Chapter 36
I'm trying to put this story to bed, thus the quick posts. Just this and one more chapter. Those who have asked for more, maybe in the future. I have other stories I need to form up. Thank you for following this story!
Frosyni POV
New mission
Almost immediately after Joyce's death, the Army assigned me to Ft. Huachuca in Arizona for three months. Apparently they wanted to whole Barnhardt affair to settle down as well. Ft. Huachuca isn't the end of the world. Tucson and Phoenix airports weren't that far away for visits from a love sick husband. We visited Tombstone, Arizona site of the famous Shoot Out at the OK Corral and enjoyed our own action later that night. Bisbee down the road was a quaint mining town with a giant hole in the middle of town, the Copper Queen mine. The galleries and museums were fun to explore plus we got our cardios in running up and down the many concrete steps. Built on hillsides, the sidewalks are often long stairways.
When I returned back to Dix my weight was up where I wanted it with extra muscle tipping the scale upward. On my last weigh-in Bobby quietly said I was healthy enough to contemplate pregnancy. I still had another two months on the birth control shot so didn't need to panic, yet.
Homecoming wasn't long as I had a 6 month job back in Europe and the Middle East. Tank and I were accumulating travel miles by the score.
"Where to next, Romeo?" Lester kidded one afternoon and he and Bobby passed Tank in the Rangeman underground garage.
"Rome," Tank growled.
"Think you'll have time to see the Trevi Fountain?" Les kidded.
"I doubt it," Bobby chuckled as they continued walking away.
I had been in Israel for about three months when I began bouts of nausea. Many of my favorite foods turned against me. I was in the cafeteria sipping ginger tea when an Israeli Air Force medic sat down next to me.
"Shalom, Colonel, mind if I sit with you?"
I knew him and welcomed him.
"Colonel, I'm going to be out of line, but are you feeling ill?"
I sighed, "What gave it away?"
"You are usually energized in the morning, lately you have been dragging, and you have dark circles under your eyes."
I responded, "I'm not sleeping well. The mission is complicated." That wasn't exactly true, I was up and down all night throwing up. I don't sleep well on the bathroom floor. I figure I'm fighting food poisoning. Please not some weird amoeba in my gut!
The medic reached over and smelled my tea. "You have nausea? Is that why you are drinking ginger tea."
I shrugged.
He patted my hand, stood up and said, "Nap during the day, 30 minutes, and try yoga." He then leaned over my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "….and vitamins, prenatal vitamins."
I sat stone still. Shit, I did have many of the symptoms of a pregnancy: nausea, tired, aversion to food and tender breasts. Now was NOT the time to be pregnant! There was the mission in several weeks. If I were to be "officially" pregnant the whole mission might be scrubbed.
Tank and I planned to start a family after this mission when I was certain to be in country and probably Dix or someplace close for the next year. I purposely did not renew my birth control shot to give my body time to begin normal recycling. Rome. We did use condoms, but obviously they aren't that reliable.
A couple of hours spent researching natural remedies for morning sickness I changed my eating habits, drank far more water, took vitamins at night with a snack and continued to exercise concentrating more on yoga type moves than intense works outs. The symptoms were reduced but food was still difficult to keep down. At least I could concentrate on my work.
Unlike the mission over a year ago, this one went well without any problems. No mass destruction manufacturing sites, no prisons, and thankfully no crashing helicopters. The whole time I was waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop, but nothing major happened. Yes, there were problems that needed immediate rectifying but nothing out of the ordinary. We lost nobody and only injury was a severely sprained ankle, fortunately not mine.
As I exited the helicopter in Herzliya base I grabbed the mission's medic who was the one from the cafeteria weeks early. "Do you have a name of an obstetrician?" It was time to think about me again, not the mission.
He nodded, "How far along?" he asked as his eyes involuntarily dropped to my belly.
"A couple of months," I answered. I hadn't yet bothered to start counting up the weeks.
His eyes grew wide, "Had I know you were that far along…"
"Don't," I quickly interjected. "It was my decision."
The Israeli military obstetrician read her written reports while watching the ultra sound technician search my abdomen. "Yes, that explains it inconsistency," she muttered.
One doesn't want to hear the word inconsistency while being examined. But even I, untrained in reading such mish mash the screen had an idea what the "inconsistency" was. I've cut open enough fruit to be able to see more than one seed capsule.
