Chapter 35

As they packed and prepared the things that needed to go Below with Catherine and the babies, Vincent carefully slid the sleeping Catherine back onto her pillows so she could get some rest before the journey Below. He quietly rose from the bed and walked over to take his first look at all six babies laying side by side. He could hardly believe that six hours ago he had been a man facing the rest of his life in miserable solitude, and now he not only was a happily engaged man, but the father of these six beautiful babies.

Their first born was dressed in a blue sleeper, while his younger brother was in green. Mary had put the first girl in pink and her twin in yellow. The two girls that looked like him were in white and ivory respectively. In the tunnel community, a new baby was just referred to as 'the baby' until their naming ceremony, but that wouldn't work in this situation. Vincent loved the three names Catherine had already told him for the first three children, and he was sure that he would feel the same about the others she had chosen with such care. However, until the naming ceremony, maybe they could be referred to by the colors they were wearing.

When everything was in readiness to go Below they talked over how they were going to accomplish the move. Vincent would carry Catherine and the pack of supplies that Mary had tied up in a bed sheet. Both Peter and Mary would carry two babies each, while Father, with his cane, would take one. That left only one infant for Catherine to carry as she rode safely in Vincent's arms. He was very concerned about the trip through the apartment building instead of his usual method of travel, but Mary assured him that with his hood pulled up and the three of them to run interference so no one got close enough to see him, everything would be fine.

Vincent told them that he wanted to get Catherine and the babies quietly settled in his chamber for the night. Breakfast the next morning would be time enough to tell everyone the news of the engagement and introduce them to the tunnel's newest residents. Peter chuckled and said he was staying the night, there was no way he was going to miss THIS breakfast in the tunnels!

Because it would be after 1am by the time they got Below, they expected to only encounter the night sentries. They would swear them to secrecy until the announcement could be made.

With all the plans in place, it was time to wake Catherine and start the careful trek Below. Lifting her gently into his arms, once he had the pack secured on his back and his hood pulled up, Vincent waited for Mary to hand Catherine one of the babies. Because Father had only one infant, he had been placed in charge of doors and calling the elevator. They were heading for the door when the phone rang. Everyone froze, who would be calling anyone after midnight? Catherine was about to tell them that she should probably answer it because a call at that hour might be an emergency, when her answering machine picked up the call.

Jenny's voice filled the room, "Cathy I know you've gone into labor! How could you do that and not call me?! You better have Peter there with you and one of you had better pick up that phone and talk to me!"

Peter was openly laughing, while Father and Mary looked slightly shocked. Catherine looked up at Vincent and motioned for him to put her on the bed near the phone. Picking up the receiver, but not turning off the answering machine, she said, "Hello Jenny."

Everyone in the room could hear her friend demanding, "Don't you 'hello Jenny' me! You went and had those babies without me there didn't you!?"

"I'm sorry Jen, everything just happened so fast…" Cathy admitted in a tired voice.

"Well…okay…I guess I can understand that…so did you have two or three, and do I have nieces or nephews?" she wanted to know.

To be continued….