Chapter 177
Becky slowly woke the next morning. She’d slept better than she had in days. Tamera had been up only three times during the night, and each time, Zac sprung to life and insisted on tending to the baby. She was able to go straight back to sleep.
When she woke she felt wonderfully refreshed.
She turned over, and found Zac sprawled out on his stomach, snoring softly.
Becky smiled to herself. She moved closer to Zac, and lightly kissed his cheek.
He frowned in his sleep and grumbled.
Becky giggled. “Zaccy…” She whispered in his ear. “Wake up…” She cooed.
Zac grumbled unhappily, snorting loudly and then waking up suddenly. He pushed himself up on his hands. “Huh?” He asked.
Becky giggled softly. “Good morning, Zac.”
“Morning.” He mumbled tiredly, plopping back down on the mattress.
Becky smiled. “Sorry, you’re probably tired… you were up half the night with Tamera… how was she? Did she give you a ton of trouble?”
Zac threw out one arm and caught Becky around her hips. He pulled her quickly toward him, tucking her against his body.
She giggled softly.
“No, Tamera’s a great little baby. I was only up twice with her. Once she was hungry and the second time was a diaper change. I wasn’t up for more than a half an hour with her.” He answered.
“Good.” Becky smiled. “Thank you, so much. You have no idea how much it meant to get a good night sleep.”
“I know.” He answered. “I thought you might be a little overwhelmed, Becca…” He sighed softly. “Are you feeling a little better about… the new baby?” He grinned hugely, unable to help himself.
Becky laughed softly. His hand was already lightly rubbing her stomach. “Yeah, I think so.” She pursed her lips. “I’m still a little freaked out… It’s so soon, and it was really unexpected… I mean, neither of us planned this. I thought we’d agreed to talk about it before deciding to have another child… I guess I’m just really worried about how hard it’s going to be to have two kids under the age of like… three at once.” She sighed.
“I know, but we’ll have lots of help. I mean, I’m sure the girls will help you when you need it, and I’m usually not far away…”
Becky sighed. “I know. I think I was mainly upset because I wasn’t expecting it… I was just overwhelmed… but it explains so much… the headaches, the upset stomach…” She sighed.
Zac nodded. “Can I ask you something? How far along do you think you are?”
Becky pursed her lips. “Umm… It’s kind of hard to tell.” She sighed. “I think we’ll need to see a doctor first…”
Zac nodded. “Okay, that’s no problem. I’ll ask which doctor Isaac and Christy are going to-“
Becky nodded slowly. “Maybe…. Maybe we shouldn’t tell everyone until we’re sure that we’re pregnant. I mean, I just want to be sure first. Home pregnancy tests can be wrong all of the time… we should see a doctor to tell us if we are pregnant before we tell everyone else.”
Zac nodded. “Sure. That sounds like a plan.” He agreed.
Becky laughed softly. “You just cannot stop grinning, can you?”
Zac smirked. “Absolutely not. I’m very, very excited for another baby. I kind of hope we have a little boy… I mean, I love having a girl, and Tamera is amazing, and I mean, if we have another little girl, that would be great too…” He quickly explained.
Becky smiled. “I know what you mean. I think having one of each would be really nice too. A boy and a girl.” She rested her cheek on his shoulder. “A nice little family to start out with.”
He chuckled. “Well, you know those Hanson families. We’re boisterous, we’re loud and we have lots of kids.”
Becky laughed. “Thanks. I wish you’d warned me about your super-sperm before we started dating.” She teased.
Zac laughed. “Thanks for the ego boost, babe.” He leaned over and kissed her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jenna sighed, slowly waking. She knew it was early, but she wasn’t entirely ready to wake.
Her eyes opened slowly, and almost immediately, she realized that she wasn’t in her own bedroom.
She frowned, trying to remember where she’d gone to sleep.
She felt a pair of arms slide around her from behind.
Luke curled himself around her and lightly kissed her bare shoulder.
“Good morning.” He murmured against her soft skin.
“Good morning.” Jenna smiled. She twisted around and rested her head back against the pillows.
