Chapter 13 - A Strange Feeling

I called Katie the next day to tell her about the twins.
'That's wonderful, Liz! You know, I've got a little news of my own.'
'Oh, yeah?'
'Yes! So, you know how I've been meaning to come and visit for ages?'
'Yes?'
'Well, Brett and I have found a house in Moonlight Falls and we've put in an offer!'
'Katie, that's brilliant!'
'Isn't it just? We've been told by the estate agents that we're almost certainly going to get it. Then all we need to do is sell our house and move in!'
'Oh my goodness, I'm so happy! When do you think you'll be coming?'
'Ah, that's the other thing. It might be a little longer than it would normally be because, well, I'm pregnant!'
I could hardly believe my ears! Katie, Brett, Mimi, Jake, and a new baby. All coming to Moonlight Falls!
'Congratulations, Katie! I'm going to be an aunty!'
'You most certainly are! You'll have to have another baby so our little one can have a play mate!'
'Oh, I don't think so! I'm through with having kids, my family's perfect as it is. Besides, we're not really in the right financial situation to have another one. Listen, I'd better go. I shouldn't leave Jass with the twins for too long.'
'Ahaha, okay then, honey. Speak again soon. Bye!'
'Bye!'
As I ended the call, I thought about meeting Katie again. Apart from a few video calls I hadn't seen her since I left for Champs Les Sims. Everything was going to be so perfect.

As a late birthday present, Jasper and Dayvid had built a tree house for Colin. They'd worked so hard to get it finished before he came back from school.

It was worth it, though! Colin's eyes grew to the size of saucers when he saw it - he practically lived up there for about a week. Like Jasper, Colin kept himself to himself. He didn't have any friends and, if anyone asked to play with him, he would shout at them to go away. I'd gone to several meetings with his teacher concerning his behaviour but he never took any notice. He only seemed to enjoy himself when he was on his own.

I was really worried about Colin. Sometimes I went for a swim in the sea to relax a little. It was after one of these outings that I returned to find Dayvid, as ever, in the nursery, putting the girls to sleep. I went over to him and wrapped my arms around him. He turned to look at me.

He bent down a little and looked into my eyes. Sensing I was preoccupied, he cupped my face in his hands and asked me what was wrong.
'I'm just concerned about Colin. He's been so withdrawn lately.' I replied.

Dayvid sighed and placed his hands back on my waist.
'Hey, don't worry about it. It's just a phase and it'll pass. Remember when Jasper was like this?'
'I know, but at least he had Becca to talk to. Colin doesn't have any friends.'
'He's got us. Hasn't he, Liza? You need to stop worrying all the time and relax a bit.'
Although I was still fretting, deep down I knew he was right. 'Okay.' I said.
'Good.' He sighed. A wicked grin suddenly spread across his face. 'Now, want to go check out that treehouse?'.

Although Colin didn't like playing with anybody else, Cescie certainly did. She would often come into his room and play quietly whilst he did his own thing. At least she was there for him if he ever needed her, I thought.

I woke up on the morning of the twins' birthday with a churning feeling in the pit of my stomach. I rushed to the bathroom to throw up and left a few minutes later, feeling much better. Nerves, I thought. My babies were growing up and I didn't want them to. I entered the nursery and looked into Lydia's little eyes, my youngest child was becoming a toddler. I wanted them to stay as babies forever, but grow up they did.

Helena became a sweet little werewolf with Dayvid's face shape, skin tone, and hair and my eyes. 

Lydia became a pretty vampire with Dayvid's eyes, skin tone, and hair and my face shape.

I spent the morning playing with them whilst they developed their skills. Rebecca was coming over later that day to babysit them while Jasper, Celeste, and I went to watch Dayvid play at the stadium.

Before she arrived, I cooked some pasta for her so she wouldn't get hungry. When I bent over to smell it, however, it sent my head spinning and my feet running to the bathroom. I decided to go to the hospital later during the week to get some medicine.

I put the girls to bed and came downstairs to find Jasper wrapped in the arms of  a certain young lady. I placed my hands on my hips and cleared my throat.

Jass yelped and pulled quickly away, sending Becca and I into a fit of laughter. He groaned.
'Yeah, very funny. I'm going to get my coat.' He mumbled and stomped off to his room.
Just then, a wail came from the nursery and I rolled my eyes.
'Honestly, I just settled them down!' I began to climb the stairs but Becca was having none of it.
'No no, Mrs Bird, I'll sort it. It's my job, after all! Don't worry about a thing, I love kids!' And with that she skipped upstairs.

And the kids loved her! Jasper had already explained to me their plans of running a daycare service together until they had a family of their own. I guess the large amount of siblings he had rubbed off on him!

Dayvid's team won and we were all shattered when we returned home after the celebrations. I crawled into bed and fell asleep straight away, as did Dayvid. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that Becca was still in the house, so she spent the night in a sleeping bag on the floor of Jasper's room.

She left for school in the early morning.

As promised, I visited the hospital the next day before heading to the town hall to complete a few cases. Luckily, I wasn't ill so I carried on with my daily chores.

Author's note
Hello again, sorry if this post was a little rough around the edges. I lost a load of my snapshots so the next few updates will be a bit strange. If future or past posts don't make sense then please do not hesitate to ask me what the hell I'm talking about! Thank you for being so understanding.

