In the morning, Penelope woke up to find Erin watching her. She grinned at her and snuggled close. Erin blushed slightly and kissed her forehead. "I take it you enjoyed last night?"
"Let's just say I found one reason to like your dearly departed husband. That was so, I don't even have words. I don't think I've ever orgasmed that hard." She kissed Erin's chin and let her hands tease Erin's nipples to erect peaks.
"Oh, love, we don't have time for this right now. We have to go see the twins and then get the meeting with Ms. Mohr over with." Erin kissed her soundly and got out of bed, padding over to the closet. Penelope joined her, picking out something more severe than normal. "You're not going to a funeral, Penny."
"I don't want her to think I'm enjoying this, either." Quickly, she got dressed and fixed her hair and makeup. "Are you ready, my dove?" she asked, holding out her hand. Erin clasped it tightly and they went downstairs. No one else was there in the kitchen, so Penelope heated up the food from last night, eating slowly as she read the paper and then they were off.
As she rode up the elevator, her breasts began to ache and she found herself tapping her foot as she stood close to Erin. "Just think, this time tomorrow, we'll be preparing to bring them home." A bright smile spread over Erin's face as she spoke and Penelope nodded.
Alan was fussing when they walked in the room and Penelope went over to him, picking him up. Settling in the rocker, she lifted her blouse and held him to her breast. He rooted hungrily for a moment before latching on. She looked over at Erin and saw she was holding Elinor, rocking her gently and trying to keep her calm as she waited for her brother to finish.
"Knock, knock," Emily said as she entered the room. Behind her, Aaron was trying to look anywhere but at Penelope, and she quickly covered up with the blanket. "They're so tiny! May I hold her?" she asked Erin. Erin nodded and carefully handed Elinor over. "Look, Aaron, isn't she beautiful?" As Penelope watched them interact, she suddenly knew who Jack had been talking about. Aaron smiled down on Emily and Elinor, only to have the baby screw her face up and let out a squalling cry.
"I think the little princess is hungry," he said lowly, taking the baby from Emily and going over to Penelope. "Here, I'll burp him so you can feed her," he said with a smile, exchanging the two. There was a tenderness to him that broke Penelope's heart, a raw yearning for something in him she couldn't name. Emily noticed as well and wrapped her arm around his waist, her eyes on Alan, her heart on Aaron. Penelope looked at her lover and smiled, blinking back tears.
"So, all of Alpha's paired off. Where does that leave Cassie?" Penelope asked, enjoying the panicked look that crossed Aaron's face. "Come on, it's obvious you two are an item. Have you been to Shepperd?"
Emily nodded. "He's agreed to relax the rules a little if we can keep things professional at work. I don't think that will be a problem. Oh, did you hear? Gracie, the receptionist, got fired today. Shepperd was pissed about something she did. He was chewing her out right as I was walking past to pick up Mr. Workaholic here. I couldn't help but listen."
"Thank God," Erin said softly.
"You knew this was coming?" Aaron asked, never taking his eyes off Alan.
"Yes." Penelope looked over at Erin. "She's the one that ruined my birthday."
Emily gasped. "No, really? That's how Rossi knew?" Penelope and Erin nodded as one and Emily shook her head. "No wonder he was so angry. I am, too, now that I know. How could she do something like that to you? Didn't she know what he did to you?"
"I don't think she cared, Em. Like so many before her, she was starstruck." Penelope smiled at her friend and switched Elinor to her other breast. "Weren't we all at some point?"
"I guess you're right, we were." Emily leaned against one of the incubators. "So, switching to happier news, JJ tells me they're coming home tomorrow. What time do you think it'll be?"
"Most likely around noon. We have to talk to the doctor today and will know the final details for sure then. Why?"
"No reason. Well, we should be going now, this unexpected day off is such a boon." Aaron handed Alan to Erin and put his arm around Emily. "We'll talk to you soon."
After they left, Penelope burped Elinor and then rocked her to sleep. "So, do you think something's up?"
"I did get that distinct feeling. What do you think is going on?"
"Knowing my team, it could be anything. They only act this shifty when they're planning something."
"How long before Emily ends up pregnant?"
"Not until they get married, unless there's a happy accident. He likes to keep things traditional like that. Karen was on birth control the entire time they were together."
"How did I miss that?"
"It's not something you talk to your mother about, my dove. I don't want to leave my children." She looked at Erin as she held Elinor tightly to her chest. "Do we really have to go see that woman today?" Elinor fussed at being held so close and began to cry once more. Alan picked up on his sister's discomfort and began to cry as well. Both women rocked their children until they were quiet once more.
"We all have to do things we don't want to at times. But as long as I know you're with me, I can do this. Love is strong as death, my dearest heart." Erin looked down at her watch. "And it's time that we were going. We'll come back after lunch, I promise."
