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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:51:32 GMT -5
A few weeks after Gus and Harley had found out they were having twins, Harley went Christmas shopping with Blake and Cassie. It was a week before Thanksgving and they were hoping they would catch some good sales without all the crowds. Gus stayed home with the boys while Harley enjoyed a day out with her friends. He was working on a surprise for her when she came home, so she made Blake and Cassie promise they would keep her out of the house all day.
“So, where to first?” Cassie asked when the three of them got to the mall.
Blake and Harley looked at each other and in unison said, “Shoes!”
They went into a few shoe stores and each of them had bought a new pair of shoes, then Blake suggested they go to Victoria’s Secret. Holly was taking the kids Thanksgiving weekend and she wanted to buy something new for Ross.
The trio walked into the store and was greeted by a perky salesgirl, “Hi! Can I help you with anything?”
“No, thanks, we’re just looking,” Blake replied as she began looking through the racks.
“Oooh, Blake, you should try this on,” Cassie said as she pulled a racy royal blue number off one of the racks and held it up to show Blake and Harley.
“Oh, I love it!” Blake said as she grabbed it from Cassie, “Okay, now you both have to get something to try on too.”
“Uh, no,” Harley said.
“Oh come on,” Blake urged.
“Blake, you find me one thing in this store that would fit me and maybe I’ll consider showing it off in public.”
“There has to be something,” she said as she grabbed Harley’s arm and led her to the back of the store. Cassie pulled a long, cream silk nightgown off a rack and followed them.
“Here, look at this,” Cassie said as she pulled a cotton pajama short set off a maternity rack.
Harley and Blake looked at it, then at each other.
“No wonder you don’t have a man,” Blake teased.
“That was harsh,” Cassie replied.
“Oh, come on, I’m just kidding. Here, this would look great on you,” she said to Harley as she found a lacy black chemise on the maternity rack.
“Blake, I am not putting that on and showing the entire store!”
“There’s not even anyone here, but you don’t have to show anyone, just try it on and maybe show us,” Cassie urged.
Harley finally agreed, although hesitantly and the three went back and each went into a fitting room.
A few minutes later, Blake and Cassie came out of their respective fitting rooms.
“Cute,” Blake said to Cassie when she saw the cream nightgown will soft pink flowers on it.
Cassie shrugged, “But you look hot!” she complimented when she saw Blake in the lacy royal blue babydoll.
Blake turned to show herself off in the three-way mirror, “Thank you. Now, where’s Harley?”
Cassie knocked on Harley’s door, “Harley, come on out.”
“No,” Harley said.
“Then let us in,” Blake said and the door slowly opened.
Cassie and Blake crammed into the small fitting room with Harley.
“Harley, you look gorgeous,” Cassie said.
“I look huge!” she complained.
“Harley, you’re almost seven months pregnant. With twins. You’re supposed to look huge,” Blake added.
“Blake!” Cassie exclaimed, “You’re not helping.”
“Seriously, you look gorgeous. You should buy it and surprise Gus with it tonight,” Blake suggested.
“He’ll love it. Look how beautiful you look with your hair up,” Cassies added as she twisted Harley’s hair into a messy up-do.
“And believe me, after today, he’s going to deserve a night with you in this,” Blake said and Cassie shot her a look.
Harley laughed, “Why is that?”
“You know, as a reward for chasing after the boys all day,” Cassie covered with a smile.
Harley looked in the mirror, contemplating whether she should buy it or not.
“Okay, I’ll get it,” she finally said, pleasing both Blake and Cassie. “By the way, Blake. That color is you. You look great!”
“Oh yeah, this is definitely coming home with me,” she replied, “Cassie- are you getting that?”
“I guess so. Even though I don’t have anyone to wear it for,” she shrugged.
“Yet,” Harley added.
“Gus is going to love it when this credit card bill shows up,” Harley joked as she signed her name, Harley D. Aitoro.
“Eh, tell him how much you spent tonight, he won’t even care,” Blake told her and the salesgirl smiled.
“Yeah, right,” Harley replied, “we went crib shopping last night. Of course, he had to get the best cribs, which cost an arm and a leg. And now everytime we go shopping for something for the babies, he has to buy Zach and Jude something so they don’t feel left out.”
“Aww, but that’s sweet,” Cassie said.
“Sweet and expensive,” Harley corrected her, “I can’t wait until he sees the price of formula,” she said, laughing.
After all three had made their purchases, they moved on to Toys R Us to begin their Christmas shopping for their children.
“You know, it was so much easier when the boys were younger and they were happy with an empty box for Christmas. Now they want video games and DVD players,” Blake said as they made their way through the aisles.
“We got a Playstation for the boys. I wanted it to keep them occupied when we’re busy with the babies, but I think Gus wanted it so he could play with it,” Harley said with a laugh.
“Ross is the same way. It must be a guy thing.”
“Oooh! Let’s go look at the baby stuff!” Cassie exclaimed as she grabbed both of their arms and pulled them to the baby section of the store.
They all “ooohed” and “awwwed” over the wide array of baby cribs, toys, and bedding. Blake and Cassie were amusing themselves with the toys on one of the walkers while Harley was looking at a crib set.
“Isn’t this adorable?” she said, showing them the bedding that had Snoopy on it with stars and moons.
“Awwww! It is adorable!” Cassie agreed, “and look at the mobile- little Snoopys holding blankets. What does it play?” she asked as she searched for where to wind it up at.
She found it and they heard “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” playing as the Snoopys rotated in mid-air.
“Aww, I just love this!” Harley said, “I have to bring Gus to see this.”
“All this stuff makes me want to have another baby!” Cassie said, “well, almost,” she added and Blake and Harley laughed.
They finally pulled themselves away from the baby stuff and finished their shopping in Toys R Us, then they headed to Olivia’s at the Beacon for dinner. While they were eating, Cassie excused herself and went out to the lobby. She called Gus and asked how much longer they needed to keep Harley busy.
“Give me an hour,” he said, “we’re just finishing up. Thanks Cassie.”
“No problem. See you in about an hour,” she said, then hung up and went back to her friends.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:52:01 GMT -5
An hour and a half later, Harley, Cassie and Blake headed back to Harley’s house. Cassie and Blake helped carry Harley’s shopping bags in the house.
“Thanks guys, you can just leave them on the couch,” she said.
“No, we’ll take them upstairs for you. We don’t want the boys to see them,” Cassie said.
“Thanks,” Harley replied, “Anyone home?” she yelled up the stairs.
“We’re up here!” she heard Gus reply.
She headed up the step with Blake and Cassie behind her. Gus was standing in the hallway at the top of the steps.
“Hey baby, how was your day?” he asked as he kissed her, then followed all three women into their bedroom.
“Hi,” she responded, “It was good.”
“Yeah? What did you buy?” he asked as he started looking through the bags that were thrown on the bed. When he came across and pink striped Victoria’s Secret bag, he looked at Harley with a naughty grin, “Ooh, is this for me?”
Harley grabbed his hands and pulled him away from the bag with a kiss, “Not if you keep being nosey,” she teased, “Why is it so quiet? Did you wear the boys out?”
“Well, actually, yeah. Jude is asleep- I think he’s out for the night. And Zach, well, come here,” he said as he grabbed her hand and led her down the hall to what used to be the guestroom with Blake and Cassie following them.
Gus stopped at he door, looked at Harley and slowly turned the knob, letting the door slowly creep open. Still holding her hand, Gus stepped into the room pulling her with him.
Harley gasped when she saw the room in front of her, “Oh my God,” she said as she looked around.
What was once their guestroom had been transformed into a bright, cheery nursery. The walls were painted a pale yellow and two white cribs sat in the middle of the room. Each one was filled the same Snoopy bedding that Harley saw at Toys R Us, with the Snoopy mobiles rotating and playing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. Also in the room was a changing table, a dresser, and a glider-rocker. At the top of the walls was a border that matched the crib bedding.
“Gus…” Harley whispered, “ You did all of this today?” she asked, a shocked expression still on her face.
“Yeah,” he replied, “Well, I had some help.”
Harley looked over at Susan and Zach who were standing by quietly waiting to see Harley’s reaction. Zach was covered from head to toe with streaks of yellow paint.
“Were you helping Gus paint, sweetie?” she asked and Zach nodded with big smile.
“I know we didn’t really talk about a theme or anything, but I saw this and really liked it, but the lady at the store said we could return it if you didn’t like it. And the border, well we can’t return that, but it was on sale, so it’s not a big deal if you don’t like it,” Gus said quickly, as if he needed to excuse what he had done.
“Gus,” Harley said through his rambling, “Gus…Gus! Stop it. I love it. I love all of it, thank you so much,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug.
“You like it?” he asked.
“It’s perfect! I can’t believe you guys did all of this in one day,” she said, then looked at Cassie and Blake, “Did you two know about this?”
“A little,” Blake said.
“Well, we knew what he was doing, but we didn’t know about the Snoopy stuff. How weird is that?” Cassie added.
“What?” Gus asked, confused.
“We were at Toys R Us and saw all this stuff and I fell in love with it,” Harley explained.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Sometimes I think we know each other too well,” she teased.
Gus laughed, “Seriously, is there anything you don’t like?”
“Well, it is missing a few things…”
“Like what?”
“Like two little babies sleeping in those cribs,” Harley replied.
Gus smiled at her, put his arm around her, pulled her close and kissed her cheek.
“Honey, they won’t be sleeping anywhere for a few months,” Blake jokingly warned.
Harley and Gus laughed and Harley went over to thank Susan with a hug.
“Whoa! What is that?” Susan said, pulling away from Harley.
“The babies are kicking,” Harley answered as she put her hand on her stomach.
“That’s so cool,” Susan said as she hesitantly touched Harley’s stomach.
“I wanna feel!” Zach said, feeling left out.
Gus picked Zach up and helped him find the spot where he could feel the kicking.
Zach’s eyes got big at the feeling, “That feels funny!” he giggled.
“That’s your little brother or sister,” Gus said, as his hand joined Zach’s on Harley’s stomach.
“Do you want a little brother or sister, Zach?” Blake asked him.
“A brudder!” he answered.
“Another one?” Blake teased.
“Come on, Zach, let’s go get you cleaned up,” Gus said as he put Zach down and ushered him out of the room into the bathroom to give him a bath.
“I have to go,” Blake said as she hugged Harley, “Ross is probably going crazy.”
“Yeah, I have to go too,” Cassie added.
