A/N: I'm stopping with writing April's stuttering, just assume that she
does folks, I'm sure that you still have some imagination! **~~**REALITY
CHECK!**~~** This story has the facts of life, using real words and
terminology, it's not too extreme, just honest but if you can't hack it,
don't read it. **~~**REALITY CHECK!**~~**
November 1958: Facts of Life
"Daddy, where do babies come from?" I hid my smile as Felicity's voice piped up over breakfast and Hawkeye blushed a furious shade of red. He'd never had a problem talking about (or in some cases doing) sex with anyone, but for some reason the innocent question left him flustered.
"Oh dear, well, gee they, umm, ask Mummy." Felicity and now the others turned bright little faces my way.
"Thanks Ben darling," I faked a smile at him. "They come from a woman's stomach, here, like you saw when April, Jess and Adam were growing."
"I grow there?" Jess pointed to my stomach.
"That's right Baby, you, and everyone grows in a woman's stomach. Even Daddy and Grandpa did, they grew in their mummies' too." That settled the kids, and I dragged Hawkeye into the kitchen to have a little chat with him.
"Are you that thick? You know where babies come from!"
"I just didn't know how to answer it." He admitted.
"My answer was straightforward enough Hawkeye and we agreed to be honest with the kids, and after that, with all things considered, they're going to be a lot more curious." I pulled myself up onto the kitchen table and sat there, looking serious.
"All things considered, what do you mean by that?" Hawkeye stood between my legs, his hands on my waist.
"I mean honey, guess what Margaret confirmed yesterday?" I smiled.
"You're . . .?" He glanced at my stomach.
"Yes! At long last!"
"Yahoo!" Hawkeye picked me up and swung me around, kissing me. "Thank god for that! I knew it would happen if only we didn't try!" After wanting a baby for 8 months I was finally pregnant.
"So, you see, the next bit will be how babies get there and the trick is to answer in sentences. They say where do babies come from, you say mother's stomach. They say how you say sex. Let's call the whole thing off!"
"I see, no lectures. They say what, I say egg and sperm?"
"Got it in one. So shall we go tell the rest of the world? Or at least the household?"
"Let's!" Hawkeye put me down and we went back into the dining room.
"What's all that noise about, something sure sounds good." Edna commented as we returned.
"Great news, guess who's having a baby!" Hawkeye announced, Daniel stood up and hugged the both of us.
"Annie, that's great! And I suppose that explains the all-day sickness in July?" Daniel said once he'd let us go.
"Yep." I giggled, "I'm nearly three months along already, 10 and a half weeks, to be precise. I'm due May 26! Darlings, guess what, Mummy and Daddy are going to have another baby!"
"In your tummy?" April asked.
"Yep, right about here." I put my hand over the general vicinity of my uterus.
"Can a baby grow in me?" Felicity asked, lifting up her skirt to study her cute stomach.
"Sure can Princess, but not for a long time." Hawkeye replied. He grabbed her and blew a raspberry on the soft belly. She laughed.
"Me too?" Jess queried.
"You too Baby!" Hawkeye said. "And you Angel-eyes, and you too Little One." Lydia burbled adorably, her soft black hair shinier than Hawkeye or Ben's.
"Me?" Ben asked.
"No, Sport, boys can't have babies grow in them." I explained.
"Why?" The four older kids asked in unison. In my eyes, Jess was really too young to be hearing this stuff at two, but I had little choice, she was so interested.
"Because, only girls have a uterus, that's where the babies grow." I explained.
"Do boys help make babies?" Ben asked, clearly wanting to feel important.
"Yep, they sure do. You know you wouldn't be here if it weren't for Daddy." I told him.
"Did Uncle Charles make April?" There was a little confusion as April called Charles Daddy, while the others called him Uncle Charles, but I think they were beginning to understand now.
"Yes, Uncle Charles and I made April." I answered. "But Daddy and I made Felicity, Ben and Jess. Uncle Tom and Aunty Lily made Lydia."
"How do you make babies?" Ben asked, very interested. Hawkeye and I glanced at each other, agreeing to do a double act.
