We certainly had some of you stewed up over this one ;) This chapter deals with mostly Frankie/Will/Hannah, and then some Allie/Jon stuff.
Next one we jump ahead to Christmas- we're trying to work forward a bit so stay tuned next Saturday for that! Also, please go check out this drawing of some of the LD characters made for us by Melissa by clicking here. Feedback is most welcome!!!
Frankie breathed a sigh of relief. "Really? You had me scared there for a----hang on. Did you----did you say babies? Babies----plural?"
"You're having twins," the doctor nodded. "One of them, you see here- is hiding behind the other. There are two heartbeats--"
Frankie was speechless. "No, no, no. Twins---that's not possible. We're only having one baby. Right, Will?"
Will didn't answer. He was staring in awe at the screen.
"Fraternal twins to be exact," the doctor said. He pointed at the screen. "There's your son....and that right there, is your daughter."
"But..." Frankie stared. "We didn't order twins! It's just supposed to be one baby!"
The doctor chuckled. "Mrs. Barron, I know this is quite a shock..."
"Are you sure it's not just my heartbeat?" Frankie asked. "That's it- it's my heartbeat and the baby's. That's why you hear two."
The doctor shook his head. "No, Mrs. Barron. Those are your babies' heartbeats and I can see them quite clearly on the screen. They're quite healthy and developing just as they should."
Frankie just shook her head. "Oh my God..."
"Twins," Will whispered. "We're having twins."
Frankie was stunned speechless. She'd just gotten herself prepared for ONE child, but was in reality having two. "I can't handle this," she uttered weakly.
"Of course you can," Will said. "We both can, Frankie."
"But two?" she asked. "At the same time?"
"Your sister did it," Will reminded her. "And Ron and Luna had two sets of twins. Not to mention Josh and Lizzy and their triplets."
Frankie wiped at her eyes. "I feel really overwhelmed."
"I'm just going to print out some pictures for you," the doctor said. "And then we'll finish up, Mrs. Barron."
"Thank you," Frankie said weakly.
Will kissed Frankie's forehead. "It's going to be okay, love. I promise."
"Two babies," Frankie looked up at him. "Two. How are we going to handle that?"
"Like we handle everything," Will said. "Together."
Frankie wiped her eyes again. "A little boy and a little girl..."
"To go along with our precocious little five-year old," Will said smiling at her.
"How do you think she's going to react to this?" Frankie asked.
"She's going to be fine," Will reassured her. "She might be a little confused at first, but you see how she is with Mas and Sukie."
"She's wonderful with them," Frankie said softly.
The doctor handed Will a couple of print-outs from the screen. He instructed the nurse to help clean Frankie up and to make a follow up appointment for the Barrons.
Frankie was still in quite a bit of shock as they left the office. She walked alongside Will silently as they headed for their daughter's preschool.
"How are you holding up?" Will asked her.
"Fine, I think," Frankie answered vaguely. She couldn't keep her hands off her stomach- she kept thinking about the two babies growing inside her.
"Nathan and Isabelle," Will said softly. "We'll get to use both names."
Despite herself, Frankie smiled. "I'm glad we came up with both of them now."
Will stopped walking and stood in front of his wife. he cupped her face in his hands. "I love you so much, Frankie."
"I love you too," Frankie looked up at him. "And I'm so scared, but at least we're in this together, right?"
"Absolutely," Will agreed before leaning in and kissing her.
Frankie leaned into him, kissing him back. Suddenly, the thought of twins wasn't quite so bad.
"Let's go and get our girl," Will said smiling down at her.
"Our first girl," Frankie replied with a grin.
"That's right," Will said taking her hand and walking up the steps to the school.
"I think she's going to be happy," Frankie said thoughtfully. "Hannah's going to be such a good big sister."
"She is going to be fantastic," Will said holding the door open for his wife.
Frankie touched her stomach again as they sat down on a bench together just outside Hannah's classroom. Will pulled the ultrasound pictures out of his pocket and they both gazed at them.
"Nathan looks like he's trying to protect Isabelle," Will said grinning at the picture.
