Best Friends to Lovers

Chapter 13

It has been three weeks since the birth of the twin. Hayden and I were on our way to visit them. We pulled into the parking lot, found a parking space, and got out of the car. I looked around, taking note of where we parked when we left. Then we head in.

When we reach the hospital entrance, Brittany rushes up to me with a gun in her hands. "You put the man I love behind bars. Now you must die or he will spend the rest of his life in prison," She says and pulls the trigger.

The shot missed me and hit the pillar directly behind me. Brittany, if you kill me, Tanner may get out of jail, but you will spend the rest of your life behind bars. Is that what you want?" I asked.

"That won't happen. Tanner promised me he would get me out of it," Brittany says. 

"Oh, did he now. If he could get people out of trouble, don't you think that he would get himself out of it," Hayden asked.

"Well, he said that he couldn't since you both framed him for manslaughter?' she says with tears in her eyes.

"Will you listen to some audio for me," Hayden asked her.

"Why? What can it prove," she asked.

"Just listen for yourself," Hayden says and hands her the phone after push play. She listens to the whole recording, her eyes becoming glassy-looking. Finally, she falls to her knees.

"Why? Why would he lie to me like that? I can't believe he lied," she cries.

"I am not sure what he was thinking," I say.

"You stupid b***h you made him like this. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have gone crazy; you should have forgiven him," she screams and fires the gun at me again. This time there is a surging pain that radiates from my body. I can't pinpoint where it was coming from, but I could feel myself falling to the ground and darkness overtakes me.

***

When I wake up, it is dark outside; I look around the room. I spot Hayden sitting in a chair by my side, fast asleep. "Hay...Hayden," I say, my voice raspy from lack of use.

Hayden's eyes fly open and he jumps up, "Oh my gosh, you are awake. I have been here for a week waiting for this," He says with tears in his eyes.

"Wa...water," my raspy voice chokes out. Hayden reaches for the pitcher sitting on the table beside the bed and fills a cup and helps me take a drink. "How are the twins? So they need to pump so I can feed them," I asked.

"Kitten, the boys are great; they are getting big. They had plenty of your milk to feed them. The nurses here have pumped your milk a few times a day to keep your milk supply up. You will have to pump and dump for a while because of the pain meds," Hayden tells me.

"Where was I shot? Is Brittany in jail? Where are the babies? Are they okay? When can I see them?" I fired off questions as fast as they popped in my head, feeling panicked. 

"Kitten, Brittany shot you in your shoulder. The bullet went straight through. You lost a lot of blood. As soon as the gun went off, Brittany dropped it and ran. They still haven't caught her," Hayden says, grinning his teeth, "I should let the nurses know you are awake," He bends down and kisses me.

"Hit the nurse call button; they will come in," I say, then add, "When can I go see the twins,"

"It's four in the morning; we will go as soon as the nurse lets you get up," Hayden says, smiling.

"Can I have my phone so I can message Maddison, please,"

"Here you go, baby. She has been here every day. She will be happy to hear from you,"

I take my phone and dial Maddison's phone number. The phone rang three times before Maddi picked up. "Hayden? What's wrong? Is Melinda alright?"

"It's me, Maddison. I woke up a little bit ago," I say with a smile.

"Oh my, I was so worried about you. How are you feeling?" 

"I am feeling pretty good. I want to see my little ones. I miss them like crazy," I say.

"I bet they are missing you too. Are you in any pain?" 

"No, not at all. We are still waiting for the nurse to come in. they don't know I am awake yet,"

"Well, why don't you rest and spend time with your guys. I will see you in a few hours. Melinda, you know you are like a sister to me. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you. I love you. Take care of yourself. We will be there as soon as visiting hours start," Maddison says, then the line goes dead before I can respond.

"Wow, she didn't even give me a chance to respond," I say, looking at the phone.

The door opens and a nurse walks in. "Mrs. Rowland, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?" She asked me.

"I am feeling great. But, I want to see my babies," I say.

"Well, first, let's get the Doctor to examine you. Then we will take you to see the twins. Does that sound good to you?"

"As long as it is soon. I haven't seen Xander and Xaidyn in a week. So I am not waiting for hours," I say.

"Fair enough. I will go call the Doctor and have him get here soon," the nurse says, walking out of the room.

"That reminds me, I need to call macon Conner and let him know that you are awake. He has stopped by twice a day for the last week to check on you," Hayden says.

"Has Brittany been in contact with Tanner since the shooting?" I asked. 

"No, but Tanner lost his phone privileges. So that isn't a shock. I have hired a few people to look for her on the down-low. Sooner or later, she will show up again and won't get away. Even if I have to knock her ass out myself," Hayden says.

"Call Mason. I am sure he will be glad to hear I am up," 

"He sure will be, Kitten," Hayden says, pecking my lips. Then pulls out his phone and calls Mason.

As I wait on the Doctor, I start to wonder how my parents have handled this. I am their only daughter. I am sure they thought they were going to have to bury me. I need to call them in a few. Then I started to think back to the day of the shooting. Brittany, I think she is more than a few fries short of a happy meal. That lady needs some significant help. What is her next move going to be? Is she going to try to hurt my children?

As my mind was racing, the door to my room opened and a doctor walked in. "Mrs. Rowland, I am Dr. Riley. I have been taking care of you since you came in. How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?" he asked.

"I am feeling fine. I am in a little pain, but I don't want to take anything that I cant take while breastfeeding. So, if there are pain meds that I can take and feed my babies, I am all for it. Otherwise, it is out of the question,"

"Can you live with the pain you are in right now?" the Doctor asked me.

"Yes, it isn't any worse than giving birth. I think I can handle it just fine."

