Barry re-entered the living room to find Tommy and the others comforting Kira. The assassination had clearly rattled her. She had wanted Dr. Black to pay for everything he had done, but there was no way she could ever have wished something like this to happen. As they continued to watch the live feed, Cassidy, still clearly distressed by the whole situation confirmed what everyone already knew.
"This is Cassidy Cornell reporting from Las Vegas Supreme Court, where just moments ago, alleged ringleader of the International Baby Theft Racket Dr. Lucius Gordon was shot just feet from where I'm standing in what appears to be an incident of vigilante justice. Paramedics have now confirmed that he has died at the scene. This is Cassidy Cornell for Channel 99 news signing off."
"I can't believe it!" Kira gasped as the image on the screen flicked away to another story. "Someone killed him."
"Unfortunately there's no shortage of suspects." Barry stated matter-of-factly. "It's not as if there aren't several people out there with good reasons to want him out of the way."
"It's ok." Tommy reassured her. "I know it's horrible, but at least he can't hurt anyone else anymore."
"I would never have wanted this." She breathed, unable to contain her horror. "That man took so much from me, he deserved to pay, but not like this!"
"Personally I'm finding it hard to feel sorry for him." David interjected as he held Kimberly close. "That scumbag stole my daughter. I might never find her again because of him. I wouldn't have wanted to kill him, but I have to admit that I'm finding it pretty much impossible to be upset that he's dead."
"I think we could all use a little drink." Tommy stated as he got up to head into the kitchen. "Anyone for a little wine?"
"I'll give you a hand." Kimberly answered. David looked at her a little curiously, but Kimberly gave him a gentle stroke of the shoulder to tell him that everything was going to be alright.
Joining him in the kitchen, Kimberly began nervously playing with her hair. Tommy couldn't help but laugh a little as he noticed this. So much had happened since they last saw each other so long ago, but it pleased him to know that some things never changed.
"You always did that when you wanted to talk about something." Tommy reminisced as he analysed the situation. "What can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me and David." She answered, her face flushing a little as she spoke. "It's a lot more than I deserve from you after everything that's happened between us."
"There's no need." Tommy waved off the gesture. "It was a long time ago. We just grew apart."
"No, it's more than that." Kimberly continued. "I loved you with all my heart Tommy, in some ways I always will love you. But things between David and I just kind of happened." She looked into his eyes as she tried to give him the explanation he'd hoped for in his heart for many years before he could move on. "David and I fell for each other in a big way during my time in the Pan Global team. He was there for me through so much. I really love him more than anyone else I ever met. That doesn't excuse what I did to you though." She took his hands in her own. "I couldn't afford to take the time to come and tell you in person, and I knew there was no way I'd be able to hold it together long enough to tell you over the phone. The letter was a cowardly thing to do, I can only imagine how much it must have hurt, and I owed you so much more than that. I'm sorry Tommy."
Tommy pulled her close, hugging her as she finished. "I can't say that it didn't hurt." He answered her. "It took me a long time to get over that. I let it sabotage my relationship with Kat, and even Hayley felt like she was competing with your ghost. It hurt a lot, and in many ways it always will. But things have worked out for the best overall. I'm really happy for you and David. He seems like a good man."
"He's amazing." She responded, wiping away a tear. "He's more than I deserve."
"The man's devoted to you." Tommy informed her. "He never once gave up on you while you were in that place. He's gone through two years of hell to find you. He refused to give up."
"I love him so much." Kimberly told him. "I'm really happy for you and Kira. You deserve someone like her. It seems like a good fit." She collected a few glasses as she prepared to leave the room. "She was so strong when we were in there. She was always so certain you'd come for her. She never gave up hope. After everything you've done for me, I just wanted you to know the whole story. I feel like I owe you that much."
"It's alright." Tommy responded, picking up the bottle and a couple of glasses. "I'm happy with Kira. Everything worked out fine."
"Thanks Tommy." Kimberly concluded. "You've been a lot more understanding than I would have expected."
"You're welcome." He concluded as they made their way back to the living room.
"Bloody hell Tommy." Barry commented as they finally returned. "Where did you go for the wine? France?"
"Sorry Barry." Tommy replied. "Just took a little while to find some clean glasses."
Six Months Later
Tommy woke up finding Kira lying beside him. He had to admit that he had really enjoyed the third trimester so far. Being unable to fly on any airline, Kira had not been touring now for a few months, and he had to admit really enjoying having her to himself for all that time. Getting out of bed as gently as he could, he cursed himself as he accidently disturbed Kira, causing her to stir.
"It's alright, go back to bed beautiful." He said soothingly as she began to stretch out on the bed.
"It's too late lover." She replied with a large yawn. "I'm up."
