Chapter Five
THE TRIP TO THE hospital whizzed past Avery, all she remembers as they wheel her through the double doors leading from the helipad is that the paramedics worked to get both babies to latch onto her breasts to feed.
Caroline had no trouble, latching on as if she depended on it, and she very well did. But Everett struggled and couldn’t get a good latch. So with Logan’s help, he manually pumped her breast so that their littlest miracle could get the life-saving nutrients that he needed.
Now, as they make it on the maternity floor of the hospital, the nurses on staff and Dr. Burnett’s partner pry the babies from her grasp and she instantly feels a sense of loss.
They placed her in a birthing room that contained two incubators and she watches as Logan trails after the doctor holding his children.
As the doctor unwraps Caroline from her warm blanket she lets out a heartbreaking wail and Avery’s eyes mist over. She looks at Logan’s expression, watching for any signs of distress, but he simply smiles as the tiny newborn reaches hold to grasp his finger while the doctor takes measurements.
With a clean diaper fastened on her bottom, the doctor carries Caroline over to allow Avery to place a kiss on her before returning to place her in the incubator.
“Miss Caroline weighs in at four and a half pounds and is seventeen inches long. She looks very healthy, but we need to keep her in the NICU for a few weeks to make sure her lungs are fully developed and that she can eat and digest on her own.”
Avery simply nods and watches as the physician moves towards the other nurse that holds Everett in his arms, Logan follows suit.
Everett doesn’t make much noise as he is unpacked from his blankets, his eyes blurrily taking in everything surrounding him.
Logan strokes a gentle finger across the top of his head with a hint of brown fuzz that matches his sister’s and then trails it down his tiny arm to his wiggling fingers which grasp him tightly.
She witnesses the wide smile on Logan’s face as he gazes down at his son in awe and she can’t help the smile that graces her face as well.
Everett finally protests when Logan has to step back and remove his finger to let the doctor get his weight. He continues to whimper as she straps a diaper over his body, but he relaxes when she turns around and brings him closer to the bed.
“Say hi to mommy.”
Avery leans forward and presses a soft peck to her son’s cheek as she whispers, “I love you, sweet boy.”
Her heart swells with love as his eyes seek hers and she can swear a hint of a smile perks on the corners of his lips just before the doctor carries him back towards the incubator.
“Your young man weighs in at three and three-quarter pounds and he’s fifteen inches long, quite a bit smaller than his sister.
Dr. McCafferty briefed me on his birth and we’re going to keep a good watch on him; make sure that he’s developing physically and cognitively at the rate he should be.
There is a good chance he may be here longer than his sister so you need to be prepared for that,” she cautions and Avery’s breath catches in her throat.
Logan must sense her anxiety because he reaches for her shoulder and squeezes gently.
“You did great, Mrs. Chamberlain, and you have two beautiful babies that need you to be strong for them. I’ll have the lactation specialist stop by and speak with you; otherwise, you’re welcome to visit them in the NICU as soon as you’re up for it. Right now, try to get some rest.”
Avery stares at the group as they exit, scooting the two incubators holding her heart out of the room. Her breath catches in her chest and she feels an ache travel through her body and out of her limbs.
She parts her lips to speak, but only a gravely tone surges forth as she whispers her husband’s name, “Logan,” before turning to collapse into his arms where he cradles her in his quiet strength.
THE SUN SETTING OUTSIDE her window streams across her cheeks. She follows the beams to where her husband rests in the chair in the corner of the room, a peaceful expression on his face.
He must sense her gaze because he opens his eyes and smiles warmly.
“You ready to go see them?”
“Yes, please.”
“Ok, I’ll call the nurse to help you. They’ll probably want to push you in a wheelchair.”
“That’s fine, they could drag me across the floor naked and I’d still want to go,” Avery jokes.
“There’s my girl. I thought I lost you there for a while,” he adds as he presses his lips against hers, pouring his love out.
An older woman waltzes into the room and cheerfully breaks through their moment.
“Who’s ready to meet two of the cutest twins I’ve ever seen?”
Avery giggles as Logan smiles widely at the nurse, his panty-dropping smile, who then braces a hand on her chest as she murmurs, “Oh, my.”
The trip up to the NICU floor feels like it takes hours. The nurse helps Avery prepare to enter the room and explains the set up before buzzing her through the secured doors.
Logan grips her hand tightly as they take in the large room filled with incubators containing premature and sick babies.
She tries to smile towards the other parents and volunteers in the room, each taking care of a special baby, but the stretch of her lips is forced and weak; until she spots a larger container with a tag saying “Chamberlain Babies A and B.”
“Good evening, Mom and Dad. Are you here to hold your little ones?”
“Yes, and I’d like to try to feed them, please.”
“Absolutely, we can draw the curtain to give you a bit of privacy as well.”
“How are they doing?” Avery asks as Logan helps her into the rocking chair.
“Well, we had a bit of an episode with Everett about an hour ago, he was having trouble breathing. So we decided to see if placing the twins together would help, and it did. He’s been doing miraculously well since then. And Caroline is a strong little girl. I believe they’re going to be just fine.”
Avery settles herself into the chair with a new sense of determination. If her children could be strong then so could she; she had to be.
“Ok, I’m ready.”
***
IF THIS CAR RIDE takes any longer Nikki may very well strangle her husband.
She realizes that it isn’t his fault that the traffic on the highway leading to Asheville crawls at the pace of a snail, or that he is leading the caravan to the hospital, making sure he maintains a good speed to keep everyone together, but she is anxious.
