A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Seventy Eight
A few days pass before Officer O'Rourke is expected back at the prison. When the time comes and he doesn't show the head guard contacts the warden of his absence. It's another few days before notice is sent out that a new guard is needed at the prison. Agent Austin Wallace is in place and as soon as the notice goes out, he contacts the prison. During this time, Edmund's routine doesn't change. The same guard comes to get him every day to take him to the yard. He has exactly one hour outside before he is returned to his cell. After a day or so, Edmund suspects that Officer O'Rourke has bailed.
On the first day, Officer Mitchell comes on duty. "Mitchell." The Head guard says, walking up to him.
"Yes sir." Mitchell replies, looking up.
"You're taking O'Rourke's place, guarding the segregated prisoners."
"Yes Sir."
"Most of the time, its low key. No more than two prisoners are out of their cell at one time. We've worked out a scheduled to keep the rivals on different timetables so that they are never out of their cells at the same time."
"Yes sir."
"Now, although these are not death row inmates, they are highly intelligent and extremely manipulative. You have to watch your back at all times. Do you have any questions?"
"Which prisoners should I be more concerned with?"
"All of them are intelligent, never discount that. However, there is one prisoner here that was connected to the former royal family, one Prince Edmund Winslow. He's not violent, although he can be. He's more of a planner and he'll get anyone to do his dirty work."
"Any recent activity between him and the other inmates?'
"No, but he recently applied to be moved from segregation to the general population. His request was denied by the new prince so we will need to keep a closer eye on him, just to be certain he doesn't attempt to escape."
"Is that even possible?'
"Segregation makes it harder but it can be done if the inmate is persistent."
"I'll be careful."
"For the next few days, you'll be working with one of our senior guards, just until you get the hang of everything."
"That's fine."
"Good, then follow me." The head guard says, turning to leave Mitchell onto the cell block.
Their first night home was easy. The boys only woke up a couple times and with the bassinet setup next to Sam, they didn't have far to go when the boys needed them. Sam is lying beside Jeffrey, both of them are sound asleep when HB begins to whimper. Rolling over, Sam stretches before she moves to get up. She reaches into the bassinet and picks HB up. "It's okay. Momma's here." She whispers, settling back against her pillow as Jeffrey rolls over.
"Is he okay?"
"Yes, I think he just wanted his momma. Isn't that right." Sam says, leaning over and kissing HB on his forehead.
"What is his brother doing?" Jeffrey asks, sitting up.
Sam glances into the bassinet. "He's still sleeping."
"I'm surprised they gave us such an easy first night home."
"I think they're going to be easy babies. Yes you are." Sam says, gently caressing HB's hair. After a few moments, she looks at Jeffrey.
He leans over, giving her a soft kiss. "I love you." He says, after he pulls back.
"We love you." She replies, leaning into him again. "Are you going to the office today?"
"No, I'll try to go back early next week."
"I'll be okay here by myself."
He leans in again. "You can do anything, I know. But this will be easier if I'm here. Let us get settled into a rhythm."
It's a few days before the new guard is allowed to move Edmund to the Rec. yard. When the cell door opens and Officer O'Rourke isn't standing there Edmund isn't surprised and the new guard catches it. "I haven't seen you before." Edmund says, as they walk down the aisle towards the Rec. yard.
"No, you haven't."
"So, you're new." Edmund says, but the new guard doesn't reply. "What happened to Officer O'Rourke?"
"Who?"
"The guard that was before you."
"I don't know." Wallace says, as the door opens and he and Edmund step out into the Rec. yard.
Even though the yard is covered by the guard towers surrounding the prison, the new guard stays out in the yard with Edmund. Edmund notices but he doesn't comment.
