I nodded.
"I started having strong contractions but they gave me some medicine to stop them."
"So, it’s still too early for them to deliver?" Dixon moved forward and grabbed my chart.
I nodded again.
"Yeah, the amnio revealed that their lungs aren’t fully developed yet."
He nodded in agreement. "Well, looks like you will have to stay off of your feet for a while."
I groaned. "I know."
"Aidan?" Liam addressed him.
"Yeah?" He forced a smile.
"Are you okay?"
I took a moment to examine him.
"You haven’t eaten. Go eat." I said and rubbed his arm.
"I’ll stay here." He said as he climbed into the bed on the other side of me.
"Aidan…" I warned, "Go eat."
He shook his head. "I’m fine. I’ll eat later."
"I’ll go grab him something." Celia stated, climbing out of the bed. Dixon followed behind her.
Phoebe took Celia’s space on the bed.
"Don’t ever do that to me again!" Phoebe scolded.
"I didn’t—"
"Not you!" Phoebe stopped me. "You two." She poked my stomach. "You stay in there and grow." She paused and leaned against my stomach, "you have to wait until I have your wardrobe perfect. It’s not ready yet."
We all laughed and I shook my head.
I had to spend one more night at the hospital before they released me.
Staying in bed, or on a couch, had become my standard day. Viola came over a few times a week to discuss the foundation since I was no longer allowed to travel.
Days passed and, before I even thought twice about it, the baby shower was upon me. Phoebe arrived on Friday afternoon to go over my wardrobe. She wanted the best outfit from a sitting position. I had stayed in bed for the past three days, only getting up to work out a leg cramp or to use the bathroom or shower. I was actually looking forward to being out of bed and having company.
The Saturday before the shower came and I could hear the active workers downstairs putting the party together for tomorrow. Phoebe and Viola had decided that swans would be more fitting for the shower than ducks. It took everything in me not to burst out laughing. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings, but come on…swans are kind of corny.
I was still lying in bed reading when Aidan slid in next to me. I kept my eyes on my book as I threaded my fingers into his wild hair.
"I love you." I heard him say. I kept reading, assuming that he was talking to my stomach again. Then I saw the tip of his finger as he pulled my book down. "I love you." He said directly to my eyes.
I smiled.
"I love you, too." He leaned up and kissed me. All of a sudden he seemed really excited. A huge grin split his face as his body resembled that of a kid in a candy store.
"Come with me." He stood and put his hands out. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Come on!" he urged with excitement.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I took his hand and got out of bed. "You never let me get up."
He laughed.
"It’s a surprise."
"Aidan…" I groaned.
"If you love me you will just go with this."
I scoffed at him.
"That is so not fair!"
He laughed.
"Come on!" He pulled my hand.
We walked out of our bedroom door, stopping at the first bedroom next to ours. I looked at him curiously.
"Close your eyes."
I closed them and heard the double doors open. I felt him move around me and into the room. "Okay, open."
I opened my eyes and gasped. The whole room had been decorated for the babies. "When…? How…?" Then it all dawned on me. I was an idiot. "How did I miss all of this stuff getting brought in?" I turned to him.
He was smiling so widely.
"Oh, just enjoy it. This is my gift for the babies. For you." He wrapped his arms around me.
I took a moment to take in the whole room. The ceilings and walls were painted light blue with clouds spanning across the surface, imitating the sky. The baby cribs were vintage, painted white. Keeping up with the theme, one was adorned with vintage blue blankets and the other with pink. Vintage white geese, humpty dumpty, rabbits, and all the small characters from the nursery rhymes were adorned throughout the room and stitched on the vintage quilts.
"I love it, Aidan! Thank you!" I turned in his arms and pulled his face down to kiss him hard.
As we were kissing one of the babies moved. Aidan felt it against his stomach and knelt to the floor.
"Does that mean you like it too? Or are you just happy that mommy is happy?" He kissed my stomach and continued to talk to them about all of the things that were in the room; books, music boxes, stuffed animals, toys...it was really just too much but so beautiful.
"I had the baby monitors installed close to their cribs and up there." He pointed to the corner of the room.
"Huh?" I squinted, looking into the corner.
"Video cameras." He shrugged. I looked at him astounded. "What?"