"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Gaby said questioning Victoria, her intense green eyes staring up at her as Gaby removed her jumper.
"It's not my fault that you threw up all over yourself and me," Gaby said as she wiped Victoria down and changed her into a onesie before putting her back into her crib and stuck a pacifier into her mouth. Gaby picked up a fretting Elijah and grabbed his bottle from the bottle warmer when the doorbell rang.
"Dang who is it?" she thought aloud. The doorbell rang again, and Gaby went to answer the door carrying Elijah. When she opened the door, her mouth dropped.
"Mom? Dad? What are you guys doing here?" Gaby asked, and her father just pointed to Isabelle.
"We had to come back I felt so bad leaving you alone with the kids."
"Mom I told you I was fine when you called. I knew you were up to something." Gaby said shaking her head as she let them in.
After four weeks alone with the twins, Gaby had developed a system that helped her get through the day. After she put the twins down around 1 in the morning, she took the four hours they slept to wash the bottles, filled them up and stuck them in the mini fridge in her room. She would shower and sleep in the nursery until about ten minutes before Victoria woke up demanding her feeding and warm their bottles. Usually, after Victoria was finished being fed Elijah would start to fuss. She spent the day alternating between the babies; she found that Elijah was more laid back than Victoria and would lay in his crib contently unless he had a stomachache then Gaby wouldn't be able to put him down.
"What happened to four months in Italy?"
"I'm sorry Gaby I couldn't help it I missed my little munchkins too much," Isabelle said as she kissed Gabrielle's cheek.
"Let me go freshen up, and I will take him from you."
"Take your time; I was just getting ready to feed him," Gaby said as James kissed her forehead.
"Oh, my goodness Gaby he looks so much like you did when you were a baby," Isabelle said as before she started cooing at Elijah.
"Mom, can I go feed him now?"
"Oh yeah sorry honey," Isabelle said backing away, and Gaby made her way upstairs to feed Elijah while Isabelle and James got settled in. Gaby was dressing Elijah so she could take the twins on their morning walk when Isabelle walked in.
"Where are you going?"
"To take our walk in the park," Gaby said snapping up Elijah's I love Mommy t-shirt.
"You don't think they're too young to go out."
"I talked to their doctor, and he said it was fine and I keep them covered."
"Can I come?" Isabelle asked.
"Of course."
Isabelle and Gaby strolled down the block towards the park. Gaby was enjoying being out in the sunshine and warm spring breeze.
"How have these past few weeks been for you Gabrielle?" Isabelle asked as they walked into the park.
"Fine, I wasn't lying to you when I said I was fine on the phone."
"Come on Gaby this is your mother you're talking to, spill it."
"I am fine mom; I do wish that Nick was here, but it can't be helped. I'm glad you're here though I missed you and daddy." Gaby said as she wrapped her arm around her mother.
"I missed you more; I loved being under the same roof with you again," Isabelle said as she kissed her daughter cheek leaving behind a pink lipstick imprint.
"Oh, I'm sorry honey I got my lips on you," Isabelle said as she whipped out a piece of tissue and began to wipe Gaby's face like she was five again.
"Dang mom could you maybe try to embarrass me some more?"
"So you want to walk around with pink lips on your face." She said dabbing the tissue on her tongue and tried to wipe her face again.
"Eww, mom don't even think about it. I have wipes." Gaby said moving her face away from her mother. Gaby took out a wipe from the baby bag and scrubbed her cheek.
"How's that?"
"Better."
"Who puts on lipstick to go to the park anyway?"
"You never know who you're going to meet," Isabelle said as she started to push the stroller again.
"Like who Mom, your married remember?"
"I know that I am only saying that you never know who you may run into and if you're not looking your best then they could tell someone that you may know how bad you looked. That's how rumors get started." Gaby just shook her head at Isabelle.
"My mother the prima donna." She said shaking her head. Ever since Gaby could remember he mother took pride in what she looked like, even though she would look good in a garbage bag without even trying. Gaby always thought her mother was incredibly gorgeous and would only hope that she looked like her when she grew up. Isabelle always made sure she was completely put together before leaving the house, her make-up done, clothes pressed and hair neatly done not a single strand out of place. Gaby knew that when she was a child, she used to frustrate her mother to no end. She had long unruly curly thick hair and no matter how much gel, water or moisturizer she put on her hair it would never stay in place. Isabelle would spend what seemed like hours on Gaby's hair before she went to school and by the time she came home all of her barrettes and hair ties would be gone. What Isabelle didn't know what that Gaby would allow her friends to play in her hair during recess. Gaby couldn't help but laugh as she thought about the frustration she caused her mother.
