Chapter 10
Four weeks later, Gillian's Mom came over unannounced to spend the weekend.
"Mom?!" Gillian gasped in surprise when she answered the door.
Overnight bag tucked safely under her arm, Gillian's mom blew past her. "Hi, Honey…"
Cal stepped out from the kitchen and blinked in surprise. "Mom?"
Emily bounded down the steps and smiled. "Hi Grandma! Glad you're finally here!"
Cal frowned at Emily as Gillian shook her head with confusion. "What are you doing here?"
Arlene grabbed her daughter's arm and dragged her towards the mirror then stopped her in front of it. "Cal, come here!" she ordered. When Cal walked over, she pointed. "Stand next to your wife!" Cal shrugged and did as asked.
"Now look!" she ordered.
Cal and Gillian each looked into the mirror.
"Ugh!" Gillian groaned.
"What?" a baffled Cal asked.
"Really, Dad?!" Emily gasped. "Look at you two!"
"We're new parents…of twins!" Gillian protested.
"No! You're business professionals who run a million dollar company who happen to have two kids!"
"Still not getting the point here…" Cal stated.
"Dad!" Emily groaned as she stepped towards him. "What's this?"
"Brandon spit up on me…"
"And this?" she asked as she pointed at a crusty spot on his shirt sleeve.
"Dalton's nose was running…" he answered.
Arlene put her arm around her daughter and held up a strand of her hair. "When was the last time you showered?"
"I…" Gillian started to answer then realized she had no idea and began to cry. "I have no idea! The boys have had colds and are up every two hours and….I am such a failure…"
"You are not a failure!" Cal spat out as he pulled her into his arms and looked at Arlene and Emily angrily. "Is there a reason you two decided to make us feel like crap?"
Arlene sighed. "Where's Amy?"
"Taking her nap…" Emily answered.
"How long do we have?"
Gillian sniffled. "She'll sleep for another hour maybe…why?"
Arlene ignored her and turned to Emily. "Can you please go change your parent's sheets and bring down everything up there that is dirty and needs to be washed."
"Sure Grandma!" Emily smiled and raced upstairs.
Arlene put her hands on her hips and stared at them. "Cal, you're always kind of scruffy but I'd say you're about two weeks overdue for a shave, upstairs now! I want a clean face followed by a long shower and clean clothes!"
"You can't tell…"
"Go!" Arlene narrowed her eyes and pointed at the steps.
Cal looked at Gillian who shrugged. "She means business…"
Cal kissed Arlene's cheek. "Thanks, Darling!" then headed upstairs.
Arlene led Gillian into the kitchen and pointed at the breast pump. "Pump those puppies and give me something to feed the boys their next meal!"
"Mom!" Gillian laughed at the crass talk from her mother.
Arlene opened the refrigerator door and looked inside. "Do you have any milk stored?"
"Are you kidding me? All they ever do is eat! Every two hours they're latched on to me!"
Arlene rolled her eyes. "Did you buy baby cereal yet?"
Gillian nodded. "Yeah, it's in the pantry but the pediatrician hasn't…"
"Don't care…" Arlene said as she walked over to the pantry to find the box.
"Mom! I don't know…maybe they're still too young…the books all say…"
Arlene gave her a look of disgust. "I raised three kids without a damn book and all of you are healthy and strong! Your Grandmother raised the seven of us without a book and your Great Grandmother raised twelve without a book!"
"Mom…"
"Pump! Then get upstairs and take a shower or bathe…anything to get baby puke out of your hair then crawl into bed next to your exhausted husband and the two of you had better not come down here for at least six hours!"
"Mom…"
"That's an order, Gillian!"
Gillian bit her quivering lip and pumped as much as she could then headed upstairs to take her shower.
She passed Emily in the hall and smiled weakly. "Your idea or Grandma's?"
"Grandma's but it was after I told her how bad you two looked!"
A freshly shaved and showered Cal came out of the bathroom. "Your turn, Darling…" he said as he kissed Gillian on the cheek then turned to Emily. "Thanks, Luv." Then shuffled down the hallway and walked into their bedroom and shut the door.
Emily pointed at the bathroom door as she looked at Gillian. "Go!"
Gillian walked into the bathroom and stripped down the stepped into the shower. Feeling marginally better, she chose to dry her hair for the first time in over a month instead of letting it air dry.