Luke smiled at her. “How did you sleep?” He asked.
“Better than I have in ages.” She admitted.
“Me too.” He chuckled. “I can’t believe it.”
Jenna smiled softly. “I… I was thinking last night… I mean, maybe it’s a little soon… but maybe we could sleep together again tonight?” She paused for a split second before correcting herself. “I mean, actually sleeping, not… not anything else yet. I mean, that’s only if you feel like that isn’t too fast.” She said quickly.
Luke grinned. “No, I don’t think that’s fast at all. I’ve missed you a lot, Jen. You have no idea what it’s been like…” He sighed. “I mean, I know I keep saying that… but it’s true. It’s been nice to get a full night sleep. It’s tough to sleep without you.” He reached out and tucked her hair back over her shoulder, lightly.
Jenna shifted closer to him. “I know the feeling. When I was staying at Becky’s every time I looked out the window I could see our house—your house.” She corrected.
Luke smiled. “Jen, it’s still our house. It’ll always be our house. Trust me, you have no idea what it’s like… It was hell to be there without you. Like living in the world where there’s no sun.”
Jenna smiled briefly.
He sighed. “It’s weird not having to get up and go to work…” He chuckled. “I think we should stay in bed all day.”
Jenna smiled. “I wouldn’t have any problem with that. But I would like to go out and do something… now that you’re here I actually have a chance to get out of here. I love this house, it has a lot of history.” She babbled. “But living here with Becky and Christy’s families… well it’s kind of like being in a little Hanson cult or something.”
Luke laughed, harder than necessary. “Oh, man. You are honestly the cutest thing ever. I love you.” He laughed.
Jenna pursed her lips, glancing down between them. After a second, she pushed herself up into a sitting position.
“Oh, Jen. I’m sorry.” He said quickly, sitting up with her. “I know it’s sudden, and I probably shouldn’t have said it because it would freak you out…” He said quickly. “But I mean it. I never stopped loving you, Jenna. Nothing could ever stop me from loving you. You’re my whole world, you always have been, and you always will be. And… and I think even before I met you, I loved you. You’re perfect for me, and I’m willing to do anything, and work as hard as I possibly can to make things work.”
Jenna smiled. “I know. And I want things to work between us, believe me I do… I just… I can’t rush into this. I need time. I need to know I’m making the right decision here, Luke.”
Luke nodded quickly. “Jen… do you still love me?” He asked.
“Yes, of course. You know I do.”
“Then that’s all that matters.” He insisted.
Jenna sighed and twisted around to face him. “Luke… I know that it matters. But it isn’t always all that matters…” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Look at ‘Romeo and Juliet’. They loved each other, or at least they thought they did. But it was clearly the wrong choice for the both of them…”
Luke frowned. “Are you saying we’re both going to piss off our parents and then end up dead in a tomb at the end?”
Jenna sighed. “No…” She stopped. “It was just an example that sometimes love just isn’t enough.”
Luke nodded. “Okay. So what do we do? Just keep trying to make things work between us? Keep going slowly?”
Jenna nodded slowly. “I think that’s best.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He pressed the phone tightly to his ear.
“Hello?” Alexis asked suddenly.
“Hey, Lexi. It’s me, how are you?” He asked.
“Oh, hi
“You sound tired. Are you okay?” He frowned.
“Yeah.” She sighed. “I’m just coming off a double shift, one of the other girls called in, she has the flu, so I picked up her shift. I need some extra money… we’ll need it for the mortgage for our condo…”
“Yeah, but Lexi, don’t run yourself ragged!” He insisted.
Alexis laughed softly. “
“You have the weekend off?” He asked in alarm.
She laughed softly. “Yeah, surprisingly.”
“Lexi, let me send you some plane tickets, okay? Come and visit me. Please?” He asked.
Alexis sighed. “I don’t know,
“Come on, Lexi… please? I miss you. You have no idea how lonely it is here…” He sighed. “Come on, I’m trapped in a house all day with a bunch of girls!” He complained.
Alexis laughed. “What about your brothers?”
“Are you kidding me? Now that they have kids they’re even bigger girls than the girls!”
