Thank you all so much for the reviews on my last chapter. This one picks up right where that one left off; just another moment in time.
Okay, so I really enjoyed Cuffed, but I'm not really seeing the momentum AWM keeps talking about. I mean come on already!
Don't own them, never have, never will so I might as well just get used to the snail's pace they seem to be moving at.
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When the nurse once again swooped in to remove the baby from Kate's grasp with promises of returning with her shortly, Rick followed his wife's earlier instructions and accompanied little Erin across the room to be checked out.
Kate watched intently as Hope nimbly examined every inch of her baby, just as she'd done earlier with Elena. She again wiped all the moisture from the petite body, weighed and measured her, inked her feet up before pressing them into a white square of cardstock, and finally pricked her heel and smeared the minute blood droplet on a stick of some sort before dressing her in a diaper, white tee-shirt and a purple cap; as opposed to the pink one she'd placed on Elena. Finally, swaddled in a matching purple blanket, Erin was placed in her Father's eagerly awaiting arms.
Alexis sat in the corner completely enthralled with her younger sister sleeping soundly against her. Kate's hands actually itched to hold her daughter again, but she fought the urge to call out to the teenager, knowing she would have all the time in the world to bond with the newborn.
Lanie buzzed about for a few more minutes taking more pictures before deciding to head off to the waiting room to give everyone the good news.
Kate cringed as Rick practically interrogated the nurse. Hope, patient as a saint, confirmed with each and every question that, despite being born at thirty-six and a half weeks, both Elena and Erin were perfect. They scored a ten and a nine respectively on the Apgar Test; Erin losing only one point for Respiration due to the lack of vigorous crying, but she reassured him that the baby wasn't showing any signs of struggling to breathe. Then she joked that if she could've she would've given the point taken away from Erin to Elena for extra credit because, 'Boy could that kid scream.' Of course that sent Rick into a tizzy about the possibilities of Elena having been in pain or suffering in some way. It took another round of reassurances from the portly blonde nurse to convince him all was well. She also reminded him that Dr. Glazier, the twins' Pediatrician, had been notified of their arrival and would conduct a complete workup before allowing either of them to be discharged.
Knowing both her girls were healthy and safe in loving arms, Kate took a moment to assess her own condition. Still just numb enough, all Kate could remember feeling after Erin came out was the Doctor massaging her abdomen as her uterus continued to repeatedly cramp. Kate had barely registered when it had been done, but somehow she was now covered in a sheet and blanket; her legs having been removed from the stirrups. At some point the bed had been raised slightly, placing her in a more upright position. The adrenaline that had been coursing through her system during the delivery was beginning to subside. The extreme exhaustion from lack of sleep combined with almost a whole day of labor was beginning to take its toll. She rested her head against the pillow and shut her eyes.
Despite the fatigue Kate's mind was buzzed; the air around her felt electric with the excitement of new life. It was hard to believe; she was a Mom. She ran the word over and over in her head; repeated it so many times and in various versions, Mommy… Momma… Mother… Mom… Mom… Mom... The last one replayed so many times she thought for a second that she was actually hearing it rather than just thinking it.
Soft fingertips on her wrist had her opening her eyes. Alexis was standing next to the bed. Elena was still asleep in the crook of her elbow. "Mom?"
Mom? So she hadn't imagined it after all. Oh? Oh. "Yeah Sweetie?"
Alexis delicately laid the swaddled infant in Kate's arms, making sure to support her floppy head. "I think I've hogged her long enough."
"Thank you, Lex." Kate cuddled the infant close; instinctively breathing in the new, yet somehow familiar scent of her child.
Alexis picked up the camera from the nearby table and took the first photo of the Mother and Daughter together. She stared at the image on the digital display. "That was the most miraculous thing I've ever witnessed." She met Kate's eyes hesitantly.
"I can easily say it was the most miraculous thing I've ever experienced."
Alexis smiled, "I'm gonna go see Gram. Do you feel up to visitors?" She asked Kate, but looked to the Doctor for approval.
"If you feel up to it, but just for a few minutes. Nurse Hope will usher everyone out once the girls show signs of wanting to feed, which should be pretty soon. I assume you'll want some privacy for that?" Kate nodded. "We'll worry about getting you cleaned up after that."
"I'll be back." Alexis practically skipped out the door; the nurse following close behind her.
With the room almost empty Rick made his way to his wife's bed. Kate eased over the best she could to let him sit next to her; she rested her head on his shoulder. With Elena on her right arm and Erin on Rick's left, the twins' faces were only inches apart. Kate couldn't take her eyes off her babies. She wanted to memorize everything about them; they were identical, there was no question about that. They had perfect lips, pouty like Rick's with the same deep indentation above the upper. Thankfully they seemed to have inherited Kate's nose however; it was truly the only thing both she and Rick really had any preference about. Kate loved Rick's nose, loved everything about him actually, but they both felt it would be too large and angular for a little girl to carry around. She could also tell instantly, even though they were currently closed, that their eyes were shaped just like her own; though they seemed almost too big for their faultless petite faces. Or maybe it was the long dark lashes that rested against their cheeks as they slept that made them seem so large. Kate tried to remember the color, having only seen Erin's open for a short time, thus far; blue, but not the deep almost oceanic blue of her husband's. No, her girls shared the same shimmering ice blue color that both Alexis and Martha had been blessed with.
