One month later and Harry and Nikki found themselves at Oxford University one Saturday afternoon for their university interviews. Because they had put details about themselves and their family commitments they were also asked to bring the twins just as confirmation and had spent the morning wandering around showing the eleven week old babies the parks and the buildings that they might be growing up around and in. They were both well prepared for their interviews, having done research beforehand and both Harry and Nikki thought that their separate interviews went well and were happy with their performances.
"So do you think we'll get in?" Nikki asked Harry as they walked down one of the corridors and in the direction of the exit.
"Well I think the interviews went well" Harry shrugged and glanced at Nikki who looked away from the buggy in front of her and nodded slightly. "We just have to wait and see won't we?"
"I don't like waiting" Nikki pouted and Harry chuckled, nudging her side gently before wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her cheek. "I want to know what we're going to be doing; it's a big thing now that we have the boys as well"
"I know, it won't be long though from what they said"
"Good. Oh sorry" Nikki apologised as a man who looked slightly older than they were ran out of the lift in front of them, almost running into them. He stopped himself just in time and gave them both an apologetic look, running one hand through his short dark brown hair.
"Don't apologise, it's my fault. I need to look where I'm going" the man shook his head and then frowned, looking at them closely and a look of realisation crossed his face "Harry and Nikki right?"
"Yes" Nikki nodded and then smiled "Leo Dalton? You came to.."
"Your school yes" Leo nodded, happy that they remembered him even though it was a while ago, it was nice that he was remembered and took his advice if they were there at the university "Nice to see you again. What are you doing here?"
"We just had our interviews" Harry explained as they shook Leo's hand, smiling at the slightly older man.
"How did they go? Or how do you think they went?" Leo asked, glancing down at the pram that Nikki was leaning on and then back at the younger couple.
"Well the tutors seemed impressed" Harry chuckled and Nikki nodded slightly "But what's not to be impressed about?"
Nikki rolled her eyes as Leo laughed at the younger man's joke and self-assurance. He liked people like that who were self assured but not selfish or arrogant.
"I think you'll both get on well here. Who are these then?" he smiled as he looked down into the pram, unable to ignore them anymore, Nikki pushing the top down so he could see the twins better. "They're gorgeous"
"Thank you" Nikki smiled proudly "This is Donovan" she motioned to said baby "And this is Gabriel, they're eleven weeks old"
"Congratulations, identical?" Leo smiled and the parents nodded, both of them smiling at the acceptance that not many people gave to them "So Nikki weren't you wondering whether to read anthropology or not?" the older man then asked as though he was trying to remember if it was her or not.
"Yes I was, but I'm doing medicine now" Nikki smiled and leant on the buggy slightly, looking down when Donovan opened his eyes and began to whimper slightly. She reached into the buggy and placed her hand on his stomach, the action soothing the baby slightly as his whimpers died down before the crying started. "If I get in of course" she added, looking up at Leo but leaving her hand resting on Donovan's small body.
"I'm sure you both will" Leo assured them both and turned when he heard a female voice "Ah, this is my wife Theresa"
"Nice to meet you" Harry smiled as the young woman smiled and nodding, shaking his and Nikki's hand.
"And yourself"
"Harry and Nikki" Leo introduced them "They're hoping to study medicine here"
"Well good luck with that" the woman chuckled "I'm only visiting from Bath, it's too intelligent for me here" she laughed and Leo tutted.
"Don't be silly, you could have come here"
"Well I didn't want to, too close to you" Theresa shook her head, smirking at her husband who just gave her a withering look, and then looked down at the buggy, her smile becoming slightly forced, something that Nikki saw instantly. "Oh they're adorable" the older woman then grinned as she walked around for a better look at the babies. "What are their names? How old are they?"
"Now come on sweetheart" Leo told his wife and placed one hand on her back "I'm sure Harry and Nikki have a lot to get on with"
"No it's okay" Nikki shook her head and Theresa smiled at her thankfully before she replied to her questions "This is Gabriel" she motioned to the still sleeping baby "He's the oldest. And this is Donovan" she smiled at the still awake baby and he kicked his legs, grinning happily at her and drooling around his fist as he sucked on it "They're eleven weeks old, just"
"Well they're gorgeous" Theresa told the parents, Harry smiling and wrapping one arm around her back.
