I always feel like Thanksgiving break is the teaser trailer for Christmas break a few weeks later. But this year feels different. Not only do we have the Scott brothers celebrating Thanksgiving with us, but it's also the last holiday we'll be without Auggie. My mom is two weeks past her due date, and the doctor doesn't want to wait anymore. So the Friday after Thanksgiving, he wants to induce her. Which means hopefully by Saturday or Sunday, I'll be a big sister.

My mom is too big and exhausted to do much cooking, so Baker, Ian, and I decide to hop in and assist where we can. Baker cooks the turkey, making sure he arrives early in the morning to get it in the oven on top. Then the three of us get together and cook all the sides while my mom "supervises" from the kitchen table and my dad puts the final touches on the nursery.

It's about halfway through the day when Baker gets a text message that seems to shift his mood. He frowns when he pulls it up, then slides his phone back into his pocket without another word. But his Thanksgiving joy diminishes quickly after the text, leaving me to wonder who it was and what they said. He barely smiles throughout dinner as Ian talks excitedly about the new baby coming tomorrow, and he hardly touches the food on his plate that he worked so hard to cook.

When dinner ends, he helps clear the table while Ian and my mom go upstairs to check out the progress my dad made on the nursery. I decide to take the opportunity as I walk up to Baker and say, "Hey. Is everything okay?"

He nods his head, his eyes staring down at the dirty dishes in the sink. "Yeah. Why wouldn't they be?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I... I don't know. You just seem kind of quiet tonight. Like something's bothering you."

His lips form a hard line as he sighs and says, "Nothing is bothering me. I'm fine. I'm just... I'm feeling kind of sick. Not contagious sick. Just like... a sort of headache thing. I get them from time to time. Think it's from getting hit so many times in football."

I nod. "Yeah, that makes sense. If you want to go home, I understand. I can clean this mess up."

He gives me a soft smile as he turns to me and says, "I appreciate that. But that's not really fair. I made most of this mess, so I should stay and help clean it. Besides, Ian is so excited to be here. I don't want to burst his bubble by making him leave early. But... actually, do you think your parents would mind if I took some leftovers home? You know... for my dad?"

This is the first time in ages he's mentioned his dad to me, and for a second I'm so stunned that I don't know what to say. "Uhh... sure?" His brow furrows in concern. I swallow hard and say, more firmly. "Yes. That's fine. My parents won't mind." I pause for a second, thinking of what I should say. "You know, you could've invited him tonight too. I feel kind of bad that he's not here. Like we're taking him from you."

He laughs as he sets a dish he's been washing in the dishwasher. "It's okay, Summer," he says. "Ian and I both wanted to be here. Besides, our dad... he's not one for holidays anyway. I just want to make sure he has dinner, you know?"

I nod my head, smiling as I scrub a fork before adding it to the dishes in the dishwasher. "That's really nice of you. You're a good son."

His smile falters a little as he reaches into the sink and pulls out another plate. "I don't know about that. My dad and I... we have a complicated relationship."

My chest tightens. "Complicated how?" I ask nervously.

He shrugs his shoulders. "Just complicated."

I open my mouth to reply when Ian comes barreling down the stairs and back into the kitchen. "Baker!" he yells, his eyes wide with excitement. "Ashley and Bert invited me to stay the night so I could go with them to the hospital tomorrow! Can I? Please?"

Baker wipes his wet hands on a towel as he grins down at his little brother. "Dude, I don't know. I mean, they have a big day tomorrow. I think it would be best if we just went home. Besides... dad is expecting us. We have to bring him dinner."

Ian's jaw falls open. "Did he call?" he asks, surprised. Baker nods his head, and Ian's face falls. "Can't we both just stay the night? We can bring dad dinner tomorrow."

A sympathetic smile forms on Baker's lips as he ruffles his little brother's hair. "I don't think that's a good idea, bud. But I'll tell you what. We can meet them at the hospital tomorrow to meet Auggie. If that's okay?" he asks as he looks up at my dad.

He smiles. "Ashley and I would love that." Then he looks down at Ian and says, "Thanks for helping us so much with the baby's room, Ian. I'm not sure Ashley and I could've done it without all your help."

The way Ian's chest puffs up with pride makes me beam. "I was happy to help," he replies. Then he looks up at Baker and says, "Promise we'll be back tomorrow?"

