Chapter 16: Just a little Anxiety

Chapter 16

BPOV

You know what Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry, Jessica Alba, and Angelina Jolie all have in common?

Any guesses? No?

They are aliens! I’m serious.

Okay, maybe I’m not that serious.

Clearly I must have lost my mind, but considering that these four beautiful women managed to go back to the original size they were before they were pregnant and not manage to show a single stretchmark or wrinkle just in time for bikini season was beyond me.

Edward had bought me a couple of these stupid gossip magazines to keep me occupied while he worked on a few things at his office. Most of these magazines prodded and prattled about how sexy and curvy these women were and how amazing it was that they lost the weight quickly.

I know some people lose their baby weight quickly, but why didn’t any of these mags show the curvy mommies? The mommies with a little flub left on them. Some wear and tear. No?

I know they’re out there and yet these mags focused solely on the ones that got that were small and managed to get their figures back. I guess I was on the defense in my own case since I still held on to most of my baby weight.

I threw the cluster of magazines onto the floor beside my bed. I didn’t even know why Edward bothered getting me these magazines, knowing my emotions were all over the place. He just wanted to keep me busy.

It had only been two weeks since I had my babies and I was suffering from a serious bout of separation anxiety.

I thought I could handle being away from them, but I was clearly wrong. Oh so very wrong.

 I felt bad. I even teased Alice when she cried for three hours straight after leaving Max with her mother when she had to return from her maternity leave. Looking back on it now, I realized how stupid I was for laughing at her. Now I was in her shoes.

I guess what they say is true; you never know how it feels until it’s your own babies being left in the NICU.

 After my mandatory 3-4 days of recovery from my C-section, I was discharged and sent home. I wanted to stay there with them, but I knew I had to go home to finish recovering. Edward had to practically drag, well wheel me out, where I continued my crying spree for the next six hours.

I knew I was being overly dramatic, but considering the fact that my stomach was extremely tender, I was tired, my hormones were all over the over the place,  and my babies weren’t leaving with me, I had every right to act the way I wanted.

When we got home, I just relaxed. Edward wouldn’t let me lift a finger to do anything. He wouldn’t even let Jerry who weighed no more than five pounds crawl over onto my lap. Edward was paranoid at first, but it wasn’t like I could do much.

 My stiches were healing nicely, although moving around still hurt like a bitch. Luckily everything I wanted was close by and my family often stopped by to see if I was okay.

I was physically, but mentally, my mind was elsewhere.  The time I did spend visiting my babies, I would just sit and watch them. I would stroke their little fingers and talk to them mindlessly. I memorized every little detail of their faces and their movements.

I still found it odd to think, that Edward and I had created these six little beings; so small and innocent of the world and the things around them. It would forever be ingrained in my mind the memories of their first breaths, their cries, when they first opened their eyes to look at me. Even their little burps and farts, would forever be an addition in my heart.

But even all of those things could compare to when I first held them. Carmen and Kate; the tuplets attending nurses in the NICU, advised us about contact comfort and how it helps most premature babies improve. We would lay them against the bare skin of our chest and the warmth from our touch was enough to help them physically and psychologically.

“Here you go, careful they’re a little fussy today.” Carmen and Kate grinned. She settled a baby in each of our arms. We both opened the gowns to reveal our chests.

I had Gavin and Noah, while Edward held Auden and Brayden against his chest.

Gavin and Noah were fussy at first, but as soon as they both touched my bare chest, they immediately calmed down and snuggled close. Auden and Brayden did the same to Edward. I pressed my lips to the both of their little heads and breathed in the soft floral scent that lingered on their skin. It was just amazing. I swear, if I could just bottle up that scent alone, I would make millions.

I closed my eyes and relished in the moment. It felt like no more than a couple of minutes had passed, when I felt Carmen nudge my shoulder. I looked up at her.

“Is it time already?” I pouted.

“Afraid so sweetie. It’s time for them to get fed and get a fresh diaper.” She smiled.

“Okay.” I sighed. Much to my chagrin, I had to let them go. I kissed both of their foreheads once more, before Carmen came to get them. Much to my amusement it seemed like neither one of my little boys wanted to let me go. Noah was beginning to cry and Gavin had a death grip on a lock of my hair. I pried his fingers off and he let out a small huff of annoyance. I kissed his fingertips, and watched as Carmen just laughed and carried them away.

“Amazing isn’t it? They know it’s you out of hundreds. Your scent and heartbeat alone is enough for them to recognize you.” Edward said, grabbing my hand.

“And I know them. I’d recognize my babies anywhere.” I breathed. He kissed the palm of my hand and began buttoning up his shirt. I motioned to do the same, but stopped when Carmen and Kate came up behind us.

“What are you two doing? I think you guys are forgetting about two other little people. I looked over my shoulder to see them both carrying Ethan and Daniel in their arms.

“I thought they were all being fed?” I asked, quickly unbuttoning my shirt.

“They were. Ethan was already being fed while you and Edward were busy and we waited with Daniel to see if he would latch on again.” Kate smiled, handing over Ethan to Edward, who immediately snuggled against his chest. Carmen came over with Daniel and I pulled down the strap of my sports bra revealing my right breast. At this point, I over the fact that my boob was out, considering it was nothing we all hadn’t seen before, especially in a hospital.

She adjusted him in my arms and positioned his mouth over my nipple, where he immediately latched on and began sucking.

Auden, Ethan, Noah, Brayden, and Gavin were all on a special high calorie formula while our little man Daniel was to be breastfed alongside his own special blend of formula. He was still struggling with his breathing and gaining weight. The babies had managed to gain a couple of ounces over the past week, while he only managed to gain one.  He wasn’t taking well to the various formulas they tried, so breast milk was our next option.

