March - May 1956
March 1, 3am I sat by the phone. I didn't mind if it was 3am though, I was awaiting the call that Max and Soon-Lee's baby had arrived in the world. Max had rung earlier and I'd had a big calming talk to Soon-Lee before they'd left for hospital.
"Damn!" I swore as I pricked my finger and it throbbed painfully. I sucked it for a second while the pain subsided, then picked up Hawkeye's shirt and continued reattaching the button that Felicity had pulled off earlier in the day. Hawkeye was away at the night shift in the ER at Portland, but his shift finished at three, and I knew that he'd be home in about half an hour. The phone rang shrilly and I grabbed it before it woke up Daniel or my three kids.
"Max, is he here?" We'd assumed the baby was a boy, as both Max and Soon- Lee wanted a boy as their firstborn.
"Maxwell Quimby Klinger Junior is here! He was born about half an hour ago." Max's voice was obviously bursting with pride.
"Congratulations! How's Soon-Lee?"
"Tired, but otherwise fine. He's a big boy 8 pounds 10, and he has her nose!"
"Thank heavens for that! I'd better go, Hawkeye just got off his shift and he rings occasionally, so I'd better keep the line free. Congratulations again, send my love to Soon-Lee." I barely had time to put the phone down and finish sewing before the phone rang, smiling I picked it up.
"Yes Hawkeye?" He often rang to let me know he'd be home, or that he'd be late.
"Annabelle, this is Nurse Charlotte O'Connor from the Surgical Ward in Portland General, are you able to come down here immediately?" I knew Charlotte pretty well, she was friends with Mimi.
"Charlotte, I can be there in about twenty minutes why?" It took half an hour by day, but at night, with clear roads I could drive faster.
"Your husband. . ."
"What's wrong Char, is he okay?" I was worried immediately.
"Annie, he's fine he's currently in theatre, and he's requesting that you assist him, we have had a patient come in who's been very badly injured, says you know how to handle these things."
"Can I talk to him?" I had to find out what was going on.
"Yes, but please hurry." I heard her calling Hawkeye.
"Annie, can you come down? I really need your help, Margaret is on her way."
"Sure Hawk, what am I dealing with?"
"Bar brawl, someone pulled a gun, shot three times in the abdomen, also looks like there's a window worth of glass shards in there, we're trying to get him stable, I don't want to touch him until I have you two with me. Margaret will be here first and we'll start as soon as she's scrubbed, but she agrees to wait until you're in. "
"Can he wait?" It sounded pretty serious.
"Yeah but not too long, hurry okay?"
"Sure!" I slammed the phone down and ran into Daniel's room. I woke him and let him know that I was going, then I jumped in his car and hurried to the hospital in record time, 17 minutes.
"Right this way, you scrub here." I was shown into the room, where I threw scrubs over my clothes. It wasn't worth wrestling with my nearly seven- month bulge to take my clothes off. I scrubbed my hands and joined Hawkeye and Margaret in OR. Other nurses and doctors were observing the well-oiled pair as it became a trio.
"Okay, I see where we're at." In half a second I'd joined them and we were working, nearly fighting to save his life. He had been very badly wounded, and his blood pressure was dangerously low.
"Come on Hawk, I hate to tell you, but we've got to close that perforation really soon, I know there's more glass in there, but his pressure's been dropping almost steadily since we started and that bleeding isn't helping." I warned.
"I know, we've got to do this, just be glad it's only his abdomen, if it were his chest cavity we'd be in trouble. And to think I left Korea to get away from this kind of shit." He muttered.
"Calm down honey," I whispered, leaning against him momentarily in a comforting gesture. He relaxed slightly.
"Doctor, his blood pressure's dropping further." Charlotte warned.
"Shit! Come on, Margaret, hurry up! Suction, there's more glass in there and I need to see if it's in the liver." Hawkeye snapped, as Margaret tried to clear the blood.
"I can't find a pulse!" Charlotte broke in as we began working frantically to find the jagged glass and stop the bleeding. However, the glass was causing the bleeding and we couldn't get the glass out.
