Chapter 997: Christmas To Remember
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Around Tom and Lucy, the room erupted with emotion. J was the first to react. Her hand flew to her chest, and her mouth fell open. She exchanged a wide-eyed look with Andrew, "Did she just say "
"Yes, she did," Andrew murmured, equally stunned.
Without hesitation, J turned and pulled Evelyn, who was still frozen in shock into a tight embrace, "Can you believe this?" J whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Evelyn shook her head, her voice thick with emotion. "I can''t. I... I''m going to carry Tom''s baby," she whispered, her voice shaky as tears began to well in her eyes.
Sonia clung to Bryan, "I can''t believe it. Lucy''s pregnant! My baby is pregnant." She said, crying softly.
Although Bryan was almost tempted to remind her that he was her only baby, he decided to let it slide for the moment.
Lucas and Amy exchanged smiles, watching the scene unfold. "This is incredible," Amy murmured. "I''ve never seen anything like it."
Harry, who was overwhelmed with happiness for Tom, turned his back, trying to hide his tears andpose himself, but Jade noticed and leaned closer to him. "You know, it''s okay to cry if you''re that happy," she whispered with a gentle smile, her own eyes wet with tears.
Lucy bent down, cupping Tom''s tear-streaked face. "I take it you like your gift?" she asked softly, brushing the tears from his face.
Tom pulled her into a fierce hug, his voice thick with emotion. "Like it? No gift in the world could evere close to this, Jewel. I''m the happiest man alive right now, and it''s all because of you."
Tears dropped from her eyes as sheughed softly, wiping his tears away. "You have to stop crying, though. Everyone''s looking at you."
Tom shook his head, a shakyugh escaping him. "I don''t care about anyone else. All I see right now is you."
Desmond cleared his throat and gestured toward the group. "Alright, everyone, let''s give
these two a moment."
"Let''s go to the Den," Andrew said as he and Desmond began herding the others out, leaving Tom and Lucy alone.
In the Den, the family buzzed with excitement. "You didn''t know about this, did you?" Jade asked, looking from Sonia to Harry.
"I had absolutely no idea," Sonia said, and Jadeughed happily.
"I can''t believe it," Jade said, shaking her head. "I''m so d I''m not the only one just finding out about it, but even more d that I insisted we stay the night. If I''d heard this from someone else, I''d have been furious!" Jade said, and everyoneughed.
Lucas grinned. "I still can''t wrap my head around it. I''m going to be an uncle soon to two little ones! First, Sonia''s, and then Lucy''s," he said, and his mother smiled.
"Hopefully, you''d add your little one to the list," she said, and they allughed, while Lucas shook his head in amusement.
Evelyn wiped her eyes,ughing. "It''s the best Christmas surprise I could have hoped for. Nothing beats this."
"Nothing? What if I said I was getting married and I''m pregnant too?" Jade asked, and Evelynughed.
"That wouldn''t be as surprising as this. I expect you to do that soon. But none of us expected this from Lucy," Evelyn said, and Jade nodded in agreement.
"You have a point," Jade said before turning to look at Harry, who was yet to say a word, and she giggled when she caught him grinning.
"Well, this calls for a huge celebration. I have to induct Tom into the fatherhood and give him pregnancy tips," Bryan said, making everyoneugh.
Back in the living room, Tom finallyposed himself, sitting back on his heels and taking Lucy''s hands. "How long have you known?"
"It was actually nned. I wanted it to be your Christmas gift," she admitted. "I made the calctions, and confirmed it few days ago."
Tom shook his head in amazement. "Lucy, you''re incredible. I don''t know what I did to deserve you."
"I''ve been wondering what I did to deserve you too," she said as she jerked her head towards the Den, "I think we should go join the others."
"We can join themter," Tom said, gathering her close, and sheughed.
"We can hardly stay here on the floor like this," she said, and Tom grinned.
"We own the house. We can stay anywhere we choose. We can sit on top of the microwave if we want," he said, and she giggled.
"Stop being funny. Let''s go join the others," Lucy said, and Tom rose up and gently helped her stand her up making her roll her eyes at the extra effort he put into assisting her.
"Wait," Tom said, stopping her before she could take a step.
"You knew you were pregnant yet you were starving yourself yesterday and went through all that stress of supervising everything in preparation of the party?" He asked, and she shook her head.
"Not eating for a couple of hours wouldn''t hurt the baby or make the baby malnourished, and..."
"You think I''m worried about the baby? It is you I''m worried about. We have to take better care of you. No more missing meals. I don''t want the baby taking all your energy and nutrients, and..." Tom trailed off when Lucy startedughing.
"It''s too early for this. Calm down, okay? Now let''s go join the others," she said and Tom sighed before following her.
