Fostering Love (The Soul Sisters Series Book 1)

by Johns, Victoria

  “Baby we need to keep moving, are you good to go again?” And as soon as I agree he swings me up a lot less gently this time and starts moving through the bushes. We stop again about three more times and each time he gets us back on the move quicker on the way to the truck, as we get closer I hear the engine of a truck and see headlights lighting up the way. We round the last bush and Chris is waiting with the door open.

  “Phone calls made. Sheriff’s on route although he wasn’t pleased when I mentioned Billy may also need a trip to the ER, but still, he understood when I mentioned you’d had been outside ‘chatting’ to Billy.”

  “Not now Chris, for fuck’s sake, help me get her in the back.” Both of them swing me in the truck and Jonas climbs in with me. I sit forward and perch on the edge of the seat and grip the head rest in front of me. Jonas climbs in beside me and starts to rub my back in an effort to offer me some comfort. Chris rallies down some tracks towards the main highway and the bumping of the truck is helping divert my focus and forcing me to regulate my breathing.

  “Careful man,” Jonas shouts at him.

  “Sorry dude.”

  “No. Keep going, I’m fine,” I intervene.

  “Settled then, Dolly’s speed is far more exciting, let’s go with that,” and before I know it we hit the highway where I hear the engine roar and feel it pick up speed. Within twenty minutes we’re screeching to a halt outside the ER doors and a couple of medical looking people are waiting with a wheel chair. Jonas peels me out of my crazy position in the back of the truck, lifts me and places me in the chair where I am wheeled at speed past Barbara and Neely.

  “Oh my God, Dolly dear, you doing ok? Jonas why are her wrists bleeding and swollen and why do your knuckles look like that?”

  “Not now Barbara, later, can’t you see what’s going on here? Stop asking stupid shit...”

  “Arrrggghhhh,” I yell and start grunting like an animal.

  “Hi, I’m Doctor Booth and unless you’re in this party as either a partner, husband, father or designated Lamaze coach you need to head for the waiting room,” he says as we hit a delivery suite. It’s loaded with incubators, kit and equipment I can’t even begin to understand what it could be used for.

  Jonas lifts me out of the chair and places me on the bed.

  “Hello Dalton, apparently you’ve had an exciting day, well I think your evening is going to be adventurous too. I’m going to take a look downstairs and see what’s going on, whilst Tina our shift nurse checks yours and the babies vitals. We’ll also get someone to come and look at your other injuries if that’s OK?”

  “Yes yes yes yes. Pain. Drugs. Anything. NOW!” I demand and Jonas panics as he grabs for my hand. “YOU DID THIS. YOU. You fucker I’m never letting you touch me again,” I shout at him.

  “Shit baby, ease up on the grip. Doc give her the drugs now. Drugs are the way forward for all of us. Trust me,” he says “In fact if you knock her out now you’d be saving us both from permanent ear damage.”

  “Not funny!”

  “Come on baby, let the doc do his thing. One step at a time,” he says in a placating voice that just earns him a growl.

  “I hate it when you try and reason with me,” and then the doctor parts my legs and puts them in stirrups whilst the nurse fusses over the top of half of me. In typical bad timing style Neely wanders through the door in time to get a great shot of my doo-da open for the world to see.

  “Wow. Dolly hun, you OK? I understand you probably don’t need to hear this now but when we get you out of here we need to discuss you’re grooming regime, you need a wax girl.”

  “NEELY! Fucking hell, stop looking at my cooch and get up this end,” I shout.

  “Dalton,” says the doctor from his awkward seating position, “the good news is you don’t really need a wax at all.” My mouth falls open at his inappropriateness, “The bad news is the hair that your friend spotted here is baby hair, which means we’re too far into the game for pain medication. You’re going to need to do this the old fashioned way as nature intended. So, on the next pain you feel you’re going to push like you’re trying to have a poop. But most important, is that you listen to me and you push when I say so and stop when I tell you to. OK?”