"He's already got the brotherly instinct," Frankie nodded. "I wonder which of them will be born first."
"Don't know," Will replied. "But I am glad that I'll have another bloke around the house to help balance out all that estrogen."
Frankie laughed. "Very funny."
The door to Hannah's classroom opened and students began filing out.
"Daddy! Mummy!" Hannah called out when she spotted them. "I thought Grandpa Neville was picking me up today!"
"We told him we wanted to see our girl instead," Will swung her up.
Hannah giggled and put her arms around his neck.
"I have an idea," Will looked over at his wife. "How about we go for some ice cream?"
"Ooooh," Frankie said eagerly. "I like that idea. Hannah?"
Hannah nodded eagerly. "I want chocolate chip ice cream!"
"I like the sound of that," Will said.
It wasn't crowded at Florean's and soon enough they were all sitting down, Hannah and Will with cones and Frankie with a small dish of ice cream.
"Did you go to the doctor's?" Hannah asked her mother.
"We did," Frankie nodded. "And guess what he told us?"
"The baby's okay, isn't she?" Hannah asked.
Will nodded. "She is and he is. They're both fine."
"He and she?" Hannah asked quizzically.
"The doctor told us we were having twins," Frankie said, her voice breaking a little on the word twins. "A boy and a girl."
Hannah's eyes were huge. "You have TWO babies inside you?"
Will pulled out the pictures again. "Look at this. That is your little brother, Nathan."
"He's so small!" Hannah peered at the picture. "And where's the other baby?"
Will handed her the other picture. "This is Isabelle."
"Those are the names I picked!" Hannah exclaimed excitedly.
Will grinned. "They are going to love you so much, Hannah."
"I already love them a lot," Hannah turned to one of the other pictures. "When will they be born?"
"February," Frankie replied. "Unless they decide to come earlier."
"February is how many months?" Hannah asked.
"Its October now," Will told her. "So we have about four more months to go."
"That's such a long time!" Hannah bit her cone.
"Your mummy and I were really surprised when we found out," Will told her.
"To say the least," Frankie said quietly.
"Aren't you happy, Mummy?" Hannah asked.
Frankie nodded. "Yes, sweetheart. I'm just getting used to the idea of twins. I thought we were just having one and it took me by surprise when I found out."
"But it's a good surprise," Hannah said. "Right?"
Frankie smiled. "Yes, it's a good surprise."
Hannah scooted over and gave her mother a hug. "You don't look like you have two babies inside you."
Frankie hugged her tightly. "Thank you, baby."
"I love you so, so much." Hannah hugged her back.
"I love you too," Frankie said feeling tears welling up in her eyes. "So much. And I'm going to need your help with the babies."
"I already can't wait," Hannah replied.
Will laughed and shared a smile with Frankie.
"I think this is all going to work out just fine," Frankie wiped her eyes with a napkin.
Hannah looked back at the pictures. "I hope Nathan's being nice to Isabelle in there."
"I said it looked like he was protecting her," Will said. "He's sort of right in front of her."
Hannah smiled. "It does look like that!"
Frankie wiped her eyes again. "How about we finish up our ice cream and go tell everyone the good news?"
"Who are we going to tell first?" Hannah asked.
"You pick," Will told his daughter.
"We should tell Grandpa Neville and Grandma Cho first," Hannah said. "And then Grandpa Ted and Grandma Abbie. And Aunt Chiaki and then Em!"
"Of course we have to tell Em," Will said dramatically.
Hannah giggled. "Daddy! Em's my bestest friend. I have to tell her!"
"How about you give her a call while we finish our ice cream?" Frankie dug into her bag for her mobile.
Hannah grinned. "Okay!"
Frankie punched in her sister's phone number then passed the phone over to her daughter.
"Hi, Aunt Allie," Hannah said. "Can I speak to Emma?"
Emma carefully took the phone from her mother. "Hi Han!"
"Em, guess what?" Hannah asked. "My mummy went to the doctor today and she found out that she's gonna have two babies! Like Mas and Sukie!"
"Frack has two babies?" Emma asked.