“Thank you guys so much,” Harley said as she hugged her two best friends.
“See, now doesn’t Gus deserve that little present you bought?” Blake teased and Harley shot her a warning look because Susan was still in the room.
“What did you buy?” Susan asked casually.
“Ummm….” Harley stalled.
“You know what, I don’t want to know,” she said realizing what the present probably had to deal with.
Harley, Blake and Cassie laughed as Harley put her arm around Susan’s shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.
“You are growing up too fast,” Harley said as she and Susan followed Blake and Cassie into the hallway.
“Bye guys,” Harley said as Blake and Cassie left the house.
“Do you really like the nursery?” Susan asked, changing the subject.
“I really do.”
Susan smiled, “Good. Gus was so excited about doing this. He’s been planning it for over a week. You should have seen him at the store gushing over all the baby stuff. He’s going to be a really good dad.”
“Yes he is,” Harley agreed as they walked into Gus and Harley’s room.
“But the man cannot follow directions to save his life!” she laughed, “It took him over two hours to figure out how to put the crib together.”
Harley laughed.
“So what did you buy?” Susan asked.
“Well, I got these boots,” Harley replied as she pulled out a box containing a pair of dark brown suede knee high boots, “which you can wear until the babies are born and my ankles actually fit into them. And I bought some stuff for the boys. That’s about it,” she answered, both of them purposely ignoring the pink striped bag.
By the time Harley and Susan had went through all the bags and hid all the boys’ presents in the closet, Gus had finished giving Zach his bath and was putting him to bed.
“Oh mommy,” he said as he came into their bedroom, “Zach would like you to read to him.”
“Alright,” Harley said as she let out an exhausted sigh, “I’ll be right back,” she told Gus, her eyes sparkling as she gave him a quick kiss and went into the boys’ room.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:55:13 GMT -5
Harley came back into her and Gus’s room after she had finished reading one of Zach’s books with him.
“He is asleep. Finally,” she breathed a sigh of relief as she came back in the room.
Gus was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. Harley stood behind him and kissed his bare back right between the shoulder blades. She slid her arms around his waist and teased his stomach with her fingernails.
“Zach read almost that whole book to me. He’s either getting better at reading or he just knows it off by heart,” she told him.
Gus laughed, “I know. This morning at the store, he was reading off of all the packages. He was so proud of himself,” he said as he smiled into the mirror at Harley.
He wiped his mouth dry with a towel and turned around to face her. She moved her arms up his chest, over his shoulders and rested her hands on his upper arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss her, long and deep.
“Mmmm…minty fresh,” she teased as his lips moved from her mouth to behind her ear and down her neck.
A knock at their door stopped Gus’s roaming mouth.
Harley pulled away and went into the bedroom, “Come in,” she said and Susan appeared in the open door.
“Mom, would it be okay if Sam came to Grandpa’s with us on Thanksgiving?” she asked, “I mean, he’s staying at the mansion with Olivia but he doesn’t really want to spend the whole day with the Spaulding clan.”
“Can’t say I blame him,” Gus added as Harley sat down on the edge of the bed and took her shoes off.
“Yeah, Susan, that’s fine,” she answered as she laid back against the pillows, “I’ll call dad tomorrow and let him know.”
“Thanks. Good night.”
“Night,” Gus and Harley said in unison as Susan left, shutting the door behind her.
Gus climbed onto the bed and began massaging Harley’s tired feet.
“I missed you today,” he said quietly.
“You did?”
“Uh huh. I get spoiled spending every moment with you. You know, at work and then at home. I don't like it so much when those girls take you away from me.”
Harley smiled at him and settled back into the pillows, enjoying the foot rub her husband was giving her.
“Have I told you today how much I love you?” she asked.
“Probably,” Gus replied, “but I can always hear it again.”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Gus replied as he moved up on the bed and kissed her, taking her head in his hands.
“Are you tired?” he asked between passionate kisses.
“A little,” she answered, “but not too tired,” she added as she returned his kiss with the same passion.
He slowly began undoing the buttons on her shirt when they were interrupted by Jude screaming.
“Mama!”
They both sighed as Gus moved away from her.
“Stay here,” he said, “I’ll go get him back to sleep.” He rolled off the bed, grabbed his shirt off the chair and went to the boys’ room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ten minutes later, Gus returned to an empty bedroom.
“He’s out. He just wanted a drink of- wow,” he breathed when he saw Harley standing in the doorway of the bathroom wearing the black lace chemise she bought earlier that day.
After a few moments of Gus staring at her, Harley got self-conscious, “they made me buy it.”
“I knew those two were good for something,” he teased as they began walking towards each other.
“You look beautiful. You are so beautiful, Harley,” he told her as he took her face in his hands and kissed her softly.
She melted beneath his kisses. He always made her feel so beautiful, even now, almost seven months pregnant with twins, he made her feel sexy and wanted. She slid his shirt up his body and he stepped away from her to remove it completely.
She trailed her fingers down his torso and unbuttoned his jeans with a sly smile on her face. He smiled down at her as she pushed his jeans over his hips. He stepped out of them as he moved her to the bed and laid her down, climbing on top of her. He was supporting all of his weight by his arms. He went to kiss her and found the position way too uncomfortable to stay in for very long. Harley’s growing stomach was making this difficult.
He stopped trying to get to her mouth and looked down at her, “This isn’t going to work like this, is it?” he asked, laughing.
“No,” she sighed as he rolled off of her and laid beside her on the bed.
“That’s okay,” he whispered as he laid on his side and kissed her deeply.
He ran his hand through her hair as he kissed her and trailed his fingers down her arms, causing a warm shiver to go through her body. He moved his hand to her stomach, then down to her thigh, pushing the thin lace up her leg. He was shocked when she stopped responding to him and pulled away.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, worried.
“Nothing. I just…I have to pee,” she said, laughing, “sorry,” she apologized.
“That’s okay,” he said as she got up and went into the bathroom.
He sighed in frustration as he laid back on the bed. The babies weren’t even born yet and they could barely get a good kiss in before getting interrupted. He looked up and smiled when Harley came back into the room. God, she is so beautiful, he thought to himself. From the first moment he laid eyes on her, he thought she was the prettiest woman he had ever met. There was something so natural about her beauty. She didn’t need to cover her face with makeup, she was a classic beauty. And the fact that she was carrying his children made her even more beautiful to him. He got up off the bed when she walked back into the room and stood with her at the end of the bed.
“Better?” he teased.
“Not quite,” she said, “you still have some clothes on.”
“Yeah, so do you,” he said as he caught her lips with his and ran his hands over her curves until he found the place on her thighs where the lace ended and her bare skin began.
He slid his hands up her body, taking the lacy obstacle with them. As he pulled it over her head and flung it across the room she tugged at his briefs and finally they were free of all barriers. He took her in his arms and ran his hands up and down her back, enjoying the feel of her bare skin beneath his fingers as he placed soft kisses on her shoulders. Harley buried her face in his neck, inhaling the scent of him. It was a mixture of cologne, paint, and baby shampoo from Zach's bath.
She felt so complete standing there with his arms wrapped tightly around her. She lifted her head as he did and their mouths met. She pushed her tongue through his lips and he responded in kind. As his kisses moved down her neck to her chest, her head instinctively went back and she let out a little moan of pleasure. His lips traveled down her chest to her full breasts and he teased her hardened nipples with his tongue.
“Gus,” she breathed when she couldn’t take the teasing anymore and he moved her over to the bed. He pulled down the covers, laid down and she climbed on top of him, guiding him into her. With his hands on her hips and looking deep into his eyes, she rocked her body against his. Within moments, his eyes closed and his hips rose to meet hers. Harley moved his hands from her hips and threaded her fingers through his, holding his hands against the bed, causing him to open his eyes again. Their bodies moved together until Gus’s back arched beneath her and she leaned forward placing a deep kiss on his lips and they both cried out in release. She loosened her grip on his hands and he moved her up on the bed with him until he was sitting up with her in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his arms held her as close to him as possible.
“I love you,” he whispered as she felt his breath move over her lips.
“I love you,” she replied, caressing his rough cheek with her smooth fingers.
They stayed in this position, holding and kissing each other until Harley’s eyelids fell heavy with exhaustion and Gus moved to lay her on the bed beside him. He held her in his arms caressing her skin with gentle kisses while she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:55:39 GMT -5
Gus smiled at Harley across the table in the interrogation room. She was seated across from a perp who was signing a confession. Gus paced behind him as he signed. It was Harley’s last day of work before she went on maternity leave and two days before Christmas. When the perp was done reading and signing, he slid the confession across the table to Harley. Gus pulled him up from the chair roughly, dragged him out of the room, and passed him off to an officer and turned around to see Harley coming out the interrogation room.
“That was a good way to end your last day,” he said as they walked back to their desks.
“Yeah, it was, but I am so ready to go home,” she replied as she fell into her chair and Chief Franklin approached them.
“Trying to get out of here early, detective?”
“Nope. Our shift ended 15 minutes ago. Here is your confession. Kennedy took him downstairs,” Harley said as she handed him the signed confession.
“Nice work. So it’s your last day, huh?”
“Yep. Don’t miss me too much,” she teasted.
Franklin laughed, “I’ll try. Listen, I was talking to the commissioner and he agreed with me that you should get some time off too, Gus.”
“Thanks Chief, but we can’t really afford for both of us not to be working,” Gus replied.
“Well, okay then. Let’s work something out. How about you come into work one day a week and the other four you can be on-call and do your paperwork at home. That way I can keep you on salary. You two have been training these new guys for months and I can keep them here as long as I need them. Between them, Frank, Davis, and O’Donnel, I think we can manage without you for a few weeks.”
Gus looked at him, then at Harley, then back at Franklin, “Thanks a lot Chief. That sounds great.”
“No problem. Take some time, take care of your wife and spend some time with your kids. I know how much you miss if you’re working all the time their first few months. And a lot of the paperwork you would be doing here can be done just as easily at home.
“Alright, thank you,” Gus said again.
Franklin nodded, “You can start when the babies are born and we can negotiate how long you’re off later.”
“Thank you,” Harley added.
“Take care of yourself and those babies. Don’t forget about us though,” Franklin said as he hugged Harley then went back into his office.
“Hey sis, last day, huh?” Frank asked as he came into the station.
“Yep,” Harley replied as she handed a stack of file folders.
“Are you guys done? You going home?” he asked them.
“Yeah,” Gus replied, then realized something, “Oh, damn.”
“What?” Harley asked.