When they entered the Den, the celebration was in full swing already and everyone erupted into cheers and apuse. One by one, everyone embraced them, offering their
congrattions.
"Oh, my baby," J said softly, tears dropping from her eyes as she hugged her, and Lucy
smiled.
"I surprised you, huh?" She asked, and J nodded and then turned to Tom.
"Thank you, Tom," she said softly, but Tom shook his head.
"It''s all Lucy. You all should thank her for me," Tom said, and Desmond raised a brow.
"I guess she impregnated herself," he said, and everyoneughed while Lucy blushed.
"My princess is going to be a mother," Andrew said, kissing Lucy''s forehead and she grinned. "And you''re going to be a granddad, so you have to put an end to your shenanigans," she teased, making him chuckle.
"Never. Not when you''re giving me a new partner in crime," Andrew said, and Desmondughed, nodding in agreement as he embraced Lucy.
"If Sonia wasn''t here, I''d say you''re my favorite daughter-inw," he joked, and Sonia
scowled yfully.
"And now that I''m here?" she asked, and Desmondughed.
"I''d say I''m blessed with the best daughters-inw ever," he said, and everyoneughed.
"You know I love you, right?" Lucy said as she hugged him, and he nodded.
"Yeah. And I love you, too," he said softly as he patted her back.
Evelyn smiled as she came forward to embrace Lucy, "You''vee such a long way, Lucy. I love you. Thank you," she said as she embraced her.
"Thank you, too," Lucy whispered.
As Evelyn stepped away, Sonia hugged Lucy tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can''t believe you kept this from me. You didn''t only give Tom a gift. You''ve also given me the best
Christmas ever."
Lucyughed, her own tears spilling over. "That''s exactly what I was hoping for. I figured it out kids were going to be best of friends and ssmates, too, I better catch up with you."
"You figured, right. Now I can''t wait for us to do parenting together," Sonia said as she
embraced Lucy again.
Bryan pped Tom on the back. "Wee to the club, brother. Better start reading up on pregnancy. I''m here to answer your questions if you need me."
Tom grinned. "I will keep that in mind."
"Seems like you''re finally going to be getting the twins you talked about," Lucas said to Tom
as he and Amy stepped forward, and Tomughed.
"I''m counting on it," Tom said, and shook hands with Lucas as he congratted them while
Amy embraced Lucy.
"I guess I''m congratting you for your bundle of joy and being CEO," Amy said, and Lucy
laughed.
"In the excitement of my news I almost forgot about that," Lucy said, and Amyughed.
"I can''t forget about that," she said as she stepped away with Lucas.
As Jade and Harry stepped forward, Tom and Harryughed happily as they looked at each
other and Harry embraced Tom, pping his back, "I''m so happy for you, man. You deserve all the happiness you are getting," Harry said, thinking about all the lengths Tom had gone to have Lucy and to get to where they were now.
As far as Harry was concerned, Tom had put in all the work and he deserved all of this. He was d that Lucy''s feelings were finally catching up with Tom''s.
Jade smirked as she looked at Lucy, "You''re lucky you surprised everyone. I wouldn''t have forgiven you if I was thest to find out about this too," she said, and Lucyughed.
"So, where are we going for this family vacation, Dad-to-be?" Jade asked Tom with a grin
after congratting him.
Tom shook his head firmly. "Nowhere. No one''s going anywhere while Lucy''s pregnant. I
don''t want her stressed."
The room erupted in protests.
"Tom!" Jade cried. "You can''t cancel Christmas ns just like that!"
"You can''t be serious. Sonia is pregnant too, isn''t she? When I raised it, you said there''d be doctors with us, and now, what? Lucy is pregnant?" Bryan asked with disbelief.
"You can all go without us if you want," Tom said, crossing his arms. "But Lucy isn''t doing anything strenuous. If I''d known she was pregnant, I wouldn''t have let her n the party. As a matter of fact, y''all should go to your houses. She needs bed rest to recover from all the stress
she has been throughtely."
"Tom!" Lucy eximed,ughing. "I''m fine!"
"You''re not fine until I say you''re fine," he countered. "In fact, we''re scheduling a check-up
immediately."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The family burst intoughter, and Jade rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You''re being worse than
Bryan."
"I am not," Tom retorted, his expression serious. "These are my babies we''re talking about!" Lucy cupped his face, shaking her head fondly. "Rx, . Everything''s fine. I promise."
As theughter subsided, Desmond raised his ss. "To Lucy and Tom- and the little one on the way. This truly is a Christmas to remember."
"Cheers!" everyone echoed, raising their sses as they celebrated the joyful news together.
The morning passed in a blur of joy and togetherness, and as Lucy sat surrounded by her family, her heart felt full. This was her future, and it was more than she''d ever dreamed of.