***
Tanesha giggled as she watched the monitor and listened to the heartbeats of her babies. It never ceased to amaze her. The fact that they could have such strong heartbeats when she couldn’t even feel them inside her yet, made it even more astounding.
“Incredible isn’t it?” Dora Ashton said from beside her daughter, staring at the monitor with a brilliant smile on her face. “Small hearts and yet, very strong. That’s my grandbabies for you.” She beamed proudly.
Tanesha was nine weeks pregnant. Twins! She still shivered with shock, excitement, and sadness whenever she thought about the twin babies growing inside her. Shock for the fact that they were two and not just one, excitement for the fact that she was pregnant with Ty’s babies… had a huge piece of him growing inside her, and sadness for the fact that Ty wasn’t around to even know he had babies on the way. Ty had still not turned up after two months. Although she was worried and unhappy, she knew in her gut that he was alive.
When she was given the bad news, of Ty’s disappearance, she’d cried for days and eventually had to be admitted into a hospital. And that was how her pregnancy had been detected. From her doctor’s calculation, she’d conceived on the night of that dinner at the White House. Tanesha wasn’t surprised. She still cried, but it wasn’t as frequently as before because besides the fact that she didn’t want to cause the babies any stress, she was genuinely over the moon for the pregnancy.
Paul Ashton had predictably hit the roof when they’d found out about her condition. But Tanesha’s mother had worked her magic on him, reminding him that it was not necessary to cry over spilt milk. Besides, their daughter was already devastated over what had befallen Ty so there was no need for him to compound her problems by portraying his anger at the news of the pregnancy. So Paul had kept his cool and showed his support to his daughter.
Tanesha was still not showing, which surprised her. After all, there were two human beings growing inside her. But her doctor had assured her that since it was her first pregnancy, it wasn’t strange at all.
“Since you’re a first-time mum, you could begin developing a baby bump any time between twelve and sixteen weeks.” Dr. Jane Brooks had explained. “You have up to the end of your first trimester to enjoy your flat tummy.” She’d added with a chuckle.
But Tanesha couldn’t wait to see her stomach swell with her miracle. The only change she could readily notice within herself was that her breasts felt heavier, she’d lost appetite for food and she experienced frequent heartburns. She still went for lectures and did everything expected of her, except for the fact that she wasn’t her usual bubbly self. Ty had been gone for two months without any word. Tanesha just wasn’t a happy girl. She however made an effort to look cheerful around people who she knew were worried about her…like her family and Ty’s friends.
The guys had shown her so much love in Ty’s absence, assuring her that Ty was too stubborn to die so she should be positive. All she had was hope and nothing more. Sometimes she cried because she was almost sure that some forces were keeping them apart. Just when she thought she had her boyfriend back and could be happy, fate separated them again. It was so frustrating and irritating. But she had hope. Ty would come back to her. He’d promised. And Tanesha knew Ty took his promises seriously.
“I still can’t get used to this car,” Dora muttered as she slipped into the front seat of Ty’s Bugatti Veyron. “These kinds of cars are for young people, not old birds like me.”
“Oh come on Mum.” Tanesha laughed as she accelerated the car out of the parking lot. “It’s not as if you’re the one driving. I am. And the last time I checked, I was very young, thank you very much.” She said cheekily, making her mother laugh.
“Silly little girl.” Dora laughed.
“Not so little anymore.” Tanesha sighed, losing her playful look.
“Hey, everything will be fine,” Dora said, reaching out to rub her daughter’s cheek with her knuckles. “Don’t worry too much.”
Tanesha nodded as she drove towards Ty’s home. It was a Saturday. And her mother had promised to spend the day with her in Ty’s house, where Tanesha always spent her weekends. She smiled when she remembered the day the squad, their partners, and kids had all converged in Ty’s house one Saturday, to spend the day with her. Even Adele, Shane’s daughter had come too. It had been fun. Tanesha couldn’t remember a day she’d been that carefree since Ty left on that fateful mission. She’d invited Thea and Theo, Ty’s twin siblings to come too.
She’d had a blast. The guys had made a bet on the sex of the baby, not having any clue that she was having twins. The only ones who were privy to that information was her family. She planned on telling the squad later after she was done savouring the news. So the antics of the squad had amused her even more. When Michael had begun to earnestly interview her to know exactly how she was feeling, to help him in making a choice during the bet, Tanesha had laughed so hard her sides had hurt.
“You’re such an asshole.” Cole had grumbled.
“Hey, don’t hate.” Michael had chuckled. “As a father to both a boy and a girl, I have an advantage here and it will be stupid not to use it.”
“He’s so full of shit.” Matt had growled, making everyone burst into laughter.
Those guys made her smile just by thinking about them. She loved them to bits. As Tanesha cut off the engine, Ty’s housekeeper came out to meet them with a smile on her face. Her boss had given her strict instructions before leaving on his last mission.
“Make sure she has everything she needs when she comes here, Annabel.” He’d said. “And call any of the guys if you see her crying, okay?”
“Roger that Sir.” She’d given a salute that had made Ty smile.
“And keep her company whenever she comes around. You’re young. You two can get along perfectly.”
And Annabel had done just as her boss had instructed. She lived in the detached guest house on Ty’s property with Peter, her husband who was also the caretaker since Ty was mostly out on missions. Therefore whenever she detected that Tanesha didn’t look too cheerful during her weekend sleepovers, she stayed with her and tried to raise her spirits. In fact, the only times she stayed away was when Tanesha was studying or sleeping. They’d gotten pretty close in such a short time and Annabel was so thrilled with the news of the baby. She knew her boss would be ecstatic when he got to know. She just prayed for his safe return.