AN: Music for this chapter (on repeat): The Beach Song by Hans Zimmer from True Romance Soundtrack, Wild Child by Enya, Wild Horses by The Sundays, Nothing Else Matters by Scala and the Kolacny Brothers.
NINE
o
"Sydney, please. Stop shouting." Irina placed her hand on her daughter's forearm smiling and a bit amused by the look on her Sydney's face. "Yes, I am." She whispered with a nod, watching Sydney's eyes grow wider and her pupils practically consume her eyes in shock. "But we're not ready to announce it to the world yet, so please, stop shouting across the store." Her smiled turned to a little laugh, when she kissed her daughter's face. "I love you, Sydney Anne. You make me laugh everyday, thank you." She kept laughing softly and kissed Lena before walking back down the aisle and grabbing things off the shelves like nothing happened. When she turned and Sydney was still frozen in place she called out in her singsong motherly voice, "Syd-ney!" And finally got her attention.
Sydney had to shake her head, feeling as though she just stepped through the Looking Glass before she could put one foot in front of the other. A slow smile started spreading across her lips thinking about the new information and the insanity that was her family. Before long she was laughing hysterically to no one but herself and started clapping, forcing Katya and Irina to stop and stare at her along with other shoppers, all with wide-eyes, unsure if she was having a mental breakdown until Sydney looked right at her mother, big smile.
"You two. I swear. Oh, that's good." She started laughing again and threw her head back but pushed on and the shoppers eventually went back to what they were doing. "Oh Lena," She looked down at her baby sister smiling and chewing on her toy, "Our parents are unbelievable and God, do I love them for it!"
Irina heard the statement as she picked through a batch of cucumbers and smiled to herself, humming along with the song, 'Your dreams can come true.'
"Ok, ok, ok…let me get the facts straight." Sydney asked from the back seat of the SUV her mother was driving on the way home, sitting next to her sister in her carseat and leaning forward into the seat gap to fire questions at her mother and aunt who was riding passenger. "We're out of the store and no one can hear us… but us." She smiled, still riding the euphoric cloud nine of happy shock. "So, you're pregnant?"
"Yes." Irina said softly, shaking her head with a smile. Her daughter was so much like she and Jack. Repeating the statement over and over until they believed it.
"How long have you known?" Sydney smiled and fired away in interrogator mode much to the amusement of Katya.
"Since the morning of the hang-over party in Las Vegas." Irina smiled knowing what the reaction would be.
"Dad's birthday?" Sydney clarified the facts.
"Yes."
"Buwhahahaha!" Sydney fell back against the seat, laughing at the irony, knowing she was actually conceived on that date. "When did you tell Dad? Does he know?" She sprang forward in her seat again with wide-eyes and Irina and Katya both laughed.
"Yes, your father knows. I told him later that evening." Irina smiled, fingering her hair behind her ear as she checked the mirrors and switched lanes, getting ready to exit the freeway.
"Who else knows?" Sydney kept firing.
"Well, me, your father, Katya," Irina nodded with her head towards her sister who was smiling, "Uni-Labs of Stockholm and now you." She smiled widely knowing that answer was bound to bring another question.
"Wait a minute. Uni-Labs of Stockholm? The company who did our blood tests for the marathon?" Sydney looked at Irina in the rear-view mirror with the hereditary quirked eyebrow and Irina couldn't stop the bubbling laughter.
"Yes, Sweetheart. They were apparently the first to know."
"You ran the marathon pregnant?" Sydney's voice rose with her eyebrows and Irina nodded. "I don't know why I am surprised by that considering all you did when you were pregnant with Lena: getting shot, stabbed, electrocuted, strangled, jumping off buildings and blowing them up." She shook her head smiling looking to her mother and then aunt and they all started laughing at the grocery list way Sydney had rattled those off and context of what she actually said. "So, how far along are you and when will I get to meet this new sibling?"
"According to the lab results, I should be due in mid-February sometime and as far as conception," Irina smiled already seeing the look in Sydney's eyes, this being one of those things she probably didn't want to know, but did, "The night of the Coronation." She added softly and watched as Sydney's mouth dropped open and gasped before breaking into wild laughter and falling back against the seat.
"I swear, you and Dad! What is it, with you two and these special events?" Sydney was rolling with tears in her eyes. "I was on your honeymoon and Dad's birthday, Lena was your first time together in twenty-one years and your escape from US custody and now this baby comes with Coronation of you as Imperial Tsar of Russia!"
"I don't know, Sweetheart." Irina shrugged and she and Katya began laughing with her. When the laughing died down Irina wiped her teary eyes and shook her head smiling, "I think fate certainly has a way of marking momentous occasions. You were made when our marriage really began that night, and it certainly changed the rest of our lives… Your sister was created out of us finding each other again that night in Panama, connecting the past and the present... and this baby… on the Coronation, a new chapter in all our lives… and the start of our future. You were all made in and from 'love' at its purest form. Even Julian became our son on a momentous day, leaving the CIA and world of espionage behind us."
"Ok, that was beautiful." Sydney wiped at her tears streaming down her cheeks now not from laughter but from happiness, "Now I know why you were an English Professor." She laughed and leaned forward, hugging her mother from behind the seat as they pulled into the driveway, kissing her on the cheek. "Congratulations, Mom. I'm really happy for you." Sydney smiled and kept her cheek pressed to her mother's while they sat in the car a moment, "You really are the fairy-tale come to life." She whispered thinking about the tales of princesses and princes, kings and queens, and all the happily-ever-after that came with it. That on the night of her mother's Coronation, becoming Empress of Russia and looking every bit the part of someone who was stepping out of a fairy-tale, her mother shared a magical night with her Prince Charming and from it, created their own 'Happily-Ever-After.'
