Noah POV
Present
"Valerie (5), Matt (5), Sawyer (3), come down for breakfast, Daddy is ready for you guys." Elle screamed as I read the newspaper and sipped my coffee. I loved my life – I was married to the love my of my life, had a great job, a beautiful house in Los Angeles, and 3 beautiful kids. Today is a special day, our first borns - Valerie and Matt's birthday, they turn 5 today. The twins were a surprise for us, and their birth story and this day 6 years ago will never cease to amuse me.
"Good morning" the kids chirped.
"Hello there" I cooed to my babies, as I moved over to go and cuddle the twins as Mommy's boy, Sawyer ran to her on smelling his favourite breakfast. For 3, he already was a strategist, knowing who to butter when and for what.
"Thank you, Daddy. Where's our gift?" my son demanded.
"Uh, uh. Good try, Matty. But you need to wait till your party this evening." I said to them.
"Okay" they mumbled quietly and took their seats as Elle and I both exchanged knowing looks. They started eating their breakfast with sullen looks while Elle and I looked at them, rather amused. They were certainly her kids when it came to being upset on not getting something. Ask me.
"Daddy, I think we'll go return those bikes parked in the yard, then?" Elle teased, after a few minutes.
"Oh yeah, don't think these two want it" I continued.
"You got us new bikes?" they shouted together. "The new automatic ones? Matt continued a pitch higher.
"Of course, dummies. We're your parents, we played this hint game in our days too."
Since a little over two weeks, both the kids had been very subtlety giving both Elle and me hints about wanting new bikes, new models they had loved on a commercial during their screen time.
They both high-fived each other and suddenly the mood on the dining table was a jovial one as breakfast was finished without any whines or empty threats.
"Mum, Daddy, is everything set for the party? Valerie, the boss asked.
We had a couple minutes before we left for school and they twins were trying out their new bikes as Sawyer played with Claude, our beagle.
"Yes ma'am" I saluted my little boss lady. Again, her mother's daughter, all the way.
"Is Maria coming? What about Hannah and Madison? And Katie? Henry said he couldn't make it; did you speak to his parents?" she demanded, chatting away a mile a minute.
And as if, her brother felt left behind, he soon joined forces with his sister in attacking me.
"Yeah, what about my football team-mates? Jim, Peter, Sammy, Daniel?
"Everything is set kids. All of them are coming, and their Mommy and Daddy have confirmed it to us. Go to school now, enjoy your day, everything is in the car, Daddy will help you." Elle said as she hugged them goodbye and sat them in the car while I went and scooped Sawyer up for a cuddle.
"So, little man, no being naughty at play school today. Okay?" I cooed to him as I tickled his tummy and he hugged me in defence his giggles giving me goosebumps. Yeah, the twins were a surprise, but this little man, was totally unexpected and a blessing. Our kids were beautiful, yeah, I am being biased, and it sucked to think, there won't be more.
I rolled my eyes and started laughing at their scrunched-up nose look, just like their Mum, Elle was clearly teasing them. Well, yeah, another piece of information, all three kids look like their Mom, and I don't mind that one bit.
The twins were super adorable when bossy, they sulk just like how Elle would when things don't go her way – I was only the ammunition provider in this gene-pool. If it were any consolation, only, Sawyer, had my dimples, but the twins were mini-Elle's out and out.
Our weekday mornings were set, I would drive Valerie and Matt to school on the way to my Dad's office whose law firm I worked at and Elle, would drop Sawyer to his playschool. The kids usually went to my parent's house until Elle picked them up in the evening after work, but today, we'd be picking them up, together.
I went in and saw my Dad before getting to work for the day.
"What's up, bud?" for him, I'd always be middle school Noah and now, a father myself, I love it this way.
"All good. Just going to finish up early and go pick Elle and the kids by 3 PM" I grinned as Dad smiled too.
"I am excited for the party too" my Dad had his 'spoiling my grandchildren rotten today' look going for him.
