"I got here as soon as I could, how is she?" Melody asked as she approached Charlie and Darren. Against her better judgment, she decided to tell Melody the announcement. Tommy was not going to be a good person to talk to about it, he had just been hammered with the reality a few moments before and although he was happy, he was still shocked, to say the very least. Over the last several years Charlie and Melody had gotten to know each other better and she knew that the woman would take out her frustrations on Tommy if she felt that he was being unsupportive in any way and that was something her son did not need today.
"She's very pregnant, with twins," Charlie said as Melody dropped the flowers she had in her hands. It suddenly seemed like that was not going to be enough to make her daughter feel a little bit better. "She is also exhausted beyond belief right now. Tommy hasn't even asked us back there and I don't think that he will. He's trying to hold up a good front for her."
"He doesn't want twins?" Melody accused, as Charlie crossed her arms and glared at the woman. She would not sit there and allow her son to take a verbal beating because he was apprehensive about becoming a father. Every man went through it and considering what had just happened, she could not blame Tommy in the least bit.
"He does, he's just shocked about it. You'd think in the last five months someone would have noticed a second baby, but obviously that didn't happen," Charlie said as Melody stared at her. She had known Charlie would defend her son, but she had never truly crossed her before about any of Tommy's actions. "He's scared about becoming a father and I don't blame him."
"He's great with Ally," Melody said as Charlie nodded. Tommy was indeed wonderful with kids, but this was different. At the end of the day, the children wouldn't go home to their parents, because they would be his children.
"How scared were you when your first came along?" Darren asked as their wives were only going to continue this until one of them snapped and he would like to prevent them making a scene at the hospital.
"Scared shitless," Eric muttered as Melody and Charlie looked over at him. He knew that he had possibly landed himself in a pot of hot water, but he understood what Darren was doing all too well, Melody and Charlie needed to calm down quickly. "Well, I was. You'd been carrying him for nine months and suddenly one day, boom, I'm a father. It takes a little while to get used to the idea.
"Where is Mr. Oliver?" Dr. Calloway asked as he entered the waiting room. Dr. Mendez was an old friend of his, so he had done the honor of calling him in to see his mistake in person, instead of letting him read it on the fax machine tomorrow morning.
"He went back to Kim's room," Charlie supplied as Dr. Calloway nodded and Melody moved to follow him back. She just wanted to see her daughter and make sure that she was all right.
"Let her go, Charlie. Tommy can deal with it on his own," Darren said as Charlie sat down and he couldn't help but smile.
"And if Tommy doesn't, Kimberly will. She's not one to be fussed over without good reason," Eric said as Charlie looked between the two men. Neither of them understood that this was definitely something to fuss over.
"And passing out from exhaustion is not a good reason?" Charlie asked, as Darren sighed. They'd all have to tread on thin ice with her about the subject for a little while.
"Let Tommy take care of her, he's good at it," Eric said as Charlie stared over at him. Obviously, he had not picked up the warning signs that Darren had about this subject.
"He is under enough stress with everything else, he might let us help them," Charlie said as Darren shook his head. He honestly doubted that Tommy would let them do anything for Kimberly. He had always felt a responsibility to look after her, even when they were broken up. She should know that Tommy was not going to let them help unless he couldn't do a thing for her.
"Honey, he wouldn't let us help him when she was recovering from the transplant, he's not going to let us help now," Darren said, gently, in order to still have a place in bed tonight.
"They threw me out!" Melody yelled, indignantly, as Charlie gave her a sympathetic look. "My own daughter threw me out!"
"What did you say, Melody?" Eric asked, knowing that his ex-wife had probably brought it upon herself.
"I walked in and the both of them were lounged out on her bed. She needs rest, not to share a bed with her husband! He has absolutely no clue how to treat a sick woman," Melody fumed as Darren grabbed Charlie's arm and shook his head. Let Tommy's name take some bashing, Melody had never fully forgiven them for the fact that Tommy had stayed with Kim after the transplant. Although they all thought it was over, every time Kim got sick, something like this happened.
"You told them this?" Eric asked as Melody nodded her head and he sighed. "Who told you to get out?"
"Kim, why would my own daughter not want me there?" Melody asked as Tommy walked out to them with his hands on his hips. He looked pissed and considering the fact that he was barefoot, in a hospital, wearing only his undershirt and dress pants confirmed it. He walked around like that in his own house, but he never did when he was going to have to be in front of people.
"Why upset her like that?" Tommy asked, much more calmly than anyone expected. "I want an answer from someone, because my wife is in there crying and I don't know what the hell is going on."
"She needs space to recover Tommy, not you lying there with her, practically spooning for all the word to see!" an irate Melody yelled as Tommy's eyes narrowed before he walked over and sat down in front of her. This had to end now, after six years of marriage, she still didn't trust him and he was tired of it. He had done everything that Kim suggested and it still came down to this every single time and that had to end, now.
"Melody, I need you to understand something," Tommy said, quietly, as Darren looked over at his son, trembling with the will to keep himself calm. "I'm her husband and I've been that for six years now. She's not going to run to you every time something happens, hell she doesn't even tell me half the time, unless it's really bad or I notice it first. I need you to let us handle her health, if we need help, we'll ask, but until then don't. And the next time you catch the two of us asleep in a hospital bed together, remember that she'll have just been through labor, so there will be no need to freak out."
