Chapter Sixty Six

Chapter Sixty-Six

Three days after the babies were born, the hospital had become everyone's normal.

A strange normal.

One nobody wanted.

But a normal all the same.

Mornings started in NICU.

Afternoons were spent moving between recovery rooms.

Evenings were spent staring at monitors.

Watching tiny chests rise and fall.

Praying for good news.

Nobody had truly relaxed since Christmas.

Not Daisy.

Not Harper.

Not Noah.

And definitely not Roman.

The problem was there were still children at home.

Three children who missed their parents.

Three children who didn't fully understand what was happening.

Eventually the nurses made the decision for them.

"Go home."

Roman blinked.

"What?"

The NICU nurse smiled.

"Go home."

"We're fine."

"No."

The nurse folded her arms.

"You both look exhausted."

Roman glanced at Noah.

Noah looked equally terrible.

Neither argued.

Because honestly?

The nurse wasn't wrong.

Daisy pointed toward the door.

"Go."

Roman immediately shook his head.

"No."

Daisy smiled weakly.

"Roman."

"No."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You need to see Lillie."

That stopped him.

Immediately.

Because she was right.

Lillie needed her dad.

Poppy and Theo needed Noah.

And the nannies deserved a break.

Eventually both men surrendered.

Reluctantly.

Very reluctantly.

"Call me if anything changes."

Daisy laughed softly.

"You've said that six times."

"I'm serious."

"I know."

Roman kissed her forehead.

Then kissed her hand.

Then checked Violet one more time.

Then finally left.

Noah wasn't much better.

Harper practically had to threaten him.

"Go home."

"No."

"Noah."

"No."

The nurse appeared.

"Sir."

Noah immediately stood up.

Apparently hospital staff outranked husbands.

Good to know.

The drive home felt strange.

Quiet.

For the first time in days.

No hospital alarms.

No doctors.

No machines.

Just silence.

When they pulled onto their street, both men sat in the car for a moment.

Neither moving.

Neither ready.

Because walking into those houses without their babies felt wrong.

Very wrong.

Eventually Roman sighed.

"Let's do this."

Noah nodded.

Neither sounded convinced.

The second Roman opened the front door he heard it.

"DADA!"

Tiny feet.

Very fast tiny feet.

Then suddenly—

Lillie launched herself at him.

Roman caught her automatically.

The force nearly knocked him backwards.

"Hey."

Lillie wrapped both arms around his neck.

Refusing to let go.

Roman closed his eyes briefly.

Because he hadn't realised how much he'd missed her.

Not until that moment.

Not until she was safely in his arms.

Across the street Noah was getting exactly the same treatment.

Poppy.

Theo.

Questions.

Hugs.

More questions.

Then more hugs.

The children had clearly been keeping count of how long their parents had been gone.

Meanwhile Roman carried Lillie into the kitchen.

The nanny was making lunch.

She smiled immediately.

"There he is."

Roman smiled.

"How have you survived?"

The nanny laughed.

"Barely."

Lillie immediately disagreed.

The toddler had apparently had the time of her life.

Roman wasn't fooled.

The nanny looked exhausted.

Not unhappy.

Just tired.

The kind of tired that came from caring for a toddler around the clock while helping another family too.

Roman reached into his wallet.

The nanny frowned.

"What's that?"

Roman handed over a bank card.

She blinked.

"Roman."

"For anything."

The nanny immediately shook her head.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"For Lillie."

She opened her mouth.

Roman pointed.

"Anything she needs."

Silence.

Then he continued.

"Anything Emma needs for Poppy and Theo."

The nanny looked genuinely emotional.

"Roman."

"I'm serious."

School trips.

Clothes.

Shoes.

Food.

Activities.

Whatever.

The last thing he wanted was either nanny worrying about money while helping raise the children.

The nanny finally nodded.

Carefully.

"Thank you."

Roman smiled.

"You've taken care of my daughter."

His voice softened.

"While I couldn't."

The nanny's eyes immediately filled with tears.

Because she understood what he meant.

Not couldn't because he didn't want to.

Couldn't because his other daughter needed him too.

That afternoon both nannies finally took a few hours off.

A proper break.

A well-deserved break.

And for the first time in days, Noah and Roman were simply dads again.

Building towers.

Reading stories.

Cleaning up toys.

Making lunch.

Normal things.

The kind of things they'd both desperately missed.

Later that evening Roman sat on the floor of the family room.

Lillie asleep against his chest.

One tiny hand curled around his shirt.

The Christmas tree still glowed softly nearby.

The house was quiet.

Too quiet.

Because somebody was missing.

Actually several somebodies.

Roman looked toward the nursery.

The nursery Violet should have been sleeping in.

Instead she was in NICU.

Tiny.

Fighting.

Growing stronger every day.

He knew she was where she needed to be.

He knew the doctors were amazing.

He knew she was doing well.

Yet the house still felt incomplete.

Lillie shifted slightly in her sleep.

Roman kissed the top of her head.

Then pulled out his phone.

The lock screen photograph showed Violet.

Tiny.

Perfect.

Beautiful.

Roman smiled.

"Come home soon, sweetheart."

Across the street Noah was thinking exactly the same thing about his twins.

Three babies.

Three incubators.

Three families waiting.

Three little fighters getting stronger with every passing day.

❤️📖💕👶👶👶✨