Runaway Love

I woke up excited, today was the day I got to see my babies again. We were scheduled for our OB appointment and our midpoint scan. The last few weeks were uneventful in every way, except trying to find clothes that covered my rapidly growing belly. I woke up, enjoyed my coffee, and got dressed before the boys got up. They had a late meeting last night, so I let them sleep as long as I could before waking them up.

"Oollivveerrrr." I sang and gave him a kiss. He didn't move. "Baby, it's time to get up, we have to go to my appointment." I gave him a gentle shake and got nothing. I moved to Sean's side of the bed. "Sean, love, it's time to get up." Neither one moved. I huffed a sigh and walked to the bathroom and grabbed two glasses of water. I doused each man with a tall glass of cold water and stood back to watch. They both shot up, yelling profanities. It only took a second for their gaze to fall on me and my hands. I slowly moved them behind my back.

"Sooooo, it's time to get up. We have an appointment to get to." I said innocently looking at my feet.

"I see, and you decided that a cold bath was the proper way to wake someone?" Sean asked getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom.

"I tried waking you by talking and gently shaking you. You didn't get up." I quickly responded and followed him. As soon as I turned the corner I saw Sean standing by the shower with the removable head pointing at me. He flipped a switch and the water came blasting out at me, soaking me and the bathroom before I could escape. "Ok, I deserved that," I said smiling grabbing towels to dry the floor with. Once satisfied, I found a dress that still fit and put my shoes on. Both of the guys had showered and dressed by the time I finished my cup of decaf.

We got the appointment and they were running early so we got taken right back. I was so excited that I was all but skipping down the hall.

"If you get anymore bounce in your step, you'll be floating, sugar," Oliver whispered as we entered the ultrasound suite. I laid down as instructed and the boys sat on one side of me while the tech was beside me.

"Do you guys want to know the genders if we see them?" The tech asked as she started spreading the gel around on my belly.

"Yes, please," I answered for all three of us.

"Ok, so I'll be quiet while I get your measurements, it doesn't mean that anything is wrong. But once I get all the information I need I'll show you what I can and see if we can't see what you're having," she said with a smile. she was quiet for a while, but after just a few minutes she put the TV screen on so we could see what she was seeing. "Here is baby a's head, a nice profile. I already got a picture of it for you. This is baby b's foot and leg. Let me see if we can sneak a peak up higher. Oop, it's a girl!" She said taking a picture. "Here is baby b's face, let's see if I can get another profile shot for you, it looks a little less creepy than a head-on one. I'll just snag a picture, here. Alright, let's go to the other side and see if we can find A's gender." She said sliding the wand over my belly again. "Alright, it's got its legs crossed, maybe I can get it from a different angl--oh there it is! A girl! You've got two girls!" She said putting the wand away and wiping my belly. "Congrats! I'll send everything over for the doctor, and the nurse will be right along to transfer you to the exam room." She explained as she left the room. I sat up, buttoning my dress back up.

"Girls, we're having girls!" I said looking to Oliver and Sean who were just staring at me with blank expressions. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope, just imagining all the guys are going to have to fend off with sticks," Sean said breaking into a smile. Oliver leaned over and gave me a kiss.

"I'm thrilled, sugar. I can't wait to meet them." He whispered in my ear.

The rest of the exam went quick and everything looked good. So it didn't take too long before we were back in the truck. As we were getting in my belly growled, and I blushed as both men looked at me.

"Think we should feed the monster in the back seat? I'm worried it may try to eat us before we make it home." Sean said with agrin to Oliver. Oliver looked at me over his shoulder.

"I was thinking Chinese sounded good, or maybe a good burger. What do you think Sean?"

"I was thinking a big ol' salad. Gotta stay healthy after all." He said looking at me. He knew that I hated salad. I kicked his seat and scowled at him, making him laugh.

"Chinese, please, please!" I asked looking back at Oliver.

He nodded and Sean ordered while we drove across town. We had just pulled in and Oliver ran in to pay and grab the food when my phone went off. I pulled it from my purse and looked at it. It was an email forwarded from work. Odd, must be something important. I thought as I opened it.