Jack was standing in the kitchen with Julian and Vaughn, having just come back from golfing, their new favorite pastime, when the women came through the door, Sydney leading the way. She spotted her father immediately and couldn't tear the smile off her face as she giggled, dropped the grocery bags on the kitchen island and lunged at Jack and into his arms.
"Congratulations, Daddy!" Sydney kissed his cheek giggling and stepped back to gauge his reaction.
Jack stood there with an open mouth, in shock that Sydney obviously knew about her mother being pregnant. Julian and Vaughn were bewildered as to what was going on.
"Congratulations for what?" Julian asked feeling like he missed something. Irina carrying Lena and a couple of bags of groceries came in a minute later and Jack locked eyes with her right away.
"You told her?" He asked with a hint of surprise, having decided with Irina to tell them together.
"Told her what?" Vaughn was looking between the three as confused as Julian.
"I didn't tell her, Jack." Irina smiled and laughed softly, setting the bags on the counter, she reached inside and held up a single mango, "She guessed."
Vaughn's mouth dropped open as he stared at Irina, with the baby on her hip and a mango in her hand, remembering quite vividly what the connection was.
Sydney was giggling again, and her dimples were taking over her face as she took the bags from Katya, coming through the door.
"You should have seen your daughter, Jack." Katya laughed and added her bags to the pile, "Rina and I thought she was having a meltdown with her deep hysterical laughter in the middle of the produce aisle."
Julian was seriously confused, though he began helping put the food items away.
"I am obviously missing something about the connection between 'Congratulations Daddy' and a mango. Could someone enlighten me?" He looked around at all the faces who were now staring at him, Irina, Sydney and Katya were smiling madly, Jack looked somewhere between smiley and startled and Vaughn… Vaughn was standing in the same spot, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. "Someone? Anyone?" Julian asked again with a mischievous smile seeing no one offering any information, all looking at each other to see who was going to answer him.
"Get ready 'Little Brother," Sydney finally smiled and plunged in seeing an opportunity and taking it. "You're no longer going to be the only middle child!"
Julian furrowed his eyebrows in even deeper confusion and paused with the jug of orange juice half way in the fridge and half way out.
"What does that mean, exactly?" He asked immediately.
"Mangoes." Vaughn voiced in a state of shock and all eyes snapped to him.
"What?" Julian was fired back.
"Mangos mean, she's pregnant." Vaughn's eyes finally darted up from the floor to Irina and all eyes snapped back to her and Julian dropped the juice and everyone's heads whipped back to him.
Sydney giggled, knowing the shock he was going through after just going through it as well.
Julian couldn't believe what he'd just heard, and stood frozen, one hand on the fridge door and the other lifeless by his side. His eyes refusing to blink as he stared at Irina and in turn they all stare at him.
"You're pregnant?" He whispered in his state of shock.
"Again?" Vaughn whispered from the other side, sharing the shock.
"Yes." Irina answered smiling softly and slightly amused at the dual states of shock, she moved Lena up higher on her hip as the baby smiled and gurgled happily.
"You're pregnant?" Julian said a little louder, his eyes scanning her body as if somehow there would be an instant belly appearing before his eyes and Jack's smile grew and his body shook with soft laughter.
"I just… you two… I don't… how's this," Vaughn shook his head, stumbling over every question and thought on the tip of his tongue, finally giving up and just saying, "Wow," in a whisper of awe.
"You are having another child?" Julian spoke slowly looking at Irina.
Sydney stepped in front of him, grabbing his face in both her hands, trying to hold back laughter looking into his piercing blue eyes as she said mockingly slow, "Yes. She's having another baby." And then lost it again, laughing like she did in the store.
"I'm glad you, find this so funny, Sydney." Jack looked at her practically doubling over.
"Daddy," She wiped the tears from her eyes, still laughing and trying to stop, "I don't think you having another baby is funny. I think the way you have them is funny!" Sydney broke into deep laughter again.
Jack quirked his eyebrow at Sydney then looked at his wife, not sure Katya and Irina weren't right in thinking Sydney had a meltdown. Irina and Katya were both smiling and laughing softly as well, now it was his turn to be out of the loop.
"You and Mom and your special occasions! That! Is what I am laughing at!" Sydney held her sides giggling while looking at her father's confused face, "I was conceived on your birthday and honeymoon, Lena was on your first night together in twenty-one years and anniversary, and now this new baby." She shook her head still laughing, "On the Coronation!" She started coughing from all the laughing as slow smiles spread across Jack, Vaughn and Julian's faces, realizing now why, this was so funny. "Even Julian," She nudged him standing beside her with her elbow smiling, "Was adopted on the day we left the CIA. Every one of your children was 'conceived' on a special occasion!"
Jack looked from Sydney to Julian to Lena and Irina, smiling and nodding with a shrug and small laugh, he grabbed Sydney by the arm and pulled her to his chest, kissing her head while they all laughed.
"The Coronation, huh?" Vaughn shook his head with a smile at the crazy people and stood from the stool walking slowly to Irina. "Congratulations." He kissed her cheek and laughing softly at the irony of this situation. Last time he found out she was pregnant, he was irate with Jack, now he was kissing Irina and smiling with happiness for them.
"Thank you." Irina held his eyes with her own, while smiling and he nodded, widening his smile.
Vaughn held out his hands for Lena and Irina happily passed the baby to him, watching how comfortable he was with her, kissing her little head smiling at Irina before turning to Jack.
"Congratulations." He shook his future-father-in-laws hand with a wide smile.
Julian picked up the orange juice and put it in the fridge; still a bit stunned he shook his head with a smile and stepped forward to Jack, holding out his hand.
"Congratulations."
Jack took his hand returned the smile. "Thank you."
Julian laughed softly, running his hand over the back of Lena's head and zeroed in on Irina. He took the few steps to her, he smiled and hesitated a moment before kissing her cheek and wrapping his arms around her in a hug.
