Body Heart Soul (Blind Vows #2)

by J. M. Witt

  “I hate to give up my truck, but I want that car more.”

  “You’re going to have to kiss me for it.”

  Standing up, I headed toward our bedroom. “I think that can be arranged.”

  We had just left our last Lamaze class and were headed to my parents’ for our family Christmas. It was actually about a week before Christmas, but it was what worked best for everyone. Des was getting too close to her due date for us to be messing around with family parties. Des and I had plans to enjoy our first Christmas together being lazy, knowing that next year our world would be running on the schedule of our two little miracles.

  She gasped next to me and I looked to her. I watched as she tried to get comfortable. The weight of the babies was growing increasingly difficult on her, making it almost impossible for her to sleep for long stretches. I would never tell her, but it was taking its toll on her and it scared me to death. She had bags under her eyes where there never used to be any.

  “You ok?”

  “I don’t know. Something’s not right.” My heart rate picked up as she closed her eyes. “I don’t think this is a Braxton Hicks.”

  We were close to the hospital and I wasn’t taking any chances. “We’re going to the hospital.”

  “Oh, shit.” She was trying to control her breathing as I turned the car around. “I think that’s a good idea, but I don’t have my bag.”

  “Fuck your bag. I’ll have Lucy grab it.”

  A few seconds later she cried out in pain, screaming, “O! Something’s wrong.”

  She grabbed my hand as I looked at the clock. “We’re only a few minutes from the hospital. Hang on, Des.”

  I tried counting her contractions, if that’s what they were, and grabbed my cell phone. Dialing 9-1-1, though I may have been overreacting, I wasn’t willing to risk it. We were more than a few minutes from the hospital, but I couldn’t tell Des that. Des seemed to be in her own world as I began talking to the operator. I gave her our location and plate number as I flew down the highway. Soon a patrol car caught up to me and got in front of me, clearing the way.

  When I looked over to Des, she seemed to be passed out. “Des!” She was breathing, but she wouldn’t respond to me. “Please, God, no!”

  The operator called ahead to the hospital and when I flew into the emergency lot, they were waiting with a gurney. Opening her door, they pulled her out and all I saw was a puddle of blood in the seat. Jumping out of the car, I ran after them as they wheeled her inside. One nurse was straddling her and cutting her clothes away.

  As we reached a set of double doors, I was held back as they began asking me questions. I told them who her doctor was, that she was almost thirty six weeks along with girls and that there had been no complications.

  “I need to be with her.”

  “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait. As soon as we have any news, we’ll let you know.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was about to say, but I said it. “You tell them to save her. I can’t lose her.” She nodded and left me in the hall.

  ~ Desiree ~

  ~ Chapter 33 ~

  I wasn’t sure where I was, but everything was blindingly bright. I tried covering my face, but I couldn’t move my arms. There were lights shining from above and a blue curtain in front of me. Faces covered in surgical masks fluttered around me and began talking to me like I couldn’t hear them.

  “Please, my girls. O?”

  “She’s coming to, get her back under.”

  I was certain I heard the faint cry of a newborn baby when everything went black once more. And although it went black, I swore I could still hear them talking. The cries of a baby and then another. My girls. I heard the familiar sound of suction from my days of being a med student and tried to talk, but my mouth wouldn’t work.

  “My girls, are my girls ok?” That was my silent plea that I tried to voice. “O, where’s O? He should be here with me.” I felt a weird tugging and heard more yelling.

  “We’re losing her. We need more blood.”

  Losing her? Who were they losing? Not one of my girls. Then the strangest thing happened. It was like I was having a celestial experience. I now stood behind the doctors, observing as they worked over my body frantically. That couldn’t be my body, though. Could it?

  Small cries filled my ears and drew my attention. Floating over to the two infant cribs I looked at my girls, knowing without a doubt they were mine. They were beautiful and definitely fraternal. One had a head full of dark hair just like her daddy and the other was almost entirely bald with blonde fuzz covering her head. They were perfect. I watched as they stamped their feet and then wiped them clean. Then they started pushing them out of the room.

