A/N: This is the final update for me in 2017. I struggled with this chapter earlier when I was trying to write because it has a death and fear of death trigger involved. However after an awesome Christmas, I realized that I am healing from the deaths in my family this year and was able to enjoy the holidays and have acceptance. Enough about me this chapter is almost all bootlegged from movies, TV shows especially the Kitty Karry All episode of the The Brady Bunch. I just mixed and mingled everything in one chapter when it was supposed to be half of the last update. It has been cold and rainy, so I was able to write. I am going to try to update during the MLK weekend which corresponds to the timeline of the story. If not, know that I will be back when I can to finish off the Evans Eight. Thanks a trillion for all of you who take the time to message me and review. It really helps to keep me consistent in updating. Have a Happy New Year's Day. Although it is not New Year's to all right now but probably by the time you read this update, it will be. Please remember that I don't have a Beta and forgive all my many mistakes.
"Honey that was the best babymoon ever. Do you think we can do that again whenever the doctor gives us the all clear to resume sexual activity?"
"You just want us to be somewhere private and alone, so I can do the grapefruit technique on you again."
"Hell, yes. Ever since you watched Girls Trip with Blaine and described that scene which was hella funny, I have been wondering if it would feel as good as it was reported to because it sounded weird. Watching that woman on YouTube made it more of a turn off than a turn on."
"Well, I couldn't ask my mom or Blaine to buy me a grapefruit when they both knew I think it is the most distasteful of all fruits. They both know I hate it, and I wanted to surprise you, so I couldn't have had any of you connecting the dots of what I was actually going to attempt to do with the fruit."
"I am just glad that you surprised me and ordered it from room service. It was definitely one of the highlights of our time at the resort."
"Yep, it was the first time that you screamed my name so much and got hoarse that you almost sounded like Uncle Jesse on Full House with how you kept begging me for mercy. 'Have Mercy, Mercy please', and after I finished how you begged and pleaded for a repeat. I think at one point that you promised me that you would give me everything and anything I wanted whenever I wanted. Be careful Sammy Evans what you say in the middle of our bedtime games, those words may come back to haunt you."
"You better be glad that I am driving, and we are closer to our home than a hotel, or I would be tempted to try something on you that will have you begging and pleading for me. I am waiting for the all clear from your doctor, and we will battle it out again, and I promise you won't still be angry at me for pushing out not one but two babies."
"I already told you these babies will only be pushed out of my vagina if they come early. I have scheduled the caesarian as soon as I hit thirty-seven weeks."
"The doctor said that it would be okay if the babies are born at thirty-six weeks. You could go into labor before that date and still give me healthy children."
"Boy, you are out of your mind. With the lazy lifestyle that my mom and Blaine have me on, I doubt these babies will come out sooner than their C-section surgery date."
"Speaking of Mother Hubbard and Mother Hen have they texted or called since we left the resort?"
"You know how my mama is. She will curse you out if she hears you refer to her as Mother Hubbard."
"Trust me I have enough sense of self-preservation to not anger your mom. She is very feisty like you her fiery daughter."
"That is the reason why my pop calls her his drama queen and me his drama princess."
"Have you thought of the plan you are going to use to get revenge with them putting you on house/bed arrest instead of just plain bed rest?"
"I just have to find a way for them to figure out that I am not a piece of fragile Dresden China which you have proved more than once this long weekend. I'm capable of getting out of bed and being active around the house. I am just not allowed to work or stress myself out mentally or physically."
"Well, don't worry about revenge just be you. Blaine will have to kowtow to you because you are not only his friend, but you are also his boss. Just tell your mom that if she doesn't ease up and let you breathe and be, that you will ask for my mom to come be with you and send her back to Florida to your pops."
"Sam, you think it's that easy, don't you? Blaine fears my mom and is in awe with her, so as long as she is in our home, he will defer to her by believing my mom that I am hormonal and pregnant and not in my right mind which I have given him just cause to believe. And threatening Dorothy Ramsey Jones is futile. She would just go to a hotel and come over everyday making your mom miserable. She is a worrier and would worry about me until after these twins arrive."
