Vacations and other Tribulations

"Are you sure we should do this?" Beca asked, pausing as she carried a rose-colored sundress from her closet to her suitcase. Chloe turned from her own packing to smile at her wife.

"I am positive we should be doing this. The girls adore Stacie and Emily – and Annie will be here the whole time. We need this, Bec."

"I know," Beca assured her. "I'm just nervous. We've never both left at the same time for more than a few hours. This is a week. That's a lot of time in kid years. What if they forget us or something?"

Chloe laughed. "Beca, please tell me you're joking."

"What? Stacie and Emily are going to be fun. It's not out of the question that the girls might decide they prefer them."

"Two things: first, they don't get to decide that. Second, you're nuts." Beca rolled her eyes.

"Go ahead, laugh at my insecurities."

"Totes ahead of you, dear." Another roll of the eyes made Chloe laugh even more. The redhead threw her arms around her wife, hugging her from behind. "Beca, it's going to be fine. The girls are going to have fun with their aunts – but I guarantee you they'll be thrilled to see us when we get back."

Beca's expression was one of distaste. "Can we at least keep ice cream for us? Because if they find someone else to give them ice cream, we're out. And I love watching them eat ice cream. I don't want to miss that."

"You are so very strange."

"Yet you love me."

"I do," Chloe answered. "But it can be exhausting," she said with a teasing smile.

An hour later, they were packed and took their suitcases down the stairs. Beca ran them out to the car while Chloe started dinner. When she returned, Annie was in the kitchen, putting the twins into their highchairs.

"Thanks, Annie," Beca said. "Now go home. You're going to be here enough this week."

"I'm out of here," Annie promised. "I'm meeting friends for dinner. Have a good night. And have a great vacation. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. Dr. Conrad will be here in the morning with them, right?"

"Her name is Stacie," Beca said. "And yes. Stacie and Emily will be here. Stacie will be over in the morning. Jesse should be picking Emily up at the airport as we speak."

"Well, have a great time. We'll be fine."

"We know," Chloe said. "Thank you for taking on the extra hours this week," she said. "And have fun with your friends."

"Thanks. Good night." She leaned down to drop kisses on both babies – causing happy giggles.

"Goodnight," Chloe and Beca both answered.

Beca went to the refrigerator and retrieved their dinner. "What is in this?" She asked, peering suspiciously at the first bowl she opened.

"It says on the bottom," Chloe responded. Beca lifted it up to read the bottom.

"Chicken, peas, mango, and broccoli. That seems cruel."

"They seem to like it," her wife answered with a shrug. "The only thing they don't seem to like so far is beef."

"Well, it's pureed. I don't think we would like our steaks or burgers that way either." She pulled a chair up to the highchairs and began feeding the babies, keeping the bowl out of their octopus-like reaches. When they finished, Beca threw a handful of puffs on each of their trays and they reached for them happily. She put their dishes in the washer and washed her hands before turning back. Poppy had smashed her puffs into her hair and was now trying to extract them so she could eat them. Bella somehow had a face covered in the baby food she'd just consumed – with a swipe of it right above her eye. "Child, how do you accomplish these things?" Beca asked, attacking first Bella, then Poppy with the washcloth. Bella didn't seem to mind but Poppy was incensed at losing her puffs and began wailing.

Beca put a smaller amount on her tray – just two. "If you put those in your hair, you're not getting any more." Poppy stopped crying, reached for a puff, and clumsily put in her mouth. "Thank you," Beca said.

"Tant Ewe," Bella mimicked. Her intonation was perfect. The actual sounds, not quite as much.

"Starting to sound like something, Bells. Keep trying." Her eyes widened as she turned to Chloe. "Oh my God!" She cried.

"What?" Chloe asked, running over to see what the problem was.

"What if they start talking while we're gone?"

"Seriously? That's why you had that outburst? Beca, we are not cancelling this trip. I don't care if they start walking while we're gone. We are not missing this vacation."

"Could that happen?" Beca said. "They're not even really crawling all that well yet."

Chloe rubbed her temples and walked away, back to the stove. "You're being irrational and I'm not talking with you about this. Stop worrying. Everything is going to be fine. We're not going to miss any milestones." The rest of their evening was calm. Emily arrived, ate with them, and helped put the twins to bed. She woke with them the next morning and was sitting in the kitchen, sipping coffee, when Stacie arrived.

"You ladies ready?"

