8 weeks old
GISELE STARED DOWN AT THE TRIPLETS ITALIAN ISSUED BIRTH CERTIFICATE, she didn't expect them to have the name, which meant the Italian government and submitted the birth certificates to the US embassy.
Emmy went over and sat next to her friend, she had just been outside having a conversation with Amelia, she saw the confusion on her friends face, "What's up? Is something wrong?" She peeked over and saw the pieces of paper, her eyes grew wide, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't—"
"It's fine," she assured her, "I honestly laughed when I first saw it. I can just change it later."
"Okay, so I just got done calling Jo and Amy. Amelia just landed in Frankfurt, it's a two hour and forty minute layover, she'll be here at five thirty."
"Great, and Jo?"
"She's caught up in a surgery, so she'll meet us tomorrow night and the jet already landed and is ready to leave whenever we are."
She nodded, sighing already thinking about the hassle that would be taking three premature babies on a flight halfway across the world. She swears she was getting stress hives.
"I'm gonna start charging you."
"For what?" Gisele questioned.
"Being your assistant."
Gisele rolled her eyes, "Bitch, I'm not paying you. You're supposed to be my friend."
"I am, but I've don't so much paperwork in Italian these past few weeks that I'm pretty sure I can be a translator." She joked, "Or I fucked it up and it won't even be valid. One or the other."
Gisele dig into her pocket and pulled out some spare change she hand and let the coins fall into Emmy's hand, "There, your compensation."
Emmy held up her middle finger, flipping Gigi off, "Pendeja."
The triplets' doctors filed into the room and explained the triplets conditions and their medications they were on, and other medical things but Gisele spaced out. Medical talk was usually boring, especially when she already knew most of it, but hearing the long words in Italian was extra boring.
Then they explained that all three girls needed to take the infant carrier test so they could be discharged.
"Non hanno seggiolini auto."
"We'll get some," Emmy told Gigi, then turned to the doctors, "Torneremo con loro."
Emmy and Gisele left the hospital, and Emmy quickly managed to find an up scaled designer baby store.
"How did you find this place?" Gigi questioned as they pursued through the store.
"I googled." Emmy said.
"Posso aiutarmi?" A middle aged woman came up to the them.
"Ci servono tre seggiolini per auto." Emmy said.
The woman asked why so many and Emmy explained that Gisele had just had triplets. The lady's eyes almost popped out of her head, Gisele guessed she'd have to get used to being stared at and asked questions about the triplets.
Emmy and the lady went back and forth with conversation before the lady showed them the options.
All the baby talk and baby products was starting to be a lot, she just wanted to select random car seats but Emmy was being particularly meticulous today.
"Let's just pick whichever one and go." Gigi begged.
Emmy shook her head, "No, we have to get cute ones. Do you want strollers too."
Gisele didn't think she'd need a three seated stroller just yet, mostly because it would just take up too much room especially with all the traveling they'd be doing once the girls were released from the hospital.
"Yeah, that probably a good ide—" her phone went off, she pulled it out of her back pocket and Jackson's name light up on the screen, she rolled he eyes and pressed decline, "Let's just hurry up."
Emmy noticed Gisele's mood had soured even more and caught her eye roll, "What's up?"
"Jackson just called me."
Emmy turned to face her, her eyes widening, "What? And you didn't answer?"
She scoffed, "No. I literally called him like twenty times and emailed him ten. I just don't feel like dealing with him right now."
"Want me to call him back for you." Emmy offered.
"No. I don't want to think about it him general right now."
"Okay."
After spending two grueling hours shopping for baby supplies, most of which Emmy had picked, they dropped the bags and strollers off back at the apartment before heading back to the hospital. They unboxed the carseats and gave them to the nurses so they could settle the triplets in for their car seat test. Gisele had spent a good fifteen minutes before she excused herself and found herself in the garden.
