"Honey, the doctor said you could have the babies any day now and to try not to stress out. You've been such a trouper during this pregnancy, so you can't fall apart now, okay? Do you want me to stay home with you today? Will that make you feel better? I can change my meetings around until tomorrow."
Oh, I want to say yes so bad, but he's missed so much work by waiting on me hand and foot and I know that he's the boss and can have someone else do what's needed, but I feel bad every time, because he still gets tons of calls with questions from his employees.
"No, I'll be okay. I'm just having a moment. I think I've just been so stressed out from being cooped up in this room and none of you will let me do anything! I need to pack my bag and the babies bags. There's so much to do to get ready before they get here."
"Liv, all of that's done. Your mom and Carmen have everything ready already. What else can I do for you? Why don't you lay back and let me massage your feet. Will that help you calm down? Honey, I feel so helpless; please let me help you out. Do you want me to run downstairs and get you something to eat? I know Carmen has started breakfast by now."
"I know what you could do for me, but you refuse to give it to me! It might even cause me to go into labor, which would be a blessing!" Ever since the Doctor told us no intimacy, because it would probably cause me to go into labor, he has definitely not taken any chances.
"Not this again, Liv! You heard what the doctor said. It could cause you to go into labor and they need to stay in as long as possible. I can give you anything but that!"
"You're just not attracted to me anymore, are you? Admit it! You don't desire me like you used to! I can't blame you really, because I doubt that I'll ever have my body back. Look how far my stomach goes out past my feet when I stand up! You'd think there were four or five babies in here!"
I look over at him and he's looking at me like I'm crazy. I must have really made him mad, because he's breathing in and out loudly and continuously, while gritting his teeth and trying to calm down.
"Honey...." Deep breath “I'm going to just chalk that up to hormones..." Deep breath “because I don't think that you've ever hurt my feelings more than you just did..." Deep breath "I don't know how many times I have to tell you..." Calmer breathing "but you have never been sexier to me than right now."
I lean over, kiss him hard on the lips, reach between his legs to feel his arousal, and look into his eyes, as I pull away from the kiss. What I saw was definitely attraction and want and desire.
"Then prove it, Mr. Kingston. Show me that you still want me, because I want you so bad right now and the doctor said that the babies are ready to come out, they're just biding their time. Help me out, Cash! I'm miserable and I don't want to wait any longer, before I can have you again! It's already been two months!" I hear him growl and moan into my ear and then a defeated sigh.
"Oh my God, Liv! You don't fight fair at all! Are you sure the babies will be alright? You just don't understand. Vanessa had Eden a month early, and you’re only a week further along than she was and if I lost any of you, I'd never forgive myself. Please don't put me in this position! Please be patient, Baby, and let them be born when they're ready. I might be able to help you find some release, if that would make you feel better, but I'm NOT having sex with you."
Now I feel bad, because he's right, I don't want my impatience to cause something bad to happen, even though I
feel like I could have them at any time. I pull him as close to me as I can, which isn't close enough as far as I'm concerned, but with my stomach as huge as it is, I just have to make do.
"I'm sorry. You're right. It's pretty selfish of me to even ask and I know you're attracted to me still. Why? I'll never know, but I love you, Baby. Thank you for not giving up on me during my crazy spells! I know I'm probably driving you crazy. Will you just hold me? That'll make me feel better."
"Oh, Honey. Of course I'll hold you, and you're not driving me crazy, Sweetheart. You know I'll do anything for you, except for that. Turn around with your back facing me, because I think it'll be easier that way to hold you better." I turn around and he pulls me closer to him and rests his hands around my belly, which causes the babies to start kicking and I have to admit that it's such an incredible feeling.
"I think they love their daddy already as much as I do. Cash? Every time you touch my belly, they start going crazy!"
"I know, I can already tell that they took after you, though, with their kicking. Have you decided on what you want to name our son yet? I already know that Cassidy Rose is a done deal, but we have to name him too. What about Caleb? After my brother?"
"I thought about that, but what about when he and Claudia have babies? Don't you think they would want to name their first son after him?"
