*Published* Accidental Babies (SAMPLE)

Chapter 17

Their crying could be heard from the stairs. April's heart hurt just thinking about why they would be wailing like that. Running towards the room that was definitely not the room she left them in, she could also hear a woman shouting, followed by the twins crying louder, and Sharon's voice. Who the hell was that woman and why wasn't Sharon helping the twins?

Bursting into the room, April was surprised to find a woman holding the twins in her arms and keeping them there despite them twisting around and crying. Sharon was carrying her baby daughter and, along with Amelia, was trying to convince the woman to put her load down. It looked like an intense discussion so no one was aware of her entrance at first.

The twins were the first to notice her and began twisting around even more violently, flailing their arms more vigorously, screaming, 'Ma Ma, Ma Ma.' The woman was so startled by their sudden actions that her arms loosened and Tanner fell. Amelia, Sharon and April tried to catch him but they didn't move fast enough. He landed with a loud thud before screaming again. Only it was a pain-filled scream now.

April hurriedly picked him up and tried to snatch Daphne from that insane woman but she moved away. Tanner's arms were wrapped tightly around her neck and his cries had reduced to sobs even as his body shook in her arms. April was glad he had stopped but her eyes were still locked on Daphne. Her arms were reaching for April, twisting her body and flailing her legs, but the woman kept moving away.

'Who the heck are you?'April asked through gritted teeth. The woman smiled smugly and flipped her hair prettily, despite having a bundle of squirming, crying baby in her arms.

'I'm their mother,'she pronounced and shot a glare at April. 'And you're fired, you skanky whore. Who do you think you are, trying to usurp my position in their lives?'

'From what I've heard, you signed away your rights, bitch. So the twins are within their rights to look for another mother-figure,'Sharon said angrily, moving to stand beside April. April only absently noted her, her entire being was focused on getting Daphne away from the crazy woman.

'I'm still their mother,'the woman screamed. For a beautiful model, she looked ugly when she's crazy. Or, more politically correct, angry. But who cares about that when there was a hysterical Daphne in the witch's arms? 'I still have rights to them. I still can take them away with me if I want to.'

During her raving, her arms had loosened around Daphne and April saw her chance. She grabbed Daphne and ran to the far end of the room with her bundles. She wanted to leave the room but the woman was between her and the door. She didn't want to risk the twins in an attempt to leave. Plus, she was in horrible shape while the woman looked like she worked out. No guesses who'd outrun who.

The woman tried to follow but Amelia ran interference. Well, she tried but the woman side-stepped her and went after April. Seeing nowhere else to run and no way to defend herself, April turned, keeping the twins shielded because she was under no impression that the woman wanted to have a civil conversation with her. Bracing herself for the impact, she was puzzled when it didn't come.

Turning, she found herself shielded by Jason with his cousins not far away. Even Harry. Carrie had stopped short when she saw her protector and the manic look became sly and seductive. April didn't care about that. Knowing Jason would resolve this mess, she relaxed. Her attention was directed to the twins.

They had stopped crying but their bodies still shook with their infrequent sobs. Their arms were latched tightly around her neck and it felt like they didn't want to let her go anytime soon. Dropping to the floor, because who wouldn't while carrying two ten-month-old babies, she cradled them in her arms and rocked her body, smattering kisses on their heads ever so often. They relaxed further and stopped sobbing. Eyelids drooped and heads rested on her shoulders. The crying must have sapped all their energy. Their bodies slackened and soon they were in dreamland.

Her heart tightened and she internally cursed the woman. What was she thinking, allowing them to carry on like that? Why was she even there? April knew she'd signed her rights away; she'd seen the papers. So why did it look like she was trying to take the twins away?

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Jason glared at the twins' surrogate. She still looked beautiful, one of the most beautiful women in the world, but his brief glimpse of her when she was lunging for April had revealed a side of her that he had never seen but knew of its existence. Her face contorting in fury and her eyes glinting with madness was not one he wanted to encounter ever. It was a horrifying and horrible look. She reverted to her usual facade when she realised there were men in the room.