She laughed louder. “Oh my god, Taylor, you’re hilarious!”
“Lexi, please. I need to see you. Either you fly out here, or I’ll fly home.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to
“Great. Then it’s decided! I’ll call the airline, and a ticket will be waiting for you at
Alexis laughed softly. “You’re sure? You don’t mind spending all that money for one little weekend?”
“It’ll be completely worth it once you get here.”
Alexis laughed. “Okay. I guess I need to pack then.”
“Great. I’ll let you go, and call the airport.”
She giggled. “Great. I can’t wait.”
“Me either.” He grinned. “See you soon.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christy sighed, making herself awkwardly comfortable on the exam table.
She couldn’t help but be ridiculously nervous and anxious about this appointment. She felt fine, but she remembered feeling fine the last time she’d been on one of these tables.
She drew in a deep breath, her fingers digging into the cold leather of the examination table.
“Cee…” Isaac began. “Relax, honey. Just breathe, okay?”
Christy nodded.
“Do you want me to hold your hand?” He grinned.
“Please!” She stuck her hand out quickly.
The door opened and a technician came in.
“Hello, how are we doing today?” She asked.
“Great.” Isaac beamed.
“A little nauseous.” Christy breathed.
Isaac’s attention darted to her, and he squeezed her hand tighter.
“Okay, we’re just going to take a quick look before the doctor comes in.”
“Okay.” Christy nodded slowly, inching her gown out of the way.
Her foot tapped anxiously.
“You’ll be fine.” Isaac whispered, kissing her forehead lightly.
The technician turned on the machinery, and squeezed the cold gel onto Christy’s stomach. Christy hardly even flinched.
The technician moved the cursor over her stomach and did several wide sweeps before narrowing in on one specific spot.
Christy forced her breathing to be slow and even.
The technician watched the screen and Isaac squinted to see anything other than a grainy image.
“Huh.” The technician mused.
Isaac frowned. “What is it? What are we looking at?”
Christy closed her eyes tightly and stopped breathing entirely.
“I’m just going to get the doctor. Everything is fine.” She assured. “I’ll just get the doctor.
As soon as the door clicked closed behind the technician, Christy sat up. “I can’t! I can’t do this! I have to get out of here! I can’t loose another, I just can’t!” She gasped.
“Cee!” Isaac caught her before she could hop down from the table. “You heard her, she said there was nothing wrong. We just need to sit here and relax for just two seconds, okay? Everything will be okay.” He said.
“You can’t know that! Please, I just can’t do this!” She shook her head. “I can’t go through this again!”
“Cee, Cee…” He soothed, holding her tightly. “It’s okay. Honey, everything is going to be fine. I promise, just breathe, and stay calm…” He soothed, stroking her hair.
Christy sighed softly.
“Come on, just lie down, and we’ll talk to the doctor…”
Christy nodded, and lay back, resuming her position. Her whole body was trembling.
The door opened again, and Christy tensed noticeably.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Morgan. I hear we’re expecting our second baby in here.”
Isaac nodded. “We are.” He squeezed Christy’s hand tightly.
“Okay, lets have a look here, and see what we see…” the doctor mused, squeezing more cold gel onto Christy’s stomach. He moved the cursor into the same place the technician had. “Well, I have some good news for you.” He smiled.
Christy practically sat upright. “It’s okay? The baby is okay?” She asked hopefully.
“The baby is fine, and there is better news.”
Isaac frowned. “Better news? How can there be better news that a healthy baby?”
“Well…” The doctor began, angling the screen toward them both. He moved the cursor. “See this bean shaped thing, here?” She pointed to the screen.
Isaac nodded. “Yeah.”
“And this bean shaped thing, here?” She pointed again. “And this one over here?”
Isaac frowned in confusion. How was that possible?
Christy gasped out loud. “Three? Three babies?!” She demanded.
Isaac suddenly clued in, his attention snapping to his wife.
“Congratulations.” The doctor grinned. “You’re having triplets.”
“Triplets…” Isaac said slowly. “Triplets… three…”
Christy gasped. “I… I can’t… I can’t believe it! It’s so… surreal. Oh, it explains everything… the extra weight gained….”