"But, we could get your pops to help us and pretend like he will force her to come home, then maybe she will come around."
"The only thing that would work is if my blood pressure is up at the next doctor's visit and I credit it to Blaine and my mom's hovering. That will be the only solution I am afraid."
"Are you willing to lie to your mom?"
"Are you willing to keep living like brother and sister instead of husband and wife because they keep hovering over me?"
"Let's do it."
Three Weeks Later
"Mary, I am so glad that you helped me plan this party. Since the doctor banned Blaine and me from hovering over my baby, I have been bored out of my mind in Georgia. There is only so much shopping I can do in this little area, and the nursery is complete."
"I am just so excited that the two of them are going to make us grandparents for the third time. I can't wait to see those babies. I know they are going to be beautiful."
"Since, all our other grandchildren are simply gorgeous, I know these two will be as well. I am just glad that my husband's golf obsession got Dwight to leave us alone, so we could plan the final details of the reveal without fear of him overhearing."
"Are you sure that cupcakes wouldn't have been the best way to do this?"
"Everybody has done cupcakes, balloons, confetti poppers, but few people do the Old Wives' Tale Gender Reveal. Since I dreamed about this pregnancy and found out about it through an old wives' tale, I thought it would be poetic justice to see if any of these old wives' tales will help the guests and parents-to-be guess the babies' genders. We will have a score board for Baby A and Baby B. Then we will announce the winners therefore revealing the babies' genders. The winners will all receive gift cards. We have GameStop gift cards, Starbuck gift cards, and generic I-Tunes and Walmart gift cards for the winners. The winners get to choose their gift cards, and I think it will be something suitable for everyone."
"I am sure the winners will be pleased with those options. I also like that you are cooking all of Mercedes' favorite foods, and I am cooking all of Sam's favorites as well. It will be a lowkey family dinner really."
"Yes, Van and Jane are coming which will be like a mini family reunion for us. The last time all both of our nuclear families were together was for the wedding which hasn't even been a year ago but feels like ages."
"I am just glad we decided to have it New Year's Eve, and then the youngsters can go out and still party while we parents can enjoy bringing in the New Year with our children here at the house."
"Yes, Stevie and Stacey are going out with Van and Jane somewhere downtown, but I have no desire to be out in that cold and traffic. I am just glad they are staying in a hotel near the airport and will be able to fly back to their homes tomorrow without any issues."
"Well, you and I will stay here until the babies are born. I thought that Blaine needed and has earned another holiday since it is the season."
"That is so awesome of you to do that for him, Mary. I am glad that you are going to stay the next couple of weeks here. The twins are expected to arrive on January 15th, but I wouldn't be surprised if they come along earlier. My daughter has been walking all over this property and is in preparing for baby cleaning mode. The twins will probably be born sometime next week."
"Her belly has dropped, so I think you could be right." The two are interrupted from their conversation when Shelly is heard before she is seen.
"Grandma, tell Kade to give me back my Baby Alive." Shelly runs into the kitchen screaming with tears running from her eyes.
"Kade!" Both women yell simultaneously.
"I don't have her doll. What would I want to do with a doll?" Kade came into the kitchen and quicly replied looking as if he was telling the truth.
"I asked Mimi when was the last time she saw my dolly, and she said Kade was the last person she had seen with it."
"I picked it up because you had left it on the stairs, and I almost tripped over her. I gave her back to you and told you to keep that evil doll baby far away from me."
"You said that my doll was an evil bride of Chucky and that she was trying to kill you. You told me that if you had your choice you would have thrown her away and not returned her to me, and now she is missing."
"Kade, I am only going to ask you once and you better be honest with me, did you have anything to do with the disappearance of Shelly's doll?" Mary asked her grandson using her firmest voice.