She sat her phone down on the table and went to her call log, Jackson's name stared back up at her. Gisele sighed, she really wanted to bash her head against a brick wall or a thick glass window but then she'd be committed to an italian mental hospital,
Gisele felt a presense beside her and glanced up, it was Carina, "Hey."
"Hello. May I sit?" the Italian asked, motioning to the seat beside the brunette.
Gisele nodded, "Always."
Carina sat down, leaning her elbow against the table and reading her head on her hand, all while watching Gisele, "You seem upset. Is everything okay?"
Gisele exhaled deeply, "I'm a little... overwhelmed."
"Is everything alright with the bambinas?"
She nodded, "Yes. They're doing great, actually. If they pass their infant carrier test they get to be discharged."
Carina's face lit up with happiness, "That is amazing, no."
"I mean,,, yes. it's just going from zero to three is a lot and then there---"
Her phone lit up again, and again it was Jackson's name on the screen, still not wanting to deal with him Gisele decided not to answer.
Carina was concerned with how intensely Gisele was staring at her phone, "Gisele?" no response, now the Italian was worried about a brain bleed or something medical, "Gisele? Are you alright?"
Snapping out of her trance, Gisele looked over at Carina, "Yes, sorry. I'm good. Just some baby daddy drama."
Carina frowned, from the very first time she officially met Gisele (when she was conscious) and Emmy, she'd thought they were together, "You and Emmy aren't together?"
Gisele chuckled, "No, she's just my best friend. Has been since we were four... I think."
"I apologize--"
She waved her off, "It's fine, honestly. We are really close and she offered to help me through the pregnancy when things with my... baby daddy got bad." Gisele could see the gears turning in Carina's head, "It wasn't abusive-well not physically but it surely would have turned out emotionally abusive towards each other."
"I'm sorry."
"Thanks."
"Whenever you get overwhelmed with the babies at any point just set them down somewhere safe and step away, take a moment for yourself. It doesn't matter if they're continuously crying."
She smiled, "I'll keep that in mind, thank you."
2 weeks ago
Her head was pounding and her stomach wasn't feeling much better. She wasn't sure if it was from all the stress worrying about the twins or from the possible alcohol poising she acquired from the yacht party, it was probably most likely the latter.
All three of her babies were still in surgery, and no one had come out to inform her.
But then again, she was out getting wasted all day.
Emmy placed her hand on Gisele's thigh, stopping her leg from bouncing up and down.
"You need to relax." Emmy said.
"Something is wrong, we haven't been updated in hours."
"No. You haven't been updated," Emmy told, "They've been texting me the whole time. All three babies are doing great so far."
Gisele inhaled deeply, to calm her nerves and her stomach, "I'm going to throw up."
"What else do you expect? You literally drank your body weight in alcohol."
Gisele groaned, "I don't understand how you're completely fine."
"Because I didn't really drink."
Soon the doors were flung open and in walked, it was Atlas' doctor, and by the smile on her face Gigi could tell it was good news.
Which is was, soon the other two surgeons came out and all three surgeries were a success.
Gigi, once again, felt like throwing up. She'd been feeling like that a lot recently.
Was she glad her babies were now well enough to be discharged? Yes. Was she also sick with anxiety of now being responsible for three tiny fragile lives? Also yes.
Now, instead of having multiple people to look after them for all hours of the day and night, she'd have to look after them herself, with the help of her sisters but it was still scary for her.
She watched as multiple NICU nurses, along with Emmy counted down from ten. Then eventually cheering once they said one, officially marking the release of the triplets from the hospital.
Gisele signed a few forms before they so could leave. Once signed, everything was a blur. They were quickly ushered out of the hospital and to the parking lot, where Gisele managed to say her goodbyes to Carina.
"You're going home."
Gisele nodded, "Yes, thanks to you."
"I was doing my—"
She cut the Italian off, "Your job, I know," Gisele reached forward brining Carina in for a hug, "Seriously, thank you."
Carina squeezed back, "I'm very glad I could. Just remember, take a break when you need one."