  “Wait. What? They’re not coming yet, I haven’t been in labor long enough. It’s supposed to be days or hours and I know it’s been neither of those!” I shout.

  “I think maybe you have been, but you’ve had other things on your mind and been trooping through it. Stick with me on this and in a little while we’ll meet your babies.” He finishes as a pain grabs hold of me.

  “AARRGGGHH,” I yell as I breathe and grunt and push like he told me to. Neely is offering me useless words of support and Jonas is mute, like someone has cut his tongue out. He’s staring at me like I’ve got the answer to all first world problems. I finish pushing when the doctor tells me.

  “Great work Dalton, take a breather for a minute and get ready for the next one, you’re doing really well. Just keep doing the same ok?”

  “Yes,” I pant at him, “Jonas stop looking at me like that, either help me or bugger off,” and that snaps him out of it.

  “Sorry baby. I just... I can’t..., I... wow... Shit, the peanuts are coming. God I can’t believe it,” he whispers at me and another pain hits so I repeat my breathing, grunting, pushing thing whilst squeezing the shit out of any hand that is brave enough to hold mine.

  “OK. Stop. Baby’s head is out. Well done, you’re doing perfectly” says the doctor smiling at me. “Another big push and you’ll be a momma,” and that makes me cry.

  “Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God,” but I get quickly distracted as pain hits and I push like there is no tomorrow.

  “Brilliant Dalton, push. Here he or she comes,” and after what feels like hours I drop my head back to the pillow and gasp for air as a scream fills the room. Neely is beside herself with emotion and Jonas is gazing in awe at the messy screwed up bundle of skin I’ve just pushed out of my body.

  “As you can hear baby A has a good set of lungs, the right number of toes and fingers and is a girl.” The doctor cuts the cord and the nurse takes her in a towel to cover her up.

  I can’t believe I did that and as I start to ask if she’s OK, I feel another contraction and begin the whole process again. Neely heads off to make sure A is OK whilst Jonas stays with me holding my hand and kissing it.

  He still hasn’t said anything, he looks dumbfounded.

  After a few minutes a head appears first, followed by a set of shoulders on another push and baby B joins the world.

  “Well Mom and Dad, you have another daughter. Congratulations,” says the doctor.

  “Why can’t I hear her? Jonas why is B not crying?” I ask in despair.

  “OK don’t panic the nurse is looking at her now,” he says, and it’s the first thing he’s said in ages. I lift my head and see the nurse and second doctor using a sucker thing up her nose, whilst the other rubs her chest vigorously with a towel. Time stops and only the medical team are talking, all eyes are on our second daughter and the only thing I can do is pray to all the Gods in our world that B is given the chance of life all babies deserve.

  All of a sudden a loud wail fills the room and everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief whilst I break down into tears. It’s not long before Jonas leans over to cuddle me and then falls to his knees beside the bed and I realize he is crying too. Through his tears I hear him mumbling “Thank you” and “Thank you God” and “I love you Dalton” which only makes me cry more.

  The doctor, who is still at the end of the bed by my feet then tells me that we have to carry on with the process and finish off. I’m all OK and once this is done, they cover me and bring our babies to us. For the first time Jonas and I are as nervous as each other, neither of us have ever done this before. The girls both look the same and as I’d already decided to bottle feed, a nurse helps us get the babies into position so we can each feed one of our daughters. />
  I look to Jonas who is totally wrapped up in his task, the look of love and wonderment and devotion is beguiling, but it’s nothing compared to the look of love and appreciation I feel when our eyes meet. His eyes convey everything he wants to tell me.

  He’s besotted.

  He loves me completely and he’s truly thankful for the family we’ve just become.

  Sometime later that night, baby A is renamed Anna Griggs Drakeson and weighs in at 6lb 1oz. Baby B is renamed Bea Neely Drakeson and weighs in at 5lb 9oz.