"Colonel, you are correct, 15 weeks pregnant. However, there isn't one, but two in there, twins. Both heart beats are healthy and development consistent with 15 week maturation."
I wasn't that shocked. I had a bit of a baby bump. "Are they monozygotic or dizygotic." I asked.
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Have you been doing research?"
"No, the women on my maternal side tend to be dizygotic. My mother and grandmother were dizygotic twins as was I. My brother died before he reached his first birthday."
She tapped the screen with her pen, "Two embroyic sacs and with family history, I don't feel it a stretch to say dizygotic. As for sex, I would say this is a boy, he's turned properly. This one probably is a girl. I would suggest you wait until later to determine the other. You don't want to be bouncing soundwaves too often off them."
When I entered the doctor's office and sat, she turned from her computer, "Though you have not been under doctor's care you have been taking the prenatal supplements and I can find no signs of defects. However, due to your age, I'd recommend an amniocentesis in 3-4 weeks to rule out genetic disorder. Do you want to schedule that now?"
"No ma'am. I'm being reassigned to the US in a few days."
"Then I highly urge you to immediately get an appointment with obstetrician there," she said. "I'll put it in your medical records."
"Yes ma'am."
After another light chastising, the doctor congratulated me. What I didn't realize how quickly the doctor would post to my records.
A few hours later I was eating dinner in a café when my cell phone chirped. Bobby Brown. Why would Bobby be calling me? Good news? Bad news? Did something happen to Tank?
"Bobby…." I hesitantly answered.
What followed was an ass chewing I haven't received in quite some time. Bobby is pretty even tempered but he was edgy and raw on this call. I was trying to visualize while he spoke' pacing, waving his arms, nothing fit.
I wasn't exactly in a location where I could talk freely to him but did manage to get out, "It wasn't planned. Go ask him if he's been busting his balloons in Rome. That would be the right time. And yes, I knew before this last trip but I wasn't in a position to back out."
"When are you going to tell him?" He barked.
"I just learned a few hours ago, time difference and such…..speaking of which, aren't you in early?"
"Long night, we had a incident, I've had men to tend."
"Who?" I was trying for a distraction.
"Not Tank. Now back to the situation, when are you going to tell him?"
"I'll be home in a few weeks."
"You are 15 weeks pregnant with twins. Be considerate. He'll be looking for missing limbs, limps and bandages, not a waddling wife."
Looking around I had people close by, perhaps listening. I gritted my teeth, "The evidence is minimal plus there's a camouflage covering." I was wondering if my camo uniform is truly hiding the evidence. "If you are so damn concerned, you tell him."
"Hell no, that's your job! What would I say? Your idiot and irresponsible wife just went on a mission knowing she was pregnant with twins?"
"I suspected but not the number." I hissed back. People were watching me.
"He should know. I'm outside his office. You will tell him now, I'll be here in case he has a heart attack."
"I don't have time and I'm in public."
"Make it, Colonel," he snarled.
"Wait, l need to get someplace I can talk freely." I got up from the table, threw more than enough money down grateful the waiter was walking my way. "Any problems ma'am," he asked in Hebrew.
I shook my head no and pointed to the phone. He understood. I walked away.
"There's no reason this can't wait until I get to Washington, Brown," I lobbed back at him.
"Now," he insisted.
"OK you SOB, knock," I snarled. Pregnancy also makes you testy I found out.
I heard him knock followed immediately by Tank growling, "In."
After a few second I heard Tank, "Problem Brown?"
"Phone for you, It's urgent. I'll stay." Bobby remained standing but acknowledged Ranger in the other chair.
"Brown, what's going on? Does it have to do with last night?" Tank asked."
"Just talk on the damn phone," Bobby snapped.
Both men raised their eyebrows, Bobby Brown rarely swore.
"This is Tank," he growled.
"Hi love," I said trying to drain off my anger with Bobby.
"Fro?"
"Pierre….ah, is that SOB Brown there with you?" I quietly forcibly.
"Yes, he's standing here. What's going on? Are you injured, are you ill? Why are you mad at Bobby?"
"No, I'm not ill or injured."
"What is going on? Why are you and Bobby spitting nails?"
"Bobby's there in case you have a heart attack." I sighed.
"I don't understand, why am I going to have a heart attack?"
Ranger thought he knew and looked at Bobby who nodded once and held up two fingers which Tank couldn't see.
