Little Angels
written by Sammy
It was already getting a little cold outside, which was very unusual for Palm Beach in December. Christopher stood at the sliding glass door to the porch in the living room of the new apartment and looked outside. Rita and Cassy, who were standing behind the couch hanging some photos on the wall, were watching him. Chris entered the apartment followed by Tom, Cap. Lipschitz and George Donovan, all carrying a huge box.
"These are the last ones. Where do you want us to put them down, Sam?" Chris asked.
"Put them down there next to the wall." Rita replied and pointed to the wall.
Chris, Tom, Harry and George put the boxes down. Christopher saw the new boxes.
"Box, Chris' box." he said and ran over to the box. He immediately tried to open one of the boxes, but since they were closed with tape, he couldn't open them.
"Open, daddy, open." he yelled and pointed at one of the boxes.
"No, we're not going to open the boxes now, sweetie. Come here and help mommy put up the photos." Chris replied and waved his hand for Christopher to come over.
Christopher didn't listen. He still tried to open one of the boxes. He looked at Harry who was standing a few inches away.
"Help!" he exclaimed and raised his arms.
"Look what we got here, Chris."
Tom came over with an empty box. He placed it on the ground next to the little boy and opened it. Then he lifted Christopher up and placed him down in the box.
"Do you know what sound a train makes? Tschhhh... tschhhh... tschhhh..."
Tom pushed the box forward through the living room with Christopher sitting in it. The both of them made sounds that sounded remarkably like a train. Christopher began to laugh. The others just watched them and laughed. Tom pushed the box towards the couch.
"The train ends here. I hope you enjoyed the ride."
"More, more, more!"
"More? Okay, here we go again."
Tom began to push the box through the living room again. He passed the fish tank.
"Hello fish!" Christopher yelled, and waved his hand. The others were still laughing. Christopher seemed to have fun sitting in that box and being pushed through the whole living room. Finally they reached the couch again.
"There we are, Chris."
"Again." Christopher shouted.
"No, not again. Ask your daddy."
Christopher moved in the box and turned around.
"Daddy, again!" he yelled and extended his arms.
"Tom, you started this so you have to finish it." Chris smiled.
"Is he my son or yours?"
"Come on, Chris, old uncle George will do you the pleasure."
George moved to the couch and began to push Christopher through the living room again.
"I can see it, we will have difficulty getting him out of that box later." Rita chuckled and shook her head. She suddenly felt one of the babies kicking her and put her hand on her belly. Then she leaned against the wall.
"Everything okay with you?" Cassy, who was standing next to her, asked.
"Everything's okay. The baby just kicked a little hard. Oh, this baby is playing soccer in there. Geeze, or doing some rounds on a heavy bag."
"So you think it's a boy?" Harry asked.
"Girl." Chris and Rita said in unison.
"You already know it? Don't tell me you do. I mean Frannie can be a little obsessed with such things but you said you didn't wanna know..."
"No, we don't know yet, Cap. But Rita says she has this feeling..."
"Uh huh, I have this feeling?"
"You told me - I am quoting - if women eat a lot of fruits when they're pregnant, they will have a girl. And you were eating a lot of fruits lately. You also told me you never ate any fruits while you were pregnant with Chris."
Rita just rolled her eyes and laughed. She looked at Christopher who was still sitting in the box. George was pushing him around the living room.
"Chris, it's time to take a nap." she said and walked over to her son. "Come on, let's get upstairs."
"Uh uh, playing with box." Christopher said.
"That's enough playing with the box. Come on, get outta there."
Christopher shook his head no.
"Christopher..."
Chris came over to them and picked his son out of the box.
"Mommy said it's time for a nap. Be nice and go upstairs with her, okay?"
"Daddy take Chris up."
"Daddy take Chris upstairs for a nap? That's what you want, my son? Okay, daddy will take you upstairs."
"With box." Christopher said.
"Without box." Chris replied.
"With box."
"No, without box."
"With box." Christopher whined and rubbed his eyes. He knew exactely what he had to do to wrap his daddy around his little finger.
"With box."
Chris grabbed the box and went upstairs with Christopher on his arm. Rita shook her head and sat down on the couch next to Harry.
"Well, it looks really nice here." Harry said, looking around.
"There's still a lot of work to do - especially upstairs. I hope we will get everything done before the baby is born."
"You still have some time. Gee, I forgot to ask Cassy and you about the Christmas party tomorrow. Frannie asked if you could come over a little earlier to help her a little with the food and the eggnog and all that stuff. You know we are Jewish, but Frannie wants to make this like a real Christmas. I can't understand it. She doesn't even know one thing about making eggnog and all that stuff. Just remember last year..."
Harry waved his hand in the air. Rita smiled.
"Won't be a problem for me, Cap. How about you, Cassy?"
"You know I don't like that Christmas stuff at all..."
"Hey, where's that christmas spirit, Cass? Standing around the tree, singing some carols, getting a lot of presents..." Tom said and handed her a glass of juice.
"I really don't know why people become so obsessed with Christmas. It's a day just like all the others. Every year in December people are rushing through the stores only to spend a lot more money than they did the year before. I don't need all of that. Nope, definitely not."
"Shopping, is that all you don't like about Christmas? I thought women like going shopping. At least my ex-wives always liked to go shopping." George replied and sipped his juice.
"Well, Christmas is a time everyone should enjoy. It starts with visiting relatives..." Tom started.
"Oh, please don't remind me." Cassy said.
"Aaaahhhh, there we have the reason you don't like Christmas. Miss Evelyn ordered you to Christmas dinner, am I right?"
"Who's Miss Evelyn?" Rita asked.
"My mother. And yes, she ordered Christmas dinner with the whole family. I can't stand it. Every other day during the year we hardly speak to one another because there's no need to but at Christmas everything's fine, we HAVE to spend the day with the whole family... uagh!"
"Be glad you have a family. Look at me, my dear, I will be home alone at Christmas, no one there for poor old Thomas."
Chris entered the living room. He was surprised to see everyone laughing. He rubbed the back of his head.
"Hmmm... you're not laughing about me, are you?" he asked.
"Should we, Sam?" Rita teased and smiled at him.
"Actually, no."
George Donovan and Cap. Lipschitz had left shortly before dinner. Tom had ordered pizza which was delivered around 8 pm. The men were working upstairs in the nursery while Rita and Cassy were in the kitchen eating the rest of the pizza. Christopher was in the living room playing with his trucks. From upstairs a lot of 'bangs', 'bongs' and 'ouch' were heard.
"I wonder what they are doing up there." Cassy said and took a bite of the slice of pizza she was holding in her hand.
"I only hope they don't ruin the rooms. I mean we just moved in..."
