by Sosie Frost
But I wasn’t watching my children in a quiet mansion. Sure, I had adjusted to the glitter. The toys. The trinkets. The princesses and tea parties.
Elmo.
But this was something…terrifying.
“I need a zone defense for you guys.” I pointed Rose and Sammy to the corner. “Why don’t you go play with the cars?”
Rose stomped her foot. “No!”
“Why not?”
“I want…” She took a breath. “Blue car.”
“I’ll find you a blue car.”
“Red too!”
“A blue and red car?”
“Yes!”
“…Can I get you a purple car instead?”
“No!” Her chubby cheeks puffed, but she smiled at me. “And nanners!”
Uh-oh. “I don’t know if Momma brought any bananas from home. We don’t have any.”
It was like I accidentally blitzed every one of the Wiggles, tore the heart out of Barney, and melted Elsa.
Rose’s eyes welled with tears. Sammy threw himself against a chair, distraught. Ethan bellowed from his blanket for nanners.
Dawn seemed relatively ambivalent, but as far as I knew, she was only eating one specific meal. That was nothing I could help her with.
I panicked, grabbing my phone and texting Piper.
Bring Bananas
Her response was quick.
They don’t grow in bathrooms. Would you really want one if they did?
I didn’t need the sass, not when toddler tantrums were eminent.
We’re gonna need bananas
I didn’t have time to answer her response.
Rosie and Sammy were mobile, hyper, and on the move. The circled the waiting room in tightly constricting concentric circles. I dove for Ethan and Dawn, clutching my son to my shoulder and holding Dawn’s carrier high in the air as they toppled through the room and played some sort of combination Frozen, Tangled, Yo Gabba Gabba nightmare-fueled tag.
Rosie’s giggle was heartwarming. Sammy’s smile was the mirror image of his father. That made me nervous. My daughter was apparently crushing on the son of the notorious Jack Carson.
Maybe I could set her up in a nunnery instead of pre-school?
I tucked Dawn and Ethan together on a blanket in the corner and played defense as the older kids raced. Sammy tossed a ball to me. Rosie sprinted to catch it.
She was about as athletic as her mother.
She missed, and her curled little fist propelled forward. Right into my groin.
I sunk to my knees. It wasn’t the first time Rose nearly castrated me with a foot, fist, doll, or chair. The kid was dead-set on being an only child, but at least I’d knocked Piper up before anything bad happened. Now I reaped what I sowed.
“Daddy!” Rose rushed to me. Her little arms curled over my neck. “Sorry.”
I pulled her closer for a hug. There was once a time when this was frightening to me. Now I lived for hugs and brought athletic protectors home from the field.
I kissed her cheek. “It’s okay—”
Her whisper was creepy. One of the things kids did when they pretended to be an adult and scared the piss out of unsuspecting parents. “Next time…it’s your knees.”
“What?”
“Want a red car!”
Piper had assured Rose’s curses weren’t prophecy, just the ramblings of a three-year-old who knew just how to twist the knife. I pawed through Ethan’s diaper bag to find her toys, handed her a blue car, and made a note to do a little physical conditioning on my knees before training camp started.
“I’m back!” Piper returned with a smiling Nicky. “What’d I miss?”
Rose leapt to her feet. The car went flying and crashed into Sammy’s forehead. He plopped onto the ground and pouted.
“I gotta potty!” Rose rushed to the door.
Potty-training was a fucking godsend, but it meant dropping everything and rushing the baby to a toilet like she was a nuke about to detonate.
“Okay, you little meatball. Let’s go.” She shrugged at me. “Be right back.”
Sure.
That’s what she’d said the last time.
Dawn started fussing the instant the door shut. I could handle this. I plucked her from her seat and held her tight.
Too tight.
Found the problem, and it stained my shirt. She spit-up, but she gave a smile.
“Better?” I asked her. “Here.”
I lowered her to the blanket. Ethan also wiggled and fussed.
“Not you too.”
I picked him up. Should have expected it. These disasters came in clusters.
One wayward pat to his bottom and the floodgates opened. Unfortunately, his diaper didn’t catch it all. I groaned as a trickle of warmth dribbled on my shirt.
