Page 10 of Knuckle's Dispute

“Are my brothers here yet?”I ask her, hope filling me as I think of my three brothers and them being here for me as they’ve always been.

“They are.They’re waiting out in the waiting room for you to wake up.Do you want me to send them in now?”she asks me, her voice fading as she walks closer to the door.

“Please,” I respond, laying back and closing my eyes against the harsh light filling my hospital room.

It feels as if no time passes at all before the door of my room is opening once again.

“Baby sister!”Daniel calls out, his loud voice echoing off the walls of my hospital room.“Where’s our nephew?”

“He’s in the nursery getting cleaned up and going through the testing.That’s what the nurse just told me.I haven’t even seen him yet,” I answer him as Daniel makes his way to my side and wraps his arms around me in a tight hug as always.

“We’ve got a lot of things for him in the cars outside.Mom and Dad still don’t know about him and we’re not about to tell them.If you want them to know, you can tell them when you’re ready,” Joseph says as he pushes Daniel out of the way and wraps me in his arms.

“You guys didn’t have to get anything for the baby.All I wanted was to have you here with me as you’ve always been.The baby needs to get to know his uncles,” I say as Aaron pushes Joseph out of the way to give me his hug.

This is how my brothers always are.They constantly fight over giving me their attention and that’s one of the main reasons why my younger sister Nicole and I don’t get along.She’s always wanted every single bit of attention from everyone in our family and when our brothers show me any affection or anything else, Nicole would get pissed off and throw a temper tantrum worse than any toddler.So, she’s moved away from the family in her desperate attempt to gain the attention and favor from our brothers instead of just our parents.

“Of course we got our nephew stuff.During our last conversation, you said you didn’t have anything for the baby yet.That you were waiting to go shopping when you had a break in your schedule.I’m assuming that’s still true.And what the fuck is going on with this fire at your home?Have you heard anything since being brought to the hospital?”Daniel asks, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to me.

“I don’t know if anyone’s been here to see me.You’re the only ones I’ve seen since being brought in here after a fireman got me out of my room and the fire.I was immediately brought to the ambulance and hospital.At some point, I passed out and woke up here shortly before they took me into surgery to deliver the baby.If the cops or anyone else has been here to talk to me, I have no clue.Have the three of you heard anything?”I ask my brothers, my voice giving out toward the end.

“No.We haven’t heard from anyone.I tried to talk to the fire chief when he was here looking for you.He’s gonna come back in a few days to talk to you and find out if you know anything or heard anything.We almost lost you, Nessa.I don’t know what we would’ve done if that happened,” Daniel says, his voice going low and filling with emotion he rarely shows to anyone other than me.

Before any of us can say another word, the door opens and we all watch as a bassinet is rolled in the room.Excitement and happiness fill my chest as I take in the bundle of joy wrapped up tight laying inside.My fingers itch to hold him.

“Here’s your little guy, Honey,” the nurse says, lifting my son out of the bassinet and handing him over to me.“He’s a healthy baby and I haven’t really heard him cry since he was born and brought into the nursery.”

I hold my son in my arms for the first time.Looking down at him, I take in every single detail of him.His little face is peaceful as he sleeps nestled close to my chest.I carefully unwrap him to take in every single detail of my son.His tiny fingers and all ten of his toes.The little rolls of fat on his chubby baby body.I have absolute perfection in my arms and there is nothing I won’t do to protect him from the evils of the world until he can become the independent young man he’ll eventually turn into.

“What’s his name?”Aaron asks me as they all crowd around my bed to get a look at my son.

“Kaden Michael Burns,” I answer without hesitation.

I’ve thought for countless hours about what I want to name my baby boy.Nothing ever sounded good until I heard the name Kaden randomly.I can’t even remember where I heard it at this point.All I know is I fell in love with the name and knew I’d name my baby boy that.Michael is actually Aaron’s middle name and we’ve always had a very close relationship.More so than the one I have with Daniel and Joseph.

“You’re not giving him the father’s last name?”Joseph questions me as I carefully wrap my son back up to keep him warm.

“Nope.I told him the baby was his and he doesn’t believe me.So, Kaden will have our last name and that’s my final decision,” I inform them as a knock sounds on the door that we all ignore as Kaden wakes up and starts to whimper.

“There’s a few bikers out in the waiting room.Overheard them mention your name.Are they here for you?”Daniel asks me as the door opens and I keep my eyes locked on Kaden.

“Nope.They know I’m here.I’m just their lawyer,” I inform my brothers as I hear a gasp come from behind Joseph and Daniel.

“We’re more than that, Janessa.You’re part of our family and we’ve been waiting for you to get out of surgery so we could come in and see you,” Marie says, walking up to the end of the bed with Rooster right behind her.

“We’re not, Marie.Yeah, I wanted the hospital to call you because I wasn’t sure if they would for Seth and Kurt.I hope they’re okay and heal quickly.That nothing too permanent was done to them.I’ll recommend a new lawyer to you once I’m out of the hospital.Maybe my friend who has taken over Seth’s case,” I state, still not looking up.

“Janessa, I’m not sure what happened to make you act this way, but you’re family and that’s all I’m gonna say about it.We’ll give you this time with your brothers, but we’re not gettin’ a new lawyer.You’re on retainer and the one we want to represent us when it’s needed,” Rooster says, a commanding tone to his voice.

“If my sister doesn’t want to represent your club any longer, you’re not gonna force her to do it.Janessa has been through more than enough and I’ll take on every single member to ensure she’s free and you don’t force her to do something she doesn’t wanna do,” Daniel speaks up, his voice hard and cold as he stares Rooster down and I look up at my brother.

“She’ll always have a choice in what she does with her life.Janessa, we’ll talk soon,” Rooster says before pulling Marie from the hospital room and leaving me alone with my brothers again.

For the next few hours, the only time my brothers leave me alone is when I have to feed Kaden.They give me the privacy I desire to bond with my son while my chest is exposed.We talk and laugh while my brothers spoil their nephew by holding him in their arms even when he’s sleeping.Every single time the door of my room opens, I see Homicide and Omen standing guard and know there are more members of the Dirty Slayers MC filling the maternity ward.They need to leave me alone.I’m not about to drag them into my mess.The fire in my home has only proven to me exactly how unhinged Roger and his parents truly are.There isn’t a line they won’t cross when it comes to getting me to do what they demand.They need to leave me alone and forget I ever existed.My brothers are used to this shit and have put plans in place to protect me.

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