July 16, 2030

Our girls are three weeks old today.

The wispy hair they'd been born with is now curling softly on their little crowns. Their lashes are longer. Their eyes seem bluer. They are the most beautiful babies in the entire world.

Sometimes I just watch them sleep. I watch their tiny chests rise and fall with each breath they take. I watch their little fingers stretching and grasping at air. I watch their little lips puckering or crying or even changing into tiny smiles.

Miles said that they weren't real smiles. He said the babies were just farting. I'm still pretty emotional about some things, and I cried so much that Miles left with terror in his eyes. He came back later with his tail between his legs and a very pissed off Bass Monroe pushing him my way.

Miles wouldn't meet my gaze, "Listen. I'm sorry about what I said. Of course your babies were smiling. I'm a dick." He'd looked back at Bass with this desperate expression, begging his best friend silently to be allowed to run away.

Bass shook his head. Miles exhaled slowly, "And besides, beautiful little girls don't even fart at all. And if they did, it would smell like roses." He smirked just a little then and looked at Bass again. Bass's face lost all of its seriousness as he began to smirk too.

Then they were both laughing and I couldn't help it. I was laughing with them.

July 17, 2030

Today was the best day ever, even if we did spend a lot of it in church.

Bass has been working non-stop for the last week to get everything ready for the baptism. I offered to help, but he just shook his head and smiled. It was one of his really good smiles that melts my heart and soaks my panties. It seemed so important to him to take care of all of the preparations, so I let him. Besides, I know nothing about baptisms and I was entirely too busy watching our babies sleep and cuddling them and nursing them and learning all their sounds to be bothered talking to the preacher.

Have I mentioned that I love being a Mom? Because I do. Sometimes it still surprises me, to be honest, but these sweet little girls? They have changed me.

Anyway, we took the girls to the church when it was time. Edna had made them these long white gowns with a little bit of lace around the hem and tiny matching bonnets. They looked like little angels.

When we got to the little church, everyone was already there. Miles and Stephanie were sitting up front. Edna had come of course. She'd brought Joe and Heather. It was nice to see the Mathews family all together. John Frye had brought his wife. Grandpa was there and of course Aaron and Betty. Connor was sitting not far from Heather (typical lately, to be honest). Frank Blanchard had even shown up and brought a handful of Rangers with him. There were others too. All the regulars from the diner had come. Familiar faces from Willoughby filled the pews.

Everywhere I looked, I saw family. Not just family by blood – that's a small group these days, after all. Over time, my family has become a whole lot more than shared DNA. I got misty eyed then, looking out over all of them. My people. My family.

I couldn't stop smiling. Bass had one baby and I had the other.

The baptism was pretty simple. The minister (an old guy with a long grey beard and kind eyes) asked Bass and me to step forward. He asked us if we would promise to raise the babies so that they would always feel loved and that we would teach them about God. I wasn't sure what I could teach them about that, but Bass's 'yes' was loud enough for both of us. The minister said a prayer and dipped his fingers in a bowl of water before brushing it against their tiny foreheads.

After the prayer part was over, it was time for the big reveal. Up to this point Bass and I had kept the babies' names secret. Miles has been calling them 'Thing One' and 'Thing Two'. I was irritated at first, but then I realized that Miles was just being a jerk because he wanted to be in on the secret.

Bass held one of the babies. Her blue eyes were trained on his face. When he looked at her, you could see the pride and adoration shining through. I looked down at the other baby, cradled in my own arms, and I figure it was pretty obvious that I felt the same as Bass does. These tiny girls are our whole world.

He looked up at me then. His eyes glistening as he looked into mine. I was wrong. These girls aren't our whole world – not entirely. Without Bass, none of this would be the same. They are my world: these beautiful babies and their equally beautiful daddy.

I cleared my throat before speaking at the smiling faces, "Thank you all for coming today. We are so glad you were able to share this day –"

"Yeah, yeah. You're glad we're here. Just tell us their names!" Miles yelled from his seat next to Stephanie. He was grinning and his grin only grew wider as we heard his sentiment echoed through the large room.

I shot Miles a dirty look. "Like I was saying, thank you for coming today. I know that a lot of you are curious about the names we have selected for our little girls. It was not an easy decision."