"Smile!" Dr. Candace held the camera up and snapped a few shots of the new family. "Okay, I'm sure you two would like a minute before your guests arrive." She placed the camera back on the table and approached Kate. "You did a great job Kate. Congratulations."
And then they were alone…
"What do we do now?" Rick spoke first.
"I'm not really sure." Kate laughed into his sleeve.
"I can't believe they trust us alone with them."
"I know, right?"
Rick kissed the top of Kate's head. "You were so amazing, Kate. I've never… I don't even know how…" He couldn't finish a thought, just kissed her again. "I have no words."
"I'm still in bit of awe over them myself."
Her head bobbed slightly and Rick could tell she was wiping her tears on his sleeve. He used his free hand to wipe away the remaining dampness with his thumb. She kissed his palm and leaned in to it; rested for a moment in his hand. What she'd just done for him, what she'd given him. He'd never be able to tell her enough, thank her enough, give her enough, but he was damn sure going to try; every day for the rest of his life. "I'll forever be in awe of you Kate. I love you."
A little squeak got their attention; Elena stirred I Kate's arms. Rick leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Yes, I love you too."
He shifted positions, flattened his feet against the mattress pulling his knees up enough to allow him to lay Erin out on his thighs in front of him. Kate followed suit, the new position providing a pressure against her abdomen that actually felt good; helped relieve the dull cramping she'd been experiencing since the birth. She placed the baby on her thighs.
"We do good work, huh?" Kate softly elbowed at Rick's side.
"Best partner ever." He nudged back. "Hey, did you notice?"
Kate cocked her head, but couldn't tear her eyes from the twins. "Notice what?"
"They have your beauty mark."
He was right. They both had it, but? Ah. "They're mirror image twins." She'd read about this; something about the egg splitting late so some physical attributes are mirrored, or on opposite sides of the body. She reached out and pulled the stretchy caps from both babies' heads. She ran her fingers over the flyaway hair that, surprisingly enough, was no longer curly now that it had dried. "See?"
Rick tried to see what she was pointing at. "See what?"
"Their cowlicks, which they got from you by-the-way." He may have noticed the marks, but she'd noticed this. She smoothed Elena's hair, sweeping from right to left then lightly grazing her thumb over the speck of color just below the baby's right eye. "They go in opposite directions." She reached to his lap and repeated the motion with Erin, only going from left to right before briefly touching the mark under her left eye. She rested her hand over Erin's chest, the soft rise and fall easing her worried Mother's mind. Damn that one point.
"You wanna trade?"
"Yeah."
The switch was awkward; neither one knowing where to put which hand, who should go over or under. Blankets became unwrapped and fragile arms and legs seemed to jerk in response. They eventually managed the task but not before completely waking both babies.
"That was graceful, huh?"
Kate didn't respond; he wasn't really talking to her anyway. He was already leaning over talking to Elena in some sort of goofball voice, his face mere inches from hers. They were so going to have a serious discussion about baby talk, but not today. Not when Elena was looking up at him like that, like he was the best thing in her world; the same way Kate looked at him every day. She watched for a few minutes before turning her attention to the squirming baby on her lap.
"Oh, sweet girl." Okay, maybe no discussion was needed about the goofy voices after all. "What's wrong?" Kate tilted her body slightly forward, cupped Erin's bottom, and slid her other hand up the boney little back; fingertips supporting the non-developed neck muscles. "No pouting today, baby." She placed a soft kiss to the infant's protruding bottom lip; the slight quiver against her mouth echoed in her own fluttering heart. "I know," she placed the supple body on her chest, skin to skin. "You've had a hard day. You rest now." Erin nuzzled deeper into the space just below Kate's chin, finally settling under the gently caressing hand of her mother.
"They're so tiny, Rick." Kate whispered.
"And, you've got the big one."
Even in her preoccupied state Kate had heard and committed to memory all the details. Elena, the oldest by ten minutes, weighed five pounds one ounce and was nineteen inches in length. Her younger sister had her beat by two ounces and a quarter inch, however.
"That's right," there came that funny voice again. "Momma's got you, Erin." Kate clung to her daughter, leaned back against the pillow, scooted down to get more comfortable, and then closed her eyes again. "And I pity the fool that dares to take you away from me."
Rick lifted the purple blanket from Kate's lap; he spread it from shoulder-to-shoulder, covering her and the baby. "You know everyone's on their way in right?"
"Mmm-hmm." She nodded and sunk into his side.
"They've waited all day to hold a baby in their arms."
Kate growled into his sleeve, "And I've waited all my life to hold your baby in my arms."
Rick couldn't help but laugh; sleepy Kate always brought a smile to his face. But before he could respond, the door opened and everyone they loved filed in. Rick watched as each and every one of them went wide-eyed; their gaze falling instantly to the baby in his arms.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing we got two of these," he announced, "cause Momma Grizzly over here ain't sharin'"