You better start heading home with my girls. You and them don't belong with those two assholes. You have two days.

I gasped and dropped my phone. I quickly unbuckled, but Sean picked it up before I did.

"Is everything ok?" He asked handing it back to me. I looked from him to my phone. I nodded and reached for it. "You're lying, little one. Are you going to tell me, or am I reading your phone?" He asked with an eyebrow quirked. "Can I wait for Oliver to be back? I don't want to explain it twice." I asked looking at my hands.

"Explain what twice?" Oliver asked getting in and shutting the door.

"What she received on her phone that upset her so much," Sean said looking at him. Both men looked at me expectantly.

"I got another email from an unknown address. I think it's Josh." I said quietly.

"Why do you think it's Josh?" Sean asked, leaning against his door.

"Because he called the babies his, read the email," I said looking out the window. Both Sean and Oliver quickly read it. "I don't understand how he knows already what I'm having. We just found out. He didn't know I was pregnant when I left." I said, wiping away a tear that started to fall.

"That's a good question, plus a violation of privacy if it's from the clinic," Oliver said, looking at Sean. "Wait, did you say another? There have been more?" I nodded, not looking at them.

"Josie, why didn't you say something? You should have told us. We can't protect you if we don't know. What if he's in the area, you could have been hurt or taken from us. We can't have secrets, it breaks the trust we have in each other." Sean said, his voice starting to rise. He ran his hand through his hair and took a big breathe in and out. He turned and started the truck, and headed us toward home. It was quiet for a minute. "How many other emails?" Oliver asked, looking at me in the mirror.

"Just one, and it wasn't obvious that it was him. I just figured that it was sent to me accidentally. It was vague and cryptic so I figured it wasn't meant for me. It gave me the heebie-jeebies but it could have been applied to anything." I explained, hoping it would help lessen their anger. "I didn't want to sound paranoid or send someone down the wrong path when they could be needed. Everything has been so busy, I didn't want to add." "Darling, you would never add to our workload. We protect you because we care. I would rather go chasing down crazy leads and have them be nothing than miss one and have it be important. We told you to tell us if something odd happened, or something that made you feel weird. This did that. You should have told us. This could have been a much scarier situation that caused you or the twins harm. It's unacceptable." Sean said.

I nodded and looked out the window. I'd upset the two men I care for more than anything, and my psycho ex was closer than we wanted and knew about the babies. What if he tried to take them. He had connections and had painted me in a black light before. If he did that now, I could lose everything. Things had been so good this morning, and now they were spiraling out of control. I felt my chest tighten, and my breathing seemed harder to pull in.

"Sugar, Josie! Breathe." Oliver said as he held my chin and lifted my gaze to him. I hadn't realized we had stopped or he had gotten out of the truck. He unbuckled me and pulled me onto his lap as he slid back into his seat. "Breathe, deep breathes." He said, doing his own. I mimicked him and felt myself start to breathe easier. "You heading into a panic attack. Are you ok?" I nodded into him.

"I'm just scared and overwhelmed. I hadn't meant to keep anything from you. I just didn't want to add more to your full plates. I really thought it was just a coincidence and it was sent in error. What if Josh takes the girls away? He's made me look so bad before, what if he paints me as an unfit mother? I can't lose them. I can't lose you guys. You are so angry, and I don't want to lose you. I just got you back and found Sean. You guys are everything to me." I rattled into his chest. "We aren't leaving, darling. We're mad and will have to set new rules, but we aren't leaving. The thought of losing you scares the hell out of us and knowing that could have happened and we were suspecting anything is terrifying. We'll protect you and the girls. No one is taking them anywhere." Sean said as he slid to the middle of the bench seat. He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my cheek. The guys looked at each other over me and I knew they were thinking the same thing. "Let's get home and eat, and we'll address everything after we've cooled down and have some food in us." He said as he moved back behind the wheel. Oliver sat me between them and buckled me. I leaned into him as we finished the drive home, dreading having to rehash all of this again.