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[so_near_an_end]

Though initially Cecilia had not been enamoured with the idea of moving closer to the compound, for she so loved to hear the ocean from the hut they had shared near Green Arrow Estates, she found that her appreciate for Robbie's suggestion grew as each day passed. She tired much more easily now. Had they still resided in their old hut, Cecilia

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[iwillresume]

"There you are," Robbie said, coming up behind her and putting his arms around her protectively--or almost around her, as it were, for her belly had grown to such a size that Robbie was surprised she did not topple over at times. "I hope you're taking it easy."

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"Here I am," Cecilia said, eyes sliding momentarily shut as she leaned back into Robbie's arms. Of course, she couldn't go any great distances, so even though she hadn't given Robbie an itinerary of her day it likely hadn't been too difficult for him to discover her whereabouts. "Of course I'm taking it easy. I say, they kick in protest any more if I'm doing more than I ought to be." She laughed a little, then gestured to the scads of books on the cushions beside her. "Do you think we've room for these at home?"

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Robbie eyed the stacks of books with a skeptical look. "I think I'll have to build you another shelf," he said. "I don't think we have any more room for them, except maybe on the floor... and the floor's getting a bit full."

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"A bit full!" Cecilia exclaimed. "Really, Robbie, I do believe you're exaggerating. It isn't so bad by half as it used to be."

Perhaps, though, Cecilia's perception of such things were skewed these days. After all, it had been some time since she had been able to see her feet properly, let alone the floor. "Look at them all. I promise they're useful."

Among the stacks were such titles as Emotionally Healthy Twins, Twinspiration: Real-Life Advice From Pregnancy Through the First Year, Raising Multiple Birth Children : A Parents' Survival Guide, Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding & Caring for Twins or More!, and such. Only one book in the entire collection Cecilia had amassed, Lord of the Rings, had nothing to do with twins or pregnancy or parenting at all.

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"Cecilia," Robbie said, face serious. "There is no more room on the bookshelves. I'm quite serious." He glanced over the books, picking up one or two of them and flipping through, occasionally letting his hand rest on her belly, where he could feel their restless sons squirming and shifting. "I'll build you another one," he promised. He glanced at the stack of books, and added, "Or two."

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Though Cecilia was wont to disagree with him, she let it go. The serious expression on his face was one she knew too well -- and she was too tired to engage in a battle of the wills with Robbie just now, no matter just how much she secretly enjoyed a healthy bit of debate from time to time.

"Perhaps three?" she suggested, wearing a deceptively beatific smile.

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"A hundred, if that's how many you want," he said, kissing her cheek. "A whole houseful. Anything you want." He stroked her stomach lightly. "Are you sure you're taking it it easy? Do you want anything? Are you hungry?"

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"A hundred?" Cecilia asked, unable to help herself from laughing at such a broad promise. "Anything I want. My, I do believe you're treading into dangerous territory. Pregnant women can become terribly demanding, you know."

To her credit, Cecilia did not feel as though she had been too heinous during most of the pregnancy thus far. Clearly, she thought, she did not take after Emily when it came to affairs of the mind and body.

"Tea might be lovely, but only if you'd like some as well."

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"Tea it is, then," said Robbie, springing up off the couch and heading for the kitchen. He returned a little while later with a tray with two of the plain compound cups, the teakettle, sugar, and milk. "I told you, anything you like."

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Cecilia felt a pang of remorse as she watched Robbie head off to the kitchen. She should have known he would immediately set out to task, as he had been doing ever since they'd found out she was pregnant. While Cecilia had thought it kind and terribly sweet at first, lately she had become somewhat irritated, irrationally so, with how willing Robbie was to do things for her. It wasn't that Cecilia was crippled or anything. She needn't have constant supervision, though she expected Robbie would arrange for such a thing were it possible!

Still, she did smile, and genuinely so, when he returned. "I think tea is more than enough for now, thank you."

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"Are you sure?" Robbie asked, eyeing her carefully. "Because if you're hungry, someone made a cake, and some fresh bread, and I expect there's things for sandwiches. I could go back and get some, it's no trouble." He really didn't like the idea of Cecilia being up and about much these days, because he had read far too much about all the dangers of carrying twins. He did not see how Cecilia could get any bigger, and she still had several weeks to go (though everything he had read had told him twins nearly always came early, which made him even more anxious).

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"Robbie," she said quite seriously, "I'm very sure, as I said." Her smile faded the minutest of degrees as she accepted the proffered cup of tea. A frown appeared, and then she leant forward, blowing on the steaming liquid.

After starting to speak and then abruptly pausing, Cecilia began again. "I am still quite capable of many things, Robbie. You needn't worry so."