"I love you, mom."
"I love you too sweetie now can we get these babies back inside?"
"But we didn't get to the end yet." Isabelle stared at Gaby.
"Fine," Gaby said with a frown.
******
"Nick I could use this for this proposal meeting. You know Lee, you've cultivated a relationship with him, and he trusts you."
"So you have to make him trust you now. I haven't been home for over a month Madeline; I never planned to be gone this long. Right now hell could bust loose for all I care." Nick said as talking to Madeline over speaker phone as he packed his suitcase.
"Okay, Nick fine." She said with a sigh. "Just hurry back Nick I can't look after your engineers and concentrate on my contracts."
"Relax Madeline everything will be fine," Nick said as he zipped up his duffle bag. "I'll call you in a few days to check up on the proposal until then I'm going off the grid."
"Fine," Madeline said before the line went dead. Nick knew that she was pissed off at him, but he could care less, he was going home, and that was the end of the story.
When Nick's cab pulled in front of his house in the early evening, he could barely hold in his excitement. When he walked through the door, he just knew that Gaby would fly into his arms with tears in her eyes along with whatever other dramatics she decided to toss his way. Nick walked into the house to a relatively quiet home; the only noise he heard was from the tea kettle in the kitchen. Dropping his bags by the door, he walked into the kitchen to find Isabelle making tea and James sitting at the table reading a newspaper.
"Hello, family," Nick said grabbing their attention.
"Aww, Nick your home," Isabelle said as she stopped what she was doing and hugged him.
"We weren't expecting you until next week," James said patting his son-in-law on the back.
"I know, but I couldn't take being away from home any longer."
"Gaby will be ecstatic," Isabelle said as she rubbed the side of Nick's face on the brink of tears.
"Where is Gaby?"
"Oh I sent her out for...what did I send her out for again honey," Isabelle asked James
"I think it was milk or something like that." He said.
"I don't remember I just had to get her out of the house; she was going a little stir crazy," Isabelle said as she went back to making her tea.
"Are the twins asleep?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, Gaby wouldn't leave until they were asleep, she won't let us do anything," Isabelle complained.
"That bad?"
"She's a one-woman team. She thinks that leaving the twins for more than five minutes is going to cause the world to end. She's more of a nervous wreck than I ever was." Isabelle said shaking her head, and James snorted.
"If that's what makes you sleep at night Isa." He said not even looking up from his paper.
"What is that supposed to mean James?" Isabelle asked as she put her hands on her hips and tried to bore holes through the newspaper.
"It means that you're more of a nervous wreck than Gaby and you always will be. You're just as much on edge as she is."
"I am not, I'm not the one sleeping in the nursery waiting for a little peep." James and Isabelle bickered back and forth, and Nick took it as his cue to leave.
"Don't you wake those babies up Nick!" Nick heard Isabelle yell at him as he ran up the stairs. Nick took a quick shower and changed into a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt before walking into the nursery. For a while Nick watched the twins sleep peacefully together side by side until Victoria began to fret and Nick picked her up. Victoria opened her eyes as she yawned, her emerald green eyes staring at Nick as Nick kissed her forehead. Her lips turned up into what Nick perceived to be a smile, and his heart melted.
"Did you just smile at me?"
"I think that was gas," Gaby said smiling at Nick; she loved the way he held the twins as if they were going to break. His body was tense, shoulders hunched and he had the 'don't drop the baby' expression on his face. Gaby was so used to dealing with the twins she could practically do handstands while holding them.
"So you decided to sneak back home after living it up with your other woman." Gaby joked, but Nick didn't find it funny.
"That's not funny." He said placing Victoria back into the crib. Nick pulled Gaby into him and was about to kiss her when she stopped him.
"Don't I smell like outside." She said scrunching up her face.
"I don't care," Nick said as he kissed her as if he was trying to make up for the weeks he had been away. When they finally came up for air Gaby's cheeks were flushed, and she felt a little woozy.
"How about you and I get in the shower so I can get all of those....hard to reach places," Nick said as he placed a searing trail of kisses down her neck, turning Gaby's legs into jelly. Gaby managed to pull away and smile at him.
"Oh no buddy," she said wagging her finger at him "Those two precious little bundles will be waking up any minute, and they'll want to be fed by yours truly." She said poking him in the chest, and then she was gone before Nick attempted to change her mind.
Later that night when Nick laid down in his bed next to a snoring Gaby, he went right to sleep. There was no tossing and turning or wondering what Gaby was doing; he was just at peace. It was as if he could finally breathe freely again. Nick was so at peace with himself that he didn't wake up until the next afternoon. After taking a quick shower and getting dressed Nick checked the nursery for Gaby before going downstairs to look for her.
