A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer. I also want to say that I sincerely apologize for taking so long to update any of my stories. I've really been sick these past couple of months and I just haven't been able to write because of it. I'm not trying to whine about my personal problems or anything. I just want to let you guys know that I haven't been neglecting you on purpose. I appreciate you all very much and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter of In the Blink of an Eye. ((HUGS)) to everyone who needs one in these insane times. Happy reading and God bless.
Chapter Summary: Everyone meets the two newest additions to the Jefferson family.
Chapter 6: Two Blessed Babies
About an hour after the babies were born, Louise and the babies were moved from the delivery room to a private room, and George finally walked – or to be more precise, he strutted – out to the waiting room. The instant everyone saw him, they got up from their seats.
"George, is everything alright? Is Louise alright?" asked a very concerned Helen.
"How about the baby? Is it alright?" asked an equally anxious Tom.
George smiled and answered, "Weezy's fine. The babies are fine. Everything's alright."
"Oh, that's such a relief," said Jenny.
"It certainly is," Bentley concurred.
"Thank You Jesus that they're all alright," Florence chimed in.
"Wait a minute, everybody. Wait a minute," said Mrs. Jefferson. "George…you said babies."
"Babies?" said Helen.
"Oh yeah, you're right, Mrs. Jefferson," said Jenny. "Mr. Jefferson did say…babies."
With a huge smile, George announced, "We had twins."
The instant he said that, there were shouts of jubilation, and everybody started hugging and kissing each other.
"Oh, Mr. Jefferson, I'm so happy for you and Mrs. Jefferson," Jenny told him, and then she kissed his cheek.
With tears of joy streaming down her cheeks, Olivia gave her son the biggest, longest hug, and then she said, "Oh George, you'll never know how happy you and Louise have made me."
"What are they?" Jenny excitedly asked. "Did you and Mrs. Jefferson have two boys or two girls or one of each?"
"We had a little boy and a little girl. One of each," George answered.
"Have you decided yet what you're going to name them?" asked Helen.
"Yeah, we've got names picked out," said George. "See, Weezy told me a little while back that she had a feeling that she was carryin' twins, so we had a lot of names picked out."
"Well what are their names?!" Florence asked impatiently.
"Yes, Mr. J., tell us," Bentley insisted.
"Our son's name is William Lionel Jefferson," George told them. They were naming him William after George's deceased father, and obviously, they were also naming him after Lionel.
"Oh George, that's wonderful. That's so wonderful," said Olivia, who was now crying tears of joy. "William would have loved that. And so would Lionel."
"Yes, he would," Jenny agreed. "Lionel would be so proud to know that he's got a little brother named after him."
"And he's got a little sister, too," Tom reminded everyone.
"Oh yes, George, what's your daughter's name?" asked Helen.
George smiled with pride as he answered, "Our daughter's name is Hannah Louise Jefferson."
"Aw, you named your little girl after Ms. Jefferson. That's so sweet," said Florence.
"Hannah is a lovely name also," Tom added.
"When me and Weezy were talkin' about it a few weeks ago, Weezy said that if we had a girl, she wanted to name her Hannah after the prophet Samuel's mother Hannah in the Bible. You all know Hannah's story, right? She was heartbroken because she wasn't able to get pregnant for years while her husband's other wife, who had children of her own, tormented her. Hannah prayed to the Lord, promising Him that if He would give her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life, and that's what happened. The Lord blessed Hannah with a son, Samuel, and after Samuel was weaned, Hannah took Samuel to the tabernacle in Shiloh and presented him to Eli the priest. Samuel served the Lord all his life; he became a judge and a prophet; he even went on to become the spiritual leader of Israel, and he anointed Israel's first two kings, King Saul and King David. And things went well for his mother Hannah, too. After Hannah brought Samuel to serve in the tabernacle, the Lord blessed her with three more sons after Samuel, and with two daughters. Weezy said that she didn't know why, but for some reason, it just wasn't the Lord's will for her to get pregnant again all those years after we had Lionel. Well, as you guys know, we did get pregnant once when Lionel was ten, but we lost that baby, and after that, we never were able to get pregnant again until now. And Weezy said that because she sensed that it was twins; because God is now blessin' us with two babies after goin' through so many years of infertility, she feels like Hannah. And since God is blessin' us with two babies after us being infertile for so long, just like Hannah did with Samuel, Weezy's promised the Lord that she'll give our babies back to Him for the rest of their lives."
