Elizabeth stared down at Cecilia as her daughter nursed. She was perfect in every way. She had a thick crop of blonde hair, and her eyes were already the same brilliant blue as her father's. Arianna shared the same eye color, but her hair was red instead of blonde. Elizabeth knew the red came from her side of the family, while the blonde came from Nathan's.
She looked at her husband, who was sitting across from her on the couch, holding Arianna. He was singing softly to her, rocking her back and forth in his arms. Her little eyes were drooping more with each passing moment. Elizabeth had already fed her, and the baby was warm and content in her father's arms.
The twins were a week old, and Elizabeth was deeply in love with her babies. They were so small and sweet and soft. She couldn't help dropping kisses on their little faces whenever she held them, which was frequently. One or the other always needed something. It could be overwhelming at times, but she was finding a rhythm. Nathan had taken two weeks of vacation time to be home with her as they adjusted to life as parents.
They were getting very little sleep at night. One of the twins seemed to be up every couple of hours, hungry or cranky or needing to be changed. But even with the sleep deprivation, Elizabeth was happy. These sweet children were physical manifestations of the love she and Nathan shared. They were the children they had longed for over the painful months of not being able to conceive. Now they were here. It was truly a miracle.
Cecilia's little mouth slowly stopped suckling, and her eyes began to close. Elizabeth gently pressed a finger to her breast to break the suction, then adjusted her clothing and lifted her daughter against her chest, patting her back gently but firmly to get the air bubbles out of her stomach. The baby gave a small coo after she burped, and within moments she relaxed against her mother completely.
Nathan was watching her with a soft smile. "Funny how easily they sleep, isn't it?" he asked.
Elizabeth nodded, noticing that Arianna was asleep now too. "Amazing. And they'll probably sleep for the next hour or so at least." She raised a brow. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Nathan chuckled quietly. "If you're thinking it's naptime for Mom and Dad as well, then yes."
Elizabeth grinned. "Exactly."
They carried their babies to their room, where two bassinets rested side by side. Carefully placing the girls inside, they fell onto their own bed and almost immediately fell asleep themselves.
Two hours later, Arianna's small cry woke Elizabeth. She glanced to the side, noticing that Nathan was not there. Cecilia wasn't in her bassinet either. She stood slowly, coming out of sleep, and picked up Arianna. "What's wrong, sweetie?" she cooed. "Are you wet?" Patting Arianna's diaper, she realized that was exactly why her daughter was crying. She changed her quickly, already used to diapering babies. Elizabeth picked Arianna up once again, placing a kiss on her silky cheek. "All better?" she said, smiling at the tiny baby.
Arianna leaned her head against Elizabeth's shoulder, her eyes closing once more. Elizabeth chuckled. Though they woke up frequently, the girls also slept a lot. She carried her out to the living room, where Nathan was busy feeding Cecilia. Elizabeth had started pumping some of her breast milk so that Nathan could share in feeding their girls as well, especially at night. She smiled as she watched him. He was such a natural with the babies. It was her new favorite sight, watching her big, strong husband tenderly holding a teeny tiny baby in his arms. He looked as though he had been made to be a father.
"How long have you been up?" she asked, coming to sit beside him.
Nathan looked up. "Only fifteen minutes," he said. "Cecilia was just starting to fuss when I started to wake up, so I figured I'd take care of her so you could get some more sleep." He smiled down at Arianna. "But I see you were woken up anyway."
Elizabeth laughed softly. "Something I plan on being used to for months to come," she said wryly. "New parents don't get much sleep."
A knock sounded at the door before Nathan could respond. Elizabeth got up to open it, and found Colleen and Allie standing on the porch. "What a lovely surprise!" Elizabeth exclaimed, reaching out to hug her niece and then her sister-in-law with one arm. "Please, come in."
