He answered the e-mail from Sara and of course, she continued sending them. Gil continued to respond, always careful to let Catherine know what was being transmitted. Her tummy grew larger until one day he did feel the babies fluttering inside of her and laughed with her at the sensation.
Erin came to them and said she needed to go back to being a full time student and would have to quit before the start of the next semester. Gil made inquiries through an agency which sent them several candidates to interview. Most were looking for smaller families and certainly were not prepared to deal with twins. They were beginning to panic when a woman in her early forties showed up on their doorstep, Mrs. Johansen. "Oh, I love babies," she had declared. "God didn't see fit to give me any of my own and so when my husband was killed, I decided to earn my living loving other people's babies."
"Your husband was killed?" asked Catherine.
"Yes, he was shot in the line of duty…a bank robbery gone bad, they said."
"Your husband was a policeman?"
"A detective, back in Houston. So, I know all about the strange hours and phone calls in the middle of the night…"
Catherine smiled as Gil explained that they actually worked at night and would need quiet while they slept in the day.
The woman smiled. I'm sure we can have a schedule that includes sleep for Mommy and Daddy. After all, everyone is happy when Mommy is happy and…'if Mom ain't happy then ain't nobody happy."
Catherine warmed to the woman. Gil got serious as he explained that Catherine would need lots of rest, more and more as the pregnancy progressed. "The burden of caring for the children will primarily be yours," he stated.
"Of course, that is what you will be paying me for, isn't it? We'll come play with Mommy and maybe have a story time or something, but the workload is mine. I understand that."
"Well, I'll help when I am home and her mother and sister will help as they can, but yes…it's mostly on you."
"One thing does concern me…" began Catherine.
"Oh?" the woman waited. Gil looked at Catherine, perplexed.
"You are an attractive woman, if you don't mind me saying so. And well, women have a habit of …hmmm, how shall I say this….well, hell…just out with it Catherine….chasing my husband. Will I have anything to worry about there?"
Gil was flustered. "Catherine!" he blurted out.
Mrs. Johansen chuckled. "Well, I can see why women might chase Mr. Grissom. But I'm from the South, I understand lost causes. Even if I did find him…interesting, there'd be no point. He clearly is enchanted by you, Mrs. Grissom. Besides, he's not really my type…too pleasant; I tend to gravitate toward grouches for some reason."
Gil was totally embarrassed by the turn of the conversation; but not too embarrassed to see the glint in Catherine's eyes as she flashed him a smile…."hmmm, grouches. Really?"
"Sad, but true," Mrs. Johansen replied.
"That's very interesting," Catherine said as her mind seemed to steamroll.
Gil smirked as he felt pity for their friend, Jim. The man was about to be set up; Gil could feel Catherine plotting already.
Ah, well, Mrs. Johansen…do you have any questions for us?" he asked, trying to get the conversation back to its purpose.
"Well, how about time off? One day a week… a few hours a day; how would we arrange that?"
"We could probably manage one day a week and work our schedules to give you a couple of hours of free time two or three days a week. "I'm on call a lot, which would mean you might be. What I mean is, we could give you time away from the children, but you'd be on call in case I have to go to work."
She considered his explanation and nodded. "That sounds agreeable." She paused and the spoke again. "So when may I expect to hear form you?"
Gil and Catherine looked at each other. Catherine nodded to Gil as they quietly agreed that this was the one. "Well, we'd like you to start as soon as possible. That way, the children can get to know you before Erin leaves. The only problem is, we don't have space. Erin is still living in the room that we set aside for a Nanny."
"Oh that's not a problem. I have a home here. I'll stay here, of course when I am on duty but on my days off, that's where I will go. That way I truly have time away and will come back refreshed. I can just come here in the days until Erin leaves and then go home once the children are settled for the night."
"Mrs. Johansen, you are a treasure." Catherine was sincere in her praise.
"Well, since I will be working here, perhaps you should call me Ruth. And I'll be Nanny Ruth to the children, if that is satisfactory."
"Well Ruth, I'm Catherine and this is Gil. And Nanny Ruth is just right, I think."
Ruth began her new job the following Monday and things around the house began to run even smoother than before.
