A couple of days later, Gabriella smiled as she helped Rob hold Everly on the couch. Troy had been at his office trying to figure out a plan of how his company was going to proceed now that he would be taking more time off. Gabriella knew that Troy was trying. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Rob scream and start crying. Gabriella looked at her eldest son and saw that Everly had thrown up all over him. She carefully picked up Everly and took her onesie off. Gabriella heard the front door open and Troy walked into the living room and realized what had happened.
"I'll take her. You take Rob" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Thanks" Gabriella said.
Gabriella took Rob upstairs to the bathroom. She helped Rob change out of his clothes.
"Rob, it was an accident, right?" Gabriella said.
Robert cried but nodded.
"She's a baby. Babies throw up sometimes" Gabriella said.
"But, it just scared me mommy" Robert said.
"I know. If she could talk, she would tell you that she is sorry" Gabriella said.
Gabriella gave Rob a bath. After his bath, Gabriella helped Rob change into a new set of clothes. They both then walked downstairs to the living room. Troy looked at Rob and smiled sympathetically.
"You okay, bud?" Troy asked.
Rob nodded. Troy kneeled down and Rob walked into his arms. He rubbed his back.
"You weren't expecting that were you" Troy said.
Rob shook his head. Gabriella smiled.
"Did she throw up again?" Gabriella asked.
Troy shook his head. That night, Gabriella had fed the babies and put them in their pack and plays. She walked downstairs and smiled when she saw Troy on his laptop with files surrounding him. Gabriella walked over to him and kissed his cheek. Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.
"What are we doing?" Gabriella asked wrapping her arms around Troy's shoulders from behind.
"Trying to get this marketing issue under control. Are they sleeping?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"They just went down" Gabriella said.
Troy sighed. He closed his laptop and looked at Gabriella. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too" Gabriella said.
"Mommy" Rob called from the stairs.
Gabriella looked at Troy. She walked to where she heard Robert's voice.
"Hey baby. What are you doing up?" Gabriella asked.
"I couldn't sleep" Robert said.
"Did the babies wake you up?" Gabriella asked.
Robert shook his head. Gabriella motioned for Robert to follow her downstairs to where Troy was. Troy looked up and smiled.
"Hey Rob, why are you up so late?" Troy asked.
"I couldn't sleep" Robert said.
Robert sat at the kitchen island next to Troy.
"Did you have a bad dream, baby?" Gabriella asked.
Robert shook his head.
"You know that if something is bothering you, you can talk to daddy or me, right? We don't want you keeping secrets" Gabriella said.
Robert nodded.
"Is something bothering you, Rob?" Troy asked.
"You only care about the babies and not me" Robert said.
Gabriella felt like she got stabbed in the heart. Troy knew Gabriella was upset. He looked at Rob calmly.
"Rob, the twins are babies. You are a big kid. The babies can't do the things that you can. Mommy, daddy, grandma Lucille, grandpa Jack, and grandma Maria are all trying to make sure that they are okay. Mommy gives the babies their milk because they can't eat like you can yet. Daddy needs to make sure everything else is okay too. We love you so much" Troy said.
Robert looked down.
"Rob, look at me" Gabriella said.
Robert looked at his mother.
"I love you so much" Gabriella said.
Robert turned red. Troy smiled.
"Come here, Rob" Troy said.
Robert walked over to Troy. Troy lifted Robert up and set him on the counter.
"How about we do this? Mommy and I will set aside some time for you and us to do something together every week, okay?" Troy said.
"Okay" Robert said.
Gabriella smiled softly. Troy smiled.
"Alright. Mommy is going to take you back to bed, okay?" Troy said.
Robert nodded.
"Give me hugs" Troy said.
Robert hugged his father. Troy kissed Robert's head and helped him get off the counter. Gabriella held her hand out and Robert took it. She and Robert walked upstairs. Five minutes later, Gabriella came back downstairs. Troy looked at her.
"I feel terrible" Gabriella said.
"Hey, this isn't anyone's fault. He feels left out. I think that it is normal for him to feel that way" Troy said.
Gabriella sighed.
"What do we do?" Gabriella asked.
"We need to do what I told him. We need to spend some time with him alone without the babies once a week" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I just feel guilty. I had-" Gabriella started.
"Brie, baby. This isn't your fault" Troy said.
Troy held Gabriella's cheek in his palm. Gabriella nodded. A couple of weeks later, Gabriella had her first day back at work. She had called Troy three times to make sure that everything was going well. Every time she called, Troy reassured her that everything was fine. One day, Gabriella came home and smiled when she saw that Troy was holding both babies in his arms. She walked into the living room and sat next to Troy. Gabriella leaned over and kissed Troy's lips.
