74. Chapter 74
A WEEK LATER
Nicole pulls the newly purchased Toyota HiAce into the Hospital carpark, just before she takes a quick look in the rear-view mirror, at her children all buckled into their car seats. Before she could unbuckle her own seatbelt, Wynonna turned to face Nicole, “Haught stuff, Baby girl’s going to be happy with the new set of wheels. Just relax and by the way, you look like shit. I mean with looking after all of this lot during the day and then heading into the Hospital to help with the triplets, remind me when you get the chance to sleep?”
For the past week, Nicole’s routine has been to make sure that all their children were feed and dressed before dropping them off at School and Day Care. Then she would head over to the hospital, where she would spend time with both Waverly and the triplets. And when it was time to leave, Nicole would find her inner self struggling to leave this part of her family, but she knew that 7 other children needed their Mummy. As Nicole picked up the other children with the help of Wynonna and Doc, as she had not yet purchased the Van, they would all head to the dinner for some after school snacks, but it was mainly so that Nicole could stop for a minute and regain some energy, before having to face tackling dinner and then getting all the children into their beds.
Thankfully for Nicole and the children, Wynonna, and Doc along with their own children had offered for them all to sleepover at the Haught house, until Waverly was home and felt up to handling things. At night Nicole could breathe a sigh of relief as the pressures of handling all 7 children and their individual needs, were now divided between herself and Wynonna and Doc. It was only when all the children were fast asleep was when Nicole would take herself off to bed to sleep only for a couple of hours because at midnight she would wake without an alarm and headed back into the Hospital. She would assist with the night feeding of her and Waverly’s triplets, as Nicole didn’t want the nurses to wake Waverly to come and assist them, and it provided her with some special time with the tiny beings. Then around 3 am Nicole would then travel home, where she would go back to bed and sleep until 6 am when she would get up and see to making lunches and packing school bags before the little ones woke.
Over the weekend, Nicole and Doc went out and had a good look at vehicles that would seat more than 10 people and could accommodate child and baby seats. It was then that both she and Doc found the Toyota HiAce Van and decided that it was the right vehicle for Waverly and their family. So, when Nicole drove into the driveway of the Homestead with Doc following behind, Wynonna struggled to keep all of Nicole’s pups contained and on the porch. Instead, Nicolas and Alberto were the ones to escape and race out towards the Van as it pulled to a stop. Once the Van was at a standstill, Wynonna released her grip on the out-of-control pups and let them tackle their Mummy onto the dusty ground. For the first time that week, Wynonna and Doc heard the joyful sound of Nicole’s laughter as she was jumped upon by her children.
It was now time to bring Waverly home and Nicole was not only exhausted, but she was worried about Waverly and her being separated from the pups, as the brunette would no longer be able to just go down the corridor and see them. Waverly would have to now make the long journey into town, which meant the brunette would have to get behind the wheel. Nicole was concerned that maybe that Waverly would be timid when it came to getting behind the wheel, and shy away from driving altogether. But that all of that would have to face another day, as today Nicole was bringing her wife back home, where she could take care of her and the rest of their family.
Before Nicole could reach the door to Waverly’s room, Nicolas, Alberto, Walden, Bach, and Winona raced inside and launched themselves at Waverly, who was sitting in the chair in the corner of the room. She was already dressed, and her overnight bag was packed and resting on the bed. Upon seeing her babies racing into the room, Waverly flung her arms wide open and braced herself for the onslaught that was to come from five little bodies being flung into her arms. The brunette leaned down and placed kisses to the top of red and brunette hair, “I’ve missed you all.”
“We missed you Ma. We love you.” All five said in unison. Nicole stood in the doorway with Padma and Jagna seated on her hips. The littlest pup’s stuck their arms out towards Waverly, “MA”.
Walking over to Waverly, Nicole lowered the two little girls into their Ma’s arms as the brunette kissed their heads and hugged them tightly. Looking at all her children surrounding her beside the chair, Waverly took the time to look at Nicole, who she saw just how tired the redhead truly was, even though she would deny it. Wynonna made her way into the room, just as Nicole was leaning forward to plant a kiss on her wife’s lips. “Ew. Can you wait till your home and in your bedroom?”
Smirking at her sister's antics, Waverly cupped the side of Nicole’s face and slide her hand around the back of the redhead’s neck, and pulled her in for a more passionate kiss. It was the discharge nurse that interrupted them next, “Um, all your paperwork has been completed. Mrs. Earp-Haught, you're all set to leave. The orderly will be by shortly to assist you out. Here is all your paperwork for your doctor and your appointment with the physio.” Handing Waverly, a handful of paperwork, the nurse quickly left just as the orderly appeared with a wheelchair.
