Chapter Fifty-Seven

30 June 2027

Lucy and Harry stared into one of the bedrooms of their Kensington Palace apartment. It was finished, with most of the work going to Harry, or rather the people who worked under Harry. They had made plans for the bedrooms of the little girls, but Lucy had done no heavy lifting. She didn't mind watching. All the rooms were differently, currently color-coded per girl. Names would've been given later. Space here, thankfully, was infinite. No rooms needed to be shared, and, hopefully, they wouldn't wake each other up.

His arms were curled around his wife, with her head resting on his shoulder. All of the bedrooms were finished, with three months to go. Lucy's hand was on her back, with a massive back ache all day. Her head pounded too. Her skin seemed too tight and it was too hot inside the apartment. Even as she leaned against Harry, he was too hot.

The boys ran around their feet, playing with airplanes and dolls. Throughout the whole process of the babies' rooms, the boys watched more and more, and they got more and more excited. The days counted down in their minds. Harry and Lucy yet needed more time to get everything ready.

"Enough," Lucy said. "Lunch time. Downstairs."

The boys raced out of the bedroom and downstairs.

Harry kissed her on the forehead. "You good?"

"Yeah." Her head pounded.

"They're wild today." Harry and Lucy walked down the stairs. He started two stairs below her but he made it all the way down by the time Lucy got five stairs down. He turned back to her, and her chest went up and down. "Luce?"

"I'm fine. Go."

After giving her a worried look, Harry went into the kitchen. One step at a time, Lucy made it down the stairs and entered the kitchen. Sandwiches were in order. Freddie set the table for them. Lucy pulled out the bread and set it aside. The adults stopped as the smell hit them. Their eyes peeled across the room. Their faces landed on the source. Henry started to cry, screaming and obnoxious. The smell of poop filled the room.

"Harry, could you?"

Harry picked up his younger son, who had an accident. Henry was potty trained, but accidents still happened. His cries filled the air, bouncing off the walls. Harry pulled him upstairs. Henry's cries continued to fill the apartment, even with a few doors closed.

Lucy looked at her son and smiled. "What kind of sandwich do you want?"

"Ham and cheese."

"Ham and cheese? What kind of cheese?"

"The white kind."

Lucy pulled the cheese out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter. "Butter?"

Freddie nodded. Wiping butter on the bread, she put down a piece of ham and then a piece of cheese. "More," he said.

"More? What do you say?"

"More please."

Lucy placed another piece of ham and cheese on the sandwich. She made the same sandwich for Henry too. "Do you want it cut?"

Freddie nodded.

She grabbed the knife and sliced the bread, ham and cheese, and then she hit the plate. Lucy leaned forward, hunching over. She stared down at the sandwich. Biting her bottom lip, Lucy refused to make a sound. A groan wanted to escape her lips, but she refused to do so. She wouldn't show pain in front of her son. Lucy refused to show fear in front of her son.

"Mummy?"

"Kiddo, can you please go get your dad?" The words, thankfully, weren't squeaks, but calm and collected. She continued to stare at the sandwich.

Freddie ran upstairs, as quick as he could. It was like he felt the pain and fear coming from his mummy. He fell on the stairs but ran up anyway. Freddie looked room by room for his dad and brother, and they ended up being in the bathroom. Freddie was out of breath when he looked at his dad.

"What's up, Freddie?" His father hadn't looked up.

"Mummy."

Harry continued to clean up Henry, who was almost all clean. However the tears hadn't managed to stop. "Does she need help?"

"Yes."

"With the sandwiches?"

"No."

"With what?"

Freddie walked over to his dad and stopped in front of him. "I think Mummy is in pain."

Harry finally looked up. Something peaked inside of him, like panic and his own pain. This always happened with Lucy. He had to do something with his sons, though; he couldn't just leave them there. They were too young.

"Harry!" Lucy screamed suddenly. Any time Lucy screamed, it was bad. It was a rare occasion. Lucy did things herself. She didn't complain about pain. She survived, always. For her to scream, it was bad. It meant hell was coming.

He had no choice. "Freddie, stay here with Henry."

"Daddy!"

"Freddie!" Harry warned as he ran down the stairs, almost tripping himself. He threw himself into the kitchen with Lucy leaned over the counter. She was completely still but standing. She breathed deeply, controlled and calm. He could hear her breathe-- in and out, in and out. Panic pushed through his veins, for the love of his life and for his future children. He assumed it was early labor, technically three months early. Three months early was too much; more time was needed!

"Luce?" He touched her slightly. "Luce, you okay?"

"Contraction," she moaned.

"Are you sure?"

She threw her head back and glared at him. She had done this before, or didn't he remember? You didn't forget this kind of pain, even though more children popped out.

Harry swallowed. "Okay. Be calm." He touched her back, rubbing it gently. "I'm right here. Everything is fine. Everything is fine."

"You're annoying me, Harry."

He gave her a smile. "I'm going to call Siobhan and the doctor, okay?"

"Check on the boys."

"Okay." He kissed her on the cheek, grabbed the phone and left the room. Freddie and Henry waited at the top of the stairs, watching their dad. "Everything is fine," he lied to his sons. It tasted sour in his mouth. "Go play. Lunch will be in a little bit." The boys didn't budge from the staircase. "Go play in Freddie's room now." Harry hated how he sounded, how cruel and angry it was, and he knew it wasn't his sons' fault, but he couldn't control it. Panic for Lucy and his daughters were on his mind.

The boys ran away and Harry called Siobhan first. Someone needed to watch the boys. Next he called the doctor, who called the hospital. Harry looked up the stairs, straining his ears to listen for his sons. It was quiet. Harry entered the kitchen again, and Lucy hadn't moved.

"Is it possible it false labor?" he asked, touching her back gently again.

"It's the real thing." Lucy sucked in air. "Harry, are the boys okay?"

"Scared but fine."

"Scared but fine," Lucy repeated. "Harry, the babies--"

"I know." He kissed her head. "Positivity-- positivity."

"Harry, I'm scared." The words escaped Lucy's lips before she could clamp down.

She refused to admit fear, especially here. She was better than this; she was stronger than this. Sometimes Lucy hated herself because of this irrational fear. She feared too much nowadays, always for her children. It pumped through her. This fear was for her children, once again: first, for the little baby girls inside of her that still had three months left; second, for her boys, who awaited their little sisters. Then Lucy had fear for Harry, for everything around him. His children were his life now; he made it priority. Lucy refused to be scared for herself. She was a survivor, always. She faced down a gunman and crazy person after crazy person with a knife. Her life didn't hang in balance. There wasn't panic. But she didn't want the pain of something happened to one of the baby girls; she didn't want to feel it. Worst though, if she didn't feel it, Lucy would be completely numb, floating there, barely human.

"Me too," he admitted to being scared, "but everything is fine. You're good. Everything is fine. Breathe-- breathe." Lucy groaned again. "The babies are okay. You're okay." He said the words but he didn't truly know. He was scared what came next too, more than anyone could've known, more than he could've admitted. He told his wife everything was going to be okay, but he just didn't know.

********************************Well how about that, another cliffhanger! I'm off to the Highlands this weekend so there will be no update until Sunday night at the earliest because then I'll have internet again.Don't forget to comment and vote. I hope you're enjoying this.