Ava drags herself up the stairs to the loft. She's supposes to be on maternity leave, but she struck a deal with William. She wouldn't go to the office every day and on the days that she did it was only to meet a client or for a few hours. That's what today was, she was in her office to go over plans with their client and their indecision has worn her out, not to mention that her back, legs and feet are killing her. She simply wants to soak in a warm bath and then get William to massage…. Before she finishes that thought she remembers that he's in Chicago. Emma had asked to go home with one of her friends to spend the night and being that it's the weekend Ava let her go. Remembering that both William and Emma won't be home tonight brings a cloud of gloom over her. Sighing, she pulls her keys from her purse and quickly unlocks the door to the loft. Putting everything down on the table beside the door, she toes off her shoes and then wanders into the living room and sinks into the sofa. She doesn't notice that William is standing in the kitchen.
He walks to the doorway and watches as she sinks into the couch. With a soft smile, he listens as she sighs. He wasn't supposes to be back until the following week but his meetings went better than he expected so he left early. He's fairly certain that she was meeting a client today, but it's looking more and more like she's going to have to stop these meeting all together. Sighing, he pushes the thought from his mind as he follows her to couch. "Hi, baby." He says softly, trying to keep from scaring her. When she jumps, he realizes he didn't succeed. "I'm sorry. I was trying not to scare you."
"What are you doing here? You're supposes to be in Chicago till next week."
"My meetings wrapped up early." He says, leaning in to kiss her.
After a moment she pulls back and asks. "Did they wrap up or did you cut them short?"
"No, they wrapped up. We discussed everything we needed to discuss so I came home. How are Jeffrey and Sam?"
"They're great. At least they were when I left the hospital last night. I didn't have time today to go over there."
"You were in the office today." He asks, as she nods.
"I think it's time that I cut out the meeting at the office. And let Margret take them over." She says, sighing as she closes her eyes.
He gets up before she falls asleep. "Come on, let's go." He says, holding his hand out.
"What?" She says, as he reaches for her hands and tugs on them.
"Let's go, upstairs."
"Will, I just sat down. I don't..."
"I know you my dear and all you could think about while you were on your way home was a nice long warm bath and then me giving you a massage. And you probably thought you wouldn't get that because you thought I was still in Chicago, but I'm not. So come on, upstairs." He says, tugging on her hands. He helps her up as she groans softly. If he could lift her, he would carry her upstairs, but she would freak out if he tried. "While you're soaking, I'll have dinner delivered and waiting when you get out."
"If I make it up these stairs, I'm not coming back down them." She declares as he chuckles.
"I won't make you, I promise. I'll bring the food to you." He says, following her up the stairs.
Once they make it to the bathroom, he helps her strip and he stops for a moment to stare at her. "What?" She demands.
"I'm amazed everyday by how beautiful you are." He says, as she gives him a shy smile.
"I'm fat." She says, turning away from him.
He slips his arms around her before he replies. "No, you're pregnant and you're beautiful and I love you more every day.
She leans up and kisses him, pulling away before the kiss gets too heated. "I love you too." She whispers. He goes to get her some comfortable clothes, which usually consists of one of his shirts and a pair of loose fitting boxers. When he's sure she's finished the rest of her business, he goes back into the bathroom. She's lifting her leg to step into the tub. "Wait, let me help." He says, quickly laying the clothes on counter. He grabs her hand and helps her into the tub. Still holding onto her hand as she sinks into the tub. When she's settled, he leans down and gently kisses her. "I'll be back as soon as our dinner is here, okay." She nods as he stands up.
The early morning sun shines through the windows above their bed. Rolling to his side, Jeffrey finds Sam sitting up in bed with both boys in her arms. "Is everything okay?" He asks, blinking the sleep from his eyes.
"Everything is fine. I just wanted to hold them." Sam says softly.
"How long have you been up?" He asks, moving to sit up beside her.
"I don't know." She says, looking at the boys and watching them breathe.
He moves closer to them. Putting his arm around her, he pulls her closer to him. "You're going to need sleep Sam." He says, laying his chin on her shoulder.
"I know." She says, still watching them.
"But?" He asks, reaching up to lay his hand against Aj's head and gently caressing his ear while Sam leans against him.