"Okay, I'll pump his chest, get me 10cc of adrenalin stat!" We began trying to resuscitate him.
"Doctor, he's gone." Charlotte said. "You tried your hardest."
"I did not hear you say that!" Hawkeye said determinedly, still thumping on his chest, trying to make him live.
"Babe, he's gone, call it." I took Hawkeye's hands off the patient, holding them firmly, trying to steady him.
"Dammit! I did not come back here to loose patients!" Hawkeye shouted.
"Hawkeye, he's gone, you tried your hardest, now call it!" I said firmly, taking Hawkeye's gloved hands in my own, and looking him right in the eyes.
"Time of death. . ." He took a deep breath and looked at the clock. "4.03am Thursday March 1 1956." He began to cry then, those hysteric, broken sobs that not one member of the 4077 could say they hadn't cried.
"I know Ben dear, it hurts to loose, and I thought this kind of crap would go away when we were back at home. I was wrong, but it's not the end of the world. I still have you, and I still have Ben, Felicity and April, and I still have Baby, feel that." Baby had begun to kick at the right moment and I put Hawkeye's hand over the small fluttery movement. He caressed the tiny fragile life.
"I still have you and the kids, and my Dad, but I hate it, this is supposed to be a war-free country."
"Remember what Henry said, rule one, young men die. Rule two, doctors can't change rule one. Sweetheart rule one just happened, and you can't break rule two, it's just not possible."
"Is there a rule three?" Hawkeye asked, his eyes, that were a sorrowful steel grey, desperate for some consolation, searching for an answer, a glimmer of hope in a dark place.
"I don't know, I guess so, even with rule one, and rule two, people still feel love." I said.
"Thank god for that." Hawkeye said, pulling down his mask. "And god, I love you." He kissed me firmly, almost fiercely, holding me tight. "Don't ever, ever go away from me, I need you too much."
"Don't worry Ben darling, I love you so much, I'd never leave. Come on, let's get out of these vile gowns." We changed, and I drove us home. Hawkeye caught a bus to work and a cab back as he was often too tired to drive.
Hawkeye was still hurting, but settled once we were at home. He was clinging to me tightly, refusing to let go, not wanting me out of his arms, and somehow even with Baby in the way, we made love. It lasted ages, and not only left me incredibly satisfied, but comforted Hawkeye and let him know how much I loved him, so he was able to sleep, his head lying just over my left breast, his lips resting lightly on my pale skin and his hand curled over my belly feeling Baby move, disturbed by the adrenaline flowing in my body.
Hawkeye and I expecting neither the 3am surgery nor the half past four sex, slept late, Daniel sorting the kids' breakfast so Hawkeye and I could sleep.
"Annie, Hawkeye, wake up, I've got to go to work, I can't mind the kids much longer." Daniel called, coming into our room. I opened my eyes, Hawkeye's head was still lying on my chest.
"I'll get him Dad, thanks for letting us stay in." I yawned, before waking Hawkeye by sitting up gently. Slowly we stretched, yawned and got up, heading downstairs for breakfast.
"What happened last night?" All I knew was that Annie was leaving in a hurry?" We filled Daniel in, the words coming slowly and painfully. It had really hurt to loose, as we'd come back from Korea hoping to deal with regular injuries, and normal operations.
"I'm sorry kids, I really am." Daniel paused to hug us both tightly. We hugged him back and he left for work. Hawkeye started later when he had night shift.
"Come on, mummy and daddy need a shower." I picked up April, and Hawkeye took a twin by each hand. We went upstairs into our room.
"You want to go first?" I asked, Hawkeye nodded, taking off his robe and getting in the shower while I watched the kids, keeping them busy with songs and games. April was a bit too little to understand all of them yet, but did very well with the little songs she knew best.
"Anne, I'm out but would you take a look at this?" He'd wrapped a towel around his waist and showed me his chest. Fine red scratches marred the smooth skin on his chest, close together in groups of five.
