Book Three, Chapter twenty-one- "Reunions Galore!"

Date: July 2nd, 2013

Irene's POV

"Mmm, mm!" the small voice gurgled from the floor.

I slid off the couch and crawled over to Rowan. He and his brother had been playing on their brightly colored blanket, reaching for the toys that hung above them. Hayden was still doing that, but Rowan had rolled himself over and was laying on his stomach. He had spit up a little and was trying to wipe his face on the blanket under him. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips as he failed to get the spit off. I leaned down and wiped his face off with the spit-up towel I kept nearby. Rowan made a happy sound and rolled himself back over to his brother. Rowan was developing faster than his younger siblings. While he was already rolling around and making almost-intelligible sounds, Hayden was still failing his attempts to roll over and Sylvia wasn't even trying. Half the time, all she wanted to do was sleep.

A cry from the baby monitor hooked to my belt signalled the other half of that time was starting. I stood up and walked to one of the two bedrooms in the apartment, which all of my children shared. Because of the small size of the apartment, both bedrooms were right off the living room so the baby monitor was probably unnecessary, but I wasn't taking any chances. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if any of my babies sat and cried for any more than a few minutes just because I didn't hear them.

"Hey, baby girl." I cooed as I gingerly lifted my daughter from her crib.

I was always careful when handling any of my kids, but I was extra careful with Sylvia. She was still a lot smaller than her brothers and I was always afraid of hurting her. The fear was a lot better now than it had been when she first came home four months ago, but the dread was still there.

Back out in the living room, Hayden and Rowan were making sounds that I knew meant "feed us, Mommy." After placing Sylvia down with her brothers, I went out to the kitchen and prepared three bottles of formula. I had tried breast feeding, but none of the kids could keep the stuff down, so formula it was for them. In only a few seconds, I was done with the bottles and bringing them back into the living room, along with a couple towels. Sitting down cross-legged on the floor, I pulled the blanket my babies lay upon towards me; they all giggled as the moved across the floor. I set Hayden and Rowan in the crook of my folded legs and propped their bottles up with the towels. Then, I picked up Sylvia and started feeding her. This probably wasn't the best way to feed a baby, but in order to feed them all at once, this was my only option.

The front door suddenly swung open and Amanda twirled into my apartment.

"I come bearing gifts!" She sang as she came into the living room, dropping her purse and a shopping bag onto the floor.

"I'd rather you come bearing extra hands." I muttered, adjusting my grip on Sylvia.

Amanda smiled. "I came with that, too."

As if on cue, Tom came in behind her, a few more bags in his hands. "Why do I always end up carrying all the bags?" He asked as he placed them on the floor.

"Because you love me." Amanda purred. "Now come help Irene with the babes."

Amanda swooped up Rowan and Tom took Hayden from my other leg. I smiled gratefully at them both and pushed myself up into the chair I had been sitting against. It felt good to be able to stretch my legs; I sat Indian-style way too much lately.

Tom must have noticed the relief on my face, because he took the moment to bring up the same thing he had been mentioning since I had moved into this apartment, "You know, we could help you all the time if you moved-"

"No," I interrupted in a firm tone, "I am fine where I am."

Ever since we had come back from Germany three months ago, Tom had been trying to get me to move back into his house with him. Of course, I refused him every time. Even though he said that Bill was kind of warming up to the idea of taking care of the babies, I still always said no. To me, it wasn't about Bill being a father anymore- it was that I didn't want to see Bill. I knew that his initial anger had been my fault, but letting me go through a whole pregnancy and labor (even though I was aware for only part of the labor) without him had just tipped me over the edge. It might take me a while to forgive him. But Tom didn't seem to get that. No, actually, I think he did, but he was just trying to speed up the process.

In an attempt to change the topic, I turned my attention towards the bags in the corner. "So what's all that?"

"Some gifts for my favorite babies in the whole world." Amanda said as she tickled Rowan lovingly.

"All of it?" I asked incredulously.

"No, just a couple of the bags are for the babies. The rest are presents for you." At my confused look, Amanda clicked her tongue in disbelief. "Did you forget that it's your 18thbirthday in a few days?"