'Oh, I didn't see you there,'she simpered, looking all sultry and coy. 'I'm just here to visit with my children. Surely you wouldn't keep them away from their mother. Namely, me!' Her eyes flashed to April, revealing her displeasure.

'You signed away your rights to them. You don't have any maternal rights. At. All. The papers also states that you are not allowed to see them until they're 18. They can decide whether they want to have any relationship with you then but for now, you are not allowed any visitation rights or any other rights as a mother,'Jason expounded, his brows creased.

He was puzzled. When he'd presented the papers to her lawyer and her, she'd been eager to get rid of them. Even when her lawyer had wanted to change some things that would allow her miniscule rights, she'd ignored his protests and signed it within five minutes of receiving it. Gone within ten minutes of entering the meeting room. So why had she returned, spewing bullshit left and right?

Her face had slowly turned red during his explanation but she tried to conceal it. 'I'm still their mother. I took care of them for six months. Surely they recall me,'she growled.

'Oh,they definitely recall you,'Sharon said, allowing Cameron to take Cynthia off her. Cynthia was surprisingly quiet, for which Jason was grateful. Two crying babies were his limit for now. 'The minute you laid your hands on them, they crawled frantically away. They couldn't crawl fast enough to escape you though and once they're in your arms, they started crying and screaming, squirming to get away from you. Clearly they know who you are and want nothing to do with you.'

'Liar,'Carrie snarled. Sharon, unhappy with her accusation, took a step towards her, scowling fiercely, when her husband put out a hand to stop her. Jason could hear him murmuring to his wife,'Good god, woman. Think about the bun in your oven. She's not worth harming the bun.' She sighed unhappily but took a step back, looking up to send him a scowl.

Fighting a grin, Jason turned back to Carrie and wondered how she got in. Surely she wasn't on the guest list. Sharon knew the kind of person she was and definitely wouldn't invite her. When he asked, she just smiled coyly and didn't answer. Apparently, she'd decided to bury her anger and show only her social facade.

'Jason,'he heard April hiss from behind him. Keeping his eyes on the viper in the room, he nodded to show he heard her. Apparently she understood because she continued,'Can you take Tanner and place him on the bed while I do the same for Daphne? My arms are kind of falling asleep.'

'Let me do it,'Harry said. Before April could do anything, he'd taken Tanner and was left holding a squirming, crying baby. Bewildered, he almost dropped him when Jason took his son away from his cousin and Tanner quietened, burrowing his head into the nook of his shoulders and drifted off to sleep. 'What happened? I just wanted to help. I didn't know they were so skittish around strangers.'

'Normally, I'd say they're not but after the night they've had, I say a bit skittishness is warranted,'April said wearily as she accepted Harry 's help and pulled herself up. Jason tamped down the possessiveness rearing its head and reminded himself that it was his cousin. One of his closest. Despite the way he'd acted the last time they'd met, he'd redeemed himself when he'd rushed and helped once they'd received the news. This was his. Cousin.

Closest. Cousin.

Keeping an eye on Carrie, Jason followed April to the only bed in the room and laid Tanner down just as April was laying Daphne down. They immediately started whimpering and squirming and only stopped when April placed her hand on their tummy. It was amusing to see the exasperation on her face when they all realised the twins wanted some contact with April. She was forced to keep her hand on them in order for them to keep quiet.

Everyone except Carrie was enjoying the tableau so they didn't see the other person entering the room.

'What is she doing to my grandchildren?'an imperious voice demanded loudly. So much so that the twins woke up and started crying.

AN: Hey guys. How are you guys doing? I hope you like this chapter. Admittedly, I'm not that happy with this but I don't know what to add or change. So we'll keep it at that. Plus, I didn't add a description of Carrie. So would you guys like one? Or would you guys want to create one of your own? LET ME KNOW!!

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