"Congratulations, Mama."
Irina sighed, smiling happily and wrapped her arms around him, holding him there for a moment. "Thank you." She whispered and kissed his head before letting him go. She had come such a long way with him; he had come such a long way.
"When did you learn, you were with child?" Julian asked stepping back and holding onto her hand with smiling eyes. He would never tire of this side of Irina, his mother, still full of surprises.
"Dad's birthday." Sydney giggled from behind them, still snuggled into Jack's shoulder.
"Another special occasion." Julian smiled and shook his head.
"Do you know when you're due?" Vaughn asked, bouncing with Lena and tickling her; always loving making her smile.
"We haven't gone to the doctor yet." Irina smiled and resumed putting the groceries away. "We're seeing Alexei next week." She turned her smile to Jack, this being the first baby, first pregnancy that he was going to be with her on the first doctor's visit. "But sometime in mid-February, I guess."
Sydney's eyes went wide, just thinking about it for the first time, and then inhaled sharply, her eyes flashing to her mother's.
"Mom!"
Irina looked up at her hearing from the tone she was expected to know something Sydney thought she should. Seeing the look on her daughter's face and repeating what she said she realized what Sydney was wide-eyed about. "No…" Irina laughed and touched her forehead, not believing this was possible, and yet, with them… it was.
"Our Anniversary." Jack caught on to what 'special occasion' was in the middle of February. "You don't think?" He looked wide-eyed at Irina, a hint of a smile.
"It's entirely possible." Irina looked back at him with a shrug and a laugh, "Babies don't always arrive when they should."
"Yeah, but nine months from the Coronation lands just about, right on your anniversary!" Sydney started laughing again, turning her face slightly into her father's chest; shaking her head. "The irony of this; is just too much!"
"There's just one thing." Julian spoke slowly with a curious smile, "The mangoes?"
Moscow, Russia
Irina felt the cotton taste in her mouth growing stronger as they sat in the darkened theatre watching the premiere of the film in Moscow. She kept trying to swallow the nauseous feelings taking over and the images on screen weren't helping.
They were currently at the part where she'd just arrived at the Kashmir prison, being beaten and tortured and knowing that in just minutes she'd watch Cuvee start punching the 'life' out of her.
Unable to stop the overwhelming feelings surging through her now with the pregnancy, on top of the nausea, she pushed on Jack's knee with a pained look and tears in her eyes. Jack immediately saw how pale she was and stood to let her pass, knowing that she was about to be sick.
Irina stood rapidly in her beautiful gown and stepped into the aisle making a beeline out the back of the dark theatre; thankful they were in the balcony so millions of eyes didn't see her leaving.
Before Jack could sit back down, Sydney holding Katya's hand followed Irina out and Jack gave them both a thankful smile. He wished he could go with Irina but somehow the husband of the Tsar following her into the Ladies Room would certainly set off alarm bells for a number of reasons to onlookers eyes.
"Mom?" Sydney called out cautiously entering the bathroom with Katya and immediately saw the Irina in her elegant gown heaving into the toilet; crown in one hand, holding her hair with the other.
Sophia and Bella shared a concerned look, seeing the images on screen and the fact that Irina, Sydney and Katya had all left, they took hold of each other's hands, nudging both Mikhail and Marcelo to let them pass.
"Oh, My Darling," Katya was kneeling beside Irina, holding her hair while Sydney held the crown, looking pained at her mother hearing the painful retching. "I'll get something to wipe and rinse your mouth." Katya stood and made way for the sink, sharing a soft smile with Sydney on her way by. She no sooner turned back from the sink then Sophia and Bella came through the door at the exact same time Irina surged forward and vomited again.
Bella gasped to see such a sight, placing her hand over her chest trying to understand the scene in front of her; the Empress bent over the toilet vomiting while her daughter stood behind her, holding her crown and looking sheepishly at them with a wide grin and a shrug. Smiles, meant they weren't concerned for Irina that this was ok and then it hit her.
"She's pregnant…" Bella gasped, covering her mouth in surprise with both hands and smiling eyes as Sophia's mouth fell open when Katya and Sydney both nodded while Irina dry-heaved on the floor beside them again.
St. Petersburg, Russia
"Tsarina, another miracle!" Alexei walked into the room where Jack and Irina were sitting anxiously awaiting, with a big smile on his face and arms open. He engulfed Irina into a hug, and kissed both cheeks, holding her face to look at her a minute. "Hello, Your Highness." He greeted Jack with a slight nod and saw Jack's immediate shift in eyes, still not comfortable with his title.
Irina was absolutely glowing, perched on the exam table and the butterflies in her stomach would not subside until she heard the baby's heart beat.
"I couldn't believe it when you called to make the appointment." The older man smiled and shook his head. "I looked over your blood tests from Sweden, you're definitely pregnant!"
"That's good to know," Irina smiled back at him, putting her hand over her lower abdomen. "Or I'd have a hard time explaining what this growing belly is from." She smiled her famous grin as both Jack and Alexei laughed as he listened to her heart. "Over the last two weeks it seems to have doubled in size." She looked down where her hand was covering it, smiling.
"How else are you feeling?" Alexei asked concerned, knowing she was essentially a Diabetic.
"Fine, except that I am absolutely miserable every morning like clock-work and then whenever it decides to hit." Irina sighed with a half smile thinking about how terrible morning sickness was. "I've never had morning sickness before and I hope," She exaggerated the word with a playful smile, "That I am almost out of that stage soon. I don't like the idea of my face becoming so intimate with the toilet." She added and both Jack and Alexei laughed heartily at her humor.
"She spent the entire flight here, in the bathroom lying on the floor." Jack offered with a smile of amusement and sympathy, taking her hand and squeezing it. "I've never seen anyone vomit that much."
