Ch57

After Mike parked in the garage, they walked inside while Mike went upstairs to sort his bags. Brad and Hannah were getting drinks and snacks sorted out. Emma was playing in her playpen, and Kate was seated comfortably. Mike went to help Hannah and Brad until the crew and families arrived.

Soon, every crew member was sharing some great histories about the Childers and patties and sausages were given around. By the time the house was empty, and the Flynn's managed to get to bed was past midnight.

The next morning, Mike woke up with Emma babbling coming from the baby monitor. He got up quickly and turned the monitor off to avoid Kate waking too. He went for a shower and shaved before he finally was ready to leave the room. He smiled as he opened Emma's room and she grinned brightly when she spotted him.

"Dada!" She yelled standing in her crib with arms raised.

"Morning, sweetie!" he said grabbing her and kissed her good morning. "Let's get you changed."

After placing her wet clothes in a hamper and the old diaper in the bin, he grabbed clean Emma and walked down to make breakfast.

Kate stretched on an empty cold bed and grabbed her cellphone, shocked when the clock said it was ten am already. Using the bed rail, she got out of bed and with a sigh, she started her morning routine before returning to her bedrest. She took her phone and texted Mike to let him know she was awake.

Mike's cell phone vibrated over the table and Hannah grabbed his cell phone since he was playing in the garden with Emma, while Brad and their kids were down at the beach. She saw it was Kate's, so she opened it.

"Mike! Kate's awake and hungry," she yelled, he chuckled but stood up patting his bum free of dirt.

"Can you watch her?" he asked pointing to Emma with his head.

"Sure! Go," Hannah grinned.

"Hey, did you sleep well?" Mike asked Kate as he entered the room, carrying a tray.

"Yes, what did you have there?"

"Brunch?" He lowered the tray, and she noticed the contents: omelet with cheese, chopped red onion, peppers, and ham; wholemeal toast, orange juice, and a tea

"Wow, you outdid yourself, didn't you?" She smiled, "I can't believe I slept like that!"

"You probably needed it," Mike said as he walked towards the window.

"Where's Emma?"

"In the yard, Hannah is looking after her. Brad is with the kids down at the beach," he said seating on the bed. "Is there something you want to do today?"

"I'll take all the rest I can get," she smiled

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Doctor Mike," she grinned. "I won't be able to sleep that much with three babies."

"You are right, rest all you need." They talked for a while until she finished everything in her tray. "Do you need anything else?"

"Nope, I'm good. I'll be here reading a book." He nodded and kissed her before leaving the room with the tray in tow.

"If you need anything…" he trailed.

"I'll text you, Mike." He smiled at her before he noticed she was already with her nose stuck in the book she was reading. He shook his head and closed the door as he left.

Two weeks later, the school was around the corner thus Hannah, Brad and their kids were saying goodbyes to Kate, Mike, and Emma and returning to Sydney. Not too long after they left, Mike took Emma to pick her grandma from the airport. She was going to take Emma on a flight while Mike and Kate drove back to Sydney.

It was a long drive; Kate needed to stretch her legs and go to the toilet so much that they ended up stopping every two hours. After sixteen hours in the road, they stopped at Mercure Capricorn Resort in Yeppoon.

"You look tired, Kate," Mike whispered as she settled into bed later.

"So, do you, how about room service?"

"I was thinking the same thing," he scanned the room and found the folder with the menu and passed it to Kate. "Is there anything you want?" He asked as she went through the menu. He walked towards the fridge a took a couple of drinks for them. She nodded and pointed the one she wanted. He perused the menu and called. "Twenty minutes," he informed her, and she nodded.

After dinner, Mike helped Kate with her night routine before they fell asleep quickly in each other's arms.

The next morning after breakfast, he helped her to get into the spa bath and left her to relax as he got everything else ready. By eleven o'clock they were on the road again, driving down to Brisbane, where they stopped at the Marriott hotel.

After a night rest and a good shower, they left the room and went shopping. They were going to take an extra day there to enjoy the city. They stopped at a cafe for lunch and in the afternoon, they went to try the pools of the hotel.

"How are you feeling?" Mike asked observing her

"Good, you?"

"I'm good. Are you sure you bought enough clothes for Emma and the twins?"

"No," she grinned. "What are your plans when we get home, Mike?"

"I'm going to finish the nursery," he sighed.

"You better hurry, sailor. There are only eight weeks left."

It was a couple of hours later when the guy in the watch, helped Mike to get Kate out of the swimming pool. After a warm shower, they ordered from room service and watched a movie before calling the night. Before noon the next day, they were on the road again.

Mike called his mother from the hotel and asked her to please make their bed since he wasn't sure how long it would take them to arrive. Thankfully, Michelle did; when they finally arrived at Sydney it was late, and they walked straight to bed.

