Some triggering things in this chapter.
Eight Months Later
April 2010
Lee
Lee ducked a bullet, turning his head to see Toll take out the assailant and give him a thumb's up to indicate he was in the clear. He felt relief all over again that Toll had come around to being friendly with him again. Maybe he wasn't as friendly as usual, but it was better than having him leave every time Lee walked into a room. Their team had been on edge for a while thanks to their bitterness with each other, but it was over now. He was pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that Norah had left him too, so it made Toll feel better that he wasn't the only one with a broken heart.
"Clear," Barney's voice sounded in their ear.
"Clear!" Caesar's came next. Resounding "clears" came from the others. Lee walked to join them all at their rendezvous point. Gunner was wiping his sweaty brow with the back of his arm.
"We good?" Toll asked, pulling out his water and taking a swig.
"For now," Barney answered. "Everyone still in one piece?"
A resounding chorus of "yups" replied, and Barney gave a satisfied nod. Toll made almost a hissing sound then, and Lee glanced at him to see his face a bit contorted.
"What's up?" Caesar asked him, noticing as well.
"I dunno," Toll answered. "Just...feels like something with Vic."
"What do you mean?" Gunner asked anxiously.
"Something hurts," Toll advised, rubbing his hand slowly over his chest where his heart was. "I...I don't know."
Lee had to admit that the twin connection freaked him out a little bit. He didn't know how he'd have felt if he could have been connected to Lincoln like that, especially when Lincoln was dying. He swallowed. Would Toll feel incredible pain if his sister died? He didn't want to know.
He walked over to Gunner, who was off to the side now and holding something in his hand. Lee recognized it as a ring box. Gunner snapped it shut and shoved it back into his side pocket, zipping it shut before meeting Lee's eyes.
"She'll say yes," Lee told him. "She's crazy about you."
"I hope so."
"She will."
"I'm worried now," Gunner said, looking at Toll. "What if she's hurt?"
"She's got Tool. She's not alone." Lee reached to give Gunner a slight shake of reassurance. He knew Gunner and Toll both worried about Victoria relapsing and overdosing, but so far she was okay.
"Movin' out!" Barney called, and Lee turned to follow. He wanted this mission over with so he could go home and continue staring at the wall out of grief and heartache.
Days Later
Barney
He had some new bruises, but otherwise he was relatively unscathed. He arrived at Tool's feeling tired and cranky. He wanted to sleep for a week. He tossed his bag into the armory to unpack later and went to scrounge up a beer. He didn't see Tool, so he guessed his friend was out entertaining a lady or doing something else for fun.
He groaned as he sat down and propped his feet up on the coffee table. It was beat up and looked like it had survived a bombing, but it was still sturdy. Barney kept meaning to refinish it.
He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until someone shaking him made him open his eyes and see Tool looking at him. He could tell immediately that something was wrong.
"What happened?" he asked. Was it Norah? She hadn't reached out since she'd left, but he still thought that she might call or something if anything was wrong. Maybe he was just delusional. Maybe she didn't care about them anymore.
"It's bad, Barney," Tool said, his voice hoarse. "It's really bad."
Barney felt his skin prickle as he held Tool's gaze.
"Tell me," he ordered.
And Tool did.
Gunner
He was going to do it tonight. Gunner looked at the ring box on his dresser as he got dressed. He was going to surprise her and take her out to dinner and then ask her to marry him. He loved Victoria so much. He didn't want to do life without her. It surprised him how nervous he felt. He guessed he just wanted to do it right and make it special for her. He knew she didn't care about things being perfect, but he still wanted to make things perfect for her.
He thought about the conversation he'd had with Yang before heading home after their job.
"You'll make her happy," Yang had said, flashing a smile.
"Yea?"
"Oh yea," Yang had agreed. "Just don't screw up."
Gunner thought about it now. He had no intentions of screwing up. He didn't have cravings anymore. He was fulfilled and complete. He didn't need anything to numb the pain anymore.
He rehearsed how he was going to say it in his head over and over. He had a few hours before he was going to surprise her. Plenty of time to get it right.