"Isn't that great?" Hannah asked. "And we have pictures!"
"Come over!" Emma said. "Em wants to see!"
"We have to tell Grandpa and Grandma first," Hannah said.
"Come after," Emma ordered.
Hannah looked at her mother. "Mummy, can we go show Em?"
"After we go see your grandparents, we'll swing by," Frankie promised.
Hannah told Emma this before handing the phone back to her mother.
"Em?" Frankie asked. "Can I talk to your mummy?"
"MUMMY!" Emma called out. "FRACK WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!"
Frankie held the phone away as Hannah and Will both laughed.
"Frankie?" Allison's voice came over the line.
"Hey," Frankie said. "Mind if we stop over in a little while?"
"You never have to ask," Allison told her. "How'd the doctor go?"
"Great," Frankie answered. "Allie... perhaps in a few months I can borrow some of Emma's old clothes... AND some of Adam's."
"I knew you were having a little girl!" Allison squealed. "I just had---wait, Adam's too? What---why?"
"Guess," Frankie said slyly.
"Twins?" Allison asked. "Really? Ooooh, Frankie!"
"One of each," Frankie confirmed. "The doctor heard two heartbeats."
Allison grinned. "Did you freak out?"
"A little bit," Frankie answered. "Will calmed me down."
"Like the good husband he is," Allison said. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks," Frankie replied. "We're going to tell Mum and Dad, then Will's parents. We'll come by after that."
"Don't forget Chiaki," Allison said. "She's going to be over the moon that you're having twins!"
"I'm going to ring her right now," Frankie replied.
Frankie hung up with her sister and dialled her older sister's number. Someone did pick up the phone, but they didn't say anything.
"Hello?" Frankie asked.
"Hello?" the voice mimicked.
"Sukie?" Frankie asked. "What are you doing answering the phone?"
"Sukie phone!" the little girl shouted happily.
Frankie laughed. "Is your Mummy home?"
"Mummy home," Sukie said. "Hi Frack!"
Frankie heard her sister's voice in the background and she stifled a laugh when she heard Chiaki trying to convince her daughter to let her have the phone.
"How about a biscuit?" Chiaki coaxed. "Chocolate chip?"
"No," Sukie said stubbornly. "Sukie talking to Frack!"
"Two biscuits then," Chiaki bargained.
"Two?" Sukie asked. "Just for Sukie?"
"Just for Sukie," Chiaki nodded.
"Kay," Sukie replied, dropping the phone. "Bye, Frack!"
Frankie laughed. "Nice to know she loves biscuits better than me."
"She's been in rare form today," Chiaki said with a laugh.
"How are you?" Frankie asked.
"Knackered," Chiaki answered honestly. "But other than, I'm good. How are you?"
"Well," Frankie said. "I found out something interesting today and I couldn't wait to tell you..."
"Really?" Chiaki asked distractedly. "Mas! No, don't put that in your mouth! Stop that!"
Frankie waited while her sister took care of Mas. "Well I found out that Will and I are--"
"Sorry," Chiaki said a few moments later. "Mas was trying to eat one of his toy cars. What were you saying?"
"I found out today that you and I will have one more thing in common," Frankie hinted.
"What's that?" Chiaki asked.
"I'm expecting twins," Frankie grinned.
"WHAT?" Chiaki squealed.
"A little boy and a little girl just like you!" Frankie said happily.
"Frankie!" Chiaki exclaimed. "That's fantastic!"
"We haven't told Mum and Dad or Will's parents yet," Frankie said. "But we're going over to Allie's- we could stop by after if you don't mind."
"I'd love that," Chiaki said. "And Tosh will be home soon, too. That's----that's just the greatest news! I am so happy for you!"
"Thanks," Frankie said. "I'm going to be coming to you for loads of tips."
"I will help you as much as I can," Chiaki said. "Ohhhh....I need to go! Mas don't put that in your mouth!"
"We'll come by later," Frankie promised. "I'll ring you before we head out."
Hannah looked expectantly at her mother. "Were they excited?"
"Very much so," Frankie smiled.
