212 - Nine Years Later

212 - Nine Years Later
Just wait until you hold your first grandbaby, then you’ll understand why your dad and I are so obsessed with them. All the spoiling, none of the responsibilities. And there’s this tiny little human who looks at you like you hung the moon, causes the sun to rise, and create the perfect wind to fly a kite. - Sid

Darkness pressed a kiss to Camille’s temple as she slept. Her eyes fluttered but did not open. He brushed some of her hair out of her face as the baby in the hospital bassinet began to whimper.

Before he could even straighten, Nicki was moving across the room. “I’ve got her, dad.”

Just like her six older siblings, the newest member of the Johnson family was going to be spoiled. Rolling his eyes, he mentally corrected the thought. Well loved, not spoiled.

Straightening up, he looked over at the young woman standing in front of the large window holding her little sister. Rocking side to side, she soothed the newborn back to sleep. Pressing a hand to her lower back, Nicki moved back to the glider. Putting her feet up on the ottoman, she adjusted the newborn over her own growing belly.

“I don’t see how Oma did this,” she admits with a little laugh.

He chuckled, “I don’t think that she had a newborn with a six-month belly.”

“Maybe not, but she did have babies while she was pregnant.”

“She did,” Darkness conceded as he moved over and accepted the baby from his oldest daughter.

A few months after Noah turned one, Gunther was born. Two years later, Adrianus, or simply Dre, came into the world, just like his brothers, he was seven weeks early. Camille’s doctor joked that she could make babies faster than the rest of the human population. The smallest of the boys was Noah, and they were all born at full term weights.

They had decided that six kids, three under the age of four, was plenty for them, Camille had her tubes tied after an emergency C-section. She often joked that Dre was going to guarantee that he was the youngest by causing pre-eclampsia. The tubal ligation had been discussed and when they had to do the emergency C-section, the doctor offered to do that also.

Darkness never wanted to see his wife hanging onto life like she had been and eagerly signed the consent forms. Five years later, during her annual physical, they discovered that having your tubes tied did not guarantee any further pregnancies. The proof of this was currently sleeping in her father’s arms

There was a soft knock on the door just before it opened and Joanna, the senior nurse from the nursery, popped her head inside. Seeing her patient being held by the large man with such ease made her smile. He watched as she looked at the mother asleep in the bed.

“It took a toll on her,” he said quietly, motioning for her to enter.

Joanna nodded as she stepped inside the room. She had salt and pepper hair now; still more pepper than salt. Her laugh lines and crow’s feet were a little more pronounced.

“She finally carried one to term and I think this little lady is the smallest of your babies,” the nurse whispered as she situated her stethoscope to listen to the baby’s heartbeat.

He gave a soft chuckle, “Yeah, pretty sure that Dre was just trying to get more room. He was just over nine pounds; I would hate to see how big he would have gotten at full term.”

“You should probably go ahead and sign that one up for the NFL draft.”

Nicki laughed softly at that from where she sat in the glider, “Noah and Gunther play football, Dre won’t stay off the ice. You better sign him up for the NHL draft.”

The phone in Nicki’s pocket buzzed and she took it out and looked at it. As she read the message, she let out a sigh. Tucking the device back into her pocket, she put her feet down and then stood up and stretched.

Smiling at Darkness, she admitted, “That’s getting harder to do.”

“Make your men do everything for you when you get home,” he told her as Joanne took the infant to finish her exam.

“I will,” Nicki said as she moved into the hug that he offered. “I got to go back to work for a little bit. Doc Ellis will probably send me home in a few hours.”

Joanna chuckled as she wrapped the baby girl back up into a pink blanket burrito. Settling her back in the bassinet, the nurse turned around and looked at Darkness who was watching his oldest daughter leave.

“She’s a great doctor,” Joanna said after the door closed.

Darkness nodded as he turned back to face the nurse. “She is,” he smiled at her. “So were her mother and father.”

Joanne busied herself by checking Camille’s IV and chart. “She’s told me a little about her birth parents. There’s still some resentment towards them. But I think… I think she is still healing.”

“Yeah, they are all doing better.”

“Your oldest is working on the hospital expansion, isn’t he?”

Darkness beamed with pride, “He is. Vin is a structural engineer, Nicki is an emergency room doctor, and Mitch is the drama teacher over at Roosevelt.”

“Such a proud daddy,” Joanna laughed. “Do you have pictures?”

“He’ll keep you here for hours with pictures,” Camille warned from where she lay on the bed.

“Then I’ll come back after my shift is over.”

“I’ll have pictures ready for you,” Darkness said as he sat on the edge of the bed and gently ran his hand along Camille’s leg.

Neither looked over as the door closed when the Joanna left. Darkness leaned in and kissed his wife and she smiled at him. Slowly Camille moved to lay on her back and reached her hand out to link fingers with his. Her silver rings with the large black diamond and smaller white diamonds gleamed on her ring finger.

“What time is it?” she whispered.

“Not quite four,” he told her. “Oma will be by with the boys in just a little bit.”

“All my boys?”

“Your little boys,” he clarified as there was a knock on the door. “That may be them now.”

He stood up and walked to the door and was happy to see Mitch on the other side of the door. Opening the door wider, Mitch walked in with a pink bouquet and giant pink teddy bear that was almost as tall as him. Camille laughed and then groaned as she gently placed her hand on her tender stomach.

“These,” Mitch placed the flowers on the bedside table and kissed Camile’s temple, “are for you. And this,” he sat the bear next to the bassinet, “is for my baby sister.”

He picked her up, looking at the nametag. Darkness placed an arm around his shoulder and Mitch leaned into the support that he always knew was there. Snuggling his baby sister close, he kissed the pink cap and looked at the name again.

Doveanna Silke Johnson.

“Hey, Baby Dee.”