"You look well rested," James said as Nick walked into the kitchen.
"I feel well-rested, I didn't mean to sleep this long," Nick said as he started to fix a pot of coffee.
"Gaby told me to tell you that she took the twins for a stroll in the park and that she would be back in an hour."
"When did she leave?"
"About fifteen minutes ago."
"Why didn't she wake me I would have gone with her."
"She said that you were sleeping so peacefully she didn't want to bother you," James said before turning his attention back to his laptop. Nick decided to meet up with Gaby at the park. When he arrived, he saw Gaby talking to a man, and she appeared to be flirting with him.
"Gaby!" he called out to her sounding a bit harsher than he wanted. Gaby turned in his direction and smiled at him.
"Hey, sleepyhead." She said as Nick wrapped a protective arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.
"You're dad told me you were over here, so I decided to tag along," Nick said as he stared down the man who waited to be introduced.
"Hi, I'm Gaby's husband, Nick," Nick said extending his hand to the man.
"Oh, where are my manners Nick this is Carlos he and I were talking about the possibility of being my trainer."
"It's nice to meet you Gaby talks about you often," Carlos said as he shook Nick's hand.
"Why do you need a trainer Gaby?"
"I figured I'm going to need some help shedding this baby weight."
"I think you look great; you don't need a trainer."
"Yeah, yeah," Gaby said waving Nick off. "Anyway I have your card; I'll give you a call so we can set up a time. Is that okay?"
"No problem," Carlos said before jogging away going deeper into the park.
"So this is what you do while I'm away, flirt with men under the ruse that you're looking for a trainer."
"I was not flirting," Gaby said as she hit Nick in the chest.
"It didn't look that way to me. You forget that I've known you all your life and I have seen you flirt with guys before."
"I was not flirting." Gaby insisted as Nick began to push the stroller towards the exit.
"Yes you were, and you can definitely get the thought of having that guy as your trainer out of your head right now." Nick huffed.
"Why? Are you jealous?"
"No," Nick said quickly.
"It seems like it to me," Gaby said nudging him.
"I'm not I just don't want some Enrique Iglesias looking guy feeling on my wife all in the name of fitness, especially when I think you look beautiful," Nick said a Gaby scoffed.
"I didn't realize how well I've kept myself hidden from you. Maybe if I actually let you see what post-baby body looks like you will sing a different tune."
"Gaby you could gain three hundred pounds, and I would still think that you're beautiful." Nick's statement sent Gaby into a laughing fit.
"That a bold face lie Nicholas and you know it. If I were to gain three hundred pounds, you would have me on a treadmill faster than you can say Slim fast." Gaby said as she wiped a tear from her eyes as she continued to laugh.
"I'm serious Gaby," Nick said trying to get Gaby to understand that how much she weighed didn't matter to him.
"Okay baby I believe you, but I'm still getting a trainer." She said as she kissed his cheek.
"Fine, just as long as it's not Rico Suave or whatever his name is."
"His name is Carlos." Gaby said making sure to roll the 'r' and Nick frowned.
"Whatever just as long as it's not Carlos," Nick said as they crossed the street.
"Mmmhm," Gaby responded as she entwined their fingers together and they stayed like that until they reached home.
******
Nick had been home for a week, and he still found it hard to incorporate himself into Gaby's daily routine with the twins, he felt like a stranger in his own home. Gaby had figured everything out to the last detail, and Nick didn't want to get in the way even though Gaby would ask him to do some things for her. Nick understood what Isabelle meant by Gaby being a one-woman team.
Nick leaned against the doorway and admired his wife as she rocked their son to sleep. Nick had never seen her so tired and yet so beautiful. Gaby looked up and flashed him a smile that made his knees buckle.
"How's he doing?" he whispered as he walked over to them.
"Better I think, he finally went to sleep." She whispered back. Elijah had been suffering from a stomachache and Gaby had just gotten him to settle down. Nick took the baby out of her arms and placed him in his crib. Gaby placed a blanket over him and kissed his forehead. Nick wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her into him.
"Are you coming to bed?" he said as he nuzzled her neck.
"I don't know he's still squirming." She said with a shrug. Nick turned her around so she could look at him and hooked his fingers in the belt loops of her jeans.
"I know I phrased that as a question but I wasn't asking." He said as he kissed her lips.
"But."
"No buts, you've been avoiding me, and I need you, Gabrielle." He said as he planted a kiss on her left cheek.
