TURNING BACK

Abigail

Chapter 4

Aaron tugged Alec by the hand into a bedroom two doors down from where their mother lay recovering. The little boy was starting to nod off as the older one quickly got him ready for bed. He was about to tuck him in when the door opened and their father came in.

Adam smiled kindly down at his eldest son, noting the dark circles under the boy's eyes as he picked Alec up. He put one large hand on top of Aaron's head and began to prod him toward the door. "You're mother is still awake, so I told her I'd let you all come in to see her for a few minutes," he said and his smile widened when the son who was his spitting image took off as fast as he could without actually running and breaking a major rule.

Alec snuggled up against his father's chest as Adam left that bedroom and stopped to tap on the door where his three daughters would be sleeping. Two female voices called out, "Come in!" and he opened the door. The girls were already in bed, but quickly scrambled out to put on robes and slippers when he told them they could see their mother. Amelia rushed out of the room while Adelaide went down the hall at a slower pace with Amber in her arms.

He stopped in the other boy's bedroom and they too hurried to see their mother, taking off in just their nightshirts and with bare feet. Shaking his head, Adam looked down at Alec who was now fast asleep and made his way back to the bedroom he would be sharing with his wife, which was now noisy with children.

They had piled onto the bed, but were being very careful not to jostle their mother as they all tried to talk to her at once. Aaron came to take Alec from his father and returned to the bed. Abby had the newborn cradled in one arm and motioned for her eldest son to hand over Alec with the other.

Aaron sat down next to her at the head of the bed and she tipped her head to rest it against his upper arm, bringing a smile to the boy's face. Having had his mother to himself for the first two years of his life had forged a close bond between them and Adam was again glad to see that had not changed.

He grinned as he watched his wife manage to somehow talk to each child: answering questions about the new baby; listening to the story of Alec biting Aaron; and paying attention to various, and sometimes inaccurate, descriptions of their new grandfather and uncles.

Adam stayed back, leaning up against the wall, and was suddenly aware of the person he had been the last time he had fallen asleep in that very room. He could see his previous self moving around like a ghost, packing his bags and preparing to leave the only home he could really remember. At least the only real home he had known until he had met Abby.

The twelve years since he left had passed quickly and he felt the same familiar pain in his heart at having not contacted his father and brothers almost the entire time. No doubt they had been thinking he was dead and he dreaded the conversation he would have to have with them eventually. He knew they were still overwhelmed by the appearance of so many people and were not thinking yet about the years of painful uncertainty, the wondering if they would ever see him again.

He was deep in thought, trying to decide just how much he could safely tell them when he realized the three men in question would be showing up soon. The children didn't complain this time when he sent them off, and then he helped an exhausted Abby lie down on her side and position the infant so she could coax him to nurse for the first time.

Adam had just seated himself cross-legged on the bed next to his wife when they heard the expected knock on the partially open door. He called out, "Come in," and Ben led the way, his dark eyes going immediately to Abby and the blanket-wrapped bundle at her breast.

She smiled a very tired smile as he came to sit in the chair by the head of the bed while Joe and Hoss stayed near the door. Adam smoothed her hair back when she looked over her shoulder at him with another smile. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek and then slid off the bed to join his brothers, giving his wife and father some semblance of privacy for their first conversation.

Turning back to Ben, she shifted the child slightly and gave her father-in-law another smile. "I'm so glad to finally meet you," she said quietly. "I just wish we could have met in better circumstances."

Ben had taken note of the lines of weariness that marked her pale face and the love he had briefly seen shining in her clear gray eyes as she had looked over her shoulder at his eldest son. He smiled back and leaned forward to speak in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the infant.

"I can't think of any circumstances that could possibly be better."

Her smile widened and her eyes sparkled for a moment in appreciation of his gallant attempt to relieve some of the embarrassment she had felt earlier.

"Thank you," she answered and was about to go on when she caught a flash of movement behind his chair. She craned her neck to get a better look and had to laugh as Amber quickly peaked around the back of the chair again.

"Amber, come out now," she said and the child slowly obeyed, looking up at her mother through her upper lashes. She stopped when she was next to Ben, turned toward him and held her arms out saying, "Up!" while watching her mother out of the corner of her eye.

"Child, what did I tell you about demanding things?" Abby chided her and the little girl nodded. Still facing Ben she said, "Up please!" and they both had to laugh as he lifted her into his lap.

The little one reached out to carefully touch the infant's cheek with her tiny fingers and grinned when the baby opened his eyes. "Ma! He gots blue eyes!" she piped, sounding very surprised and pleased.

"Honey, his eyes may look blue now, but they won't for long. Many babies just born have eyes with a bluish tint."

