A/N: I made you guys wait so long for an update last time that I wanted to get this chapter up as quickly as I could. I really hope you like it, and just to throw this out there, I have some free time on my hands this weekend, so the first person to tell me which story they want updated will get their wish granted. Just let me know in your review and I'll get right on it. Thanks, guys!
Graham snuggled up close to Stephanie, closing his eyes and resting his weary head atop her chest. She pressed her lips to his head's crown, combing her fingers through his golden locks, as Chris fed Fiona her latest bottle. She gulped hungrily, her mouth pumping double-time as she sucked up every last bit of the creamy beverage. Stephanie's heart softened a little more when she noticed Chris whispering to their daughter, though not close enough to hear what was actually being said. Even so, she could imagine the secrets he was sharing, and that brought a lopsided smile to her face.
Father and daughter had already begun the journey of bonding, and Stephanie loved imagining what a daddy's girl Fiona would grow into. As a mother, she held a special connection with Graham because he was her son, and she liked to think Chris would develop that same sort of attachment to Fiona as his daughter, in time. She brushed her hand over Graham's back, swiping up and down with her fingertips, and he shifted his leg so it was nudged against hers, all the while making sure to steer clear of her healing stomach. All of the extended family members had retired for the evening, returning to their homes after a sea of promises to return early the next morning.
The desire to enjoy an active parenting life with her kids drove Stephanie to persevere through the pain of surgery and find her way back to health. Movement was a top priority and, by the next morning, Stephanie had plans to ask for the nurse's help to make it farther than she had earlier in the day. She had wandered down the hall with minimal assistance, but the sooner she pushed herself to break her own record, the earlier she would return to her old self, which would allow her to care for Graham and Fiona the way they deserved. She broke free of her reverie when one of those very children reached up blindly, his hand finding her right cheek, which he patted succinctly three times in a row.
She caught his hand and kissed the center of his palm, seeing the humor in his antics. "What are you doing, silly boy?"
He lifted up and smiled that toothy grin he reserved for his mommy. "I'm just bored, so I'm playin' with you."
"Oh yeah?" she asked. Stephanie curled her fingers, catching his nose between her index and middle fingers and giving a light pinch. Graham found her antics hysterical, shaking with laughter against her side. "Hey."
"Hm?"
"I love you and Fiona so, so much. You two have no idea how happy you make me," she shared. Graham's eyes glimmered and he beamed the entire time, soaking in the praise like a sponge to water. She slipped her finger under his chin to keep his head tilted so he would maintain eye contact. "I get this whole summer with my babies, and I can't think of anything greater than that. I'm really excited to be able to spend this time with you. We're going to have the greatest summer vacation ever."
"Yeah, we will," Graham agreed, raising up to link his arms around her neck. "I always wanna be with you, Mom. You and Dad are fun."
"We aim to please."
"Good girl," Chris murmured, slipping the bottle's nipple out of Fiona's mouth. The nurses had offered to feed Fiona for the evening, and Stephanie had allowed them to on her first night, since every ounce of energy had been zapped from her body over the course of surgery. On that night, however, she and Chris had asked that they be left to spend time caring for Fiona themselves until bedtime, at which point they would hand her off for the night so they could get adequate sleep. They were delighted to receive all the help they could get, for as long as it lasted, because they would be on their own soon enough. Chris placed the bottle down and positioned her head on his shoulder, meeting Stephanie's gaze. "She ate like a champ."
"I'm so happy to hear that," Stephanie responded, giving her hands a little clap. She extended her previously bent arms. "Can you bring her over? I want to burp her."
Chris nodded, smacking his lips against Fiona's left temple and scattering numerous kisses across her milky skin. He briefly wondered if, even as a newborn, Fiona was growing tired of being kissed and handled so often, because she hadn't been put down since her birth, except to sleep. Everyone always wanted to be close to her, which was to be expected, but Chris imagined even babies longed for some alone time. He was proven entirely wrong when he lifted Fiona off his shoulder, watching as her lips curled into a snarl and she began whimpering, only calming when fully transferred to her mother's awaiting arms.
"Hey, baby," Stephanie whispered, running her fingertip down the bridge of Fiona's nose. She nuzzled Fiona's cheek next, drinking in her fresh and inviting scent. She gazed into a pair of cerulean eyes, taken by her daughter's consummate beauty. "Are you Mommy's pretty girl? Yes, you are, and Mommy loves you so much. Let's get a burp out of you," she encouraged, speaking in stunted baby talk. A dull ache settled within his cheeks from smiling so hard, and he ran a hand over Graham's hair while watching Stephanie in action. "Let's give it a try, honey. Give me a big burp."