“I forgot I’m supposed to meet Ross at Olivia’s to discuss the Janosko case. That’s okay, I’ll take you home and I’ll just call him and tell him I’ll be a little late,” he said.
“I can take her home,” Frank said, “I was on my way out anyway.”
“Uh, okay. Is that okay?” he asked Harley who nodded. “Alright. Frank, ask Kristen to stay until I get home, no matter how much Harley tells her she can go. She can’t.”
“You bet,” Frank answered as Harley got up from her chair.
“I’ll be home as soon as I can,” Gus said as Harley kissed him goodbye, then she and Frank left the station.
Gus signed off on some cases then headed out to meet Ross at the Beacon.
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“Hi Mommy!” Zach exclaimed as he ran into the living room when he heard the door open with Jude trailing behind him.
“Hey my big guys!” Harley greeted as she sat on the couch and they jumped up beside her and gave her big hugs.
“Hey,” Kristen said as she came into the living room too, “hi Frank.”
“Hi Kristen. Gus had a meeting, so would you mind staying until he got home?” Frank asked.
“Oh, sure. That’s no problem. I was just going to take the boys outside for a little bit if that’s okay?”
“Of course. Thank you,” Harley replied. “You guys wanna go play in the snow?”
“Yeah!” Zach exclaimed as he jumped to his feet on the couch, “Mommy, come with us!”
“Honey, Mommy’s tired, so I’m gonna lay here for awhile, but if you guys go build a snowman for me, I will come out and see it, okay?” Harley said.
“Okay Mommy,” Zach replied as he jumped off the couch and followed Kristen and Jude to change into their snow suits.
After the boys had gone outside Frank turned to Harley, “So how are you feeling?”
“I’m tired. But I feel good. Everything is fine with the babies, and Gus is absolutely amazing. He takes such good care of me and the boys, Frank. I don’t know what I would do without him.”
“Well, you wouldn’t be pregnant with twins…”
Harley laughed, “True. But Frank, honestly, you have no idea how happy I am. After Jude was born, I thought I was done having kids, you know, three was plenty. But when I found out I was pregnant it just seemed so right. And then twins, what a shock, but a good one. And now it just feels like the twins belong here. Like they’re already a part of the family and it’s perfect. Zach reads stories to the babies and Jude tries to sing to them, it’s so funny, but it’s perfect. For the first time in life, everything is perfect, Frank. I have a wonderful, loving husband who puts me and my children first, and now we have twins on the way. I couldn’t imagine life getting any better than it is right now.”
Frank leaned over and kissed Harley’s forehead, “I’m glad to hear it, sis. Can I get you anything?”
“Yeah, water, please? I’m dying of thirst.”
“No problem,” Frank said as he got up and went into the kitchen.
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Gus walked into Olivia’s bar at the Beacon and saw Ross sitting at a table across the room. He walked over and joined him.
“Hi, Ross. Sorry, I’m late,” he said as he shook Ross’s hand.
“Oh, not a problem. I was just going over some last minute details here.”
“Sir, can I get you a drink?” a waitress asked Gus.
“Uh, just ice water, please,” he replied.
Ross and Gus spent the next 15 minutes going over the Janosko case and as Ross was putting his information back into his briefcase Gus stopped him.
“Ross, do you have a few minutes? I have some stuff I want to talk to you about.”
“Sure, Gus, what’s up?”
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:55:54 GMT -5
“Thank you,” Gus said to the waitress as she refilled their water glasses.
After she had left, Ross turned back to Gus.
“So, what’s on your mind, Gus?”
“Well,” Gus stalled, “I feel kind of weird talking to you about this. I mean, I don’t usually open up like this to anyone, well, at least not anyone but Harley. Anyway, when Blake was pregnant, how did you feel? I mean, to be honest with you, I am scared to death.”
“Gus Aitoro, scared? I don’t believe it,” Ross teased, but Gus wasn’t laughing. “Okay, so what are you so scared of, exactly?”
“All of it. The labor, the delivery, being a father, just everything.”
“The labor and delivery? Gus, you have the easy job in that.”
“Not me, I mean for Harley. What if something went wrong? I don’t know what I would do if…”
“Gus, Harley is healthy. She’s done this before. I highly doubt anything will go wrong,” Ross assured him.
“And as for the being a father part, you’re already pretty much a father to Susan, Zach and Jude,” Ross continued.
“Yeah, I know, but it’s different, somehow. I love them like my own, but this whole having someone who is part of me, and I’m responsible for them, it just boggles my mind sometimes,” Gus opened up, “and it’s not just one, it’s two. Sometimes dealing with Zach and Jude is overwhelming, and now we’re going to have two helpless babies too?”
“I know. I mean, when Kevin and Jason were born, my daughter was already all grown up and we didn’t have any other kids, I can’t imagine raising twins with two other kids under 5 too.”
“Thanks, Ross, you’re really helping.”
Ross laughed, “I’m sorry, Gus, I guess I’m not.”
“No, it’s fine. I guess I just needed to tell someone all of that.”
“Have you told Harley any of this?” Ross asked.
Gus shook his head, “No. She’s just dealing with a lot right now. Plus she thinks I’m like this Super Husband, I don’t want to make her think otherwise. It works well for me,” he teased.
“I think you should talk to her Gus. Knowing Harley, she would be upset if you didn’t. And she can probably tell you’re a little freaked. She knows you pretty well.”
“Yeah, she does.”
“Talk to her, now, before things get even more hectic. And can I give you some advice?”
“Please,” Gus replied.
“Just enjoy it. Enjoy your pregnant wife. If I remember correctly, Blake was never more beautiful than when she was pregnant.” Gus nodded and Ross continued, “Enjoy every spare minute you have alone with her, because once those babies are born, you’ll be lucky if you two are ever awake at the same time, let alone have any real time together. And every once in awhile, make time for just the two of you. Even if you just send the boys to their fathers, have Buzz take the twins for a few hours and you just stay home and sleep. After those babies are born, things will never be the same between you and Harley. You’re both going to be moody and tired and you’re going to argue over the stupidest things, but it’s also going to be the best time for you two. Cause any connection that you have now is going to be so much stronger when you see those babies and raise them together. Being a father is the best thing that you will ever do in your life. Trust me.”
Gus was all smiles by the time Ross was done talking, “Thanks so much, Ross. For everything, for listening and for the advice. I mean, I don’t really have anyone to talk to. I haven’t exactly made a lot of friends in this town.”
“Well, you made this friend. I saw what you did when you first came to town, but I’ve also seen you since then. I’ve seen you with Harley and with the boys. You’re a good man. And you’re going to be a great dad. And if you ever need to talk, don’t hesitate to call me.”
“Thanks.”
“So, do you guys have any names picked out yet?” Ross asked.
“Uh no, actually we haven’t really even talked about that yet,” Gus replied.
“Well, you’re running out of time. And you have two names to come up with,” he finished as he got up and buttoned his suit jacket.
Gus got up with him and shook his hand, thanking him again.
Ross nodded and left Olivia’s. Gus soon followed and headed home, but he had one stop to make first.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:56:58 GMT -5
Harley just woke up from a little nap when Frank came in from the kitchen where he was calling into the station, answering a page. He sat on the end of the couch with her.
“Did you have a good nap?” he asked.
Harley stretched and sighed, “Yeah.”
“What is the deal with your hair?” he teased.
“What?” she asked as she reached up to her hair to see what he was talking about.
“It’s sticking up all over the place,” he laughed as he reached over to smooth her hair down.
“It’s from these pillows, they make my hair all staticy,” she said.
“Staticy? Is that even a word?” Frank teased.
“Hell, if I know. It sounds right though,” she laughed as the front door opened and Gus came in.
“Hey,” he said as he quickly hung up his coat and put a bag in the closet.
“Hi, how was your meeting?” Harley asked as he came over to the couch and bent down to kiss her. He just placed a quick kiss on her lips, but she pulled him back down for a longer one that made Frank squirm at the end of the couch.
“Mmm, it was good,” Gus smiled at her. “Is Kristen still here?” he asked Frank.
“Yeah, she’s outside with the boys,” he replied.
“Oh, okay.”
“Mommy!!” Zach screamed as he tore into the living, leaving a trail of snow behind him.
“Zach! You’re getting snow all over the place!” Harley exclaimed.
“Gus! Come see our snowman!”
Gus grabbed Harley’s hand and pulled her off the couch and the two of them and Frank followed Zach back outside where Kristen and Jude were putting the finishing touches on a little snowman. They had raided the kitchen and completed the snowman with a carrot nose and grapes for eyes. There were pieces of black licorice sticking out of the top of the snowman.
“It looks great, sweetie,” Harley said, “but what are these?” she asked, pointing to the licorice.
“That’s his hair,” Zach said as if it should have been obvious. “He has hair like Gus!” he added with a big smile and a giggle.
Harley laughed and ran her hand throught Gus’s hair, “It does kinda look the same,” she teased.
Gus laughed and pulled Harley close to him, “You guys did a great job. How about some hot chocolate?”
“Yea!” Zach and Jude exclaimed together and they ran into the house.
“I’ll get them out of their wet clothes,” Kristen said as she took their snowsuits off and chased them upstairs to change.
“Thank you,” Harley said after her as she put some water on the stove for the boys.
“I’m going to go, guys. I have to go back and finish some stuff at the station,” Frank said as he kissed Harley’s cheek, “I’ll talk to you later. Bye Gus.”
“Bye Frank. Thanks,” Gus said as Frank left the kitchen and then the house.
By the time Gus and Harley had finished making the hot chocolate and let it cool for awhile, Zach and Jude were back downstairs. Harley put marshmallows in their cups as Gus paid Kristen and thanked her for staying longer and then he walked her to the door.
For the next half hour, Zach and Jude rambled on about their day. Gus sat back in his chair watching the boys slurp their hot chocolate and talk about their day and he thought about the talk he had with Ross earlier. He knew that Ross was right, no matter how hard or overwhelming being a father and a step-father would be, it was all worth it. He looked across the table at Harley who was listening to Zach intently and they met eyes and shared a smiled.
“Alright guys, it’s time for your bath and it’s almost bedtime,” Gus said as he got up and pulled the boys away from their hot chocolate. While Zach ran upstairs, Jude stood at Gus’s feet and held his arms up for Gus to pick him up. He could tell that Jude was tired and would easily fall asleep right after his bath.
While Gus was upstairs giving Zach and Jude a bath, Harley was cleaning up in the kitchen when Susan came home.
