Remember When....

by R. A. Krauszer

  She dialed his phone and let it ring four times before she hung up. She called Declan, and again there was no answer. She tried calling Donovan next, receiving the same result. Finally, she was able to get in touch with Shauna. She answered on the first ring. “You are supposed to be napping, cleaning queen,” Shauna joked as she answered. “I was but I woke up and I can’t find Patrick anywhere. I need him to come home, there is something going on,” she said through gritted teeth. Before she had a chance to explain anything, she felt a trickle of liquid flow down her legs and then a bigger pain ripped through her. She couldn’t respond to Shauna’s pleas; all she could do was scream.

  CHAPTER 19

  Shauna had Kiplyn at the hospital faster than she should have legally been able to. She sped as quickly as she could, with still keeping her safe. A few minutes later Kiplyn was admitted to a room and hooked up to monitors.

  Dr. Johnson entered the room, concern etched on her face. “Let’s get these babies out so we can see what’s going on,” she explained to Kiplyn with a small smile. All Kiplyn could do was nod; she was beyond scared. “I need Patrick,” she said through gritted teeth as another contraction ripped through her. “As soon as he gets here,” Dr. Johnson explained.

  The room was a flurry of movement. Everyone had a job and they were doing it. “Ok Kiplyn, on the next contraction you need to push,” Dr. Johnson told her sternly. As soon as she felt the next contraction she did as she was told. This continued back and forth for several minutes. Finally, Kiplyn was rewarded with the beautiful sound of crying. It was the smallest cry she had ever heard, but it was music to her ears. Then she heard the next best thing, “It’s a boy!” Dr. Johnson told her.

  The chaos was far from over, she still had to deliver her little girl. She was becoming more anxious because Patrick was still no where to be found. She couldn’t worry about that right now though. She had to focus on getting this baby delivered safely. The delivery went similar to the first one. Within a few minutes, she was listening the beautiful cries of her daughter.

  The nurses had both babies cleaned up and swaddled. They were bringing them over to Kiplyn when the door bust open. “Where is she?!” she looked toward the door at a very panicked Patrick. She snuggled the babies closer, “calm down and come see them,” she scolded him getting his attention. He was at her side instantly. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. Patrick stood silently staring in awe and the two beautiful bundles in her arms. “So, what are we naming them?” he asked her barely above a whisper. Kiplyn handed one of the babies to Patrick. “I would like you to meet your son, Finn,” Kiplyn said. Patrick was in shock; she had named him after his grandfather. That was so sweet. He snuggled with Finn for a few minutes, then handed him back to Kiplyn. She handed him the other baby. “This is your daughter, Freya,” she explained giving him a smile. If he was in shock before, he was in complete shock now. Kiplyn had named her after his mother.

  He could no longer control his emotions, he was crying. Tears were streaming down his face. He was not a man that showed much emotion, but he couldn’t control it today. It was the best day of his life. He felt complete for the first time in his life. He dared anyone to tell him differently.

  Dr. Johnson came over after several minutes of letting them bond with the babies. “We took the opportunity to weigh them when we were cleaning them. Would you like to know, or do you want me to just write it down for you? We will also have to take them to the nursery soon, but only to get their immunizations. We will bring them right back,” she explained when she heard Patrick growl. “How much did they weigh?” Kiplyn and Patrick asked at the same time. That made Dr. Johnson laugh. “Well this little beauty right here weighs three pounds, four ounces. This handsome little fella weighs a whopping four pounds even,” she said looking from one baby to the other.

