Chapter 130
Tegan woke up and looked at the clock. It was 3.30 in the morning. Lindsey was once again not in bed but in the bathroom, for the umpteenth time that night. "Everything okay?" asked Tegan when she returned. "Yeah, sorry for waking you... again" said Lindsey. "It's okay... What's wrong?" asked Tegan. "I just have to go to the toilet a million times a night. Somebody's sleeping on my bladder" whispered Lindsey and lay down with her back to Tegan. Tegan put her arm around Lindsey's waist and moved closer. "Baby... I'm so hot right now I just need a bit of room to cool down" said Lindsey over her shoulder. "Oh... okay" said Tegan sounding sad and moved further away. "I'm sorry sweetie" said Lindsey sincerely. "I understand Linds... What can I do for you? Can I go get you some water... some tea?" asked Tegan. "No, no more to drink or I'll have to sleep in the bathroom" said Lindsey. "Can I switch the fan on for you? The air conditioning?" asked Tegan, desperate to be of some use. "No... You can't sleep with air conditioning... Kate said it would dry your mucus membranes too much and close up your airways and I hate the sound of a fan but thank you Tee... just be here with me" said Lindsey with her eyes closed. "Without touching you" said Tegan. "Yeah... sorry. It's just so hot tonight" said Lindsey hooking two fingers into Tegan's.
"I'm sorry you're suffering like this baby... and I'm so useless" said Tegan. "Tee... don't start that... you're not useless" said Lindsey. "Yeah but you are doing all the work... and you're really having a hard time and me... well I'm just going to score two kids without any suffering" said Tegan. "Boo... you've suffered enough for a lifetime okay... I'm so happy to do this, I'm loving this experience and a little heartburn or lack of sleep isn't a big deal in the greater scheme of things. We're going to get two beautiful babies for it" said Lindsey turning on her other side to face Tegan. She looked into Tegan's eyes and smiled. "Two babies!" she giggled and kissed Tegan's fingers. "So when can we start panning the next one?" asked Tegan smiling. "As soon as you decide to carry it" laughed Lindsey. "Okay... I'll carry the next baby or babies or whatever" said Tegan. "Oh that's for damn sure" joked Lindsey. "Sure, I'll take my turn" said Tegan. "Let's just get these two out before we start planning the next one" said Lindsey smiling. "Babe... thank you for this incredible gift" whispered Tegan.
Kate was in Anna, they eye specialist's office. "I'm sorry Kate... it doesn't look good... the damage to your eye can't be repaired. It's permanent. Your vision won't return to normal. You won't be able to operate again... I'm sorry" said Anna. Kate gave a large gulp and woke up startled. She breathed fast and heavy and felt Sara stir next to her. "Baby? You okay?" she said groggily. "Yeah Sar... go back to sleep I'm fine" said Kate. "You sure?" said Sara. "Yeah. I'm fine" said Kate. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and turned on her side, facing away from Sara. "Just a dream" she repeated in her head.
"Okay guys, I'll go with them to the hospital. I'll make up some excuse about a meeting and I'll keep them busy until you give me the okay" said Kate while having breakfast. "Okay... shhh here they come" said Sara and winked at Kate. "Morning moms to be. You have a good night?" asked Kate. "Mmmm kind of... Lindsey's having problems sleeping" said Tegan. "I guess you must be pretty uncomfortable by now" said Kate. "It's fine... It's just so hot these days... but the naps during the day help with the tiredness" said Lindsey not wanting to complain. "It's not that hot... you've just got two built in heaters" said Kate. "Uh huh..." grunted Lindsey. "Maybe you can use some ice packs or wet towels to cool you down" said Kate. "Why the hell didn't I think of that?" said Tegan. "You're going to be cool as a cucumber tonight mama" said Tegan and gave Lindsey a quick peck on the cheek.
"I have a meeting at the hospital, can I get a ride with you guys? " asked Kate. "I thought we're seeing Addison at the consulting rooms not the office at the hospital?" said Lindsey. Sara gave Kate a desperate look. "Um... no she specifically said to me that she hopes to run into me at the hospital" said Kate. "It says consulting rooms on my calendar but we can drop you first" said Tegan. "Um let me phone her and check" said Kate. "You don't have to phone her. I'll check with the receptionist" said Tegan. "No I have to speak to her about something else anyway" said Kate looking a bit flustered. Alex looked as if he was going to burst out laughing any minute. Sara and Kate left the kitchen in a rush. "What's up with them" said Tegan with a mouth full of muesli. A few minutes later they came back in "Okay... hospital it is" said Kate. "Did you call her or did you just go make out" joked Tegan.
