Okay this far in, if you don't know the disclaimer drill you may want to get yourself checked. Disparaging comment aside, I would like to thank all of you who read, fav, review and watch this story. Means a lot to me. Anyway, enough of this A/N, on with the fic!
"So you are the lovely twins my brother has told me so much about?" Natalya said as she walked in and bent to Nikita and Dmitri's level. "You two are just so cute." She smiled.
Nikita and Dmitri looked rather nervous, so Ivan smiled, "This is your Aunt Natalya little ones." Ivan could tell they were still nervous. "She is my little sister. You have met the rest of your family but because she has been away at college she couldn't visit when your Uncle Matthew and Aunt Katyusha or your grandfathers have. She was at the party we had with your Uncle Matthew and Aunt Katyusha, remember?"
"What's college?" Dmitri asked.
"Well let me put it like this." Natalya began. "You ever been to the doctor?" The twins nodded.
"I hate the doctor. He always gives me shots." Nikita pouted.
"Well they do so to make sure that you don't a really bad sickness. Ever have an upset tummy or been really sick?" Natalya asked as she led the twins into the kitchen with Toris running behind.
"Yeah. One time I couldn't hear so good and I felt really bad so Ms. Sherrie and Mr. Tom took me to the doctor and he said I had an ear inflection" Nikita explained, mispronouncing 'infection'.
"And what did the doctor do?" Natalya said as she then looked in the cabinets for something to eat, not bothering to consult Toris or Ivan right away.
"Gave Ms Sherrie and Mr Tom some medicine to give me and made me all better." Nikita smiled.
"Good." Natalya said as she helped the children into chairs at the dining table. "Now to be able to know just what to do and what you give you he had to go to college then medical school. Grown ups go to these schools to get smarter and do things like that. Your Papa and Daddy both went."
"So they're smarter now?" Dmitri asked.
Well your daddy I don't know if I would say that... there's some things college can't teach. Natalya thought but knowing how rude and inappropriate it would be to insult their other father in front of them, Natalya then looked in the kitchen to see what she could do about breakfast. "Has anyone in this house eaten yet?"
"Fredka and I just woke up when you rang." Ivan explained.
"I haven't." Toris smiled meekly.
"Well I will make breakfast." Natalya said. "I think I will be able to make blini and a few other things. I see you got some bread that would work for that..."
Alfred ran down the stairs, hair dripping wet, in a polo shirt and pair of pants and jumped up and hugged Ivan from behind him. "So here's where the party's at." Alfred said giving Ivan a kiss on the cheek causing the twins to go 'gross' at the same time. "Thanks for getting breakfast for everyone made Nattie."
Ignoring the nickname that she didn't like, she looked through the spice cabinet for nutmeg, vanilla and any other ingredients she would need before she got the eggs from the fridge. "You are welcome. I want to get to know my niece and nephew well before we see Katyusha and her daughter. Have they decided on a name?"
"Yep. Charlotte." Alfred said. "Mattie called." He added looking at Ivan's confusion.
"Charlotte Williams..." Toris said. "Cute name."
"Yeah and I was thinking that we'd drop by and see them and maybe you two can spend more time with the twins than you did at the party a few weeks ago." Alfred said looking at Toris and Natalya.
"Well what would you want to do with them?" Toris asked.
"Well, honestly I haven't thought too much on that..." Natalya replied back focusing on the amount of breakfast she was having to make now that Alfred was up. I will just give all the adults the same amount and the children a smaller portion. "It would be nice to spend some time with them after all."
"What about Pizza Party Planet?" Nikita asked jumping up and down in her seat.
"Yeah!" Dmitri added joining in with his sister. "That place is awesome and grandpa and grand pear took us there after the adoption was done."
"Pizza Party Planet?" Natalya asked.
"YEAH!" The twins both yelled.
"You may get yourself talked into going there by two three year olds if you are not careful Talya..." Toris said as he got some plates out of the kitchen and began placing the breakfast onto each dish.
"What is it with the nicknames you and Alfred come up with?" Natalya sighed. "Besides, I know how much that place costs. Do you have any idea what we could do with the twins cheaper?"
