CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
(chapter title – And Babies Make Four)

Cassidy moaned as she sat in front of the toilet, her eyes heavy with sleep. It was 4:10 in the morning and for some reason, Cassidy couldn't stop puking.

"Honey? You all right?" Marius mumbled as he entered the bathroom.

"I-I don't know. I feel awful." Cassidy answered as she barfed again. Marius was alert and held Cassidy's hair back as she vomited. He also rubbed her back and soothed her as much as he could.

"You don't feel warm to me. Do you want to go back to bed?" Marius asked. Cassidy nodded weakly and pushed herself onto her unsteady legs. Marius caught her and helped her brush her teeth, flush the toilet and wash her hands.

Once she was in bed, Marius went to check on the twins. Ella and Anton were in school, so it was just Marius, Cassidy, Ryan and Cosette. He smiled when he saw the twins sleeping peacefully. They had been asleep for almost an hour. Marius was also relived when the twins started sleeping through the night.

For the rest of the day, Cassidy slept while Marius did some work around the house and made a few calls to his office.

He was on a conference call when one of the twins woke up. The little one began wailing loudly. Marius knew right away it was Ryan.

"Excuse me, Judge Thornton, but I have to take this. I'll be right back, I promise," Marius excused himself from the call and went to the nursery and tended to Ryan. He then put the baby back in his crib and went back to the call. "I'm sorry about that. Where were we?"

"We were discussing the case of Johnson vs. Fray. What are your views on that?" the judge asked.

"Oh, that. I believe that Fray is guilty in killing his wife." Marius answered.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because his fingerprints were on the weapon and we found his footprint in a puddle of blood."

Marius, the judge and the two other lawyers on the case talked about it for a while longer before Cassidy came into the room.

He looked up and saw that she was pale as a ghost and didn't look good at all.

"What's wrong?" Marius asked, rushing out to catch Cassidy.

"I don't feel very good." Cassidy answered, her voice hoarse.

"I'll call someone and see if they can take you in. I'm on a conference call and it's going to last all day," Marius said, helping her into a chair while he quickly called Bahorel to see if he could take Cassidy in to see the doctor. Bahorel said he would be more than happy to. "Bahorel is going to take you."

"Okay." Cassidy said, slowly getting up and ran for the bathroom. Marius heard her vomit and ran to hold her hair back.

Bahorel arrived five minutes later and took Cassidy to the doctor. Marius wrote down what she was experiencing. He prayed that Cassidy would be all right.

An hour later, Bahorel and Cassidy came back to the house. Marius was still on his conference call, but looked up when Cassidy came into the house, a prescription for pre-natal vitamins in her hand.

"She's six weeks pregnant," Bahorel told Marius. Marius excused himself from his call and hugged Cassidy. "This is a high-risk pregnancy, since she's a little older."

"Bahorel, I can take it from here. Thank you for taking such good care of me." Cassidy thanked her friend, hugging him. Bahorel hugged her back and smiled as Marius handed the twins to him. Bahorel offered to take them to the park for a while so that Marius could concentrate on his conference calls while Cassidy slept.

"Cass, what did Bahorel mean when he said 'high risk pregnancy'?" Marius asked as he helped Cassidy back into bed.

"The doctor said I'm carrying another set of twins and for me to take it easy. I'm giving all of my classes to Joly until the twins turn a year. It also means I am limited to what I can and can't do." Cassidy explained.

As she got further along in her pregnancy, Cassidy and Marius made some difficult choices. While Cassidy was under anesthesia, she would have her tubes tied, since the couple didn't want more children after these twins were born.

They also made the difficult decision to put their beloved house for sale and move to a bigger farmhouse further out in the country. This new house was closer to Courfrayac and Joly's place, so Ella could ride Hope whenever she wanted.

Marius and Cassidy went to Cassidy's six-month appointment to find out what they were having. Ella, Anton and the twins were in school and day care, so it was just the two of them.

"Looks like you're having another boy and girl. The little boy is on top and the little girl is on the bottom. They are gaining the weight they need, which I'm very pleased about. For this C-Section, I would like to schedule it two weeks before their actual due date." The doctor told Marius and Cassidy. They both nodded and thanked the doctor as she exited the room.

The two of them went home and talked about baby names. They instantly agreed on the little boy's name – Jace Cedric, but they couldn't agree on the little girl's name.

"What about Felicity?" Cassidy suggested, taking a sip of her water. Marius smiled.

"I love it." Marius said, kissing Cassidy's cheek.

"Finally, a name we can agree on," Cassidy teased, "all we need is a-"

"Anne."

"Excuse me?" Cassidy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Her middle name should be Anne. It was your mother's name and it's also Bridget's middle name." Marius explained. Cassidy felt her heart soar.

"Marius, I love it!" Cassidy told her husband, kissing his cheek.

She leaned against him and looked down at her stomach.

"Three more months until we meet you little ones." Cassidy told Marius, feeling him place his hands on her stomach.

"I can't wait to meet them, either." Marius told her, kissing her jaw line. Cassidy smiled and rested her head on his neck before falling asleep.

Marius wrapped his arms around her and drew her close, not wanting to let her go.