Adam's wedding day was the best day of his life. For so many years, he never would have dreamed such a thing would be possible. But here he was.
He was so sentimental and full of love for his wife that he couldn't be embarrassed for too long when he found out she knew how long he had liked her. So he ended up being honest about what initially made him fall in love way back in seventh grade.
She was even more embarrassed than he was about her old comics but they really weren't so bad. Besides, they wouldn't be here right now without them. Or if he hadn't taken that specific anthropology class. He might not have ever known that Erica was at UF at all otherwise.
She was incredibly apologetic about not remembering him but he thought things happened the way they were supposed to. All of his years of hopeless pining were worth it to end up where he was right now.
Being married to the love of his life was far better than dating or even being engaged had been. They were able to account for each other's plans for the future far more. Especially once his family's financial situation improved and he could finally focus on his own little family for real.
It was a huge relief that everyone was doing well and moving on with their lives. Himself included.
Adam was so excited to be a father. Once Eli was born, he couldn't decide whether that or his wedding day was the best day of his life. They might be tied.
"He's perfect, Erica!" he cried as he saw the baby swaddled in her arms.
She beamed at him in a way that made her exhaustion momentarily vanish. "I think so too. Come hold your son."
He didn't need to be told twice. His eyes filled with tears as the baby settled into his arms and looked up at him with big blue eyes. Eli was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen…aside from his wife.
Everyone teased him for being so sentimental when they came by to visit later but he was too happy to care. Nothing could bring him down, even having to deal with all the crying and diaper changes. Honestly, having to do it himself in the middle of the night wasn't much worse than living in the same house as the twins as newborns. He got about the same amount of sleep because they had real sets of lungs on them.
Erica didn't have the same advantage so she was a total zombie. Adam did his best to take care of both her and the baby but his paternity leave was up all too soon.
He worried about them when he was at work but she sent plenty of pictures as she texted him on his breaks the way she always did. It was hard choosing a favorite but there were only so many picture frames he could fit in his cubicle.
He eventually got a trifold with one each of his whole family, him and Erica, and Erica and Eli. Looking at them always gave him a little jolt of happiness that helped get him through difficult tasks at work.
Adam could afford for Erica to stay at home while Eli was little so they didn't have to pay for childcare but she did miss teaching even though she adored him. She had been planning to go back when he was in preschool initially but then she got pregnant again. Around the same time as Alison too. That happened not too long after she and Colton got married and they were both excited that their kids would have cousins the same age.
Eli was very curious about her baby bump and didn't quite understand what was going on, even after they explained it over and over.
"You're going to have a brother or sister, Eli! Like how Aunt Julie is Mommy's sister and Uncle Colton, Uncle Evan, Uncle Peter, and Uncle Jonas are my brothers," Adam told him for the dozenth time.
He didn't quite seem to get it until Anna was born. He was a lot more interested in her then and kept calling her "my baby" to anyone who would listen.
When Caitlyn was born a couple of months later, he was confused again. "My baby?"
"No, this is Uncle Colton and Aunt Alison's baby. She's your cousin, not your sister."
"Like Oli and Owie?" Those were his names for Olivia and Owen because he couldn't pronounce them right yet.
"Exactly!"
Eli loved his little cousin as much as he loved his sister. He played with both of them about the same amount when they were all together. As they got a bit older, Erica and Alison specifically set up playdates so the three of them could all play.
They got plenty of attention from everyone else in the family too though. On both sides. Julie adored her niece and nephew even though she didn't see them often in person. She always talked to them when she video called Erica.
The Mitchell clan was growing. Less than a year after Caitlyn was born, Alison got pregnant with their daughter Lila.
People began teasing Evan about when he was going to have kids too but he hadn't even mustered up the guts to propose to Katie yet. It was totally obvious he would though. They had been attached at the hip since their freshman year of college, even more so than Adam and Erica had been because he was less busy and they were in the same major so they shared most of their classes.
They were all starting to wonder if it would ever happen. But something far more dramatic and terrible happened first.
Adam had been watching a movie with Erica after the kids went to sleep when he got a phone call from Jonas. This couldn't be anything good at this time of night.
"What is it?" he answered sharply, feeling stressed already about whatever his younger siblings might have gotten up to.
He hadn't expected to hear sirens in the background or his brother sobbing so hysterically he could hardly make out the words. "Adam! I couldn't get a hold of Mom. Jen got shot!"
"WHAT?!"
"We're in the ambulance right now. They're going to do surgery on her but I…I don't want to be alone!"
Adam jumped up immediately. "Which hospital?"
"Hallowfield."
"I'll be right there."
"Adam?" Erica asked uneasily. "What happened?"
She hadn't heard what was on the other half of the conversation but knew it didn't sound good. He tried to explain quickly while he put on his coat and shoes.
"Jonas called. Jenna was shot."
"Shot?!"
"I don't have any other details. He couldn't get a hold of our mom and I can't leave him to deal with that alone. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry about that! Go! Let me know as soon as you have any news."
Adam gave her a sharp nod and quick, hard kiss before running out the door not caring that he was in his pajamas. When he arrived at the emergency room, Jonas was bawling his eyes out as the police tried to question him.
He looked up helplessly when he saw his brother and threw himself into his arms. "Adam!"
Adam sighed and held him tightly. "It's okay. I'm here. I've got you."
"Are you related to the witness?" the police officer asked.
"I'm his brother. What happened?"
"We are still trying to figure that out. It appears to have been a drive-by shooting and no one so far has seen the shooter's face."
A drive-by shooting? This was like something straight out of an action movie! How in the world had it happened to Jenna of all people? Who would possibly want to shoot her?
Jonas sobbed even harder once Adam was hugging him and it wasn't until he pulled away and got a bit more a hold of himself to finish answering the officer's questions that Adam realized his baby brother was covered in blood.
If he had been hurt, he wouldn't be in the waiting room. Which meant it was Jenna's. He had held their sister in his arms after she was shot, likely while calling 911. Adam felt sick at the very thought of him having to go through something like that. And that had nothing on how he felt knowing his baby sister was being operated on right now.
"Where was she shot, Jonas?" he asked once the police were done with him.
"The arm. But it bled a lot and she fainted," Jonas replied dully. "Is she really going to be okay?"
"The doctors know what they're doing. She's going to be fine. This was probably random. Once her arm heals, everything will go back to normal."
Adam didn't realize just how wrong he was until Jenna woke up post-surgery and heard what actually happened. "It was my old boss. He must have known I ratted on him and came after me for revenge."
"Ratted on your boss for what?!"
Jenna wouldn't meet his eyes and fiddled with the blanket on her bed. "He's some sort of crime lord, apparently. I couldn't just sit on that sort of information but I didn't want anyone to worry."
Adam couldn't believe this. She wasn't one to keep things to herself so she had to have told someone about this. He rounded on his brother accusingly.
"Did you know about this?"
"Yeah but she told me not to tell!" Jonas sniffled. "What was I supposed to do?"
"This is the sort of thing the rest of us should know! We could have protected you better, Jen. Something. Anything."
"I'm sorry," Jenna whispered as tears swam in her eyes.
Adam sighed, all of the anger draining out of him as he hugged her as best he could without touching her wounded arm. "No, I'm sorry. I'm glad you're okay. Everything's going to be fine. I promise."