Hello and welcome to the week late first chapter of my dear friend signelchan's birthday fic! Happy week-late birthday (again), friend! This was changed slightly from the original idea and because of that, it accidently got very out of hand. Oh well.
It was the several knocks at the door that really began what was to be the stressful night, because it wasn't a calm knock as if someone was just coming for a day visit. It was one of those frantic, erratic knocks that means someone is either in trouble, or the person who answers the door is in trouble with the person knocking.
This time it was the first scenario, and despite it being so late at night that the cheesy infomercials for non-spilling pan lids and special towels that were supposed to absorb all the liquids were showing, Sierra immediately jumped up from her spot on the couch and bounded to the door with a spring in her step and with wide, bright eyes, dressed in her purple robe over her pajamas, as if she had had multiple cups of coffee and was waiting exactly for this moment.
Sierra was cut off from anything she was about to say by a loud string of swears as soon as the door was opened, the blasphemies coming from a very pregnant and very agitated Heather, as she leaned against the wall. Standing next to her mother and watching her with a very anxious look on her face was the eldest Burromuerto daughter, Rose. Alejandro stood directly in front of the door, cradling one child in his arm (who was crying weakly and covering his face with his small hands), and holding the hand of the other child, as she sleepily rubbed her eyes. The children were all dressed in their pajamas and looked as if they had all been roused from sleep, while Alejandro looked completely opposite, sleep probably the farthest thing from his mind. A small bag sat on the ground next to him, presumably the hospital bag they had prepared for this occasion.
"Sierra, I am sorry that it is so late, but it's-"
"Oh my God, just get on with it! Drop the kids off and let's go already!" Heather exclaimed, completely cutting over whatever he was going to try to explain, before clenching her teeth, beginning to take small breaths. The child next to her let out a small whimper at her mother's evident discomfort.
Sierra squealed, understanding immediately what was going on, and held out her arms for the youngest child in Alejandro's arms, who had stopped crying and was now rubbing his sleepy eyes. It was way past his bedtime. He went to Sierra without a fight, and yawned before laying his head on her shoulder.
"Thanks. They will all probably just go right back to sleep." Alejandro said, reaching down to pick up the bag by his feet, and swinging the strap of it over one shoulder. "Sorry this is such short notice. We didn't expect-"
"Get on with it, we need to go!" Heather groaned from the wall, still leaning against it. Sierra stuck her head out the doorway and smiled.
"Gee Heather, it seems like you've been pregnant forever, it feels like it's been a...maternity!" she cracked, and despite being in the midst of a contraction, Heather shot Sierra the dirtiest look ever, before turning her attention back to Alejandro.
"I mean it Alejandro, we have to go now before it's born here and I strangle Sierra with the umbilical cord for that dumb joke!" she spat through gritted teeth.
"Hold your horses, mi amore, we are going. We must not forget that she is doing us a favor by-"
"Yeah, thanks, whatever...can we go now?"
"Yes, we had better. Come here, Rose, your mother will be fine, I promise." Alejandro said, reaching his now free hand out to his eldest daughter, who hesitated, not wanting to leave her mother's side. She turned slightly and looked up at Heather, who despite being in the throes of labor, nodded and shook her head at her daughter.
"Everything's going to be fine. Please just go with the babysitter so I can go with your father." Heather said.
Not completely convinced, but wanting to follow directions, the daughter who was the splitting image of her mother nodded, and went to her father, who gently nudged her into the apartment and into the caring hands of Sierra, for a sleepover babysitting adventure which was thus far starting out very stressful.
She turned once more to say goodbye to her parents, but all she saw was the retreating back of her father, most likely being pulled along by her mother.
Once things had settled down slightly and the kids were settling on Sierra's couch, two of which were already close to being back to sleep, the eldest asked a question to break the temporary-silence.
"So, uh, what do we do now?" she asked.
"Well, it looks like your little brother and sister are going to go back to sleep." Sierra said, nodding towards the kids, the brother resting his head on his sister's shoulder, the two of them barely able to keep their eyes open.
"No, we're not. We're gonna wait for mom and dad." the sister muttered, before giving a huge yawn.
"Wanna see baby." the brother added, blinking slowly.
"I don't think that's going to happen tonight, but it will probably definitely be some time tomorrow." Sierra replied. "Which means you can totally go back to sleep now since you can't even keep your eyes open."
"Can too!" little Jose chirped, popping his eyes wide open for a moment before letting them droop once again.
"Ssh, go to sleep." Sierra whispered, "it's late, and you can look forward to a new sibling tomorrow."
"I hope it's a girl." Maria muttered, letting her eyes close as well. Sierra removed the blanket from the back of the couch and spread it to cover the two- and four-year-olds, now finally settling back to sleep. She stood back and turned to the eldest child, who was leaning against the couch and who didn't seem the slight bit tired.
"Do you want to go to bed, too?" she asked, and was not too surprised to get a no in response.
"Alright, then, what do you usually do at ten 'o clock at night, miss eight year old? You're usually asleep at this time, right?" Sierra asked.