The two women began to laugh. They knew Chris and Tom had two left hands when it came to practical things like putting a crib together. They heard some footsteps tapping on the stairs. It was Chris. He was holding his finger high in the air.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I am dying." he repeated and entered the kitchen. "Sammy, I am dying."
"Poor Christopher. Let me see."
Rita took a look at Chris' finger. He obviously had forgotten to take it away before trying to stroke the nail with the hammer. There was a small blue spot under the fingernail.
"Hmmm, I think we will have to amputate the finger. Cassy, can you give me the knife?" Rita teased.
"Don't you dare!" Chris gave her one of his best puppy looks. "Sammy, please!"
Rita smiled. She kissed his finger... "One for this poor finger..." and then she kissed him tenderly on the lips, "...and one for poor Christopher."
"Nah, nah, it's not getting better. I think it is starting to hurt here." Chris pointed at his lips and grinned. Rita, aware that Cassy was in the kitchen as well, raised her eyebrows. Cassy smiled and left the kitchen without saying anything.
"Sam, I am dying!" Chris repeated and pulled his wife close to him. Rita wrapped his arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes.
"You know I can't let that happen." she replied and kissed him. They let the kiss turn from tenderness to passion but always knowing they were in the kitchen and they weren't alone. Chris moved his hand down to Rita's belly and felt a baby moving inside. He broke the embrace and a smile lit up his face.
"You know, Rita..." he began, "... I want the first one born to be named Hannah Rose. Is that okay with you?"
Rita ran her fingers through her husband's hair and nodded. They'd decided some time ago that they would call two girls Hannah Rose - after Rita's mother and Chris' grandmother - and Sarah Lee. They were pretty sure it would be two girls. Out of the corner of his eye Chris saw his son running through the living room followed by Cassy. She was trying to catch him. Christopher giggled and squealed. When he passed the fish tank he slipped on something laying on the floor and crashed against the tank. He began to cry immediately. Rita sighed as she heard he son crying. She placed a quick kiss on Chris' lips and went to the living room. Christopher was on Cassy's arm, sobbing loudly.
"Oh my, sweetie, what happened?"
Christopher went into his mother's arms and sobbed into her chest. Rita stroked his hair as he cried.
"He ran against the fish tank. I think it's only the shock. He didn't hurt himself." Cassy explained, lokking a bit guilty.
"Hmm, I know you're tired, sweetheart. It was a long day for you. Mommy will take you to bed."
She rocked the crying baby in her arms as she went upstairs to where the bedrooms were. Upon entering the nursery she saw that Chris and Tom were still working on putting the crib together.
"Uh huh, I see Christopher's crib is still more a puzzle than a crib." she smirked and glanced at Chris and Tom.
"I am sorry, Sam, you have to put him to bed next door. I think we won't finish this here tonight. Will we, Tom?"
Tom shook his head no. He put the grating of the crib down against the wall and approached Rita.
"I am really sorry, but I have to leave now. I have some other plans for tonight. Make sure your husband doesn't use the hammer again. It's nothing for kids."
Rita laughed as Tom passed her and left the room. Christopher, who was still crying on her arm, began to get fussy and screamed even more, so she handed the boy to his father.
"You think you can handle that a little better than using hammer?"
"Sure I can. I've gotten used to crying babies the last 1 and a half years."
"You're a very confident guy, are you?"
Rita patted his back and laughed. Then she left the room and went back down. To her surprise she saw that both Tom and Cassy had left, leaving them a short note on the kitchen counter saying that they had to leave because of something work related. Rita frowned and threw the note into the dust bin. Then she began to clean the dishes.
Upstairs Chris had put his son in bed. The baby sucked his dummy as a last tear ran down his cheeks. His daddy wiped it away and smiled at him. Then he stroked the baby's hair and began to talk to him. His father's low voice began to make the baby sleepy.
"You know, my son, I don't know much about being a big brother, but you will be a big brother soon. There hopefully will be two little girls born in a few weeks. I know they will admire you. You know what is it like to be a role model for someone? I think I've never been the role model for anyone. Well, your mommy says I am your role model. I can see you already try to imitate me. Seeing this bright smile of yours makes my heart jump." Chris saw the baby rubbing his eyes. He was desperately trying to keep them open. "I only want the best for you, Chris, and I want you to know this. You and your mommy, you are my life. This is the least I can do for you and there's already so much you did for me. One day... one day the time will come I'll have the chance to give this all back to you."
The baby had fallen asleep. Chris kissed him on the head and turned off the lights. Then he headed down to help Rita with the dishes.
Early the next morning Christopher woke up in bed between his parents. Chris and Rita were still sleeping. She moved his head and looked around curiously. Since he saw that they were still sleeping, he searched for his dummy he had lost during the night. He found it somewhere under the sheets. Then he climbed out of bed and waddled to the door. He tried to reach the knob to open it but he wasn't tall enough. For some time he stood in front of the door thinking. Christopher was very clever for a 19 months old boy. Then he realized that the door was ajar. He slid his hand in the crevice between the door and the frame and pulled the door open. He moved to the bedroom next door. There wasn't any furniture in the room. The wallpaper was covered with a line of sheep, the background color was light blue. This would be the twins' nursery. Christopher left the room and walked to the next. This was his room. His crib was still more a puzzle, as his mother had said the night before. Christopher was looking for his toys, but there was nothing in the room. He decided to go down to the living room, though he remembered his parents telling him he should stay away from the stairs. He sat down on the first stair and slid down one after another. In meanwhile, Chris awoke in the bedroom. He turned on his side and found the place next to him empty. He looked around and saw the door to the hallway was opened. He got out of bed as he felt Rita stirring next to him.
"Sam?" she asked sleepily and rubbed her eyes. Then she saw Christopher wasn't lying next to her. "Where's Chris?"
"I don't know. Don't worry, I will find him."
Chris went out to the corridor and found the two nurseries empty. There was no sign of Christopher. He went back to his bedroom and found Rita sitting on the edge of the bed.
"He isn't in the nurseries." he said and helped Rita up.
"How about downstairs? Did you look there?" Rita asked and grabbed her gown.
"Downstairs? Sam, he's still a baby. How would he get down the stairs?"
"Did you look there?"
Chris shook his head no. Rita rushed out of the bedroom as fast as she could. She headed down the stairs and found her son sitting on the floor in the living room playing with his teddy and his toy truck. He giggled as he saw his mommy rushing down the stairs, followed by his daddy.
"Hey, how did you get down here?" Rita smiled as she scooped her son from the ground.
"Chris walk down stairs." Christopher replied and nodded eagerly. "Walk down stairs."
"You remember what daddy told you about those stairs?" Chris asked his son as he took him from Rita's arm.
Christopher nodded again. He looked up at him and gave him one of his puppy looks. Rita began to laugh slightly as she saw the two men she loved standing there in the middle of the living room. Chris began to laugh as well. He whirled his son through the air. The baby giggled and squealed.