Tegan, Lindsey and Kate arrived at the hospital and Kate arranged to meet them at the cafeteria when they were done. "I wish we could do this this at the consulting rooms... this isn't my favourite place in the world" said Lindsey. Tegan stopped in her tracks and took both of Lindsey's hands in hers. "I want you to put everything that happened here out of your mind okay... this is a happy place now... the probable birth place of our babies. We need to change our attitude towards it" said Tegan looking into Lindsey's eyes. "You're right. It just... it brings back bad memories" said Lindsey. "But it also brings back memories of Tegan getting better and walking out of here" said Kate. "That's true" said Tegan. Lindsey and Tegan headed towards Addison's office and Kate walked the other way. "Kate!" said Addison jogging up behind her. "Hi... listen I'm so, so sorry for messing you around with this. I'm really sorry, you're doing me a massive favor seeing them here" said Kate. "No problem... all the same to me. I would have headed here after their appointment anyway" said Addison. "Thanks anyway... please drag things out a bit if you can" she said. "I'll try my best" winked Addison.
Kate stopped in front of a door. She looked at the sign and swallowed hard. "Ophthalmology". She paced outside biting her lip and felt a hand on her shoulder. "Kate! It's so good seeing you" said Nancy and hugged her tight. "Hey Nance! How are you? I've missed you!" said Kate. "Oh I'm okay... overworked, underpaid same old, same old. You look a lot better than the last time I saw you" joked Nancy. "Thanks! I feel much better but I still look a bit like a battered wife" shrugged Kate. "You look gorgeous as ever! You here to see Anna?" asked Nancy. "Uh huh" said Kate sounding nervous. "Where's Sara?" asked Nancy. "Home... I... I didn't tell her I'm here for my check up" said Kate. "Why not? Everything okay with you two?" asked Nancy. "Yeah... everything's great. I just... I don't want her to worry" said Kate. Nancy stayed quiet for a few seconds. "Katy... I don't think it works that way" said Nancy. "Yeah, well... I have to run Nance. I'm late for my appointment" Kate lied.
"Everything looks good guys. Babies are growing so much now. You must be so excited" said Addison rolling the ultrasound probe around on Lindsey's belly. "Yeah... excited and nervous" said Lindsey. "Well that's normal. No need to be nervous though. You two are going to be great moms" said Addison. "More nervous about pushing these two out of a very small hole" laughed Lindsey. "You know what they say, banana going in, pineapple coming out" laughed Tegan. "Yeah well this time it wasn't even a banana... thank god... and it's more like watermelon... or melons... coming out" said Lindsey rolling her eyes. "I know, it's nervewrecking... we're going to take very good care of you okay!" smiled Addison. Tegan smiled "I can't wait! Peanuts starting off... really big coconuts at the end" she said. "Tegan stop it" laughed Lindsey. "Have you guys packed the hospital bag yet?" asked Addison. "No... should we? Isn't it a bit early?" asked Tegan. "Yes, it's early but it's always good to be ready. Twins have a way of being early you know. Half of all twins are born before 37 weeks. You still have a 50% possibility of going over 37 weeks but given your size I'd guess they'll be earlier rather than later" said Addison. "Is that safe?" asked Tegan sounding nervous. "The longer they stay in the better but you're over the critical stage so I don't want you to worry about it. Just take good care of yourself Lindsey" said Addison. "Tegan's taking great care of me" smiled Lindsey and kissed Tegan's hand.
Kate sat down at Anna's desk after her physical, a head CT and an extensive eye exam. Derek walked in with Anna. "So Kate, any headaches, dizziness, nausea?" asked Derek. "Nope... not for a while now. And no blurring or double vision for a while now either but I know that doesn't mean it won't come back" rambled Kate. "Good... your head CT came out clean. The old noggin's fine" smiled Derek. "Thank you... and my eye... just tell me... will I be able to operate again... and it's fine either way you know... I've made peace with it. I can still be a doctor... I just won't be a surgeon... it's... it's fine" said Kate sounding nervous. Her leg bouncing up and down nervously.