"Well at least I can get you some breakfast." He commented. "Any idea what you'd like?"
"Could I have an omelette?" She asked. This was her latest obsession with the pregnancy, she had developed a tasted for eggs, and had ended up having either omelette or scrambled egg at least one meal most days for the last few weeks now. Tommy had begun to joke that she either loved chicken or hated chickens. It seemed as if she was on a one-woman mission to obliterate the chicken population of Nevada.
"If there's still some eggs." Tommy laughed as he pulled on his bath robe. "So what's the plan for today?"
"Kimberly's bringing Joe around later." Kira answered. Kimberly and David had elected to make Kira and Tommy godparents to their son, and were now regular visitors. It made Kira feel a little more at ease with the whole idea of motherhood to be able to watch over little Joe. She positively doted on the little tyke.
"That sounds great honey." Tommy answered her as he searched the fridge. Fortunately he was in luck, and found a couple of eggs left in the carton. Saying a quiet thank you for his good fortune, he began looking out the frying pan. "Just don't tire yourself out like you did last time. We've got the twins to worry about."
"As if they'll let me forget it." Kira commented as she made her way into the living room, holding her back for support. She had grown considerably larger over the last few months, and the back pain she felt when she tried to walk was excruciating. She had thought the morning sickness was bad, but this was by far less pleasant. "I'll be fine."
Serving up the meal, Tommy began gathering his things together for the day ahead. "Okay, today's Thursday, so I don't have any after-school classes today." He reminded her. "I should be back around 5."
"See you then." She replied, gesturing for a kiss. He bent down, kissing her goodbye before collecting his coat.
Tommy arrived at the school, and was barely out of the car park before Chrissy came rushing over to greet him.
"Tommy, good morning!" She screeched, hugging him enthusiastically. He was still getting used to that. "How's Kira feeling this morning?"
"She seems pretty good." He replied. "Any word yet from Adam?"
"Ask him yourself." She said pointing to him as he approached him from behind, carrying a large duffle bag.
"Rocky and Kat made me an offer on my share of the Gym." He informed Tommy as he greeted him with a firm handshake. "It's a little below market value, but I'm happy with the price. I'm slowly but surely moving my stuff across from San Francisco."
"Well I'm glad things are working out for the two of you." He stated. "So you're finally moving into town."
"That's not the only news." Adam interrupted him. "I asked Chrissy to marry me."
"That's his story and he's sticking to it." Chrissy joked as she threw an arm around his waist. "Actually I asked HIM. It just took him a couple of hours to get over the shock and say yes."
"You always did get pushed around by strong women." Tommy laughed at the thought. "I'm really pleased for you both. Have you set a date?"
"It's probably going to be kind of a long engagement." Adam answered. "We want to get settled into the way of things. I'm looking for a new business and Chrissy's apartment's kind of a shoe box!"
"Well I don't remember hearing you complaining." She responded, slapping him upside the head.
"Seriously Chrissy, even you were saying that you wanted somewhere bigger." Adam said defensively as he stroked the back of his head thoughtfully.
"Anyway, I've got a class starting in twenty minutes." Tommy informed them. "Great to see you Adam, we should all catch up some time."
"We'd like that." He shot back as Tommy made his way quickly into the building.
Kira answered the door, finding Kimberly outside, struggling with the virtual mountain of bags and supplies as little Joe just waved his arms excitedly seeing his godmother.
"Let me take some of this." Kira said, grabbing a few things from her. "I still can't believe how much stuff you have to carry around with you."
"Tell me about it." Kimberly groaned. "I just want to go on a little trip to the shops and it feels like I'm mobilising an infantry regiment."
"Please, come in and sit down." Kira replied gesturing them into the living room. She bent down a little to look into Joe's eyes. "Hey little fella, how are you doing today?"
"He was a bit of a grump last night." Kimberly stated. "But I think he's just getting over a temperature."
Kira cooed over her little godson, he didn't really look like either Kimberly or David, but since Kimberly had been impregnated through artificial insemination while being held captive by Dr. Black, they really didn't know who the genuine biological parents of the child were. That didn't matter to them though. Kimberly and David loved the child as their own. Kira sat the little boy on the floor and began playing with him as Kimberly prepared a bottle.
"How have things been at the clinic?" Kira asked as Kimberly boiled the kettle.
"Things are going pretty well." Kimberly remarked. "David's really happy to be practicing again. How are things with the twins?"
"They like to let me know they're still in there." Kira commented. "They've been moving quite a lot in recent months. OOOOHHHH!"
"What's happening?" Kimberly asked, placing the bottle in a pan of water. "Are they moving again?"
"Yeah they…WHHAAAAOO!"
"Are you alright?" Kimberly asked, coming to Kira's side.
