Evergreen (sequel to Green for Good?!)

The work of a mother is never done

"Mummy?" "Yes sweetie?" Caitlin said, turning around and pulling her sweet 3 year old son onto her lap and smiling down at his adorable little face, complete with dimples. "I miss daddy!" He said, crossing his arms fiercely as his bottom lip began to wobble, fresh tears glistening hin his blue eyes. Caitlin  wrapped her son into her arms, her chin resting lightly on his shoulder. "I know baby, I know. And I miss him too." "When daddy back?" "Soon sweetheart, soon." The pair sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company.

"Hey. How about we go and play on your new swing set!" "Yay yay yay! Lets go mummy!" Austin said, instantly leaping up, and attempting to haul his mum off of the couch. "Wait, honey, I need to go get your sisters so they can watch you play." "Okay mummy. Want help?" "Yes please darling, you're such a good boy! Gosh, I love you." "I love you too mummy. Now leggo get TayTay and Aurie!" Austin had just recently started giving his sisters nicknames, and Caitlin found it beyond cute.

"Hey, Aust, who are we going to bring outside?" She asked, after pressing record on her iPhone. "Mummy, we gonna get Aurie and TayTay silly!" "And what are we doing when we get outside?" "Playin' on ma new swin' set!" "Who got it you honey?" "Mummy!" "And?" "Daddy!" "Yep! So what do you say to daddy?" "Thank you daddy! I love yoooou!" Caitlin ended the recording and turned to her son. "Good boy!" "Mummy?" "Yes baby?" "Why you make video?" "So I can show daddy, and he can remember how special you are." Austin nodded seriously then, really considering his mummy's words, as he remained deep in thought. "Mummy?" "Yes Aust?" "We make video of Tay and Autie for daddy too?" Caitlin nodded, smiling. "Of course we can sweetie, I think daddy would love that." "Yay! I give them funny voices and pretend dey speak?" Caitlin chuckled, as she ruffled her son's hair. "You bet you can buddy!" "Yay yay yay!!! We do it now?" "Yes, if you want to darling." "I do mummy! Leggo, leggo!" He said, pulling his mum upstairs eagerly whilst Caitlin's laughter echoed around the house.

"' 'Ello daddy, my name Tay! I love you lots and lots, but not as much like pink and pwincesses!" Austin said, gently moving his sister's arms, making her wave and blow kisses. Then he moved onto Autumn. "Hi daddy, I Autie, and I love you so so so much! Austin is best brother ever, but you, mummy and TayTay are okay too"!" Caitlin, whose laughter could easily be heard in the background as she recorded the adorableness that was taking place right infront of her, turned the camera onto her once Austin had finished speaking. "Hey baby, I love you so much, and I really miss you! But, as you can see, the kids are keeping me company just by being their lovely selves. What do you think of Aust's nicknames for the twins? He just came out with them the other day, it's so cute! I think I prefer the nicknames Aurie and Tay. What about you? Send me a video back! I've got to go! Love you, love you, love you! Mwah!" Caitlin said, blowing kisses, waving and then ending the video. With a few clicks she'd sent the video, and the one her and Austin had recorded earlier, to Jackson. And she couldn't help but smile knowing that, hopefully, her and the kids had just made Jax's dady. And, of course, she was right. As usual.

Lucy had knocked on the door just as Caitlin had finished preparing lunch, as she was dutifully checking up on Caitlin, as Cate already knew Jax had made her promise to do, and so she ended up joining them for lunch. They'd just finished having a picnic lunch in the backgarden, complete with fresh lemonade and chocolate coated strawberries, which were Austin's favourites.

