On the Homefront
Chapter 22-2 months later
"She's perfect. Nine pounds, four ounces and twenty-two inches long." The nurse told Mike as he took the baby from her. Christine was resting after a fairly long birth.
"Thank you." Mike answered. The nurse fixed something on Christine's IV and then left them. Mike sat down on the bed next to Christine and handed the baby over.
"You know; I've always thought all my kids were beautiful, but this one…she is the most beautiful baby I've ever seen." Christine said. She leaned against Mike in exhaustion and kissed the baby's hand.
"So, is she still Darcy Grace, or Caroline Hope?" Mike asked, mentioning their second choice for a name. They both looked down at the baby for a moment and Christine finally spoke.
"What about a mix of the two? I like Darcy but Darcy Slattery is a bit of a tongue twister. What about Caroline Darcy Slattery?" Christine suggested.
"Caroline? I think it fits." Mike said as he kissed the baby's hand.
"Perfect. I'm so tired. I'm glad the girls are waiting to bring Sofia and Connor." Christine remarked.
"Why don't you go to sleep? I'll look after her." Mike suggested.
"Only if you stay right here and hold me?" Christine begged.
"Of course." Mike answered. He put one arm around Christine and pulled her close, while still holding Caroline. Within just a few minutes, both were sound asleep.
One Year Later
True to her word, and with Mike's support, Christine had a surrogate pregnancy for Olivia and Joshua Reiss. The surprise was that she was having triplets, which was rough for her, but joyous for the Reiss'. Olivia had been there for every appointment and helped Christine a lot once she was put on bed rest.
She was scheduled for a c-section and Olivia and Mike were allowed in the operating room while Joshua and the Slattery kids waited in the waiting room. The operation was painful for Christine, but Mike and Olivia were wonderful coaches, and once the babies arrived, Olivia made a point of letting Christine love on each of the babies. Two little boys and a baby girl.
Once Christine was settled in a recovery room, and Mike had taken their kids downstairs to the cafeteria, Christine focused on Olivia holding one of the babies. She smiled at the way Olivia was rocking back and forth and the way the baby was still fussing.
"Bring him here. I think he needs swaddled." Christine said. Olivia complied and Christine carefully wrapped the baby who immediately calmed down. "Like a little burrito." Christine remarked.
"Thanks. I don't know how to do any of this and I really don't want to hire a nanny. I suppose I should have paid closer attention to you with Caroline." Olivia said.
"When they are this little; they want to feel warm and safe. They are coming out of a very small area, and they like having that feeling again. This is an awfully big world for them. Its cold out here, and they will probably want to be close to one another." Christine explained.
"You make this seem easy." Olivia responded.
"I've had two sets of twins, plus twp single births. Even though these three aren't mine biologically, they make seven, eight and nine babies I've had. I'll help you." Christine offered with a smile.
"Is it hard? Going through all this pain, and knowing that someone else will be taking them home?" Olivia asked.
"It is but I knew going into this that you would be taking them home with you. I doubt that I would have done this for anyone else." Christine admitted.
"I truly appreciate it. Mike was who surprised me. How supportive he is." Olivia remarked. She had sat down in one of the chairs, holding the baby Christine had swaddled.
"I told him that I wanted to do this because being a mother is a blessing, something you'd been denied, but something I could fix. Mike just took it from a father's perspective. He didn't want Joshua to be denied fatherhood. It took him some time, research and talks from the doctor to get him there. He's worried, but he knows how badly I wanted to do this." Christine told her.
"Well, we sure love you for it. You will always be a part of their lives, as much as you want to be and we will tell them what part you played." Olivia said.
"I want to be involved. Kind of a fun aunt." Christine said. She was wearing down and was ready for Mike to return so she could go to sleep.
"Then that will be what you are." Olivia said as she squeezed her hand.
"So, what are the names?" Christine asked. The Reiss' didn't want to find the genders out so everything was a surprise.
"Well, this one is Matthew Joshua. His brother is Alexander Michael and she's Charlotte Christine." Olivia answered with a smile. It was obvious where they had come up with the middle names of the two at.
"Oh, thank you. You didn't have to do that." Christine remarked.
"I wanted to. I just hope that the girls will help you. Recovery won't be so easy with Caroline being so busy." Olivia said.
"They are huge helps. Kate will help me, but Hannah is all about her younger siblings. And Mike took a week off too. I'll be fine." Christine said.
"They've sure changed. Kate especially, but Hannah too." Olivia remarked.
"They have. Kate loves her job and Hannah is loving being in high school. She's trying out for the cheer team. Mike isn't loving the uniform at all." Christine told her.
"He does realize that they wear shorts under the skirts, right?" Olivia asked.
"Yes, but Hannah is a daddy's girl…but then so are Kate, Sofia and Caroline. Just wait. Nothing sweeter then a little girl and her daddy." Christine said as she looked over at Charlotte.
"I suppose. I wish Joshua had been able to stay longer." Olivia said. He had had to go back to the White House due to some emergency.