"Could you help me to the bathroom?" She asked. "I think I'm going to…AAARRGGGH."
Kimberly quickly took hold of Kira, holding her upright. "I think we should get to the hospital." Kimberly stated. "Just to get you checked out."
"Oh god!" Kira exclaimed. "I think they're coming."
Tommy sat at his desk, watching the time tick away as his fifth period class sat silently with their pop quiz. They weren't really due one for a while, but Tommy usually made up a couple of spare ones just in case he had forgotten to put together a lesson plan for the day. Watching his students sitting there, working away on the impromptu examination, he was interrupted in his thoughts as his cell phone suddenly rang.
"Dr. O, I thought we weren't meant to have cell phones on in class." One of the seniors remarked, drawing a little laugh from the class.
"Ok, so I didn't turn off my cell phone." Tommy responded with a slight grumble. "That's no reason to take your attention off the test."
"If one of us took a call in class, you'd probably stick us in detention." Another student piped up a little indignantly. "This is so typical."
"Well that's the benefit of being the boss." Tommy put down bluntly as he finally wrestled his cell phone from his pocket. "Just do as I say, not as I do."
As the class grumbled a little, settling back down to their tests, Tommy left the room to take the call.
"Kimberly, what's going on?" He asked.
"Get your butt down to the hospital now." She snapped. "Kira's water just broke."
"Tell her I'll be there as soon as I can." He replied. "Tell her I love her." Charging back into the room, he began stuffing his paperwork into his satchel. "Ok class, I've got somewhere I really need to be." Tommy rushed out as he gathered his belongings. "Just finish your tests and leave them on my desk."
"Is Mrs. Oliver having the baby?" Michael asked.
"Yes." He replied, throwing on his jacket and making his way to the door. "Um…No homework assignments."
As the class cheered, more as a result of hearing they had no homework than out of any genuine interest in Tommy's family situation, Tommy sprinted from the building as fast as he could.
Arriving at the hospital, Tommy charged straight to the admissions desk.
"I'm here for the Kira Oliver birth." He shouted. "Where is she?"
"Delivery room 7." She answered. "Down to the end of the hall, on the right."
Tommy ran along the hallway, skidding to a halt just outside the delivery room. He had to feel disappointed that he had missed the birth, but his disappointment was short lived. Inside he found the most beautiful image he'd ever seen. Kira was sitting on the bed, her hair matted to her scalp a little by sweat and the exhaustion of labour evident in her eyes, but she looked down at the babies in her arms with a huge, bright smile. The two babies slept peacefully in their mother's embrace.
"Hey there beautiful." Tommy greeted her, kissing her passionately. "You did great."
"They were in a bit of a hurry." She remarked, smiling down at them. "They must have been in a rush to meet their daddy."
Tommy smiled broadly as she said this. "So what do we have?" He asked.
"One of each." She replied with a little smile. She gently jiggled the baby on her right arm. "This is your daughter, Emma."
"Hey there little lady." He cooed, gently picking up the newborn girl. "How are you? I'm your dad."
"And this is your son." Kira continued. "I already picked the name for Emma, so I suppose it's only fair you get to decide on his name."
"I've always liked Frank." Tommy stated. "Little Frank Oliver."
"Frank and Emma." Kira sounded out the names just to see how it felt. "I love it."
As Tommy and Kira embraced once more, they looked down with pride on their new family, their hearts filled with joy.
A few weeks later, they took a weekend trip back to Reefside to show off their children. Hayley greeted them at the door of the cyber café with a huge hug. "Hi there, I never thought I'd see you two in Reefside again so soon."
"We just had to make a couple of visits." Tommy commented.
"So who do we have here?" Hayley asked.
"Well this one is Frank." Tommy answered her, presenting his son. "And this is Emma."
"They're just so beautiful." Hayley cooed as she observed the children. "So where are you guys off to?"
"The park." Kira answered her. "The guys are meeting us there in a little while."
"I see." Hayley replied. "Well I'm sure they'll love the little darlings as much as I do."
"Of course you love them." Kira joked. "You get to hand them back when they get noisy or smelly."
A little before noon, they arrived in the park and made their way over to the flower gardens. Tommy placed an arm around Kira as he noticed a small tear begin to roll down her face.
"It's ok honey." He breathed. "We're here."
Approaching the flowerbed, Kira knelt down, and placed a pair of roses just at the edge of the flowerbed.
"Mom, Dad." She began. "I'd like you to meet your grandchildren."
Fin.
They made it in the end. Kira and Tommy finally get a little chance for some quiet family time (though exactly how quiet it will be with new born twins leaves a lot to be desired.) Hope you all enjoyed that, a sincere thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story, this has by far been my most responded to story so far. If anyone wants to ask questions, or just leave a comment, please feel free to PM my account.