A/N ~ This bonus chapter of 'Days Like This', though not Christmas themed, was created as a Christmas gift for GinnyW_31 - just because she's awesome with sharing. ;) And I know she'd share with sshg316, 'cause she's awesome in her own rights and deserves a Christmas Daddyward bonus too. :D Thanks for everything these past months. *squishes both*

In fact, I don't think they'd mind if everyone shared. :) Merry Christmas all. Hope everyone enjoys the holidays! I will keep this open for future one-shot chapters that may come about until I am feeling well enough to start another full-length story. Thanks for reading. XX ~ SR

Special Delivery
A 'Days Like This' Addendum

BPOV

"No further, Juliet. Let's wait for Daddy." My anxious daughter was standing on the second step in the pool as I sat on the edge and held her hands.

"Pool! Mummah!" She bounced up and down as she tugged on my hands. Water on her legs only was not good enough.

"No pool, Juliet!" I replied in a playful voice, trying to emulate Edward. "Not yet. Wait for Daddy, he'll be out very soon."

"Ammommmm!"

Her toddler screech typically made me react one of two ways – with an instant headache or tearful, nostalgic eyes. She always reverted to her old 'Amom' when she was overtired or about to pitch a fit. Even though this was a fit-pitching Amom, it made me think of the days when Edward started taking her to the pool. He'll tease me when he comes out, I thought. I'm back to the days of not going in with them. I didn't feel comfortable at this stage of my pregnancy. I didn't trust myself to be fully responsible for Juliet so we always waited for Edward for her swim. Even being in with them, I'd taken a few kicks to the belly and slipped many times. And my belly was smaller then. It seemed to have expanded several inches in the last week or so. My back felt it too. I arched backwards and pulled Juliet towards me.

"Got kisses for the baby?"

That got her mind off a tantrum. She placed her kiss and then… blew her wet raspberry (!). Very pleased with the sound it made on my damp, bare skin, she giggled and clapped as I held onto her waist. I only put on swimwear with Juliet and Edward present, so I had never bothered with a maternity suit. I was still in my bikini, letting it all hang out. Edward loved it and Juliet got much amusement from it. It didn't distract her quite long enough, however.

"Pool! Mummah… up!"

If my little girl thought she could move a beached whale, more power to her. Screeching was replaced with pouting. "That works best with Daddy. You know that."

"What works best with Daddy?" Edward asked through the window of the kitchen.

"Pouts," I called back. "Can you bring me some lemonade when you come out?"

"Will you pout for me too if I don't?"

I leaned back and gave him my best pout.

"Ahhhh, thank you. I'll be right down to nibble." Much quicker than I could get through the house these days, he was outside with a glass of lemonade for me and a sippy cup of juice for Juliet. He set them down on the table before diving into the opposite end of the pool, emerging in front of us by the steps.

"Daddad!" Juliet smiled brightly and clapped for him.

"Sunshine! I thought you were pouting. I don't see any pouts. Is it hidden behind here?" He nuzzled behind one of her ears, drawing out her throaty laugh. "Nope, it is… here?" The other ear got the same laugh. "Nope. No pouts! Maybe Mommy was the only one pouting." He picked Juliet up so he could get near enough to give me the nibble he had promised. "No pouts there either. Oh no! Is the baby pouting?"

"Baby," Juliet repeated and pointed to my belly.

"Is our baby pouting, Sunshine? I don't think our baby should be unhappy, ever. Let's give the baby some lovin'."

I giggled as they both went at me and our Little One reacted, as always, to Daddy's voice and touch. "This one's a kick boxer for sure!"

"Hip-hop dancer," he beamed. "Are you coming in with us? I'll keep this one's feet in the opposite direction." He nibbled on her toes before dunking her, much to her delight.

I begged out and went to get my lemonade. More than anything, I loved watching them together anyway. Edward had succeeded in winding our Little One up and I was having trouble finding a comfortable seated position. "Are you sitting on… everything in there?" I teased as I rubbed my belly. Little One calmed down with the feel of my gentle circles. At least the pressure was off my tailbone for the time being. I tilted the chair back slightly and was dozing when my pool monkeys finally got out.

Edward dripped water on me as he leaned over to kiss me. I opened one eye and smiled through his kiss. "Hi."

"Hi."

"I saw you made a salad, want me throw on something now to go with it? Chicken, burgers… what?"

