Chapter 31
Later that night, Ellie and Sean climbed into bed. "So when are we going to be married?" Ellie asked her fiancé. "I was thinking of June, after the kids get out of school. We could move to a larger house nearby, and raise the ten of them there." Sean replied. Ellie sighed, resting her head on Sean's muscular arm. "That sounds perfect!" she confided to him. "I can't wait to be Mrs. Ellie Cameron!" Sean laughed and tousled her auburn locks. "Me either," he whispered under his breath. "Me either."
The next morning, the whole family awoke and they were anxiously waiting to go downstairs to eat some of Sean's French toast. But a scream from Ellie made Sean drop his spatula, almost forget to turn off the oven, but caught himself, and he ran up the flight of stairs, taking two at a time.
Out of breath, he came face to face with Ellie, who'd just come out of the bathroom. "What's wrong?" he asked gently, studying the alarmed look on his fiancé's face. Ellie; still speechless; held up a pregnancy test. Sean glanced quickly, seeing a flashing pink "plus" sign. "Call it women's intuition, or whatever you want," she remarked, starting to sob. "I think we'd better get a doctor's appointment." Sean watched as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Shh…shh," he whispered, trying to comfort her. "This isn't bad or unfortunate at all. So we'll have eleven kids, there's nothing wrong with this. It's not like we can go back in time. We'll find a way to deal with this, don't worry." He scratched his head, still in amazement, and trying to support Ellie at the same time. Apparently that wasn't going to be possible, as he too, sat down on the hallway floor, sobbing himself.
"What's wrong?" Ashley asked, with Juliana at her heels. "We heard someone crying up here, so what's going on?" Sean took a deep breath and sighed, and Ellie wiped away some tears from her eyes. "Go and get your other brothers and sisters," she replied. "They need to know about this too." Juliana and Ashley leapt to their feet, not wanting to upset their new mother, and ran down the stairs.
"What…what's going on?" Brandon and Garrett asked, followed by the rest of the clan. "Yeah, we ran up here, it sounded important," announced Tyler, gasping for breath. "There's going to be a new sibling in the house," Ellie announced to everyone. "You're all going to have a new little brother or sister.
All of the children sat down on the floor, looking from Sean to Ellie, with a look of being baffled crossing their faces. "How…how…?" Juliana stuttered, trying to get the words out. "We didn't plan it, sweetheart," Sean explained. "Yikes," was all Ashley responded, taking a long deep breath in and exhaling, letting it out slowly. "Daddy, where do babies come from?" asked Melanie, her small, delicate voice breaking the silence.
Ellie looked questioningly at her fiancé. "You haven't told her?" she asked. Sean shook his head, and smirked. "No way," he replied. "I never intend to field that one to a little five year old girl." Ellie laughed. "I'll do it," she decided. "Oh great," she added as an afterthought. "My first official job as Mom!" Ashley and Juliana snickered. They had struggled with this talk, along with Brandon and Garrett, only some years earlier.
Ellie led Melanie into the room, shutting the door behind her. "Now what is it that you would like to know, honey?" she asked, pacing the floor, knowing full well what the little girl's intentions were, but stalling for some much needed time. "Where do babies come from?" she asked, scrunching up her nose, looking confused. "I mean, like, how do they get in, and how do they come out?" Ellie hesitated before sitting on her and Sean's big bed with Melanie.
"Sweetie, when two people love each other very much, sometimes they want a child, and sometimes they don't," she started, pausing for the benefit of the little girl. "But you and Daddy said that the baby wasn't planned," she said. Ellie sighed. "Oh great, now I've just made her confused," she told herself, wanting to smack herself across the face. "Well…sometimes that happens," she said. "But a new baby is always welcome. You can't give it back. It's given to the mommy by God. God apparently wants us to have another addition to the family. Do you understand this?" she asked Melanie. Melanie nodded, her blonde pigtails waving. "I think so," she said, moving closer to the door. "Mel," Ellie said, as the little girl was going to open the bedroom door. "We can talk about anything, anytime. You just come and find me…or talk to Daddy, okay?" Melanie's smile brightened. "Okay," she replied, opening the door and exiting the room.
As soon as Ellie set foot outside the door, Sean was anxious to hear all of the details. "So how did it go?" he asked nervously. Ellie sighed, wiping furiously at her brow. "Just dandy," she replied. "She thinks that the babies "just come from God." With that statement, both Sean and Ellie cracked up, walking down the stairs to enjoy their postponed breakfast.
