I stared at the little stick excitedly. This was the result I had been hoping for. Matt walked into our bathroom and smiled at me.
"There you are. We wondered where you disappeared to. What are you doing?" he asked eyeing the fact I had both hands behind my hack and a big grin on my face.
"You left the kids alone with Johnny?"
"Well Johnny and your friend, Janet, why?"
"Because I have some good news I want to share with you and then the family."
"You want to share with me first?" he says stepping closer and lightly gripping my upper arms.
"Yes, its sort of a personal celebration for us." I smiled before producing the stick from behind my back.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes."
"Does this mean what I think it means?"
"Yes, we are going to have a baby of our own Matt."
He scooped me up carefully and hugged me tightly. I kissed him tenderly.
"I love you Matt."
"I love you too Kathy." he rested his forehead against mine. "How do you think the twins are going to take the news?"
I smiled as his fatherly nature came out. Those who didn't know us often assumed Matt was the twins father because he was so good with them.
"I think they will take it fine. We'll just have to remember to include them in getting ready
for the baby and make sure they still feel loved."
"Kathy, I want to tell them."
"Now?"
"When we tell them about the baby."
"Ok, so I guess we should go ahead and tell them now."
Matt set me down gently and hugged me again before taking my hand. I tossed the test in the trash and we made our way down the steps. Johnny was in the kitchen rummaging in the fridge.
"Johnny will you get Janet and the twins please?" I said as Matt guided me to the living room.
He nodded looking slightly confused. I loved my brother but sometimes when it came to me he could be a little to overprotective and surprisingly intuitive. I settled on the couch and Matt went to the hall closet and came in the room with a photograph in his hands and grabbed another off the mantle before settling beside me. We waited as the others came filing in. Andrea hopped on my lap and Jimmy sat on Matt's lap. Janet and Johnny settled across from us on that couch.
"So what's going on Mommy?" Andrea said.
"We wanted to tell you a few things." Matt said. The twins looked at each other confusion clearly written. We only told them rules. Anything else we discussed as a family.
"We want to talk to you about a couple things," I said and watched the confusion ease a bit on the twins faces.
Matt held up a group picture of the guys and asked them to name the guys in the picture. The twins named off everyone including Jimmy.
"You guys know how you call me Daddy?"
They nodded confidently.
"You remember how when you found out your friend Amber was adopted and we told you that sometimes kids have more than one set of parents?"
They nodded slowly.
"Well Jimmy is your birth daddy. Your mom and he loved each other deeply," Matt said showing them the other picture which was taken the day we announced our engagement.
"Mommy's Jimmy looks like our Jimbo," Andrea said.
"What'?" I said softly.
"Jimbo...our friend that plays monkey in the middle with us," Jimmy Jr. said and Andrea giggled.
"But he's so tall he has to sit down."
"You have a friend named Jimbo that looks like Jimmy?"
"Yeah," They both said.
"When did you last see him?" I asked them.
"He was just playing monkey in the middle with us outside right Auntie Janet?" Andrea queried.
"I didn't see him sweetie."
"You didn't?" Andrea said confused.
"Sometimes sweetie we have special imaginary friends that only we can see," I explain to Andrea.
"See Jimbo told you she'd say that." Jimmy Jr. said.
"He told you that did he?" Matt said looking at me amused. It sounded like Jimmy. I looked to Janet for help as the twins nodded.
"Well it seems that your twins are very special indeed. Seeing the unseen world isn't a gift everyone has." Janet told me seriously.
I just nodded at her knowing that I couldn't convince her of anything else but hell I couldn't even come up with a rational explanation for the twins having an imaginary friend that looked and acted like their father.
"Daddy?" Jimmy Jr. said quietly.
"Yes?"
"Does this mean we can't call you Daddy anymore?"
"No, in fact I'd like it if you still called me Daddy."
Andrea shifted on my lap. I noticed her not looking at Matt.
"In fact I would like for you guys to think about letting me adopt you guys. So I would legally be your Dad. I know I can't replace Jimmy for you but I do hope that I can be a good stand in for him."
"We'll think about it." Andrea said.
"Can we go back out and play now?" Jimmy Jr. said.
"Well we have one more thing to discuss," I said quietly.
"Ok...." they said in unison.
"How would you guys like to have a little brother or sister?"
"Would it smell like Amber's little sister?" Andrea asked wrinkling her nose.
"Only when he or she has a dirty diaper," Matt laughed.
"So wait....we are going to have a little brother or sister?" Jimmy Jr. said.
Matt and I looked at each other before I turned back to the twins.
"Yes, you guys are going to have a little brother or sister. How do you feel about that?" I asked them.
"Is it going to share our room?"Andrea said.
"No the baby will be in your old room right beside ours."
"Do we have to change diapers?" Jimmy Jr. asked.
"Ewww! I'm not changing it's diaper they stink!"
"Yours were stinky too Andrea," Matt said smiling, "But no...you guys won't have to change diapers. You may have to help love the baby though. Do you think you guys can do that?"
They both nodded.
"Do we get to go to the hospital and pick out a baby now?" Andrea asked.
"Um no it doesn't quite work that way." I said while Johnny grinned as Matt and I shifted around uncomfortably. We hadn't exactly planned this conversation.
"Well how does it work?" Jimmy Jr. asked.
"Well you see the baby is growing inside your Mommy's belly so it gets all the nutrients it needs and when it's time for the baby to join the family we go to the hospital and the doctors help the baby find it's way out." Matt improvised.
Johnny grinned at us.
"Oh cool we'll have to tell Ash she was wrong. No stork," Jimmy told Andrea who nodded.
It was our turn to grin at a horrified Johnny.
"Can we go back outside now?"Jimmy said.
"Yes you MAY go back outside and play." I said and Jimmy groaned as he and Andrea raced back out to the front lawn.
"You just had to go and knock her up didn't you?"
"Eh who knows maybe you guys can give Ashlyn a younger sibling," Matt said with an evil grin.
"Oh hell no! One is enough I don't know how you guys handle two."
We laughed at him.
"Twins are double the blessings as well as double the trouble," Janet told Johnny.
"Yeah....I'm good." He said. "By the way I'm supposed to remind you about the play date at Chelle's this weekend."
"Thanks Johnny I got it marked in the calendar."
"Why I mean you girls are together with the kids all the time."
"Because it's the kids day for fun, not errands or school."
"Women..." Johnny muttered to himself and turned to Matt. "Does this mean you are backing out of the game tonight."
Matt turned to me.
"Go, we have plenty of time to organize everything we'll need later. Besides I'll need you more after the baby arrives."
"Ok babe but you'll call?"
"Yes," I told him before I kissed him and sent him out the door with Johnny.
A/N: So that's the end of book one. I hope you all enjoy and I'll have the first chapter for book two up in a moment.