Go Baby Grow

Chapter 5 – Eat Your Words

Saturday, April 17th

"Lucas," Owen whispered. He had arrived home at 3:00 am. Too tired to climb the stairs, he fell onto the couch and rested on its cushions. At 8:00 am, the twins wandered downstairs and he rallied them to help with breakfast. Then he headed upstairs and saw the predictable bedroom intruder snuggling Amelia.

"Huh?" Luke sleepily responded as he yawned. "Oh, hi, Daddy," he offered before resting his head back on the pillow.

"Buddy, let's make pancakes and surprise Mommy," Owen suggested.

With full energy and wide eyes, Lucas jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. After taking care of business and washing his hands, Luke pulled Owen's hand and urged him to hurry to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, the twins were already slicing fruit and arguing about the sizes of each piece.

"Anna, your pieces are too chunky and cantaloupe is too hard to cut at the table with only a fork," a hungry Ria whined.

"Stop sounding like a baby, Ria. You're not Lizzy or Emmy. Act like a ten-year-old," Anna growled. "You always think you should have stuff special because of your leg."

"Do not," Ria argued. "That is totally not true and you know it."

"It is too true. You get special doctors and extra time with Mom and Dad and get fitted for braces and blah, blah, blah. Everything is all about you, Victoria," Anna complained, obviously jealous.

"Ladies…" Owen warned as he and Lucas approached.

"I get to stir the pancake mix," Lucas announced with glee.

"Who cares," Anna sounded with a scowl.

"We're using knives. Stirring the batter is a baby job, Lucas," Victoria informed her little brother.

Lucas jumped into the fray, "Is not. Liar, liar, pants on fire."

After clearing his throat, Owen pretended to be speaking to nobody in particular, "I sure hope Mommy doesn't get woken up. If she hears this fighting, I know three kids who are going to be sent to their rooms."

All three kids huffed and quietly went about their assigned tasks. Owen filled measuring cups with ingredients and let Lucas pour the cup into a large bowl.

"How many is that?" Owen inquired as he yawned, too tired to have paid attention to quantities.

Lucas gazed up at his dad with confusion and answered, "Two, Daddy." Then he held his gaze and questioned, "Since Mommies' bodies get tender when they have a baby in their tummy, what happens to Daddies? Do they get sleepy and confused?"

Shaking himself awake and blinking in surprise, Owen sounded, "What?"

"Mommy told me last night that when a Mommy is pregnant, her body is more tender. You are being confused and sleepy. Does Mommy have a baby in her tummy?" Lucas asked curiously.

Anna gasped with disbelief, "Nooooo…. Mommy's pregnant?"

"Mommy's pregnant?!" Ria clapped with happiness.

"Woah, woah, woah," Owen responded as he held his hands in front of his body. "Who said Mommy's pregnant?"

"Mom's pregnant?!" Olivia exclaimed with shock as she stumbled sleepily into the kitchen. Her repulsion at the mere possibility was obvious. Under her breath, Olivia grumbled, "How disgusting."

"Lucas said so," Ria pointed out.

"Nuh uh," Anna chimed in, "Lukie asked if Mommy is pregnant, Ria. He didn't say she was."

Owen's head bounced back and forth between his children. He eyes settled onto Olivia as he pressed with shock, "Why would that be disgusting?!"

"Because that means you and Mom…" Olivia began. She waved her hands in front of her face, eventually resting them over her eyes and shuddering dramatically. "Ewwww… gross, Dad. Totally, amazingly, all the way sickening. Ick."

Owen chuckled and pressed his teenaged daughter's point of view, "Me loving your mom is gross?"

Covering her ears, Olivia walked over to the silverware drawer and began grabbing place settings for breakfast. As she walked, she insisted, "Dad… be quiet. Ewww… I'm going to barf."

"You can't talk like that around food, Livie!" Lucas reminded his sister.

"Shut up, Lucas," Olivia sneered.

