Life Without Them (On Hold)

Chapter 13: Back to Business

~Sang~

The next morning is a relatively calm one as I get the kids dressed and ready to go to work with me. There's a daycare center in the pediatrics wing of the hospital for employees and patients.

Makes being a single mom a hell of a lot easier.

I know that I have Axel and the others if I ever really need help, but they have their own jobs and responsibilities. And I'm sure the boys would love to spend the day with the twins, but we have a schedule to keep. Just because it's summer, doesn't mean they get to play all day.

After I finish getting them dressed, Morgan in a yellow top with a white skirt and sandals, Cole in a green shirt with jeans and sneakers, I sit them at the kitchen table with bowls of cereal, and rush to my room to get myself ready.

We overslept a bit since it took some time to get them back to sleep after they woke up, even with Phil's help. They seem to be ok now, but I know my kids, they're putting on a brave face to show the world. They're way more insightful than four year olds should be, but I guess that's what happens when they have a bunch of uncles who excel in pretty much everything, and a mother who wants to give them every advantage in the world and the opportunities she never had.

I shake myself out of my macabre thoughts and finish getting dressed in my pink and white scrubs. I throw my hair in a pony tail, slip on my sneakers, and grab my messenger bag before heading to the kitchen to grab the twins. They've just finished eating, so I fix Morgan's hair into two braids, part Cole's hair to the side, grab their jackets off the coat rack, and then we're out the door.

They're both quiet as I strap them into their car seats and we drive off to the hospital. The ride there isn't the normal production of singing and wiggling around in the backseat, but they do hum along to the radio. I hate that their own father has caused them to feel this way just because he can't think before he speaks.

Just you wait till I get my hands on you Nathan Griffin, you're going to wish you stayed away longer when I get through with you.

All too soon, I'm pulling into the hospital parking lot and turning off the car. I take the twins up to the daycare on the fourth floor, leaving my bags with their snacks with the nurse in charge, and head down to the second floor, in patient care, to start my shift.

Most of the morning goes by without a hitch, that is, until Dr. Roberts walks up to my desk, with Sean in tow.

Oh boy, here we go.

"Hi Phil," I greet, as I paste on a fake smile. "Thanks for helping me get the kids back to sleep after their father broke their hearts."

"Now Sang, put the claws away," Phil chuckles. "Sean's just here to talk."

"That's nice," I reply. "Is he here to tell me that Nathan's been grounded for the rest of eternity, or that he's decided to become eunuch and is on his way to get castrated? No? Then I don't want to hear it."

"Sang please," Sean pleads. "You have to know that none of us feel that way, even Nathan. He's always had a trigger temper."

"His temper is nothing compared to North's, Sean. And if North was sane enough not to say something so utterly disrespectful, than I have no sympathy for him."

"Pookie, you must know that none of us are ok with what Nathan said, and if he'd show his face it'd be black and blue."

"What do you mean if he'd show his face?" I ask confused.