"I promise that I haven't seen that doll since I gave it back to Shelly. That doll's eyes always seem to be watching me, and I don't care to ever see it again."
"See there, he didn't want to see her again. He is lying, he did take my dolly, and I want her back, and I want her back now."
"Calm down Shelly, I don't think Kade is lying. I am sure just as you left her on the stairs, you may have left her somewhere else. Did you check to see if she had rolled underneath your bed?" Dorothy asked her granddaughter.
"Mommy cleaned my bedroom this morning, and she vacuumed under the bed and everything. She didn't see my dolly."
"Let's ask Craig maybe he has seen her." Mary suggested trying to make sure that Kade was indeed telling the truth.
"Family meeting in the family room in five minutes," Dorothy said as she texted her son in law who was out in his studio and used the house intercom to notify all the Evans family inside the house.
"We have an APB out on Shelly's Baby Alive. Have any of you seen her dolly?" Mary asked as soon as the family was gathered.
After everybody said they hadn't. Mary explained the situation that had her call the meeting. Mimi stood by her claims of only having seen it last in Kade's possession while Kade reiterated that he hadn't seen the doll since he last returned it to Shelly.
"Alright, we will all look for the doll. Shelly where were you when you last remembered having the doll?" Sam asked.
"The last time I had her was when we were eating dinner and watching a movie down here in the family room. I fell asleep and you took me upstairs to bed daddy that was two days ago."
"I remember that night we were watching Boss Baby on Netflix, and you went to sleep pretty early. I remember taking you and you only upstairs. I don't remember bringing the doll with me because I wanted to come back to watch the end of the movie."
"Has anyone else seen the doll since that night?" Mary asked knowing that she had just arrived yesterday and wouldn't have been there to know what happened afterwards.
After everybody responded in the negative, Mercedes finally spoke up. "Well, I have cleaned the family room from top to bottom, and I can guarantee that there is no doll hiding under the sofa or in the cushions."
"Do we have the video feed from Nest from that night?" Craig asked thinking that they could find out what had happened. He knew with a certainty that Kade hadn't returned to their room with that doll. The two had went to their room and played a game on their X-box after the movie before showering and going to sleep.
"That's a good idea Craig." Sam said as he got his phone out and pulled up footage from that night. He fast forwarded until every member of the family had left and dolly was still lying on the sofa where Shelly had left her.
"Sam keep playing it from there. Surely, the doll didn't grow feet and walk out of the house." Mercedes said when Sam had paused the footage.
"Dolly didn't need feet when Kade obviously came downstairs the next day and got rid of her." Shelly said still looking at her brother with anger.
"Stop being a poopy head Shelly. I didn't willingly touch that demonic doll baby again. When I said I hated the bride of Chucky I meant it. I wouldn't dirty my hands by touching that evil doll."
"Kade and Shelly that is enough. If you two can't get along I will make you two share a room until you can come to appreciate each other. We don't call each other names in this household." Sam said ready to put an end to the bickering before it got out of control.
"Mom calls grandma and Blaine and even you, names, when she thinks nobody hears her." Kade begins and is interrupted by Mercedes.
"That is because I am hormonal and pregnant, and even though I have been very rude, I have apologized each time I said something that hurt somebody else's feelings."
"Did you apologize to Granny and Blaine when you called them suckers for believing that they were the reason behind your false high blood pressure reading?" Mimi asked looking at her mother accusingly.
"Oh, heck no. Mercedes how could you make me feel guilty for endangering you and those babies. I can see how appreciated I am here. Don't worry, I may be a sucker but at least I won't be the one with the last laugh when you go into labor early and have to push out two babies which according to their sonograms will have extremely large heads."
"Calm down Mama J." Sam says seeing how all of this was spiraling out of control quickly.
"Everybody needs to calm down and mom, Sam, and granny you two need to discuss that later. We need to figure out what Kade did to Shelly's doll." Mimi said again in an abrasive voice.