"How was the office today?" Troy asked.
"Cried twice" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"That's better than yesterday" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled. She lifted Easton out of Troy's arms.
"How was your day? When did my mom leave?" Gabriella asked.
"Both had diaper explosions, but we took care of it. Your mom left around two. They went down for a nap right before she left" Troy said.
"Gabriella smiled at Troy sympathetically.
"I'm sorry" Gabriella said.
"It's okay. I forgot what diaper explosions look like and now I have twice as many" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled. She kissed Troy's lips again.
"Did you take a nap when they took a nap?" Gabriella asked.
Troy shook his head.
"I stayed up because I didn't know if they were going to cry or not" Troy said.
"Do you want me to take over while you take a break?" Gabriella asked.
Troy shook his head.
"I don't mind, babe. You've been with them all day" Gabriella said.
Troy shook his head.
"I'm okay, Brie. Really" Troy said.
"Okay. Where's Rob?" Gabriella asked.
"Chad picked him up an hour ago. He had asked if Rob could come over and play" Troy said.
"Okay. Did you give them their milk?" Gabriella asked.
Troy nodded.
"Everly drank all of hers. But, Easton still has some leftover. He threw up a little bit before he could finish it" Troy said.
"Sounds like you had an eventful day" Gabriella said.
"It was really busy. I forgot that I had a meeting today and missed it" Troy said.
Gabriella's eyes widened.
"You did?" Gabriella asked.
Troy nodded.
"I had like five missed calls from the offices" Troy said.
"So what are you going to do?" Gabriella asked.
"I called and explained the situation. We are going to reschedule it" Troy said.
"Maybe you should schedule your meetings when my mom or your mom is here helping out. At least you can get work done that way" Gabriella said.
"Yeah, but I couldn't have predicted that both of them were going to have explosions and be crying for hours" Troy said.
Gabriella sighed. But she was proud of Troy. She lifted Everly into her arms.
"Daddy loves you both so much" Gabriella said kissing her daughter's and son's cheeks.
Troy smiled
"I do. How was the office?" Troy asked.
"I got a new case so that will keep me busy for a while" Gabriella said.
"Are we excited about this new case?" Troy asked watching Easton fall asleep in his arms.
"Yeah. But, it's weird now that the twins are here. I have mom guilt about leaving them" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"That just means you are a good mom" Troy said kissing Gabriella's head.
Gabriella blushed.
"You didn't have dad guilt when you would leave for your business trips" Gabriella said.
"Yes, I did. I just said never said anything" Troy said.
Gabriella leaned over and kissed Troy's lips. Troy pulled back and smiled.
"It will be okay. We need to get used to this new routine" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"It will be hard for a while. But, it will get easier" Troy said.
"I hope so" Gabriella said.
A couple of weeks later, Troy went to East High to watch the wildcats practice with his dad. Jack spotted Troy and walked over to him.
"Hey, how's it going?" Jack asked.
"Good. I just needed a break from all of the babies" Troy said.
"How are the twins doing?" Jack asked.
"They are fine. Brie has been breastfeeding so there's been a lot of stuff going on" Troy said.
"How's Rob handling it?" Jack asked.
"He's doing better. He loves them both. Sometimes they will get on his nerves but he tries to keep his cool the best he can" Troy said.
"And Gabi?" Jack asked.
"She's doing a lot better. I'm really proud of her. She's back at work and I'm home with the twins" Troy said.
"Are you doing your meetings from home now?" Jack asked.
Troy nodded.
"I didn't want to leave Brie home alone with all three of them. Especially since the twins are newborns. Breastfeeding is really a two-person job" Troy said.
Jack smiled.
"Sounds like you had a real taste of parenthood" Jack said.
"Rob was an angel. I thought that he was hard. But, these two are something else" Troy said.
Jack chuckled.
"But you love them" Jack added.
Troy smiled and nodded.
"So much" Troy said.
Troy watched the wildcats practice and then went home. Troy walked into the house and Rob came running down the stairs.
"Woah, why are we running down the stairs?" Troy asked as he caught Rob in his arms.
"Mommy was crying, daddy" Robert said.
"Why was she crying?" Troy asked as he walked into the living room with Robert.
"I don't know, daddy. I asked if she was sad but she didn't tell me" Robert said.
Troy smiled.
"I was just trying to help" Robert continued.
Troy kneeled and motioned for Robert to come closer to him. Robert hugged his father.
"Thank you for trying to help mommy when I was gone, Rob. That was really nice of you" Troy said.
"I don't want her to be sad. When she's sad, I'm sad" Robert said.