"I kept thinking about them and something happening to them. They're so small. Maybe we should've stayed…."
"Dr. Sedgwick wouldn't've let them leave if she felt like they needed to be there. They passed every test she gave them. And I know they were born early, but they are healthy and they need you to stay that way too." He says, turning his head and lightly kissing the side of her head
"What if they stop breathing or something?"
He pulls her tighter against him. "Will you feel better if I watch over them so you can sleep?" He asks. She looks up.
"You need to sleep too." She says before look back down.
He moves until he can look her in the eye. "I've had a more sleep than you. Can you give them to me and I promise I'll keep watch so you can sleep."
"Okay." She murmurs, letting him take Aj. When he's settled in his Daddy's arms, she gives him HB and moves to get out of the bed."
"Sam, you're supposes to be…."
"I need to use the bathroom and maybe we should both keep watch until they wake up. We can feed, well I can feed them and then we can change them and then I'll go to sleep, I promise." She says, watching him.
"Alright." He says, smiling softly. "I'll watch them until you get back and then we both will until they wake up." He glances at the clock beside the bed. "I don't think they'll be asleep much longer."
She looks at the clock and then smirks. "Probably not. I'll be back as soon as I finish." She says, as he nods.
When she comes back from the bathroom, she settles in beside them. "Did you talk to Mel about the trial?"
"Yes. She said that she won't need you for a probably another week. The prosecution is working their way through their case and then she'll need you." He says, as she nods.
"I'm surprised that William went to Chicago with Ava so close to her due date." Sam says, taking HB and settling back against him and the headboard.
"He probably felt like if something happened he could get back in enough time."
"Still she's going to deliver at any time."
"You're sure about that? She could go late. Dr. Sedgwick said that it's more common for first time mom's to go longer."
"It is, but she's close to delivering. I could tell when she was at the hospital yesterday."
"You think she'll deliver in a few days."
"Maybe, it might be a week but I wouldn't think it would be longer than that. Are you ready to be a Daddy and a Grandpa?" She asks, looking at him with a teasing grin.
He leans over and kisses her, pulling back he says. "As long as you're Momma and Grandma with me, I'm ready for anything."
"I'm too young to be a Grandma." She mutters as he laughs softly.
It's not long before HB whimpers as he wakes up. After laying him down in her lap, she gets ready to feed him.
A few days after replacing Officer O'Rourke, Agent Wallace walks into the Warden's office. "May I help you?" His secretary asks.
"Yes, I'm Officer MacKinley. I have replaced Officer O'Rourke. I would like to speak with the Warden."
"Let me see if he's available." The woman replies, as Agent Wallace nods once. He steps back and looks around the office. After a few moments, she says. "Warden Marshall will see you. If you'll step through that door." She says, pointing to the door across from them.
"Thank you." Agent Wallace replies, walking over to the door. He opens the door without knocking as the Warden stands up and walks around his desk.
"I'm Benjamin Marshall, I'm the Warden for this facility. It's unusual for a new guard to ask to speak with me directly. Pleas have a seat?" Warden Marshall says, indicating the chairs in front of his desk.
"Thank you, but I prefer to stand." Agent Wallace replies.
Nodding, Warden Marshall walks back around his desk and settles into his chair before he says again. "As I said, it is unusual for a new guard to come directly to me about a matter. Is there a problem?"
"I have something I must inform you of." Agent Wallace says, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to the Warden.
"What is this?"
"That is a royal order from Prince Silas asking me to evaluate the security of this facility, especially the high risk ward." Agent Wallace replies, watching a series of emotions play across the Warden's face, the predominate one being anger.
"I don't understand. Does the Prince suspect a security breach?"
"I don't know. I simply have my orders." Agent Wallace replies.
"I will need to verify this with the palace."
"That's up to you, but are you willing to question an order given by the new prince and risk having a more thorough evaluation done of this facility and its staff." Agent Wallace says, looking the man in the eye. There's a few moments of silence while they watch each other before the Warden sighs.
