Thanks for all the nice reviews on chapter 19. Sorry it has taken a week to update. I had surgery this week and expected the time off to give me time to write, but it wore me out more than I expected. So here is a short update. I hope you like it. It's mostly fluff...which we can all use a good dose of every now and then. Enjoy!
February 14, 2015 8:45PM
Elliot sat at her bedside and watched her sleep. The crisis averted for now, they'd spent their first hours as husband and wife waiting on test results, looking at ultrasound video of the twins, and waiting for the doctor to give them news about their unborn children and now that they knew for certain that everything was okay, Olivia had fallen asleep, having worn herself out during all the worry and commotion. He was glad she was resting, but had to admit this wasn't how he'd pictured their wedding night. Although nothing about this marriage had happened the way he'd imagined it when he used to let himself think about the possibility of them as a couple. This relationship was so much more complicated than he thought it would be, and watching her sleep, her good arm cradling her baby bump while her nose whistled gentle snores, he knew he couldn't love anyone more. Maybe they hadn't come together the way he'd always dreamed, and maybe their relationship would never be what others deemed normal, but they were meant to be together. There was no doubt in his mind.
He yawned, suddenly realizing he was tired too, the chaos of the day having taken its toll on him as well. He leaned back and closed his eyes for a brief second before he heard her moaning in her sleep and opened them, looking at her for any sign of discomfort. She was still asleep, and he put his hand gently on her stomach, feeling for any sign that the contractions had started up again, but everything seemed fine. She moaned again, this time her face grimacing at the pain, and he realized it was probably her shoulder and not the babies bothering her. He left his hand on the swell of her stomach and smiled, "Hey you two…" he whispered. "You gave us quite a scare tonight." He sighed, "I'm so glad you're okay…your mom…she can't lose you…it would break her heart…"
"El…" her voice quivered and he quickly looked up at her.
"Hey…" he smiled. "I didn't mean to wake you up. Are you okay?"
She nodded, "Yeah…my shoulder hurts…you didn't wake me up…" she put her hand on top of his. "The twins are fine, El…I'm sorry I scared you."
"You didn't scare me," he took her hand and squeezed it. "You were in pain and worried…I'm just glad everything is all right now."
"Me too," she sighed, "I feel like this whole pregnancy is going to be a challenge. Who has Braxton hicks at fourteen weeks? No one…"
"You heard the doctor," he reminded her. "It can happen as early as twelve weeks, and with twins and all the stress you've been under…its perfectly normal…"
"It didn't feel normal," she insisted. "The doctor said they don't even hurt much…but it did hurt…"
"I know…" Elliot held her hand tighter and ran his other one over her stomach, "I think the doctor just meant they aren't as painful as real contractions…not that you weren't in pain. Besides, it was scary…after all you've been though…you had every reason to think something was wrong…"
"I want to go home," her eyes filled with tears and she tried to hold them back. "I miss Noah…I miss my own clothes and my bed…" she looked around the room. "Being stuck here makes me feel worse."
"Soon…" he stood up and leaned forward, kissing her softly on the lips. "You have to heal first, Liv…you can't rush back into things…"
"I know…" she admitted, her face scrunching in pain. "Oh God…my stupid shoulder…" she groaned.
"I'll buzz the nurse," he said softly. "Get you some meds for the pain…"
"El…" she whispered.
"Don't argue…" he insisted. "I thought you were letting me decide about the meds. We agreed…"
"I'm not arguing," she said. "But…I don't want to take them yet…I'm hungry…"
His eyes widened and he stared at her in disbelief, "What? Are you serious? I've been forcing you to eat little bits of food since you've been here."
"I know…but I'm hungry now," she said. "And I know if I take the pain meds first, they'll make me sick. I want to eat first…please…"
"Okay," he smiled. "What do you want to eat? Anything…I'll go get it. How about some soup? That should be pretty gentle on your stomach."
She bit her bottom lip, thinking about what sounded good and the she smiled, "No…I want pizza…" she laughed. "And chocolate milk…"
Elliot laughed, "That's what you were eating when you told me you were pregnant…and then you puked it all up. Are you sure you want that?"
"I'm going to throw up anything I eat…so I might as well get what I want," she said matter-of-factly. "Besides…I am really craving pizza…"
"Okay," he smiled, leaning forward and kissing her again. "I will be back with our wedding dinner…" he laughed.
