Please see chapter one for disclaimer.
A/N: As usual, thank you so much for reviewing! For those of you who also author on the site, you know how reviews really help you to write! Enjoy and review! Oh, and in case you haven't yet noticed, the chapters of this story are very often based on the Kinkirk family. They are the holders of the main plot
: - )
Sunrise
Chapter Four: Small Disasters
Paige Camden jumped out of her taxi, holding her purse in one hand, and a small paper bag in the other. She dashed up the stairs of her apartment building and soon arrived in the small but cozy apartment that she and her husband, Simon shared. Checking the clock, she smiled. She certainly couldn't be told that she was not sneaky! She had cancelled a meeting so that she could get out of the office early today. She knew from talking to her husband that morning that he was in court today, which didn't get him home until about six. With a meeting ending at 5:30, she knew she couldn't cut it that close. Now only 4:50, she smiled at her stealth. She opened the paper bag that she was holding and took out the small cardboard box inside. As soon as she saw the pregnancy test in her hand, chills ran down her spine. As very busy lawyers in New York City, she and her husband were definitely not planning on having children any time soon. They were quickly approaching the top of their game, and were not going to let anything take that away.
Paige put her hand on her head and sighed. If she were pregnant, everything would change. She and Simon had been taking every precaution available to prevent a pregnancy. Lately, however, she had been feeling exhausted, and increasingly nauseous. She put her hand over her stomach subconsciously as she studied the box. From what she could tell after skimming the directions, this didn't seem to be too big of a task. How could something so simple reveal something so complicated?
She sighed and sat her purse down. She didn't have all day to sit and think of the what-ifs. Her husband would be home soon. She reached into the bag again and grabbed another identical box. If she was going to take the time to do this, she wasn't going to stand for an incorrect reading. From what she had heard, it was always smart to get more than one. For once, she was taking someone else's advice, rather than someone taking hers. She laughed quietly at the irony. She sighed deeply and sat the empty bad on the counter, carrying the two boxes into the bathroom, and shutting the door behind her.
When she emerged a minute later, she paced through the apartment nervously. It would be five minutes until the results were clear. She straightened up the living room quietly, trying to take her mind off what she was inevitably thinking about. She glanced across the room at the small timer that she had set. 3 minutes left. She lowered herself onto the sofa. As she saw herself in the mirror across from her, she laughed. "Just look at me." She thought to herself. "I'm one of New York City's top lawyers! I can make grown men cry like little girls. I'm not some emotional little pansy! But that's what I look like…" She sat up straighter and fixed her hair, which looked like it had just barely survived a tornado of some sorts.
She stood up and walked over to the shelf that was in the corner of the room. Smiling, she picked up her favorite picture, which was framed on her bed side table. She and Simon, dressed in a wedding dress and tux, respectively, looked into each other's eyes happily, a new married couple. That photo had been taken in the half hour time frame between their marriage and reception, three years ago. Again, she studied herself in the mirror. Despite her efforts, her light brown hair was still in disarray. As she reached up to try again to fix it, she leaped. The ding of her timer could be heard through out the apartment. Once more, her body filled with chills, and she turned to face the bathroom. She approached the sink slowly, unable to look. Taking a deep breath she looked into the mirror. "You can do this." She reassured herself. She reached down and picked up the two tests. She quickly grabbed one of the boxes, checking for what sign meant negative and which meant that the test was positive. She put the box down with a sigh of relief, and sat the tests on top. Looking into the mirror, she laughed at her frazzled appearance and tossed the tests and boxes into the trash, returning rapidly to life as she knew it. Both tests read negative.
"Amelia Grace Kinkirk!" Lucy cried angrily as she entered her twin daughters' bedroom. There was toiled paper strewn everywhere with marker lines on the once white paper.
"My name's Mia!" The four-year-old yelled back.
"Not when you're in trouble, young lady. Now what happened in here?" Mia stood, her hands on her hips.
"Me and Emily decorated! Our room was way too boring." She explained. Lucy shook her head, imagining all the time that cleaning this up would take.
"Where, exactly, is your partner in crime?" She asked. At the moment, Emily entered the room, carrying two more rolls of toilet paper.
"Found it!" She said triumphantly. "She keeps it in the laundry roo-" She stopped, her eyes growing wide as she became aware of her mother's presence. "Hi…mama…" She greeted slowly. "I'll go put this away now…" She turned quickly and ran back down the hall, white trails behind her. Riley crawled into the room after her sister's departure, her hands covered in marker ink.
"Colors!" She cried happily, holding up her hands for better viewing. "Pretty." She said with a smile. Lucy sighed and walked over to her one-year-old, picking her up carefully. She turned to Mia.
"I need to go get your sister cleaned up, but believe me, we are not finished." She looked down the hall. "Meg could you come here please?" she called. Meg appeared in her bedroom door and laughed.
"Whoa…what happened to her?" She asked, still giggling.
"This is nothing wait till you see the twins' room. Would you do mommy a favor and go get Emily, then help she and Mia start to clean up while I give Riley a bath please?"
"Ok." She said, taking off down the hall to find Emily. Lucy carried the baby into the bath room and sat her on the edge of the sink. She turned on the water and lathered some soap all over her daughter's multi-colored skin. When she was satisfied, she pushed Riley slightly forward, holding her arms under the water. The baby screeched loudly.
"No!" She yelled, the tears starting. "Owe! Cold!" She sobbed. Lucy reached forward and turned up the temperature, but Riley's cries continued loudly. "Mama!" She whined. Lucy looked at her.
"You get no sympathy, little one." When she finished getting as much ink off as possible, she carried the child into her room and put her into her crib pulling up the sides. Riley's crying became even louder.
"No! No crib! No, no!" She screamed. Lucy put her finger on her lips.
"Yes crib. You need to sit in here for awhile while mama goes and takes care of you sisters. It won't be for long. You'll be perfectly fine." She leaned over and grabbed the pink blanket that was draped over the edge of the rocking chair. "Do you want blankie?" She asked,
"Blankie!" Riley reached out, whining. Lucy handed the blanket to her. Riley took it, and sat down, with her back facing the door. She put the blanket over herself, pouting. Lucy rolled her eyes. Her youngest child was quickly becoming the drama queen of the home. She walked out of the bedroom and went back into the twins' room, where she was glad to see things were slowly being cleaned up. She winked at Meg and mouthed "thanks". The six-year-old nodded her head, and continued helping her sisters clean. Lucy leaned against the wall, supervising. She laughed to herself. Who knew that her daughters could cause this much damage during the 10 minute break she took just to eat a quick lunch?
A/N: I hope that you liked this. I enjoyed writing it. You know I'd love it if you reviewed! Thanks! Look for chapter five soon.