Owen shook his head and rolled his eyes, mumbling to himself, "I think I'd be better off at the hospital."

"What's going on down here?" Amelia asked with a smile as she encountered the frenzy of activity. "It sounds like a circus."

"Then I'm the monkey!" Lucas announced proudly, keeping the batter filled mixing spoon in his hand as he raised his arm in triumph. Owen blew air toward his forehead as batter splattered everywhere.

Amelia laughed, "Yes, you are the monkey, Monkey." She walked up to Lucas and hugged him before turning toward Owen and kissing him.

After a hug and a few kisses, he leaned his mouth close to her ear and inquired, "Did you tell Luke about the baby last night?"

Attempting to speak without moving her lips or being heard, Amelia answered, "No. Absolutely not a word. Why?"

"Mommy? Is there a baby in your tummy?" Anna demanded to know as she walked up to her parents, tapped Amelia's forearm and rested her hands on her hips.

Looking back and forth between Annabelle and Owen, Amelia sputtered, "Umm… uhh…."

"Oh my God. It IS true!" Olivia bellowed, reading her mom's hesitation. "You guys are repulsive!"

"What's repaulstive mean?" Lucas inquired.

Owen regarded his son and explained, "Re-pul-sive. It means yucky, icky or gross."

"You guys aren't yucky. Why is Livie saying that?" Lucas queried.

"Because, you idiot, Mom is having another baby," Olivia declared with disgust. "And for that to happen, Mom and Dad…"

"Olivia Elise, zip it," Owen called out.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Olivia shrugged as she recalled her brother knew little if anything about sex.

Ria, still not absolutely positive about Amelia's status, hugged her mom and patted Amelia's tummy. She peered up, resembling Owen to an overwhelming degree, and questioned, "So…?"

Amelia ran her hand over Ria's messy morning hair, grinned, and nodded.

"Great," Anna sounded, sensing increased competition for attention. Olivia rolled her eyes while Ria dreamily held her gaze.

Lucas grabbed his hair on either side of his head and announced with joy, "I'm gonna be a big brother! I'm not the baby anymore!"

"You're still a baby," Olivia grumbled as she walked away shaking her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

Not far from the Lake House, another family greeted the morning. In their case, tensions were astoundingly high and celebration was non-existent. Adam sat at the head of the table and Julie sat to his left. She silently and slowly ate her oatmeal as he read through the news on his tablet. She kept her eyes in the boat as her Navy officer father and her mother had trained her to do, meaning her eyes were fixed straight ahead. Between each bite, she was expected to set her spoon down and place her hands in her lap. Unbeknownst to Julie, she was already practiced in the ways of the Academy. Her plebe year would involve far less adjustment for her than it would for her company mates.

"You ran well," Adam praised unemotionally, referring to the hour run the two of them had just completed.

"Thank you, Sir," Julie eeked out weakly. She knew Adam had more in store for her.

Adam bore his eyes toward her until she turned to reciprocate and added with insistence, "You need to shave 30 seconds off your total time by the end of next week."

Gulping and disheartened, Julie blinked slowly and placed another bite of oatmeal in her mouth.

"Did you hear me?" Adam repeated sternly.

"Yes, Sir. I will, Sir," she answered with her eyes in the boat again. As long as she stayed fixated on the living room lamp, she was fairly certain she could hold herself together through breakfast.

"When I speak to you, I expect you to answer me, Julia," he emphasized.

She was near tears and continued to focus on the lamp. She sputtered out with hesitation, "Yyy…yes, Sss…sir."

"Do not stutter," he commanded.

Julie felt like throwing her bowl across the room and screaming, 'Why are you being such an ass? Why don't you just dole out all you've got for me and we can be done with the torture?!' She slowly took a deep breath through her nose, knowing trouble would ensue if she'd taken the breath through an open mouth. Then she responded as expected, "Yes, Sir. I understand. When you speak to me, you expect an answer."

"Now was that so difficult?" Adam taunted and challenged.