With the minimal display of physical strength she had to offer, Stephanie hoisted Fiona upward, so that the baby's chin rested on her right shoulder. Instead of the patting method, she used a firm rub, goading the desired response out of Fiona. Chris took a seat beside Stephanie's bed, poking Graham's abdomen to make him laugh. When Graham grew too rowdy to be contained, Chris directed him out of Stephanie's bed, as neither of his girls were in a position to tolerate such jostling. Upon climbing out of bed, Chris pulled out the tickle monster treatment, getting a kick out of the way Graham squirmed in his arms.
"Stop it, Daddy," he laughed, shoving his hands away. "I don't like bein' tickled."
"What fun is it not to be tickled?" Chris prompted, leaning in close to Graham's face. "Huh? Can you answer me that, young lad?"
Graham's face contorted, both eyebrows arched, and he pressed a hand to Chris's cheek and pushed him away. "You're being a big weirdo, Daddy."
"I'm just in a really good mood, that's all. I've got a remarkable wife, two awesome kids, and a perfect new house for all of us to spend our lives in together. There's no reason I should be anything short of ecstatic," Chris raved.
He slipped his arms around both of Graham's shoulders and kissed his cheek just as one of the hospital staff, Nurse Cohen, entered to check on Stephanie. She sent cheery smiles in the boys' direction, asking if there was anything she could grab to make them more comfortable, but they declined her thoughtful offer. The women engaged in small talk while Stephanie's vital signs were monitored. Fiona let out a resounding burp and, at last, Stephanie could breathe a sigh of relief that her baby girl was ready for sleep — about three hours worth of sleep, anyway.
"Would you like us to take her for the night?" Nurse Cohen inquired.
"Yes, please." Before handing her over, Stephanie said goodbye to her girl with a final kiss, and Chris and Graham rushed over to offer hushed parting words of their own. At once, Fiona was whisked away, and then there were three. As Stephanie let out a giant yawn she'd been holding onto, her mouth stretched into a wide oval, and Chris directed Graham to remove his shoes and get ready to lie down in the bed they would be sharing for the night, only a few feet from Stephanie's.
"I need to give Mom her presents before bed," Graham demanded, kicking his left shoe off, which landed with a clunk in the middle of the room. He removed the right and bolted around the other side of his bed, secretive in his movements. Stephanie rubbed her hands together and bared her teeth when Chris turned to her.
"I don't know what you boys have in store, but I can't wait to find out," she said.
"One of the gifts is custom-made. Graham and I came up with the idea, and I went to have it carried out just like we envisioned it. The other present came completely from Graham and was something he thought would be nice to do for you."
"I got 'em!" he cheered.
Graham jogged from the other side of the room, nearly skidding on the buffed floor in his non-padded socks, and he was immediately scolded by Chris, who was almost completely fed up with the constant task of reminding Graham that he had to walk. Graham pressed his lips together, shoulders falling into a classic guilt droop, and he plodded the entire way to Stephanie's bed. She held her hand out to accept the apple red bag holding her main present, and Graham's eyes glistened as she reached inside. He wanted her to enjoy the contents, and there was always a sense of nerves whenever he handed a present off to someone he cared about, wondering if the item would be to their liking.
When she tugged out a snug, black velvet box, Stephanie developed a greedy gleam in her eye, recognizing that jewelry must have been enclosed. If anyone knew a jewelry box when they saw one, it was her. She pulled the top open and covered her mouth with her free hand when she saw what was inside. Nestled inside was an authentic gold necklace, two circle pendants hanging from the chain, neither of which could have been more than the size of pennies. One had a pink stone affixed to its surface, with the name 'Fiona' etched just below it. The other circle carried a blue stone with the name 'Graham' engraved beneath.
"You like it?" Chris interjected.
Stephanie gulped and nodded in slow motion, lowering her hand from her mouth. "I love it. It's gorgeous, and so thoughtful. Thanks so much, you guys."
"You're welcome," Chris answered, coming up on the side of her bed and placing his hand atop her head. "I actually had two of them made, in case the baby was a boy, so we've got an extra pendant sitting at home with our boy name on it. I figure if we have a son in the future, I'll just remove the oval with his name from that necklace and add it onto this one. Now you can carry our kiddos with you everywhere you go."