"Well, in here, I have little eggs. All girls have them. But they need something to help them grow called sperm." I put my hand over my stomach again, showing the general area, not knowing precisely where myself
"Do I have eggs?" April asked.
"You don't make them till you're older." Hawkeye responded.
"What's a sperm?" Felicity asked, sitting on Edna's lap. I glanced at Hawkeye, letting him take that one.
"It's a special liquid that boys make to help make a baby." Hawkeye said, "The sperm needs to get inside the woman to the egg." We were calmly answering the question, without any major details yet.
"Where sperm?" Jess asked. Hawkeye and I had a silent fight over who would answer that one when Daniel stepped in.
"In the boys' testicles Princess, they come out his penis." I shot Daniel a grateful look.
"Oh, the sperm goes inside to egg and makes a baby?" Ben said.
"Yep, that's right." Hawkeye said. "Going to be a ladies man this one!"
"Thankyou for telling." Felicity said. She climbed off Edna's lap and left the dining room. The other kids followed and I released Lydia from her chair and she crawled after them.
"Wow, that was interesting." I said.
"I'm just glad it's over." Hawkeye said.
"Are you two nuts? Then comes the 'how does the sperm get there?' and the 'how does the baby get out?' questions, trust me, I went through it with Hawkeye when he was five. Then again when he was 13, just to make sure I didn't become a grandfather too early." Daniel laughed.
"Well, thanks for hitting that curveball Lyss threw at us." I replied.
"Well, just don't get too relaxed you still have to deal with the teens." Daniel warned.
"Not for another ten years." Hawkeye said.
"Take it from a man who raised a son alone from the time he was 12, ten years ain't all that much. Ten years ago Hawkeye was. . ."
"26!" Hawkeye added.
"Hawkeye was 26 and in residency in Boston, with Carlye, writing that he loves her and he's going to marry her."
"Dad. . ." Hawkeye started anxiously.
"I met Carlye!" I hushed Hawkeye hurriedly. "She's a sweetie, it's okay."
"Well, anyway, now look at him, married to a totally different girl, and a father of three."
"Five Dad. April and Lydia count." Hawkeye and I corrected simultaneously.
"Okay, of five." Daniel amended, "And what about you Anne, ten years ago?"
"I was 22, just finishing my nursing ready to go to learn how to be a front- liner, looking around for my knight in shining armour and a part-time Mum to my 12 brothers and sisters."
"Let's not forget a never-been-kissed virgin!" Hawkeye added.
"Shut up, you were that way once too! Now I'm a 32year-old, married mother of five, pregnant with the sixth, a part-time nurse, and I'm only a sister and not a mother to by siblings."
"A lot changes in ten years." Daniel said. "I rest my case."
"All hail the most intelligent man on the planet!" Hawkeye said, "You're right, what more can I say?"
"Nothing at all." I said, grabbing his collar and kissing him. He dragged me awkwardly onto his lap and we sat there for a long while, having a big cuddle.
If we'd thought answering the questions the kids asked over breakfast were tough, we had another thing coming. Felicity and Ben were just warming up. I was very surprised that two 4yos could be so medically inclined.
"Mummy, how does the sperm get to the egg?" I had Lydia in one arm and was trying to mop the floor with my free hand, while cooking dinner. Edna preferred to cook, but Hawkeye now worked Friday evenings, as he took the mornings off to sleep in and be a Daddy while I was at the hospital, so Edna stayed on and helped out.
"The man puts it in the woman's body." I replied.
"Oh." She left again. She, Ben, April, Jess, and Cathie Harrison's kids, Ricky and Julie, were playing something under the dining room table. Actually Ricky and my kids were playing, Julie was sitting on top of the table doing some homework.
"Mummy, how does the man put sperm in a lady?" Ben asked. At this point, I was too flustered to be suspicious.
"What? Oh, he puts his penis inside her and the sperm comes out. What's up Little One, are you ready to go down?" Her solid almost 18mo body was straining my arms.
"No me stay up!" I resigned and swapped sides, hurriedly turning off the rice before I burned it.
