*Published* Accidental Babies (SAMPLE)

One Shot

The sun was setting, the room was messy and the twins were sitting quietly in place. Looking down at the swirly tops of their heads, April was marvelling at their stationary bodies. Well, their arms and hands were moving still, pointing and slapping loudly on the book they were reading.

Well, reading was a loose verb for what the twins were doing. They were obviously drooling but for whatever they were doing to be called reading, it was a stretch. Being a couple of months into their second year, or one year and three months to be exact, they have yet to recognise letters, much less words. Instead, they were entranced by the pictures, which were big and colorful. Daphne was especially interested in the glittery, shimmery pictures. This was probably the influence of Amelia who visited them often.

Tanner, on the other hand, was more interested in holding the book, his newly-developed stubborn independence streak asserting itself more and more everyday. Everything was a tug-of-war with him. Even now, he was trying to get the book to himself.

Hiding her exasperation, April barely managed to retain her hold on the book as she slowly read the book. Regardless of the short passage, she was glad to spend the time with the two of them. They were becoming so active, always running around, getting into places where they're not supposed to be at. With her increasing girth, it was harder for her to catch up with them, her stamina rapidly depleting. The worst thing was that they were no longer waiting for her anymore. So to have a time with just them was a luxury.

Immersing herself in the feel of their downy, silky hair while they immersed themselves in their individual activities, the sound of crunching gravel drifted into the room. The twins stopped whatever they were doing and got to their feet. They had learned that this was a sign that their father had returned. By now, they should be waiting by the door for him to come in and ignoring her completely. A bittersweet smile graced April's lips as she made sure they were stable on their feet before getting to her feet.

Going into the fifth month of her pregnancy, her stomach was beginning to balloon. And she knew she should stop sitting on the floor but she loved getting on the same level as the twins. They're so much more affectionate when she did so. On the downside, it was getting much more difficult to get up by herself. Like now.

After rolling onto her knees, she slowly crawled to the coffee table to use as leverage. It was a tough and laborious process but this was the best way, as she had found out the day before. Apparently her core muscles were lacking so much so that she couldn't get up normally. Or, at least, without assistance.

"What are you doing?"Jason asked from the doorway behind her. Ignoring him, she pushed up and slowly got her feet under her. Triumphant, she turned to her fiance and smiled. He just shook his head and walked to her, pulling her into his arms. "I'm here, you know. You could've asked me for help."

"Why didn't you offer?"she returned but ignored his answer as she buried her nose in his neck. For some reason, as the pregnancy progressed, she had grown to crave his smell and missed it terribly when he had to work.

"I'm not dumb,"he said. "I don't want to have my head bitten off anymore than I have to." She had to smile. Admittedly, she had been very emotional and short tempered in the first few months of her pregnancy. It was only now that it had calmed down.

"I'm not that bad-"

*Squeak, squeak*

She froze. That was not a good sound. That was an ominous sound. From the stiffness of his body, she knew he knew what was making her pause. The squeaking was getting louder along with the sound of wheels.

Looking up, she asked woodenly, "Jason, what did you buy?"

"Uh, some toys for the twins,"he said but she could hear the thread of nerves in his voice.

"What kind of toys?" Her hand was gripping his back tightly, not allowing him to escape her eyes. He'd looked away, making the dread grow even heavier. "Jason, answer me. What kind of toys?"

"Um-"

"Mama, mama,"both twins called out as they rolled in on their brand new, spanking new...

"Scooters?"she practically wailed in despair as her eyes followed the twins around the room. He just looked away. "Jason, are you trying to kill me? How am I supposed to look after them when they can move much, much faster than me? And that horn? Do you want to relive our exersaucer days- Jason? Jason! Don't run away. Jason!"

Looking at her escaping fiance's back, she resigned herself to her fate and dropped onto the sofa. He had begun buying stuff for the family and home. For her, for the twins, for the baby. Most of the time, they were harmless and necessary. But this was a nightmare brought to life.

WIth the laughter of the twins mocking her, she couldn't help but smile. She just had to get used to them and get back to him for this.

Life had become just that much more interesting.

AN: Hey guys. I know this is much overdue, like 4 months, and I apologise. But inspiration was very, very, very difficult to get. If you've read Chap 45 of Accidental Pregnancy, you'll see where the lightbulb were switched on in my head.

So what do you think? I know some of you want a glimpse when the twins are older but my mind can't wrap myself around it. I tried, I really tried guys, but that was headache-inducing. If you want to try your hand on this, you can drop your one shot to my email: saiyidah.rahman (at) gmail.com

Anyways, please VOTE and COMMENT if you liked it.