I scoffed. "Amanda, my birthday is the last thing on my mind right now. Did you forget that I have three children to take care of?"

The smile that Amanda gave me sent chills down my spine. "What do you have planned?" I asked with a groan.

"Well..." Amanda paused in the way that meant she was choosing her words carefully, "It's been nearly a year since Midnight Sun had a concert, so I was thinking that we could have a reunion concert on your birthday."

"Lucy's wrist is broken, remember?" Last month, the band's guitarist had punched a wall in anger and completely shattered her wrist bones. She wouldn't be able to do anything with her right hand for another two months or so. I didn't know what could have made her so angry that she punched a wall, but I suspected James had something to do with it.

"That's what Tom is for." Amanda said cheerfully.

I glanced at the guitarist on my couch. Tom, who had long since stopped feeding Hayden and was now holding the baby boy a good-length away and bouncing him on his knees, shrugged. "Amanda asked, and I agreed."

"Is this supposed to be that start of that collaboration we promised fans back during Christmas?" I asked. Amanda nodded.

Admittedly, I was thinking about it. It had been so long since I had been on stage and it would be good to go back, but I didn't have anyone to take care of the kids. There was also another thing stopping me from saying yes, and this is the thing I voiced to Amanda, "This isn't a trick to get me and Bill into the same room together, is it?"

"I'm not Tom." Amanda replied, earning a glare from her boyfriend. "However, it does involve Bill."

"How so?" I asked impassively. I didn't like the idea of Bill being involved, but I decided to give Amanda the benefit of the doubt.

"Before another word is said," Tom spoke up, "I'd like to say that all of this was Amanda's idea and I had to part in it whatsoever."

I took Sylvia's bottle from her and moved her until she was up against my shoulder so I could burp her. Then, I switched my gaze to Amanda and stared at her until she spoke.

"I was thinking that, on the night of the concert, Bill could watch the babies."

I clenched my teeth. Because I knew it would make me look like I was being stubborn, I didn't outright say no. Instead, I said, "Taking care of three children isn't easy."

"I caught him looking at sites for new parents a couple times." Tom said hesitantly. "We also already asked him and he said he would like that.

Both him and Amanda were looking at me hopefully. To them, this would be the first step of me forgiving Bill. And as much as I hated to admit it, it was a good first step, since it made sure that I didn't have to talk to Bill. And it would give the kids a chance to see their father. I blinked at Amanda and Tom, who still had the expectant look on their faces, and sighed.

"I'll think about it." I finally said.

That answer seemed to be as much as they were expecting, because they both smiled happily. After that, Amanda gave the children their gifts (which ended up being toys, even though Amanda knew they had enough toys) and her and Tom left. I was glad they did, too. As much as I liked the help they both were, I needed the rest of the day to think.

The idea of Bill taking the kids didn't sit well with me. And it wasn't because I didn't want him to, either. In fact, the thought of him actually wanting to spend time with the children made me kind of happy. But I still wasn't ready to forgive him myself. So yes, I would let him have the children.

But I would stay away.

(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)()(~)

That night... *Trouble brewed :3*

"Hey!" A woman called from across the road. "Shut that kid up. It's 11:00 at night!"

"Sorry, ma'am!" I called back, pulling Sylvia tighter against my chest.

I jogged to the nature park, cooing soothing words into my daughter's ears. She wasn't feeling well and her crying had been keeping her brothers awake, so I had asked my neighbour to watch the boys while I went for a walk with Sylvia, counting on the gentle bouncing motion of the walk and the fresh air to put her to sleep. Halfway through the park, Sylvia had finally stopped crying, but she was still awake. I collapsed onto a bench and closed my eyes for a brief second.

"So tired..." I murmured, still patting Sylvia's back gently and rocking her. All I wanted to do was curl up on that bench and go to sleep. I could admit that these past few months were finally taking a toll on me.

But I'd never actually tell anyone that. I needed to look- no, be- strong for my children.

The sound of snapping branches made me finally open my eyes. I craned my neck to look behind me. There was a man in a dark hoodie behind me. I squinted at him, trying to see around the bushy beard and when I finally did, I jumped up with a gasp.