Normally being pregnant, the body’s normal reaction would be to produce a sufficient amount of milk. Since I exceeded that number, my production of milk was through the roof.

Although I heard it was possible to breastfeed multiples, I knew it would be exhausting to even try to feed them all.

They had attempted switching him over to the bottle with formula  while I pumped daily, but he was beginning to dislike it and trying to get him to latch on was our only option left before he got a feeding tube to get his nutrients.

We had tried three times already, but today he seemed content. “Danny” as we began calling him, was sucking contently and his milky blue eyes were looking up at me curiously. He was still small, but I could tell that there was something so much bigger inside of him, waiting to get out.

I looked over at Edward who was mumbling nonsense at Ethan, who was beginning to fall asleep; his blue eyes drifting closed with each passing second. None of the tuplets eye colors had changed from their bluish hue yet, so it was going to be interesting seeing how they turned out.

Edward must have felt my stare on him because he turned his face towards me.

He leaned over.

“How’s my little man?” Edward cooed, stroking his finger down the side of Danny’s face.

“Hungry.” I laughed, switching him over to my other breast. I looked over at Ethan who was sound asleep; his head nestled into the crook of Edward’s neck. Danny looked over at Edward and began gurgling.

“What’s that Danny? What’s my baby boy trying to say?” I laughed, when he passed gas.

“Well I guess that’s your answer.” Edward grinned. Danny finished sucking and I carefully raised him to my shoulder and pulled my bra strap back up.

“Can I burp him?” Edward asked. I nodded my head and we switched babies. I laid Ethan’s head against my shoulder while Edward attempted to burp Daniel. After letting out a satisfactory burp, Carmen and Kate came and retrieved our boys to settle them down for a nap.

Now if that wasn’t the most perfect moment I’ve ever experienced in y life, then I didn’t know what perfect was.

………6LF……..

“Eeek! I’m so excited!” I squealed bouncing on the balls of my feet.

“Relax love, we’re almost there.” Edward said, resting his hand against my shoulder as we walked down the hallway.

“Edward, you’re just excited as I am so hush.” I chastised. He just laughed and I rolled my eyes at his antics. I had every right to be excited. Today I was taking my babies home with me; well at least Auden, Brayden, Ethan, and Gavin were coming home. Noah was struggling with his eyesight and we were slowly but surely bringing up Danny’s weight, but until then, they both had to stay here.

After signing the necessary forms and speaking to Dr. Biers about their health, we were ushered inside where I looked at my little angels. They were all awake, squirming and gurgling happily on their backs. At only 8 weeks of age, I could already see their personalities beginning to shine through.

Edward and I cooed and fussed over Noah and Danny, who were looking up at us with hopeful eyes. It killed me to leave them both here, but they just weren’t ready to come home yet. Noah had a breathing tube attached to his nose and was reaching up and was sucking on his left thumb. I carefully picked him and breathed in his soft baby scent. He was so soft and immediately snuggled against my chest, grabbing a lock of my hair. All the babies had been doing that lately and I wondered if that was their way of saying they recognized me. I did the same with Danny who was gurgling at Edward before putting him down.

We were all set to go home. We had brought the van and had carried up four car seats. Three blue and one pink. The babies had to get one final checkup before they were brought out.

My little girl Auden was the first to be brought out. She was awake and cooing softly, sucking on her thumb.

Edward immediately grabbed her from Kate and kissed her forehead, before settling her into her carrier.

Carmen then came behind her, carrying Brayden and Gavin who were fast asleep in her arms. We each grabbed a baby and carefully strapped them into their seats, cautious not to rustle them.

It was better to let them sleep; it’ll make the drive home much easier.

“So any lingering questions you want to ask us before you leave?” Carmen asked.

“Not really. I mean is there an exact time frame before I can take home Danny and Noah? I want all my babies’ home with me, not just four of them.” I asked. She smiled softly at me.

“What mother does? Noah might come home as soon as we’re sure his eyes are okay.” She replied.

My poor baby boy was suffering from the same eye problem as I was.  Although his eyes still held that newborn shade of blue, his left eye was a significantly darker shade of blue almost bordering on the shade of brown and significantly weaker than the other. Like me, Noah’s eyes were very sensitive to light, which resulted in excessive blinking and his eyes watering like crazy. My mom said I suffered with the same thing as an infant and had to wear special glasses until I was about 2 years old.

“Well we talked to our ophthalmologist Dr. Fields, and he’ll be watching over Noah for the next couple of days to monitor his eyesight, so I assume he’ll be here for another week or so. As for Daniel, or “Danny” as you’re calling him, he might be released as well in the next week or two. He’s finally getting to where we want him to and his breathing is almost back to normal.” Kate added.

“That’s good.” Edward said. Auden let out a soft whimper. He walked over to her carrier.

“Shh, it’s okay pretty girl.” He cooed, and she immediately ceased whimpering. I smiled at the sight of the two of them She was definitely going to be a Daddy’s girl. After talking to them both for a couple of minutes and signing their release papers, we were on our way out.

…………………….

14 days later…

 “Come on sweet girl, burp for daddy.” I cooed to the little girl of my life. Edward was in the process of burping Auden and I was just in awe at the sight of them both. Auden was the only baby up at the moment and for that I was glad.  My other five angels, yes five, were sound asleep in their cribs.