"I am, but it's a special night, and I can't sleep yet." Rose answered, turning around and sitting down in the big armchair.
"But you know everything is going to be okay, right? Is that why you can't sleep, you're worried about your mom?" Sierra asked, walking over to the chair and sitting next to her.
"I've been through this new baby thing twice already, I know mom's gonna be alright." she replied, and Sierra had to stifle a laugh at the child's words. "I'm just worried about how the younger kids are gonna react to the new baby."
"They've also experienced it before." Sierra said. "I'm sure they'll be okay."
"But Jose doesn't understand that there's gonna be another one no matter how many times mom let him feel it kick in her tummy, and that he's not gonna be the baby of the family anymore. And Maria can be so overbearing to new things. When we got that new cat, she got scratched more times than she got to pet the cat. I'm worried she'll be rough with the new baby and it won't like her."
"Didn't your parents tell the younger ones that a new baby isn't a toy and can't be played with roughly? If so, I'm sure she listened and understands and you have nothing to worry about." Sierra answered, settling in next to her and grabbing the blanket from the armrest to cover the two with.
"Yeah, they told them, but even still." she sighed, pulling the blanket up to her chin. "I don't know, maybe I'm worrying about it too much."
"You're too young to be worrying about things like that, just let things play out and see how they go, yeah?"
Rose yawned, and nodded. "I guess you're right. Thanks."
"You bet! Now, do you want to watch some tv since you can't sleep? That usually always helps me to go to sleep if I'm having trouble."
"Sure. Mom and dad never let me stay up, and I've heard that these late-night shows are the best."
"They really are! You're just going to love Baggage. Oh, but don't tell your parents that I let you watch it." Sierra said, grabbing the remote and starting to flip channels through the networks again.
"What happens at the babysitter's apartment, stays at the babysitter's apartment." Rose said, turning her head so she could see the television set.
She had loved the show Sierra had put on for them (though she didn't understand most of the answers because Sierra had quickly covered her ears with her hands so much). Eventually she gave up on trying to watch a show she didn't understand anyways, and had fallen even before the rerun episode of Jimmy Kimmel came on at eleven-thirty, resting her head on Sierra's shoulder. Sierra dozed between the shows, waking up often to more of the annoying infomercials, and to make sure the kids were still sleeping. The three kids remained asleep through it all, moving slightly sometimes to change positions.
Just after midnight, Sierra's phone vibrated with a bit of exciting news, and she had to contain herself as she read the message from Alejandro, which was only that the action was soon to begin and thanking her again for watching the kids. She didn't reply, but set her phone back down on the chair's armrest and started flipping through the television channels again to try to stay awake for the next update. The child next to her shifted slightly then, before quickly settling back in.
The next text to come was almost an hour later, just as another late night talk show was beginning. This time the news was even more exciting, and if there had not been a sleeping child right next to her, Sierra would have jumped right up off of that chair and done a happy dance.
As it was, she bit her lip and squealed, causing the child to move in her sleep and wake up after a moment; the other two children on the couch also reacted, their eyes shooting open as they had when their father had woken them up a mere few hours before. One began crying again at the abrupt wake up, while the other blinked a few times in the dim light from the tv to try to get her bearings. The one sitting next to her rubbed her eyes and yawned, stretching before turning to Sierra.
"What is it? Is it morning already?" she muttered.
"I'm really sorry to wake you guys, but I've got some great news!" Sierra said, not looking up from her glowing phone screen. "Your new sibling is here!"
All three of the children gasped at the news, the two younger kids immediately jumping off the couch and jumping up and down on the floor a few times. Sierra looked away from her phone long enough to stand and stretched, before checking her phone once more.
"Can we go and see the baby now?" the eldest asked from her still sitting position, and the two younger kids stopped their jumping and looked up at Sierra with pleading eyes.
"Aww, as much as I'd like to take you guys there to meet the baby, I'm afraid we can't. It's almost two in the morning, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow morning." Sierra explained.
"But mooooom...I mean, Sierraaaaa!" Maria realized her misname almost immediately and tried correcting it, but the damage was done.
"That was so adorable! You called me mom!" Sierra exclaimed, bending over to pick up the child and hug her tight before she could protest.
"Can we please get back on point and let us know about our new sibling?" Rose asked, eager to bring the conversation back.
"I'm so going to tell your mom about that tomorrow when we go see them!" Sierra said, for the moment forgetting that there was baby news to discuss, continuing to hug the child.
"Don't squeeze her too hard!" the brother exclaimed, walking up to Sierra and pulling on the bottom of her shirt. Sierra blinked and got ahold of herself, before releasing the child back to the floor. She walked back to the couch and plopped down, patting the two spots next to her, inviting the children back up.
"I guess I got too excited there, since there are bigger, more important things to be excited about!" she said, as the younger kids climbed back up and sat down next to her. The eldest turned in her spot to listen, the blanket still covering her. "So now, I'll tell you guys what I know about the new baby from your dad."
"You talked to dad?" the son who was Alejandro's clone asked.