"There's the McDonalds with the big playplace not too far from the playground." Alfred suggested overhearing their predicament. "That is if you don't want us coming along and we'd handle it all. I mean I remember being a brokeas-butt broke butt college student myself." Alfred said noticing his casual swearing that without the children around Ivan did not mind too much, but was strongly against when the twins were nearby.
"I guess that food can't be much worse than a children's pizza place..." Natalya sighed. "You can order apples with the happy meals these days."
"Tell Dmitri fruit and veggies help him grow and he will eat them with no complaints." Ivan said. "He told me his life's goal was to dig up dinosaurs and be taller than me, which I told him he needed to eat his veggies to do and he has had no trouble since. Nikita, not so much but they both love chicken nuggets."
"I remember that housewarming party your parents threw..." Toris began looking at Alfred and the twins. "You two got sick from too many nuggets."
"Didn't I tell you kids?" Alfred asked.
"Yes..." The twins pouted simultaneously.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Matthew felt a hand on his shoulder shaking him up. "Mr and Mrs Williams..." the nurse said as she woke Matthew and Katyusha up from their slumber.
"Huh?" Matthew asked.
"Is everything alright?" Katyusha said as she looked over by her side.
"Looks like you got something to drink." The nurse said as she handed the now cold cup of a chai tea latter to Katyusha.
"Oh" Katyusha said as she sipped the drink, looking over at Matthew who was standing back up. He noticed her drinking it and smiled back. "Thank you Matvey. I like it even though it's gone cold. I see your coffee did you no good." She laughed.
"No it did not. I'm pretty worn out myself." He smiled at her, knowing that if he were to liken his experience to hers, she would likely still be mad at him and annoyed. Noticing the doctors and nurses standing there, he stood next to her and took her hand, knowing she would be scared.
"We have good news Mr. and Mrs. Williams." The doctor began. "Upon our preliminary examination of Charlotte, she is in good health. Yes she was born early but it was not too early. She is a little underweight so you will have to make sure her room is a little warmer than normal, but because spring is starting to come in this should be easier. However some experts suggest that the baby be kept in your room until they are 6 months old. This is entirely up to you."
"So we're going home today?" Matthew asked excited but slightly nervous.
"Not quite. Charlotte will be kept in the NICU overnight just to make sure that things are well with her, and we will keep you here overnight at least Mrs. Williams." Katyusha looked worried. "Normal procedures, just to make sure that there are no complications with you either."
"Can I stay as well?" Matthew asked nervously.
"Sorry, but hospital policy will not allow it for situations like this. Just take the evening to rest up and enjoy having the bed to yourself and quiet for awhile." The doctor said. "But you will also be pleased to know that visitors are allowed and we will be bringing Charlotte over to you so you can feed and bond with her for awhile."
"That's good." Katyusha said. "I know Natalya would be furious if she could not see her niece." She then looked to Matthew. "Can you-?"
"Call our family up so they know that they can see our little girl?" Matthew said. "I sent a few texts saying so but I'll call as well. Dad won't think I am my Uncle Alistor now. I called as soon as Charlotte was born and they were examining her. But that was pretty early so my dad thought I was his brother who lives in Scotland and has blatant disregard for time zones."
"Makes me glad my family is all in one time zone and so close." Katyusha smiled. But there is still the question that Toris posed to Natalya back during Christmas about moving back to Lithuania with him... maybe he will change his mind or get a good offer here. I don't think I could stand my baby sister so far away...
"Here is your little girl." The nurse said as she handed a pink bundle of blankets to Katyusha. "We have lactation counselors here to help you with any questions you may have."
"Pryvit, moya myla malenʹka Sharlotta. YA lyublyu tebe, moya prekrasna dochko." Katyusha said. "Hello there my lovely little Charlotte. I love you my beautiful daughter. I figured I would say it in English as well, as you will be hearing that more often."
"Bonjour ma jolie petite Charlotte. Je t'aime ma belle fille." Matthew added. "I said the same thing you did but in French." He looked into his daughter's eyes with a smile. "I swear she takes after you Katy."
"Oh I see more of her daddy in her." Katyusha said. "But I know that your grandpere?" She asked looking at Matthew to know if she said 'grandfather' in French, when talking about Francis.