She had just witnessed her best friend give an unexpected delivery to two premature babies and all she can focus on is getting to her scared friend.
So, yes, she realizes that it isn’t Austin’s fault that the one hour trip is creeping into the two-hour range, but he is about to get smacked by her large purse sitting at her feet.
She turns her glare away from the slow moving traffic and sets her sights on Austin.
“How much longer?”
“I don’t know, maybe another thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes?” she shouts.
As the car comes to a halt once more he turns his attention away from the road.
“I know it’s frustrating, but there isn’t anything any of us can do. Why don’t you lie back and take a nap?”
“Take a nap, Austin? My best friend is at a hospital probably terrified and you want me to take a nap?”
“Darlin’, she has Logan with her and I’m sure she’s had a chance to see her babies. Freaking out isn’t going to get us there any faster. Just relax, we’ll get to the hospital soon enough.”
Nikki searches his eyes as she takes a few deep breaths, his handsome face never leaving his focus on her.
“I suppose that you’re right. I’m just scared, Austin. What if that had happened and Brooks or any of us weren’t around? I can’t believe that Everett wasn’t breathing.”
Taking her hand into his as he moves the vehicle a few feet, Austin admits, “I think about what I would have done if it was you and Grace? I almost choke on my fear thinking about that. But it wasn’t and Brooks was there so we can’t live in the what ifs, just trust that everything has happened the way it was meant to.
” Nikki nods solemnly as Austin adds, “And look, it seems it was a broken tractor blocking most of the lanes, so once we’re through this we should be there in about ten minutes. ”
Finally, a sense of peace calms down the urgency that had rushed over her and Nikki closes her eyes and rests back against the seat.
“I’m just going to rest my eyes,” she claims and ignores the chuckle coming from Austin’s direction.
A sudden jerking of her shoulder causes Nikki to sit up straight from her rest against the seat and her arms slash around wildly.
“Calm down, beautiful. It’s just me. We’re here,” Austin whispers as he strokes his hand from her shoulder down to her hand, leaving a chill of goose bumps in its wake.
“I’m sorry, I must have passed out.”
“That’s ok; you’ve had a busy and eventful day. But I think you have two very important people waiting to meet their aunt Nikki.”
In her typical fashion, since her hormones change her emotions in the drop of a hat, Nikki excitedly claps her hands.
She and Austin follow the rest of the group up to the maternity floor where they are placed in a small waiting room.
The nurse advises that only a few go at a time and Joseph and Amy, carrying a bag of clothes, follow the nurse towards Avery and Logan’s room as the rest all wait staring at the small television in the corner. No one speaks, or laughs, or moves, everyone simply waits patiently for their rotation.
Brooks comes into the room thirty minutes later and takes the only empty seat, which happens to be next to Everleigh.
Nikki watches with interest as he places a muscled arm on the back of her chair and whispers something into her ear.
Everleigh nods once and then turns her attention back to the television.
Finally, Joseph returns with a teary-eyed, yet smiling Amy.
“You two can go next,” Joseph directs to her and Austin. “They’ve been asking for you both.”
“Come on, darlin’”
They follow the nurse as he directs them to a room at the end of the hall.
“Here we are. I believe they want to take you to see the twins, so I’ll wait here to escort Mrs. Chamberlain.”
Nikki enters the room and almost collapses in joy when she sees her friend smiling widely as she and Logan gaze at a camera in his hands.
“Nikki!” Avery exclaims as she props herself up on her pillows.
“Oh, Avery,” she cries as she rushes as fast as she can on swollen ankles to the bed. “How are you feeling?”
Grinning, Avery says, “I’m good. Nikki, I have two babies. Oh my gosh, they’re just…everything.”
“I’m so happy for you, Avery. For you both,” Nikki adds as she glances over to where Logan and Austin stand against the window, sexy smirks on their faces as they gaze at them.
“Would you like to go meet them?” Logan asks as he looks over to Austin.
“Absolutely. There is a nurse outside the door with a chair for Avery if she isn’t up to walking just yet.”
Nikki and Austin walk hand in hand as they follow behind Logan and a shuffling Avery up to the NICU unit. Once they get approval to enter, the group heads towards the back of the room where the twins reside.
Nikki glances into the plastic container and can’t help the look of awe that graces her face. The two tiny infants lie next to each other, one o each of their hands clasped together, each baby needing the connection of the other.
“Say hello to Caroline and Everett. Caroline and Everett, say hello to your godparents,” Logan introduces as he wraps an arm around Avery.
“Really? Guys, we’d be honored to be their godparents. Thank you so much.”
“Would you like to hold them?” a nurse asks from where she checks the monitors, each sprouting wires that trace down to the babies.
“Yes, please.”
It takes a few minutes, but the nurse places a bundled Caroline into Austin’s hold and then a sleeping Everett into Nikki’s waiting arms.
“Oh guys, they are just gorgeous. Hi, little Everett, I’m your aunt Nikki and I love you so much. I’m going to spoil you and your sister with all of the sugar you can imagine and then hand you back to your parents.”
“Gee, thanks,” Logan chuckles.
Averting her gaze from the sleeping form in her arms, Nikki looks up at Avery, who stands beside her brother Austin staring down at Caroline.
“You have a beautiful family. Congratulations, guys.”
Just then a rumble sounds from beneath the blanket in her arms and then a waft of horrific stench passes across her nose.
“And this is my cue to hand Mr. Everett back to the nurse.”