She melted away at his words, like a sliver of butter in a scorching hot pan. Her hand closed over top of his, and she spoke to him without need for exchanging words. After all they had experienced as a couple, the highs and the lows, Chris was her safe place to fall no matter what sort of chaos went on around them and, in that moment, she thought her entire body might combust from the enormity of the love she held inside. Instead, she settled for a small request. "Kiss me."
As he often did before their lips met, Chris cupped her cheek and massaged his thumb into the apple, making certain he had her full attention before his lips landed squarely on hers. Her fingernails scratched over his scalp as she plowed his hair into temporary rows with her fingers, even tugging playfully on a few strands. Chris groaned, knowing he couldn't go much further with their child in the room, so he was first to pull away. "I'm so glad you like it, babe. We love you, and we wanted you to have it."
"I'm never taking it off," she declared, turning to Graham next. "Kiss?" He used his palms for leverage to lean over the bed and kiss her cheek. She grabbed his hand and ran her thumb over top. "Thank you for thinking up something like this for me. It's beautiful, Graham, and I can't wait to wear it everywhere so everybody will always know who my two kids are."
"That's good, Mom, and I promise I won't be bad this summer, and it's gonna be really fun. I'll take care of my sister, and I'll take care of you, too," Graham rambled on. "I promise I will."
"I believe you," she responded, giving his hand a solid squeeze. She managed to remove her necklace from the packaging and handed it off to Chris, leaning forward so he could secure it around her neck. When properly clasped, she held the two ovals between her thumb and forefinger, positioning them so they would hang perfectly in the center of her chest. "Magnificent."
"I agree, you are magnificent," Chris complimented, prompting an even larger smile. He kissed her square on the forehead and gave Graham the signal to continue. "You had something else you did yourself that you wanted to give Mommy. Go ahead."
Seemingly out of thin air, Graham produced another gift bag, this one an entrancing shade of gold, and she briefly wondered how he had gotten hold of it without her noticing. He thrust it into her arms, and she accepted. She began to reach inside, but Graham grabbed her hand, bringing her to a screeching halt. "It's not a big gift like the other one, but I wanted to give this to you because Daddy had the picture saved on his camera, and I really like this one, so I want you to have it."
"That means a lot to me. I would love to have a picture that holds meaning for you. Can I take a peek?" Stephanie quizzed. "I'm really excited to see what it is."
"You could see it now," Graham confirmed, dropping his hand at his side. Stephanie reached in and pulled out a framed photo, in which she was seated on the couch in their old home, Graham standing between her legs as she perched her chin on his left shoulder and wrapped her arms around him from behind. Both of them were smiling widely, their eyes dancing with light, as if they were about to go get into some sort of mischief, like sneaking a bunch of cookies out of the jar. "Do you like it?"
"Well, you should explain it to her first, Graham," Chris cut in, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Tell her why this picture in particular is important to you. You can basically tell her the same thing you told me when you found it stored on my camera."
"Okay," Graham agreed. Stephanie studied the photo in reflective silence. She ran her thumb down the side of the decorative, wooden frame as she awaited his response. "I don't know if you remember it, but Daddy took this picture of me and you after you got back from, um, after your wedding."
"You mean our honeymoon," Chris added, helping him out.
"Yeah, the honeymoon!" Graham's eyes lit. He was thankful to have his daddy around to help him out when he needed it most. He used his pointer finger to keep the attention on the photo as he spoke. "This was, like, from right after you told me you were my mommy. You told me that and we hugged upstairs, but then we went downstairs with Daddy and there was cake and ice cream for everyone so we could celebrate for the wedding. Daddy took this right before we ate a bunch of cake together."
"I think I remember now," Stephanie nodded. She examined the background, and even her clothing from that day so long ago, and with the help of Graham's descriptions, the memories came flooding back to her. If she focused deeply enough, Stephanie could almost experience that entire day all over again inside her head. The pure elation coursing through her veins was overwhelming, like a drug, just as it had been earlier that day when she laid eyes upon her daughter for the first time.
"And why's that picture so important to you, Graham?" Chris pushed. That was his attempt in helping Graham along so he could explain the full significance to Stephanie. She wouldn't quite understand unless she was told.