"My brother did not do anything to that doll. He has a tell when he lies. His voice goes all high and he refuses to look at people in the eyes when he is talking." Craig said throwing daggers at Mimi.
"I knew you would take his side. Okay Kade for once and for all did you take Shelly's doll?" Mimi asked looking at both brothers with suspicion in her eyes.
"I did not take Shelly's doll. I am not lying. Can we not watch the video to see who moved it because I promised it was not me?" Kade asked with tears in his eyes while looking Mimi in the eye without blinking.
"That's enough Mimi. You have been causing too much drama which is totally unlike you. Kade is right. Sam play some more of the video." Mercedes said looking at her daughter and wondering what had gotten into her and knowing she would have to speak with her later.
The family watched the feed and waited until what seemed like forever when they noticed that Blaine had entered the family room and began cleaning the windows the next day something that Mercedes couldn't reach and opened the door to wash the outside while leaving the door open. While the door was ajar, Wolverine came in and saw the doll and grabbed at it in his huge jaw and walked outside with dolly.
"Wolverine is the culprit. We seemed to have forgotten to invite all members of this crazy family to the meeting or this could have been remedied immediately. Blaine saw that Wolverine had the doll and brought it back in and put it in the washing machine knowing Shelly's allergy and had left her to dry in the wash room. Since Blaine had left on vacation when Mary decided to stay until the babies are born, nobody knew he had done this." Mercedes said while watching the video feed and having Sam change rooms to see what Blaine did with the doll once rescuing it from Wolverine.
"Shelly, you and Mimi owe both Craig and Kade an apology." Dorothy Jones said looking at her granddaughters with disappointment in her eyes.
The girls apologized to their brothers, and Mercedes made them all hug it out before letting all of them minus Mimi return to what they were doing before the meeting.
"Mimi what has gotten into you? You are normally the most logical thinker who always thinks before she speaks. What has happened to make you do a complete character change?" Mercedes asked her daughter who seemed to relish in being petty something that her daughter had never done in the past.
"Just because I tell Gran on you, you think I have now become petty, Mother." Mimi responded refusing to look her parents or grandmothers in the eyes.
"That is not what I am talking about and you know it young lady. You were quick to tell Shelly that Kade had hidden her doll, and then when Kade says he didn't do it, you didn't believe him. You got an us against them attitude pretty quickly, and also when the two of them were being corrected for name calling, you went out of your way to reveal something that you overheard me say about your Gran and Blaine relishing in getting one over me. What is your problem young lady?"
"You want to know what my problem is. It is you. You are up and doing way too much, and I worry about you losing you like I lost my dad! I constantly worry about the risks that are involved in childbirth since you told me you were pregnant, and then when the doctor orders bedrest and you have Gran and Blaine here to make sure you take it easy, you don't. It's like you have some kind of death wish!" Mimi screamed out her frustrations finally revealing the stress that her mom's pregnancy had on her and why she was acting out of character. She was mad her at mom for risking her life and upset with the possibility of losing her mother. Tears flew down her normally stoic face.
Mercedes was just about to threaten to spank her oldest child something she had never been tempted to do in her life when she listened to all her daughter was saying and instead of anger guilt began to take root in her heart and instead of hitting her daughter, she began to hug and rock her to her chest which was hard with her belly in the way.
"Mimi that is not all is it. Let it all out. I don't ever want you to feel that you have to bottle up your feelings and can't express things to your mother and I." Sam said as he gently rubbed his fingers through his daughter's hair before patting her on gently on the back.
"Mom, will you please get the Kleenex." Mercedes said as she could feel her daughter's tear began to soak through her maternity dress. After getting the tissue and hearing Mimi blow her nose. Mercedes prompted Mimi to unburden her heart.
What Mercedes heard next made her want to curl in a ball and cry. Mimi had been waking up from night terrors every night since Mercedes had returned from the babymoon and began to be more active around the house. She would shadow her mother during the Christmas break and that is when she heard how her mother had tricked Blaine and her grandmother. She wasn't getting enough sleep and her lack of sleep and worry had resulted in her actions of that afternoon. She was worried sick about her mother and had feared the worst since her mother was ordered to be on bedrest by the doctor.
