I know this is going up a day late, way later than I had thought I could get it up but that's just how life goes sometimes. "Like I'm Your Lover or More Like Your Ghost" will still be posted it will just be late. Expect everything this week to be up a little late and be on the shorter side but I should be caught up by Sunday. Tomorrow's short story chapter will still go up although most likely it will go up on Friday. Friday's one shot is a quickie fluff shot anyway so I'm hoping I can catch up with that and then have BSH go up on time on Saturday.
Ch. 23 Dreams Made Way for Plans
(DREW)
Clare goes speechless but manages to nod her head as she starts to shed a few happy tears. I kiss her ring and then her lips, standing and looking at my new family with pride. The nurse's are clapping for us and Clare is smiling, crying happy tears and still holding one of our daughter's hands. I lean down to kiss her again and I notice that she's shaking a little.
"My Jewel you're shaking," I remark letting go of our other daughter to cup Clare's face.
"I'm okay there's just a lot of emotion right now," she replies.
"I think we need to get you back to bed," I tell her.
"No I want to be with my baby girls, I don't want to leave them," Clare shakes her head.
"I know but you need to rest Clare, your body went through a major trauma to bring these two into the world, you're still weak. I'll bring you back in a few hours after you've had time to rest," I promise her.
"Drew's right Clare you've been through a lot and you need to rest. You and Drew are allowed in here anytime you want to be but you have to rest and take care of your own body too," Nurse Dana says with an assertive but caring voice.
"Okay but I want to come back after I've rested," Clare insists.
"I promise, we'll come back in a couple of hours after you've had some rest and some food," I tell her.
She reaches through touching both our daughters again and I do the same before I wheel Clare out of the NICU. I take her back to her room and get the IV pole next to her bed before helping Clare back into bed.
"I'm sure the doctor or a nurse will be in soon to check on you and I'll ask about getting you some food," I tell Clare.
"I'm not that hungry," she shakes her head.
"Well let's just rest for now," I reply getting on the bed and pulling her into my arms.
She nuzzles into me and clings to my shirt, resting her head on my chest. "We need to give them names Drew, they need names, they came into the world so early and we don't even have names for them," she says taking my hand and interlacing our fingers.
"So what would you like to name our daughters? Any ideas? We hadn't really talked about names, we kind of figured we had time," I comment.
"I want their names to have real meaning, something strong, something to give them strength and will always remind them that God loves them," she replies.
"Then we'll find name that mean just that, right now you need to rest and looking up names is not resting," I point out kissing the top of her head.
"I know but I'm not tired, I woke up and met our beautiful daughters and you asked me to marry you," she replies looking up at me and ensnaring my lips for a gentle and loving kiss. I feel her turning her ring on her finger as we kiss and it makes me smile.
"Do you like your ring?"
"I love it," she grins looking down at it between our bodies, "it's gorgeous."
"Adam and Eli picked it out, they said the stones represent faith, hope and love. It's even inscribed in the ring," I tell her and she let's go of my hand to take off her ring holding it up to the little bit of light in the room to read the inscription.
"I love it Drew it's perfect," she smiles putting it back on and grinning as she kisses me again just as the door opens.
"Good to see you awake Clare," Dr. Hotchner smiles as he comes in the room. "You've got some color back and your vitals are looking much better. How are you feeling, any pain or discomfort at all? Any dizziness or nausea?"
"A little weak mostly and some pain in my belly and down there," Clare replies, "but mostly I'm just happy. I saw my daughters tonight and Drew asked me to marry him," Clare gushes showing off her ring.
"Well then congratulations are in order," he smiles shaking my hand. "I think all you need is rest for the moment, I'm about to go off shift but Dr. Davis is coming on shift in an hour and she'll look in on you. I'll have the nurse come in and give you some more pain medication if you like. I doubt you'll feel hungry but if you need anything else, either of you, just press the call button."
"I think some more pain meds might be good, I'm kind of tired again though," Clare says.
"Yes you'll probably be tired for a while, you went through a lot and your body still needs to recuperate. I'll have the nurse come in, the pain meds will make you even more tired but as I said it's good for you to sleep. All the doctors and nurses are up to speed on your file and Dr. Davis is on shift today, I'll be back tomorrow night and the whole medical team will be contacted if it's needed. Right now get some rest," Dr. Hotchner tells us and we wave to him as he leaves her room.
The nurse comes in a few minutes later telling Clare she's putting some pain medication in her IV. Clare nods and yawns, I feel her fall asleep within a few minutes and I follow. I wake up about three hours later, it's daylight now, barely though as my phone says it's 6:14 AM. Clare is still sleeping soundly and I'm sure she will be for a while. I'm a little hungry and I really need a shower but I don't want to leave Clare alone. Now that she's awake I feel better, I'm not so worried about her but that doesn't mean I want to leave her on her own. So I lie with her in my arms until my brother comes in a short while later.