"The more I think about it, the more happy I get," Hannah said grinning at her. "It's going to be like having Mas and Sukie at our house all the time! And they never get to go home!"
"Exactly," Will told her with a grin.
"And they are going to love having a big sister like you," Frankie said.
"I hope so," Hannah said fervently. "I love them so, so much already."
Frankie beamed at her daughter. She knew this hadn't been easy to adjust to, but over the past few weeks, Hannah had really come around. Even though Frankie was more than a little apprehensive about what was to come, she knew that she'd get through this with Will and Hannah and her family.
*** *** ***
It had been a few days since Jon had told Victoria about his magical abilities, and she had not brought it up since then. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that- if she was taking it as a joke, or if she was really freaked out about it. As they closed up for the night, he decided to broach the subject.
"Vic?" Jon asked taking a seat at the bar.
"Hi," she responded, moving a bit further down to wipe the counter.
"Did you have a chance to think about what we talked about the other night?" Jon asked.
Victoria looked away. "Jon--"
"I'm still the same person I was before," Jon interjected.
"It's just sort of strange," Victoria replied. "This whole... magic thing."
"To you, I'm sure it is," Jon said thoughtfully. "But for us, it's normal. It's not going to be an issue here. I've never used it here and my kids---they can't do magic outside of school until they're 17 so you don't have to worry about them."
Victoria looked at him for a long moment. She liked Jon very much, and adored his family. He'd become her best bartender in a very short amount of time and he'd done more than his fair share as her partner.
"If you want to break our partnership," Jon began.
"No," Victoria shook her head. "You're the best thing that ever happened here, Jon."
Jon smiled. "I love it here, Vic."
"And I still thank God every day for hiring you when you walked in here," Victoria said wryly. "We're all right Jon. This is just... I never thought magic was real. And here you're telling me about this whole other world that exists right under my nose that no one really knows about."
"At least you didn't call the people in the white coats to come and take me away," Jon joked.
"We're well past that," Vic answered dryly.
"Josh says they should have carted me off years ago," Jon said.
"He has to say that," Victoria tossed the rag at him.
Jon laughed. "You trying to tell me you want me to finish cleaning up?"
"Can you do it with that magic of yours?" she asked.
Jon looked at her. "Vic? Not five minutes ago, I promised I wouldn't use that here."
"Just this once?" she asked slyly.
Jon withdrew his wand and muttered a cleaning spell. Within seconds, the surface of the bar was so clean it was shining. With another flick of his wand, the tray of glasses on the counter behind Victoria were clean and stacked.
Victoria felt her jaw go slack. "Wow..."
"Comes in handy every now and then," Jon said with a grin. "Especially with kids."
"That's pretty amazing," Victoria shook her head. "Now I know how the bar was so spotless after Em's party."
Jon grinned. "Al's handiwork, actually."
"I guess sometimes your magic is pretty cool then," Victoria said thoughtfully.
Jon nodded. "It can't do everything though. I couldn't do anything with it to help Adam with the croup."
"How is he?" Victoria asked sympathetically.
"Doing much better," Jon replied. "He slept most of the night last night thanks to the humidifier."
"Good," Victoria said. "You look more rested today."
"I think I'm going to head on home unless you need me for anything else," Jon said. "I wanted to give Allie a break."
"Go ahead," Victoria said. "You've already cleaned up the place."
"Thanks," Jon smiled at her. "So, we're good?"
Victoria grinned. "What on earth would I do without you?"
"You're not going to find out," Jon said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye," Victoria waved him out.
Jon made his way happily back to the house, eager to tell Allison about his conversation with Victoria.
"Em, you can't wait up for Daddy every night," Allison was trying to get her youngest to sleep.
"Five more hours," Emma said sitting back up.
"Em," Allison said firmly. "Five more seconds."
"Daddy's home," Jon said from the bedroom doorway.
"Daddy!" Emma scrambled out of the bed. "Em missed you!"
Jon held open his arms and Emma ran into them. He picked her up and hugged her tight. "Daddy missed you too, baby girl."
