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with-a-thousand-sweet-kisses · 4 years ago

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with-a-thousand-sweet-kisses · 4 years ago

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sweet child of mine - finale

Angel held her breath on the entire ride to the hospital. Benny picked the couple up to make sure they were able to make it there as fast as possible. She continued holding her breath as they walked to the nurses station. Angel had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that she would never stop holding her breath.

After they were told the room number, Collins took Angel’s hand in his. She could feel his sweaty palms shaking with just as much anxiety as she was feeling. The approached the door, and Collins knocked gently. As soon as Angel and Emma locked eyes, the younger girl in the hospital bed broke down in violent sobs. Angel let go of Collins’ hand and walked over, taking the girl in her arms and holding her close.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I should have been more careful.” Her words came out broken and almost unintelligible.

“Shhh… No, honey. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Angel fought tears of her own as she rocked this girl in her arms and stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her down. “This isn’t your fault.”

“I was t-taking the stairs… I n-normally take the stairs… I g-got dizzy and I…” She broke down again, sobbing harder than before. “I’m s-s-so sorry-y.”

“This is not your fault,” Angel whispered, letting the tears that were burning the brims of her eyes start to stream down your cheeks. “This isn’t your fault…” She looked over at Collins, who had his back facing them. When she saw his shoulders shaking with obvious sobs, Angel let herself fall apart.

******

“Angel!” Collins called from the living room. Angel had been in their bedroom, getting dressed to go to their life support meeting. “Angel!” his voice grew more urgent. Angel quickly grabbed her wig and ran into the living room. “Baby, we have to go!” The smile that spread on his face made Angel’s heart flutter. “We gotta go get our girl.” His grin widened, and Angel screamed as she ran and jumped into his arms.

******

“One more signature here,” The woman smiled softly as Angel and Collins finished signing their names. “Have a seat over there; they’ll be right out.”

Angel took Collins’ hand and walked to the row of chairs on the other side of the room. “This is it…right? I’m not dreaming?” She asked him, shaking her leg nervously.

“This is it, baby.” Collins grin widened as he leaned in, kissing Angel deeply.

“Mr. and Mrs. Collins?” Angel’s heart fluttered as she heard that sentence—she had never been called that until now. “Would you like to meet your daughter?”

Angel erupted into tears and jumped to her feet. Collins followed closely behind her as they walked down the hallway to the nursery. Another nurse holding a tiny bundle in a pink blanket walked out of the nursery. She smiled as she laid the tiny baby in Angel’s arms. Angel looked down at the tiny, five pound baby in her arms. In that moment, she knew the missing piece she’d felt since she was a kid was found. The part of her that always longed to be a mother was finally fulfilled. She, for the first time, felt whole—and it was all because of a person she had only known for a few seconds. Her baby. “My Bella.”

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with-a-thousand-sweet-kisses · 4 years ago

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sweet child of mine - part 3

“Do you want to know the gender?” The ultrasound technician asked the young girl laying on the table.

“Uhh, well… it’s up to them. They’re the parents; I’m just baking the thing.” The brunette smirked, glancing over to Angel and Collins.

“Stop that,” Angel lightheartedly rolled her eyes before looking over to Collins. “We hadn’t really talked about it… Collins, do you…?”

“I mean, kind of… That way we know what to buy. Emma?” He looked at their surrogate on the table, forgetting the comment she’d made from just a few seconds earlier. Collins shrugged, a hint of panic underlying his features. Seeing the baby on the screen made it so much more real.

“Again,” Emma spoke. “I’m just the oven. It’s your bun.”

“Yes. No. Yes. Yes. Yes, we want to know the gender.” Angel debated with herself for a minute before deciding.

“Alright,” The ultrasound technician smiled as she turned back to the screen. “Congratulations, it’s a boy!”

******

“Do you think we have enough diapers?” Angel asked, as she finished folding the pile of cloth diapers in front of her. “I feel like we don’t have enough.”

“We have enough,” Collins groaned from the couch, with a joint hanging out of his lips.

“You know you’ll have to quit smoking in the house soon. I don’t want the smell sticking around.” She threw daggers at him with her eyes. “I just don’t thi—” Angel was interrupted by the phone ringing.

Collins reached back, picking the phone up off of the receiver. “’yello?” he answered. He listened to the voice on the other end for a second before sitting up in a panic. He put the joint out in the ash tray, which alerted Angel that something was seriously wrong. Collins never wasted weed. Ever. “Where is she? Is she okay?”