Bass chuckled beside me, muttering, "Understatement."

"It was difficult because we both had very different ideas of what would be perfect. Bass is a bit obsessed with Civil War history, as many of you may know." This was met with nods and a few chuckles from the group.

Bass continued, "And Charlie was determined to name the girls after her favorite characters from books, because she loves to read, and certain fictional characters have made a big impact on her life."

"In the end, we picked names that include both a Civil War reference and a nod to my favorite ladies from fiction."

Miles stood up then and threw his hands in the air, "For fuck's sake, tell us their names!"

The minister glowered at Miles and he apologized sheepishly. I looked at Bass and he nodded. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. "I'd like you to meet Dixie."

Bass took a step up as well, holding out Dixie's sister. "And this little lady is Maisi."

"Dixie and Maisi? I don't get it." Miles looked back and forth blankly.

Bass grinned, "Dixie's full name is Dixon Josephine & Maisi's full name is Mason Elizabeth."

We were met with a lot of blank stares as everyone digested this new information. Slowly, people started to smile and nod.

Stephanie smiled. "So, I get the Mason/Dixon Civil War connection. Elizabeth and Josephine? Did you pick those because of Lizzie Bennett and Jo March?"

"Yes!" I said with a big smile. "Pride and Prejudice and Little Women are two of my all-time favorites."

"Excellent choices." Stephanie smiled approvingly.

Miles was frowning, "So, why did he get the first names and you only got the middle ones?"

I scowled at my uncle, "I guess because while I was trying to push our babies out of my body, he was not only helping me deliver them but also killing intruders who wished us harm." I smiled over at Bass then and he was beaming in my direction.

Bass still had a sleepy baby tucked in one elbow, but he moved closer and wrapped his other arm around my shoulders, "Well, in all fairness, you did kill one of them yourself."

Within a few minutes, the folks in the church were standing and talking and Bass looked away from me to watch them for a moment. Edna walked up and took Maisi from his arms, cooing softly at her. Bass took that moment to walk over to the minister. Stephanie came up and I handed Dixie over. I watched Bass curiously. He was having a rather animated conversation with the minister. I was inwardly hoping he wasn't signing me up to teach Sunday School when he turned around and let out a loud whistle.

Both of the babies startled and began to cry just a bit. He looked over at me and mouthed "Sorry" before turning back to the folks, most of whom were milling around talking. "Could I get your attention please? If it's not too much trouble, I'd like for all of you to stick around for a little while. I promise the reception will still be waiting for us."

Everyone was watching him, including me. None of us knew what this was all about. Bass walked over to me and grasped my hands. "I love you, Charlie."

"I know. I love you too."

"And our babies… I love them so much."

"Me too." I was getting emotional because of the way he was looking at me but also because I felt something between us shift. He squeezed my hands reassuringly.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Good." I said with a smile, "because you are stuck with me."

"Not stuck enough." I could see tears in his eyes, but they were the happy kind. My heart lurched as he bent to kneel on one knee. "Will you marry me, Charlotte?"

I just stared at him with my mouth hanging open in shock. I'm sure I looked like an idiot. He swallowed hard and I could tell he was starting to doubt that this was a good idea. The room around us was totally silent. Even the babies seemed to realize this was a big deal.

"Married?" I finally choked out. In my head I was remembering how my Mom and Dad were together when I was a kid. I remembered all the fighting and the yelling. Sometimes they got along, but they spent just as much time fighting. I remember the tension and the anxiety. Even as a child, I knew that my parents did not have a healthy relationship.

Bass is always so in tuned with my feelings and he figured out what was wrong. He stood, but kept my hands in his, and his eyes were locked on mine. "I know you don't have warm and fuzzy feelings about your parents' marriage, but I think you know what we have is different. It's better. It's real. I won't promise that it will be easy, but I promise never to give up. I promise to love you and our kids for the rest of my life."

"Bass?" I said.

He ignored me and kept talking. "I hope you know that I would do everything in my power to make you happy. I would do –"

"Okay." I cut him off mid thought. "Okay, I'll marry you."

"You will?"

"Well, yeah. Of course I will. You just surprised me, Bass."

He picked me up and was swinging me around and everyone in the church was cheering or crying and some people were doing both.

