----------
Part 9
Hijacked
August 31, 2012
Father Richard Torres decided to stop off at the nursery after spending the past hour with one of the members of his congregation. The hospice worker, Holly, had called him in requesting that he stop by to perform the last rites on Mrs. Oaks. The nursery was always a welcome change after such trials. He smiled as the precious infants slept in their small bassinets.
He suddenly heard frantic running and saw a young man in scrubs heading in his directions. His pace didn't halt and Father Torres took a step back in surprise.
"Jesus Christ, are you a real priest?" the young man asked him.
"Ye--"
"You need to come with me," he replied and grasped him by the elbow. "Please, it's an emergency."
Father Torres could do nothing but nod, the panic was evident in the young man's eyes. They didn't travel far, a few yards to a room where a woman was in labor.
"Veronica!" the young man called out. "I found a priest."
Father Torres took in the room and as far as he could tell no one was in distress. "Young man--"
"Marry us!" the woman shouted. "Logan, tell him he has to marry us."
Father Torres' eyes went to the young man who had dragged him into the room. "Sorry about the hijacking, padre, but my girlfriend, she wants us to be married before she has our baby," Logan rattled off quickly.
"Veronica, you need to push again," Dr. Drake was telling her, oblivious to what was going on around him.
Veronica clenched her teeth and gave a strangled cry as she did what the doctor told her. Logan pushed the bangs away from her face and smiled at her tenderly. "You're doing great, sweetie."
She grasped his hand. "Logan, we need to get married. I want to get married. Now."
Logan lifted his head to see the priest. "Sorry. Father--"
"Father Torres," he responded.
"Right, Father Torres, I know this might seem weird, but we'd really appreciate it if you'd marry us. Here. Now."
Father Torres' eyebrows lifted high into his snow white hair. "Do you have a marriage license?"
Logan's face fell. "No. This is kind of a last minute thing."
"I'm sorry, my son. There's nothing I can do."
"Veronica, push," Dr. Drake once again told her.
"No, not until the priest marries us. This kid is not gonna be a bastard child!"
"Oh, my," Father Torres muttered to himself.
"Veronica, you gotta push," Logan tried.
"Shut the hell up, Logan. This is all your fault. You're the one that knocked me up, remember? You just couldn't stop doing this."
Again she made her crude hand gesture and Logan covered his face in his hands as the priest looked on.
"My dear child," he tried to continue.
"Marry us! Marry us now!"
"We don't have a marriage license, Veronica," Logan tried to reason.
"I don't care. If he does it at least it'll be legal somehow."
She gave a painful scream and Logan turned pleading eyes to the priest.
"I'm sorry, Father Torres, I really am. My girlfriend doesn't know what she's saying right now. She's in a lot of pain, but do you think you could marry us anyway? We'll get the license in a few days, I promise," Logan implored.
Father Torres looked between him and Veronica and he sighed. He wished he could say this was the first time he'd been in this position, but it had not. "All right, all right," he finally sighed.
"Thank you," Logan breathed. "Did you hear that, Veronica? He's gonna marry us."
"Bout damn time," she gasped.
He rolled his eyes at her.
"Are you sure about this young man?" Father Torres asked him quietly.
Logan couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, I'm sure. I love her."
"Very well then." He cleared his throat. "Dearly beloved --"
"Veronica, you need to give it one last push," Dr. Drake informed her.
Logan turned beseeching eyes to the priest. "Could you just skip some of the parts?"
Father Torres rolled his eyes at him. "Do you--. What is your name my son?"
"Logan. And this is Veronica."
He nodded quickly. "Do you Logan take Veronica to be your lawfully wedded wife to--"
"I do," he interrupted
Again he sighed. "And do you Veronica take Logan to be your lawfully wedded hus--"
"I do! Husband and wife - say it!"
"By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Logan grinned at leaned over to kiss Veronica.
"Don’t even think about it," she hissed as she gave one final push.
They both held their breathes waiting for the first sign of life to come from their baby.
"It's a girl," Dr. Drake told them followed by a screeching wail from the infant.
"A girl, Logan," she sniffed happily. "It's a girl!"
The nurse came over and placed the still crying infant on her chest. "Logan, look at her. She's so tiny and perfect." Tears welled in her eyes as she ran her hand down the baby's head.
Logan leaned forward and took her little hand around his finger. A sense of peace swept over him. His mind was whirling, but one thought came through loud and strong - I'm responsible for this kid's life. I have to protect her. No matter what. I'm going to be there for you. "She's beautiful," he told her quietly. He kissed the baby on her small head and mimicked the move with Veronica. "You did good, Veronica. I'm proud of you."
She smiled up at him. "You weren't so bad yourself," she told him adjusting the baby a little more.
The nurse came over with a warm smile. "I'm sorry. I need to take her now."
They both frowned. "What? Why?" Veronica asked.
"We just need to get her cleaned up. I promise I'll bring her right back."
Veronica glanced down at the baby and reluctantly let her go. "Ok, but I want her back in like two minutes."
Logan leaned down and kissed Veronica softly on the lips. "Congratulations, Mrs. Echolls."
She grinned up at him and then at the priest. "Sorry," she told him softly. "I kinda lost it there for a minute."
Father Torres patted her shoulder in an understanding manner. "I understand, Veronica. May God bless your little family."
"Thank you," she whispered.
He nodded and made his way out of the room, his own spirits boosted from the ordeal.
"Ten toes and ten fingers," Dr. Drake laughed as he brought the baby back to the new parents. "Just like we thought."
Veronica grinned widely as he placed the baby back in her arms. "Is she ok?"
"She's more than ok," he smiled at her. "Congratulations, guys."
-------------
"I told you it was a girl," Logan grinned as he brushed a finger across the baby's head.
"Yeah, well, you can gloat when you're able to push something the size of a watermelon out of something the size of a lemon."
He grimaced at that. "Thank you for putting that lovely picture in my head."
"That's why I'm here," she grinned.
Logan brushed a lock of hair out of Veronica's face. "Why don’t you get some more sleep? You've slept like three hours since last night."
She shook her head slightly at him. "Not until we agree on a name. It's already been a whole day." She fought back a yawn. "Just throw some names at me, maybe it'll stick."
He shifted the baby in his arms and looked at Veronica. "Pepper."
She frowned. "No."
"Abigail."
"No."
"Patches."
"You do realize we're naming your child, not a dog."
He snickered quietly as he stared at the baby. She was so tiny. "Something classic, huh?"
"Mmm hmm," she murmured, her eyes drifting closed.
"What about Ava?"
Veronica's eyes popped open at that. "Ava," she murmured more to herself. "Ava Echolls." She nodded in approval. "I like it," she smiled. "How about Ava Lynn?"
Logan tucked the baby back near Veronica's head. Veronica ran her fingers across her small nose. "What do you think, kid?" Logan asked her as he took in the scene. "Ava Lynn Echolls."
The baby yawned widely, her small arms stretching up with her. "I think she likes it," Veronica grinned, her own eyes once again falling closed. "Ava," she murmured happily as she finally drifted off to sleep.
Logan grinned down at his two girls. "Ava Echolls. Veronica Echolls. Sounds awesome, huh, kid?"
