Status: Finished.

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#006

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4 weeks old: Victory


The triplets are going home!

They had spent four weeks under proper Hospital care, because they were born really fragile, the identical girls around 18 inches long and 3 pounds, and the boy 18 3/4 inches and exact 4 pounds. They were so tiny, Gee remembers, in the nurses’ arms when she saw them for the first time, not able to touch them yet due to their state. Truth is, between birth and today, the babies stayed in separate incubators to gain weight and stability.

Gee and Frank have watched them grow significantly over time.

Gee remembers introducing them to their parents and telling everyone about their names; Leia for Frank’s favorite fiction character, Ariel for Gee’s, and Noah in reference to the first movie they saw together on a date. It was nothing fancy, but it meant something to the couple, something only they needed to know about.

Gee remembers holding them for the very first time, receiving one by one from the nurse’s hands. Each one of them fit perfectly in her palms, one supporting their heads, the other supporting their bottoms, held tight against her chest. They should recognize her motherly smell after that, the nurse had told them. Gee was told to hold the babies between her blouse and her skin, and she did just that, watched closely by Frank. He never left her side, never stopped caressing their babies’ skin or her raven hair if she sniffled.

Gee remembers their first bottle feeding, so delicate and paused. She had tears in her eyes as Frank watched her closely yet again, looking like he was sponging it all into his mind, guarding it forever as memories and knowledge. Gee sure was. Then, afterwards, Frank held each one of them when she was finished with the bottle of milk, previously extracted from her very swollen breasts. Gee watched as he held them cautiously, waiting for them to belch, looking so scared because neither of them had been taught exactly what it would be like. It was amazing.

It still is.

Now they’re going home. The babies can already breathe on their own, be fed properly by bottle or by breast, their body temperature remains stable in a normal ambiance and they already stay awake and aware for some time. They are all ready.

Gee and Frank need help carrying the three car seats and loading them into the backseat of their huge truck, but they do so with a smile over their faces. They’re as careful as they can be, not forgetting to double-check all the security measures they must follow for their children’ sake. Children; that acknowledgement still bewilders Gee every time she gives it any thought.

They say goodbye to everybody and get in the car.

The ride home is silent. Gee sits on the passenger seat, constantly looking back to the backseat. She can’t believe this is true. Her babies are alive and healthy, she isn’t pregnant anymore and Frank is still by her side. She has all the reasons to be the happiest girl ever alive. Perhaps busy and still sore, but she thinks she’s ready.

The future seems brighter with the three quietly sleeping angels behind her and her favorite human and humane god beside her, in the driver’s seat.

Frank stops the car when they pull in to their familiar driveway and smiles at her thoroughly. He’s so beautiful when he looks at her, all his splendor from college times still there after seven years of adulthood and four weeks of actual fatherhood. He’s certainly more proud and more responsible than ever, and that is the most attractive thing Gee has seen in her life.

Frank still surprises her every day. That’s something special, she knows it.

This time, he just leans forward to kiss her fully on the lips and tell Gee that he loves her. She knows that, but closing her eyes and listening to those words in his foggy voice is Heaven every single time. She loves him too and replies back, properly.

“You think we’re ready?” she asks, afterwards, eyes open wide now. Frank pauses to think about his response. Gee loves when he does that and watches his face relaxe until he hits realization.

“They’re finally here,” he says at last, motioning for her hand and holding it gently. They smile. “And ready or deluded, I’m just really fucking excited!”

“Hey, dirty mouth,” she warns him. He knows what she thinks of Frank cursing in front of the babies, she told him already, so he grins mischievously at her. She tilts her head to the side at him, only slightly disapproving.

Then, they turn their heads at the same time to the backseat, following a petite cry. They coo in return and Gee unbuckles her seatbelt. “Let’s go, babies, we’re home.”

THE END