"Yes," Chloe said happily.

"Sure," Beca responded.

"There's a binder," Emily warned Stacie.

"They're complicated little buggers," Beca responded.

"Yes," Stacie said, "and as a doctor and a PhD – with the help of your ridiculously qualified nanny – I think we'll be able to figure it out."

"I'm sure. But you can call if you need anything. And Annie will be here every day. Not all day, but she'll be helpful."

"What time is your flight?" Stacie asked, looking at her watch.

"In two and a half hours," Chloe told her. "We need to go now."

"Then go," the brunette said, offering a shooing motion.

"We just need to say goodbye," Beca said. Chloe caught her, spinning her around.

"No, we don't. We said goodbye when we put them back to bed after their feeding three hours ago. Let's move." Chloe dragged her to the car and Beca eventually relaxed, driving them to the airport. Half a day later, they were boarding their cruise ship on the Mediterranean.

Chloe had not only not allowed Beca to purchase the plan that would give them reception on the ship, but she had also figured out how to block her wife from buying it herself – so they could only call home by using the connection in their suite. Beca felt it was quite cruel, but after they boarded and put their things away, she felt much better after they called home and saw the twins, playing with Emily while Stacy made dinner.

"Okay, Mitchell, put it away," Chloe told her, throwing a navy gown at her. "Almost time for dinner."

"We have time," Beca told her.

"We do not. "Good night, Bella and Poppy. Mommy and Mama love you." Chloe hung up the video call before her wife could argue and Beca rolled over on her back, groaning. Her hands rested on her stomach.

"I don't even know if that dress fits anymore. I had twins, you know."

"Darling, I have gained more weight from having our children than you have. I was never pregnant and trust me, it annoys me. Get dressed. We're sitting at the captain's table."

"Chloe!" Beca cried. "I do not want to be social this entire time! You promised this would be relaxing! Sitting at the Captains table is not relaxing. Every damn person on this ship is going to know I'm here."

"It's not a big deal," Chloe promised. "And the crew has already said they will respect your privacy. It's not like it's going to announced at dinner." Beca huffed. But half an hour later, she was dressed in the simple but stunning navy gown, her hair falling in soft curls around a thin headband. She sucked in a breath when Chloe appeared, donning a gown of a sparkling baby blue that brought out her eyes. Her hair was gathered in a braided crown with the perfect amount of curls pulled out to soften the look.

Beca eyed her suggestively. "We would still just stay here."

"The room will be here after dinner." Chloe told her, grabbing her arm and leaning in for a thorough kiss before pulling her out of the room. Beca was too momentarily baffled to argue. Late that evening, while Beca and Chloe dinned, danced, and took a walk on deck before returning to their suite, Stacie and Emily had a predicament.

"We should definitely call them," Emily said, twisting her fingers together.

"Absolutely not," Stacie responded. "Beca will never leave this house again." They were standing side by side in the emergency room at Children's hospital at four in the morning. They girls had started with sniffles that afternoon, then Poppy had spiked a fever high enough to scare Stacie. Over-the-counter children's medicine didn't seem to be lowering it. When she'd called the pediatrician 24 hour line for advice, Poppy starting seizing. Now, several hours later, she was perfectly fine, her grin orange from the popsicle she'd been given, blissfully unaware of everyone else's worry. The medicine they'd given her had gotten rid of the fever and the little girl was feeling much more herself.

"They're going to be angry if we don't call them," Emily said.

Stacie shrugged. "Been there. Seriously. We'll wait for the doctor. See what she thinks. If it is what we think it is – it's nothing to worry about – and we just need to watch her for a few days. If it's more than that, we'll call." Poppy was starting to fuss. Stacie lifted her from the crib, careful of the IV lines that were firmly secured, and sat with her in the rocker. "Why don't you go home and check on Bells? I'll call you as soon as we get to a private room or I hear from the doctor."

"Are you sure?"

Stacie nodded. "We don't all need to be uncomfortable. And Annie is probably worried sick." She had called the nannie to let her know Poppy was fine, but she was sure she would be more reassured hearing it from Emily in person. Eventually, Emily did leave them, and Stacie turned out as many lights as she could, eventually getting Poppy to sleep. She was drifting off herself when a nurse entered.

"Dr. Conrad." She startled and the nurse looked apologetic. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I know the ER. No rest. What's up?"