"Oh, so they're having a baby now? When did that happen? Did I miss something?"
He's laughing his head off. They have been one of our biggest discussions the last few months, as much time as they spend together. He has pretty much moved in with her and supposedly sleeps in my old room, but Claudia swears that it's completely platonic and she still hasn't told him that she's more than available.
"Well, no. Just wishful thinking, I guess. Has he said anything to you? Because she swears they're just friends and plans on keeping it that way."
"All that he's said is that the more time he spends with her, he's falling deeper and deeper in love with her and that she's got a wall over her emotions that he can't seem to get through. What's her deal anyway? I think someone has really done a number on her. Do you have any idea what happened to her to make her avoid having a relationship?"
"Honestly? I have no idea. Whatever happened to her, happened when she moved out here for college. I suspect that someone broke her heart so bad that that's why she avoids getting into relationships. I thought that maybe you would have known or Vanessa maybe, but we can't ask her unfortunately."
"Ya know, there were a few months there to where Vanessa protected her like a little baby cub. She wouldn't let me be mean to her or joke with her and she seemed really withdrawn, but come on, we were talking about Claudia, who would get upset if she was having a bad hair day! When she finally started coming around, though, she did seem meaner and even ruder, if you can imagine and after a while she started acting like her usual less hateful self."
"Well, I will corner her about it one day, whether she likes it or not. She made sure that I straightened my crap out, so one day soon in the near future it'll be her turn. I'm not enjoying watching her deny herself some happiness in her life. Not to change the subject or anything, but you do realize what time it is, don't you?" He looked up at the clock and got a shocked look on his face.
"Oh, God! I'm so sorry. I bet you're starving, aren't you? I'll be right back with breakfast. Do you feel better? You sound better."
"Yes I do, but I didn't mean for you to rush out of bed like that, Cash. Take your time. Thank you for calming me down. I love our talks, when we are able to get them in. Even when I'm crazy. Haha..."
"I love them, too Honey but just think... Any day now, we will be cleaning up spit up and changing diapers and will be so exhausted we won't have enough energy to talk! I can't wait either! I'll be back with breakfast in just a few minutes. Try and rest, okay?" God, I love that man. He is definitely my Prince Charming.
"Okay, Sweetheart. Take your time and make sure to have the kids come see me when they finish."
"Will do, Baby."
********************
"Mrs. Kingston... Will you please go get some rest? I told you there's nothing more that needs to be done before the babies arrive. The nursery is ready, all of their clothes have been washed and put up, and I've already packed their bags."
"Carmen? When are you ever going to quit calling me Mrs. Kingston? Call me Olivia! I'm not going to tell you again, okay?"
"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry." Great! Now I've bitten her head off. I walk over to her and put my hand on her shoulder.
"Don't be sorry. I apolo
gize for biting your head off, but really Carmen, just because you work for us, doesn't mean you have to call me that. Remember, I used to be an employee too. Just because Cash and I are married now, doesn't change anything. Please call me Olivia, we are friends, okay?" There, I got a smile out of her then.
"Okay, Olivia! Haha. I will stop it, but I refuse to call Mr. Kingston anything else. I don't care how much he offers to pay me."
I chuckle thinking back to Cash offering her $1000 more a week, if she would call him Cash and she gave him that stern look and told him flat out that it was never going to happen, and to do a better job at cleaning up his mess on the weekends. He just knew that I had told her, but I hadn't. She's a smart tough cookie for sure.
"I guess you're right. I do need to go lie down and rest for a little bit. I'm surprised my mother hasn't come up here chewing me out yet about being out of bed. I can't believe these turkeys haven't tried to come out yet!"
I'm not due for another three weeks and every week that I show up to my doctor’s appointment, she's just as shocked as I am that I haven't gone into labor or delivered yet, because trust me, I'm as big as a whale and I don't see how they have much more room to grow. I've never felt so blessed and miserable in all my life!
"Miss Eden has your mother entertained on the back porch for a tea party and when those babies are ready to come out, they'll let you know. How was your labor with your other three?"