Caesar
It was so great to see his daughter running again. It still marveled him even after all this time. Caesar picked her up and hoisted her over his arm as she giggled, his bag on his other shoulder balancing him out. Will was trying to get him to shoot a hoop as he walked by, and Caesar managed to catch the basketball in one hand and throw it into the next with a swish.
"How?" Will demanded. "How do you do that?!"
"I'm magic," Caesar answered, carrying Sasha inside as she kept giggling. "Honey, I'm hooome!" He kicked the door shut behind him with his foot. Char met him in the hallway, patting Sasha's lower back as she gave Caesar a kiss.
"My teacher liked my painting," Sasha said as Char carried on with her task after giving Caesar the look that implied they'd be having some grown up time later.
"Oh yea? What was it?" Caesar asked, carrying her to the master bedroom and setting her on the bed while he put down his bag and went to get a fresh pair of socks.
"It was our family," Sasha answered.
"Did you make me taller than everyone?" he asked, and she giggled again.
"Yea," she answered. "But Uncle Gunner is second tallest."
"Oh?"
"Yea. I did our family," Sasha repeated. "All the uncles and us."
Caesar smiled at the sweetness of this. He knew how much she loved her honorary uncles.
"Well, that's lovely, sweetheart," he said, moving to kiss her head. "You're wonderful. Don't forget that."
"Thank you, Daddy." Then she squealed again as he picked her up once more and bounced her over his shoulder as he walked back to the living room.
Yang
It was quiet. He sat in his chair and folded his hands on his lap, looking out the window. Sometimes he liked the quiet; other times, he dreaded it. He reflected on their last job and how the target's son had screamed when they'd killed his father. They hadn't known the boy was even there, and all of them felt terrible for it. Yang wished they'd checked better. He knew that boy would be scarred for life. Would he go back in time and keep the man alive? Absolutely not. That man had killed hundreds of people and planned on murdering more. He had to be stopped.
Yang wondered if the boy would grow up searching for them to get his revenge. He hoped that the boy would learn who his father was instead and find a way to contribute to the world in order to reverse the evil his father had done.
As the rain came down, gently at first and then torrential, Yang wondered about his lost wife and child and if he'd ever see them again when all of this...life...was over.
Toll
He got home to find Victoria sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. He dropped his bag and hurried over to her, his chest still hurting and his anxiety spiking. She didn't move or make a sound as he sat next to her, but he could see her tears hitting the floor slowly.
"Vic?" he said. "What's wrong?"
Victoria sniffed hard and cleared her throat. She finally looked up and met his eyes. Toll felt the pain in his heart hit hard once again, and he just knew it was something really bad. He recognized it from when she'd told him their parents had died.
"No," he said, his voice barely audible. "No, Vic. No." He suddenly didn't want her to say it. He couldn't take it.
"Bobby's dead," she whispered raggedly. Toll rammed a fist in his mouth, trying to stop from screaming. He made a strangled noise instead.
"No," he said again after he pulled it back. She nodded, unable to speak. He felt so many things in that moment: despair, angst, rage, defeat. It just seemed like they couldn't keep ahead of anything, that life just kept screwing them over and over again.
"It was an accident," Victoria said through her tears. "He was in a car with a friend...it was raining...they crashed into a rock wall. He died instantly."
"No," Toll kept saying. "No, no, no, NO, NO, NO!"
"Nick," Victoria said, grasping his hand in hers tightly. "He's gone, Nick." Her voice cracked at the end, and Toll went from feeling everything to suddenly feeling nothing. Victoria moved to hold him, and he put his arms around her but barely felt her. He could barely breathe let alone think.
His nephew was dead.
It wasn't fair. It was beyond not fair. Toll didn't know why the world was so against them, and he knew he'd never understand. Their last visit with Bobby a few weeks ago kept playing in his head on repeat, and it was hurting him that much more, especially when he recalled how Bobby told them how much he loved them. With his sister sobbing in his arms, all he could do was hold her back. There was nothing he could do or say to make it better or fix it.
Nothing at all.
