Chapter 3: Twins

The first weeks alone at home with the babies were hard for Diane and Carol but also filled with so much love and excitement that they soon forgot how many hours of sleep they had missed the night before.

Carol and Diane saw each other as often as they managed and talked about what was happening. Danny had been the sweetest big brother he could be. He always came and asked Carol if he could help or if Piper needed anything. Carol was happy that he wasn't upset about not being the only one to have her attention. Before Piper was born they had talked to him about it, trying to get him to understand what it meant to be a big brother and that there soon would be a small baby there and it didn't mean they loved him less when the parents were busy taking care of his sister who just needed more care and attention during her first weeks and months on this planet. Carol and Bill had thought that maybe it'd be hard for him but Danny was so cool about it and acted like he was a big kid already with his nearly five years.

Both women were fascinated with the fact how fast the girls grew bigger and discovered their surroundings. Unfortunately soon Diane's break from work was over and she had to go back to work. It was so hard for her leaving Alex for the time she had to work. Carol offered her, as she was at home with her baby anyway to take care of Alex along with Piper. Jokingly she said it would be as if she had twins only that she could give one back after a while, a fact she was happy about because for longer it meant so much more work considering she also had a four year old to take care of. Diane was very grateful for her friends help, she had no idea how she could have done it to work and somehow take care of Alex without Carol offering to take her as long as she was working.

When they were close to four months Diane and Carol decided to take the girls to a baby swim course where they discovered that Alex as well as Piper loved water. They could see how happy they were while splashing the water. One time Alex threw both her hands flat on the water causing quite a big splash and Piper got surprised by the sudden hit of water in her face and was startled for a second, but soon she recovered, giggled and did the same. Carol and Diane loved seeing their daughters having so much fun. It was a weekly course and the women enjoyed the fun time with their girls but also talking about their everyday.

One evening they were at Carol's house sitting in the living room talking and watching a movie. The girls were lying on a playmat next to each other and both awake. They were lying there piecefully, chortling every now and then. Alex was busy discovering her foot while Piper looked into the air as if to try to find out what was going on. Carol and Diane were invested in their talk but heard Piper getting upset and not yet crying but close to do so. When Carol checked what upset Piper she couldn't find anything. She had her pacifier in her mouth still, she had been feeding her just recently so she couldn't be hungry and her diaper smelled just fine, so she didn't need to change that either. She figured it was something small as Piper calmed down a little as she took her from the mat. As soon as she put her back down though she started to stir again. Alex had turned to her side to face Piper before all that happened and looked at her curiously. She didn't have her pacifier anymore, it was lying next to her, but it seemed as if she didn't mind. Piper would have screamed as soon as she lost it. To test, Carol gave Alex her pacifier back. As soon as it was back in her mouth Piper calmed down and went back to her happy, giddy place from before.

"Did you find out why Piper was upset?" Diane asked returning from the toilet. She had followed the whole routine from pacifier to diaper check on the way to the toilet.

"Yeah. Obviously she was upset because Alex had lost her pacifier. Piper can't go without it. She is completely upset when she looses hers but Alex didn't mind about not having it. But obviously Piper didn't like that Alex had lost it." Carol said amused.

"Oh wow. Look at you Piper. Looking out for your friend already. How nice." Diane said to Piper and laughed.

Soon both girls fell asleep and Diane and Carol kept talking.

"Have you heard anything from Lee at all?" Carol asked Diane.

"No. I haven't spoken to him since I told him I was pregnant and I honestly don't see that changing any time soon. I'm not sure if I even want that to change. I mean, yes, Alex deserves to know who her father is, but I also don't want her to have anything to do with that asshole." Diane replied.

"You regret that he's the father, don't you?" Carol went on.

"Yes, and no. I don't regret having Alex. I mean look at her. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"That's your motherly hormones speaking, they make you love her. But how can you not love something so cute and small and innocent." Carol interrupted her laughingly.

"As if you don't feel the same!" Diane replied in mocked hurt. "Anyway. I love her and don't regret having her for one second. But I really wish it wasn't that asshole to be her father. She deserves someone better. Someone who is there for her. Who is her dad and takes care of her." Diane said, feeling a lump build in her throat. Her eyes filled with water. "But instead I had to choose this loser to hang out with and got myself pregnant."

"Hey. I know it's hard. But you can't change it now can you?" Carol said trying to calm her friend.

"No. I know that but still I want Alex to have a normal family and I'm not sure if that's going to happen." Diane said.

"I know. But you can't change people and do you think you'd be happy living here with Lee?" Carol wanted to know.

"If I'm honest, I don't think so. Being with the band and Lee was exciting when they were travelling and I'd probably be thinking of him as less of an ass if he hadn't abandoned Alex. But I'm not sure if I'd be happy with him. But still I feel bad for her not having her father around." Diane explained.

"I get that. It's completely okay to feel like this. But maybe you can find someone who will be a good stepdad?" Carol suggested.