“It’s ok I can take it from here.” Nicole quickly placed her hand on the back of the wheelchair, as if to say she was the only one who will be pushing her wife out of the Hospital. Nicole then helped Waverly with getting into the wheelchair, but Padma and Jagna decided that they wanted to be seated on their Ma’s lap, so they climbed up her legs and plopped themselves onto her lap. Walden, Bach, Nicolas, and Alberto took hold of a strap of the overnight bag and tried to carry it, but instead, they dragged it along the floor, until Wynonna grabbed it from them. Winona just took hold of Nicole’s leg pants and walked beside her Mummy out of the Hospital room.
Before leaving the Hospital, as a family, they all made the journey to the NICU Ward to see the triplets. Although the children couldn’t go in and see their brother and sisters, they stayed outside and looked through the window with their Aunt. Waverly and Nicole held their babies and placed kisses on the little heads, as they lay on their chests. By this stage, the triplets have gained weight and they were developing more fat under their skin. For 29 weeks they still are unable to tolerate bright lights and loud noises, but their stomach and intestines were maturing and getting ready to digest milk.
After saying their goodbye’s Nicole and Waverly placed soothers/dummy into their babies mouths, as the nurses said that they were not ready to suck on a nipple, but by sucking on a soother/dummy they would develop and strengthen their eating muscles in their jaw. As soon as they were all settled and tucked securely into their incubator cribs, with tears in their eyes, Waverly and Nicole slowly walked out of the ward. From the outside, it looked like Nicole had her arm wrapped around the back of the brunette, but Nicole was holding up Waverly as they walked out.
Wynonna could read her sister’s body language and knew that she had to distract her nephews and nieces, which she did by stating that they would be stopping at the Doughnut shop along the way back home. Just as Waverly and Nicole re-entered the corridor and joined their family, they were confronted with what looked like a bunch of very excited pups running around, cheering that they were going to have ‘doughnuts’ for dinner. Not that Waverly or Nicole would let their babies have sugar for dinner, but the sight of seeing their pup’s joy, seemed to brighten up the situation for both women. With Waverly now back in her wheelchair, which she grunted about having to travel in out of the hospital, although she enjoyed being able to have a Walden and Bach perched upon her lap, as Nicole pushed the chair with the help of Nicolas and Alberto.
Upon reaching the carpark, Waverly was confused when they all stopped beside a Van, turning around Waverly gave her wife an inquisitive look. “You like your new wheels?” Nicole lent down so that her cheek was pressed against Waverly’s, while she jiggled a set of keys in front of the brunette.
“This is mine, I meant to say, ours? It’s big enough.” Waverly blinks as she watches Wynonna slide opens the side door and begins to help Nicolas and Alberto to climb up into the back of the van. Nicole rounds the side of Waverly’s wheelchair and crouches in front of her wife. Taking the brunette’s hands into her own, Nicole kisses the brunette’s fingertips before saying, “Baby, I just want you and our babies to be safe. I hope you don’t mind that I went out and got this without talking to you first. We can always get something else if you don’t like it.”
Reaching out to caresses the side of Nicole’s cheek, Waverly smiles as she looks directly into Nicole’s brown eyes, “I love it and no I don’t mind that you got it without talking to me. I love that you are always thinking about me and our babies.” Leaning forward Waverly wraps her arms around Nicole’s neck and begins to play with her wife’s baby hairs as she pulls the redhead in for a tender kiss. “Ew, Mummy and Ma.” Came from deep within the back of the van. Smiling at each other as they pulled away from each other’s lips, Nicole lifted Waverly bridal style and helped her into the front passenger seat before she checked to make sure that Wynonna had strapped all the pup’s into their car seats. Then when everyone was safely strapped in, Nicole started the van and began to pull out of the car space, but before she could even leave the hospital grounds, all the pups and including Wynonna were all chanting “Doughnuts” at the top of their lungs. Needless to say, numerous doughnuts were purchased that afternoon and consumed before the Earp-Haught van was able to pull into the driveway of the Homestead. Wynonna made sure that there was plenty left over for Doc, Alice, Henry, Wyatt, and herself, as she assisted her sister and best friend with unbuckling and lifting the sleepy pups out of their car seats and then into the house.
Later that night after all the pups had been tucked into their beds, along with their cousins, who along with their parents were having another sleepover, Wynonna and Waverly sat on the porch enjoying a drink together. Wynonna sat with her glass that was filled with whiskey and Waverly hugged tightly against her chest, a hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream on top. Without having to say anything, the pair sat in silence leaning into each other’s shoulder and looking out over the land that was light by the moonlight. Tilting her head so that she could rest it on her sister’s shoulder, Waverly takes the moment to close her eyes for a moment as she sighs. “It’s all going to be alright, Baby girl.” Wynonna senses the concern that plagues her sister’s thoughts, that she’s worried about the three little ones back at the hospital and the pups that are sleeping just inside the house.