"With that much vomiting, how have your numbers been?" Alexei asked taking her blood pressure.
"Crazy and all over the map at first," Irina sighed heavily and her shoulders fell slightly, "But I think I've figured out how to keep it in control and they've been fairly steady for the last week." She gave him a small smile seeing the concern in the older man's eyes.
"We're going to have to keep a sharp eye on that." Alexei gave her another look of concern, "You're already a High-Risk pregnancy; we must stay on top of this." He looked at her and they both nodded, the seriousness of the situation dripping in and Irina squeezed Jack's hand more tightly. "Now enough of the seriousness," Alexei smiled seeing their nervousness, and helped her lay back with Jack standing by her side on the opposite side of the exam table. She pulled her shirt up and exposed the little visible mound just below and her smile returned instantly. "How are the wedding plans coming along?" He asked smiling and squirting the green jelly onto her lower abdomen.
"Everything is set, and ready to go. Now we just wait for the day to actually arrive." Irina smiled to Alexei then turned to Jack with a knowing nod, they were excited and anxious about that, too.
"And our beautiful little Tsarevicha?" Alexei smiled widely while he pulled the ultrasound machine to them and took a seat on the metal stool, "How is she doing?"
The question immediately brought forth a radiating smile out of Irina and Jack.
"She is fantastic." Irina smiled turning her attention back to Alexei thinking about her beautiful baby, "Getting too big, too fast. She's crawling everywhere and into everything she can get her little hands on." She smiled and the shared a laugh, "It won't be long before she's walking, I can tell." Her smile took on a hint of sadness that her baby was growing up rapidly.
"She is a beautiful baby, just like her mother was." Alexei's smile widened looking from Jack to Irina with the wand hovering over her belly, "I'm very excited to finally be able to deliver one of your glorious children!" He laughed, as did the expectant parents. "Now, let's have a look at this baby!"
Jack squeezed Irina's hand with a big smile, finally sharing a first with her in regards to their children. Irina had gone to the first appointment alone with every other child.
The smiles were short lived and fell immediately from their faces, a knot formed in each of their guts knowing something was wrong when they heard the first sounds of the baby's heartbeat.
Tears instantly forming in Irina's eyes as they looked at their baby for the first time on the screen and heard the erratic heartbeat.
"Alexei…" She called out his name in barely a whisper, asking the question of what was wrong without asking.
Alexei narrowed his eyebrows and moved the wand around to get a clearer view of the heart, to see what was wrong with the baby's heart and Irina gasped when they saw it.
"Is that what I think it is?" Jack asked quietly, unable to breathe as fear gripped him straight through the heart and he squeezed Irina's hand tightly.
"Yes, it is." Alexei turned his head slowly to them both, "You're having twins." He finally smiled and Jack collapsed, banging his head on the exam tray before hitting the ground, out cold.
*The Beach Song*
Irina was in a state of shock, having gone from happiness at seeing her baby, to absolute fear when they heard the erratic heart-beat, to stunned when they saw the second baby, and panic when Alexei confirmed it. It took a moment for her to even register that Jack was no longer by her side; all ability to hear and see apparently vanishing temporarily for her with the words of, 'you're having twins.'
"Tatiana!" Alexei yelled for the nurse who came running in to help him with Jack and Irina snapped out of it.
"Jack!" Irina sprang forward to a sitting position and saw her husband on the floor, absolutely out cold and bleeding from the side of his forehead where he hit the metal tray on the way down. "Jack!" She gasped again, in a moment of panic herself, unable to function beyond saying his name over and over again as a swirling vortex of emotions swept through her. "Jack!"
"Here doctor," The nurse handed him some smelling salt, and quickly knelt beside him in front of Jack on the floor and placing gauze pads over his cut. "This is deep. He's going to need sutures." The nurse frowned, looking from Jack to Irina and back. "What happened?"
Alexei ripped open the smelling salts, "Twins." He answered seriously then broke into a big smile and laughed with the nurse, who was equally stunned but smiling radiantly, looking once again from Jack out cold on the floor, and to Irina, their fearless Tsar, who was pale and in obvious shock as she looked down at them.
The word registered again floating through the tsunami of feelings inside Irina and she began repeating in a whisper, "Twins… twins…"
"This isn't working." Alexei kept waving the salt in front of Jack's nose but he was out cold. "Let's move him to the chair and let him wake up on his own." The good doctor smiled and helped the nurse pull Jack from the floor and prop him up in a chair. He looked at the gash on Jack's forehead and shook his head with a smile. "He's going to need at least four sutures. Can you please start with those while I finish with the Tsar?"
"Yes, of course doctor." The nurse smiled warmly at her beautiful Empress and set to work pulling supplies from the cabinets.
"Tsarina," Alexei called out to Irina who was seemingly staring into space in the direction of Jack, "Tsarina," He called to her again and she didn't move, "Empress… Your Majesty… Irina!" He finally reached out to touch her cautiously, knowing she was lethal if startled from the years of caring for her after 'battle.'
Irina slowly turned her head towards the smiling man.
"Lay down, please." He helped her slowly to lie back down and put the wand back on her stomach as the nurse began stitching up an unconscious Jack.
Once again, the sound of two clashing heartbeats filled the air and two distinct babies appeared.
"Twins?" Irina asked him quietly, having to know for sure that's what he said, and that's what she was seeing as she blinked hard repeatedly then stare only to blink again.
"You're not seeing double child," Alexei laughed seeing her hard blinking. "You're really seeing two… perfect babies." He turned back to smile at her, "Twins."
Mikhail, Bella, Vaughn, Sydney, Julian, Katya, Marcelo, Sophia, Sergei and Lena were all in the garden watching Lena pulling herself up on her toy table in her play area, standing a minute until everyone was watching then falling down purposely with a fit of giggles and clapping for herself as everyone cheered. They were all waiting for Irina and Jack to return from the clinic with news on the baby.