Unable to help herself, Julie pursed her lips and looked at Adam through the corner of her eyes. With a shaking voice, she stated, "No, Sir."

Adam reached over and grasped her chin in his hand, slowly turning her head until she faced him. He stared into her eyes blankly for a solid thirty seconds before inquiring in an ominous tone, "Are you about to cry, Julia Claire?"

Inhaling and exhaling rapid and shallow breaths, Julie tried to harden her jaw and hold herself together. Unable to speak without crying, she shook her head slightly.

"I can't hear you," Adam challenged with a steady but firm voice.

"No, Sir," she replied as her voice cracked and a tear escaped her left eye.

With disgust, Adam shook his head and let go of her chin, declaring, "You'll never make it through the Academy." He stood up and carried his dishes to the kitchen, immediately rinsing them and placing them in the dishwasher. Returning with a fresh cup of coffee, he sat down and stared at Julie who was once again silently fixated on the lamp in the living room. Although a few more tears had made their way down her cheeks, she had not used her hands to wipe them away.

"We need to talk," Adam began with a frustrated exhale. Julie turned toward her father and looked him in the eye knowing that meant Adam would talk and she would listen. He squared his shoulders and leaned toward his daughter. Beginning with an unnecessary louder-than-normal volume, he emphasized, "You have absolutely no excuse whatsoever for not contacting me yesterday. I did not know where you were. I did not know if you were hurt. I had no idea if you were safe or in danger. Your complete and utter lack of respect disappoints me greatly, Julia." He paused, but Julie wasn't sure if she should respond. She was certain that he had not completed his lecture. "Understood?" he tacked on, awaiting her response.

"Yes, Sir. No excuse, Sir. I was in the wrong," she stated clearly, saying what he expected to hear.

Lowering his volume and slightly softening his tone, Adam continued, "While I appreciate that you were sacrificing your own needs for the needs of a friend and that you were involved in a medical emergency, calling me or sending me a text was not impossible." Voicing his brewing anger, he intensified, "Instead, you disregarded your previous commitments and proceeded as you deemed best. Didn't you?"

"Yes, Sir," she answered, even though she desperately wanted to explain that she simply forgot to contact him. Proceeding as she deemed best sounded as if she went through an intentional decision making process.

"Have I given you the privilege of making all decisions about where you spend your time and when you come and go?" he pressed.

"No, Sir," she stated evenly.

"That's correct. Absolutely not. And are you the only one affected by your choices?" he stressed.

"No, Sir."

Shaking his head, Adam kept his focus on his daughter and raised his voice. "I simply cannot believe your irresponsible behavior, Julia Claire. I… I …" Adam hesitated. His right hand was made into a fist. With clenched teeth and closed eyes, he exhaled slowly. Always assured and confident, Adam was trying mightily to control himself. Julie wasn't sure what to make of his behavior, but it made her uneasy. "I have sacrificed to provide you with a solid upbringing, and I have taught you how to carry yourself appropriately. I have…" Again, his voice faded away as he searched for words.

After pacing the length of the table repeatedly, Adam placed his hands on his hips and stopped across the table from his daughter. "We'll run each morning at 0600 and I will drive you to school and bring you home for one week. During that time, I will keep all electronics. If I need to return to the base after school, I'll leave you a list of additional chores. No speaking unless you are spoken to, no resting on your rack during the day, and you'll turn in at 2100 every night. If you're not completing chores, you will be in your room and at your desk doing homework or sitting quietly. Is that understood?"

Julie found herself in unfamiliar territory. Although she'd been placed on restriction before, the expectations and limitations had never been so stringent and the length of time had never exceed three days. Anger and frustration mounted within her, and she unintentionally allowed it to spill out of her mouth. Her voice laced with sarcasm, she responded with scorn and distain, "Sir, yes, sir."

Without pause, Adam's hand slapped against her cheek. He brought his face within inches of hers and bellowed, "Try that again."