“Three…. Babies…” Isaac said slowly.
“I’m going to take a few captures here and I’ll leave you two alone to discuss this, let it all sink in… Do you have any questions?”
Isaac shook his head, still shocked.
“Are they healthy? Are they developing okay? Is it too soon to tell that? I mean, what can I expect in terms of growth, will it be faster than just one baby or-“ Christy asked eagerly.
“So far so good. The babies all seem to be right where they should be in terms of developing at this stage in the pregnancy… of course now that you’re having a multiple birth, it’ll be a lot harder on your body. You’ll probably be on bed rest for the last couple months of your pregnancy…. And you’re more likely to be looking at a c-section with multiple births…”
“That’s not a problem.” Christy insisted. “As long as they’re healthy.” She smiled. “We’ll do anything, as long as they’re healthy.” Christy smiled hugely at Isaac.
Isaac beamed back and lightly kissed her forehead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jenna moved into the living room where Luke was sitting on the floor. He’d spread out a blanket and was sitting with Candice, playing with her blocks. Candice was more interested in her blocks and Luke than the cartoons that were playing.
Jenna placed a sippy cup of juice in Luke’s hand. “I can’t believe you agreed to babysit…” She shook her head, plopping down next to him on the blanket.
Luke shrugged. “Isaac and Christy needed some help, and I offered. Besides, I’m pretty good with kids. Six sisters, lots of nieces and nephews.” He grinned.
Jenna nodded. “I know. I just almost can’t believe Christy agreed to leave Candice with you knowing I was here. Christy wouldn’t trust me with her kid if her life depended on it.”
Luke chuckled, passing Candice the sippy cup. “Come on, you’re not that bad with kids. Candice seems to like you. She isn’t screaming and crying yet.” He teased.
Jenna sighed. “Not really funny, Luke.” She rolled her eyes. “Besides, it’s still relatively early.”
Luke chuckled.
Candice suddenly dropped her sippy cup and stood up. She walked over to Jenna and plopped down in her lap, facing the television.
Jenna’s eyes widened. “Oh!”
“Don’t freak out.” Luke reminded her. “You’re doing great.”
Jenna sighed. “I am no good with kids, Luke. Not at all.”
“Jen, you’re doing fine.” He smiled. “Just another hour or so and we’ll go out. We’ll have a nice quiet day doing whatever you want.”
Jenna sighed. “Alright… but I can’t believe it’s actually taken you this long to bribe me.”
Luke laughed. “Sorry. If I had gotten the hint, I would have done it sooner.” He smirked.
He stretched out on his side, holding one of Candice’s stuffed giraffe out. He grinned and tilted the giraffe so that it’s nose touched hers. Candice shrieked with giggles, looping her arms around the stuffed toy and hugging it. She kissed it, giggling happy.
Jenna laughed. “She’s way too cute.”
“Do you still want kids?”
“I think I want at least one… but oh man, do I ever have a lot to learn first…” She sighed. “I mean, I honestly think this is the first time I’ve ever held Candice without her screaming in terror.”
Luke smiled. “I doubt that.”
“Mommy?” Candice asked suddenly. “Daddy?”
“Uh-oh.” Jenna mused.
“Mommy and Daddy will be home soon, honey.” Luke suggested. “How about I get you a snack, hmm?” He asked.
Candice’s bright eyes widened. “Cookie!”
Luke laughed. “Okay.”
He lifted Candice from Jen’s lap and carried her into the kitchen. Jenna hurried along behind him.
Luke adjusted Candice on his hip.
“Where does Christy keep the baby cookies?” Luke asked.
“Umm… with the rest of the junk food? Corner cupboard.” Jenna pointed, squeezing past him and opening the door. She rummaged through and produced a yellow and beige box. “Are these good?”
“Yup. That’s what my sisters give their kids.” He nodded.
Candice squealed happily, reaching for the box.
