Infinity Chapter 139 -Eliza's First

[itztigress3]

Chapter 139 –  Eliza’s first…
POV:  Zac / Emily
Word count: 4106

February 13, 2017; Monday

 Maddi had come up for the weekend just her, Cody and their three. Max came up to see the babies both ours and Casey’s, but he didn’t stay because of work. I hadn’t realized that without stalkers, creepy people following me, or obsessed fans wanting Zac that it was really easy to be happy. I still saw Dr. Lints because there were still lingering issues of leaving them somewhere or even with Eliza and she was helping me to cope with everything that was done both to myself and to Zac. As it turned out, I really wasn’t coping but just letting it fall to the wayside in leu of other things like work and children. Having Amanda and Maddi around seemed to help, even if I felt I needed more female friends they were great friends and Maddi was awesome with children. She was a little surprised that I was planning to go as far with these two as I could breastfeeding, I had no plans to stop.

Last night I got my first taste of what it is like to have all four alone. I was surprised and elated that I could get them all fed, bathed, and in bed by a decent time. Granted, they were all in the bed with me but that was just an oversight. This morning however, was a different story! It felt like they all woke up at the same time! I didn’t bother to change any of them, unless needed which the twins and Isabella had dry clothes and so did Alexander so it was just breakfast, which was cereal because I couldn’t feed them and cook and they were fussy boys. The kids were still in pajamas when Zac got home at 2 and he was happy to see them, the daily calls and texts had apparently not been enough for him and he had to hold and kiss each of them at least once.

“You look quite relaxed, but then again toys are everywhere and the kids are in pajamas and so are you.”

“Yeah about that, they all woke up at the same time and they were all apparently starving to death, so I didn’t bother with clothes. Just changed wet diapers and made breakfast. Besides, no plans to leave today.”

“True. Let me unpack and get comfortable.”

He ran up but Alexander and Isabella went with him. He was up-stairs for a while then came down and just sat down with them, the next feeding he took Gabriel, he had been so happy when I could pump and I made sure to keep a good supply, even if I was working on it.

“How did it go?”

“It was lonely without you and the kids, but the events went well, no problems with the concerts either. We did miss Casey though but he said he didn’t want to go.”

“Yeah, apparently James has been kind of sick. He took him to the ER the other night and he got medication for a slight ear infection. Poor baby was screaming.”

“He didn’t tell me that!”

“He didn’t want to worry you and it was Zander that told Aaron he was there. I had to call Robert and he said Casey was worried but he didn’t want me to since I was home with them alone and you had shows and events.”

“I swear I am going to have to bless him out for that.”

“Can’t blame him Zac, he didn’t want us to worry unless we needed too. Simple ear infection.”

“Have you heard from Eliza? She’s due this month right?”

“She called last week, she’s reaching 40 weeks now, if she doesn’t have her this week there going to schedule an induction. But, she was complaining about pain in her sides when she called Friday morning, so I don’t think she’s making it to next week.”

“You are the expert on that.”

“Not really.”

He played with Alexander and Isabella for a long time, he’d missed them for sure. I fixed dinner for us and we had just sat down to eat when my phone rang, Ryan’s name came up. So, I answered.

“Hey Ryan, what’s up?”

“I don’t know, Eliza is freaking the hell out.”

“About what?”

“She went to the bathroom and when she came out she was freaking, said she was bleeding and didn’t know why. It’s like…mucus or something. It’s gross.”

“It’s a mucus plug Ryan, it’s normal. Is she hurting?”

“She’s just freaking out.”

“Let me speak to her.”

Zac raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, Eliza sounded freaked out and scared when she said hello.

“Hey, listen to me. It’s ok. It’s normal.”

She said something that made zero sense and I sighed, she wasn’t going to calm down on the phone at all and I knew I didn’t have enough milk stored to last through any length of a labor.

“Eliza, calm down and listen to me.”

“O…ok.” She said.

“I want you take deep breaths for me, just calm down.”

I sat down and began to eat dinner, helping Isabella when needed and my foot rocked the bouncer that Gabriel was in. Nathaniel was in the swing sitting beside Zac. I gave her some time until she was able to really breathe normally.

“Are you calm now?”

“Yes. I am.”

“Ok. What you saw was the plug, remember Dr. O’Brian discussed it with you last week. It’s ok and normal. Are you hurting anywhere?”

“Not really, just some mild cramping.”

“Ok. You can certainly go to the hospital now but that is your choice.”

Zac looked up and laid the fork down, waited.

“No. Um, I think I’ll wait. He said it was normal but I will call.”

“Ok. I’ll charge the phone and leave it beside the bed, if anything changes you or Ryan can call.”

“Ok. Thank you I just…I saw blood and freaked out.”

“Understandable. Just stay calm.”

“Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

I hung-up and Zac looked at me. “Let me guess, she’s about to hit labor?”

“Yeah, plug came out. She flipped about like you and I for the first one. There is enough stored milk for a few feedings, but not many. If she wants me there the whole time then they’ll have to be with me there and I don’t know if that’s safe.”

“I think she’ll understand.”

“I am sure she will.”

We finished dinner and I let him spend more time with them while I cleaned up from the day and last night.

“How was Maddi?”

“They were fine. Declan and Dakota are getting so big already, babbling and running after the older ones. Riley is a handful now, got
her mama’s little sass.”

“I figured she would. Did they have any problem staying downstairs?”

“Nope.”

“I think we need to split the basement into just rooms.”

“Actually, what I was thinking is if we have more then we need the recreation room to be divided into rooms.”

He blinked. “If we have more? Baby is four not enough?!?!”

“Just saying, your only 32 and I’m 34, there is still the chance.”

“I think four is enough.”

“Well, so do I but I’m just saying that if we need the room up-stairs then we can move the music room downstairs and your art area or even use the office here. Which we could do.”

“Yeah, let’s think about that if it needs to happen.”

He seemed dead serious on there not be any fives in our group, not that I had any plans either. But, Gabriel and Nathaniel were also not planned and surprises. I finished cleaning up the kitchen and checked the supply, they were eating about every 2 to three hours now, even at night. But he didn’t have enough for a full 12 hours. I went ahead and asked Christopher if he could watch the older two if needed and he agreed. I let him take the bed routine because he’d been gone and he liked it, they were old enough now that he read to them or sang. I got the twins ready with clean clothes and dry diapers. Even got them fed before he laid them down and we laid down.

February 14, 2017

 I’d gotten up early and checked on Eliza, she was sleeping comfortably and not having any problems beyond some mild cramps. By early morning everyone was up, changed, fed, and the two little ones were sleeping peacefully while their older siblings played and Alexander was writing in his tablet.

“Mama, show me letters.”

I slid into the floor and he got in my lap and we went over the letters, guiding him on how to write them. He was really good at that already with numbers, letters, colors, and shapes. Now that I would be home more, I felt like I could teach the basics better to them all.

Zac was kind of quiet all day and about four I sat myself down in his lap and he blinked.

“You’ve been very quiet.”

“I sometimes am quiet.”

“Not usually. Anything wrong?”

“Not really. Just enjoying the day with my wife and children.”

“It’s Valentines, you better be enjoying it.”

“I know what day it is.”

“So, I know we said no gifts but there is something I’d like.”

“Ok.  What did you want?”

“I was browsing last week while they napped and came across this really cool idea. It’s a wall mural that says in these moments, time stood still. The mural part is framed photos of the children with their names, birthdays, and then clocks for their birth times. I think I’d like the words and then under them the pictures. I’m not crazy about the clocks or the birthdays.”



“Where would you want this mural?”

“I don’t know really, we really don’t have a lot of wall space. I was maybe thinking the corner? We just have some random pictures there and it’s plenty of room.”

“Ok. We’ll get together soon and get it planned and done.”

“So, you want to watch them while I fix dinner?”

“I can cook if you want me too.”

“No, you did enough last year, I mean you did Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.”

He pulled me in closer and kissed my cheek. “I didn’t mind. But I’ll keep them occupied.”

I kissed him back and got up, went and fixed dinner. We had a nice romantic dinner just Zac and I and the kids. Granted with four now having a babysitter is nearly impossible. But this was better anyway, it was private and really valentines was a family affair. He cleaned up and while he did that I sat with the kids, it was feeding time anyway. I was almost done when my phone rang, Ryan’s number so I answered.

“Hey Ryan, what’s going on?”

“She’s having some contractions, not major ones but she asked me to let you know. She said she was going to try to wait a few more
hours. But, she would like for you to meet us.”

“Ok. Call me when you head to the hospital and once they get her situated, they won’t let me back until then.”

“I will. Everyone ok?”

“Yeah, Gabriel is finishing up dinner, Nathaniel is laying here looking at me crazy like. Isabella is stacking blocks and Alexander is helping Zac wash dishes.”

“Nice. Ok. We’re letting your brothers know also, but not sure when they’ll be up.”

“No problem.”

We hung-up and when he got ready we discussed the plan because there wasn’t enough milk for me to be gone for any extended length of time. It came down to the older two being with a family members, most likely Christopher and Craig and he’d keep them home for a bit but eventually would bring them up to the hospital. We tag teamed bedtime, got everyone bathed and ready and in bed.