Julie was so shocked at having been slapped that she was speechless. The sting of his hand remained on her reddening cheek. As she opened her mouth to utter the response in an appropriate tone of voice, Adam roared, "Upstairs! Now!" With clenched teeth, he reviewed the expectations she knew all too well, "Sit at your desk facing the wall and do not leave that spot unless using the bathroom. I'll let you know when you may move."

Eager to be away from her father, Julie double-timed her steps and hurried to her bedroom. She rested her hands in her lap and sat on the edge of her desk chair as expected, crying as quietly as possible. Adam had never physically punished her. Now, her cheek swelled and throbbed. Although her tone would have brought her sure and certain punishment from her mother, Julie longed for her presence. Claire would have given Julie an opportunity to discuss the situation, and she would not have yelled at her as she stood inches away. Never in her life had Julie felt so alone and devastated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

"Be careful," Lissa warned anxiously as Nolan buckled Molly into her car seat.

He turned back and grinned, "I'm on it, Liss. Go ahead and load up, Blondie."

Fretting, Lissa reluctantly settled into the passenger seat of the car and waited for Nolan to slip into the drivers' seat. The babies were sleeping and Molly was looking around curiously at the goings on nearby. She happily sucked on her binky and clutched Nam.

Nolan closed the door by Molly, walked around to his door, and sat. He leaned over and cupped his hand around the back of Lissa's head as he kissed her repeatedly. Whispering gently, he offered, "Let's go home, Shorty."

Exhausted, post-partum, and overwhelmed from Molly's hospital visit, Lissa began to weep softly. She rested her head against the seat's headrest and closed her eyes. As Nolan pulled onto the road, she requested, "Can you call Julie and see if she can work today? It'd be great to have some help when you head to work."

"I'll be home all day today, Liss," Nolan reassured her. "It's Saturday."

"And you're not going into the office?" she sought to confirm, knowing he did work some Saturdays.

"Of course not, Blondie. Molly's been in the hospital. Life has been crazy enough. I'm home all day with my girls," he assured her. They headed home without much conversation. Soon, Nolan pulled into the garage and began unloading their offspring one-by-one.

"You go rest. I'll juggle the girls," he offered. With a thankful smile, Lissa kissed him and wrapped her arms around him before walking to their bedroom and falling onto the bed.

Nolan began his Daddy Time by placing Emmy in a swing and Lizzy in a bouncy seat. Walking around the Great Room and strolling along the windows facing the lake, Nolan tightly embraced Molly and rubbed his stubbly cheek against the top of her head. She burrowed into his chest and kept hold of Nam.

"Da!" she called to him as one of her chubby hands reached up to his cheek.

"Molly," Nolan answered. "What's up, Buttercup?"

"Da!" she repeated as she tried to put her paci in his mouth.

He chuckled and turned down her offer, "That's Molly's paci. You keep it."

"Da!" she repeated, trying to put it in his mouth as he playfully turned his head to avoid it. Hearing her giggle and admiring her bright eyes filled Nolan with joy. Less than 24 hours prior, he worried his little girl would never be the same. He rubbed Molly's back and lost himself in thought as he gazed at the water.

A few minutes later, Nolan's phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and answered the call after glancing at the caller ID. "Ry. Hey, man."

"Did you hear about Piper?" Ryder began.

"No," Nolan responded with confusion. What in the hell was that girl up to now? he wondered.

"When I got home last night, she was a f #%ng mess. Barfing, almost passed out, slurring," Ryder described.

"How's that different from any other day?" Nolan pushed sarcastically. He tolerated Piper because she was Lissa's friend and Linnea's sister; however, he never particularly had much use for her.

"Dude… seriously," Ryder added. "I called Mom, but then Dad showed up instead. At least he was cool and didn't b#$ch. We took her to the hospital, and she stayed overnight. This morning, Linnea flew in. She, Dad, some other doctor I didn't know, and I sat down with Piper and encouraged her to enter treatment."

"And she actually went?" Nolan inquired with surprise.