"Chris down! Chris down!" Christopher pleaded after some time. Chris sat him back down on the ground. He cuddled the boy and then moved to the couch where Rita was sitting. She had put her feet up on the couch.
"My feet are killing me already. I think I will make up bed here on the sofa until the twins are born!" Rita exclaimed and rubbed her swollen feet.
"That bad?" Chris asked as he massaged his wife's feet.
"That bad!"
"Then you'll stay here. I will make breakfast for you and we'll have a nice little picnic with Chris here on the ground. What do you think?"
"Oh Christopher, you surprise me every day."
Rita moved her head and kissed her husband on his cheek. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist as he still massaged her feet. She laid her chin on his shoulder and watched her son trying to climb into the playpen.
"Hey Chris, stop that before you hurt yourself!" she said, when she saw her son only had one foot on the ground.
Christopher didn't listen. He jumped and bounced and suddenly lost balance. He fell forward over the grating and landed on the ground inside the playpen, head first. Rita feared Chris would start crying the next moment, but he didn't. He got up and laughed at his parents.
"Chris in alone. Chris big boy!" he shouted proudly.
Chris got up and moved to the playpen. He ruffled the baby's hair and smiled at his son.
"I think the playpen isn't a safe place now for you either." he laughed as he placed Christopher's toys in the playpen.
Christopher sat down on his bottom and reached for his toys. Chris went back to Rita. She was still rubbing her feet and yawning.
"Sam, you aren't tired, are you?" Chris asked, giggling slightly.
"I don't know what's going on with me lately. I am feeling like..."
"... being pregnant with twins."
"Yeah. You're so bright, Sam."
After they'd had breakfast Chris took Christopher out for a walk in the park while Rita was relaxing. She wasn't feeling good at all. Her feet were killing her. Christopher was sitting in his stroller while Chris pushed the stroller along the path. The boy squirmed in his stroller. After some time Chris realized what was catching Christopher's attention. A woman was following them pushing a stroller as well. In that stroller a little red haired girl was sitting. Chris raised his eyebrows and shook his head. Then he laughed. He stopped next to a bench and lifted Christopher out of the stroller. He bounced him on his knee as the woman with the little red haired girl passed them. Christopher waved his hands and laughed, but the little girl didn't take any notice.
"Chris, I really think I should tell you something about girls." Chris laughed as he saw a little disappointment in his son's face.
"Well, you never will be able to figure women out. I tried to figure your mommy out for the last 7 years and I never got even close. If you want to impress a woman, you need to be charming, subtly charming. Listen to me, I am a king in that. Okay, I was before I married your mommy. There are also those little things you have to follow: 1. never be late when she's serving lunch or dinner, 2. always insist on paying the bill in a restaurant, 3. don't forget to say please and thank you, 4. women are always right. If they ask you if the look good in a dress, lie. Say they look good no matter if they do or not. Matter of fact I don't have to lie when your mommy asks me this because she ALWAYS is good looking, not depending on what she's wearing. Gee, I am drifting away. 5. did I say you should pay the bill? I think I did that. 6. never forget such important days like birthdays, anniversaries and other stuff and at last, don't even TRY to figure women out. You'll never succeed."
Christopher looked at his daddy and frowned. Then he had a big grin on his face reaching from one ear to the other.
"You didn't even understand one word what I told you, did you?" Chris laughed and placed Christopher back in the stroller.
He tightened the straps but Christopher moved around a lot.
"Out! Out! Walking!" he screamed as Chris tried to tighten the straps. "Chris walking!"
Chris opened the straps and Christopher climbed out of the stroller.
"Push." he said as he tried to push the stroller forward. He gave it a kick and the stroller rolled about a yard forward. Christopher gave it another kick and the stroller moved another yard. Chris stood and watched, a big smile on his face.
"C'mon Chris, we have to head back to mommy. We are having lunch at Harry's and Frannie's."
Chris plucked his son from the ground. Christopher giggled and waved his arms. Then they headed back home.
Lunch at the Lipschitz's house included Cassy as well, as she was helping out with all the Christmas stuff Frannie had planed. The same afternoon Christopher was allowed to open some of his gifts. He was sitting under the Christmas tree in the Lipschitz's living room playing with a huge toy car and a new teddy. Chris, Tom, Harry and George were standing some yards away talking while Frannie just had left the room to get some more eggnog. Rita and Cassy were standing next to the tree watching little Christopher.
"He seems to be satisfied there under the tree." Cassy said as she watched Christopher.
"As long as he has a truck or a car... OH!"
Rita had felt a sudden pain. She put her hand on her belly as the pain eased. She bent forward.
"Are you okay, Rita?" Cassy asked, concerned.
"For a moment I thought... Uhmmm!"
She felt the pain again. This time it was even more painful. She leaned forward as the pain eased again.
"Come on, sit down on the couch. Chris!"
Chris turned around and looked at Cassy. He saw his wife sitting down on the couch. He also saw the pain in her face. So he rushed to her side.
"Sunshine, what's wrong?" he asked, frightened.
"I..." there was another pain, "...I don't know. It's not like having contractions."
"What is it then?"
"I don't know, Chris."
Rita began to cry. The pain came back again and she leaned forward.
"Stay calm, Sam. We'll get you to hospital and everything will be all right." Chris said while he stroked her hair.
"Please, don't let anything be wrong with the baby." she pleaded and looked at Chris.
She saw the fright in his eyes and he saw the fright in her eyes. It was 2 weeks too early for the twins to be born. Chris had never seen Rita like this before, not even while she was giving birth to their son.
"Sshhhh, Sam, everything will be all right, believe it and everything will be all right." he tried to calm her and himself. "Everything will be all right."
Not even 5 minutes later they were on their way to the hospital. Chris and Rita were sitting in the back of Harry's car. Rita was still crying, her head leaning against Chris' shoulder. Harry drove the car through the traffic as fast as he could. The siren in his car was wailing.
"Okay, okay, we will be there any minute. Rita?"
Harry turned around for a moment and glanced at Rita. Then he concentrated back on the traffic.
"She's not doing very well, Cap." Chris said and wiped some tears out of Rita's face.
"Give me 5 minutes. All I need is 5 minutes. Can you do that for me?"
The brakes screeched when Harry stopped the car in front of the hospital. He rushed out of the car even without turning off the siren. He helped Chris get Rita out of the car. Just at the right moment two nurses and a doctor rushed out of the ER. They had heard the siren inside.
"What happened?" the doctor asked after he'd ordered one of the nurses to get a wheelchair for Rita.
"She suddenly had this pain in her abdomen." Chris explained while he helped Rita sit down in the wheelchair. "It's still 2 weeks from her due date."
"We'll get her in and check on her."
The doctor pushed the wheelchair towards the entrance.
"Chris!" Rita yelled.