"She's been waiting up all night," Allison frowned. "She really needs to go to bed when I ask her to."
Emma smiled at her father and clapped her hands on his cheeks. "I wanted to see you!"
Jon smiled. "But you need to listen to Mummy, Em."
"Okay," Emma said yawning. "Sissy already went to sleep."
"That's right," Allison took her back. "And now you're going to sleep, Emma Madeline. No more stalling."
"Until next night," Emma said grinning slyly at her mother as Allison put her back in bed.
"You will go to bed when I tell you tomorrow night," Allison said firmly.
"Kay, Mummy," Emma said hugging her bear to her. "Night, Daddy! Em loves you!"
"I love you too Em," Jon smiled at his daughter. "Sleep tight."
"Night, Mummy," Emma said. "Em loves you too even though you make Em go to sleep."
Allison had to grin at that. "Mummy loves you too Em."
Jon turned out the light and left the door ajar. He followed Alison into the kitchen.
"She is too much," Allison said laughing.
"That she is," Jon sat down at the table.
"I kept a plate warm for you," Allison said motioning toward the counter. "You hungry?"
"For something you made?" Jon asked. "Always."
"Roast beef and potatoes," Allison said. "I thought I'd make your favourite to cheer you up."
"You're the best," Jon replied. "But everything's okay. Vic understands."
Allison smiled. "She came around then?"
"Even had me clean up with magic," Jon said wryly.
Allison laughed. "Well, that's a good sign. She might ask you to do that every night."
"The main thing is that my job isn't in danger." Jon replied, digging into his meal.
"And that is fantastic news," Allison said sitting down across from him. "You were made to do that, Jon."
"It seems so long ago now that I only taught flying," Jon said thoughtfully.
"Another thing that you're great at," Allison said smiling at him.
"I know there's one thing I'm damn good at," Jon eyed her.
Allison winked at him. "You know, Adam is back in his nursery now...."
"Sleeping for a change?" Jon asked.
Allison nodded and remembered how she'd read him a story earlier and he'd just sat down with her, cuddling up beside her. "I'm glad he's feeling better. I hated feeling like there was nothing we could do for him."
"Did you leave the humidifier on?" Jon asked. "That really helped him sleep."
"I did," Allison said. "You know he reminds me more and more of you every single day."
"His rugged good looks?" Jon boasted.
"That," Allison said. "And his expressions."
"He's my boy," Jon said fondly. "Damn Al... I never thought we'd be this lucky."
Allison reached for his hand. "We are. We went through quite a bit to get here."
"Sometimes I still think about when you were in that coma." Jon said quietly.
Allison squeezed his hand. "I made it because I knew that I had you and Caroline depending on me and I wanted to meet our new little girl."
"Right," Jon nodded. "Come on over here."
Allison grinned and walked around the table. "You haven't finished your food."
"I'm hungry for something else," Jon commented.
"Me?" Allison asked coyly.
"How'd you guess?" Jon nibbled at her ear.
"I like to think I know you quite well by now," Allison said closing her eyes.
"How many years is it now?" Jon asked.
"Almost eighteen years," Allison replied. "But we've known each other since we were babies."
"And when I was finally able to ask you out without sounding like a complete idiot," Jon began.
"You were never an idiot," Allison cut him off.
"So that means you really liked the silly string?" Jon asked impishly.
"In retrospect, yes," Allison said with a grin. "And it certainly made me notice you."
Jon kissed her. "How about a reprise?" he joked.
"You're on," Allison said smiling at him.
*** *** ***
Ethan unlocked the door and stood back so his wife could step inside the cottage. They'd just returned from Frankie and Will's. Their friends had told them the happy news about the twins.
He noticed that his wife had been rather quiet since leaving. "Mads?"
"I'm going to feed these leftovers to Blue," Maddie said smiling slightly at him.
"Okay," Ethan watched her go into the sitting room.
Maddie opened up the pixie's cage and Blue eagerly flew out, landing on her shoulder.
Ethan waited in the kitchen for a few minutes before going back out. "Mads..."
"He's really hungry," Maddie said watching as the pixie nibbled at an egg roll.
