ASHLEY'S POV : 

      "Ashley Purdy , for the umpteenth time , will you please stop dogging my footsteps everywhere I go ? I'm a big girl , and we're in our own house , I can find the damn bathroom by myself ." , Tiana growls at me , digging her fingers into her hair in frustration .

      "T , I'm just trying to be careful . What if you go into labor or something ? Or what if ...?"

      She claps her hand over my mouth , cutting me off mid - sentence ."Stop ! Just be quiet for a minute and listen to me ." She puts her other hand on my shoulder , getting as close to me as her stomach will allow , and continues . "Ash , I love you madly , and I understand why you're concerned , but you're making me crazy right now ! I can't even get a full nights sleep , since you keep leaping out of bed like a madman every time I try to turn over . And when is the last time you slept more than a couple of hours at a stretch ?"

      I open my mouth to answer her , then close it again when I realize that I'm not sure of the answer . I know it's been at least a couple of weeks , but for some reason , the closer it gets , the more I'm stressing out .

      When I don't say anything , she just sighs , and shakes her head . "That's what I thought . Ash , you do realize that if I did go into labor , I'd have to call Scott and Brian for a ride , because there's no way I'm getting in a car with you when you're in this shape ."

      "Babe , come on , I'm not that bad ! I just ..."

      "You just need to get some sleep , while I go try to write something . If you don't want to take the chance of missing out on being in the delivery room , haul your ass upstairs and take a nap . Otherwise , I swear to you that I'll tell the doctor to restrict you to the waiting room when it happens ."

      I look at her , and even though I realize that she's blurry , I say , "You're bluffing , T . You wouldn't want to do that ."

      "No , I don't want to , but I also don't want you to keep going like this . It's not good for either of us , which means that it's not good for them . If you won't think about what I want , or what's good for you , then think about your kids . Please ?"

      When she says this , it finally clicks that it's not so much that she's actually pissed at me , she's worried , and that's the last thing I want . "Okay , you win . I'll go grab a couple hours of sleep , or at least I'll try . But I'm putting my phone on the nightstand , and I want you to call and wake me up if anything happens , okay ?"

      She nods , gives me a kiss , and heads for her desk , while I force myself up the stairs . I guess I must be more tired than I realized , because I feel like I've gone mountain climbing by the time I get to the top . I get to the bedroom , kick off my boots , and put my phone on the table before I collapse onto the bed . I find myself a comfortable spot , and then lay here just staring at the ceiling . "Come on , brain ." , I mumble . "I promised T that I'd try to sleep , so I need you to shut off for awhile ."  

      Then , the next thing I know , I'm in a hospital room , and Tiana is in the bed , with a bundle in each arm . I sit next to her , and I reach out to the one closest to me . Just as I'm about to move the blanket enough to see his face , a voice says , "You really don't need to worry so much , y'know that , don'tcha ?"

      I look up , and see someone standing on the other side of the bed , leaning over , with their head almost right next to T's , and they seem to be looking between me and her , and then down at the babies . I can't see their face , because his , or her , hair is hanging down in front of it .

      "How would you know if I'm worried or not ? Who are you , and how did you get in here without anybody seeing you ?"

      The individual raises their head , and flips their hair back , and I'm finally able to see that it's a teenage boy . He looks up and grins at me , and I realize that he actually sort of looks like me when I was younger .

      "Because you're the only one that can . And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you'd be worried , after what happened before . But they're gonna be fine , and so is Mom ."

      I nearly fall off of the bed when he says this , and all I can manage to get out is , "Braeden ?"

      He grins again , and nods , then looks at Tiana again , watching her check out the babies . I look at him more closely , and I see that even though he resembles me , he has Tiana's silvery - gray eyes , and a faint scattering of freckles across his nose , just like she had when she was younger .

      I ask him , "Why can't she see you , too ? I know she'd love to ."

      "Because you're the one who's sleeping , she can't see your dreams ." , he chuckles . "So I guess you'll just have to show her when you wake up . But just chill a little bit , okay , Dad ? Try to relax ."

