They were thankful that the pregnancy had been mostly uneventful. Cady became anemic but iron supplements took care of that. Her blood pressure elevated but not dangerously. Two babies made her more uncomfortable, especially at the end. Doctor Paula recommended maternity leave start three weeks before the due date but Cady wasn't on bed rest and continued to work from home. She was due February nineteenth but twins usually arrive early. When heavy snow was predicted for the seventh, Jacob insisted on taking her to the hospital. Cady protested but finally agreed to check in the evening before. They spent the next day watching snow fall softly but going in early turned out to be the right call because the twins were born on February eighth during a raging blizzard. They weighed five pounds fourteen ounces and five pounds ten ounces, healthy weights for twins born eleven days early.

Jacob had seen her cry several times but Cady had never seen her husband cry until both babies were safely delivered. After they were cleaned up, Jacob held their son and Cady their daughter.

"Everyone thinks their babies are beautiful but ours really are, aren't they?" Cady asked.

"Almost as beautiful as their mother."

Cady smiled. "Maybe not at this exact moment."

"At this moment or any other," Jacob said. He kissed her very tenderly. "Thank you."

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"But my part was a lot easier and considerably more fun."

Walt, Vic and Henry couldn't get to the hospital until the next day but all agreed that Neon and Nova were worth the wait.

Walt kissed Cady's forehead. "You did good, Punk. Feeling all right?"

"Wonderful. Ready to do it again next year."

Walt looked alarmed. Cady laughed. "Relax; this is it. It was the greatest experience ever but neither of us wants to repeat it. How could we top the twins anyway?"

Walt smiled. "So, Neon and Nova."

"We liked the alliteration. And Nighthorse is a long name so we wanted their first names to be short. Do they sound like pretentious names for celebrity babies?"

Walt shook his head. "Both names mean new in Latin and Greek. Other meanings are strong, bright and energetic. Sounds appropriate to me."

"I love their names," Vic said, "What are the middle names?"

"Neon Jacob and Nova Cady." Cady hesitated, looking around at Walt, Vic and Henry. "We decided not to give them your names … or Mom's. I hope you don't mind."

"Cady Martha, you're named after your mom. It's right that your children are named for their parents."

"My dad, my brother and I are all Vic. Let the Vic madness end."

"The names you chose are entirely fitting," Henry said, looking down at Neon in his arms and across at Jacob holding Nova.

The first month at home was a whirl of feedings, diaper changes and sleep deprivation. It was the best – and occasionally the worst – time of their lives. Cady, intoxicated by the twins and motherhood, pushed herself too hard. One afternoon Jacob found her sobbing in their room. He held her, angry with himself that he hadn't paid attention to what was happening. He loved being a father and he helped a lot but he was also working and enjoying a creative resurgence he hadn't anticipated.

Jacob had hired a housekeeper when he returned home, a Cheyenne woman named Charlotte who came in for several hours each day and spoke Cheyenne with Cady so she could become fluent. Cady had been happy to have her help when she was pregnant and still working. But now that she was on maternity leave she felt she should be doing everything. Charlotte had gently reminded her that she was being paid to cook, clean and do laundry; Cady was plenty busy with two babies. But Cady waved it away and Charlotte would arrive to find little to do. Cady was also on the phone every day with colleagues working on her cases at the public defender's office. It was an absurd schedule to keep.

Cady was appalled when she stopped crying. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened. I'm fine now."

"You're exhausted," Jacob said. "You're going to rest."

"I need to start dinner."

Jacob didn't bother to reply; he picked her up, laid her on the bed and lay beside her, still holding her. She was asleep in three minutes. Ten minutes later he eased away, turned off audio on the baby monitor so it wouldn't disturb her, left the room and made some calls.

Two hours later he was beside her again when she woke up.

"The twins! They need to nurse."

"I gave them bottles and changed them. They're fed, dry and sleeping again. See?" Jacob tapped the baby monitor screen. "You're going to pump and have a bath."

