Chapter 4

Later that evening, Amanda and Lee laid in bed, side by side. Lee was reading through a phone tap translation while Amanda was reading a book on juggling twins in the first few months. "Sweetheart, you know it says here that we should try to get the girls on the same schedule as quickly as possible?" she read.

Lee dropped the report into his lap and shook his head while he yawned, "I can understand why. Feed both together; they both, hopefully, sleep at the same time. I would think that gives us a little bit of a break in between."

"Speaking of sleep, you look like you could use some," Amanda commented.

"Yeah, I'm a little tired, I guess," Lee admitted. He dropped the file into the top drawer of his nightstand and yawned again. "Okay, a lot tired," he laughed. "You want anything from the kitchen before we try to get some sleep?"

Amanda slipped her bookmark into the page she left off on and sighed, "Maybe just a small glass of water, please."

"You got it," Lee smiled at his wife before he stood and headed for the door. He jogged silently down the steps, and just before he stepped onto the second-floor landing, he paused when he heard Jamie and Philip talking.

"What do you think? You think Lee's gonna like it?" he heard Philip ask Jamie. Quietly, he took two steps closer to Philip's door and listened.

Jamie looked down at the gifts on Philip's bed. "I think so. I mean, Dad always likes the gifts we make for him, so why wouldn't Lee like one, too?" he reasoned.

Philip lifted the book they'd found and suggested, "Maybe we should give him this one first. I mean, we didn't make this one… we just bought it."

"The man at the book store swore Lee would like The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. You heard him. He said if Lee liked war battles and history, then he would love this book," Jamie insisted.

With a smile, Lee silently jogged down the stairs into the kitchen, leaving the boys to finish their conversation alone. He filled a glass of water for Amanda and returned to their bedroom, where he found her standing beside one of the bassinets set up along the wall across from their bed. He placed the glass on her nightstand and moved to stand beside her. "It won't be much longer," she whispered as she ran her hand along the edge of the pink bumper.

Lee held his breath for a second, then asked, "Is it time? Are you in labor?"

"No, Sweetheart, I'm not in labor. It's not time. I'm just thinking in a week or two… who knows, maybe three, we will have two little girls occupying our room with us," Amanda replied softly. She rubbed her belly with one hand, the other still fingering the edge of the bassinet.

Lee covered her hands with his as he pressed his body closer to hers. With a gentle sigh, he pressed his lips against her temple and whispered, "I can't wait."

Amanda turned into his arms and lifted her chin to meet his lips. "Neither can I. I want to see them, hold them, smell them. I want them to come now, but at the same time, I don't want them to come too early," she rambled quietly.

"I want to know if they're going to have your eyes or my nose," Lee added. "Who's personality they're going to have. I mean, we already know one of them doesn't listen very well, so she's already taking after her mother," he teased.

"Uh-huh," Amanda smiled. "And I'm sure the other one is going to have a little bit of a wild streak in her, just like her daddy."

Lee tipped his head to the side and stuck his tongue out playfully. "What about you? Always finding your way into trouble, even when you think you're not going to. What if one of them is like that? What am I going to do with two of you?" he laughed.

Amanda slid her hands up Lee's arms to his shoulders then behind his head where she toyed with the soft hair at the nape of his neck. In this position, her belly was pressed firmly against Lee's midsection. She sighed happily, "We'll figure it out. As long as they are both healthy and happy, we will figure it all out."

Before Lee had a chance to reply, one of the babies rolled slightly. Lee could feel the movement against his stomach and laughed, "I can't imagine what that feels like on the inside." He placed his hands on either side of her belly and held her, anticipating another movement. Several seconds later, he was not disappointed. "It's almost time for bed, little ones, so don't get any ideas, now," he muttered in a stern but playful tone.

"I don't think they're listening," Amanda shook her head as she felt another shift, this time closer to her spine. She inhaled sharply when she felt pins and needles start traveling down her leg. "Not again," she gasped.

"What? What's going on, Amanda?" Lee questioned, his eyes wide and filled with fear.

"Help me back to the bed. Maybe if I get off my feet, it will go away," Amanda requested as she slowly began shuffling across the room, each movement shooting pain across her lower back.

Lee followed closely, his hands reaching out to steady her until she reached the edge of the bed. She leaned forward onto her elbows and exhaled loudly as the pain began to dissipate. Lee stood helpless as he tried to determine what was going on. "Amanda? Are you okay? Do I need to call the doctor?" he fired off rapidly.

"No, no, I'm better now," Amanda sighed. "I just needed to get off my feet, see." She slowly crawled forward onto the bed and turned onto her left side. "I'm okay," she assured him again as she rubbed her belly with her right hand.

Lee sat on the bed beside her and covered her hand with his once more. "Hey, if there's something going on, you need to tell me."

"Sweetheart, I'm fine. I was just standing for too long, that's all. We're fine, now, let's get some sleep," Amanda stated. Lee watched her carefully as he pressed the lamp switch, enveloping the room in near darkness, save for the soft light glowing from their bathroom. He settled into bed beside her but not before he reached out to hold her hand. A few weeks prior, Amanda discovered snuggling against Lee to sleep was becoming more difficult as the girls were more active. They found holding hands as they laid side by side helped ease their desire to be close to one another. "Just think, in a few more weeks, my belly won't be in our way," she whispered.

"And I can hold you in my arms in bed without getting poked," Lee teased back with a squeeze of his hand.

"True," Amanda agreed. "Sweetheart?" she whispered softly.

"What's wrong?" Lee immediately replied as he pushed up onto his elbow to peer at her in the dim light.

Amanda caressed his hand with her thumb as she asked, "Do you think tomorrow we can decide on names? I'm just getting nervous, the closer we get."

Lee relaxed against the pillows and chuckled, "Yes, tomorrow, come hell or high water, we will decide on names. Now, let's get some sleep."