“Hi, mom,” she said as she came into the kitchen, “Where is everyone?”
“Hi, sweetie. It’s bath time.”
“Ahh,” she replied, knowing that meant bath time for the boys and for Gus since they usually ended up soaking him during the process.
Upstairs as Gus was washing the boys’ hair, he ended up with bubbles in his hair too and his shirt front soaked. Since it was still pretty early, he sat back and let the boys play in the water for awhile. Susan and Harley came upstairs and went into Harley and Gus’s bedroom.
Gus got Jude out of the bathtub first because he was starting to rub his eyes tiredly. He put him in his pajamas and sent him in to Harley to say goodnight while he got Zach out of the tub. He dried him off and sent him to his room to put his pajamas on. Gus went and joined Harley, Susan and Jude in the bedroom and saw Jude zonked out on the end of the bed.
“He’s out, already?” he asked with a laugh.
“Yeah, Kristen must have really kept them busy today. Bless her,” she teased.
“So is that a yes?” Susan asked.
“Is what a yes?” Gus asked.
“Susan wants to go skiing in three weeks,” Harley replied.
“Oh,” Gus said nonchalantly.
“With Sam,” she added.
“Oh.” he added, his eyebrows raised.
“Well, it’s not just me and Sam. Tammy and Lizzie are going to be there, and Marina, and Shayne,” Susan said, looking at Gus for support.
“Don’t look at me,” he said.
“I’ll think about it, Susan,” Harley said.
While they were talking, Zach ran past their door naked.
“Alan Cooper Spaulding! Go get your pajamas on!” Harley yelled as he continued running through the hallway in and out of rooms.
“Why did we give him chocolate?” Gus asked jokingly.
“What is wrong with that kid? It’s 20 degrees outside and he’s running around naked,” Harley said, shaking her head.
“He must get it from Phillip. I can’t get you to run around the house naked. And God knows I’ve tried,” Gus teased as he stood behind Harley and kissed her on the neck right below her ear. He whispered it, but it was still loud enough for Susan to hear.
“Okay! That’s my cue to leave,” Susan said, “Do you want me to put him in bed?” she asked motioning to Jude who still slept, even through Zach’s shrieks.
“No, I’ll get him and make sure Zach gets dressed and in bed. Night, Susan,” Gus said as he picked up Jude and chased Zach into the boys’ room.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:57:16 GMT -5
“Zach!” Gus said sternly but quietly so he wouldn’t wake Jude, “Come on, it’s time for bed.”
“I wanna play!”
“Zach,” Harley warned him from the doorway, “Bed. Now.”
Zach stop playing with his firetruck and climbed into bed and wrapped his arms tightly around Harley’s neck as she sat on the bed beside Gus. Harley gave him a big kiss and tucked him in. She finally got him to close his eyes and he quickly fell asleep once he gave in. Gus shut off the light and he and Harley left the boys’ room and went into their own.
“Are you ready for bed?” Gus asked her.
“Well, I’m not really ready to go to sleep, but I wouldn’t mind getting into bed,” she replied.
“Okay, good. Cause I have something for you.”
“Oh, what?”
“Well, it’s a little present,” Gus answered.
Harley’s eyes lit up like a little kid’s at the mention of the word present, “Oh goody! I like presents.”
“Well, why don’t you get ready and get into bed and I’ll be right back,” Gus said as he kissed her and headed downstairs to retrieve the bag from the coat closet.
When he got back upstairs he quickly changed into his pajama pants and crawled into bed with Harley, present in hand.
The box was neatly wrapped in solid blue paper and topped off with a ribbon and bow.
“Did you wrap this?” Harley teased.
“Actually, I did,” he replied, smiling proudly.
“You did? It looks great.”
“Well, how about looking inside?” Gus urged.
“Okay,” Harley said excitedly as she slowly unwrapped the box. She paused before she removed the lid, and when she looked inside she saw a book. She pulled it out of the box and looked at it. The cover was blue and pink covered with bottles and rattles. It was a Baby Name Book.
“I hope you weren’t expecting like jewelry or something,” Gus laughed, “But we haven’t really talked about names, and I thought that maybe we could start talking about it.”
When Harley looked up from the book at Gus, her eyes were filled with tears.
“Thank you,” she said as she leaned over and placed a loving kiss on his lips.
“Why are you crying?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, it’s just so sweet of you. I mean, I never really thought about names before, for any of my kids. We named Zach after Alan, and then he got his nickname from something Phillip wrote and Jude, well, you know how Jude was named, it was really random. But I really like the idea of picking out names that mean something. And I really like that you do too,” she answered, tears slowly running down her face.
Gus took her face in his hands and smoothed the tears off of her cheeks with his thumbs, “I really didn’t want to make you cry,” he teased.
“I’m sorry,” she laughed, “I’ve just been really emotional lately.”
“Well, as long as they’re not sad tears, I guess it’s okay. So let’s look at at some names. Do you have any in mind?” he asked her.
“Well, actually, I do. If we have a boy, I want him to be named Nicholas Joseph. Other than that, I have no real requests,” she replied and Gus looked at her, this time, it was his turn to have tears in his eyes.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Gus said quietly.
Harley smiled, “So do you have any requests?” she asked.
“No, not really. Let’s just flip to a page and pick a name,” he suggested and Harley nodded in agreement.
Gus fanned the book and stopped on a random page. He closed his eyes and ran his finger down the page. When he stopped his finger, he opened his eyes and read the name and meaning to Harley.
“Hannah: a 2-syllable girl's name of Hebrew origin, that means ‘Gracious and merciful’”
“That’s pretty,” Harley said, “what else?”
Gus flipped back a few pages and picked another name, “Abigail: a 3-syllable girl's name of Hebrew origin, that means ‘A fathers source of joy’.”
“I like that one,” he smiled at her.
“I do too. Abigail Aitoro. I like that. We could call her Abby,” Harley said, “We’ll have to remember that. Write it down, cause I’ll probably forget,” she teased and he searched in the nightstand for a piece of paper and a pen.
He wrote down the name Abigail then went back to the book.
“What about Anthony? Or Antonio? That’s a good, Italian name for a boy,” Gus suggested and got a weird look back from Harley, “What?”
“Mallet’s name was Anthony,” she explained, “let’s not go there.”
“Oh. Yeah, sorry, forget Anthony. What else do we have here?” he wondered out loud as Harley laid her head on his chest and looked at the book with him.
“Ooh, what about Lucas?” she said, pointing to the meaning, “’Light’, it’s not very deep, but I like the name.”
“I like it. I’ll write it down,” Gus said as he scratched it down on the paper. “Okay, so we have two boys names and one girl name. We need at least one more name for a girl.”
“What about Katherine? We could call her Katie? Or Grace, oh, I love the name Grace,” Harley said excitedly.
Gus scribbled both names down quickly and threw the book and the notebook on the floor beside the bed and scooted down so that his head was next to Harley’s.
“I want to talk to you about something,” he said.
Harley looked up at him, “What, honey?”
“Umm, I don’t really know how to say this but to come right out and say it. I am scared to death,” he said.
She reached her hand up to his face and caressed his stubbly cheek, “About what?”
“Just about being a father, it just has really been freaking me out.”
“Oh, baby, why didn’t you say something? We could have talked about it,” Harley said.
“I know, well, I actually talked to Ross today and he helped a lot. But I did want to talk to you about it.”
“Honey, I know it’s scary. You don’t think every time I found out I was pregnant I wasn’t scared to death? It’s like in a matter of seconds, you’re entire life changes. All of a sudden you’re responsible for another person. It’s scary. But, Gus, you are going to be such a great dad. I know you are, you are fabulous with Zach and Jude, and you will be fabulous with these babies too. Don’t be scared, we’re going to do this together. And it’s going to be hard, I’m not going to tell you that it won’t be, but we’re going to be fine, okay?”
Gus pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her deeply, “I love you so much, Harley.”
“I love you too,” she replied as they settled into each other’s arms and fell asleep.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:57:53 GMT -5
Gus sighed as once again Harley sat up in bed and repositioned herself.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“I can’t just can’t get comfortable,” Harley answered as she got out of bed and went into the bathroom.
Gus looked at the clock: 3:49am. It was the third time in the last two hours that Harley had gotten up to change positions or to go to the bathroom. When Harley returned to the bedroom Gus was sitting up in bed.
“Sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay. Do you need anything?” he asked with a yawn.
“Yes. I need to have these babies so I can sleep. I think we’re having two acrobats. They haven’t stopped moving around all night,” she replied as she stood by Gus’s side of the bed.
Gus reached up and placed his hand over her stomach. She smiled down at him as he moved his hand around her stomach to her lower back as he massaged it gently. She loved to watch his face light up when he felt the babies kicking. She leaned down and kissed him deeply. He scooted over to her side of the bed and pulled her down next to him. She laid on her side with her back to him and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck.
“Oh, honey, please! It’s so hot,” she complained as she flung his arm off of her.
Gus sighed and rolled over, pulling the comforter up higher around his shoulders. Harley heard his sigh and turned her head to see him with his back to her now. She reached out and took his hand in hers. He rolled back over, kissed her shoulder, and fell asleep holding her hand.
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Only 2 hours after they had both fallen asleep again, Gus and Harley were awakened by Zach and Jude wriggling between them in bed.
Harley looked at the clock, “Guys, go back to bed. It’s too early.”
“But Mommy, we wanna open our presents!” Zach exclaimed.
“I know you do sweetie, but we told you not until the clock says 8. What time does the clock say right now?”
Zach looked at the clock, “Six, oh, seven.”
“See, it’s too early. Go back to bed until the clock says eight, oh, oh.”
“Can we sleep in here?” he asked as he slid under the covers without waiting for her response.
Harley rolled over and saw that Jude had already sprawled out on Gus’s chest and fallen back asleep.
“Yes, you can sleep in here, but you have to be quiet and still,” she warned and Zach snuggled up against her.
“Don’t kick Mommy’s belly, "Gus reminded him before they all fell back asleep.
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When Harley woke up again, the clock beside their bed said 8:20 and both boys were still asleep. Gus was awake but didn’t want to move because Jude was still sound asleep on his chest.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Harley whispered as she gently pulled away from Zach. He stirred in his sleep, and she paused, hoping she didn’t wake him up. Instead, he rolled over and snuggled up to Gus.
Harley smiled at him, “I’ll hurry,” she promised as she went into the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later she returned showered and dressed and Zach was still sleeping. Jude was awake, but was quietly running a truck up and down Gus’s arms and across his chest.