“It’s just that they're so little and now all alone in that place… (Waverly sniffs), Nicole’s been so strong. I’m scar…. ed.” Waverly sniffs and her hand's trembles. Wynonna slides her arm around the back of Waverly’s shoulders and pulls her sister tight against her side and kisses the top of her head. “Shhh, Nicole’s strong and so are you, Baby girl. Your babies are fighters just like their parents. And from what I’ve seen that little son of yours and Haught pants, has all the nurses wrapped around his little finger, and those two little girls only have to flutter their eyelashes and all the nurses are there.” Waverly chuckles at the thought of her children having the nursing staff running around.
Once the sisters have had their time together, Waverly and Wynonna head back inside where they find Nicole and Doc fully engrossed in watching an episode of ‘The Property Brothers. Nicole had a notepad perched on her lap with some notes and drawings already scribbled down on the paper, meanwhile, Doc was ‘googling’ something on his phone and once he had found the particular item, he turned the phone around to show Nicole. Waverly looked at her sister as she rolled her eyes at the antics of their mates. “I guess they're plotting on building something.” Wynonna shook her head, “Phew, here I was thinking that maybe Nicole was giving Doc some cooking pointers, other than how to cook a Barbeque.”
Later in the middle of the night and the sheets of their bed were cold, Waverly woke and reached out with her hands in search of her ‘bonus blanket’, but instead of finding Nicole’s warm body, Waverly’s hand found the redhead’s side of the bed cold and empty. This was not something the brunette usually experienced, if Nicole’s side of the bed was empty it was because she had just gone to the bathroom, and the bedsheets would still be warm, but they were cold and there was no light shining from under the bathroom door. This caused Waverly to become anxious with worry, maybe something had happened to one of their pups and Nicole didn’t want to wake the brunette. Waverly pushed the four blankets off her and reached for her dressing gown that lay on the end of the bed, with her gown wrapped tightly around her body to give her extra warmth, Waverly headed out in search of the redhead.
After looking throughout every room in the house, Waverly then slipped on her woolen-lined boots before grabbing a torch and headed out to the barn, where Nicole stored their cars overnight. Finding only her new van in the barn, Waverly ran back inside the house and over to her phone, which had been charging on the island bench in the kitchen. Ringing Nicole’s number, Waverly was surprised when it went straight to voice mail, so she rang the station thinking that maybe Nicole had been called in for an emergency. The brunette was shocked to find that Nicole was not at the station, in fact, nobody had seen her since the day of the accident.
By this stage, Waverly had begun to pace the floor of the kitchen and didn’t realize that she had woken Wynonna. “Can’t sleep Baby Girl?”
“No, I woke, and the bed was cold and empty. I can’t find Nicole and she’s not answering her phone. She’s not at the station, where is she? Maybe something happened to ….” Waverly broke down before she could finish her sentence. Wynonna enveloped the smaller Earp in both arms and held her tightly.
“Shhh, Baby girl, Nicole’s at the hospital. She goes every night at midnight and returns about 2 am. She’s been going in every night since she came home. That’s why I and Doc have been staying over so that she can go in and help with the night feedings of the babies. Looking at the time, she’s about due to pulling into the driveway in about 10 minutes.” Wynonna sways with Waverly in her arms.
Pulling out of her sister’s embrace with confusion on her face, Waverly turns and looks in the direction of the driveway through the front windows. “Why, didn’t she tell me?” Wynonna walks over to the coffee pot and starts to prepare a fresh pot so that when Nicole came home, they all could have a cup. “She has been looking after these little ones here, so well, and then during the day, she’s been looking after you and the pups at the hospital. Then she’s back here taking care of the running of the house and all the children, she sleeps only for a couple of hours before heading back into the hospital, then comes home to sleep a couple of hours more, before getting up to do it all again. When I’ve tried to ask or talk to her, she shrugs me off, ‘It’s my job, Wynonna.’ She’s been doing all this for the past two weeks. She hasn’t been eating properly and it’s starting to take a toll on her. I found her asleep yesterday in the shower, I mean she was still dressed and standing asleep under the water.”
The sound of tires crunching on stones came from outside the house as Waverly raced over to the front door and before she had finished flinging the door open, Nicole’s truck pulled in slowly into the barn. Before Nicole had a chance to climb out of the truck’s open door, she was greeted with two arms that hugged her tightly around her neck. “Never leave me.” was all Waverly could utter as she was consumed with so many emotions, one being love for her ever so supporting wife. Nicole turned her body and placing her hands onto Waverly’s hips and whispered, “I’ll never leave you alone again.” They held onto each other until Nicole felt Waverly trembling in her arms, “Let’s go inside, it's cold out here.”