"Hey how is she?" Adam questions very quietly.
"She woke up and met our twins, and she said yes," I whisper back as I gently lift Clare's hand to show Adam the ring on her finger.
"Congrats bro, not that I ever had any doubts," Adam grins but keeps his voice low.
"Thanks can you sit with Clare while I hop in a shower I think I need one," I comment.
"Yeah I couldn't sleep so I came down her to check on you guys, I was going to sit with her anyway," Adam replies.
I smile and carefully start to get off the bed but Clare wakes up anyway, she grips onto me and groans slightly.
"Don't leave me," she whines rubbing her forehead against me.
"I just need a shower, Adam is here he'll sit with you and I'll be out in a few minutes," I tell her kissing the top of her nose.
She yawns and stretches a little, sitting up just slightly to blink her eyes and look at Adam. He smiles at her and she smiles back sleepily, I give her a quick kiss and get off the bed. After grabbing a change of clothes from the suitcase I go into the washroom and turn on the shower. The warm water feels nice and I stay in a little longer than I had intended and when I finally go out to Clare's room she's sitting up in bed and looking at the laptop with Adam.
"I know what I want to name our girls," Clare tells me as Adam gets off the bed so I can sit with her.
"So what are our daughter's names?" I question as Adam takes the laptop.
"The one that we knew about and was born first I want to call her Chianna Gabriella, Chianna means enduring and Gabriella means God's strength. She's had to endure a lot and she still will, she will her whole life and she will need God's strength," Clare says.
"I think that's perfect," I smile and kiss her softly. "And what about our little surprise?"
"I want to call her Adira Jeanette, Adira means strength and Jeanette means little gift of God because she needs strength and she was a gift from God," Clare tells me.
"They are both perfect, those names suit them perfectly and the names are beautiful just like our girls. Shall we go down there and see them, tell them their names?" I ask and Clare nods smiling wide. Adam gets her wheelchair and the three of us go down to the NICU.
"I heard about the engagement congratulations," nurse Carol says when we go in. She's another of our daughter's main ICU nurses.
"Thanks, Clare this is Carol," I inform my fiancé.
"It's nice to meet you," Clare smiles.
"You as well and it's good to see you awake," Carol smiles back.
"We've decided on names for them can we change their cards?" I request.
"Yes of course, and we'll have someone come to your room later with birth certificates for you to sign. One moment," Carol tells us while another nurse takes over feeding the baby that she was feeding. She takes the card from our older daughter's incubator and turns it over, then walks to a shelf getting a pen.
"Chianna Gabriella Torres," Clare says the name of our first daughter.
"A gorgeous name, it fits her perfectly," Carol grins, "but you'll have to spell Chianna for me."
Clare giggles softly and spells the name, Carol smiles and puts card with our daughters name back in in it's slot at the front of the incubator. I push Clare's wheelchair between the two incubators and we look at our daughter, Chianna and smile. Carol takes the card from the other incubator and looks at Clare waiting to write the name down.
"Adira Jeannette Torres," Clare tells her.
"Another very beautiful name for a beautiful girl, but you'll also have to spell Adira for me," Carol says.
Clare spells the name and Carol writes it down before slipping the card back in, then she reaches her hand into Adira's incubator and gently strokes her chest. Adam puts his hand in the other hole and strokes Adira's leg, Clare puts her other hand through one of the holes in Chianna's incubator and I put my hand in the other.
"Hi Adira, my wonderful surprise gift," Clare smiles at our daughter and looks at Chianna, "hi Chianna my strong girl, we love you."
"Chianna, Adira your uncle is here, you girls are so loved," I tell them both while caressing Chianna.
We talk to them a bit more and Carol says we can start holding them in a few days but they need to get a little stronger. They'll still need to have their vents and Cpaps on and we have to be thoroughly scrubbed and sanitized but we'll be able to actually hold them. Then she tells us we can start kangaroo therapy pretty soon too and Clare really wants to start that.
"Clare honey you're awake," Mom grins coming in the NICU with Dad.
"I woke up last night, I met my daughters and Drew proposed," Clare smiles showing my parents her engagement ring.
"Congratulations and welcome to the family," Mom smiles as she and Dad come over to kiss Clare's cheeks but Clare won't let go of our daughters to hug them.
"It appears that our grandchildren have names," Omar mentions to Mom.
"Yeah Clare picked them this morning and I think she picked the perfect names," I smile, "this is Chianna Gabriella and Adira Jeanette Torres."
"What wonderful names," Mom says with a soft smile.