“Shhh,” Gus whispered to Jude as he moved him onto the bed beside Zach and got up.
He went over to Harley who was at the dresser looking for a necklace. He stood behind her and kissed her neck.
“Merry Christmas,” he said quietly as he clasped the necklace for her.
She turned around and put her arms around his neck, “Merry Christmas,” she replied as she kissed him. “Go get a shower. Dad, Frank and Marina will be here in 20 minutes and I’d like him to sleep as long as possible.”
“I’ll be quiet,” he said as he went to take a shower.
Harley went over to the bed and took Jude’s hand, “Come on, sweetie, let’s go get you dressed,” she said as she led him out of the room into the room he shared with his brother.
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“Ho ho ho!”
“Grandpa!” Zach and Jude exclaimed when Buzz opened the door wearing a santa hat and carrying a stack of presents.
“Hey, my big boys!” he replied as they attached themselves to his legs.
He looked at Gus and Harley who were sitting on the couch, “What did you feed these two?”
“Hey guys, come on, let Grandpa in the house before you attack him,” Gus said as Frank and Marina came in behind Buzz.
“Merry Christmas!” they exclaimed and everyone exchanged hugs and greetings.
“Thanks for waiting for us,” Buzz said, motioning to the crinkled up wrapping paper that surrounded Gus and Harley on the couch.
“Well, you were a half-hour late and they we getting restless, so we let them open one gift each. Of course, they picked the biggest,” Harley replied.
“Well, someone wouldn’t get up this morning,” Frank said, rolling his eyes at Marina.
“Excuse me, this is my vacation. I just wanted to sleep in a little,” Marina explained.
“Mommy, can we open our presents now?” Zach asked excitedly.
“Yes,” Harley answered and both boys flew to their piles of presents and tore into them.
Zach, Jude, Susan and Marina all took turns opening their gifts while Buzz, Frank, Harley and Gus watched them.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:59:19 GMT -5
After all the presents had been opened and their meal was over, they all sat in the living room talking, laughing, and watching Zach and Jude play with all their new toys.
When the doorbell rang, Buzz got up to answer it. On the other side were Ross, Blake, Kevin, Jason and Clarissa.
“Merry Christmas!” they all greeted when the door was opened and Buzz welcomed them inside.
The kids immediately joined Zach and Jude with their toys and Gus and Harley greeted Blake and Ross.
“Gus, how you doing?” Ross asked as he shook his hand.
“I’m good, Ross, thanks.”
Harley got up and hugged Blake, “I’m so glad you could come! Where’s Holly?”
“Oh, she’s at the Bauer’s. And thank you for inviting us. The kids are so excited to have someone to play with. Especially when they heard the boys got Playstation 2. It doesn’t matter that they have Playstation1, and they are virtually the same thing,” Blake laughed.
Harley laughed and turned to see Gus trying to hook the video game up to the TV.
“Do you want a drink or something?” she asked.
“No, I’m good for now,” Blake replied as she pushed her hair behind her ears.
“Whoa! Looks like someone got diamonds for Christmas,” Harley said when she saw Blake’s earrings.
“Yes, and a necklace and bracelet,” Blake bragged showing off her jewelry.
“Damn. Ross must have won a big case,” Harley teased.
“Nah, he just likes to spoil me,” Blake replied. “So what did you get?”
“Actually, Gus and I decided not to exchange gifts this year. Although I did get him something because I saw it and couldn’t resist,” she said and told Blake about the gift she got Gus, then she continued, “But we decided that instead of spending money on each other now, in a few months when things settle down with the kids, we would ship the boys off to their dads and get someone to watch the twins and we would go away for a weekend and just spend some time together,” Harley explained, “And it will probably be around our anniversary by that time too, so it works out well.”
“Oh, I volunteer to take the twins!”
Harley laughed, “Well, thank you, but I won’t hold you to that.”
“Why? Let Auntie Blake spoil them.”
“They’re not even born yet, and you might change your mind by that time.”
“No way. We will gladly watch them if you and Gus want to go away,” Blake said.
“Thanks,” Harley replied.
“So, no jewelry or anything?” Blake asked and Harley laughed.
“No. But I don’t care. I know it sounds corny, but getting to spend time with him is all the gift I need,” Harley said and then rolled her eyes at how cheesy that sounded.
“Awww, I’m so jealous. You two are still in that whole newlywed, want-to-spend-every-waking-moment-together stage. It’s cute,” Blake teased.
Harley smiled and looked over at Gus who had just taken the game controller off of Zach claiming he could help him win. She rolled her eyes at Blake and they went over to sit on the couch.
“Honey,” Harley said as she ran her hand through Gus’s hair, “let the kids play,” she teased.
He looked up at her and pouted. He gave the controller back to Zach and got up. He walked behind the couch and whispered in her ear.
“Come with me.”
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:59:59 GMT -5
She got up and followed him over to the bottom of the stairs. He went over to the closet for a second then returned.
“I know we said we weren’t going to exchange gifts, but I got you something anyway,” he said as he pulled a small, long box from behind his back. It was wrapped in silver paper and he handed it to her.
“Gus,” she said, but he stopped her.
“Open it.”
She unwrapped the box and slowly opened it. Laying in the box was a gold bracelet with seven gemstones on it. On one side was Harley’s birthstone and on the other end was Gus’s. In between were Susan, Zach and Jude’s birthstones and even two garnet ones for the twins.
“Turn it over,” he suggested and she did.
Our family was engraved on the other side of the bracelet and Harley’s eyes were filled with tears when she looked up at Gus.
“Thank you,” she whispered, “it’s beautiful,” she said as she reached up and kissed him.
“I know it’s not big or anything even close to what you should get, but…” he began but she silenced him by putting her finger to his mouth.
“Stop it. I love it. Thank you so much. I have something for you too,” she added and she went upstairs to get his gift.
When she returned she handed it to him and he unwrapped the box. He put the paper on the stairs and took off the lid.
He pulled out a picture frame with four spaces in it. In one was a picture of him and his dad when he was young. He was wearing a baseball hat and glove and Joe was kneeling beside him smiling proudly. In another was a copy of the picture of him and Harley that sat by their bed that was taken at Josh and Reva’s wedding. In a third was a snapshot that Harley took of Gus with Zach, Jude and Susan in the backyard after they had played a game of baseball. In the fourth space was a sonogram picture of the twins. Engraved in the oak frame around the pictures were two quotes: “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” and “It is much easier to become a father than to be one.”
As he was about to look up at Harley, he saw an envelope in the bottom of the box with his name on it. He took out the envelope, put the frame back in the box and placed it on the steps.
“Should I open this now?” he asked quietly, his eyes brimming with tears.
Harley nodded and he opened up the envelope and pulled out a letter.
Gus,
I know we decided not to get each other anything this Christmas, but I got this idea and wanted to give it to you. I figured you could put the pictures on your desk at the station so that even when you are at work, a part of you is always with our family.
My choice of pictures is probably pretty obvious, but I wanted to explain why I picked them anyway. I know how important your father was, and still is, to you. What little time you got to spend with him is so precious and I know you hold it so close to your heart. You may not have grown up with your father raising you, but you grew into an amazing man that he would be so proud of.
I know you are nervous about being a father, but I want you to know that I know you will be a wonderful father to our children. I know that because you know what a good father is. You had a wonderful father when you were young, and you know how important a father is in a child’s life. And I know you will be a great father because you are already a wonderful stepfather to Susan, Zach and Jude. They adore you, and although you aren’t their biological father, I know they think of you as if you were. Zach and Jude are so lucky to have two fathers who love them. You spend more time with them sometimes than Phillip and Rick do, you read to them at night, you hold them when they are sick, and though they may not realize it now, the time they spend with you will be so important when they grow up. You help shape the people that they become, and they couldn’t have a better role model. It means so much to me when I see you with my children. I picked the quote “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother,” because I really believe that is true. I can’t even begin to explain how in love with you I am when I see you with the kids, when you smile at their accomplishments or when you dry their tears. The love and respect that you and I have for each other means so much to me, and I love that the boys are growing up seeing that, and seeing how they should treat women with love and respect. They will be great fathers because they have great fathers and a great stepfather. You are a father to Susan, Zach and Jude in every way that counts, and I want you to know how much that means to me.
For the fourth picture, I put in a sonogram of the twins until we can get an actual picture taken of them. I can’t wait to see you with them. I love the way your eyes light up when you feel them kicking and I can’t wait to see you the first time you hold them or the first time they smile at you.
Besides my children, your love is the greatest gift I have ever received. It was something I never expected to experience again in my life, and something I didn’t even think I wanted to experience again. But my life has been so much better since the day I met you, even when I think back to when we were crammed into that little office when we couldn’t stand each other, I smile because of how silly it all was. The past three years have been the best years of my life, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives with you raising our children and growing old together.
I love you so much, Gus, and I hope I never give you any reason to doubt my love. Thank you for loving me, for loving my children like your own, and for helping me create these babies that are already a blessing to our family.
Merry Christmas, honey. I love you.
Harley
While Gus was reading the letter, Harley saw the tears running down his face and wanted to reach out and wipe them away, but she waited until he was done reading.
When he finished he looked up at her and smiled. With her thumbs she wiped away his tears and he pulled her into a hug. For about five minutes, they just stood at the bottom of the stairs holding each other while everyone around them talked and laughed.
Gus pulled his head away and held her head in his hands.
“Thank you baby. This is the best gift I have ever gotten. It means so much to me, the pictures, the letter. You make it sound like my loving you is such work for me, like you have to thank me for it, but baby, you make it so easy to love you. I’m the one who should be thanking you for loving me. My life was nothing until I met you and I don’t even deserve to spend my life with you and the kids,” he said quietly.
“Gus,” Harley said shaking her head, “I hate when you talk like that. You are a wonderful man.”
“I’m going to be a good father to these babies, Harley, I promise.”
“I know you will,” she said as she pulled him down to her for a kiss.
Their kiss was full of love, for each other, and for the family they shared. At that moment, Gus made a promise to himself, Harley, and their children that he would never let them down and he thanked God for blessing him with so much love.
Blake looked over at Gus and Harley and saw them in a tight embrace. She smiled knowing that her best friend had finally found the man of her dreams.
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After Gus helped Harley put her bracelet on, they joined everyone else in the living room.
“So, have you guys picked out any names yet?” Frank asked.