February 15, 2017

 Ryan called me at 3 am, she was at the hospital and like she had the night before she was freaking out. I had just began to feed the boys, so I told him I would leave as soon as they were done.  Nathaniel was asleep very quickly after eating and a clean diaper, Gabriel however was laying there awake so I woke Zac up to let him know I was leaving and that they were in the bed with him. I got dressed quickly and left. The streets were empty this time of the morning so the ride to the hospital was easy and quick. It was around 5 am when I arrived at the hospital, a quick message to Ryan and he told me what room they were in and I headed there, knocking and waiting for the come in when I reached the door.

She was laying on her side gripping a pillow as tightly as she could and Ryan looked very worried.

I hugged him briefly and then sat down on the bed. “I’m here Eliza.”

She turned and looked at me, her grey eyes were very dark and her face was covered with tears. She looked so stressed and so scared. I could imagine I resembled that look six weeks ago in our home. But, I laid my hand cautiously on her hip.

“Are you ok?”

She shook her head vigorously and based on the face and the machines she was having another pretty rough contraction.

“Did they say if she was dilated?”

“Four and a half when she got here.”

When the machine leveled I rubbed her side a bit. “Eliza, maybe you should get the epidural.”

“No. It slowed yours and as your identical…fuck…”

Her grip tightened on the pillow and the sheer pain on her face was enough for me, it was obvious that her pain tolerance wasn’t near as high as mine.

“As your identical…odds are…son of a bitch….pain..me..meds would make …longer.”

“Look at me.”

She slightly turned and looked at me. “But you’re hurting like hell and your super upset, your blood pressure is high and if that stays up they will do a cesarean because it’ll be safer. If you don’t want that you need to try the pain medication. It may not affect you the same way as it did me. Allergies aren’t always the same for twins.”

True to the family, she was stubborn as hell and refused and wouldn’t accept anything I said so I sat there and tried my best to keep her from having a panic attacks. Around 6:30 they checked her and she was steady at 5, she hadn’t gained much.  She was however looking quite unwell and it was worrying me.

“Eliza.”

“No. Emily. I do not want the fucking pain medication.”

“Quite being a stubborn woman. You know you are hurting like hell and need something. It won’t hurt you.”

“I don’t want to be here this time tomorrow.”

“Baby..” Ryan said.

“NO. You can both stop.”

I sighed, what else could I do? Why did she even want me here if she wouldn’t listen to anything I said, just seemed pointless and redundant. Especially since I had left my husband alone with them all. Not that he couldn’t handle them, he would probably manage it better than me. I couldn’t do much else until she stopped being so stubborn.  So for a few hours I just tried to keep her calm. It was clear she was hurting though. Ryan and I both were worried but it was Dr. O’Brian that came in around 8 am.

He smiled at me. “Didn’t I just see you?”

“Last Monday for a checkup, yes.”

“Morning Eliza, how are you feeling?”

“Tired and sore.”

He checked the machines and then her, she was at 5 and a half.

“The nurse said you refused pain medication.”

She was going into another contraction, so I looked at him.

“When we met I mention my problems with pain medication and that it was possible she would be like me, she believes that it’ll do the same to her. She’s refusing because she doesn’t want it to prolong her labor.”

He calmly waited for her confirmation and then looked all serious.

“Firstly, just because yours twins doesn’t mean your bodies will react to pregnancy the same. For instance you haven’t had any of the symptoms she has had in the past. Likewise, you have different tolerances and right now you are stressed and you’re going to stress the baby which means a cesarean and usually an emergency one which is more risky. How about you get the epidural and if it seems to slow you rapidly, I will personally remove it.”

She looked at me concerned and worried. “I agree with him, your blood pressure has been high and you are not dealing with the pain very well.”

“I agree with them honey.” Ryan said.

She finally relented and let them put the epidural in, which greatly helped her calm down. She seem to relax and the contractions didn’t slow down at all. At ten Zac called.

“Hey, you surviving being home with all?”

“I don’t know how you do it, but new appreciation. Of course, it didn’t help that in my half asleep state I didn’t put the diapers on tight enough, blow outs first thing not pleasant. I was letting you know that Aaron is coming with me and Christopher has the older two already. We’ll be there after their noon feeding because after that I won’t have any more here.”

“Ok. She’s at 7 now, so she should be arriving soon.”

“Either way, we’re coming up.”

“Ok. Ryan and I just ate so we’re good. It’s rather chilly, dress them accordingly.”

“I am, I’m bringing the stroller to so we can lay them down, I’ll pack a few more blankets.”

We said our byes and then hung-up, Ryan stepped out about 11 and I sat down on the bed.

“Feel better?”

She nodded. “I don’t see how you delivered three kids without medication.”

“Well, you saw what occurred in Maysville Eliza, my pain tolerance is pretty high. It’s probably from being there with five older brothers and an abusive man. Granted I was scared out of my mind when the twins were born.”

“But, you had two already.”