I shrugged. "I'll eat anything, you know that. Juliet won't eat either so it's entirely up to you. Oh! I forgot to take meatballs out of the freezer… help me up?" Juliet was in a picky stage – she only ate meatballs, noodles and crackers. Well, for me that's all she ate. Daddy's Girl would eat anything he presented to her most times. "Umph!" I grunted as my ever-helpful husband hauled me up from the chair.

"Sore?"

"Ugh. My back. I should have kept Juliet on the first step so I wasn't bent over." I reached behind to pick the bikini out of my butt. "And I'm wet, thanks to your graceful little dive. You soaked the chair!" I hoped it was pool water. Looking around, nothing else seemed to have gotten in the splash line. Crap. "Or I wet myself."

Amusement flicked through Edward's eyes.

"Shut up! Your baby's been rolling on my bladder all afternoon!"

"My baby? Not ours?"

"Nope," I laughed. "Only your baby would make me pee my pants."

"Oh my god, you are so incredibly sexy…"

"Shut up!" I laughed as I stole his towel to wrap around my waist.

"Seriously. Is it wrong that I'm turned on right now?"

I giggled while he kissed me. I think he was only half joking and it was about the sweetest thing he could do. All throughout my blossoming pregnancy, he had found new ways to make me feel beautiful instead of puffy. "As hot as this is, Edward, I'm a little too wet to enjoy this as much as I'd like to."

Kneeling down, he skilfully stripped off my bikini bottoms under the towel. "Problem solved," he smirked.

"And my aching back?"

"Okay. You go lay down for a bit, see if that helps. I'll get Juliet fed and then come give you a long back rub. Good?"

"Perrrrfect, thank you. Have I told you how awesome you are?"

"Pfft. Everyone does. I'm going to patent myself. Mass market my clones and ship them off to women everywhere."

"Hmm. Will your clones possess the humility you're currently lacking?" I teased as we went inside. "Oops! Seems my top came undone…"

I could hear his laughter as I headed off for the bathroom. "I'll be joining you shortly! Don't bother replacing that!" he called out. And I didn't. I had a quick rinse in the shower and put some dry panties on before I laid on my side and closed my eyes.

It must have been some time later because the room was much darker when I felt Edward's hands gently kneading just the right spots. "Are you hungry?" he whispered when I moaned in delight. "Juliet's fed, bathed and ready for bed. She came for kisses. I let you sleep, but you should eat something."

My stomach grumbled in response. "I guess that means I am!" Edward slipped my favourite comfy tee over my head, pausing to nuzzle my neck. Mmmm… food first… I shoved my arms through the holes and stood slowly. And then I felt it…

"Uh-oh." Juliet's finger pointed to the puddle I was standing in.

"Uh-oh's right!" I looked back at Edward and he leaned over the bed to see what the issue was. "I didn't even feel that coming! Or that!" I exclaimed as I felt another trickle down my leg.

"Bella…" Edward was across the bed and on his feet, in my puddle, before I knew what hit me. His hands held my shoulders and urged me back down. "Lay back. I think your water broke." He picked Juliet up and placed her on the bed with me so she wouldn't explore in the puddle. "How do you feel?"

"Fine! It can't be… I'm not having contractions. As soon as it broke with Juliet, there was a massive amount of pain."

"But you said your back has been sore…"

I gave him a one-eyed glare. "Do you really think I don't know what labour pains feel like? I've got a sore back and a drippy bladder and oh!" The first squeeze hit. Dammit. Why did he always have to be right? Pregnancy was my area of knowledge, he takes the babies afterwards. Grrr! "Okay. My water could possibly have broken."

I watched his face run a series of expressions before he settled on serious. "Right. Okay. Um… the list…"

"By your pager," I reminded him.

"Right. Okay. The time! I'll start timing the contractions. We can't mess around and wait too long. The second one could come fast and your scheduled c-section's still more than a week away."

"I don't think I'll have a week-long labour…"

"Of course not! You'll have to have the surgery early!"

"I was joking…"

"I should call the hospital – let them know we're coming…"

"No way! Edward, I'm not showing up there until we know I'm actually in labour! Do you know how embarrassed I'll be if I'm not? Imagine the teasing you'll get bringing your pregnant wife in because she peed her pants!"

He took a deep breath and tugged on his hair extra hard. "You're right. Okay. We'll see if you have another contraction and then I'll call the hospital and… who's going to take Juliet? Mom and Dad are still on their holiday… Alice?"

At the same time, I said, "Rosalie?"

