AN: I don't own any of the CSI:NY Characters or any of the show's storylines that I may refer to from time to time, but the rest of the plot is mine.

23. How hard could it be .... ?

Laura watched the nurse easing Kieran into his car seat and secure the monitoring equipment and his straps. Don was holding Emily and watching as the monitor began to trace his heartbeat. A moment later the baby's oxygen reading appeared too as she secured the sensor around his thumb.

"He needs to stay there for twenty minutes on his own. If all the readings stay within normal ranges he'll be fine."

"What if they don't?" Asked Don as Laura hugged the baby's blanket for comfort.

"Then we take him out and he fails the test." The nurse answered matter of factly.

The parents watched anxiously as the minutes ticked by. They had reached the halfway point and things were apparently going well when Kieran decided he had been confined for long enough and began to fidget. The more he fidgeted the more he began to wind himself up and soon was providing them with a full blown screaming fit. His face was red and tears were streaming from his eyes. Laura and Don tried their best to talk him down from 6 feet away. They were not allowed any closer so they didn't interfere with the test. Laura looked at Don who was watching the figures on the monitor hit the amber lines. This wasn't going well, if he didn't calm down then he was going to hit the red marks and the test would be over and they would have to wait for it to be repeated. Laura gripped his arm tightly as she fought the urge to stop everything there and then.

"I know this is harsh, but it's for their own safety in the long run. Just a few more minutes." The nurse tried to console sympathetically. Laura glared at her.

"Harsh? It's inhumane, I have the option of consoling my child and ruining the test to take him home, or standing by and watch him torture himself. We don't even do this to criminals! There has got to be a better way!"

Don lay Emily in a crib at his side and wrapped his arms around Laura who buried her face in his chest as he began rubbing her back while he talked about the Rangers to his son. "Hey buddy, listen, I know it sucks, but we gotta do this, now you and me are gonna have a talk, OK well I'll talk and you listen. You're a bit young now but when you get bigger, you and me are gonna go see the Rangers and don't listen to anything uncle Danny says, the Rangers are the best ice hockey team there is. Hell, hockey's the best game. We're gonna have our own team, once you get bigger I'm gonna get you your own skates and you and me are gonna get out there and shoot some pucks."

Whether is was his tone or something else somehow Don reached his son and gradually he began to quieten and by the time the nurse gave him the thumbs up Laura was listening to the baby gurgling at his father. She smiled weakly as the nurse deposited him in her arms, his ordeal over.

"OK, he passed. He got pretty close to the wire, his oxygen level dropped dramatically down to 82 % with the screaming, but it's come back up nicely. Well done Dad." She informed them praising Don for how he talked to Kieran.

Laura looked at the baby in her arms and cooed to him as the nurse took Emily and strapped her in to her car seat and the monitors. Don tried to take Kieran but Laura refused to let him go. "I need to hold him." She said looking up with tears in her eyes. Don nodded and she looked back at Kieran, trying not to panic that Emily was going to do the same thing. "It's all over they won't be sticking all those things on you again today." She whispered to the baby in her arms.

Don watched as Emily's head rolled a little as she found a comfortable position then she let out a huge yawn, which made the monitor jump a little, but she seemed settled and the next moment her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

"See that? She's just like her Ma, nothing is gonna phase this kid." Don commented with a smile at Laura as he checked his watch. "Five minutes gone."

"Maybe not. Your son seems to be the jealous one. Need to break him of that habit."

"Nothing wrong with being jealous." He smirked raising his eyes at Laura.

"Just don't teach him too many of your bad habits." She chided, then looked at the baby in her arms. "Remember that K, you're Daddy's got a jealous streak too. Especially when it comes to me and your sister. But I know he doesn't mean anything by it, he's just protecting us. You have to learn that you just can't go all out psycho because of it."

"That a dig Kat?" Don growled, his eyes on the baby snoring, hunched in her car seat.

"I know how protective you get when the criminals start eyeing me up and what you want to do to them. You've done good to hold back the testosterone and let me do my job."

"Yeah at least I don't need to worry about that for a while." He sighed looking at his watch again and then at the monitor. He frowned when he noticed the bar edging lower. "Come on Em, show Kieran how to do this right, we want to take you home sweetie." He was relieved when she started and took a deep breath, letting the bar edged back in the right direction.

----

Stella opened the apartment door and lead the team inside. She issued a number of instructions then set about laying out the contents of the various bags they had brought with them. Sid took charge of the kitchen and soon had pots and pans bubbling on the stove as he cooked up a storm; enjoying his moment reliving his days as a chef.

Danny and Hawkes were charged with hanging the decorations around the room, which they did with relatively good grace until Danny managed to hit his finger with a hammer as they secured the banner.

Within a couple of hours Stella was satisfied with the results and declared their job done.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Asked Sid.