A Few Days Later
Lee stood in the rain with no umbrella. His hands were in his pockets. Caesar, Gunner, Barney, Tool, and Yang were in a row alongside him. Toll was by the front with Victoria. Lee couldn't help but think this was the saddest funeral he'd ever been to outside of his brother's. He'd felt so bad upon hearing the news of Bobby dying. He knew he wasn't the only one feeling nervous and wondering if this would be what would send Victoria over the edge.
He looked at Gunner now. The man had put a pin in proposing to her. Lee could tell he wanted to be there for her, but Victoria had stuck by Toll's side ever since he'd come home.
The minister at the front by the grave was saying something that Lee couldn't make out. He was barely focusing from being lost in his own thoughts. He was ashamed to say that he kept thinking about Norah. Even after all this time, he still wanted to know where she was and what she was doing. He still wanted to know if she was still in love with him like he was still in love with her.
His attention snapped to the front again when Victoria released a heavy sob. He noticed a couple by the grave glaring at her, and he knew they were Bobby's adoptive parents. He stayed alert in case he had to intervene before a fight broke out.
When the minister finished, people began to trickle out of the graveyard, but the Expendables remained. Bobby's adoptive parents walked by Victoria, the husband with his arm around his wife; the wife glaring at Victoria as they passed. Lee shot them his own glare as they passed. Victoria had a right to be there. Lee firmly believed that.
"Come on," Barney said to him now. "Give 'em a minute."
Lee nodded, and they single filed out to the waiting SUVs. He looked back before climbing into the passenger seat, watching as Toll held Victoria up as they stood over Bobby's grave. His heart clenched.
He hated how unfair life was.
Barney
He hated motel rooms. Even though this one had a decent bed, he still hated it. He'd seen one too many murders in one, rescued too many trafficked women from one, and had his heart broken outside of one. He'd never forget the day he learned his sister had taken her own life. He'd been having a smoke outside of his motel room at the time, on his way home from a job. It had been raining then too.
"Shit," he muttered, turning over and punching his pillow. It hurt to see Victoria and Toll so devastated. They'd just started building a relationship with Bobby, and he had to be ripped away from them so young and so soon after finding each other. He didn't understand it.
"You too, huh," Lee said from his bed next to him.
"It just pisses me off," Barney said, sitting up now. His black tank top was sticking to him from sweat. "We go out looking for death all the time. That kid had his whole life in front of him and wanted to live. It just doesn't seem right."
"It's not."
Barney sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair. He couldn't stop thinking about Marcy's funeral. Norah and Rose had been so upset, and Joe had been barely keeping it together. Grief was just too damn raw and hard sometimes. In the end, he couldn't sleep, so he got up and went outside. It was cool outside, but at least it wasn't raining. He started to walk, not knowing where he was even going, but he soon stumbled across Toll, who was sitting on the hood of his car with his knees pulled to his chest. He didn't look as Barney went to stand next to the car, his hands in his pockets.
"Is it ever gonna end, Barney?" Toll asked after a moment. Barney could hear the angst in his voice, and he reached to put a hand on his shoulder. It was the only way he could think of to convey comfort in that moment. He knew Toll wasn't looking for an answer. They stayed there together in silence until the sun started to come up. Then they were forced to start a new day.
A Week Later
Lee
He wasn't even sure why he'd come here. He pushed open the door of the bar where he'd found out she worked. He guessed he just needed something to distract himself from the pain, and what better way than to go find the woman who had left his heart in pieces and see if he had another chance?
The bar was noisy, and he winced as the raucous shouting from the back corner got louder as he made his way to the front. He could see her clearly, her back to him.
Norah.
He felt something inside at the mere sight of her. He knew that she would help him to feel better, even if it was just a small amount. Maybe he'd be brave enough to tell her he wanted to be with her, that he'd give up the only life he'd ever known to try something new, something better. For he realized more and more that he wanted that something better, that he couldn't keep doing what he was doing forever.