"When am I supposed to do this? I don't really have time to go on dates. My life currently consists of work, being with Alex or sleep. And I don't want to cut any of this shorter. I already miss enough time with Alex when I'm working. And I want to use the time that I've got to be a good mother to her. Besides, who would date a single mother and know they'll always be on spot two of my list of priorities, because I'm raising another man's child?" Diane said.

"But to be a good mother you also have to be happy yourself. It's not good for you or Alex if you're not happy. And you are a great woman. Anyone who would get to date you would be lucky. And if they can't oversee the fact that you've got a daughter they're not worth your time." Carol explained.

"Thank you for saying that. And I am happy with my life. Maybe someday I'll go look for a man but at the moment I'm content with how things are. I want to have as much time for my baby as possible." Diane told her. "Besides I don't want just anyone. Alex deserves to have someone good to be her possible stepdad. So I'll need to find someone good."

"Okay. Whenever you're ready. And you know me and Bill will always be here for you. If you need a babysitter or someone to talk to you can always come to us." Carol offered.

"I know I can count on you. Thank you. I am so grateful for what you do for me already. I actually don't know what I'd do without you, Carol." Diane needed to let her know.

"Oh it's nothing." Carol replied with feigned modesty. "I'm sure you'd do the same if the tables were turned around."

"Damn sure I would." Diane gave back and laughed.

They kept talking until they nearly fell asleep on the couch. Carol offered Diane to stay over in the guestroom so she didn't have to go home with a sleeping Alex in the middle of the night. Diane took the offer happily and picked Alex up from where she was sleeping on the play mat and went to bed.

The next weeks flew by quickly. The developed a routine that worked well for everyone. Diane would drop off Alex before work and pick her up after and keep Carol updated about her shift plan so that she could prepare for Diane bringing Alex. Diane made Carol promise to tell her as soon as possible if she couldn't do it anymore or there was a problem. She appreciated a lot what her friend did for her by taking care of her baby but she didn't want Carol to be stressed or feel like she couldn't be there for Piper as much as she wanted to because she was taking care of her kid too.

It was a normal day and Diane had a normal evening shift. Alex and Piper were about six months old and everything was going how they planned to. Diane was still working at the diner she started at months before Alex's birth.

"Diane?" her boss called her when she arrived for her shift.

"Yes, Mr. Sensman?" Diane replied and walked toward him.

"I wanted to thank you for your work over the last year. If you didn't forget today a year ago you started here and to be honest I first wasn't sure if I made the right decision by hiring you when you told us in your interview that you were pregnant. But I haven't regretted that decision so far and am happy to have you here. Over the last year you've proven that I can count on you and are a reliable employee more than other waiters here who don't have to deal with work and being a single mother at the same time. So, as I am proud to have you here and thank you for everything I decided to give you a couple days off. I talked to the rest of the staff and they'll be covering your shift for the rest of the week. So you've got off until next Monday." Mr. Sensman told her.

Diane was speechless. She hadn't noticed it had already been a year. "Uh, thank you. It's only Monday! That's four whole days!"

"I know." her boss laughed at her disbelief.

"Oh my. Thank you so much Mr. Sensman!" Diane gave him the widest smile. Nearly a whole week off! A whole week she could spend completely with her daughter.

"I would have liked to give you today off too but I couldn't find anyone to cover for you today so you'll have to work today." he replied sincerely feeling sorry.

"That's totally fine. You already made me so happy today, I can't believe I'll have the rest of the week off. Thank you so so much, boss." Diane replied feeling excited at the thought of going home today after her shift and having Alex with her until next monday. Most of her shift she was working with a smile on her face infecting everyone with her happiness and good mood.

Two hours before her shift was over she went over to a table where two new customers had just sat down.

"Hi, I'm Diane and you waitress for tonight. Do you already know what… you … want to ...drink?" she rather stuttered out. She hadn't been expecting to see her parents sitting in front of her. Where they here to finally talk to her again after nearly two years of no contact?

"Diane?" the disbelieving look on her mother's face told her that is was an accident they were there that day.

"Hi mom. Hi dad." she quietly greeted them.

"This is a surprise." her dad let out.

"Yeah, for sure." Diane replied.

"How are you doing, honey?" her mother said sounding sincerely interested.

"Good. I mean life could be easier but I am happy." Diane replied. She hadn't told them back when she tried to contact them again after Lee left that she was pregnant so they had no idea that they had a granddaughter. But before Diane told them she wanted to know if they were open to contact again or if they just left again.

"Oh sweetheart. We've been looking for you actually. For a while now. Funny we find you by accident." her father replied.

"You've been trying to find me?" Diane was surprised to say the least. She hadn't expected that.

"Yes. The last time we saw or heard from you was when you were still with that drummer and we are sorry if we were so … " her father was searching for the right words "stubborn and ignoring. He might not be what we imagined for you but you were old enough to make your own decisions. And we are sorry too for rejecting you when you reached out to us couple months ago. We've thought about it a lot and we can't push you away like that. And we tried to find you to tell you we're sorry for how we behaved. If you'll forgive us?"