"It's important 'cause that was the first day I had a mommy in a long time. I had Mommy Carly when I was first born, but," his brow furrowed, and he paused thoughtfully, "I don't remember much about her. I don't know why, but I don't. But this day," he specified, pointing at the photo again, "was when I finally got a mommy, and I want you to be my mommy forever. That's why I'm givin' you the picture. It's so you'll know that I was really happy when I could finally call you 'Mom', and even if I'm, like, a little bad sometimes, I don't really mean it. I always wanna be good no matter what, 'cause I know I'm lucky that I could have you for a parent."
"I'm far more lucky," Stephanie responded, tone bumpy and thick with emotion. She captured Graham's chin in her right hand. "This is very special to me, and that day meant a lot to me, too. I gained a son, and I'll never forget that."
"Do you like that picture?" Graham wondered.
"Like it?" she scoffed, sweeping her hand down the length of his cheek. "I love it. I'll put it on the desk in my office when we get home. Thank you so much, baby."
"You're welcome. I'm gonna go to bed now," Graham declared, rubbing his eyes. He had spent virtually all day inside the hospital, except when Vince had taken everyone out for a hearty lunch at a nearby restaurant, so it was a long day, especially for a child. He yawned and reached for Chris, giving him a firm hug when he bent down. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you, too, kiddo. I'm really proud of you for today. You were so good to Mommy and very sweet to Fiona, too. Get some sleep and we'll see you in the morning, okay?" Chris instructed.
"Okay," Graham said, reaching for Stephanie next. "I love you, Mommy."
"I love you to the moon and back," she replied, rubbing his hair and kissing him on the cheek in their embrace. He wriggled away, and she winked. "Thank you for my presents. They're both incredible."
He left her with a wide grin, and she chuckled at his expression as he returned to the bed he would share with Chris overnight. As he settled into bed, Chris reached for Stephanie's hand, which he brought to his mouth, kissing each of her knuckles, then leading a trail of kisses all the way to her wrist. Eventually, he pressed her open palm to his cheek, sighing at the enveloping warmth. "That is one beautiful baby we created together. We're a good mix."
"Oh, definitely," she laughed. "She seems to have my hair and coloring, but she's got your eyes, I think."
"Our eyes are basically the same, though," Chris responded, lowering onto the edge of her bed. "They're identical blue eyes."
"They are not," she argued. "Look," she said, pointing at her pupils. Chris leaned in close, pretending to study them. "Mine are blue, but they're mixed with a grayish color, which makes them a little darker. They're kind of like the color of the sky on a slightly overcast day. Your eyes are super blue, like the sky on a sunny day. That's a huge difference."
Chris smirked and shrugged, relaxing his form. "If you say so, angel."
"I do."
"So she's got my eyes?"
"Yep. She's definitely got the sunny blue eyes, not the overcast ones. Graham has sunny blue eyes, too. That must be a dominant trait in you, since both of your kids inherited it."
"Well, your hair genes are more dominant than mine, since Fee's hair came out straight and brown. I love that, though," he said, a dreamy smile turning his lips up near their corners. "She's going to look just like her mommy, I'll bet. It's funny to imagine a tiny version of you in our house. I can already picture her seeing someone in need and demanding that we help them. She'd probably want us to adopt them into the family or something. It's cute to think about."
"Yep, I guess it is," Stephanie muttered. Her smile faltered soon thereafter, and she cast her eyes downward, dropping her hand from Chris's cheek. A palpable shift stung the air, and all Chris could do was rack his brain, wondering if he had made the wrong comment somewhere along the way. Stephanie was the least likely in their entire family to be oversensitive to any comments made in jest, but she had also just given birth, so she wasn't quite back to her old self yet.
"Hey, did I say something to hurt your feelings?" Chris asked. He brought his hand down on her forearm and painted invisible swirls. "Steph? I didn't mean the comment about helping people in a bad way. I love that you always want to help. That's one of the best things about you."
"I can't adopt Graham," she blurted, bypassing his previous statements like they had never been uttered in the first place. Chris was trapped in a stunned silence, her words playing on repeat in his mind. It had, quite literally, been months since Stephanie had mentioned the possibility of adopting Graham, even in passing. Hearing her speak on the topic with absolutely no build-up was jarring, and Chris took several deep breaths to drown out the drumming of his heart in both ears. For a second, he turned his confusion inward, thinking he must not have heard her correctly.
"Sorry...what?" he managed.
"Graham," she repeated, pointing at the bed he lay in across the way. "I can't do it."
"Can't do what?"
"Adopt him."
"Why not?"