"I can't stop this." He says, as Agent Wallace relaxes. "How is this test going to work?"
"That is to my discretion." Agent Wallace replies.
"And this is my prison. I should at least have some idea of what will happen."
"The less that is known the more accurate the test will be. I will begin immediately. The sooner I get the test under way the quicker the prison will pass this inspection." Agent Wallace says, turning to go. The Warden watches him leave before he sits back.
As soon as the food arrives from Company, William puts everything onto a tray and carries it upstairs. When he reaches their room, he sits the tray on the bed before he walks into the bathroom. Standing in the doorway, he watches Ava for a moment. She has her head back against the wall behind her, with her eyes closed. He can see that she's tired and he realizes that she's right, it's looking more and more like it's probably time for her to give up the trips to the office and the meetings all together. Clearing his throat so that he doesn't scare her, he pushes off of the doorway and walks into the room.
Turning her head, she looks at him and smiles. "You're not going to join me?" She asks, as he settles onto the side of the tub.
"As tempting as the request is, our dinner is here. Do you feel like getting out now?"
"I think I've succeeded into turning my fingers and toes into prunes." She says, raising her perfect if slightly wrinkled hand up so he can see the progress she's made. He laughs as she smiles.
"I think that's sufficient and our food is going to get cold."
"What did you order?"
"I got two dinners from Company, nothing spicy or greasy for you."
"And what about you?"
"Umm, I might've ordered the chili." William replies. She looks at him. "I have antacids if I need them. But it's cold outside and I wanted…." She reaches up and lays a finger against his mouth, silencing him. "Are you ready to get out?"
"Yes." She says, holding her hands out. Standing, he helps her out of the tub before he pulls the plug, letting the tepid water drain as she reaches for a towel to dry off with. When she's dried off, he helps her into the boxers and loose shirt he brought into the bathroom earlier. He lets her leave ahead of him. After she's settled and they've eaten, he'll come back to put everything away and her clothes into the hamper. It's a pattern they've fallen into since it's become too hard for her to bend over to pick things up. When they reach the bed, Ava looks at the tray and smiles. "Dinner in bed." She says, turning to him.
"Well, I wasn't here for breakfast in bed this morning." He says, pulling back the covers for her to settle into her side of the bed. He moves around to the other side after he puts the tray over her lap. He pulls his covers back and then settles down beside her.
When the door closes behind Agent Wallace, he pulls out his cell phone and dials a number. Nodding to the warden's secretary, he leaves the office as his call is connected. "It's set." He says. He listens for a moment before he asks. "Are you sure this is what we should…?" He listens a little more and then replies. "Yes sir, I'll begin immediately."
Leaving the prison, Agent Wallace returns to the room Officer O'Rourke stayed in. Taking up the appearance of only being a guard at San Cristobel's highest security prison demands that he live below his usual standards. He's not there long before the door opens. Smiling, he lays the plans on the table and then walks over to the woman coming into the room. "How did it go?"
"Wasn't given him today. Did you speak to the Warden?'
"Yes, he's been advised of the security review as ordered by the Prince."
"And he believes it's coming from the Prince?"
"Yes, although he did suggest verifying this with the palace. We may need to have a contingency plan in place if he does decide to contact the palace."
"I'm pretty sure there is one. Miles is usually on point with the details." She says, slipping her arms around him. "Do you have any idea how we're going to reach the objective?"
"I'm thinking on something."
"Want to tell me what it is?"
"I think we've got a couple options. One, we pretend to be a supporter and we pretend to help him escape."
"I don't know that I can do that. I read his file. He's done some very vindictive and heinous things, especially towards his brother Richard."
"Yeah, I know. I looked the file over myself. I can't understand why Richard never ordered his trial and execution."
"He did once but then he back out. I'm not entirely sure why. Anyway, it doesn't really matter what was going on between Richard and his brother. The op has to be done." She says, walking over to the couch. "So, what's the other plan?"