"And Charlie… I imagine he'll want to be with us at the hospital."

"We'll ask. He's not exactly comfortable seeing me in pain."

He nodded, giving his hair another work over. He will so be bald one day. "I'll call the hospital and my sister. You call your dad and Alice. Your bag is ready… Juliet will stay here?"

"It's easier," we said in unison.

"Right. Okay." He blew out a long breath, looking like he was going to pass out. I pulled him down to sit beside Juliet and I. "You're so relaxed! We're about to have a baby! How can you be so calm?"

"I have no idea," I giggled as I snuggled up to him. "Actually, I do. You. Having you here makes all the difference. I was freaking with Juliet."

"Mummah, uh-oh!" Juliet was still fascinated with the puddle.

"Yes, Sunshine. Mommy made an uh-oh. Thank you for reminding us." I gathered her in my arms and smothered her with kisses. My baby girl! That started the opening of the floodgates and the tears poured from me all the while another soft contraction gripped my stomach. We were about to have another baby!

"Bella! Is this one bad? Should I call for an ambulance?" Edward grabbed a shirt from the dirty clothes basket and mopped up my puddle before tossing it back in. "That's… oh god! I don't remember what time the first one was!"

"It's okay!" I cried out through my hormonal sobs. "It's not bad. We have time… oh no! I don't have enough meatballs made for Juliet! I'll be in the hospital at least a few days… more! This Little One is early too! Oh Edward!" My calmness was lost in my desperate cling to my husband and then he was my rock.

"It'll be fine, Bella. Shhh. Rosalie and Alice and Grumpy… they'll all make sure she's got meatballs. And I'll be back and forth. They may even get her to eat something else… We'll work it out. You're not alone." He stroked my hair and my back, wiping my tears and he shushed me and rocked me.

"Mummah?" Juliet stood and kissed my cheek, staring at me with deep concern. And then she looked to Edward. She knew, just as I did, Daddy would make everything alright. I wrapped both of them in a tight hug and pulled myself together. We could do this.

"I'm actually… really hungry."

"You can't eat, Bella. They may have to use a general…"

"No!"

"We won't have a choice in an emergency and I'm not putting you at risk. No food. Sorry."

Dammit! We had an arrangement – my doctor and I! He promised this would not be like my first. There would be no crisis, no rush… it's all planned out ahead. It was even scheduled ahead of my due date to avoid another emergency c-section. We would just come in, have a nice spinal block and be fully numb chest down, and I'd be fully awake to meet our baby. 'No pain… until afterwards. Sorry, that can't be helped.' I knew that well. I had all but forgotten the intense pain of my labour, but I still vividly recalled the agony of my long recovery. This time would be different though. This time, I'd have Edward with me at home. "Can I shower at least?"

"We'll come with you… just in case. I'll make my calls."

And just like that, Edward was back in control and I was calm as well. The contractions, though light, were coming closer together than either of us cared for so we ended up heading for the hospital, taking Juliet with us. Edward had gotten hold of Emmett and Rosalie as well as Charlie and I called Alice and Jasper on the way. Charlie had a spare key, he would go to our house and wait for whoever brought Juliet home and then he'd come to the hospital. It was all going smooth as silk… perfect, just like my life…

Until they gave me the news that I would have to wait for my doctor to do the surgery since "we had time" and there would be no epidural. Nope, no ma'am. Not until my doctor was ready to operate. If they waited too long and I ended up knocked out for the birth of our baby… grrr! My perfectly light, sweet-reminders-of-Little-One's-arrival contractions intensified and I was NOT in my happy place!

EPOV

"Okay. Well, Mommy's not feeling too well right now. She's a little upset." As a doctor, I should have felt at home, but in this situation my nerves were raw. I was more than a little uncomfortable and I couldn't do a thing for my wife since I wasn't her doctor. It made me feel less than useless. I could, however, offer comfort to my little girl.

"Mwah!" Juliet blew her a kiss. Sweetheart.

"Thank you Sunshine!" Bella uttered through clenched teeth. I wiped the sweat from her brow and offered a weak smile. "Take her out!"

I didn't wait for a second issue of that command. I high-tailed it to the waiting room where I could soothe Juliet more easily. I knew I could handle that efficiently.

"Dr Cullen… Edward! That is you! Oh my, we miss you here!" One of the regular L&D nurses came rushing over. She had always been my favourite and jesus… her name escaped me. It began with a 'G'… I was certain of that…

"I still come down here! You're just not in on my Sunday night shift!"

