A Case Reopened [Book Two]

Twenty-Nine: Case Closed

Four Years Later

"Mommy is okay, right?" Eight-year-old Hunter questioned, as she and the rest of the family walked down the hall.

"Mommy is doing amazing, Hunter. And your baby brother and sister are adorable. They look just like you." Amanda smiled. 

"And I'm cute!" Hunter giggled.

"Your head is gonna get so much bigger if you keep thinking like that." Mathias teased, as he elbowed his baby sister. In the last four years, Olivia and Amanda got partial custody of Nicole and Mathias, and everything just seemed perfect. But they still wanted one more baby, and instead, they got two.

"Momma, Mat is annoying!" Hunter giggled.

"Hey, you wanted an older brother and sister. They are bound to be annoying." Amanda smiled.

They eventually made it to Olivia's hospital room, and she sat Cora on her feet before opening the door. The kids were quiet but were having a very hard time staying quiet.

"There are my babies." Olivia smiled tiredly, from where she laid in the bed. 

"How are you feeling, Mommy?" Nicole asked as she rubbed hand sanitizer into her hands.

"I'm tired, but it's worth it. The nurse is going to bring Scarlet and Thomas in soon." Olivia replied.

"Can we hold them when they get brought back in?" Mathias asked, and Olivia nodded at her fourteen-year-old.

"Yes, sir." Olivia yawned. 

The kids caught up with their mother before their new baby brother and sister were brought in. Mathias called dibs, and he sat in a chair in the corner and held both Thomas and Scarlet. The other kids surrounded him and examined their new siblings, as Amanda gently smoothed her wife's hair.

"They talked about meeting the babies all last night and all this morning." Amanda smiled softly.

"I'm glad they are excited because they are not getting any more siblings," Olivia replied quietly.

"Are you sure you are feeling okay?" Amanda asked, and Olivia nodded.

"I'm just exhausted. Lou is taking Mathias and Nicole tomorrow night, right? I know that they can be helpful, but I feel like seven kids are too much for my first night home with the babies."

"I agree and she is taking them. They will be back after school on Monday."

///

Amanda took the kids home after they all got a chance to hold Scarlet and Thomas. Amanda got the kids settled in with dinner and an order to finish their homework so they didn't have to do it during the weekend, then she went outside to pick up the front yard so she could mow in the morning before Olivia and the new babies came home.

Amanda was just winding up the hose when someone pulled into her driveway. She brushed her bangs away from her face before turning and looking at the vehicle.

"Amanda?"

"Uh, Lena," Amanda spoke quietly.

"Is Liv here?" Lena asked, and Amanda shook her head.

"Nope. She won't be home until tomorrow afternoon. Why?" Amanda asked. She hadn't seen her wife's sister in years, and now she has to show up right before Olivia, Scarlet, and Thomas come home.

"We haven't talked in years, and I've been missing her lately. She's my big sister, and for many years we never treated her like a real member of our family..." Lena replied.

"She had our twins yesterday. Scarlet Louise and Thomas Elliot." Amanda spoke softly.

"Wow... I didn't expect to hear that you two had more kids."

"Including Mathias and Nicole, we have seven." Amanda smiled.

"What?" Lena asked.

"We have partial custody of them. And we adopted a little girl named Cora about four years ago."

"I feel like with me coming around, I'll ruin everything. So I'm going to just give you this stuff, and then I'll leave." Lena spoke.

"Lena-"

"Our mother is really sick, Amanda. She wanted Olivia to have a copy of her will, so she'd know what she is getting when she passes."

"Lena, what does she have?" Amanda asked quietly.

"She had a stroke about six months ago. She can't walk, can barely talk, and along with all that she is just going downhill. She's on oxygen all the time and her kidneys are failing her." Lena frowned.

"I-i didn't know... I'm so sorry." Amanda breathed.

"Thanks... uh, so I'll just leave this with you and be on my way," Lena spoke.

"No! Uh, I'll take that but then I'll give you the information for the hospital Olivia is in. Okay?"

"Do you think I'll mess things up?" Lena asked, and Amanda shrugged.

"I don't know... I just think she should find out from you."

///

Three Months Later

Olivia sat beside her mother and held her frail hand. Lena and Olivia had talked and Olivia called her mother and talked to her as soon as she could get up the nerve to do it. But now, she was in Phoenix and watching as her mother slipped away.

"So Hunter... she's so sassy. She is strong-willed and a little bossy when it comes to her siblings. Mathias is always standing there and making sure she doesn't go, full dictator." Olivia smiled, as she showed her mother pictures of her seven grandchildren.

 "She... looks like you." Serena breathed out slowly.

"She looks a lot like you too, Mom. She's got your eyes... but then again I do too."

"I'm going to miss so much." Serena slurred a bit, her eyes getting heavy and so were her lips.

"You'll always be with us, Mom. I'll always tell my kids about you. I promise. We love you so much, and I wish that the last sixish years or so... that I would have been around. That I would have been here with you." Olivia whispered as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"I'm glad you found me..."

"Me too, Momma... just think that you will be with Daddy soon. He has gotta be missing you just like we are all missing him." Olivia whimpered.

"Don't cry." Serena slurred.

"It's kinda hard not to cry, Momma... you are going to be leaving us soon, and I can't stand it."

"I love you, Liv..." Serena mumbled before her eyes closed. Olivia quickly looked at the hospice monitor before seeing as the line went flat and her mother left their world.

"Bye, Momma..."

Hey guys, so this is the last chapter in this book. I was just getting bored and needed to end it. Thanks for reading and for the support.