Maura bounced off each side of the hallway as she made her way half asleep down to the crying babies. What happened to our sweet twins who slept all night at three weeks old, she thought. She pulled the supplies she'd need to make bottles out of the cabinets in the nursery, turning to look at Colin and Calleigh as she did. Colin was rolled over on his stomach looking at her, tears on his face but not crying. Calleigh was the impatient one, her cries getting louder once she spotted her mom. Maura stifled a yawn and got her daughter changed, then her son, and sat down with them both .
Aric crashed into the door trying to rush in to help out, and Maura giggled at him as he righted himself and rubbed his eyes. "I'm here, which one do you want me to take?" he asked, sleep making him mumble. He leaned over to take Colin, and Maura pulled him by his shirt down to kiss him.
"Go, back to sleep with you," she told him. He shook his head no, he had every intention to not leave Maura to do everything.
"I helped make them, I want to help take care of them," he told her, kissing her hair. He took Colin, and before the bottle was completely empty the baby had fallen back into peaceful sleep. Calleigh wasn't asleep yet, but she was getting there when she finished and Maura put her in her crib. Aric took her hand and they walked back to their room, the house blissfully quiet once again. As they got comfortable, Maura put her head on her husband's shoulder and asked, "Did you think it would be like this? With two, I mean, did you see this as being our new normal?"
He didn't respond immediately, and at first Maura thought he'd fallen asleep, but then his deep, soft voice broke the silence. "I didn't really think beyond the birth. I was worried about them getting here, and about you during the last few months, and I knew it would be work, but Maura? I love it. I wouldn't trade a second of the midnight feedings and diapers and everything." She smiled, and he continued, "I'm actually looking forward to having them on the ship." She still wasn't sure that was going to work out, but she'd promised to give it a try.
"What if that plan doesn't work? I mean, I know Elara and Yuun think that it'll be great, but what about when they're crawling, then walking around the ship? And Tanno? Can you see him with a baby on each arm?" She had to giggle at the mental image of the huge Weequay with the twins, but she turned serious again. "What do we do then, love?"
"We just take it a step at a time, honey, and if it gets to be too much, then we make a new plan," he calmly told her. "As long as we're together, we can make it work. I've seen you manage far more complicated things."
"Hmm, " she replied, "I suppose that's all we can do." She buried her face in his neck and was asleep in a minute, but Aric lay there thinking, softly stroking her hair.
The next day, in the training room, they had worked on strength training and were about to hit the shower together when Aric took her arm and turned her to face him. "What about a nanny? Someone we trust and know will have their best interests at heart at all times? For when they're toddlers? We could holo several times a day, and maybe we wouldn't need one until they're ready for school.."
Maura reached out and touched his face, "I think I'd rather resign my commission at that point, than have someone else raise them. Remember, Miriah and I went through that. Her more than me, and you know how well that worked out. She still doesn't trust many people. I'll try to find out how other military families do this, we can't be the only ones. Thanks, sweetie, for thinking of it." He caught her hand, held it against his cheek.
"Whatever we decide, we do it together," he told her, and she nodded her agreement.