***A couple months later***
McKenna was now 4 months old. Jennifer saw her almost every weekend. She had basically avoided Jonathan all together since she had thrown him out of the apartment. He sent her flowers about once a week, and the card always said "I hope you are having a good day". She hadn't responded once.
Caroline and Patrick had agreed to have a big family dinner at their house, and had invited Jennifer and Jonathan too.
Since Caroline had never cooked a big meal before, she wanted to do a trial run the weekend before. Jonathan and Jennifer agreed to come.
On Saturday, Jennifer showed up and was helping Caroline make the side dishes. There was a turkey in the oven, and several things in crockpots.
"So how are you feeling?"
"Finally like I'm getting back to normal. This was the craziest pregnancy out of all 3. And this birth was so much unlike the other two, that it doesn't seem like it was me at times. I was wrong about everything-her due date, her gender, she's the first baby I had that didn't have to be induced, she's the first baby I've had that didn't have colic. I feel so out of my element".
Jennifer was laughing. "You are so in your element it's not funny. You were destined for this".
Jonathan arrived about 3.
"Hi".
"Hello". She looked away and started taking dishes to the table.
They were going with simple, just a turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese and salad, and pumpkin pie.
Jennifer set the table and Jonathan and Patrick sat on the couch, watching tv with the kids.
Everyone ate around 4 and raved about it.
After it was over, Jennifer and Caroline cleaned up.
"Do you mind staying here tonight while Patrick and I go pick up the kids Christmas gifts?"
"Not at all".
"It's going to take about 2 hours, because we have to go to multiple stores, but we'll be back by 12".
"No problem".
Caroline got McKenna all situated, and decided that Savanna and Luke could stay up.
She and Patrick slipped out. Luke was upstairs playing Xbox with Jonathan. Jennifer was downstairs with McKenna and Savanna.
Around 12, Jonathan came downstairs.
"Is Luke still awake?"
"No, he fell asleep about a half hour ago".
She nodded.
They quietly watched a movie while they waited on Caroline and Patrick to get back.
McKenna woke up and started crying, so Jennifer held her while she made her a bottle and then sat down and fed her.
"You're great with her".
"Thank you". She never once looked at him.
Around 1:30, the phone rang. Jonathan answered it.
He talked for a few minutes and then he hung up.
"Who was that?"
"A Lieutenant Walker. He said there's been an accident, that Caroline and Patrick are being taken to the hospital".
"Oh no."
"We should go".
"We can't. We can't get the kids out at this time of night, and the baby doesn't need to be sitting in a hospital with all those germs. Plus, we don't have a car seat for her. You go, I'll stay with the kids".
"I don't want to leave you with all the responsibility".
"They are sleeping, trust me, this is the easy part".
He got up and went to find Patrick's car keys, but couldn't.
"Do you know where they put their spare keys?"
"No. You can take my car."
"Ok, thank you".
She got up and gave him her keys.
"I'll call you when I know how they are".
She nodded.
She went and put McKenna in her crib and then put Savanna in her bed upstairs and then she climbed into Caroline and Patrick's bed. Try as she might though, she couldn't fall asleep.
***The next morning***
Jonathan sat there in the hospital till almost 8 before the doctor came to find him again.
"Family of Patrick and Caroline Buchanan".
"Here, that's me".
"Hi. I'm Dr. Stormwall. Let's sit down".
He led him to a private waiting room.
"Patrick and Caroline came in with multiple injuries and lacerations. Patrick had severe head trauma, and several broken bones. From what the police told us, someone crossed the center line and hit them head on, and their car flipped several times. So, the injuries we are seeing are consistent with those types of accidents. We took Patrick into emergency surgery, but unfortunately his injuries were just too severe. He didn't make it through the surgery. Caroline came in with a broken leg, a lacerated liver and spleen, and a punctured lung. She doesn't appear to have any head trauma, which is pretty miraculous".
"Can I see her?"
"You can in about an hour. We are doing some tests. In the meantime, you can go down to the morgue and claim Patrick's body and start making those arrangements. That's typically the next step".