"So now we need to come up with names for the new baby," Sean announced, sitting down at his place, and bringing the rest of the family to attention. "Does anyone have any ideas?" "I think we should name it Elmo!" Brittani said enthusiastically. Most of the older kids groaned. "Is she on some sort of Sesame Street high, or something?" Sean questioned, looking first at Ellie, and then at the small child. Ellie grinned. "That, and Barney," she replied regretfully. "I've been trying to get her out of a trance from them for almost two years now." Sean smiled warmly. "That's all right," he said. "She's in the same boat as Melanie, then. When does the Barbie phase start again?" he asked, looking towards Ashley and Juliana. "Around seven," Ashley replied. "Let the good times roll!" Everyone cracked up.
Chapter 32
"Well, everything seems to be in tact, Mr. and Mrs. Cameron," the doctor announced, as he ran the sonogram device across Ellie's stomach. Today was their appointment, to see if the baby was healthy, and to find out the gender. "That's good," Sean admitted. "But what is the sex of our baby?" The doctor furrowed her brow. "You mean your babies?" she asked. "You didn't know that you were having twins. "N…no…" Ellie stuttered, clutching harder onto Sean's hand. "It seems as though you'll be having one boy and one girl. Congratulations!" Sean and Ellie's eyes shone with excitement, as well as their faces. "Well thanks, they replied.
"I can't wait to tell the kids," Ellie exclaimed, beaming in the rearview mirror. "They'll be so excited." Sean smiled in agreement as well. "Let's go pick them all up," he told her. "School's just about out, and if we get there in time, they won't have to walk home. Ellie nodded, and Sean turned his full attention back on the road. "This is just so awesome!" he pressed on, trying to reassure Ellie just as much as himself that everything was going to turn out all right.
At Degrassi Community Elementary and Junior High, Sean and Ellie picked up their ten kids. Once everyone was loaded into the van, Sean took a deep breath and began. "Ellie and I went to the doctor's today," he said. "And we found out what we're having." Brandon looked from Ellie to Sean with a high level of curiosity. "So what is it?" he asked. Ellie grinned and responded. "We're having twins. They're going to be a boy and a girl. So now we need to think of two names. Apparently children come "cheaper by the dozen" these days," Ellie smiled, her eyes as well as her face shining with happiness.
Later that night, Sean and Ellie were snug in their large bed. "You know El; I always sort of liked the name Chelsea for a girl." Sean said, stroking his fiancé's long, red hair. Ellie smiled. "I like that name too," she said. "And I've liked the name Ryan for a boy as long as I can remember." Sean grinned. "So it's settled then," he remarked. "Chelsea and Ryan are on the way!" Ellie smiled. "Let's hope it's not too soon," she told Sean, praying that nothing would go wrong while carrying twins. "I think I still need some time to get used to this." Sean nodded. "No one can ever be fully ready for this," he admitted. And then he smiled as a brilliant idea popped into his mind. He looked over, seeing Ellie evenly breathing, softly. "I'll just tell her tomorrow," he told himself, rolling over in the bed and falling asleep instantly.
The next morning, Sean studied his wife's face, watching her sleep peacefully. "I'll let her sleep, and get the kids up and ready for school," he decided. "She's pregnant now, with twins nonetheless, and it would probably be best for her to catch up on her sleep." He reminded himself, thinking back to when Emma had been pregnant with the quadruplets. He groaned silently to himself and got up and out of bed, walking down the hallway to the kids bedrooms, gently waking each of them from their present slumber. Despite some minor protests and setbacks, all ten children came down the stairs, dressed with their hair combed and their teeth brushed. They did as they were instructed, sitting down at the kitchen table, and began to eat their Pop-Tarts that Sean had heated up in the toaster.
"Now you guys," Sean started, whispering in case Ellie unexpectedly woke up. "I'm really going to have to have your help around the house over the next few months or so. Ellie is probably under a lot of pressure knowing that she's going to be a mother…again. So can you all try your best and help me wherever I need you?" he asked, praying for good responses. To his relief, most of the kids nodded, and the others replied, "Yeah," and "Sure."
As Sean was about to take the kids to school, he scribbled a brief note on a small scrap of notebook paper, leaving it visibly on the kitchen table. Then he loaded up the family van, making sure that all of the kids went into their directed buildings, and were safe and sound. Then he put the car back into drive, looked behind him, and with a turn of his steering wheel, turned towards home.
"I was wondering when you'd be back," Ellie's voice welcomed Sean as he walked back through the front door. "Why didn't you wake me? You know that I'm perfectly capable of still getting the kids ready and off to school. I'm not that fat yet, am I?" she asked, pointing to her slightly protruding stomach. Sean gave a light laugh. "We have ten children now, Ellie," he commented. "I think that you deserved some sleep after all we've been through." Ellie smiled warmly, wrapping her arms around her recent beau. "Thanks," she murmured into his soft, dark blonde curls. "That was really sweet."