Allie's eyes were glowing as she took in Arianna. "Oh, Auntie Elizabeth, she's so cute!" she exclaimed. She hurried over to Nathan, looking down at Cecilia. "Oh, and so is she!" She grinned, bouncing up and down in her excitement. "Which is which?"
Nathan laughed at his niece's exuberance, patting the seat next to him. "This is Cecilia, and that is Arianna," he said. He held Cecilia toward Allie. "Would you like to hold her?"
"Can I?" Allie breathed, gazing at the little baby. "I would love to."
Nathan carefully placed Cecilia in Allie's arms. The baby looked up at her cousin with wide, inquisitive eyes. Allie stared down at her in return, smiling and cooing, completely lost in her own little world.
Elizabeth smiled. "She's going to make a wonderful cousin," she commented, looking at Colleen. "Would you like to hold Arianna?"
"Absolutely," Colleen said, holding out her arms. Elizabeth handed over the baby, smiling as Colleen unconsciously began talking to Arianna in a baby voice. Colleen made her way to the rocking chair, while Elizabeth settled on the couch next to Nathan.
"Oh my goodness, these girls are perfect," Colleen said, smiling at Elizabeth. She smirked at Nathan. "And it's about time you gave me nieces, little brother! I had begun to wonder if you'd ever make me an auntie."
Nathan raised a brow. "If I recall, you told me to wait to find the right woman." He grinned at Elizabeth, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "And I did."
"Oh, ew!" Allie said, averting her eyes. "Please tell me you're not about to get all mushy."
The three adults laughed. "Don't worry, Allie," Nathan teased. "I'll wait to kiss your aunt until after you leave."
"Good," Allie said, letting out a dramatic breath. "I don't know why you like that so much. It's gross."
Nathan's grin widened. "You keep thinking that, young lady."
Elizabeth nudged him. "You realize she's going to grow up one day, right?" she asked. "As will your two daughters."
"Oh, no they're not," Nathan said quickly. "They're going to stay little forever. All of them. And any other girls we might have."
Colleen laughed outright. "Spoken like a true father," she said. She settled into the rocker, lifting Arianna up to her shoulder and patting her back gently. "Steve and I were wondering if you would like to come for dinner this week. You're probably not wanting to cook right now."
Elizabeth nodded. "That would be wonderful. We've actually had a lot of people from church bringing us food. The freezer is full with lots of meals, which is lovely. We'll be stocked for a while. And Rosemary brings something over everyday." She chuckled. "I think she just wants an excuse to see the twins."
"I can't blame her," Colleen said, nuzzling her cheek against Arianna's. "These babies are precious."
"We think so," Elizabeth said softly. She gave a little laugh. "But we're as biased as they come."
"Well I'm not, and these are two of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen," Colleen pronounced.
Nathan chuckled. "You're their aunt. I think you're biased."
Colleen waved a hand. "Details, Nathan."
"A pretty big detail, if you ask me."
Colleen skewered him with a look. "Are you really going to argue with me about whether or not your girls are adorable?"
"No, but I'm just pointing out that you might not be objective here."
Elizabeth laughed, the banter between brother and sister amusing her. "And to think one day Cecilia and Arianna will be arguing just like this."
"Why don't I have any brothers or sisters?" Allie asked suddenly, looking at her mother.
Colleen's face shadowed, the abrupt question clearly leaving her speechless. "Umm…" she started, before looking at Nathan a little helplessly. Elizabeth wondered at the pain on her face.
Nathan put a hand over Allie's gently. "Something happened inside your mom when she was pregnant with you, sweetie. For some reason her uterus ripped before she gave birth, and the doctors had to get you out fast to save your life and your mom's life. But they had to take out the organ that holds babies."
Allie blinked, her eyes widening. "Is it my fault Mom couldn't have more babies?" she asked, mouth hanging open.