"She's the cutest kid I've ever seen." Vaughn smiled, laughing and held the side of the table down securely as she once again pulled herself up. "Look at that determination."
"Do you not remember, who her parents are?" Mikhail asked his son with a laugh, enjoying watching his son playing with the baby on the grass.
"She looks exactly, like Irina at the same age." Katya smiled, marveling at her sister's baby.
"Mom! Dad!" Sydney spotted her parents walking towards them and jumped up excitedly to hear the news. "So, do we know the sex of the baby? Girl? Boy? When it's-Dad! What happened to your head?" Her eyes immediately going to the row of fresh blue stitches in her father's forehead as they neared. "What's wrong?" She asked quickly with her heart racing seeing the void looks on her parents face, the way they were seemingly in a trance, and she feared the worse.
"Nothing's wrong." Irina answered finally looking up to meet Sydney's eyes.
"The baby is ok, then?" Sydney held her breath waiting for her mother to answer, as her father was clearly not responding.
"Yes." Irina said softly, nodding slowly a slow smile coming to her face and everyone was on their' feet in concern and waiting on baited breath to find out what happened then.
"What happened to your head, Dad?" Sydney stepped close enough to count the stitches and searched her parents eyes for understanding, something was not right.
"He fainted and hit his head." Irina turned her face to look at her husband, still in shock, not having said a thing the entire way home, waking up only after the stitches were put in his head, and more smelling salts were waved in front of his noise with a little slapping from the nurse.
"What? Why?"
"Because you're having another girl? And Jack realized he was going to be living with four Derevko women?" Marcelo guessed, and began laughing softly with everyone else but Sydney who was still concerned, not knowing what was going on.
"You're having another girl? Is that it?"
"Yes, we're having another girl." Irina smiled brightly, nodding softly when Sydney's smile appeared at the thought of another little sister.
"A girl!" She squealed thinking about another little sister.
"And a boy." Jack added in a strange, higher in pitch voice than normal; surprising everyone first by the fact he was talking, and then with what he said.
Katya gasped, covering her mouth as tears flooded her eyes.
"What?" Sydney asked barely above a whisper with wide-eyes that were on everyone's faces. "A girl… and… a boy." She couldn't believe what she was hearing even as her mother nodded, and pulled out three sonogram photos, handing them one at a time to Sydney with a raging smile and unshed tears.
"Girl." Irina placed the first in her hand and Sydney started to tear up at the beautiful little baby's outline. "Boy." Irina handed her the next and her own tears began to fall, still in shock herself and nodding with ragged breath as Sydney's eyes darted up to hers' and more tears surged forth from her eyes. "Twins." She handed her the last sonogram of the babies together.
"Oh my god!" Sophia gasped with glee, finding tears in her own eyes. "Twins! Just like Sergei and I! I guess it runs in the family!"
"Well, that explains the previously, un-experienced morning sickness." Katya smiled through her tears, and stepped forward to hug Irina. "You're having twins!" She said softly and held her tightly, crying tears of joy for her sister.
"Twins." Sydney repeated in shock while the others looked over her shoulders to see the photos. "Twins!" She looked up with an enormous smile and threw her arms around her mother and aunt, already embracing and let loose a peel of giggles.
"All right! The two for one deal!" Marcelo stepped up and grabbed Jack's hand, seeing the man was still in shock, and laughing, having been there once himself. "Don't worry, the shock will eventually wear off in, oh say… six or seven years!" He laughed and slapped Jack on the back. "Congratulations. Welcome to the club!" His smile widened, "Although, with Lena being only fifteen months older, it will seem more like triplets… at least for a while! Three in diapers!" His laughter brought Jack's face up and his mouth fell open, thinking about it.
"Marcelo!" Katya stepped away from Irina and towards Jack, "Stop scaring him! It will be fine, Jack. I promise you." She smiled and held his face in her hands, "And look at all these eager baby-sitters you have here!" She turned her head to the smiling faces behind her. "It will be fine… more than fine!" She had turned her gaze back to him, "It will be simply… wonderful!"
"When are they due?" Bella asked, hugging Irina tightly now that it was her turn.
"February 18th." Irina smiled and wiped at her tears of happiness, knowing that the enormity of this wouldn't settle in for a while.
"This is certainly another reason for celebration," Mikhail smiled widely and brought Irina into his arms slowly, kissing her head. "Let us go in and celebrate in true Russian fashion, with food and vodka! Julian's birthday," He smiled over at the blonde standing off to the side quietly, "And the discovery of twins!"
"Another special occasion." Sydney turned her eyes to Julian with a soft smile.
After dinner, Irina scooped up Lena and quietly slipped outside, needing a moment to herself to absorb the news. She made her way back down to the garden and smiled brightly at her baby girl bobbing excitedly in her arms. She sat on the blanket still spread on the grass where they'd been playing before and let Lena crawl off her lap.
*Wild Child*
Lena zeroed in on her favorite toy, the yellow bear, Kendall gave to her and crawled to it, sitting down and grabbing the fuzzy object with a big toothy smile at her Mama. Irina smiled at her in turn, watching her little curls blowing in the soft breeze as the sun began to set.
The baby began to babble incessantly and giggle, she started crawling back towards her Mama with determination.
"Hello, Beautiful." Irina smiled when Lena grabbed onto her with a smile, finding her favorite person in the world, Mama. "Oh Lena," She sighed thinking about how much this baby had changed her life.
"Mama, Mama," Lena bounced and babbled as she wrapped her little hands around Irina's fingers to stand in front of her.
Irina's eyes went to where the tiny digits were wrapped around her fingers; her own thumbs caressing the soft puffy backs of her baby's hands.