Jenna pulled a cookie out and placed it Candice’s eager fingers. Candice immediately stuck it in her mouth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Becky was sitting with Tamera in her lap. Zac was still sleeping, snoring loudly and Becky was contentedly reading to the baby. She was pretty sure that Tamera didn’t understand a word of what was being read to her, but she was enjoying the bonding.
Zac groaned suddenly and reached toward her side of the bed.
He grumbled. “Becca?”
“Over here.” Becky smiled.
Zac flopped over. “What time is it?”
“Almost one.” She answered. “I was going to stay with you in bed for as long as I could, but Tamera woke up. So I’ve been reading to her.”
“Oh.” He answered.
“Are you going to get up and shower?” She asked.
He sighed. “I suppose I should.” He mused. “What are you doing?”
“I’m thinking of giving Tamera a bath, actually. But I think we’ll wait until you’re done with your shower.” She smiled, pressing her cheek against Tamera’s soft hair.
Zac grinned. “You know, maybe I’ll put off the shower for a bit. I’d like to help you give Tamera a bath.”
“You really don’t have to. You’ve done enough the past few days. You’ve helped me out so much… you don’t have to.”
Zac shrugged. “I want to, babe. Let me enjoy the few days I have left before I have to get back to work.”
Becky smiled. “Okay. I appreciate all the help, Zac.”
“Of course. Any time.” He climbed out of bed and yanked on a pair of pajama bottoms.
“Do I need a shirt for this?” He asked.
“Its actually a pretty good idea that you don’t wear a shirt. You’d be soaked. She likes to splash around.”
Zac laughed, “I remember.”
Tamera cooed happily, reaching toward her father.
Zac grinned, scooping her up. “Hey, Tamera! Remember me?” He grinned.
Tamera cooed in response.
Becky laughed softly. “She’d never forget you. She loves you. Her entire face lights up just at the sound of your voice.”
Zac grinned. “I can’t wait for our next one. I hope we have a big family. I want to have our own cult.”
Becky laughed softly. “Then you’d better figure out how to start giving birth to them all.” She teased.
She stood up and lightly kissed his cheek. She slipped her tiny hand into his huge one. “Come on, help me give your daughter a bath.” She pulled him toward their bathroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Isaac unlocked the front door to the house they were renting and Christy hurried inside.
“Hello?” She called in the hallway.
“In here!” Luke answered.
Christy dropped her purse in the hallway and without even taking off her shoes, she hurried into the living room in search of Candice.
She stopped dead in her tracks, and Isaac bumped into her.
“Oh my god.” Christy said slowly, in shock.
Jenna was sitting in an arm chair, and Candice was sitting in her lap. The baby was leaning back against Jenna, sound asleep. Her thumb was in her mouth.
“I can’t believe it.” Christy said quietly. “She’s not crying or screaming or anything.”
Isaac blinked. “Did you drug her or something?”
“Honey!” Christy scolded, swatting his arm.
“What?” Isaac chuckled. “It was a legitimate question.”
Luke laughed softly. “No, actually, Jen’s been doing very good.”
Jenna nodded. “I only taught her a few four letter words.”
“What?” Christy demanded.
Isaac chuckled.
“I was kidding!” Jenna rolled her eyes.
Candice stirred suddenly, and sat up. “Mommy!” She reached for Christy.
“Oh, hi, baby girl!” Christy scooped Candice up, hugging her tightly. She kissed Candice. “Mommy missed you!”
Isaac plopped down next to Luke on the sofa. “How was she, okay?”
“She was great. We played for a while and watched some cartoons. We even watched a show on animal planet with elephants, and she loved it. She had a cookie and some of the fruit salad you left and some juice. I even showed Jen how to change a diaper.” Luke grinned.
“Really?” Christy blinked at Jenna in alarm. “Who are you? I don’t even know you!”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “Come on, I’m not that bad!”
Christy lightly perched on the arm of the sofa, letting Isaac take Candice.
“How did it go today, anyway?” Jenna asked, changing the subject.
“Maybe we should tell everyone at once.” Isaac suggested, lightly patting Christy’s knee.
“Right.” Christy agreed.
“But it’s good news, right?” Luke asked.
“Definitely.” Isaac agreed, grinning.