Chapter Thirty-Seven

Stephen

In the past few weeks, we’ve all been pulled into the CPD.

Mia was next after Trinity, and they got the same reaction from her as they did from the rest of us. And of course, Benji was there with us every step of the way.

Dave was next, and then they circled back to Clint and me.

At this point, Benji told us to stop playing nice and refuse to show up unless they were ready to escalate things and issue an arrest or a warrant.

Benji’s been digging around to see what they really know about Mike, but he hasn’t shared much yet.

My wife is almost thirty-six weeks pregnant now.

Our doctor and midwife are thrilled. The big goal was to make it past thirty-two weeks to give our little ones the best chance at life without too much medical intervention.

They might be happy, but my wife isn’t. I get it. She’s uncomfortable and in pain.

It doesn’t help that she had to start her maternity leave earlier than she wanted because she was getting too worn out.

Trinity’s been home for almost five weeks now. I try to keep her comfortable and entertained, but I can see her getting restless.

This morning has been especially tough for her.

Trinity’s been up since four o’clock this morning with severe back cramps.

She’s been dealing with sciatica pain for the last few weeks of her pregnancy, and she insists that’s all it is.

“Baby, where does it hurt?”

“It started in my butt, babe, but for the last half hour or so it’s been moving down the back of my legs and now it’s tingling a bit.”

“Can you roll over on your side for me and put the body pillow under your stomach and side?”

I help her roll over and put a heating pad on her lower back.

I start massaging her butt and down the back of her thighs, trying to get her circulation going.

“How’s that, babe? Is it helping at all?”

“It is, thank you, love. I’m sorry I’ve been such a pain to deal with these last few weeks.”

“You never have to apologize. You’re carrying our children, babe. All you have to do is tell me what you need, and I’ll do my best to help, okay?”

“Thank you, baby.”

I kiss her neck softly and pull her back into me, keeping the heating pad pressed against her lower back as I gently rub her belly.

After about twenty minutes, I hear her softly snoring and I know she’s managed to fall back asleep.

I carefully move away from her and prop my pillows behind her back to keep the heating pad in place. Then I head downstairs.

I start cleaning up the kitchen and living room and make myself a cup of coffee. I send a text to Clint to see how he’s doing and about ten minutes later, my phone rings.

“Hey bro.”

“Hey mate, how’s it going? How’s your wife holding up?” Clint asks.

“Not too bad, thanks for asking. Her sciatica has been acting up pretty bad the last few days.”

“Yeah, that stuff is a nightmare. Mia had the same problems in the last few days before she went into labor.”

“I wish she could hold on a little longer, just to make sure the babies are okay, but she’s really struggling now. It’s hard for her to do much. I just sent you a picture to your phone.”

I hear him fumbling with his phone for a second before he comes back.

“Poor thing, her back must be killing her. But with that huge bump, I bet she has the strongest big toes around,” he laughs.

“I dare you to say that to her,” I laugh.

“I may be a big mouth, mate, but I’m not stupid!”

We both laugh.

“How’s the little guy doing?”

“He’s great, man. I love spending time with him. He’s such a character.”

“When are we going to see you guys next?”

“We don’t have any plans today. Do you think Trin would be up for a visit?”

“I’m sure she’d love to see you guys. Maybe come after lunch though. She’s finally managed to fall back asleep for a bit.”

“How about twelve-thirty or one? We can bring lunch for everyone.”

“Sounds great, man. See you then. I better get this house cleaned up for my girl. I don’t want her trying to do it.”

We hang up and I finish cleaning up downstairs.

Then I head upstairs to check on my wife and our little ones. I find her lying in bed awake with her hand over her eyes and the TV on.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Ugh, babe, I definitely don’t feel beautiful right now.”

I crawl across the bed and lay down on my stomach, resting my head softly against her breast.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so beautiful.”

She looks down at me and smiles softly, but I can see the pain in her eyes.

“I love you, baby. Are you sure you’re okay? I’m a little worried. I’ve never seen you in so much pain before.”

“I think I’m okay, baby. Just a lot of cramping and back spasms today.”

“Mia and Clint are coming over after lunch with baby Willie. Maybe you can talk to Mia, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea, babe. Thank you.”

She stretches her arm out and I move up to rest my head on her shoulder and cuddle into her, my hand stroking our babies as she runs her fingers through my hair.

“Mm, I love it when you do that, baby,” I say, content.

“I know you do, babe. I know your tells now.”

“Is that so?”

“It is, my love. I know when you’re super tired you drag your fingertips along your forearm in circles. I know when you’re stressed you rub the top of your ear a lot.”

“And I’ve noticed that when you’re in the mood, you have this habit of rubbing the back of your neck and down to your collarbone,” she adds.

I chuckle. “Really? I always wondered why you’d guide my hand and scratch my forearm with your nails.”

“Because I know that’s your sign of exhaustion and it helps you sleep.”

“You're incredible, did you know that? I don't think anyone else understands me as well as you do, sweetheart.”

We lay there, the TV humming in the background as I caress her belly, feeling our little ones kick every now and then, and my wife running her fingers through my hair.

I hold her closer, feeling at peace in this moment with my darling.

Time slips away as we lay there, content in each other’s arms, until the doorbell rings.

“That must be Mia and Clint. Do you want to get up or should I ask Mia to come up?” I ask.

“No, darling, I’m fine getting up. But I might need your help,” she says, laughing.

I assist her off the bed and carefully down the stairs. When we reach the landing, I call out to Clint and Mia to let them know we’re on our way down.

Mia calls back, telling us to take our time. I support Trinity and once she’s at the bottom of the stairs, I let her settle in the living room while I go to answer the door for Mia and Clint.

“Hey guys, great to see you!”

“You too, Stephen. How's my girl doing?” Mia asks.

“You mean my wife?” I tease.

“No, I definitely mean my girl.”

We all laugh and head inside. I give Mia a quick peck on the cheek and Clint a hug, then I scoop up William from Clint's arms and give him a big raspberry on his belly, making him giggle.

I adore my godson. He’s the coolest kid ever. I can't wait for him to meet our twins.

We head into the living room where my sweetheart is waiting. As we enter, I hand Willie over to her.

“Hello, little man! We missed you,” she coos.

I watch as she showers his face with kisses, my heart swelling. Our godson tries to grab at her face as he giggles and just as she goes to pull him in again, he grabs a handful of her breast.

We all burst into laughter, including Trin.

“That's definitely my boy,” Clint chuckles.

“And that is definitely my godson!”

“You cheeky little monkey, don't grow up to be like your daddy and uncle,” Trin warns.

Mia takes Willie and leans over to kiss Trinity’s cheek. “How are you feeling, honey?”

“Like a beached whale.”

The girls laugh, but Clint and I know better than to comment.

Clint and I head out back for a smoke while the girls chat inside.

“Any more trouble with Detective Dumbass?”

“Haven't heard a peep from him in over two weeks, thankfully. What about you?” I ask.

“Nothing at all, although Dave mentioned he’s been dropping by Montague a few times with a couple of other detectives. Dave’s got it under control though, he just plays them at their own game.”

We finish our smoke and head back inside to join our wives. We all dig into our lunch.

Mia and Clint stay for a couple more hours before they decide to leave so they can get Willie bathed and ready for bed.

I help my wife up from the couch so we can see them off. We’re walking to the door when my wife suddenly grabs me, stopping me in my tracks.

“What's wrong, ba–”

That's when I see the puddle of fluid on the floor between her legs and the look on her face.

“Did your water just break?!”