by Ema Bancroft
Daisy
I slept with Elijah in his hospital bed, spending the same time staring at my ring, looking at his face slowly deflated, and sleeping.
"I don't want to wait,"he said quietly, long after I thought he had fallen asleep.
"Hmmm?"
"To get married,"he said. "We can do whatever you want about the wedding, but I don't want to wait. I want to do it soon.
I leaned my chin on his chest, looking him in the eye. "We can do it. I don't want anything fancy anyway. Just our friends and family. Something simple."
He bagged his lips, and I couldn't resist kissing them. He chuckled.
"Are you sure? " he asked. "Don't you want a fancy thing with all the flowers and pigeons flying off the cake or something?".
I laughed laughing. "That's disgusting. Would you eat a cake with pigeons in it?"
He shrugged. "You know what I mean."
I reached out to put a finger over his lips. "I don't need any of that,"I said honestly. "I just need you. " He sucked my thumb through my mouth, and I gasped, feeling the jerk until I reached my healing kitten.
Maybe he was ready for some action.
He snapped my finger loose with a slight snap, and I slid my hand over Elijah's hip, and then rose under his hospital gown, only to find it hard and ready for me.
"Well, hello,"I said in a hoarse voice. Elijah simply smiled with a smile and shoved me in the hand. I moved over it, sliding my dress over my hips and my panties down quickly.
"Are you all right? " Elijah asked, his eyes dark with misery, but a note of concern in his voice.
I nodded. "Yeah. I think I'm all right. "I rubbed gently against him... slowly... I relieved myself when there was no pain...?"
only pleasure.
I shot a look over my shoulder at the door, knowing we didn't have much time. "This is gonna have to be a quickie,"I warned him.
Elijah just complained, his fingers digging into my hips.
I knelt on my knees, bending down to guide him towards me, sliding him around me now healed and a little bit enthusiastic kitten a few times, provoking some delicious whining from Elijah.
"Baby.... oh shit, are you killing me?"
"Mmmm..."I replied, finally settling on it, taking it deep... feeling it filling me - not only my body, but also my heart... my soul... my whole being...
"God, I love you,"I muttered, beginning a slow step up and down... that quickly got frantic and hot... meat slaps, moaning echoing through the walls... Elijah's heart monitor accelerated so fast that I worried someone would call Code Blue?
But I couldn't stop. Not until we both arched, reaching the top... climbing in that wave of hot pleasure?
"Daisy! "Elijah shouted, his hips clenched as his release shot at me... and mine clutched around him. For a long moment we stood motionless at that point of supreme pleasure, that second of perfection. Then, with a heavy and satiated sigh, I collapsed on him, and he wrapped me with his long arms, stroking my hair and sighing happily.
"Mabel will be very disappointed at the wedding,"he said after a while. "You know she lives for things like this."
I shrugged my shoulders. "She'll get over it. Besides, with our track record, I think the simpler the better."
Elias laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe something on the beach?"
"Are you kidding me? " I muttered in his chest. "We'd probably have a hurricane."
"Hmm…yeah. "He played with my hair. "Hawaii?"
"Volcanoes."
"Empire State Building?
"Beaten by lightning."
"A castle in Scotland?"
"Drafty. We would both have pneumonia.
"Corporal"?
"Drug cartels. They would capture us and turn us into mules.
Elijah laughed, and I smiled at the deep sound of his chest.
"I'll tell you what,"he said, and I looked up to look at him. I almost gasped for his expression. He looked so...
Happy.
"I think we should go shopping."
"Yes?"
He nodded. "Yes. We'll find a house we both like, maybe with a nice view. And we'll get married there."
I bit my lip, a warm feeling of satisfaction as I walked through my bones. "That sounds really good. " I kissed him gently.
"And you know what the best part is? " he asked, a smile lifting the corner of his mouth.
"What?"
"We can sneak into a corner and do it whenever we want."
