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I never knew that it would be 3 and a half months and still no word from my own mother. Sure, I saw her every once in a while when I passed her store, but she never spoke to me, and I never pushed her. I wanted her in my life, but not if she was going to try to make me give up my baby. Babies, I should say.

Micheal and I connected with our babies the alien way and we're having triplets! Not only triplets, but 3 baby boys! I admit I wish it were girls, but I'm glad they all are healthy. If I was nervous before, I'm even more nervous now. A few months ago we were worrying about 1 child now we had three to provide for.

The pregnancy is progressing like any normal human pregnancy. I've been craving things I never thought would taste good, but I can't figure out how I lived without them. Ketchup with lucky charms, ice cream with pickle juice on top, and anything covered in tobasco sause!

Micheal was right; we weren't alone and we still aren't. Valenti has been giving me updates on my mom, and, hopefully passing them back on to her. Kyle and Max have been very guy like, steering clear of me unless I threaten them. Micheal has been so sweet through out everything. He's my rock of strength and I don't know what I would do without him.

Iz and Liz. Those two have been so great these 3 months. Today they are taking me 'baby stuff' shopping.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come, Maria? Cause I can go with you if you want me to," Micheal said as I brushed my hair.

"Yes I'm sure! It's going to be a girl's outing and you wouldn't have any fun!" I reasoned, turning and walking around him, going into our bedroom.

"But I won't have any fun by myself. Here. ALONE," He hinted turning me around to face him.

"Aww. Poor baby!" I said, grabbing his face. I kissed him passionately. "Call Max or Kyle, because you aren't coming with us!"

He gave me a pout as there was a knock on the door. I waddled over to the door and there were Isabel and Liz. "Hey, Ria!"

"Hey Izzy, Liz," I said as I hugged Izzy and then Liz. "Ready to do some shopping?"

"Oh yeah. Are you ready to go?" Liz asked.

"Well, Space Case over here doesn't want me to leave him!" I said and grabbed his cheek. "Isn't that right, honey?" I asked and the girls 'awwed' at him.

"I said I wanted to come with you, not that I didn't want you to leave me here," Micheal said, trying to sound manly and taking my hand from his chin. "Have fun, girls. Don't spend too much, Maria," He said and kissed me lightly before bending on his knees to kiss my bulging stomach 3 times, one for each baby. I giggled and pulled him up for another kiss.

"I can't even fit my arms around you any more! This is sooo depressing!" I cried, but followed the girls out the door after grabbing my purse.

We went to every single baby store in town. Isabel insisted on buying her nephews toys and Liz kept buying clothes.

"So, Ria, when are you and Micheal moving into that new apartment?" Liz asked.

"We're gonna move in next week, which means I'm going to be supervising and Micheal will get Max, Kyle, and Jim to help," I said. I held up a little pink sweater and said, "Look at how cute this is!"

"Aww, that's adorable! Too bad you would NEVER fit in it, Ria," joked Isabel and I stuck my tongue out at her.

"No, seriously, Maria, you are suppose to be shopping for 3 little boys, not baby girls," Liz said gently, knowing I always wanted a little girl to call my own.

"I know, Lizzie, but I can still dream, can't I?" I asked. I was getting emotional and about to cry when someone behind me called my name. I turned to see Jim Valenti litterally dragging my mother over to us. "Hey, Jim!" I smiled, then softly muttered, "Mom."

"Hey, Maria! How ya doing? You look great," Jim said pulling me into a bear hug. Mom was right. He was a great dad.

"I'm doing just fine. Micheal's been taking good care of me, and so have these girls over here," I said pointing to Iz and Lizzie.

"Hey Isabel, Liz," He said and they waved and went back to looking at clothes. "Amy, why don't you say something to Maria?"

"Because I don't have anything to say to her," She replied.

"How about what we talked about the other night, Amy?" Jim prodded. Mom looked like she just remembered what she was going to say and looked at me.

It took a long time but she said, "I want to be able to see my grandchild."

I was stunned, to say the least. When I got my voice back I said, "You want to see your grandchildren, but not your daughter?"

"Wait, 'grandchildren'?" She questioned, avoiding my other retort.

"Yes, I'm having triplets," I replied, rubbing my belly for comfort.

"Yes, I want to be a part of their lives. I'm still trying to get over what happened, Maria, but I want to be a part of your's and Micheal's lives, too," She said almost crying.

"I'd like that," I replied, tears streaming down my face.

She motioned towards my stomach and asked, "May I?" I nodded and she placed her hand on my already large stomach. "How far along are you?"

"Most would think 9 months, but knowing I'm having triplets, people believe 4 months," I smiled. We talked a while longer and then she left with Jim and I went back over to Liz and Isabel.

We didn't shop much longer because my baby shower was next week and I wanted to wait and see what we got then. They helped me carry the bags into the apartment. We found Micheal asleep on the couch, or faking sleep at least.

"We should let him sleep. He hasn't been sleeping much lately," I explained and they nodded heading for the door.

"See you later, Maria," said Liz as she hugged me.

"We are going to have so much fun at your party, Ria," Isabel beamed at me before pulling me into a hug.

"See you guys later!" I said and shut the door, locking it behind them. I walked over to the couch and sat next to Micheal. I moved his hair out of his eyes and kissed his forehead before saying, "You can stop faking now; they're gone."

He smiled and opened his eyes. "Never could fool you, Blondie," He said and sat up to kiss me. "I thought I told you not to spend too much," he scolded as he pointed to the bags by the door.

"I didn't," I protested and he gave me a look. "They did!"

"You're trying to tell me that Isabel and Liz bought all that for you?" Micheal asked, ready to tickle me for lying.

"Okay, so they didn't buy ALL of it, but they did buy most of it," I said quickly avoiding the tickle torchure. Then I remembered my encounter with my mother. "Micheal, you will never guess what happened today!"

"Let me guess. You ran into Valenti and your mom and she told you she wanted to be a part of your life again," He said and I looked very upset. "That did happen, right?"

"How did you know?" I asked, wanting to cry.

"Baby, don't cry! Please, I hate it when you cry," Micheal complained as he pulled me into his arms. "Your mom called to tell me. She apologized about the whole incident at the Crashdown."

"Oh," I replied, snuggling closer to him.

"C'mon, Ri. Let's get you into bed," He said lifting me easily into his arms, but I protested.

"I'm not sleepy," I mumbled into his neck.

He laughed slightly. "I know, baby, I know." And he placed me on our bed and covered me up before I fell fast asleep.

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