Her Secret

Ivy

I spent the next hour I in constant awe and disbelief as I stared at the tiny bundle in my arms. When I could finally move my legs a bit again I pressed the call button and Gina quickly appeared. "The feeling is starting to return to my legs and I am starving." I smiled weakly and she laughed before opening a cabinet and pulling out a sheet of laminated paper.

I picked out a small lunch and she immediately sent off the order and then returned to give me what looked like a large pitcher and a small cup with two large white pills in it. "This is a mama mocktail." she announced with a proud smile as she set the pitcher on the table next to my bed. "It has ginger ale, cranberry juice, apple juice and a little bit of orange juice." I looked into the pitcher that definitely looked like a mixed drink with crushed ice and smiled.

"That sounds amazing." I admitted and she smiled as she poured some into a large cup with a straw. "Trust me, everyone loves it! Your food will be here soon too and you should take these." she said as she placed the small cup with the pills down. "These are just pain medicine for when the epidural wears off completely so you won't feel the full effect of how sore you really are." she explained and I quickly swallowed them and then raved about the delicious drink.

As soon as my food arrived I devoured it eagerly and Aiden soon started to become a bit fussy. Gina helped me to get him to latch and breastfeed again until he drifted to sleep once more before she left and returned with a wheelchair. "Alright its time to move you to your new room." she smiled brightly as she carefully took Aiden and two other nurses helped me walk slowly over and sit in the chair.

Once we arrived in my private room Gina carefully laid Aiden in a small enclosed bed on a cart next to my own bed before looking at me. "You have to have someone stand with you while you shower. Would you like me to be there or would you like me to get your mom or friend?"

"I am fine with you helping me." I smiled slightly and she nodded and carefully helped me to my feet and into the adjoining bathroom. After a quick and tiring shower I collapsed on to the large hospital bed and promptly fell asleep.

After maybe an hour Aiden woke me with his cries and I carefully picked him up and cradled him while speaking softly to him. After just a moment he settled down and I smiled as I kissed his tiny forehead. A light knock at the door sounded before I could drift back to sleep and Grandma stepped inside. "How are you feeling?" she asked softly as she moved to my bedside. "Completely exhausted."

"Sounds about right. Can I hold him?" she smiled warmly as she kissed my cheek and then gazed with love at the tiny bundle in my arms. "Of course." I carefully handed Aiden to her and she smiled as he immediately began to fuss a bit. "I can already tell he is going to be a momma's boy." she chuckled. "That's fine with me." I laughed before yawning widely. "Go ahead and rest your eyes, everyone else will be in here soon." Grandma said softly and I quickly fell asleep again.

After maybe fifteen minutes a light knock sounded and Gina came over to check on Aiden and then me. "You both look perfect still. Are you ready for your family to come in?" she smiled and I nodded. "Okay I will go let them know, but we are only going to send three at a time so you don't get too overwhelmed." Gina explained before disappearing out the door.

Grandma placed Aiden into my arms again and kissed my hair before heading towards the doors. "I will be back after everyone else has had a chance." she said and followed behind Gina. Within a minute mom and Jade were entering the room with Lilly close behind.

"Sorry we didn't come back sweetie. Nurse Gina said it would be best if we gave you some time alone to rest a bit." mom said as she kissed my hair and Jade smiled at me. "Can I hold him?" she asked and I nodded, carefully handing the tiny bundle over to her.

"He is so tiny." Lilly spoke up as she stared at Aiden and I smiled. "He is twenty-one and a half inches long and weighs seven pounds and eleven ounces." I said proudly and mom smiled. "He is already tall like his daddy then." she said and I felt my heart twist a bit. I made a noise of agreement as I chewed on my lip, thinking to the phone conversation from this morning. Talking to Nathaniel had made me feel a lot better, but now I also felt really guilty as his son was just born and he had no idea he even existed.

I lay there deep in my thoughts while they all took turns holding Aiden. "Sweetheart? You okay?" my mom asked and I snapped out of my thoughts and smiled when I saw Lilly sitting on the couch and holding Aiden. "So does he look like a potato?" I grinned at her and she smiled and shook her head. "No, he's cute I guess." she said before gently handing him over to mom who brought him back to me.

"And yes I'm okay, just tired. Are you going to send dad and the twins in now?" I asked as she placed Aiden back into my arms and she nodded. "Yes and when they leave they are heading to a hotel nearby along with Lilly and I am going to stay here with you." she gestured to the fold-out couch and I nodded. "Okay, what about you and Grandma?" I asked while looking at Jade.

"We are going to stay here for a few more hours and then head back to the house. We will be back in the morning though."

"Okay sounds good. See you in a bit. Bye Lilly."

They all headed out the door and I didn't have to wait long before I heard two sets of little feet hurrying down the quiet hall. "Zack, Zeke, slow down." I heard dad say sternly and they slowly crept into my room. "Ivy!" they cheered in hushed voices and I smiled as they crowded up next to my bed.

"Can we see him?" they asked hopefully and I nodded. I pressed a button to sit the bed up a bit and carefully tilted Aiden's face towards them. "Isn't he tiny?" I smiled and they nodded as they stared in awe. "Can we hold him?" Zack asked and I looked up at dad.

"Come wash your hands and then sit on the couch." dad said and they all moved to the sink to do so. When they were sitting quietly on the couch dad carefully picked up Aiden and took a moment to look at him with a soft smile. He lifted the tiny blue hat to show a head of dark hair and smiled widely before carefully replacing it. "Just like you when you were born." he said and I looked up curiously. "Really?"

"Yep. Your hair was dark and thick when you were born, maybe his will lighten up too." he smiled as he moved over to the twins and I returned it, picturing a tiny version of Nathaniel with his unique blue-grey eyes that reflected his mood and my golden blonde hair and felt my heart squeeze a bit.

I watched with a smile as the twins were very quiet and serious for once as they held Aiden in turns. When they had enough they decided to climb into bed on either side of me and talked about random things to me happily while dad held Aiden and rocked him  around the room gently. Aiden started to fuss after a little while and the twins moved out of the way so I could hold him again.

"I think he is probably hungry." I said and dad nodded and immediately kissed my forehead and then headed towards the door. "We will leave you to it then princess. I love you, and we will be back tomorrow." he said and then herded the twins out.

"I want to help feed him!" one of them protested and I laughed as dad fumbled for an answer for a moment. "Maybe when he's older." he finally said as they moved out of earshot and I giggled. I carefully adjusted Aiden and breastfed him until he settled back to sleep and then pressed the call button next to me.

Gina appeared quickly and immediately walked over with a smile. "Could I get a snack?" I asked as I sipped on another cup of the mocktail and she nodded. "Of course, I'll be back shortly." she said and hurried out.

Mom, Grandma and Jade walked in a moment later and mom took Aiden again and they all three cooed over him on the couch while I ate the snack Gina dropped off and then quickly drifted off into another nap.

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A/N: Hope you are all enjoying the story so far! Don't forget to comment and vote if you like the story!