Resoplé. "You're a pervert. " But I had to admit that the idea had merit.
He kissed me again, and I sat against his chest, listening to his slow breathing until he finally fell asleep.
I thought about the night again - all the crazy, scary, ridiculous and incredible things that had happened.
And yet, I could only find one word to describe it.
Perfect.
Chapter 19
Futuretake: And the baby makes five
Daisy
Being pregnant sucks.
I mean, all that talk about glow and anticipation and being able to eat whatever you want?
Yeah, a lot of crap.
I look in the mirror, and all I see is a visible widening, not a glow in sight.
Anticipation has been replaced by an Oh God, will it ever end? kind of desperation.
What about eating what I want? Well, at six months, the doctor informed me that my blood pressure was too high, so although I long for salt and vinegar chips with a passion that's bordering on madness...
I can't have them. Not one delicious, salty crumbs of crunchy spicy crunch. I should have torn when he told me.
Which led to your other unwelcome news. For the remaining three months of my pregnancy, I was resting in bed.
At first, I was a little excited about that. I mean, the idea of spending all day reading and watching bad television sounded like a relaxing vacation. And after months of work, tours and interviews, the idea had its appeal...
For a week.
Then the boredom began. Followed by my rather unfortunate decision to Google myself.
All I can say is that the Internet is a terrible place, my friend. I locked my laptop with a laptop and refused to open it again.
And after hours of reality television, I won a pretty pathetic addiction to Jersey Shore.
Elijah threatened to cut the wire if he called him Guido again, or referred to his penis - God forbid - as a juicy braciol.
Anything at all.
Yeah, so bed rest sucks too.
And heartburn.
And swelling.
And feeling like a fucking giant house.
And be a huge bitch because you're bloated and uncomfortable and hungry all the time (but you can't eat salt and vinegar fries) and scared to death because you're going to have three babies - count them three - and you're worried that you're going to be a horrible mother and leave them scarred for life or starring in your own reality show getting drunk and having sex with strangers.
Elijah says he's pretty sure that won't happen, since by the time they're old enough we'll probably have holodecks like in Star Trek and no one will be watching any more reality shows anyway.
I could have thrown a shoe at him.
After much discussion, we decided to move to our house in L. A. for the length of the pregnancy. Mabel and Raul lived there, and Ethan and Terri visited regularly when they were not on business. I hoped the sun and the beach could be energizing, but in reality it made me sweaty and irritable... and if I saw a skinnier blonde in a thin bikini, I worried about my sanity. Unfortunately, going back to New York was practically out of line because. Once I was sent to bed, everything was a moot point.
I had to admit that Elijah was a saint through all this - the mood swings and irritability and God, I am so fat and ugly. I was excessively patient and affectionate, bringing me peppermint tea and flowers, rubbing my aching back or swollen feet, or sleeping with his face near my stomach singing softly to me and the babies.
/> After all this time, it's still you who makes me feel alive.
It's you and me baby...
And baby....
And baby....
And the baby wins five.
"Are you sure you feel ready for this? " He asked again as he tied his shoes and slipped over his jacket. "I could stay,"he offered.
I waved my hand at him. "No, it's okay. Mabel will be here soon, and I'm glad to have something to do.
It was the night of the Grammy Awards, and 5Point performed, in addition to being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Personally, that made me feel like I was a million years old, but it was a great honor, and the kids were looking forward to it. I begged my doctor to let me go - even to sit in the audience - but he shook his head and said rather hatefully,"You're almost eight months pregnant with triplets, Daisy. You'd be lucky to get to your seat before leaving these babies like a gumball machine.
Did I mention that my doctor was obnoxious? Yeah. I figured it out.
So instead, I'd be appearing via satellite from the comfort of my bed. Mabel came to me for moral support, and to make sure that my hair and makeup didn't make me look even more bloated and fatter than I already felt.
She said she was being ridiculous. I didn't want to take the chance. The camera adds ten pounds, after all, and I needed all the help I could get.