"Annie?" It was little Ricky, who was two months older than my twins. "Ben say the man puts his penis in the lady, but where in the lady?"
"Ricky my man, you tell Ben that the woman has a hole in her body called a vagina. That's were the man puts his penis." Ricky went back to sitting under the table.
"Julie, can you help me by taking Lydia please?" Julie climbed off the table and I put my daughter into the eight-year-old girl's arms. Julie and Ricky were staying for dinner while Cathie and her husband had a night out.
"Felicity come out from under there Princess, help me set the table okay?" She obeyed, and the kids and I sat down to dinner. Fortunately there were no more questions.
"Okay, wave goodbye to Daddy. Come on guys, we've got to catch that bus!" The kids and I hurried to the bus stop, fortunately the bus waited for us and I piled my five onto the bus. I had taken an emergency shift and I was leaving the kids in Portland with Mimi who cared for about a dozen other children as well.
"Bye my darlings, be good, I love you all, come on Lydia, you can stay with Grandmamma today." Lydia had a fever and I didn't want her in a noisy crèche, so she was staying with my Mum. "Sorry I'm late." I explained to an unimpressed Margaret. "I had to bring the kids down, everyone else is working at home. Lydia's got a fever, and she cried for ten minutes when I left her."
"Listen Nurse Pierce, I don't want the rest of my staff to think I'm favouring you. But as you're the only mother in this ward, you can get away with it today. If you're late again though, watch out!" Margaret was between a rock and a hard place, as she expected her nurses to be their absolute best, but she also knew how hard it was for me to be a Mum and a nurse, but didn't want to look like she was favouring me in front of her other nurses, all of whom she worked extremely hard.
"Thanks Mum, is she any better?" I took my sleeping daughter from her.
"A little, she's slept almost solidly since lunchtime." Mum stroked the little girl's face.
"Great, I'd better go." The dark head settled sleepily on my shoulder as I walked to pick up my other kids.
"Hi Belle," Ever since she was small, Mimi had called me Belle. "There's a person I think you should meet."
"Who? Hello Jess!" I ruffled the strawberry-gold hair as my two-year-old attached herself to my legs.
"This is Karen Mason. Karen, this is Annie, Felicity's mother. Come on Jess, let's get your bag."
"Miriam never introduced us properly, I'm Annabelle Pierce, it seems you already know Felicity." I shifted Lydia so I could offer my hand. Karen didn't shake my hand, she just ignored it confused I returned my hand to my side.
"I don't know how you choose to bring up your children Mrs Pierce, but you should advise them about suitable topics for discussion." I was told stiffly.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're on about." I said politely, sitting down so that Lydia was settled.
"I mean your daughter has been telling my son Ronny all sorts of horrible things."
"Like?"
"Like the truth about where he came from, that sort of thing is just not appropriate for a four-year-old to know."
"I'm sorry Mrs Mason, I didn't know you felt that way. However, my husband and I feel that it is important that all our children know the truth. I will talk to them about holding their tongues in future though."
"How can you just let them know that kind of thing? It's a very private subject!" She insisted, determined for me to admit that I was wrong.
"Mrs Mason, I am a nurse, the children's fathers are doctors, and my father- in-law is a doctor. We have always been well informed about that subject, and choose not to treat it as taboo. Because, if we do not tell our children these things until they are teenagers, or even worse, let them discover it for themselves, it might already be too late, that's how I was born. What's up Little One? Here we go." I felt around in her bag and produced a bottle of apple juice soon Lydia was content as she grasped the bottle herself and drank.
"You have made an excellent point Mrs Pierce, but just remember that not everyone feels the same way and that they do not want their children informed."
"I'm sorry about that Mrs Mason, I didn't know that Felicity would do that. I have a bus to catch, and I really must go. It was nice to meet you, even if the circumstances weren't so pleasant." I collected the kids and we went home. Hawkeye, Daniel and Edna were still at work, and I decided to let the talk wait until Daddy was home too.
"She did? I guess she's just like her Mummy, brutally honest." Hawkeye teased when I explained the situation.
"Well, Ben takes after you, so it's a good idea he knows these things isn't it?" I replied, with a bittersweet smile.