"Alright, let me look at the wound, and then I will have the nurse take you to see your twins,"

About twenty minutes later. I was in a wheelchair being wheeled to the NICU, where my boys were. As we reached the door, I heard the cries of babies and my breasts tingle. "Those are my babies. What is wrong with them?"

"Hon, I believe it is their feeding time." It has been about six hours since you got pain meds and pumped your milk about four hours ago. Would you like to try to feed them?' the nurse asked me. 

"Yes, I would, please," I replied.

"Let's get you over to them then," she says, walking faster.

When she stopped me at a crib, I asked her where the other was sleeping. "Well, they wouldn't sleep by themselves. So, their nurses have to put them together. They don't like being separated. It's neat if you ask me. It means they have an excellent bond with each other. Darla, this is the Rowland twin's mother. She would like to try to feed them,"

"Oh, okay, why don't you get into the rocking chair? Then I will hand you Xander to feed first,"

I sit down on the rocker and she hands me a baby. "Darla, this is Xaidyn, Not Xander," I said to her, a little annoyed. I am more than a little annoyed.

"Are you sure? There twins. How do you know that is Xaidyn,"

"Yes, I am sure Xander's hair is a little longer than Xaidyn's,"

She looks at the band on the baby's ankle and smiles at me, "You're right. I am so sorry they look so much alike that I picked the wrong one up." she says, smiling at me.

"Darla, if you can mistake my babies like that. What if you gave meds to them and gave the wrong meds to the baby that didn't need it? You need to be more careful and check their bands before assuming one is the one that needs something. If my babies get hurt, you will not like the result," I say to her just as Hayden walks in.

"What is going on here?" he asked.

"Well, Darla handed me the wrong baby. She was supposed to hand me Xander and gave me Xaidyn instead. If it was a mistake involving medication, she could have hurt him," I say.

"Darla, I want to talk to your supervisor. Will you go get her, please?" Hayden says, then looks at me, "How do you know which is which?"

"One has longer hair than the other. I have Xaidyn in my arms. His hair is shorter than Xanders." 

"Wow, I can't believe you found that subtle of a difference in them. I told you, you were going to be a great mom," he says, pecking my lips, then bends down and kisses Xaidyn's head.

He then walks over to the crib and picks Xander up, "Xanny, your mommy can already tell you and your brother apart. So you two won't be able to play any tricks on her," Hayden says, kissing Xander on the head as he lowers himself into a chair.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rowland, I heard you wanted to speak to the nursing supervisor. That would be me. What can I do for you?" an older nurse asked us.

"Darla told me she would hand me Xander but instead gave me Xaidyn. What if a mistake like that happened with meds? Do all the nurses here know to check the band before just assuming? If it was a med, my baby could be fighting for his life. I don't know what is going on in her life, but she needs to get her head in the game when she is here. It could cost a baby its life,"

"You are right. Darla needs to be more focused. I am so sorry. I will talk with her and assign another nurse to the twins," 

"Thank you. I want to make sure Darla is paying more attention."

She hods her head," I understand entirely. I will leave you alone so you can spend time with the babies," then she turns and walks away.

"Hayden, will you switch me, babies? Xaidyn is done feeding. Now Xander needs to eat," I say, then kiss Xaidyn.

"Sure, He is a little grumpy; I can't get him to stay calm for long. Here let me take Zaidyn, then I will hand you Xande; he can be cranky, very cranky when he is hungry," Hayden says as he stands and switches out the babies.

"I can't believe how much they have grown over that last week. The twins will come home soon, won't they?"

"Yes, kitten, the doctor said in a week or two, they will be ready to come home," Hayden tells me with a huge smile. 

"I can't wait to see how Red does around them,"

"Well, I brought a blanket here the other day and kept it with the boys overnight. Then when I went home, I set it on the swings. When Maddison came in and picked the blanket up, he growled at her. I think Rex is going to be their bodyguard." Hayden says with a goofy grin.

"Good, they will always be safe," I say.

After Xander had eaten his fill, he fell asleep. I laid him in the crib beside his brother. I watched as he wiggled to where they were touching each other. Once they touched, they seemed to let out a breath and relaxed into a deep sleep.

"I can't believe I just witnessed that. The twins have to be touching to relax. It's so cute," I say.

"The nurses kept wondering why they wouldn't sleep, then one day I laid them beside each other and this happened," Hayden says, smiling down at our boys.

"Amazing, their bond is just incredible," I gasp as I watch them both sleep.

"It is," Hayden says.

We watched the boys sleep for a while and then returned to our room. Once there, I lay on the bed and fell asleep. When I wake up a few hours later, Maddison sits in the chair playing on her phone and Hayden is sleeping on the sofa. 

"Good morning Maddison," I say, smiling.

"It's afternoon, Mel. How did your visit with the boys go?" Maddison asked.

"It was great, although I had an issue with a nurse. She handed me Xaidyn and said he was Xander. Momma bear came out," I say.

"How in the heck can you tell them apart they are identical?"

"Xander's hair is a little longer than Xaidyn's," I say, "Plus, I can tell by their cries as well," 

"So, it is true. That a mother can tell her children cries from other babies." Maddison asked. 

"In my case, it is I don't know about other mothers. When I reached the NICU, I could tell that the twins were crying. When they are crying because of hunger, my breast tingle,"

"Oh wow, you are going to be a big up when I have Allison,"

"What is Alli's middle name?" I asked her.

"Allison Raylynn, we took your middle name and added Ray in front of it. Do you like it?"

"I love it, Maddison. Our kids are going to be best friends,"

"Yeah, the boys will be protective of Alli, I am sure,"

"Brenden and I are counting on it," Maddison says, laughing.