"It won't be the same without you,"Elijah said with a soft smile, crawling on the bed to kiss me twice. "I wish you could be there."
"Me too,"I sighed back. "But look at it this way. I have another great article to add to my guilty list."
I really had a list. I thought it would be helpful when children complained about taking out the trash or cleaning their rooms.
"Yes, it's true that little Johnny doesn't have to do the dishes, but his mother didn't miss the Lifetime Achievement Award because she had been at rest for three long months...".
"Maybe it's unfair that you have to clean up after the dog. Maybe it's also unfair for me not being able to wear a bikini for the rest of my life thanks to all these stretch marks.
Actually, I knew I'd never use The List. But it made me feel a little better to add it now and then.
Elijah smiled indulgently - he did a lot lately - and kissed me again before rushing out of bed to answer the bell. A loud scream and an equally loud scream:"Mabel, what the fuck? " resounded from the living room, and after a moment they both returned to the bedroom, quickly followed by Mabel and Raul's mascot.
"You can't stay here, Mabel,"Elijah grumbled.
"Daisy doesn't care, are you Daisy? " Mabel asked hopefully, climbing up to sit beside me in bed. "He's sick, and the vet says I need to give him his pills every two hours. I couldn't leave him alone at home.
"Bacon's sick"? Elijah asked in alarm. "He can't be near Daisy!"
"First,"Mabel replied sharply,"his name is Porky. And second, it's a virus and the veterinarian said it's not dangerous for humans. Porky sneezed to emphasize the point, and Mabel quickly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe his nose.
Elijah blinked. "All right, then. I guess I'll be going. " He looked at Mabel with suspicion as he turned around the bed again to kiss me. "See you later, honey."
"You'll be great,"I said.
"Don't let Ethan corner the stage."
Elijah laughed and left the room, cutting a wide band around the still sneezing pig.
E. C.
I was half an hour late at the Staples Center, thanks to a lot of traffic downtown. Apparently, a water pipe broke near Universal Studios - which was ironic, if you think about it - and caused some kind of strange wave effect that ruined traffic for miles.
When I finally arrived, I had just enough time to take off my coat and put on a headset microphone before we started the final rehearsal of the mix we would be singing in a few hours. It was weird acting without Daisy, and we had to stop and readjust the empty place on stage. After the rehearsal, the producer met with us briefly to explain when we were going to perform and how the Lifetime Achievement Award presentation would go.
"Adam will first place the bottom piece,"he said, referring to Adam Levine. Garnet 5 was the winner of the previous year, and it was a tradition that they would present the award to the next honored. "We'll make the recording - and there will be clippings of you in the audience, so watch out for the cameras you see, he'll introduce you and you'll be on stage."
He gestured toward a large screen to the left of the center microphone. "The satellite signal will be played back up there, as well as the two monitors on the sides of the stage. You can thank each other first, and then, E. C. , you can give it to Daisy - jokes from here to there, blah blah blah blah blah. Just make sure you pay attention to the time signals.
I nodded, putting everything inside, and we were dragged behind the scenes to change before we went for a walk on the red carpet. We stayed together, answering questions and talking about how excited and honest we were about the award. I smiled and said,"of course," every time someone asked me if I was excited or nervous, or if I was excited about becoming a father. Then we went in and fortunately we had time to have a few drinks before returning to the dressing room to prepare for the performance.
My phone rang with a text message from Daisy.
You don't like those green Nikes with the purple buzz, do you?
I frowned, writing a quick response.
My mother gave them to me. Made them tailor-made. Why is that?
Um. Nothing. I'm sure the pig snot will wash.
Shit, Daisy. Bacon sneezed on my shoes?
Give him a break. He's sick. And a pig. He has a hard life.
Resoplé.
That fucking pig's got his own room and a leather jacket, for Christ's sake. Which is almost like a strange form of cannibalism.
It is not. It's cow leather.
It's still weird.