"No! Absolutely not, sweetheart," Colleen said fervently. "It wasn't your fault at all. It was an accident, something no one could have predicted or prevented. Don't ever think it had anything to do with you." She smiled through the mist in her eyes. "Besides, your father and I count ourselves lucky to have been blessed with you. We wouldn't change that for the world." She stood, handing Arianna back to Elizabeth and sitting next to Allie. Putting an arm around her daughter, she hugged her close. "You are my greatest blessing, Allie, and I love you very much."
Allie handed Cecilia to Nathan, then burrowed close to her mother. "I love you too, Mama," she said, holding her tightly.
Elizabeth leaned her head on Nathan's shoulder, tears threatening to fall at the beautiful scene before them. She hadn't known that story, but she was glad Colleen was affirming Allie. Watching them, she found herself hoping she would be as good a mother to her girls as Colleen was to Allie.
Nathan leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear. "You will be," he murmured.
She blinked, looking up at him. "You can read minds now?" she whispered back in amazement.
He smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "It's written all over your face, Elizabeth. And don't worry. You are going to be an excellent mother." He pressed a hand to her cheek. "You already are."
"You look exhausted," Lee announced when Nathan walked into the station after his two weeks of leave were over.
Nathan raised a brow. "Gee, thanks, Lee."
Lee laughed. "I can say that because I remember well that exhaustion. Jesse and Clara didn't let us get more than an hour or two of sleep together for months."
"Months?" Nathan asked with a groan. He shook his head, taking a swig of his coffee. "The girls really aren't sleeping that poorly at night. We're getting about three hours at a time right now. It's already getting better."
Lee smiled. "Yeah, I remember Clara having colic, so she was up much more frequently than usual. But it got better." He reached out and slapped Nathan's shoulder as he sat. "And it will get better for you as well." He tilted his head. "Besides the sleep deprivation, how are things going?"
"Very well," Nathan said, smiling as he thought about his sweet daughters. "They love being held. Arianna doesn't mind being in her playpen, but Cecilia pretty much always wants to be in our arms. They're both eating well and growing already. I swear they're getting heavier by the day."
Lee chuckled. "Don't blink, Nathan. They'll be crawling before you know it."
Nathan groaned. "Don't tell me that! They're my babies, Lee. They're not allowed to grow up fast."
"Let me know how that works out for you," Lee said, laughing.
They both got to work, but Nathan's mind was at home. He missed the twins with a fierceness he hadn't expected. After spending the past two weeks with them at all times, he missed the constant interaction with them and with his wife. He found himself wondering what they were doing right now and how Elizabeth was getting along on her own.
Nathan had known that becoming a father would change him. What he hadn't known was how much his heart would expand with love. Already he was having trouble remembering what life had been like before Arianna and Cecilia had entered it. They had him wrapped around their tiny little fingers, and there was no place else he'd rather be. He loved his baby girls, and in loving them found that he loved their mother even more than he had before, something he hadn't thought was possible.
Watching Elizabeth care for their girls with tenderness and love had utterly melted his heart. She never complained, even when she was exhausted. They had worked together over the past two weeks, getting to know the twins and finding a rhythm of life with them. He wanted to be there with them.
Picking up his phone, he dialed Elizabeth's number. It rang twice before she answered. He could hear the smile in her voice. "Hello, sweetheart. It's been a whole hour since you left."
He chuckled low. "I know, Elizabeth, but I needed to know how things were going. I miss you. I miss our girls."
"I know you do," she said softly. "But we're all doing fine. Arianna just fell asleep, and Cecilia is due for a feeding before she goes down for a nap." As if on cue, Nathan heard Cecilia's cry in the background. He could already tell the difference between his daughters' cries.
"I'll let you go, then," he said. "I just wanted to let you know how much I love you."
"And I love you," she said. "So much."
After they'd hung up, Nathan looked down at his phone for a while. His new lock screen was a picture of Elizabeth holding the twins on their first day home. Once he had memorized every detail of the picture, he reluctantly put the phone back on his desk and got back to work.
The sooner he finished, the sooner he could be home again with all three of his girls.