"Dad..." I said in a stretched way "What are you gifting them, you've spoilt them enough, you know?" I reprimanded.
"I'm sorry, you are saying something?" he joked, and I shook my head. Well, who can come in between a grandpa and his grandchildren?
"Aight, I'll see you in the evening."
As I sat on my desk, I saw the picture that took me back 6 years ago, my picture with Elle, Valerie, and Matt just moments after they were born.
5 years ago
To begin with, I had never thought I would be married, let alone have a child. But then Elle happened, and my life changed as I know it. She looks so angelic right now as I sit on the couch in our private room at UCLA Medical just staring at her and her protruding belly, just waiting for the miracleS we have created to arrive, any time now. She is so peaceful right now; I cannot even begin to imagine the screaming wreck she was just a few minutes ago.
"I HATE YOU NOAH!" she screamed out while squeezing my hand with all the force in her body that she could put together as her body dealt with an onslaught on contractions. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! I CANNOT BELIEVE I LISTENED TO YOU! I SWEAR YOU ARE DONE WITH ME; YOU GET NOTHING. NOTHING AT ALL. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU ARE NEVER ALLOWED TO TOUCH ME AGAIN, OKAY NOAH, YOU EIFFEL TOWER?! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" She screamed as I stared on in confused and nodded.
"Can I be honest really quick? Technically, it was both our faults, you're the one who attacked m in the shower all those months ago because apparently I looked irresistible in my worn-out work clothes for the day." I pointed out, in my defence, while dealing with a painful wrist. I could only wonder where she got that strength for such a strong grip, my hand was red, and I wouldn't be shocked if I had fractured a bone.
She screamed again as I tried to dry her face and clean the sweat and tears that made her look like a mess.
"Shhh, calm down Elle." I said sounding tired, just by looking at her in pain. I was Noah Flynn, not the one to be scared so easily, but, there was only one woman in the world that could instil fear in me and she was doing a great job of it. The mighty Noah Flynn as vulnerable as he will ever be.
Oh, I knew how much she hated me in this moment.
"I am sorry. I don't mean a single thing I am saying, you know, that right? Its too painful." She cried. I got up and immediately pulled her into my arms.
"Babe, you are doing a great job, just wait until these peanuts..." "Watermelons" she interrupted me and looked up at me as if I'd committed a crime, "Aah yes, watermelons" I cleared my throat "come out and are here with us, all this will be forgotten" Thankfully, my efforts were working. She smiled whatever best she could muster in this moment, but it was a genuine one.
"Do you want me to send Mom in here for a bit? I asked. "Will you be okay?" I kissed her on the lips. She nodded and I went outside to send my Mom in.
***
The day we found out Elle was expecting was another momentous occasion. She refused to go to the doctors with me. She had been throwing up, had nausea, we had been eating the same meals, however, she was the only one throwing up. It was my Mom who coaxed me into taking Elle to the clinic and get her checked, because I am sure she had heard of those symptoms earlier in her life.
A few months ago...
"Elle, please just let's go see the doctor. You've been miserable since 3 days now, only surviving on liquids, that's not very healthy."
"I am fine, Noah" she argued.
"Elle, don't tempt me into picking you up and shoving you in the car."
"I dare you" she narrowed her eyes and seethed through her teeth. "You called this" I shrugged and did as I was told.
10 mins later we were in the doctor's clinic, waiting for our appointment, as Elle kept giving me angry looks while I filled the paperwork.
"I love you." I whispered intertwining my fingers with hers.
"I hate you." She murmured, a pout on her face, as she put her head on my shoulder.
"Yeah, used to this by now." I said, rather amused.
"Any excuse for a fight, right? I knew she was smiling without seeing her face.
"Well, at least this conversation doesn't round me off sounding like a dick." I said
"I love you too." She finally said and I sighed in response, chuckling, my mind going back to the first day of senior year, high school.
"Elle Flynn"
"Hello, Dr. Long." We greeted her.
