Chapter 18 #2
“Look at them,” I said. I tried to reach out to touch them, but the angle was completely wrong.
“Hang on a moment, and we’ll get one or both of them into your arms,” Mazzi said.
“I can’t decide which one I want to hold,” I said.
“Don’t stress about those things,” Mazzi said.
Marcello smiled down at our daughter before he turned his smile toward me. “Are you going to tell them the names, or have you changed your mind again? If you have, it’s all right. They’re not going to really know them for some time.”
I shook my head. “The girl is Lucianna. I want to call her Luci,” I told them. “The little guy, we agreed on Francesco, and we’re going to call him Frankie.”
“Luci and Frankie. Oh, that’s so cute,” Mazzi said.
“All right, Abel,” Rio said. He was farther down, but he towered over my view of Marcello as he moved closer. “If these two will back up just a bit, I will help you get reclined on the bed.”
“Everything’s finished?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes, it is. I used magic to close your omega line because there was a bit of tearing on your left side. I didn’t wish for it to cause you any extra pain, so I went ahead and helped with that.”
Marcello and Mazzi both backed away, and then the next thing I knew, I was reclining back on pillows after Rio helped move me up onto them. From this position, I could better see the babies, and I started crying again.
“That’s understandable,” Rio said quietly.
“You’ve been through a lot today, and things are only going to continue.
” Rio tucked a light blanket around me, and I couldn’t help but lift it and the sheet.
I found out that I felt different because at some point, he’d helped me put on some thin lounge pants.
“Are the babies okay?” I asked. “They’ve both gone quiet.”
Rio placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“They’re fine. Very healthy. They’re both sleeping now, which is why they’ve gone quiet.
They are going to do that a lot for the next couple of months.
Then it will be when you have to start wondering if you will ever get more than three hours of sleep at any one time ever again. ”
I made a face. “Good to know.”
“Such is life with twins,” Rio told me. “Now, after-birth care,” he said.
That caught my attention. “Stay in bed unless you absolutely need to go to the bathroom. You cannot get up out of bed until you have full feeling in your legs again. That is going to be a couple of hours, so if you need to go, have your mate help.”
I nodded. “I think I’m good for now,” I told him.
“Let your mate help. Let him run for bottles. Let him change diapers. You cannot and should not have to do it all alone. He’s here to not only help you but also to help you take care of your babies.”
“Okay.”
Rio took several steps back, and then he was gone. Mazzi was suddenly there and handing me little Frankie.
“He’s adorable,” Mazzi said. “And before they both fell asleep, they both had blue eyes.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes.” He gently lifted the hat a bit. “Little Frankie has a head full of dark hair, but your little Luci has some blonde fuzz on her head.”
I carefully took the baby from Mazzi and immediately pulled him close. I couldn’t help it; I started crying again. This was my baby. My son. I had a son. And a daughter. I looked up for Marcello, who was there in a flash. He used his left hand to wipe my eyes again with another tissue.
“Do you want Luci too?”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to take her from you.” I wanted him to hold Frankie as well. I knew there were going to be plenty of times that I would have both to deal with. But right now, I had Marcello here, and he could certainly hold one or both of the babies if he wanted.
“All right. Well, could you hold her for a moment? I want to get a new picture of you with the babies.”
Oh. I held out my free arm, and Marcello carefully transferred Luci to it. I was too busy staring down at our twins to realize he’d already taken several pictures. I looked up and realized we were now alone in the room.
“Where did Rio and Mazzi go?”
“Just outside the room. They’re giving us a moment.”
I smiled. “That’s nice and sweet,” I added. I hadn’t really done much, but a sudden wave of exhaustion hit me. “I’m super tired. Can you take the twins?”
I didn’t want to possibly drop one, even if I was reclining on the bed and they would only fall inches to it.
“Of course.”
I pulled Luci up and kissed her cheek. I did the same for Frankie, and then Marcello moved the babies from my arms to the portable crib that he’d moved up next to me. “There we go,” Marcello said once he had the babies in the crib. “Do you need anything?”
I shook my head. “Just sleep. I’m suddenly very tired, and I really didn’t do much.”
“There is physical exertion as well as mental. You’ve had a very emotional day,” Rio said as he reentered the room. “Would you like help lying down?”
“Just a bit, please? I would probably sleep sitting up, but I’m really tired.”
“Sleep when you can,” Rio said. He used magic this time to help me recline on the bed a bit more. “I will stop by in a few hours to check on everything. The twins are asleep; you should be as well.”
I nodded and struggled to keep my eyes open. “I can do that,” I managed to say before I yawned.
“Marcello, I have left a checklist over on the table. Call me if anything out of the ordinary starts to arise.”
“I will.”
I didn’t hear much else because despite the overwhelming desire to hold the babies, I let exhaustion take over, and I fell into a deep, blissful sleep.