After ending his call with Tris' parents, Tobias texted Amar.
4: Tris had an emergency cesarean - Five was in distress. All are doing well. Tobias Marcus Eaton V, 2200 grams, born first. On oxygen, but doing well. Lilliana Natalie, 2000 grams but perfectly healthy. Tris is sleeping.
Tobias checked on the babies again and was staring at them when his phone lit with Amar's reply.
A: Congratulations! Glad everyone is well. When can we come see them?
Tobias chuckled. Amar and George loved babies.
4: Tris is asleep. When she wakes up I'll ask her.
He sent a few pictures to tide everyone over while they waited.
Nurses were in and out of the room every few minutes from the time they returned from the operating room. They checked Five's oxygen level, made notes in the babies' charts, and made little adjustments. When Lilly started fussing a bit, one of the nurses helped Tobias hold his daughter.
Eventually, cuddle time with her daddy wasn't enough. Lilly was getting hungry. Her newborn cries woke Tris, and the nurse helped her attempt breastfeeding.
"Të sapolindurit duhet të mësojnë të hanë. Foshnjat e parakohshme janë edhe më keq. Ajo do të bëhet më mirë. Ju do të mësoni së bashku. Për sot, ajo nuk ka nevojë për shumë. Ju jeni duke bërë një punë të mirë,"
(Newborns need to learn to eat. Premature babies are even worse. It will get better. You will learn together. For today, she does not need much. You are doing a good job,) the nurse encouraged Tris.
Tobias helped her with the words that were unfamiliar. Concepts like 'premature babies,' 'incubators,' and 'breastfeeding' hadn't been part of Rebekah's lessons.
After Lilly ate and burped, she was passed back to Tobias while Tris nursed Five. The larger baby ate hungrily, making little piggy noises that made his mama giggle. Once Five burped, Tobias settled in the big recliner beside Tris' bed with both babies on his chest.
They looked so tiny nestled there together. Tris could barely take her eyes off of them. Her whole world was sitting right there in that chair. She snapped a few pictures and sent one to her parents and brother.
The nurses helped Tris use the bathroom and get settled again. She ached all over and was slow-moving, so it took a bit. Thankfully, the twins stayed peacefully asleep in their daddy's arms, so the nurses brough Tris some food.
"Pass me a baby, please," Tris said eagerly once she was done eating.
Tobias chuckled and carefully stood from the chair. Since Five needed to go back on his monitors and oxygen cannula, he handed their son back to Tris. The nurses reattached everything, and Tris snuggled her son close.
"We should tell Amar and everyone that the babies are here," she said.
"I texted him while you were asleep," Tobias said. "They're very eager to come meet them. Are you up for some visitors?"
"What time is it?" Tris asked.
"Eight PM," Tobias replied, converting the time to the American way Tris still preferred, especially when she was tired. "Visiting hours end at nine, so if you're ready for company we need to do it now. If you're not up for it, we can have them come back in the morning."
"Them?" Tris asked nervously. "How many visitors are we talking about? And who? Will your new... sister be here?"
"No," Tobias assured his wife. "I have no idea what Therese and her parents are doing tonight. As far as I know it's just Amar, George, and Rebekah in the waiting room."
"Can you check?" Tris asked timidly. "If it's just the three of them, they can come in. If it's more than that, just bring Amar and George first. Is that… Is that okay?"
"Of course," Tobias said. He stood up again and laid Lilly gently on Tris' lap. "I love you," he said to his wife, then placed a kiss on her forehead before he left the room.
Alone with her babies for the first time, Tris became surprisingly nervous. They had her outnumbered, and they were just so little and fragile.
"You guys were easier to handle alone when you were contained in my belly," Tris said to the babies. Five squirmed and made a little snuffling noise. Tris kissed his cheek, and reached down to stroke Lilly's.
They were alone for only a few minutes before Tobias returned with Amar and George. Tris noticed that all three men were grinning broadly, and Tobias looked so proud he could pop.
The visitors washed their hands, then they eagerly approached Tris and the babies.
"May I?" George asked, pointing at Lilly.
Tris nodded, and the older man scooped the tiny wrapped bundle into his arms.
"How are you feeling?" Amar asked Tris as he admired the baby his partner held.
"Fine, I guess," Tris said. "I'm sore, but I got a nap earlier. Would you like to hold Five?"
"Is that what you're calling him?" George asked.