Angel’s heart stopped. “What? What’s wrong? Is it Emma?!” Worry and panic rose in her throat, constricting it to the point where she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“We’re on our way,” He slammed the phone down and immediately started putting his shoes on. “We have to go. Something happened.”

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with-a-thousand-sweet-kisses · 4 years ago

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sweet child of mine - part 2

The awkward silence at the table screamed volumes. Collins shook his leg nervously, and Benny sighed impatiently, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. “What’s this about?” Benny finally asked.

Collins sighed nervously. “I need a loan,” He blurted out.

“Well I figured that. Why else would you call me?” He cocked an eyebrow. “How much and what for?”

“I-I don’t know how much,” Collins stuttered. “And it’s… it’s complicated, but…” He sighed. “Angel wants a baby. All she’s talked about for years is wanting to be a mother. And we obviously can’t have one ourselves, but I figured whatever could cover adoption fees…”

“You won’t be able to adopt a kid with your living situation,” Benny stated, leaning forward on the table. “Collins… can you guys even afford a kid?”

“I got that teaching gig at NYU; it pays pretty good, and Angel’s been selling some of her clothes in the square. I think we’d be fine,” Collins was a little offput and offended by Benny’s question, but he knew he had just reason to ask. That was a concern Collins himself had when Angel first brought up kids. “She’s hurting…and I know it’s because she wants to be a mom. That’s all she’s ever wanted. And trust me, if I had any other options, I would have gladly taken them first… but I don’t.”

Benny clicked his tongue and leaned back again. “Have you thought about a surrogate?”

“Neither me or Angel would be able to… you know…” Collins sighed in defeat, putting a hand on his forehead.

“Collins… there’s a chance the baby can be born without HIV… you just have to know if that’s a chance you want to take,” Benny actually showed a sign of humanity for the first time in years. AIDS was still so unpredictable and no one knew all of the logistics, and that scared the hell out of Collins. “So… is that a chance you want to take?”

“Yes… for Angel, yes. What do we need to do?”

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with-a-thousand-sweet-kisses · 4 years ago

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sweet child of mine - part 1

“Guess I’m leaving. I’m gone!” Angel and Collins stood speechless in the office section of the hall that currently held Maureen and Joanne’s engagement party. Seconds prior, the two women exited the room out of separate doors.

Maureen’s parents were standing next to them. Nancy turned to Mark, who was shifting uncomfortably along with the rest of the group of friends. “Maybe now you two can get back together,” She had a glimmer of hope in her eye, which made the exchange all the more uncomfortable.

“Wow,” Mimi commented, turning and heading for the door. Angel and Collins followed behind their friends as they exited the building.

“I gotta run,” Mark stated, pulling his camera out of his bag. “Alexi awaits.” Rolling his eyes, he unlocked his bike and hopped on, peddling away from the rest of them.

“We’ll meet you guys at the flat,” Collins told Mimi and Roger. “Hopefully Benny doesn’t have the SWAT team waiting outside.” Roger slipped his in Mimi’s and started heading in the opposite direction. “Well, that was a hell of an engagement party.”

“They’ll come to their senses,” Angel sounded so sure, but Collins wasn’t convinced. He’d been around to see how many times Maureen had caused a big, dramatic scene with Mark—those were nothing compared to what just happened between she and Joanne.

Collins took Angel’s hand in his, and the couple started making their way toward Central Park. Angel turned to look at Collins, who seemed deep in thought. “You alright, honey?” She asked, furrowing her brow. It wasn’t like Collins to be so quiet—he was always the one breaking the awkward silence with jokes. Throughout the entire scene, however, he hadn’t said a word.

“Do you wanna get married?” He blurted out, stopping in his tracks.

Angel was taken aback by his question, stopping and turning to face him. “What?”

“Do you wanna get married?” He repeated, a hint of anxiety in his eyes.

“Can we even…?” Angel let her thought trail off, frowning.

“We can find out,” A wide smell spread across Collins’ face, and Angel’s eyes widened. She felt butterflies erupt in the pit of her stomach.

“Are you serious?” She asked, her voice rising an octave. “You want to marry me?”

“Angel…” Collins took her hand and pulled her close, putting his other hand on the side of her face. “I’ve wanted to marry you since you found me half-dead in that alley.”

Angel laughed lightheartedly, tears welling up in her eyes. “You’re so dramatic. They did whip your ass, though.”

“Then answer my question, woman.” Collins cocked an eyebrow, kneeling down on one knee in the middle of the sidewalk. “Angel Dummott-Schunard… will you marry me?”