"It's not really a plan." He says, sitting down beside her.
"Then what's the idea." She asks, as he smiles.
"I thought maybe we could plant a few rumors at the prison, only we have to make sure that he's the only one to over hear the rumors."
"What type of rumors?"
"That maybe for a few hours one day soon, the guards are going to be occupied with other things."
"You mean a diversion that we create."
"Possibly, I haven't figured that part out. But I thought that I would let it be known that the palace has ordered a security review for the prison and that the guards will be occupied with that and maybe not paying attention to the inmates as closely during that time."
"How is that going to benefit our objective? He only gets an hour of yard time a day."
"Maybe we work it out that on that day the prisoners get more yard time."
"And you think he'll try to slip away?"
"Well, I think he'll take the opportunity at least."
"And that's how we?"
"Yes, we'll be in the guard towers closest to the forest on the north side of the prison. It's the place I would choose to go if I was trying to escape. It provides the most cover and it'll slow down any team they send to recover the prisoners."
"It would slow him down too and wouldn't he think of that?"
"Maybe, but we can make it seem like the review is going in sections. If he thinks that the north side is open because the guards are being reviewed, it'll be his choice simply because he'll think the other stations will be guarded."
"If we're using that as our point to complete the op we have to be in place and allow him to breach the prison before he's stopped."
"I know."
"And we're going to have to stay here after the fact. If we leave right after it'll appear suspicious to the ruling prince."
"I know that as well."
"When do we put this into action?"
"I was thinking day after tomorrow. We're both on duty tomorrow so we can be there and be able to plant the first seeds." Agent Wallace says with a smile.
"You know I love you when you're devious." She replies, leaning in to kiss him.
"Yes, I know you do." He says, after pulling back. "Are you hungry?"
"I could eat but I need to get out of these clothes and shower."
"I thought we could go down to the harbor and maybe eat at the Rusty Anchor."
"You just want to see if it's a wild as Agent O'Neill told you was." She leans in and kisses him again. "But unfortunately I have to be the one to tell you that when Princess Cassie's brother-in-law renovated the harbor before the earthquake the Rusty Anchor was refurbished and it's not quite as wild as I think Agent O'Neill told you."
"Okay, well we can still go. I think it's the type of place guards from the prison would hang at."
She leans in kisses him again. "Let me get a shower and we'll go explore the harbor, okay."
He smiles as he leans in, kissing her before she gets up to leave.
James is in his study at home working on the final details for the hotel before the opening the following week when JR walks in. "Hey Dad." He says, closing the door and then sliding into a chair in front of his father's desk as James looks up.
"You look like hell Son?" James says, putting the final details to the side.
"Yes, well it's been a long few weeks." JR says, lifting his head.
"Did you track her down?"
"I did actually." He says, sitting up as James looks at him expectantly.
"She's not coming back." JR says, as James sighs.
He looks out the window towards the gardens surrounding his estate. "I didn't think she would." He says, after several moments. "Is she at least…." He looks at JR.
"She's fine actually. I think she's decided to make it on her own. I'm not even sure if she's had any contact with her mother."
"Oh I'm sure her mother is loving that! I'm surprised I haven't heard from her about this."
JR laughs a little bit and James looks at him. "Dad, I think Elizabeth keeps those messages from you." He says, with a smile.
"What do you mean she keeps those messages from me?"
"I think it's done to keep your blood pressure under control. But back to Sarah, she's working for a company in Melbourne and I believe she's still seeing the man that provided the pictures of…."
"So she's still with him." James says, his tone disapproving.
"Yes, and actually I think it's good for her. She's actually happy and I think it's the first time she's done anything that was simply for herself. She misses the kids though. Alfred is refusing to allow them to travel to her and with the new position she's acquired in Melbourne she hasn't acquired enough time to take a few days and meet him somewhere so that she can see them."