“You’re kidding me…” I held him away from me. “We had a deal!”
Puke in my hair. Piss on my shirt.
And Sammy had crawled under the fish tank cabinet, searching for a way to commune with the terrified Nemo who was just keeping swimming.
Piper retuned with Rosie. I handed off Ethan.
“Diaper,” I said.
She snorted. “Looks like you’re the diaper.”
“Get out of here before I hug you.”
She tickled Ethan and went to change his diaper too. “You naughty little boy. What’d you do to Daddy?”
I’d been beaten.
Pissed on. Shit on. Puked on.
Things that had only happened on the field were suddenly part of my day-to-day.
Maybe kids were just an advanced form of training camp. Good conditioning.
But the guys never cried during the game. Usually.
Sammy rushed from the right. Rosie made her circle from the left. Both held a car in their hand. They collided in a high-speed crash that sent both kids sprawling.
Rosie cried and collapsed in my lap. Sammy cried and did the same.
Nick didn’t like to be left out and started to wail as well.
Dawn was tired of everyone’s shit and howled too.
This was bad.
I juggled both toddlers and rubbed their backs. It turned them into banshees. The babies didn’t want anything jingly or bright or flashing from the toy bag. Dawn kicked and fussed, attempting to tear apart her carrier.
The screaming intensified.
Fuck. We were in a hospital. At best, we’d annoy the piss out of sick people. At the worst, the doctors would assume I was brutally murdering a gaggle of babies.
Just what we needed for my image. The Beast wasn’t exactly a warm-and-fuzzy nickname.
I didn’t have any another options. I burst to my feet, grabbing my phone and playing the first song I could find.
Justin Timberlake? I blamed Piper. At least Can’t Stop This Feeling was one Rosie liked to dance to. I pointed to the weeping kids.
“This doesn’t leave the room,” I said. “Don’t tell anyone.”
I should have gotten it in writing, but at this point I just wanted the insanity to stop and the screaming to end.
The music blasted.
I hopped up shook my ass like a twenty-dollar hooker.
The kids weren’t as entertained as they were perplexed, but that was okay. It silenced them. Rosie was the first to squeal in absolute glee. She rushed to me, hopped into my arms, and we shimmied across the waiting room.
Sammy had a laugh like his dad. He’d be the one to snitch on me, but as long as everyone was dancing and excited, I felt like I was doing my job.
Almost like I knew what I was doing.
“Well, well, well…” Piper returned with Ethan, though she wiggled in the doorway too. “A dance party!”
I grabbed Rosie, but pulled Piper and Ethan in close.
“Who would have thought…” Piper’s smile still slayed everything inside me. “The Beast likes to boogie.”
“He likes watching you dance,” I said.
“Well, we knew that.”
There
was something…nice about these hugs.
Two kids. A beautiful wife. All smiles. All happy.
Together.
“You’re not regretting helping babysit, are you?” Piper asked.
“You know…” I kissed Rose’s cheek and bumped heads with her. Ethan reached for me too. “I don’t mind it so much.”
“No?”
“Never had this kind of…family before,” I said. “I like it.”
“I always knew it suited you.”
“We could probably handle another kid, don’t you think?”
She flicked her finger against my forehead. “You take a couple diaper shifts and then talk to me about another baby.”
“We got a big house to fill.”
She leaned in to kiss me and laughed as Rose stole it instead. “Believe me, Cole Hawthorne. Our family is far from finished. We’re just getting started.”
It didn’t scare me. Didn’t make me think I’d ruin everything and everyone. Didn’t make me fear for the future of my children.
The Beast wasn’t just a force of destruction in me. I could use it to protect. To love my family with a ferocity unrivaled by my time on the field.
“You don’t know how much I love you, beautiful,” I whispered.
Piper leaned in for another kiss. “Probably as much as I love you.”
5
Jude – The Happily Ever After
My team looked exhausted.
I plunked down in the chair next to Cole. Rosie slept in his lap, Ethan in Piper’s. Dawn coo’ed at me, but even she was antsy. She wanted her momma. So did I.
Jack and Leah took Sammy, but they both stared at the floor. Silent.
