Chapter 24 - Part II

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The bitch of all hangovers, and I was feeling drunk.

My entire body was singing, but some places felt unusually numb.

Slowly I could smell my surroundings. Along with the sterile smell typical to hospital, something smelt like...babies.

Like my babies.

I slowly opened my eyes. The light in the room was dim. I flexed my fingers, my toes, and slowly my legs, and then my arms. I felt a twinge of pain in my right shoulder, and a weight on my left. My neck made a sound when I turned and found the twins drooling on my arm.

Oh my God.

Despite my protesting muscles, I tried to find the button which would call a nurse and I'll be finally able to sit up.

"I'll do that for you." Vincent Powers entered my field of vision and I was surprised to find him here. "You're awake. I'll tell that to your friend and Terrence. We have been waiting for so long." He had a small smile on his face but I couldn't smile back at him.

"Alyssa!" Terrence entered, and froze when his eyes met mine. My fogged up brain could see the vulnerability in his eyes and I managed a small smile. He looked homeless, haggard and definitely not like that handsome CEO he mostly looked like. His beard had grown, his face had lost its colour, his lips were chapped and he looked leaner than I had last seen him.

He looked so miserable.

And then he broke into tears.

"Oh God, Alyssa." He stumbled towards me and nearly lifted me off the bed, "I'm so sorry." He buried his face in my hair and sobbed, "I love you so much. God, you're alright!" He kissed my forehead and then smacked his lips right on mine.

I kissed him back.

I wanted this from so long - it felt like I was starving. With every movement of his mouth against mine, I remembered every word I had heard him say when I was unconscious. I don't know how much I had missed, but for this moment, I felt contented - even with a headache.

"She's just woken up from her two week long slumber and you're already mauling her. Stop it, Powers, your father looks uncomfortable." Terrence pulled away slowly and I turned to find Allie scowling at us.

She looked like she hadn't slept in days. She looked miserable too. More than I had ever seen her be. Her bright and shiny hair now looked dull. Her eyes were bloodshot, but her tired face still scowled in a way that only Allie could.

My best friend still looked beautiful.

I didn't say a word, but I just held my arm out to her, other hand being on Terrence's arm. The way she came running towards me, crying, I was reminded of the time the twins hurt themselves and came running to me to seek comfort.

"Alyssa, oh god Alyssa!" She sobbed in my shoulder as my hand caressed her thin body. "You always tell me I'm too reckless, and what about you?! You were going to leave me alone here!I should slap you for every time you said that you wanted to die. You are not fucking going anywhere without me, you got that?"

A nurse cleared her throat at the door and motioned to everyone,"All of you have to leave the room right now. You can only meet after the doctor had checked her up."

Vincent nodded and left the room, while Allie and Terrence took their own time in unhooking the portable crib from the bed and then leaving the room.

My twins had woken up while Terrence was trying to pry them off my arm. My heart had melted when I watched both of them sit up slowly and they rubbed their eyes. Raine seemed to find her senses soon because the moment her blue eyes fell on me, she started bouncing in the crib, "Momo!" She squeal, "Momo way!"

Ryan whirled towards me so fast that I had to reach out to make sure that he didn't lose his balance. He laughed when he saw me so hard that he fell back and a throaty chuckle escaped my mouth as Terrence and I helped him up.

I had saved them again, and I would do it for them over and over again if I had to.

Raine and Ryan had frowns on their faces when Terrence took them away. They still kept looking at me through the glass windows, along with Terrence, Vincent and Allie, while I was being poked, prodded and questioned. After giving me some meds and water they finally went away and Terrence and Allie came inside with the twins in Terrence's arms, chanting "Momo! Dodo Momo!", making it difficult for him to carry them.

"Come here, my babies." I smiled and opened my arms, thankful that I wasn't hooked to many machines. Just an IV, and I was free to take my kids in my arms and cuddle them as much as I wanted. Since it was Ryan on Terrence's left arm, and he was being the most troublesome, Ryan was set down on my lap first. Raine came after, and I gathered them, showering them with kisses. After I was done with all my murmurs and coddles.

Raine and Ryan stared at me for sometime with their mouths open. They were just silent, and weren't squealing or bouncing like they usually did.

Then Raine's lower lip quivered. Her chin quivered. And then her eyes watered.

And then she burst into tears.

Ryan tried his best to not follow Raine. He bravely fought his tears for a while, but he too, burst out soon, and I watched them both in amusement.

And God, did they look like they missed me. "Momo..." One of them cried and and they both buried their faces in my stomach. Tears ran down my face, too - I couldn't believe that I was here caressing and cuddling my babies again.

I was alive.

I didn't die like I had thought.

I had made it through this.

I glanced over to see Vincent Powers wiping a stray tear from his cheeks as he gave me a small smile, which I could return this time.

I looked over to Terrence and Allie, both with their shimmering blue and green eyes, and I could almost see that if they could they would have copied Raine and Ryan. They would have had sat on my lap and cuddled and cried just like Raine and Ryan were.

Terrence and Allie seated themselves opposite to each other on either side of me, and Allie grabbed my hand, caressing the back of it as she chuckled when Ryan pulled away from a moment and blabbered something that I could only translate as "I missed you.", in baby language. They both kept muttering and uttering things that went beyond my fuzzy brain.

Terrence couldn't hold back, and wait for the the twins to finish with their version of fill up of the events while I was 'asleep'. He leaned in and tried to steal a kiss I was ready to give but Raine head butted in and screamed a "No!", at him.

Allie laughed and Terrence pouted at her, making my baby melt. Raine, after all, had always been her daddy's princess. But she still seemed firm in spending quality time with her brother and me without any interruption from her father.

"How do you feel?" Allie asked me, after the babies feel asleep with their heads on my chest.

"Good." I muttered.

"The police will be coming for your statement soon. We can wait if you want." Aaron said. He had entered after the crying session and had given me a warm hug. He sat next to Allie awkwardly and I frowned.

And then, I remembered how Allie had been pushing him away while I was dead to the world.

"It's fine." I muttered.

I just hoped that things would finally look up now, and that out testing waters were over.