A second later Chris was walking by her side, holding her hand.
"Hey, I won't leave you, Sam, you know that."
Harry Lipschitz was waiting in the waiting room when he saw his wife, Tom, Cassy and George walking over to him. Little Christopher was on Cassy's arm, playing with a strand of her blond hair.
"Hesch, how is Rita?" Frannie asked right away.
"I don't know. Chris is with her. She wasn't doing very well when we arrived here."
"I hope everything will turn out all right." Frannie whispered.
Meanwhile Chris was by Rita's side. She was still feeling the pain. The doctor didn't want to give her anything for the pain until he knew it wouldn't be bad for the baby. Chris was holding her hand. He felt a little helpless. He wanted to ease her pain so bad, but there was nothing he could do. It had been about an hour now since they'd arrived at the hospital. The doctor entered the room.
"Mrs. Lorenzo, we have your test results here." he said and waved a file.
"What... what is it?" Rita asked.
"First of all, your blood pressure is very high and your liver is working abnormally. You are suffering from preeclampsia. That's very common in twin pregnancies. At the moment you don't have to worry about that." the doctor explained.
"We don't have to worry? Hey, my wife is suffering from all that!" Chris exclaimed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Chris..." Rita reached for Chris' face and stroked his cheek. Then she shook her head slightly. Chris placed his hand on top of hers and nodded.
"Mrs. Lorenzo, I will give you something for the pain and the high blood pressure. There's really no need to worry. The babies are both doing fine, their heartbeat is very strong and regular. I think it would be best for you to get some sleep now."
After he'd given Rita an injection the doctor left the room. The medications seem to do their work immediately. Rita began to relax and even smile a bit.
"I think I should go and tell Cap that I will stay the night here with you."
"Please tell him to give Christopher a kiss from his mommy, will you?"
"Sure. I will be back in a few minutes. I love you."
Chris kissed his wife and then left the room. He found Harry, Frannie, Tom, Cassy and George in the waiting room down the corridor. Christopher was the first to see him.
"Daddy!" he yelled and reached his arms out.
"Come here, big boy."
Chris plucked Christopher from the ground and walked over to the others.
"Chris, how's Rita doing?" Frannie asked immediately.
"She's doing better now. They gave her something for the pain. She's suffering from something they call preeclampsia."
"Preeclampsia?" Frannie asked, confused. As she used to be a nurse she knew what this was. "Wait a second, that's only common in first pregnancies... and in twin pregnancies." She frowned. Was there something they had hidden the last couple of months?
"I am so glad she's doing better now. You'll tell her my thoughts are with her and the baby, will you, Chris?"
"I will, Cassy. You know, I have to go back to her. I just wanted to let you know that she's doing better now. Cap, Frannie, I need someone for Chris..."
"You don't even have to ask, Lorenzo. Christopher will stay with us as long as it's necessary. Hey, we are the godparents, you forgot?"
"Thank you."
Chris now looked at his son and stroked his dark hair. Then he kissed him on the cheek.
"That was mommy's kiss goodnight, Chris." he said and handed the boy to Frannie. "You know, be a nice boy, okay?"
He smiled at his son one last time and left the room.
Chris head was lying on the bed. He had fallen asleep several hours ago. Rita was still awake. She couldn't sleep. She had this very strange feeling in her head and she didn't know why. So she decided to wake Chris up.
"Chris?" she whispered and stroked his cheek.
Chris turned his head and looked at her, still a little sleepy. Being aware it was the middle of the night he concluded there must be something wrong with Rita.
"Anything wrong?" he asked, moving closer to Rita.
"Sam, I am feeling a little strange." Rita answered.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know what it is, but it's not feeling very good."
"Any pain?"
"No, not pain. I can't explain it. It's my head..."
Rita took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she rubbed her eyes and shook her head.
"I'll get you a doctor."
"No, that's not necessary. Besides, it's the middle of the night."
"You're not feeling good. Don't start arguing with me, okay? I'll get you a doctor. I'll be right back."
Chris left the room and walked to the counter where a nurse was sitting. She was reading a newspaper and looked up when Chris approached.
"How may I help you?" she asked and smiled at Chris.
"My wife is in room 412. She's not feeling very good. Is there a doctor who can look after her?"
"Sure. I will call for Dr. Atkinson. He must be here in about 5 minutes."
"Thank you."
Chris went back to room 412, Rita's room. While upon entering the room he immediately noticed something was wrong. Rita seemed to be asleep, but Chris just knew that couldn't be. He sat down on the bed beside her and took her hand into his.
"Sam, are you sleeping?" he whispered.
There was no reaction. Rita didn't even move her head or anything else.
"Sam? Oh no, OH NO!"
Chris got up an rushed towards the door. He opened it and ran into a young doctor.
"Are you a doctor?" he asked rapidly.
"Yes, I am Dr..."
"Come on, my wife needs help." he interrupted Dr. Atkinson and pushed him into the room.
"She was talking to me some minutes ago and told me she was feeling strange."
Dr. Atkinson checked Rita's vital signs. Then he checked the IV. Finally he took her file and began to read. Then he looked at Chris.
"Preeclampsia? Tell me, when did you come in?" he inquired, placing the file back.
"Last evening around 7:30 pm."
Dr. Atkinson rushed to the door and opened it. He leaned out to the corridor.
"Nurse Simmons, I need you to call Dr. Calabrizzi immediately. Then get me a free operation room." he yelled down the corridor.
He entered the room again. He saw Chris looked a little frightened.
"Mr. Lorenzo, your wife is suffering from eclampsia, a very severe form of preeclampsia. I am surprised nobody saw this when you came in. Her blood pressure is much too high. The fact she's expecting twins makes this even more complicated. We need to do a C section immediately. Your wife and the babies are in great danger."
"Will she be okay? And the twins?"
"If we act fast."
For two hours Chris was sitting in the waiting room waiting for Dr. Atkinson and Dr. Calabrizzi. Nobody could tell him one damn thing about Rita's condition. It was 3:24 am on Christmas Day when Dr. Calabrizzi entered the waiting room. He found Chris sitting in the armchair, his head in his hands.
"Mr. Lorenzo?" he asked as he approached.
Chris looked up at the man. He was still wearing his green dress he wore during the operation.
"I am Dr. Calabrizzi."
"Dr, how's my wife doing?"
Chris jumped up and studied the doctor. He was in his mid-forties. To his surprise he saw a bright smile on Dr. Calabrizzi's face.
"She's doing very, very well. There weren't any complications during the C section."
Chris sighed in relief. Rita was going to be okay. He ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about their twins.
"And... the twins?"
"This is something we need to talk about."
Chris sank back down in the chair. There had to be something wrong. He only wished the twins weren't affected by the eclampsia.
"Uhm... what... are the twins...?" he stammered and cleared his throat.