Ryder sighed, "We'll see if she stays, but, yeah, she went."

"She was probably still drunk and thought she was headed to another party," Nolan snarled.

"Geesh, Nole. Way to be supportive," Ryder retaliated. "Anyway, Linnea's here. She can't stay at my place… umm, Piper's apartment. Can I bring her over to your place?"

"Of course," Nolan readily agreed as he began to imagine where she'd sleep.

"Nole…" Ryder added with hesitation. "She's in a wheelchair. That's why she can't stay at the apartment… all the stairs."

"I thought she was doing better. Last I heard, Chris had lined up some top of the line physical therapist," Nolan muttered in shock.

"I haven't asked her about it. I'm just trying to help her get around. Dad lent me the van, so… you know. That's easier for her than hopping on the back of my bike," he quipped.

Nolan shook his head slowly as he walked toward a Port-o-crib that was set up in the room. He set his sleeping eldest in it and glanced over at the twins. "You're one of a kind, Ryder."

"Yeah, Mom says that's a good thing," he laughed.

Ten minutes later, Ryder wheeled Linnea through the front door of Nolan and Lissa's home. Nolan had left the door ajar so the noise of Ryder's arrival would be minimized. Whispering but smiling widely, Nolan approached Linnea rapidly and wrapped her in a hug. Kissing her cheek and receiving a weak hug in return, Nolan greeted his dear friend's wife, "Lins… what's with the chair?" He and she were close enough that he could begin with that question.

"I know," Linnea smirked and shrugged. "I fell. Chris was at an away game and I insisted that my caregiver didn't need to stay over. I tried to walk without my walker and landed on my ass. Months of hard work down the toilet. I'm pretty useless below my belly and only have partial use of my arms and hands."

"I'm sorry," Nolan offered as he pursed his lips and grasped her hand.

"Could be worse," Linnea piped up, "I'm not on a vent! Now, on a brighter note, where's my best friend and when can I meet your gaggle of girls?"

"Somehow, all of them are actually asleep at the same time," Nolan chuckled.

"That's a miracle," Ryder commentated as he headed to the kitchen and helped himself to a soda.

Yawning, Linnea suggested, "Maybe I could do likewise?"

"Sure," Nolan nodded. "The guest room is over there. Can I help you somehow?"

"Wheel me to the bathroom and we'll both pray I navigate that part without any problems," she teased.

Nolan nodded anxiously, hoping he wouldn't have to help with private matters but willing to do so if necessary. He waited outside the bathroom, and she was able to move out of and back into her chair. Nolan wheeled Linnea to the adjoining room and they encountered the high bed frame.

"Is Chris going to kick my ass if I pick you up and hold you in my arms?" Nolan winked.

With a giggle, Linnea joked, "Ahhh…let's not tell him." Nolan lifted Linnea onto the bed and asked how he could best help. He assisted her, hoping to find the balance between helping her and letting her do what she was able to do for herself. Upon request, he handed her the purse hanging from the back of the wheelchair and waited to make sure she found her cell phone.

Heading back out to the Great Room, Nolan joined Ryder on the sofa. Much to Nolan's surprise, Ryder was holding Emmy and gently bouncing her in his arms.

"She really is precious, bro," Ryder smiled. "She reminds me of Livs… back when she was cute and not annoying."

"Yeah… me too," Nolan smiled. "She looks like Mom. When she cries, she scrunches up her nose exactly how Mom used to do when she was close to losing her temper."

"She's gone, but it's like she never left us," Ryder mused, referring to Kayla. After a pause, he continued, "I really miss her sometimes. It hits me out of the blue and I feel hollow."

"Same," Nolan shared as he reached out and stroked Emmy's cheek.

"Do you think she'd be proud of me?" Ryder asked honestly.

Nolan gathered his brows toward the bridge of his nose and replied, "Why wouldn't she?"

