Ten: An unexpected surprise
Plot: Two weeks into having their daughters back, Edward and Lydia are surprised to see their eldest daughter sick. But knowing what happened to her, it makes them worried too.
"Mama! Papa! Help!" Nell cried as Sabrina and Madeline covered her up with blankets, seeing their parents come into the room and try not to laugh at the sight.
"No! You're sick! Lay down!" Madeline pouted with crossed arms.
"Sick?" Lydia smirked playfully, musing her hair. "Honey maybe Nellie doesn't want you two to play doctor with her today."
"Yes she does!" Sabrina pouted.
"Now Sabrina don't get upset," Edward smiled, musing her hair. "How did you and Maddie think that Helenita was sick?"
"She kept groaning and she's holding her tummy," Madeline started. "She didn't eat a lot for dinner last night."
"Maybe it's a little bug that's been going around," Lydia suggested. "Don't worry about it, girls; Daddy and I will take care of her."
"Okay," Madeline smiled. "You'll be okay, Nell."
"We'll let you rest," Sabrina added.
However, when Madeline and Sabrina were out of the room, Edward and Lydia turned back to Nell.
"The girls just thought I was sick. But I'm not," Nell assured her worried parents with a smile.
"I know when you're not sick. I know it all too well," Lydia grinned, taking the blankets off.
"And by the look on your face, all I can see is fear," Edward added, gently stroking Nell's hair.
"What could I have to be afraid of?" Nell sounded nervous now.
"Believe me, Nellie, I looked the same way," Lydia assured her.
"Same way about what?" Nell asked.
"Being with child," Lydia replied softly, squeezing her hand.
"What? I'm too young!" Nell yelled, trying to keep in a groan. "I mean I know what Jimmy did to me but I couldn't be..."
"Helenita are you alright?" Edward asked, seeing her face turn into a familiar shade of green.
Nell answered his question by getting sick all over his shoes. "I'm so sorry, Papa!" she cried when she could talk again.
"Helenita, my sweet little girl, I'm not mad," Edward murmured. "Shoes can always be cleaned or replaced, and this is not your fault."
"Here, sweetheart, drink this," Lydia murmured, getting her some water. "It'll make you feel better."
Nell took the water without protest, breathing somewhat heavily as tears went down her cheeks.
She was just getting her life back. She had her family back. She couldn't have Jimmy's child. No matter how often he had discussed it with her.
Often he never cared about what gender the baby would be just as long as it was born healthy and had some of his genes.
"I know something else that will make you feel better," Edward said as he came back with different shoes on, "The baby won't know that bastard Jimmy as their father."
"Bobby Lee will be the only person your baby calls daddy," Lydia promised.
"And let's not forget me," Edward grinned, "Your baby's going to need a grandfather to love them and spoil them rotten!"
"Oh, Edward," Lydia grinned.
Nell smirked at her father acting foolish before looking at her stomach.
If she really was with child, she wanted proof.
"Mama, if I did have a baby in my stomach what would I need to do to make sure?" Nell asked softly, turning red at the thought.
"First, we'll take you to the doctor where you can get a proper diagnosis," Lydia smiled. "We won't know if you're having a boy or a girl for a few weeks yet, and you'll be going in for regular checkups each month."
"You'll stay with me the whole time, right?" Nell asked.
"Of course we will," Lydia promised.
"We'll stay right by your side," Edward agreed.
"Will he ask who the daddy is? And how will I tell him?" Nell asked. "Will he tell everyone about this?"
"We'll take Robert with us, and we'll have to explain about Jimmy," Lydia admitted. "But the doctor won't tell anyone about what you tell him."
"He won't?" Nell whimpered.
"Of course not," Edward promised, hugging her close.
"And we'll surprise the girls after we get the news," Lydia added, helping Nell stand.
"Can't we do it here?" Nell frowned. "I don't want to go out."
"Of course," Lydia smiled. "We'll have a doctor summoned right now."
While Lydia went for the village doctor, Edward pulled Nell close and stroked her hair. "It's going to be all right, sweetheart. We'll all help raise this baby of yours."
"And Bobby Lee, Madeline and Sabrina? Can they be here when the doctor looks at me?" Nell asked.
"Of course," Edward smiled. "They'll want to hear about this as well."
"Bobby Lee's not gonna be happy about it. I just got him back. I don't want him to hurt me," Nell sighed, burying her head in Edward's chest.
