But Who's Counting?

Chapter Ten: "Merry Christmas!"

Maya did not have to get me anything, let alone all of the things that filled this box. I was grateful for her. I truly appreciated this.

I grabbed two smaller boxes in the box, seeing the letter P written on both. I opened one, smiling when seeing that it was a pacifier.

I opened the other one, seeing the black pacifier clip inside. This was so the babies pacifier was on its shirt at all times. A wide smiled broke over my face as I thanked Maya. This was the sweetest gift I've ever gotten. I could feel tears burning my eyes before I heard my name being called.

My head snapped towards Alex who was looking at my gift in shock.

I had forgotten that as a joke, I bought him a box of condoms. Since he had forgotten to have one on the night our baby was made, I thought it would be funny - as well as useful - for him to get a box of them. I also added the first pictures of our baby.

He mumbled a thanks before throwing them back in the bag and grabbed the next item. He pulled out the baby pictures before beginning to stumble over his words. "Is, is, is th- this is..? This is our baby?" I nodded, watching as he studied the picture a bit longer. I watched as he began to point, making me nervous. Maya started to climb over all the presents to see what he was looking at. He showed me what he was pointing at before asking what it was.

"Well, that's the leg.." I said, licking my teeth nervously.

He looked at me confused before looking back down.

"Well then, what are these two thing over here?"

"Legs as well." I answered. He mumbled something incoherent before looking at me confused. "Why does the baby have three legs? It's a boy?" He said with excitement. I laughed slightly before seeing him put the puzzles together in his head. His jaw dropped at the realization.

Good boy, using your brain for once.

"There's two of them? You're having twins?" He asked for clarification. Maya looked at me with the same surprised look as her fathers'.

"Oh my god." Alexander said, staring back at the picture.

"You're having two babies? So, imma gonna have a brother and a sister?" Maya was jumping with joy, a wide smile breaking over face. I nodded eagerly. She damn near snatched the photos out of Alexander's hands before speaking again.

"So, these are the babies? They are gonna come out in May, right?" She asked. I said yes to all of her questions.

I wasn't that excited about having twins. We were blessed, of course. But this was my first pregnancy ever. Delivering two babies is not easy. Delivering ONE baby is not easy, so imagine having to do two times that. I was mainly nervous since I knew two babies cost more and as much as I know that we will be financially stable, I'm not ready to raise to kids by myself part time. Since Alexander and I will have the kids alternating through our houses, having two kids at my house by myself isn't easy. Having to feed two crying babies isn't easy. Having to change two pampers is not easy. Having to put two babies to sleep, bathe them, feed them, clothe them, and nurture them all while doing the same for myself is not easy.

Maybe we should do like in the Parent Trap and give one baby to Alex while I keep the other one and move back to California. Then, we both would never have to see each other again and we can both go on with our lives with our own kid. We could even name one Hallie and the other Annie.

Just kidding.

But what a coincidence, Hallie's last name is Parker, just like Alexanders'.

"This gift is from Daddy. I don't know what it is but it's light. You have more gifts under that." She said, pointing to the small table next to me. I accepted the gift from her before opening it much quicker than my other present was opened.

I pulled out the item, seeing a T-shirt. I held it up against me before reading the words. Maya sat on the couch, toying with the teddy bear that Alexander had gotten her inside her pajama set basket.

I reread the words aloud before glancing at Alexander.

"Worlds Best Mommy To Be" it read, with a number 1 on it. It was a Jersey like tee and had a small golden Baby emoji on the center where my baby bump was.

"Thank you, Alex." I said with a smile before beginning to reach back in the bag. I froze when I heard a sniffle. Was I crying? I couldn't even tell. I licked my lips before looking up. Alexander's eyes were trained in Maya.

Okay, so I wasn't crying. Maya was.

She was breathing heavily with her knees to her chest and teddy bear in her hands. Her cheeks were already beginning to get puffy. Alex asked her multiple times what was wrong but instead of answering, she just sniffled and tried to hide in her knees.

"Babygirl, can you please talk to me? Do you want a hug?" Alexander asked Maya. Maya sat on the couch crying her little eyes out, clutching her new teddy bear. She nodded, which made Alex stand up and make his way over to her. He pulled her into his lap and gave her a hug. She hugged him back but still openly sobbed. He pulled back from her before speaking to her gently.

"Maya, baby, please. Calm down. Cmon, breathe." he placed his large hands on her waist before looking into her eyes and beginning to breathe deeply. He inhaled, waiting for Maya to follow suit. In her sobs, you could hear her attempting to follow Alexander's breathing. Her breathing staggered as her small chest went up and down. I bit my lip while watching Alexander continue to try and calm her down.

"Look, So now that you're calm... could you please tell Daddy what's wrong with his princess?"

"I still don't have a mommy! I want a mommy! It's not cool, Daddy! You have a mommy. My baby sister is going to have a mommy. Sophia has a mommy. Sophia is going to be a mommy. Justin has a mommy. Everybody in the whole wide world has a mommy, but me. Why can't I have a mommy? I'm not bad, I'm nice. Leah just didn't like me!"

I stilled at her last words. No four year old should even have to go through this. They should not even have to go through the thought process of their parents -let alone one that they lived in for nine months- did not like them. I knew if my mother didn't like me, at such a young age, I would be heartbroken.

I could see Alex's wide eyes as she broke into another sob. Alex looked at me for a quick second before pulling his daughter back into a hug.

"You'll have a mommy again one day. I'm sorry babygirl. I love you so much. It's a lot of kids that don't have mommy's but they are all going to have one one day. Everything is going to come with time, alright?" He was whispering but it was pretty loud.

Maya visibly calmed down before nodding. She hugged Alexander with everything in here before whispering an 'I love you'. My heart warmed at the sight while a smile broke over my face.

Maya pulled back and looked towards me with teary eyes. She wiped her eyes before sliding off Alexander lap and coming over to me. She peered into my eyes before throwing herself on me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and put a leg on each side of my thighs. Maya breathed heavily in my ear before whispering seven words into my ear, in the most adorable tone ever. It also broke my heart to hear her say it.

"I want you to be my mommy."

/:
Thoughts on this chapter?

Happy holidays everybody. It's Christmas Eve rn for me and I'm in a house full of kids who keep screaming 'it smells like CHRISTMASSSS' every five seconds.