“Uh, yeah, we have,” Gus answered, but didn’t say any more.
“Well?” Blake said, “What are they?”
Harley looked at Gus and then back at Blake, “We don’t want to say.”
“Why not?” Ross asked.
“Well, it’s just that when you tell people names that you are thinking about, everyone has an opinion, and we just want to wait until they are born, and then they are named and permanent and no one can say anything about them,” Harley explained.
“So, our opinion doesn’t matter?” Buzz asked.
“Not when it comes to naming our children,” Harley replied.
“It’s nothing personal, we just want to wait to tell everyone so that when the babies are born, no one is thinking, ‘oh, she could have been named so-and-so, or I liked the other name better.’” Gus added.
“But we have four names picked out. Two boys and two girls and we have chosen one of each if we have one of each,” Harley said, smiling.
“Well, that makes sense,” Blake said, “I mean the whole not telling people thing. That makes it easier for you guys.”
“Thank you,” Harley replied and they changed the subject.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Later that evening, Phillip and Rick came to pick up Zach and Jude to take them for a few days and Susan went back to the mansion with Phillip to see Sam. After everyone else had left, they went upstairs to go to bed since neither of them had a very good night’s sleep the night before.
Gus took his picture frame out of the box and put it on the dresser.
“Until I can put it on my desk,” he explained as Harley smiled and went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.
Gus picked up the frame and looked at it, his fingers moving over each of the pictures. He paused on the picture of him and his father and talked quietly to Joe.
“Thank you for teaching me how to be a good dad. Harley has always told me I would make you proud as a cop, and I hope I make you proud as a husband and father too. I wish you were here,” he finished as Harley came back into the room and stood behind him.
“Did you say something?” she asked.
Gus shook his head, “No. Let’s go to bed,” he said and they quickly fell asleep in each other’s arms.
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Post by Jen on Jan 13, 2005 18:48:42 GMT -5
Three weeks after Christmas, Susan was in the mountains skiing for the weekend with Sam, Marina, Shayne, Tammy and Lizzie and Phillip and Rick were picking up Zach and Jude for the weekend early Saturday. Just as Harley and Gus got into bed Friday night, Gus’s cell phone rang. One of the officers found a body alongside the road while he was patrolling, and the Chief needed him to come in to investigate.
“I gotta go in,” he explained as he reached over and kissed Harley.
“Right now?” she asked.
“Yeah. Patrick found a body while he was out patrolling. It’s probably a simple John Doe, but I just have to be there when Forensics gets there. I shouldn’t be gone too long, get some sleep,” he said as he got up and quickly dressed.
He put his gun holster on, then sat down on the bed next to Harley to put his shoes on. She sat up and rested her chin on his shoulder.
“Be careful,” she said as she kissed his cheek.
He took her head in her hands and kissed her deeply.
“Of course,” he said as he got up. “Good night. I love you,” he added as he left the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When Harley woke up Saturday morning, the rest of the bed was still empty and she didn’t remember Gus coming home. She got up and wandered around the house to see if he came home and came to the conclusion that he didn’t. Phillip and Rick would be there soon to pick up the boys, so she got them up and dressed.
An hour and a half later, both boys were gone and Harley had cleaned up the mess they made in the living room. She grabbed the latest issue of People and settled on the couch for the quiet day ahead of her. As she was paging through all the advertisements, the phone rang.
“This better not become a recurring thing,” she sighed as she got up to answer the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey baby,” she heard Gus’s voice through the phone.
“Hey! Where are you?” she asked as she sat back down on the couch.
“I’m still at the station. We’re just wrapping up this homicide now,” he answered.
“Just now? You’ve been there all night. So much for a simple John Doe.”
“Yeah, well, it turned out to be a kidnapping homicide. It was a three-year-old boy. His parents were fighting over custody, his dad had him for the day and never brought him back. He was crying for his mom and the dad flipped out and ended up suffocating him and dumping him on the side of the road,” she said solemnly.
“Oh my God,” she breathed, “did you find the guy?”
“Yeah, we got him. Took all night to track him down, but we got him and a confession.”
“Honey, you must be exhausted.”
“Actually I’m okay right now, but I’ve been downing coffee all night. I’m just going to stay here and do some paperwork until my shift starts.”
“Alright.”
“How are you doing? Are the boys driving you nuts?” he asked.
“Actually the boys are both gone.”
“Oh that’s right. Well, lucky you, you get the whole day to yourself,” he said.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Alright, I gotta go baby,” he said as Franklin came up to his desk, “Have a good day and don’t go anywhere. It’s snowing pretty badly out there. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay, you have a good day too. I love you,” she said.
“I love you too,” he replied before hanging up the phone. Then he looked up at Franklin, “What’s up?”
“Good work finding that guy,” he complimented.
Gus shrugged, “I guess. But the kid is still dead,” he said quietly as he looked at the picture frame that Harley had gotten him for Christmas that was on his desk.
“I know,” Franklin replied. “How about those new guys? They did pretty good, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, well, they’re new, but they did good.”
“Yeah, they’re gonna be fine,” Franklin said as if he were trying to convince himself. “What are you still doing here?” he asked.
“I have a shift at eleven,” Gus answered.
“Oh, gees. Sorry about that. Well, it’s just now nine, why don’t you go home and get some rest?” the Chief suggested.
“Because, then I will never come back,” Gus replied with a smile.
“Good point. Stay here,” he joked.
“Chief?” Detective Davis called from his desk.
Franklin looked at him, then back at Gus, “Take it easy,” he said as he went to see what Davis wanted.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Eight hours later, Gus finished up his last case and headed home. When he opened the door, he found the house dark.
“She better not have gone anywhere,” he said to himself and he went upstairs.
He opened the door to their bedroom and found Harley in bed sleeping. He quietly bent down and kissed her forehead, then went to get a shower.
Fifteen minutes later, after a hot shower, Gus came back into the bedroom in a towel.
“Hey you,” Harley greeted.
He turned to look at her, “Hey,” he said as he went over and sat on the bed next to her.
“Are you feeling okay? How long have you been sleeping?” he asked as she reached up and kissed him.
“Only about an hour. I’m just really tired.”
“Okay. Are you hungry? What should we have for dinner?” Gus asked.
“You have to be exhausted, don’t you want to sleep?”
Gus shook his head, “Nah, I’m tough, I can keep going, and that shower really woke me up. Plus we finally have a quiet house all to ourselves and we get to watch whatever we want on TV instead of cartoons,” he continued.
“You mean whatever I want to watch,” Harley teased.
Gus laughed, “Well, we’ll have to see about that,” he said as he got up and got dressed.
Later that night, Gus and Harley were lounging on the couch watching Trading Spaces. Harley won the “what should we watch” fight and then compromised on Trading Spaces after Gus whined about having to watch some Lifetime movie. When a commercial came on, Harley grabbed the remote and hit the mute button.
“What?” Gus asked.
“Do you have any regrets?” she asked.
“Regrets? About what?”
“I just…For a long time you were this bachelor who could come and go as he pleased, ate the same Chinese take out until it got moldy, didn’t have anyone to worry about except himself, and now…you have a wife and three instant kids, and two more on the way. Do you ever wish you had your old life back?” she explained.
“My old life?” he pondered. “Do you mean the one where I had no one? No family, no friends except for a couple of buddies I would go get a beer with after work. The life I lived for revenge? Harley that wasn’t a life, it was an existence, barely. Is the whole insta-family and responsibility thing overwhelming? Yeah, it is sometimes. But I never knew how much I could enjoy being a normal guy, you know? A wife and 2.5 kids, well, in our case, 5 kids. All we need is a dog and a white picket fence,” he joked.
“I’m serious, Gus. I don’t ever want you to feel like you’re missing out on anything because of me,” she said quietly.
“Harley,” he said as he tipped her chin up with his finger, “I have everything because of you,” he finished as he placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.
She smiled and rested her head on his chest. Pretty soon, they were both fast asleep on the couch. An hour later, Harley woke up and then woke Gus up.
“Let’s go upstairs,” she said quietly and they both went up to bed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Gus woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of Harley pacing through the bedroom. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.
“Honey, what are you doing up?” he asked.
Harley looked at him, “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“How do you feel about having some babies tonight?” she replied.
“What? Are you in labor?” he asked and she nodded in response.
He jumped out of bed, “How long?”
“About an hour, I thought maybe it was a fluke, but my contractions are getting stronger. And now my water broke.”
“Okay, so what do we do?” Gus asked, close to panicking.
“Go call Dr. Sedgwick and tell her we are on our way to the hospital. Then get dressed,” she replied calmly.
Soon they were out the door and making their way through the snow to the hospital.
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Post by Jen on Jan 13, 2005 18:54:05 GMT -5
Within an hour, Harley was settled into a hospital room and Gus was sitting beside her as Dr. Sedgwick came into the room.
“Good morning you two. Are you ready to have these babies?” she asked.
Harley exhaled a breath from her last contraction and looked up at her, “Yes.”
Dr. Sedgwick smiled, “I bet you are. On a scale of one to ten, how strong are your contractions?” she asked.
“Uh, five, six maybe, they’re not too bad yet,” Harley answered.
“Okay. Now, do you want to have natural childbirth or we could do a cesaerean if you’d rather,” Dr. Sedgwick suggested.
“I’d like to have them naturally,” Harley replied through her contraction.
“Wait a second,” Gus interrupted, “Is that safe?” he asked.
“If Harley’s up to it, absolutely. She’s healthy, and so are both of the babies. Of course, there’s somewhat of a risk, but we will be ready to get them out quick if anything goes wrong,” she replied, triggering a stricken look on Gus’s face.
“Of course, I don’t expect anything to go wrong,” she assured him, but Gus didn’t look any less worried.
“Honey,” Harley said as she grabbed his hand, “It’s going to be fine.”
Gus nodded and kissed her cheek, “I’m gonna go make some phone calls.”
“Wait, who are you going to call?” Harley asked.
“Uh, your dad, your brother, Susan,” he answered.
“No, don’t,” she stopped him and he looked at her strangely. “Gus, it’s 4 am and these babies are not close to coming out, wait until it’s a decent hour to call them. And I don’t want Susan to rush back in the middle of the night.”
“Okay,” he agreed and sat back down on the stool beside her, “Do you need anything?”
Harley shook her head.
“Well, how about some rest? You have a long day ahead of you,” Dr. Sedgwick advised, “I’ll be back to check on you in a little while, but I think you have at least a few hours before those two show up,” she finished with a smile before she left the room.