"Robert would never do that. He cares about you so much. He might be a little shocked and understandingly furious but not with you," Edward assured, kissing her cheek.
"And the girls will be so confused," Nell admitted with a smirk. "It'll be strange for them to be the only kids who's going be aunties earlier than expected."
"Don't worry, Nellie," Lydia assured her, "We'll just take it one day at a time. That's all we can really do. But they'll love the baby as much as we will."
Bobby Lee came in at that moment, and when he heard what was going on, he pulled Nell into a tight hug. "Helen, the only person I'm furious with is Jimmy, for doing this to you. I could never be mad at you about this, since it wasn't even your fault. I'd never hurt you over this either."
"You mean that?" Nell asked.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm this baby's daddy, and I'll do everything in my power to see that he or she is loved, respected, and cared for," Bobby Lee promised.
"Baby?" Madeline frowned.
"No! We don't wanna share Nell!" Sabrina pouted.
"Calm down you two. The doctor has to check just to be sure," Bobby Lee explained softly, letting go of Nell to hug them. "But if there is a baby, Helen may not have as much time with you but it won't mean that she doesn't love you."
"Butterfly...Baby girl..." Nell started to reach for her sisters.
"That's right! I'm your baby girl! We don't need another baby!" Sabrina shouted.
"I'm not sharing Nell with a baby!" Madeline shouted.
"Me either!" Sabrina cried.
"Girls come here!" Nell scolded before gently reaching out for them. "I understand. I'm not gonna be happy about this either."
"You're not?" Madeline asked in surprise.
"No. I just got you two back. We just got Mama and Papa back. I'm not ready for a baby," Nell sighed, stroking their hair. "But I love you both so much."
"Everything's going to be all right," Lydia assured them as she joined the hug, "Just because our family's getting bigger doesn't mean that we don't love you any less."
"There's enough love in this family for everyone," Edward agreed.
"They're in here sir," Bobby Lee smiled as he lead the doctor inside.
"I'm not the patient this time," Lydia smiled, recalling the doctor from her two pregnancies. "Nellie is. But she's a little scared."
"That's perfectly normal," the doctor smiled, shaking Nell's hand. "I've seen my share of first-time mothers, so I know exactly what to do and what to expect."
"Don't be afraid, sweetheart; Dr. Shanz knows exactly what to do," Lydia smiled. "We'll be right beside you the whole time."
"We stay with Nell!" Madeline yelled, hugging Nell close.
"Of course you two can sweetheart. But the doctor has to check her out," Edward explained, taking Madeline in his lap. "We apologize for her sisters. They're very clingy."
"It's perfectly understandable," Dr. Shanz smiled. "I know all about what happened to your daughters. When you first brought them to the hospital following their rescue, I looked in the doorway at them as I made my rounds."
"Didn't you also sneak them each a lollipop as we were leaving?" Edward smiled, giving Madeline an extra hug.
"They looked like they needed something sweet," Dr. Shanz smiled as he gave Sabrina, Madeline, and even Nell, Bobby Lee, Lydia, and Edward each a lollipop.
"I'll save mine for later!" Nell laughed softly, putting her lollipop in her dress pocket.
"Bobby Lee's not!" Sabrina giggled.
"Maybe he hasn't had one in a long time," Edward smirked before he squeezed Nell's hand.
"That's all right, but now, let's start the examination," Dr. Shanz smiled as he helped Nell lie down on the table. "Everything's going to be all right. This won't hurt at all."
"Why don't I take Madeline and Sabrina out?" Edward suggested. "That way it won't be so crowded with all of us here."
Sabrina shuddered a little at his words. She hated enclosed spaces and closets. She looked around, and now that she thought about it, there seemed to be more room as she followed Edward and Madeline out.
Edward saw how nervous she looked, and drew her into a hug. "It's all right, sweetheart. There'll be more room for all of us outside."
"Promise?" Sabrina asked almost in tears.
"I promise," Edward assured, taking her hand.
"Daddy, you and Sabrina go. I wanna stay with Mommy and Nell," Madeline frowned, looking at Nell.
"If you're sure, Maddie," Lydia murmured.
"I'm sure," Madeline pleaded.
"Okay. Just have a seat over there," Dr. Shanz smiled. "There are some books and magazines on the table you can look at. You'll especially like this one...Adventure Stories Weekly. Prince James sometimes contributes stories, and they're very well received."
