"you came into my life, sent from above
when I lost all hope
you showed me love
i'm checking for you boy, you're right on time
angel of mine".

(  five months later )

iman, janelle, tonya, and julianne were out at the soho park restaurant as they were in the area buying the final things that they need for the baby's nursery. the time was ticking as iman was now nine months pregnant and forty one weeks, meaning that the baby should be coming any day now.

the past few months of mourning and grieving have been very rough for iman and the family, but she's had a great support system to help her get through. janelle, julianne, and her parents are always there for her, and she's so grateful to be building a good relationship with patricia and sika. the most important thing was that she needed to have people by her side through this rough time, especially while she was pregnant. luckily she did have those people, great people.

"so where did the whole baby lion theme come from? it's very cute and I love the light blue orange color scheme" tonya wondered.

"jianni honestly gave me the idea. we were watching the lion king one day and she started saying that baby simba was like baby brother, so that gave me the idea to do the baby lion theme" iman explained.

"awww, jianni is so smart. my grandbaby is so smart" tonya smiled.

"I think it's cute from the basic stuff everyone else does" janelle added. "everyone always does a bear theme for their boy nurseries so a lion theme is definitely a different contrast".

"I see people do lion themes so it's not that original" iman chuckled. "but it made me really happy that jianni inspired a great idea, especially when I didn't have one at all. boy nursery themes are a lot harder than girls'".

"I remember when you did jianni's nursery, you did the basic princess one with the pink and the crowns and all of that" janelle said.

"I didn't even wanna do that I wanted to do a garden theme with butterflies and flowers. roman hated that idea and said to do the princess one cause it was better and because "jianni was our princess" iman explained.

"roman hating stuff... on brand" janelle chuckled. "but I actually don't think he would've hated this lion theme".

"why do you think that? I mean roman didn't even like disney movies" julianne said.

"well he liked lion king" iman added in. "he didn't like the princess movies because we would always watch them with jianni, but he liked lion king. he liked the message of it, the father son dynamic, family legacy, kingdom takeover".

"exactly why I think he would've liked the lion theme" janelle chuckled. "he would've lived for the baby lion thing. he probably would've called himself the king lion, and made a weird analogy to himself as mufasa and baby boy as simba".

"he was so bent on baby boy being just like him..." iman trailed off, looking away as she was thinking about it. lord knows she missed roman so much, and as the day of the birth loomed closer, it was only making her more emotional. he should be here, he should be here to see his first son be born and to raise his family.

"it's okay iman, baby boy is gonna carry roman's legacy. roman's gonna look down, see him, and be so proud" tonya told her daughter, grabbing her hand as they were across the table from each other.

"ma you gonna make me cry please" iman nervously chuckled, blinking so no tears would fall down her face.

"no no it's okay to cry, you have the right to" julianne reassured her.

"i'll be doing enough crying when I give birth, not only from the pain but from me seeing the baby for the first time" iman told them.

"you're having a c section or a natural birth?" janelle asked her.

"natural" iman said. "i'm glad cause I thought they would've cut me open my second time around".

"i'm so excited! I get to have a nephew running around, auntie janelle of three!" janelle grinned.

"I bet you see iman's kids more than you see your brother's" tonya jokingly said.

"very funny mrs. tonya because i'm actually seeing bianca this weekend at my family's beach day. AND I was just babysitting her two weeks ago while her parents went to the weeknd concert" janelle corrected.

"oop okay super aunt" tonya laughed.

"I am super aunt, and I can't wait to give that treatment to your grandson" janelle smiled, rubbing iman's big belly which made her smile.

anticipation was running wild as baby boy should be coming at any moment, it was so exciting! iman was definitely excited as this was the one thing that kept her going throughout this time. she couldn't wait to meet her baby, and she couldn't wait to be a mother of two.

"mommy when is baby brother coming?" jianni asked her. it was now the evening and the two were watching the spongebob squarepants movie in the living room while waiting for dinner to be ready.

"whenever he wants to babydoll. when he wants to come, he'll come" she told her.

"but I want him to come now! why does he take so long?" jianni said, obviously not knowing the concepts of birth and how it works.

"you took your time to come too jianni, I had to wait very patiently for you!" iman said.

"you did? oh.... so I have to wait patiently for baby brother?" she asked so innocently.

"yes baby, we have to be patient and then he will come" iman chuckled.

"but iman I do wonder when is he supposed to come, wasn't the due date yesterday?" julianne wondered as she was in the kitchen finishing up dinner.

"two days late isn't bad, just as long as he comes this week it's fine" iman told her. "i'd be more concerned if he didn't come by next week".

"either way you're gonna have a leo baby" julianne said.

"the funny thing is that both of my babies are july babies but one's a cancer and the other one will be a leo" iman chuckled.

"the personalities will be drastic" julianne added.

"I love them" iman smiled.

"I love you too mommy" jianni said, giving her mother a hug. iman hugged her back and kissed her forehead.

"and I love you too baby brother!".

