Rays of Light

After drifting off for what felt like a split second of sleep, Tim Bradford heard distinct cries down the hall yet again.

Lucy Chen Bradford stirred before slowly opening her eyes and groaning.

"It's my turn," he mumbled as he tapped her side, which was all his wife needed to hear before settling back on her pillow. He shuffled out of bed and down the hall like a zombie to reach the nursery where the sound grew louder. Because it was the middle of the night, Tim was grateful for the night light plugged in the wall between the two cribs to help him see which baby needed his attention. Tim bent forwards and gently lifted baby Hope out of her crib. One quick whiff, and he knew why she was crying. "Let's get you changed, Hope," he whispered before placing her on the changing table. Having twin babies meant double the diaper duty practice, so he felt like a pro in no time, which came in handy when he was so sleep deprived.

Hope quieted when she was cleaned up but was wide awake.

Tim held her to his chest and rocked her. "Come on, sweetie, you need to sleep." He saw her big brown eyes staring up at him. Even though she was such a tiny human, she was a huge miracle in his life he had yet to get used to beholding. He kissed her forehead then held her close. "I'm exhausted, so please sleep for me," he lowly pled. It took a few more minutes of swaying before she showed signs of growing tired with her eyes drooping closed and her little hand fisted up beginning to relax, so he was able to lower her into her crib and practically sighed in relief when she kept on sleeping as he pulled his hands away. Just as he had managed to tip toe over the threshold out of the nursery, Faith cried, so he went over to the other crib and took her into his arms.

His other miracle. The other little twin girl that occupied the cheery and sweet nursery. Tamara Collins had painted one wall pink and the other yellow, since she claimed she could not decide on a color, and though Tim found it a bit strange, when Lucy beamed and spun around as she took it in for the first time, he instantly fell in love with the walls, too. Once they found out they were having twins, after the initial panic about needing two of everything, he got excited about the prospect of doubling his family. It also meant double the lungs keeping him up at night. Faith did not need changing, and she only took a few sips from her bottle, so she was not hungry, yet she continued to cry. "Okay," he murmured, "looks like you're just in a fussy mood. I don't know why considering your life consists of eating, sleeping, and pooping, but it's alright. We'll sit together for a little." Tim sat down in one of the two rocking chairs, since Luna Grey insisted on buying two for them, and rested Faith's little body on his chest, but that made her cry louder. "Oh, I forgot you only like skin. I'm sorry, Faith."

It took some finessing with an infant in his hold, but he shrugged off his t shirt and brought her to his bare chest; she immediately quieted, which was a welcome reprieve for his ears. "Finally," he sighed. Tim looked down at her face and swore he saw her smile, since her lips curved in a distinct way. "Is that a smile? Does this mean I'm your favorite?" He asked happily at a whisper. Despite not receiving a response, he inferred it as such as he leaned back in the chair and got comfortable cradling one of his daughters for a long peaceful stretch of time. Only when his exhaustion was becoming almost too difficult to fight off did he place Faith back in her crib. He wiped at his bleary eyes before checking on his girls for a brief moment to ensure neither was stirring.

Even when the moon was just a sliver in the sky and the night light was supposed to be all the light in the room, the small faces of his daughters soundly sleeping illuminated everything around him. Tim glanced at them again for a truly final look and successfully left the nursery without hearing any crying in his wake.

Lucy waddled out of her bedroom and quietly asked, "Are the girls okay?"

"They're fine," he promised as the corner of his lip twitched up. "You can go back to bed."

"I need to do laundry and take a shower, but first I need some coffee."

They walked into the kitchen in silence. As the smell of coffee brewing perked her up a bit, she finally took a good look at her husband. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt? Did you get spit up on it? I'll add it to the laundry."

"Uhh, no," he only then remembered that he had removed his shirt thanks to his permanent state of tiredness. "Faith only likes skin to skin, so I took it off."

"I remember when I used to like skin to skin," she replied with a playful smirk. "That's how we got pregnant in the first place." Her fingers danced over the planes of his chest. "When I'm not permanently tired every second of the day, we should make some time for that."

"We can make even more twins," he suggested slyly.

"Oh, God!" She replied, somewhat horrified. "I can't push out another two babies with big, hard heads like yours."

"That's where their similarities with me end. Faith and Hope are exactly like you."

"No, they're both exactly like you. Can't imagine how we'll raise two teen Tims when the time comes."

"Faith loves cuddles just like you, and she has your smile."

"They can't smile yet. They're hardly a month old."

"Faith smiled at me just now."

"Sleep deprivation has you imagining things."

"Next time she wakes up, I'll prove it to you."

Lucy rolled her eyes. The only reason she did not debate the point any further was that the coffee maker finished brewing a fresh pot. She held up the mug to her nose, letting the strong scent fill her nostrils as a welcome replacement for her daughters' bodily fluids, which seemed to be all she had been smelling since they were born. "I needed this," she moaned blissfully. She took a long sip and felt it warm up her throat when she heard one of her daughters crying. "My turn," she said sorrowfully before abandoning her coffee and making her way back to the nursery. She found Hope crying in her crib. "What's wrong, sweet girl?" She cooed.

Tim brought both mugs with him into the nursery to relieve his wife of baby duty and allow her to have the caffeine she so desperately needed. When he came upon Lucy changing Hope's diaper, he noted, "I feel like I just changed her diaper."

"It's what babies do."

"Are you sure she's not just being difficult?"

"Difficult, huh," Lucy teased as she grinned at her baby. "You're difficult just like your daddy, aren't you, Hope?" She checked to see that Tim did not at all look amused, which made her snicker.

Faith piped up with quiet cries, so he went to pick her up and hold her close.

Since Hope was clearly going to stay awake for a few more minutes, Lucy lowered herself into one of the rocking chairs to soothe her daughter while staying off her feet.

Tim went to the other chair next to her while holding Faith.

For a long while, there was a chorus of whimpers and cries from both twins, but then came a calm silence. Lucy grinned down at her beautiful, finally relaxed, little girls.

"I told you they have your smile," he whispered, fascinated.

Despite science saying otherwise, there was a distinct curling of her daughters' lips when she looked between them, and she hoped that it was Hope and Faith recognizing and shining up at their mom.

"See. They really are just like you," he said, admiring three matching beaming faces. Even with all of the diaper changes, endless feedings, and constant tiredness, Tim could never forget to be grateful that he had two new rays of light in his life that rivaled the luminescence of his wife; which should not have surprised him, since Lucy was his own personal sun that he orbited around happily. Between his three favorite girls, he was provided more brightness to his world than he could have ever imagined, and he knew he would never take those three beautiful smiles for granted.