"Mr. Lorenzo, there was something that really surprised all of us. Your wife gave birth to triplets."
"Tri... Triplets? Oh jesus!"
"You have three little girls. As I told you there weren't any complications, but as they were born 2 weeks too early we had to put two of the girls into the neonatal intensive care unit. I think it will be maybe two days until they can join their sister."
"Can I see my wife?"
"She's on her way to her room right now. She needs some rest. Maybe you would like to see your daughters first?"
"My daughters... of course!"
Chris followed Dr. Calabrizzi to the neonatal intensive care ward. He saw his two youngest daughters lying in the unit, their eyes closed. They were breathing all by themselves, they were only hooked to a monitor that recorded their heartbeat. Both little girls had a small amount of brown hair. Chris didn't even realize Dr. Calabrizzi had left for a moment. He was so fascinated by those little girls - his little girls. When he turned around he saw the doctor standing next to him with another baby sleeping on his arm.
"Is this..." Chris began but then couldn't finish.
"Mr. Lorenzo, I would like to meet your third daughter."
Dr. Calabrizzi handed the sleeping girl to Chris. The baby had a small amount of brown hair as well. She even seemed to smile a little in her sleep. For some time Chris was standing there watching both the girls sleeping. The first one to be born - Hannah Rose - was sleeping in his arm, the second one - Sarah Lee - was sleeping in the unit. The third baby who was sleeping in the unit next to Sarah wasn't given a name so far. Chris hadn't realized it was Christmas Day until one of the nurses came in and checked on Sarah and her sister in the N.I.C.U.
"Your first kids?" she asked and glanced at Chris.
"Uh, no, we already have a little son." he replied, cradling Hannah in his arms.
"You know that these two are the first Christmas babies here?"
"Christmas babies? Is it already Christmas?"
"It's 3:55 am, Mr. Lorenzo."
"Already? Dear, I have to check on my wife."
Chris looked around not knowing where to go with the baby he was cradling in his arm. The nurse noticed it. She began to smile.
"You can take her with you if you want. I will come and get her after I've checked on these little girls here."
"Thank you."
Chris straight went to Rita's room. He saw she was sleeping. So he sat down on the bed next to her and looked at the girl he was holding in his arm. The baby was slightly stirring but didn't wake up.
"Sam..." Chris finally whispered into Rita's ear, "... here's someone who would like to meet you."
Rita stirred for a moment and turned her head to face Chris. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Chris, what happened..." she began, but then saw the baby sleeping in his arm.
"Rita, I would like you to meet one of our daughters."
"Our daughters?" Rita asked in disbelief and tried to smile.
"Yeah, our daughters. 3 in total."
"WHAT?" Rita exclaimed and shook her head. Triplets? That couldn't be!
"Yeah, 3 little girls. Born 2:53 am, 2:56 am and 3:03 am. This little girl here was the first one to be born. Hannah Rose."
Chris held the baby a bit lower so that Rita could see the little face. Rita smiled and stroked the baby's head. Her eyes were filled with tears. Chris wiped them away.
"Are they okay?" Rita asked.
"Yes, they are both fine. You know, they had to put the two youngest in the N.I.C.U..."
Chris paused and waited for Rita's reaction.
"What?" she exclaimed, but then lowered her voice not to wake up the baby. "You said they were fine!"
"Sam, they are fine. It's just for a day or so." Chris tried to calm her.
"Can I see them?"
"Later today."
A nurse entered the room. She came to take to baby back. Before she left Rita kissed her little daughter on the head. Then she lay back in her bed and gazed at Chris. Chris kissed her.
"What was that for?" Rita asked.
"Do I need a reason to kiss you?"
Chris stroked Rita's hair and smiled at her.
"You know, we have to name the youngest of the triplets. So what do you think we should name her?"
"Casey Denise." Rita said after she'd been thinking for a moment.
"Casey Denise? Now where does that come from? I don't remember we ever talked about that name."
"I don't know. Just came up in my mind. You like it?"
"Uh... uh... yeah, I think I could live with naming my daughter Casey Denise."
Chris had a bright smile on his face while thinking about the little girl who's name should be Casey Denise. He wished Rita would have seen her and Sarah already.
"Did you call Cap?" Rita suddenly asked.
"No, I didn't. I was sitting in the waiting room all the time."
"Then go and call him. I promise I will try to get back to sleep while you're away."
"Okay. It won't take long."
Chris kissed Rita again and left the room. He walked down to the waiting room where the next telephone was. He dialed Harry's number. The phone rang 5 times before he answered.
"I hope this is an important call." Harry said, a little sleepy.
"Cap, it's Chris."
"Chris? Anything wrong with Rita? It's 4 o'clock in the morning."
"Uhm, yeah... Cap, Rita had a C section."
"She had what?" Harry covered the receiver with his hand and called for his wife. "How's she doing? And the baby?" Harry began to whisper. "Hon, Rita had a C section."
"Rita's doing just fine. She told me to call you."
"Lorenzo, what it is? Tell me, boy or girl?" Harry asked impatiently.
"I am just going to tell you that they all are doing fine. I am not going to tell you if it's a boy or a girl."
"What?" Harry exclaimed.
"Heschy, a boy or a girl?" Chris heard Frannie asking on the other side of the line.
"He won't tell us." Harry said to his wife. Then he talked to Chris again. "Lorenzo, tell us if it's a boy or a girl."
"Cap, you have to come and see the Christmas baby by yourself this morning. I will tell you then. Bye."
"Hey, Lorenzo, wait..."
Chris hung up the phone. He went back to Rita's room and found her asleep in her bed. She had a little smile on your face. Chris kissed her on her forehead and whispered: "Thank you, Sammy."
Chris was waken up by the light the next morning. He blinked and opened his eyes. He saw Rita was already awake. She was stroking his hair and smiled.
"Good morning, handsome." she said.
"Uhm, hi sunshine." he replied and kissed is wife. Then he stretched and frowned. "Uh, what time is it?"
"I don't know exactly." Rita replied and brushed his cheek. "You... you think you could introduce me to Sarah and Casey now? I can't wait to see them."
Chris nodded and smiled back at her.
"I'll get you a wheelchair and we will be on our way to them. Just give me a minute."
Chris left the room. When he entered back again some minutes later pushing a wheelchair he found Rita sitting on the bed. She was leaning on the nightstand.
"Hey, hey, hey, what do you think you're doing there?"
Chris hurried to her and lifted her up. He knew the incision was still hurting her, but she kept smiling at him. He could see the eagerness in her face to see their youngest daughters.
"Sam, can we hurry a little, please?" she pleaded while Chris sat her down in he wheelchair. "I really can't wait any longer."
"Okay, there we are on our way to Sarah and Casey."
