Chapter 24

Anna placed her hand over her large belly and waddled into the support group where John and she had met what felt like a lifetime ago. They didn't attend these groups as often as they used to. But they still came every so often, sometimes together, and sometimes alone, usually when something would remind them of Wyatt or Rebecca.

Today, Anna came alone. She didn't know why, but her dreams lately had been plagued with thoughts of Wyatt. When she told John about her dreams, he suggested she go to group and see if anyone else had been through the same thing.

As she stepped toward the biscuits, Kelly, a woman who had been coming to group for twelve years, came right up to Anna.

"Oh Anna!" Kelly exclaimed, her eyes on Anna's stomach. "I had no idea!"

"Yes, we're expecting very soon," Anna replied. "It's triplets."

"How exciting! Everyone in group loves the love story between you and John," Kelly told her.

Anna smiled.

"Have you ever had dreams about Mike that came when you least expected them?" Anna asked Kelly. "I am married to John now, about to have his babies, and my dreams are plagued by Wyatt."

"Have you been thinking about him during the day?"

"No," Anna simply replied.

"Is an anniversary or an important date coming up?"

"No," Anna said again.

"Maybe it's the pregnancy," Kelly stated. "Pregnancies can have you dreaming about the wildest things. I know when I was pregnant with my youngest, I kept dreaming about cheese."

"Cheese?" Anna chuckled.

"Yes, eating cheese, wearing cheese," Kelly laughed. Then she sighed and shook her head, "And maybe, you just miss him. Big things have happened in your life, things you expected to do with him. It doesn't mean you don't love John or your new life, the two aren't exclusive."

Kelly patted her arm and then walked away. Anna pondered what she had said. She was likely right. For many years, she believed her future was filled with Wyatt and children with Wyatt. That future had not panned out and she did miss him, at times. A baby kicked and she placed her hand over the spot and closed her eyes and smiled. But she was happy, so very happy.

The pregnancy was going smoothly. She had feared having to be hospitalized to keep the babies growing, as she had heard about so many multiple pregnancies, but none of that had happened. The three little ones inside of her kept growing great. Just next week, they were going to do a c-section to deliver them at 34 weeks. Anna was anxious about it being early, but Sybil said it was what would be best for them.

John and Anna had decided to name the twins of the three Joanna and Chloe and then their third, shy triplet Poppy. Baby C had kept herself hidden most of the pregnancy. Whenever they ran scans, she kept her face and body positioned away from the camera. They wondered if she would continue to be the quiet, shy one when they were all born.

Anna went to step closer to find a chair, when a gush of water filled her underwear. She gasped and rapidly blinked. That wasn't supposed to happen. She had one more week.

Deciding not to panic everyone in the room, Anna quickly made her way out into the hallway and dialed John.

"Hello, my darling, how's group?"

"John," Anna cried into the phone. "My….my water broke!"

"Oh…oh!" He exclaimed. "I….I'll come and pick you up right away and call Sybil!"

"John," Anna whimpered, growing scared.

"It'll be alright, my darling. Our little girls are just ready to meet us. I'll be there right away!"

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

Once they arrived at the hospital, they were taken to triage to make sure that her water had actually broken. As they determined that it had, they brought Sybil in to tell them what to expect.

"Alright, we are going to deliver these three little ones tonight," Sybil told the two of them. "They are growing great and we've already been giving you what they needed to help develop their lungs."

Anna was anxious, but trusted Sybil. They had already been prepared for the babies to be small and to need time in the NICU when they were born. But now that it was here, they both were a little scared.

Anna was prepped for surgery and John had to be taken to another room to get ready, as well. When he was brought into the room with Anna, he was placed up at her head. He took a seat and grabbed Anna's hand.

"I'm so nervous," Anna admitted to John.

"Shh, my darling," John soothed. "Look at all those nurses and Sybil here ready to help with our babies. Everything will go smoothly and we'll have three little girls very soon."

And he was right. Soon, Sybil had begun. Anna could feel the tugging and pulling, even though she felt no pain. Then Sybil lifted up a small baby and smiled.

"Baby A is here. It's a girl!"

Anna and John laughed, they met eyes and both said, "Joanna May."

Then a minute later Sybil was holding up a second baby.

"Baby B! Another girl!"

"Chloe Amelia."

Sybil handed Chloe to one of the nurses, before she went to lift out the third baby. Sybil paused for a moment and then chuckled.

"Well, well, well," she giggled. "Looks like we have a little sneaky one here. It's a boy!"

Anna and John both gasped and then laughed.

"A boy? I…I thought…."

"Well, we only saw in the one scan and he's stayed hidden away the rest of the time," Sybil explained and then handed the baby to another nurse.

"Oh John! We have a boy!" Anna excitedly said. "Luke's going to be so surprised!"

"Two little girls and a new baby boy," John stated, bending down to give Anna a kiss. "How wonderful."

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

All three babies were doing very well. Sybil felt that their stays in the NICU wouldn't be very long and that they would be able to go home shortly.

Once Anna was back in her room, John called Judy to have her bring Luke to the hospital. They arrived soon after the call, both excited to meet the babies. Anna and John decided to surprise them about the baby boy when they went to visit them in the NICU.

"We brought you flowers," Luke told Anna when he stepped into the hospital room.

"Thank you," Anna sincerely said, feeling tired.

"Where are my sisters?"

"We're going to have to visit them in the NICU. They are still very little," John explained.

They were able to get Luke placed into a paper robe and with a mask on his face, before John pushed Anna in the wheelchair and the three of them went to visit the babies. Judy followed behind, but stayed right outside the window.

"Here is Joanna," John pointed out the first small baby. "And this is Chloe."

"They are so small," Luke whispered.

"And here is Nicholas," John said. Luke's eyes widened.

"I…I…I thought…."

"We did too," Anna replied with a wink. "He surprised us."

"So…..I have brother?" Luke happily, but quietly asked.

"You do. One brother and two sisters."

"Sweet!"

As they left the NICU, Luke rushed to his grandmother.

"I have a brother!" He excitedly exclaimed. "Oh, and two sisters."

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

One Year Later

"Happy birthday to Jo, Chloe, and Nick!" Everyone exclaimed as the three little ones began to dig into the cakes that Anna had placed in front of them. Luke ran up to each baby and helped to show them how to eat their cakes. He really was the best brother.

As Anna snapped pictures of the children, John walked behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She giggled and rested her head against his chest.

"Well, we survived one year with three babies," John murmured into her ear. "Do you think it'll get easier or harder?'

"The sleeping has gotten easier, but now they can move….so I think it'll be about the same, but different."

"Yes," John agreed. "You're probably right." Then a beat later he added, "Are you happy?"

"So incredibly happy."

"Yes, me too, my darling. I don't think I could wish for anything more."

The End

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it :). A new story from me will be coming soon. ;)