"Chianna means enduring and Gabriella means God's strength. Adira means strength and Jeanette means little gift of God," Clare tells them.
"The names are wonderful Clare, very beautiful and very fitting," Mom smiles.
"Well then how are Chianna and Adira doing today?" Dad asks the nurse.
"They're doing very well Mr. Torres, in a few more days you should be able to hold them. Dr. Mitchell will be in shortly to be in shortly to look at them but they are doing very well. They're both fighters that's for sure," Carol tells them.
"Of course they're fighters they're my girls," I grin.
Clare smiles but I see that she's looking tired, she's having trouble keeping her eyes open and her arms up through the incubator holes.
"Clare you should go back rest, you can come back and I'll ask Dr. Mitchell to come speak with you after he's had a look at Chianna and Adira," Carol asserts.
"Okay, but I want to come back in a couple of hours. I am sort of feeling a little hungry," Clare tells us.
"That's a good sign Clare, let's get you back to your room and see about getting you some food," Mom says.
The five of us say goodbye to Adira and Chianna and go back to Clare's room. I get in bed with Clare and hold her close while my family goes down to the cafeteria to get us all some breakfast.
"I love you Drew, more than anything and I love Chianna and Adira more than I thought was possible. I'm happy we're engaged and I can't wait to be married and be Mrs. Andrew Torres," Clare smiles nuzzling into me.
"I love you My Shining Jewel and our two beautiful daughters Adira and Chianna are gorgeous. I am so lucky to have you three in my life, I can't believe I almost let you slip away," I tell her kissing her softly and she kisses me back with immense love and passion.
(CLARE)
I was done with breakfast and Dr. Mitchell had just been in telling us that our twins, while not totally out of the woods, were doing very well and getting stronger by the day. Chianna had even gained half an ounce, it doesn't sound like much but it meant she was getting her nutrients and her body was working. Adira hadn't gained any weight but she hadn't lost any either, she was sicker than her sister but she had been a surprise, an amazing miracle of a surprise and a happy one but no one had expected her. Dr. Mitchell said that Chianna had been taking a little more of the resources in the womb than her sister and that's why she was bigger and healthier. It had something to do with their placement in the womb, with Adira not being detected because of where she was lying in the womb in relation to her sister. Dr. Mitchell assured us that they were both thriving. When Dr. Mitchell had left Adam went to call people so they knew I was awake, most of our friends were already planning on stopping by at some point today but Adam was trying to get them all in around lunch so we could tell people all at once about the engagement and the girl's names.
"Hey sis you're awake," Darcy smiles when she comes in followed by Glen and Jake.
"Darcy," I exclaim with great surprise as she hugs me, "what are you doing here I thought you were going to India?"
"I did and I came back as soon as I heard, I came to see you and I saw my nieces," she tells me kissing my cheek and moving out of the way so Jake can see me.
"Hey sis glad you're awake," he says giving me a gentle hug and then Glen does the same. I want to tell them all my news but it looks like they have something to tell me first.
"What is it? You all look like you have something to tell me," I comment.
"Right after we left the hospital, after we knew you were okay, we went home and talked with Helen. After telling her what was going on she…" Glen pauses not wanting to say the next part but I already know.
"She didn't care at all did she? She didn't even come to see her grandchildren did she?" I state more than ask.
"No and after a fight in which I determined she has to be unstable I not only filed for divorce but filed to adopt you. I don't want Helen to have anything to do with you or the twins; I've been granted emergency guardianship of you until the adoption has been approved. I know you had no say in this but it was all for the safety of you and the twins," Glen tells me.
"That's okay I'm really happy that you adopted me and she's gone," I smile and Glen squeezes my hand.
"We have news too," Drew announces after a few seconds. "After waking up and meeting our daughters for the first time I asked Clare to marry me and she said yes," Drew informs them before kissing my engagement ring.
"Congratulations," Glen, Jake and Darcy all say together and hug me and Drew.
"We also gave the girls names, can we go see them again I want to touch them again," I request to Drew.
"Of course," he grins.
Adam and my future in-laws stay behind because they don't like too many people in the NICU at one time. Drew and Jake help me into the wheel chair and get my IV pole attached to my chair. Then Jake pushes me to the NICU with Drew, Glen and Darcy following us. We go in and they can see the names on the girl's incubators, after telling them how the names are pronounced and what they mean everyone agrees they are perfect names. We stay in with the girls for about an hour; Drew, Darcy and I touch the girls while Jake and Glen talk to them. I'm reluctant to leave, I don't ever want to leave them again but Drew and the NICU nurses keep insisting that I rest and since everyone is supposed to be here soon Drew wants me back in bed to rest. As soon as I'm back in bed and situated with Drew holding me our friends begin to arrive.