He was halfway towards her when she turned, and he stopped dead in his tracks. She was laughing and smiling, handing a beer to someone. His breath was coming shallow, and his heart raced while his eyes followed her hand as it went through her hair and then rested on her pregnant belly. His mouth went dry as he saw Randy at the bar now, leaning into her and putting his hand on top of hers over the bump.
Someone jostling into him jerked him out of his reverie. He took a step back. Then another. He took two more before turning around and leaving the bar without even going to see her. He got to his rental car and stepped inside of it. His hands were shaking as he rested them on the wheel. He tried to get his bearings back, but the image of her pregnant was continually throwing him for a loop. The image of Randy with her made him want to scream. It was quite clear that she'd come home and ran right to him. She'd gone back to what was familiar, regardless of what an idiot Randy was.
His heart broke all over again.
He cranked the engine on and shoved the car into gear, pulling out of there and not looking back. It was time to accept that he was never going to have Norah in his life, that she'd moved on for good.
But it still hurt like hell.
Rose
She watched her sister waddle inside and heave a groan as she sat down and worked to pull off her shoes. She sighed happily once they were off.
"I really think you shouldn't be on your feet so much," Rose commented. Norah just made a face and went to make herself something to eat. Rose had struggled a lot when Norah had first told her she was pregnant. Having lost a baby not that long ago, Rose felt a bit jealous that now her sister was getting to experience this miracle. And not just one miracle...two miracles.
"Argh, I think they're kicking each other again," Norah said, sitting down and putting a hand on her belly.
"You would too if you were crammed into a small room with your sibling," Rose advised. Norah laughed.
"You're right."
"There's my girls," Joe said, coming in then. He grabbed himself a beer and tousled Norah's hair on the way by. He'd taken the pregnancy news better than expected. Rose suspected he was thrilled to have more grandchildren. The only thing that bothered her was knowing that Randy was the father. She hated Randy, and she thought Norah had too, but they spent a lot of time together now, so Rose concluded they were working things out. She knew Norah still loved Lee, though. She saw the letters her sister penned to him but never sent. Finding them had been an accident, really. Rose couldn't help herself, and she'd read them. The longing and angst and sadness were evident in each one every time.
"And boy," Norah corrected him. Joe grinned even wider. Norah was having twins, and one was a boy and one was a girl. Oscar was thrilled to have cousins, especially a boy cousin.
"And boy," Joe agreed. "I think you should be going on maternity leave soon, Norah. Twins come early you know, and you don't want to give birth on the floor at a bar."
"This is my last week," Norah promised. Rose tuned out the rest of their conversation. She was thinking about how they were all going to cram into this house. She'd hoped that Winston would have proposed to her by now, but he hadn't. He also hadn't asked her to move in with him, so she really had no idea where their relationship was going.
"I'm going to hit the hay," Joe said now, waving at them. "Goodnight girls. And boy." He chuckled to himself as he toddled off to bed. Rose took a peek at Norah to see her sitting with her eyes closed and a hand over her bump, smoothing it over in a repetitive motion.
"Are they really Randy's?" Rose asked, and Norah opened her eyes. "Does he even know?" She said nothing, which Rose didn't know how to interpret.
"See you in the morning," she said instead, pulling herself up and going to her room. Rose turned off the lights and went to bed herself after checking in on Oscar, who was sound asleep. She crawled underneath her covers and shut her lamp off, trying to fall asleep.
After tossing and turning for a while, she finally did.
Gunner
He hadn't known what to expect when Victoria came to see him that night. He was even more surprised when she said nothing but kissed him hard and fast. He hadn't known how to help her through this time, but it was clear right now what she wanted. He didn't know if he should go along with it, but she was relentless. In the end, he figured she was trying to distract herself, and if this would help her achieve that, then he'd do it.
"I'm so sorry, my love," Gunner said as she cried into his neck afterwards. "I really am."
"I feel so broken, Gunner," she whispered. "I don't know how I'm going to move forward."
"One step at a time," he replied. "One moment at a time. We're all here for you. I'm here for you."
"Thank you."
He held her close, breathing her in. Everyone was on edge that she was going to relapse, but she hadn't yet. Gunner hoped that she'd manage to stay strong and pull through, but the fear of her giving in choked him constantly every day.