"Is this your little one?"

"No, this is my Sunshine!" I grinned and Juliet wrapped her arms around my neck a little tighter, playing shy. "This is Juliet. Our Little One is in there… still in Mommy's belly, right Sunshine?"

"Baby!" she beamed.

"Bella's here? Ohhhh… it's… soon, isn't it?"

I nodded rapidly. "Are you…"

"On duty…?"

"With Bella? Please? There's no epidural and she's not very happy…"

A gentle hand gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Relax. Take care of your Sunshine! I'll take care of her Mommy. You can take her to the nursery…"

"No no. We've got back-up coming. My sister's on her way…" Alice arrived first.

"Jazz is outside… he's soooo sorry…"

"I know." I hadn't expected Jasper to actually make it inside. Hospitals weirded him out for some reason. I didn't get it, but I was fine with it.

"Can I see Bella? And then we'll take Juliet home. Charlie's there already, he just called us."

"Thank you Alice," I grinned, shoving her towards Bella's room and covering Juliet's ears as it opened. She placed her tiny hands over my ears as well and I chuckled against her head, willing tears not to come. Bella needed me to be calm and confident about all of this. I couldn't fall apart just yet.

"Edwaaaard!"

"No!" I held my hand up to my sister as she raced for me, already in tears herself. "No way, Rosalie. You are not gonna get me crying right now! Just back off."

She held back with an impish grin and whispered, "You're gonna have a ba-by!" Her hands went instinctively to her own round belly. We'd be back here in just a couple of months with her big event.

Rose had Juliet, Emmett was keeping Jasper company until Alice finished up, so I took a moment to peek in at my wife. She smiled over at me angelically. Aw, my brave girl was handling this so much better. It was good she had Alice-time. "How's my baby?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"She's fine. Rosalie's here! They're discussing all the things the three girls are going to do this week." I nudged Alice and she clapped in delight. Huh… had she adopted that from Juliet or had Juliet picked it up from her? I wondered if she stood there clapping while Jazz taught my Sunshine how to accomplish the wettest raspberries ever blown.

"That's great, honey. You're the best. You all are… I lo… love you… soooo MUCH… AHHHHHH! Oh! Oh! Holy jeepers this one hurrrrrts!"

Alice giggled. "Lost the potty mouth since the first time round. Jeepers? That's all you got?"

"Eff-off Alice!"

I had to chuckle at that one myself. Until I got the look – the one that told me it was time to take my position by my wife's side as she laboured through the birth of our child. Okay… Bella had an effing fantastic grip. I smiled around clenched teeth and blew out as she did when the contraction ended. And that grip was nothing compared to the super squeeze power she mustered while the epidural finally got administered. Not to sound narcissistic, but I think that was just as difficult for me as it was her.

Once that took place, it was a whirlwind of activity. My pain-free Bella was back and she was overflowing with excitement but I was being shooed out to scrub up for the OR. I took a moment with her before leaving, brushing her hair off her face and leaning over for a kiss. "I have to go get sterilized…"

She smirked at me. "You'd better be talking about de-germing yourself. I do want more babies with you."

My Bella… "First things first, let's get this Little One out and see how our combined genes worked out," I teased before moving down to her belly. "Okay, it's showtime! I can't wait to get my hands on you, Little One. Believe me when I say, you will be one overly loved baby. See you really, really soon." I placed one last kiss on my baby behind the belly and smiled at Bella. "See you in there."

Positioned by my wife's head for the onset of the surgery, I stroked her head and we gazed lovingly at each other. It was all I could do to keep from hovering over the opening below to grab a peek.

"We'll have your baby out in approximately 10 seconds, are you ready? We can't undo this!" Bella's doctor, attempting to be humorous.

"Go see," Bella kissed my hand and released me. With only seconds to spare, I hesitated for a few of them while I debated waiting until we could both see our baby together. "Edward, go! Tell me how perfect our baby is."

I blew out a breath behind my mask and quickly moved down the table a foot to peer around the surgical tent just as the doctor's hands went in for our Little One. I could see a leg and the tiniest little toes. My eyes flooded with tears so I couldn't count them.

"Well? What do you see?" Bella called out anxiously.

"Ah! A bum! I see the cutest little bum!"

Bella giggled and then groaned in frustration. "Is the bum attached to a boy or a girl?"

