Chapter 1: Could this Have Been a Mistake? (Babies 1, 2 & 3)

I packed all our belongings and got the hell out of Sunlit Tides fast as I could. I had only one destination on my mind and that was Crystalline Cove. A town far from anyone I know. I wanted to start fresh, far away from Sunlit Tides, Bridgeport, or Sunset Valley.

This new town is roughly 2,000 miles away from the closest town I had ever stepped foot in. Crystalline Cove was a large town, with a total of 40,000 residents occupying many of the homes that were built here. It was made up of mostly middle class and had a very good educational system. It was also a very good town to raise kids in with all the nice neighborhoods.

I used the money I got from selling my home in Sunlit Tides and bought mine and Izzy's new home. It's a two story home with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a fair enough yard.

It didn't take long for Izzy and I to get settled in our new home. I mostly spent my days sitting by the fire watching Izzy play with her favorite toy, her werewolf bear. If I wasn't relaxing by the fire I was writing, writing was my favorite past time and my career choice.

Izzy mostly played with her bear when at home, but she loved to go to school everyday because she hoped to one day run into a werewolf in her class. Seeing Izzy everyday play with no one but her bear made me think about the 100 Baby Challenge again. Is it a good idea to start the challenge so Izzy wouldn't be an only child? No, I would be betraying Isabella, but then again she did tell me to do the challenge. But that was just a dream that my mind made up because that woman at the park mentioned it. Or was it?

Izzy went off to school and I left the house for the first time in a week to explore the parts of the town I hadn't been to before. I didn't bother taking the car, I just walked through the town. God knows I needed the air from being cooped up for so long.

The mid summer air was cool and felt great against my skin and my mind wandered to random thoughts stirring in my head. I thought about the upcoming winter and Christmas. What was I going to get Izzy for Christmas? What did she want? Another teddy bear? Or maybe something werewolf related?

I was so distracted by my thoughts that I hadn't realized that my feet had taken me to the last place I would have thought I go. The A.I. Center.

"Hello sir, how may I help you today?", said a woman behind the counter, looking at me with a warm grin. Not like the grins you see on the employees at the mall, where all the smiles were rehearsed and you know they would rather be anywhere but there.

With a clueless expression on my face I looked at the woman before me, whose smile hasn't faded in the least bit since I walked in. "I, ah, um."

"Are you here to do an artificial insemination?", she asked, sounding like she asked that question a million times before. Of course she has, it was an A.I. center, that's all they do here.

"Yeah." The word slipped passed my lips before I had the chance to stop it.

"Name?"

"Daniels, Jackson Daniels."

"Great, " She smiled. She leaned behind her counter and pulled out a clipboard and started writing a few things down at the top, and then looked back at me. "Are you using a surrogate?

"Yeah."

"Surrogate's name?"

"Uh. I, I don't have one."

"Sir, you need a surrogate."

"I'll be his surrogate," a woman yelled out from behind me.

I looked around and saw a young woman about the age of 22 with white, green and blue hair and wearing an outfit that matched. "You'd be my surrogate? You don't even know me. I don't even know you."

She got up and causally walked over to me, smiling she then reached out her hand for me to shake. "I'm Becca Andrews and I work here, I'm also a certified surrogate for men who wish to start a family without a wife."

"Huh? How'd you kn-"

"I've worked in this business long enough to tell that you want to start a family or to at least make a bigger one without a wife. And besides if you were looking for a surrogate to hold you and your wife's baby you'd be in here with your wife, not by yourself."

"I don't just want to start a big family. I want to have one hundred kids."

"OH, you're one of those male baby challengers aren't you? I've heard of them before, it's so nice to finally meet one, especially here in Crystalline Cove. We've never had anyone doing a challenge live here before."

"So you know the rules and you're still willing to be a surrogate?"

"Of course. Here I'll help fill out your papers and we'll get started."

~*~

A few hours later I arrived home. It was nearing four in the afternoon, about the time that Izzy should be home. I called out her name as I locked the the front door and walked down the hall.

I heard a screech of a wooden chair on tile and a patter of running feet and then Izzy came out from the kitchen door, running and calling out to me. "DADDY!!"

I grinned at the sight of my daughter getting excited about my arrival, and got down on one knee with my arms stretched out, waiting for a hug.

She ran into my arms and I lifted her in the air, spinning her in circles. "How was my big girl's day at school?"

"It was great, daddy. I met a bunch of new people and one kid in class said she knew a real live werewolf. Can you believe it? Do you think I will meet a werewolf one day, daddy?"

"Of course you will sweetheart. But the werewolf you meet will be prince in disguise and when you kiss him he'll turn into a real life prince."

"Haha! Oh daddy. That's the frog prince. I'm not gonna kiss a werewolf, I'm gonna marry one and have werewolf babies."

"Whatever you say sweetheart."

I placed Izzy back on the ground, still laughing I said, "You wanna play some dominoes?"

"You bet."

We're both pretty competitive when it comes to playing against each other, we always make bets, like doing the winner's chores. Yet I always find myself losing, it might be that I let her win but I think it's because I pretty much stink at this game.

"Your going down daddy."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. And you have to shave that prickly hair on your cheeks when I win."

"What if I win?"

"Come on daddy, do you really think that's necessary?"

I took a moment to think about it. She was right, I was most likely gonna lose anyways. Why waste the breath with my terms if it's never gonna happen anyways? Besides, I'm only playing so I can break the ice about me starting the challenge. Becca would be arriving at our place in about an hour with her belongings.