"Yep. You said it better than the twins. They're going to be calling Papa 'grand pear' forever now. He'll be at their high school graduation and while knowing full well how to say it by then the childhood mispronunciation will stick."
"Maybe I should call him that too." Katyusha laughed.
"Let's let him have one grandkid who can say some French." Matthew laughed.
"I have heard some studies say that children raised in multilingual households often end up smarter." The nurse said as she finished up checking some vitals.
"My dad is English but my papa is French. He speaks French at home a lot. So why is my brother an idiot?" Matthew said.
"Well you two were adopted, and even factoring that out, Fredka isn't completely stupid. According to Vanya he got many honors for his grades in college and got some very competitive internships before he was hired on where he is." Katyusha said as she rocked Charlotte and began to feed her.
"You can be academically smart but an idiot in other ways." Matthew rolled his eyes. "Yeah when it comes to engineering and all that, Al is great. But in other ways..."
"That's just who he is. And what Vanya loved about him." Katyusha said as she began to sing a Ukrainian lullaby.
"I'll call everyone to let them know they can visit and the hours." Matthew sighed as he stepped out of the room.
The rest of the morning was rather quiet as Matthew and Katyusha took turns looking after Charlotte. It wasn't until about 11 that morning till a knock was heard followed by a door opening. "Privet starshaya sestra" Natalya said as she was followed by Alfred and Ivan who were both carrying Nikita and Dmitri and Toris brought up the rear of the group and shut the door behind them. "So I hear you have my new niece." Nikita started to tear up.
"Do not worry Nikita." Ivan assured her. "Your Aunt Natalya still loves you. She loves you and Charlotte equally, right?" He added, knowing that sometimes with her headstrong nature Natalya was blunt and careless with her words.
"Of course!" Natalya said, noticing Nikita's tears. Over breakfast she had gotten rather fond of her aunt and was interested in her stories of her years in ballet when she was younger, because the way that Natalya put it had made it seem like it was as tough a sport as baseball was and wanted to learn more. Great, I already have to put up with Allen coaching Nikita's baseball team... if Natalya puts her onto ballet too. Alfred had thought as the two had connected on the ideas. "Let's meet her together, da?" Natalya had added.
"Okay Aunt Nat..." Nikita said as she wiped her eyes and Natalya took the three year old in her arms and held her next to Katyusha's bed.
"Okay." Katyusha smiled. "Meet Charlotte Sophia Williams. Your niece and your cousin Miss Nikita."
"She's so small." Dmitri said as Ivan moved closer to see his niece.
"She was born just this morning." Katyusha smiled. "But she will grow and be as big as her big cousins if not bigger."
"Not as big as me. I've been eating my veggies. All of them." Dmitri said proudly.
"That you have." Ivan smiled. "You must be very tired sis?"
"So much so." Katyusha replied as she held up Charlotte to help her feed. She noticed that Nikita and Dmitri were confused at what she was doing. "Oh, you see because Charlotte is a very little baby, she can't eat the foods you do. But because she is so little, I have to feed her like this. It's how a mother can feed the baby. I make her food until she is bigger."
"Oh." Dmitri said while Nikita stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"Don't think anything of what the twins say, they are little." Ivan said.
"Oh I know." Katyusha said. "I am sure you had a time explaining to them where babies come from."
"Yes. Francis had to explain it as they asked him." Katyusha looked shocked at Ivan saying this, knowing how he was. "But he managed to make it family friendly. No storks but no vulgarity either."
"That's good on Papa." Matthew sighed as Alfred nudged his brother. "Just what do you want Al?"
"Congrats on a cute kid. Then again most of that comes from Katy there." Alfred teased.
"She kicks pretty hard." Matthew said to his brother.
"Really though," Alfred began. "I have faith in you you will be the best dad that little Charlotte could ever want. I mean with the twins, I know they said Ivan and I were good enough by their standards but god, it's not just having a good paying job, a house nothing like that." Matthew could tell when his brother was getting rather philosophical and serious. "I am worried constantly that I would somehow screw up with Nikita and Dmitri. I don't want to do that, considering where they came from."