"dinner's ready y'all" julianne said, and iman and jianni went into the dining room to eat.

after dinner, iman got jianni ready for bed as she had summer camp in the morning. ever since roman's passing, jianni has been sleeping in the master bedroom with iman. in the beginning, jianni was having nightmares due to the victor kidnapping and it broke iman's heart. jianni went through two traumatic incidents on the same day at her young and fragile age. she didn't deserve none of it at all, from being on the brink of life to losing her father. jianni was a little better now but iman still feared that once she got older and began to understand the severity of everything, it would begin to haunt her.

"mommy can you read me a bedtime story please?" jianni asked her.

"of course" she said, and she went to jianni's room and grabbed one of the books she had. that book was goonight moon by margaret wise and she took it back to the bedroom.

"I love this one mommy" jianni smiled. "you can read this one to baby brother too!".

"I will, i'll read it to both of you" iman told her, and a huge smile went on jianni's face.

iman began to read the book and it brought back flashbacks of when her and roman would read jianni bedtime stories together. she thought of the time they read her the three little pigs and roman did a great "big bad wolf" impersonation that made jianni laugh out loud. reading this book to jianni was reminding her of that, and it made her emotional. she tried not to show it in front of jianni but it was pulling at her heartstrings a bit, especially when the last time she read jianni a bedtime story was two days before "the incident" with roman five months ago.

".... good night stars, good night air, good night noises everywhere" iman finished off, closing the book once she was done reading and showing the book's illustrations to jianni.

"thank you mommy, I love you" jianni told her. "good night".

"good night babydoll" iman smiled, kissing her cheek and turning off the side lamp so that jianni could go to sleep. usually iman would stay up and watch some tv before dozing off to sleep but she was tired herself so she fell asleep around the same time jianni did. she closed her eyes and went to sleep for a few hours.

it was four o nine in the morning the next day and iman was awaken by something wet on the bed. at first she assumed that jianni peed on herself so she lifted up the comforter so see if it was her. there was no wet spot on her side of the bed and when iman felt on her pajamas to see if she peed, there was nothing there either. so now iman was wondering where the wet spot was coming from.

until reality struck. realizing how she was literally due for birth this week, she looked down at herself and saw a huge wet puddle under her on the bed. she saw that her water broke. it was officially time for her to have the baby.

iman quickly got up and rushed over to julianne's room. julianne was still fast asleep but that would have to be interrupted soon as someone needed to take her to the hospital to give birth.

"julianne.... julianne!" iman whispered yelled at her to wake her up. she did wake up, groggy and confused as to why iman was waking her up at four something in the morning.

"what is it iman?" julianne asked.

"my water broke" she told her.

".... what" julianne said, now fully awake at those words.

"my water just broke, i'm about to go into labor, I need to go to the hospital now.... THE BABY IS COMING!" iman exclaimed.

"oh shit!" julianne exclaimed. "oh my god okay.... wake jianni up, put something on, and let's go!".

iman went to the bedroom and shook jianni to wake her up out of her sleep. looks like she wouldn't be going to camp today as her baby brother was soon to arrive.

"babydoll wake up, wake up" iman said.

"jianni we have to go to the hospital right now, mommy's about to have the baby".

"YAY!" jianni screamed in excitement. "BABY BROTHER IS COMING!".

"yes, now cmon we gotta go" iman told her, and jianni immediately jumped up and was wide awake and excited.

once everyone got their things together, they walked out of the house, got in julianne's porsche, and quickly drove to the new york presbyterian hospital. while in the car, iman dialed up her mother's number to let them know the major news.

"hello?! iman what's up? what happened?" tonya said quickly in fear that something tragic happened.

"ma, my water broke. i'm about to have the baby" iman told her.

"oh my god! darnell wake up! iman's having the baby!" tonya exclaimed. "we'll be at the hospital soon! don't give birth until we get there!".

"okay ma" iman chuckled, and they hung up. iman also called roman's parents, jimmy, jey, and janelle to let them know that their nephew and grandson would soon be born in the next couple hours. she was excited and more than ready to get this baby out of her. the next few hours were going to be hectic with the labor process, but it was all going to be worth it.

they arrived at the hospital and were sent to the children's side where the child births were given. when jianni was born, the only person that was in the room while iman was in labor was roman as he was the father and "assisted" with the process. now that he wasn't here, iman decided to have her mother in the room with her. luckily by the time her mother arrived, iman was dressed in her hospital gown preparing.

"look at you" tonya said emotionally.

"ma, i've been through this before please. don't make me cry either" iman chuckled.

"I know but i'm in the room with you now I actually get to physically witness it all. it's so crazy, I will always get excited and emotional whenever you have kids" she told her.

"so will I" iman smiled. "but man, one thing about having babies that I do not like are these contractions".

"do you want me to get the doctor?" tonya asked her daughter.

"yes please, they're hurting" iman sighed.

tonya got the doctor and she also got into her scrubs as the birthing process was about to begin. iman was put onto the hospital bed and doctors filled the room as the moment was about to happen, baby number two was on its way.