Tears were already forming in her eyes before she looked up and caught Lena staring directly into her eyes, with her own big brown eyes, the same eyes as her mother, smiling and giggling when Irina smiled back.
"Mama." Lena smiled and let go with one hand to reach for Irina.
Irina let her tears fall with a smile as she scooped her baby up into her arms, holding her to her chest, burying her face into Lena's sweet little neck while she held her close.
"I love you, Sweet Girl, to the moon and back, more than stars in the Heaven's and the grains of sand on Earth, forever and always, Lena." She whispered into her ear and laughed softly when Lena gave her a slobbery open-mouthed kiss. "You always know how to make everything better. A way of putting everything into perspective for me." Irina smiled at her baby, rubbing noses with her. Any tension or anxiousness she was feeling over having twins, left with looking at her baby and hearing her, call her, Mama. Her children were the most important thing in her life and she smiled at the thought of adding another two, to the family.
Jack had noticed that Irina was absent from the living room and stepped into the kitchen looking for her. He saw the French doors open and just outside, Katya was focusing the lens of the camera, he followed her line of sight and saw the absolutely beautiful picture she was capturing.
In the distance, his wife was sitting in the garden amongst the mass of millions of flowers, with Lena facing her in her arms, both smiling and laughing as Irina tickled their baby, the soft light of magic hour as the sunset behind them creating a breathtaking scene, completely unaware of Katya or Jack's presence. He watched them silently for a few minutes looking at how happy Irina was with the baby and his own heart smiled, all fear of the prospect of twins abating as he watched the beautiful mother and child before him.
"Three times the hugs," Katya spoke softly with a smile as she turned to find Jack watching them with a smile on his face and knowing he was concerned about the prospect of three babies in diapers all at the same time. "Three times the kisses. Three times as many, 'I love you, Daddy." Her smile widened as Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulders kissing her head with a soft laugh. She was right and his heart began to thunder in his chest at the prospect.
"She's an amazing mother." Jack whispered in awe watching Irina playing with Lena, never tiring of watching them. She was always the happiest when she was with her children. "They're so beautiful together."
"They are one in the same." Katya smiled softly, her hand resting on Jack's chest watching her sister with her baby. They stayed that quietly for a moment, just watching.
"I went from a father of one, to a father of five," Jack wondered out loud softly with a smile, "In less then a year."
"You and Rina, are certainly making up for lost time." Katya smiled and laughed, grabbed his hand, "Come on, let's stop spying," Her smile reached her eyes with the remark, "And let them be."
Jack nodded and followed her, turning back once to take one last look at them, smiling, he went inside.
*Wild Horses*
A couple of hours later, Irina was lying on her bed resting and reading over work documents. Everyone else was downstairs watching a movie in the theatre. She had put Lena to bed just over a half hour ago after tiring the baby out playing with her in the garden. When she looked up and saw Jack leaning in the doorway she smiled.
"Hey," She put the documents down, smiling at him and giving him his cue to come over. "How is your head?"
Jack reached up and touched the bruised area the stitches held together and laughed softly as he crawled across the bed towards her, lying down on his side next to her. "I've had worse, though I can't say any of those were self-inflicted wounds." He laughed and picked up her hand, kissing it. "I'm sorry I passed out on you." His eyes met with hers with an apologetic smile, "I missed most of the appointment."
"There will be plenty more." She brushed her fingers with a smile down his cheek, laughing softly thinking about today's events. "Don't feel too badly… I zoned out there for awhile, too."
Jack laughed with her, playing with her fingers.
"I've only fainted twice in my life… after Sydney's delivery, when I was still bleeding out from a my own wound." He laughed, "And hearing the words, 'you're having twins."
"I was terrified, when I heard the heartbeat like that," Irina felt tears pooling in her eyes and shook hear own head remembering that moment of panic, "I knew something wasn't right… and then there they were." She turned her sad eyes to his with a smile. "Two heartbeats mixed together."
"We're really having twins." Jack smiled still in awe though getting excited; he moved his hand over Irina's belly, pushing up her shirt and staring at the soft curve, his fingers reaching out to lightly trace it.
"Are you really okay with it now?" Irina asked softly, threading her fingers through his hair, happy to see him smiling.
"Absolutely." His eyes flashed back to hers and he rolled over more and kissed her belly softly. "Another baby is just more of you, for me to love." He spoke softly with a smile.
Irina gasped softly at his words and felt her tears falling with a smile, watching his lips hovering over her belly and kissing it gently once more before leaning up to cup her face and capture her lips.
"More of you, for me to love." She repeated to him, rubbing her thumb over his cheek. "I love you, Jack."
"As I love you, Irina." He kissed her again sweetly and moved his head down to rest on her chest; listening to her heart beating and staring at her belly while his fingers went back to caressing it and she ran her fingers through his hair. "It's fascinating to think, there are two babies in there." Jack's fingers danced softly over her satiny skin, dipping in and out of her upper abdominal muscles outline until they began to disappear now that her belly was growing.
"Yes." Irina smiled softly in her own awe. "I can't believe I'm going to be the mother of five."
Jack laughed and it vibrated against her chest, causing her smile to widen.
"I was just talking about that with your sister. How, I went from being the father of one, to a father of five in less then a year."
"What did Katya say?" Irina laughed softly with him, still tracing lazy patterns through his hair.
"That we're 'certainly making up for lost time." He snuggled in closer if that was possible, draping one leg over hers and placing his palm over their babies with a smile. "I guess we are."
Irina moved her arm around his shoulders and laced the other hand's fingers with Jack's over her belly.
"I always wanted to make lots of babies with you." She smiled wistfully, thinking about her dreams then, becoming a reality now.
"And I you." Jack's smile held the same wistful look, "As much as it pained me sometimes, to look at Sydney and see you." He swallowed hard, remembering Sydney's statement on the plane that day. She was right, but for the wrong reasons. "It also made me long for you, and a life that was never going to be." His seriousness took on a smile, "Never' turned out to be just a twenty-one year delay." He laughed when she did. "Twins…" He repeated, still absorbing it in.