Jacob ran the bath while Cady pumped breast milk. He made one more call while she soaked and then returned to bathe her and wash her hair. By the time she was ready for bed Jamie DeBell had delivered pizza. They ate in the kitchen, Jacob feeding them, alternating bites from the same slice.

Afterward Cady said, "I'm so embarrassed, falling apart like that."

"I'm ashamed that I didn't take better care of you."

"You always take care of me."

"I didn't stop you from wearing yourself out."

"I got a little tired today. I'll be all right now."

"You'll be all right because things are going to change."

"What do you mean?"

"I called the public defender's office and told them you're not feeling well and to handle your cases for a week without you."

"But if there's an emergency …"

"Then they'll call or get a continuance. But has anything you've dealt with so far been a real emergency?"

"I wanted to stay in touch."

"You've gone above and beyond for almost two years. You deserve to take a break on maternity leave. After this week, you should ask them to hold questions and call you twice a week."

Cady nodded. "I will."

"I also called Charlotte. She's coming in from eight to four instead of ten to two. You're going to let her do her job, and she'll watch the twins sometimes so you don't have to be with them 24/7."

"I want to be with them. And I like taking care of our home."

"Really? Cleaning, cooking, laundry. You didn't like those things before."

"Well, I'm home all day now …"

"Because you gave birth. You have two babies to care for. That's twice as many as usual. And this house is four times the size of yours. How much dusting and vacuuming will satisfy you? Charlotte already feels like she should split her salary with you."

"I didn't think how she would feel."

"Exactly. Give up the housework for Charlotte. A good housekeeper is hard to find."

Cady smiled. "I'm going to feel so lazy."

"Charlotte is only here during the week. You can cook and sneak in a load of laundry on the weekend."

One night when the twins were eight weeks old and sleeping, hopefully for three hours, Cady and Jacob got ready for bed.

"I had an appointment with my GYN today. We can have sex again. If you want to."

"I'd love to but I'll wait until you can work up a little more enthusiasm."

"Oh, I'm eager. I just don't want you to have unrealistic expectations."

"I'm afraid to ask."

"I'm not the same woman. Stretch marks, doughy belly, leaky breasts, and I haven't lost the last five pounds yet."

"I don't care about any of that."

"It's not very arousing."

Jacob finished undressing and turned to face her. He was erect. "You had me at 'We can have sex again'. Do you need help getting out of those sweatpants and stained tee shirt?"

Cady smiled. "Yes, please."

Later she asked, "Not too gross?"

Jacob traced a faint line on her abdomen. "I can live with the stretch marks." He pinched her stomach gently. "Also this half inch of disgusting flab. And I'd prefer that you keep the five pounds on. But the leaky breasts, no. I'll give you a year to clear that up."

Cady giggled. She had already told Jacob she wanted the twins weaned by the time they were a year old.

A few weeks later the leaky breasts led to an incredible sexual experience. They usually made love after Cady had nursed or pumped; even then, Jacob avoided stimulation. But one afternoon they were overwhelmed by desire too close to a feeding. Jacob felt her milk against his chest; it excited both of them. They showered together afterward to clean up which was a mistake. Cady's breasts were so swollen they hurt. She pressed to express manually and milk spurted. They were both ready again instantly. They finished in the shower and still weren't done. Unable to stand longer, they made it back to the bed. Their coupling had been irresistible in prison; this was unstoppable. They were exhausted. Cady was on top; she toppled sideways and curled up beside Jacob while their breathing slowed and synchronized.

"Is there something wrong with us?" Cady asked.

"I don't know about you but I can't move," Jacob replied.

"Me neither but what I meant is, as amazing as this was it doesn't seem normal."

"Don't expect it to happen again."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm fifty-six and I came three times in an hour. Do not expect that to happen again. Ever."

"You might surprise yourself."

"I might die."

"The hat trick was kind of intense. How about twice?"

"No." Jacob paused. "Maybe."

They laughed.