Baker nods. "I promise," he replies, and this seems to semi-appease Ian, who runs up and gives my mom and dad each a hug. They say their goodbyes for the night before the three of us walk out of the house together, Baker carrying a couple plates of food for his dad. When Ian slides into the car, Baker hands him the food and closes the door, gesturing for just one more minute with me to say goodnight. He makes a gagging face as Baker rolls his eyes and walks over to me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, beautiful girl," he whispers to me, his smile not quite reaching his eyes as he brushes a strand of my hair off my cheek. "Try to get some sleep tonight. You probably won't get much for a while."

"Ha, ha," I reply. He leans down and presses his lips softly against mine. When he pulls away, I suck in a breath and say, "So... I guess tell your dad I said hi?"

He tenses as the remainder of his smile dies. "What?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. I mean, he knows about me, right?" I ask. Baker doesn't say anything. "Right?" I ask again, my stomach slowly sinking.

He sighs as he runs his fingers through his hair. "I mean.... Yeah. Of course he does. Why wouldn't he?" he asks, and I relax.

"I don't know," I reply, shuffling my feet anxiously. "Just... I've never met him, you know? And you've met both my parents. Just feels kind of weird that I haven't met him yet. We've been together for a while and—"

"I know, I know," he says quickly, cutting me off midsentence. "And you will meet him. Someday. He's just... everything is so busy. And he's almost never home. I mean, he works, you know. Busy job."

I nod my head. "Sure. I mean, I get it." I pause for a second before asking, "What's his name?"

Baker runs his fingers through his hair again. "Uh. Jasper. Everyone calls him Jay though."

"Jay," I say, as if tasting the word on my tongue. "Huh. Okay. What does he do for a living?"

"Uh," he replies as he rubs his shoulder. "Little of this, little of that. Mostly construction. Some temp work when he's not on a crew."

"Okay," I say slowly, trying to think of what else I can ask while I have the chance. When it comes to my family, I'm an open book. But he's so closed off about his. If it's not about Ian, he doesn't talk about it. And I get that he's not close with any of them. But I just wish he would talk to me more.

Baker turns his head back and looks at Ian. "I have to go," he says quickly, and I melt a little when his smile returns. "I... uhh... I'll see you tomorrow?"

My heartbeat quickens, and I wonder if he was about to say it. "Yeah... I... me too. You. Um. Tomorrow." A blush rises in my cheeks as I realize how stupid I sound. His smile widens as he presses his lips against mine again. Longer this time. Deeper. I bury my fingers in his hair as he snakes an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. The horn honks, and we both jump apart, startled.

"Gross!" Ian shouts from the passenger seat, and Baker roars with laughter as my blush deepens.

"Goodnight, Lumen," he whispers, and with one final peck on the cheek, he runs back to his car and drives away. Leaving me, as always, wanting so much more. I run back into the house, my heart still racing as my dad walks around the living room, doing final checks as he sets my mom's overnight bag next to the front door.

"Have a good time saying goodnight out there?" he asks me teasingly, and I know he saw that last kiss.

"Dad," I growl warningly, and he laughs.

"Sorry, sorry," he says, chuckling. "I usually try not to look. But I was getting the bag together, and I saw you guys." He pauses for a second as he takes in my goofy smile. "I love seeing you like this."

"Like what?" I ask, still breathing kind of hard from that kiss.

"Just... so happy," he replies. "Your mom and I really like Baker, you know. He's a great kid. The way he looks after his brother... well, you know how it is. No one will ever be quite good enough for you in my eyes. But Baker comes pretty close. He's a hard worder, good heart, and handsome to boot."

I roll my eyes. "Oh my God, dad," I say, and he laughs again. "Please don't check out my boyfriend."

"Oh, but he's so cute, girl," he replies in a high pitched, teen girl voice, and I shake my head, grinning from ear to ear. "And do you see that caboose he's got on him?"

"Dad!" I yell, laughing. "Stop! God! Go upstairs and like... kiss with your wife or something."

He busts up laughing as he walks over and gives me a quick hug. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. But I meant what I said. He's a good kid. They both are. One of these nights, when we're a bit more settled with Auggie, we would love to have their dad over for dinner with them."

I nod my head, not bothering to tell him that I've yet to meet Jay Scott. "Yeah. Sure. We'll set something up. But I'm going to head upstairs. Long day tomorrow, you know."

He smiles. "Oh, I know it. Gonna be a dad tomorrow."

"You're already a dad," I reply with a scoff and an eye roll, and he grins.

"I guess that's true," he says back, patting my shoulder. "Love you, sweetheart. See you in the morning."

