The Flashbacks

Chapter Twenty: Newest Members of the Family

Elyse agreed to watch the kids so that I could go to the hospital to be with my sister. She would bring them when I was ready. Well, when Sarah was ready for her godkids to meet her babies. Sarah wanted me in the delivery room. If I was just going to wait in the waiting room, I would have brought them with me.

"Hey." I smiled, meeting Ryan outside Sarah's room. He had a cup full of ice chips.

"Hey." He grinned at me. He was so happy. It was hard for me to be as happy as they were. I was happy for my sister and her husband, but I still have the court date in mind. We walked into the room and Sarah was sitting up, practicing her breathing. She was watching Grey's Anatomy on the TV and had her hands resting on her stomach.

"You made it. I was so worried that the twins were going to get here before you." Sarah's grin was so big, it hurt my face. I put my purse on the window sill and sat next to her.

"I got here as fast as I could. Those babies are going to come on their own time." Both of my labor experiences were totally different. With Jax, it was basically in and out. I was in labor for less than four hours and only pushed twice. Everyone reassured me that my second labor would be just as easy or easier. I was in labor with Ava for 43 hours and it took many more pushes. We had thought I'd need a C-section.

"Ow ow ow ow." She squeezed her eyes closed as a contraction passed through her. Ryan rushed to her side and held her hand. That's how Tyler was during my first labor. During my second, he was getting impatient and brought his PS4 to play video games.

"Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth." I rubbed her lower back. The anesthesiologist came in and gave her the epidural. I turned and looked out the window. I was terrified of needles. I did both my labors naturally, that's how scared I was. Within the hour, we were going to the delivery room. I was dressed in scrubs and a cap. It felt weird to be on this side of the delivery. I held one of Sarah's hands and Ryan held the other. Within three pushes, Baby Price A was out and crying.

"It's a boy!" The doctor handed the baby to a nurse to get him cleaned up. "It looks like your little girl is coming right after her brother. I can see her head. Take a couple of deep breaths and we'll have you push." It was 3 minutes before Sarah's next contraction came through. She got her baby girl out in two pushes. "It's a girl!" The doctor announced, just to cover all the bases. "You did great, Mrs. Price. We're going to wheel you back to your room and we'll bring the twins for skin-to-skin contact." The doctor smiled and Sarah nodded her head, crying. I was happy that my older sister finally got her wish of being a mom.

I sighed as I walked through the front door a few hours later. Sarah and Ryan wanted a couple of hours alone with their new family. I would bring Jax and Ava to meet their cousins once they were home and settled. I froze in the doorway when I saw the gift basket with a card with my name on it. There were fancy chocolate truffles, chocolate-covered pretzels, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A gift cards, two bottled Starbucks coffees, a canvas painted purple with the quote "Breathe in. Breathe out," and a mug with pictures of the kids on it. There was also a bouquet of yellow roses. I picked up the basket and walked into the living room. The kids were eating pizza for lunch and Ethan was sitting on the couch. He was out of his uniform. He was home early. I could smell his aftershave from where I was standing and I could see his hair was damp. Elyse was lying on the couch, asleep, with her feet in her brother's lap.

"What are you doing here?" I asked quietly, putting the basket down on the side table.

"I took the rest of the day off. I was worried about you." Ethan carefully lifted Elyse's feet and put them down on the couch when he stood up. "Let's go into the kitchen." He whispered, grabbing the roses from the basket. We walked into the kitchen and he put the flowers in a vase with water. He washed his hands and then served me a plate of pizza and salad.

"Thank you." I smiled up at him. He kissed my forehead softly. He grabbed me a glass of lemonade and then finally sat down to eat with me. "The basket was really sweet, thank you." I tucked some hair behind my ear.

"You're welcome, baby girl." He wiped his hands on a napkin. "How is your sister doing? And the twins?" He asked, taking a bite out of his pizza.

"They're all great. Sarah is so happy that she finally has her babies. They're so small. They were a month premature and they're twins so there wasn't as much room in there. They were both only about 5 pounds." I took a bite of my salad. He had gotten the salad and the pizza from two different places so that I could have my favorite of each. I could tell by the taste.

"Good." He smiled at me, drinking from his glass. "How are you doing?" He asked, putting his hand over mine. He rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb.

"I'm scared, but I trust you. I know that you're going to take care of me and the kids. Elyse told me that she'd give her friend James a call for me. Have you met him before?" I asked him curiously and he nodded his head.

"Yeah, multiple times. We went to high school together. He was Elyse's high school boyfriend. He's married now with two kids. He's a really great lawyer." Ethan gave me a small smile.

"Speaking of James, he just called me back." Elyse came into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. "He's actually a widower now. His wife died last year. He does want to take on your case, he told me that he wants to call you to set up a meeting." She grabbed a breadstick off the counter.

"Thank you for calling for me." I smiled at her. She smiled back at me and went back into the living room with the kids. Jax came into the kitchen and I pulled him up into my lap. "Hi, my love." I kiss the top of his head. "You have two cousins. Do you want to see?" I ask him and he nods his head. I pull out my phone and show him the pictures. "That's Briar Lee. He's a little boy. That's Everli Olivia. She's a little girl."

"Why is there two?" He asked me and I smiled. I loved hearing how curious he was.

"They're twins, baby. That happens when a mommy has two babies at the same time." I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Luna is like my twin." He said confidently. He slid down from my lap and ran back into the living room.

"He's very smart." Ethan smiled, watching Jax as he ran out of the room. "I can go with you to your meeting with James if you'd like." He offered and I smiled.

"I'd like that, thank you." I leaned over the table and kissed him softly. He ran his fingers through my hair softly. He made everything feel like it was going to be okay.