I laughed, and ran my hand over them gently. He flinched and I dropped my head to kiss away the pain. "Sorry babe, I guess I should file my nails. Though you can't complain." I pulled down the neckline of my robe, and showed him the hickey that had turned into a bit more. Somehow in the middle of it, he'd been bumped or startled and had bitten, leaving such an impression, no one would have any trouble telling the culprit.
"Love scars, fact of life, see this one here. . ." I stopped listening and headed for the shower while Hawkeye dressed and kept the kids busy.
"We'll walk you to work." I decided, putting April in her pram. Now that the twins could walk short distances I could have one on each side, and let my belly rest on the handle of the pram and push it as I walked.
"Say bye-bye to Hawkeye, Angel-face." April was nicknamed Angel-features at birth by Margaret, and it had stuck, but became Angel-face or Angel-eyes on occasions.
Hawkeye lifted the 10mo girl from the pram and kissed her, telling her to be good. She babbled cheerfully at him, her blue eyes wide. Felicity and Ben were in back of the clinic being given a drink by the receptionist Rose, and were brought back out, munching a biscuit each.
"You spoil them Rose!" I smiled. Her green eyes twinkled and she went back inside as Hawkeye said goodbye to his children.
"Let's go!" I said goodbye to Hawkeye and began to walk back. I stopped at the park, so the twins could have a play and after a lot of fun, we began to walk back, tired and hungry.
"Here we are babies!" I let the twins' hands go as we reached the front gate, I opened it and realised with a start that there was a car in the driveway.
"Charlie! I completely forgot you were coming, I'm so sorry, have you been waiting long?" Charles normally drove up on Friday morning and stayed until Sunday, but he was coming a day earlier to spend more time with us.
"Only five minutes, hello Angel-eyes, you look just like Honoria, yes, oh you're so big!" I rolled my eyes, Charles sounded positively pathetic when he talked to April, but it was good to hear him talk that way, it showed how much he loved her.
"See if you can get her to walk, she's been taking a few tiny steps with my help." I suggested, setting the twins on the living room floor with a pile of blocks. "I'm going to get the kids some lunch." I explained, as Charles helped his daughter to her feet and encouraged her to take a little step or two.
"She's doing brilliantly I notice." Charles smiled as I spooned some more mashed potato into April's mouth.
"She is well, now that the teething terrors are over with." She'd been horribly cranky and dribbly for a few weeks, but the teeth had come and there were three little pearly teeth in her wide grin. "The only thing I'm worried about is April feeling put out when Baby arrives."
"How did the twins manage?" Charles asked.
"Well, they knew the bump meant Mama was having a Baba, and then there was that crash, and when Mama came home there was Baba too. They just didn't mind, but April is so attached to me, she can't have her nap unless I rock her and put her in her crib."
"I'm sure you'll manage fine. You're a very capable woman Annie." Charles smiled.
"Thanks! Oh, my beautiful Angel-features, you're a mess! We'll have a bottle and then a nap okay?" I wiped her face and then settled her with a bottle of milk. I always rocked my children to sleep before naptime, I enjoyed the special moment of peace, just my baby and me.
"May I put her down?" Charles queried as the bottle was empty and her eyes had closed firmly.
"She'll wake in about five minutes and yell the place down if you do I suspect, but you can try, she's pretty fond of you." April adored Charles and I handed the sleeping baby over.
"Sleep well, be happy." I kissed her and began working on getting the twins settled. When Charles returned I was cosily tucked on the sofa with Ben and Felicity snuggled against me. We chatted for a little bit, and once the twins were asleep he helped me by carrying Ben upstairs and settling him in his crib.
"It's amazing, April hasn't stirred." I peeked briefly into her room, she was lying on her back in her crib, sound asleep. Charles smiled proudly as I closed the door. "Come on let's get lunch."
"It was great seeing you again," I waved as Charles drove away. Hawkeye and the twins were playing on the porch and April was in my arms.
"Well Angel-eyes," April looked up at me, her long soft eyelashes rimming her clear blue eyes, "Next time you see your daddy, you're going to be a year old." Charles was postponing his next visit until April's 1st birthday. I smiled as my daughter leaned into my chest and carried her into the house.
