Chapter 12

An hour later, Lee stepped into the hallway, a smile plastered on his face. He went searching for Francine and was pleasantly surprised to find Billy there as well. "Well?" Francine raised her eyebrows.

"Five pounds six ounces, five pounds seven ounces. Both eighteen inches long," he blurted out.

"Congratulations, Lee!" Billy threw his arms around Lee and clapped him on the back. Francine followed his lead and gave him a big hug. "How is Amanda doing?"

Lee nodded happily, "She's good. She's good. She's resting now. They said you could come in after they finish checking everyone out. They're all good."

Billy tipped his chin up. "What did you decide for names?"

Lee smiled wider as he stated, "Dorothea Jennifer… DJ for short. When we first started talking about names, Amanda really wanted to honor both our mothers, and the more I thought about it, I couldn't agree more. Dotty has been nothing short of a godsend these past few months."

"What about the other one?" Billy prompted.

Lee turned to make eye contact with Francine, "Lily. Lillian, after Dotty's sister. Lillian Francine."

Francine couldn't hide the gasp that escaped her lips. She threw her arms around Lee and whispered, "I don't know what to say."

Lee released her and added, "Well, say you'll be her godmother. Amanda and I talked about it, and we just hadn't had time to ask you before now."

"Yes, of course!" Francine gushed. "But when did you suddenly become so religious?" she teased.

"Amanda holds onto her faith, and because of my uncle, I never grew up with any. I understand why it's important to her." Lee turned to Billy and asked, "You'll be her godfather, too, won't you?"

Billy extended his hand and grasped Lee's tightly, "Like you even had to ask!"

"What about the other one… DJ?" Francine inquired.

Lee smiled, ran his hand down his face, and said, "We're asking Amanda's friend, Debbie Ann, and her husband. They've moved back to the Arlington area, and Amanda's gotten pretty close with her again the last few months."

"I'm really proud of you, Lee," Billy beamed.

Down the hall, Dr. Johansen and Dr. Sax stepped out of Amanda's room and waved to Lee. "You want to meet them?" Lee asked anxiously. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and headed back down the hall to the yellow door of Amanda's room. He knocked lightly before he pushed it open. Amanda was sitting up in bed, both girls in her arms, a tired smile on her face. Lee pushed the door open wider to allow Billy and Francine into the room.

Dotty stepped away from the bed and announced, "I'll give you a few minutes. I'm going to call Joe, Carrie, and the boys and let them know. In all the excitement, I forgot all about them." She leaned close to Amanda and kissed her on the cheek, touched each of the babies lovingly, and made her way to the door. She pushed up onto her toes to kiss Lee on the cheek before she left the room.

Francine moved closer to the bed and tentatively peeked at one of the small bundles in Amanda's arms and then the other. "How do you know which one is which?"

Lee held up his wrist, where three bands were present. One white band bearing Amanda's name, one yellow band with the number one on it, and one green band with the number two. "DJ was born first. She has a yellow band around her ankle. Lily has the green one."

"Do you want to hold one?" Amanda smiled at Francine. She lifted her left elbow to indicate which baby she was referring to.

Francine held her hands up and shook her head, "I'm not good with babies. I don't know."

Lee reached down, carefully lifted DJ out of Amanda's arms, and passed her to Billy's waiting arms. "It's not that hard, Francine," he teased. "If I can handle it, I think you can, too."

Francine looked down at the tiny bundle and tentatively held her hands out. Amanda shifted the baby into Francine's waiting arms and smiled. "She's tiny. I mean… seeing them like this… You were so big...I don't know… I thought they'd be bigger," Francine admitted. She carefully lowered herself into the chair beside Amanda's bed and stared at the infant. She glanced up at Billy, smiling down at the baby in his arms as he gently bounced her. "Soooo, what do I do?" she asked.

Amanda smiled at her friend, "Just hold her. Talk to her."

"Talk to her?" Francine blinked. "About what?"

Amanda chuckled, "Anything you want. She's not going to understand, but it's not about what you say to her… it's just about her hearing your voice, getting to know you that way."

Francine exhaled, "Okay. Well, hello, Lily. I like your hat." Lily partially opened one eye before it rolled upward, and she closed it again. Francine shook her head, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Amanda asked with a smile.

Francine glanced down at the baby. "That thing… what was that thing she just did?"

Amanda stretched over to get a better look at her daughter, who was resting peacefully in Francine's arms. "I don't know, Francine, I didn't see anything."

Francine sighed and began to speak to Lily, "Whatever that was you just did, please don't do it again." Lily cracked one eye open, and just as before, her eye rolled upward before closing. Francine shook her head and declared, "Nope, can't do this!" She slowly stood and gently passed the baby back to Amanda but stayed beside the bed.

Confused by what just happened, Billy laughed at Francine's discomfort before turning to Amanda. "How are you feeling, Amanda?" Billy asked with a smile.

"Tired. Happy it's over. Happy, they're here. Happy, they're healthy. Happy Lee got here in time," Amanda admitted.

Billy turned his head to the side and coughed, "Well, we did our best to get him here as quickly as we could. I would have sent him with a police escort if we knew it was going to happen this fast."

Lee took DJ from Billy's arms and held her gently, supporting her head, as Amanda had taught him. "Well, none of that matters because I was here, and now they're here," Lee tried to dismiss the topic.

In Lee's arms, DJ began whimpering and squirming. Lee looked up at Amanda for guidance. Amanda held her arm out to switch babies with him. "She's probably beginning to get hungry. They have a way of doing that right from the get-go," Amanda explained.

Francine's face went white. "Amanda… you're not going to…" her voice trailed off as she gestured toward her breasts.

"Relax, Francine. There are little bottles under that bassinet. Can you get one for me?" Amanda requested with a smile. Visibly relieved, Francine stood and rummaged around until she found the box with the small bottles prefilled with formula. She spotted the disposable nipples, sealed in plastic. Amanda nodded as she held it up. "Good job, Francine. You have passed the first baby test," Amanda teased. "It's not very hard. Watch."

"Very funny," Francine retorted with a groan. She watched as Amanda laid the baby down on her lap and quickly fitted the nipple onto the bottle. She barely had the bottle in DJ's mouth when Lily began fussing in Lee's arms. "I'll get it," Francine announced. Lee sat down and maneuvered the baby into the crook of his elbow as Francine fitted the nipple, just as Amanda had shown her. She handed him the small bottle and watched in amazement as Lee began to feed his daughter. "Never in a million years did I see this coming," she uttered.

Billy moved to stand beside her. With a broad smile, he stated, "Scarecrow… a dad… will wonders never cease."