"I'm not worried about the pixie," Ethan answered. "You've hardly spoken a word since we left Will and Frankie's."
"It's just been a long day," Maddie lied.
"It's not just that," Ethan pointed out. "I know you better than anyone, Maddie."
Maddie turned around to look properly at her husband. There were tears in her eyes.
"Mads," Ethan reached for her. "Come here."
Maddie fell into his embrace, sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm a horrible person, Ethan."
"You are not," Ethan soothed, rubbing her back comfortingly. Blue, who had flown back to his cage, looked quizzically at them.
"I am," Maddie shook her head. "I should be happy for Frankie and I am. I just---"
"You just want to have a baby too," Ethan finished for her. "I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry it hasn't happened yet."
Maddie nodded and hugged him again.
"You're not a bad person," Ethan kissed the side of her head. "It's okay to sometimes feel a bit jealous."
"I don't like feeling this way," Maddie said quietly. "I hate it."
"I feel like it's my fault that we haven't conceived yet," Ethan admitted.
"How can you say that?" Maddie asked. "Ethan---"
"Your parents never... had any trouble with having kids," Ethan answered. "Mine did."
"Julie didn't have any trouble," Maddie pointed out.
"But Mum and Dad had so much trouble trying to have me," Ethan explained. "I just... maybe it's passed down or something."
"It could be a number of things," Maddie tried to reassure him. "Maybe...maybe we could go and see a specialist or something."
"Maybe we should," Ethan nodded. "But stop blaming yourself for how you're feeling. We'll get through this, Mads."
"Together," Maddie said wiping at her eyes.
Ethan leaned in and kissed her. "Right."
"You don't think that Frankie noticed, do you?" Maddie asked. "I really am happy for her."
"I don't think so," Ethan shook his head.
"Good," Maddie said looking down to see Blue sitting in her lap. "Hi, baby."
Blue chirped and flew up to her shoulder.
"I'm okay," Maddie said softly.
Ethan smiled at the little pixie. "Talk about being in tune with your mood," he joked.
"He always knows what to do to make me feel better," Maddie said leaning against Ethan.
"I hope I do too," Ethan slid his arm around her.
"You do," Maddie said. "Frankie, Will and Hannah are so happy."
"Yeah they are," Ethan nodded. "And in a few more months, there will be five of them."
"She's a great mum," Maddie said. "And I really am happy for them."
"I know you are," Ethan squeezed her hand with his free one. "There isn't a selfish bone in your body, Maddie."
Maddie smiled at him. "That's why I don't like feeling this way. It's not me. It's not who I am."
"I think it'll pass," Ethan told his wife. "Especially once we do start our own family."
"And maybe our little girl or little boy will be best friends with Frankie's twins."
Ethan laughed. "That sounds about right."
Maddie laughed, too. "Could you have imagined back when we were at Hillsdale that one day we'd be married and that Frankie and I would become best friends?"
"No way," Ethan answered.
"Life doesn't always turn out like you think it will," Maddie said thoughtfully.
"I'm glad life turned out this way," Ethan turned to her with a grin.
"Me too," Maddie said giving him a kiss.
"Hmm..." Ethan said softly. "We could take this into the bedroom. You know... try, try again."
"Trying is the best part," Maddie agreed.
Ethan picked his wife up, honeymoon style, making Blue squawk and fly back into his cage. "Sorry buddy," Ethan said with a grin. "She's all mine tonight.
Maddie giggled. "Ethan!"
"What?" he asked innocently.
"You could be nicer to poor Blue," Maddie said hitting him on the shoulder.
"I'll make it up to him later," Ethan answered, carrying her to the bedroom.
"Because right now, we have a baby to make," Maddie grinned.
"I really, really hope so," Ethan said, putting her gently on the bed. "I love you so... so.... much..."
"I love you too," Maddie whispered. She vowed to tamper her jealousy toward Frankie and the twins. Even though she and Ethan hadn't conceived yet, they were still happy. They still had each other and they still had their cottage. Her mother always said that things happen when they're supposed to.