"Thank you" Nikki whispered but saw the sadness in Theresa's eyes as she glanced down at the babies again.
Just then someone slammed a door and Gabriel jumped in his sleep, his tiny face screwing up as he began to cry loudly. His parents chuckled and Harry reached into the pram for the crying baby, cradling him and his blanket to his shoulder as he began to soothe their oldest. Donovan however was just content to lay in the buggy with Nikki's hand still on his stomach, kicking his legs and then grinning at her. Nikki grinned back at him and leant down to kiss him on the forehead.
"Why didn't.." Theresa trailed off and blushed, looking away from the youngest twin and shaking her head "Sorry"
"No it's okay, Donny is deaf"
"Oh" Leo sighed and shook his head "I'm sorry"
"It's fine" Nikki smiled, she and Harry were used to that reaction when they told people about Donovan's deafness, neither could really work out why people were sorry, he was just the same as Gabriel except he couldn't hear. "It was caused by meningitis so we're just thankful that the deafness was all that happened to him"
"You're exhausted" Harry told Nikki as the two of them walked into the house later that evening. They had had a long train journey and had been awake extra early that morning for their interviews "Go to bed, I'll sort the twins out"
"They need a bath, I need a bath, they need feeding..".
"Okay, go and run a bath for yourself and we can put their bath on it while you're in yours" Harry suggested and Nikki nodded, kissing him on the lips, her lover wrapping his arms around her waist as he allowed her to deepen the kiss. Nikki then broke the kiss and pressed her lips to Harry's jaw before they unwrapped themselves from each other. "I'll sort them out, go and run a bath" Harry repeated and Nikki nodded, stealing another quick kiss before jogging up the stairs to the bathroom, letting her lover sort the twins out.
"Donny is a real water baby isn't he?" Nikki chuckled as she lounged in the bath, Harry carefully holding Donovan in the baby bath that was filled with warm water, Nikki supporting Gabriel gently as the baby kicked his legs, a grin on his face as she tickled his tummy gently. Donovan gurgled happily and grinned toothlessly as Harry dripped water down the baby's chest and stomach.
"They both look so much like you when they smile" Harry smiled at Nikki before looking back at Donovan who continued to gurgle, splashing the water with his tiny hands and jumping when it splashed over him.
"They have gorgeous smiles" Nikki sighed as she sat up in the bath and leant forward to kiss Gabriel's wet blonde hair gently. "I can't believe they're smiling already, they've been doing it for a while but it shows they're growing up and that's scary" Nikki murmured tearfully, the hormones that were still raging around her body making her more upset than she thought she'd be.
"Hey, they're still our babies" Harry consoled Nikki as he looked away from Donovan and saw Nikki nodding quickly.
"I know, it's just my hormones" Nikki smiled and leant forward to kiss Harry on the lips "I love you"
"I love you" Harry responded and then turned to the babies, signing 'I love you' to them and making Nikki giggle.
"They love you too" Nikki told him and Harry smiled happily at his family. They were all he needed and once again he vowed to protect them with everything that he was, they were just too precious to him.
Harry and Nikki had quickly become accustomed to using their hands for certain words when speaking to the twins and after a few days it had become natural to them, having caught themselves many times doing it when they were talking to adults as well, especially at school where it raised questions from the other pupils. They had been getting lessons most Saturday mornings at the hospital when they could actually attend and Darren was also teaching them some things as well. The boys also went to the hospital with them and it had been proven that babies began to sign months before they could even begin to speak.
"Who's my handsome little boy?" Nikki cooed to Donovan, signing the word for 'boy' as she cradled him in her arms, the small baby falling asleep in her arms as she continued to stroke his soft blonde hair gently. When she was sure that he was fully asleep a few minutes later she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, gently as not to wake him and then placed him in his cot. Donovan let out a quiet cough and his face screwed up slightly but Nikki rested one hand on his stomach to calm him down as he began to whimper, both boys were comforted by this action when they were on the verge, especially Donovan because he couldn't hear them to know that they were there. Donovan soon settled down however under his mother's touch and his breathing evening out quickly just as Harry walked into the room with Gabriel in his arms.