That was when the tears started flowing down Diane's cheeks. Never since they kicked her out had she thought this day would come.

"I do forgive you. Maybe not fully yet, but some day I think. I'm still a bit mad at you, but I would love if we could stay in contact." Diane offered.

Her mother stood up and hugged her. "Thank you, honey."

"So, uhm. Let me get you something to drink. Otherwise my boss will maybe change his mind about me being so reliable and giving me the next four days off." she laughed still with tears in her eyes.

"Oh okay." her mother shortly replied and her parents told her what they wanted.

The rest of the evening she kept checking in on them and they chatted a little but Diane also had other tables to tend to. She still hadn't told her parents about her daughter, she was scared what they would think that she was a single mother. She had told them that she wasn't with Lee anymore and the band had moved on. It was shortly before her shift ended that her parents were done with their dinner and were about to leave.

"How long do you still have to work?" her mother wanted to know.

"Oh just another fifteen minutes." she answered.

"That's nice. If you don't mind we would wait until you finish and - I don't want to go too far - accompany you for a bit. I just want to keep talking to you. I want to know what's going on with your life now. If you let us. We understand if you're not ready for this." her mother told her.

"No. It's okay. I mean… I would like that." Diane was happy that her parents were finally back and made the effort to show her they still cared. But that also meant she'd have to tell them about Alex soon as she was picking her up after her shift.

Her mother smiled widely. "Thank you, Diane."

"Okay. Ready to leave?" Diane asked her parents couple minutes later when she was leaving. She had thanked Mr. Sensman again for giving her off and made her way to the door.

"Sure." they replied. Diane had made the decision in the last couple minutes not to tell them yet but to just bring them to Carols and introduce them to Alex so they could fall in love with her little baby girl as she did and not be so angry at her for not telling them yet or be upset for getting herself pregnant by that idiot.

As they stood in front of the Chapman's house Diane got really nervous.

"Is this where you live?" her father replied surprised.

"Uhm, no. Carol lives here with her husband and kids, we're just here to pick someone up." she replied and got her keys out. Carol had given them to her so she could let herself in, in order not to wake the kids if they were sleeping when she came to pick up Alex.

"Hi Diane." Carol greeted her when she noticed her friend arriving. Then she stopped in her tracks as she saw Diane's parents behind her. "Hi, Eva, John. I'm surprised, I have to say."

"Hello Carol. It's nice to see you two are still friends." Eva Vause greeted her. In the meanwhile Diane had picked Alex up from the play mat where she and Piper were lying on. A little anxious she went back to the hall where her parents and Carol were still chatting. Luckily Alex was in a good mood and smiling widely. It was her mother's eyes who first met hers and then Alex's. She immediately noticed her daughters eyes looking at her from the baby and made the connection immediately. A little shocked she stood there and waited for Diane to say something.

"Mom? Dad? I want you to meet Alex. Your granddaughter. We are here to pick her up as Carol is so kind to watch her while I am at work." Diane quietly introduced her daughter to her parents.

"Oh, wow. You've got a daughter?" her dad said surprised.

"Yes dad. She is amazing. She is a little sunshine and the best thing that happened to me." Diane smiled at them and then looked lovingly at Alex.

"Wow. How old is she?" her mother wanted to know.

"Six months now." Diane replied. Carol left the room as in the background they could her Piper screaming obviously being upset about being alone now. Her parents looked questioningly. When Carol came back Piper seemed to calm down when she saw Alex.

"Oh, you missed your best friend, didn't you?!" Diane said laughingly to Piper.

Carol said to the still a little confused Vauses: "This is Piper. My little girl. She and Alex are just two weeks apart and already best friends. I take care of the two while Diane here needs to work. Piper always get a little cranky when Diane picks Alex up. They're so used to being around each other."

"Can I hold her?" her mother asked cautiously turned to Diane.

"Sure." Diane was happy that they seemed to not be too upset. Her plan had worked, but of course the serious talk could still come later. Overall they were pretty surprised to meet their granddaughter they didn't know they had. She handed Alex over to her mother. Alex looked a bit surprised but soon gave her grandma the widest smile she had in store so far. Diane could already see her parents falling for her little girl. She didn't know what it was about Alex but everyone was head over heels for her as soon as they saw her and she smiled at them.

From this first meeting on her parents tried to be involved as possible. Of course they weren't happy when Diane told them that Alex was Lee's child and that he left as soon as she told him she was expecting a child but they tried to help her daughter as much as they could. They'd also take Alex during her shift and split the time with Carol so Alex would spent half of the week with her grandparents and the other half with Carol and Piper. Diane's parents were absolutely doting with their grandchild and Diane slowly got worried if Alex soon would be spoiled too much. But she also loved that Alex now had more family than just her mother.

The next months flew by and the two girls turned a year old. As their birthdays were so close together they celebrated them together. Both girls looking very cute with their little dresses and the first teeth showing in the front.