Prints on our hearts

Chapter 27

             The room was all finished. Stickers and decals covered the wall. Everyone shuffled around as they put things away. Lillian and Alma looked through all of the new clothes. Alma giggled with glee every now and then over something cute. Alex organized the diapers and baby wipes onto the cabinet below the changing table. She filled the cabinet then put all of the rest of the diapers and wipes into the closet. Lillian had bought a lot of everything. Alex figured it was better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. Especially this far from stores. Alex sat in the new mother's chair that sat in the corner of the room racing the crib. Alma came and sat beside her. Alex wrapped her arm around Alma as she leaned into her. Lillian pulled out a camera and snapped a picture of them. The puppy came bouncing over for Alma to pick him up, which she did. They leaned in and kissed the puppy together as Lillian took another picture. Alex looked around at the now finished room. It was full of mostly deep purples with a few dark blues here and there. Alex smiled at Alma's color scheme. Neither women liked the color pink and that had become obvious. Lillian pushed the men out and closed the door with a wink. Alex smiled and held Alma close. Roxie laid down on Alma's lap as she rubbed her head. "I can't believe we are having a baby.", Alma whispered with a smile. Alex kissed her head. "I know. And once she is born we will get married.", Alex growled into her ear. Alma shivered and leaned back to kiss her. As Alex started to deepen the kiss, Alma pulled away. She hovered just away from her lips. "I'm hungry.", Alma whispered. Alex laughed and helped her out of the chair. They made their way down to the kitchen to find Alma something to eat. Roxie ran out the open door and to the children who gave her all the attention she wanted. Alex leaned against the counter as Alma shuffled around looking at all of the snack. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed a bag of chips and began to shuffle back to the stairs. Alex couldn't help but laugh as she saw Alma holding the chips against her as if someone would steal them from her. A scream stopped Alex dead in her tracks. She was frozen solid, her heart began to pound hard in her chest as her hands quickly got clammy. The scream was not of fear but of laughter. Alma noticed and reached out to take Alex's hand. When she felt the hand touch her, she flinched hard. Alma looked at her with worry. Alex refocused and cupped Alma's cheek in an attempt to soothe her worries. Wordlessly, Alma pulled Alex along to their room. Alma threw the bag of chips onto the bed and turned to Alex who was ghostly pale. Alma knew what was wrong but didn't want to admit it. Alex's jaw tensed as tears threatened to fill her eyes. She dropped to her knees and threw her arms around Alma's waist. Her face was flat against Alma's belly. Alma rubbed her hair as Alex began to sob. She let it all out for a minute before Alma lightly tugged at her. They climbed into bed and Alma wrapped her arms around Alex once again. She laid her head on Alma's chest and held the blanket close around her. Alex knew this could be a problem for when the baby arrives. That simply made her cry more. She made a silent vow to herself that she would force her way through this no matter how hard it was for her. She decided that was a job for tomorrow. Right now, she was curled up in Alma's arms. Safe and sound. She had began to shake slightly so Alma pulled her even closer. Alex soon began to relax as Alma's hummed a soft lullaby to her. Alma had wondered what Alex had gone through but seeing how she was reacting made her realize that she would be better off if she didn't know. She has seen the healed cuts and gashes on her but was too scared to ask about them. Alma took a deep breath as she stroked Alex's hair. "Alex, Do you want to talk about it?", Alma whispered. Alex looked up at her. "Alma you don't want to know what happened.", Alex stated shakingly. Alma nodded. "Yes I do.", she whispered softly. Alex sighed and closed her eyes. "We were ambushed. It was a trap. As I ran in to find Amelia, someone attacked me from behind. They his me over the head with something hard. The last thing I heard was screaming and gunfire. When I woke up I was chained to the floor. Everything hurt. I was bloodied. James was chained beside me. I convinced Charles to let Amelia go in exchanged for anything he wanted from me.", Alex began as a whispered. Alma tensed at the word 'anything'. "He eventually put us into cells and I planned to kill him when he came to take me for himself. I got down to my underwear when I finally attacked him. When we had escaped our cells we found dad. He had come to rescue us. As we were running to the truck I was shot. I slipped into a coma. As soon as I woke up I came home to you.", Alex finished quietly. Alma looked down at her in horror. Tears were filling her eyes. "Oh Alex", Alma cried. Alex reached up and softly wiped away her tears. "Do not cry. I am here now and I am safe.", Alex soothed. Alma nodded and wiped away the rest of her tears. They clung to each other in silence for a while. Once Alex had calmed down, they switched positions so Alma could eat her chips. She leaned into Alex as they watched some horror movie. Alex drifted off in her mind as Alma enjoyed her movie and chips. She closed her eyes and pictured holding their baby girl in her arms. There were so many things she couldn't wait to teach her. How to fight, hold a sword, shoot a gun, ride a horse, fish, swim, and so much more. Alex smiled to herself. She looked down at Alma. "Alma, have you ever shot a gun?", Alex asked suddenly. Alma shook her head. "No but I am a great shot with a crossbow.", she said with a proud smirk. Alex kissed her head. "I will teach you.", she decided. Alma nodded and curled up closer. Alex could tell that she wasn't very far from falling asleep and soon she did. She managed to eat half of the chips and fall asleep leaning back against the pillows. Alex smiled as she softly slid her down and laid a blanket over her. Once she was happy with Alma's position, she headed down the stairs. The children were still outside. Some sat under some trees while others ran around laughing and playing. As she was watching the children, a small hand tugged on hers. Alex looked down to see Claire looking up at her. She smiled and knelt down to her. "Hey sweetie. Is something wrong?", Alex asked softly. Claire shook her head then stopped, seemingly to consider her answer. Alex tilted her head. "Is this about the new baby?", Alex suggested. Claire slowly nodded. Alex smiled. "Just because we are having a baby does not mean we are going to stop paying attention to you okay? Momma just isn't feeling well. She gets tired and sick much easier. Do you want to go lay with her?", Alex explained as carefully as she could. Claire didn't seem to understand why she was getting sick but nodded happily. Alex picked her up and carried her to Alma. Alma was softly sleeping in the middle of the bed. Clair kicked off her shoes before Alex put her down causing Alex to laugh softly. Alex sat her on the bed and watched as Claire quickly climbed up to Alma and carefully slipped under the blanket. Alma wrapped her arm around the girl and pulled her close in a very sleep dazed consciousness. Alex smiled and quietly crept out as two of her girls slept softly.