"He's someone else's baby. He's my baby, but he was another woman's baby first, and to adopt him would be to usurp her rights as a mother, even in death," she said. Stephanie glanced at Graham's still form in the bed. He appeared to be dozing off, or at least attempting to, and she hoped that was the case, because the current topic discussion wasn't the greatest for him to overhear. "I think...something about seeing Fiona for the first time awoke something inside me. Then, when you were talking about what Fiona might be like when she gets older, it made me think about Carly and her connection to Graham."
Slight frown lines wrinkled Chris's forehead as he sat silent and bemused. He had never heard Stephanie speak with such passion and intensity before. "Why would it make you think about that?"
"Because," she spat out sharply, tossing up her hands, as if Chris should have been capable of reading the thoughts right out of her mind. "I had all these beautiful experiences with Fiona. Even before she was born, I felt her move and I talked to her and loved her and rubbed my stomach. I woke up to her little kicks every morning and played music for her when I could tell she was awake in there, and I did all these things, to the point that they became routine. For those nine months that she hadn't even entered the world yet, she was already mine and I knew everything about her habits and her essence as a baby."
Realization clouded his eyes when he finally caught the gist of what she was getting at. She paused, waiting for him to respond, and this time, Chris was able to do so without feeling lost in a maze. "So that's got you thinking about how Carly must have felt when she experienced all those things with Graham?"
"Yeah," Stephanie squeaked. She bit the right corner of her trembling bottom lip, hugging her arms around her body when unshed tears pooled in her eyes. In an act he often carried out when she wasn't feeling her best, Chris raised his hand and placed it down softly on her chest, right over her heart. He felt the dull thump of her heartbeat against his palm, and she covered his hand with hers, looking devastated. The first tear clung to the rim of her eye but refused to fall. "Carly felt him from the inside. Before you ever got to hold him in your arms, she felt his little kicks and movements, and he probably woke her up tons of times in the middle of the night, thrashing all over the place. He was hers completely, even when he was still unknown to the rest of the world, just like with me and Fiona."
"I understand what you're feeling, honey, but that shouldn't mean you can't adopt Graham. You can still take it into consideration and check back with him to see how he feels about it." She pressed her eyes closed and cringed, a few more tears quivering from her waterline, too stubborn to fall. Chris had seen enough. He stood and took her face in both hands. "Okay, just calm down, Steph. This isn't worth getting yourself so worked up. It's gonna be okay, even if it doesn't feel like it right this second."
"It's not okay," she barked, wiping at her damp eyes. "I can't take Carly's name off of Graham's birth certificate and put mine there instead. It's not right, and as a fellow mother, it would be the ultimate betrayal toward Carly. If I'm ever gone someday, I would want you to find someone else and be happy again, but nobody can ever replace me as Fiona's mother. There should never come a point in time when any woman's name other than mine is on her birth certificate. It's just not right. Same with Graham; nobody's name besides Carly's belongs on his certificate."
"That's perfectly fine. If you don't want to take Carly's name off the birth certificate, you don't have to. Adopting Graham isn't really going to make you more of his mother anyway, which is what I tried to explain to you a while back without hurting your feelings. You are Graham's mother 100%, and nobody can ever take that away from you. Screw adding a name to a damn piece of paper," Chris ranted, the heat of passion giving him the confidence to continue. Even Stephanie had begun holding her head a little higher, fog lifting from her gaze. "Graham is a part of you, just like you're a part of him. Nothing in this world can ever change that."
Her tone was suppressed when she replied. "Just like nothing can ever change the fact that Carly's a part of him. She will always be his mother."
"You're right," Chris agreed.
"But I'm his mother, too."
"Absolutely."
She nodded and sniffled, swiping her nose with the back of her hand. Chris patted her leg. "I can't disrespect another mother like that, Chris. Not after I know what it feels like to carry and give birth to a baby of my own. It would be different if Carly had just abandoned him, but she didn't. She passed away, and she never would have left Graham if she hadn't had to. I just didn't get it before, but now I...I understand."
"Hey," he whispered sharply, tipping her chin with his thumb and forefinger. "It's okay, all right? Now that you've carried Fee, you know how sacred that bond is, and that's a good thing. You shouldn't feel bad about that. I'm actually glad you finally see what I've seen all along."
"And what's that?" she quizzed. Chris captured her lips, not pulling away until they were both left heaving for air.
"That you're Graham's mother no matter what."
"I see it now. I really do."