*******

“Guess what motherfuckers,” Collins slid the flat door open, brushing off the fact that all of their stuff had magically reappeared in the flat. He threw a bottle of Stoli to Roger, who—as always—looked like someone killed his dog.

“Benny got hit by a bus on his way home and left the building to us in his will?” Roger looked hopeful for a moment, causing Angel to roll her eyes.

“We wouldn’t be so lucky,” Collins lit the joint that had been hanging out of his mouth. He pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and walked over to Roger, handing it to him. Mark curiously crouched down behind the chair where Roger sat. Roger unfolded the paper, and his eyes shot up, looking from Collins to Angel.

Mark snatched the paper out of Roger’s hands, “…by the state of New York City, we grant domestic partnership to Thomas Collins and Angel… are you serious?! Congratulations!” He threw his arms around Collins, then moved onto embrace Angel. “This is huge!”

“I’m going to go downstairs and tell Mimi,” Angel turned to walk toward the door, but was interrupted by Roger’s voice.

“You won’t find her,” He remarked bitterly. “I saw her leave with Benny earlier.”

“Wha—” Concern automatically shaded Angel’s features.

“Let’s not worry about that right now,” Mark put a hand on Collin’s shoulder. “Let’s go celebrate.”

*******

“Collins, we have to go or we’ll miss visiting hours!” Angel tapped her foot impatiently, waiting by the door to their flat. She inspected the gift bag in her hand once more to make sure she’d put everything in it.

“Okay, okay. Let’s go.” Collins threw his coat on as Angel slid the door open and immediately took off down the stairs. “Slow down! You’ll break a heel.”

“I’m just ready to see her,” Angel remarked, pausing to wait for Collins to catch up to her.

“I know, but we have plenty of time.” He took her hand, and her heart rate instantly slowed down.

*******

“Bueno, mami!” Angel whispered excitedly as she walked through the door of the hospital room where Mimi, Roger, Maureen, Joanne, and Mark all were. Roger stepped out of the way, and as soon as Angel saw the bundled blue blanket in Mimi’s arms, she erupted into tears.

“C’mere,” Mimi beckoned, carefully scooting over so Angel could join her on the bed. “Can we…?” She glanced at Roger, who nodded.

“Come on, guys. Let’s give them a second,” The group stepped into the hall, Collins smiling at Angel before closing the door behind them.

Mimi looked exhausted, but the energy that radiated off of her made Angel cry more. Just three years before, Angel watched as her best friend die and come back to life after living on the streets for weeks. Mimi was almost unrecognizable that day, more pale and thin than Angel had ever seen her. Looking at her now, you would have thought this was a completely different person.

“He’s beautiful,” Angel sniffed as Mimi handed the tiny, wrapped up baby over to her. “He’s absolutely beautiful.” She pushed the blanket aside lightly to see his face. “Just like his mami.” She smiled, leaning her forehead against Mimi’s and smiling. Tears started streaming down Mimi’s face as she looked from Angel to the baby.

“Wanna know his name?” She asked, pushing her hair out of her face. Angel nodded, not taking her eyes off of the embodiment of perfection in her arms. “I wanted to give him a strong name…so I had to name him after the strongest person I know. Joel Angelo Davis.”

Angel’s head popped up and she turned her head to Mimi, fresh tears now pouring from her eyes.

*******

“Collins!” Angel called from the living room, sliding her shoes on before walking toward the door. “I’m going downstairs to see Mimi and Joel.”

“You just came back from there an hour ago,” Collins entered the room, cocking an eyebrow.

“I know, but…” She let the thought drop off, knowing he was right. “Do you think I’m crowding them?”

“Of course not, but I’ma need Joel to share you with me every once in a while.”

Angel sighed, sitting back down on the couch. She put her head in her hands, tears streaming down the side of her face. Collins sighed and saw next to her, putting a comforting hand on her back. “I know, baby… I know. Look at me,” He put a finger under her chin and gently turned her head toward him. “I promise, it’ll happen for us one day.”

“You can’t promise that,” Angel wiped her eyes.

“But I am,” Collins planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Go on, go see Joel.”

Angel nodded, kissing him gently on the lips before walking out the door.

Collins sighed and stood up, walking over to the phone. He dialed a number that he definitely wasn’t used to dialing and put the phone to his ear.

“Hello?” The voice spoke on the other end.

“Benny… it’s Collins. Can you meet me at the Life Café in twenty minutes? We need to talk.”

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with-a-thousand-sweet-kisses · 4 years ago

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