"Your weight is still lower than I would like but I know you're trying your best. BP looking a lot better than last time. Breasts starting to leak yet?" asked Addison. "A little bit" said Lindsey. "Mainly when stimulated?" asked Addison. Tegan blushed beet red and Addison smiled. "Yeah... um" said Lindsey. "Good... all normal too" smiled Addison. "I know you guys want to try and do this naturally but I have to tell you that sometimes, especially with twins we have to do a C-section. It's possible that baby A could be born vaginally but sometimes Baby B is breach or could start showing signs of distress because he's gone through two rounds of uterine contractions, in which case a C-section is the only safe way" said Addison.
Tegan looked as if she was about to throw up. "Sara and I both came out the natural way" she said. "I'm not saying that they won't both be born vaginally quite safely, I'm just discussing different scenarios. Right now, baby A is head down, that's good. Baby B is head up. There's still plenty of time for him to turn though" said Addison. "So A is the girl and B is the boy?" asked Lindsey. "That's right. For now at least. Baby A is the one closest to your cervix" said Addison. "Just give him time he'll turn. You know boys... always lazy" said Tegan. "Either way guys... it's usually pretty routine. No need to worry okay" smiled Addison. "We're not worried" said Tegan fast trying to calm Lindsey. "If we need to do the C-section, would you like an epidural or general anesthetic?" asked Addison. "Well what's best for the babies?" asked Lindsey. "Epidural... it's also quite special because you'll be fully awake for the birth but you won't feel anything" said Addison. "Okay we'll take the epidural if we must... but please... we want to try natural" said Lindsey. "And we're going to do everything we can to try and make that happen" said Addison.
"Hey guys... how'd it go?" asked Kate when she joined Tegan and Lindsey in the cafeteria. "Good... everything's going great" said Lindsey. "Look here's some ultrasound images" said Tegan showing off. "That's awesome guys... wow they're getting big right" said Kate smiling but looking a bit pale and rattled. "How was your meeting?" asked Tegan picking up on something she couldn't quite put her finger on. "Good... you want to get out of here?" asked Kate. "Yeah this took way longer than expected" said Tegan.
"Let's stop for ice-cream in Venice first" said Kate. "That's far" complained Tegan. "Yeah but you know it's the best" said Kate. "Kate, Sara's going to kill me if I'm late for rehearsals again" said Tegan. "Leave Sara to me... I'll make something up. I've got your back" said Kate. "Thanks but... we need the practice Kate" said Tegan. "Tegan... I never ask for anything... now... just this one time I want to do something and you just diss me" said Kate sounding annoyed. "Kate... jeez I'm sorry... I didn't know an ice-cream is so important to you... it's fine we'll go" said Tegan. "No, no let's just go home" said Kate sulking. "We're going for ice-cream okay... in fucking Venice" said Tegan. "Thanks Tee" smiled Kate.
Kate seemed to take her time deciding on what to order. "Just make up your mind please we don't have all day" said Tegan rolling her eyes. They sat on a bench by the beach eating their ice-cream. "I swear I've never seen anybody nursing an ice-cream like that. It's going to be milkshake by the time you get to the end" said Tegan. "Enjoying every lick" said Kate, purposefully licking slower. Kate's phone beeped and she read the text. "Okay I can see you're in a hurry. Let's go" said Kate. "No take your time" said Tegan. "I'm over this ice-cream" said Kate and chucked the rest of it into the bin. "You make us drive all the way out here for an ice-cream and then you bin half of it?" said Tegan annoyed. "Sorry" said Kate and shrugged. "Baby calm down" said Lindsey. "Let's go home" said Kate.
Tegan's phone started ringing in the car. "Yeah... okay but... listen can we do this some other time. My schedule is all messed up. I really don't have the time today" she said into the phone. "Alright... Okay... Five minutes" she sighed. "We need to go past the new house on our way home. The decorator is having some kind of crisis and he insists he needs our opinion right away" said Tegan. "I'll handle it Boo" said Lindsey. "Nah let's go see what the issue is... he said it would only take five minutes. My day's messed up already. Five minutes later won't kill Sara. Do you mind Kate" said Tegan. "No.. I have all the time in the world" said Kate looking distant.