"You're evil!" Hawkeye laughed. "Pure evil."
"That's why you love me." I replied flirtatiously.
"That's what you think."
"Whatever, help me here!" Lydia was a very cuddly baby and liked being held, especially when I was cooking and I handed her over to her father.
"Mummy, Daddy! I told Ronny where babies come from and he said I was silly. But he's the silly, he said a stork brings them." Felicity said as I kept track of Jess and Lydia's food, ensuring it only ended up in their mouths. Hawkeye was similarly occupied with April and the twins, who made less mess.
"Did you? Because Mummy and I wanted to talk to you about that." Hawkeye said, glancing at me.
"Princess, and this counts for all of you too. Not all mummies and daddies want their kids to know about where babies come from and how you make them. So if we tell you something like that, please don't tell anyone else, because Felicity, Ronny's mother god upset at me for what you said."
"Why?" Ben asked.
"Because, just like we think it's good for you to know, some mummies think that it's bad." Hawkeye explained.
"So you promise that you won't tell any other kids, not even Ricky and Julie?" I asked.
"Yes Mummy!" The four little voices made me smile.
I had to leave the kids at Mimi's twice more that week, but fortunately I was never told off about anything they said again. There were also no more questions, for which Hawkeye and I were glad.
"You know what? I don't think we'll tell our little mate anything at all, if he asks we'll just say that it's something only grownups need to know, and you can't learn about till you're 21." We had nicknamed the baby our 'mate' and referred to it as 'him' in a plain showing of our hopes.
"It's a great plan Ben dearest, but you know that we'll probably tell him anyhow." I lay against Hawkeye sleepily.
"True, maybe we should bring the kids up just like you. No sex before marriage." He was teasing gently.
"You think that'll stop Ben? He's a Pierce male, no two ways about that!" We both laughed.
"Well, whatever they throw at us, we can manage right?" Hawkeye said.
"As long as we do it together." I agreed cuddling into his chest, and sighing into the smooth expanse.
"Sweet dreams darling." He kissed my head
"Sweet dreams Ben dearest." I didn't care what life had ahead for us, I knew whatever it was, whether it was more awkward questions, or having to move to Australia, that Hawkeye and I could do it, together.
November 1958: Facts of Life
"Daddy, where do babies come from?" I hid my smile as Felicity's voice piped up over breakfast and Hawkeye blushed a furious shade of red. He'd never had a problem talking about (or in some cases doing) sex with anyone, but for some reason the innocent question left him flustered.
"Oh dear, well, gee they, umm, ask Mummy." Felicity and now the others turned bright little faces my way.
"Thanks Ben darling," I faked a smile at him. "They come from a woman's stomach, here, like you saw when April, Jess and Adam were growing."
"I grow there?" Jess pointed to my stomach.
"That's right Baby, you, and everyone grows in a woman's stomach. Even Daddy and Grandpa did, they grew in their mummies' too." That settled the kids, and I dragged Hawkeye into the kitchen to have a little chat with him.
"Are you that thick? You know where babies come from!"
"I just didn't know how to answer it." He admitted.
"My answer was straightforward enough Hawkeye and we agreed to be honest with the kids, and after that, with all things considered, they're going to be a lot more curious." I pulled myself up onto the kitchen table and sat there, looking serious.
"All things considered, what do you mean by that?" Hawkeye stood between my legs, his hands on my waist.
"I mean honey, guess what Margaret confirmed yesterday?" I smiled.
"You're . . .?" He glanced at my stomach.
"Yes! At long last!"
"Yahoo!" Hawkeye picked me up and swung me around, kissing me. "Thank god for that! I knew it would happen if only we didn't try!" After wanting a baby for 8 months I was finally pregnant.
"So, you see, the next bit will be how babies get there and the trick is to answer in sentences. They say where do babies come from, you say mother's stomach. They say how you say sex. Let's call the whole thing off!"
"I see, no lectures. They say what, I say egg and sperm?"
"Got it in one. So shall we go tell the rest of the world? Or at least the household?"
"Let's!" Hawkeye put me down and we went back into the dining room.