"Hawkeye, what are we going to do? Once Baby is four months old, he won't fit in the bassinette anymore, and the twins will be too small for proper beds, are we going to have to buy another crib?" He'd just put April down for a sleep. She'd become much more relaxed about who put her to bed, as long as they held her and rocked her.
"We'll work things out, and I think by October, the twins will be okay if we get a bed with sides, it's miles away, what we have to worry about right now is Baby." It was the middle of May, and in two or so weeks, I was going to be a mother again.
"I think we have to focus on BJ and Peggy too." I said. BJ and Peggy were coming in a week, and staying until the 12th, although we were both expecting around that time, we knew if either of us went into labour, we'd be just fine.
"True, where's Dad?" Hawkeye said.
"In the attic, I'm not sure why."
"Hawkeye! Look what I found!" Hawkeye and I ran up into the unfinished attic. Daniel was holding a large, brightly coloured quilt, tears glistening in his eyes.
"Mum's quilt!" Hawkeye took it and held it close as though it was something precious. "She made this when I was born. It was big so it would fit on any bed I ever had."
"Wow." I was holding the edge of it, admiring Katharine's beautiful neat patchwork.
"I slept with it ever since I was five, it's been through so much with me, I lost my virginity under this thing."
"Yuk!" I let it go. Hawkeye laughed.
"It's been washed, I put it away when I went to Korea, but can we put it on our bed now?"
"Of course!" I agreed. It was beautiful, and it had so many memories I couldn't refuse.
"Well, can you give me a hand here?" Daniel asked, Hawkeye set the blanket aside and we both started to help.
"BJ! Peggy! Over here!" We met them at Portland airport. BJ had me in his arms and swinging me around despite my bulge. He kissed me, which was now our standard greeting, as he put me down.
"You look great! Oh, and hasn't my baby grown? Amy-Jane, you're just beautiful, oh look at you!" The little blonde toddler chuckled as I cuddled her warmly. We laughed and headed out of the airport, it was going to be a great visit.
March 1, 3am I sat by the phone. I didn't mind if it was 3am though, I was awaiting the call that Max and Soon-Lee's baby had arrived in the world. Max had rung earlier and I'd had a big calming talk to Soon-Lee before they'd left for hospital.
"Damn!" I swore as I pricked my finger and it throbbed painfully. I sucked it for a second while the pain subsided, then picked up Hawkeye's shirt and continued reattaching the button that Felicity had pulled off earlier in the day. Hawkeye was away at the night shift in the ER at Portland, but his shift finished at three, and I knew that he'd be home in about half an hour. The phone rang shrilly and I grabbed it before it woke up Daniel or my three kids.
"Max, is he here?" We'd assumed the baby was a boy, as both Max and Soon- Lee wanted a boy as their firstborn.
"Maxwell Quimby Klinger Junior is here! He was born about half an hour ago." Max's voice was obviously bursting with pride.
"Congratulations! How's Soon-Lee?"
"Tired, but otherwise fine. He's a big boy 8 pounds 10, and he has her nose!"
"Thank heavens for that! I'd better go, Hawkeye just got off his shift and he rings occasionally, so I'd better keep the line free. Congratulations again, send my love to Soon-Lee." I barely had time to put the phone down and finish sewing before the phone rang, smiling I picked it up.
"Yes Hawkeye?" He often rang to let me know he'd be home, or that he'd be late.
"Annabelle, this is Nurse Charlotte O'Connor from the Surgical Ward in Portland General, are you able to come down here immediately?" I knew Charlotte pretty well, she was friends with Mimi.
"Charlotte, I can be there in about twenty minutes why?" It took half an hour by day, but at night, with clear roads I could drive faster.
"Your husband. . ."
"What's wrong Char, is he okay?" I was worried immediately.
"Annie, he's fine he's currently in theatre, and he's requesting that you assist him, we have had a patient come in who's been very badly injured, says you know how to handle these things."
"Can I talk to him?" I had to find out what was going on.
"Yes, but please hurry." I heard her calling Hawkeye.
