Thank you all the wonderful people who reviewed this and said it was worth continuing.
The twins are mine. I'm just borrowing the guys to ride herd on them. I make no money off them. Thank goodness you can serve reviews to keep 'em fed.
/Between the back slashes means it is telepathy or it's close kin./ If it's in italics it's thoughts.
This snippet is set two weeks after Vin's brought them home.
Time for Twins
The twins were cuddled together on a blanket laid in a corner of the CDC the Dunne/Wilmington abode. The team sat supposedly watching a ball game on TV. Vin moved his chair slightly so he had a clear view of the sleeping boys. Chris walked in from the kitchen. Looking over at the boys he approached cautiously. Carefully he repositioned the cover over the bare toes of one of the sleepers. Chris dropped into a chair. Josiah gestured to the corner with a grin. Looking back Chris shook his head bare toes once again protruded.
"Dev?" Chris asked.
"Yeah," Vin shook his head "cain't keep shoes on him either".
JD checked on them as he went for more beer. When he returned and handed out bottles he frowned looking at the curls peeping from beneath the cover. "Should we drink so much in front of them?" he asked softly.
The seven men exchanged looks and started counting empty bottles. Josiah sat his bottle down unopened. Six more joined it. "Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Mt. Dew," Buck offered. Amused chuckles soon filled the room. "Them little fellers sure make big changes," Buck noted.
"What am I gonna do? They's panic when I try and leave 'em in daycare," Vin worried.
"A private sitter," Josiah suggested.
"They still ain't slept a night through. Been two weeks since I got 'em," Vin sighed.
"Vin, I was 20 when my mom died, it took along time for me to sleep good,." JD offered.
"Did Dr. Evans offer any suggestions?" Chris asked.
"Give me a list of child psychologists and said not ta give 'em caffeine and sugar to close ta bed time," Vin rambled.
"Your doing fine. Their whole world has been shook up. When your place is finished it'll be better," Chris promised.
"Mr. Tanner, have you considered a housekeeper?" Ezra asked. "You would have someone whom the boys are familiar with. Plus you wouldn't loose precious time to such mundane things as laundry. Considering the cost of good daycare it wouldn't be that much of a stretch. It would be much healthier for the boys not being exposed to so much bacteria. Their immune systems will be down due to stress at this time." he suggested.
"Ezra's right about them getting sick easy right now," Nathan nodded.
"They could stay with they's own things. Might feel safer me not droppin' 'em off," Vin mused. "Have ta be mighty careful. Not all folks is good ta kids," Vin's eyes were shadowed with old memories.
"Vin, what did Miss Netty say?" Buck asked.
"Miss Netty's visitin' a cousin. She don't know 'bout 'em yet," worried blue eyes darted to the sleepers.
"Ask her for some advice," Nathan suggested.
"She raised Cassie after she lost her folks. She's going to have already faced some of these problems," JD reminded Vin. The men gradually got back to their game.
7777777
Dev woke and crawled out of the blanket. The men grinned as they watched him tuck his brother back in. He was the most protective of the two. All of them had noticed Dev couldn't relax until he had checked on every member of his little world.
A small fist rubbed his eyes. He walked over and crawled into Vin's lap snuggling close. "Are yah awake?" Vin chuckled. Bright eyes smiled back and Dev signed that he was hungry. "Reckon we need ta fix that don't we?" Vin asked.
"Do you want some chili?" Josiah asked. Dev shook his head.
"Let's go see what's in the kitchen," JD offered.
Dev crawled off Vin's lap and followed JD.
"Hot or cold?" JD asked. "Hot, OK we have chicken noodle soup, ravioli, spaghettios, vegetable soup and surprise," JD sat cans out from under the cabinet.
"Mr., Dunne what type of nourishment is surprise?" Ezra asked.
"Means he isn't sure because the label come off," Buck answered. "
None of that sounds good, huh?" JD decided looking at the wrinkled nose.
"Lets try the fridge," JD decided. The other men smirked at JD's comments. "Ain't sure what that used to be...This might have been pizza," JD muttered. "Oh shit" JD yelped. Dev ran out of the kitchen closely followed by JD. They both peeked back into the room with a shudder. "Buck, the blue bowl. What was in it?" JD demanded.
Buck frowned thinking "Wilmington stew," he finally grinned.
"Was it made before or after Dev was born?" JD asked seriously.
"What is that odor?" Ezra gasped.
"I dropped the bowl" JD allowed. Nathan sprang up throwing up the balcony doors. He had turned a strange greyish green shade.
"You spilt it, you clean it up," Buck ordered. JD frowned and started into the kitchen. A moment latter he was racing for the bathroom.
"I have only seen that particular shade of green on corpses," Ezra noted. The sounds of a distressed stomach carried to the others.
"Kids," Buck sighed and headed in to clean it up. Dev pulled on Chris' sleeve handing him a hockey stick.
"What Dev?" Chris asked. Dev began to sign rapidly. "I don't understand," Chris looked at Vin.
"He says ya might wanna back ole Buck up. You being so good at catchin' monsters," Vin laughed.
Ezra stood and peeked into the kitchen. "Good Lord! He may be correct it may be alive. It has started eating the flooring," he announced.
Chris crept forward to get a look. Sudden laughter caught his attention. A twitch of his lips when he realized that he was carrying the hockey stick drawn back for a swing.
Buck finally got the mess taken care of and returned to the living room. "Guess I need to clean that fridge," Buck allowed.
"Mr. Wilmington, might I suggest calling in a hazardous waste disposal team," Ezra declared.
"Dev'th thtill hungry," Beau spoke in a sleepy voice.
"What would you like to dine on?" Ezra asked.
The boys exchanged glances. "Thrimp Thcampi, Thicken Cordon Blu, Grilled Thalmon?" Beau asked. The men exchanged startled looks.
"What about Chinese?" Josiah finally spoke.
"OK, 'member no peanuth er peanut oil," Beau sighed.
"Chicken Cordon Blu! Well gentleman it appears that the dining selection is going to vastly improve in our vicinity," Ezra gloated.