"What's all that noise about, something sure sounds good." Edna commented as we returned.
"Great news, guess who's having a baby!" Hawkeye announced, Daniel stood up and hugged the both of us.
"Annie, that's great! And I suppose that explains the all-day sickness in July?" Daniel said once he'd let us go.
"Yep." I giggled, "I'm nearly three months along already, 10 and a half weeks, to be precise. I'm due May 26! Darlings, guess what, Mummy and Daddy are going to have another baby!"
"In your tummy?" April asked.
"Yep, right about here." I put my hand over the general vicinity of my uterus.
"Can a baby grow in me?" Felicity asked, lifting up her skirt to study her cute stomach.
"Sure can Princess, but not for a long time." Hawkeye replied. He grabbed her and blew a raspberry on the soft belly. She laughed.
"Me too?" Jess queried.
"You too Baby!" Hawkeye said. "And you Angel-eyes, and you too Little One." Lydia burbled adorably, her soft black hair shinier than Hawkeye or Ben's.
"Me?" Ben asked.
"No, Sport, boys can't have babies grow in them." I explained.
"Why?" The four older kids asked in unison. In my eyes, Jess was really too young to be hearing this stuff at two, but I had little choice, she was so interested.
"Because, only girls have a uterus, that's where the babies grow." I explained.
"Do boys help make babies?" Ben asked, clearly wanting to feel important.
"Yep, they sure do. You know you wouldn't be here if it weren't for Daddy." I told him.
"Did Uncle Charles make April?" There was a little confusion as April called Charles Daddy, while the others called him Uncle Charles, but I think they were beginning to understand now.
"Yes, Uncle Charles and I made April." I answered. "But Daddy and I made Felicity, Ben and Jess. Uncle Tom and Aunty Lily made Lydia."
"How do you make babies?" Ben asked, very interested. Hawkeye and I glanced at each other, agreeing to do a double act.
"Well, in here, I have little eggs. All girls have them. But they need something to help them grow called sperm." I put my hand over my stomach again, showing the general area, not knowing precisely where myself
"Do I have eggs?" April asked.
"You don't make them till you're older." Hawkeye responded.
"What's a sperm?" Felicity asked, sitting on Edna's lap. I glanced at Hawkeye, letting him take that one.
"It's a special liquid that boys make to help make a baby." Hawkeye said, "The sperm needs to get inside the woman to the egg." We were calmly answering the question, without any major details yet.
"Where sperm?" Jess asked. Hawkeye and I had a silent fight over who would answer that one when Daniel stepped in.
"In the boys' testicles Princess, they come out his penis." I shot Daniel a grateful look.
"Oh, the sperm goes inside to egg and makes a baby?" Ben said.
"Yep, that's right." Hawkeye said. "Going to be a ladies man this one!"
"Thankyou for telling." Felicity said. She climbed off Edna's lap and left the dining room. The other kids followed and I released Lydia from her chair and she crawled after them.
"Wow, that was interesting." I said.
"I'm just glad it's over." Hawkeye said.
"Are you two nuts? Then comes the 'how does the sperm get there?' and the 'how does the baby get out?' questions, trust me, I went through it with Hawkeye when he was five. Then again when he was 13, just to make sure I didn't become a grandfather too early." Daniel laughed.
"Well, thanks for hitting that curveball Lyss threw at us." I replied.
"Well, just don't get too relaxed you still have to deal with the teens." Daniel warned.
"Not for another ten years." Hawkeye said.
"Take it from a man who raised a son alone from the time he was 12, ten years ain't all that much. Ten years ago Hawkeye was. . ."
"26!" Hawkeye added.
"Hawkeye was 26 and in residency in Boston, with Carlye, writing that he loves her and he's going to marry her."
"Dad. . ." Hawkeye started anxiously.
"I met Carlye!" I hushed Hawkeye hurriedly. "She's a sweetie, it's okay."
"Well, anyway, now look at him, married to a totally different girl, and a father of three."
"Five Dad. April and Lydia count." Hawkeye and I corrected simultaneously.
"Okay, of five." Daniel amended, "And what about you Anne, ten years ago?"