“Yeah, but I was here with Alexander and Isabella. I had doctors, nurses, emergency services and it was clean and fine. With the twins I got lucky that Dr. Hayward was next door. If he hadn’t been there when they were born then Zac, Aaron, and Zander would have delivered them. I don’t know if any of us would have known what to do with Gabriel. It’s scary when you don’t have that staff around you.”

“But they are adorable and fine.”

“She will be too. Speaking of, does she even have a name?”

“Alessia Marie, I know that you and our brothers have all been using Isabella but I feel like I don’t deserve to use that name.”

“Why not? Eliza she died to protect us.”

“I know, but I didn’t have to deal with David or anyone else, I wouldn’t even know Dad if it wasn’t for you. But, really there can only be one Emily. Alessia is pronounced Uh-less-sea-uh and it’s Ryan’s grandmother’s name, Italian name. I figured since he used his grandmother, I would use our mother’s middle name and mine. “

“It’s pretty, thank you for the pronouncement, it’s unique and I think it’ll fit. Did you have a boy’s name?”

“Marco Ryan, I liked Marco.”

“Well, maybe the next one. Are you ok?”

“I’m terrified I am going to mess up. I asked about breastfeeding and I can’t, my glands aren’t producing at all.”

“I’m sorry. I know you kind of wanted too.”

“I do, but I want her healthy either way. I’m just afraid I’ll mess up.”

“You want to know something?”

“What? Oh, that’s a sharp one.”

I waited for the contraction to stop, they were coming faster and closer now. I then smiled at her.

“I didn’t think I could do it. I didn’t think that I could be a mother, because I never was around one. But you have Mary Ann and Gene, they may not be your biological parents but they raised you right Eliza. You’ll follow their examples and you’ll always have Mary Ann to call. You also have me and any number of sister-in-laws and well, Taylor is a bit of a baby whisperer.”

She smiled vaguely. “Deal, I hope she comes soon.”

Ryan returned and we kept waiting, I stepped out when Zac arrived to check on them and take a moment. She was still at 7 and it was clear the pain medication was slowing her a bit now, but that was fine because she wasn’t stressed. I went back to the room but came to the waiting room to feed them around three.

“How is she holding up?” Aaron asked.

“She’s at 8, Dr. O’Brian got her to take the epidural. It is slowing her some but it’s better because her heart rate was very high and I think Dr. O’Brian was worried she would send herself into a panic attack and the baby into fetal distress.”

“That bad?”

I adjusted Gabriel and looked at him. “Yeah, I mean sure having them hurt like hell but it’s her first and she’s already nervous and afraid, trying to just deal with the pain wasn’t the right thing. The epidural is slowing it some and I think for her that might be best.”

“You have an abnormally high pain tolerance.” Aaron said.

“I blame you all for that.”

He snorted. “I blame Zac and his drumsticks for that.”

“Hey! How did I get dragged into this? Let me correct that as her pain tolerance was already high then, can’t blame me.”

“I can and I am.” Aaron said.

“When are the rest of them coming up?”

“Christopher said he would once you got home, he plans to leave his two with you so he can visit. The other’s I think are once she’s here, they know she doesn’t want them back there and with kids themselves it’s harder. Plus, Christina is now on bed rest.”

“She is?” I asked.

“Yeah. They couldn’t find a heart beat again and they finally did but the doctor put her on bed rest because of her age and the complications.”

“We’re all too old for more.”

“I was the smart one.” He said.

When Gabriel finished I let Zac take him and got Nathaniel fed. I then returned to the back and things picked up.

Alessia was born at 5:40, weighting 8 pounds even and was 19 inches. She had a head full of black hair and dark brown eyes, totally looked like her daddy. She had a great set of lungs and Eliza had done very well once it was time and I think I saw her crying once she held her. Ryan really was crying and once he got to hold her it was all over. Eliza seemed relieved. I stayed back for another ten or fifteen minutes but Zac’s text was a bit frantic so I went to the waiting room, letting Eliza and Ryan bond with their new baby and for them to get her settled for visitors. Gabriel was not happy with being late and that ended with both of them wanting to be fed.

“Is she here?” Aaron asked.

“Yes, 5:40 pm. They are getting her cleaned and warmed up now. So, shouldn’t be too long. She said to call everyone and let them know and if they want they can come up and if not she’ll be here tomorrow.”

He smiled and began to make calls and when Ryan came out I sent Zac back and I went back to say bye when he came back.

“Your leaving?”

“Christopher has had our older two plus his a while now. We’re going to take Jasmine and Trevor for a bit so that they can come see you and Alessia.”

“Ok. Thank you for being here and I am sure I’ll be bugging you for a while now.”

“Not a problem.”

I gave them all hugs and kisses to the new baby before we went home. We decided to stay at Christopher’s until they returned because the kids were eating anyway. It was surreal to know that Eliza now had her family and all of us were happy. We were home by 10 and the children were in bed asleep by 11.