Chapter 12 - Twice as Nice

A few weeks after school closed for the summer, I was finally able to meet the elusive Rebecca! Jasper had been to her birthday party and ended up being the last guest to leave. He and Becca (as she preferred to be known) had spent the night on her sofa, confessing their feelings for one another. After that night, they were inseparable and she would often stay over, messing around in the garden with Jass until the early hours of the morning.

They made a beautiful couple. I suppose I'd always known that they'd get together as Jasper talked non stop about her. As expected, now that he was a handsome young teenager he was in high demand from all the girls in his class, but Jasper only had eyes for Rebecca. She was a pretty girl, with olive skin, a unique sense of style, and short chestnut hair swept over one of her startling hazel eyes. I could see why my son was so close to her.

Sometimes a little too close for my liking!

I'd had a couple of sleepless nights after meeting Becca. I would sit and think about how my baby boy was growing up and how strange it was to see him drifting away from me as he began a life of his own. What would happen to our children when Dayvid and I were gone? I was sure they'd be fine - If Cescie and Colin turned out anything like their older brother then they'd be level-headed and sensible, yet grab every opportunity offered to them - I reassured myself. I would sigh and marvel for the umpteenth time over how perfect my life was. Jass may have been walking slowly away from me, but It warmed my heart to know that someone he loved was holding his hand as he did so.

In anticipation of Colin's impending birthday, Jasper and Rebecca redecorated the spare room on the top floor together. I thought they did a marvellous job. Who knows, maybe they'd be decorating their own child's room someday!

Anyway, we'd be needing the extra nursery room because, just weeks after my thirty-third birthday and to our utter surprise and delight, I discovered that I was expecting again.

I know I said no more kids for a while but I promise you that the pregnancy was not planned. Not that I was, in any way, upset by it. In fact, I was overjoyed and couldn't wait to meet the little cherub, although the morning sickness was really getting to me this time round.

Dayvid was so happy that he welled up a bit when I told him the news. Money was a little tight but he insisted on putting in the hours in order to bump up our funds. Speaking of bumps, mine appeared just weeks after the test came up positive.

I didn't know what it was at first, but this pregnancy felt different somehow. My figure was ballooning much faster than with the other kids and the sickness and mood swings seemed a lot more severe. I had considered the possibility that I was carrying more than one baby, but ruled it out in my mind. My family had no history of multiple pregnancies and I hadn't taken any fertility drugs. Nevertheless, Dayvid made me go to the hospital to make sure.

I took Colin with me to the scan as Dayvid couldn't make it. He had a game on that he couldn't miss and if he won there would be a big bonus coming his way. As the sonographer smeared the gel onto my belly I pondered the consequences of having more than one baby. I had always wanted a large family but intended to stop at four. Could I continue with my career if I was a mother of five? God knew I needed the money.

The screen lit up suddenly and the black and white image appeared. There was no mistaking the two little heartbeats pulsating on the monitor.
'Congratulations! Your suspicions were correct. In a couple of months you'l have two baby girls.' The nurse beamed at me.
I knew that things would be more complicated, but I couldn't stop my mouth breaking into a wide grin. The nurse was babbling on about the increased health risk and the extra check-ups but it was all white noise to me. Tears of joy spilled down my face as I looked at the twins. A mother of five. Oh my goodness.

Colin's birthday passed without fanfare. I felt kind of bad but everyone was so busy preparing for the babies. Dayvid was silent for a full minute after I told him the news and at first I thought he was upset, but he soon began laughing uncontrollably.
'That's great, Liza! Sure, it'll be more work, but we can manage! It'll be lovely for Cescie to have two little sisters.'

And the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't wait for the babies to be born. We'd let Celeste and Colin choose the names. Becca and Jass had taken Colin to see 'A Midsummer Nights' Dream' at the theatre so he had decided upon the name 'Helena'. Celeste's favourite book was 'Pride and Prejudice' so she chose the name 'Lydia'.

Nearly two months before my due date, I woke with a start. I lay there with my eyes open, listening to my own rapid heartbeat while I waited for the contraction to pass. Slowly, I heaved myself up and swung my legs around and off the bed. I needed to get dressed and in the car before the next one came. I gripped the edge of the mattress to steady myself and fumbled in my pocket for my phone whilst I got to my feet.

The next contraction came quicker than I expected so I resolved to call Dayvid when I got to the hospital. I dressed and managed to stagger down the stairs and, several contractions later, I reached the garage.

Jasper was at Rebecca's, Dayvid was working late and both Colin and Celeste were at a sleepover party held by a kid in their school. I was alone as I drove myself to the hospital.

After a couple of wrong turns and what seemed like fifty traffic lights, I stumbled through the doors of the hospital whereupon I almost gave birth in the corridor. Luckily, I was lifted onto a stretcher and hours later I emerged from the building with a baby carrier containing my two youngest daughters -

- Helena, the oldest by a matter of seconds -

- And Lydia, the younger of the two.

When Dayvid reached the hospital I had already left so he returned home to find me snoozing in the nursery chair. I woke when he entered but pretended to still be asleep. I watched as his bare toes padded across the floor towards the cot. He leant over the bars and lifted little Helena from her bed, holding her tiny face up in front of him. Tremors shook his hands as he kissed her forehead and stroked her nose with his long silver finger before placing her back in her cot and tucking her in. I rose, drowsy but contented and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at me with his sparkling amber eyes and pulled me into an embrace.
'I'm so sorry I couldn't be there.'
'Don't worry, it all happened so fast!'
He bent down and kissed my hair softly and we stood there in each others' arms for what seemed like an eternity. The rest of the night was spent in the nursery with our new baby girls.