"I mean, we're Canadian… or we were Canadian… or whatever. Mom wasn't much of a military fan. Sometimes I wonder if she'd be disappointed I'm joining the United States Navy."

In a fatherly gesture, Nolan placed his arm around his brother. Their green eyes – Blake's green eyes – met and the older brother insisted, "Ryder… Mom would have been incredibly proud of all that you've accomplished. She'd be the newest convert to over-the-top USA patriotism knowing that you were joining the Navy."

Ryder, unconvinced, grimaced and murmured, "Yeah, I guess."

"All Mom ever wanted for any of us was to see us follow our dreams and be all we could be," Nolan emphasized, unaware he'd used the Army's slogan.

"Be All That You Can Be… That's the flippin' slogan for the US Army, Nolan. Don't joke about the branches of service, man," Ryder laughed as he leaned his shoulder into his brother's side.

"She'd still be proud, Ry. Don't ever doubt that," Nolan insisted with assurance.

Vulnerable for long enough, Ryder changed the topic to news about the salmon runs. From there, the brothers chatted about various toped and caught up on one another's lives. Predictably, they shared funny stories and Ryder's embellishments only made his stories more hilarious.

When Lizzy awoke and needed to be fed, Nolan heated up some frozen breast milk. He wanted Lissa to rest as long as possible.

As Ryder leaned on the kitchen counter and kept Nolan company, he queried with the utmost curiosity, "Have you ever tasted that stuff?"

"No," Nolan scoffed.

With a shrug, Ryder pressed, "Why not? Don't you wonder what it tastes like?"

"No. No, I don't," Nolan laughed. "You wanna try it?" he joked.

"Sure," Ryder ventured.

Hesitantly, Nolan shook his head, "Lissa would probably freak. You'll have to ask her."

"C'mon," Ryder encouraged.

"No way. I don't need her flipping out on me," Nolan scoffed. He handed Ryder a bottle and insisted, "This is for the baby, not you." He traded babies with him, explaining, "Lizzy's much more willing to take a bottle. Emmy gets pissed if she doesn't have the real thing."

"I can understand that," Ryder nodded.

Shoving his palm on Ryder's forehead, Nolan rolled his eyes and responded, "Enough about my wife and her boobs."

Each brother fed a baby and Ryder watched his niece with wonder. Her tiny hands and hungry little mouth were fascinating. Her eyes seemed to be locked on him, which touched his heart. Slowly, Ryder mentioned, "The other day… I was trying to reach you."

"Right," Nolan recalled. "What about?"

"I was hoping… actually, I am hoping that maybe I could move in here with you guys until I leave for the Academy. Piper's in treatment, and, well… you know…"

"Actually, I don't know, Ryder," Nolan finished his brother's sentence.

Adding detail, Ryder disclosed, "I didn't leave on the best of terms with Dad. It'd be too weird to move back home."

"Why don't you stay at the apartment?" Nolan wondered aloud.

"Cause, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm eating horribly and my grades are slipping," Ryder confessed, anticipating that Nolan would gloat and respond with some sort of mature and annoying statement.

"You gotta face the music, Ry," Nolan pointed out as he worked to convince Emmy to take the bottle. He gazed at his daughter and opened his mouth, modeling for the baby. "You and Dad need to work things out. You're moving far away, and your life is going to change dramatically. Don't leave Seattle with a black cloud hanging over your relationship with Dad."

"If I live next door, you know… we can work at that," Ryder proposed in an unconvincing tone.

"Move home. It'd be good for you to eat a little crow. Dad's not as bad as you make him out to be," Nolan imparted.

"Is he going to rub my face in it? Act all triumphant? Because I don't think I could handle that," Ryder stated with concern.

"No, Ryder, he doesn't act like you," Nolan teased and truthfully declared simultaneously as only an older brother could do. "The more sincerely you apologize and the more humbly you approach him, the more gracefully Dad will welcome you home."

"I think I'll talk to Mom first," Ryder nodded with certainty.

"Wimp," Nolan harassed.