"Ok, thank you".
Dr. Stormwall got up and left, after telling Jonathan how sorry he was for his loss.
Jonathan turned and headed for the car and headed back to the house.
He walked in to find Jennifer making French toast for the kids.
As soon as she looked at him, she knew. She turned away to hide her tears.
He came over to her.
"Not her, just him".
She nodded.
"Why don't you let me finish this so you can go see her?"
"Thank you, that's a good idea".
She hurried to the shower and got dressed, and told the kids she was running to the store and would be back in a minute.
She had told them that their parents had to go somewhere special this morning and would be back soon.
She got to the hospital and found her way to Caroline's room.
Caroline looked like she was sleeping.
"Hey, it's me. You gave us a scare".
"Hey. I look awful, don't I?"
"No, you look as gorgeous as ever".
"The doctor was just in here. He told me Patrick died in surgery. I can't believe I'm a widow".
Jennifer's eyes teared up.
"You might be a widow, but you aren't going to do it alone. I am happy to help out".
She sat down and held her hand.
"Are you in pain?"
"No, I'm just tired. How are my babies?"
"They are fine. We didn't tell them yet".
"We never made it to get their presents. Their presents are at Target, Walmart, and Kohl's and Toys R' Us. Already paid for".
"We will figure that out".
"I'm so thankful for you".
"I'm thankful for you too".
"Take care of them, and always tell them I love them".
"You can tell them yourself when you get home".
She lightly shook her head.
All of a sudden, the alarms on the machines she was hooked up to started going off and then Jennifer heard the unmistakable sound of the heart monitor signifying that she was flat lining.
A nurse asked her to leave the room and she went to the hall.
It was the longest 8 minutes of her life, till they came back out.
She heard the nurses say words like "Internal hemorrhage", and "too much strain on the heart".
The doctor looked at her and simply said "I'm sorry".
She nodded, as the tears fell.
A nurse handed her a bag with both her and Patrick's personal items.
She took it and headed home, with tears in her eyes.
She pulled up and parked on the driveway and sat there a minute.
She had no idea how she was going to tell the kids about their parents.
She walked in the house and found Jonathan in the kitchen. The kids were in the backyard jumping on the trampoline. McKenna was in her bassinette in the den.
"How is Caroline?"
"She's, well, she's-" Her face crumpled into a mess of tears.
He came over and wrapped his arms around her.
"Both of them are gone?"
She nodded.
She let him hold her for a few minutes and then she wiped her tears and got a glass of water.
"Someone needs to call her sister. I can do that. And someone needs to make arrangements with the funeral home. And I guess we should go through their papers and see if they already made arrangements. I can stay here for a little while with the kids till we figure out who is going to care for them."
She was walking around trying to find something to do.
"A few weeks ago, when I was here, Caroline told me that the desk in their bedroom was where the papers are. And they have a safe in the guestroom closet. The combo is their anniversary".
"Great. That's a great place to start".
He gave her another hug.
"I'm sorry, I know she meant the world to you".
"I'm sorry for your loss too".
She went outside and sat on the porch swing and asked the kids to come sit with her.
Savanna climbed up in her lap and Luke sat next to her.
A few minutes later, they were all crying.
Jennifer had promised them they would stay with them until their aunt and uncle got there.
Savanna was already being extra clingy with Jennifer.
They went inside and Jonathan tried his best to comfort Luke.
"I found a written statement and a burial policy for both of them and directions on who they want called".
"Oh good."
She went to take the list from him but McKenna started crying.
"Oh, let me get her".
"I tell you what. Let me handle the business legal stuff, and you focus on the kids".
She nodded.
"Thank you".
She went and got McKenna and let Savanna help her change her diaper and then they made her a bottle.
She sat on the couch and fed her, and Savanna sat right next to her.
Jonathan came out of the bedroom then, and sat down across from Jennifer.
"Abby and Mike are on their way. The funeral home has been called and so has the lawyer".
"Thank you".