“You better listen to her and get some sleep,” Gus said as he brushed a piece of hair off of her forehead.
“Only if you will too,” Harley said remembering he didn’t sleep the night before. “You must be exhausted,” she added as she reached up and stroked his rough cheek.
“You’re the one who’s going to be doing all the work,” he said, smiling.
“You know tomorrow at this time, we are going to have two new babies,” Harley said with a huge smile on her face.
“I know,” Gus replied. “Are you ready for this?” he asked.
She nodded, and then asked him, “Are you?”
“I am,” he replied as he leaned forward and kissed her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Five hours later, Gus and Harley both had slept at least a little bit and Harley’s contractions were still pretty far apart.
“I’m going to call everyone now,” Gus said when Dr. Sedgwick came into the room to check on Harly’s progress.
He walked out into the waiting room, got out his cell phone, and started dialing Buzz.
“Excuse me sir,” a nurse came up to him, “you can’t use that in here. You’re going to have to go outside to make your call.”
“Oh, sorry. Thanks,” he said as he put his phone back in his pocket and went over to the payphone instead.
He dug through his pockets for change and only came up with two quarters. He stuck one in and dialed Company.
“Company,” he heard Buzz’s gruff voice answer.
“Buzz, it’s Gus.”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Well, actually, we’re at the hospital. Harley’s in labor,” he replied.
“Harley’s in-what? Since when?” Buzz asked.
“Since about 2 am. She made me wait to call you though.”
“Okay, well, I will be right over as soon as I get some one to watch the restaurant,” Buzz said.
“Wait, Buzz- listen, I don’t think you have to hurry, her contractions are still pretty far apart. And can you let Frank know? I need to call Susan, and I want to get back to Harley.”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll call Frank, and get someone to watch this place and I’ll be over in a little bit.”
“Okay, Buzz, thanks,” Gus said as he went to hang up.
“Hey Gus? Give her a big kiss for me, okay?” Buzz said.
“You bet,” Gus replied then he hung up and dialed Susan’s cell phone.
“Susan? It’s Gus. Nothing’s wrong, but we’re at the hospital, Harley’s in labor,” he told her.
“Oh my gosh! Already?” Susan asked, surprised. “Sam- get our stuff, we have to go home now!” she yelled to Sam.
“Susan, listen. I know you want to come home and be here, but you have to be careful, okay? The roads are bad, don’t rush home.”
“Gus, is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s doing great. And it looks like the babies won’t be here for at least another couple of hours, so you have plenty of time. Let me talk to Sam.”
“Gus?” Sam got on the phone.
“Sam, listen, I know Susan wants to hurry home, but I want you to be very careful, okay? The roads are bad and I don’t need you guys getting in a wreck too. Take your time and please be careful,” Gus pleaded.
“Of course, Gus. We’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Thank you,” Gus replied as he hung up and went back into Harley’s room.
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Post by Jen on Jan 13, 2005 18:54:25 GMT -5
Four hours later, Buzz and Frank were in the waiting room and Gus was back in Harley’s room. Her contractions had gotten a stronger, but Dr. Sedgwick said she was still nowhere near ready to deliver. After over ten hours of labor, she was starting to get tired and moody and Gus did his best to get her whatever she needed to keep her comfortable.
Frank stayed in the waiting room while Buzz went to call Susan to see how they were doing making their way home. He was flipping through a magazine when he saw Cassie Winslow walk off the elevator.
“Frank, hey. Tammy called and told me Harley was in labor, how is she?” she asked as she sat next to him.
“She’s doing good,” he replied.
“How long has she been here?”
“Gus said they got here around four am, but she was in labor for about 2 hours before that,” Frank answered.
“Wow. Any idea when she’ll have the babies?”
“I don’t know. Dr. Sedgwick said she thought it would be awhile though.”
“Do you think it would be okay if I went in and saw her?” Cassie asked.
“I think she would love that, I’ll show you where her room is,” Frank replied as he set his magazine down and led Cassie down the hall toward Harley’s room.
Cassie knocked lightly on the door and heard Gus tell them to come in.
Harley was in the middle of a contraction so they were quiet until she and Gus breathed through the contraction. When it was over, Harley looked over and smiled at Cassie.
“Hey!” she said, sounding exhausted.
“Hey sweetie,” Cassie greeted, “How are you doing?”
“Oh I’m doing great,” Harley replied with an air of sarcasm.
“I bet you are. So how long until we see these little guys?” she asked.
“Not soon enough,” Harley said and Gus nodded in agreement.
For the next hour or so, Cassie and Frank stayed in Harley’s room helping Gus keep her mind off of the pain. When Dr. Sedgwick came in to check on Harley, they excused themselves.
“Would it be okay if I stuck around?” Cassie asked, “I thought I would keep Frank company, and I know the kids are coming straight here.”
Harley nodded quickly as another contraction began and Frank kissed her cheek before they left the room.
As Frank and Cassie made their way back out into the waiting room, they found Buzz had returned and before they even sat down, a herd of teenagers burst out of the elevator.
“Did we miss it?” Susan asked.
Buzz answered, “No, no, you didn’t miss anything.”
“Can I go see her?” she asked.
“Dr. Sedgwick is in with her now. Give her a few minutes, I know she would love to see you,” Cassie replied.
Susan nodded and ten minutes later, she was in Harley’s room.
“Hey sweetie,” Harley said when Susan peeked her head in the room, “Come here.”
Susan went over and hugged Harley.
“Did you guys have any problems getting home?” Gus asked.
“No. I swear Sam drove like 25 miles an hour the whole way. You scared him to death,” she joked.
Gus laughed, “Good,” he said as he took Harley’s hand seeing that another contraction was coming.
Susan watched as Harley breathed through the contraction. When it was over, Harley sighed and laid her head back against the pillow as Gus reached up and brushed some hair out of her face. He smiled at her and she returned the smile.
“Does that hurt?” Susan asked.
Harley laughed, “Oh yeah. Just a little.”
“She’s doing great,” Gus said as he leaned up and kissed her softly.
After a few minutes, Harley’s room was full. Frank and Cassie had returned and Buzz and Marina joined them. For awhile, they all did a good job of keeping Harley occupied and happy. When she had contractions, they didn’t talk much and let Gus help her through them. After another hour though, Harley was becoming downright unpleasant. At one point, Gus had made the mistake of yawning and she let him know it.
“Did you just yawn?” she asked and Gus looked at her confused.
“Unless you are planning on switching places and pushing these things out of YOU, don’t even think about yawning in front of me,” she continued.
Gus first looked at her in shock and then he looked toward Cassie for some sort of explanation. She had a look on her face that told him ‘Apologize like crazy and shut up’, and he listened.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he apologized and reached up to kiss her, but the look on her face told him he would be better off to keep his lips to himself. “Can I get you anything? Here, have some ice,” he offered.
“I don’t want ice,” she snapped and the visitors knew that was their cue.
“Harley, honey, we’re going to let you get some rest, okay?” Cassie said as she ushered everyone out of the room.
Gus got up and walked over to the door with her.
“Just let her yell and scream at you. Believe me, it will be much easier for both of you in the end. Do you need a break? I can stay with her,” she offered.
Gus shook her head, “No, if she doesn’t get a break, neither do I.”
“Well, I’ll be out there if you need a referee or something,” she joked with a wink and left the room.
By the time Gus had sat back down, Harley was having another contraction and she grabbed Gus’s hand and squeezed it tight. When the contraction was over, she looked at Gus in regret.
“Honey, I’m so sorry about that. I’m just so…” she began but Gus stopped her.
“Shh…Harley it’s fine, really. You just yell and scream at me all you want. I’m tough,” he replied with a smile.
“And I want to apologize in advance for anything I might say when we get in the delivery room. If I say I hate you, I don’t mean it. And if I say I never want you to touch me again, I really don’t mean it,” she laughed.
Gus laughed back and reached up and kissed her deeply, “I’ll remember that. I love you so much, baby. Thank you,” he said.
“For what?”
“For everything you’ve done and what you are about to do. It still amazes me that you are going to have our babies soon,” he replied.
“Hopefully,” she joked.
“I mean it,” he said seriously, and just by looking in his eyes, Harley understood how he was feeling and she knew she felt the same way.
Three hours later, Harley was finally ready to move to the delivery room.
“Here, Dad, put these on,” a nurse said as she handed Gus some scrubs. He quickly changed and walked along Harley’s bed as they went into the delivery room where soon they would finally see the babies they created together.
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Post by Jen on Jan 13, 2005 18:54:52 GMT -5
“Okay, Harley,” Dr. Sedgwick said as she put on a pair of latex gloves, “We’re going to push on the next contraction if you feel like you want to. Gus, breathe with her, and hold her leg like this,” she instructed.
Gus listened and put his hand behind her thigh and his other arm was ready to go around her back when she began pushing.
The next contraction came quickly and Harley leaned forward to push. Gus’s arm went around her back and he spoke into her ear, “Breathe, baby. Keep breathing.”
She pushed through the contraction then fell back into the bed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Okay, I can see the head, just a few more pushes Harley and baby number one will be out.”
Gus looked at Harley and smiled, then helped her sit up to push. Pretty soon, they heard the cry of a newborn and Harley fell back against the bed, exhausted.
“It’s a boy!” Dr. Sedgwick said as she held up the tiny baby for Gus and Harley to see, then passed him off to a nurse.
Gus looked at Harley and smiled, he wiped a bead of sweat that was running down the side of her face then kissed her cheek. “One more, baby.”
Haley shook her head, “I don’t want to.”
Gus let out a nervous laugh, “Honey, you don’t really have a choice. Come on, it won’t be much longer, you can do this. Plus, you know we have everything ready for two babies, now if this one stays in, that would just be a waste of money,” he teased and Harley tried to appease him with a tired chuckle.
“Harley, push whenever you feel like you need to.”
Harley grabbed Gus’s hand and looked up at him, “Okay.”
Gus smiled, “Okay. I’m right here with you,” he said as she sat up to push again.
When they finally heard the second baby cry, Harley sighed and settled into Gus’s arms.
“Is it a girl?” she asked hopefully.
“It’s a girl,” Dr. Sedgwick answered with a laugh.
“Thank God,” Harley breathed as she settled back into Gus’s chest and he leaned down to kiss her.
“You did so good, Harley,” he said as he ran his hand through her hair.
