by Eden Rose
She looks down at her clipboard and then back up at me. “Yeah, she had her spleen removed and part of her left lung removed as well. There are three cracked ribs from where she was kicked, but she’s breathing on her own. Your wife is a very lucky woman.”
I stand up on shaky legs and walk towards her. I’m about to demand to go and see her when I remembered something equally important. “The babies?”
Again, the nurse looks down at the clipboard and then winces before looking up at me.
I’m having problems breathing as I watch her brace herself to tell me the news about my babies and Chloe.
Grant- Now
“Fuck you, you piece of fucking shit! You did this to me! I hate you!” Kayla yells as I go running through the room to her side. Her face is all sweaty from labor but if the swollen belly is any indication, she hasn’t had her yet.
“I’m so glad I didn’t miss her being born,” I whisper against her ear and she punches my arm. “God damn it, Kayla. Stop! You are being crazy!”
Let me admit something. I know that it’s a bad move to tell a woman that she’s being crazy, but it’s worse when the woman is pregnant and in labor. I’m going to wake up and not have dick in the morning.
“Mr. Brandon, I’m going to ask you to please refrain from stressing her out even more than she is. We are trying to move your baby around. She’s breached.”
I blink a couple of times before I look at the doctor. He has dark hair and thick glasses but he looks like a fucking geek. “Excuse me?” I question and stand up straighter.
Kayla is crushing my fingers in her hand that I didn’t even feel wrap around my hand. “Stop. He’s going to be good.”
Fuck that.
“Fine. Just get my baby out so I can hold her,” I say and grip Kayla’s finger hard. “Come on, baby. You can do it. I know you can. Relax and let the baby move around in there.”
The next hour was brutal. I couldn’t do a damn thing to make Kayla feel better and I felt fucking horrible. But then the greatest sound I have ever heard rang out.
My baby’s arrival into the world. “Oh shit! You did it! Kayla, oh my god. You did it!” I praise her and kiss her sweaty head over and over again.
The doctor walks the baby over to the bed and begins to do their tests on her and the whole time she is loud. My daughter is not happy that this is happening.
Wow! I have a daughter.
“Ten toes, ten fingers and a nose and a mouth! I say you guys did good!” The doctor says as she brings the pink bundle over to me and I take the first look at my daughter.
Kayla is crying softly as she rubs her hand over her heart. I can see that she can see the baby as well and I’m so happy that we are experiencing this at the same time.
“Nora Michelle Brandon,” Kayla whispers and rubs her finger over her nose. “What do you think?”
I look at her and see that she’s stopped crying and the doctor is slowly moving her towards Kayla to meet her for the first time. I’m not going to lie to you. I’m a little jealous since I wanted to hold her.
There’s a small gap between the edge of the bed and Kayla, but I manage to make my way in between it. I am rested against the side of the bed with my knees on the ground but I’m closer to my baby and my fiance.
“That’s a perfect name,” I whisper and kiss Nora’s head before kissing Kayla’s lips. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Chloe- Now
I look to see if there is a way off this ledge that I am on and when I see that there’s not, I begin to panic. I can’t see Claire anymore and it’s scaring me more than anything else. “Claire, where did you go? Mommy can’t see you anymore!” I yell over the ledge and hoping that she hears me.
It’s dark and scary at this place and it’s making me miss Howard. I miss Howard’s contagious laugh that I haven’t heard in forever and the way he laughs at his own jokes. I miss the way that he holds my hand when we are sleeping.
It’s very faint but I think I can make out some words that are being said in the distance. “Chloe, baby. Please don’t leave me. You have to come back. I can’t do this on my own.” I can feel a heavy hand on my stomach and then the fingers grip into my bump. “I know you are in there. Please, baby. Please, you can’t do this to me.”
The fog gets thicker and I close my eyes. I’m no longer able to keep my mind’s eyes open.
When I wake up, I hear the insistent beeping and the sound of a man crying. My mind’s eye is working harder and harder and I can take in the hospital room with the white walls. Well, at least I know where I am.
“Come on, baby. Fuck, Chloe. I finally got you and now I can’t even- Jesus. Come back to me.”
I look over and see Howard’s head bent over my stomach and his lips are resting on my bump. “Daddy loves you guys. Please be good to your mommy. I need her and you guys so much.”
I smile on the inside as I hear him whisper words of encouragement to our babies. “You can be anything you want to be as long as you are happy.”
“Mr. McKinstry. Visiting hours are almost over. It’s time for you to leave.”
I panic at the thought of him leaving and my hand flies out to grab his.
“Jesus! Did you see that?”
Howard- Now
By some grace of God, I feel her touching my hand. What the hell? Am I imagining things? “Did you see that?” I ask the nurse and she nods before running out of the room.