Nicknamed “Audi” by Jacob (Which I nearly killed him for nicknaming my daughter after a car) was beginning to look more like me with each passing day.  Edward swore that he didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, to which I just laughed.

 She had my nose and lips, and although she didn’t have that much hair, the little tuffs that she did have, were thick, brown, and wavy. I was definitely going to have a hard time combing it when she got older. Auden’s eyes were still the newborn shade of blue, so I had no way of knowing whose eyes she was going to take, although I wished she would have Edward’s green ones.

Auden was also quite the daddy’s girl. Over the past couple of days she would fuss and cry until Edward would grab her from her crib where she would immediately cease her crying and look up at him. I guess it was the whole bonding thing and Edward wanting a girl so badly that she just knew. Auden was already his “little angel”. Edward was just beside himself and she looked up at him as if he hung the moon.

I watched as my loving husband, dressed only in a pair of boxers and his reading eyeglasses, patted our little girl’s back, in which she promptly burped and spit up. Right down Edward’s back.

“Looks like she just left you a present.” I laughed. Edward wrinkled his nose in disgust. Auden just cooed in response.

“You’re lucky you’re so cute, or I would totally find this revolting.” He grimaced, kissing her tiny nose before handing her over to me. He quickly got up and walked into the bathroom to clean himself up. I grabbed a soft wash cloth and cleaned her face. I played with her tiny little toes and fingers until she fell into a soft slumber. I had just laid her into her crib when I heard a shrill cry come from the baby monitor.

“I got it.” Edward hollered, bounding down the hallway.  I checked to make sure Auden was sleeping soundly, when Edward came back into the room holding our two disgruntled twin boys Noah and Gavin in each of his arms.

Noah had come home a week ago with the okay from Dr. Fields about his eyes. Since one of his eyes was still weaker than the other, my poor baby had to wear an eye patch over his good eye so that his weaker eye could strengthen. It irritated him dearly, which often resulted with his sorrowful wailing and me in tears.

Edward handed him over to me, while passing me a bottle with his other hand. I still was feeding him breast milk which was helping his weight improve significantly. Gavin was gurgling nonsense in his ear while he grabbed another bottle for him to drink.

Gavin and Noah were just hilarious. I know it hard to believe that their personalities were so evident at just two and a half months of age, but their little temperaments were just too cute not to notice.

Although identical in appearance sans Noah eyes, their personalities were so different yet the same. Both of my boys woke up like clockwork.  When one woke, so did the other, when it came to feedings, if one of my boys was hungry it was only a matter of time before the other cried out to be fed as well.

Gavin was my little hungry man. With each passing day he was growing bigger and bigger. He was such a happy baby, cooing and gurgling the few hours he was awake. He was very quiet and Edward and I constantly checked on him to make sure he was okay.

Noah on the other hand was a completely different story. He was constantly irritated by the eye patch on his eye and made it known that he was not pleased. Noah was very vocal and let everyone know until he got his way.

After feeding the both of them, they fell asleep and our house was silent. Edward opened up his arms and gestured for me to come sit in his lap. I got up and hesitated. I definitely didn’t weigh the same before I got pregnant and worried if I was going to be too heavy.

Edward must have seen the expression on my face because he just rolled his eyes and pulled me onto his lap, tucking my head into the crook of his neck. I sighed and breathed in the fresh scent of soap on his skin.

“Tired love?” he mumbled against the temple of head. I just nodded. We sat there in silence relishing in the silence we did have, when we heard it on the baby monitor. We had 6, each one attached to the side of the crib, to signal which baby needed our attention. This time is was Danny, my “little fighter”.  His soft whimper continued and quickly became a distressed wail.

“I’ll get it.” Edward smiled against my shoulder. He gave me a soft kiss on the lips before heading down the hallway.

I closed my eyes and sighed. Maybe I could get just a little shut eye. I was just beginning to drift off when another baby monitor went off. This time it was Ethan. I yawned and quietly got up.

Duty calls.

Chapter 15: Turning Two into Eight

Chapter 15

EPOV

32 weeks Thursday…

“You ready man?” Garrett asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Do I look like ready?” I replied back snidely. I was a mess. I had dark circles under my eyes and my hair was in such disarray that it just looked like clusters of glue mixed with hair on top of my head. My skin was sweating profusely, and my leg wouldn’t stop shaking.

I swear if you hadn’t known I was about to go to a business meeting, you would have thought I was a crack or heroin addict suffering from withdrawals. Nothing could calm me down. Not even Bella, who I had visited earlier during the day. I had avoided telling her anything about this meeting, because she really didn’t need any more stress added to her than she had to deal with. Her little scare on Monday had me  shitting bricks and by Tuesday, I ready to throw in the towel and stay by her side at all costs ,but being the stubborn person that she is, told me to grow a pair and go to work. Only my Bella.

“You want a hit of this man?” Garrett gestured to his coat jacket. I looked at him confusedly. He rolled his eyes and pulled out a small silver flask and handed it towards me. I shook my head vehemently.

 “I can’t. That’s so unprofessional and...” He raised a hand to stop me.

“Look man, I know you’re the boss man and this may come off as being unprofessional, but man, you need it. Hell we all do. In fact, during lunch we all headed downtown to get a couple of drinks. We all need a bit of mellowing out and so do you. At least take a sip to calm your nerves a bit.” Garrett reached out once more and I grudgingly obliged.

I screwed the cap off the flask and took a hesitant sip. The alcohol burned the lining of my throat and I had to fight the urge not to cough. It was straight up vodka. Surprisingly the alcohol seemed to ease my nerves and I took long gulp.

