"All right Nick, let's go through this one more time," I said as I let out an exasperated sigh. "Who's going to be the ring bearer?"
"Aaron."
"Flower girls?"
"Angel and your sister Regina."
"Maid of honor?"
"Kari."
"Good Nick. Bridesmaids?"
"Umm...BJ, Leslie, and your sister Sam."
"Very good. Now here's the tricky part. Best man and ushers?"
Nick looked down at the ground. "I still don't know," he mumbled.
Jane shook her head. "Nickolas, come on. The wedding is in four weeks and you still don't know?"
"I can't decide," Nick complained. "If I pick one guy, the others are gonna kick my ass!" Jane eyed him sternly. "Sorry, my butt."
"Okay then, don't have a best man. Why don't they all be ushers?" Jane suggested. "It'll be even then."
"Okay," I agreed. "That'll work. Kevin can walk with Sam, BJ and AJ, Leslie and Howie..."
"And Kari and Brian!" Nick said as a twisted smile crept across his face.
I just looked at him. I wasn't exactly sure that would be such a good idea. It had been five months since Kari and Brian spilt up, and Kari took it in stride. She had really matured since their break-up. She stopped saying like in every sentence, which was a major first for her. I was afraid that seeing Brian would change her back to the way she used to be. The bad way.
"What?" Nick asked. "I promised Kari I'd get them back together and this is the perfect way to do it!"
"You better know what you're doing," I warned him.
"Um...Jane?" Kari shakily made her way into the kitchen where we were sitting. "M-my water just broke." She looked like she was ready to cry.
"Okay dear, calm down," Jane said soothingly. "I'll call your doctor and tell him to meet us at the hospital. Amy, you take Kari upstairs and get her things together."
I nodded and carefully led Kari up the stairs and into the guest room where we were staying.
"What's going on?" BJ asked as she walked out of her room.
"Kari's water just broke," I informed her.
"Oh that's so cool! I'm gonna be an aunt! Well, sort of. I'm going to tell Aaron and Leslie, bye!" BJ ran off in search of her siblings.
A few minutes later, Kari's things were all packed and Jane took her to the hospital. Jane instructed us to call Brian and then meet her at the hospital.
"Well?" I asked as Nick hung up the phone.
"Brian's gonna meet us there."
"Does he have the names picked out?"
"No."
"What is with you people? I want my children to be named before they're one! And at the rate he's going, they won't have names until they're forty!"
"Amy, calm down. I'm sure he'll thing of something."
"He'd better," I mumbled as Nick and I got into his car and headed for the hospital.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Oh good, you're here!" Jane rushed towards us as we walked into the hospital. "Brian's already here, come on I'll show you where Kari is." Jane led us down a long corridor and finally stopped at the third door on the right. "She's in here."
Nick and I walked in. "Excuse me," the doctor said. "you can't be in here."
"Yes, we can. We're adopting the children and I want to be here when they're born," I replied firmly.
"All right then." He tossed some hospital scrubs at us. "But these on."
Nick and I obliged and then walked over to Brian. "Hey," I said, giving him a hug. "Are you excited?"
Brian nodded. "It's just too bad they won't be my kids. You two deserve them, but I'd better not hear from either one of them that you aren't treating them right, you got that?"
"Oh, and who says you'll be in their lives?" Nick asked jokingly.
"Oh, I'll be there," Brian answered confidently. "You can't get rid of me that easy."
* * * * * * * * * *
"Just one more push Kari," the doctor coaxed. "Come on, you can do it, the first one is already out."
"Amy, you are so dead!" Kari screamed. "I'm going to kill you when this is over!" After one final push, Kari fell backwards from exhaustion.
The doctor smiled up at Nick and I. "Congratulations," he said. "You are the parents of twin girls."
"Girls? Oh man, I had boys names picked out," Brian whined.
"Well you'd better think of some names," I threatened.
The doctor took the girls away to clean them up, but soon brought them back and handed one to me and one to Nick. I looked down at my baby girl and smiled. She and her sister were so beautiful. They looked a lot like Brian, but had Kari's brilliant emerald eyes.
"Well?" the doctor asked. "What are their names, I have to know for the birth certificate."
Brian looked at the girls thoughtfully. "The one Nick is holding is Autumn Leigh. And the one Amy is holding is Summer Rose."
"Brian, that's so cute," I said happily. "Do you want to hold them?"
Brian nodded and took Autumn from Nick. "Wow, she looks like me!"
"Poor kid," Nick teased.
I gave Nick Summer to hold and walked over to Kari. "Thank you so much," I whispered as I gave her a hug. "You have no idea how much this means to me and Nick."
"Yes I do," Kari whispered back. "And you're welcome. Just as long as I have all babysitting privileges."
"Of course you will."
By that time, Jane had come into the room and was holding her grandchildren. She didn't say anything, but her broad smile revealed her happiness.
Soon, it was time for the babies to go to the nursery. They, as well as Kari, would have to stay over night yet to make sure and test for any alcohol related birth defects. Kari and Brian signed the birth certificate, and then Nick and I filled out the adoption papers. Because we knew so far in advance about adopting the babies, we had gone to an agency for the papers. Then Autumn and Summer were officially ours.
"I love you so much Nick," I said, giving him a quick kiss as we stood in front of the glass at the nursery.
"Eww, knock it off!" Aaron whined. "Ang and I can't see, lift us up!"
Nick lifted Aaron, and I picked up Angel. "Which babies are they?" Angel asked.
I pointed to the two babies directly in the middle of the nursery. "The one that just yawned in Summer Rose. The one on her left is Autumn Leigh."
"Nice names," Leslie commented. "and the babies are so adorable!" BJ, Aaron, and Angel nodded in agreement.
Nick held me close as we continued to admire our bundles of joy.
The next day, Nick and I brought Autumn, Summer, and Kari home, all three completely healthy. We had been expecting that Kari would have the babies soon, so we had the car seats and everything all ready.
All that was left was the wedding....