"It's not safe for her," Melody argued as Tommy stood and crossed his arms.
"It's also the only way she'll get any rest in a hospital bed and that is what she desperately needs right now," Tommy said as he looked over at Kim's father and then his own parents. "Thanks a lot guys."
"Oh, anytime honey," Charlie said as Tommy just shook his head. He knew his mother was antagonizing him and for good reason, but he was tired of this. Every time she went in the hospital or had a check up, she would have a monumental fight with her mother and that had to stop now. Kim couldn't take it anymore and he could not stand to see her like this one more time.
"She's calmed down some," Dr. Calloway said to Tommy from outside the room. He had not dared enter without Tommy there, as she was only likely to throw him from the room next. "Does that happen often?"
"Only when she's in the hospital," Tommy whispered as he let out a sigh. "Give me a few minutes with her and then you can come in."
"Okay," Dr. Calloway said, only too glad to accommodate the request. He was going to need Kim calm to take a good look at what he'd missed. He had never missed a second child for this long, the first month of so, maybe, but five months was absolutely ludicrous.
"Hey," Tommy whispered as he sat down beside her and she then leaned into him. Her body was exhausted, she just found out about the twins and now her mother had yelled at her for having Tommy in the same bed with her. It was certainly better than her not getting any rest, but now she was afraid to invite him back. "You okay?"
"I hate this Tommy," Kim murmured as he nodded. It was all that she could do to reach up and give him a kiss, to let her know that he really was there. "What did you say?"
"It's time for her to let me take care of you," Tommy said as Kim smiled. She was so tired and felt like lying down again. She had a feeling her hours were about to be cut to none, but in all honesty, that would be all right. Part of her benefits package dealt with pay while on bed rest/maternity leave. She'd use it until Tommy got the dojo up and running, then she'd give her two weeks' notice and go to the job that she loved. "Dr. Calloway is here, so if you can stay awake a little bit longer and let him look at the babies, it'd be nice."
"Okay," Kim murmured already drifting back off to sleep.
"Not going to last is she?" Dr. Calloway asked as Tommy shook his head no. "If you don't mind, I still wish to do this."
"It's fine," Tommy said as he gently reached to pull the hospital gown up over her stomach, thanking God that she had decided to stay under the covers. Although he knew this man had seen more of her body than he wished any man would, he did not care to actually say anything about it.
"Nothing I haven't seen," Dr. Calloway said, gently, as Tommy looked up at him, he knew that, but he was not going to let him see anything right now if he could help it. "It's my job and trust me when I say I am only interested in my wife getting any sort of pleasure from me."
"I know, it's just…" Tommy trailed off as Dr. Calloway brought over the ultrasound machine.
"Hmm… let's see if I can find that little bugger," Dr. Calloway said, gently moving the probe over Kim's stomach as she dozed on Tommy's shoulder. "Okay, that's baby number one, see if I can push him out of the way enough to see the other one."
"Can you tell?" Tommy asked, quietly, as their son finally gave up and moved out of the way.
"It looks like a girl, Mr. Oliver," Dr. Calloway said as Tommy smiled. As much as he wanted a son, he also wanted a chance to have a miniature Kim running around their home as well. "She looks healthy enough and now I've got to set up the ground rules with you."
"Okay," Tommy said, hesitantly. The last time ground rules had been brought up in a doctor's visit, he had had an empty (and thankfully cold) frying pan thrown at his head. Luckily Kim had missed, but he still had had a long week on the sofa before she forgave him.
"No sex, its' dangerous for the babies," Dr. Calloway said as Tommy crossed his arms and scowled. If that was rule number one, he would rather someone else be murdered for telling her that. "I'll explain the uterus contracts during that particular activity, which has a most pleasurable outcome for your wife, but during the later months of her pregnancy, it can cause her to go into labor. With multiples, you don't want to take your chances. She needs to be able to carry these babies as long as she can."
"She's not going to like that," Tommy said as Dr. Calloway smiled. He had a feeling it wouldn't stop, but thought it necessary to warn him strongly against it.
"Also she is not to work more than 20 hours a week and I'll talk to her boss about it. She is to have the next week off to recuperate and I'd suggest you call in for Monday off, at the very least. Also, in her twenty-sixth week, she will be placed on bed rest. She had a very small frame and I want her to be able to make it to at least week thirty. The babies will have a very good chance to make it if she can hold off until then. The longer she is able to hold them, the better off they'll be," Dr. Calloway finished as Tommy nodded. "Do you wish for me to inform her sometime next week?"
"Yeah, otherwise I'll have to dodge kitchen utensils," Tommy said as Dr. Calloway gave him a knowing smile.
"Never tell a woman bad news in the kitchen," Dr. Calloway said as Tommy laughed. The older man had no idea how many times he had heard that in recent years. "Get some rest and watch out for her."
"Don't worry, I will," Tommy said as he gently moved Kim over and then crawled in next to her. Dr. Calloway did not miss the fact that Kim had already settled her head on his chest before he was even able to lay down. The two of them were certainly a special pair, the likes of which he had never seen before.