"Baby, why didn't you come to any of us about this. You have known Blaine forever, and I always thought we communicated well as a family. I just don't understand why you tried to go through this alone." Mercedes asked with tears falling down her face.
"Because I didn't want to stress you out. I didn't want to make your blood pressure increase by having you worry about me. I knew if I told anyone, they would tell you, and I didn't want to be the reason that you could possibly die."
"I understand that honey, but you are not even ten years old, and you are carrying around the weight that I and your father as adults are supposed to alleviate for you. Your intentions were good, but your worry and night terrors are serious, and if I knew you were feeling and experiencing all of this, I would have scheduled you an appointment with our family therapist."
"You see how much therapy has helped me and Craig. You could have had your own time and maybe expressed everything you were too afraid to tell us. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, honey. Asking for help is a true sign of strength." Sam added.
"I know intellectually that you are right, but my fear exceeded my common sense. I am sorry mom and dad for not telling you what was going on, and I am truly sorry for all of my actions this afternoon. I just felt like I was going to cause problems for you, and I always want to be your drama free perfect child, I see now that I am probably causing you more stress by not just admitting to you everything earlier on."
"That is right sweetheart. But let me tell you something that your grandmothers will agree on. No matter what you think what has hurt me the most is knowing that you were and are too afraid to communicate your worries with me. The doctors can treat high blood pressure, but no doctor can cure me from feeling like a failure of a mom who doesn't see that her child is struggling. Promise me that you will always talk to an adult when you are feeling like this especially when you feel like I am not strong enough to hear it. I don't care if it is your teacher or counselor at school or someone in your youth group at church. Promise me that you won't try to handle things on your own."
"I promise mommy. I am so sorry for not telling you about the nightmares and the research driving me crazy and being upset with you. Please forgive me."
"If you will forgive me for being so focused on stupid things like getting our home ready for the babies and not paying attention to my oldest girl who desperately needed her mother's attention."
"Mom, stop feeling guilty. I know how to act like I am normal, and when I finally acted out today, you noticed that I wasn't, so you are paying attention. I love you so much mom, and I know that doesn't excuse my behavior today, but I just wanted you to know that it stems from the fear I have of losing you."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, I would like you to attend my next doctor's appointment with me and you can drill my doctor and you can ask him all the questions you need to help your understand that I would never put myself or your siblings' lives at risk. You are all way too important to me. Remember we talk in this household no matter the hurt, shame, or fear, we communicate with each other."
"I know mom. Thanks for being so understanding." Mimi said as she stayed in her mother's arms feeling at peace for the first time in almost a month.
"I want you to go upstairs and began to journal and write down everything. And I want you to take that journal with you to your first solo visit with the family therapist next week. I am going to set up an appointment for you. Your journal will be your punishment. You are not to read for pleasure nor watch movies during your free time. I want you to write everything out. Your anger, fear, doubts, everything you have been uncomfortable with verbalizing."
"Okay, mom I will." Mimi said as she hugged her mother one last time before hugging Sam and her grandparents and heading to her room.
"You see what not being transparent with your mother gets you, Mercedes Jones Evans. You reap what you sow with your own daughter. Instead of coming to me and being honest with your feelings, you flat out lie and tell me that I am causing your high pressure, and Blaine and I stop hovering, and your daughter does the same thing to you that you do to me and not communicate."
"You are right mommy. I should have been transparent with you and Blaine and told you how suffocating I felt you were both being and how that my husband and I hadn't even felt married since you both overwhelmed me with your version of tender loving care. I shouldn't have lied to you, and I am sorry, and believe me if my little girl hadn't broken my heart so thoroughly right now, I wouldn't even know how hurt you are by my actions." Mercedes said while the tears streamed down her face.
"Oh, baby, stop I didn't want to make you cry. I accept your apology."