As they reached the front door Wynonna greeted them both with two cups of freshly brewed hot coffee in her hands. After she handed them each a cup, Wynonna bid them goodnight and headed back to her own bed, leaving the pair to talk. Waverly hadn’t let go of Nicole and her arms were wrapped around the redhead’s waist, as they walked over to the couch. Nicole kissed Waverly’s temple as she guided the brunette to take a seat, while she stoked the fire and make it warm for Waverly. Once Nicole was happy with the temperature within the room, she returned to Waverly’s side on the couch. Leaning into each other’s side they held each other and sipped their coffee, Nicole pulled over Waverly’s lap a blanket that they kept on the back of the couch, for times when Waverly felt the cold.
“I woke and you weren’t there, and I looked for you and couldn’t find you. I was worried that something happened to you or the babi….” Waverly started to tear up. Nicole leaned over and wiped away the single tear that had started to fall her wife’s cheek.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been going to the hospital at night. I’ve been helping with the night feeds and changing them before I came back here to care for our other babies. I didn’t want to worry you. I thought that I could be back before you realized, I wasn’t in bed with you.” Nicole kissed the top of Waverly’s head while she held her tight. Nicole knew she had to come clean about the real reason why she goes into the hospital at night.
“My role as your mate is to keep you and our babies safe. Last week, I failed you and our three babies…. (Nicole sniffs as she begins to cry) I didn’t want the nurses to wake you in the night when you were hurt and injured. (Nicole cries while Waverly turns and pulls her wife into her open arms and guides Nicole’s head towards her chest) It was the only thing that I knew to do, was to care for you and all our babies. (Nicole sobs into Waverly’s chest) If I hadn’t been so neglectful when you were in heat, (Nicole Cries) by leaving those condoms out for Calamity Jane to chew, then you wouldn’t have been pregnant.” Nicole buries her head into Waverly’s chest and wraps her arms around the brunette’s waist.
Rubbing her wife’s back and allowing her to cry into her chest, Waverly didn’t care that she was going to need to change her top as it was now soaked, she was more concerned with Nicole and all the guilt she had been carrying around. “Shhh, it’s alright. I love you Nicole Earp-Haught. You’ve never failed me or our babies, you’ve always cared for our pups and me the whole time I’ve been in hospital. (Waverly continues to rub her wife’s back with one hand, while her other hand stroked Nicole’s hair) You’ve been keeping all our babies safe, from the moment we’ve found out we were pregnant, every time. Look at me, sweetie-pie. (Waverly lifts Nicole’s head from laying on her chest so that the redhead could look at her) Wynonna told me that you’ve not been sleeping or eating properly. Now that’s all going to change now that I’m home. We’re both going to be taking shifts in caring for our babies here at home and the ones in the hospital. We’re a team remember. I love you, Nicole. Let’s go to bed, and tomorrow we are having a family day. We’ll call the hospital in the morning and if they are all right, we’ll stay here as a family and I’ll send Wynonna into the hospital with my expressed breastmilk for our little ones.” Waverly brushes away Nicole’s tears before kissing her wife.
Waverly led a very tired and exhausted Nicole towards their bed and helped her wife with changing back into her nightshirt and shorts. As Nicole laid next to her Waverly pulled up all four blankets and turned to face Nicole, “Now this is much better, now that my bonus blanket is here with me.” With eyes shut, Nicole whispered, “I love being your bonus blanket. I love you Waverly Earp-Haught.”
Waverly began to snigger within the darkness of their bedroom, “What’s so funny? Waves.”
“It’s just that I realized something today, each of our children has the same look when they are happy and content, especially when their tummies are full. And I love that look because it’s the same look that you have just after when you’ve cum, when we make love. You have this goofy look, I always love that look, and I am so happy that I’m the only one that gets to see it.” Waverly reaches out within the darkness of their bedroom and runs her fingers along her wife’s jawline.
“I’m always happy to please.” Nicole leans forward and kisses her wife’s lips.
“And the other thing I noticed today, was that all our sons take after you when it comes to sucking on my breasts. Little Lucas sucked away on his pacifier just like his Mummy.” Waverly slides her fingers down Nicole’s neck and down towards her chest and began to play with the buttons on her shirt.
“As exhausted as I am, Waves don’t be starting something we both know we aren’t going to be able to finish. And as far as sucking on your breasts, it’s my favorite thing, and if I’ve passed that onto our sons, I’m not going to say I’m sorry. Now let’s get some sleep before our little pack come in and climb into bed with us. I love you, Waverly.” Nicole wraps her arm around Waverly and pulls the brunette into her chest as they felt sleep overtaking them.