"Positive. Now let's go." She beamed as she ushered everyone out the door.

----

Don slid his key into the lock and quietly pushed the door open so as not to wake the sleeping infants curled up in their car seats which he and Laura were carrying. He put his keys down on the table by the door and lowered the baby changing bag to the floor from his shoulder before turning to go to the lounge.

"What the F--OW!?" Laura elbowed him in the ribs as he was about to let out an expletive at the sight of their apartment. "Bonasera you're dead!" He moaned as he looked around. He noticed the amused look on Laura's face. "You knew about this?" He asked waving an arm around as he carefully set the baby on the couch while he removed his jacket and helped Laura put her charge next to his.

"No, but you know Stella, I thought she was a little too insistent at wanting to know when we would get home." They looked around again. The apartment was almost like a fairy tale grotto, but decked out with pink and blue streamers and balloons and a big "Welcome Home" banner. "Someone's been cooking."

"Great I'm starving. I missed lunch with all those doctors meetings."

"You want to check out what's on the menu while I put them in the pram?"

"You need a hand?"

"Go sort your stomach, I think I can manage." Laura wandered down to the twins room and extracted the pram from it's dust cover and found that it had been made up ready for the twins. She smiled. Stella seemed to have thought of everything. She squeezed it through the doorway, thankful that some modifications to the apartment had been made by the previous owner, like wider than normal doorways.

She quickly settled both of the children into the pram by the window and let them sleep. As she finished her task Don emerged from the kitchen with two steaming plates of food and deposited them on the dining table.

"Sid's been showing off again. He left a note, there's enough food to last us a week!" Don chuckled.

"A week?"

"Freezer's stocked with meals for everyday and a few treats."

"Sometimes I wonder if he should have stuck with being a chef. It smells good." She conceded as she sat down.

They had barely taken a bite of their food when a snuffling sound emerged from the pram seconds before an all out scream. Laura started to get up.

"Stay, I'll get her, you eat."

He got up and extracted the squirming baby from the pram, talking to her as he carried her across the room. He had barely calmed her down and sat down with her in his arms when Kieran started. Laura looked at Don.

"You really have to break him of this habit." She sighed putting her fork down and moving to the pram. She quickly scooped up the infant and rocking him against her she slid back onto her chair. "Kieran!" She groaned as she realised why he wouldn't calm down like his sister had. "You have to learn not to want a clean diaper when we're eating!"

She stood up again and went to the door, hooking the changing bag almost expertly over her shoulder before taking him down the hallway to their bedroom.

Don looked at his daughter and smiled as she slept in his arms. It was such a surreal feeling. The rollercoaster ride at the hospital since their birth now mostly behind them. Both had been assessed thoroughly before being allowed home weeks earlier than anyone had predicted even 2 weeks ago and considering they still weren't officially due for two or three weeks, it was a miracle. He listened to Laura's voice as she talked to Kieran in the other room, not hearing what she was saying, but just following the tone and pitch. He resolved to give her some time to herself later during nap time, she had been pretty shaken up by Kieran's car seat test earlier and had been like a mother bear since, never letting the children out of her sight. He figured he could watch them safely for an hour so she could pamper herself a little. Make the most of the time he was at home, before she needed to do everything herself. Besides it would be good practice. There would be times when one of them would face dealing with both crying babies at the same time. Not something he relished the thought of, but one which would certainly be a reality. How hard could it be to watch them while they slept?

----

Laura emerged from the bathroom feeling relaxed and calm after the days events and completely unprepared for the sight which met her as she wrapped her favourite dressing gown around her and walked into the lounge.

The baby changing bag was upside down and the contents had been scattered across the room. A trail of talcum powder and footprints lead from the changing mat in the middle of the room to the kitchen and back. She began clearing up as she listened for the fall out. The apartment was quiet. She peered in the pram and found it empty now she was a little concerned.

She noted the car seats were still on the couch, so she left the clearing up and went in search of her family. Peering into the nursery she found it spotless still with the dust covers on the furniture. She closed the door and went to the guest bedroom. She opened the door cautiously and peered inside to find them all asleep on the bed. Don's arms protectively holding his children. She backed off quietly and went into the lounge to retrieve the camera.

She was proud of her David Bailey technique with the new digital camera they had bought a couple of months ago. She wasn't so sure that Don would agree with her, but it proved that his son was just like him. It was a photo she would cherish for a long time.

Leaving them to sleep she closed the door quietly and completed the clean-up task she had started a few minutes earlier.

Sorry for the long delay. RL and my other story were demanding my time. I promise to reply to the reviews from the last chapter later.

The twins are finally home. Not having been involved with premature babies I hope the Car Seat test sounds vaguely realistic, and thanks to BEG075 for the pointers that this came out of.