“Whoa there. I said a hit, not a punch. You’re the boss man. We don’t want you off your rocker.” Garrett laughed patting me on the back. I handed him the flask back and stood up.

“Better?” I nodded my head and looked down at my watch; it was almost showtime. Mr. Volt and his team would be here in less than a couple of minutes. My dad was on call at the hospital, so I was riding this one solo. I was just about to ask Garrett if our team was ready when the elevators dinged at the end of the hall signaling Mr. Volt’s arrival.

“Ready?” Garrett asked again.

“Ready.” I lied, when I wanted nothing more than to grab the flask back and get drunk off my rocker.

……………..

“Shouldn’t you be elated man? We got the deal!” Garrett grinned, raising up his hand for a high five.

“Yeah, ecstatic.” I lied, high fiving him back.  A part of me was happy that Mr. Volt and his crew decided to merge their company with us, but the other half of me wondered if they decided to merge with us because they wanted to or because someone’s mother asked them to.

Imagine my surprise when I  went to greet Mr. Volt, that I not only see him, but his mother as well, who just happens to be Bella’s friend Dora Volturi. I guess it didn’t click right then and there, but when he introduced her as his mother, and that he shortened his name to distinguish himself; all train of thought seemed to have disappeared from my head.

All I could do was stand there and gape at her like an open mouthed fish until I put two and two together. Mr. Volt didn’t notice, but Mrs. Volturi did and threw me a sly wink before following her son into the boardroom.

The meeting with without a hitch, as figures and documents were discussed and signed. It was the longest hour and a half of my life. Once they left, the room let out their own cheers and cries as we made the deal. It was our only chance at redemption and we made it. We actually made it and while I should have joined in the festivities, the little voice in the back of my head nagged at me. I just wanted to know. Pride was a powerful thing and a part of me wanted to throw this all away if my fears were to be true.

I spoke with Garrett and a few others, when I noticed Mrs. Volturi outside speaking with Mrs. Cope. I quickly denied their requests to go out to celebrate and quietly left the room. Mrs. Volturi had just finished speaking with Mrs. Cope when I approached her.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Volturi. May I speak with you for a moment?” I asked politely. She nodded her head.

“Of course dear. How is that wife of yours? Are those gorgeous babies here yet?”  She smiled.

“Bella’s fine, and no they’re not here yet. Hopefully not for a while until they are nice and healthy, but that’s not what I wanted to speak with you about.” I answered.

“Mrs. Volturi…”

“Nope, none of that. It’s Dora to you.” She replied. Okay.

“Dora, I was wondering if I could ask you a question about this deal, if you don’t mind?”  I asked.

“No I don’t mind, although I kinda got a hunch about what you want to ask.” Dora smiled. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

“Um yeah, I was wondering if you influenced your son’s decision today?” I asked.

“Well of course I did. I am a partner you know.” She smirked.

“That’s not what I meant.” I admonished.

“You’re wondering if I made my son take the deal because I told him to?” Dora asked softly and I nodded my head.

“No I didn’t. Yes I did tell him that I remember seeing you before and that I know your wife, but that did not influence his opinion a bit. My son is very… very headstrong just like his father, but he has a great judge of character when it comes to business. You could have a dollar to your name and he still probably would have invested into your company.” Dora smiled.

“Really?” I smiled.

“Edward my poor boy, I didn’t raise a fool and I know your mother didn’t either, but don’t let your pride get in the way of your happiness. It just causes a lot of problems. Now I know my son is probably waiting on me, so I outta go. But see you soon son and hopefully when I do, you’ll have those beautiful babies with you.” Dora grinned, patting my hand before walking towards the elevator.

I stood there mentally punching myself for even thinking such a thing when my cell phone rang. I felt a smile spread across my face when I saw her name light up at me and knew that no matter how I felt, there she was to cheer me up.

…………………..

32 weeks Friday…..

“Cause baby you're a firework”
“Come on show 'em what you're worth”
“Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"”
“As you shoot across the sky-y-y”

“Explain to me why I brought you two with me again?” I asked Emmett and Liam for the third consecutive time this afternoon. Jerry was included as well in our little road trip (He felt neglected), lounging in the backseat beside Liam, and yet he was better company than the other two idiots in the car with me.

“Because you love us and need help choosing an awesome car for my nephews.” Liam grinned, joining back with Emmett into the song, much to my chagrin. I turned the radio off.

“Fuck! You two are giving me a migraine. Just be quiet for a moment.” I growled, rubbing my temple with one hand. Jerry barked in agreement. All day we had been scouting numerous car dealerships looking for the right car to house the babies once they were born and we were failing miserably. Add the wonder twins here to the solution and I was about to lose it.

We were still tight on money even with the deal and since one of our cars was still relatively new (aka my car); we (unbeknownst to Bella) were trading it in for another, with some financial aid assistance from my parents and from Charlie and Renee if needed.

“My mama told me when I was young,” Liam started.

“We are all born superstars.” Emmett finished.

“Seriously? I’m really thinking about dumping the two of you on the side of the road. I swear if you weren’t my brother in law,” I gestured to Liam, “and you one of my best friends,” I gestured to Emmett, “you two would have been gone a long time ago.” I huffed. “Besides, I can’t stand that Lady Gaga chick who doesn’t even realize that Halloween is over. That crap is not attractive.” I moaned, turning the radio off once more.

“Don't be a drag -Just be a queen,” Liam started, but abruptly stopped when I glared at him in the mirror.

“Kill joy.” He muttered.