"So, what's the emergency?" She asked, she had received a frantic call from me while driving earlier.
"Elle is sick." I said like a child tattling to the teacher.
"I am not!" Elle defended.
"She has been vomiting for 3 mornings now. We're all having the same meals, but she is the only one with issues. And she has a heavy head, nausea and fatigue." I said, this shut her up, because it is kind of true.
"Okay." Dr. Long said trying to hold back a smile.
"It could be food poisoning."
"It..it is not." Noah said earning a look from both, Dr. Long and me. "Noah, I think Dr. Long knows what she is doing, can we shut up? She whispered angrily. And I mimed zipping my mouth.
"Any other symptoms, like weakness, body pain, weird cravings, smell aversions, mood swings?" Dr. Long asked, while both of us kept nodding in affirmative to every symptom.
"Are you sexually active?" She asked "And is it protected every time?"
We looked at each other realizing we had failed miserably because there had been a couple instances where we'd gotten carried away and not really used it. Like, in the shower a few weeks ago, the night after my birthday party, Halloween...
"Most of the time." Elle replied quietly.
"We're going to need to take a urine sample." She said and sent Elle off to her nurse and disappeared along with her.
Elle came back after a while to find me dumbstruck, leaning against the bed, just like I was when she left, there was a slight smile on my face that became bigger when she walked in.
"You might be pregnant." I whispered; the awe evident in my voice.
"How do you feel? I know that we wanted to wait for a bit. But, I am thrilled, if it is true. She asked me. We had just been married, for almost 23 months.
"I am very happy, but what matters most is your happiness, if you want to wait, we can-" I said, it is her body after all. But she shook her head in negative and put all my worries to rest. We were ecstatic, period.
Dr. Long walked in a few moments later with a slight smile on her face. "You're about 5 and a half weeks along, so the date of conception is about 7 weeks ago."
"My birthday." I breathed earning a raised elbow from Dr. Long who laughed in response and gave us a few minutes to let the feeling sink in.
So, Mommy to be, happy? I asked her as I leaned in for a kiss.
"Yes, if you are." She smiled.
"I feel on top of the world" I grinned like a kid in a candy store.
"And I am right there, giving you company" she smiled as she kissed me.
Dr. Long came in and started instructing us on the way forward.
"The nurse will give you your appointment calendar, your OB/GYN will be, my colleague Dr. Marcel, she will see you in a couple days, for your first scan."
"Are there any precautions or steps to take?" I asked, the lawyer in me kicking into overdrive and searching for answers.
"Of course. Elle, your baby will get the nutrients that he or she needs from you, so it is important that you eat well, force yourself to eat a bit even though your appetite may be low for the next few weeks. Eating smaller meals over the day and staying hydrated with good fresh fruit juices should help and will also keep the morning sickness at bay. Have ginger tea, herbal tea, I am also writing a few supplements to begin with, as suggested by Dr. Marcel. Eat healthy, exercise, stay hydrated, that's where you will get strength from. If you have any questions, contact me." Elle nodded and I held onto every word that left Dr. Long's mouth.
This was officially the best day of our life, and it had just begun.
As we lay in bed, later that afternoon, after returning from the clinic, I knew I had to tease Elle.
"So, when our kid asks where they came from, can I tell them, they were made, right here, in that shower?" I laughed as Elle raised her head to stare at me, dumbfounded.
"Shut up." She murmured whacking me hard causing him me to laugh.
"You have to admit that it's pretty funny."
"It's not. And you better not be telling our kid anything like that."
"Our kid." I sighed contently.
"Do you want a boy or girl?" She asked curious, we hadn't discussed that yet.
"A girl first, I think. What about you?"
"I am quite fond of the idea of a little Noah." She smiled.
"I guess we'll find out." I smiled as Elle laid her head back on my chest.
"Hopefully our kids get my sense of humour." I said, a while later, clearly not done teasing my wife.
"Oh hello, you have no sense of humour Noah."