Gotta go. Cameraman's here. See you in T. V.
I love you. Keep that fucking pig away from my shit.
I'll try, but keep going into your closet. I think he really likes you. It's sweet.
I was going to answer, but to be honest, I couldn't think of anything to say about it.
The mix went off without a hitch, the crowd screaming and singing, and then we rushed into the backstage to change, finding our way to our front row seats during the commercial break.
"Can you believe it? " Raul asked with a smile. "Achievements of a lifetime. I can't decide whether I should be flattered or insulted.
"I know,"I muttered. "I guess we're done now, right?"
Roland bowed. "We could take the wheelchairs out."
"Speak for yourselves,"Ethan stepped in. "I'm just at my best."
"Really? " I said with a smile.
"Sure,"he replied. "Women love older men."
"Oh, yeah, you're a real woman's man, man. " Resoplé. "Terri has to hit them with a stick."
Ethan turned his eyes. "You're just jealous."
"Jealous? " I laughed. "Of what?"
He folded his biceps with a defiant smile. "Do I need to say more?"
"Fuck you,"I whispered quietly as Raul and Roland laughed out loud. The lights went out and Adam Levine went to the microphone, accompanied by the rest of Maroon 5. I was a little surprised he wore a shirt. The guy still spent more time naked than anyone I knew.
"We are here tonight to honor a group that has become known as the best boys' band. They rocked our world with songs like "I Need to Have Ya', Two-Faced Catherine and Spiced Candy".
The crowd screamed louder with each song mentioned.
"Tonight, we thank you for more than a decade of incredible music. Let's take a look at the magic of 5Point.
The lights dimmed and the recorded piece blinked on screen, concert clips and music videos - fragments of old interviews and backstage shots that made me smile. Daisy appeared on the screen, first as Tim, then as herself, and they even included the video from Today where she announced that we had triplets.
And I passed out. Yeah
. I was never gonna live like this.
The lights came back on, and Adam shouted into the microphone about the screams and applause:"Ladies and gentlemen, when you accept the Lifetime Achievement Award, give it to him for 5Point!".
We went up the steps, waving to the crowd, and I had to admit that I was a little overwhelmed for the moment. To be honest, fans still love us after all these years? Yeah. It was pretty impressive.
Each of us took a turn at the microphone, thanking Cecil and Eddie, our friends and family and loved ones. Then it touched me, and I smiled, waiting for a breath in the screams and the I love you, E. C. s! before you start talking.
"Thank you, guys. Really, thank you very much,"I began. "This means so much to all of us that you have no idea. " The screams lit up again and I laughed a little, nodding my head in gratitude. "We have talked a lot about the people who helped us along the way, but above all we want to thank the fans. Without you, we'd be nothing."
"That's it! " Ethan shouted for applause.
"And now, we have a special guest,"I said, turning to look at the screen as Daisy appeared. "I think you know this lady."
The crowd went mad, screaming and stepping on his feet, and Daisy blushed, waving one hand. When the crowd calmed down, she said,"Thank you very much. I wish I could be there with all of you, but I am so honored and excited to accept this award with the kids.
I leaned on the microphone. "Baby," I started lighting up an Ooooooohhhhs choir. I turned to the crowd. "Oh, come on, she's my wife!
"A wave of laughter came back at me, and I went back to the screen.
"I know people here wonder how you're doing."
"I'm great,"Daisy replied, smiling broadly. I was the only one who knew it was a little forced. "I'm resting in bed, but it's not unusual with a multiple pregnancy. However, I feel very well and I want to thank all the fans for the cards and letters. It was really amazing. She shuddered slightly, but quickly covered it with a smile.
"And should we talk to them about babies? " I asked, showing the audience a mocking smile. Yes Screams! and tell us! filled the stadium.
"I don't know,"Daisy said slowly, joining the game as we planned. "Do you think they really want to know? " She winked again, changing positions against the pillows. Her back was probably bothering her again.