She nodded, "Thanks…" She watched him go and looked down where her hand was resting on her stomach, forcing a weak smile. "Oh babies…you have to be okay," she said, letting a tear slide down her cheek. "Your daddy stayed here for you…he's gonna be in so much trouble at work…but he loves you so much and wants to take care of you…of us…" she sniffled, grabbing a tissue and wiping away her tears. "I'm sorry for putting you both through so much, but I promise…I'm gonna do better…and take better care of you…I swear…" she cried. "I love you. I want to be a good mommy…that's all I've ever wanted…"
February 14, 2015 10:00PM
"Hey…what's wrong?" Elliot rushed to his wife's bedside, immediately noticing her tears. She was sitting up, her hand clutching the side rails of her bed and tears streaming down her cheeks. He sat the pizza box he was carrying on the nightstand. "Liv…what's the matter?"
"Nothing…" she cried, pointing to the television and lowering her head, "It's just…this movie is so sad…and I can't stop crying…"
Elliot looked up at the TV screen and laughed, "Really? Liv…isn't this the Disney Channel?" he asked, noticing the logo on the bottom of the screen and then looking back at his wife. "Oh sweetie…" he put his arms around her and hugged her as well as he could without moving her shoulder. "It's okay…" he whispered, kissing her on the cheek and then clicking off the television.
"Why'd you turn it off?" she asked, as he pulled away from the hug and she wiped at her tears. "I want to see how it ends."
"You're crying over a movie that was made for twelve year olds," Elliot smiled. "I think you need a rest from TV." He sat next to her and she sniffled.
"I'm so embarrassed," she admitted. "What's wrong with me?" She shook her head, "I'm sorry…"
"Nothing's wrong with you," Elliot said, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at the tears that were staining her cheeks. "Pregnancy hormones make you a little crazy…"
"I'm not crazy," Olivia argued. "You didn't see the movie, El. This girl…she was getting picked on by all these other popular kids…and I just felt so bad for her…" she teared up again.
"Okay…okay…" Elliot said gently. "I understand…of course it was very upsetting for you."
"You don't have to patronize me," Olivia said, her eyes squinting and her voice less sad than angry.
"I'm not," Elliot promised. He picked up the pizza and put it in front of her hoping the thought of dinner would ease her mood swing. "Look…" he opened the box, revealing a heart-shaped pizza.
"Oh El…" Olivia's voice calmed and she smiled, "It's so cute…"
"It's the Valentine's Day special," he smiled. "Also perfect for a wedding dinner…don't you think?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "Happy Valentine's Day…"
"Happy Wedding Day…" he leaned forward, kissing her gently. "Are you feeling better now?"
She nodded, "Where's my chocolate milk?" she grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite.
"Uhm…I guess I forgot it," Elliot admitted. "I was just really excited about the heart pizza and I knew you'd love it, so I wanted to get here…"
"Oh…" Olivia said, disappointed. "It's okay…" but her voice let him know it wasn't okay.
"I'll go get it," he offered, standing to his feet and hoping she'd stop him but she didn't. "I'll be back…" he sighed.
"El…" she called after him, and he turned to look at her. "The twins really love chocolate milk…otherwise…I wouldn't make you go…"
He shook his head and gave a slight smile, "I know…it's okay. You eat the pizza and I'll go get chocolate milk…for the twins."
"Thanks…" she mumbled, taking another bite of her pizza and clicking the TV back on. Elliot watched as she stared at the silly pre-teen movie and shoved bite and bite of pepperoni pizza in her mouth. He laughed and shook his head as he walked out the door.
February 15, 2015 3:30AM
Olivia had finally fallen asleep a couple of hours earlier. When he'd returned with her chocolate milk she was in a lot of pain from her shoulder, and so he'd called the nurse for painkillers. It hadn't taken long for the medication to make her sick and he'd spent the rest of the evening holding her hair back while she threw up, until finally she'd worn herself out and had fallen asleep. He hated seeing her so sick and wished there was some other way to ease her pain. He wanted things to be back to normal, but anymore he wasn't sure what that was.
He leaned back in the chair and tried to fall asleep. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a full night's sleep. Undercover he'd basically slept with one eye open the whole time and once he'd returned to New York he'd been in the hospital with Olivia. He was exhausted, even though he didn't want to admit it…and the next thing he knew, there was light streaming through the hospital room windows as he opened his eyes and yawned, noticing Olivia sitting up in bed, eating meat loaf and mashed potatoes and smiling at him.
"You woke up," she said, taking another bite of her food and then putting her fork down. "I thought you were gonna sleep all day."
"What time is it?" he asked, looking around the room for a clock and noticing it was almost noon. "Oh God…Liv…why didn't you wake me up?" he rushed to her side and looked her over, "Are you okay? Do you feel all right?"
"I'm fine, El…" she insisted, grabbing her fork and taking another bite. "The doctor gave me anti-nausea medication. That is the best stuff in the world. I feel so much better…I can eat…so far today I've had scrambled eggs and toast, chocolate pudding, a banana, and now this…" she took another bite.
