Late February

"Pop the balloon, Mattie," Lucas told her, helping with the long pin. Elizabeth was poised to pop her balloon as well.

"One….two….THREE!"

Pink confetti rained down on Lucas and Mattie and blue, onto Elizabeth. One of each. To him it felt perfect. To Elizabeth it was going to be her last pregnancy, which she hadn't told Lucas yet. She'd tell him when it got closer to birth. If she had a c-section, she'd get her tubes tied. If she gave birth naturally, she'd try to convince him to get a vasectomy.

Later as Elizabeth vacuumed up the confetti, Lucas gave Mattie a bath. He heard the doorbell and the vacuum stop.

"Rosie?" he heard Elizabeth say.

He was shocked. All the way from Florida and she hadn't called first. Something must be going on. He next heard a crying baby, Betsy, who was about six months, and two loud boys, Zane and Zach who were, if he remembered correctly, about five years old and four. Where were they going to sleep?

"Daddy?" He looked down at Mattie who was shivering in the bath. "I'm cold."

"Oh, sorry, bugs. Yes, let's get you out and into some jammies."

"I don't understand why he had to go offshore….he's never done that before. He isn't supposed to deploy."

"Did he tell you that?" Elizabeth asked, giving juice boxes to each of the boys and some goldfish crackers.

"Thank you, Aunt Beth," the boys said in unison.

"You're welcome."

Rosemary pulled up her shirt and started nursing Betsy, not realizing he was in the room. Elizabeth handed her a light blanket from the back of the couch and winked at Lucas.

"Look who's here."

"I see." He bent down and kissed Rosie's cheek and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Hi, Uncle Luke!"

"Hi. Its good to see you all."

"Lee deployed," Elizabeth told him.

"Mommy, will you brush my hair?" Mattie asked, bringing her a comb and carrying her soft pink blanket in her arms.

"Sure, honey. Come here."

"Auntie Rosie! Zane and Zach and Betsy! Yay! Mommy's having two babies! A boy and a girl."

"I know, sweet girl. Are you excited?"

"Yep!"

"How long will Lee be gone?" Lucas asked.

"At least six months. He wasn't supposed to deploy. He's supposed to be safe."

"Wasn't there always a chance?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes but…he only has one more year and he's in the reserves. Couldn't they just send someone else?"

"I guess not."

"Can I have juice, Mommy?"

"Sure, babe."

Mattie ran off to the refrigerator herself and Lucas sat down on the chair by the fireplace.

"I know we didn't call first…but can we stay here at least a couple nights? I'll go to my dad's next week. I just…I didn't…I wanted to be with you guys."

Elizabeth looked at Lucas and he nodded, shrugging. "You and Betsy can be in the guest room and the boys can sleep out here."

"Thank you."

Lucas put Mattie's old crib in the guest room and pulled out extra pillows and blankets for the boys. Mattie wanted to sleep with them so she grabbed her bedding too.

"I'm scared, Beth," Rosie told her as they drank tea in the kitchen a while later. "What if I lose him?"

"You need to try to stay positive, Rosie. You don't want to stress out the kids too much or you'll all be miserable."

"I'm pregnant again. I don't want to be a widow and a mother of four. We are supposed to do this together."

Elizabeth hugged her best friend in silence. She prayed for Lee and prayed for Rosie and their family. The selfish abd human part of her was relieved that architects/interior designers didn't get deployed.

"Things happen…things you don't plan," Rosie mumbled.

"But you're strong and you'll get through whatever comes your way."

….

Rosie and the kids stayed a few days, then went to visit her parents as planned.

Elizabeth spent her time doing things like planning the twins' nursery with Lucas and finishing up the Yost's kitchen and moving on to their master bedroom and bathroom.

As spring came and the weather warmed, Elizabeth grew more and more pregnant. At the end of June, she just wanted to be done. Thankfully only three weeks before their due date, she went into labor.

"They could tie my tubes during surgery, Luke. Easy peasy."

"Babe, what if we want another baby like five years from now? We'll still be young enough. I don't think we should decide our future yet."

He held her hand as they did one more ultrasound to check the babies' positions.

"Both are head down, Mrs. Bouchard."

"Let's do this!"

Luke kissed her twice and raised his brows.

"Fine. We won't decide now. Let's just meet our babies."

"Lilly Emma Joy and Ethan Lawrence William," Lucas said, holding the twins as he introduced them to the family in the waiting room a few hours later.

They were healthy and a good size, both just over six pounds and born naturally, which Elizabeth was so grateful for.

To Emma Bouchard, including hers and Larry's names in the twins' names was about the sweetest thing she had ever heard.

Knowing new lives were brought into the family helped her feel more cheery which was something she hadn't felt since losing Larry.

At her home, Emma got up and shuffled to the kitchen. Her bones ached and she felt a little unsteady but instead of grabbing her cane, she walked on. She really wanted a cup of coffee.

Before she knew what was happening, she was on the floor, in terrible pain in her hip and leg, not to mention her head. Where was all that blood coming from?

"HELP!"

….

Martin left Helen at Lucas and Elizabeth's with Mattie and headed to the Bouchard estate. He went daily to check on her and if he didn't someone else did instead.

His phone buzzed so he answered through the Bluetooth. "Hello?"

"Dad?"

"Hi, son."

"Hi. Are you and Mom still bringing Mattie later?"

"Yes."

"What do you think about bringing Gran?"

"I'll ask her. She'll probably say no but I'll ask."

"Thanks, Dad."

The weird thing was, she wasn't answering her phone. She always did, even if it had to ring ten times.

He pushed the Bluetooth button to disconnect and drove just a bit faster. Something was wrong.