"At least I don't laugh at my own jokes Elle."
"That is because your jokes are not funny."
"I have a refined sense of humour."
"Whatever helps you sleep better at night." She said pecking my lips again before burying her face back into the crook of his neck and wrapping her arm around my waist.
Present
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Flynn." Elle's nurse, Francisca, smiled as she entered the room. I was back with Elle, my Mom had gone back to office and promised to return later in the day.
"Great, you're half-way there, it is still going to be a while sadly. And how far apart are the contractions?" she asked us as she patted Elle's face dry with a cloth and cleaned her up a bit. She looked a little more human right now.
"Ten minutes and thirty-four seconds apart now, lasting for about 35-40 seconds." answered causing the nurse to let out a small chuckle at my accuracy.
I had read up every baby book I could lay my hands on about delivering the baby and the before and after birth for both, of course, but nothing prepared had really prepared me for this, in practical, it was way different in theory. I was wholly prepared to be father, but if only we could skip this painful process, I would be eternally grateful.
"Hey, Elle, everyone outside is asking who the screaming banshee is outside." Lee said walking into the room with a smile, he sat on the chair that I was previously occupying before I had moved to sit on the bed so I could hold my wife.
"If I could move, I would kick you right now." Elle groaned. "Noah, slap him for me please." She said and Noah complied whacking Lee in the head.
"Ouch, is that how you treat your kid's godfather?" He asked rubbing his head.
"Godfather?" Noah asked with a laugh and Lee, unperturbed, by my response, pointed at Elle who looked at me with guilt.
"I, uh, may have promised him in this, 3 months ago, when you were away for work and I was craving chocolate ice cream. Lee was being a menace, and this is what he demanded to get it for me." she mumbled.
"Yeah well, that and I was the first one, after you guys to find out that you were pregnant and I am your life-long best friend, so I think its amazing. You guys do owe me a lot and this covers up, some part of it for now." He beamed at his brother and sister in law.
Elle, was clearly annoyed with Lee constantly chattering, which in another situation, would be Elle and him together, but right now, Lee was not helping this situation and was only making t worse for me, on purpose.
"And then Rachel, oh god she looked so hot that day, but she was on her period, or else I would've ravished her right then..." Lee spoke about his fiancé, with lustful emotions.
I could clearly see Elle getting annoyed with Lee. "Get out, Lee, I think Elle, needs rest." I said. "And so do I, so may you get up from my 'bed'?"
He started cackling and teasing us. "GET OUT. Ouch, Noah." I immediately ran to Elle's side and Lee just walked out of the room after hugging Elle and whispering, "It'll be fine."
"You got this Elle, I held her as she lived through the worst contraction yet"
"Did it kick him out?" Elle asked as she came back to normal.
"I think you scared him." Noah laughed.
"When are these two going to want to get out of there?" She groaned.
"Well, the twin delivery baby book said you're going to be in labour for-."
"If you tell me what is written in those stupid baby books one more time, I swear to God that you will not have anything left to make babies with." Elle seethed. The baby books made her angry.
Ever since we had found out that Elle was pregnant, I was in overprotective husband mode and had become even more overprotective, if possible.
If this overprotectiveness wasn't bad enough, I had bought out every parenting book I could find. I would read them all day, and then relay the information to Elle.
"I think you can quote every word from those books, but right now, if you say another word, you've had it, Flynn" there it was, passively angry Elle was back.
"Almost there hon, you're doing great." Sister Francisca was back, and I couldn't believe it had been 36 hours in labour.
Next morning, we were awakened by Elle at 4 am, labour induced pregnancy insomnia, I explained to her. My Mom was in the room with us, she stayed with us, in case we needed anything.
"Everything is going to be fine Elle, don't worry." My Mom comforted her as I sipped my coffee (tea) according to Elle, since her anger was also due to no caffeine first thing in the morning.
Soon, Dr. Long walked in with Dr. Marcel, and I am pretty sure, what they saw caused them to just laugh and ogle at us.