"Oh, that's wonderful," Florence said kindly. "You know, Mr. Jefferson, I'm so happy for you and Ms. Jefferson."
"Thank you, Florence."
"Was it your idea to name your daughter after Louise?" asked Tom.
"It sure was," George replied with a smile. "Weezy wanted to name her Hannah, and it was my idea for her middle name to be Louise. I mean, ever since the car wreck, Weezy's been through so much. Losing Lionel was horrific for both of us, but I think it was even harder on Weezy than it was on me in some ways. Then the epilepsy. And goin' through a pregnancy with twins and givin' birth to twins at her age certainly wasn't easy. The way I see it, nobody deserves a namesake more than Louise does."
"Aw, Mr. Jefferson, that's so sweet," said Jenny.
"It certainly is," Bentley agreed.
"You know, whenever the pastor at our church talks about the story of Hannah and the prophet Samuel," said Mrs. Jefferson, "he says that he thinks it might be that the reason why the Lord closed up Hannah's womb all those years before was because He wanted to bring Hannah to a place where she would be willing to dedicate her son wholly to the Lord's service, so that He could do all the great things through the prophet Samuel that He wanted to do. It might be that God allowed you and Louise to suffer all those years of infertility, all those years of longing for another child that you weren't able to have, precisely to bring you and Louise to a point where you'd both be willing to dedicate your children completely to the service of God all their lives, just as Hannah did with Samuel."
"You know what, Mama? You may be onto something," said George.
Mrs. Jefferson then took a couple of steps closer to her son, looked into his face, and told him, "God has big plans for these children, George. Wonderful plans. I know it. And I don't believe God's blessings on you and Louise are going to end with William and Hannah. God often goes beyond His children's biggest hopes and expectations. Hannah only asked God to give her one son, and in the end, He gave her four sons and two daughters. Jesus knows how you and Louise have always dreamed of having three children, and I firmly believe He's going to make that dream come true."
"But Mama, we already have four children. We've got Lionel and the baby we lost in heaven, and we've got William and Hannah here on earth."
"I know that Lionel and your other baby are in heaven, George. But you remember that dream I had where Jesus told me to tell you and Louise not to give up on your dreams of having three children?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"When He talked to me in my dream about you and Louise having three children, He didn't mean that you would have one child down here on earth and two children in heaven. He strongly impressed it upon my heart that you and Louise would have three children here on earth, in addition to having Lionel and your other baby in heaven. I know that you and Louise are so thrilled to have William and Hannah, and so am I. I can't wait to see my new grandbabies. But God isn't done blessing you and Louise yet, George. He's going to bless you two with another baby in the future. Mark my words."
George smiled and said, "I believe you, Mama. I believe you."
"Well anyway, speaking of seeing the babies, can we go see Louise and the babies now?" asked Helen.
"Oh yes, George, can we?" asked Mrs. Jefferson.
George smiled again and told them, "Of course we can, but the doctor says we can't stay for long. Weezy needs to rest."
"We won't be long, Mr. Jefferson," Jenny assured him, and then George took them all back to Louise's hospital room where they enjoyed a short visit with Louise and with Baby William and Baby Hannah. Naturally, they all fell in love with the babies the instant they saw them, just as Louise and George had. Whether Olivia's prediction about a third baby was true or not had yet to be seen, but one thing was definitely true now: William and Hannah Jefferson were two very blessed babies, born into a family who loved them more than any other family ever could.