"Mother?!" Martin shouted, walking in the front door. He listened and then heard moaning. "Mother!?"

"Martin!"

"Mother, what happened?"

He knelt next to her on the floor, trying not to overreact to the amount of blood on the floor.

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I was walking to the kitchen and now…."

He sighed, softly took her hand and held it, using his other hand to dial 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"My mother needs help. She's fallen and she is bleeding a lot."

"Is she conscious, sir?"

"Yes. Please hurry." He kissed her forehead and fought his emotions. Martin Bouchard was not an emotional man but it hadn't been long since he lost his father. He didn't want to lose her so soon after. It wasn't time.

"Son, my hip. It hurts so much," she whispered.

"She hurt her hip," he told the dispatch. "How long until they get here?"

"Fifteen, sir."

It was the longest fifteen minutes of his life. She seemed to go in and out of consciousness during that time and he watched closely to make sure she was still breathing. Thankfully she was.

He momentarily left her to open the door for the EMT's and then watched as they attended to her.

"Martin," she groaned.

"Mother?"

"Son, listen to me. I love you. Remember that. Give Mattie and those babies a kiss for me. Tell them about me and your father. Tell Lucas…"

"Mother, you'll tell them. You're not going anywhere."

"Promise me."

"No, Mother." If he promised, it felt like goodbye.

"Don't tell me no, Martin Joseph. I'm still your mother." She raised her hand to his cheek as they raised the stretcher.

"Mother."

"Promise."

He closed his eyes and nodded. "I promise."

"Good boy. I love you." It didn't matter that he was sixty. He would always be her boy.

"Can I ride with her?" he asked the paramedics. He didn't want to let her out of his sight, in case she was right. He wanted to be there, holding her hand.

"Yes. Let's hurry."

….

"Oh no!" Lucas gasped a few moments later.

"Babe?"

"Gran. She fell or something. They're bringing her in an ambulance."

"Oh no."

Elizabeth could see his anxiety and worry. "Luke, go meet the ambulance."

"Sweetheart, you just had babies."

"Luke, honey. The babies are asleep and I could use a nap. I'd go when you can."

He bent down and kissed her twice. "I love you, Beth."

"I know. Tell Gran and your dad that I love them."

…..

"Fractured hip and sprained wrist," the doctor told them. Thankfully the bump on the head wasn't too serious, though it bled a lot.

"We will schedule her for surgery in the morning."

Martin held his mother's hand, rubbing his hand over her soft skin. So delicate, despite the strength Emma Bouchard had always had. Strong, kind, wonderfully quirky woman.

After the doctor left, Lucas rested his hand on Martin's shoulder. "Let's get some tea, Dad."

"I don't want to leave her, son."

"She's asleep and well medicated. Now is a good time to get some air while we wait for Mom and Mattie."

"I don't want tea. I want to see my newest grandbabies," Martin said with a nod. He kissed his mother's head, told her he loved her and he'd return soon.

….

Florida, Rosie and Lee's house

At seven and a half months pregnant and with three small children, Rosie couldn't be with Elizabeth at the birth of the twins.

So she did laundry, cooked dinner and waited for the kids to wake up from their naps.

Her phone buzzed. "Elizabeth?"

"Hi, Rosie. How are you?"

"Me? How are you and the babies?"

"Perfect. Lilly is a quiet one but Ethan makes up for it. He's loud and very impatient."

Rosie sighed and rubbed her eyes, not wanting to cry again.

"Any word from Lee?"

"We spoke last night for about five minutes. The plan is to be home by September. So I'll be giving birth to this one alone."

"No, you won't. Lucas and I and the kids are coming down in about a month. We already talked about it."

"A month? Elizabeth, you'll still be recovering and flying with three small children…"

"We are coming." Plus they were driving. They'd leave late at night so the kids would hopefully sleep.

"Thank you, Beth. I miss you."

"I miss you too. Can't wait for Lilly and Ethan to meet their Auntie Rosie."

….

Emma made it through her surgery without any complications but she struggled to reconcile doing physical therapy and the fact that it just wouldn't be possible to live at her home anymore.

Elizabeth and the babies went home two days later and Elizabeth was so grateful to have not needed a c-section. It would be very difficult to take care of Mattie and the babies while recovering from major surgery. Lucas, however, was a huge help and she was grateful that they were their own bosses.

Lucas picked Mattie up and put her on his shoulders as he washed dishes. She squealed and giggled as he bent over, holding on to his head so she wouldn't fall off.

"Daddy! I'm so high!"

He was thankful for tall ceilings. He picked her up and set her down. "Okay, Mattie girl, time to start the dishwasher."

She pushed the button and skipped off, presumably to play in her room. Lucas heard Ethan, the loud twin, cry so he headed upstairs to see what he could help Elizabeth with.

"Hey," he said quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone.

"Hey." Elizabeth smiled from her side of the bed where she had both babies. "Can you change Ethan?"

"Of course."

He picked up his tiny son and kissed his head. "Mm, you smell like Mama, E."

"And something else," Elizabeth teased.

"I'm choosing to focus on the positive."

Elizabeth giggled and put Lilly over her shoulder, gently patting her back to get her to burp.

"What do you think about us moving into Gran's house? So she can come home and not be alone," Elizabeth mentioned.

"I know we've suggested it before and she said no but things are different now and it's a huge house. We will all still have our privacy."

"We could rent out this side of the duplex too," Lucas told her, his mind moving with the idea.

"We could, yes."

"I guess we can bring it up again and see what she says."

So that's what they decided to do. After their trip to Florida and Gran went to a rehab facility to recover, they'd bring it up.