      "I'll do my best . But what do you mean I'll have to show her ?"

      When he says , "Like I said , she can't see into your head , but you can show her what you see now ." , I get exactly what he wants me to do , and instantly start thinking about how to go about it .

      He turns to Tiana again , and brushes a kiss across her cheek , then does the same to the babies . Then he walks around the bed , and opens his arms for a hug , which I gladly give him . "Damn , I wish you were really here with us , kiddo ." , I tell him .

      "Yeah , I know you do . I have to go now , but I'm glad we got to see each other . Take care of my baby brother and sister , and let them know about me when they're a little bigger , okay ?"

      "Absolutely , kiddo . I promise you that as soon as they're old enough to understand , they'll hear about their big brother . Your mom has never forgotten you , and neither will I ."

      "Goodbye , Dad . I love you ." , he says , as he walks toward the door .

      "Love you , too , Braeden . Goodbye ."  And as he walks through the door , he sort of fades out of view , and then so does everything else .

      Then I feel a hand on my shoulder , and hear Tiana saying , "Ash , it's time for dinner . Do you want to get up and eat , or do you want to sleep some more ?"

      I look up , and she's sitting on the edge of the bed , rubbing my arm . "How long was I out ?" , I ask .

      "If you went to sleep as soon as you came up here , about three and a half hours . And as you can see , everything doesn't fall apart if you actually get some sleep ."

      I sit up and wrap my arms around her , nuzzling my face into the side of her neck . "Babe , I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the ass . You were right , it's not good for anybody , but I promise it won't happen again . I just need to chill a little bit ."

      "Wow , a little sleep works wonders with you , doesn't it ?"

      "Yeah , that , and the fact that I had the most amazingly vivid dream , and it's given me an idea for something I need to do ." , I inform her , taking my face out of her neck and looking her in the eye . "Sort of an art project ."

      She smiles and asks , "And what would that be , babe ?"

      "I'd rather not say just now , if that's okay with you . It's kind of something that I'd rather show you than try to explain . So I think you should plan on this being your after - labor gift . Just trust me , please ? I'm sure it sounds kind of weird , but I'm pretty sure you'll like it ."

      She kisses me on the nose and says , "Okay , if that's what you want . That must have been one hell of a dream you had , to have this kind of effect on you . But if you want to eat , you need to come downstairs , the chicken only has about five more minutes in the oven ."

      "You go on down , I'm gonna wash up , and I'll be right there ."

      She kisses me again , then heads out into the hall . As I hear her head down the stairs , I reach into my nightstand and grab the sketchpad I keep there , and a pencil . I flip to a blank page , and quickly put down a rough sketch of what I saw in my dream . It's still perfectly clear in my mind , but I want to be sure that I don't miss any details later .

      When I'm done , I stick it back in the drawer , and go to wash up for dinner . As I'm drying my hands , I stop for a minute to really think this through . While I'm not necessarily the avowed atheist that Andy proclaims himself to be , I've never been all that much for religion . At best , I suppose I'd be considered an agnostic , so I'm not sure if I really believe in the idea of spirits , or angels , or whatever he would've been . But even if it was just a particularly vivid dream , I desperately want to hold onto it , because that was as close as I'll ever get to actually knowing my son . So I'm just going to accept it , and use the image to make something we'd never have otherwise : a complete family portrait .

      Tiana's voice calls from downstairs , "Ash , did you go back to sleep ? Dinner's ready ."

      "I'm awake , I'll be right down !" , I call back , as I dry my hands . As I walk back across the bedroom , I glance over at my nightstand , where the picture is , and make plans to get started right after dinner .

      "Don't worry , Braeden ." , I whisper . "I'll make sure that they know you . Your mom would be so proud of you ."

      "It's on the table , babe !" , I hear from downstairs .

      "Coming , T ! I want to get started on my project as soon as we eat , if you don't mind ."

      "Wanna get started on it before you forget , huh ?"

      "No , just want to get started . That's something I will never forget ."