Some of you guys guessed who was coming back into the story and so I hope this meets your expectations.
It had been about three weeks since the boys had come home from the hospital and everyone had fallen into a routine with them. Alex and Liv had worked hard to get them on some kind of feeding and sleeping schedule which was hit or miss. Sometimes they would sleep through the night, sometimes they would wake up every 2 hours. Haddie would try to help where she could and sometimes that just meant making sure the house didn't become an absolute mess. She and Josh would help her mothers by doing the dishes or cleaning up the bathrooms just so that they wouldn't have to do so in their exhausted state.
On this particular day Alex and Olivia were trying to leave the apartment for a doctor appt. but that was easier said than done. If one baby wasn't crying it was the other one and Alex was trying desperately to calm Xander down, but with JD crying just as hard there was no way either baby was going to stop anytime soon. The doorbell rang and Alex almost started crying herself at that point. She put Xander back in his bassinet and went to answer the door. When she opened it Josh was standing there looking apologetic.
"I'm having a key made for you tomorrow. Haddie is in her room getting dressed. Is there any way you could stay with her while we go to this appt. for Liv?"
"Sure thing. May I?" Josh pointed to one of the screaming infants and Alex smiled. "Please, but I'd be surprised if you could calm him down…" Alex was quickly silenced when Josh picked up Xander and the baby slowly started to calm down. Eventually he was silent and Josh put him in Alex's arms and picked up JD and basically the same thing happened. Alex looked at him in awe, "I should have called you at 3am when I started begging them to go to sleep. I think I offered them cars for their 10th birthday if they fell asleep right then and there."
Josh smiled, "happy to help. I can keep an eye on them while you go get dressed." It was then that Alex realized that she was still in her robe and not dressed to leave the house at all. She put Xander down and retreated into the bedroom and when she returned she was dressed and Liv was right behind her. "Thanks for staying with Haddie and them, I'm sure she'll appreciate the help, I know we do." Olivia patted the boy on the shoulder and turned to holler for Haddie. "Honey, we're leaving now, Josh is here to help you with your brothers." Olivia picked up her purse and turned back to the teenager, "we're probably going to grab lunch after the doctor's appt. is over, but we'll have our phones if you guys need anything. I left bottles in the kitchen for them." With that both women walked out of the apartment and Haddie came out of her room.
"Thank god you're here; they haven't stopped crying since 1 this morning." She gave Josh a quick kiss before heading into the kitchen. "You hungry, I was thinking about heating up leftovers for lunch because I slept through breakfast."
"Sounds good to me." The two of them made themselves a make shift lunch and ate while the boys took a much needed nap. As they were getting ready to finish their meal the doorbell rang. "You get the door, I'll get the dishes cleared." Josh stood up and took the plates while Haddie went to go answer the door. When Haddie checked the peep hole she didn't really recognize the person standing there so she cautiously opened the door. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, is Alexandra home?"
"I'm sorry neither of my mothers are home, can I ask who's asking?"
The woman paused for moment in a clear state of shock, "Charlotte Cabot, I'm Alexandra's mother." The next few seconds were spent in a stunned silence which was only broken when Josh came over to see what was going on. "What going on?"
"Josh this is Charlotte Cabot, Alex's mother." Josh turned to the older woman with a slight frown on his face, "Alex isn't home right now, you're going to have to leave."
"And who are you to throw me out of my own child's home?"
"First off, your child is hardly a child, she's a grown woman, with a wife and a family and I'm the person she trusts to keep them safe while she's out of the apartment. None of this changes the fact that you need to leave now." Josh was forceful, but hardly rude.
"She's my daughter and I will do what I wish. Now I was told Alexandra had twin boys, I'd like to see my grandsons." Charlotte tried to push past Joshua only to be met with his arms preventing her from passing. "First off, Olivia gave birth to them and almost died in the process so thank you for your concern and secondly, I have already told you that you are not welcome in this house without Alex or Olivia here. Leave, now." This time all propriety went out the window; Josh was in protective mode and Charlotte Cabot didn't scare him.
"Do you have any idea who I am?"
