Chapter Seventeen #2
Peyton burps our daughter after a few minutes of her eating and then switches her to the other side.
I use this time to change Chayne’s diaper after getting him settled down with one of those pacifiers.
My girl nurses our daughter and hands her over for me to burp and change while taking Chayne in her arms. I know the moment she notices what’s going on with him.
Peyton’s body tenses and silent tears roll down her face.
It doesn’t stop her from looking over every single inch of our boy though.
Once our twins are fed, Peyton tells me to let people in our room.
It’s time for our family to meet the twins and welcome them.
With a nod of my head, I open the door and Brick gives me a nod because he knows what’s about to happen.
Letting the door close once more, I give it a minute before our room is full of everyone we love and hold close in our lives.
“Where’s my Baby Girl?” Peyton’s dad asks, making his way in the room before anyone else.
I watch as he makes his way to the opposite side of the bed and leans down to give her a gentle hug so he doesn’t hurt her.
The two of them whisper for a few seconds as the tears continue to roll down my girl’s face.
My parents, Kimber, and Callum surround me as Jennifer, her mom Kelly, and Barb surround her dad, Gary.
Everyone else fills in around the room where they can as I move the bassinet closer to me.
No one needs to accidentally bump into it and wake the twins up when they just went back to sleep.
“They’re so small,” Kimber comments as she looks down at the twins with Caydence in her arms.
Cedric moves through the room until he’s standing right next to me.
I watch as he pretends not to look in the bassinet at his new babies.
Since we didn’t know what we were having, he’s just been saying they’re his babies.
It’s cute as fuck if you ask me. Bending down, I lift him up in my arms so he can get a better look at them.
“Do you wanna know their names?” I ask him, my voice softer than normal as everyone in the room stops talking.
“Yes,” he whispers, not moving his eyes from the twins.
“Your baby brother’s name is Chayne Matthew and your sister’s name is Cooper Alexandra. What do you think of them?” I ask him, moving closer so he can get a better look at the babies.
“Small,” he whispers, still staring at them.
“They are small. But they’ll get bigger like you and Caydence. It’s just gonna take some time,” I inform him as Gary walks over and lifts Chayne in his arms and holds him close to his body.
When Peyton was sleeping, I stepped out of the room briefly to inform everyone what was going on with our son.
The last thing I wanted was for everyone to enter the room and make a comment that hurt Peyton.
They all understood where I was coming from and I know the ol’ ladies of the club have already gone into detective mode to research the hell out of what Chayne has and what has to be done to help him.
That’s just who they are and what they do.
Especially Kimber because she loves Peyton and this is her niece and nephew.
“I watch them,” Cedric says, his voice full of determination and I know he means those words. He already watches over Caydence and it will be the same with the twins. Maybe worse because they are so much smaller than Caydence is.
“Can I hold the other one?” Kimber asks me as I nod in response.
Cedric’s attention immediately goes to Kimber where she lifts Cooper from the bassinet and cradles my daughter against her chest. Gary and the rest of Peyton’s family are focused on Chayne as my family circles around Kimber and Cooper.
Everyone else is patiently awaiting their turn to hold one of the twins while I keep Cedric in my arms and move to stand closer to Peyton.
“Is this too much for you?” I ask her, needing to know if people need to start leaving the room.
“No. It’s perfect,” she responds, a soft smile on her face as she looks around the room.
Marie is taking pictures with her phone while everyone else talks in small groups and pays attention to Cedric, Caydence, and the twins.
“Alright. Let’s leave the family alone so they can bond,” Rooster finally says with Chayne in his arms. “Cedric and Caydence need to be alone with their parents. If you need anythin’, we’ll be in the waitin’ room.
Marie has to leave for a little bit but is bringin’ dinner back with her for you guys. No hospital food while you’re in here.”
Everyone gives us encouraging words and hugs before leaving the six of us alone in the hospital room.
The only other person to interrupt us is the doctor to explain what will happen with Chayne moving forward.
Eventually he’ll have to have surgery to remove the top of his skull.
This will release the pressure building up on his brain as he grows and gets older.
I don’t really know what else has to happen because I know this surgery will happen in the next few months when he’s so damn young and small.
Fear is consuming me with the thought of having our son in an operating room all alone with strangers and me not being able to help him through a hard situation.
The outcome of his life isn’t in my hands and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Cedric stays in the bed with his mom for the most part.
The only time he gets out is when she needs to feed them.
That’s when he sits on my lap and we watch cartoons until the babies are ready to be changed and burped for the last time before going back to sleep again.
Peyton and I both take turns holding our older two children and playing with them the best we can so they don’t feel left out or as if we don’t care about them any longer.
We won’t ever hurt them intentionally or make them feel like they don’t matter to us.
Especially with all the appointments coming up.
Peyton tries her hardest to keep the pain and fear from her while the kids are in with us.
It doesn’t always work, but I’m proud of how strong she is in front of the kids.
When they are taken by Gary and Kelly, that’s when Peyton breaks down and cries again.
I hold her in my arms and let her cry until she has no more tears to shed.
That’s how she falls asleep while the twins are sleeping.
Instead of allowing myself to get some sleep, I remain awake and watch over my family.
This is how I’ll be for a while moving forward because I’m terrified something else is gonna happen to one of them and we won’t be awake when it happens.