Exhausted she climb into bed next to Cal.
"Cal, there's music playing…" she pointed out.
Cal pulled her close. "Em said I couldn't turn it off…she said it would drown out the noises…"
Gillian's answer was a sigh and within minutes they were sound asleep.
Arlene and Emily cleaned the house until Amy woke up. Amy wanted to eat so while Arlene fed her Emily vacuumed the bottom level of the house.
Afterwards, Emily took Amy outside to play while Arlene continued to do the laundry and started dinner.
The boys woke up and Arlene called Emily back inside. The each held a twin and fed him while Amy watched a Disney cartoon and played with dolls on the small table in the room.
Arlene spread out a large blanket then put Brandon in the middle of it. "Come put Dalton down next to his brother."
Emily smiled and did as she asked. "What are we doing?"
Arlene shrugged. "Just letting them kick and spend some time stretching and moving around. We'll flip them over in a few minutes and give them some tummy time too."
Excited about the new game, Amy scooted onto the blanket and leaned over talking and playing gently with her little brothers. They two boys stared in fascination at her and cooed and smiled back as she happily entertained them for a few minutes. She lost interest and went back to playing so Emily sat on the floor with the boys and moved their arms and legs all around stretching out their limbs.
Arlene went to check on dinner then came back out. "Dinner will be ready in two hours. Your Mom and Dad will have slept five hours by then so if they aren't still dead to the world we'll wake them up to eat."
"How does the nursery look?" Arlene asked.
Emily shrugged. "I don't know, I had just come home when you walked in."
"Well, let's go check it out…"
"What about the twins?" Emily glanced at her brothers.
Arlene shrugged. "Well, unless they've learned to crawl in the last few minutes they aren't going anywhere. They'll be fine!"
She and Emily walked upstairs and realized the nursery needed very little cleaning. Arlene grabbed all of the bedding and headed downstairs while Emily emptied the diaper pail and straightened up a few things then brought the garbage and put it into the garage.
Over the course of the next hour and a half, Arlene and Emily kept the laundry going and played with the three little ones.
About fifteen minutes before Emily was going to wake them up, Cal stumbled down the steps. Emily looked up at him as he wiped his eyes.
"You look marginally better…"
Cal sighed. "I feel a little better...what smells so good?"
Arlene patted his arm as she walked passed him. "I cooked a roast with some potatoes and asparagus and some fresh bread!"
"Sounds wonderful…" he said as he grabbed for the breast pump. "Gillian's uncomfortable…when did the boys last eat?"
Arlene started to answer. "About a half hour ago so she should…"
Cal turned automatically and headed upstairs again.
"He's still tired," Emily pointed out.
Arlene nodded. "Yep, but they'll have a good meal tonight, then we'll give the little ones a bath and let them have some rice cereal. Their little bellies will be full and they'll sleep through the night."
Emily sighed. "I'll believe it when I see it!"
Gillian and Cal came down with bags of milk and put them in the refrigerator.
"Sit!" Arlene ordered as she pointed at the table.
"I should check…"
"Sit!" Emily tried to muster Arlene's look of authority.
"I'm still too tired to fight with them…" Cal said as he led Gillian to the table.
Emily put Brandon and Dalton in their swings then helped Amy get settled in her high chair.
Arlene served the meal and then she and Emily filled them in on what they accomplished over the afternoon.
Stuffed with food, Cal leaned back in his chair. "Mom that was wonderful!"
"Grandma makes the best roast!" Emily agreed.
"More!" Amy begged as she pointed at the place her potatoes had been.
Emily gave her another serving as Amy giggled happily.
"We can't thank you two enough," Gillian said quietly.
Arlene kissed her daughter's temple as she got up from her seat. "I made dessert too!"
Cal groaned. "I suppose its some kind of chocolate goo?"
"Mom, I can't eat chocolate the boys will get it through my milk and…"
"Oh for Pete's sake…I have some knowledge of babies you know."
"Strawberry cheesecake?" Emily squealed.
"Me cake!" Amy shouted. "Me cake!"
"Grandma made enough for everyone, Amy, pipe down!" Emily lightly reprimanded.
She was smiling at Amy who laughed happily. "Gamma!"
"Amy!" Arlene laughed as she served the cake.
