I know the chapters havent been too long but i hope you appreciate that they come often.
ENJOY!
Chapter 28
The tender moment between Eli and Julian was shortly interrupted with the sound of Julian's cell phone. Julian excused himself and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hey babe, it's me. Are you almost here? The doctors want to talk to us about the boys...together." Brooke sniffled when she talked. He knew she had been crying again.
"Oh well actually I'm still at home, but I'll be coming soon okay?"
"Still at home? What's going on?"
"It's nothing to worry about…I'll tell you when I get there…do you need anything?"
.
Eli could hear the conversation from the living room and looked around the room. Kids toys were everywhere and a brand new industrial pack of diapers sat on a nearby chair: 'newborn swaddlers'. Of course he has a family…why wouldn't he? He seems like a great guy.
Eli stood and grabbed her bag, ready to leave. She didn't want to complicate his life more. She regretted this visit already.
"Hey Eli…where are you going?"
"Um… I'm sorry I came like this…I should go…"
Julian lunged and grabbed her hand gently. "Please. You don't need to go. I want you to stay."
"You have a family. I'm not a part of that."
"And that's not your fault. It's my father's… You should stay…I want you to stay."
Julian smiled at his sister.
"Okay…"
"Good."
"So do you have a new baby?"
"Haha…well… three actually…"
"Wow. Congratulations. That's big."
"Thank you. Two boys, Jeremy and Bentley, and a little girl, Sienna."
"I bet they are beautiful."
"They are…And their big siblings are so excited to meet them so that's why I have to go pick them up...."
"Aww. You have other children besides your daughter?"
"Yes…Nolan is my oldest daughter, that's the one I told you about, and Jordan and Tristan are the younger ones. We adopted them last year."
"Wow. Full house… Are you sure you don't want to just forget you met me? Because you have enough on your plate…"
"No no no. I insist. Here…Let me show you to the guest room. I probably will be at the hospital until late tonight, so you have the place to yourself. Use whatever you need: the fridge, shower, TV. Make yourself at home. I'm trusting you here. And i hope it is okay, but i want to call my...our sister Jocelyn. She would love to meet you, I'm sure of it."
"Thank you, Julian. You won't regret this…" Eli smiled. She hadn't been treated so nicely…ever in her life. She wouldn't betray his trust.
;;
;
"MOMMY!!!" Tristan, Jordan, and Nolan ran towards their mother's bed when they entered her hospital room. She was holding their new sister Sienna.
"You okay, Brooke?" Julian asked. Brooke's eyes looked dark and tired. He hoped she was feeling better since the C-section.
"I'm fine."
"She's so little!" Jordan exclaimed.
"I wanna hold her, Mom. Can I?" Nolan asked in a whisper.
"Everyone needs to wash their hands first and sit down in a chair."
The girls scurried over to the sink and Tristan lagged behind. He just stood on his tip toes, peering over the top of the blanket to see Sienna. Julian came up behind him and scooped him up.
"So what do you think, T boy? Can you see the baby?"
"Yeah….baby See-na."
"Sienna…that's right."
"My turn Mommy!" The parents turned to see Nolan and Jordan squished bum-to-bum next to each other in the chair with their arms outstretched. They laughed at the sight.
"Okay girls, be patient."
Julian lifted the little pink bundle from Brooke and lay the sleeping baby in Nolan's waiting arms. "Hold her head up and be very gentle."
Brooke grabbed her nearby camera and snapped the first interaction of all three sisters. A priceless moment.
Julian also showed the three older kids pictures of their brothers. They kids were not allowed in the NICU because of the risk of germs being brought into a room with sick babies. They were disappointed, but were perfectly content with Sienna at the moment. They didn't realize the chaos that two additional babies would bring.
When Sienna was taken back to the nursery for the night, and Peyton had offered to watch the kids for the time being, since Naley had a newborn of their own, the doctors dicussed with them about the babies' conditions. The pediatrician said Sienna was an exceptionally healthy baby and would be home much sooner than both boys. They said that Bentley had a fever but his prognosis looked good. Yet baby Jeremy was giving them some stress. He had not made any progress since his birth and they feared brain damage in the future. Brooke cried on Julian's shoulder when the doctors were gone. After a while she insisted Julian distract her from feeling sorry for herself and the boys. She had to have a positive attitude. That was all she could do to help them.
Julian decided to take this opportunity to talk with Brooke about the surprise at home.
"Honey…I want to talk to you about this afternoon…"
"What's up, baby?"
"Well someone came to the door today, a young girl, Eli…she…she said that she's my sister. My father apparently cheated on my mother in the late 90s and now I have a fourteen year old sister that he never claimed."
Brooke was stunned. "Are you sure?"