"He's all clean and ready for bed" Harry smiled as he kissed his son on the forehead and handed him to Nikki who did the same. "You're going to sleep well aren't you?" he asked the baby, signing 'sleep' as he did so.
"Yes he is" Nikki nodded as Gabriel began to fuss in her arms "Ssh ssh ssh" she murmured as Harry watched them closely, a proud smile on his face as he saw his fiancé and their child. He loved watching them together especially when Nikki wasn't aware of his presence "You be good now Gabriel okay? Mummy and daddy need to sleep as well and I know you and your brother will be up a lot of times in the night for feeding and nappy changes. Daddy was right; you did start crying more when you got a little bit older. But don't tell daddy that" she whispered in a loud voice and glanced up at Harry "His ego can't get any bigger"
Harry pouted at her and Nikki giggled, glancing down at their son and finding his eyes closing slowly. Harry walked around Nikki to Donovan's cot and leant over to gently kiss the baby on the forehead, whispering that he loved him a lot.
"Mummy and daddy need some sleep now darling"
"Sleep?" Harry then chuckled as he stood up and walked over to his lover, wrapping his arms around her from behind and pressing a kiss to her neck "What you were telling me earlier about what you want to do to me wasn't anything to do with sleep" he whispered and Nikki shivered in delight as she turned her head slightly and smiled at her lover, Harry then leant down and kissed Gabriel on the head.
"I love you" he told the almost asleep baby before looking up at Nikki "I'll put him down, you go and rest"
"I'm fine" Nikki giggled "You go"
"Sure?"
"Yes Harry no go, I won't be long"
"Okay" Harry nodded as he stole a kiss from his lover "I love you"
"I love you"
"Hey" Harry murmured as he reached into Gabriel's cot to pick up the crying child "Hey, what's wrong my little one?" he whispered, cradling the baby against his shoulder as he carefully checked his nappy from the side. It was clean and Harry knew that Nikki had only fed him half an hour beforehand so he wasn't hungry "Do you just want a cuddle?" Harry chuckled quietly, doing the front of the babygrow up again as he sat on the rocking chair and reached over to turn the baby monitor down slightly so the crying didn't alert Nikki who was fast asleep. They hadn't made love, they'd just talked for a while before curling up to sleep together, both of them knowing that their babies would interrupt them and they both needed sleep more than they needed to make love. "Daddy can give you lots of cuddles" he told Gabriel, making sure that the baby could see his face as he spoke just out of habit for doing it with Donovan as well. Gabriel had begun to calm down as soon as he had felt Harry pick him up and now his cries had turned into small sobs, a few small tears falling down his face. "Hey, what's this?" Harry asked as he placed Gabriel gently on his legs and wiped his son's face "My little boy shouldn't be crying" he cooed to the baby who let out another quiet sob, his green eyes still filled with unshed tears as his bottom lip trembled. Harry sighed and chuckled, he knew that if his twins kept up that look when they were older he wouldn't ever be able to say no to them. They looked so much like Nikki that it amazed Harry sometimes even if they did have his eyes. However Nikki always told him that they looked like him. They definitely had him wrapped around their little fingers; Nikki was included in that however but he would never have it any other way.
Harry then realised that Gabriel had stopped crying and he smiled, the baby smiling up at him tearfully and making Harry's heart jump in his chest at the sight.
"I love you and your brother so much" Harry breathed as he picked Gabriel up and cradled him in his arms against his chest, kissing his head gently and offering the baby one of his fingers which Gabriel gripped hold of. "And your mummy as well, you have all made my life complete, hmm. And when we're a little bit older mummy and daddy are going to get married and mummy will finally have my last name. We might even have more babies in future, when we're a little bit older but we'll always love you just as much"
A few minutes later and Gabriel was fast asleep in Harry's arms, his father leaning down to kiss him on the forehead before standing up and walking over to the cot and laying the baby down in it. Gabriel however started to whimper slightly in his sleep, his bottom lip trembling. Harry smiled slightly and placed his hand gently on Gabriel's small body, the action familiar to the baby as he settled down and fell asleep once more."Ssh young man, time for you to sleep now"
He then smiled and covered his son with the blanket, leaning over and kissing him gently on the head before pulling the side of the cot up and then checking on Donovan who was still asleep. Harry then walked from the bedroom, the nightlight spreading colourful planes over the wall and ceiling.