Arranged

Arrived

I grab her and I give her to Vixen, letting him kiss on her, tickling her with his hairy face. "Your baby teeth are grown in, Bumblebee?" he says, looking in her mouth.

"Took forever." I say. She messes with his face as we talk.

"So, did you get my letter?" he asks.

"I did. I'm surprised it came on time, traffic's been horrible." I reply.

His eyes dart to my stomach and he smiles a little. "How're my babies?"

"They're good. Baby boy won't stop kicking. He always wakes his sister up, then they're both awake, then they wind down and fall asleep, then it's the sister causing trouble."

"How can you tell?"

"He takes after you. He stays on the same side you used to sleep on."

"He does?" he says, smiling.

"Yeah." I say back.

"I can't believe you were only a week when you found out." he says.

"Yeah. I'm surprised I could tell so soon." I say back.

"But you know I don't want you traveling. You know you can't carry the twins full term, babe."

"I need to see you, Vixen. Hell, I'll have them down here if I have to."

"You should have them with the midwife. She can't get here on time to deliver if you're all the way down here." he says, looking at me cautiously as Aleah pulls on his hair.

I sigh, knowing he's right. We continue to talk about them and then he sits back and changes the subject. "So, do you remember how long it took for me to be put in court?" he says, sitting Aleah on his lap.

"Yeah. What about it?" I say, leaning in.

"Well, after court, they agreed to put me on parole or either get me out on bail or early release for good behavior since the charge was so small, kind of. Props to Kandi. She looks out for me. Says if you need anything, just call her."

"I'm two states away. What can she do?" I say, laughing. He laughs and then pauses, a smile still on his face as he looks me over.

He grabs my hands and kisses them both. As I look at him, tears start to build in my eyes and I slowly start to breakdown. He gets up and hands the baby to King, then hugs me as I put my face by his waistline, crying. He already knows why. He kneels in front of me and lifts my chin for me to look at him.

"Listen to me, okay?"

"Okay.." I say, sniffling and hyperventilating.

"Calm down, look at me."

I do as he says and I look into his eyes. It feels like it's just the two of us as I look down at him.

"I'm gonna be out of here soon, alright? You hear me?"

"You say that every time." I say, whining and sniffling.

"And guess what? Every time, we get closer and closer." he says, smiling as he looks me over.

"They gave you life, Vixen. You're gonna be in here for life. Even with the possibility of parole, you'll still have to stay in here for some time. And it's been hard without you at home. Aleah's always calling for you and it hurts to hear her call your name and you not be there to hold her. And I miss you. I just want us back. I want you back. Just come back." I say, pulling his forehead to mine, never wanting to let go.

"God, I wish it was that easy. And I wish I could take all your pain away. I wanna be there to see my twins be born. I wanna see everything, go through everything with you... but I can't, and I hate that for you because I know you don't have a lot of help, what with Kay and Mark moving out and Cam being pregnant. I know it's a lot, and I wish I could help you out, baby, I really do. How about this. I'll send you money every month for the kids, starting now." he say, digging in his pocket to pull out a huge roll of money.

"You can't just carry that around here!" I say, covering it up.

"I have friends here. We're only as rich as each other. You can get the twins everything they need, and it'll cover everything Aleah needs right now." he says, putting it in my lap.

"Vixen, I don't want your money."

"This isn't my money. This is ours. It's been yours since that night I got down on one knee and made you a promise. Hell, even before that." he says, chuckling softly.

"What about you? You need money." I say, rubbing his temples as I sniffle.

"I'm a trillionaire. I'll find a way. You shouldn't worry about me."

"I can't help it." I say, sighing and rubbing his hand. "I love you." I say, starting to cry again.

"I love you more, baby. Stop crying." he says, kissing my tears.