"I know. I don't want her to be sad either. But, sometimes this is what happens after mommies have babies. They are kind of sad for a while" Troy explained.
Robert nodded.
"Come on, let's go see what she's doing" Troy said lifting Rob into his arms.
Rob laid his head against Troy's shoulder. Troy walked upstairs and went into his and Gabriella's bedroom. Gabriella looked up at Troy.
"What's going on?" Troy asked.
"Nothing" Gabriella said.
Troy looked at Rob and then looked at Gabriella.
"Rob came running downstairs saying that you were crying" Troy said.
Gabriella looked down at Easton and Everly, who were both in her arms.
"It's nothing" Gabriella said.
Troy looked at Rob and then looked at Gabriella.
"Rob, go play for a little while. I need to talk to mommy" Troy said setting his son on the ground.
"Okay" Robert said.
Robert left the room and Troy looked at Gabriella.
"What's going on?" Troy asked again.
"Nothing, Troy" Gabriella said adamantly.
Troy kneeled and took Easton out of Gabriella's arms. He sighed. Gabriella was waiting for Troy to ask her fifty questions.
"Rob's worried about you. A four and a half-year-old shouldn't be worried about his parents" Troy said.
"I just slipped up" Gabriella mumbled.
Troy took a deep breath and released it.
"Why couldn't you have just said that, babe? I would have understood" Troy said.
"Because I was getting better, and everyone was happy" Gabriella said.
"Brie, things happen. You need to tell me when you feel like that. Just be honest with me" Troy said softly.
Gabriella nodded.
"I'm not mad, sweetheart" Troy said.
"I just feel like I let you guys down" Gabriella said.
"But, you didn't. You just had the twins a month and a half ago. We are still adjusting to everything" Troy said.
Gabriella looked down. Troy kissed Easton and placed him in his pack and play. He sat back in his original spot and put his hand on Gabriella's knee.
"I love you and I'm here to help. So, let me in" Troy said.
Gabriella looked at Troy. Troy smiled slightly.
"I love you too and I'm sorry" Gabriella said softly.
"Don't be. We are going to get through this together. You and me" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. She placed Everly into her pack and play. Gabriella then sat down next to Troy and hugged him. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and kissed her shoulder. Gabriella held onto Troy for several minutes. Troy held Gabriella in his arms. They sat in silence. Rob poked his head into the bedroom. Troy looked up and smiled.
"We'll be out in a minute, Rob" Troy said.
"Okay daddy" Robert said.
Robert left the room. Troy looked down and kissed Gabriella's head softly. Gabriella looked up and kissed Troy's lips. Troy kissed Gabriella back and left a lingering kiss on her lips.
"Tell me if you need some time to yourself, okay?" Troy said gently.
Gabriella nodded. The couple got up and walked out of their bedroom. Troy and Gabriella walked downstairs hand in hand. That night, Gabriella changed into a pair of Troy's sweats. She had just fed the twins. Gabriella got into bed and covered her face with the bedsheets. She sighed. A couple of minutes later, Gabriella felt the bed shift and felt Troy wrap his arms around her.
"You okay?" Troy asked.
Troy felt Gabriella nod.
"Okay" Troy said.
Troy felt Gabriella move the covers so that he could see her face. He smiled softly.
"How are you doing, baby?" Troy asked.
"I'm okay. Just needed some time alone" Gabriella said.
Troy smoothed Gabriella's hair back.
"Okay" Troy said kissing Gabriella's forehead.
Troy got up.
"Let me know if you need anything" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled softly and nodded.
"Thank you" Gabriella said.
The next day, Gabriella got up early. The twins hadn't woken up for their morning meal yet. She laid down on the couch and grabbed a blanket. Gabriella turned on the television and watched television. She sighed. Gabriella wanted whatever she was going through to go away. It took time away from hanging out with Troy, Rob, and the twins. She wanted to work for longer periods of time. Gabriella was frustrated. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Troy came into the living room with the baby monitor and lied down next to Gabriella.
"You know that it's five in the morning. We have at least an hour to sleep before they wake up" Troy said.
"I know. I couldn't sleep" Gabriella said.
"Why?" Troy asked.
"Because I am trying to figure out ways for whatever I am going through to go away" Gabriella said.
Troy reached his arm out to Gabriella. Gabriella moved so that she was laying in Troy's arms. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly. The couple sat in silence.
"You are getting better, babe. It was a slip up" Troy finally said.
Gabriella shrugged.
"Come on, let's get you back to bed before they wake up" Troy said.
Troy stood up and held out his hand to Gabriella. Gabriella took Troy's hand and stood up. The couple walked upstairs and went back to bed.