30. Daisy
Two babies.
I was prepared for one baby, not two babies.
Two mouths to feed.
Two tiny humans to keep alive.
I had no clue what I was doing. It had been bad enough when I was going to have one child to look after, but two?
The entire way home, I stared out of the window, trying to make sense of what I had learned. Devon tried to talk to me, but I struggled to hear a single word of it. He simply rested his hand on my upper thigh, constantly touching me in a reassuring gesture.
With one baby, I could just about handle it. But now, I was outnumbered. How did you hold two babies at once? Feed two babies at once? I could potentially feed two babies at once, considering I did have two breasts, but it seemed like a logistical nightmare.
I didn’t even have time to prepare. These babies were going to be here any day. I didn”t have the basics. I hadn”t bought a crib or car seats. And I was going to need two of each!
“Jeremy’s already home,” Devon said as we pulled up to the house. “He’s in for a surprise.”
“Oh, god. Do you think he”s going to be upset?” I asked, my heart rate increasing.
“Not at all. He”s going to be excited. It may take a minute or two for him to understand what you’re saying, but he’ll be ecstatic—that, I can guarantee.”
“I need a glass of wine and all the soft cheeses and fish I’m not allowed right now.” I groaned, rubbing my stomach.
“Soon as you pop those babies out, we will be happy to provide it all for you. Come on, there’s no use delaying this. Time to let Jeremy know he’s about to be the daddy of two!” Devon smiled at me before opening his door, stilling when he looked ahead. “Look who’s here,” he said with a laugh.
Jeremy must have seen us pull up. He was striding out to the car with a smile on his face. Wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a matching T-shirt, he looked like he had just come from the gym or practice.
He ate up the space between the front door and the car in several long strides, opening the door for me and holding out a hand to help me out.
“How did the appointment go?” he asked excitedly as he gently led me back toward the house.
“Uh...yeah. Everything seems healthy,” I stumbled to say, ignoring Devon’s snort of laughter at the way I dodged the question. “Aren’t you supposed to be at your game?”
“I took a break between practice and the game to come see you. I wanted to see how the appointment went. Are you sure you’re okay? You look pale. Maybe you could do with a nap? I can make you a late lunch or order out from the Italian place you like?”
“I’m fine, honestly,” I assured him.
“You know I can feel your anxiety, right? You’ve been keyed up since you got to that appointment,” Jeremy said. “I’ve got a pot of green apple tea brewing. Let’s get your feet up.”
“I’ll go grab that for Daisy. Why don’t you guys go chill in the den?”
Jeremy frowned at Devon but did as he said, leading me towards the den.
“Duckie, you’re starting to worry me.” Jeremy frowned as I took a seat. “Devon! She’s healthy, right?” He turned to his packmate, like he didn’t trust what I was going to say. I sat my butt on the end of the sofa and took a deep breath. Jeremy’s worry was palpable, and I needed to rip off the Band-Aid.
“I’m having twins!” I blurted, staring at him with wide, panicked eyes.
“T-twins?” He stumbled over the word, looking at me, his eyes almost comically round.
I braced myself, expecting to feel his disappointment, his worry, his stress, all those negative emotions through the bond.
What I didn”t expect to feel was pure, unadulterated joy.
“Yeah,” I said breathlessly. “Two healthy babies.”
Arms wrapped around me, and I was pulled out of the chair as Jeremy encased me in a bear hug. “This is amazing!” he cried. Gently brushing the hair from my face, he kissed me softly, a gigantic grin never leaving his face.
He was happy—more than happy! A weight I didn”t know I had been carrying lifted off my chest, and I could suddenly breathe a lot easier.
“Did you think I wouldn”t love this news?” Jeremy asked with a confused look.
“It is twice the work; you didn’t sign on for two babies.”
“This is just an amazing bonus, in my opinion. Two little boys I can teach to play hockey and to build things with—oh, shit!” His face fell as he broke off. “Crap...one moment, I need to...” He took a step back. The bond was suddenly filled with concern.
My stomach dropped. “You’re unhappy,” I said, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. It was understandable; two babies were a lot to deal with. He had signed on to deal with one hormonal pregnant omega and a single baby, and now the stress was threefold.
Clearly, my panic was evident to Jeremy as his head whipped to mine. “No! I’m not upset about the twins... Just, agh—come with me.” He gently grabbed my hand and led me through the house, past a confused-looking Devon who stood in the kitchen doorway, a mug of tea in hand.
I followed him through the house and the backyard to the external garage that he and Devon used as a workshop.
“This is what I was panicking about,” Jeremy said, pointing at a wooden item in the corner of the room.
Taking a step forward, the tears overflowed when I realized what it was.
It was a crib.
A beautiful crib.
Merely calling it a crib didn’t do it justice. Clearly hand carved, it was made from a gorgeous walnut-colored wood. The slats had intricately carved vines on them. It was like something out of a fairy tale.
“Jeremy, this is beautiful. It must have taken you ages!”
