Chapter 74

Matt tried his best to fall into the routine that the Disturbed Family had set up, but the machine was too finely tuned. Matt was amazed at how close they all were, especially the women. How the other wives treated his sister brought a smile to his face every time he encountered it. The closeness of the guys, however, was no surprise. They were a band, they were brothers. He was grateful that they tried to include him in everything.

He was also amazed at how David and his sister interacted, and at how David was with the children. He really was a wonderful dad. If only his and Brie's father had been as attentive to them as David was to his niece and nephews. He really did treat Malachai as his own, even though there was NO WAY that Malachai could have been his biologically. Legally and literally, David was Malachai's father. This amazed Matt in a thousand different ways.

The day came that Brie was to deliver the new baby, and all of the kids in the house were excited. From the oldest, Malachai and Maya, down to the youngest, Jacob, Jordan and Jonathan, all jumped for joy when they heard that Brie was about to have the baby.

The labor was difficult, but she was finally delivered of a little girl, Madison Jade. David beamed from ear to ear as he came out of the room to announce his new daughter's stats. "We have a girl", he said. "Little Madison Jade. 7lbs. 5oz., 21 inches long. I just cut the cord!"

"Hey, Dad", Malachai yelled. "When do Jake, Jordan, and I get to see our new baby sister?"

"Your mama's feeding her now. I'll come get you three when she's done."

Maya was jealous as hell. "I wanna see the new baby, too!" Malachai stuck out his tongue. "It's my baby sister. You wanna see the new baby, then tell your mom and dad to have another one."

Dan was stunned. Malachai shouldn't know this much about child birth at his age, he thought.

About thirty minutes later, you heard, "Malachai, Jordan, Jacob, come to Mama and Daddy's room", in David's voice. The kids ran up the stairs.

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Brie lay in bed, holding the new baby, with David sitting on the edge, a huge grin on his face. "I don't think that smile will ever disappear", Kristen comment to Deborah, the midwife.

"It's not supposed to. A father's greatest joy is his daughter, or in David's case, daughters", Deborah said in return.

"They're also the biggest responsibility", Nicole said. "David will probably scare the shit out of any boy that comes to take either of those girls out."

"You're damn right I will", David laughed. "I'll sit on the porch with a freaking shotgun if I have to."

Brie laughed. "Really, David? A shotgun? Why not one of the fifteen high powered rifles we have in the house?"

"Nah, a shotgun. I've been threatened with several of those when I showed up to take out Daddy's little girl. It's my turn to do the threatening now." David laughed. "Oh, I can't wait until they start dating."

"Yeah, you can. When they start dating, they're gonna hate you for doing that. I hated my dad for it, still kind of do."

He thought about it for a moment. "I guess you're right." He looked at his little Jade. "Don't grow up too fast, baby girl. Stay Daddy's little girl as long as you can".

Right about that time, the other three ran in. Nicole stopped them at the door. "Shh. The baby is sleeping. Use your inside voices."

They nodded and walked carefully over to the bed. Brie tilted the baby to where they could see her. "WOW!" said the twins. "She pretty".

"She looks just like your mama", David said.

Brie smiled. "But she has your eyes, hon."

"Can I hold her?" Malachai asked.

David and Brie exchanged a look. "Sure, son. But you have to be very careful and sit down with her. You're not quite old enough to walk around with a baby", David said.

Malachai climbed up in the bed. David showed him how to hold his arms to hold the baby, then Brie handed her to Malachai. The boys eyes grew wide as he held his little baby sister. "Hi there, little Jade, I'm your big brother 'Chai. Welcome to the family." he looked at his parents. "She's so tiny."

"Yeah, I know", Brie said. "You were a lot bigger."

"Was I, dad?"

David shrugged. "I don't know, son. I wasn't there."

"Why?"

This was the day that David had dreaded since coming into Brie and Malachai's lives. Explaining that he wasn't the boy's biological father.