Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 53: Due Date

-Jacey-

For two months, Caleb and Will put their heads together and whispered about how we could possibly get out. And for two months, they came up empty.

My water broke in the middle of the night seven weeks after our recapture. Or re-kidnapping. Or whatever it was called.

Caleb called for Will, and they both decided maybe this would be the opportunity they were looking for as I started having contractions.

But, as usual, Mr. Masterson had thought of everything. As Caleb held one of my hands and Will the other, a whole crew of doctors and nurses, with equipment, arrived in our bedroom.

“This is exciting,” Mr. Masterson said, coming in himself. “And before you say you don’t want me here, remember, Caleb is still expendable.”

I shut my mouth. So did Caleb and Will.

“Can she have an epidural?” Caleb asked when I started crushing both their hands trying not to cry out. I didn’t want to give Mr. Masterson the satisfaction.

I expected Mr. Masterson to say ‘no,’ but instead he shrugged. “Go ahead and give her the epidural. We want this to go as smoothly as possible.”

The anesthesiologist approached me, and Caleb and Will leaned me forward. I felt a pinch in my back, but after it took effect, there was nothing but pressure. No more body-wracking pain.

“All right then,” the doctor said. “I need you to be brave, Mama. You push when I tell you to, okay?”

Will and Caleb kept holding my hands. “You’re going to do great,” Will said.

“I’m here. Don’t worry,” Caleb added.

“We’re going to need to get some support behind her,” the doctor continued.

Caleb let go of my hand and I whimpered, but then he moved to sit behind me with my back to his chest, sitting me up just enough to be in position.

Will kept a hold of my other hand.

“Okay, let’s see how much further we’ve progressed here,” the doctor murmured, pushing up my long T-shirt and checking between my legs. “Oh good, you’re crowning. I’m going to need you to push.”

I looked at Will, who nodded encouragingly. Caleb kissed my hair. “Go ahead, baby. Push.”

I took a deep breath and bore down, feeling an increased pressure between my legs.

“That’s good. Keep pushing. Deep breaths,” the doctor said. “One more time… there we go. We’ve got the head out.”

I panted and Will took a cloth from a nurse and wiped my forehead.

“You’re doing so good, baby,” Caleb cooed at me, and I didn’t know if I wanted to slap him or hug him.

“Okay, now we need to clear the shoulders. You give me one more good push, Jocelyn,” the doctor continued.

“It’s not over yet?” I all but whined.

“Just another good push or two should do it. You’re doing beautifully,” the doctor said kindly.

I groaned and took a deep breath then pushed again. Hard.

“Oh good, shoulders are out. Good job, Mama.” There was a loud squall, and all of a sudden, there was a very angry Will Jr. sitting in the doctor’s arms.

“He’s beautiful,” the three of us said together.

“Now, which one of you is Daddy? I’m sure he’d like to have the honor of cutting the cord,” the doctor suggested.

Mr. Masterson stepped forward then. “I’m afraid Grandpa will be doing the honors. Thank you very much, Doctor.” Mr. Masterson cut the cord with an unnecessary flourish. “Now we just need to get him cleaned up and off to the wet nurse.”

“Wet nurse?” Will, Caleb, and I protested together.

“You didn’t think I was going to leave him here to have your bad influence, did you?” Mr. Masterson scoffed.

I made a strangled sound in my throat. “Don’t take away my son, please!”

“Father…” Will pleaded.

“Shut up.” Mr. Masterson glared at each of us in turn. “Remember, I can always change my mind about Caleb.”

I choked on a sob and turned my face into Caleb’s shoulder.

“I hope you die in some horrible, slow, painful way,” Caleb spat at Mr. Masterson.

Mr. Masterson chuckled. “I know. Now, in six weeks, we’re going to start this process all over again.”

“Can’t we please do in vitro again, Father?” Will asked.

“You lost that privilege when you tried to escape from me,” Mr. Masterson said flatly.

The nurse finished cleaning up Will Jr. and handed him to Mr. Masterson, who smiled down at my son and tickled his chin.

“You’re going to be much better than your daddy,” Mr. Masterson said to him.

Will Jr. squawked.

“Ah yes. Let’s get you to your new nursery, shall we?” Mr. Masterson cradled Will Jr. to him and headed for the door.

“Please, Dad,” Will said as I cried my eyes out.

“Don’t try to butter me up. Oh, Caleb, I will be needing my assistant back. I’m getting you an apartment close to work. I’ll send Jacey there when she’s pregnant again,” Mr. Masterson informed us.

Will’s eyes widened, and Caleb swore. “You can’t keep doing this, Masterson,” Caleb argued.

“Watch me.” Mr. Masterson left with Will Jr.

I tried very hard not to think of the plans we’d made for raising Will Jr. I didn’t want to think about the nursery in Arizona or anything like that. But the thoughts started creeping in the second Will Jr. was gone. I felt as though my heart had been torn from my body.

“I’m sorry, Jacey,” Will said softly.

I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Stop being sorry and do something!” I screamed at Will.

Will stiffened then looked at Caleb.

“Maybe you should just step out for a minute,” Caleb suggested to Will. “We’ll work this out.”

Will nodded sadly and let go of my hand, stepping out of our room.

“Why didn’t you find a way out before now?!” I then yelled at Caleb. “Why did you let this happen?!” I beat on his thighs with my fists. “How could you let him take our baby away?!”

