Chapter 7

A few hours later, Andrew and Mina came to visit Serena and Darien at the hospital. Darien met them in the waiting room. "How did you know we were here?" he asked.

"The kids were opening one present before they went to bed and I remembered that I had a gift I forgot to give Serena," Mina explained.

"We came to your house and no one was home," Andrew said. "One of your neighbors told us an ambulance came a few hours ago so we came to make sure you two were ok."

Darien smiled. "I appreciate that. Serena had the twins early. They have to be kept here for observation for a few days, but everything's fine now."

"Congratulations," Mina said happily. "Did you have boys or girls?"

"We have one of each; David James and Brittany 'Rini' Irene. There was a short scare when Rini came out, but she's doing great now. Would you like to see them?"

"Definitely," Andrew said. "We can't stay too long though because Mina's father is waiting."

Andrew and Mina followed Darien to the room where Serena was staying. Darien opened the door quietly just in case she was sleeping and poked his head in. "Serena? Can I come in with our visitors?"

"Go ahead," she said holding both babies. "I just got done feeding them." Darien opened the door wide to reveal Andrew and Mina. Serena smiled graciously at them. "What a surprise!"

Mina gasped when she saw the babies up close. "They're adorable," she cooed as she took a seat next to Serena and hugged her. "How are you feeling, Mommy?"

"Tired but relieved," Serena replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a present I forgot to give you, but as soon as your neighbor told us an ambulance came we got here as soon as we could. This is my husband, Andrew by the way."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Andrew said shaking her hand. "Darien talks about you all the time. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Serena said. "I feel bad for not having a present for you too, Mina."

"Don't even worry about it," Mina said dismissively. "Your friendship is enough for me."

"We have to get going," Andrew said. "I'm glad you're all right."

"Call me if you need a babysitter," Mina added.

Serena smiled at them. "Thank you. Merry Christmas!"

"I'll walk you to the car," Darien offered. The three of them walked to the parking lot and found the car Mina's father was waiting in. Darien did a double take when he saw the man in the driver's seat.

"Fancy seeing you again, young man," the man said. "This is the gentleman I was talking about at dinner who gave me such wonderful service at the shop earlier today. I hope you got a nice Christmas bonus."

"No sir," Darien said sadly. "I actually got fired."

The man looked appalled. "Because of us? How terrible!"

"Mr. Carson is not an easy man to work with," Andrew commented.

The man smiled as an idea came to him. "Do you have business experience?" he asked Darien.

"I used to work for Graceland, Inc. as a business executive, but they ran into trouble."

"I was gonna wait until tomorrow to mention it to my son-in-law here, but I can tell you both now. My name is Kirk Adamson, president of Lovelace Industries. I'd like to offer you both a position in the company. Consider it my Christmas present to you."

"Really?" Andrew exclaimed excitedly. "That'd be wonderful."

Darien couldn't believe it and was rendered speechless for a moment. "It'd be an honor sir," he finally answered.

"Wonderful," Mr. Adamson said. "We'll go over specifics on Monday. Bring your resume."

"Thank you so much," Darien said gratefully shaking his hand.

Mr. Adamson started the car. "It's my pleasure."

"Here's Serena's present," Mina said handing a wrapped package to Darien. "Merry Christmas!"

"See you Monday, Darien," Andrew said.

Darien waved as they drove away and headed back to Serena's room to tell her the news. "Serena?" he whispered as he came in the room. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, but not for much longer," she said tiredly. "The twins are in bed in the nursery." She studied him for a moment. "You're excited about something. What happened while you were gone?"

Darien set Serena's present aside before sitting on the bed beside her and held her hands. "I have a job again. I start Monday."

Serena smiled brightly and kissed him. "That's wonderful!"

"It turned out that the last customer I gave free service to at the shop was Mina's father and he's the president of a big company, bigger than the one I was at before. He offered me and Andrew both a position."

"That's so exciting! Our prayers have been answered."

"Definitely," Darien said hugging Serena tightly. "Even if I didn't get a new job just now, I still would have had the best Christmas gift ever. I have a wife who loves me and two healthy children."

Serena snuggled close to Darien and yawned. "And I'm blessed to have a husband who I know will take care of our family as best he knows how."

"I love you, Serena." Darien waited for a response, but heard soft snoring instead. He smiled down at his wife and kissed the top of her head. "Merry Christmas, my love."

The End

Author's notes: So what did you think? Be honest and let me know. Otherwise have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!