"I was 22, just finishing my nursing ready to go to learn how to be a front- liner, looking around for my knight in shining armour and a part-time Mum to my 12 brothers and sisters."
"Let's not forget a never-been-kissed virgin!" Hawkeye added.
"Shut up, you were that way once too! Now I'm a 32year-old, married mother of five, pregnant with the sixth, a part-time nurse, and I'm only a sister and not a mother to by siblings."
"A lot changes in ten years." Daniel said. "I rest my case."
"All hail the most intelligent man on the planet!" Hawkeye said, "You're right, what more can I say?"
"Nothing at all." I said, grabbing his collar and kissing him. He dragged me awkwardly onto his lap and we sat there for a long while, having a big cuddle.
If we'd thought answering the questions the kids asked over breakfast were tough, we had another thing coming. Felicity and Ben were just warming up. I was very surprised that two 4yos could be so medically inclined.
"Mummy, how does the sperm get to the egg?" I had Lydia in one arm and was trying to mop the floor with my free hand, while cooking dinner. Edna preferred to cook, but Hawkeye now worked Friday evenings, as he took the mornings off to sleep in and be a Daddy while I was at the hospital, so Edna stayed on and helped out.
"The man puts it in the woman's body." I replied.
"Oh." She left again. She, Ben, April, Jess, and Cathie Harrison's kids, Ricky and Julie, were playing something under the dining room table. Actually Ricky and my kids were playing, Julie was sitting on top of the table doing some homework.
"Mummy, how does the man put sperm in a lady?" Ben asked. At this point, I was too flustered to be suspicious.
"What? Oh, he puts his penis inside her and the sperm comes out. What's up Little One, are you ready to go down?" Her solid almost 18mo body was straining my arms.
"No me stay up!" I resigned and swapped sides, hurriedly turning off the rice before I burned it.
"Annie?" It was little Ricky, who was two months older than my twins. "Ben say the man puts his penis in the lady, but where in the lady?"
"Ricky my man, you tell Ben that the woman has a hole in her body called a vagina. That's were the man puts his penis." Ricky went back to sitting under the table.
"Julie, can you help me by taking Lydia please?" Julie climbed off the table and I put my daughter into the eight-year-old girl's arms. Julie and Ricky were staying for dinner while Cathie and her husband had a night out.
"Felicity come out from under there Princess, help me set the table okay?" She obeyed, and the kids and I sat down to dinner. Fortunately there were no more questions.
"Okay, wave goodbye to Daddy. Come on guys, we've got to catch that bus!" The kids and I hurried to the bus stop, fortunately the bus waited for us and I piled my five onto the bus. I had taken an emergency shift and I was leaving the kids in Portland with Mimi who cared for about a dozen other children as well.
"Bye my darlings, be good, I love you all, come on Lydia, you can stay with Grandmamma today." Lydia had a fever and I didn't want her in a noisy crèche, so she was staying with my Mum. "Sorry I'm late." I explained to an unimpressed Margaret. "I had to bring the kids down, everyone else is working at home. Lydia's got a fever, and she cried for ten minutes when I left her."
"Listen Nurse Pierce, I don't want the rest of my staff to think I'm favouring you. But as you're the only mother in this ward, you can get away with it today. If you're late again though, watch out!" Margaret was between a rock and a hard place, as she expected her nurses to be their absolute best, but she also knew how hard it was for me to be a Mum and a nurse, but didn't want to look like she was favouring me in front of her other nurses, all of whom she worked extremely hard.
"Thanks Mum, is she any better?" I took my sleeping daughter from her.
"A little, she's slept almost solidly since lunchtime." Mum stroked the little girl's face.
"Great, I'd better go." The dark head settled sleepily on my shoulder as I walked to pick up my other kids.
"Hi Belle," Ever since she was small, Mimi had called me Belle. "There's a person I think you should meet."
"Who? Hello Jess!" I ruffled the strawberry-gold hair as my two-year-old attached herself to my legs.
"This is Karen Mason. Karen, this is Annie, Felicity's mother. Come on Jess, let's get your bag."
