Olivia's Sister

The Best Present

    By February you were on your last round of internships. Court was approaching. The kids had returned to school and were fine. You still struggled. Jason and you had taken a weekend to get away to celebrate your anniversary. His family had come and spent Christmas with you.
    On the 7th, you were asked to meet the police chief at city hall. Soon there was a press conference. "We have created a new until in Chicago." Mayor Johnson said. "This unit will be called One Chicago. The members of this team will be trained and specialized in law enforcement, medical, and fire response. This unit will be headed by Brynn Foster. She will recruit members and train them. There will be different units for the different areas. Our hope is to have these trained units available to assist or respond in various situations." He answered questions then photos were taken.

    Jason and you spent Valentine's Day at home with all the kids. The other couples went out for date night. It was fun.

    By April you had recruited enough people to form 4 teams around Chicago. They were all doing their rotations. Adyn turned 10. You were so proud of him and the young man he was becoming.
    In May you weren't feeling good. You took a few days off and stayed home. Saturday you had training at your rents station. Everyone came to watch. You were on your final drill. You went all the way up the steps through the smoke and flames. You hooked up your rope and stood on the edge to propel down. You got down a fourth of the building. Odin was barking and whining and got away. He stood at the bottom barking. Looking at the others then you.
   "Something's wrong." Gabby said to Matt over the radio. "Get her off the rope." Matt started scaling down to you. He got right next to you and went to grab your line when you started falling. Everyone screamed. Matt got your line right before you hit the ground. He held on until others had a hold of you.
   "She's not breathing." Brett said. They rushed you to Med. The kids were laying with you when you woke.
   "Mom you flew!" Jacob said.
   "More like fell." You grimaced. "Dad didn't catch me and watched me fall." You looked at him.
   "Mom, don't make us beat you up!" Adyn said. "Don't be mean to Daddy Matt!"
   "Bring it son!" You said weakly.
   "No one is beating up their mom until she is better " Nat said.
    Connor walked in and you groaned. "You have a bad heart. Not the news any of us wanted to tell you."
   "Meds, weekly appointments, donor list?" You were annoyed.
   "You had a pretty nasty heart attack while scaling down that building." Connor said. "You are on the donor list but you've got a wait. And yes, we are starting meds and check ups."
   "For the next few days though, you need to rest and not do much." Nat said. "You have nine kids and one on the way."
   "WHAT?!" Jason and you both said at the same time then looked at one another.
   "Neither of you knew?" Nat asked surprised. "You're two months."
   "I'm going to be the mom of the next cheaper by the dozen sequel." You moaned. You bent over in pain. "And that's back too. Oh fun."
   "You are carrying any more kids we may have." You glared at Jason who laughed at you.
   "My Mom has the best heart of anyone I know." Grace said sternly to Connor.
   "I agree." Connor said. "But even though she has a good heart, her heart is broken and needs replaced."
   "Is it broken cuz of Daddy?" Isaiah asked.
   "Dad didn't mean to break your heart." Adyn said. "He loved you. He loved us all!"
    You started crying. "Dad didn't break my heart. He loved us all a lot. You each have a piece of him and it shows. I love you all. My heart is sick. It's been sick before."
   "When I was very little." Adyn said.
   "That's right." You smiled. "My heart has been sick before and has been replaced. It's sick again and I have to be careful about how excited or upset I get. But Mom is going to still have fun with all of you. I'll get tired faster and sometimes weak. But I am still going to be here for you."
   "Mommy we will help your heart not be sick anymore." Addy said.
   "Chicken soup!" Dawn said.
   "Movies!" Jacob said.
   "Snuggles." Isaiah got on the bed with you.
   "Eli makes you smile." Grace said. "We can put Jon, Rain, Lili, and Eli in bed with us all."
   "That's too many people in the bed." Adyn said. "We'll have to blow up air mattresses."
   "Mommy sleep." Isaiah said.
   "I think you all have very good ideas that will help your mom stay relaxed." Nat said.
   "Her heart is going to die." Connor said. "Before that happens, we will hopefully replace it with a new one."
   "Uncle Connor, are you going to fix Mommy's heart?" Addy asked.
   "I am going to try to make your mom's heart better." Connor said.