Sean smiled, taking a hold of his fiancé's hand. "I'm going to build us a beautiful house," he confided to her. "I've learned a lot from good old Mr. Ehl, and right now, that seems like a very good thing. I can make separate bedrooms for everyone, and I could have it done by the time the babies are here!" Ellie squealed, and hugged Sean with sincere happiness and gratitude.
Chapter 33
Ellie took in a deep breath. She knew full well that weddings could be hectic. She just wasn't quite aware how hard they were to plan. She was once again disagreeing with Sean about something. They did all of their planning while the children were in school for the day. "I think we should write "bring a guest" on the invitation," Sean argued. "It's polite and respectful." Ellie sighed, fed up with the wedding plans. "Do you have any idea how many friends we have?" she asked calmly. "And how many of them have children and spouses, not to mention how large our own families are." Sean threw up his hands in despair. It was simply just useless to compete with an argument that had been made by a six-month pregnant woman.
"Fine, you win," he announced. "Are you happy now?" Ellie nodded, a slight smile coming onto her face. "Actually, yes," she commented, looking smartly at Sean. "I'm very happy when I have my way!" Sean laughed too, and they moved onto the next topic of the wedding…everyone's favorite…the menu and the cake! It was decided that they would hire the Degrassi Community Caterers for the reception, and they told the main manager of the place that they wanted a three layer wedding cake with the traditional man and woman in marriage clothes placed at the top of the delicacy.
Ellie had decided that Ashley, Manny, Terri, and Paige would be the bridesmaids, and Brittani and Melanie would be the flower girls. The flower colors were light yellow and white roses, and the bridesmaids dresses were a light yellow, the perfect matching colors for summer. Sean had also picked Craig for his best man this time around, instead of Jay. However, being on their politeness streak, they had thought to invite Jay and Alex to the wedding and reception as well. It was the nice thing to do, and maybe they wouldn't even be able to show up, right?
Meanwhile, on the second half of their life, they were getting prepared for two new babies to arrive into the Cameron household. It certainly wouldn't be long before Chelsea and Ryan came around. Ellie was anxiously awaiting the birth of her babies, but she also knew that it was best not to rush these sorts of things. She and Sean had already started shopping for some new baby things, but not much. Most of the things could be passed down from Sean's side of the family. One thing that he'd forgotten to tell Ellie was that Emma was the type who'd wanted to save everything, as though those things were special treasures.
Sean's house building techniques were coming along as well. The new place didn't look too shabby, he had to admit. He had already made the living room, kitchen, dining room, family room, the three bathrooms, and a playroom. The cellar was finished as well as the laundry room and the computer room. All he was finishing up were all of those bedrooms! He was proud of the job he'd been doing on this project.
After going to pick up the kids from school, everyone returned to their activities. Sean got to work starting dinner, Ellie was relaxing on the couch, and the kids were all hard at work on their homework. Brittani and Melanie walked through the kitchen, looking puzzled and concerned. "Daddy?" Melanie questioned. Sean looked up from chopping carrots for the stew. "What's wrong, my girls?" he asked, putting down the knife on the cutting board. "We need help with our homework," Brittani explained, in her cute, lisping voice. "I need to bring in something for show that starts with the letter "B," and Melanie has to bring in something that starts with a "M," Sean grinned.
He looked around the kitchen, his eyes scanning for something that started with one of the two letters. "Well, here's your banana, Brittani," he said, stressing out the syllables of the word. After continuing to search, he spotted another fruit. "And here is a mango for you, Mel," he said, stressing the same syllables. "Now you two can enjoy yourselves for the rest of the night." Both little girls smiled up at Sean. "Thank you!" they said, excited but politely, scampering off to play. Sean wiped his hands on his apron. One problem had been solved. It didn't seem like that big of a deal, but if you multiply that issue by a lot more kids, many conflicts could arise.
"Dinner is served!" Sean called only a half an hour later. "Soup's on, get it while it's hot." At that point, Juliana ran into the kitchen. "Julie, I thought I told everyone, no running around this place while others are cooking!" he exclaimed, wiping some splattered soup from his "Kiss the Cook" apron. "Sorry dad," she apologized. "But I think Ellie's having the twins. Ashley's up there with her right now." Sean wrinkled his brow in confusion. "But she's not due for another three months," he said, refusing to believe that something terrible could happen to his future wife and babies. Throwing down his dish towel, he ran up the stairs to the second story of the house, with Juliana following close behind. "Ellie…Ellie, what's wrong?" he asked, kneeling down by her side, where Ashley was bent over, studying the frightened look on her face. "Babies coming," Ellie managed to tell Sean, making another face as another contraction came along. That was all he needed to hear. He got some things ready for Ellie and told Ashley, Brandon, Garrett, and Juliana to go round up the younger children. "Hurry," he urged, watching the four oldest run off in all directions.