"Annie, can you come down? I really need your help, Margaret is on her way."
"Sure Hawk, what am I dealing with?"
"Bar brawl, someone pulled a gun, shot three times in the abdomen, also looks like there's a window worth of glass shards in there, we're trying to get him stable, I don't want to touch him until I have you two with me. Margaret will be here first and we'll start as soon as she's scrubbed, but she agrees to wait until you're in. "
"Can he wait?" It sounded pretty serious.
"Yeah but not too long, hurry okay?"
"Sure!" I slammed the phone down and ran into Daniel's room. I woke him and let him know that I was going, then I jumped in his car and hurried to the hospital in record time, 17 minutes.
"Right this way, you scrub here." I was shown into the room, where I threw scrubs over my clothes. It wasn't worth wrestling with my nearly seven- month bulge to take my clothes off. I scrubbed my hands and joined Hawkeye and Margaret in OR. Other nurses and doctors were observing the well-oiled pair as it became a trio.
"Okay, I see where we're at." In half a second I'd joined them and we were working, nearly fighting to save his life. He had been very badly wounded, and his blood pressure was dangerously low.
"Come on Hawk, I hate to tell you, but we've got to close that perforation really soon, I know there's more glass in there, but his pressure's been dropping almost steadily since we started and that bleeding isn't helping." I warned.
"I know, we've got to do this, just be glad it's only his abdomen, if it were his chest cavity we'd be in trouble. And to think I left Korea to get away from this kind of shit." He muttered.
"Calm down honey," I whispered, leaning against him momentarily in a comforting gesture. He relaxed slightly.
"Doctor, his blood pressure's dropping further." Charlotte warned.
"Shit! Come on, Margaret, hurry up! Suction, there's more glass in there and I need to see if it's in the liver." Hawkeye snapped, as Margaret tried to clear the blood.
"I can't find a pulse!" Charlotte broke in as we began working frantically to find the jagged glass and stop the bleeding. However, the glass was causing the bleeding and we couldn't get the glass out.
"Okay, I'll pump his chest, get me 10cc of adrenalin stat!" We began trying to resuscitate him.
"Doctor, he's gone." Charlotte said. "You tried your hardest."
"I did not hear you say that!" Hawkeye said determinedly, still thumping on his chest, trying to make him live.
"Babe, he's gone, call it." I took Hawkeye's hands off the patient, holding them firmly, trying to steady him.
"Dammit! I did not come back here to loose patients!" Hawkeye shouted.
"Hawkeye, he's gone, you tried your hardest, now call it!" I said firmly, taking Hawkeye's gloved hands in my own, and looking him right in the eyes.
"Time of death. . ." He took a deep breath and looked at the clock. "4.03am Thursday March 1 1956." He began to cry then, those hysteric, broken sobs that not one member of the 4077 could say they hadn't cried.
"I know Ben dear, it hurts to loose, and I thought this kind of crap would go away when we were back at home. I was wrong, but it's not the end of the world. I still have you, and I still have Ben, Felicity and April, and I still have Baby, feel that." Baby had begun to kick at the right moment and I put Hawkeye's hand over the small fluttery movement. He caressed the tiny fragile life.
"I still have you and the kids, and my Dad, but I hate it, this is supposed to be a war-free country."
"Remember what Henry said, rule one, young men die. Rule two, doctors can't change rule one. Sweetheart rule one just happened, and you can't break rule two, it's just not possible."
"Is there a rule three?" Hawkeye asked, his eyes, that were a sorrowful steel grey, desperate for some consolation, searching for an answer, a glimmer of hope in a dark place.
"I don't know, I guess so, even with rule one, and rule two, people still feel love." I said.
"Thank god for that." Hawkeye said, pulling down his mask. "And god, I love you." He kissed me firmly, almost fiercely, holding me tight. "Don't ever, ever go away from me, I need you too much."
"Don't worry Ben darling, I love you so much, I'd never leave. Come on, let's get out of these vile gowns." We changed, and I drove us home. Hawkeye caught a bus to work and a cab back as he was often too tired to drive.