The car turned into the leafy street where Tegan and Lindsey's house was. Lots of cars lined the street and Tegan saw some balloons tied outside the neighbor's house. "Oh look. They're having a kids party. I love that we have neighbors with kids. It just all feels so domesticated" said Tegan. Tegan opened the gate with a remote control and the car drove in. "Let's try and make this quick please babe. Sara's going to be livid" said Tegan. They walked into the house laughing about some lame joke Tegan made.
"Surprise!" they heard a lot of voices scream as they rounded the corner into the living room. Tegan put her hands in front of her mouth. "Oh my god" she whispered. The empty living room was filled with their family and friends. She looked at Sara and Erin standing in front and smiled. "You guys... I can't believe you" she laughed. "And you! You were in on this all along! You stretched out this morning on purpose" laughed Tegan and hugged Kate. "Guilty" said Kate smiling. "Quite the elaborate plot guys... Nice touch with the decoy balloons on the neighbors gate and the desperate decorator. Surprise successful!" said Tegan and hugged Sara, Erin, Alex and a lot of other guests. She turned around and grinned from ear to ear. "Mom!" she shrieked and hugged her mom hello. "Hey kiddo. I've missed you" said Sonia and took Tegan's face in her hands. "You're the best part of the surprise. I've missed you so much mom" said Tegan softly. "Me too pumpkin. Look at you... you're looking so good. I'm so proud of you" smiled Sonia. "Thanks mom... You came all the way from Canada for this?" asked Tegan. "Of course, there's no way I was going to miss my first grandkids' baby shower" said Sonia.
Sara and Erin led Tegan and Lindsey into the beautiful garden. It was decorated with balloons and beautiful white chairs. Tables filled with delicacies, champagne and other non-alcoholic drinks were on the patio. Decorations were hanging from the trees. It was clear that no expense or time was spared to make this a very special party. "Okay mommies... here's some non-alcoholic champagne for you. Please take a seat" said Sara pointing at the two beautiful wingback chairs under the trees.
Lindsey and Tegan spent hours opening all their incredible gifts after being forced to eat something by Kate. They showed off every gift to the guests. Heaps of baby clothes, bottles, pacifiers, blankets, diapers, almost everything on their list was there. Tegan picked up a parcel in a heap all wrapped the same. "Dearest Tegan, Lindsey and peanuts. Can't wait to meet you kids, love you already. Congratulations mommies. All our love, Sara and Kate. "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen... Linds look at this" said Tegan holding up two mini pairs of Doc Martens, then two mini ripped, skinny jeans. "Wait there's more. Tiny band T-shirts" said Tegan holding up shirts featuring their favourite bands. "And of course, some Tegan and Sara shirts, crawlers and bibs and oh my gosh... two denim jackets with Superclose Society patches" said Tegan laughing. "Took us forever to sew those on... luckily Kate is quite skilled with a needle and thread" said Sara. "This is so cool, thanks guys" smiled Tegan. She opened up about ten more amazing gifts from Sara and Kate. "Guys this is too much... you shouldn't have" said Tegan. "Couldn't stop ourselves... besides... it's the aunt's job to spoil them rotten" laughed Sara holding one of the giant teddy bears they gave.
Erin and Alex got them a state of the art twin stroller and a heap of designer baby clothes and baby products. Sonia gave two car seats and two gorgeous hand made quilts that took her weeks to complete. Stephen and Bruce sent gifts from Canada. Stephen a high-tech baby monitor and bedding and Bruce some toy microphones and clothes. Jeremy gave heaps of toys. Ted gave two mini guitars. Tegan put both her hands in front of her mouth and tears started spilling out of her eyes. "Thank you... thank you so much everyone. We feel... so blessed... so loved. These babies are so lucky to be surrounded by the most awesome people. I'm overwhelmed by this" said Tegan.
They spent the rest of the afternoon chatting to guests and thanking everybody personally for the amazing gifts. Pink and her little girl walked up to Tegan and Lindsey. "Alecia! This is a surprise. I thought you were out of town" said Tegan. "Just flew back an hour ago... I'm so sorry we're late. Sooo late" she said. A lot of the guests had left already and they sat down on some couches in the garden.