"Donnie.." I whimpered, clutching my baby against my chest.

My uncle chuckled and grinned at me. "Hello, my adorable little niece. It's been a while." He looked up and down, smiling appreciatively. It took all my willpower not to shudder under his gaze. "You've definitely grown into a.. developed young woman."

"Meanwhile, you look like shit." I said causally.

And he did. Joining the bushy, unkempt beard was long and matted hair. His eyes were sunken and rounded with purple; he obviously hadn't gotten much sleep lately. For all I know, he hadn't slept since he got out of jail almost a year ago. Not like I cared, though- I just wanted him away from me.

"Yes, well..." He shrugged, that creepy grin still plastered on his face, "three years in prison and a year of looking for the little brat who put you there tends to do things to a person. You know, you were really hard to find. I checked your mother's house about six months ago, but nobody was home."

"That's because everyone was in Germany." I said, my voice surprisingly even, though I was quivering inside.

Cautiously, I took one hand off of Sylvia and reached behind me. My phone was locked, so I would never be able to type in my long password and call the police before Donnie figured out what I was doing, so I had a different idea in mind. The handle of the steak knife was cold in my hand as I slid it out of my pocket.

"Ah, the root of all problems." Donnie said with a nod. Then, he peered at Sylvia, which made me pull her closer. "Whose kid?"

"None of your business." I growled.

For some reason, that was the thing that set my uncle off. With a roar, he lunged for me. Without a second thought, I closed my eyes and blindly thrust my arm out. But I was slightly too late- Donnie was able to push me to the ground. Thankfully, I only landed on my bottom, and Sylvia was tucked tightly against me. The fall only jolted my daughter and made her start crying again. I scrambled back up and looked forward. The knife had hit Donnie right in the middle of his chest. Blood oozed out around the wound and Donne was obviously too shocked about me stabbing him to do anything. He just stared at the knife, his mouth slightly agape.

I took Donnie's surprise as a chance and I ran. I went as fast as I could with the baby in my arms. She was still crying and I wished that I'd never left my apartment in the first place. Just before I left the park, someone stepped out in front of me. I opened my mouth, but the scream that was coming died in my throat when I saw the moonlight glinting off of piercings.

"Karma!" I said in relief.

"Oh, it's you, Irene! I heard screaming and came to check it out. Are you okay?" Karma looked worried, then she spotted the baby in my arms, and she turned even more worried.

"I'm fine.. I just..." I glanced behind me. No sign of Donnie. I wondered if the stab was fatal. "Do you mind staying with me as I go home. I.. don't want to be alone right now."

Karma nodded. "Of course." We started walking and Karma glanced at Sylvia. "This must be the baby all of us fans are hearing rumors about." At my accusing glance, Karma held up her hands in defense. "Don't worry, I never told anyone. It was the video you posted back in December that started the rumors."

"Oh." I said. "Well, yes, she is, I suppose. But she's only one of them. I had triplets."

Karma shook her head and said nothing. We walked the rest of the way back to my apartment in silence. And I mean complete silence- Sylvia had stopped crying just a few minutes after running into Karma and had finally fallen asleep. We got back to my apartment and I thanked Karma for walking me back.

"No problem." She took out a slip of paper and a pen out of her bag and wrote something on it. She handed it over and I saw that it was her number. "Call me anytime if you need something, okay? Maybe we can do a playdate!"

I smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

Karma left and I walked up to the third floor, where my apartment was. When I got up there, I thanked the neighbor and sent him home. Then, I put Sylvia in her crib and crawled into bed.

Not another thought was given to Donnie.

(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

July 3rd, 2013

The next day, I never opened the door to anyone. Not like there were too many people that visited me anyway. Even when Amanda came knocking and yelling my name, I just stayed hidden in the living room, playing with the babies. Was I too scared to open the door? The answer to that was related to the many questions in my head. Had anyone found Donnie? Or, maybe, Donnie's body? And if they had found him alive, was he searching for me again? So yes, I was afraid to open the door. I had put my children in danger by doing what I did, so I was doing what I did best: Hiding.