“Baby. Are you coming back to me?” I ask and stand up to hover over face. “Sweetness, please.”
If they think I am leaving now, they are insane. I’m not going anywhere.
Chloe’s eyes blink as she gets used to lights but when she tries to talk, it sounds as if she’s choking. “Oh god, you must be so thirsty. I will get you a glass of water.”
As I turn to leave, she squeezes my hand and shakes her head as if she’s telling me she doesn’t want me to go. “You don’t want me to go get you water?”
She shakes her head and then closes her eyes. “I love you, Chloe.”
Chloe- Now
I open my mouth and let the words come to my lips but nothing is said. I look around the room and see that there is no one else in here but us. I love that we are together right now.
“Babies?” I whisper and then lick my lips.
Howard leans over and kisses me repeatedly on the lips. His kisses are soft but they are warming me right up and I shiver. “Everyone is fine. They did an ultrasound. They were able to tell what the sex is but I didn’t want to find out without you.”
I nod and then wince as the movement shakes my chest. I take a deep breath and then scream as the pain stabs me in the side. I try to bring my hand down to my stomach but it doesn’t move. Without moving my body, I look down and notice that my arm is wrapped in an Ace bandage connected to my torso. Well, that explains it.
“What happened?” I whisper and then cough gently. Talking is hard to do but I want to know what happened.
He pushes the hair out of my face and then kisses my forehead. “You don’t remember? Well, maybe that is a good thing.”
The doctor comes in and begins to check me over. He looks at my eyes and then listens to my shallow breathing. “Well, you scared this poor man to death. Your husband has been by your side for the past week.”
A week?
“Do you remember what happened?”
“No,” I murmur and look at Howard who stands up and walks over to the window. Even though I feel as if I have been beaten practically to death, I don’t miss out on the flutter from seeing Howard.
“Well, I will tell you what your injuries have told me. We had to remove your ruptured spleen, repair your lung, your ribs were cracked and your arm is broken. Your nose is broken and we had to reset it. Your eyes are going to sting for a while due to your nose. But over all? You are lucky.” The male doctor says as he reads the laundry list of my injuries.
I look down at my stomach that seems to have gotten bigger and he does too
. “They are fine. Luckily, you weren't hit in the stomach. Due to your injuries, I want to keep you for a few more days and you are on bedrest for the next four months until further notice. Just because everything is looking good now, doesn’t mean things will be great later on.”
The young doctor spins on his heels and walks out of the room. “Thank god, you guys are okay,” Howard says next to me.
“I know. I’m so happy the babies are okay.” Tears are flooding my eyes with relief and my side stabs a little from the pain. I take a deep breath and then howl from it.
“I can’t- baby, I can’t do that again. No more. I love you, but I can’t go through that again. Promise me?”
Even though I’m doped up on pregnancy hormones and whatever else they have given me, I nod my head and then look at his hand that is resting on my stomach. I place my hand on his and we both squeeze. It was then that the babies rolled around and I felt true love for something other than my job and my dog.
Epilogue- Howard
The day the twins were born will be a day I will never forget for more than the obvious reasons. Chloe has been a pain in my fucking ass since she has been on bed rest and we were told that she had signs of early labor.
Why I thought this woman would let me off the hook just once, I won't ever know.
We were sitting around our kitchen table with Kayla and Grant with their daughter discussing how this was going to work. I knew that since I'm not the biological father, I don't have much say but those babies are mine.
"I want to be there for them," Grant says as he rubs his hand down Kayla's back. Their daughter is sleeping on her chest but she looks cute from here.
I have tried not to involve myself too much with everything that is going on and this one of those things. But, these are my kids. I have been there for the late night cravings and the running to Taco Bell to get those damn tacos that make her gassy. I have been the one that has made milkshakes out of some very gross concoctions for Chloe. It has been me holding her hair as she throws up eating all of what I just said.
"I'm not denying you that. We just need to come up with a custody agreement that is fair to the both of us." I know that Chloe wants to be as fair as possible but it doesn’t mean that I like it.
Kayla rubs her hand down the baby's back and then looks over at Grant who nods. "How much child support are you wanting a month?" He asks and then pulls out his phone.
"None," I pipe in. I don't want his help. These are my kids and I will be damned if he offers child support. It’s been me here this whole time and not him. I feel as if he is saying that I can’t support my own kids. He’s the one that had to start all over in his career.
Chloe looks at me with questions but I shake my head. "Yeah, don't worry about it." I’m proud that Chloe had supported my reasonings on this and didn’t give me attitude. I didn’t want to create a fight about it.
