one of our daughters while I keep the other one and we burp them. As soon as they burp for us, I lay my little one down in between my legs to change her. Killer is changing our other little one in the bassinet. I’m so sore from the surgery to remove our babies from my body. We each wrap out little girls up and cuddle them to our chest.
“Momma, are you ready for visitors?” Killer questions me. “Everyone’s been waitin’ for you to wake up so they can come meet the girls.”
“Yeah. I don’t know when I’ll ever not be exhausted or tired,” I reply to him as he picks up his phone and types out a message to one of the guys.
Within minutes, the door opens, and our room fills up with our family. The women race over to my bedside to see the girls first. Everyone tells us how beautiful and precious they are as they look down on them. I hand my little one over to my sister as she cuddles her to her chest while Fox brings a chair in behind her to sit in.
“Everyone, I’d like you all to meet Faith Mary,” I say looking at Killer. “And Hope Angel.”
There isn’t a sound in the room as each man and woman take in the names I’ve just told them. After everything that’s happened, Killer and I decided to go with names representing the miracles our babies are.
“I love them,” Shy says, placing a kiss on the top of my head. “So proud of you.”
“Thank you,” I respond, stifling a yawn.
“Alright, everyone out. Stryker isn’t goin’ anywhere,” Slim says, looking around the room. “You guys can visit tomorrow when Gwen’s gotten some more rest. Love you guys and we’ll see you soon. I don’t think Rich is gonna be leavin’ here either.”
“Okay. Sounds good. Thanks for comin’ over everyone,” Killer tells them all as they begin to file out.
Fox and Kim are the last to leave besides my two closest friends. My sister leans over my bed while Fox holds Hope. She kisses my cheek with tears in her eyes before speaking.
“Gwen, I’m so glad we found you and you wanted to have me in your life. I love you baby sister. And I’m so damn proud of you. You’re so strong for doing what you had to in order to bring Faith and Hope into the world and join our family,” she tells me, making us both cry as our men look on. “I’ll see you in the morning. Let me know if you want me to bring you anything.”
“Okay big sis. I love you too. Thank you for being here for me,” I tell her, giving her a smile as Fox walks over to me and hands my daughter back.
“Love you like my little sister, Gwen. Killer’s already my brother. Rest easy and we’ll see you in a few hours,” he says, kissing my forehead.
Once everyone is out of the room, Killer places both girls in the bassinets after putting pajamas on them so they don’t get cold while they sleep. After wrapping them back up, and making sure they’re okay, Killer walks around the bed and I slide over. He climbs in bed with me, making sure he doesn’t touch my stomach or cause any pain.
“I love you, my Sparrow,” he says quietly. “Thank you for givin’ me the best gift in the world.”
“I love you too, Killer. There’s nothing to thank me for because you’ve given me the greatest gifts I could ever ask for. You saved me when I didn’t think I could be helped, taught me how to love and be loved, and we have two little girls to love and nurture,” I tell him, placing a hand on his cheek and leaning in for a kiss.
Killer pulls away from the kiss first and places his arm under my head before wrapping his other arm just under my chest so it’s away from my stomach. Laying my head against his chest, I close my eyes and drift off to sleep. The girls will be up soon for their next feeding and I want to get a little sleep before that time.
As sleep claims me, I think about my life and where I am now. I’ve gained so much since moving to Benton Falls to be with my sister. I now have a family who loves me unconditionally, two little girls who will never know what it feels like to