As the knocks from the third neighbor to visit finally died away, my phone went off. I reached over the side of the couch with the one hand that wasn't thrown over my face and picked it up without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"She's alive!" Amanda's voice filled my ears and I pulled the phone away from my head with a groan. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I replied, putting the phone on speaker and setting it on my stomach. "Why do you ask?"

I could just imagine Amanda making an are you serious face as she said, "Maybe because you're not answering your door?"

"I just don't want to."

"What's wrong?" Tom's voice now. He must have taken the phone from Amanda.

"Nothing is wrong." I said, "I just want to be left alone today."

"Bullshit. Something is scaring you, I can feel it. Tell me."

I sat up and rubbed at my face. "You know too much for your own good, Tomi."

And he did. Tom could pretty much read my mind at this point, so there was no reason to lie to him. I told him about last night, making sure not to leave out any details; especially the part about the knife.

"Oh, Bean." Tom said, sounding quite distressed about my words, "I wish you'd come stay here."

"No, Tom. I'm still not doing that."

We talked for a little more (most of our conversation being Tom trying to convince me to move) then we said goodbye because Hayden was crying. I hung up the phone and got down on the floor to gather the crying child up in my arms.

"Nap time, isn't it?" I cooed, carrying Hayden to the bedroom. I tucked him in, then went back for Sylvia.

The other two children weren't crying, but none of the children went to sleep unless their siblings were in the room with them, so I had to put all of them down for a nap at the same time. I got Sylvia in and was just picking up Rowan when a knock came from the door. I peered suspiciously at it, wondering who it was this time. I was sure that every possible person who would come to see me had already done so. Who would be at my door now? With Rowan still in my arms, I crossed into the kitchen and peeked out the peephole.

And I froze at who I saw.

Bill.

I was at a loss for words. Why was Bill of all people at my apartment? He wasn't even supposed to know where I live. But it was just fact that he was here that had me speechless. Rowan babbled, staring at me curiously, probably wondering why he wasn't in his crib yet when his siblings were. Bill knocked again, which made me wonder why he wasn't leaving if I didn't answer the first time. I obviously didn't want to open the door. I mean, I didn't even open it for Amanda, so why would I open it for Bill?

"I know you're in there, Irene." Bill's voice made me jump, causing me to scare Rowan a little. "Open up, please."

Bill sounded tired and I almost scoffed at the thought. What possible reason did he have to be tired? I, on the other hand, had three good reasons to be tired. In fact, I had been going to have a nap myself once those reasons were asleep- but I guess that idea was gone now, because Bill didn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. Not with the knocking he was doing. I made sure the chain was on the door before I opened it. That way, if I wanted to shut Bill out, I could. I pulled the door open as far as the chain would allow and looked out.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

Bill looked shocked for a second, then shook his head and the look was gone. "I didn't think you'd actually open the door."

"I didn't have a choice. You didn't seem to be going anywhere and your knocking was keeping my kids awake."

I watched with smug satisfaction as Bill visibly winced when I said my kidsand not our kids. It probably hurt him to hear that, but I was far beyond the point of caring about what hurt Bill. I repeated my earlier question and Bill sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"I want to talk." He said simply.

A snort escaped me. "I don't think talking is such a good idea."

"We could still try."

I couldn't help but feel slightly disgusted and completely untrusting at the hopefulness evident in Bill's voice. Of all times to want to talk, why now, nearly nine months after he kicked me out of his house? Bill pleaded, again, for me to open the door. I shook my head, bouncing Rowan as the baby started to get annoyed. Take me to bed, Mommy, my son's babbles and tense movements seemed to say. Rowan was getting irritated and Bill didn't seem to be giving up, so I relented and let him in. Bill nodded his thanks, but I just ignored him.

"Just sit at the table while I get Rowan down." I said.

I went to the bedroom and got Rowan tucked in for his nap. Then, I turned back towards my unexpected visitor. Bill had sat awkwardly at my kitchen table, back to me, his leg bouncing nervously. I studied him for a second, going through all the possible explanations as to why he could be here. Yeah, he said that he wanted to talk, but it seemed like there was a little more to it. But instead of dwelling on it too much, I just went into the kitchen to get this visit over with; I still wanted my own nap. I leaned against the counter across from Bill. Neither of us said anything for a few minutes, then I spoke.

