Chapter 190: The Nursery

Chapter 190: The Nursery
Sierra's POV

We brought the twins home. The house felt different when we walked through the door like it was holding its breath waiting for Ethan and Esme to fill it with noise and life. 

Alexander ran ahead of us, his little feet slapping against the hardwood floor. "Baby home! Baby home!" he shouted. Maria stood in the doorway of the nursery. Her eyes were wet with tears. "Welcome home little ones."

Adrian carried Ethan. I carried Esme. We walked slowly up the stairs 

The nursery door was open. Two cribs stood side by side against the wall. One had blue sheets. One had pink. A rocking chair sat in the corner where I'd spent so many hours dreaming about this moment. Now it was real. Now they are here.

I placed Esme in her crib. She stretched her tiny arms above her head and yawned. 

Adrian laid Ethan down next to her. He immediately started fussing. His face scrunched up ready to cry. "Shh baby boy." Adrian whispered. He rubbed Ethan's chest in small circles. Ethan's eyes fluttered closed. Just like that he was asleep again. 

"You're getting good at this." I said. Adrian smiled but he looked exhausted. "I'm trying."

Alexander climbed up on the step stool Maria had placed by the cribs. He peeked over the edge at his siblings. "Baby sleep?" I nodded. "Yes sweetie. They need lots of sleep right now." 

He reached out one finger and touched Esme's hand. She grabbed it in her sleep. Her tiny fingers wrapped around his. 

Alexander's face lit up like Christmas morning. "She hold me Mama. She hold me." My throat got tight. "She loves you already."

The first week home was harder than I expected. The twins ate every two hours. Day and night. There was no schedule, no pattern, just constant feeding and diaper changes and crying. 

Adrian and I took turns. When I fed Esme he changed Ethan. When he rocked Ethan I burped Esme. We barely slept. We lived on coffee and determination. But every time I looked at their faces it was worth it.

Alexander didn't understand why the babies got so much attention. He'd bring me his trucks and books wanting to play. "Not now sweetie. Mama needs to feed Esme." His eyes would fill with tears. It broke my heart every single time. Adrian saw it too. 

One afternoon while I fed the twins he took Alexander outside. They played in the backyard for an hour. Just the two of them. When they came back in, Alexander was smiling again. "Dada push me on the swing."

On day eight Adrian decided we needed to finish decorating the nursery. We'd painted the walls and built the cribs but that was it. The walls were still bare. The shelves were empty. 

"I want it to feel complete." He said. I looked around the room. "It already feels complete. They're here. That's all that matters." But he was already pulling out boxes of decorations from the closet. Pictures frames. Stuffed animals. A mobile with stars and moons that spun slowly in circles.

Alexander wanted to help. He stood on his step stool holding a stuffed elephant. "I put this?" Adrian lifted him up. "Where do you think it should go?" Alexander pointed to the shelf above Esme's crib. "There for Esme." Adrian placed it on the shelf. The elephant sat looking down at the crib like a guardian. 

"Perfect buddy. You're really good at this." Alexander beamed. He ran to get more stuffed animals. A lion for Ethan.

Lena arrived while we were hanging pictures on the wall. She had her camera around her neck like always. "Oh perfect. I'm just in time for the chaos." 

She started snapping photos. Adrian on the ladder. Me holding picture frames. Alexander dragged a box twice his size across the floor. Ethan crying in his crib. Esme sleeping through all the noise. 

"These are going in the baby book." Lena said. Click. Click. Click. The camera captured everything.

We hung a picture of our family above the changing table. The five of us took the day we brought the twins home. Adrian held Ethan. I held Esme. Alexander stood in front of us grinning at the camera. We looked tired but happy and complete. 

"That's my favorite." I said. Adrian wrapped his arm around my waist. "Mine too." Alexander tugged on my shirt. "Look Mama. I hang this." He held up a wooden sign that said "Dream Big Little Ones" in curly letters. Adrian took it from him. "Let's put this above their cribs."

By late afternoon the nursery was transformed. The walls had pictures of moons and stars. The shelves held books, toys and stuffed animals arranged perfectly. A soft rug covered the floor. White curtains hung from the windows letting in just enough light.

"It's perfect." Lena said. She took one more photo. All of us standing in the doorway looking at the finished room. "This is the one I'll frame for you."

The next morning I woke to voices in the nursery. Adrian's voice. Alexander's giggles. 

I walked down the hall still half asleep. They were both in the nursery. 

I stood in the doorway watching them. This was the picture I wanted to remember forever. My boys and my daughter all together in the morning light. 

Lena appeared behind me. Camera already raised. "Don't move." She whispered. Click. She captured it. 

Alexander looking down at Esme with pure love. Adrian watching them both with pride. Esme's tiny hand reaching up toward her brother. "That's the one." She showed me the screen. "Frame it." I said.

But then Lena's phone rang. She stepped into the hallway to answer it. I heard her voice change. Heard the concern. 

"When? Are you sure? Okay. I'll tell them." She came back into the room. Her face was pale. 

"That was the hospital. Someone called asking questions about Sierra and the twins. What room they were in, when they were discharged. The nurse thought it was strange so she reported it." 

Adrian's face hardened. "Who was it?" Lena shook her head. "They didn't say. But they knew your name and they knew about the twins."

The room felt smaller suddenly. Someone was looking for us. 

"It's probably nothing." I said. But my voice shook. Adrian handed Ethan to Lena. "I'm calling security. I'm having someone watch the house." 

I grabbed his arm. "You think someone would really…" He cut me off. "I'm not taking chances."

Alexander looked up. "Mama scared?" I forced a smile. "No baby. Mama's fine." 

But I wasn't fine. My hands were shaking. My mind was racing. We'd been so happy and so peaceful and now that peace felt fragile. 

Adrian made the call. His voice was low and urgent. Lena held both twins. Her eyes darted to the window. 

"Should we close the curtains?" I nodded. Suddenly the sunshine felt dangerous.

Who was looking for us? And why?