Penelope nodded and stood, setting Elinor down in the incubator closest to her. Erin placed Alan in the same one, close to his sister. He reached out and found her hand and Penelope cooed at them. "That's so darling. Take a picture of them." Erin obliged and then wrapped her arm around Penelope's waist, leading her out of the room.
Penelope was silent the entire drive to Ms. Mohr's office, staring out the window at the passing scenery, unable to find any beauty in the day. Her heart seemed to grow heavier the closer they got until it sat like a lead weight. Erin parked and led Penelope inside, never letting go of her hand. Ms. Mohr was waiting for them in the reception area of the office building, smiling slightly.
"Thank you for coming. I know you don't want to be here, so I'll make this as brief as I can. Please, follow me." She turned and led them into a cozy office. "Would you care for anything to drink?" They shook their heads and took seats in front of her desk.
"Why would he choose now to be remorseful? What's changed?" Penelope asked as the lawyer took a seat across from them.
"There's only so much you can do in prison, especially when you're kept separate from the general population. Since his arm still remains partially paralyzed, he can't defend himself, so he spends most days alone with his thoughts."
"So, even in prison, he gets special treatment," she bitterly replied, shaking off Erin's hand. "How close did they come to killing him?"
Ms. Mohr blanched at the venom in Penelope's voice and sat back in her chair. "Extremely close. He spent four months in the prison infirmary recovering. When he'd healed enough to receive his monthly visitation, he asked to see me. That's when we began setting this up."
"If you've know about this since January, why are you only now contacting us?" Erin asked, deliberately grabbing Penelope's hand, not letting her pull away.
"It takes time to get these things arranged when you only have an hour once a month." She pulled out a stack of papers. "Mr. Rossi would like his assets divided equally between the children. His ex-wives are making noise about how this belongs to them, so the sooner we get things finalized, the sooner I can make them go away."
"How much money are we talking about?"
"Right now, approximately two million per child. Future sales on his books will be divided into the trust fund yearly until they turn twenty one. At that time, future money will be given to a charity of their choosing."
Penelope looked over at Erin and saw she wore the same stunned look. "That's a lot of money."
"And it will accrue interest over the years. Mr. Rossi has already worked out my fee, so you won't need to worry about that. Do you have any other questions?" Penelope shook her head. "Good, now these are the documents you'll need to sign." She slid over a thick stack of papers and Erin flipped through them, skimming the contents. She signed the first set and passed it over to Penelope to sign. After both were taken care of, Ms. Mohr took back the documents and then handed them a thick envelope.
"What's this?" Penelope said, seeing her and Erin's name on the outside.
"I have no idea. Mr. Rossi gave it to me sealed and instructed me to give it to you when you signed the documents." She smiled at them, a gesture that seemed out of place to Penelope. "If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to call." They stood and Penelope ignored her outstretched hand. Erin shook it and then took Penelope's elbow, guiding her out of the room.
"You could at least be civil, Penelope," Erin hissed as they got in the car.
"I was! I didn't call her names or anything like that. You know I didn't want this in the first place." Angry tears pricked her eyes and she turned once more to watch out the window, letting them fall. When Erin didn't reach out to comfort her, she felt her heart crack a little and the angry tears turned to sorrow. Penelope tried to control the shaking of her shoulders, to keep her sobs quiet. This was their first real fight, and it hurt so badly.
And then they were stopping in a secluded park. Penelope kept her head turned from Erin, not wanting to look at her in that moment. She heard the seatbelt unbuckle and felt Erin scoot closer to her. "Penny," she said softly, her voice sounding so sad. Unable to bear it, she turned and threw her arms around Erin, holding her close as she continued to sob.
"I'm not like you, I can't just move on so easily, even though I wish I could."
"I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry I snapped at you, I was just so overwhelmed by the whole thing. Please forgive me."
"Of course, my dove." She kissed Erin softly, tasting tears on her lips. "Just hold me?" Erin nodded against her shoulder and Penelope pulled her even closer, burying her head in Erin's hair, breathing in her unique scent. It seemed like her tears would never end now that she had let them begin to fall. She felt Erin's lips on her cheek and turned her head to capture Erin's lips.
"Why is it that I always do the thing I most hate to do? Why can't I just be sweet, like you?" she whispered in Penelope's ear after she broke the kiss.
"You wouldn't be you if you changed. As long as we apologize to each other," she broke off, smiling slightly as she kissed Erin, "and make up, everything will be fine. Though we'll have to wait until tonight for that." Erin kissed her then, and Penelope stroked her face gently, wiping away her tears.
"I rather like the making up part," Erin said quietly, a tremulous smile on her lips.
"It's the best part of fighting, if there has to be any." She winced and adjusted her breasts in her blouse. "Maybe we should stop by the hospital first to feed the twins and get lunch after that?"