She nodded, "Seriously, thank you. I would be dead if it weren't for you."
Then, in the blink of an eye they were back at the apartment. All three babies did fine on the car ride home, all except Atlas, she didn't cry but she was the most vocal.
Except now that they were home, everything went to hell. All three of them wailed the moment they entered the living room.
Gigi was able to quickly feed and change Florence, who was now sound asleep on the couch with a pillow preventing the infant from falling off. Which left two babies.
Gisele had tried feeding Kaia, which only led to her being covered in baby vomit, she then burped and changed the diaper. That seemed to only help a little, now Kaia was left whimpering.
Gisele patted Kaia's back, opting out of swaying, she'd already changed out of the baby vomit and she didn't want to have to again.
She looked over at Emmy, who was rocking a screeching Atlas in her arms and she walked up and down the living room, it was apparent that Atlas would be full of personality. Emmy had tried everything, changing, burping, and feeding. Nothing worked.
Emmy could see Gigi starting to get worked up. She knew Gisele was most likely developing a massive headache and needed to vomit her guts out.
"Go throw up."
"What?"
"You've been saying the entire car ride home that you needed to throw up, go. I got them."
"I don't really need to anymore."
"Then go sleep," Emmy suggested, "I can watch them. Florence is knocked out, Kaia is calm now, I've got Atlas. If I can't handle then, I'll yell for you."
Gigi went over to Emmy, pressing a kiss onto her cheek, "I love you so much."
"I know."
Four hours later, there was a light knock on the door. With Atlas still in her arms(who had finally stopped screeching), Emmy quickly sprinted over to the door wanting it open before anyone woke up.
Opening the door, and there stood Amy with a duffel over her shoulder.
Emmy stepped aside, letting her in.
Amy's eyes lit up at the sight of the baby in Emmy's arms, "Oh, she's home!" She cheered, "Which one is that?"
Emmy was sure she was still holding Atlas but an irrational fear told her she'd switched the babies at some point, which obviously hadn't happened because she hadn't put Atlas down at all. She quickly checked the hospital bracelet wrapped on the infant's teeny ankle, Gisele had refused to let anyone cut the off even at the hospital.
It was definitely the same baby, "This is Atlas."
"Why haven't you guys taken off the bracelet?"
Fatigue was beginning to set in Emmy's arms, she'd been holding the baby for the past four hours and she was starting to cramp, she'd tired a few times to put her down which only resulted in Atlas crying again.
Emmy quickly handed the baby over to Amelia, praying she was fast enough that Atlas wouldn't notice, "Here."
The baby squirmed around in Amelia's arms, displeased with the movement. Amy quickly rocked her up and down, patting the girl's back at the same time.
"Was she the only one discharged?"
Emmy shook the cramps out of her arms, "No," she pointed over to the couch where two thirds of the babies were laying, "Everyone's out of the hospital."
Amy snuggled the baby closer to herself, the baby was warm and so so small, even though all three babies had grown significantly since the last time she saw the triplets, they were still so small. Not to mention the newborn smell, it practically melted her heart.
Looking around the room, she saw that Gisele wasn't there.
"Where's Gigi?"
"Sleeping," Emmy said, walking over to the loveseat and letting herself fall onto it, "She's been sleeping for the past four hours."
"Is she okay?"
Emmy nodded, "Mhm, she's just sleeping off her hangover, and some nerves."
Amelia looked down at the Atlas, she was still asleep and moving her lips in a sucking motion. She hadn't been around a newborn since... and it felt a tad bit overwhelming, especially since she was surrounded by three.
She ran her hand over the baby's head, "That's good. I'm assuming the surges went well?"
Emmy nodded, "Exceptionally well, everyone's healthy and most of the time happy."
Amelia smiled, happy her sister didn't have to go through that excruciating pain. She leaned down, pressing a kiss to Atlas' forehead, "You're beautifully perfect."