  Both are amazingly beautiful and I fall in love with everything about them the moment I lay my eyes on them and Jonas and I agree that our pregnancy nicknames of A and B will stick with our princesses as they grow up.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  I stir and still feel completely beat. I’m fairly sure that someone has mistaken my body for a washing machine, it even feels like they’ve gained access to their laundry through my cooch.

  In one of my moments of consciousness I see Harrison and Barbara sat in chairs feeding the girls. They talk quietly and tell me to get more rest and they are both smiling with joy. When I am drifting back to sleep I hear them talking about how fate has made the world good again and Harrison mentions that even though God couldn’t bless them with their own children he feels thankful that he has the chance to have such beautiful grand children in their life. He mentions the circle of life being a great thing and the words strike peace within me, so I drift off back to a deeper sleep.

  A while later I wake again and Neely, Lottie, Flo and Jonas are in the room having a conversation, after a while I realize it’s more of a heated discussion than a friendly chat.

  “All I’m saying is, now you’ve got your shit together Jonas, make sure it stays that way. You fuck this up and I will personally call all the legal favors known to man to make sure you are removed from their lives,” hisses Neely.

  “I get what you’re trying to say and I love knowing that after all this time you still have her back, but it’s unnecessary. These girls are my life, all of them. I protect what’s mine and people will do well to remember that,” Jonas replies quietly.

  “I’ve never once doubted your ability to do your duty, but this isn’t a duty.” Neely shoots back at him, “I’m expecting you to serve, protect and remain in one fucking place. Until I feel more comfortable with that, I’m watching you and I’ll be fucked if I let you get a firmer grip of my sister’s heart and fuck them all over. You didn’t see her Jonas. You destroyed her.”

  “Neely, honey, now is not the time for this,” whispers Flo.

  “Yeah come on girl, Dolly is starting to stir and as much as she loves your protective side, she won’t want this conversation happening now, if at all,” says a stern Lottie.

  “I’m not going to deny that this is a different start to the life I would have chosen for us, but all the same, things happen for a reason and if it’s evidence of my commitment you want, then you’ll just have to wait it out, wont you?” I can tell from the tone of Jonas’s voice he’s losing patience with her.

  “Just know I’m watching you.” Neely’s voice is cold and I know it’s time to intervene. I know Jonas will understand the sentiment in her words but he’ll only put up with it for so long. I love Neely’s steadfast devotion to me but her skepticism is partly my fault after my Southern Comfort bender and it’s time to close this conversation down, at the end of the day a bird has to test it’s own wings are safe to fly.

  “Hey guys, you been here long?” I go for the fake sleeping approach, Lottie looks at Neely with an ‘I told you so’ look and I send Neely a glare that tells her I heard. Flo comes over and begins to fuss and hug, she has tears in her eyes that tell me she’s happy. “You’re the leading lady in your own fairy story Dolly,” she whispers as she kisses my cheek.

  The problem with my glare is that Jonas isn’t stupid so it doesn’t go unnoticed by him either.

  “Babe,” he approaches my bed side,“how are you feeling? You need anything? meds? The doc?”

  “Nah, just hungry and thirsty, but they’ll be round soon with the food service I imagine. Can I see my girls?”

  “Sure,” they all say at the same time as Jonas and Neely wheel a plastic tub each containing a wrapped up bundle of skin over to me.

  “Wow, look at them, so pretty,” I whisper, scared I might disturb them; I’m still in awe that these adorable creatures came out of me.

  “Dolly, they’re gonna be a gorgeous handful just like we were!” chuckles Neely and all the girls laugh and high five each other.

  Jonas’s face changes when he hears this. “That is not something to look forward to. I’ll be clear now. No fuckers get near my daughters until they’re thirty and prospective idiots have had a full background check.” That makes us really start laughing, we know that these kind of lockdown rules set up an attractive challenge for any female.

  “This is gonna be fun.” Neely is still laughing but her face turns serious for a moment, “We’re going to leave you guys to it. Dolly, I hate to bring this up but you should know that the sheriff has popped by asking for a statement as soon as possible about the kidnapping.” My guy stills when he is reminded of this and it doesn’t bode well that he’ll have to endure giving his own statement and watching me do the same.