  “Wait, come back.”

  I looked to the woman who did look a lot like me on the table and watched as they pulled out the paddles and shocked her. I had a decision to make. Follow my girls or watch over the woman on the table. I followed my girls. When I emerged into the hall, the girls were gone. I looked frantically in both directions and ran through another door. I saw O on the floor, his hands covering his face. Why was he crying?

  “O, stop crying. We’re all ok.” I tried to touch his shoulder, but my hand just floated through him.

  His head jerked up as he looked toward me. A nurse appeared and started talking to him. Jumping to his feet as fast as his prosthetic would allow, he ran down the hall after the nurse. Following them, they disappeared too quickly. I ended up back in the room where they were still working over the woman who could pass as my sister, if I had one.

  One of the doctor’s spoke. “Come on Desiree, you’ve got two little girls who need you.”

  “Desiree?”

  Looking again, I realized that the woman on the table was me. No! This couldn’t be happening. Running to her side, I began whispering in my own ear. O entered the room, but everything started becoming foggy as I lost my balance and again, got lost in blackness.

  ~ Odysseus ~

  ~ Chapter 34 ~

  “Mr. Kerrigan?” I looked up to her. “Your girls are here. They’re ok.”

  “Des, what about Des?”

  “If you’ll come with me.”

  “No, please, God, not Des.”

  “She’s fighting, but it’s not looking good.”

  I walked into the room and saw Des strapped to a table as the doctor sewed her up. Her incision was nothing compared to what I’d seen in battle. The nurse walked me to the head of the table as I stroked her face. She was incredibly pale, too pale.

  “We had to give her several units of blood. Unfortunately we had to perform an emergency hysterectomy.” Des would be devastated by this.

  “The girls?” I held her hand as I pressed my face to the side of hers. “Des.” Looking up, “Why isn’t she awake?”

  “She’s had a lot of anesthesia, but we’re having trouble getting her to wake up.”

  I got loud and made my demands, “Where are my girls? She needs her girls. Now!” The doctor nodded as two nurses rushed from the room. “Please wake up, Des.” My tears fell on her face as I stroked her face.

  The sound of doors and small cries filled the room. Standing, I looked into the cribs as the nurse handed me one of the girls, telling me she was twin A. I sat down with her and pulled her hat back. She had blonde hair and her mother’s chin.

  “Hello, Ophelia.” I got her as close to Des as I could and pleaded with her. “See, you win. You were right, and she looks like an Ophelia.” I reached my free arm out as they placed my second daughter in my arms. Dark hair poked out from under her hat as I chuckled, “And she’s definitely a Dione. Our own little O and D, our mini-me’s. Please, Des. You have to wake up. I can’t do this alone.”

  I heard the faint whisper of someone saying that her heart rate was increasing. Then she began gagging on the breathing tube. They pulled the tube from her mouth as the nurses took the girls from me. Holding her hand, we waited. It took a few minutes, but she opened her eyes. K
issing every inch of her face, I quickly swiped at my snot-covered face as she smiled at me.

  “Whas going on?” Her words were slightly slurred, but she was awake.

  “Nothing, just rest. Everything’s fine.”

  I woke a few hours later to a hand on my shoulder. Des was in a post-partum room, still sleeping, while I had them keep the girls in the nursery. I slept in the rocking chair, not wanting to leave my wife’s side. Heath and Lucy stood in-front of me. I took hold of his arm as he pulled me to my feet. Lucy took my seat, clasping Des’ hand, as Heath and I walked into the hall.

  I started sobbing as he clapped his arms around me. “I almost lost her.”

  “But you didn’t. The girls?”

  He was right, I smiled as I wiped at my tears. “Perfect. They’re in the nursery.” We both turned when we spotted Lucy.

  She closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around me. “I think she’s waking up, O.” My eyes got big as she laughed, “Go. We’re not going anywhere.”