"I love you," he told her, feeling like she needed to hear it. He didn't know what to think when she didn't say it back.
A Few Days Later
Norah
The first wave of pain made her double over, more from surprise than anything. She was at home alone, and she realized she was having a contraction. Her anxiety spiked. Say what you wanted, Norah was terrified under the brave face she put on for everyone else. She'd never thought about being a mother, and now she was not only going to have one child, but she was having two. At the same time.
It freaked her right out.
"Okay," she said, breathing. "Okay, okay. It's baby time." She went to get her bag for the hospital and called Rose.
"I didn't forget," her sister said irritably. "And yes, I'm hurrying home before it melts."
"Forget the ice cream," Norah cut her off. "I'm getting ready to push out two babies, Rose."
"What?"
"I'm in labor!" Norah hollered, feeling greatly annoyed.
"Oh! Oh, shit," Rose said. Then there was scuffling and muffled talking and shuffling before her sister's voice was clear again. Obviously, she'd dropped her phone. "Hang on, I'm coming."
"I don't really fancy giving birth on the kitchen floor, Rose," Norah advised.
"I'm coming!"
They hung up, and Norah went to sit on the couch. She was having babies. She was going to be a mother. It terrified her to do it alone, even if she did have her father and sister to help. Randy was okay, but he was not father material.
"I hope you like me," Norah said to her babies, pressing a hand against her bump. It was one of her fears, that her children would grow up to hate her. She wanted to be a good mother, but she had no idea how to do that. One thing she knew for sure: she wasn't going to leave them by choice.
When Rose got there ten minutes later, she got loaded into the car and braced herself as Rose drove them quickly to the hospital.
Her journey of motherhood was about to begin.
Toll
They were hanging out at Tool's, but it was still hard to feel any sense of happiness or joy. Toll was nursing a beer while Victoria was talking to Tool at the bar. He watched her carefully. She hadn't been herself lately, and he was worried.
"I think you cheat," Yang said to Gunner as he won another round of Gin Rummy.
"I'm just better than you," Gunner retorted.
"Yea, baby," Caesar was saying into his phone. "I'll be home in an hour or so."
Lee was spinning his knife in his fingers, staring out the window. Toll knew that Norah leaving had hurt him a lot too, and he was ashamed to say that it made him glad to see Lee hurt. He didn't want to be the only one to be rejected by Norah. He still thought about her, but it wasn't as much anymore. He'd started to move on a few months ago, but he hadn't met anyone else yet. He didn't think he would, and he was honestly beginning to think he was okay with that.
"Come on," Barney said suddenly. "Let's go throw a ball around or something. I'm sick of just sitting here gathering dust."
"Alright," Caesar agreed. "I could go for kicking some ass."
"Oh, I don't think so," Barney retorted.
"You coming, Vic?" Toll asked, and his sister gave him a sad smile.
"You go ahead," she said. "I'm just gonna hang out here." Something in her voice made him feel uneasy, but she smiled at him again and reached to squeeze his arm. "I'm okay, Nick. Go have some fun. It's okay to have fun."
"I'd feel better if you came with us," Toll said.
"I'll be fine, Nick," she promised. "I'll see you soon." She moved in to kiss his cheek lightly, and he hugged her tight after. He watched her go hug and kiss Gunner too, but he turned away to avoid seeing it. It still made him uncomfortable at times.
"I'll stay," Tool said to him. "I'll call if anything comes up."
"Thanks, brother," Toll said to him gratefully. He left with the others then, and he looked back to see his sister standing there with an unreadable expression on her face.
Joe
He skidded around the corner in the hallway and ran into a nurse.
"Norah Lorkowski!" he yelped. "Where is she? She's having twins!"
"Down the hall to the right," the nurse said. "You can sit in the waiting room."
"I don't want the waiting room. I want my daughter's room."
"She's in delivery, sir. You'll have to wait."
"She's all alone!"
"Her sister is with her," the nurse said kindly. "She's not alone."