"Um…" I leaned in for a closer look at the doctor cleared the airway, turning the baby towards me for the first cry. I choked on a sob. "We have a baby girl, Bella. And she's beautiful and perfect…" I was instructed to cut the umbilical cord with much jeering over my shaky hands. Our daughter was quickly wiped down and wrapped. And then she was placed in my arms. Oh. My. God. I had held hundreds of newborns and loved every minute of it. Nothing could have prepared me for this moment, holding my very own newborn. "Hi," I whispered as I cradled her. "I'm Daddy. And I think we've got a very anxious Mommy waiting to see just how beautiful you are." I placed the first of what would be millions of kisses on her head and held her over Bella so she could have a look and get her kisses in as well.

"Hello, sweet Little One! I've had so much fun playing with you these past months. Oh my god, Edward. She's so tiny…"

"Like her sister," I smiled. "We have two daughters, Bella. Can you believe it?"

Her laugh rang out even while her tears of joy streamed down her cheeks. "You'll be bald before you know it. But don't worry, we'll still love you. All of your girls… me, Juliet… Nicole…"

Fresh tears formed. "Yeah?" We had discussed using Nicholas' name if we had a son. Bella understood my bond with him and I thought it was a sweet gesture. We hadn't come to an agreement on girl names, except that we'd see what she looked like, if we had a girl.

"Yeah, she looks like a Nicole."

"She looks like an angel…"

"We can't call her Angel, Edward."

"Nicole then," I agreed with a smile. As soon as our little chat paused, I was quickly reminded by the staff of "preemie procedure" to which I retorted, "I am her paediatrician AND father! I know what needs to be done." That didn't exactly cover it. She would still need tests performed and Bella gave me her nod that it was okay to leave her and tend to our daughter. I was met with the baby cart at the OR door. I stared at it and then the nurse… Geri? Gwen? Something 'G'… "She's not going in that."

"Procedure, Doctor…"

I raised an eyebrow as I secured Nicole in one arm and held onto the cart with the other. "You should know by now that I have my own procedure."

"And you should know by now that I didn't see anything out of the ordinary when you left with the baby," she winked, holding the door open for me. "Congrats, Dad. She's a cutie."

Two very sleepy but anxious people looked up when I passed by the waiting room. I stopped at the glass, proudly displaying my newest daughter and they rushed out. "A girl. We have two little girls," I announced. Rosalie threw her arm around me, kissed my cheek and gazed down at the tiny bundle in my arms with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Wow." Emmett was enthralled. "She's… so… tiny… and…" He looked up at me. "Perfect."

I had never seen Emmett at a loss for words. I expected him to be a little terrified throughout our delivery, knowing that he would be in my position soon enough but he was calm and utterly mesmerized. His hand reached out and stroked Nicole's cheek very softly.

"Em, you look like a giant next to her. Your finger is as long as her head," Rose said quietly.

"She's perfect, Edward. Oh my god. Look at her! Can I…" He held his giant hands out. "Can I hold her?"

I snuck a peek over my shoulder. "I have to take her for tests, but yeah… briefly."

"Bella?" Rose grabbed my arm when I placed my baby in Emmett's secure arms. "Is Bella okay? Charlie's here… he just went for coffee."

"She's good," I smiled as I wrapped my sister in a hug. "She's really great. They're closing her up. I want to get Nicole cleaned up and make sure everything is as is should be before I take her to her mom in recovery."

"Nicole?" Emmett and Rosalie asked together. I nodded through tears and didn't hold my sister back when she clung to me.

"She'll be a fighter then, huh? Hey sweet Nicole, I'm your Uncle Em and I'm gonna make sure you never have to fight a day in your life. I'm big and goofy and you probably won't ever believe a word I say, but I've got your back. And we're gonna have so much fun together. Want to meet your Aunt Rosie? She'll be the one who spoils you. You'll love her. Like we all do."

Watching him gingerly place my baby in her arms, I knew they'd be awesome together when their baby arrived. My sister was now speechless as she stared down at her new niece. She simply held her, rocking her and cooing and placing soft kisses on her head. "Dad called. They're at the airport, waiting for stand-by tickets. They said to tell you they'll be here ASAP."

"I'll give them a call when I'm through with the tests. I should take her now before I get caught. And go home, get some rest! I'll see you tomorrow."

Charlie and I met, grin to grin as we rounded the corner. "Your newest granddaughter!"