"And if my memory is correct we still have a marriage to consummate."
"I think we did that already almost ten months ago," Gaby said nodding towards the twins.
"You know what I mean Gaby. The kids are finally asleep, and the grandparents are out for the night, there is nothing to stop us."
Yes, there is. She thought as Nick guided her to their bedroom. Gaby's heart pounded rapidly in her chest; she wasn't ready, she didn't want Nick to see her naked. Her breasts were overly engorged as well as her midsection along with the addition of the lines marking her hips. She was ugly, and all she wanted to do was hide under her sweatpants and baggy t-shirts. As if to read her mind Nick looked at Gaby with such intensity it scared her.
"Why are you trying to hide from me?" he asked as he closed the bedroom door. Gaby didn't even realize when she walked across the room and held onto the bedpost as if it was her life support. Gaby didn't say anything as she watched Nick walk over to her. He was so gorgeous; any woman would be grateful to have his heated gaze on them, off the top of her head she could think of one. Nick pulled her hands away from the post and into him.
"Gabrielle I love you, you are the most amazing and gorgeous woman I have ever seen. I know you are not where you want to be physically, but it doesn't matter to me."
"Yeah, you say that now you haven't seen what I look like underneath all of this."
"Then show me." He commanded softly. Gaby swallowed hard as her body froze.
"I-I can't," she said as she bit back her tears. Nick brushed her hair back from her face before running his thumb across her lips.
"We don't have to Gaby; I want you to be comfortable," Nick said softly as he gazed into her hazel eyes.
"I do, it's just that...I don't want you to be disappointed."
Gaby knew that she was coming off superficial but to her, Nick was so perfect she felt like he deserved nothing less than perfection, and perfect she was not.
"You can never disappoint me, Gabrielle," Nick said as he entwined their fingers together and led Gaby towards the bed as he sat down on the bed and she stood in-between his legs. Nick's fingers glided up her shirt and wrapped around her waist pulling her into his kiss. Gaby wrapped her arms around his neck as Nick delved into her mouth, setting her on fire. Nick pulled away only to remove her shirt and then attacked her lips again as he pulled her onto the bed and rolled on top of her.
"How about we cut the lights," Gaby mumbled as Nick kissed her collarbone and shook his head no.
"I want to see everything," Nick said as he claimed her lips again.
*****
Gaby and Nick woke up a few hours later to feed the twins and change diapers before going back to sleep. The next time Gaby and Nick woke up it was to what Gaby though was a fire alarm, only to realize that it was only the house phone. Gaby tapped Nick waking him up so he could answer the phone.
"Huh." He groaned.
"Phone," Gaby said as she pulled the bed sheet over her head trying to block out the obnoxious noise. Nick searched blindly for the phone before slapping it off of the cradle and putting it to his ear.
"H-Hello?" Nick answered, but the phone rang again. Nick finally opened his eyes and looked at the phone and pushed the talk button.
"Hello," Nick said as he rested his head back down on his pillow.
"Nick I've been calling you for hours, you need to get back."
"Madeline? What's wrong?" Nick asked as he ran his fingers through Gaby's hair as she slept on his chest.
"It's Lee; he's backing out." A hysterical Madeline cried
"God woman what did you do?" Nick asked as he sat up in the bed causing Gaby's chin to collide with his shoulder and roll onto her side.
"Nothing I swear I did everything you told me too. He called me a few hours ago saying that he was going to take his account to Burns & McDonnell." Madeline explained as Nick tried to comfort Gaby who was holding her chin, but she just swatted his hands away.
"Tell me exactly everything that happened at the meeting."
"Nick I swear I didn't do anything wrong, he just turned on me out of the blue. If I lost this account Nick, Stewart is going to skin me alive."
"Relax Madeline; I'll call Lee and see if I can get everything straightened out."
"Oh thank you, Nick. I'm so sorry."
"It's fine, it was my account to cement I shouldn't have left it to you to do my job. You were right I know how Lee works. Let me give him a call, and I will call you back." Nick said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Okay, thanks, Nick." Nick hung up the phone and tossed it onto the nightstand; he turned his head to check on Gaby and was greeted by her icy stare.
"Should I even attempt to fix this?" Nick asked Gaby with a sigh.
"Handle your business," Gaby said as she turned onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow.
"You are my business, Gaby," Nick said kissing her shoulder.
"I mean the one you get paid to handle." She said before pulling the cover back over her head letting Nick know she was finished with the conversation. Nick got up and dragged himself into the bathroom with his cell phone to call Lee. By the time he came out of the bathroom, it was evident that he was going to have to cut his stay short to save the contract.