Arlene started to clean up. Gillian stood automatically to help when Emily shot to her feet. "Nope! Grandma cooked, I'll clean up; you two spend time with the boys!"
Cal and Gillian looked at each other then shuffled into the living room. They each grabbed a twin out of their swing then sat down side by side on the couch and played with them.
Arlene came in with a tea tray and poured them each a cup then sat in the chair to take a break. Emily came in and played with Amy while everyone visited.
A few hours later, Amy was yawning.
"Time for a bath?" Arlene announced.
"Amy baf! Amy baf!" Amy squealed.
"She does love her baths!" Gillian laughed.
"Come on kid!" Emily said as she took her sister's hand. "Let's go…"
"I'll do it, Em," Cal offered.
"Nope! I got it covered! Relax."
A half hour later, the girls came back downstairs. Amy's hair was slightly damp but she looked cozy and comfortable in new pajamas.
She walked over to Cal with a book. "Daddy read?" she asked hopefully.
Cal grinned. "I would love to read to you, Darling!"
Emily took Brandon from him as Arlene held out her arms. "Can I snuggle with that little cutie pie?"
Emily grinned. "Sure Grandma! Can I call Liam?"
"Yep! You sure can!"
"Great, I'll come back in a little bit!"
Emily took off with her phone and Cal and Gillian read books to Amy.
Amy's eyes were starting to close when Emily came back in the room. "Hey kid, it's time for nigh night!"
Amy yawned loudly then reached for Gillian. "Mommy!"
Gillian held her tightly as she kissed her. "I love you Amy!"
"Amy!" Arlene said sternly. "Your Mommy needs to rest, go with your sister!"
"K…Gamma!" Amy said as she stuck out her bottom lip.
"You're gonna trip over that lip!" Cal said as he pushed on her bottom lip. Amy started to giggle as he laughed and kissed her. "Goodnight, little one!"
Emily took Amy upstairs and read her a book but Amy had already fallen asleep.
Arlene looked over at Gillian. "I should probably get these two bathed!"
"I can help…" Gillian pleaded.
"Okay, but its going to be in the kitchen sink. No sense in hauling them upstairs to bring them back down here to feet them."
Arlene and Gillian each carried a twin into the kitchen. While Gillian held Brandon, Arlene quickly bathed Dalton while Cal walked over to the laundry baskets and got clothing together for each of them.
Arlene handed Cal a towel swaddled Dalton. "Twin one ready to be dressed!"
Cal grinned and took Dalton to the table and quickly got him dressed.
When he was finishing, Arlene came over. "Twin two is ready!"
Cal handed Gillian Dalton then quickly dressed Brandon.
Arlene set up two seats on the table and buckled Dalton in his then nodded to Cal to do the same for Brandon. She draped huge bibs over each of them.
"Now you two pick a kid and sit in front of him!" Arlene ordered as she brought over to bowls of food. "Feed em!"
Emily came down and watched as laughter was shared as the boy's heartily ate the food that was given to them. Gillian was surprised when they cleaned their bowls.
"Isn't that too much for the first time?" she asked.
Arlene rolled her eyes. "You've got to healthy boys. Now I would prefer if you nurse them now so I can save their milk for an emergency in the middle of the night, can you do that?"
"Of course…"
"Okay, you go on the couch and get settled and Cal and I will bring them in."
Gillian got settled and reached for Dalton.
"What are you doing?" Arlene asked.
Gillian looked confused. "Feeding Dalton first."
"Well, you've got two of those feeders, don't you…use them!" Arlene answered.
"Mom I can't…"
"Oh for Pete's sake Gillian! Your brother was ten months old when you were born. You can feed two kids at one time!"
Cal shrugged helplessly and helped Gillian get Brandon to latch on.
He and Gillian each looked at the kids as they suckled until they fell asleep.
Emily had been on the phone then came down. "Is it time to put those two to bed?"
"They just finished," Gillian said wearily.
Arlene took Dalton while Emily took Brandon. "Let's get these little peanuts up to their cribs."
"Okay…Grandma, I changed the sheets on my bed for you, I'll sleep on the pull out sofa in the nursery."
"Don't be silly, I want to be there if one of the boys wakes up then I can decide if they really need to be up or if they need their little butts patted until they fall asleep again."
As they were walking the boys up the steps, Cal and Gillian overheard their conversation float down to them.