Elle had dragged Lachlan from Bast’s room to pick up Nick. He tossed half a packet of M&Ms at her before finally getting a candy down her shirt.
“Triplets,” Leah said. “We’re having…triplets.”
“Told you we weren’t having problems,” Jack said. “I was just…saving up.”
“Cripes.”
Jack leaned over to me. “I might need a raise, Coach.”
I agreed. “Yeah. And an extra pair of arms.”
“Arms?” Leah groaned. “How can I get another breast?”
Elle smacked Lachlan before he made a crude joke.
“Let me have some fun,” Lachlan said. “This day was bad enough. First that surgery, then I told Bast I was his father. I need to let off some steam.”
The room quieted. Everyone turned to stare.
“You’re Bast’s father?” Jack asked.
Lachlan pitched his M&Ms away. “Oh shit. You weren’t supposed to know that.”
Elle smirked. “Don’t worry. At least Jude will forget it.”
“Very funny,” I said. I hoped she was wrong. “All right, guys. It’s been a long day. But don’t let it get to you. Leah, Jack? Anything you need, let us know. We’ll help with the triplets in any way.”
Cole gave a surprising shrug. “Yeah. I’m a pretty good baby-sitter, actually.”
And I clapped a hand on Lachlan’s shoulder. “Is your bro—son doing okay?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Got lucky. He’s good though.”
“See? It worked out. It’s a good hospital here.”
Rory snuck in from behind us, tossing her stethoscope and coat down. “Damn right it is. Doesn’t explain why half of the Ironfield Rivets are camping out in the waiting room, but it’s always nice to see you all.”
“Met your mom,” Lachlan said. “She’s…severe.”
“She’s not so bad once you get to know her,” Rory said. “Might take thirty years, but she starts to warm up to you.”
She collapsed in the seat next to me, taking my hand and grinning at the baby.
“Long day?” I asked her.
She shook her head in disbelief. “You guys won’t believe the day I’ve had.”
Jack snorted. “Try me.”
“I’ve got a patient upstairs with retrograde amnesia. She can’t remember a thing before she came into this hospital. No name. No one looking for her. No clue as to where she’s from.”
“Wow,” Elle said. “That’s hardcore.”
“And what’s really crazy?” Rory arched an eyebrow. “She’s in labor. She’s having a baby right now.”
Piper frowned. “But what happens if she doesn’t get her memory back?”
Rory puffed her hair from her face. “It’s going to be crazy. She’s a sweet girl, but she’s all alone right now. No home. No place to go. No family…well, except the one she’s currently delivering.”
Lachlan leaned in. “Can we help her out? She’ll need like, all the baby supplies.”
Leah nodded. “Somewhere to stay.”
“Probably help recovering,” Cole said.
Rory shook her head. “What she needs most is her memory back.” She checked her watch. “I’ve gotta head up to see how she’s doing. I’m just waiting for some more scans and tests before I can figure out how I’m going to piece her together again.”
“Tell us what we can do,” Leah said. “The Rivets have a couple charities that could help, if she needs.”
“Thanks. I’ll definitely let you know.”
She stood, but I followed, gesturing for someone to keep an eye on Dawn. The door closed behind us, and Rory rubbed her face. Exhausted.
“Jude, she needs me. I’m so sorry, but I don’t think I can do lunch or dinner or a magical getaway.”
“Don’t worry about us. You need to help her…just like you helped me.”
“You did most of the work. All the physical therapy and cognitive rehabilitation.”
“Doesn’t matter. I did it because of you. For you. And Dawn.” I leaned in close, giving her a quick kiss. “Because of you, I’m whole again. Now I can head back to the team and help these guys out. They need me as much as your patient needs you.”
“How’d I get so lucky with you?” Rory brushed her hand against my cheek. “I love you so much.”
“Crazy how this team brought us all together,” I said. “It gave me you. Changed all the guys in there. It gave us all each other.”
“And I’m never letting you go,” Rory whispered. “Ever.”
“Know what?”
“What?”
“I think we’re all going to live happily-ever-after.”
The End
Coming Soon From Sosie Frost!
Déjà Vu
Is it love at first sight…
Or a second chance?
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