"Listen to me, Mercedes. No parent is perfect and there are a lot of things you should feel guilty about, but what Mimi is going through is something that you couldn't have avoided no matter how hard you try. She was keeping all of this hidden, and you as a good mother kept her back and talked to her, and she finally was able to relieve herself of the burden she has been carrying. And your responses were perfect. You listened to her, and you are going to make sure my granddaughter gets the help she needs like you made sure my grandson got the help he needed. There is no such thing as a perfect child or perfect parent. We will make mistakes as parents, and your children will make mistakes, too. It is how we respond to the mistakes is what separates good parents from bad parents. And your responses are always on point, so you are a good mother. And even though your mother is smothering you right now, you learned everything you know from your own mother. You just have to put yourselves in each others' shoes, and then you will see that it is love that motivated your mother and Blaine in smothering you, love that motivated Mimi from fearing losing you and fearing to tell you. We all love each other and that is most important. So, stop feeling guilty and let's all hug it out." Mary said as she embraces Mercedes and Dorothy in a group hug that is made even bigger when Sam joined in on it.
Two Days Later
The New Year's Eve/Gender Reveal Party was a success. All of the guests wore an article of clothing that was pink or blue to show which way they were leaning. After the meal, Dorothy gathered everyone around and they began to play the Old Wives' Tale Gender Game. After falling out laughing on things that were asked and answered, the tallies were all made and only three people guessed the genders correctly. Mimi said she hedged her bets picking both genders because she knew she that increased her likelihood of winning. Mercedes said that she used the same logic to come up with her guess, and finally Stevie guessed a boy and girl correctly because he figured that Mercedes' intuition would be right, so he just waited to see what she had guessed.
Although Shelly was happy that one of the babies was going to be a girl, she was disappointed that one of the babies was going to be an icky boy. And Kade had a similar reaction for the opposite reason. Craig just knew karma was against him and decided with Mercedes' father, Stacy, and Jane that Mercedes were carrying girls since she already had two girls from her first pregnancies. Everybody else including Sam figured she was carrying boys based on the answers from the game, and Sam's propensity for fathering sons.
After the party, everybody helped to clean up as the younger crew got ready to leave for the city and enjoy the night ringing in the New Year leaving the children, Mercedes and Sam, and the grandparents in the house.
"So, we are having a little brother and little sister. I guess that will keep things even around here." Craig said as he looked at his mother's belly in awe.
"Yes, I am kind of glad that it is one of each. I am sure they will be a handful if they take after any of us." Mimi added.
"Hey little sister and little brother. It is Shelly your big sister speaking. I can't wait until you both are born. I have learned how to be the best big sister from our older brothers and sister. I am going to make sure that you both are as happy as I am."
"Yes, Shelly is right. I am going to be your older brother Kade, and I will teach you both how to draw and how to play video games. Just know that you two are loved, and I can't wait to see you face to face.
"Out of the mouth of babes." Sam said looking down at his baby girl.
"It's good to know that the apples don't fall far from the tree. They talk to my belly just like you do, Sam my love." Mercedes grinned while feeling Baby A kick as to co-sign Mercedes' statement.
The family spent the rest of the night together discussing resolutions and promising to do whatever it took to make sure that the last hours of the old year would be as enjoyable as the New Year that was about to unfold.
A/N: The chapter was supposed to be focus on Mimi and her nightmares and terrors waking up Shelly and waking up Mercedes and the drama that deals with the pain of the loss of a loved one and the fear of losing another person. Writing this part of the story earlier this year caused me a lot of pain and created a writer's block that I couldn't write at all. However, even though I wasn't able to express everything the way I initially saw the story going, I was able to show what has been going on in a younger Evans that wasn't Craig and how the family is dealing with everything. Glad to get that beast of a burden out of my fingertips and I can know focus on fluff in the New Year because Kitty is gone and Mercedes hormonal outbursts are gone and all that is left is how the two little boss babies are going to take over the next chapter.