"I'll read that one first," Madeline smiled.
As Madeline began to lose herself in the exciting stories, Dr. Shanz examined Nell, who had Lydia's hand in a tight grip.
"It's all right, Nellie," Lydia murmured, stroking her hair, "Just focus on my voice." She began softly singing the lullaby she used to sing the girls every night.
Nell focused on Lydia's voice, nearly forgetting why she was laying down in the first place. Though she felt terrible for getting her family into her mess.
They didn't do anything to her like Jimmy did as a tear went down her cheek.
It was his fault.
"You have nothing to be upset about," Bobby Lee whispered. "This is on Jimmy's head. He's the one that did this to you, but he will not be a part of this child's life."
"We'll all help you take care of the baby, and we'll answer any questions you have," Lydia assured her as Dr. Shanz looked up again.
"Is something wrong sir?" Bobby Lee asked, gently wiping away another tear from Nell's eye.
"Nell okay?" Madeline frowned, not understanding what was going on.
"She's going to be just fine," Dr. Shanz smiled. "According to what Lydia told me, Helen doesn't drink or smoke, and she's doing all the right things." He smiled as Bobby Lee and Madeline gave sighs of relief. "All of you have nothing to worry about. From what I've seen so far, the babies are just fine."
"That's good," Lydia smiled. "The babies are fi...Doctor, did you just say babies?"
"Babies, as in more than one?" Bobby Lee asked.
"Yes," Dr. Shanz smiled. "Congratulations, Helen, you're having twins!"
"Twins?" Bobby Lee gasped. When it sank in, he grinned excitedly, kissed Nell hard on the lips, and started hugging and kissing everyone in the room, even Dr. Shanz.
"T-Twins?!" Nell groaned softly. "Oh no. I-I can't!"
"Nellie, it's gonna be okay," Lydia assured, seeing the frightened look in her eyes. "I know you still have some bad memories of your sisters as babies and I don't blame you for being fearful."
"Were we that bad?" Madeline frowned.
"When you were little, Madeline, you had a bad cold. Your cries kept us up a good part of the night," Lydia remembered, "Your father walked you back and forth in the parlor and sang to you until you fell asleep."
"I'm sorry, Mommy," Madeline murmured.
"You didn't get sick on purpose, did you?" Lydia smiled. "But the next day, when Sabrina got the same cold as you, Nellie would join Edward in singing to you and walking her around. She'd rock you while he rocked Sabrina, then they'd switch what they were doing. They'd tell you stories until you fell asleep."
Nell smiled a little. She remembered the old lullabies Lydia sang to her, and every night when they were with Jimmy, she'd sing them to her sisters.
"So does Nell get to tell the king and queen that a baby's in her tummy?!" Madeline asked excitedly.
"That she's pregnant?" Lydia grinned, musing her hair. "That's up to her Butterfly."
"How about your twin and daddy first?" Bobby Lee smirked.
"I think Papa and Sabrina should know," Nell agreed. "Why don't you go out and get them, Maddie?"
"Okay," Madeline smiled. "Daddy! Sabrina! Baby! Baby!"
"Slow down Maddie. I don't want to share Nell with it," Sabrina grumbled.
"It's not just one anymore!" Madeline giggled, jumping up and down. "Twins like us!"
"My little Helenita's having twins?" Edward gasped. "This is wonderful! Now she'll be doubly blessed, like your mother and I were when you were born!"
"I still don't want to share Nell with them," Sabrina pouted.
"Don't you wanna see Nell?" Madeline frowned.
"Yes," Sabrina muttered, looking at her feet. "But I don't wanna share babies with her."
"I think you'll change your mind when you meet them," Lydia smiled.
"Just give them a chance, sweetheart," Edward said as he led her back to Nell.
"Baby girl," Nell smiled, gently stroking her hair. "I know you're upset..."
"I hate him! It's his fault!" Sabrina cried, crossing her arms. "Dumb Jimmy!"
"Babies can't know him!" Madeline added, hugging Nell's stomach.
"I couldn't agree more with you on that, girls," Lydia murmured, pulling her and Sabrina into a tight hug. "And I promise you that the babies will never know Jimmy or his family."
"We'll take care of the babies!" Sabrina offered.