His eyes glistening, he cleared his throat. "A girl huh? Huh…" He took her from me as he cleared his throat again. "It's just like holding Bella for the first time… is she…"

"She's fine, Charlie. She's great. You'd be so proud of her…"

"I am, son. Every day, my girl does me proud. And this Little One…"

I held back a chuckle. Even Grumpy was using our pet name. "I have to take her down for tests – it's standard – but she appears to be fine, too. We've named her Nicole."

The corner of Charlie's moustache twitched. "Well Nicole, I'm Grumpy… by name, not by nature. Not anymore anyway… well, you can ask your sister what the deal is with me. She's got me wrapped around her finger."

"I'm sure Juliet will teach her everything she knows," I agreed, in the exact same position as Charlie. They owned me. All of them. He headed to the recovery area to wait for Bella while I carried on with my daughter.

Testing done, and looking very positive, I gave Nicole a light washing before I diapered her for the first time. "Let's make you real pretty for Mommy. I bet she's all stitched up and itching to get her arms around you. I have to tell you something Nicole… you've got the best Mommy in the world." I swaddled her in a soft blanket before picking her up. "But you know that already, don't you? Do you know how much we love you? Do you know we've loved you right from the start? Your big sister too! You will love Juliet. She'll be your best friend. Always." I cradled her near my heart, tilting my head down to gaze at her and inhale her scent. "Baby girl, I've been waiting for you for so long. I've dreamed about you. And I promise… I swear to you… I will love you more and more every day for the rest of my life."

She made soft grunts as her eyes blinked adjusting to the bright lights. I smiled as she yawned and rocked her, laughing softly as her mouth closed into an 'O' with her little tongue visible. "Are you ready to eat, Little One? You look like you're sucking on a lollipop." Touching her chin, she opened wide. "Ohhhh, Mommy's gonna love you. You're a natural." And when she closed, she went back to the lollipop look. For some reason, this brought out a flood of emotion as I realized she already had her own little things… her own personality, her own quirks. My baby wasn't merely the creation of Bella and I, nor was she a replacement for my baby that never was, or the child I'd cared for and lost… she was her own person and she was… absolutely perfect.

I had to sit with her for several minutes while I regained control of my emotions. "Well, Little Lolly, we should go see Mommy. You and I will have lots more times like this, I promise. Any time you want to talk, I'll be here. If you need a hug, I'll be here. I will be here for you, for whatever you need, always. Know that right now, okay? You and your sister and Mommy, you're my life… and I love everything about each one of you. Daddy loves you, Nicole - my special little girl with the lollipop mouth. You're beautiful and perfect and you're my life. And you will probably get sick of hearing it, but I will make sure you know that I love you every day that I breathe…" I continued whispering to her that way our whole journey back and into the recovery room, dragging our cart along.

Bella was anxious, but relatively calm. I still recalled how emotional she was after Juliet and was steeling myself for Insanely Hormonal Bella. After she held our daughter and heard how all her tests went, we focused on getting her out of recovery and into her room. Once settled and Nicole was latched on for her first nursing, I confessed that I anticipated a lashing for keeping her away for so long.

Grabbing onto my hand, Bella pulled me closer to the edge of her bed. "Edward, you need to know that I trust you implicitly. It was different with Juliet… she was mine. Just mine. I was the only one she had to keep her safe until…" The quiet tears started. "Until you fell in love with us. And us, with you. It's different now because our girls have two parents and I know that there is no one they'll be safer with than their Daddy."

Bringing her hand to my lips, I kissed it and held it to my heart. "You are everything to me, Bella. I am so grateful for every day with you and…" I took one hand from hers and rested it on Nicole. "Our girls. I'm so proud of you. Of all of you."

"Stop making me cry…"

"You stop making me cry!" I teased and kissed her hand again. Nicole had fallen asleep so I took her and made sure she didn't have a gas bubble before laying her in her cart. She would have to spend the rest of the night in the nursery… damned procedures.

"You should get some sleep. Juliet will be up soon. I want her here…"

I laid out beside Bella after the nurse took Nicole away, letting her snuggle into me. "I can't wait to see her face when she sees Baby," I beamed. "I wonder how quickly I can teach her to say 'Nicole'?"

"Oooh, yeah. That'll be a tough one for her." A broad smile spread across Bella's face. "But I have complete faith in you and your abilities to teach our girls anything."

We drifted off to sleep together – Bella, drug induced and myself, in exhaustion – dreaming of days to come with our dream family.