Chapter 30: Safe and Sound
Another chapter for all you wonderful fans out there. Hope you're continuing to enjoy my humble work here. Review as you read, please! It really helps!
Auggie's fingers stroked Annie's arm lightly as she snuggled tighter against him. He didn't think he could be happier in this moment with her, except if he knew that the Belenko's were safely behind bars or dead. Feeling his thoughts shift to darker things he turned to something safer, happier.
"Annie?"
"Hmm?" she mumbled contentedly.
"Earlier, you mentioned the twins being girls, twice. How on Earth..."
"Do I know they're girls?" she finished for him.
"Yeah."
Annie sat up and leaned against the headboard of their bed. Feeling her mood shift, he sat up next to her. A deep sigh came from her. "Annie, I didn't mean to upset you."
She touched his arm. "You didn't, Auggie. It's just... after you left I almost immediately collapsed. I tried to call out to you but I couldn't. I'm not really sure why I collapsed. But right before you awoke me I was having this dream. But it was more than that. It was so real. We were... getting married." A wide smile spread across her face as she recalled the scene. "Oh, Auggie, it was so beautiful. It was just like I would have imagined myself getting married. Right down to the purple orchids. Danielle and Joan were there. Decker and Barber. And two little guests of honor, one on each side of us. Our daughters, Auggie. And they were so lovely! Little blonde ringlet curls just like Shirley Temple and their eyes were mirrors of yours. They had names, Anita and Aubrey."
Auggie smiled at the names. They were perfect for the girls she was describing to him. They were little mirrors of their mother it sounded like, from what he'd been told, anyway. Her hand suddenly squeezed his arm and her breathing quickened slightly.
"Then... then it got dark, Auggie. Aleksandre and Alexei were there. They... they killed me. Right there in front of our girls! Auggie, I don't think this was just a simple dream. I think it means something. A warning, maybe. I don't know. But I think it's the reason I was able to break free of whatever Dr. Russell did to me. I don't remember her actually doing anything but I can feel it in my bones, Auggie. Something happened in that office today. Something that made me react to you that way."
He turned to face her. "Annie, we'll figure it out, ok? Like we always do. We'll tell Joan your suspicions tomorrow and she can take it from there. But right now you need rest. If little Anita and Aubrey are going to make it into this crazy world we're bringing them into then their mommy has got to take care of herself better."
Annie smiled. "You like the names?"
His hand came up and brushed her cheek. "I love the names. They're perfect. But! What if they're boys?"
Annie playfully slapped his hand away. "I don't think they're boys, Auggie. It's so strange but I just know they're girls. I know the girls I saw are the ones growing inside me right now."
Auggie placed his hand on her naked belly and felt the slight swell that signified his children were indeed growing inside this woman. Someday, when they were both ready, he would make that wedding she had imagined a reality but until then, Auggie knew he would never let anything happen to these three girls that mattered so much to him. Leaning down, he gently placed his ear against the swell and listened. It might have been his imagination, but he could swear he could hear them there, safe and sound.