“You bet.” I growled, pulling into the parking lot of another dealership. I never been more thankful to get out this car.  With Emmett complaining about being hungry and Liam being the drama queen that he always was, I was about to end up being somebody’s bitch in jail, because I was going to kill one of them. Or maybe both.  I’ll take my chances. We all got out and headed inside.

“Hi welcome to Auto-Cars, I’m Mr. Harolds, but you can call me Pire, how can I help you today?” A short balding man with some sort of a Donald Trump comb-over that appeared too greased with Crisco asked in a thick French accent.

“Yes, I’m Edward; this is my brother in law Liam and my best friend Emmett.” I acknowledged.

“Well hello there Edward, may I interest you in one of our newer models?” Pire asked, gesturing towards the parking lot in front, where the cars screamed ‘expensive’.

“Actually no. I did my research and saw that this dealerships offers tradeoff on new cars. I was wondering if you would help me there.” I asked.

“We sure do, but the tradeoffs run along the qualifications that the car be in mint condition, no scratches, smells, etc. You can get a car that values less the car or of equal value. You get me?” Pire asked. I nodded my head.

“Could I do that for a car of higher value and just pay the difference?” I asked. He nodded his greasy head.

“Can I see the car?” He asked. We showed him to where we parked. He studied it for a moment.

“Nice?” He breathed astonished. I nodded my head in agreement. This car was my baby, but Bella was my other baby and she always came in first.

“You really want to trade this in, for another car?” Pire asked again.

“Yep.” I sighed.

“Well okay. Um, just let me have my men look at it and appraise it although I know it’s at least thirty grand and then we can get you a price range. Do you know what you’re looking for?” he asked.

“Yeah, preferably something that can hold at least eight people.” I suggested.

“Eight people? You going on a road trip or something, because that’s a lot of people and in that case, you could just go to a rental for that.”  He asked.

“Actually it’s for my family. My wife’s pregnant with sextuplets, so yeah, we kinda need the extra space.” I blanched. It was one thing to acknowledge it was happening, but to say it out loud was a different story. Emmett and Liam just smirked at me. Pire continued to stare us.

“What he’s trying to say is that, we need something big and ugly that has a lot of space. You catch my drift?” Emmett grinned. Pire continued to gape at us.

“Just lead us to the trucks.” Liam huffed, grabbing both Emmett’s and mine’s arms towards the parking lot. Pire still just stood there.

…….

“These are our last three. And based on the appraised value of the other car, this is quite a downgrade.” Pire acknowledged. I rolled my eyes. He showed us every car in the book, but with each car we saw, it either didn’t have enough seats, space, leg room, the list went on. I wanted top of the line, even if it cost enough money to the point that I still owed money even from the grave.

“Um, here we have a Toyota Sequoia that has a third row. So I guess that eight seats for you, but I don’t know too much about trunk space. Then there’s the Dodge Sprinter if you prefer and finally when all else fails, there simply is the classic Mini Van.” Pire smiled.

I studied the cars. Each had the right credentials I wanted, but I still wanted to check them out more closely.

“Give us a moment?” He nodded his head and walked away.

“Okay, we each take a section. You know what’s needed.” I gestured. I took the Toyota section, Emmett the Sprinters, and Liam the minivan section.

“Aww, why do I always get the ugly ones?” Liam grumbled, Jerry trailing behind him.

……………………

“Ooh this car is spacey. I can just lay back and kick my shoes off.” Liam grinned, kicking off his flip flops and stuck his feet against the headrest of Emmett’s seat. I rolled my eyes and pulled out of the parking lot in my new white Toyota Sequoia. The other cars were okay, but I wanted something efficient and accessible for the tuplets.

“Dude, get your feet down. That’s just gross.” Emmett huffed. “Hey Eddie, I’m hungry. Go get us something to eat.” He bellowed.

“I don’t think so. I’ve seen the way you’ve eat. We’ve only been in this car for fifteen minutes and you already want to litter it.” I grumbled. “And don’t call me Eddie; you know that crap pisses me off.” I growled, although my stomach was growling from hunger.

“Well geez, someone’s on their period today.” He muttered and my stomach let out an annoying growl.
“See your stomach agrees with me. Lead the way to McDonalds Jeeves.” Emmett grinned.

“Hungry fucker.”

………………

33 weeks Monday….

“Aye man, lunch’s over. We need to get back and finish the job.” Garrett told me, patting me on the back.

“What job?” I asked.

“You know the job? We’re in construction.” He replied.

“Construction?” What the hell was he talking about? Garrett gestured behind us. I looked around. We were on the streets of Seattle and right down the street were remnants of building. Numerous construction machines were everywhere and it took a moment for me to realize it was the exact same location of the Cullen Pharmaceutical building, or at least what was left of it.

“How drunk are you man? I know since the divorce, you’ve been kinda loopy, but this is just ridiculous. Get back to work.” He huffed, storming off.

Divorce? What kind of crap was he smoking on? I followed behind him and abruptly stopped when I saw myself in a nearby mirror in front of one of the store fronts. I didn’t look like myself.

My once tall and lean physique was now on the brink of some serious help. I had a pot belly that wasn’t too big, but definitely noticeable. I was dressed in a ratty blue jumpsuit with mud colored utility boots. If that wasn’t enough, my face was definitely on top of the list. I’ve never been vain but what I used to look like was definitely by far an improvement.

I looked like I hadn’t shaved in days. My once angular jaw was now round and on the verge of becoming a double chin. I had dark circles under my eyes and my hair; my poor hair.

The once thick reddish locks that Bella loved to run her hands through was now a thin and wispy mess. I could see the top of my head and it looked like I oiled my scalp in a wad of gel to at least try and make it presentable.

