENTED AND SUBSCRIED AND VOTED FOR MY LAME STORY IT MEANS A LOT AND IM HAPPY YOU GUYS STUCK THROUGH WITH ME AND DIDN'T GIVE UP ON ME WHEN I DIDN'T UPDATE FOR MONTHS ON END IT MAKES ME HAPPY AND I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WOW IM ACTUALLY CRYING RN BECAUSE THIS WAS MY FIRST STORY AND IT'S ALMOST OVER HOLY FUCK I CAN'T RIGHT NOW ANYWAYS LOVE YOU ALL AND DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT PLEASE