"Of course, whatever you want, Penelope." Erin smiled when Penelope slid close to her as she drove, and Penelope slipped her hand under Erin's skirt, rubbing her thumb along Erin's thigh. "Do you want to arrive at the hospital alive?"
Penelope chuckled slightly at the quaver in her lover's voice. "I'll be good, I promise." She began to slide her hand back when Erin shook her head vehemently.
"As long as you don't creep up any higher, darling, we should be fine."
By the time they got to the hospital, Erin was squirming in her seat restlessly. "Park on the very top of the ramp, and I'll finish what I've started," Penelope purred and Erin nodded. Once they were in a spot, Erin reclined the seat and spread her legs slightly, giving Penelope better access. She slipped her fingers underneath her lover's panties and found herself enveloped by wetness.
Erin curled her fingers around Penelope's shoulder, digging into her as she orgasmed. "Frak, Penelope, that was amazing," she said breathlessly, kissing her temple. "I hope I can walk over to the NICU now."
"Just lean on me if you have to, lovey-dove. I'll keep us both upright." They got out of the car and began the trek into the hospital. By the time they got up to the room, Penelope could feel her breasts begin to leak a little. Unfortunately, the doctor was in the room, checking out their children's stats. "Hey, how do they look?"
"Like they're ready to go home tomorrow. I'm pleased with their progress, ladies, I really am. Especially little Ellie. She's officially caught up to her brother." He smiled at them. "I'll sign the discharge orders tomorrow at this time."
He left the room whistling a jaunty tune. Penelope felt her cheeks begin to ache and rubbed them gently as she tried to tone down her smile. "Update the blog, my peacock, and let everyone know the good news." Penelope nodded at Erin and pulled out her tablet, sitting in the rocker as she typed. Looking up at her soon-to-be-wife, she sighed.
"Hand me Elinor first, love." She set the tablet aside and opened her arms to accept her daughter. As she fed Elinor, Erin sat down, holding Alan. "Will you read the letter to me?"
"Do you think that wise?" Penelope nodded, holding Elinor close to her breast. "All right." She carefully held their son close to her chest as she rooted through her purse, pulling out the envelope and her glasses. With one hand she put the glasses on her face and then opened the manila envelope. Clearing her throat, she began to read the first page:
Dear Erin and Penelope, I know this letter will come as an unwelcome shock to you both. Being in here has given me a lot of time to think about my actions and how I very nearly destroyed two of the strongest women I've ever met. All the prayers I send up to God are but resounding gongs, as I feel there is nothing I can do to atone for what I did. And now there are two lives in this world that will be forever affected by the horror I inflicted on their mothers…
Erin's voice broke a few times as she read the long missive that entreated them to grant him mercy and absolution. Penelope's eyes hurt from all the tears she shed and she had to wipe Elinor and Alan's faces clear of them many times. Slowly, she rocked Alan to sleep. He had other plans, though, picking up on his mother's distress and fussing mightily. "He's asking us to do something so hard, my love. I haven't moved to a place where forgiveness is possible yet." Penelope cooed at Alan, hoping that he would focus on her expression and settle down. It seemed to work and soon he was asleep, though she did not put him down, needing to hold on to him.
"And he wants us to write him. What could I possibly write him that I would feel comfortable with? It's one thing to take his money; that's fair retribution for the mayhem he inflicted upon us." Erin looked at Penelope over her glasses, the torn look there hurting Penelope's heart.
"We won't write him, not right away. If he's truly remorseful, he'll write us again, I'm certain. Perhaps, by then, we'll have thought of the words that won't reveal anything and yet satisfy him." She sighed, biting her lip.
"What is it, Penny?"
"I forget at times how well you see me. When we were at Ms. Mohr's, I was so vicious and bloodthirsty. I-I reveled in hearing he had to fight for his life." She looked down at Alan's sleeping face. "That's not me. I don't want it to be me."
Erin stood, opening her arms. Penelope joined her, leaning into the warm embrace. Erin kissed her forehead gently, rubbing her back. The silence comforted Penelope as much as the touch, washing over her like a healing balm. "I felt the same way. It was like a burning brand in my soul. I've had to keep my feelings, my true self, under lock and key for so long that I've become quite adept at hiding emotions. But as I proved once again today, keeping them inside isn't healthy, either."
"I love you," Penelope whispered, turning so she could lean her back against Erin and watch Elinor.
"I love you, too," she replied, bringing her arms up to cover Penelope's, her hand resting on their son's head. Penelope's stomach growled loudly and both burst into giggles. Alan stirred slightly and Penelope stepped forward to put him next to his sister. "Ready to head down to the cafeteria and grab something to eat?"
"Yes." Penelope clasped Erin's hand and they made their way down, eager to put Rossi's letter from their minds and focus on the most important thing in their lives at the moment – their children.