Better Days
Title: Better Days
Chapter 6- Mama's Song
A/N: Thanks so much to my girls who are such faithful readers! As always, feedback gets you more... ((((: Enjoy, ladies!
When Stacy woke up the next day, she felt very sore from the c-section and didn't really want to move. "Clinton-" She turned her head and saw him dozing in the chair next to her bed. Sunlight was streaming through the window, warming Stacy immediately. She didn't want to wake him since she knew he had probably stayed up all night making sure she was comfortable. Instead, she paged the nurse because she wanted to see her babies.
"Miss Stacy, nice to see you were able to rest!" Stacy smiled at Kerri, the nurse now on duty. "I'm ready to see my girls if that's okay?" Stacy asked, hoping she would get a 'yes' in return. "Of course it's okay, you're the momma!" "Just one problem; I don't really know if I can move.." "The soreness from your cesarean?" Stacy nodded and winced. "We can get you into a wheelchair and I'll take you to NICU." "That would be perfect." Kerri smiled. "Are they okay, like, healthy and everything?" "They sure are! They're little peanuts, but that's no surprise since you're pretty tiny yourself." "Do you think they'll be able to come home with me?" "The way it looks right now, I'm pretty positive you can take them all home with you when you're discharged." Stacy beamed with delight.
Kerri wheeled Stacy into the NICU unit where her four were. They each had their own little incubator and they looked peaceful. "Can I give them names now?" "Sure! I'll pull the cards. Do you know what you wanted to name them?" "I think I have a good idea now." "Awesome. They're in birth order, so here is your oldest if you want to hold her." Kerri handed her the little muffin and Stacy was in awe. "Hi, hunny. Oh, hi baby... You're so precious and itty bitty." Stacy wiped a tear from her eyes as she held her daughter. "I want her to be Ainesley Carolyn." "That's a beautiful choice, it fits her well." Stacy looked up and smiled. She took another few minutes with Ainesley and then took her second baby out of the incubator. "You're the troublemaker, huh? Did you tell these nurses that? That you were the one who made it difficult for mommy?" Kerri laughed. "We heard rumors..." "She is definitely Avry Sienna" "Precious choice again." "Thank you." Stacy kissed Avry and put her back. "Lucky number three, what should your name be?" The infant opened her eyes and looked straight into Stacy's. Her eyes filled with tears at the moment of connection. "Ava Kelly" She sniffled as she thought of Ava's namesake, Clinton Kelly. He had been there for her, even though he didn't have to be. The last baby cried when Stacy held her. "Oh, no darling, please don't cry. Mommy's got you, I promise." The baby's cries softened with the sound of her mother's voice. "Aiyanna Grace" "You like the 'A' names, don't you?" "Well, I'm not much for matchy, rhymey names, but I like aphorisms." Kerri laughed, only Stacy London would insert a grammar notation in naming her children.
Stacy spent the next hour just snuggling with each of her babies in the NICU before she brought them back to the room with her. Clinton was still asleep; he was quite the diva after all! The babies were either asleep or just looking around. Stacy was holding Avry when he began to wake up. "Hey, big guy. Sleep all right?" Stacy smiled when his eyes fluttered open. "Hey sexy momma, how are you doing?" He was mesmerized by how natural she was with Avry. "I'm great. A little sore still, but that's to be expected. It's going to take a while before I fully recover from the c-section." "I bet. Courtney said her recovery was hell." "Oh, Kelly I don't wanna hear that!" "So, don't listen! What did you name them?" "In birth order: Ainesley Carolyn, I'm holding Avry Sienna, Ava Kelly is nearest you, and then we have Aiyanna Grace." "Beautiful names, but uh, 'Kelly'?" "For you. You save me every time I need rescuing and it was the best way I could think to pay you homage." "Stace, you didn't have to repay me at all." "Of course I didn't have to, I wanted to." "Well, they are precious. I cannot believe that those four peanuts even fit inside you!" "I know, it's so weird. Ainesley weighs 4 lbs , Avry is 4 lbs. 2 oz. , Ava is 4 lbs 4 oz. and Aiyanna is 4 lbs. They're itty bitty. and each is 16 inches. Petite like mommy." "They're precious no matter what." "Thank you for being here, Clinton. I don't know what I would have done without you." "You would have soldiered on, because that's what Stacy London does."
Clinton had to leave, Damon was blowing up his phone and Stacy told him to leave before Damon got too upset. As much as she loved having Clinton share that time with her, she was certainly happy to have some quiet time with her babies. The nurses came in and out for most of the morning and by lunchtime, they taught her how to nurse them. Ava was the guinea pig, and certainly enjoyed herself. Aiyanna had a hard time with her sucking reflexes though. Avry and Ainesley were fine, too. For now, none of the babies were crying, which made Stacy very happy, but she had been told by the nurses that doesn't usually last too long. She secretly hoped that her children would turn out miraculously and not cry!
That night when all the visiting hours were over, Stacy opted to keep the babies in her room. The way she figured it, they hadn't caused ruckus so far, so she would be fine. They were all asleep, fed, and changed and she had eaten and showered while the nurse did some more checks on the girls. It was a 'luxurious' stay at the hospital, which was nice. Going home tomorrow would be the tricky part since she still wasn't sure how she felt about driving. She was excited and so happy that her babies were healthy and here. Yes, they were very early, but that almost didn't even matter since they were healthy. Nobody had any breathing or other functoning problems, so she was happy.
The one thing Stacy wished more than anything was that Clinton would be able to stop back over, but she knew Damon and she knew that wouldn't be happening. With her luck, the next chance Clinton would have to see the babies would be at the studio. She knew she had to accept it, though since Clinton and Damon were married and she was just the friend. It sucked, but it was life.
As Stacy drifted to sleep with Ava snuggled on her chest, she realized that as of that moment, she had all she needed in life. Her four babies were the most important thing in her life and everything else was just fine. Rick was out of her life for good, at least, so she hoped.