"Why are you here, Bill?" I asked without looking him in the face.

At first, he didn't say anything. Then, he said "I told you; I came to talk about everything."

I snorted again. "Last time we tried that, I almost got kicked out of a cafe for slapping you."

"True. But this time around, I don't have any dumb questions."

"So if you don't have any dumb questions, then what do you have to say?"

Bill stood up and started around the table, coming closer to me. "I want to make things right between us."

I held up my hang, signalling for him to stop. He did. "I don't think things can ever be really right with us again, Bill."

Bill's shoulders seemed to sag and he dropped his gaze, but not before I saw the sadness fill his eyes. However, I pretended not to see it. I knew what he was feeling, as I had felt it many times in the days that I was pregnant and missing him. God, had I missed him, but he hadn't given a shit about me. So, therefore, I wasn't going to comfort him now.

Too wrapped up in my thoughts of sadness, I didn't realize Bill had moved until it was too late. Suddenly, his hands were on the cupboards above my head and his body was pressed against mine, effectively trapping me.

"Wha—what are you doing? Go away!" I tried to push him away, but I was weak from drowsiness. That, and Bill had obviously been working out.

"Please..." Bill whispered, his mouth grazing my ear, making me shiver unconsciously. "I know I've been a moron these past months. I've been rude, selfish, and cruel. I just... panicked when when I found out that you were pregnant. And then, I got angry at you for keeping it a secret for so long. I felt like you didn't trust me anymore, so I shut you out. I let that panic and anger take over and I'm sorry for it."

It was then Bill started crying. He pressed his face against my cheek and I felt his warm tears against my skin. He chanted the word "sorry" over and over again, clutching desperately at my shirt. I was confused, to say the least. My heart was beating fast and it wanted so bad to forgive him, but my brain was looking at the logic of it and was wondering whether or not it was a good idea. The problem was figuring out which organ knew best.

Thankfully, I was saved from the choice by a crying child. The sound was coming from the baby monitor on my belt. But Bill didn't seem to hear it over his own sniffles.

"Bill, let go of me!" I said a little louder than necessary, but it did the job. Bill jumped back and stared at my belt as he wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. I rushed away from him and into the childrens' room. Sylvia had rolled herself over onto her stomach and was trying to prop herself up with her hands, but was failing. I went over, picked her up and brought her out of the room before she could wake her brothers.

"Look at you," I murmured to her happily, "You rolled yourself over; mommy is so proud of you."

Sylvia spouted happy-sounding gibberish at my praise, but she stopped abruptly when she saw Bill. My daughter played with the necklace around my neck, but kept her eyes on Bill. One could tell that she was confused. I figured that she was thinking that he looked like Tom, but she could tell that he wasn't Tom.

Bill didn't return her gaze. He took one glance at her, then looked away and scratched his neck. I scoffed and shook my head, not believing what I was seeing.

"You want me to forgive you, but you can't even stand to look at your own daughter? That's pretty pathetic, if you ask me."

"Nobody asked you." Bill muttered.

I laughed shortly and turned my head towards the ceiling, wishing that I wasn't holding Sylvia so I could beat the snot out of Bill. "And there it is. That is why I knew this was a bad idea. You haven't been here for ten minutes, and you're already being an asshole." Bill clenched his jaw and didn't say a word, so I kept talking. "How about you just get the fuck out and come back when you're done being a dick?"

Bill stared at me for a few more seconds, then stomped out of the apartment. Thankfully, he didn't slam the door. Once he was gone, I collapsed on the couch and held Sylvia up, encouraging her to bounce on her legs and hoping it would tire her out.

I still wanted my nap.

(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)

A/N: This chapter was supposed to be longer and include something else, but that something is so special that I decided to save it for the next one. ;) Which you won't have to wait long for, considering I'm already half done with it. So did you like this chapter? Let me know!

~Rina