Mike woke up first and got up to check the state of the fridge; it was empty. So, he got dress and went to McDonald's to get breakfast for both of them. When he returned, she wasn't in their bed, and he frowned.

"Mike! Where were you?" Kate said in the bathroom doorway

"Geez! You scared me. I went to pick some breakfast," he lifted the bags.

"Thank you," she walked and sat on the bed. He lowered the bags on the bed and went to the kitchen to find a tray before he displayed his purchase. "I'm so hungry."

"I bet you are."

"We need to go grocery shopping," Kate announced once they were both done with breakfast.

"Yeah, the fridge is empty," he affirmed scrunching up his nose.

"Can I talk you into having a shower before going into town?"

"You probably could talk me into anything," he chuckled. "But after the shopping fun, we come back, and you stay on the bed with a nice book while I work in the room."

"I'll need some DVD's too, Mike."

"Sure, you pick them," He said smiling as he leaned forth and kissed her.

"Even if it's a chic-flick?" she squinted.

"Yup, anything you want" she kissed him as an answer.

During the following hours, Mike and Kate stormed town to get their groceries and their final needs for the rooms. Once home, Mike made a late lunch, and after that, Mike helped Kate with the DVDs before he started working on the first bedroom. He stopped every occasionally, to check on her and called it a day when he noticed it was almost time to pick Emma.

"Kate?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you be okay for half an hour? I'm going to go pick Emma."

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"I won't be long," he whispered to her before kissing her goodbye.

"Oh, can you pick up salted potato chips and any flavored milk except for chocolate, please?" She asked making him stop at the threshold.

"Anything else?"

"Ginger beer" he nodded and took a step out. "And Marmite! The one I like?" she yelled.

"I will!" he yelled back at her. He stood in the same place until he heard her restarting her movie.

When Mike arrived home with Emma, he managed to put the bags on the counter before carrying Emma down to his bedroom. He placed her on the floor and grabbed her hand as they walked to find Kate. "Where's mummy?" Kate stopped the DVD as the door opened and she smiled as Emma walked slowly to her bedroom but her pace speeded up when she spotted her mom. "Woo, there!" Mike said making Kate laugh.

"Mama!" she yelled as Mike picked her up and placed her beside Kate. Once, Kate had her grabbed in a hug. Mike searched the camera and filmed them. "Mama!"

"Yes, Emma. I'm mamma," Kate smiled kissing the top of her daughter's head. Emma moved to snuggled close to Kate while sucking her thumb. For some reason, she found Kate's stomach weird and seating again, she pulled her thumb out of her mouth and poked Kate's stomach. Mike and Kate watch what Emma was doing.

"Babies," Kate said placing her hand on her stomach. And Emma looked at her frowned. "You can try saying it, ba.. by." Emma shook her head and sat back making herself comfortable on Kate's side but leaving her other hand on her mom's stomach.

"Oh well, one day she will say many things, Mike."

"I know, maybe her third word will be boat! Who knows?" they chuckled as he lowered the camera. "I'll better go and check on dinner."

It took him a while to make dinner, and soon he was feeding Emma, making plane noises as he reached her mouth with the spoon. She shook her head no, and he tried with a train. But she didn't open.

"Bo bo."

"Bo bo?" Mike frowned not quite knowing what she meant. "Are you really saying what I think?"

"Bo bo."

"Boat?" He asked, and Emma smiled

"Ok, here comes the boat!" He grinned before he started making boat noises. Emma giggled loudly but opened her mouth nonetheless. What none of them knew was that Kate had managed to record them. Once she was done, Mike took her for a bath and placed her on her cot to sleep. Then, he and Kate had their dinner and watched a movie before he took the trays out of bed.

"Do you need anything from the kitchen?" He asked as he stood up to take their trays back.

"I'm good. Thanks," she smiled at him as he nodded and started walking towards the kitchen. "Bobo," he heard her said and turned around with a frown.

"I was there, Mike… and it is recorded," Mike shook his head, and walked away until he couldn't hear Kate boat noises anymore.

"Did you have to mock me for those noises?" Mike said when he walk back into the bedroom and sat on the bed

"Why not, Mike?" she kissed him

"They were very accurate if you must know. I'm in the Nave." He pointed puffing his chest and making her laugh.

Over the next two weeks, Mike managed to create a routine for them. He first got Emma ready, including her breakfast. Then, he lowered her into her playpen and made him and ate while preparing Kate's. After that, he would place Kate's breakfast on a tray and take it to the bed. Finally, after kissing Kate, he stopped in Emma's room to check her bag and take it. Picking Emma from the play pan, he drove her to her daycare.

With Emma under proper care, he could go shopping if he needed and return home with whatever he was missing. In the condo, Kate waited for him to return so he could help her with her shower. He picked a shower stall so she could sit in there and that gave him more room to take care of cleaning and washing; which he did before he returned to the bathroom to help Kate with washing and drying her back and legs. And then help her into a nightie, as she slowly walked to the room, he sorted the bathroom and picked a jug of drinks for Kate.