The long corridor didn't seem to have an end for Rita. She heard babies crying as Chris pushed her into the small room in front of the neonatal intensive care ward. He had to put a white gown over his clothes. Then he helped Rita doing that as well. Rita was so excited when Chris finally pushed her into the room with the incubators standing in. She saw a lot of premature babies lying in several units. They all were very small and hooked up to several different machines and monitors. At the end of the room two last units were standing next to each other. As they approached Rita already saw her little daughters facing them. Casey was sound asleep while Sarah stirred a little. Her right fist was placed under her chin and she was sleeping peacefully. Chris stopped the wheelchair.
"Rita, I'd like to introduce you to Sarah Lee and Casey Denise Lorenzo. Hey Sarah and Casey, look, mommy is here."
Chris bent down and reached for Rita's hand. Rita had tears in her eyes when she saw her little girls. She squeezed Chris' hand and smiled up at him. The baby in the first unit moved her feet and opened her eyes for a moment. Casey glanced at her parents outside the unit and then closed her eyes again.
"Sam, they are so beautiful..." Rita began but almost couldn't finish the sentence.
"... just like their ma." Chris added and wiped the tears out of the corner of Rita's eyes. The last time he saw her smile like this was when she was holding Christopher in her arms for the first time. "You know, I already counted toes and fingers last night, 10 of each for your information."
Rita laughed slightly, never turning away from her little girls.
"And I don't know if you saw it when Casey opened her eyes a few moments ago, but she already has deep green fascinating eyes. Sarah and Hannah also have deep green eyes. The same green eyes you have, sunshine."
A nurse approached the unit to check on Sarah.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo?" she asked with a warmly smile on her face.
"Yes." Chris answered and nodded. He looked as proud as a peacock about the fact that the little girls in the unit were his daughters.
"Dr. Calabrizzi called a few moments ago. He said you could take Sarah and Casey out of the unit for some time if you want."
Chris and Rita looked at each other. They both were more than eager to hold their little daughters in their arms. Rita nodded at Chris who only could smile all over his face.
"Yeah, we would like to." he told the nurse, seeing that she already had opened one the units. She carefully pulled the small buttons off of Sarah's chest and lifted the baby. She reached for a blanket next to the unit and wrapped the baby in it. Then she handed Sarah to her mother. Chris was cradling Casey in his arms a moment later. He kneeled down next to the wheelchair to have a better look at Sarah.
"Oh Sam, she looks so much like you. This small nose..." Chris placed his finger on Sarah's nose. She jerked her nose for a moment. "You aren't going to tell me now I don't deserve all this, will you, Rita?"
"Well, you already know you don't deserve this, but I - as well - know I don't deserve this either."
Rita stroked the baby's little head and kissed Sarah on her forehead. Then she leaned over and kissed Casey on her forehead. Sarah yawned and moved her right arm a bit but slept peacefully while Casey opened her eyes again and smiled.
It was exactly 8:30 am when Harry and Frannie Lipschitz entered the hospital. Baby Christopher was still a little sleepy. He was sucking his dummy while he had laid his head down on Frannie's shoulder. Harry and Frannie made their way to Rita's room. They weren't surprised to see it was empty. So they decided to go to the nursery where they expected to find them with their baby. They asked around for baby Lorenzo. A nurse finally showed baby Hannah to them. A window separated them.
"Heschy, look, isn't that the sweetest little girl you ever saw? And the name Hannah, that's sssooooooo sweet!" Frannie exclaimed and shifted Christopher on her other side. "Chris, look, that is your little sister there."
Christopher stared at the baby and wrinkled his nose. Then he took the dummy out of his mouth and said: "Chris big bro."
"Yes, Chris is a big brother now." Harry laughed and cuddled the baby.
"Uhm, Heschy, did you spot Chris and Rita somewhere around here?"
Frannie looked around curious in hopes to see Chris and Rita. She thought they had to be near their daughter at their moment - which they indeed were. They were still with Sarah and Casey.
"I'll tell you something. We go back to the room and wait there for the two."
"But we can't let Hannah..."
"Oh yes, we can. Come on!"
Harry pushed his wife down the corridor. Some minutes later they entered Rita's room again. It was still empty. Frannie sat Christopher down on a chair.
"I really ask myself where those two are right now." she said as she gave a bottle with juice to Christopher.
"What, why are you so curious? They'll be here in the next few minutes."
Christopher climbed down from the chair, his bottle still in his mouth. He waddled around the empty bed towards the door which suddenly was pushed open from the other side. Christopher staggered backwards and sat down on his bottom. He stared at his daddy's back for a moment before he crawled towards the door, the bottle still in his mouth. He began to giggle. Now Chris realized someone was behind him. He stopped the wheelchair and turned only to see that his son was pulling himself up at the wall.
"Hey, who do we have here?" Chris exclaimed and scooped Christopher from the ground. Meanwhile Rita had turned in the wheelchair and saw Chris with their son on his arm. Then she spotted Frannie and Harry in her room.
"Well, there are the young parents." Frannie approached. "Come on, come on, Chris, you can't let the wheelchair remain in the doorway." She shook her head and pulled the wheelchair into the room. Then she helped Rita back in bed.
"So, tell me where you've been." Harry inquired as he approached Chris and patted his shoulder.
"Oh, we were in the nursery."
Harry only nodded and folded his arms. Frannie couldn't resist making one of her comments about baby Hannah while she pulled the sheets up that covered Rita.
"Oh, we already saw Hannah a few moments ago. She really is beautiful."
"Ah, you mean Hannah?"
Frannie and Harry both frowned. What should this mean? Was there... no, really, that couldn't be! Harry rubbed the back of his head.
"You are not trying to tell us now that there's something you forgot to tell us." He gave them both his look over the glasses.
"Well, Cap, yes, there is." Chris admitted and gave him one of his contrite looks.
"Uh, uh, I don't like to way this is starting out. So where is newborn baby Lorenzo no. 2?"
"Right where baby Lorenzo no. 3 is." Chris replied. The room went silent. Harry's jaw dropped on the floor and Frannie reached for the chair next to the bed and sat down.
"WHAT?" Harry shouted after a awhile and rubbed the back of his head.
"They are lying in the N.I.C.U." Rita replied and smiled.
"Triplets? Why am I the last person to get to know this here?" Frannie exclaimed.
"Rita and I wanted to surprise you with the fact that it would be twins. We already knew for a couple of months, but we decided to keep it a secret until they were born." Chris almost excused himself. "But then things got a little more complicated last night. And then suddenly there were three little girls."
Christopher moved on his daddy's arm a lot. His eyes moved rapidly back on forth and he continually mumbled the word 'baby'. Chris placed him on the bed next to Rita to satisfy him.
"Chris big bro." he smiled at his mommy and handed her his bottle.
"Oh, Chris definitely is a big brother now." Rita smiled back and placed the bottle on the nightstand.
