94

Zane had a hard time letting Ava go as she tried to get up from his lap. He was still blown away by her news. He was going to be a father. Zane and Ava would have a baby, a child. His male pride flared at the idea. His legacy would live on in the form of a little human that would be half him and half Ava. That was amazing. 

“Zane, you need to let me get up before the others get here,” Ava told him in a soft voice. His possessiveness flared, and he drew her closer instead of letting her go. He wanted to grunt ‘mine’ but thought that would be a little over the top, even for him. Zane reeled in his emotions and kissed her before letting her get up. He stood up with her and placed his arm around her. There was no chance he would let her out of his sight. She might think that he would be satisfied with only two weeks, but he would make sure that his angel and their child would be safe. And there was no place safer than inside their home with him close by. There was a knock on the door and Ava called for them to enter and into the office came a group of people his angel had dubbed to be their family. She wasn’t wrong. Zane had always viewed Jax as his brother and since Linda had moved in with him and Jax had finally got his head out of his ass, she was part of the family as well. Gabriel was another given. After what he had done for Ava, Zane saw him as Ava’s twin brother. And as he and Ryder had sorted out their relationship and now lived together, they both were part of the family. The last members were Tom and his wife. Ava had adopted Tom and his family. She had become close to his daughter and even though she wouldn’t join them this evening, Zane knew the girl would be thrilled about the news. This was another thing his angel had changed. Before her, Zane only had Jax. Little by little, his angel had put their family together by gently nudging people together, creating bonds, making people happy. It was her true gift. And now she was about to take it a step further by adding a completely new person to their family. The mood of the group was high. There was laughter as Jax made sure everyone had a drink. 

“So, did she manage to surprise you?” Jax asked with a grin.

“She sure did,” Zane admitted.

“The thought of you taking a vacation is hilarious,” his best friend told him. Zane laughed, not at the thought of himself on vacation, but at the thought of Jax’s expression when he would find out the real news. Zane saw a hidden smile between Linda and Ava. 

“Where are you heading?” Gabriel asked.

“We’re not leaving the house,” Ava told him. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her.

“What? I don’t think that’s a vacation, babe,” Gabriel said.

“Yeah, you have deserved a real vacation. Don’t tell me this asshole is too cheep to treat you to a real trip?” Jax said, punching Zane in the shoulder. 

“Fuck off, I would take her anywhere in the world if she asked,” Zane growled. He couldn’t let people think he wouldn’t give anything to her. 

“I haven’t been honest with you. This was never about a vacation,” Ava told them. 

“What? What has it been about?” Ryder asked. They all looked confused.

“Zane and I are going to have a baby,” Ava told them, and after a second of dead silence, chaos erupted. Gabriel flung himself at Ava, giving Zane a heart attack. Gabriel hugged her too tight for Zane’s liking, but he couldn’t do anything about it as he had been surrounded by Jax, Tom and Ryder who were shaking his hand, slapping him on the shoulder and congratulating him. He did his best to thank them as he kept an eye on his angel. Linda and Samantha had joined Gabriel in congratulating Ava. 

“I’m going to be the best uncle ever,” Gabriel proclaimed. “I’ll be the cool uncle that will take her clubbing and teaching her about boys.” Zane had heard enough. His anxiety reached top level as he listened to Gabriel. Ava seemed to feel the waves coming off him because she turned around towards him and smiled, holding out her hand. He ignored the joke Jax was in the middle of telling and walked over to her and pulled her close to him. His arm went around her and his hand landed over her stomach, as to protect the precious cargo. Ava put her hand on top of his and rubbed it. 

“It will be fine. We don’t even know if we are expecting a girl,” she whispered to him. He grunted and nodded.

“But why have you taken two weeks off work?” Samantha asked. 

“Oh, it’s for Zane to get used to the idea and come to grips with me being out in the world while pregnant,” Ava explained, as if it was the most natural thing. Jax laughed so hard he needed to support himself on the couch. Linda giggled along with Gabriel and Zane caught Ben and Ryder exchanging a knowing look. Samantha just looked stunned. The gathering continued for another hour. Zane refused to leave Ava’s side. As the night started to wind down, Zane took Jax to the side.