"That's understandable. He seems excited about the babies at least. Mike is going to stay with me while I'm in the hospital." Christine said. The media knew that the President and First Lady were going to be having babies, achieved through a surrogate pregnancy, but not who the surrogate was. Christine's identity had been kept quiet thus far, but it would probably end up being released, with a story about how good of a friendship they had.
"He's so supportive of you. I think Joshua is worried about the election." Olivia remarked.
"Probably. Sometimes, the first time around is difficult for the dad. Mike struggled some with it when Kate was a baby. He loved her deeply, but he wanted to be a different sort of dad then his dad had been, and he had to figure that out. Joshua will as well. Just give him time." Christine advised her.
"Mike is a really good dad. You can see how much he loves his kids and how proud he is of them. He isn't just their dad, but especially with Kate and Hannah, their friend. I love watching them together." Olivia said.
"Me too. I actually enjoy it more with Sofia and Connor, because Mike doesn't have to be the dad to them, but he is and he loves them as deeply as he does his own kids. Eventually, we will tell them, but for now, they adore Mike and he loves them deeply. Its sweet." Christine explained.
"And Caroline has him wrapped around her little finger. Mike acts all big and bad and tough, but he is mush for that little girl and she knows it, even at only about a year old." Olivia said with a smile.
"He's always been like that for his girls. He actually struggled a bit with Lucas but they developed a closeness. It was different but he loved their relationship, and he's developed a really good relationship with Connor too. Obviously, it's a different relationship then with Lucas, but just as loving." Christine told her. She had yawned again and Olivia stood up.
"You're exhausted. I'm going to take the babies back to the nursery but I will come back and stay until Mike gets back. You just go to sleep." Olivia said as she squeezed Christine's hand.
"Thanks. Even though it was a scheduled C-section, it still is a little rough." Christine admitted.
"We love you for it. Just relax." Olivia answered before she put the baby in the bassinet and pushed them out of the room. Christine suspected that her Secret Service agents would help her the rest of the way, and found herself drifting off.
Things were good. So good. The kids were doing great. Kate had started a job in an art store and was looking at colleges now that she had finished her GED. Hannah was loving school. She was on the Honor Roll and had developed several friendships. Connor and Sofia were each other's best friends but they were in separate classes at school and were excelling. Caroline was pulling up on furniture and doing all the normal things a baby did at a year old. She was doted on by her parents and older siblings.
Best of all, Mike and Christine were doing really well. Because they had built-in babysitters, they enjoyed a date night every two weeks, and spent a lot of time with each other when Mike's schedule allowed. Christine couldn't remember a happier time in her marriage. Despite everything, they were doing just fine.
Christine still helped with the charity, although as a more advisory role. Being pregnant with triplets and having a baby had made things a little hard for her, not to mention four older kids who were still adjusting. As a family, they were in therapy and doing well. It taught them to communicate the things they weren't comfortable with, and for the others to help come up with a solution.
When Christine woke up, Mike was beside her on the bed and was holding her. He gave her a smile and a kiss before they both got comfortable again.
"The kids?" Christine asked.
"Kate took them home. She'll call me if there are any issues, but I suspect they'll be okay. Olivia has also gone home, but will be back tomorrow. It sounds like the babies will go with her the day after. She brought you this." Mike said as he handed her a jewelry box.
"What is it?" Christine asked.
"Open it. I helped her a little. Kind of a push gift from both of us." Mike remarked. He popped the lid open and revealed a beautiful ring, with several birthstones on it.
"Is that a mother's ring?" Christine asked.
"It is. It has all the birthstones on it. For Kate, Hannah, Lucas, Sofia, Connor, Caroline, and the triplets. Even though they are a surrogate pregnancy; we both felt you deserved something from them. I think the jeweler was a little shocked with we asked her to design a ring with this many birthstones on it, but she did a beautiful job." Mike said as he slipped it on Christine's right ring finger.
"Thank you. I love you so much and I love the ring too." Christine said. She gave Mike a long kiss and settled into his shoulder.
"When I called Tom to let him know you were fine, he said we should go for a dozen. I told him that I was surgically sure that wouldn't be happening." Mike teased. He had made one thing very clear, after Caroline's birth; he didn't want anymore kids. He supported Christine throughout the surrogate pregnancy, but had the procedure to make certain he would father no more children.
"Just look at it this way; once I get recovered, we can have all kinds of fun, with no worries about birth control." Christine teased him.
"Exactly. We have a beautiful family, with healthy and happy children. We miss Lucas but he is still with us. We carry him every day." Mike said. They had talked at length about Lucas' death and were as recovered as any parents could be after losing a child.
"Exactly. I sure love you." Christine said. As normal, Mike was holding her, her favorite thing in the world, and while he didn't always admit it, his favorite thing as well.
"I sure love you more." Mike said with a laugh. He got comfortable and Christine wrapped herself around him.
"We're gonna be just fine." Christine remarked. They kissed again and she settled in to go to sleep.
The End! Thanks for the reviews!