Ranger smiled and mouthed "Twins?"
Bobby nodded.
"Love, your Roman balloons failed."
"What Roman balloons?" And then it dawned on him. His eyes got wide.
"You are pregnant?"
Yes, with two.
"Two what?"
Bobby leaned over and slapped the back of Tank's head, "Twins you idiot," he snarled.
Tank stopped breathing for a moment. "You are pregnant with twins? This is no joke?"
"No."
"But you were…you just returned…and you knew?" His voice rose slightly.
"Exactly," Bobby muttered to himself.
"Please, we need to talk when I'm not in public."
"Bobby knew before I did?"
"Only by a few minutes. I'll call you at 1900 your time, we'll talk more. I'm in the open. I love you."
Tank disconnected and looked at Bobby, "Is she really OK?"
"I've read the obstetrician's report. She's fine. Apparently she knew some time ago and started herself on prenatal vitamins; smart and yet risky. Morning sickness was moderate but has lessened; she's lost a few pounds, that concerns me. Once the nausea is past, she'll put it back on quickly. The Israeli obstetrician recommended an amniocentesis to look for genetic defects thinking her age makes her borderline for problems. I'm not sure that's necessary, but not my call."
"How did you find out?"
"Her medical records were updated early this morning. I've been monitoring her."
"What will be her restrictions?" Tank asked with a hint of concern.
"Knowing her, she won't get her to cut back on much. You two will have to stop sparring on the mats, though you might actually win for a change."
Tank chuckled, "Yeah."
Ranger looked at the two of them. He had never seen Frosyni and Tank spar. The men assured him it was intense.
Bobby continued, "It's you I'm worried about. Are you ready to be a father?"
"Hell yes."
"OK, I withdraw the question," Bobby chuckled.
Ranger shook his head, "I think it's time we get serious about the Rangeman nursery."
"Can we keep this quiet for a while until she's back?" Tank asked. "I need to get my head around twins before Lester starts in."
Fro POV
I arrived at McGuire-Dix-Lakeland combined base at 1500. After reporting in I was on my way home by 1600 and heading for bed before 1700. The Israeli obstetrician said to eat often but smaller amounts. Scrambled eggs and toast went down quickly and I crawled into bed. My internal clock had already been reset thanks to 2 weeks in Washington. Now I was just tired. I had left a voice mail for Tank, "I'm home" before I went to sleep.
I woke up in my favorite position, snuggled against Tank's bare chest. I don't remember him coming home and into bed. This time his hand rested on my abdomen. I couldn't see the clock but he was in his silk boxers. He'd been home a while.
He stirred, "Welcome home."
I rolled over on top of him and smiled, "I love homecomings." After a fair amount of lip and mouth exploration his hand moved to my tender breasts. I backed off quickly.
"New rules: Breasts are very tender, proceed with caution, I tire easily and need naps, I eat small meals often, and I'm horny as hell."
He thought for a moment, "I can work within those parameters, especially the last one" he smiled. "Now let's see the baby bump."
When I removed my silk nightgown he ran his hands carefully across my abdomen. Do you know the sex?"
"Didn't Bobby tell you?"
"No, he said it is your job."
"So far, one is a boy, the other is probably a girl but not yet confirmed."
His smile was broad and wide, "Perfect." He then pulled me down and we resumed more personal physical contact…for several hours.
I didn't make it to Rangeman for several weeks so it wasn't until poker night at Tank's was my enlarging belly going to be displayed for the first time. I purposely held back in Tank's study until the guys were engrossed in the game and then casually strolled out wearing a tight knit top and leggings to fully show the bump. I was 18 weeks, the amniocentesis came back clear.
Tank and I had a bet, who would notice first. He said Lester, I said Hector. I won by mile. I was no more than 3 steps into game room when Hector was on his feet, across the room, wrapped his hands around my abdomen, "Niño?" Of course if any of the other guys had done that, Tank would have flattened him.
I shook my head no, "Tengo gemelos, un niño y una niña. (I'm having twins, a boy and a girl."
Since everybody there spoke Spanish, suddenly they all knew. Once the commotion died down, Vince asked, "How far along?"
"Eighteen weeks."
Lester was quiet for a while but I knew what he was thinking. "Roman holiday!"
"Sure was," I laughed.
Then Lester's eyes got dark, "That means…."
"No Les, enough people have chewed my ass about it, let it go. Everything is fine."