ALTERNATE ENDING 1, CHAPTER 24
The next few days went by in a blur. They had chosen a name for their other son. He was to be called Jakob Luis Adams.
Stef had taken maternity leave for a while so she could keep helping out with the babies. David, her partner, had brought over cards, balloons, gift baskets, baby clothes and toys for the two boys since she wasn't going to be coming in for a while. The babies had come as too much of a surprise for everyone to throw her a proper shower at the station so, they would just have to settle for David being the messenger. She packed as much of it away as she could and brought different loads home every night.
Every night they would have dinner at the hospital as a family. Some nights they had takeout, some nights Dana, Sharon, or Lisa cooked, and some nights they just ate at the cafeteria. But, always it was together. Then Stef would take Callie and Brandon home. Get them bathed and in bed. Get them up the next morning and head over to the hospital for breakfast with everyone. Then, the Grandparents would take the kids out for an activity before back at the hospital for lunch. Callie and Brandon would then nap and then they'd go do another activity with whichever grandparent was free.
Lena stayed at the birthing center even after she had been formally discharged. She couldn't bear to leave either one of her babies.
The babies were doing better. Jude had gained a pound and was off the ventilator. He was no longer critical but still had to be watched closely. Now they were working on getting him to suck so that he could eat on his own. In the meantime, he was still being fed with an IV. He was not expected to be home for another month at least.
Jakob had also gained a pound. He had started sucking also and the hope was that he would at least be released in another week or two. Either way, their diagnosis looked fine and they were coming along nicely.
Gretchen had come and gone. She had decided after seeing Stef with the babies that she would just let the arrangement stand. She would continue to be Callie's Mom and spend time with her. They were able to work out an agreement where, in the summer, Lena would bring Callie over to her and stay for a while. And she would try and get back into the states as much as possible to see her. In the meantime though, they had Skype, phones, and email.
Callie knew she was loved by all of her Mommies. She had warmed up to Stef and finally accepted her as another Mommy. She had taken to calling her Mom 2. Brandon had started calling Lena Mama and telling everyone about their new family. Stef caught him more than once explaining his having two Mommy's who kissed each other all the time. He was actually pretty proud of having 2 moms.
On Wednesday night, the family had just finished dinner in the cafeteria when Stef's phone rang. She picked it up without checking the caller ID. "Hello?"
"Stef? What the hell is going on? We've been waiting like 30 minutes." Mike yelled into the phone.
Just hearing Mike's voice was irritating to her. She pulled the phone away from her ear as she walked into the hallway for privacy. "What are you talking about?"
"The Exchange. Tonight was my night for Brandon." Mike ground out through his teeth.
"Oh." Stef slapped her hand on the side of her head. "I completely forgot. I'm sorry. My sons were born this weekend. We've been fully focused on them."
"Your sons?"
"Yes. Our sons. My name is on their birth certificate under mother. I'm sorry I forgot. They've been in ICU and between taking care of the kids and running back and forth here, things have gotten a little out of hand. I'll make sure and set an alarm so I don't forget on Friday. You did want him for the weekend right?"
"Well, of course I want him for the weekend. I had stuff planned for us for tonight too. Why don't you just drop him by the apartment?"
"Because it can't work like that anymore Mike. I'm sorry I forgot tonight was your night. Maybe next week we can make it up or something. In the meantime, I will make sure and remember about this Friday. I have to get back to my family. I'll talk to you later Mike." Stef disconnected the call before it turned into a fighting match that she didn't have the energy nor patience for.
She took a deep breath and walked back to her family. She was still waiting for the right moment to propose. Maybe tonight was the night.