After a bit of catching up Tegan got up and took the little girl by the hand. "Hey... have you seen the swing" she said and led her away. She pushed her on the swing laughing before Kate joined them. The three of them played catch for a few minutes. Tegan lost all the time, not because she let them win but because she still got out of breath quite fast. She took the girl in her arms and twirled around laughing before plonking down on the trampoline exhausted and allowing the girl to bounce her up and down. "Tegan's going to be an incredible mother" said Alecia. "Yeah... look at her. She likes kids way better than adults" said Sara. "So does Kate it seems. You guys keen on having kids" asked Alecia. "Um... our relationship is kind of new still but yeah... we'd both love to have kids" said Sara smiling. "Having a child... it changes your life... for the better. It's amazing. It's fucking hard work but it's awesome. You think she's the one?" asked Alecia. "I know she's the one" said Sara and waved at Kate bouncing on the trampoline.
Tegan joined the adults again and the girl passed out on her mother's lap. Kate was still sitting on the grass alone looking deep in thought. Sara sat down next to her and put her arm around her neck. "You and Tegan have fun?" she smiled. "Yeah... cool kid" said Kate. "Great party huh" said Sara. "Fantastic party... Sar... I went to see Anna this morning" said Kate and looked at Sara. Blood seemed to drain from Sara's face. "Hey don't worry, I have great news... everything's fine... my eye is fine... there's no permanent damage. I'll be able to operate again" smiled Kate. "That's great news Kate... I'm so happy for you" said Sara and gave Kate a tentative hug. "Sara? What's wrong?" asked Kate. "Nothing I'm just... so relieved and happy" said Sara smiling but her eyes told another story.
"I... I just wish you would've shared this with me... why didn't you tell me you were seeing her today?" asked Sara looking hurt. "Baby... I just didn't... I didn't want to worry you any more than I already have" said Kate. "I was worried in anyway... I would've liked to be there for you Kate" said Sara. "I... I'm sorry... I didn't want to put you though that stress of sitting there... waiting... and... I don't know... I'm sorry Sar" said Kate looking down. "Kate... that's how a relationship works... We go through things together... we deal with difficulty... together... no matter how hard it is. You didn't have to go through that alone" said Sara. "I'm sorry Sara... I was wrong... I don't want you angry... this is happy news" said Kate. "I'm not angry Kate... I'm just a bit... disappointed that's all" said Sara. "I wish I could change this... because when I was sitting there waiting for the results... all I could think of was you... and that kept me from breaking down to tell you the truth" said Kate looking upset. "Katy... baby look at me" said Sara. Kate looked up. "It's okay... I forgive you. And I understand. But I want you to know that I'm here for you... always. I'm in this for the long run okay... for better or worse" said Sara sincerely. "I love you Sara" said Kate touching Sara's face. "I love you too... and I'm so, so happy for you baby" smiled Sara and kissed Kate.
"Hey love birds, get over here" shouted Tegan a few minutes later after seeing Alecia off. Sara and Kate joined the core group of friends and family still left. "To the incredible mommies and babies" said Sara holding up her glass. "To family... because you're all more than friends... you're our soul family" said Tegan. Lindsey looked at Tegan. "You want to ask them now?" she whispered into Tegan's ear. "Now?" asked Tegan. "It's as good a time as any" smiled Lindsey.
"Guys... we'd like to ask you something really important. We've been debating over this for weeks but we've decided that we can't choose... would you guys all be our kids' godparents" smiled Tegan and looked at Sara, Kate, Erin, Alex, Jeremy and Ted one by one. "You're all so special to us... every one of you. And we know you're going to love these kids with all your hearts... and kids can use as many godparents and as much love as possible right" smiled Lindsey. "Not the kind that have to raise the kids if we kick the bucket or anything... we'll take care of those morbid details later" said Tegan. "Always so subtle" said Lindsey sarcastically giving Tegan a dirty look. "The kind that's just... you know... their very, very special aunt or uncle. The kind that keeps us on the right track raising them. Because God knows we're going to need help... The kind that showers them with love" said Tegan. "It would be an honor" said Erin wiping away some tears hugging Lindsey. "Of course we will Tee... I'm going to be the best godmother in the world" said Sara hugging Tegan.
A/N: A special long, soppy chapter. Sad that I only received a couple of reviews for the last chapter :( Are you guys still with me? Please review, I love hearing from you!