Hawkeye was still hurting, but settled once we were at home. He was clinging to me tightly, refusing to let go, not wanting me out of his arms, and somehow even with Baby in the way, we made love. It lasted ages, and not only left me incredibly satisfied, but comforted Hawkeye and let him know how much I loved him, so he was able to sleep, his head lying just over my left breast, his lips resting lightly on my pale skin and his hand curled over my belly feeling Baby move, disturbed by the adrenaline flowing in my body.
Hawkeye and I expecting neither the 3am surgery nor the half past four sex, slept late, Daniel sorting the kids' breakfast so Hawkeye and I could sleep.
"Annie, Hawkeye, wake up, I've got to go to work, I can't mind the kids much longer." Daniel called, coming into our room. I opened my eyes, Hawkeye's head was still lying on my chest.
"I'll get him Dad, thanks for letting us stay in." I yawned, before waking Hawkeye by sitting up gently. Slowly we stretched, yawned and got up, heading downstairs for breakfast.
"What happened last night?" All I knew was that Annie was leaving in a hurry?" We filled Daniel in, the words coming slowly and painfully. It had really hurt to loose, as we'd come back from Korea hoping to deal with regular injuries, and normal operations.
"I'm sorry kids, I really am." Daniel paused to hug us both tightly. We hugged him back and he left for work. Hawkeye started later when he had night shift.
"Come on, mummy and daddy need a shower." I picked up April, and Hawkeye took a twin by each hand. We went upstairs into our room.
"You want to go first?" I asked, Hawkeye nodded, taking off his robe and getting in the shower while I watched the kids, keeping them busy with songs and games. April was a bit too little to understand all of them yet, but did very well with the little songs she knew best.
"Anne, I'm out but would you take a look at this?" He'd wrapped a towel around his waist and showed me his chest. Fine red scratches marred the smooth skin on his chest, close together in groups of five.
I laughed, and ran my hand over them gently. He flinched and I dropped my head to kiss away the pain. "Sorry babe, I guess I should file my nails. Though you can't complain." I pulled down the neckline of my robe, and showed him the hickey that had turned into a bit more. Somehow in the middle of it, he'd been bumped or startled and had bitten, leaving such an impression, no one would have any trouble telling the culprit.
"Love scars, fact of life, see this one here. . ." I stopped listening and headed for the shower while Hawkeye dressed and kept the kids busy.
"We'll walk you to work." I decided, putting April in her pram. Now that the twins could walk short distances I could have one on each side, and let my belly rest on the handle of the pram and push it as I walked.
"Say bye-bye to Hawkeye, Angel-face." April was nicknamed Angel-features at birth by Margaret, and it had stuck, but became Angel-face or Angel-eyes on occasions.
Hawkeye lifted the 10mo girl from the pram and kissed her, telling her to be good. She babbled cheerfully at him, her blue eyes wide. Felicity and Ben were in back of the clinic being given a drink by the receptionist Rose, and were brought back out, munching a biscuit each.
"You spoil them Rose!" I smiled. Her green eyes twinkled and she went back inside as Hawkeye said goodbye to his children.
"Let's go!" I said goodbye to Hawkeye and began to walk back. I stopped at the park, so the twins could have a play and after a lot of fun, we began to walk back, tired and hungry.
"Here we are babies!" I let the twins' hands go as we reached the front gate, I opened it and realised with a start that there was a car in the driveway.
"Charlie! I completely forgot you were coming, I'm so sorry, have you been waiting long?" Charles normally drove up on Friday morning and stayed until Sunday, but he was coming a day earlier to spend more time with us.
"Only five minutes, hello Angel-eyes, you look just like Honoria, yes, oh you're so big!" I rolled my eyes, Charles sounded positively pathetic when he talked to April, but it was good to hear him talk that way, it showed how much he loved her.
"See if you can get her to walk, she's been taking a few tiny steps with my help." I suggested, setting the twins on the living room floor with a pile of blocks. "I'm going to get the kids some lunch." I explained, as Charles helped his daughter to her feet and encouraged her to take a little step or two.
