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Chapter 23

Anna's phone began to ring and she was surprised to see her sister calling her in the middle of the week. The two usually spoke over Facetime on the weekends and only texted during the week because of their time differences.

"Hello?" Anna curiously asked.

"So….." Amy expectantly replied.

"So….what?" Anna laughed, caught off-guard.

"You have something to tell me. I just know it. Twin intuition. And it's something good, so spill," Amy playfully demanded.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Oh, come on, Anna. We've been able to read the best and worst moments of each other's lives since we were little. Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?"

Anna chuckled, "Guess."

"You're pregnant!" Amy immediately said. Anna's chuckles grew.

"Yes," she agreed and Amy happily yelled on the other side of the phone.

"I knew it! Is John thrilled? Are you thrilled? Does Luke know? Why haven't you called to tell me, yet?" Amy spat out her questions.

"Yes, we're both thrilled, if not a little overwhelmed. Luke does know. I was going to tell you over Facetime this weekend."

"Overwhelmed? Why are you overwhelmed? You've been trying for over a year to have a baby," Amy said.

"Yes, about that. It's not a baby. It's three…." She heard Amy gasp on the other end of the line.

"Triplets! You're having triplets!?" Amy excitedly asked, which only made Anna giggle.

"Yes, I am."

"Oh, Anna! I am so thrilled for you! What do you need? Do you need car seats? Cribs? Just let me know, and Auntie Amy will get it for her new nieces and/or nephews!"

"That's sweet of you, Amy," Anna sincerely informed her sister, "But all they need is a loving Aunt."

"Well, they'll have that! Oh, I'm so happy! Alright, as soon as you know what you're having, you have to tell me. I don't care if I'm sleeping, okay?"

"Okay, I'll call you and let you know. I love you!"

"Love you too."

Anna hung up the phone and shook her head, still giggling to herself. She had found that she was incredibly giddy most of the time, only not when she was throwing up her previous meal. But she was not as anxious as she had thought she would be. There was this calm that had settled over her that let her know her babies were going to be alright.

Since she was carrying three babies, Sybil had set her appointments for every two weeks. She told them that two of the babies shared a placenta and so those two would be identical. But they would also need extra monitoring because one could end up taking food from the other. While that made her anxious, she still felt relaxed and sure that everything would work out.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

They waited until thirteen weeks to make the big reveal about having triplets. At eleven weeks, Mary had finally called Anna out about being pregnant and she couldn't lie any longer. Her pants were very tight and she had kept throwing up at work.

Once they had their thirteen week appointment and saw that all three were doing well, they knew it was time to tell everyone that there was not one, but three babies. Today, they were going to tell Judy and Luke. They had gone over to Judy's house for dinner. She was thrilled about them being pregnant, she had known how much the two longed for another child.

After dinner, Anna placed a big box in front of Luke and told him to open it.

"Will this tell me if I'm having a brother or a sister?" Luke asked. Both Anna and John shook their heads.

"No, we don't know that yet. We still have some time before we know that."

Luke twisted his lips, but began to open the gift. The first thing he pulled out was a onsie that said one on it. He showed it to his grandmother and put it down, before grabbing the second onsie out that said two. He furrowed his brows, confused. Judy, however, made an excited sound. Luke ignored it and pulled out the final onsie that said three.

"I don't understand," Luke said. "You got it three body suits?"

"Triplets!?" Judy giddily asked. Luke's face then blanched.

"Dad, Anna, are you having triplets?"

Anna and John smiled and nodded, "We are."

"Three babies?" Luke croaked. "Three? Like, there are three in there?"

John laughed, "There are."

"How exciting! You know Gran will be there to help whenever you need it!" Judy exclaimed, rushing over to give Anna a big hug.

"Thank you," Anna sincerely replied. Judy had become like a mother to her. She was so glad her babies would get to have a grandparent.

"Luke," John began, eying his son. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he quietly said, his eyes glancing over the three onsies. "It's just….that's a lot of babies."

The adults all laughed.

"It is," Anna agreed. "But are you happy?"

Luke then smiled and nodded his head. "I am. I'm just surprised."

"We still are too," John let him know, reaching over and ruffling his hair.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Later that evening, Anna climbed into bed next to John, who immediately turned toward her and placed his hand on her growing belly. His fingers expanded and roamed over the bump.

"Hi there little ones," He murmured to her belly, bending his head down and kissing right below her belly button.

"Have you thought about what names you like?" Anna questioned John, as he kissed her belly once more. Then he sat up, keeping his hand over her stomach.

"I haven't," he answered. "Have you?"

"Of course," Anna playfully replied. Over the past year of tries, names had always been on her mind. She hadn't spoken to John about the names, always afraid it would give them bad luck. Now that the babies were growing well, she finally felt confident enough to bring it up.

"Alright then, what names do you like?"

"I like Nick, or well, Nicolas for a boy. I also like Joe….Joseph, or Joey…." Anna said. "And for girls I like Chloe and…." She paused, wondering what John would say to her other girl name she liked...

