5 YEARS LATER

I run my hand down my belly and think about how lucky I am. I had been married to Ivan for a while now and my twin boy had just turned two. Derek and Isaac were playing in the dirt with their Uncle Dirk who had just married himself and had a little one on the way. The baby inside me kicked and I place my hand over the spot lovingly. Everyone predicted that this one was going to be a boy as well, but I was holding out for a little girl. The sun had just begun to set when Ivan walked up behind me and looped his arms around my stomach and spread his fingers along my taunt belly.

"I want a girl to, you know." he whispered in my ear and I leaned my head back against his chest.

"I didn't know that." I told him and he laughed.

"That's because I just decided it. The ratio of testosterone to estrogen is thoroughly lopsided." he explained and I couldn't help but crack a grin at that.

He planted a kiss on the top of my head and released me. He walked up to his boys and picked them up, one on each side and gave them a tight hug. He sat them down after a while and clapped his brother on the back and said something to him I didn't catch. Derek ran over to me and I picked him up painfully.

"Mommy, can we play for a little while longer? Please?" he pleaded in his adorable little boy voice and I shook my head no.

"You all need to take a bath and get in bed. It's getting late. You can play tomorrow." I told him and he sighed adorably and nodded his head yes.

I sat him down and Ivan ushered them inside to get them ready for the bath. I waved goodbye to Dirk and joined them. I helped Ivan bathe them as best I could, my belly making it hard to bend down. We worked with routine, Ivan bathed one than he handed him off to me to dry and dress. This usually went a bit faster, but I was being slowed down with a sharp pain in my side that happened every so often. By the time we finished bathing the boys and got them into bed, the pain was so intense that I had to keep myself from crying out in pain.

Ivan joined me out in the main room after he had tucked the boys into bed and he found me rocking back and forth on my hands and knees in pain. He rushed to my side and kneeled beside my head.

"What's wrong? Is the baby coming?" he asked and I nodded while breathing deeply.

"Hold on! I'll go and get Claire!" he exclaimed and then ran out of the house and towards town.

**/**

"It's a girl! She's beautiful!" Claire exclaimed as she put the screaming new born on my chest.

I cradled the pink crying little girl and looked into her face, tear of happiness streaming down my sweaty face. Ivan wiped a piece of hair off of my forehead and kissed me softly, "You did amazing. She's beautiful!" he exclaimed, tears of his own building in his eyes.

She stopped crying once she was bundled up and she opened her little blue eyes to look around. She was beautiful. Ivan kissed me again, "What should we name her?" he asked and I thought for a moment, never taking my eyes off of her.

"Aaliyah." I said and Ivan nodded and smiled down at Aaliyah.

"Grow up big and strong. We love you, Aaliyah." he said in a gentle voice and bent down to kiss her softly.

My life was now complete, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.