  Rushing back into the room, she was moving but her eyes were still closed. When her eyes finally opened, they found mine almost immediately. “Hey, baby.” She smiled! “How do you feel?”

  “Tired. Sore. What happened?” Her hands drifted to her belly and I saw the panic rise in her eyes knowing she was no longer pregnant.

  With tears in my eyes, I reassured her. “The girls are fine. They’re perfect.”

  Choking on her own tears she gasped, “They are?”

  “They are. I can have the nurses bring them down. Would you like that?” She nodded. “Ok. I’ll be right back.”

  I sent in Lucy and Heath as I rushed down to the nursery. Flashing my wrist with two pink ID bands around it, I walked over to their cribs. One of the nurses pushed one crib, while I pushed the other down to Des’ room.

  “I have two little girls eager to meet their Mommy.”

  Lucy and Heath stood back, awe on their faces as I parked the cribs next to her bed. She was grinning from ear to ear. I picked up little O and walked to the other side of the bed. Placing her in Des’ waiting arms, she began looking over every part of her, tears falling down her cheeks. Looking at her band she read it and then pulled the hat from her head.

  “She looks like me!”

  “Yes, she does.” Her tiny hand reached out and grasped onto Des’ finger. “You’re right. She’s definitely an Ophelia.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” The nurse walked over and handed Des her other daughter and I spotted Heath with a video camera and Lucy snapping pictures. I took Ophelia, while Des looked over Dione. “You’re right about her too. Dione.”

  Des spotted all the dark hair and pulled her hat off. “She’s your mini-me.”

  “What can I say? We make beautiful babies.”

  “We did good.”

  “Yes we did.” I placed Ophelia in her free arm and squeezed in next to her as Lucy took our picture.

  Des looked to Lucy then and asked, “Do you want to hold them?”

  “I’d love to, but you just got them. Are you sure?”

  Des nodded, “Of course.”

  Lucy sat down with Dione and Heath with Ophelia as I snapped their picture. “They’re so tiny and perfect.”

  “Listen, we’ve been meaning to talk to you guys.” Lucy and Heath looked up to us, confusion in their eyes. “We’d like you to be their godparents. It’d mean a lot to us.”

  They smiled at each other and then Heath spoke. “We’d love to, but we need to talk to you guys, too. We’re wondering if you’d like to be godparents too?”

  “What! Really?” Des was nearly screaming, causing the babies to jump. Lucy nodded her head, tears in her eyes. “When?”

  “June.”

  “June! You’ve been holding out on me.”

  Heath interjected. “We wanted to make sure we were well into the second trimester. It’s been killing Lucy to not tell you. You’re the first people we’ve told.”

  “I’m so happy for you.” Lucy stood and handed Dione back to her and hugged her. “Do you know what you’re having?”

  Lucy shook her head. “I took a page from your book, kind of. I don’t want to know. I’m just so happy to be having a baby. It just doesn’t matter to me if it’s a boy or a girl.”

  “So, it’s just one?”

  My question had Heath throwing daggers at me as he bit out, “Yes, they checked twice. No twins. Not this time.”

  “Not this time? Can we please get through this pregnancy before you start mentally impregnating me again?” We laughed at Lucy’s comment.

  Later that morning the rest of the family made their visit two by two. Mom and Dad were the first to arrive. Bundles of pink balloons, stuffed animals, and flowers now decorated the room. She sat down in the rocking chair, waiting to hold her first set of grandchildren. Placing Dione in one arm and then Ophelia in the other, my mother smiled like I hadn’t seen in years.

  “What are their names?”

  Des looked to me and encouraged me, “Go ahead. You can tell her.”

  “This here is Dione Marie, twin two, with all the dark hair. Marie is Des’ middle name and Dione…”

  “Mother of Aphrodite. You carried on my tradition?”

  “We did.”

  “And this little blonde beauty. What’s her name?”

  I got a little choked up as I said, “This is Ophelia Grace.”

  “Odysseus?” She looked to Des, who wiped the tears away as my mother realized that Des knew the significance of the name.