"You're staying for the delivery Noah?" Dr. Marcel asked me while examining Elle and I nodded.
"Elle, I still think you should reconsider the epidural." Dr. Marcel advised causing Elle to sigh. She had refused to get one before, but the pain was making her reconsider and she took it after she was assured that the pain will reduce ten folds.
"Do you still think it's two boys?" I asked Elle once everyone left the room and promised it won't be long now.
"It's my uterus, so I know its two boys." She said sounding sure of herself.
"We could have found out."
Our kids were too playful already and when it was time to find out their genders, they decided to surprise us. So we had decided to wait it out and learn upon birth.
"I still think it's two girls." I said.
I guess we will know soon.
An hour later...
"You're fully dilated, Elle. Ready?" sister Francisca asked her as we were wheeled into the delivery room.
We crossed our parents, Lee and Rachel who wished us good luck.
It was time.
"When the next contraction comes Elle, I need you to push while we count until ten. Don't stop pushing until ten, and then you can rest until the next contraction, okay?" Dr. Marcel instructed.
Elle nodded. "Hey, you got this, you're the Elle, remember?" I smiled at her, squeezing her hand lightly.
Her nod turned into a scream as she felt a contraction rip through her. "Okay, here comes the first one. Push!" Dr. Marcel said.
Elle fell back onto the pillow as soon as she heard ten. I was scared, this was worse than the last couple hours.
"Okay, again Elle!" Dr. Marcel instructed. Elle pushed again with all her might, hoping that this would end soon.
"I can't do this Noah." Elle cried.
"Yes, you can baby. You are the strongest woman I know, just a little more Elle, and then we can see our babies." I said lovingly.
"Okay, this may be the last time for baby one, Elle if you push hard. It is crowning. GO." Dr. Marcel said and Elle pushed as hard as she could and suddenly fell back with a gasp, like a huge pressure had been removed. The room filled with a loud cry causing both of us to smile.
"Don't tell us, we'd like to meet them together." Dr Marcel smiled as I almost shouted.
"Would daddy like to cut the umbilical cord?" she asked me and I did the honours.
5 minutes later, Baby no 2 heralded their entry into this world.
I carefully cut its cord too and the nurse then swept the baby to its sibling, to be cleaned up, and bought back to us, while I went back and comforted my baby-mama.
"They're, baby and are perfect. You did it" I whispered and kissed her on the lips.
"Congratulations Daddy"
"You too, Mommy"
"She is so tiny." I whispered touching her cheek with my finger, while Elle cuddled the other baby.
"He is so cute" Elle cooed, and we exchanged babies and ogled at them.
"Anyone would look tiny next to the Eiffel Tower." Elle teased.
"I am your daddy little ones. And this is your annoying, but beautiful Mommy?" I cooed in a voice that I had never heard myself in.
It was the most perfect sight in the world.
Present
I was pulled out of my musings when my assistant came in to remind me of the client meeting, my last for the day.
After finishing work, I met Elle at the mall, we picked up some stuff for the party, picked up the kids and headed home.
"Alright, kids. Time to nap before the party, you don't wanna be sleepy when the game master will be hosting, right? I had to almost blackmail the over-excited twins into sleeping while Elle set Sawyer down for a nap, so that we could do all the arrangements, last minute and spend some down time looking back at the last few years of our lives. Besides, I had already.
"They down?" she asked me as I met her in the kitchen.
"Yeah, quite high on energy" I laughed.
"Thank you, Elle" I hugged her from behind.
"For what?" she smiled, turning in my arms and putting her arms, around me.
"This life, the kids. If you didn't happen to me, none of this would" I smiled.
"Oh well, I like to be reminded that..."
"Yes, you are the best thing that happened to me" I completed for her and she kissed me and we stayed like that, and then went upstairs and lay down with our kids, taking in the life, we had built and it had, indeed, just begun.
Happy Birthday, Valerie and Matt, We love you.
--------------------------------------------