It was Miles of course, who yelled out, "Can you just do it now? I'll be lucky if they let me back in here after today."

The minister chuckled. "The man has a point."

Bass stopped spinning me and smiled out at Miles. "You're reading my mail, brother. I just asked the minister the same thing. He said we can do it right now. Not like we have to wait for a license or anything these days, and the reception is waiting." Then he looked down at me again. "Wanna do it right now?"

This time I knew my answer without hesitating. "Yes. Yes I do."

It was a bit of a hot mess, but after about five minutes of planning, we got started. Grandpa gave me away. Miles was best man and Stephanie stood up with me. They each held one of the girls during the ceremony. Miles acted like it was quite an inconvenience, but when he thought I wasn't looking, I saw him lean in close and kiss her tiny cheek.

I had been worried about what I was wearing. I haven't been to a lot of weddings of course, but I know brides are supposed to wear white. I had worn a dress, and for that I was very grateful. It is a soft sky blue sun dress that is snug around the top, showing off my suddenly enormous boobs (thank you baby girls). I had my hair down, but pulled back from my face and the little arrow pendent Bass had given me hung from its chain around my neck. I was wearing my boots because they are comfortable and really the only shoes I own.

Bass didn't seem to mind. He told me I looked beautiful. I told him he didn't look half bad himself. The truth is that Bass looked sharp in a simple white button down shirt and brown pants.

I don't remember any of the stuff that the minister said or our vows or anything. All I remember is being nervous until I saw the way Bass was looking at me and then all the worry just faded away. I repeated everything I was told to, but I never took my eyes off his.

Before we knew it, we had been pronounced husband and wife. Bass came in for a kiss and it was not what I expected for a church kiss, not that I've thought about this a lot before today. His mouth was hot and aggressive as he pulled me close. His hands slid down to cup my ass just as his tongue slid through my lips. Even though I knew this was probably far from appropriate, I couldn't help myself. I dug in, kissing him back with all I had.

I was in a haze of need and happiness when I heard Miles. "Tongue in church? Pretty sure I'm not the only one they aren't going to let come back."

The moment was effectively broken as everyone laughed and cheered. Stephanie and Miles handed us the girls and we walked back down the aisle together as a family.

The reception was lovely. Miles ended up getting very drunk (even for him) and by the end of the evening he was muttering about life choices and responsibility and pulling Stephanie into his lap. Later, as the party was dying down, we watched Miles flip Stephanie up and over his shoulder and take her home cave-man style.

"They are happy, aren't they?" I asked Bass.

"Yeah. Wouldn't be surprised if they got married too."

I tried to imagine Miles with a wife and found that it wasn't as weird as I might have expected, at least not if Stephanie is his lucky lady. Bass agreed and we continued to chat until Aaron and Betty walked up.

"So, we've been thinking." Aaron said with a nervous smile.

"And?" Bass asked, clearly amused.

"We thought you guys might want a break, so if you will give us whatever we need, we'll watch the girls for a few hours tonight. What do you think?"

"What about food?" Bass asked. He looked skeptical. "Do you have a crib?"

Betty smiled, "I gave Charlie an old manual pump. We could get a few bottles ready in a little while. We don't have a crib, but I do have a big wicker laundry basket. They would fit in it nicely on top of a light blanket, and we'd be there the whole time watching over them."

"I actually have two bottles ready in the bag we brought. I didn't know how long we'd be here or if I'd have a place." I love my babies more than anything, but the idea of a night off did sound nice. I've really missed alone time with Bass.

So, we let them take our little girls down the street to their cottage. Each carried a baby in one arm and Betty also carried the heavy diaper bag.

My heart lurched painfully. Maisi and Dixie have been with me constantly since they were born and I know it sounds ridiculous because I've only known them for three weeks, but those three weeks have changed me forever. I'm a mom now. Watching my babies be carried away ripped me up inside, even though I knew that Aaron and Betty would take the best care of them. It didn't matter. I felt strangely empty. Bass understood without me even having to voice my feelings. "It's going to be fine. We need a little break. That is all this is, Mrs. Monroe…a break. We'll have them back before you know it."

I smiled up at my new husband and took his hand and we headed home.