"I guess," Tris said. "We never really made a decision. That's just what we keep calling him."
"What about all his cables and things?" Amar asked nervously.
Tris showed Amar where he could stand to hold Five and still keep him attached to his monitors and oxygen, then handed the baby to Tobias' assistant.
"Tobias Marcus Eaton the fifth," Amar said in wonder as he stared down at the tiny bundle pressed to his chest. "You're a bit smaller than your daddy was when I met him, but I held him in my arms too. Look at you. You are the luckiest of all the men to bear your name. You have amazing parents, a sister you get to grow up with, wonderful grandparents, a staff that's excited to meet you, and all the love that money couldn't buy the other Tobiases. I can't wait to watch you and Lilly grow up together."
Tris sniffled, and Tobias handed her a tissue. They took pictures of the two men with the babies, and visited for a few more minutes before Amar and George left so Rebekah and Jorik could stop in before visiting hours ended.
.
Tobias the fifth had to stay in the hospital for two weeks. Because she was so small, the doctors kept Lilliana, too. Tris was released after three days. Though she could have been discharged sooner, Tobias arranged for her to stay a bit longer. He knew it was going to be hard for her to leave the hospital without the twins.
As predicted, Tris was devastated when she was released. Rebekah brought her some real clothes and helped her change. Tobias handled her discharge paperwork while Amar paid the hospital for Tris' part of their expenses. George gathered the floral arrangements that Tris had received during her stay, and took them to the hotel suite.
When everything was done and they couldn't justify sitting around any longer, Tris and Tobias' staff took the rest of their things while the couple went to the nursery with their babies. They clung to one another and watched the nurses get the twins settled in their new room. Tris and Tobias would be allowed to be with the babies during the day for the duration of their stay, but they would have to go back to the hotel at night and take their meals elsewhere.
It was almost dinner time when Tris nursed the babies, so once they were settled back in their isolettes, Tobias insisted that they leave for a bit to get some dinner of their own. They kissed the twins' downy heads and walked out.
They only made it about halfway down the hall toward the elevator before Tris started crying.
"Zemra ime," Tobias said as he wrapped an arm around his wife. "They're going to be fine."
"I know," Tris sobbed. "I just feel so guilty, and… sad leaving them here. We're supposed to go home together!"
"We will," Tobias assured her. "You and I are going to the hotel just down the block. We'll be back here tomorrow and every day that they have to stay in the hospital. We won't go home until they can come with us."
"You know what I mean," Tris moaned.
"I do," Tobias agreed. "But for right now, they need to be watched, and you need to be fed. Let me take you to the hotel, and we can get some food, then you can have a better shower than the one they had for you here. Tonight you can wear your own pajamas and we can sleep in the same bed for the first time in far too long."
"That actually sounds good," Tris conceded.
.
It took less than an hour to get Tris back to the hotel, showered, fed, and wrapped in her husband's arms in the suite's comfortable king-sized bed. At her insistence, Tobias called the hospital to check on the babies. They were fine, of course. So he turned on the television, and Tris was fast asleep in minutes.
Tobias looked down at his sleeping wife and sighed. He was grateful to have her beside him. He wasn't used to sleeping alone anymore. It reminded him too much of the months they'd spent living on opposite sides of the world, and of that horrible week when he had to go to China without her.
.
Amar tapped on the door to the suite. It was early, so he expected Tris and Tobias to be sleeping, but he could hear voices, and he didn't want to interrupt. No one answered his knock, so he cracked open the door and stuck his head in.
The living room was empty; the voices were coming from the bedroom. A crowd laughed, and Amar realized that the voices were coming from the television. He peeked into the bedroom and found Tris and Tobias sound asleep, the television chattering away. He turned down the volume so it would be less likely to disturb the young couple, then took out the tray of dishes from their dinner, tidied up a bit, and left them to sleep as long as possible.
.
Tris woke slowly, then startled suddenly. The babies! she thought as her consciousness returned. The twins' cries to be fed had woken Tris several times a night since they were born. Even after just three days, she was used to it and expected to wake up and nurse her babies in the night. Sleeping through had been a blessing, but it also made her sad. She wanted to be with Five and Lilly - or rather she wanted them to be with her. She wanted to take them home where their real life as a family could begin.
.