  “OK. Can you tell him to come here, I want this over and done with. I want to move on. I’m not taking it home with my girls,” I’m determined about this, Jonas can tell because he doesn’t offer an argument. Neely leans in for a kiss for both of us, a cheek stroke on A and B and then leaves. For the first time in what feels like years we’re alone and I’m hit with a bout of nervousness.

  “Hi,” I whisper to him, he’s preoccupied gently patting A who is awake in her tub. He doesn’t respond or look at me for ages until he says, “You’ll never understand how much I love this life you’ve given me. I’ve finally found where I am meant to be and it’s where I was supposed to be all along, with you and now with our girls. I’m gonna love you till my last breath leaves my body and be happy knowing I’ve had everything I’ve ever dreamed of having.” I sniff and he comes to me and rests on the side of the bed, he leans in to wipe some of my tears away. “Dalton you’ve always been mine. You’re my life and the reason I keep going and now you’ve just given me two more reasons to grab what I have and enjoy every second of it. I can’t promise I’m not going to fuck up and make mistakes but I need you to stick with me, help me and know I’m always trying my best to do the right thing. I can’t wait to watch these girls grow and in all honesty if they are anything like you they’ll be beautiful, attract way too much attention and drive me fucking insane. Fuck. I’m gonna be grey by the time they’re teenagers.” He finished on an exhale that makes me smile and laugh while more happy tears stream down my face.

  “You’re hilarious when you’re being challenged and it won’t take long for these girls to wrap their daddy round their fingers and figure that out. Watching you trying to rein them in is gonna be fun and probably provide me with hours of entertainment either that or I will be a referee. Jonas... I feel like the luckiest person alive, I’ve got everything I wanted and I am going to love it, cherish it, and live it to the max every day. You’ve built us a beautiful home to grow in together as a family and we’re going to have a fun packed life. Thank you. I love you.”

  “I love you too baby.”

  We relax for a few hours and neither of us has mentioned the kidnapping. The more time that passes the more difficult it gets to bring it back up, especially when something so wonderful has happened. So I leave it be. Jonas helps me take a soak in the tub and then helps bathe and feed the girls. I notice that even though they are identical they have little unique features that mean we can identify them individually. I love watching him feed them, it’s so sexy watching someone so masculine and bad ass melt because he’s completely entranced and giving his attention to his children.

  After a while a steady stream of visitors turn u
p with flowers, teddies and balloons and soon the room is bursting with color. By far the most hilarious visitors are the twins, they caused Jonas to panic and have a stress attack when they tell the girls that they are pleased to have someone to pass on all their twin wisdom to. Jack and Jake see it as an uncle duty to pass down twin prank traditions and teach them the required twin rites of passage. I laugh and I mean really laugh but Jonas does not see the funny side and threats of violence do nothing to sway the guys from the mission they have decided to take on.

  Barbara flies in and out of the room all the time, she has this burning need to keep touching the girls to see if they’re real and remind herself that our family unit has just grown.

  Tommy runs by the hospital and it’s a little awkward at first, but he moves towards Jonas and shakes his hand in congratulations. Jonas being the guy I know him to be accepts and that’s the end of it. He’s brought with him flowers for me, which add to the growing number of bouquets in the room and soft toys in the shape of cars for the girls. It makes me laugh because it’s so very Tommy.

  Pamela and Mig send cards, flowers and promises that they’ll visit soon.

  The best part of the day comes when Wally arrives with his camera, he wants to be the first to take a picture of our new family and insists it’s one of his finest moments behind the lens and most privileged honor as a photographer. I’m secretly glad about this, I’m used to being subjective and critical about my pictures and I don’t want to do this with the girls. They’re just too perfect and I worry if I look through the lens and only see perfection I will somehow lose the edge that makes my work great. At the moment I’m happy to connect with them on this side of the camera and I won’t be picking mine up until the urge takes me and I have an unbearable need to see something through a lens.