"Oh," the tiny girl said, sounding disappointed. "Unca Hoss has pretty blue eyes," she commented, slid from her grandfather's lap, and trotted over to stand in front of the big man. She pointed up and turned her head to look at her mother. "See! He gots bootiful eyes," the child insisted and the adults laughed, even Hoss, although his face turned slightly red.

Adam scooped her up saying, "Didn't I tell you to go to bed just a little while ago?"

Amber's expression was solemn as she looked up into her father's face and nodded her head.

"Then why didn't you?"

"'Cause nobody tooked me," the child answered, her tone saying that should have been obvious, even to an adult.

Everyone but Adam laughed again and he narrowed his eyes while the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Hmmm...I guess I have to accept that excuse this time, but from now on you do what I say young lady."

The tiny child nodded vigorously and popped a thumb into her mouth while giving her father a father a wide-eyed innocent look. He shook his head at her and sighed before heading for the door to take her to bed.

"Say good night Amber," he said and the child waved her free hand, calling out what everyone assumed was "good night," but couldn't tell for sure. She still had her thumb in her mouth.

Joe and Hoss followed him out into the hallway and waited as he quietly went into the girls' bedroom, tucked Amber in, and quickly came back out.

"Where have you been all this time?" Joe asked a little too loudly due to his excited state.

"Keep it down, Joe, I don't want any of them awake again," Adam said low when he reached them. He held a hand up to put off any more questions when Joe opened his mouth to pursue the subject.

"Not here in the hall, alright? I'll meet you two in Hoss's room." He turned away to go back into his bedroom and his brothers only glanced at each other before moving on.

Ben and Abby were deep in conversation so neither one noticed Adam coming back in. He smiled at them, quietly took his bag off the dresser, and slipped back out. When he entered Hoss's room he kept going until he was standing next to the bed where the big man was sitting.

"Take your shirt off," he told his brother and Hoss stared up at him, startled.

"What for?"

Adam set the bag down on the bed and opened it saying, "I want to get a look at those nail gouges on your shoulders."

"What for?" Hoss repeated then blinked, realizing he was starting to sound a little dim-witted.

"They're bleeding," Adam answered sounding both annoyed and amused at the same time. He put his hands on his hips and gave his brother a severe stare. "Now do as your told, young man." Hoss automatically started to obey then stopped.

"Hey!" he protested, but had to grin when Adam laughed softly.

"For a second there I thought that was actually going to work."

"You know you sounded exactly like Pa!" Hoss was saying when Joe finally found his voice.

"Holy hinkel - you're a DOCTOR?!" he almost shouted and his brothers both shushed him.

"No Joseph," Adam went on, his eyes gleaming wickedly again. "I just carry this bag around because I like the way it looks." He turned to Hoss again impatiently, "Now would you get that shirt off please?"

Chuckling quietly the big man finally cooperated and his older brother whistled when he got a good look at the crescent-shaped punctures.

"She really got you, didn't she?" he murmured as he reached into the black bag and pulled out a handful of small squares of white cloth and a brown bottle filled with a clear liquid. "Now this is going to sting," he cautioned as he opened the bottle and dampened one of the cloth squares.

As soon as he touched the deepest wound the big man gasped. "Sting! What'd you put on there, raw turpentine?"

"Oh don't be such a big baby," Adam answered and kept going until every small cut was cleaned. He put the bottle away, pulled out a small jar, and began to dab a white cream on each gouge.

"There now, is that all better?" he said in syrupy tones, making Hoss laugh softly again now that the burning sensation was fading.

"Felt like I was bein' bit by fire ants!" he insisted and Joe sighed with exasperation and opened his mouth again, but Adam spoke instead.

"Hey, just be glad Abby didn't bite you."

"I thought you were jokin' about that!"

Laughing Adam unfastened a couple buttons and pulled his open collar to the side to reveal his right shoulder. "What does that look like?"

"She really did it," Hoss breathed and his older brother laughed a little louder.

"Considering she's been in labor nine times I figure I'm lucky to have gotten away with just the one scar," he joked and Joe decided the only way to get a word in was to join the current conversation.

"But you have ten kids," he said and Adam finally turned in his direction.

"Yes, but you're forgetting about the twins," he said and Joe suddenly realized his brother was trying to forestall any questions about where he had been for so long. He quickly looked away and the three men stood there in an awkward silence until Hoss surprised everyone, including himself, by speaking up.

"Joe didn't get to meet Abby yet," he said quietly and Adam nodded as he closed his bag and picked it up.

"Come on Joe...come meet my wife," he said and startled his younger brother by putting an arm around his shoulders and guiding him out into the hall.

Hoss stayed sitting on his bed for a few moments, deep in thought, and then rose to follow them. A few seconds later he hurried back in, his face deep red with embarrassment. He had forgotten to put on another shirt.