For ten more days, Tris and Tobias slept in the hotel suite and spent their days at the hospital. Tris pumped her breast milk at night and nursed during the day. The couple held their babies and got regular updates from the pediatric staff. The babies gained weight, and Five needed less and less oxygen or help regulating his temperature. They got on a regular schedule of eating and sleeping.
Tobias had to work a little, but Rebekah stayed with Tris when he had to go to the office for a few hours. Jorik brought Roza up to meet the twins one day, and she clucked and fussed over them like they were her own grandbabies.
"I assisted with Tobias' birth," the housekeeper said as she held little baby Five in her arms. "He was bigger than this when he was born - a lot bigger."
"You were at the hospital with Evelyn?" Tris asked.
"No, no," Roza explained, "he was born at home - in Mrs. Eaton's room. Home births are common unless there's something wrong, like twins that keep trying to be born early. Mr. Tobias was born in the room that will be the nursery for these two."
"Really?" Tris asked incredulously. "With all of Marcus' money, and in spite of living an hour from the nearest hospital, he let his wife have a home birth?"
"Most people have home births," Roza restated.
"Not in America," Tris said. "There are people there who choose home birth, or have a midwife instead of a doctor, but I'd say the majority of babies are born in hospitals with medical doctors attending. It kind of makes me glad we had twins. I mean, I'm sure everything would be fine, but I would have been so nervous. I'd never had a baby before, so to go through it at home without a doctor would have been… I don't know… scarry, I guess."
"Women have done it since the dawn of time," Roza argued. "But I'm sure Mr. Tobias would have insisted on the hospital for you anyway. He's very protective of your health and safety."
"Yes he is," Tris agreed.
.
The day finally arrived for Tobias the fifth and Lilliana to be released from the hospital. Tris was beyond eager to get home and settle in. She felt like their family life couldn't really begin until they were in their own home.
Tobias and Amar each carried a baby out to the SUV where their car seat bases were securely installed. Rebekah and Jorik had already left for the estate with the luggage. Tris carried her purse and a bag of the babies' things.
"You know," she commented, "for as small as you are, the two of you have a lot of luggage."
"Do you need help?" Amar asked.
"No, I'm fine," Tris insisted. "I was just thinking that I understand now why moms buy minivans and big SUVs. It isn't the kids, it's all the stuff. Strollers, diaper bags, playpens - that stuff takes up a lot of room. And it's all double with twins."
"Should I buy you a big van like we got for the center?" Tobias teased.
Tris laughed. "I think we can fit in the SUV - at least for now. I'll let you know if we need to upgrade to a bus or something."
.
Tris sat between the twins' carseats in the back seat on the way home from the hospital. The normally hour-long drive took a bit longer as Amar drove like a little old lady. He was awed by the responsibility of hauling the two tiny new Eatons home.
Tris was also overwhelmed. She had been away from the estate for nearly a month, and as they meandered slowly down the driveway and caught sight of the house, her eyes welled up with tears.
"Welcome home," she said to her babies. "I missed this place so much," she said to Tobias and Amar, "I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again."
"Me too," the men said at the same time, then laughed.
Tris saw Roza waiting on the front step with Rebekah and the three cleaning girls. All five of them looked eager, and Roza clapped excitedly when they stopped the car.
Tobias laughed as he opened his door and got out of the SUV. "Këtu është ftohtë. Hyni brenda në shtëpi; ju mund të shihni foshnjat atje,"
(It is cold out here. Go inside the house; you can see the babies there) he said to the eager women.
No one moved to obey. Instead, they watched with rapt attention as Tris and Tobias unloaded the car seat carriers from the vehicle. Rebekah sidled up to Tris and walked beside her up the stairs while Roza crowded Tobias' side. Amar grabbed the things from the car, and the cleaning girls followed them all, giggling excitedly the whole time.
Tobias led the entourage into the large living room and set Five's carrier on an ottoman. Tris set Lilianna's on the sofa beside it, and the couple uncovered the babies so their admirers could see them. Both infants were sleeping, and they didn't even stir at the chattering voices around them.
The five women cooed and giggled over the tiny sleeping babies.
"Dëshironi të mbani foshnjat?" (Would you like to hold them?) Tris asked, looking directly at the cleaning girls so they understood that they were included in the offer.
Rebekah and Roza smiled while Lule, Besa, and Rita gasped excitedly and grinned at Tris.
"Shkoni lani duart," (Go wash your hands), Tris instructed.