"Hey you're finally awake," Owen smiles and leans down to hug me.
"How are you feeling?" Stacey asks hugging me after Owen.
"Good," I reply just as Meghan and Fitz come in followed closely by Jay, Lucas, Spinner, Emma and Peter.
"What are you guys doing here?" I inquire as they all come and give me one sort of mob hug.
"Came to see you and the twins of course," Lucas smirks.
They say hi and hug me and then Connor and Dave come in followed by the Baker sibs. Bianca and Dallas enter with flowers and two little pink bears. Then Katie comes with Maya, Tris, Cam, Tori and Zig. All of them hug me and tell me they're happy I'm awake or ask me how I feel. When everyone has found a place to be in the room Drew and I look at each other.
"Very early this morning after Clare woke up and met our daughters I asked her to marry me and we are now engaged," Drew grins.
There's a big chorus of congratulations and Owen says it's about time, after more hugs and kisses on the cheek we tell everyone the names of our daughters. We tell them the meanings of course and everyone likes the names. My room is very crowded but no one cares as they all stay through lunch, I don't have much of an appetite yet but I do eat a little and I'm mostly just enjoying my time with my friends and family.
"When you get released from the hospital Clare we'll have a welcome home party and baby shower. We'll make sure that the nursery is completely set up for Chianna and Adira before they come home," Audra tells me while we're eating lunch.
"When am I getting released from the hospital?" I ask Drew since I really hadn't thought about it. I'd needed to know what happened and then found out I had given birth to not one but two baby girls. And then I was only concerned with my children, then of course Drew asked me to marry him and well thinking about anything but my future husband and our children kind of left my mind.
"We're not sure yet, since you had to go back into surgery Thursday they want to keep you for several days. You have an entire medical team and they're monitoring you closely," Drew tells me.
"I had to go back into surgery?" I question.
"You had a small tear that they missed the first time and you were losing blood," Drew informs me.
"I guess my body has been through a lot," I remark really more to myself as I'm still piecing it all together but everyone else nods.
Everyone but Lucas, Jay, Spinner, Emma, Peter, Owen, Stacey, Fitz, Meghan, Glen, Jake, Darcy, Adam, Omar and Audra leave after lunch, Drew and I go back to the NICU to be with Chianna and Adira for a bit. When we return to my room everyone is still there and seems to be talking about the baby shower and welcome home party. I get in bed with Drew holding me and I soon fall asleep. When I wake up again the only people still in the room are Drew naturally, Adam, Spinner, Emma, Lucas and Jay are the only ones left.
"Hey Gorgeous are you hungry?" Drew questions and I realize they're all eating dinner.
"No not really can we go see Chianna and Adira again?" I request.
"Of course we can," Drew grins putting down his food.
"You can finish eating first," I tell him.
"We'll take her, we haven't seen the twins yet," Spinner and Emma offer.
Lucas gets me in the wheelchair and Spinner pushes it down the hall to the NICU and after we scrub up we all go in.
"Here they are Chianna and Adira," I introduce my daughters to Spin and Em.
"They're beautiful Clare," Emma smiles.
"Very beautiful," Spinner agrees.
Spinner puts me in between the incubators so I can reach a hand through each incubator to touch both Chianna and Adira. I can't wait to hold them both, feeling them through little holes in plastic incubator cribs isn't enough. Spinner gently touches Adira while Emma does the same with Chianna; we talk a little to each other and a lot to the babies. After a while Lucas, Jay and Peter come in with Drew, Spinner and Emma say goodnight and tell me they'll be back tomorrow. Drew sits with me and the girls, mostly watching us and talking to them, Lucas Jay and Peter only stay a moment to say goodnight.
"When will we get married?" I ask Drew as he wheels me back to my room which is now empty, "And where'd everybody go?"
"Everyone went home, they'll be back in the morning, I didn't tell them to leave the doctor insisted on it he wants you to rest. When would you like to get married because I want to do it right now," Drew replies.
"Well I'd like to not be in a wheelchair and hospital gown when I get married," I laugh a little. "And I want our children there, I want Adira and Chianna with us so sometime after they get out of the hospital," I tell Drew.
"Good then we'll start planning; do you want a big wedding or a small one?" He asks.
"Small but I'd like it if Darcy could be there too, although if she can't stay that long I'll understand. Adam will be your best man I assume?"
"Of course he will, you know if Darcy can't stay maybe Eli can be your maid of honor, I'm pretty sure that he'd wear a dress for you," Drew offers and I laugh.
"I love you Drew," I grin and take his lips for a loving kiss.
Update next week on Tuesday like it's supposed to be starting probably with Clare being released.