I wondered who this man was in front of me, and thought back to what Garrett had said earlier. Something about a divorce. I sprinted up the street to ask him what he knew but stopped, when I passed by a newspaper stand. A couple of magazines were lying out, but my eyes lingered on the ones in front.

“Isabella Cullen to star on new Dancing show. Children ecstatic!” I looked over at the magazine headline beside it.

“Ex-Husband of famed TV Starlet Isabella Cullen on fifth girlfriend this month! Is she legal? Find out inside.” Under said headline, was a picture of me and some blonde who looked too young to be seen with me.  I was dressed in clothes that didn’t seem appropriate for any man in his early thirties and appeared to be trying too hard. Basically, I just looked like a douchebag.

What had happened with my life? I was just this loser who was going bald and trailing after what appeared to be under aged girls and then there was the divorce issue. What had I done to get divorced?

I was broken out of my reverie when Garrett came storming over towards me.

“Cullen. Get back to “bark-bark.” He growled.

“Wait what?” Thinking I heard him incorrectly.

“I said get back to “bark, bark” “BARK!”

“Damn it Jerry!” I croaked. I rolled myself over onto my stomach and grabbed onto Bella’s pillow that still somehow lingered with her scent.

That was definitely a vivid dream if I’ve ever heard of one.

I rolled back over and looked over at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was just approaching 8 a.m. and I knew I had to get up for work. Not only that, but I also had to take Jerry out hence why he was still barking like crazy. We jumped on the bed and began licking my face.

“Fine, fine. I’m up. I’ll take you outside.” I moaned sitting up. Jerry just barked in response. After taking him outside to do his business, I dumped some doggy food into his dish and grabbed my cell to call Bella. I knew it was still pretty early to be calling, but Bella’s sleeping patterns were definitely off lately.

“Hi baby, I’ve missed you.” Her soft voice greeted.

“Hey love. How are you feeling?” I asked, scavenging the refrigerator for something to eat. Since Bella left for the hospital, I’ve been practically living off Hungry Man dinners. I can’t cook for crap but luckily she stocked the kitchen for me. I grabbed a couple of pieces of fried chicken from the fridge and a root beer before settling myself onto the kitchen counter.

“I’m okay but this food is crap. I want some fluffy pancakes with maple syrup, crunchy bacon, and some fluffy scrambled eggs. Is that too much to ask for? No.  I’m stuck with some nasty oat cereal and skim milk. It’s practically water.” Bella grumbled, and I had to stifle my laughter through bites of food.

“What are you eating?” She practically growled over the phone.

“Nothing.”

“Edward.”

“Fine. A piece of fried chicken, my mom brought over yesterday. Satisfied.” I mumbled, reaching over for a sip of my drink.

“No. I want real food. Is that too much to ask for?”

“No it isn’t, but love you can’t handle having that kinda stuff. Remember what happened last week. I breathed, reminiscing of the mini heart attack I had when Bella’s blood pressure skyrocketed. I had never been more scared in my entire life and the thought of it all happening again was enough to put me in an early grave.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just being emotional. I just miss you.” Bella croaked and I could tell that she was on the verge of tears.

“Don’t cry sweetheart. I can be down there in an hour if you need me; in a heartbeat.” I answered seriously. All she had to do was say the words and I would be there in a flash.

“No I’m fine. Don’t come down. I’ll see you later today, right?”

“Yeah I’ll be there around eight/nine. Are you sure you don’t want me to come right now?” I asked.

“Babe go. I’ll be just fine.” She replied forcefully.

“I…” she cut me off.
“Edward.”

“Fine. I love you my sweet girl. Tell my boys I love them and to give a nice good kick for daddy.” I beamed.

“Love you too and I won’t tell them that. They’ve been sitting on my bladder all night.   I refused the catheter earlier but at this point I’m considering it.” Bella replied.

“That’s kind of gross, love.”

“Whatever. I gotta go. Nurse Kevorkian over here needs another blood sample.” She muttered under her breath.

“Bye love.” I whispered.

“Bye Edward.” She replied before hanging up. I quickly finished my pseudo breakfast and got dressed. I grabbed a change of clothes for later and left out some fresh food out for Jerry. I quickly got into Bella’s car and drove myself to work. My mind was distracted and I couldn’t help but worry that Bella was going to send most of the day alone.

“Hey Liam, can you do me a favor?”

……………..

 I was halfway down the maternity ward, when I heard a huge commotion. I heard the unmistakable high pitched tone of Liam’s voice and bolted down the hallway.

I couldn’t even see over the mass of people stationed on the room. The only thing I did managed to see was Bella curled up in the fetal position; her hands grasped against her stomach protectively.

“What’s going on?” I asked Liam, who appeared to be having a meltdown.

“I…I don’t know. She was fine and then the next…” He didn’t finish before breaking out into tears. I patted his back awkwardly. Another doctor ran out the room towards us.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, I can’t give out any information unless there’s family present.” He muttered.

“I’m her husband and he’s her brother.” I gestured to Liam who was looking a little too green.

“Mrs. Cullen blood pressure skyrocketed again sending one of the babies into distress. At this rate when one is distressed they all become upset. We’re prepping the OR as we speak.” He acknowledged.

“So what does that mean?” Liam asked dumbly.

“That means that he,” he gestured over to me, “is going to become a daddy in the next hour.” He grinned running down the hallway. Now I was the one feeling green when the floor came and met my face.

…..

Damn it Edward. Get your ass up now.” Liam hollered. I shook my head and felt a sharp pain to my left cheek. I opened my eyes to Liam looking down above me.