"We love our nieces!" Madeline giggled.
Lydia and Edward glanced at Nell who couldn't help but smile at Madeline's innocence.
"Butterfly I just learned that I'm pregnant. I won't know the gender for a few more weeks," Nell smirked, musing her hair.
"We tell king and queen now?" Sabrina asked with a smile.
"If you want," Lydia agreed, with Nell and Edward nodding at her side. "They'll both want to know how Nellie's doing anyway."
"They'll be so excited too!" Sabrina smiled, but then she frowned a little. "Mommy, Daddy, Nell, am I still gonna be your baby girl when the twins are born?"
Nell, Edward, and Lydia pulled Sabrina into a hug. "Of course you'll still be our baby girl, just like Madeline is still going to be our little Butterfly" Nell smiled, reaching a hand out to Madeline. "But we will have to start thinking of nicknames for the babies."
"But they don't have names yet," Sabrina frowned.
"Can we name them?!" Madeline asked excitedly, tugging on Nell's dress. "Please? Please? PLEASE?!"
"Now that's a lot of pleases!" Bobby Lee chuckled, musing her hair.
"You've been saying nieces a lot," Nell observed, "But what if I'm having a boy?"
"Like we said, it's going to be a few weeks before we know for sure," Lydia added. "But maybe we could all write down choices for both boys and girls."
"That's a good idea," Edward smiled. "We can all choose our favorites from each list."
"All I know is that if it's a boy, it won't be named Jimmy, Beth, or Robby!" Nell smirked. "And it won't be Beth if it's a girl either!" She remembered how Jimmy had named one of his sons Beth, since he'd been hoping for a girl.
"Anna's a good one," Sabrina smiled, hugging Nell's stomach.
"As a middle name maybe," Bobby Lee smirked. "But let's wait until after we tell you if your big sister will be have twin boys or twin girls."
"Girls! No yucky boys!" Madeline pouted, bumping into Sofia.
"What's this about boys? And James is right behind me, you know," Sofia said as she steadied her.
"You do know that all boys aren't bad, right?" James asked. "Don't I always let you sing in my room with me?"
"Well, yes, but you shut your door!" Sabrina shuddered.
"Actually, I started singing with the door open a crack," James replied. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready to open it all the way."
"You can do that whenever you're ready," Lydia smiled, pulling him into a hug.
"Do we tell them?" Madeline whispered with a smile.
"Easy Butterfly. I don't want you to explode from excitement," Nell smirked.
"How is she going to explode?" James asked with a smirk.
"If she doesn't tell you our good news, she's going to burst!" Edward grinned.
"What good news?" Sofia asked with a smile.
"Nell's got a baby in her tummy!" Madeline giggled, jumping up and down happily.
"Nell, that's wonderful!" Sofia smiled as Amber came in behind her.
"A baby?" Amber repeated, "Congratulations, Nell! I'll start making preparations for a baby shower, setting up the nursery, planning the party..."
"Thanks, Amber, but we just got the news today," Nell chuckled. "And I'm having twins!"
"Good things do come two at a time!" James grinned over at Amber.
"But she's gonna have her hands full!" Sofia sung playfully.
"Oh come Sofia. Twins aren't that bad," Amber smirked. "It's double the fun!"
"We are fun!" Sabrina and Madeline giggled.
"We're all fun," Bobby Lee grinned.
"Oh yes," James smirked, "Like mushrooms, you're a fun guy!"
"James don't tease him," Roland smirked, musing his hair. "Miranda and I thought we heard voices!"
"Well we have some good news," Lydia grinned. "And Sabrina and Madeline really want to tell you about it."
"Let me guess...something about Helen being pregnant with twins?" Roland asked.
"We heard you talking about it as we came up to see you," Miranda smiled. "Congratulations, Helen!"
"Thank you, but like I've been saying, I don't know if they're boys or girls yet," Nell smiled.
"It could even be one of each," Roland smiled over at Amber and James.
"And if it is, I'm teaching the boy twin to guard," Bobby Lee smirked, noticing Nell's glare. "Once he knows how to walk of course."
"That's what we thought you said," Edward smiled, musing his hair.
"No. Girls," Madeline frowned.
"It's going to be a few weeks before we know for sure," Lydia smiled as she pulled her into a hug. "But we're all going to love them, no matter what."
"You're absolutely right," Bobby Lee smiled.