"My first one was the hardest. I didn't think he was ever going to come out, but 24 hours later, he finally found his way out and the other two were 12 and then 6 hours. Hmmm. That makes me wonder if I'm going to have these two in 3 hours, since every delivery I've had got cut in half."
"That might be a possibility. You haven't been having any pains today, have you? I've noticed you've been massaging your back a lot today."
By now Carmen has helped me into bed and covered me up, but her question has me wondering if I was already in labor, because my back has been killing me all afternoon. I had a lot of back pain with Jeremiah and didn't realize I was in labor with him, until it was almost too late.
"Oh, Carmen. I don't know why I couldn't remember what that felt like! Um... What time is it?" She looks at her watch.
"It's 4:15, Mr. Kingston should be here any minute. Should I call Lucas and tell him to hurry up?" I get the hardest cramp in my stomach and then whoosh! My water breaks and the pain started immediately. I pull the covers off of me to make sure I was right and sure enough, fluid is everywhere on the sheets and blankets.
"Are you alright? Was that a labor pain? Olivia? Did your water just break?"
"Yes, it did, Carmen. I'm not sure if I'm even going to be able to make it to the hospital. I can't believe I didn't know I was in labor! I know the last time I was in labor was almost 7 years ago, but how could I have been so stupid!"
I hear Cash running up the stairs with his every day Ricky Ricardo voice yelling that he's home and there's no way I can hide this. He's going to flip out when he walks into what's going on. I wince at the next contraction, which lets me know that I'm too far into my labor to even think about him driving me to the hospital. I look at Carmen for help.
"Okay, Olivia. I'm going to call an ambulance, okay? Then I'm going to get some clean towels to put under you after I strip the bed. Do you think you can sit over there in the chair for a few minutes, until I get everything ready? I'll have Lucas watch the kids and I'll get your mom up here. You're going to have to calm him down, because I already know he's going to flip out when he walks in here."
Thank God she's calm, because inside I'm freaking out. I'm not necessarily worried about having the babies at home, but Cash is about to walk into his nightmare and it’s up to me to reassure him. Geez! This is about backwards, which gets me to laughing, because he should be reassuring me. Oh lord, here he comes.
"Honey, I'm home! Where is my beautiful sexy wife?" The look on his face when he walks in seeing me waddle across the room in pain is priceless. He went from a full out grin to panic and his face is as white as a ghost.
"Yes, Honey. I'm in labor, but there's no rush to drive me to the hospital. Carmen has already called for an ambulance and is getting the bed ready, because the babies are coming now. Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine, so just calm down."
"Oh no no no no no no NOOOOO... Um... LUCAS! COME HELP ME GET OLIVIA TO THE CAR! NOW!"
"Cash! Stop it! We need him to watch Gideon and Eden, so that they don't freak out and get scared. It's okay. We have this under control!"
"SO THEY DON'T FREAK OUT? WHAT ABOUT ME? ARE YOU SERIOUS HERE? WE NEED TO GET YOU TO THE HOSPITAL... LIKE NOW!"
"Cash! Quit yelling!" Oh... Another hard contraction. Carmen is done putting new sheets and towels down and motions for me to go back to the bed. I have to stop and lean against the dresser for another hard contraction and I'm already feeling like I need to push.
"Carmen, I think I need to push."
"Do your breathing, Olivia. Breathe through it. We can't have you pushing until we get you back into bed, okay?"
"HOW CAN YOU TWO BE SO CALM RIGHT NOW? DON'T GET INTO THE BED! COME THIS WAY, LIV! WE NEED TO GO! NOW!" Man,. he's losing it and I'm the one having the babies!
"Cash, I don't have time for you to freak out right now. Look at me. CASH! Look at me!" He looks at me with fear in his eyes.
"Do you remember the dream you had? About Vanessa?"
"Yes. Why are you bringing that up now?"
