Endings and Beginnings

Chapter 14

Meryl awoke in a start. It felt like she had been sleeping forever; her first thought was the babies as they still needed to eat every 2 hours or so. She began to panic as she looked at the clock and realized that they had been asleep for 3 hours since they last ate. "Mags! Brady!" Meryl panicked as Don sat up.

"Baby, what is it?" Don said rubbing his eyes as he sat up and turned on the lamp on his nightstand.

Meryl got up to look in the bassinet next to her side of the bed. "DON! THE BABIES!"

"What about them?" Don asked as he went up behind her and kissed her neck. "Darl, you're shaking."

Meryl started sobbing. "Don, they're gone! Where the hell are they?"

"Babe, they're in their bassinet." Don said not exactly sure what was going on.

Meryl pointed to the bassinet on her side of the bed. "THEY'RE NOT HERE."

"Come here." Don said getting out of bed on her side of the bed, taking her hand and leading her to the bassinet on his side of the bed. He stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her. "They've been sleeping in the bassinet on my side of the bed, remember? That way you don't have to get up and I can bring them to you. Look at how happy they are sleeping next to each other."

Meryl nodded as the tears continued to stream down her cheek. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I first woke up in a panic because they've slept through their feeding and then when I didn't see them in the bassinet..."

"Their Mommy filled their bellies and they feel safe; that's why they're still asleep." Don whispered into her ear with a kiss to her cheek. "You might be doing your job too well."

Meryl laughed as she turned around in his arms to gently kiss his lips. "Thank you."

"It's been a lot of ups and downs." Don acknowledged as he wiped her tears away. "They are perfect."

Meryl nodded as she took a deep breath. "If something happened to any of you..."

"Shhhh." Don whispered with a kiss to her lips. "It won't. We're past the worst, baby."

Meryl hoped that he was right. "We better wake them up. It's been over three hours since they've eaten."

"You go get in position and I'll give them to you." Don said placing a kiss on her forehead as she smiled and got back in bed. "Who first?"

Meryl laughed. "Whoever you can get to wake up."

"Okay." Don said as he picked up his daughter and rubbed on her stomach. "Come on Mags, wake up sleeping beauty. Your mama is ready to feed you."

Meryl laughed as Mags scrunched up her face and started crying. "She doesn't like to be woken up like her daddy."

"I hate to break it to you, Mer; but that is the look you give me when I wake you up." Don laughed as he picked up Brady, trying to wake him up and got back in bed beside his wife.

Meryl raised her eyebrow to him. "Not always; I'm usually moaning and smiling when you wake me up in certain ways and positions."

"Touche'." Don laughed with a kiss to her lips. "Soon, baby; very soon."

Meryl looked as Brady slowly woke up just looking around. "He wakes up like you and Henry."

"We're Gummer men." Don winked. "We just take it all in."

Meryl smiled softly as she continued to nurse Mags and laid her head on Don's shoulder as he continued to hold Brady and stroked Mags' head. "This is my favorite time of the day with the four of us." In that moment, in the quiet penthouse in Tribeca, all was right in the Gummer world.