"okay iman we need you to push, push!" doctor felicia truman instructed her. an hour passed by and with the contractions getting closer and closer, it was time for her to push the baby out.

iman pushed as she was told in pain. labor pains were the worse, it's been five years since she was last pregnant and she seemingly forgot how painful labor was. she was definitely getting her reminder now though.

"cmon iman! cmon!" tonya coached to her daughter, and iman pushed harder.

iman was in tears from the pains and trying to push the baby out. she was pushing and pushing and she was hoping that at some point a head would be shown so that she knows it's almost over.

"oh my god" iman groaned out in agony. "oh my god!".

"keep pushing iman you got this!" doctor truman said to her, and she did one hard push, screaming to equivalent her pain.

she continued to push and push and it seemed to be nothing. it took about twenty minutes for something to actually happen, an update on how close she was to being done with giving birth.

"okay i'm seeing a head, we're getting a head! cmon iman finish it out!" doctor truman told her which made her sigh out loud.

"he's coming iman keep pushing!" tonya added.

iman pushed even harder and she felt like she could've passed out at any minute for how hot and sweaty she was plus the pains from pushing the baby out. hearing that they could see a head from the baby made iman feel a bit better, but she wasn't done just yet.

she was grunting, she was heavy breathing, she was pushing. the doctors were preparing to pull the baby out as the head was getting closer and closer to coming out of her. iman was screaming as she wanted him out of her now. with roman gone she doubted that she'd ever have kids again, and with this labor experience she knew that for a fact. she's perfectly fine with the two kids she has now.

"almost there iman, give us a few more pushes" doctor truman told her.

"I'M TRYING! I'M IN PAIN!" iman yelled out.

"I know hun just keep pushing cause he's almost out!" she told her, ignoring iman's small outburst. she was used to it from other mothers that were in labor (and that she's done it herself).

iman let out a loud scream as she did a huge push. tonya rushed over to her and held her hand as she was pushing and straining herself. tonya could feel iman squeezing her hand so tight that it turned red. iman was on the verge of passing out, but before she could do another major push to confirm that fate, a loud cry was heard.

doctor truman pulled the baby out and there he was, baby boy was finally born. iman was in awe, she also began to get emotional and soon enough she was crying. she was crying because she gave birth to another child and also because she gave birth to her son without roman. her son would grow up without ever knowing his father and it broke her heart.

doctor truman handed iman the baby and she held him in her arms. iman started to cry even more because she was looking at him and saw that he already had roman's facial features. he was looking just like his daddy and he won't even know who he was. tonya also started to cry at seeing her grandson and seeing iman cry. it was an emotional moment, but iman was so blessed and happy to see her son.

"hi baby boy" iman said tearfully. "I love you".

"I love you so much".

an hour passed by and after the doctors ran some tests to make sure that everything was okay along with doing his footprints and weight, they gave him back to iman and she was holding him in her arms. they also allowed darnell, patricia, sika, janelle, jimmy, jey, and jianni into the hospital room. jianni was laying in the bed beside her mother and her baby brother.

"I can't wait for baby brother to come home mommy, we can watch movies together! we can watch lion king!" jianni exclaimed enthusiastically.

"yes babydoll we can" iman smiled.

"I can't wait to play some games with him, he gonna be a football star in no time" darnell said.

"yup! he's gonna be a full on sports star" sika added.

"let him turn one first y'all" iman chuckled.

"he's so cute iman" patricia smiled. "he looks.... he looks just like roman".

"yeah..." iman said, trying not to cry again. "he's definitely his twin".

"man... he would be going crazy right now. he's wanted a boy for forever" jey said. "this should be different right now".

"yeah... if you didn't have a boy this time iman he probably would've kept on getting you pregnant until you had one" jimmy added, which made everyone in the room laugh.

"have you decided on a name for him yet?" patricia asked her.

"yes.... i've decided to name him after the only person I knew he had to be named after" iman said, and everyone already knew from there.

"roman joseph anoa'i jr, just like his daddy. nickname is RJ for short".

"that's what he wanted too, he wanted you to name one of your kids after him so bad" janelle added in.

"yup and he got it" iman smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way".

"I know he's happy" julianne said. "he's so happy that he got his mini me".

"daddy's gonna love him mommy" jianni said, which nearly made everyone cry because of her saying that. that also included iman because she was once again on the verge of tears, but she was able to hold them in and say something to her daughter.

".... yes jianni, daddy is gonna love him. he's gonna always love him and you" iman told her. "he's always gonna be here".

yes, he's always gonna be here. he will be here for the rest of their lives. no matter what happens, roman will always be with them. iman was going to continue roman's legacy for his kids and when they get older, she's going to let them know that their daddy was everything and that he always loved them. roman will forever be in their hearts, and their family will continue to thrive with him watching over.

long live the tribal chief, and long live the roman empire.

AUTHOR'S MESSAGE......
and we have reached the end. thank you all so much for reading and supporting this book, I appreciate it so much. this was definitely a favorite to write and I am going to miss writing for something that I was truly passionate about. it was a fun eight months writing this crazy book. once again thank you all and stay tuned for the next!