  “Yes, after my sister and Grace after her grandma.”

  Des had asked me all those nights ago about D’s lost twin, assuming it was a boy. I’d explained to her that D’s twin was a girl, and her name was Ophelia. She was my mother’s pride and joy and we’d lost her when they were six years old, almost seven. It wasn’t until a few weeks later, when the dust had settled that Des asked if we could name one of the girls Ophelia. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but in the end she was right. We just hoped that D didn’t react badly to it.

  D seemed fine hearing the news that his niece shared his twin sister’s name and everyone loved that we were continuing my mother’s tradition. The hardest part of the hospital stay was when I had to tell Des about the hysterectomy. She was heartbroken, but grateful to be alive. It was like she turned a new leaf.

  “We have two perfect little girls. I don’t need or want anything else.” She squeezed my hand and nodded as I added, “I almost lost you. I don’t think I could go through that again.”

  “You’re right. We’re blessed. I love you, O.”

  We drove home with the twins a few days later. Des’ mother shocked us all and came to stay with us for several weeks. It was just what Des needed to get her strength back. Nursing twins, pumping, and trying to heal would have been impossible to do without help. My mother even came and took some night shifts so we could all get some rest.

  Months passed and after so much turmoil, we realized life was going to happen to us whether we were ready or not. We were ready. Covered in burp cloths, baby spit, and still wearing yesterday’s clothes, I looked around the living room. Des was nursing D as I bottle fed O. She caught me staring at the wonder of motherhood and smiled at me. Bouncers and baby swings littered the floor and I didn’t care.

  Shortly after, a waddling Lucy and my mother walked in and ordered us to bed. Closing the door, I watched as Des collapsed on the bed.

  “I think I’m ok with your mom moving in.”

  “Bite your tongue woman!”

  Mumbling into the pillow she said, “She’s a lifesaver. I’d surely be dead if not for her. I love her.”

  She was already fading as I curled up next to her. “No you wouldn’t. We’re blessed to have help, but you’re a survivor, always have been. We’d be just fine without them, just more sex deprived.” She elbowed me in the gut as I laughed.

  “Just let me sleep for a few. Then you can have…” She was out.


  “I love you, Des. You helped heal my body, then you stole my heart, and the girls and you have completed my soul. Thank you.”

  Groggily, she startled me with her reply. “You’re welcome. Now stop talking so I can sleep. Then you can show me your ‘O’ face.”

  Body Heart & Soul

  Everything Des & O

  were willing to give.

  Who will be Will’s match?

  Strength weakness bond

  Blind Vows

  Volume 3

  #SeekingMrDarcy

  Release Date TBD

  Playlist

  Drowning by Banks

  I Don’t Wanna Grow Up by Bebe Rexha

  Young And Beautiful by Lana Del Rey

  Replay by Zendaya

  Broken Ones by Jacquie Lee

  Look After You by The Fray

  I’d Come For you by Nickelback

  Breathe by Ryan Star

  Beautiful With You by Halestorm

  This Summer’s Gonna Hurt by Maroon 5

  Good For You by Selena Gomez

  Only You by Matthew Perryman Jones

  Breath Me by Sia

  Angel by Theory Of A Deadman

  Sound Of Your Heart by Shawn Hook

  The Only Reason by Puddle Of Mudd

  Never Seen Anything “Quite Like You” by The Script

  Connect The Dots by The Spill Canvas

  Wait by Sarah McLachlan

  More from J.M. Witt

  The Anchored Hearts Series

  Letting Go (Vol. 1) *

  Hiding Away (Vol. 1.5) *

  Letting Go of You (Vol. 2) *

  Fading Away (Vol. 2.5) *

  Letting Go of Us (Vol. 3) *

  Concrete Soul (Vol. 4) * * * (Paul’s story)

  Untitled (Vol. 5) * * * (Smith’s story)

  Drifting Away (Vol. 6) * * * (Cal & Jane: whole series epilogue)