“Did I do it again?” I muttered again, as Liam helped me to my feet. He handed me a video camera.

“Yeah but luckily it was only for a minute. You can’t faint on Booger right now. She’ll kill you. I want you to video tape it all. Not all the nasty stuff, but I do want to see my nephews being born. I’ll call the fam. They’re prepping for a C-section right now and I told you would be in there now go.” Liam pushed. I stumbled towards the huge white doors at the end of the hall where an anxious nurse was shuffling from foot to foot.

“You’re Mr. Cullen?” I nodded my head. She abruptly grabbed my arms and pulled me through the doors.

It was a flurry of scrubs and sterilization before I was pulled into the OR Room. Bella was lying on the table with tears in her eyes and a scared look upon her face. I ran over to her side. I kissed her forehead and rubbed my nose against the silver of skin by her neck.

“I’m scared.” She whispered.

“Me too.” I replied.

………………………….

BPOV

I was numb.

Not like numb from the whole experience but I was actually numb from the waist down. Anesthetic worked like a charm. I couldn’t see much since I had a drape blocking my view, but ever so often I would notice Edward’s eyes widening a bit. He was by my side, one of his hands by my neck and another holding a video camera.

“They cut you open.” He breathed. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. What did he think Cesarean meant? They don’t just float out. The next couple of minutes were a cacophony of whirling noises and suctioning. I felt a lot of pressure but oddly enough no pain. The pressure quickly subsided and I heard a gush of water.

“We just broke your water.” Dr. Biers instructed. Edward and I both let out a breath. The suctioning noise commenced and felt another small twinge of pressure.

“Okay, abdominal wall is cut and the fluid is suctioned. We’re going to grab baby number one okay?” he instructed. The pressure increased against my abdomen and I felt a small tugging sensation.

“Okay baby number one’s head is out.” I heard a suctioning noise and more tugging. My heart was hammering in my chest. My baby was almost here. And then I heard it.

The soft wail of my baby. Tears began streaming down my face and Edward had a huge smile on his face. I felt another set of tugs and the pressure subsided. My baby’s wails filled the air once more.

“Okay Mommy, you have beautiful baby boy.” Dr. Biers announced. The wails of my baby boy continued as a nurse brought him around the drape.

The cutest little scrunched up face appeared in front of my view and I felt a smile spread across my face. I glanced over at Edward who was getting this all on camera. His green eyes were glazed over as we both looked over at this little miracle.

Despite being cover in residual blood and fluid and having a headful of matted hair, (the cause of constant heartburn) he was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.  I just knew it. If I thought I couldn’t feel anymore love then I did at the moment, it became indescribable. It was only mere seconds, but it felt like forever. I pressed a small kiss to his little forehead and watched as he was carried away by one of the nursery nurses.

I was so entranced by my first little angel, that I almost hadn’t noticed the tugging sensation in my stomach once more.

“Okay Bella, here we go again.” I felt some more pressure and another beautiful wail pierce through the air. I couldn’t see him yet, but I could tell he was definitely a screamer.

I must have vocalized my thoughts because the nurse quickly walked over to us, revealing another scrunched up pink face, although this little one was missing a certain appendage.

“See, I knew we purchased that outfit for a reason.” Edward grinned, leaning down to press a kiss of his own to our daughter’s curly little head. Just as quick as I had seen her, she was quickly gone. I knew they would have to go into incubators since they were so tiny and the risk of lung development issues was a very high.

Although I only saw them for a few moments, they’re little faces would forever be ingrained in my mind forever.

The process continued three more time revealing the charming faces of my little men. Edward was just sucking this all up, mumbling to himself on how his little Cullen men were going to rule the world.

We were on baby number 6; the last of our angels, when I heard Dr. Biers mumbling to themselves.

“He’s breech. Cord wrapped around his neck. Proceed with caution. The room was silent except from the labored breaths of Dr. Biers, Edward, and me. I felt the tugging sensation in my stomach and marveled as the pressure subsided in my stomach one final time, although we weren’t welcomed with a wail.

Commotion welled in the room as nurses surrounded my last little boy. He was blue in the face instead of the usual pink his siblings were. I didn’t even get the chance to greet him as I did the others, before he was pulled towards the opposite side of the room. My eyes were trained on him the whole time. Suctioning sounds and oxygen pumps surrounded him. His face was still an offside shade of blue and I prayed to whoever was up there to give him a chance.

As if my prayers were answered, a soft wail erupted from his little body. It was so much softer than the others, but it sounded like sweet, sweet music to me. His face gradually changed from blue to a soft blush color. I felt tears land on my cheek and looked up to see Edward with tears streaming down his face. I looked back over at my little one. He was so small; so much smaller than his siblings, but just the quick little rising sensation of his stomach was enough for me to know that he was going to be a fighter.

He was quickly escorted out of the room towards the NICU and I saw Edward look intently after him. I gestured for him to go after them.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to officially meet them without you.” Edward breathed.

“Go. I’ll see them a bit. Go spread the news. Besides I still have afterbirth remember?” I smiled and Edward wrinkled his nose in disgust. I stifled a chuckle. Edward kissed my temple.

“Are you sure love?” He asked. I nodded my head. Edward pressed one final kiss against my head and followed behind the nurse, leaving me in the room full of doctors, who would soon clean and close me up, bringing me one step closer to my babies.

……………………

EPOV

I never thought my heart could get any bigger. I know I sound cheesy, but until you’ve experienced the birth of your own child or even if it isn’t your child, the feeling is just amazing.