"She has the proof. His name is on her birth certificate."
"I don't believe this. What is she like?"
"She's pretty tall and blonde, sarcastic. She kind of looks like my brother Jason and she has my grin, Brooke. This is real. I think she's honestly just looking for some answers. Her mom died recently so really Jocelyn, Jason, and I are all the family she has. She said she was too scared to face our father."
"Well where is she now?"
"At our house. I called Jocelyn and she went over to introduce herself."
"This is unbelievable. And we have three fragile newborns on top of this too. What are we going to do, Julian?"
"I don't know. But I don't want to just let her go live on the street somewhere, which is what she's doing. She ran away from her foster home." Julian took a deep breath. Brooke didn't know what to say. "She's my family, whether I knew about her or not. I have to protect her now, just like you and Jocelyn and our kids."
"You are a great man, Julian Baker. The best I could ever ask for."
The couple hugged tightly. They would worry about everything tomorrow. Right now, they just had to process.
"You should get some sleep now. You are exhausted, i can tell."
"I guess this means you're taking the kids home now."
"I will sit right here with you until you fall asleep because you need me..."
"I love you Baker."
Brooke snuggled herself into Julian's arms and her head against his chest. They laid like that until Brooke was almost asleep. Julian cursed silently when his cell phone ringtone disturbed Brooke. She stirred in his arms and sat up. "I'm sorry babe, go back to sleep." He picked it up quickly when he saw it was Jocelyn.
"Hey how's it going?"
"She's definitely Dad's kid. But we have a problem. She's gone! We were having a great conversation, considering the circumstances. I went to the bathroom for five minutes and she's gone!"
"What? She doesn't have anywhere to go!"
"I don't know, but I'm going out to look…"
"Jocelyn? You still there?"
"Yeah…uh…she left a note…"
"What?"
"It says… 'You all have your own lives. No room for me.' .....I'll call you back if I find her…"
"Damn it…" Julian slammed the phone down and placed his hand on his forehead. This teenager already mattered to him, and really, he knew nothing about her. But the thought of her sleeping on the street terrified him. They had to find her.
'
Eliot walked down the road in the dark and came upon a park bench. She sat down and opened her duffle bag to look for something. Suddenly a huge wave of pain came over her and she doubled over in pain for a few seconds.
"What the hell?" She talked out loud to herself.
She assumed she was just hungry. She hadnt eaen for thre days. She hadn't had a full meal since the group home, either.
She continued looking through her bag when the pain was lesser and she came upon a picture. It was a young Eliot and her mom, back when they lived in a homeless shelter. She could remember that as being the first time she ever had her own cot. She usually just slept in the same bed as her mom, or on the floor. She remembered asking her mom about who her dad was in that homeless shelter many years ago. Her mom said that when she approached the father about custody and child support, he denied the whole thing and demanded a paternity test. And the test came back negative. So Eliot's mom explained that she really didn't know who her dad was. That guy, Eliot guessed, was Paul Norris. So apparently her mom had lied to her, big surprise. Her mother was a junkie and a woman of many men. She often told Eliot to stay hidden away in the closet while she had guys and drug dealers over. She said it would be better if the guy didnt know she had a kid until she tricked him into marrying her or stole his drug supply 'the morning after'. Her mom had many boyfriends before she got sick, but never a husband. Eliot was actually relieved that the cancer caused her mom to stay in the hospital. This assured that none of those men could hurt her and she had decent meals. Eli loved the fact that the hospital rarely shut off the lights in the hallways at night. She hated the dark. Bad things happened to her in the dark. She hadnt been sexually assaulted ever, but it had gotten pretty close. She had been slapped around by a few guys and even her own mom when she was on something. Eliot vowed when she was nine to never do drugs ever in her life, or associate with those how did. She saw the effects in her everyday life since she could remember.
As she looked down at the picture, it began to get wet. She thought it was raining, but realized they were her own tears. She suddenly ripped up the picture fiercely and threw the pieces down in the dirt. She stomped them into the ground with her sneakers for affect. It symbolized her anger towards her mother and her dead beat father. She cursed them for robbing her of a life growing up with family like Julian or Jocelyn. It just wasn't fair.
She stood up and continued walking. She didnt know where she was going or what she would do next, but she continued walking. One foot in front of the other.
I see Eliot as a sort of 'Samantha Walker' figure. Very sarcastic, yet emotional at times. She doesnt want to be a burden but she is desperate to find a family. She's had a harsh life even with her mother in her life. Her mom was obviously not fit to be a parent or anyone's role model. Hope you like her! Since i'm not a doctor, I have no idea how to write about the babies' time in the hospital NICU but i'll try my best.
~ Haley