Caitlin took a long sip of her glass of pink lemonade, feeling the relief that came with having a cool drink on a hot day. She stood up, collecting plates and cups, and she began to load them into the dishwasher. Out of nowhere, her head began to spin and she had an overpowering feeling of nausea. Grasping onto the edge of the dining room table, she collapsed onto a chair, holding her head before deciding to simply rest it on the table. Austin ran in, a huge beam on his face, which vanished instantly when he saw his mummy was unhappy. "Mummy? What matter?" He asked, crawling up onto her lap. Upon seeing her son, Caitlin had sat up, and she now plastered a smile on her face. "Nothing sweetie, I'm just tired. You go and play!" Austin looked at her doubtfully, a frown on his face as he hesitated to leave. "Baby, I'm okay, I promise. Mummy's ok." "Okay mummy. Hugs?!" Caitlin nodded happily, beaming as she responded: "Hugs!" She opened her arms wide, and Austin wrapped his arms around her tightly. Then he jumped off of her lap. "I love you mummy!" "I love you too Austin!"

Following a little way behind Austin, Caitlin slowly, and wearily, walked out into the garden. She was still feeling dreadfully dizzy. "Hey. Cate, are you alright? You look awful!" That was Lucy, blunt as always. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just going to my mum's quick, could you watch Austin for a second?" "Sure. I can keep an eye on the twins too if you want." "Thanks Lu, you're a star. But it's okay, I've got the twins, I don't really want them out of my sight if I'm honest." Caitlin was still very protective of her daughters, and she constantly feared they'd have to go back to hospital if they weren't given the absolute best care, and the most love and compassion possible. "Alright. Are you sure you're okay to drive?" "Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Thanks again Luce, I owe you one." "Anytime. Call me when you get there!" "I will!"

"How long have you been feeling like this honey?" "I'm not sure, a couple of weeks maybe? I don't know. I think, I think ever since Jax left. Maybe this is all just my body's crazy way of telling me I miss him,, and I can't actually handle looking after my own kids alone for any period of time." "Sweetheart, I think it's a lot more than that." Talia had a clear idea in her head on the cause of her daughter's problems, but she also knew that Caitlin was very fragile, and so wouldn't exactly be eager to hear what she had to say. And yet, regardless, Talia told her anyway, as she knew it was what Caitlin needed to hear. "Cate. Darling." Caitlin looked at her mother expectantly. "Have you taken a pregnancy test?" She asked slowly and calmly watching as things began to click into place in her daughter's mind. "N-no. You think I'm pregnant?! Mum, I can't have another baby right now, I can barely provide sufficiently enough for the children I already have I-" "Honey. Take a deep breath okay. You don't even know if you're pregnant yet. We''ll deal with that if we come to it. Now, I'm going to the chemist's to get you a pregnancy test. You stay here. And try to relax okay; watch TV or something." Caitlin nodded numbly and curled her knees up towards her chest. Talia kissed her daughter's head. "I'll be back soon okay honey?" "Okay, bye mum." Talia was just approaching the front door when Caitlin spoke. "Mum!" Talia backtracked, peeking her head around the lounge door-frame. "Yes darling?" "Thank you. So much. I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes!" "Oh don't be silly sweetie, you never have to thank me for anything. Ever. After all, the work of a mother is never done. You know that more than anyone!" "I do. I love you!" "I love you too!"

"Here you go." "Thanks. I think I'll take it home, I want to do it alone if you don't mind." "Of course honey, whatever you want." "Thank you mum. For today. It means a lot." "I know. It's my pleasure. Call me when you find out?" "Of course!" "Bye mum!" "Bye Cate, take care." "Thank you, you too. Look after yourself and dad." "I will!"

Finally, she'd succumbed to her own curiosity and taken the test. She hadn't known what she wanted the result to be until she saw what was on the pregnancy test that could either make or break her future. She was watching Austin play with his trains as she held the test in her hand, anxiously waiting for those fifteen minutes to pass. When they finally had she looked down at it, took a deep breath, and then walked to the bathroom, promptly discarding the test in the bin. She couldn't deal with worrying about herself right now, she had to focus on her children. And so, she decided to simply brush it to the very back of her mind until she simply had to think about the result, and whether or not she was happy about it.