Two nurses came over to the bed and set two little bundles on Harley’s chest. The boy continued crying, but the girl ignored her brother and slowly opened her eyes and looked at the first thing in her line of sight- her daddy. Gus reached out and gently touched her cheek and smiled down at his new daughter with tears in his eyes. Harley looked over at Gus and kissed his cheek as the nurses came back to take the babies.
“We’ll bring them in to you later. We’re going to clean them up and put them in the nursery so you can get some rest,” one of the nurses told Harley before they took them out of the room.
Harley nodded, then turned to Gus, ‘Honey, go tell everyone,” she said and he kissed her then went out to the group sitting in the waiting room.
They all looked up when Gus came into the waiting room.
He smiled and filled them in, “One boy, one girl. They’re so…perfect,” he gushed. “Harley’s doing great, she did so good, she’s still in there, but she’s going to be back in her room soon.”
Everyone got up to congratulate Gus and ask questions.
“What are their names?” Cassie asked.
“When can we see them?” Susan asked.
“How’s Harley? Is she okay?” Frank asked.
“We haven’t exactly decided yet. They’re bringing them to the nursery in a little bit, you can see them then. And Harley is doing great, but she’s tired,” Gus answered them all.
“Mr. Aitoro?” a nurse approached and Gus turned to answer her.
“Yes.”
“Come with me,” she said and motioned for him to follow her. As they walked down the hall, she filled him in, “Your wife is back in her room, hopefully sleeping. She would like you to come in as soon as you can, but I thought you would like to see the babies first,” she finished as she opened the door of the nursery for Gus.
She led him over to two side-by-side bassinets with the twins in them. He stood at the end of them and looked at his babies. He couldn’t believe they were finally here. He was brought back to reality when the nurse spoke to him.
“Do you have names picked out?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah, kind of, but I’d like to wait until I can talk to Harley before we make anything official,” he replied, never taking his eyes off of the babies lying in front of him. Both were sleeping and he could see already that the girl had the same little smile on her face that Harley and Jude do when they’re asleep.
“Would it be okay if they all came to see them?” he asked.
“Sure, I mean they can’t come in, but we can move these two towards the window so they can see them,” she replied as she taped namecards on either bassinet that said ‘Baby Girl Aitoro’ and ‘Baby Boy Aitoro’.
“Thanks,” Gus said and he leaned down to kiss each of the babies’ heads, then went out to get the family.
“Anyone want to see the babies?” he asked as he returned to the waiting room and everyone jumped to their feet.
He led them back to the nursery and they all oohed and ahhed over the tiny new additions to their family.
After about a half an hour, the same nurse who took him in to see the babies came up to him, “Your wife was awake and was asking for you,” she told him.
He took one more look at the babies, told everyone where he was going, and walked down the hallway to Harley’s room.
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Post by Jen on Jan 13, 2005 18:55:25 GMT -5
When Gus got to Harley’s room, she was asleep again so he kissed her lightly on the lips and let her sleep. He pulled a rocking chair that sat in the corner of the room by the window over to Harley’s bed and sat down.
About twenty minutes later, the door to Harley’s room opened and a nurse wheeled in two little bassinets.
“I thought you and your wife would like to spend some time with your little ones.”
“Thank you,” Gus said as he got up and went over to the bassinets.
“Can I hold them?” he asked quietly.
“Of course,” she said and she helped him get a baby in each arm.
“I’m kind of new at this,” he laughed.
“You’re doing great,” she assured him. After she made sure he would be okay, she left and Gus sat back down in the rocking chair.
He just wanted to touch them. He wanted to count their fingers and toes and make sure they were as perfect as he thought they were. He couldn’t maneuver that holding both of them, so he decided the safest thing would be to just sit and watch them. Dropping them would not be a good way to start out fatherhood.
He got up from the chair and walked over to the window. The mid-January sun had set hours ago, so he just looked out at the skyline of Springfield. He was amazed by how different it all felt. He felt different. He was finally holding his babies in his arms, and he already couldn’t imagine life without them.
While he was standing at the window, Harley woke up and rolled over to face Gus. She could hear him quietly talking to the babies, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. She didn’t want to interrupt their quality time, so she just laid there and watched him sway back and forth in front of the window.
After a few minutes, he turned around to sit back down in the rocker when he saw that Harley was awake.
“Hey,” he said quietly.
She smiled up at him, overcome by the image of him holding their children. He came over to the bed and leaned down to kiss her. She reached out and took the boy who had begun fussing from Gus’s arms, then motioned for him to sit on the bed next to her.
“Am I crazy or are they just perfect?” she asked.
“Both?” he teased. “Seriously, they are perfect. Or maybe we’re both crazy.”
Gus laid down the girl on the bed in front of them, and asked Harley to do the same.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He counted twenty little toes, twenty little fingers, then kissed four little hands.
“Just checking,” he answered and she smiled up at him.
“I think they need names,” Harley suggested.
“I think you’re right. Baby Boy and Baby Girl Aitoro probably won’t last long,” Gus replied.
“So are we going with what we decided before?” Harley asked.
Gus nodded, “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
Harley shook her head, “Nope. Okay, so we have Nicholas Joseph and Abigail Grace.”
“Nicholas and Abby,” Gus repeated as he picked up Abby and cradled her in his arms again and Harley did the same with Nicholas.
“Well, you didn’t get the little girl with blonde ringlets you wanted,” she said as she reached over and smoothed a wild piece of Abby’s dark brown hair.
Gus put his arm around Harley and kissed her temple, “Oh, I got her,” he said quietly. “Thank you.”
She laid her head on his chest and sighed contently.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Come in,” Gus called out when they heard a knock on the door.
The same nurse Gus had been seeing all day came into the room.
“How are you doing?” she asked, and the smiles on Gus and Harley’s faces told her they were fine.
She turned to Gus, “Your father-in-law asked me to let you know that he is back.”
Harley looked up at Gus and he explained.
“He went to get Zach. Phillip has to go out of town in the morning. Buzz is going to keep Zach, but Phillip said he wanted to see you, so Buzz was bringing him by. Is Dr. Bauer here yet?” Gus asked the nurse who nodded.
“He was bringing Jude too. You feel like seeing everyone?” he asked Harley.
“Yeah. You can send them down in a few minutes,” she told the nurse who nodded then left.
Five minutes later, Zach and Jude ran through the door and jumped up on the bed with Harley and Gus.
After everyone settled down and the room was semi-quiet, Zach got up on his knees and looked at Nicholas, then turned around and looked at Abby.
“What’s their names?” he asked.
“This is Nicholas Joseph and Abigail Grace,” Harley answered.
“Nicky and Abby?” Frank asked.
Harley and Gus both looked up at the same time, “No,” they said in unison.
“Nicholas,” Harley replied, “at least until he gets older. But yeah, we’re going to call her Abby.”
Buzz came over and took Nicholas from Harley’s arms, and Gus passed Abby to Frank. Zach jumped off the bed and followed Buzz who sat in the rocking chair, while Jude stayed on the bed with Harley. Cassie stood beside Frank and cooed over Abby.
“Which one is older?” she asked as she snapped some pictures with her little diposable camera.
“Nicholas is by 3 minutes,” Harley replied.
“Yeah, the first words out of Harley’s mouth when we heard Abby cry: ‘Is it a girl?’ I think she was going to tell the doctor to push it back in if it was another boy,” Gus laughed.
Harley laughed and nodded, “I probably would have.”
“Well, we’re still outnumbered,” Susan added.
“Cause boys rule and girls drool,” Zach exclaimed sticking his tongue out at Susan.
“Zach!” Harley interrupted, “Where on earth did you get that from?”
Zach shrugged, “James says it all the time.”
“Well, I don’t want to hear you say that. And keep your tongue in your mouth,” she warned him.
From Gus’s lap, Jude tugged at Harley’s gown, “Mommy coming home?”
“No, not tonight sweetie. Mommy and the babies have to stay in the hospital for a little bit. You’re going to go home with Daddy tonight,” Harley explained.
Jude started whimpering at her answer, “I wanna stay with Mommy,” he whined and buried his head into Harley’s chest.
“Shh, you’re going to stay with Daddy and Gus will bring you back here tomorrow, okay?” Harley comforted him and within minutes, Jude had fallen asleep.
Rick came over and leaned down to kiss Harley.
“They’re beautiful, Harley. And Abigail has a beautiful name,” he said with a smile.
“Thanks Rick,” she replied as Rick took Jude and left the room.
“So when do you think you’re going to be getting out of here?” Buzz asked as he passed Nicholas to Susan.
“Hopefully not too long. I’ll probably have to stay tomorrow night too, maybe Tuesday morning?” Harley replied.
“Oh my gosh, I was supposed to be at work tonight. I didn’t even call,” Gus realized and he jumped off of the bed.
“Calm down, Gus,” Frank said, “I called the Chief and told him what was going on. He got someone to come in for you. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks, Frank.”
“And he said to tell you both ‘Congratulations’,” he continued.
A half an hour later, a new nurse came into the room to run everybody out.
“Alright,” she announced, “visiting hours are over. Dad can stay, everyone else- out,” she said kindly, but sternly, her thumb pointing to the door.
Susan gave Nicholas to Gus and hugged her mother, then she and Marina left. Buzz, Frank, and Zach all kissed Harley and said goodbye to Gus, Nicholas and Abby, then they left. Finally, Cassie gave Abby to Harley and said goodbye, leaving Gus and Harley alone with the twins again.
After everyone left, the nurse returned to take Nicholas and Abby back to the nursery.
“We don’t usually allow this, but since the other bed isn’t taken, you can stay the night if you want,” she told Gus.
Gus nodded, “Thank you.”
“No, honey, go home and sleep, please. You haven’t slept in two days. Go home to the quiet house and get a good night’s sleep. It may be the last one for a while,” she teased.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I will be fine. I am exhausted, I will probably be out all night. Go home, and I will see you tomorrow,” Harley assured him.
“Just let someone at the nurse’s station know if you decide to stay,” the nurse said before she left with the twins.
“Okay, I’m going to go home, but I will be here bright and early tomorrow,” Gus said.
“Not too early,” Harley corrected as he leaned down and kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close.
“I love you,” she breathed into his ear.
“I love you too,” he replied, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams.”
“Good night,” she finished as he kissed her one last time and left for the night.
Harley settle down into the bed and was fast asleep within minutes.
On his way out, Gus went past the nursery and stood at the window as the nurse put Nicholas and Abby to bed. He kissed his fingers and touched them to the glass and quietly said goodnight to the babies.
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