“I started it not long after meeting you,” he admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “I wanted it to be perfect, but now it’s all wrong!”
“How is it all wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t have time to make two! I can’t give one of the babies the crib and not the other. That would be playing favorites!” He looked so torn.
He had clearly spent a lot of time working on the crib, and it was far nicer than anything I could have ever bought for the babies.
“I love it,” I said softly.
Jeremy’s face fell further. “I can try and make another one. You’ve got a few weeks, right? I can order the wood?—”
“Actually, I’m probably going to give birth sooner rather than later,” I admitted. “Twins come early.” I shrugged.
“Oh no...” Jeremy looked longingly between the crib and me. “We’ll have to look at alternatives.” His sadness seeped through the bond.
He was torn up about the crib, and I couldn’t help but smile. Jeremy may have had the size and general appearance of a grizzly bear, but he was really a giant softie with a heart of gold.
“Jer, they’re little. They can just share the crib for the first few months,” I said softly.
Jeremy stilled, turning to look at me with confusion. “They can do that?”
“They’re twins, they’ll probably want to be together.” I laughed lightly. “They’re sharing much smaller real estate right now,” I said, gesturing down to my stomach.
I took a few steps forward, wrapping my arms around his waist as a smile slowly broke out on his features and he nodded. “Yeah...they can share!” he declared happily.
“I love you,” I hummed, leaning up to kiss under his chin. It was the first time I had actually said the words out loud to him, but I meant them sincerely. This alpha who didn’t have a mean bone in his body had taken me in when I had barrelled into his life with no warning and treated me with only utmost love and care.
“I love you so damn much, Duckie, and the little ducklings as well.”
We stood, wrapped up in each other’s arms, for another ten minutes. “I can’t believe I have to leave for a game tonight, then tomorrow, I’m away for two whole days. It’s not fair,” Jeremy grumbled.
“Don’t worry about us. We”re going to spend the next two days curled up in the nest, resting,” I assured him.
“Wait, you said the babies could come sooner because they’re twins. How much sooner are we talking?” Jeremy asked, pulling back to look at me.
I smiled sheepishly at him. “I got the impression it”s going to be a week or two.”
“Fuck. I’ve got away games I can’t miss. Fuck it. I’ll tell them I’ve come down with a virus and can’t leave my bed!”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You”ve only got two away games, and they”re both in the next week, and then you”ve got several weeks off. I think we’ll be fine. Go to your games. You don”t need to pretend to be dying of a mystery illness. Devon will look after me.”
Jeremy pouted. “But I want to look after you.”
“You do,” I assured him. “Now, speaking of looking after me, can we go inside? I desperately need to use the bathroom.”
Jeremy nodded, quickly ferrying me back to the house, grabbing my hand as we navigated the cobble path back up to the house.
We separated once we made it to the house. Jeremy had to go—he was already running late for the game.
My tea was cold, so I padded into the kitchen and started brewing a fresh cup. I had recently gotten a new pregnancy book, and I was looking forward to spending a few hours curled up in the den, drinking my tea and trying to come to terms with the fact I was going to have double the babies I had planned.
Devon was giving Jeremy a lift to the rink, since he had to go check on a burst pipe at a client’s house, and the rink was on the way, so I had an hour or two to kill. They both kissed me goodbye and left in a hurry.
I had only been sitting down for a few minutes when a fierce craving hit. Gummy candy. It was the sort of craving that felt all-consuming. My focus was shot—I read the same sentence of my book five times before giving up.
Any kind would do. Gummy bears, gummy worms, even fruit snacks. Just something gummy, full of sugar and delicious.
Groaning as I rolled off the sofa, I padded over to the kitchen to ransack the pantry. It took several minutes to go through all the various cabinets containing food, but after a good thirty minutes of hunting, I came to the sad conclusion that there was nothing gummy and delicious in the kitchen.
Devon wouldn”t be home for another hour, at least, and it was starting to get late. Checking the time on my phone, I bit my lip as I ran through my options in my mind.
I could text him and ask him to bring some gummy candy home, but then I would be without it for at least an hour or two. My highly irrational pregnancy brain didn”t think that was okay. I needed gummy candy, and I needed it immediately.
Pacing around the kitchen, I looked through the many, many varieties of snacks Jeremy had stocked the kitchen with, groaning to myself when none of them sounded good.
Only gummy candy sounded good.
Pulling up my phone, I looked at the local bus routes. My bus pass would work; it was valid for a whole year. I could easily go to the store that was three stops away, grab a few bags of candy, and be back in no time.
Over the last few weeks, I had become so reliant on Jeremy and Devon that it felt like a good idea to go out and get the dang gummy candy myself. Strong, independent omegas could get their own candy...sometimes.
Glancing out the window, I noticed that it was starting to drizzle, so I grabbed a raincoat and my purse, making sure I was all zipped up for my little outing. My own raincoat wasn’t an option, because it was both old and falling to bits, and there was no way in hell it would fit over my bump. Jeremy’s, on the other hand, fit amazingly.
Mission Sugary Goodness was a go!