Cal looked at Gillian and grabbed her hand. "Are you all right with all of this?"
Gillian sighed. "Cal, I feel like the fog lifted a little bit this afternoon; we've both been on overdrive for a month! My Mom would never do anything to hurt us so it may be out of the norm by today's standards but she's right, she raised three of us and everyone's healthy so…" she looked at him and he "read" her thoughts automatically.
"I have no problem with her Gill, if it got us a few hours of sleep it was well worth it!"
Arlene came down and stared at them. "Em and I put your three babies to sleep and you two are on the couch yammering? Go upstairs and climb into bed. Turn on the TV if you have to, but go rest!"
Cal stood and reached for Gillian's hand. Gillian grabbed it then they headed upstairs. Gillian brushed her teeth first then climbed into bed.
Cal was right behind her then climbed into bed next to her. "TV?" he asked.
He looked over and saw that she was already asleep. He flipped on the music and snuggled next to her and promptly fell asleep.
The twins slept for five hours then fussed until Arlene changed them then patted them on their backs until they fell back asleep.
Two hours later they started to fuss again and Arlene sighed as she looked at her watch. "Seven hours isn't a bad start…let's go see your Mom…" she said as she started to get out of bed.
"Mom…" Gillian asked as she knocked lightly then peeked inside.
"I bet you're ready to feed these two?"
"Yeah, I'm really uncomfortable!"
"Prop yourself up on that bed then," Arlene instructed. "Let's do both of them as the same time again."
Gillian lay on the bed and propped two pillows on either side then waited as Arlene handed her one boy at a time.
Cal peeked in the doorway as well. "Everything all right, Darling?"
Arlene opened the door wider. "Come sit with your wife and help her out when she needs it, I'm going to get dressed and start breakfast!"
Arlene left and Cal settled down at the end of the bed and watched. "You're beautiful, Darling!"
Gillian chuckled. "I wasn't beautiful yesterday?"
Cal grinned. "Well, I have to admit the haggard look was wearing thin…"
Gillian laughed. "Yeah, and that's the longest I've ever seen your beard get!"
"I have to admit, I feel loads better! How on earth are we ever going to repay your Mum?"
"I have no idea!" Gillian sighed.
The boys had finished and fallen asleep again and Cal put each of them back in their crib.
"Daddy?!" Amy asked from the hallway as she pushed her messy hair out of her eyes.
Cal grinned and held out his arms. "Good morning, Darling, did you sleep well?"
"Uh, huh!" Amy said as he picked her up and hugged her.
Gillian came out of the nursery.
"Mommy!" Amy squealed.
"Shhhh…." Gillian reprimanded as she pointed at the cribs.
"Brudders nigh nigh?"
"Yes!" Gillian smiled warmly. "Are you getting hungry? Grandma is making breakfast."
"Gamma, gamma, gamma," Amy called as she slid from Cal's arm to head downstairs.
Cal and Gillian followed as Amy leapt into Arlene's arms.
"Gamma!"
"Well someone slept good…" Arlene chuckled as she pried Amy's arms from around her neck. She lifted up Amy's shirt and stared at her belly. "Is that belly empty? Should Grandma fill it up with pancakes?"
"Cake!" Amy squealed.
Cal picked Amy up and roughly blew a raspberry on her belly and Amy started to laugh. "No cake, Luv….pancake!"
"Cake!" Amy squealed.
"She's your daughter for sure, Darling!" Cal said to Gillian as he got Amy settled in her chair.
Gillian rolled her eyes as she smirked and sat down. "And that's a bad thing?!"
Arlene set a big plate of pancakes and bacon on the table. She quickly cut one up for Amy then put it on her tray. "Eat up!" she said as she handed Amy a fork. "Like this," she showed her.
Amy held the fork and scrunched up her face with concentration as she tried to imitate her parents.
"Mom she's not that great with utensils yet…" Gillian pointed out.
"Yeah, well at last she's holding one and trying…" Arlene pointed out as she poured them both coffee.
Emily came in from the garage and Cal frowned. "You're up this early on a Sunday?"
"Grandma asked me to get the stroller ready."
"Stroller?" Gillian asked.
"Yep!" After breakfast you two are going on a long walk with your babies!"
"Mom, it's too cold outside!" Gillian protested.