A month later, Ruth was settled in the Nanny quarters and Erin had left. Catherine was only working three nights a week and was being pampered at home the rest of the time. Lindsey and young Gil had made a game of bringing her bottles of water and generally looking out for her. Between the two of them, Catherine couldn't even go to the bathroom without the whole house knowing about her movement.
She was in her sixth month and the twins were definitely making their presence known. In the beginning, Catherine had to force herself to rest but by now, naps were a welcome part of her routine. Gil had called the night before to let her know he was working a double and not to expect him at his usual time. "In fact," he had groaned, "this one looks bad, I don't know when I'll get home. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm a queen, remember?"
He chuckled, wished her a good night, and then the line had gone dead. Catherine went to bed early, leaving Ruth to settle the troops. She woke in the early hours of the morning. Dawn was just breaking, casting an eerie glow in the bedroom. As her eyes opened she found herself peering into the bright blue eyes of her younger son, John. He was leaning on the bed, his arms folded under his chin, quietly watching her. When she opened her eyes, he grinned. In that instant he looked so much like his father that she had to smile, which only encouraged his grin. "Are you awake?" he whispered.
"Yes, I think I am," she answered, equally quiet.
"Oh…you not s'pposed to be wake," he frowned.
"It's okay. I got lots of sleep. Wanna come up in the bed with me?"
"Nope," he grinned. And then he ran out of the room.
Catherine wondered what that was about and decided to follow him but once she stood up, she decided a detour to the bathroom was in order. Once she had finished there, she headed down the hall. As she neared the kitchen, she heard murmurs and whispers. She stopped just outside and listened.
"Now Linsey, you put the butter after you toast it."
"Shut up, Gil. I know how to do toast. You're talking about the stand up toaster; this is the flat toaster. I can butter it before."
"Oh."
She heard the refrigerator door open and John's high voice, "I get the jewee"
"Get the red one, John" instructed Lindsey. "Mom likes it better than the purple."
"Kay…"
"Gil did you put the bacon in the micowave?"
"Yeah, Lins…. I pushed the 4 and the 5 like you said.
Just then Catherine felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Ruth standing behind her. Ruth listened and smiled. "You go back to bed," she whispered. "I make sure they don't burn the house down."
Catherine nodded and headed back down the hall. Ruth headed for the kitchen. "Good morning, children"
"Nanny Ruth, we're making breakfast for Mommy," Gil offered. "She's always sad when Daddy isn't here to make it for her so we thought we could make her happy."
"I'm sure she'll be very happy. Now, let's see…what have you made?"
"We got toast with red jelly and bacon," he said.
"Well, that's a good start. But Mommy probably needs a little something else too. Didn't I see some fruit in the cupboard?"
Lindsey opened the door and pulled out a bowl with apples and bananas. "And there's grapes in the fridge," she added.
"Okay Lindsey, get the grapes and let's rinse a few. And Gil, I'll show you how to cut the bananas and I'll core an apple. And John, I think I saw some flowers blooming out by the gazebo. Why don't you run out and pick two or three to make her tray look pretty?"
The children got busy with their tasks and soon they had prepared a breakfast tray for their queen. John ran ahead as Lindsey struggled to carry it. Gil held the vase with flowers because Lindsey was afraid it would fall over.
John ran into the room and inched up to the bed. Catherine felt a thump as he plopped his arms on the mattress. She rolled over and smiled as his eyes lit up. "Sit, Mommy. Linsey bwingin' bweakfist."
Catherine looked up to see the small entourage enter the room. Lindsey just made it to the bed with the tray and Catherine reached out quickly to retrieve it before she spilled the contents. Gil slipped in and put the flowers on the tray. Catherine acted surprised and made a fuss over how wonderful it was to wake up to a surprise breakfast. The children climbed into the bed to chatter as they watched her eat. Ruth walked in with Caitlyn a few minutes later and put the baby on the bed too. Caitlyn was as excited as the others and giggled with glee.
A little while later, Ruth called the children to breakfast and retrieved Caitlyn for hers as well. Catherine looked at Ruth and thanked her for her part in the surprise. "This queen thing is fun," Catherine commented.
"Yes, it is. And it so nice that the children get to be a part of taking care of you. You've got a nice family, Catherine; one that most people only dream of."
"Yeah, I know how lucky I am, Ruth. I feel it everyday."
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Okay, nice fluff...now the storm; but only after reviews:-)