"Twins." Irina nodded with a smile, "And finding out on Julian's birthday." She laughed softly, "Another special occasion."
Their family was seemly riding along with the cosmic fates of time.
"Yes, big things seem to happen for us on special occasions." Jack smiled nuzzling his face against her chest and inhaling her perfume. "Speaking of Julian." His thumb began caressing her fingers where they were entwined. "He seemed different tonight, didn't he?" Jack was almost as shocked as Irina was, hearing the words come out of his mouth, that his relationship with the young man had changed so drastically that he was now able to read his moods. "He's just normally, I don't know… He's seem to come out of his proverbial shell the last few months but tonight, it was like he had crawled back in." He sighed, "I don't know… maybe he's in shock over the news of the babies, too."
Julian had hardly spoken at all during dinner even when they were toasting to his twenty-fourth birthday and opening gifts, he seemed rather subdued.
"Oh no." Irina seemed to deflate beneath him, letting out a whispered deep breath. She had a feeling, she knew exactly what was wrong with him and started to move Jack off her in a frenzied pace. "I know what's wrong."
"What?" Jack sat up concerned now seeing his wife fly out of the bed and towards the door. "What's wrong?"
"I have to go talk to him." Irina set out with determination to find her son, she bound down the marble staircase, almost running, leaving Jack to sit on the bed staring at the door, in confusion. She slid quietly through the doors of the theatre and scanned the bodies lying on the various couches and chairs in front of the massive movie screen, not spotting Julian anywhere. "Where's Julian?" She asked softly and all heads whipped to her, startled by her presence.
"I don't know." Vaughn answered with surprise looking around, "He was here just a minute ago."
The sneaky blue-eyed blonde had vanished it seemed when no one was watching.
"I'll find him." Irina smiled and stepped back towards the door, "It's ok, sorry to interrupt." As quickly as she entered she was gone and they went back to watching the film.
She checked the kitchen and he wasn't there and scanned the security monitors to see if she could spot him anywhere. When the screen flashed to Lena's room she found him, just standing over the crib watching her sleep and she knew her suspicions about what was wrong, were right. She pivoted quickly on her heel and set out for the upstairs again.
"Irina," Jack met her half way up the stairs with hands out signaling her to stop, wondering what she was doing. "What's going on?"
"We're having a baby boy, Jack." Irina looked up at him with sadness and happiness all mixed together and Jack didn't understand. "Julian is the only son I've ever really known." She spoke slowly and saw the realization slowly seeping in. "And now we're having a baby boy, a biological son, one we've created." She blinked hard trying to hold back her tears.
Jack felt the unexpected pressure clenching his heart with understanding. Usually, this was the kind of thing you dealt with in younger children, when new siblings were added to the family and the older ones thought they were being replaced… that somehow their parents wouldn't love them as much.
"Do you want me to come with you? To talk to him?" Jack swallowed hard, and brushed his fingers against her cheek as he cupped her head.
"I think I better do this one alone." Irina gave him a small smile and he nodded in understanding without having to have the conversation.
Irina was the one who raised him, couldn't show him any affection. He was her only son after the loss of baby Jack, then they adopted him, she showered him with love too long been denied and he was thriving. Now he learned today, that she was carrying another baby boy, another son, one created from her body, from love with her 'soul-mate.' She was the only one, who could convince him that he was going to be loved no less, with the addition of another son.
"I'm here if you need me." Jack kissed her forehead and then her lips and she gave him, a quick smile, kissing his lips once more and trotted up the stairs while he went down.
Irina smiled, bracing herself against the nursery door thinking about how wonderful her husband was and took a deep breath, quietly entering the darkened room.
*Nothing Else Matters *
Julian's head quickly snapped to hers as she walked slowly and quietly towards him at the crib in the center of the room. The moonlight cascading in through the windows, casting a blue light on his face and the white crib; she gave him a small smile as she came to stand on the opposite side of Lena's bed. His eyes carried the surprise of her standing before him, and yet she still saw the heartbreak he was trying to hide.
"She's like an angel… so perfect." Julian looked back down to where Lena was sleeping, on her stomach with knees pulled up under her, her little head to the side and sucking on her thumb, covered by a soft white blanket. His fingers reached out gently to feather through her baby curls. "You make beautiful babies, Irina."
Irina's heart clenched immediately and tears sprang to her eyes, solidifying with his statement what he was feeling but tearing her apart when he called her 'Irina,' instead of 'Mama,' like he had for the past few months now.
"Julian," She reached across the crib and held his forearm, tears failing to be unshed and now slowly making their way down her cheeks, feeling like a piece of her heart was ripped out in the instant he went back to calling her Irina.
"And now you're going to have your son." Julian wouldn't look up at her, fighting off his own tears and feeling his own heart crushing with the loss.
"No, Julian. Now I'm going to have 'another' son. Julian," Irina called out again seeing he was refusing to look at her, trying desperately to keep hold of him.
"I'm sure he'll be as every bit as beautiful as his sisters, Irina." He was pulling away emotionally and physically as he pulled his arm closer to his body, away from her touch that hurt too much now.
Irina's heart felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly in ways she never knew were possible until this moment.
"Julian," She moved around the crib quickly and pulled him to her, holding him tightly and he stood there unmoving, tensing up. "You're my son in everyway that matters. I love you. You are mine," She pulled back to look in his glacial blues eyes, her hands on either side of his face. "You were mine from the moment I picked you up off that curb and I'm so sorry I wasn't able to be the kind of mother you deserved then… but I'm trying to be now. Please, don't take that away from me." Her breath caught as she inhaled a shaky breath. "Please don't call me, Irina. I can't handle it, not after I've heard you call me, Mama… It feels like being stabbed repeatedly in my heart to hear my name instead of, Mama, come out of your mouth now."