  The babies were reluctantly handed over to the nurses so they could go to the nursery. “I am so proud of you, baby. You are so strong. I love you so much,” Patrick whispered in Kiplyn’s ear and places gentle kisses on her in between each word. “Where were you?” she asked him, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

  She saw Patrick’s jaw clench and his expression harden. She knew then that she wouldn’t like the answer he was about to give her. “I was talking to my lawyer. I entered a plea for time served, since Mr. Williams is dead. And before you ask, no I am not the one that did it. They kept him away from me because they knew that I would if we were in the same unit.” Kiplyn quietly digested the information that she had just received. She knew that Patrick was being honest when he said that he would kill Mr. Williams because he had already killed one person: hence the jail sentence. “So why did you have to go talk to your lawyer, I am not understanding.” Patrick wasn’t sure if he could explain it so that she would understand but he would try. “I was told by my lawyer that if I entered a plea of self defense when I was first sentenced, that after a certain amount of time I would be able to be released. After Officer O’Neal turned in the reports to the courts on the investigation, the courts realized how deranged Jeremy really was. He not only had been collecting information on Kiplyn, but other girls, some of them had been underage. So, the amount of time that I did was considered time served and completed because it was proven to be self-defense in the eyes of the courts. I was protecting you.” Patrick was shaking by the end of the conversation. He was slightly irritated at that because he couldn’t lose himself in Kiplyn to calm himself like he truly wanted to do.

  Later that evening, Patrick was holding Freya while Kiplyn fed Finn. Freya opened her eyes and he realized that she didn’t have the normal blue of a newborn’s eyes. She had her mother’s beautiful eyes. Freya looked like Kiplyn, he was in trouble. Freya started to fuss so Patrick placed her on his lap so he could remove his shirt. He then leaned back a little and placed her gently on his chest, so they were skin to skin. That seemed to calm her down. Patrick stared in amazement and awe at his little girl. He knew in that instant that he would do anything for these three people. They were the most important thing to him.

  EPILOGUE

  “Don’t you dare start crying and ruin the masterpiece I just spent an hour doing,” Shauna scolded Kiplyn. “Freya and Finn are totally fine. My parents are enjoying spending time with them. They view them as their grandkids, you know that.” Shauna explained, trying to calm Kiplyn down. “Now let’s get you into that dress, so I don’t have to listen to him growling outside the door anymore,” Shauna teased. Kiplyn rolled her eyes, but she knew that Shauna was right. Patrick had told her that he wasn’t going to leave the hall until the very last minute, unless the babies needed him.

  A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. “No Patrick, you can not come in!” Shauna yelled toward the door. The door opened, “well it’s a good thing that I’m not him then,” Kiplyn’s uncle said, giving her a wink. “Oops!” she said. Kiplyn turned at the sound of his voice. “You look beautiful, sweetheart. Your parents would be so proud of you. I am so proud of you! I know I am not your father, but I am so blessed to be able to give you away today. That man that is not so patiently waiting out there adores you. I couldn’t ask for a better son-in-law, by proxy.” He winked and wiped a tear gently from her cheek. “No tears. You are beautiful. Let’s do this!” He placed her hand in the bend of his arm and started walking toward the door.

  The music started once the door opened. Kiplyn’s nerves were all over the place. She didn’t like being the center of attention. She was worried about the babies, even though she knew Shauna’s parents were doing a great job with them. She was concerned that at any moment, something was going to ruin this perfect moment. She had a bad few month, give her a break!

  Once her eyes locked on Patrick’s everything and everyone else disappeared. Kiplyn only had eyes for him. It had been that way since the first time she saw him a little less than a year ago. This past year had been a rollercoaster of emotions, most of them good, but some not so much. She wouldn’t change them fo
r anything though because she wouldn’t have met this beautiful man standing in front of her. And they wouldn’t be standing in front of all their friends and family promising to love each other until the end of time.

  They were finally to the part of the ceremony, where Kiplyn had to actually pay attention and not let her mind wander. She couldn’t help but think about their future together. She was so excited about the days to come. She stopped her mind from racing long enough to answer the priest and listen to Patrick’s response. Next thing she knew, his lips crushed onto hers and everything and everyone disappeared again. They were sealing their vows with a kiss. That was the most important thing at the moment, so she gave into it. She loved this man.