Shelby telling me that she loved me was such a huge step for us. It really opened the door to so much more and we were closer than ever. Our getaway trip couldn’t have come at a better time. Now it was already nearing Thanksgiving and Shelby and I were trying to figure out a way to get our families all together.
“Daddy, I have to take my medicine. Can you help me? Mommy’s in the potty,” Lanie came to the door of my studio where I was working on a song for Lanie and Shelby.
“Sure, baby,” I put the papers back in the drawer and went to the door to pick her up. I kissed her cheek gently and walked her into the living room where she had her chemo every day. I always hated giving it to her. Pricking her with a needle seemed so cruel, but she was used to it by now. Besides, it was good to give Shelby a break every now and then. She wasn’t showing yet with the pregnancy since it was only just about ten weeks, but she was definitely experiencing the symptoms – she was more nauseous now more than ever and was very emotional.
“Daddy, can you turn on Veggie Tales?” Lanie asked me as I finished putting the needle in her hand and allowing the slow drip to take place.
“Sure,” I grinned and turned on the TV for her.
“Hey baby, you want me to do your medicine?” Shelby asked, completely exhausted from the door of our master bedroom. She came into the living room to see it had already been all set up. She grinned and kissed the top of Lanie’s head. “Did Daddy help you?” She asked.
“Mhm,” Lanie nodded, continuing to stare at the TV.
“Thanks, Nick,” Shelby beamed. “I really appreciate it.” I nodded and kissed her as she passed by me in the kitchen. “I have my ten weeks doctor appointment this afternoon. But I wanted to see if you had gotten in touch with Aaron or anybody.” She sat on the stool against the counter as I poured Lanie some juice – I knew she’d need it in about an hour when she was sick.
“Yeah, Angel called today and said they’re all in,” I grinned. I was really glad my family was going to be coming in for a little while. “How about you? Is your mom gonna make it?”
“Yeah, she said she’d be here,” she smiled too. “I’m so excited! I can’t wait to cook.” She wiggled her eyebrows. I laughed and rolled my eyes.
“Greattt,” I said jokingly. She put her hands on her hips in an offended manner and I chuckled. “I’m just kidding, baby.” I kissed her softly. “But I want you taking it easy, okay? Not too much time on your feet. With my sisters here and your mom here, we should have no problem getting a dinner out…even if it’s a little burnt. BJ’s pretty good with food…but Angel and Leslie aren’t amazing or anything.” I laughed.
“We’ll figure it out,” she grinned and kissed my cheek softly. “But hey, I’m gonna be late for this appointment. You good here with Lanie?” She asked as she fastened her watch around her wrist. I nodded and screwed on the lid for her juice.
“Are you okay going by yourself? I could give someone a call to come and sit with Lanie…” I offered, though I knew neither of us wanted Lanie being with someone else while she was sick. With family or close friends like Brian and Leighanne it wasn’t a problem, but neither of us felt comfortable with a regular baby-sitter.
“I’m fine,” she smiled. She walked into the living room and kissed the top of Lanie’s head. We hadn’t told her yet about the baby. We wanted to be sure there wouldn’t be any complications. The doctor said once she started showing we should probably mention it to Lanie, especially because at that time there was a much smaller chance of miscarriage. “Bye, sweetie. I’m gonna head to the doctor, okay? I’ll be home soon.”
“Bye mommy,” Lanie said from the couch, her eyes already growing heavy from the medication. Shelby sighed and walked back into the kitchen to grab her purse and keys.
“Drive safe,” I smiled. “Love you.”
“Love you too,” she grinned and kissed me quickly. She left into the garage and I headed into the living room to check up on Lanie.
“Hey baby girl, how ya feeling?” I asked softly as I sat next to her on the couch. I ran my hand over her forehead to check for a fever. Lanie’s cancer had caused me to grow up so much faster than I thought I ever would.
“I’m tired,” she yawned and glanced up at the fluid in the bag. It was already almost gone. I kissed her forehead and brought over a bucket, cold washcloth and her juice. I knew we were only moments away from her illness taking over. “When will I get better?” She asked me innocently as she eyed the bucket with this look that could kill.
“Soon,” I muttered. It killed me to watch her so sad. I couldn’t imagine going through what she was at the age of 28, when here she was only four-years-old and getting sick all the time.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I ran my hand soothingly over Lanie’s back as she had just finished getting sick. She was so peaceful looking, her big blue eyes staring back at mine. “I’m sorry you don’t feel good.” I whispered and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Tomorrow will be a fun day. Aunt Angel, Aunt BJ, Aunt Leslie and Uncle Aaron are gonna come to visit you. And Grandma Alicia’s coming in, too.” I tried to get her excited for something. A small smile crept up on her lips and she yawned.
“Aunt Angel?” She asked excitedly. Out of all of my siblings, Lanie got along best with Angel. It didn’t surprise me. Angel would always spoil her whenever she saw her.
“Yep,” I chuckled. “Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving.”
“Is mommy gonna make a turkey?” She perked up a bit. I laughed. She obviously knew what Thanksgiving meant. It was sad. I had never actually spent a holiday with Lanie. Shelby had her on all the holidays. Lanie would come in the weekend before Christmas every year so I could give her presents, but I never had her on the actual holiday. This would be the first year.
“She sure is,” I kissed her forehead. As soon as I pulled away, the phone began ringing in the kitchen. “Oh, hold on a sec. I’ll be right back, okay?” I gently lifted her head from my lap and set her back down on the couch. I hurried into the kitchen to answer the phone. “Hello?”
“Mr. Carter?” I heard a voice I didn’t recognize.
“Yes?”
“This is Doctor Michaels from the OBGYN unit. I have Shelby here. I was wondering if there was any way you could come and get her from the hospital,” he said. I frowned. Why would I need to go get her? She had drove herself there.
“Um, is everything okay?” I swallowed hard, praying silently that everything was fine. We were already dealing with so much. I wasn’t sure how much more Shelby could take. Hell, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
“Everything’s fine. I think she’s just having a little trouble accepting something,” he chuckled softly. “Shelby, would you like to tell him?” He asked from the background. I was really starting to freak out.
“N-Nick?” She sounded so afraid.
“Baby, what’s going on?” I asked quickly. I ran my fingers through my hair. Please don’t tell me she had a miscarriage, I kept repeating in my head.
“Uh, we’re…we’re having twins…”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for your patience! This is a big chapter =] PLEASEE review! [I'm beggin' here, lol].