It was laughable, really. When we got to our place we were both nervous. Weird right? We've had sex a thousand times and he's delivered our babies. There are no secrets between us, and yet I felt like a child who had no idea what to do. And in all honesty, there is some stuff we have been advised to avoid. Parts of my body won't be ready for a few more weeks….not for the kind of stuff we like best. Still, everything felt awkward. He left our room to freshen up. I panicked for a minute, wondering what I should do. I didn't have anything special to wear…or did I?

I fell to my knees beside the dresser and started digging. It took me a few minutes, and I almost gave up, but then I found it. The blue silk gown I'd purchased as a Christmas gift for Bass….the blue silk gown I'd never worn for him because I left town before we could celebrate Christmas and it wasn't going to fit by the time we reconciled.

I prayed in hopes that after the day we'd had, maybe the Big Guy upstairs might have pity on me. As I took off the light blue dress, and undergarments, I eyeballed the vivid blue gown I'd laid out on the bed. "Please fit. Please fit. Please fit."

Naked, I looked down at my body. My boobs were huge, and frankly starting to ache a bit. I'd have to pump soon. I felt down my torso with nervous fingers. My belly had always been so tight before I'd gotten pregnant. Now it was soft. I crossed my fingers and pulled the gown down over my head. The fabric was soft and supple. It hugged my body in a way that hid most of my new post-baby flaws. I grinned gratefully at my reflection in the narrow mirror by the door. This was going to work. My breasts looked bigger than usual (which, believe me, is saying something) and they were pushed up, showing off a lot of cleavage. The gown fitted snugly to a point around my belly button where if flared out, swirling softly around my thighs.

I was still staring at my reflection in the mirror when I heard Bass come into our room. He walked over, standing behind me. I looked up and our eyes met in the wavy glass. His gaze was hot and I felt it burn its way down to my core. We didn't speak as he ran his fingertips down my arm slowly. I shuddered, leaning back into him. He was bare chested, wearing loose grey sleep pants that hung low on his hips. I almost asked if he liked my gown, but I knew the answer already. It was hard and digging into my lower back.

He dipped his head to nuzzle my throat, moving his hands up to caress my breasts. He knows how tender they are, how they swell and the flesh gets hot when they are full. He stroked the swell of each with careful fingers, testing their weight in his palms as he kissed my neck and sucked lightly on my ear lobe.

"Bass." I whimpered.

"Yeah, Charlie?"

"Bed?"

"Bed."

We made our way to our bed and proceeded to touch and stroke and explore. Since there were things we couldn't do just yet, we mostly talked and cuddled. He rubbed my back and I used my hand to get him off. He said something about it being like high school, and I wasn't sure if that was good or bad, but the way he was smiling at me told me he wasn't complaining. We just enjoyed each other for hours. It was sweet and loving and perfect.

Everything was perfect except for one thing.

I missed them. I missed my baby girls so much that I started to cry. Bass realized right away what was wrong and without even saying anything he stood up and got dressed. I did the same and we walked all the way down to Betty's house and surprised the hell out of Aaron and Betty – who if I didn't know better – might have been in the middle of a make out session of their own.

As soon as she saw it was us at the door, Betty had smiled knowingly. She led the way in to where they were sleeping soundly in the basket Betty had prepared for them. Carefully she lifted one and then the other, handing us each a sweet little bundle.

Once we had them, we started home.

We walked in silence for a few moments. The night was clear and bright thanks to a full moon. When I spoke, my voice was quiet. "I don't understand how she did it."

"Your mom?" I marveled once again at how this man can read my mind.

"Yeah, how did she leave us? I can't even…"

"She was wired differently than you are Charlie. You are an amazing mother."

"And you are pretty amazing too." I felt tears on my cheeks but I smiled up at him in spite of them.

"This is true," he teased me.

We got home and I fed the girls before we put them down in their bed. We stood there watching them as they slept. I sighed. "I'm sorry I made you get out of bed so we could go get them."

Bass chuckled and put his arm around my shoulders, "Ah, I was about thirty seconds from going after them myself. I missed them too. My girls…all three of you. You are my life. Love you Mrs. Monroe."

"Love you too Mr. Monroe."

A/N: Thanks to Romeo for an assist with this chap. You are a peach! There will probably be one more chapter here to wrap this one up. The next update you will see from me will be for Discovery. Leave a comment if you have a moment. -Lemon