"Did she say anything about Cassie?" JR looks down and James sighs. "I was hoping that she would realize that Cassie's…."
"I think in the deepest part of her heart she knows that Cassie's not a threat to her or her relationship with you."
"So you've been Australia all of this time." James asks.
"No, I followed tips that she was in cities across Europe and South East Asia, then I found a solid lead that they were in Thailand, but by the time I got there they had moved on to Fiji. I followed them there and was set to meet with them but they left before the meeting could happen. It took another few weeks to find out that she was in New Zealand and of course by the time I got to them, they had moved again. It wasn't till about three weeks ago that I found out that they had settled in Australia. And while I was looking for them I was also scouting out locations for these new hotels we're building. I've got several ideas for locations if you want to go over them."
"Let's get this new hotel open and showing a profit before we begin looking at other locations."
"Speaking of the opening, have you spoken to or seen Olivia?"
"We've spoken occasionally, mostly about hotel but there have been a few moments where we've discussed other things."
"She's crazy if she lets you go, you know that right."
"Thank you for saying that son, but we both know that she has things she needs to work out. One being that she can't see her daughters unless Ava decides to bring Emma to her."
"I don't see that happening."
"It's a low possibility but still it's a possibility."
JR looks at him for a moment before he asks. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, son. I understand what she's doing and why she's doing it this way. Even if I want to be there and help her with this, she has to do the work so I'm waiting."
"And you're not concerned with the fact that she tried to have someone kidnapped."
"Am I concerned, of course I'm concerned. But I'm not going to cut ties with her for making a mistake."
"She wanted to…."
"There's a history there JR. A history that's not my place to tell you about. But there is a history and that history is complicated and life changing. And what we do and how we respond to those events need to be taken into consideration after the fact."
"Alright." JR says sighing.
"Where are you staying?"
"I need to go to my flat."
"Tonight?"
"I was going to."
"I think you should take a few days and stay here. What or should I say whom do you have in London that can't wait?"
"Well, you don't quite have to put it that way Father."
"I'll put it this way. You work too much and when are you going to catch up to your sisters."
"You have grandchildren. Speaking of which, have you spoken to Cassie?"
"No, I've been busy with the final preparations for this hotel. I'll call her."
"I don't know if she's been concerned about Sarah, but I'm sure Richard will welcome the knowledge that they don't have to worry about her sister trying to harm her, especially right now with the baby on the way. And another thing about Olivia, being with her is going to complicate…."
"I know the complications with Olivia and Cassie. The least of which will be travel, mainly she and Richard will have to come here or I have to go there alone. I know this, okay." James says, looking at his son.
"Okay." JR is silent for a moment. "I'll stay till after the opening and then I have to go to London. I at least need to check in with my office. I haven't been there in six months."
"Alright." James says, as JR stands up. JR turns to leave as James says. "I'm glad you're here, Son."
"Thanks Father." JR says, turning back to him with a smile before he leaves his Dad's office.
Sam slept for a few hours after the boys were feed and changed. Rolling over, she opens her eyes to Jeffrey sitting beside her with both boys in his arms. She lays there for a moment, watching them. After several seconds, Jeffrey says. "I know you're awake." She chuckles as she stretches and feels a slight twinge of soreness throughout her body and he catches it. "Are you okay?" Jeffrey asks, glancing at her.
"I'm fine, maybe still a little sore but I just delivered twins so that's to be expected." She says, moving to sit up. "Have you been holding them all this time?" She asks, watching them.
"No, but they were fussing about ten minutes ago, so I picked them up."
"I didn't hear them."
"I know. I took them downstairs, to my office." He says, looking at her. "But since it's getting close to another feeding, we came back upstairs."
"Do you need to go…?"
"I'm fine here at home. I only went downstairs to check in with Stace and to get me something to eat. Speaking of which and if you feel up to it. We can go downstairs with them and you can get yourself something to eat." He says, as her stomach grumbles.
"I think that's a plan." She says, leaning over to kiss him before she pushes the covers back.
