"Hey, it's been a long night," Joel says to his sister, digging his phone out of his pocket so he can check the time. It's nearing midnight and he has no idea how that much time has passed already when it seems like only minutes ago he and Spencer were in their backyard with a movie playing on that giant screen he'd had set up. He cringes faintly, hoping it's been left alone, that no one has touched it or the projector he hasn't given a second thought since they were called to the hospital. If something has happened to it, he'll deal with it later, because there's nothing in the world as important as this moment right now and he grins as he looks over at Spencer again, then shakes his head in amusement.
"What?" Charlotte asks, as if he might be making a joke at her expense. "What's so funny?"
"It's nothing," Joel tells her. "It's just... a year ago and a week ago tonight Spencer and I were supposed to go see a movie on the boardwalk together. Our first date." He knows he doesn't need to put into words what actually happened, his parents and his sister all know what happened on that first date instead of the actual date so he doesn't see any point in drawing it out and telling the whole awful story again. Not when tonight is full of such celebration and so much happiness. It's just funny in a way, drawing parallels to the fact that they've been interrupted all over again, though this time it's for a much better reason. There's nothing Joel wants more in the world than to just have his family together and tonight it had happened. "I was trying to recreate the whole thing tonight. I rented a projector and a screen to put up in the yard. We were finally going to get that first outdoor movie date."
"And it got interrupted again," Charlotte finishes for him, but she's smiling. "A hell of a good reason to have your first movie date interrupted, though. You got a way better outcome than any date could ever have. Unless you were gonna bang, which you probably were, so... I don't know. You wanted the baby, so that's still probably the better outcome. Plenty of time for banging in the future."
"Charlotte, please," Ellie says, closing her eyes as if her daughter is causing her physical pain and Joel would laugh, but the longer his sister speaks, the redder his cheeks get and he lifts his free hand to rub at one unconsciously, as if he can rub away his blush. That isn't how he had intended the conversation to go, but he should know better whenever Charlotte is around, that she's not only going to know exactly what Joel's plans are whenever it comes to spending time alone with Spencer, but that she'll also be perfectly comfortable saying them out loud in an attempt to embarrass him. It's not at all that he's ashamed of the incredible sex life he and Spencer share, but he likes to keep it just between the two of them. It's special and it's private and he doesn't want to talk about it with anyone else.
He's about to chime in that no one needs to hear all that when the doctor arrives in the room, giving Spencer and Joel a bright smile.
"How's everyone doing in here?" she asks, crossing to where Brian is holding Dane so she can check on him. "Sound asleep, just as he should be. We've got some bottles prepared for him when he wakes up, because he's going to want to eat right away, but we need to discuss what we're going to do for the next day or so. Now there's nothing at all to be worried about, Dane is perfectly healthy and he's only three weeks early, so he's technically still a full term baby, which is good news. Because he's a couple of weeks early, though, I would feel safer keeping him overnight to keep an eye on him. It's not likely any complications will arise, but it's better to be safe when it comes to early births."
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"What?" Charlotte asks, as if he might be making a joke at her expense. "What's so funny?"
"It's nothing," Joel tells her. "It's just... a year ago and a week ago tonight Spencer and I were supposed to go see a movie on the boardwalk together. Our first date." He knows he doesn't need to put into words what actually happened, his parents and his sister all know what happened on that first date instead of the actual date so he doesn't see any point in drawing it out and telling the whole awful story again. Not when tonight is full of such celebration and so much happiness. It's just funny in a way, drawing parallels to the fact that they've been interrupted all over again, though this time it's for a much better reason. There's nothing Joel wants more in the world than to just have his family together and tonight it had happened. "I was trying to recreate the whole thing tonight. I rented a projector and a screen to put up in the yard. We were finally going to get that first outdoor movie date."
"And it got interrupted again," Charlotte finishes for him, but she's smiling. "A hell of a good reason to have your first movie date interrupted, though. You got a way better outcome than any date could ever have. Unless you were gonna bang, which you probably were, so... I don't know. You wanted the baby, so that's still probably the better outcome. Plenty of time for banging in the future."
"Charlotte, please," Ellie says, closing her eyes as if her daughter is causing her physical pain and Joel would laugh, but the longer his sister speaks, the redder his cheeks get and he lifts his free hand to rub at one unconsciously, as if he can rub away his blush. That isn't how he had intended the conversation to go, but he should know better whenever Charlotte is around, that she's not only going to know exactly what Joel's plans are whenever it comes to spending time alone with Spencer, but that she'll also be perfectly comfortable saying them out loud in an attempt to embarrass him. It's not at all that he's ashamed of the incredible sex life he and Spencer share, but he likes to keep it just between the two of them. It's special and it's private and he doesn't want to talk about it with anyone else.
He's about to chime in that no one needs to hear all that when the doctor arrives in the room, giving Spencer and Joel a bright smile.
"How's everyone doing in here?" she asks, crossing to where Brian is holding Dane so she can check on him. "Sound asleep, just as he should be. We've got some bottles prepared for him when he wakes up, because he's going to want to eat right away, but we need to discuss what we're going to do for the next day or so. Now there's nothing at all to be worried about, Dane is perfectly healthy and he's only three weeks early, so he's technically still a full term baby, which is good news. Because he's a couple of weeks early, though, I would feel safer keeping him overnight to keep an eye on him. It's not likely any complications will arise, but it's better to be safe when it comes to early births."