"Happy to help out".
"What did the statement say?"
"Just that they wanted either you and me or Abby and Mike to care for the kids short-term, and Abby and Mike to care for them long-term and that they wanted this house to either be kept for them, and put into a trust, or sold and the money put into a trust, for the kids. There are several insurance policies and a college fund for each of them. The cars are paid off and the house is close".
She nodded.
"The lawyer scheduled the will reading for Tuesday of next week."
She nodded.
"I am going to run to my hotel and get a few things, and then come back. I better call a cab".
"You can take my car again".
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
"Thank you. Can I get you anything?"
She shook her head no.
"I'll make a grocery store run tonight, after her sister gets here and then I will go get my things after the kids go to bed".
He nodded.
He left then and she sat there with Savanna, watching a movie and holding McKenna.
The phone rang and she got up and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is Sweetbriar Funeral home. We need to discuss arrangements for Caroline and Patrick Buchanan".
"Ok, what do you need to know?"
"We need to know what kind of service is wanted, whether you want to bring in a minister or not, and whether you want food served here or not".
"Well, until we talk to family and until we talk to the lawyer, I cannot answer those questions".
"Ok".
"Look, can you just do whatever it is you normally do, and we will change it later if we need to?"
"Yes, that's fine".
"Thank you".
She hung up and focused on the kids again.
Abby and Mike arrived about an hour later.
Savanna gave them hugs and then went right back to Jennifer's side.
Luke wouldn't come out of his room.
Abby picked up McKenna and held her for a few minutes.
"Ok, so we have some decisions to make. You are the only family left on her side and I don't think he talked to his parents. He didn't have any siblings. So, we need to make funeral home decisions. And we need to discuss who's taking them, and we need to discuss some other things. There's a will reading scheduled for Tuesday".
Abby nodded.
"His parents are both passed away. We can take them, but not till February. We are both in a residency and we are going to be working long hours till we graduate. We have a nanny that watches our kids, but that wouldn't be fair to add 3 more to the mix".
"Ok. So, we can make arrangements till then, I suppose. They left papers stating that they wanted this house to be kept in a trust for them or sold and the money put in a trust. So, I suppose I could move in here until February".
"We can move here in February".
"Jonathan, another friend of theirs, called the funeral home. And they just called here asking what kind of service we want. I will let you plan that".
Abby nodded.
Mike went upstairs to see if he could get Luke to talk to them, and he finally coaxed him out of his room.
Jonathan came back then, and all the adults made some arrangements.
Jennifer made dinner for everyone, but nobody really felt like eating.
All the kids were playing and around 9, Abby and Mike and Easton and Parker headed to their hotel.
Jennifer got McKenna down, and Savanna down, and then headed to her apartment and to the grocery store.
She left a message for her boss at the paper to call her and left the number for Caroline's house.
She got in the car to drive back and saw that Jonathan had changed the oil and filled it with gas.
He came out to help her with the groceries.
"Thank you for the gas and the oil change. That was very kind of you".
"No problem. Happy to do it".
They put the groceries away and then she made several bottles.
While she fed McKenna her next bottle, he moved the bassinette into the master bedroom.
She put her down for the night in the bassinette and came out and straightened up the kitchen.
"How long do you heat the bottles up for?"
"23 seconds with the top off. Put the top on and shake it".
He took the trash out and came back inside. She was getting into the bed.
He sat in the den for a bit and then headed to bed himself.
He heard McKenna stirring, so he went to check on her.
He ended up climbing into bed next to Jennifer so that he could get up with McKenna.
Like clockwork, at 2:30, she woke up.
Jonathan went to get a bottle and Jennifer picked her up.
"Let's go get you a bottle, shall we?"
"No need, it's right here".
He handed it to her and she sat in the rocker and fed her.
"Thank you".
After she was fed, Jennifer put her back in the bassinette and then got back in bed.
Jonathan took the bottle to the sink and then came back and climbed into bed.
Just before he had fallen asleep, she rolled over to him.
"Jonathan?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you're here".