"Hey, hey, you haven't told us so far how you named your daughters." Harry remarked.
"Sarah Lee and Casey Denise!" Chris and Rita responded at the same time.
"Sarah, Hannah and Casey, oh, these three names are prefect, aren't they, Heschy?"
Frannie jumped up and moved to the door.
"What are you doing there?" Harry asked as she saw his wife opening the door.
"Heschy, I really have to worry about you now. C'mon, I wanna see the girls."
Without saying anything further Frannie had left the room and the door closed. Harry only shook his head and walked to the door.
"We will be right back." he said before he left the room. Chris laughed as he sat down on the bed next to Rita and Christopher. The look on Rita's face told him she was thinking about something. She looked deadly serious.
"What is it?" he asked as he gave the bottle back to Christopher, who tried to get it from the nightstand.
"What do you mean?" Rita replied. She couldn't hide her thoughts very well, she knew that.
"Come on, don't fool me. What is it, Sammy?"
Chris moved closer as he put his arm around her and pulled her a little closer.
"Well, you know, as you certainly will remember you were the one with the frost bitten feet when we were told we will have twins. And now that we have triplets... I don't know if I can do that, Chris. I do not know if I can handle that and being a perfect mother. Four little kids..."
"Shh..." Chris placed his index finger on her mouth. "Nobody is perfect. Do you remember what you told me? The kids will all adore you, no matter what you do. You don't need to be prefect, nobody does. We can handle that, Sammy. We can do everything we want. For Christopher, Hannah, Sarah and Casey, okay?"
"You know I love you, Mr. Lorenzo, don't you?"
"And you know I love you, Mrs. Lorenzo."
They kissed each other passionately as the young boy between them suddenly began to giggle quietly. He covered his mouth with his hands and turned his eyes away.
"He's very well raised!" Chris remarked as they both burst out laughing.
7 days later Rita and the triplets could leave hospital. Rita insisted on being home to welcome the new year. As the triplets were gaining weight each passing day they could be released with their mother. Chris had come to pick up his 4 favorite girls around 2 pm. Rita was already fully dressed and waiting for him with a smile on her face. Chris shuffled through the door into her room carrying 3 multi colored car seats.
"Oh, where did you get the third seat matching the others?" Rita remarked as Chris placed the empty seats on the ground.
"Well, it's nice to see you as well, Rita." he replied and placed a tender kiss on her lips. "Ready to get the girls home?"
"Yeah, absolutely."
Chris reached for Rita's bag on the bed and put it over his shoulder. Then he grabbed two of the car seats and followed Rita, who already had left the room carrying one of the car seats. Hannah, Sarah and Casey were in the nursery where Chris and Rita picked them up. Hannah and Sarah were sleeping in the seats Chris was carrying whereas their little sister Casey was awake in the seat Rita was carrying. Her eyes were half open as she wrinkled her nose and stirred a little in her seat. Rita glanced down at the little girl.
"Now hello, who's awake there?" she smiled as they arrived at the car.
Casey yawned when Rita placed the seat on the trunk of the car. Then she opened her eyes wide to explore her new surroundings. Her eyes were still moving when Chris strapped the seat into the car.
"Yeah, I know, that's all new for you, sweetheart." he smiled and kissed the baby on the forehead. "And now we will go home to big brother Chris."
All 3 girls were sound asleep when Chris and Rita arrived at home. They got the triplets out of the car and moved to their apartment. Chris proceeded to open the door after he'd handed the seat with Sarah to Rita. He opened the door as a loud: "WELCOME HOME!" was heard. Rita entered the apartment and saw Harry, Frannie, Tom and Cassy in the apartment.
"Oh my, oh my, there they are!" Frannie exclaimed eagerly and closed the door behind Chris and Rita. They placed the seats down on the table in the living room. Immediately everyone gathered around the babies. Even Christopher who crawled through Tom's legs and pulled himself up at the table.
"Who's who?" Cassy asked. The triplets indeed looked very much alike. Even Chris and Rita had problems saying who's who. Therefore every one of the girls was wearing a small silver bracelet with her name.
"Hannah, that's Sarah and this little girl is Casey." Chris answered and lifted Casey on his arm. The girl opened her eyes for a moment. Then she yawned and drifted back to sleep.
"Oh, oh, oh, may I hold one?" Frannie interrupted the gathering around the girls when she pushed her husband aside.
"Sure." Rita laughed and handed Hannah to Frannie.
"Oh my, she is ssssooooooo sweet! Yes, you're so sweet, my little darling." Frannie cooed.
"Well, the good thing is we don't have to argue about who's holding the baby!" Chris grinned while Rita lifted Sarah out of her seat.
"Chris want baby, too!" Christopher suddenly shouted and raised his arms in the air. "Holding baby, Chris want baby!"
"Well, I think you're a little too small for that, my son. Come and sit down on couch."
Rita took Christopher by the hand and led him to the couch. Christopher climbed up on it and sat down. Then he raised his arms again.
"Chris now want baby!" he shouted again.
Rita sat down on the couch next to him and smiled down at him. She carefully placed Sarah in his arms.
"You must be really careful with her. We don't want to wake her up, do we?"
"Hey, that's a perfect family photo!" Harry exclaimed and searched for the camera he had placed somewhere in the living room. He finally found it. "C'mon Chris, sit down with your family. I will take a photo."
Chris sat down with Casey sleeping on his arm. Christopher, still really careful with Sarah, was sitting between his parents.
"Frannie, would you PLEASE hand the baby back to her mother or what? Do you need an extra invitation?"
"Heschy, don't start to yell. Please think about your blood pressure!"
Everybody laughed when Frannie finally handed the baby girl to Rita. Little Hannah rubbed her eyes with her tiny fists and yawned. She moved her feet and showed first signs of waking up. CLICK! Harry took a photo the same moment Hannah opened her mouth wide and began to cry. Sarah joined her sister a moment later. Christopher who didn't know what to do with the crying baby on his arm began to whimper.
"Let me take this crying bundle." Frannie smiled at her godson. She cradled the baby in her arms as Rita stood up.
"I know, I know, they're both hungry."
Rita tried to lift Sarah on her free arm but Frannie wasn't willing to give her away.
"Honey, I can do that as well. Give me the bottle and Sarah will be satisfied immediately."
Rita just grinned at Frannie.
"Thanks a lot for that offer, Frannie, but I will nurse the girls. I think you can't help me there."
Finally Frannie handed the girl to Rita who went upstairs to the nursery carrying two crying babies. Casey instead was still sound asleep in her father's arms.
"I can't believe she's sleeping so peacefully while her sisters are making such a noise." Cassy stated as she studied the little girl in Chris' arms.
"Oh, Casey's a very silent baby. She likes to watch what's going on."
