Perfect
"You two ready?" Wheeler asks the twins as they stop in front of the door to Linka's hospital room.
They both nod and then wait for their Dad to open the door before they slowly enter.
"Privet, moi Lyubimyye," Linka happily greets her 'loves.'
"Privet, Mamma," they say simultaneously.
"Come over here and give me a hug."
They go to her bedside and wait for Wheeler to lift them so that they can each sit on either side of her.
"I'll be right back," he says, leaning down to give her a kiss.
"I missed you," Linka says, giving each a kiss as they snuggle into her.
"We missed you too," Kat says.
"When can you come home?" Nic asks.
"Probably tomorrow. Were you good for Gram and Pap last night?"
"Da," they answer.
"Good."
The door opens and they all look up to see Wheeler entering with a bundle in his arms.
"Look who I found."
Wheeler walks over to his family and sets the baby in Linka's arms. The twins watch intently at seeing a newborn in person for the first time.
"Nicolai, Katerina…say hello to Alexander Dominic."
"Hello, Xander."
"Hi little bro," Nic holds out his finger for the baby to grasp. "He's shaking my hand!"
Kat offers her finger for her baby brother's other hand.
"He's strong!"
"All my kids are," Wheeler says proudly. "They get that from their mother."
Wheeler lifts Kat up and takes her place next to Linka on the bed and sets Kat on his lap so that he can put his arm around Linka and Nic. He ruffles Nic's hair and gives Linka and Kat each a kiss on the head.
"I have no words right now. I just can't believe how lucky I am. The woman of my dreams…three perfect kids. I love you all so much."
"We love you too. There is no one else I would rather be on this journey with. My life is complete. I am so happy right now," Linka says, leaning back to look up at Wheeler and bring her lips to his.
"We need a picture," Wheeler says as he takes out his phone and presses the nurse station call button.
"Yankee, I do not think they will appreciate you calling them for something so minor."
"Minor? This is major! Our first new family portrait."
Nic looks up at Linka, smiles, and whispers,
"You were right."
She kisses the side of his head and whispers back,
"See. He is such a proud Pappa. This is exactly how he was with you too."
The door opens and a person in scrubs enters.
"You rang?"
"Doctor Walsh!" Linka exclaims. "I am sorry to bother you. My husband pressed the button to ask one of the nurses for a favor."
"It's no bother. I was doing my rounds and headed this way anyway when I heard the nurses saying you'd pressed your call button. I told them I'd handle it," Linka's obstetrician says.
"Our other kids are here now to meet their little brother and we don't have anyone to get a picture. Would you mind?" Wheeler asks, holding his phone out to her.
"Of course not! These are the easy requests. And I can't believe these are the twins!? I was the one who delivered you two. And now you have another playmate. Are you excited?"
"Yes," they reply.
"How sweet. You'll get to teach him things and take care of him."
"I am going to teach him soccer," Kat says proudly.
"And I will teach him hockey," Nic offers.
"Oh my. He'll be quite the athlete," Dr. Walsh gushes.
"And we can start our own band and let him in it, once he learns to play an instrument," Nic muses over their future as siblings.
"Wow, and I get to say that I was the one who not only brought you all into the world, but also took the first picture of this future famous family!"
"We are already famous," Kat informs her. "Our parents were in the original Planeteers. People still write stories about them and what they are doing."
"I am sure there will be stuff on the internet about the new baby," Nic adds.
"Ok, you two…that's enough. No one cares that much about us anymore except gossip columnists!" Wheeler says, slightly embarrassed. "Now let's let the nice doctor take the picture so she can get back to helping other patients."
She smiles, letting the adults know she doesn't mind.
"Ok, is everyone ready? I'll take a few. Look here and say 'Baby.'…Looks good. One more time. 1…2…3."
She hands the phone back to Wheeler.
"Look ok?"
"Frame-worthy! Thank you so much!"
"No problem. How about I send someone in with lunches for everyone, so you don't have to leave this cozy set up?"
"That would be great. Thank you," Linka says.
"You're welcome. The paperwork says you're getting out of here today. I'll see you next week for a follow-up appointment."
"Sounds good," Linka responds.
"It was nice seeing you again," Dr. Walsh tells the twins.
"Nice to meet you," they reply.
Once the doctor has left the room, Kat asks.
"Will she bring a bottle for Xander?"
"Nah, he drinks boob juice."
"NICOLAI!" Linka gasps as Wheeler snorts, trying to contain his laughter while Kat giggles. "Where did you learn such a vulgar term…as if I do not already know."
She gives Wheeler a glare.
"I heard Pappa talking to Uncle Jake about coming over to watch the Giants' game a few weeks ago and he said, 'while the fridge still has room for beer before it gets stocked with Linka's extra boob juice.'"
"Ok buddy, that's enough," Wheeler snickers guiltily. "You're gonna land me on the couch."
"Or ground you from having your friends come over. Jacob will have to stay home and watch the game alone," Linka warns.
"Nooooo!" Kat whines. "He always brings Tara over to play while he and Pappa watch football."
Only being separated by eight months, Kat had become best friends with the daughter of Linka's college friend and Wheeler's former NYPD colleague.
"Tara can still come over with Aunt Niki."
Seemingly satisfied with that, Kat turns her attention back to her new brother.
"You're not gonna feed him while we eat, are you?"
"Nyet," Linka chuckles. "He ate before you got here and will not be ready to eat again for another hour or so."
"Good…no one wants to see that!"
The kids giggle, including the biggest kid in the room. He looks at Linka with an innocent shrug and mouths, "I do!" A hospital employee enters with a lunch cart. Wheeler gets up, taking Kat with him and seating her at the small table in the corner before going to the other side of the bed and lifting Nic to sit him at the table as well.
"Enjoy!" The employee says as she sets the trays on the table that the kids are at and two more on the table next to Linka's bed for the adults.
"Thank you," Linka says as the employee exits.
"Ooooh, mac and cheese!" Nic gushes.
"Don't get too excited, Bud. It's hospital food."
"You will still inhale it!" Linka jokes.
"I can wait. I'll take the baby while you eat."
"Nyet, you go ahead."
"No, really. You never get a hot meal at home by the time you're done serving us…You eat. I wanna bond with my little guy."
He holds out his hands for her to pass him the baby, which she happily does, not because she's eager to eat, but because she wanted to take the time to watch these first moments with her new family. The twins are sitting at the table swapping food. Nic picks out the pineapple from Kat's fruit cup while she picks out the honeydew melon from his. No words were exchanged, he just knows that she doesn't like pineapple and she knows he doesn't like honeydew. They're best friends, but they'll never admit that. Not now. Maybe when they're older it will be easier for them to acknowledge it, just as she and her brother are closer now. Katerina and Nicolai are different though. They have a twin bond. They've never known anything but happiness. Mishka and Linka were bound by sadness and loss as children. Fortunately, now their common bond is watching each other experience parenthood and having the family life that they were denied when they were younger.
Her attention turns to her husband. He's standing next to the table where the twins are eating, listening to them chatter away while cradling Xander and smiling down at him. When Kat asks him if he'd like a grape, he tells her to toss it up in the air. Linka smiles lovingly as he catches it in his mouth, much to the kids' delight and applause. Now Nic has to try it and once again, Wheeler makes the catch. Linka considers making a joke about his big mouth, but she doesn't want to lose focus on the scene before her. She takes a bite of her lunch…even the hospital food tastes good. She's not sure what she did to deserve this, but her life couldn't be more perfect.
The End