"You'll be fine Al." Matthew sighed. "You not only have the energy to keep up with them, but you have a strong sense of right and wrong, of justice and well, just everything a kid could want from a dad." He noticed that Alfred was still nervous. "I mean so far you guys seem to be better than Dad and Papa were..."
"Bonjour ma petite petite-fille. C'est moi ton grand-père." Francis said as he barged into the room and holding a big 'It's a girl' pink heart shaped balloon and teddy bear to give to Charlotte.
"Speak of the devil..." Alfred moaned.
"Do you have no manners? I see where Alfred can get it sometimes..." Arthur said as he headed into the hospital room.
"Oh no, did I wake her?" Francis asked noticing the look on Natalya's face.
"No." Natalya said simply. She looked around and noticed Toris was not there. "Let me step out. Toris is missing."
"I'm sure he's fine." Alfred assured Natalya.
"I am sure but we were planning to take the twins to the McDonald's with the playplace you mentioned and Toris found a cheap little dinosaur theme mini golf course and said that it seemed fun for the twins. I figured we could look after them, give them a fun time like they had with their grandfathers." Natalya explained.
"Well that's nice." Alfred said. "But you're not in competition with them. If the twins give you a hard time because you don't do what my dads do for them, let me know. Remember they're old coots who have good paying jobs and only themselves to look after. Now they're grandparents they money they spent raising Matt and I will go to spoil the grandkids and make Matt and mine's lives interesting when they get back from grandpa's house."
"They will come back spoiled and let them do things they could not at home." Natalya sighed as she filed her nails. "I could see how that could be frustrating."
"Or..." Alfred smirked, knowing that Ivan could not hear. "Did you and Toris get too busy and now you need some practice because you will be in Katy's spot soon?"
"Nyet!" She said as she smacked Alfred subtly. "I would never be so careless with him. No, I just love my family and will be nice to big brother. Maybe give you two some time to spend together that you would not have before hand with the twins around."
"So you're going to get him laid?" Alfred whispered in a snigger.
"You're as vulgar as your Frenchman father." Natalya sighed as she stepped out of the room, to find Toris running up with two coffees. "Are you okay?" She asked as she took a cup of coffee from his hand.
"I'm never better!" Toris said. "I know what I want to do for my career."
"I thought you wanted to work in nuclear medicine." Natalya said.
"That's my coffee." He said swapping his out with hers. "But no, I met an Oncologist at the coffee shop and told him about what I have done so far in my schooling and he mentioned how I took premed as well to have a well versed background and he suggested I go ahead and take what is called the MCAT and get my MD and then I can do a residency at this hospital and become certified myself as one. It got me to thinking that I want to do more than just issue the treatment, I want to be the one getting to know the patient, going through all their options and finding ways to make their lives better in that battle. Something I never thought my grandmother had. I could do for others what she deserved and I think she would like that." He noticed Natalya's look on her face. "With you by my side. Of course. I could use such a strong woman with me."
"Of course." Natalya said amazed. "I thought you wanted to work back in Lithuania."
"I did but then I got to thinking about how much your family means to you. How hard it would be for you to go so far away. I only have my mother and father left back there. And frankly my mother wants to move to somewhere warm. Spain or Florida. This way we could stay here, with the family you love so much." Toris said. Natalya's eyes widened at this. Toris rearranging his career plans for her? "Is there anything wrong?"
"No." Natalya said as she hugged Toris. "I would be proud to support that ambition." She said as she pulled him in closer for a kiss. At this, Ivan and Alfred opened the door, to the two kissing.
"Uhhhhhhhh..." Ivan began.
"Ewwww Aunt Nat, you're kissing a boy." Nikita said.
"Oh. Well, come with me and Toris," Natalya recovered quickly. "I will bring the twins back about 4, is that alright?"
"Fine with me." Alfred said.
"Have a good time and take care of the twins." Ivan said.
"I will." Natalya said as she took a hand of each of the twins and headed to the car with Toris and and headed to begin the day with her niece and nephew.
So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Let me know in a review. I don't honestly have much else to say here, so remember to read (well you just did) and review. Ciao for now,
otherrealmwriter
aka
Realm.