"We have a room for Poppy. And Dr. Anderson has called in several times to get updates – she will be in first thing in the morning – and has ordered a few tests – just to be sure. But she agrees with your assessment that the seizure was probably brought on by the flu-induced fever."

Several minutes later, Stacie carried Poppy to a private room and practically collapsed with her on the hospital bed. She curled up with her and the nurse reconnected the little girl to the IV and a few other monitors. After texting Emily, they both slept until the doctor appeared the next morning.

A CT Scan, An MRI, eye exams, and consultations with several doctors, they were finally able to go home the next day around dinner time. When Stacie set Poppy on the living room floor, Bella crawled towards her quickly, tackling her to the carpet. "I think she missed her," Emily said, threading a dish towel through her fingers as she watched. Both girls wiggled and squirmed until they sat back up and stared at one another. Then they began babbling at one another, too quick for either woman to pick out actual words.

"I think they're mad at each other," Emily said, frowning.

"Just a little miffed," Stacie said, tilting her head to watch. A few moments later, they were quiet again and had moved to the corner to dig through a collection of blocks. The rest of the week was blissfully uneventful. There were walks to the park, swims in the pool, and lots of snuggles. A few coughts and runny noses, but no more seizures, thank goodness for all their hearts.

Emily had no intention of being part of the conversation, so she took the twins for a walk minutes before she knew Beca and Chloe would be home. "Coward," Stacie called.

"I am what I am," Emily responded.

Several moments later, Stacie was sipping on iced tea, working on her computer, when the door slammed open.

"Welcome back," she said, without looking up.

"What in the hell happened?" Beca demanded. "Why do I have a million notification on my insurance portal about tests on Poppy?"

"Hmm." Stacie said. "Forgot about those." They had probably popped up when they'd gotten off their flight. She looked up at Beca, who was glaring, and Chloe, who only looked slightly concerned. "I had every intention of telling you as soon as you got home. But since there wasn't anything you could do from the Mediterranean Sea, I didn't want to complicate your vacation."

"We could have come home!"

"You didn't need to," Stacie said calmly. "Poppy is perfectly fine. She had a virus. They both did, actually. It's perfectly normal. Poppy got a fever that got too high too fast – and before medicine could lower it, she had a seizure. We took her immediately to Children's – they got the temperature down – and Dr. Anderson and several specialists did tests to make sure the seizure wasn't from anything else. It wasn't."

"You should have told us."

"I am telling you."

Beca looked at Chloe for help.

Chloe sat at the table across from Stacie. "So they're sure she's fine?"

"They're sure," Stacie nodded. "MRI. CT Scan. Blood work. Eye exams. Everything was normal."

"Oh thank God," Chloe said. "Thank you, for being here."

"Of course. I'm just glad it wasn't anything more serious." She looked directly at Beca. "If it had been, I certainly would have called you.

"She's okay?"

"She's fine," Stacie said, smiling gently.

Beca huffed as she sat down next to her wife. "I am never leaving you with my children again."

Stacie nodded. "Of course. It would have made sense to have – who, exactly - here while Poppy was having a seizure?"

"Shut up," Beca responded. Then she burst into tears. The hard-to-catch-your-breath kind.

Stacie moved around the table to sit next to her and both women hugged her. "Oh, honey. She's fine. I promise. "Emily stole her for a walk so she wouldn't have to be here when you guys got back. But she really is fine." Chloe continued holding her and rubbing her back until she calmed down considerably. Stacie had made them all tea and set a cup in front of Beca.

"Does it ever stop being terrifying?" Beca asked, her voiced pained.

"It gets easier," Stacie said. "My patients who are older moms are much more chill. You're still very new to this responsible-for-other-lives thing. Give yourself a break, my friend."

By the time Emily returned with the twins, everything was calmed down. Both little girls cried excitedly when they saw their mothers and began motioning desperately to be picked up. Emily lifted them both from the strolled and quickly deposited them in their mothers' arms, where they were appropriately fawned over for a very long time.

Thank you for reading! Please share your thoughts!

** This actually happened to my sister many decades ago. I was about 6, she was about 2. I just remember my mom screaming for me to get my grandparents (my dad was at work and they lived down the street). My uncle tried to keep her from swallowing her tongue (which is not possible, but at the time, he didn't know that) and got several stitches for the effort. But she was perfectly fine. She came home from the hospital that night, chatty and bright. Thirty some years later, she is thankfully perfectly fine. But we all remember it like it was yesterday. **