"Because, Cash, you need to focus. What did she tell you in that dream? That I would be okay, remember? The babies will be okay, remember? Everything is fine. Yes, I'm in labor and oh my God this is a big one, oh man! Ohhhhhhhhhh okay... Oh man.... Cash? Please get over here and hold my hand or something. Oh god! Carmen? I don't think I can do those stupid breathing, whatever you call it anymore! I've got to push! Now!"
"Okay, Olivia. The baby is crowning, so let’s have one big push, okay? On your next contraction, just go for it. The paramedics should be here any minute."
Cash is finally by my side, pushing my hair back and even though he looks panicked, he's trying to soothe me with his words. My mother walks in with a panicked look on her face.
"Oh my God, Olivia! Sweetheart? Oh lord! I'm coming baby..." She gets on the other side of me on the bed and helps Carmen hold my legs back, waiting for the next contraction.
"Okay. Elizabeth? I've got some blankets here and when the first baby comes out, I need you to have a blanket ready and I'm going to hand you the baby, okay?" Thank God for Carmen's take charge attitude.
"I'm ready, Carmen. I'm glad you know what you're doing, because we'd be in a world of a mess if I were here by myself."
"Thankfully my mother was a midwife, or I wouldn't have any idea what to do."
"Are you two through chatting, because I feel a contraction coming on, like right now! Oooooooooh my God!" I lean back onto the pillows and I hear crying almost immediately.
"It's a boy! And boy does he have a set of lungs on him! He looks just like his daddy too! Has a head full of jet black hair and his facial features."
"Oh, Cash! Oh let me see him! Mom? Show him to me please." She leans over and puts him on my chest and Carmen is right, he does have a healthy set of lungs, but he's so beautiful and looks so much like Cash.
"Oh, honey. He's so beautiful! He's absolutely perfect." I look at Cash and he seems to be getting some of his color back and he leans down and kisses me and then the baby, and has tears in his eyes.
"Oh, Liv. He's perfect! Are you doing okay? Are you tired? You still have to do this one more time. Can I get you anything?"
"No I'm fine. I think she may be hiding right now after her brother's big grand entrance."
We hear Lucas telling someone which room to go into, which must mean the paramedics have arrived and sure enough, three men walk into the room.
"I heard someone was having a baby and needed some assistance. Well, it looks like we are too late. Congratulations!" Carmen gets up to gr
eet them.
"No, you guys are right on time. We still have one more to deliver, a little girl; she doesn't seem to be in too big of a hurry, though."
I start having a big contraction again and she must not have liked what Carmen had to say, because she seems to be in a hurry now.
"I don't know about that Carmen! My contractions are starting back up again."
"Okay. Looks like maybe we are needed after all. Okay Mrs. Kingston, try to breathe through it and on the next one, we're going to have you push, okay?" I nod at them, because the pain is so bad with this one I can't even speak. I look over at Cash and he's smiling and nodding his head and breathing with me.
"That's right, Liv. You can do it. After what I just witnessed with you having our son in our bed, I think you can do anything! On the next one we get to meet our beautiful daughter. Okay, are you ready? Push Olivia! Push!"
"Ooooooooohhhh my Godddddd!"
"We have a girl everybody! I see 10 fingers and toes and what looks like blonde hair for this beautiful baby girl." I hear her crying and nothing but oohs and awes coming out of Carmen and my mother's mouth.
"Oh, honey! She looks just like you and is so petite, where her brother is so big."
"Oh, let me see her please!" Mom puts her on my chest and it's as if I'm looking in the mirror. She looks so much like me, but she's more beautiful and looks like a little angel. She quits crying and seems to stare at me, forming a little round o with her perfect little lips.
"Oh my goodness. She is beautiful, isn't she? Cash, we have definitely created two perfect little carbon copies of ourselves, huh?" He sits down beside me with our son in his arms and gazes at me and our daughter.
"We sure have. Are you sure you're okay? I've never seen anything like this, Liv! When you said you always had easy deliveries, THIS was not what I was imagining."
"Yes, Honey. I'm really okay. Everything is absolutely perfect now; we just have to come up with some names for these two little darlings."
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