I smile. "Love you too, dad. Goodnight."

Without another word, I dash up the stairs to my bedroom and close my door, collapsing on my be without even changing my clothes. I'm so tired. It's been such a busy day. And yet I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep or not. It feels kind of like Christmas Eve, and tomorrow morning I'm going to wake up to the most amazing gift. A little brother. My heart swells at the thought. Sighing, I force myself out of bed and change into pajamas before lying back down and closing my eyes, hoping sleep will take me.

But, as usual, I toss and turn, too excited to sleep. Frustrated, I reach over and grab my phone, shooting a quick text to Baker to see if he's awake. Stupid question. He's always awake. I stare at my phone, waiting for his response to come through. But it doesn't. I check the message to make sure it sent, and when I see that it has, I send another one. Then I wait for the three dots to appear, signaling that he's writing back. But... they don't.

"Baker?" I ask, sending one more for good measure. But nothing. Totally silent. My heart sinks a little as I rest my head on my pillow and set my phone down next to me, my eyes never leaving our chat thread. Maybe he's in the shower. Or maybe he's already fallen asleep. These are the things I tell myself as I watch and wait for the three dots to appear. I don't know how long I wait. It feels like hours, but might only be thirty minutes. It's hard to tell. Either way, I do end up finally falling asleep.

But when I wake up in the morning, I see that he never replied. My heart sinks a little as I sit up and rub the sleep out of my eyes. It's morning. Early, early morning. But downstairs I can hear my parents getting ready for the big day ahead of us. So instead of trying to get more sleep, I shimmy out of bed and slip on some comfy clothes to wear to the hospital. I'm going to be in the delivery room, and since I know that this can take all day, I want to make sure I'm dressed for comfort.

When I walk down stairs, I see my dad walking out the door carrying my mom's overnight bag while my mom waddles into the living room from the kitchen pouting. "I'm starving," she says with a whine as he places her hand on her enlarged belly. "And I can only eat a light meal. Doctor said nothing big before I go in. But do you know how hard that is with all our Thanksgiving food sitting in the refrigerator?"

"It'll be there when you get home," I say with a slight giggle. "I promise dad and I won't eat it all."

She nods her head, her lips curved in a slight frown. Then she looks around, as if making sure my dad isn't anywhere nearby, before she says, "I'm so scared, Summer."

Her words pull at my heartstrings. "What are you scared of?" I ask. Then I chuckle at myself as I say, "Other than the obvious."

She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. I mean, I'm not really scared of the pain. I mean, it's hard. Trust me. A woman never forget, you know? But... I'm just scared of... doing this again. Don't get me wrong. I want it. I've never wanted anything more. But... what if I'm not good at it?"

"Mom," I reply, my lips forming a slight grin. "Are you serious?" Her eyes well up with tears as I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her. "You're the best mom. And Bert... he's the most amazing dad in the world. When it comes to whether or not you're going to be good at this, I can assure you that you're the best in the business."

She wipes a tear with the back of her hand as she releases a watery chuckle. "That's so sweet of you, honey," she replies with a great big sniff. "Thank you. It's just... it's all scary. There are so many emotions. It feels like I'm on the craziest rollercoaster of my life."

I nod my head. "I get it," I say, even though I don't. Not like how she means it. "But what do you say we get this show on the road? I mean, I don't know if you know this or not, but you're kind of holding my little brother hostage right now, and he wants out. Don't be so selfish."

This makes her laugh as she rubs her hand over her stomach. "You hear that, Auggie? Your big sister just called your mommy selfish. You going to just sit in there and take that?" We giggle together as we hear the sound of the trunk slamming outside. Then my mom closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and says, "Well, guess it's time to go."

"Okay," I say back, and together, the three of us get in the car (my dad helps my mom ease into the passenger seat) and make our way to the hospital. I can't believe that his is happening. That I'm going to be a big sister in just a few hours. Everything in my life is going to be so different from this moment forward. After years of hoping and months of waiting, I'm ready for this. I'm ready to meet my little brother at last.

Author's Note:
Today I outlined the next 10 or so chapters, so I think (hope) that these next several chapters will be easier to write. This one was a little difficult. But who's excited to meet little Auggie? Raise your hand!

Fun fact: In the original version of this story, Summer's parents did not have another child. I added that on to the second draft, and I'm glad I did. It's been fun. I hope you're all enjoying it as well. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and I'll be back in the next few days with another chapter! Stay safe and healthy until then, my dears!
XOXO,
~Aly