Julian's tears began to fall with hers but he remained rigid, his chest squeezing painfully at seeing the pain in her eyes and a hint of fear… something he'd never seen unless one of her children were in danger or sick, hurting in some way and she couldn't do anything to help, Sydney or Lena. But this was the first time he was seeing it for him.
"But I'm not really your child," He whispered.
She inhaled sharply as a pained look spread across her face, more tears pooling in her eyes.
"Yes! You are! You're my child, Julian!" Irina held his face more tightly in her hands, whispering as to not wake the baby, "I couldn't love you more, if you came from my own body!" Irina wiped his fallen tears with her thumbs, and then threw her arms around his neck holding on tightly. "Please believe in that. Just because I am having another son, doesn't mean I will love you… any less." The childlike way her own voice dipped and swayed with emotion finally started to tear down the walls he begun to erect again. "Come with me." She suddenly sniffed, grabbing his hand and pulling him determinedly behind her out the door. She opened the door to her bedroom and pulled her in behind him, Julian's eyes going wide at never going into her bedroom, this bedroom, before. She went to the far side of the bed and sat down next to her nightstand, pulling him to sit next to her. "What do you see?" Irina looked into his piercing blue eyes, blurry with unshed tears and then to the nightstand.
Julian swallowed hard and stared at the photographs in the frames beside her bed and one in particular that he'd never seen, but remembered being taken long ago.
"Go on. What do you see? Tell me." She encouraged him, still holding his hand in hers and giving it a squeeze.
His eyes fell to another photograph of the beautiful smiling woman beside him with Jack on her wedding day. Her eyes sparkling and her smile radiant in the photograph, a sharp contrast to the serious looking, tear stricken face beside him now.
"I see… a photograph of you and Jack on your wedding day." He answered softly.
"And what else?" Irina sniffed and prompted him to continue.
"I see a photograph of Sydney… while we were in Rome." He stared at the photograph, unmoving. He knew what she was doing and she knew that he was stalling.
"And?"
"A photograph of Lena on the first day she crawled." A small smile tugged at his lips seeing the smiling baby and remembering the day well.
"And?" This was the one she was waiting for him to acknowledge, knowing he saved it for last because he understood her intent with this little demonstration.
He took a deep breath, still unbelieving what he was seeing.
"A photograph of you and me." It had been taken when he was just five years old. He was in her arms and she was smiling.
"The first photograph taken of us together." Irina gave him a small smile, brushing her tears off her face, before turning back to look at the nightstand. "Photographs of my children." She turned back to look at him, reaching up to brush a single fallen tear from his face, "Photographs of my family. The first thing I think about when I wake up every morning and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep. My children," She sighed swallowing the tears threatening to start falling again and smiled, "Mean everything to me. You, mean everything to me, Julian. You're my son. Please don't pull away from me. I love you… I need you."
Julian understood the heavy significance with the last three words, her use of 'need.' He'd learned a great deal about the woman before him over the years and even more in the last six months, but the one thing he knew to be true of her then and now, was that she never 'needed' very much in regards to people, was rather self-sufficient on her own and rarely every used the word.
"I need you, Julian." Irina repeated seeing in his eyes the way that statement affected him and tearing down more of the newly built walls.
The look in her big, dark eyes, the flickers of light and the way she held his gaze intensely, the raw emotion inside those depths… She was letting him see into her soul; a sacred safely guarded secret garden inside that he doubted few had ever had the privilege of seeing so up close and personal.
"What do you see?" Irina asked softly, barely above a whisper holding his intense gaze.
There was no denying what he saw inside her eyes, and his own eyes welled with tears once more as his heart finally believed her truth. His slow smile was her answer.
"I need you too, Mama." He gave her back the deserving title and she threw her arms around him once more, exhaling the breath she didn't realize she was holding as more tears fell; one hand to the back of his head, her arms tightly around his neck. "And I love you, too." He added, his own arms going around her tightly. "I feel rather silly about all-" Julian began as he pulled back with a soft smile and Irina grabbed his forearm.
"Don't. You have nothing to feel silly about." Irina smiled her radiant grin that he loved so much, watching as she dried her eyes and collected herself. "Your birthday gift-"
"Yes, I am terribly excited to drive my new Enzio, thank you." He smiled thinking about his fire engine red car and Irina returned the smile, happy to see his reaching his eyes.
"I'm happy that you like it. I knew how much you enjoyed driving mine so… I ventured a guess you'd like your own." She smiled and pushed the loose hair behind her ear. "But that's not the gift I was referring to." She saw the curious quirk in his eyebrow, "I'm not going to tell you what it is. Only, that it won't arrive for a couple of weeks or so. That… is your real gift." Irina inhaled slowly with a smile, hoping beyond belief her instincts weren't wrong and that he was ready. "I'm sorry you're going to have to wait, but that's as soon as I could get it here."
"You are being very enigmatic, Mama." Julian was truly curious now, knowing what she was capable of. "I do not get any hints that would help me to venture a guess?"
"Any hints would give away the surprise factor, and I, for one, am extremely looking forward to the look on your face." She laughed deviant like and leaned forward, kissed his forehead and then pulled on his hand for him to follow her again. He knew she wasn't about to reveal anything, and he would have to wait.
"No hints? Nothing?" He asked again, laughing as they walked hand in hand down the stairs, Irina refusing to relinquish the contact.
"Something you've always wanted." Irina answered softly then turned her smile to his making their way towards the theatre.
"I cannot think of any item that I wanted, that you have not given me already." He answered honestly; then furrowed his eyebrows again in thought when all she did was say 'Hmm,' in response. Clearly, he was missing something again.