The four younger women hurried eagerly toward the kitchen while Roza began unbundling Tobias the fifth. "I washed when I saw you coming," she said. "I knew I had to be ready if I wanted to have the first chance at holding a baby today. The girls have been very eager to see them. It is kind of you to allow them to hold the babies."
"Some new parents don't like people touching their babies," Tris said, "but I grew up in a family and a church where everyone passed babies around and looked out for each other's children. Rita, Besa, and Lule are part of the twins' home and family life. I don't mind them holding the babies."
Roza looked up at Tobias, who merely shrugged. "I don't have any experience with infants," he said. "So if Tris is comfortable with others holding Lilly and Five, then I accept that."
.
The next few days adjusting to life at home with two tiny infants were hard, but Tris was never alone. Tobias worked very little. He got up at night to help his wife juggle the demands of nursing two babies. Rebekah, Roza, Amar, and the cleaning girls were always offering to hold the babies so Tris could shower, eat, or take a nap. At first she was reluctant to accept help, but Amar and Tobias reminded her that she needed to take care of herself, too, and that everyone genuinely wanted a chance to spend time with the babies.
When they had been home for three days, Amar approached the couple during lunch. "Miss Bianchi called," he said to Tobias. "I told her that you were having lunch with your wife but would call back this afternoon. It seems that the test results are back."
Tobias swallowed hard. "And?" he choked out.
"She didn't say," Amar explained. "She wishes to speak with you personally."
Amar left, and Tris watched her husband push the food around on his plate, not taking another bite.
"Tobias?" she asked gently.
He glanced up, and Tris was met with conflicted blue eyes.
"What are you feeling?" she pressed.
"I don't know," he said. "I… I don't want you to get upset again."
"Me?" Tris asked. "This isn't about me, Tobias. The woman who claims to be your sister got the DNA test results back, and you're about to find out if you're related. That's… exciting. And scary. And I want to know how you're feeling about it."
"I'm feeling all of that," he said as he pushed away his half-full plate. "But more than anything I'm feeling helpless because I don't know how to handle this. Therese is probably my sister. She remembers Evelyn and things from her toddler years. She looks like Evelyn. She looks… she looks like me. The test is a formality in my mind. The results are a formality. But last time we talked about her you didn't take it well, and we've been so caught up in the sleepless chaos of two newborn babies that we never really resolved the argument we had in the hospital. Your parents told me to forget about Therese for now and focus on you and the babies so you would know where my priorities lie. I've been doing that, but now she's popped up again, and I'm afraid that you'll be upset."
"Oh Tobias," Tris said, dropping her flatware so she could reach for her husband's hand. "My feelings about your sister are separate from that fight we had. Does that make sense? I was angry because I felt absolutely horrible, stuck, and lonely there in the hospital. The only thing I looked forward to each day was having you come spend time with me. So when I found out that you were out doing things with someone else when I was stuck there… Well, it didn't matter how innocent it was, I was hurt. Add to that the fact that there were rumors about you cheating on me with a beautiful young woman, and that you were hiding things from me. I was just so hurt, and angry. I couldn't calm down, and… and I made the babies come too soon. I've wanted to ask about Therese, but I just feel so… guilty. I risked our children's lives because I was angry with you! It was so selfish of me, and I've made it worse by ignoring what you're going through finding out that you might have family you didn't know about! I'm just so sorry, Tobias."
The overwhelming guilt and her recent lack of sleep made Tris weepy, and by the time she finished talking she was full-on sobbing.
Tobias moved from his chair to kneel beside his wife and draw her into his arms. "Zemra ime," he crooned, "it's not your fault, and the babies are healthy. I deserved your anger. I never should have hidden things from you. We should have talked. We should have gone through that together. I was wrong in the way I handled things, and I hurt you. I was trying to protect you and the babies, but I hurt you. I'm so sorry. I hurt myself, too. I needed you, but in trying to protect you I cheated myself out of my partner. Whatever that test says, and whatever relationship we do or do not have with Therese, we decide together, and we do it together. Okay?"
Tris sniffled and nodded at her husband.
"I love you," Tobias said.
"I love you, too," Tris repeated. "Let's go call your sister."
"Together," Tobias confirmed.
.
A/N: Today is my moving day! It's been a crazy trip, but I've squeezed in time to upload chapters almost every day. Just one more chapter in this story, but I've been picking at a few more stories that I'll publish this winter. Well, back to unpacking!
- Libby