When I told Izzy about Becca and her becoming a big sister, she surprised me by actually being happy to hear the news. I think more happy for me then her. That I'm actually doing something other than staying at home all day.

Izzy knew all about how I wanted to have a big family and told me multiple times before that she wanted a bunch of brothers and sisters; to keep herself occupied and to see me happy again.

~*~

The months that followed Becca's move into the house I found my self outside a lot more than usual. The leaves began to fall from the trees, indicating that fall had arrived. I would rake for hours at a time, because whenever I finished raking up the leaves from one section of the yard more leaves would fall and fill the space.

I mostly threw myself into chores, avoiding all communication with Becca. Ever since Becca told me that she was pregnant I've been finding ways to avoid her. The constant falling of leaves gave me a good 2 hours a day. At first I thought it was because I was scared of being a father again, but I realized later that it was because I was feeling guilty. I had done the one thing I vowed to never do when Isabella died; I started my dream of having a big family without her.

In the time that Becca had been staying with us her and Izzy had become great friends. They would watch TV together all the time. Whenever I buried myself in work, Izzy was there to keep Becca company.

"Izzy, does your father not like me?"

"What do you mean, Becca?"

"I mean he has been avoiding me. I don't think he likes having me around and I have a feeling he's regretting having this baby."

"I don't think so."

"You don't?"

"No. My dad wants a big family, it's just hard because he always wanted to have that family with my mom, but she died when I was a baby."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. If it makes you feel any better I'm excited about the baby."

"It makes me feel a little better."

After raking what I can of the leaves I put the rake back in the garage and walked into the house. I decided to relax and maybe watch some TV before I started my next chore, but I was unaware that Becca was in the TV room, I walked right in.

I was going to walk right back out until Becca stopped me. "Jackson I know this must be hard for you."

I turned to face her. She sat on the floor, leaning against the couch with one hand on her round belly. She patted on the empty space next to her on the floor and I slowly sat down.

"Izzy told me about Isabella." My eyes quickly looked to Becca with surprise. "Is that why you won't talk to me? Do you feel guilty about doing this challenge and that these babies aren't hers?", she said, pointing to her big round belly.

"I didn't-"

"It's okay Jackson. I know it must be hard for you. I lost my fiance with brain cancer 5 years ago. I was devastated but I pulled through it and now I'm helping guys like you start families."

I glanced over at Becca, saying nothing.

"I know you feel like your world has no meaning and that you'll never get over it, and you think that you betrayed your wife by having a baby with with me. I know because that's how I felt when I became a surrogate and got pregnant. I felt like I betrayed my fiance by moving on but you know what, I would never take back what I did for that family. I gave them the family they always wanted and I was happy for the first time in a long time."

I narrowed my eyes. "How old are you?"

Becca busted out laughing and I couldn't help but smile. "I tell you my heartfelt story and all you say in return is ask my age? Haha."

I chuckled along with her laughs. "So how old are you really though."

"29. I'm 29. And for the record, don't ask that to your future surrogates. For me, I don't mind telling my age. I feel that age is just a number."

I smiled again but mostly to myself. I looked at Becca and she gave me a friendly smile in return. "Thank you."

"No problem."

~*~

The next morning I got up nice and early, but instead of running off and doing chores I joined Becca and Izzy for breakfast. I even made breakfast, some nice fluffy waffles. Becca had been making Izzy's breakfast for the months she'd been staying here since I'd always run off, so I thought I'd return the favor to her by making it this time.

"Look daddy, the window is frosted."

"Yeah, I guess winter is coming early this year."

"ALRIGHT!!"

I finished up the waffles and we all sat and had a nice hot breakfast. Izzy and Becca both payed me compliments on my talents of knowing my way around the kitchen, but I just shrugged it off saying that it was just an old family recipe that I'd known all my life. Nothing fancy.

"Oh, no, Jackson you should be a chef."

"It's just waffles, besides I'm more better at writing than cooking."

When the school bus arrived, Izzy hurried off to school and Becca helped me clean up the kitchen. I cleaned the dishes while she placed the leftovers in the fridge.

"Thanks for breakfast Jackson."

"It's the least I can do for the way I've behaved these last months."

I smiled and she smiled back, but then her expression changed and she looked like she was in pain. Then I noticed that floor was wet and she screamed.

"The baby," she yelled, clutching her stomach.

I went wide eyed and ran upstairs into my room to grab the keys by my bedside table. Then I helped Becca get to the hospital.

The labor lasted through most of the day and I had to call Izzy's school to let them know that I was at the hospital and I wasn't going to be home when Izzy left school. So one of her teachers kindly offered to drive her straight to the hospital and she waited in the waiting room while I was with Becca, helping her through the delivery.

When the doctor announced it was a girl I smiled at the thought of another daughter, and a baby sister for Izzy. But then two more babies came right after. Triplets. I was shocked but I couldn't be happier about my three newest children.

Maybe, just maybe this challenge wouldn't be so bad after all. I could see myself doing this 97 more times.

~*~

Welcome baby 1, Miya, baby 2, Chase, and baby 3, Darrian.
(Wanna thank Kaitlyn Thomas and Addy McKnight for the baby names)

I hope you all liked the first chapter of Jackson's baby challenge and I would love your opinions and feedback, negative or positive. I only want to improve so any help is big help. Thank you all! :)

EDITED WITH LOVE BY LOGAN FEY!