Natalie headed to the altar and lit a candle, not for Paul, but for the little girl he left behind.She took out her Rosary from her bag and prayed. When she was done with her Hail Marys, she made her way to her friends' pew.More people had arrived while she was chatting with Meredith, and they were now hovering in the early double digits."What was that?" Emily asked as soon as she sat down."She's just a little girl," Natalie said. "We may hate her father. But he was her whole world, and he's gone now. If I knew he had a little girl, that he was a father, I would never have let things get this far.""You didn't do anything!" Emily scolded her."Didn't I? Sam, Sandra, the investigation, Levi and the Dreams dossier? Didn't I do all of it? And for what? So that little girl could lose her father? No one told me he had a daughter! Someone should have told me he had a child!" Natalie wailed, and they had to get her out of there fast.Colleen gently shook her on the steps. "Nat, we couldn
Across town, in the building owned by the man being laid to rest at West Park Cemetery at that very moment, Levi sat in Linda Swartz's office, wondering if he'd made a mistake.After the usual, standard pleasantries and patient-doctor bullshit was out of the way, Linda had encouraged him to make himself comfortable on her tan leather couch.That was fifteen minutes ago. Nothing else was said since, and Levi was hoping she'd take the lead, or at the very least, give him further instructions. But she seemed awfully happy to just scribble in her brand new journal.What she was scribbling in there was a huge mystery to him since he'd barely said a word.He cleared his throat. Linda looked up from her notebook and smiled at him."I've been thinking," he began. "I've been thinking a lot lately.""Anything in particular?" Linda asked.Levi nodded. "Do you think people are inherently bad?"Linda dropped the pen on her journal, laced her hands together, and weighed his question before asking o
Levi called Natalie to check how the funeral had gone. Colleen picked up, though, explaining his fiancée was fast asleep."Is she okay?" he asked. "Did she eat?""Yeah, yeah, she ate." Colleen quickly brushed him off and gave him a blow by blow account of the funeral, starting with the memorial service."Seriously, Nat has a huge heart. As much as she loathes Paul, she still found it in her to comfort his little girl."Levi stopped at a red traffic light, smiling to himself. It definitely sounded like something Natalie would do. Her selflessness amazed and inspired him every day, and he was so proud and elated she was the mother of his children."Did you hear what I said? Paul's ex pissed on his grave!" Colleen screeched on her end, and Levi was a little disturbed at how thrilled she sounded.The traffic light turned green, he sped off and returned his attention to his twin. "That's great, Leeny—"His words trailed off when he realised that maybe 'great' wasn't the right word choice h
Monday came too soon for Natalie. She knew something was up the moment she walked into the office. But instead of the usual whispers and stares, everyone was surprisingly nice."Welcome back, Nat!" someone yelled as she made her way to her desk. This was the fourth, maybe fifth such greeting.She was relieved to see Emily at her desk. Maybe she could explain why their colleagues were acting strange."Hey, you slept here?" she asked her friend as she placed her stuff on her desk."Something like that," Emily replied, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "After that encounter with Aunty Viv, I couldn't sleep the whole weekend.""Where's Seth? I thought you said his dick is the best pacifier in the world, and it puts you right to sleep?""He's out of town. Working a case," Emily explained. "He'll be back on Wednesday, and on Thursday, I'm meeting his parents.""That's nice—" Natalie said and paused when her friend's words sunk in. "What do you mean you're meeting his parents?""He'
The Spanish restaurant on the ground floor at The Castle was surprisingly packed when they walked in. Levi's parents waved them over from their window table when they saw them lingering at the door.After all the pleasantries and hugs were out of the way, Levi pulled out a chair for Natalie.His mom couldn't stop gushing about Natalie's glow. The longer she complimented her, the darker the frown and the look of suspicion grew on Leviticus' face.He cleared his throat and picked up his menu. "Your mother said you have something to tell us?""Oh yes," Levi nodded. Turning to Natalie, he smiled. "Nat and I wanted to share some news with you."Cynthia looked like a Cheshire cat, and Levi wondered if her smile could grow any wider as she urged him from her seat, "yes, tell us!""We're expecting twins! And it's a pigeon pair!" Levi announced."Finally!" she squealed as she took both Natalie's hands and kissed them. "I've been dying for this moment for weeks. Now I can tell all my friends."
The next few weeks flew by very quickly. Before Natalie knew it, she was right in the middle of her second trimester, and Heritage Day weekend was upon them.The long weekend coincided with Speed Freak's summer launch and the Raven's opening game of the season at Stargazers Stadium.Her siblings called her bright and early Friday morning to let her know they were already on their way to the airport two town's over. Levi had insisted on booking them plane tickets, and both were anxious out of their minds since it would be their first time on a plane."What if the plane goes down?" Amber asked."Yeah, what if we crash into the sea?" Jamie added his concerns, and Natalie was surprised the thought had even crossed his mind. He was usually level-headed and scientific about everything."Guys, you both need to relax. Nothing will happen to you. I've flown a few times," she assured them as best as she could but neglected to mention on a helicopter. "We'll be there at 10:00 AM."She and Levi w
The party broke up shortly before 11:00 PM. Liam and their friends wanted to take Levi and Mark for celebratory drinks."You don't mind if I go, do you?" Levi asked outside the venue."Not at all, go have fun. You deserve this," Natalie reached up and kissed him. "I am so proud of you. That was an incredible sales night.""You haven't seen nothing yet," he kissed her back. "Three years from now, you'll be on that stage, revealing the sales for 'What If'.""You think so?" she stared at him in wonder."I know so," he touched her tummy, his eyes widening when he felt one or both babies kick for the very first time. "Nat? Did you feel that? I think Juno moved."Natalie chuckled, tears blurring her vision, "You silly oaf, how do you even know it's Juno? It could be Mars.""Nah," he gave her a tearful smile. "Mars is lazy. The less effort he puts in—" His words died off when he felt a few more kicks, this time more rapid and stronger than before. "Oh God, does it hurt? Are they hurting you?
Goodbyes…Levi never really liked them.But then again, who did?For him, though, this goodbye was especially hard since he'd just found Colleen, and now she was flying off to Lord knew where with Mark, and he didn't know when he'd see them again.He didn't want them to go, but asking them to stay would be downright selfish. He had Natalie and the twins, and he was so deliriously happy. Colleen and Mark deserved the same happiness he'd found."So this is it then?" he said, jamming his hands in his pockets.They were at the international travel terminal at the airport, where Mark and Colleen were about to board a noon flight bound for São Paolo. What led them to pick Brazil as the first stop on their three-month-long world tour was still a mystery. Levi had asked, but the details had remained sketchy. They seemed excited, though."Yeah, and we really have to go," Mark checked his watch and patted him on the back as they exchanged a hug.Turning to Natalie, he pointed at her tummy. "Tak