After he made sure Kate was comfortable in bed, he asked her if she needed something else and she answers him only 'have fun painting.' Which he always did, only to stop to make some lunch for the both of them that they had in bed.

During lunch, he commented with her how far he got in the nurseries and what he was planning for dinner. And once the dishes were done, he returned to the nurseries where he worked until it was almost time to pick up Emma. After a quick shower, he brought snacks to Kate and with a kiss he announced her that he was going to pick their daughter.

Sooner than they realized, their second wedding anniversary arrived, and Mike brought Kate two dozen of long stem red roses. For dinner, he surprised her with a delivery of her favorite meal. Kate was overwhelmed, but she also was a bit down. She didn't have a chance to get him anything due to her bed rest.

"Kate? Is something wrong? Did I mess up with the surprises?" He asked when they were watching a movie. Kate sighed and turned towards him pressing stop.

"They were perfect, Mike and," her eyes filled with tears. "I loved them, and I love you but…"

"Hey, what's wrong?" he whispered caressing her cheek

"I got you nothing," she whined, and he pulled her towards him. She cried over his chest.

"Kate, don't you see… you have given me plenty!" She frowned looking at him. "You agreed to marry me. You became my wife and the mother of our three children. What more could I ask of you, Kate? A family, that's all I ever wanted. I love you, Kate, you and the kids mean everything to me. I know things are hard right now for you, but I will be here, and I will always love you no matter what happens. You gave me the best gifts a man can hope for, your love, Emma and these two," He put his hand on her expanding stomach. Before kissing her.

"Oh, Mike!" She cried, and he hugged her.

"There's one thing I might want to ask you after all." He said, and she got back a little to watch him.

"What's that?"

"Don't tell anyone that I said that… I have a mighty cowboy reputation to hold up," Mike said grinning and making Kate laugh.

"Don't worry, your fluffy side it's safe... for now,"

"Good," he kissed her, and they returned to their movie.

By the end of February, Mike helped Kate to reach one of the rooms. And she couldn't help but smile when she saw it.

"Mike! I love it!" She said in awe

"You do?"

"Yes! You've done a fantastic job."

"I'm pleased that you are happy," he grinned. Then they walked into the second room, and she was still smiling.

"Oh Mike, I know that our sons are going to love it," she whispered wrapping her arms around his waist.

"How are you feeling?"

"Blessedly happy."

"Good. Now, back to bed all three of you," he grinned helping her to the room.

"So, when you return to Cairns, you will be doing the same in the rooms?"

"Yes, I…" he stopped as Kate doubled holding her stomach

"Kate?" He asked looking worried.

"Mike…" she said somewhat in a panic. "I think that was a contraction."

"The first one?"

"Yes"

"I'll get your bag," he said already jogging towards the bedroom. She managed to make a couple of steps by herself before he joined her carrying two bags. "Come on, let's get you to the hospital."

They walked to the door, and as Kate went first, Mike grabbed all he needed to go and set the alarm before locking the door behind him. Once they reached the elevator, he took his cellphone out and dialed his mother's number.

"Mum! Can you pick Emma at five? Kate's gone into labor. Yes, mom. I'll call you with news...yes, can you, please? Thanks." then he called a taxi as they got into the elevator. Ten minutes later Mike help Kate out of the taxi and walk into the hospital

"Mike… they are getting quicker."

"Seat in this wheelchair," Mike said after nodding helping her seat and then, with everything set, he rushed to the elevators. A few minutes later, they were up in the maternity ward and a nurse examined Kate.

"No matter what happens over the next few hours, I'm not going anywhere," he affirmed.

"I know you won't, Mike."

"Soon we will be holding our sons," he grinned.

"I can't wait," she whispered, and he kissed her.

Later that night, at Michele and Patrick's house, the phone rang.

"Mum?" Mike's voice came, and Michelle turned to Patrick.

"Mike! Is everything ok?" She asked trying not to sound too concerned.

"We are perfect, mum!" Mike said happily, and Michelle quickly turned the phone on speaker. "Mike Jr was born twenty-seven minutes past nine and weighed seven pounds one ounce. David Patrick was born eight minutes later, and weighed seven pounds three ounces."

"That's wonderful news, son! How's Kate?" Mike laughed

"She's a true sailor, mum. She's tired but great."

"That's excellent, Mike. Are you back at home?"

"Not yet, I'll be leaving soon as a taxi shows up."

"Are you going to give Hannah a call? Or you want us to call her?"

"Nah, I'll do it. Sorry, I've got to go, mum, the taxi just arrived."

"Ok, night son."

"Goodnight, mum!" Michele lowered the phone and turned to Patrick with a bright smile.

"Well, well… two boys to carry on the Flynn name," Patrick said proudly, and Michelle simply couldn't stop smiling.