Chapter 19
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Pamela heard the conversation, half amused and half outraged at the discussion going on around her, yet not overly put off about it either, since she and Anderson had already discussed that they should go for coffee or something after things settled down.
She wasn’t sure whether that offer had been intended as a joke or not. In these crisis situations, anything that could relieve the pressure and the stress was a good thing. Certainly they all needed ways to deal with what was going on right now.
She half laughed as she picked up the first baby and blew bubbles on her belly.
“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Even without knowing each triplet’s given name, all three babies just responded to the love and care in their caretakers’ tone of voice.
It wasn’t so much about making sure they had the right name for each baby.
Still, Pamela really, really hoped that Talia knew who was who and would soon tell them.
That alone would make things a whole lot easier.
She quickly changed all three of them and then called out to the guys, “Hey, anybody got free arms?” Immediately both men showed up. She smiled at them. “You guys are really good at this.”
“At what?” Burton asked suspiciously.
She burst out laughing, answering, “Coming after a call for help.”
“Yeah,” he muttered, after a moment’s thought, “that we are.” He reached out and picked up a baby, saying, “I’ve got …
Lisa.” There was dead silence for a moment, then Anderson and Pamela joined him in a moment of hysterical laughter.
At that, the baby in his arms laughed and giggled, then smacked him in the face.
“You, young lady, are likely the only woman I would ever let smack me in the face,” he muttered, as he blew belly bubbles on her, making her laugh with delight.
Pamela grinned as she handed Anderson baby number two. He smiled at her and asked, “I presume we’re talking food now?”
“Yeah, we’ve probably got a few minutes of happiness. Then the Lisas will realize they need something especially delicious to eat,” she shared, with a smile.
“Oh gross, are we talking baby food again? How many times do they eat each day?”
Pamela laughed. “Under these particular circumstances, I say we feed them anytime they are hungry, just maybe a snack one time and a meal the next. Talia can set them up for meals as she prefers. As for what to feed them, I’m not going with baby food too often.
No, I’ve got a little bit of pasta and some carrots precooked.
Let me see what else I’ve got up and running here for them. ”
Burton asked, “You made food for them?”
“Sure,” she said. “I mean, they need food, so no point in not making food.”
“No, I … I didn’t mean it that way.” She tossed him a look. Burton added, “I don’t know what I meant. We were just lost without you.”
“Let’s get real,” Anderson declared, looking from Burton to Pamela with a smile. “We’re still lost.”
“Well, you were, but you’re not lost anymore.” And, with that, she led the way to the living room, where they placed the babies on the big rug. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”
Anderson was waiting for Leland to show up in a few minutes, and, when he did, Anderson smiled at their newest team member and waved him inside. “Thanks for standing watch on Talia. Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s okay. I have a security guard who works for the hospital standing watch. Someone I’ve known for years, but he can’t step in too much as he’s got four kids; but for a few hours he was happy to help out as he was coming off shift at the hospital. Levi has used him several times as well.”
“I did see a message from Levi on that. Thanks. We need all the help we can get. Come on in and meet the family.”
Leland stepped inside, spotted the babies on the living room floor, and a huge grin spread across his face.
“Aren’t they adorable?” Anderson asked.
Leland walked over, bent down, scooped one up, and played with her in the air, showing a level of comfort that Anderson himself could only hope to achieve with time.
“You’re obviously used to babies,” Anderson noted.
“Oh yes,” he agreed, with a smile, “very much so.”
He spied Pamela as she joined them. He walked over and gave her a gentle hug and said, “I hear you’re our heroine of the hour.”
She frowned at him. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh, I do,” he countered. “Anybody who can step up and pitch in with triplets is definitely the heroine of the hour.”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding,” Anderson agreed, looking at her appreciatively. “We were surviving but drowning.”
“Is that even possible at the same time?” Leland asked, chuckling.
“We were trying hard to tread water at least. It’s amazing when you see somebody who is comfortable with babies, like you two,” Anderson pointed out, “versus people who have had zero experience, which was where Burton and I were at when we got here.”
Changing the subject, he turned to Leland and asked, “So you work for Levi?”
“I wouldn’t say that exactly,” he clarified, with a wry smile, “I’m private now, and I intend to stay that way. And, if you’ll be looking after the triplets for a while longer, you might need a new career too.”
Anderson nodded. “Definitely something to be considered.”
“It’s not something you need to worry about right now though,” Pamela interjected. “I get that stress is high and that everybody’s more than a little anxious, or in some cases”—she eyed Burton—“has a high level of anxiety over this right now, but I think we can sort it out once we get there.”
“I just need Talia to come back out of this,” Anderson stated, with a huff.
“Yeah, me too,” Burton added, frowning from Anderson to Leland. “What updates did the hospital have?”
Anderson spoke up, “I did speak to the doctor today, and everything is looking good. They’re looking at bringing her out of the induced coma in a few days.”