"I think I have a pretty good idea who you are. You are the woman who pushed her daughter away the second you found out she was gay. You're the woman who pushed her even further away when your husband died, may he rest in peace. You're the woman who tried to fix her daughter when all she did was love differently than you did. You're the woman who lost her daughter and when she came back from the dead you still pushed her away again. You're the woman who had the chance to make it all better when Olivia took two bullets to the chest in order to save your daughter, but you didn't. Please stop me if I have forgotten something. So yeah, I know who you are, the question is do you realize the damage you have caused?"
Charlotte shifted from side to side and looked up at Josh, "I admit, I've made some mistakes, but Alexandra isn't without her faults."
"All humans have faults ma'am, every last one of us." Josh was genuinely unimpressed.
"I know I've done a lot to hurt Alexandra, but I would like to try to fix some it."
"Not sure how you plan on making up for suggesting that your daughter needed professional help because she's a lesbian, but I can't wait to hear this."
"I know you won't believe me, but I was raised with a very old way of thinking and I couldn't break away from it."
"Why should I believe that you have changed at all?"
"Because I don't want to spend the rest of my life hearing about my grandsons from second hand sources. I don't want to remain alienated from my daughters. I'd like to fix what Alexandra and I had before it's too late."
"What makes you think it isn't already too late?"
"I pray that isn't. Olivia said that when I ready to face the truth and try and fix things that I knew where to find Alexandra, I hope that it isn't too late."
"Mrs. Cabot this is all very touching, but I'm still not letting you in this house and quite frankly I don't trust anything you are saying."
"Well then I guess it's good that I'm not asking for your forgiveness." Charlotte sneered and Joshua smirked. "No you're not, but you are asking my permission to get in the home and you aren't getting it." Charlotte pushed past him, "this is my daughter's home and I will do as I wish." Just before she got to the basinets Haddie stepped in front of her.
"You must be the young lady Alexandra adopted."
"I was adopted by both of my parents, you keep talking like I only have the one."
"I just want to see my grandchildren."
"Well you are looking at one of them, I am legally your grandchild, but I don't count right? I know what you put my mother through and I would rather die than think that I let my brothers around that kind of hatred."
"I've had enough of this, let me see my grandsons." Charlotte put her hand on Haddie shoulder and started to push her away when Josh grabbed her wrist and force himself between her and Haddie, "I'm not a man that hits women Mrs. Cabot, but that doesn't mean I can't or that I won't so if you threaten my family again, if you lay one finger on that girl again, I will pop you one so help me God." Josh turned to Haddie, "take them into the bedroom and lock the door please." Haddie did so quickly and left Josh alone with Charlotte. "Now for the final time, LEAVE."
"You have no right to throw me out."
"You have no right to be here. You pushed her away and missed every single major life event. You missed her falling in love with her partner. You missed their wedding. You missed the adoption of your granddaughter. You missed them getting pregnant. You missed the birth of your grandsons. You missed so much, you have no fucking right to come back here demanding anything from her so before I call the police, get out." Charlotte placed her purse on her shoulder and quietly made her way to the door, "Please tell Alexandra I was here?"
"The second you leave I'm calling her, that you can count on." With that she left and Josh locked the door behind her before heading to the bedroom. "Haddie, you can come out now she's gone." When she opened the door it was pretty clear she was crying. Josh held her close to him and tried to calm her down.
"Hey, she's gone and I'm gonna make sure she doesn't come back without your mom being here." Haddie shook her head, "that's not why I'm upset."
"Then why are you upset?"
"She grabbed my shoulder and I don't know why but it felt like I was back with my dad. She didn't even grab me that hard, but it felt like when he used to hit me and I don't want to feel like that ever again." She collapsed back into his chest and Josh felt a renewed sense of anger. "No one, no one will ever hurt you like that again, I swear to you. Come on let's lie down ok?" Haddie laid across one side of her mothers' bed and Josh was about to lie down next to her when the boys started crying. He picked each baby up and carefully lay down with them. They settled into his chest like they had done before and Haddie snuggled into his side. With his one free hand Josh sent a text to Alex before turning his attention back to the trio of crying people that were surrounding him.
Alex and Olivia were about to leave the restaurant when Alex's phone buzzed. When she read the text her heart stopped for a brief moment.
'Your mother stopped by…you both need to get home ASAP.'
Charlotte will be back in the next few chapters and I have my plans for her and Alex trying to mend their relationship, but Rome wasn't built in a day so bear with me. Review and tell me what you think.