"I'm glad…" he smiled, watching her eat. "The doctor was here? You should've woke me up. What else did he say?"
"He said the babies are good…strong heartbeats and they are moving around a lot," she smiled. "He thinks I'll be able to feel them in a week or two." She sighed, "And my shoulder is okay…healing pretty well…I have to start physical therapy in a few days. My blood pressure is a little high, so they want to try to lower it before I can go home…"
"Why is your blood pressure high?" he asked nervously.
She shrugged, "Pain from my shoulder…" she sighed, "And the fact that I'm 46 and pregnant with twins…" she shook her head sadly, "It was always a risk…but I'm gonna work on getting it down. I swear…"
"I know you will…" Elliot said gently. "It's okay…everything will be fine…"
"El…if my blood pressure is high at delivery…" she said sadly, "They won't try to take the cord blood…"
"I know…" Elliot took her hand and held it tight, "Liv…we can't worry about that right now. You know I want the twins to help Eli…but we have to worry about getting them here safe and sound too. We need to do what's best for them…and for you…"
She bit her lip and nodded sadly, "I just want them to get here safely and help Eli. I want him to be okay."
"I know…" he forced a smile, "But hey…Eli is doing pretty good right now…and so are the twins…so we have a chance, right? Don't worry about it. Worrying isn't good for you…or your blood pressure."
She nodded, "I asked the doctor if he could see the sex of the other baby…but he said no. That is one stubborn kid."
"Takes after her mother," Elliot teased and Olivia laughed.
"You still think it's a girl?" she asked.
He nodded, "I think so…one of each…" he smiled. "Why? Do you think it's a boy?"
She shrugged, "I don't know…that'd be crazy though. Me…in a whole house of boys." She laughed, "You, Eli, Noah, the babies…" she sighed, "No one will ever put the toilet seat down."
Elliot laughed, "You'll get used to it." He ran his hand on her stomach, "Besides…your boys will love you more than anything…" He leaned forward and kissed her and she pulled away and smiled.
"I could get used to it," she grinned. "It' gonna be a full house…"
"Speaking of our full house," Elliot said. "We haven't really talked about where we're going to live."
"I know…" she sighed, and he noticed her demeanor change.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "You do know we're gonna have to move, right? Your apartment isn't big enough…Noah sleeps in the living room as it is…and we need room for the twins, and Eli when it's my week to have him…"
"I know…" she nodded. "But…what about your job, El? It's in DC…don't you have to go back there?"
He nodded slowly, "Yeah…I do…but not all the time. I'm not asking you to move there. I know you don't want to leave New York. We can find a place here that is a little bigger and I'll find a smaller place to stay in DC when I'm there."
"El…you know…this was all so rushed…" she said sadly. "When I get released…if you want to go back to DC…"
"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I want to be here…with you…and the kids…"
"I told you when I asked you to marry me…we don't have to rush into anything…" she explained. "We can take things slow…"
"I know what you said," he sighed. "But we got married…I'm not leaving you alone to deal with all this…that was the point of us getting married now, wasn't it?"
"I don't know…" Olivia admitted. "I love you…so much…and I didn't want you to leave…because I was scared of being alone and afraid something might happen to you…and I didn't want my kids to grow up without their daddy…" She let her tears fall. "But now…I have to wonder how we're gonna handle being married when we haven't ever been more than friends…and sometimes we really struggled with that…"
"Liv…I love you," he said gently. "And I won't push you or rush things…but I want to move in and help you with Noah, and be there for the pregnancy and the birth of our babies…" he leaned forward and kissed her, "And I think we'll learn how to be more than friends…"
She smiled, "I think so too…"
"So…what do you say we start thinking up some names for these two?" Elliot put his hand on the swell of her stomach. "Maybe that will take your mind off the unknown…cause no matter what happens with us, with Eli…" he gave a sad smile, "These two are gonna be here before we know it."
"We have plenty of time," she reminded him. "Besides, I really want to know the sex of both babies before we get all excited about names."
"Okay…" he sighed, "Then what do you want to do?"
"We can watch TV," she suggested. "And maybe you could rub my back…it's really hurting from laying in bed so long…" she leaned forward some, "I know I can't move much, but if you can just rub some of the kinks out…"
"A back rub and television," he smiled. "Sounds like a good idea to me…but no Disney Channel, okay?"
"Deal…" she laughed. "I can't handle crying anymore anyway…how about HGTV?"
"Home remodeling?" he laughed. "Sure…" he sat on the edge of the bed and gently massaged her back. "But I have the feeling the second they do the big reveal, you're gonna burst into tears again…"
More to come...