"It's going to be sixty degrees by 11:00 a.m. You can put the boys in the stroller and bundle them up then take Amy to the park."
Cal nodded. "That's sounds like a great idea actually."
"The park is four blocks away!" Gillian frowned as she looked at Amy.
"Good, everyone can use the fresh air and a healthy walk never hurt anyone…" Arlene pointed out.
"If Amy gets tired she can ride on my shoulders!" Emily offered.
"What if you get tired?" Gillian asked.
"Liam is coming, he'll help."
"What am I chopped liver?" Cal asked.
"You're old!" Emily pointed out. "Besides, I thought you could walk next to Gillian…it's been a long time since she was able to do a lot too…"
Cal made a face then looked at Gillian. "What do you think?"
"Sure when the boys wake up I'll feed them and we'll leave."
"Go pump!" Arlene ordered. "We can feed them at the park in the fresh air!"
The whole family walked to the park and spent over two hours there. Amy was exhausted and the boys had stayed awake almost the whole time.
After the walk home, Gillian nursed the boys again and put them to bed. Amy ate a quick lunch and fell asleep on the couch.
Gillian pointed upstairs. "I'm pooped. I think I'll lie down for awhile too!"
Cal nodded. "I'll join you if you don't mind."
That afternoon everyone took a four hour nap.
Arlene made another wonderful dinner. Then she and Emily made dinners for the next two nights.
Later that night, Cal and Gillian looked one hundred percent better.
"We haven't had this much sleep in months!" Gillian gushed happily at her mother.
"We can't thank you enough, Mom." Cal agreed.
"Any time… You have one more night, I'm going home tomorrow morning but now that you two are rested up and the twins slept almost all the way through their first night…you two can get a handle on this!"
That night, everyone played with the kids and after the park excursion earlier in the day, they were exhausted.
It was another early night for everyone and once again the boys slept through the night. This time it was close to nine hours. Gillian was so uncomfortable she had to pump the milk so when they finally did wake up. Cal and Arlene fed them while Gillian took a shower.
Gillian came down and Cal took a quick shower. Arlene made a huge plate of scrambled eggs with bacon and toast.
Emily raced down the steps. "I'm late!"
Arlene made her a quick breakfast sandwich then hugged her as she grabbed for her book bag.
"Thanks for your help this weekend Emily!"
Emily hugged her back. "You're welcome. Thanks for including me in your plan to bring the zombies back to life!"
Emily grabbed the breakfast sandwich and raced out the door.
Arlene chuckled. "At least she took the sandwich, I could never get you to take yours…" she said pointedly to Gillian.
"What? I ate…"
"Yeah, those damn pop tart things you'd get your Dad to buy you!"
Cal laughed aloud as he ate his breakfast. "Mum, you have no idea how grateful we all are that you did this…"
Amy came slowly down the steps. "Eat?"
Gillian smiled warmly. "Hi, Baby…yes…Grandma made eggs and bacon…"
"Bacon!" Amy squealed as she raced to Gillian's side.
"She can say bacon clearly…who's kid is she now?" Gillian smiled at Cal.
"What? Everyone likes bacon…"
"You are obsessed with bacon!"
Cal made a face as he looked down at Dalton. "Someone is stinky!"
Gillian grimaced. "Brandon is pretty ripe too…"
Cal stood and held out his empty arm. "Give me him…I'll get them both changed."
"I can help," Gillian offered.
"Nope, feed Amy, you can do the next one!"
Cal went upstairs and Gillian started to feed Amy.
"Mom, Cal's right, I owe you everything. I had no idea how bad I felt until this morning. I feel wonderful!"
"I'm so glad, Honey! Let me get breakfast cleaned up then I'll head home."
"Mom! I'll clean up while Amy is eating!"
Arlene nodded. "Okay," she said then headed up to pack her small bag.
She came down a short time later and said her goodbyes to everyone.
Cal looked at Gillian. "Hey the park was such a hit yesterday why don't we do it again."
"Sure!" Gillian said.
They got ready and spent a leisurely morning at the park. That afternoon the kids were taking naps and Cal and Gillian were on the couch. They were watching a movie and Gillian was surprised she was getting turned on.
She slowly started caressing Cal's leg then leaned up to kiss him. Cal leaned over and kissed her back and Gillian grabbed him and deepened it.