"She's doing brilliantly I notice." Charles smiled as I spooned some more mashed potato into April's mouth.
"She is well, now that the teething terrors are over with." She'd been horribly cranky and dribbly for a few weeks, but the teeth had come and there were three little pearly teeth in her wide grin. "The only thing I'm worried about is April feeling put out when Baby arrives."
"How did the twins manage?" Charles asked.
"Well, they knew the bump meant Mama was having a Baba, and then there was that crash, and when Mama came home there was Baba too. They just didn't mind, but April is so attached to me, she can't have her nap unless I rock her and put her in her crib."
"I'm sure you'll manage fine. You're a very capable woman Annie." Charles smiled.
"Thanks! Oh, my beautiful Angel-features, you're a mess! We'll have a bottle and then a nap okay?" I wiped her face and then settled her with a bottle of milk. I always rocked my children to sleep before naptime, I enjoyed the special moment of peace, just my baby and me.
"May I put her down?" Charles queried as the bottle was empty and her eyes had closed firmly.
"She'll wake in about five minutes and yell the place down if you do I suspect, but you can try, she's pretty fond of you." April adored Charles and I handed the sleeping baby over.
"Sleep well, be happy." I kissed her and began working on getting the twins settled. When Charles returned I was cosily tucked on the sofa with Ben and Felicity snuggled against me. We chatted for a little bit, and once the twins were asleep he helped me by carrying Ben upstairs and settling him in his crib.
"It's amazing, April hasn't stirred." I peeked briefly into her room, she was lying on her back in her crib, sound asleep. Charles smiled proudly as I closed the door. "Come on let's get lunch."
"It was great seeing you again," I waved as Charles drove away. Hawkeye and the twins were playing on the porch and April was in my arms.
"Well Angel-eyes," April looked up at me, her long soft eyelashes rimming her clear blue eyes, "Next time you see your daddy, you're going to be a year old." Charles was postponing his next visit until April's 1st birthday. I smiled as my daughter leaned into my chest and carried her into the house.
"Hawkeye, what are we going to do? Once Baby is four months old, he won't fit in the bassinette anymore, and the twins will be too small for proper beds, are we going to have to buy another crib?" He'd just put April down for a sleep. She'd become much more relaxed about who put her to bed, as long as they held her and rocked her.
"We'll work things out, and I think by October, the twins will be okay if we get a bed with sides, it's miles away, what we have to worry about right now is Baby." It was the middle of May, and in two or so weeks, I was going to be a mother again.
"I think we have to focus on BJ and Peggy too." I said. BJ and Peggy were coming in a week, and staying until the 12th, although we were both expecting around that time, we knew if either of us went into labour, we'd be just fine.
"True, where's Dad?" Hawkeye said.
"In the attic, I'm not sure why."
"Hawkeye! Look what I found!" Hawkeye and I ran up into the unfinished attic. Daniel was holding a large, brightly coloured quilt, tears glistening in his eyes.
"Mum's quilt!" Hawkeye took it and held it close as though it was something precious. "She made this when I was born. It was big so it would fit on any bed I ever had."
"Wow." I was holding the edge of it, admiring Katharine's beautiful neat patchwork.
"I slept with it ever since I was five, it's been through so much with me, I lost my virginity under this thing."
"Yuk!" I let it go. Hawkeye laughed.
"It's been washed, I put it away when I went to Korea, but can we put it on our bed now?"
"Of course!" I agreed. It was beautiful, and it had so many memories I couldn't refuse.
"Well, can you give me a hand here?" Daniel asked, Hawkeye set the blanket aside and we both started to help.
"BJ! Peggy! Over here!" We met them at Portland airport. BJ had me in his arms and swinging me around despite my bulge. He kissed me, which was now our standard greeting, as he put me down.
"You look great! Oh, and hasn't my baby grown? Amy-Jane, you're just beautiful, oh look at you!" The little blonde toddler chuckled as I cuddled her warmly. We laughed and headed out of the airport, it was going to be a great visit.