Chapter Sixty Five

Chapter Sixty-Five

The day after the babies were born felt strangely unreal.

Nobody had slept.

Nobody had eaten properly.

Nobody knew what day it was anymore.

Christmas.

Boxing Day.

The day after.

Everything had blurred together.

Three babies.

Three incubators.

Three tiny fighters.

And somehow life outside the hospital was still continuing.

Roman was the first one to remember.

"Lillie."

Daisy looked up from Violet's incubator.

Immediately guilty.

"Oh God."

Not because they'd forgotten their daughter.

Never that.

But because everything had happened so fast.

Poppy.

Theo.

Lillie.

Three children suddenly spending Christmas with the nanny while all four adults lived at the hospital.

Roman immediately pulled out his phone.

The nanny answered on the second ring.

"How are they?"

The question came before hello.

Roman smiled.

For the first time that morning.

"They're okay."

The nanny exhaled audibly.

"Oh thank goodness."

Roman glanced toward Violet.

Tiny.

Sleeping.

Perfect.

"Violet's here."

The nanny immediately started crying.

Actually crying.

"Oh Roman."

His throat tightened unexpectedly.

Because everyone loved those babies already.

Even before they'd arrived.

"She's beautiful."

The nanny laughed through tears.

"And Daisy?"

Roman looked toward his girlfriend.

Exhausted.

Pale.

Recovering.

But alive.

"She's okay."

The relief in the nanny's voice was obvious.

Then Roman remembered why he'd called.

"We need some things."

"Tell me."

Roman immediately switched into practical mode.

The mode that appeared whenever there was a problem to solve.

"Clothes for Daisy."

"Okay."

"Comfortable clothes."

"Already packed."

Roman smiled.

Of course she had.

"And Harper."

A pause.

"Harper too?"

Roman laughed softly.

"The twins arrived."

Silence.

Then:

"What?"

"The twins arrived."

The scream that followed made Roman pull the phone away from his ear.

Across the NICU, Noah looked over.

Concerned.

Roman simply held up a finger.

One minute.

The nanny was losing her mind.

"The twins?"

"Both healthy."

"Healthy-ish."

Noah corrected from across the room.

Roman nodded.

"Healthy-ish."

"The NICU babies?"

"Three NICU babies."

The nanny immediately started crying again.

Which seemed fair.

Everybody was crying lately.

Eventually Roman got the conversation back on track.

"We'll need clothes for both women."

"Already sorting it."

"And could you call Emma?"

The temporary nanny.

The one they'd planned to hire later.

After the babies came home.

A much later plan.

Unfortunately life had ignored that plan.

"Of course."

Roman leaned back in his chair.

"Ask if she can start now."

The nanny immediately understood.

Poppy.

Theo.

Lillie.

Three children suddenly needing extra support.

While their parents lived between recovery rooms and NICU visits.

"I'll call her straight away."

"Thank you."

Roman genuinely meant it.

Because right now?

He didn't know what they'd do without her.

An hour later she arrived at the hospital.

Armed.

Not with weapons.

With bags.

Several bags.

Enough bags to survive an apocalypse.

Clothes.

Toiletries.

Chargers.

Snacks.

Coffee.

Roman wasn't entirely convinced she'd packed legally.

The woman somehow produced an entire pharmacy from one bag.

Daisy laughed for the first time all morning.

Which immediately made Roman relax.

Just a little.

Meanwhile Harper nearly cried when handed clean pyjamas.

"I love you."

The nanny laughed.

"I know."

Noah looked equally grateful.

Because none of them had expected to be staying.

Yet here they were.

Days early.

Weeks early.

Living in a hospital.

The final surprise arrived that afternoon.

Emma.

The temporary nanny.

Who had agreed to start immediately.

The relief on everyone's faces was immediate.

The children would be okay.

Really okay.

Poppy and Theo would keep their routines.

Lillie would stay in her own home.

They'd be loved.

Supported.

Taken care of.

One less thing to worry about.

And right now—

that felt like everything.

Later that evening Roman stood beside Violet's incubator.

Watching her sleep.

The hospital lights reflected softly against the glass.

Behind him Daisy slept.

Finally.

Across the hall Harper and Noah were doing the same with their twins.

Three babies.

Three tiny lives.

A hundred worries.

Yet for the first time since Christmas night—

Roman felt something he hadn't felt in days.

Hope.

Because the babies were here.

The women were safe.

The children at home were being cared for.

And for now...

That was enough.

❤️📖💕👶👶👶✨