Cal was gasping when he pulled away. "Bloody hell, Gillian!"
"Make love to me, Cal!"
Cal shook his head. "It's too soon, Darling!"
"I'm fine…well…except for wanting you…"
"Gill…I don't think…"
Gillian straddled him and ground her hips against him as she kissed him.
"See, I'm fine!"
They went upstairs and Cal was hovering over her ready to enter when he stopped. "Bloody hell! I don't have a condom!"
"So what!"
"You told me last time you couldn't get pregnant and there are two little guys in there to prove you wrong!"
"Well, now I know I can't get pregnant because I'm nursing…"
"Really?" Cal asked with surprise.
"That's what all the books say!"
Cal groaned and set about making love to her as gently as he could. Both of them fell into a satisfied sleep.
Three months later, Gillian came into Cal's office at work.
"Where are the kids?" she asked quietly.
Cal frowned when he looked up from his monitor. He could tell instantly something was wrong and raced to her side. "Um, Torres has one and Heidi has the other one. Amy is with Loker. Darling, what's wrong? What happened at the doctor's?"
Gillian was frightened of his reaction and hesitated. Big tears pooled in her eyes as she looked at him. "The books were wrong!"
"What books?" Cal asked with confusion as she started to sob. "Bloody hell, Gillian, you're not making any sense, did you get bad news, Luv?"
Gillian coughed as she tried to find her breath. "The ones that say you're protected if you're nursing…"
"What?" Cal asked clearly baffled.
Emily had walked in and overheard everything. "You're pregnant?!"
Gillian nodded as she looked at the shocked expression on Cal's face and started to cry harder. "Cal I am so so sorry…I had no idea…"
Emily laughed happily. "Way to go, Dad!"
"Shut up, Em…" Cal spat as he tried to comfort Gillian. He walked her over to the couch and settled down on it next to her.
Emily frowned at his anger and realized he was scared. She walked over as well. "Gillian is it dangerous for you to be pregnant again so soon…are you okay?"
"Darling?" Cal asked equally as worried.
Gillian glanced at Emily's terrified expression and sniffled. "Oh, Em, I'm sorry I made you worried. The doctor said I'm perfectly healthy and the baby is fine too. She said she wished she had a dollar for every time this happened to one of her patients." She glanced worriedly at Cal. "I just hope your father can forgive me…"
Emily laughed as she stood up. "Give him a minute…he'll get over the shock!"
Emily left and Cal sighed as he lightly grabbed Gillian's chin and made her look at him. "You didn't get pregnant alone; I helped so I am equally responsible for this baby being inside of you. Now…did the doctor really say you're healthy?"
Gillian nodded. "I'm fine Cal, both the baby and I are fine."
Cal "read" her and could see no sign of a lie then slowly a grin appeared on his face. "Wow…we are going to have four kids under the age of four!"
"I know!"
"We are in big trouble!"
"I know!"
Cal kissed her soundly. "So we have about six months to get the twins walking and potty trained?"
Gillian laughed. "Good luck potty training two one year olds!"
Cal was struck with a thought. "Please tell me there is only one in there not two?!"
Gillian was horrified. "I….she said we can find out the sex next month. I assumed that meant there was only one!"
The month flew by and they found out Gillian was carrying a girl.
They told Emily the news after her graduation party.
"Now we get to decide on a name again…" Cal sighed.
"Faith," Emily stated emphatically.
Gillian smiled. "That's a beautiful name but why Faith?"
"The alphabet?"
Cal scowled. "What does the bloody alphabet have to do with anything?"
Emily rolled her eyes. "ABCDEFG….Amy, Brandon, Cal, Dalton, Emily Gillian, you're missing an F….so…Faith!"
Cal shrugged. "That's as good of a reason as anything else!"
"I love the name Faith," Gillian clapped. "My best friend growing up was named Faith."
"Baby Lightman is now Faith Lightman!" Emily gushed.
Six months later, Faith Lightman was born weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces.
Cal and Gillian were on their couch while Amy sat in Arlene's lap reading a book. Gillian's father Dan was there and he and Emily were chasing the twins around the house while Faith was latched onto her mother's breast but staring deeply into her father's eyes.
"Now we truly have it all, Darling," Cal said as he smiled at Gillian.
"We do!"
THE END