“You get what this means?” Zane asked his friend. Jax looked serious and nodded. 

“I will make sure it is done. I’ll report back so you know how things progress.” Zane nodded. He was grateful he had Jax. Not only a good friend, but he also knew what the life they lived entailed and what was needed at times like this. Zane walked back to Ava and kissed her on her head. 

“Ready to call it for tonight?” he asked. 

“Yes, I’m ready to head home. We still need to tell Anna. I don’t want her to hear it from someone else,” Ava told him. His angel really was an angel, Zane thought as he said goodbye to all their friends and helped her into the car. He looked as she put on her seatbelt and frowned. 

“Is that safe?” he asked.

“Is what safe?” she asked. 

“The seat belt. What if we’re in an accident and it presses down on your stomach? That can’t be good for the baby,” he pointed out. 

“It’s safer than if I’m not using one,” she said. He grunted, but nodded. This was not good. 

“Keep it below thirty,” Zane told Carlos that were driving. 

“Below thirty what, boss?” Carlos asked, clearly confused. 

“Miles per hour.”

“What?” both Carlos and Ava asked. 

“You heard me, keep it below thirty.” Zane sat back and took Ava’s hand in his. Carlos pulled out and slowly cruised down the street. Cars were passing them, there were people honking. Despite the late hour, the traffic in the city was never at rest. 

“This is embarrassing,” Ava complained. 

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I think I saw a turtle passing us,” she told him. Zane could swear he heard a choking sound from the front seat as Carlos did his best to not laugh.

“Just because the rest of the idiots aren’t careful doesn’t mean we have to take the risk.”

“Honey, we would get home faster if I got out and walked. We will get pulled over for holding up traffic,” Ava said. 

“Half of the cops in this city are on my payroll, the other half knows I’m friends with the mayor. No one is pulling us over and we are in no hurry to get home. I would rather you get home safe and sound than get home in a short amount of time,” he told her. He was not about to let her take unnecessary risks. 

“That is sweet, it really is, but you are going overboard with this a little bit.” Zane heard Carlos mumble ‘a little bit’ and then snort. “I can’t spend the rest of this pregnancy going around at the speed of a snail.”

“Luckily for you, you won’t be leaving the house anytime soon,” he pointed out.

“Fine,” she sighed. He glanced over at her, trying to judge how irritated she was with him. But he saw her try to hide a smile by looking out the window. When they finally drove through the gates to their home, Zane drew a sigh of relief. He helped her out of the car and held her hand as they walked into the house. They had done it so many times at this point, it had become a habit. But this time wasn’t like the others. This was the first time he walked into their home knowing he was a father. Anna met them in the hallway as always, smiling at them and offering them a late-night snack or something to drink.

“I think we are good, but could we have a word with you in the kitchen?” Ava asked. 

“Of course Mrs Ava,” Anna said. Zane smiled. Anna was the only one in the house that wasn’t using Avas nick name the men had given her. As they got to the kitchen, Anna looked nervous. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No, Anna. Nothing is wrong. We just wanted you to be one of the first to know the news, as you are important to both Zane and me. We are going to have a baby,” Ava told her. Anna’s eyes grew bigger and then, to Zane’s utter horror, she started crying. Ava let out a little sound and then hugged the older woman. The two women hugged tightly for a long while and if it hadn’t meant to leave Ava’s side, Zane would have left the room. Finally, they drew apart, both wiping their eyes. 

“This is fantastic news. I’m so happy for the both of you,” Anna said.

“Thank you. I hope I’m not going to be too much of a bother with strange cravings,” Ava joked. 

“No bother at all. Anything you want, you tell me and I will make it, no matter what or when it is. It’s going to be so nice to hear the pitter patter of small feet in this house again.” They said good night. It had been a long day and Zane didn’t want Ava to exhaust herself. As they got close to the stairs, he picked her up in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck. 

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m carrying my angel to bed.” She didn’t object. She just kissed his cheek and snuggled up to him.