There were still some loud screams emanating from the nursery upstairs. It obviously was only one baby that was crying, but that was already enough. Chris handed the baby to Cassy and rushed upstairs to the nursery. He found Rita sitting in the rocker nursing Hannah while Sarah was lying in one of the cradles crying and screaming.
"Why didn't you ask for help?" Chris asked as he took Sarah out of the cradle and rocked her in his arms. She had clenched her hands to fists, but slowly began to calm down.
"Help? If I can't handle this anymore you can get me a wheelchair, Sam, and I will turn my badge in to retire." she joked with a slight grin on her face.
Chris kneeled down next to the rocker with the now silent Sarah in his arms and watched the little girl Rita was nursing.
"She looks like she's drifted back to sleep."
"No, she certainly hasn't." Rita turned her attention to her daughter. "Hmmmm, you're taking your time, little one." she smiled and brushed the baby's little amount of hair.
Meanwhile Sarah had opened her eyes. She looked around curious. Before either of her parents could realize she was awake now she cried for her meal. She was hungry and she let everyone know.
"Change babies." Chris suggested.
"Okay, change babies."
They exchanged the girls. While Sarah now was satisfied, her sister was satisfied as well. She remained silent in her daddy's arm until her mother had nursed her sister. The two girls were ready to go to sleep in her new cradles when both Chris and Rita heard a third baby crying downstairs - Christopher.
"Ugh... Sam, can you handle that? I'll change the girls meanwhile."
"Whatever you say, sunshine."
Chris placed a quick kiss on Rita's cheek and moved downstairs. Christopher was sitting on the couch, his arms crossed in front of him. Frannie, Cassy and Harry tried to talk to the little boy to calm him, while Tom stood in the corner of the living room. He seemed to be totally lost with the sleeping baby on his arm. Chris gave him a grin before he turned to his son.
"Now what do we have here?"
He gave his son a look and wanted to pluck him from the couch, but Christopher fought him. He kicked and screamed.
"NO! NO! Chris big! NO! Chris stay awake!" he screamed and whirled his arms through the air.
"I know Chris is big. And Chris can stay awake. So why are you screaming, mister?"
"NO! NO! Daddy tell Chris go to bed. Chris don't want!"
Chris frowned. It was only late afternoon. Why was Christopher causing such a revolt? He looked at Frannie, Cassy and Harry. They only shrugged their shoulders. They didn't know what was going on either.
"Do you wanna tell daddy why you don't want to go to bed? You don't need to if you don't want to."
"GOOD!" Christopher rejoiced and climbed down the couch. He ran through the living room to Tom and pulled at his trousers.
"Showing Chris rockets when dark." he said and nodded. "Rockets... when dark."
Ah, there was the explanation! Christopher wanted to the see all the colorful rockets at midnight. Rita and Chris had told him he had to go to bed while Tom was telling him about all the colorful rockets. Chris shook his head and approached Tom and Christopher. He took the sleeping baby from Tom's arm.
"Okay, Tom will show you the rockets at midnight. BUT..." Chris had a bright grin on his face, "... he has to promise he'll watch you from now on till tomorrow morning. Deal, Tom?"
"Uhm..."
Tom had maneuvered himself into an embarrassing situation. He knew exactly how Christopher would get him on his nerves after an hour. The boy would beg for some toys, something to eat or drink he knew of his parents said he wouldn't be allowed to eat or drink, he even would have to change diapers!
"I think we'll save that until next year." Tom finally said to Christopher and stroked his hair.
"Promise, promise, promise!" Christopher stamped his feet.
"Ugh... we better wait till next year."
"PROMISE!"
Christopher began to scream again. He ran through the living room, crying out loud. He whirled his hands through the air and ducked under the small table. His crying awakened his little sister who joined the loud screaming immediately. Rita appeared on the stairs.
"Hey! I thought you could handle that!" she joked and took the crying baby from Chris' arm.
"Tell you what, Sam. You take Casey and I will see what I can do to calm Chris. GO!"
He pushed Rita towards the stairs and gestured her to go to the girls' nursery to nurse Casey. When she'd disappeared he kneeled down in front of the table and reached for Christopher's leg. He dragged the screaming boy out from under the table and lifted him on his arm. Christopher punched his fists against his father's chest.
"Chris, we'll make a deal."
Christopher didn't listen to what Chris said. He screamed and punched him and kicked him with his feet.
"I said we'll make a deal. STOP THAT!"
The boy slowly stopped punching as daddy and looked up at him.
"I will take you out in an hour and Tom will show you the rockets. Deal?"
Christopher thought about it for a moment. At least everyone thought he was doing so because he looked very pensively.
"Deal." he agreed at the end and smiled.
The kids were all asleep in their beds when Chris and Rita were still downstairs in the living room. It was almost midnight. Two glasses of wine were standing on the table in front of the couch. Chris and Rita were lying on the couch. Rita was resting in Chris arms, only half awake. It had been a long day with getting the girls home and Christopher being so excited. Rita absently twisted Chris' wedding band while she gazed at the photo of 3 months old Christopher on the wall.
"Sam?" Chris whispered into his wife's ear and kissed her neck.
"Hmm?" she replied groggily and turned her head to him.
"What do you think will the new year bring for us?"
"A lot of fun with the triplets, I think." she smiled. "And Chris, of course."
"You... you know I was thinking a bit while you were upstairs nursing the girls earlier. We, uhm, I promise I will be there for them every time they need me. And I will promise something to you as well. My work - dangerous work - will be only that much of my daily life from now on." He held his thumb and index finger about an inch apart and smiled warmly at Rita. "I almost lost you and I think after all that happened the last year, to you and to Christopher, I know what it would be like for you if you'd have to spend the rest of your life without me. You already thought I was dead two years ago and I never want you to go through this again. Neither do I want my kids grow up without their father. You are everything to me."
"Where is this going, Sam?"
"Nowhere, I guess. I just thought I should tell you this. It's going to be a new year soon and I wanted to let you know this year."
"Well, since this is confession time, I have to confess something as well." Rita still twisted Chris' wedding band absently. She finally stopped and stroked Chris' hair. "I love you forever and all time." she whispered into his ear and kissed him. Chris wrapped his arms around her and answered her kiss passionately. Suddenly they were interrupted by exploding rockets outside and colorful lights were shining through the windows and the sliding glass door to the porch.
"Happy new year, Sammy." Chris laughed as he pulled her closer and covered them with the blanket.
"Happy new year, Sam." Rita replied and kissed him again.
The end
Usual disclaimer: The characters of Chris Lorenzo, Rita Lee Lance, Frannie and Harry Lipschitz, Tom Ryan, Cassy St.John and George Donovan don't belong to me. They belong to Stephen J. Cannell and USA Network. However, the characters of Christopher James Jr., Hannah Rose, Sarah Lee and Casey Denise do belong to me.
Thanks to Karen for doing the editing (as usual).