"Where are you going?"
"I am going to take a very quick shower before they wake up again and then we can go downstairs. Maybe we can watch a movie together. It'll be our first movie night." She says, as he smiles.
"I think that's a great idea."
"I'll be back in less than fifteen." She says, getting out of bed.
"Are you sure you can do that?" He asks, as she looks back over her shoulder and sticks her tongue out and he laughs before he quickly looks down to see if he woke the boys up. He sighs as she chuckles at his relief.
Less than ten minutes later, Sam comes out of the bathroom. Jeffrey has laid the boys down on the bed while he's quickly changing clothes. "Go take a shower J, I'll watch them." She says, coming over to the bed. He looks at her. "They're going to wake up soon to eat and by the time you're done, they'll be almost finished and we can change them."
He leans over and kisses her. "I'll be quick." He says, before kissing her again.
"Go." Sam says, as Aj begins to whimper. "Shhh, baby boy. Momma's here." She says, picking him up.
"Get comfortable, and I'll hand him to you." Jeffrey says, taking him.
Sam settles against the headboard and gets things ready before she reaches for the baby. Jeffrey quickly hands him over. Once he's settled in her arms, he moves HB closer to her and then turns for the bathroom. "I'll be quick." He calls, hurrying into the bathroom.
Aj latches on and begins eating while Sam gentle caresses his cheek. She barely hears Jeffrey as he leaves for the bathroom. "There you go. That's my boy." Sam whispers to Aj. "Momma loves you so much. Do you know that, you and your brother? And your daddy loves you too and so does your sister Ava." Sam chuckles softly. "You're going to be an uncle before you're even a year old. What do you think about that buddy? You've got a big family too. There's your Uncle Josh and Aunt Reva and then there's your Aunt Cassie and your Uncle Richard. He used to be a prince and so did his brother William. William's actually your brother-in-law. He's married to Ava. And Ava has a sister and her name is Emma, but she's not really related to you, but I think you'll still be close to her. And then there's my sister Megan. Your Aunt Meg is going to spoil you rotten. You and your brother, just like I spoiled your cousins Mattox and Madisen. You're going to have so much fun growing up with them. And you've got other cousins too. There's Marah and Shayne. Those are you Uncle Josh and Aunt Reva's kids. And then there's Bill and Mindy, that's your Uncle Billy. Oh I forgot Billy, you've got an Uncle Billy. He and HB have the same initials, but their names are different and then there's Rj and Will. Those are your Uncle Richard and Aunt Cassie's boys and they are going to have a baby later this spring too. So you and your brother are going to have so many kids to play with. And Richard has nieces and nephews from his brother. He was a twin, like you and HB." Throughout this whole speech, Aj has been steadily eating. Sam pauses and looks down, watching him. "There are some other people that aren't here anymore, your Uncle Jeremiah and your Grandpa HB and Grandma O'Neill. And then there's your Poppa Whit and Gran. And then finally there's your Poppa and Gran. All those people had to go away and some of them went to happy places and some didn't but all of them can't come back here. I'm sort of glad that some of them are not here." Jeffrey pauses in the doorway when he hears Sam's voice. "A tiny part of me hopes that if they were here, everyone except your Granny MJ. She would've been overjoyed for you and your brother to be here. But still a small, tiny part of me wonders if you and your brother would've brought your Poppa Whit and your Uncle Jeremiah around. I want to think you and your brother would've had that power."
"Whether they had that power or not, I'm okay with them not being here." Jeffrey says, as she looks up. He walks over to the bed. Picking up HB, he looks at her. "I'm relieved that we don't have to worry for their safety or ours." She looks at him. "Please don't be mad."
"I'm not. I understand what you're saying. It is a relief that they're not here. If Jeremiah was here, I would've done everything in my power to protect them. It's only a tiny part of me that wishes that things were different. That these two could've changed my Dad and Jeremiah's beliefs and actions." She says, as he moves closer to her.