Joe felt instant relief. Of course Rose was with her. How could he have forgotten that? He went to the waiting room and sank down onto the chair there. He couldn't help but think back to the day Rose was born. Barney had waited with him, and they'd been so thrilled to meet the little baby and welcome her into the family.
"Oh, Marcy," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "I wish you could see this."
But somehow he knew that wherever she was, his wife could see it all. And she was smiling.
Victoria
She stood in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She was drawing in shaky breaths and trying to control herself. She'd been hurting so bad for so long, even more so after losing her son, and she was tired of it. She wanted it to end. She couldn't pretend she was doing okay anymore.
She looked at the note she'd finished writing before tucking it into her purse. The logical part of her brain knew this was going to hurt so many people, but the part that didn't care anymore, the part that wanted the pain to end, it took over all logical thinking.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to no one but imagined her son, her brother, her parents, Gunner, and the rest of the team standing there. "I'm so sorry. I'm just so tired. I want to come home."
She reached into her bag and pulled out the needle, her eyes burning with tears but also hardened with resolve. Soon, the pain would stop. Soon, she'd be free.
Soon.
Rose
"I don't think I can do this," Norah said, trying not to cry as they told her it was time to push.
"You can do this," Rose promised. "You're the strongest person I know, Norah. You can do anything."
"Really?"
"Yes. Now, let's meet these babies, huh?" Rose said, squeezing her hand. "I wanna meet my niece and nephew."
"What if they hate me?" Norah asked tearfully.
"They won't," Rose told her. "And if they do, then Aunt Rose will knock their heads together." Norah gave a slight scoff at this, and then she was groaning in pain again.
"Okay, Norah," the doctor said. "It's time to push."
Lee
"Hang on," Toll said, stopping to catch his breath. "I don't feel right."
Lee shared a look with Barney. This wasn't another twin thing was it? Lee hoped not. He knew Victoria had been struggling very badly, but he figured she would be okay with all of their support, and they'd made sure to give it to her.
Then, Toll's phone rang, and Lee could tell something was wrong when Toll answered. Lee caught the ball and gestured to the others to stop. His heart was pounding from running around, but now it was pounding because of the look on Toll's face.
"I'm coming," Toll said. "I'll be right there." He hung up and looked at them all. "I gotta go." He started to run, and without a word, they all ran after him.
Norah
She was doing her best not to yell and curse. Rose was gripping her hand and telling her what a good job she was doing. She felt like she was going to rip in half when the cry of her first baby sounded in the room.
"Oh my God," she half laughed, half whimpered.
"Oh, Norah," Rose said, taking a peek. "He's beautiful!"
"Yea?" Norah asked. Rose came back and smoothed a hand over her head gently.
"Yea," she confirmed. Norah was feeling so tired suddenly, and everything hurt.
"Okay, dear," the doctor said a few moments later. "Almost there. One more to go, and she's coming fast."
"Oh, God," Norah moaned.
"You got this," Rose promised, taking her hand again. "We're halfway there. One more, sis. One more."
How she managed to do it, Norah would never know. By the time it was over, she was drained and barely able to think straight. When her babies were brought to her, she started to cry. They were her children. She instantly felt a fierce protectiveness over them as she looked at them in her arms. Then she felt a bit sad and angry at her mother again. How could she have left them like that? Didn't she know how much it would hurt her family? Hadn't she wanted to protect them from that kind of hurt?
"Oh," Rose said, touching their cheeks with her index finger lightly. "They're so precious, Norah."
"I don't know how I'm going to do this," Norah whispered, and Rose moved closer and put her arms around all three of them.
"With us," she answered simply. "You're gonna do this with us. We've got your back."
"I love you," Norah said.
"I love you too, little sister."
Toll
"Vic, come on!" Toll shouted, banging on the door. "Open the door!" There was no answer. He was beginning to feel antsy. Why wasn't she answering him? When Tool had called to say she'd shut herself up in the bathroom, he'd instantly panicked. "Vic!" Having enough of this, he moved to get a hammer. He caught sight of the others watching nervously.
"She not coming out of there?" Barney asked him.