Seeing all of my five little boys…and little girl being born, I never knew I could feel this kind of love. The amount of it I felt was just astounding. In less than a couple of hours, my life changed forever.

I followed behind one of the NICU nurses whose name was Carmen. She and the other attending nurse Kate would be watching over my children. I still wasn’t allowed behind the glass yet since they were still setting up, but it was enough to get a good look at all of them.

All of them had a headful a hair which appeared to have my texture and color. I knew Bella complained of heartburn but at least I knew where it was coming from.

Much to my amusement, my little girl was bigger than all her brothers. All of them were wriggling in their incubators, and I ached to touch their little fingers and toes. I stood there for about an hour and a half just looking at them, when I realized I still had yet to deliver the news to the others.

I took a final glance, before heading out the doors and through the hallway. This hospital had a special maternity ward that harbored its own waiting room.

I wasn’t surprised to see the waiting room packed with family and friends. Nearly every family member from both sides was here. When I came around the corner they all stood u from their seats and looked over at me anxiously. I kept my face blank.

“Well?” My mother bellowed.

“Edward?” Alice screeched.

“Come on, you’re killing us.” Liam growled. My face broke out in a shit grinning smile.

“I’m a daddy.” I laughed and was immediately grabbed into various arms and greeted with condolences.

“I can’t wait to meet my grandsons.” Charlie grinned. I could just imagine him thinking of all the possibilities he could do with his grandsons.

“Well about that.” I started. They all looked over at me curiously.

“One of them is girl.” I smiled.

“A girl?” Rose smiled.

“Yep, and gorgeous too. Just like her mommy. In fact, I think Bella’s in recovery as we speak and I know she wants to meet them.” I answered.

“But I want to meet them.” Alice huffed. Jasper put a reassuring hand against her shoulder.

“And so does Bella. We’ll see them in a bit.” Jasper smiled at me.

“Thank you. I’ll let you know when you can come up, okay.” I waved. I headed back to our room to see Bella being eased into a wheelchair by a nurse.

“Easy.” Bella breathed. She let out a labored breath.

“Hey love.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead and then one on her lips.
“Hey.” She winced when she tried to adjust herself in her seat. The nurse helped push her back and I held the door open so she could wheel her out.

“In pain?” I asked.

“A bit, but as long as I don’t move around a bit, I’ll be fine. I just want to see them. Did you tell everybody yet?” she asked.

“Yep and they’re all ecstatic. They all want to see them, but I only said they could after you did.”

“You didn’t have to do all that.” Bella smiled. She looked tired and definitely in a bit of pain, but her smile never wavered. By time we reached the NICU, the tuplets were settled and we were allowed to enter to the room. Once we were properly sterilized, we entered the room. The room was filled with other babies, but our little six were lined near the front of the room in a semi-circle of incubators.

We visited our little girl first. She was lying on her stomach and had a breathing tube attached to her nose. Her curls were sticking out from underneath her little pick hat and I could tell from the lighting, that they were going to be Bella’s mahogany colored locks.

Contact comfort was advised and Bella cautiously, reached her hand through the little glass door and touched her had. Much to our surprise, it was like she knew we were there and grasped Bella’s finger. Bella just grinned and began stroking her little hand.

“He there girl. I’m your mommy.” She cooed and I saw her hand visibly grip Bella’s finger tighter.

“You just don’t know how much I love you. So much.” Bella grinned. She cautiously pulled away so I could have a turn. I carefully reached my hand in and touched the soft baby skin and was rewarded with her hand grabbing my finger tightly. My little girl. I knew she already had me wrapped around her finger and I was going to have a hell of a time when she got older. Hell as soon as she begins to notice boys I’m sending her to a covenant.

One of the nurses came over with a clipboard in hand and checked her vitals. She turned to the two of us.

“And do you have a name for this pretty girl?” she asked. Bella looked over at me. She knew the name I preferred if we were ever to have a little girl. She nodded her head.

“Auden. Auden Noelle Cullen.” I grinned.

…..

We did the same with our little boys. We first both alternated with our two oldest boys. Our oldest of the six named Brayden Lucas was a carbon copy of me, much to Bella’s chagrin. He was the second to smallest of our little group. The third child in our little line up was Ethan Jace. He was the biggest of the boys and was a perfect combination of the two of us.

Next were our twin identical boys, which we had no clue about. Noah Kyle was the smaller of the two and his identical half Gavin Zack outweighed him by a little. Our last little miracle was a fighter. Despite having numerous tubes attached to him and a ventilator to assist him breathing, Daniel Liam Cullen was the smallest out of the six. He was so small, that I felt like I could just lay him in the pam of my hand. We weren’t allowed to touch him since he had the highest risk of infection.

I rolled Bella back and we took a moment to look at all of them. It odd to think that just hours ago, they weren’t here and now they were. Six little people we created. It was just overwhelming and I gripped Bella’s hand tightly to control my emotions. I didn’t care that there were incubators, or the fact that they still weren’t out of the woods yet, but just knowing them even for a few moments would last me a lifetime.

I heard a tap against the glass window and looked over to see our family huddled around the window.

 I didn’t know how long they had been there watching, nor did I care because in less than one day, two turned into eight.

Tuesday December 1^st 2008

Brayden Lucas Cullen – 3lbs 7oz

Auden Noelle Cullen- 4lbs 6oz

Ethan Jace Cullen- 3lbs 10oz

Noah Kyle Cullen- 3lbs 5oz

Gavin Zack Cullen-3lbs 8oz

Daniel Liam Cullen-2lbs 5oz