Truly, Madly, Deeply

Chapter 55: He's Trying

"Well, I'm glad my breathing helps you relax, but Tristan, I am really starting to worry about you. I need you to see a counselor or even a doctor; maybe they can prescribe you something to help."

"Baby, I am or will be fine. I'm sorry to worry you, but I just have to get through this my own way. Rory, I love you, and I was so afraid that I would never see you again. I need you to be more careful and vigilant when you go out. We don't know where Lukas is and if he had any part in this."

"Babe, Lukas is back in California. Summer is going to be behind bars for a very long time. You, me, and our kids are going to live our happy lives without them. I'm sorry for what she did to you, and I am glad that she couldn't rape you. You are here with me and our kids. You are safe, and she can't do anything else to you."

"I know, but now I am so worried about someone coming after you. I was able to stop her from raping me, and you can't do that. If he was to take you, he could hurt you. My biggest fear is losing my family. The family that we have created. We have two kids here and one right here; one day, we will have another, and our family will be complete."

"Tristan, I can't wait for that day, but I am worried about you right now. The stress I am dealing with because of your nightmares and not being able to sleep are killing me. Please, do this for me."

He looked down and then into her eyes, and he could see the pain she was feeling for him. "Okay, baby, I will schedule an appointment with a counselor. I don't need you stressing and being worried about me. You are carrying my child, and you need to be relaxed for the next seven months. Rory, you know I would do anything for you, right?"

"I know, Tristan. I just want you to be okay. Thank you so much, Tris. Yes, I am, and I can't wait to meet our little one here. We need to start thinking of names for each. How would you feel if we didn't find out what we are expecting until it's born?"

"I will be okay with time, sweetheart. I mean it; I would do anything for you. I can't wait either the new baby smell seeing our child for the first time. Each time, it is just as special as the first time we saw Drew. I think that would be a good thing. We can ask for gender-neutral stuff and then find out when it's born. Til then, we will just call it our baby bean. I love you, Rory, with all of my heart. Thank you for being so understanding and staying by my side."

"I love you, Tristan, and nowhere else I would rather be than right here by your side. We will get through this together." She leaned in and kissed him.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his body. The kids were visiting their grandparents and wouldn't be home until tomorrow. He kissed her so passionately, and before long, they were making love.

This time, it was a little different than how it had been since the incident. This time, there was passion and a need from both of them. When they finished, Tristan held Rory as they lay there on their bed.

Three months later:

Tristan is doing better. He has been seeing a counselor the week after they spoke. Summer's trial is going on, and Tristan had to appear yesterday to testify. He struggled with the words because I was there.

It hurt him to speak about what happened, afraid it would hurt me when he walked off the stand and sat down beside me. I hugged and kissed him. Summer turned and watched us. 

He has been working from home, and Carlisle said he can continue as long as he doesn't get behind. So far, he is ahead of schedule on things. We make love while the kids are down for their nap.

We told the doctor we didn't want to know what this baby was; we wanted to be surprised. Everything is going well. I am currently twenty-two weeks pregnant and have eighteen weeks to go.

Tristan just set up Bella's big girl bed. She loves her new room. We decided to keep the original room that Drew had as his nursery when we first bought our house as the nursery. When the kids get big enough for a bigger bed, we give them a whole new room.

Bella's is set up with Disney princesses; she loves it; it's so cute. Tristan will go in there and have a tea party with her and her dolls. Bella loves her daddy; she is a big daddy's girl.

She will find him in the office when he is working and climb into his lap. The other day, he was on a conference call when she did it. He laughed and told the other people to hold on; his princess had just joined him and wanted to be held.

Life is getting back to normal we have our baby shower scheduled in two weeks. This time, since we had decided not to know, we could have it sooner. So we could have more time for just us. We have been watching a lot of movies, and we play games with the kids.

We did a scavenger hunt last week me, and Drew against Tristan and Bella. They had so much fun. We went to the parade downtown, and Tristan was smiling, watching the kids grab candy.

Our newest little member will be here in four months, and we can't wait to meet our baby bean. Life is getting better every day, and I am seeing more and more of the man I fell in love with and married come back. Soon, I will have the old Tristan back, and the scared Tristan will be gone.

Two weeks later:

We are having our baby shower with green and yellow as the colors. We arrived at the hotel in downtown Hartford for the shower.

Tristan stepped out and helped me out. We each held our kid's hands and then held each other. It was much easier this time because I wasn't as pregnant and could move around more easily.

Mom and Susan had games to play. They were doing a guys versus girls game of changing the diapers. They painted unisex onesies, guessed my measurements, did a crossword puzzle, and played ring toss.

The kids had a blast as well. It was fun and no stress. Tristan was laughing and smiling and doing so much better.

Summer had been found guilty and was sentenced to fifteen years with the possibility of parole in twelve. I showed Tristan that Lukas had just gotten married, and he wasn't someone we had to worry about.

Things at home were still going well; Tristan was happier. His dad had decided to just keep him working from home because he was staying ahead of schedule on everything. Life was back to normal. Tristan was sleeping the entire night, and it had been about two months since he had a nightmare.

All of us wives are pregnant. Lane and Paris are about a month behind me, Christine is four weeks ahead of me, and Juliette is two weeks ahead of me. So once all this group of kids are born, we will have nine kids within our group, with Tristan and me having three.