“I’m sorry,” Caleb said, hugging me tightly. If he hadn’t been holding me so tightly, I would have come apart. “I’m so sorry. I know. I know we should have figured it out by now.”

“Now he’s sending you away. What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?!” I wailed. “What am I supposed to do without you?!”

Caleb was silent for a long time. Then he sighed and dropped his chin on my shoulder. “I will make sure that Will takes care of you.”

“But he’s not you!” I wailed.

“No. He’s not. But I want you to let him in, okay?” Caleb said, his voice hoarse. “Let him take care of you.”

“You mean sex, too, don’t you,” I whispered.

“Yes. I mean sex, too. Don’t get Masterson angry. We will figure a way out of this, but it’s going to take longer than four to six weeks, I think,” Caleb replied quietly. But he sounded defeated.

“You don’t think we’ll ever get out,” I accused him.

Caleb’s breath hitched. “I don’t want to say that out loud, Jacey. Please don’t make me.”

And just like that, my last shred of hope shriveled and died.

“Caleb…” I hiccupped a sob. “He’s not you.”

“I know, baby. I know,” Caleb said mournfully. “But he’s a good man, and it’s the only way we’ll get to see each other again.”

I tiredly squared my shoulders. One of us wasn’t going to lose hope. “I won’t do it,” I informed both men. “And Caleb Killeen, you’ll be lucky to ever get lucky again for even suggesting it.”

Caleb let out a sad, strangled laugh. “There’s my girl.” He stroked my hair. “I just need you to be okay while I’m gone.”

“You don’t think Mr. Masterson is taking you away right this second, do you?” I gasped.

The doctor and nurses had quietly left, leaving just us.

“I think Masterson is capable of it,” Caleb replied. “I think—”

“Caleb?” Will said, popping his head in. “I really hate to interrupt, but my father’s sent his goons to take you to the apartment.”

I gripped Caleb’s sweatpants, refusing to let him go. “No! No, Caleb is staying. He’s staying with me!” I shrieked.

Two muscled men elbowed their way past Will and into our bedroom. “The boss says we’re allowed to give her a sedative if she freaks out. I think this counts as freaking out.”

The other goon took out a filled syringe.

“Leave me alone! Leave us alone!” I couldn’t stop screaming. I turned and clutched Caleb’s T-shirt, digging my nails in. “You can’t have him! You can’t!”

“Jacey…” Caleb tried to sooth me. He gently tugged at my wrists, but I wouldn’t let go of his shirt.

“Sedative it is.” The goon with the syringe approached the bed.

“Just give me a minute!” Caleb snapped. Then he turned to me. “Baby, I don’t want you to be asleep and helpless while I’m gone. Just let me go. You’ll see me soon.”

I sobbed, clinging to Caleb. “Please, don’t go.”

“I have to, baby. Or it’s going to mean a lot of pain for somebody, and I don’t want that somebody to be you.” Caleb carefully pried my fingers out of his shirt. “Just lay down and rest, okay? You need to recover. You just gave birth.”

“What, so Will can fuck me?” I sneered.

Caleb winced, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Please, Jacey. Let’s not separate with us fighting.”

I cried harder than I could ever remember crying in my life.

Caleb pulled me to him and kissed me, his tears mingling with mine. “It’ll only be for a few weeks. Will is going to take care of you. It’s going to be okay.”

My sobs became broken when Caleb let me go. He stood. “Don’t use that needle on her. I’m up. Let’s go.”

The goon with the syringe capped it again and slid it into his pocket.

I reached for Caleb as they started for the door, but then Will was there holding me back in a strong hug.

“It’ll just be a few weeks,” Will reassured me. “I’ll stay here with you so you’re not alone, okay? I’ll do everything in my power to stop anything bad from happening to you or your family.”

As Caleb disappeared from my sight, I just trembled, feeling completely unmoored. “What about our son?” I asked.

“I’ll talk to my father about him. I don’t think it’ll do any good, so don’t get your hopes up. But I’ll try,” Will said.

I liked it. Will wasn’t going to tell me pretty little lies. Only Caleb was allowed to do that. “Four to six weeks, huh?”

“Yes,” Will responded. “We have four to six weeks to figure it all out.”

I didn’t want four to six weeks. I didn’t want four to six days. I just wanted to get it over with so I could go to Caleb. “What are we going to do in four to six weeks?” I asked, my voice having lost all color.

“We’ll just live. We’ll get to know each other better, and we’ll just do the best we can,” Will said. “Maybe we can get your dad to reconcile with you, I don’t know.”

“What makes you think I want to reconcile at this point?” I whispered.

“Because he’s your dad, and you want to be able to see Timothy from time to time. Plus, it’ll be hard to include them in any plans if it looks weird when we suddenly start talking to them,” Will replied.

“Oh.” I looked Will in the eyes. “You still think there’s a possibility we can all get out of this?”

“I have to. Otherwise, I might kill myself,” Will confessed.

I wrapped my arms around Will, hugging him back tightly. “Don’t do that. Don’t even think about it.”

“It’s hard not to,” Will sighed. “But I’m trying to stay positive. It’s just a bad situation that I can’t see my way out of right now.”

Maybe it was my turn to be the liar. “We’ll get out of here. Somehow.”

Will chuckled mirthlessly. “Thanks, Jacey. But like my father said, you’re a terrible liar.”