Chapter Eleven

"Confined to bed with my beautiful wife..." Steve mused. "There are definitely worse fates."

"We have to behave," Jaime giggled.

"And that's one of 'em," he said with a teasing frown.

"Very funny, Austin. You're no more up to that than I am."

"I can dream, can't I?" Steve laughed, then grew serious as he drew a tender hand across Jaime's belly bump. "How're you and Edgar feeling?"

"Very thankful that all three of us are still here...together," she told him with a soft kiss.

""Now, when you say 'all of us'....that bump got big awfully fast. You sure we're not looking at Edgar – and Edwina?"

Jaime slugged him playfully. "Bite your tongue, Austin! Two at once is so not in the contract!"

When Callahan brought dinner that first night, Russ was with her – and they were clearly dressed for a date. Surprisingly, they set up a table next to the Austins' bed and created a sort of double date, dining with their friends.

"Have you set a date yet?" Jaime asked.

Peggy named a date that was about four months in the future. "That way, your baby'll be a month old, give or take a week or two – and you can still be my Matron of Honor!"

"And my Best Man," Russ added.

Steve grinned, ducking the punch he knew he was about to get. "And our twins can be a miniature ring bearer and flower girl!"

Jaime decked him anyway.

---

Rudy arrived the next morning with milk, coffee and donuts for his two patients, who had dutifully remained in bed. "Hey, Doc," Steve began (with chocolate frosting dotting his mischievous grin), "should she be getting so big...this soon?"

Rudy smiled. "You've got a wonderfully healthy baby to look forward to....provided you follow doctor's orders, Young Lady."

"But only one healthy baby, right?" Jaime asked, tucking into a second donut.

"I only heard one heartbeat as of yesterday, but let's have another listen," Rudy told her. Jaime bared her tummy bulge while Steve gently poked the doctor in the ribs...and winked. Rudy listened closely through the stethoscope and stood back up to address his patient. "Hmmm...I don't know. There could be two...maybe even three..." Seeing Jaime's face, though, Rudy couldn't hold onto the joke – and burst out laughing. "Just one, Honey, at least as far as I can tell."

Jaime couldn't slug her doctor, so Steve got it again. "You put him up to this, didn't you?" Almost against her will, she was giggling too.

"Seriously, Doc," Steve persisted, "she's getting big pretty darn fast."

"Well, is there any possibility she could be further along than you told me? In other words -"

"Nothing happened in Greece," Jaime told him.

"Any more pains?" Rudy asked, changing the subject quickly and getting back down to business.

"Nope. Just the one sitting next to me."

"Blood pressure's normal. Fetal heartbeat is good and strong. Now let's have a look at Daddy Austin."

Steve's wound was beginning to heal nicely. "Any shortness of breath?" Rudy asked him.

"I'm fine. When can I get outta bed?"

"Don't rush things," the doctor told him. "Another two or three days. And that doesn't mean back to normal activity right away – you'll ease into it gradually."

"I just wanna be able to take care of my wife...and the twins."

"Will you stop it!" Jaime laughed. "Rudy, he's gonna drive me crazy!"

Rudy was relieved to see his friends hadn't lost their spirit. "Lynda will be here to check on you – and bring your lunch – in a few hours. Jaime...don't hurt him too badly."

"I'm telling you," Steve teased after Rudy was gone, "I've got an instinct about these things. There's two of 'em in there." Happily, he extended his right arm to receive another well-deserved slug.

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