"And what, my darling?"

"Poppy," Anna said, watching his reaction carefully.

"Poppy," John tried on his lips. "Poppy Bates."

"You don't like it," Anna frowned. "It is a popular name. It's on the list. But if you…."

"No," John interrupted. "I do like it." Anna smiled.

"You do?"

"I do. I like all the names, but that's only two of each. What if we have three boys or three girls?"

Anna shook her head. "I don't know. Jo could be a girl's name…short for Josephine or…."

"Or Joanna," John added.

"Right."

"I rather like Joanna," John continued, bringing his hand up to rest on her chest. "She could be named after her mother." Anna's lips curled up into a smile and John bent over to capture her lips within his own.

"What if we have three boys?" Anna questioned. "Neither Chloe or Poppy lend themselves to a boy name."

"What do you think?"

"Johnny, after you?" John shook his head.

"Oh no," he disagreed.

"Why not?" Anna asked, as John's hands began to explore. "You suggested naming a girl after me, why not a boy after you?"

"John is Luke's first name," John answered. Anna twisted her lips.

"Oh, how didn't I know that?"

"His name is John Luke," he told her. "I guess I didn't realize I hadn't told you that."

"No," Anna murmured, "You didn't. But you're right. We can't have three Johns," she teased.

"I guess we'll have to think on a third name later," John whispered into her ear, "Because right now, I'd rather enjoy seducing you." Anna laughed, but wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Sounds good to me, Mr. Bates."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Alright," Luke said, jumping down from his seat at the table and grabbing his book bag. "Right after school, you'll pick me up and let me know, right?" He walked to Anna and placed his hands over her belly. "Please be a brother in there," he whispered against her shirt.

Anna giggled. "Yes, we are going to pick you up and we'll let you know what your three siblings are."

"Even if they are all girls, I'll love them," Luke told her. "But I really hope at least one is a boy."

Anna chuckled, "I know. What if all three are boys?" Luke grinned.

"That would be amazing."

"Alright, go get in the car. We've got to get you to school."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

At twenty weeks, Anna already felt huge. The babies had begun to move and she could feel one of them kicking against her bladder. She shifted in her seat and sighed.

"Are you alright, my darling?" John asked, as he pulled into the parking lot at Sybil's practice. Today was their twenty-week scan. They would check over the babies and find out the sexes of them today.

"Yes, it's just one of your babies is kicking my bladder," Anna informed him.

"Oh it's mine when it doesn't behave is it?" John teased.

"Exactly," Anna replied. Her hands rested on top of her baby and she bit down on her lower lip. "I hope everything looks perfect today. This is the important scan."

"Everything will," John promised her. "There are three strong little ones in there," John said, resting his hand on top of hers.

Anna exhaled loudly, "It's still hard to believe that soon we'll have three babies to take care of."

"It is," John agreed. They had already begun preparing for the three new babies. One of the bedrooms upstairs had been turned into a nursery with three cribs and a changing table already assembled. Anna had found a rocking chair she wanted and had begun to purchase some gender neutral clothing for the babies. They also bought a larger car that could fit in three car seats, Luke, and the both of them. It was both overwhelming and exciting.

The two got out of the car and walked inside. Today they would be seeing one of the ultrasound technicians, later Sybil would go over the results with them. But the technician would be able to tell them the sex of all the babies.

Fortunately, the office wasn't busy and they were immediately taken back for their appointment. As Anna prepared for the ultrasound, she suddenly grew anxious. All her calm from the several weeks before now had disappeared.

"What…what if they find something wrong?" Anna questioned John.

"Shh," John soothed. "If they do, we'll take it from there, but I have a feeling everything is going to look perfect."

The technician came in and smiled at them both. Then she began the scan. Almost immediately, she saw the sex of baby A.

"Ah," she said. "You wanted to know the sex of your babies, correct?"

"Yes, please."

"Baby A is a girl."

Both John and Anna looked to one another and smiled, "Chloe!"

The technician continued with her scan and a little while later moved on to baby B.

"Baby B is also a girl."

"Two girls," John said.

"That would be Poppy," Anna giggled.

"Those are your twins, so I probably should have already told you they were both girls," the technician added.

Baby C was being difficult. It was further in the back, hidden by its sisters.

"Alright, Baby C is also a girl."

"Three girls?" John asked, his voice incredulous.

"Yes, three girls. Everything looks great. I'll send these images to Dr. Branson to look over them, but I believe at your next appointment she'll also tell you that all three babies look healthy."

"Thank you," John told her, as she stood and left the room. Anna bit down on her lower lip and shook her head.

"I do hope Luke won't be too terribly disappointed," Anna said.

"Ah, he'll be excited. Three baby sisters to look up to their big brother."

"Three girls, John. Three girls!" Anna then exclaimed. John chuckled.

"Yes, our three girls."

"Are you excited?"

"I'm thrilled."

To be continued...

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