"We're here, we're here," all the kids announced, immediately running back into the bedroom. Sean put a firm hand on Ashley's shoulders. "Watch your brothers and sisters," he instructed. "If I don't call you in two hours, call the Hogarts. They live right around the block now, and they'll bring you to the hospital. Do you understand?" Juliana and the other three quadruplets nodded, watching as Sean furiously scribbled down the number of the hospital. "We're leaving now," he announced. "Zap some chicken patties or something in the microwave, the soup's probably cold by now. Just…make sure no one touches the stove!" he said, walking out the front door with Ellie near him. "Bye!"
Garrett stared off after Sean and Ellie left. "Um…okay…so…um…wow," he said, chuckling a bit hesitantly. He looked around at the younger ones. "All right, let's find those chicken patties!" Ashley gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile, and retrieved them from the freezer. As they cooked, Brandon took the younger ones into the living room to have a talk with them.
"Look," he started. "I hope that none of you will give us a problem. This was kind of last minute, we know, but we're a family, and we stick together. We have to do whatever it takes to make things function properly around here. Let's get to it!" The younger ones laughed and agreed, walking back into the dining room for supper.
Chapter 34
Ellie gritted her teeth as another contraction came through her body. Sean glanced up nervously at the doctor, and decided to have a talk with him. "Can't you just give her some magnesium stuff or something to stop them?" he asked. The doctor sighed, flipping through his charts. "I wish we could," he told Sean honestly. "But we can't. We're going to have to do a c-section and break the amniotic sacks. Something is going wrong with one of the baby's heart rates. But don't tell your wife, understand? We don't need her more upset to put her and the infant in more distress." Sean nodded. "I'll just tell her to get ready to have the babies," he decided, walking over to the edge of his fiancé's bed.
"What are they going to do?" she asked, scrunching up her nose from another contraction. Sean hesitated. "They're going to operate," he told her earnestly. "You're going to have to have the babies. Please…don't get worried, all right? Let's just pray and hope for the best." Ellie nodded. "I'll try my best," she whispered. Sean smiled reassuringly and gripped her hand for her support as well as his.
"Ellie, we're going to give you a spinal," the doctor said, coming back with a needle and a large syringe. "Just take a deep breath and close your eyes," he instructed. Ellie did as she was told. The doctor injected her with the numbing fluid, and cut Ellie open. Then he decided to get to work, careful not to show Ellie any of the babies, just in case something had happened to one of them.
"Baby number one is a boy," the doctor announced, making sure that that was all that Ellie needed to know. "Ryan," Sean replied, squeezing her hand. The doctor nodded and grinned, going after the next amniotic sac. "It's a little girl," he said, showing her to Sean. "Chelsea," he told the doctor. Ellie smiled, but she didn't know the real truth.
Chelsea appeared to be awfully tiny, with a slight bluish tint to her, as thought she were cold. She was crying though, however also gasping for air. Another doctor took her and rolled her away, quickly setting up an oxygen machine. "Well, well," the doctor said, peering in Ellie's stomach. "It seems as though two babies were hiding behind the twins. Let's see what happens. As it turned out, the third baby was a boy and the fourth baby was a girl. They were both healthy, as they'd been receiving most of Ellie's nutrients.
"Congratulations, Ellie!" the doctor announced with a smile on his face. "You are the mother of four unexpected, but very adorable set of quads. I'm going to release the numbing shot, and leave you and your husband to talk." With that, he pulled out the large needle, and after Ellie winced, he left.
Sean let out a deep breath. "Four babies…" he murmured. "Four more babies. I have an idea. Why don't I name the boy this time, and you can name the girl." Ellie nodded. "I picked Michael," he said, and Ellie told him that she picked the name Jenna for the girl. "We're all going to be one happy family," he announced, picking up his cell phone. "Excuse me for a minute," he told Ellie, getting up and walking into the hallway.
"Listen," Sean said as soon as Brandon had picked up the phone at home. "You can't come to the hospital tonight, and besides, it's after visiting hours. I want you to call the Hogarts. Tell them that you need to be picked up and driven to their house to stay there for the night. I'll swing by and pick you up tomorrow morning." Brandon nodded. "Okay Dad, whatever you say. I love you, bye." He hung up the phone, looking at Juliana. "He says to call Jay and Alex."