"Miriam never introduced us properly, I'm Annabelle Pierce, it seems you already know Felicity." I shifted Lydia so I could offer my hand. Karen didn't shake my hand, she just ignored it confused I returned my hand to my side.
"I don't know how you choose to bring up your children Mrs Pierce, but you should advise them about suitable topics for discussion." I was told stiffly.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're on about." I said politely, sitting down so that Lydia was settled.
"I mean your daughter has been telling my son Ronny all sorts of horrible things."
"Like?"
"Like the truth about where he came from, that sort of thing is just not appropriate for a four-year-old to know."
"I'm sorry Mrs Mason, I didn't know you felt that way. However, my husband and I feel that it is important that all our children know the truth. I will talk to them about holding their tongues in future though."
"How can you just let them know that kind of thing? It's a very private subject!" She insisted, determined for me to admit that I was wrong.
"Mrs Mason, I am a nurse, the children's fathers are doctors, and my father- in-law is a doctor. We have always been well informed about that subject, and choose not to treat it as taboo. Because, if we do not tell our children these things until they are teenagers, or even worse, let them discover it for themselves, it might already be too late, that's how I was born. What's up Little One? Here we go." I felt around in her bag and produced a bottle of apple juice soon Lydia was content as she grasped the bottle herself and drank.
"You have made an excellent point Mrs Pierce, but just remember that not everyone feels the same way and that they do not want their children informed."
"I'm sorry about that Mrs Mason, I didn't know that Felicity would do that. I have a bus to catch, and I really must go. It was nice to meet you, even if the circumstances weren't so pleasant." I collected the kids and we went home. Hawkeye, Daniel and Edna were still at work, and I decided to let the talk wait until Daddy was home too.
"She did? I guess she's just like her Mummy, brutally honest." Hawkeye teased when I explained the situation.
"Well, Ben takes after you, so it's a good idea he knows these things isn't it?" I replied, with a bittersweet smile.
"You're evil!" Hawkeye laughed. "Pure evil."
"That's why you love me." I replied flirtatiously.
"That's what you think."
"Whatever, help me here!" Lydia was a very cuddly baby and liked being held, especially when I was cooking and I handed her over to her father.
"Mummy, Daddy! I told Ronny where babies come from and he said I was silly. But he's the silly, he said a stork brings them." Felicity said as I kept track of Jess and Lydia's food, ensuring it only ended up in their mouths. Hawkeye was similarly occupied with April and the twins, who made less mess.
"Did you? Because Mummy and I wanted to talk to you about that." Hawkeye said, glancing at me.
"Princess, and this counts for all of you too. Not all mummies and daddies want their kids to know about where babies come from and how you make them. So if we tell you something like that, please don't tell anyone else, because Felicity, Ronny's mother god upset at me for what you said."
"Why?" Ben asked.
"Because, just like we think it's good for you to know, some mummies think that it's bad." Hawkeye explained.
"So you promise that you won't tell any other kids, not even Ricky and Julie?" I asked.
"Yes Mummy!" The four little voices made me smile.
I had to leave the kids at Mimi's twice more that week, but fortunately I was never told off about anything they said again. There were also no more questions, for which Hawkeye and I were glad.
"You know what? I don't think we'll tell our little mate anything at all, if he asks we'll just say that it's something only grownups need to know, and you can't learn about till you're 21." We had nicknamed the baby our 'mate' and referred to it as 'him' in a plain showing of our hopes.
"It's a great plan Ben dearest, but you know that we'll probably tell him anyhow." I lay against Hawkeye sleepily.
"True, maybe we should bring the kids up just like you. No sex before marriage." He was teasing gently.
"You think that'll stop Ben? He's a Pierce male, no two ways about that!" We both laughed.
"Well, whatever they throw at us, we can manage right?" Hawkeye said.
"As long as we do it together." I agreed cuddling into his chest, and sighing into the smooth expanse.
"Sweet dreams darling." He kissed my head
"Sweet dreams Ben dearest." I didn't care what life had ahead for us, I knew whatever it was, whether it was more awkward questions, or having to move to Australia, that Hawkeye and I could do it, together.