“That is very good news,” Pamela said. “I’m really glad to hear that.”
He looked over at the babies. “And these girls will be very happy as well.”
“How on earth do you tell them apart?” Leland asked, as he looked from one baby to the next to the next. At the sudden silence, he frowned at the others and then started to laugh. “Oh, … don’t tell me that you can’t tell them apart?”
“Nope, we sure can’t,” Anderson admitted, groaning. “And Talia will have my head for that.”
“Oh, she’ll understand,” he replied, still chuckling. “As long as she can tell them apart, this will not cripple them by any means.”
“Are you sure?” Anderson asked, with a smirk. “I already feel as if we’re doing them terrible damage by not having their names locked in.”
“Surely you have some system at least.” Leland again looked from one to the other.
“Nope,” Anderson said. “Early on in the heat of the moment, I just started calling all of them Lisa, and, as these guys came on to help, we never came up with anything better, so it stuck.”
Leland stared at him and started to snicker, which quickly turned into a huge uproarious belly laugh. When he finally calmed down, he shook his head. “Oh my. Thank you for that. I hadn’t considered that as an alternative, but it sounds absolutely perfect for you guys.”
Anderson nodded. “We’re really hoping my sister can tell them apart when she wakes up.”
“She will,” Leland stated comfortably. “Nothing quite like a mother’s love for knowing who of her children is who and which one is in trouble for what,” he shared, still laughing. He looked over at Pamela. “You’re a social worker?”
She nodded. “I also know Anderson from way back, so …” She shrugged.
“I couldn’t leave him to suffer on his own, although they were really doing okay,” she qualified, with a smile.
“I mean, I don’t want to knock their attempts because they were really working hard at it, but I just knew that caring for the babies and finding out who had done this to Talia would be impossible without some help. ”
“Indeed. And that’s also why I’m here. I heard from Gunner, by the way. He’s apparently trying to get loose of a job to come help too.” Leland stared at him for a long moment, and then he snorted. “I bet you didn’t tell him what you needed help with, did you?”
“Nope, I sure didn’t,” Anderson admitted, turning to face Burton. “Like you, Burton had no forewarning either.”
Leland smirked, shaking his head with wonder. “Oh my, I cannot imagine.”
“Nope, he couldn’t either. I think he’ll hold me responsible for some trauma he experienced related to these little charmers.”
“Of course, and he’ll probably make you pay every day forever more.”
Anderson grinned. “Yeah, those threats have been made already.”
Burton fired up at that. “Need I remind you of the several hours we spent literally elbow deep in baby shit with no relief in sight?”
“Please don’t remind me,” Anderson muttered, “but I do appreciate that you were here to help me out. You’ve done a hell of a job. And good on you for showing up. Did you warn Gunner?” Anderson asked Burton, with a knowing smirk.
“Oh, hell no,” Burton said, grinning. “I didn’t figure that was a good option either.”
“Nope, it sure isn’t,” Leland noted, still chuckling. “But, hey, if Gunner’s got any child-rearing experience, it’ll be easy peasy for him.”
Burton noted, “Not sure whether he does or not. I don’t think he’s comfortable with babies like you are, Leland.” Burton shook his head. “You’re a whole next level for us.”
Leland nodded. “I’ve got younger brothers and sisters and cousins and aunts, and who knows what else,” he shared.
“Wait, … younger aunts?” Pamela interrupted.
He laughed and nodded. “Yeah, my uncle remarried somebody much younger than him, so, you know, it’s one of those strange family facts.”
“Good God.”
He laughed. “I come from a big family where nobody is too concerned about birth control, so lots of babies have been born through the years,” he shared, with a smile.
“And I didn’t mind at all, but I saw the handwriting on the wall when I turned eighteen and had to leave.
I couldn’t stick around to be the permanent babysitter.
And, of course, every time I turned around, a million women were pushed my way.
All in a big hurry to have babies of their own, lots of them …
and fast,” he described, shaking his head.
“So, do you have any kids?” Pamela asked Leland.
“No. That wasn’t necessarily something I wanted for myself, certainly not at that point in time, but family being family, they just couldn’t help themselves from trying to hook me up all the time. You know the drill.”
She smiled and nodded. “Oh, I do. Nothing quite like a happy family who wants everybody else to have their own happy family.”
“And yet their version of a happy family,” he explained, with a sigh, “was literally to procreate as often as possible.”
“You’re saying no to that, huh?” Anderson asked, with a snort.
“Maybe one day, but definitely not as many as they’re having and only when I feel like it, not a single day earlier,” he declared, with a shudder.
Then he pointed at the front door. “If you guys are okay here, I’ll head out and get some more information from a local snitch.
I’ve got a good man at the hospital on Talia, so everything should be fine there. ”
“Yes, we’re fine here,” Anderson replied, with a wave at the door. “Go.”