"No, and she's not answering me," Toll replied. "I'm bustin' in there." The others watched warily as Toll grabbed the hammer and went back to the door. Gunner came to stand next to him to help.
"Vic? I'm coming in!" Toll shouted. He smashed the hammer over and over, wood splintering and breaking. Then he kicked it open, and he was in. The first thing he saw was the needle. Then he saw his sister's face.
"VIC!" he screamed. He fell to his knees, grabbing her face. "Vic? Vic!" He yanked the needle from her vein and tossed it, not caring. He felt for a pulse, unable to find one. He moved her to the floor onto her back and started compressions. "Vic!"
He couldn't lose her too. He just couldn't. He couldn't be left all alone in this world. His heart was ripping in half the more he worked and the more she didn't respond.
"VICTORIA!" Toll bellowed. He was banging his fist against her chest repeatedly now, crying. "Victoria!"
"Toll," Barney said, grabbing his arm to stop him. "Toll, stop. She's gone."
"No!" Toll cried. "Victoria!"
Tears were streaming down Gunner's face at this point as he stood there staring. Tool had wet eyes as well. Yang and Caesar were standing side by side, unsure what to do or say. Lee moved to help Barney pull Toll off of Victoria. He was sobbing now. Victoria's lifeless eyes were staring at the ceiling.
"Victoria," he cried. "Vic..." He shoved both Barney and Lee off of him and moved to gather his sister into his arms, holding her tight against him and crying into her shoulder. "Vic. Oh my God, Vic..."
It was unbearable. The pain was just too much. He released a howl that didn't sound remotely human, and he rocked his lifeless sister back and forth in his arms as the tears continued to stream down his face.
Joe
He was beyond antsy when Rose finally came out to find him. He got to his feet, giving her an anxious look.
"Congratulations, Grandpa," she said, smiling. He started to laugh and clapped his hands together. Rose went to give him a hug, and they rocked back and forth for a moment before Joe demanded to see his new grandbabies. Rose led the way, and he found Norah holding her twins in her arms.
"Hi, Dad," she said softly.
"You brave girl," he said, moving to kiss her head. "You did so good."
"You wanna hold them?"
"One at a time," Joe answered. "I'm not as strong as I used to be."
"I'll take one," Rose said eagerly, reaching. She cuddled with the little boy while Joe held his granddaughter.
"So? What did you call them?" he asked, looking down at the sleeping face. Babies always just looked so innocent.
"Rosalee Marcy and Joseph Barney. Joey for short," she said, and Joe felt his throat tighten. She'd named her son after him and her uncle and her daughter after her mother and Rose. He shared a look with his oldest daughter, who seemed to have the same thought as him.
"Beautiful," he said to her. "Well done, my girl."
"Oscar can't wait to meet them," Rose told her. "Winston is going to bring him by later."
Norah smiled, nodded, and closed her eyes. Joe knew she was exhausted, so he went to sit with his granddaughter while Rose did small laps with his grandson. When Norah fell asleep, Rose went over closer to him.
"What do you think?" Joe asked.
"I think I'm going to tell him," Rose answered. "He deserves to know."
"You're right."
"She might hate me forever, but I think it's the right decision and that she knows it is in her heart."
"I agree."
He looked at Rosalee and smiled as she looked back at him. Then he looked at Joey, who was almost a spitting image of his father. There was no denying it now. Then, a sound made them turn to see someone being wheeled by with a flurry of nurses around them, all shouting different things. Rose looked at Joe, and he felt it too. When a new life begins, somewhere, a life ends. Such was the circle of life. Joy and sadness, light and dark...they were blended together. One was not complete without the other.
He leaned back in his chair and held his grandson close. He pretended Marcy was there smiling at them all, which made him feel good. After a moment, Rose got up and went to the hall, and he heard her talking.
"Hi, Barney, it's...it's Rose. Your, um, niece?" Rose was saying. "I really just wanted to reach out to you to let you know..."
Her voice faded away as she moved farther from the door. Joe looked at Norah, who was still sleeping. He knew he'd always be there for her no matter what. He just hoped she knew it too.