Putting his arm around her, he lightly kisses her head. Before he looks down and finds that HB is awake. "It seems someone else is awake."
Sam looks down and smiles. "Can you take him?" She asks, nodding to Aj.
Laying HB down, Jeffrey takes his brother while Sam reaches for HB. Picking him up, she settles him into her arms and he quickly latches on. "You're going to be my quiet one. I can see that." Sam says, looking down and watching HB eat. "You were listening to me and Daddy talk."
"Are you going to go through it all again?" Jeffrey asks, moving closer to them.
She turns to look at him. "How much did you hear?"
"Oh, only the last but I think there was more than just that, that you were telling him."
"There was, I was telling him about his family, all his Aunts and Uncles and cousins. Did you realize that they will be an Uncle before they're a year old. It's sort of like the song, I'm my own Grandpa."
"Where did you… never mind?" Jeffrey says with a laugh.
"My Poppa was a country fan, and he..."
"He influenced your incredibly bad taste in music." He says, as Sam elbows him in the stomach.
"No, and I don't have bad tastes in music. I like all music, just some more than others."
"Yes, you do." He says, nodding as she looks at him.
"I would go no further than that."
"I could go so much…."
"J." She pouts.
"Okay, I won't." He says, laughing softly while he watches her and the baby.
After another ten minutes, HB pulls away and Sam lifts him to her shoulder while Jeffrey quickly lays a burping rag on it. She firmly pats HB on the back, helping him burp. When he finally does, she says. "Let's go downstairs, I'm actually starving." She says, moving to get up. He follows her as she leaves the room. They slowly walk downstairs, each being careful to watch where they step. When they reach the living room, Sam goes to the couch with Jeffrey following behind her. Before they get settled she says. "Hey can you run back upstairs?" He looks at her. "Diapers, we need stuff for changing them so we don't…." He leans over and kisses her.
"I didn't even think of that." He says, turning to put HB in the playpen. She stops him again.
"Here give him to me."
He turns back to her. "You're not settled with Aj."
"Give me two seconds." Sam says, sitting down on the couch and then holding her arm out for HB. He pauses for a moment and she looks at him.
"Okay, but only because I don't want bodily…."
"J." She says, looking up at him.
"Okay, I'm sorry." He says, leaning in to kiss her cheek before he stands up and heads upstairs. He returns a few moments later, carrying the diaper bag. Inside are several diapers and wipes from the nursery. "I think maybe we need to leave some things down here. At least till they are potty trained." He says, sitting the bag on the floor beside them.
"You might be right."
"I'll take them so you can go get yourself something to eat or do you want me too…?" She looks up with a smile.
"Okay, I'll make you something and then we'll watch a movie while you eat." He says, turning for the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, he returns with a plate for her. Putting it down on the table, he settles into the couch beside her before he takes Aj, Once he's settled, she give him HB and then she reaches for her plate. Picking it up for a moment she doesn't realize what it is before she laughs softly. "You made me a turkey sandwich."
"I promised I would bring you one in the hospital but I didn't want to leave your side, especially since Nurse Cratchett wouldn't've let me…."
"She wasn't that bad J."
"You didn't see her at four in the morning. I believe she was fully able to physically remove someone from that floor if she put her mind to it." He says, as Sam laughs again. "You laugh but she was scary."
"I know. I think that is why she works at night. Less likely to scare the patients that way." She says, smiling around the sandwich before she begins munching on a chip. Jeffrey chuckles while she eats. Another ten minutes later, she's finished the sandwich and the rest of the lunch he's fixed for her. Sitting the plate aside, she turns to him. "Here give me one of my babies." She says, reaching for them.
He leans closer and she takes HB from his arms. Once she's settled, he reaches for the remote and gets Netflix started and they surf through the children's movies until they find something to watch. Settling back, with each of them holding one of the boys they settle into watch a movies. And so starts the next few years when children's programming takes over what would've been more adult programming and neither one of them seem to mind.