"He texted me a while ago, and that was why I woke you three up. So, are you guys ready to know about your new sibling?" Sierra asked. The anticipation was clear on the three faces, as they all nodded excitedly.
"Okay!" Sierra said, and took another short pause. "It's a...girl! She was born-"
Sierra was cut off by a small whine, coming from the former middle child.
"Aww, it's okay!" Maria said, leaning over Sierra's lap to give her brother a quick hug. He let out a sigh before wiping his eyes.
"He was hoping for a brother." Rose explained.
"Aww, it's most certainly okay! I'm sure you're going to love your new sister as much as you love your other ones!" Sierra comforted the child, turning on the couch to give him a little hug. He sniffed and nodded.
"Now, she was born at-"
Just then her phone rang, interrupting the conversation yet again. Sighing, she leaned forward and picked it up, answering it on the second ring.
"Hello?"
The kids all watched as Sierra's face first dropped, and then light up before she squealed again.
"Are you serious? For real?" a pause. "Oh-em-gee! Keep us- yeah, okay! Good luck! Don't pass- okay, then."
She ended the call before being able to finish her sentence, and squealed again. The kids were more than eager to know the news at this point.
"What? What is it?" Rose spoke for the three of them.
"Oh em gee, you guys! This is big!" Sierra said, putting her hands up to her cheeks. "It's twins!"
Silence filled the air, the kids not being able to process.
"Your dad will call us back soon and let us know more when he knows, but there are going to be two new babies instead of just one! Isn't that great news?"
"But...how? We only got prepared for one baby." Rose asked, throwing the blanket off of herself and standing up.
"Two babies means twice the love!" Maria exclaimed, finally realizing what this meant.
"That's right! Two babies will mean twice the love!" Sierra said.
It was a very stressful little while after that. Waiting to hear more news while still trying to process the news in the first place was proving too much.
Sierra could and would not sit still, continuously pacing the small living room back and forth, guided by the glaring light from the tv, which no one had bothered to turn off, but had muted. From the couch, the younger kids kept asking when it would be time to hear more about it. Everyone's tensions were high.
Finally nearly half an hour later, Sierra's phone rang again. She stopped pacing and raced to her phone, which was still laying on the couch between the kids.
"Hello?" she asked breathlessly, and squealed a moment later when she heard that there was going to be new news. The kids all watched her again, eager to hear more.
"Yes, we're all still awake, and- sure, I'll bring them by tomorrow morning! I still can't believe it's twins, that's just so crazy!"
She listened a moment before nodding happily. "It's good to hear she's doing okay! Tell her that her other kids all love and can't wait to see her!"
"Ask him everything! We want to know details!" Maria stage-whispered to Sierra; though unfortunately she couldn't be heard because Sierra was talking a mile a minute on the phone.
"Oh, it's just so unexpected! And congratulations again! We're all in total shock about it, and- what? Oh, yes, I'll make sure they get to sleep after this. They have to be rested to meet their new siblings! We'll talk tomorrow, call us, okay? We want to visit asap!" Sierra said, before taking a deep breath, and starting to listen again. She nodded a few more times. "That sounds fine. Okay, bye!"
She ended the call, and put her phone on the table, turning to addressing the kids as if she were to give a speech in front of a group of people.
"Alright you guys, they didn't give me too much information because they wanted to tell you a lot of it themselves tomorrow, but I can tell you that you're all the proud older siblings to two new baby girls!"
"Two girls?" the now only boy child of the kids exclaimed first. "I'm only boy?"
"Looks like it, kiddo. But just remember, you get to watch over and protect your new sisters like you look over and protect your older ones!" Sierra said.
"Two girls! I have two more people to play dress-up with now!" Maria spoke next, evidently excited at the news.
"That's right! That's going to be so much fun for you!" Sierra said, smiling at the child.
"I still don't understand it, but I'm sure we'll learn all that tomorrow. I'm still really excited, though." the eldest said.
"As you should be!" Sierra said. "I'm so glad you're all excited, but your dad made me promise to make you guys go to bed so we can be rested for tomorrow, so I think that means it's time for bed now."
"Aww, do we haveta?" Maria asked, trying hard to stifle a yawn at the same time. She failed, and lay her head back on Sierra's shoulder.
"Not tired." Jose muttered, unable to hide a yawn as well. He also lay his head on the babysitter's shoulder, as Sierra pulled the blanket up to cover the three of them.
"Sleep does sound kind of nice...and we have an exciting day tomorrow." Rose said, pulling the blanket up to cover herself and leaning back into the pillow on the chair. Sierra reached over one of the already nearly asleep kids and turned the tv off, making the apartment completely dark.
Though the four of them had been excited, awake, and awaiting the news not too long before, they now had all finally succumbed to sleep, while over at the hospital, the parents were trying to adjust to having a set of twins in the family.
Betcha didn't see that coming (or maybe you did because the title and chapter name are kind of obvious giveaways). Anyways, stay tuned for the exciting conclusion to this fic coming soon, where all questions will be answered. :)