Kayla shrugs and just then, their daughter wakes up. "I'm going to change her diaper. I will be right back."
I watch her as she walks to the bathroom in Chloe and my new house down the street from her parents’ house. It’s funny to see them coming over and rubbing her belly. However, it’s kind of a dark moment that follows us around. They know that I’m not the biological father and they also know what Barry did to us.
None of that matters now.
Grant rubs his finger over his wedding ring and then glances longingly at Chloe. I place my hand on her stomach and squeeze to allow him to see that I’m not budging on this. It has taken about two and a half months for all of us to sit in the same room to discuss this and I’m nervous as hell.
This man is a hot spot for Chloe and she’s due to have the babies at anytime. She’s approximately thirty-six weeks and I have been stalking her with my eyes the past month to see if there have been any changes.
“I know you guys are really pissed at me-”
“No,” Chloe interrupts, “I was and now I’m not. We both made our decisions and now we are going to have to live with them. The twins will know that you are their biological father but Howard is going to be here full time. It’s up to you as to how often you want to visit. Have you and Kayla discussed what you are going to do with Nora?”
I chime in: “Are you going to tell Nora that she has brothers or sisters?” Truthfully, I want to know. I think it’s important that we are all on the same track when it comes to our children.
Grant nods his head as Kayla and Nora come back. “What’d I miss?”
“Custody and whether or not we are going to tell the princess about the twins,” he answers and then looks over at Chloe with something in his eyes that makes me want to scream.
I don’t want him looking at her like he knows how she looks naked. Chloe must sense my hostility because she puts her hand on my thigh and squeezes.
In case you are wondering, she still hasn’t told me she loves me. I know she does but I sincerely doubt that she will ever tell me that she does. It’s okay after she agreed to getting a house with me and allowing me to be a part of the twins’ lives.
Plus, with all of the hormones running through her body- we are having a ton of sex.
“When they are born, obviously you can come to the room. It’s probably going to be a while before I’m comfortable enough to leave them alone overnight. We can share holidays and birthdays. I don’t want them to have multiple parties and all of that. We can be adults and raise the twins together,” Chloe says as she rubs her hand down her swollen belly.
It’s funny watching her walk around because she’s so little and the baby belly is getting fucking huge.
Kayla looks over at my old good friend and she shrugs then nods. “Yeah. That’s understandable. I don’t want to be away from Nora over night so I get it.”
“Yeah. That works,” he responds.
“Good, that’s settled!” I chime in and then I hear a swoosh.
Chloe starts screaming and then looks down at all of the wet liquid that is overflowing her chair. “My water just broke!”
Chloe
I’m running on three hours of sleep because Claire and Tristan didn’t want to sleep in their cribs. No, they wanted to sleep with Mommy and Daddy. I’m a sucker because I let them do it but I don’t think Howard minds. I know he loves being a dad and he’s so great at it.
The twins turn six months old today and I have to go to court for the sex trafficking business. Vlad and Dom didn’t die and we have been caught in the litigation process for the past eight months. They actually tried to sue us for entrapment which is hilarious as fuck. After they realized that we weren’t going to be pushed around- and after Howard and Colin went rounds with them- they ratted on everyone.
Like we expected, the ring was just a little facet about what was really going on. They have kingpins all throughout the United States that are filtering girls through the fences. Over one hundred girls have been found and returned to their families which was rewarding.
I’m happy that the bureau had given me all of this time so I don’t have to worry about the stress from the trial, but it’s time. I’m more than ready to put this whole mess behind me.
Turns out, the cops went back to the warehouse that I was taken to and discovered crates filled with women from all over the world. There was one good thing that came from this.
“Sweetness, are you almost ready?” Howard asks as he adjusts his tie.
I smooth down my maternity pants because my stomach is still stretched out from the twins and I can’t fit in anything else. “I’m going to be happy when I lose this baby weight,” I murmur to him.
He of course shakes his head and places his hand on the back of my neck. “You are perfect the way you are. Let’s get this over with so we can spend the weekend with our babies.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
Grant and Kayla have came by with their daughter, Nora, every other weekend so everyone can meet and get to know each other. I’m not going to lie and say that it’s easy, but it’s bet
ter than him not being in their lives at all.
When I look at Claire, my beautiful daughter, I feel as sense of deja vu and it kills me that I can’t sense where I have seen those dark eyes and light skin before. Tristan is all me with his dad’s black eyes. They both look so cute all dressed up for a play date at my parents’ house.
Imagine that? My parents are actually liking being grandparents. And Janet? She loves my twins as well and Meeka is just in love with them. Our relationship has recently been repaired after I let them know I was undercover. They still don’t know about what caused my breakup with Grant, and I’m not going to tell them.
