his forgotten mate

CHAPTER 17

A/N: NOT EDITED.

So I read comments from chapter 15 & 16 and was like... wow... okay... when I started this story I was discouraged because someone reported it and it was deleted... but I'm back at it... 

Some asked for their ages again since it's been FOREVER SINCE I've updated;

Kayla, Michael, Bailey are the triplets, nine years old.

Keith and Cole are identical twins, six years old. 

Sarah, Lily and Hannah are identical triplets four years old.

Michelle and Nicole are fraternal twins nine months old.

ENJOY :) 

roxann.

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Chapter 17 – Chris POV

I turned to face the child lying in the crib, watching with eyes that didn’t match her age, I knew this was meant to get the other kids to a place of comfort with me, watching their own mother, let me pick up their sibling but this felt like a test I was surely bound to fail.

It wasn’t as easy as stretching my arms out and picking her up, bringing her to my chest. It was so much more than that, I was being evaluated by my other children, and knowing that, knowing that other men had touched them improperly, I was suddenly afraid to reach out towards Nicole. What if I held her wrong, or brought her too close or placed my hand on her back to support her but the other kids saw something wrong with that as well.

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I took a step back, afraid to go closer, I looked towards Rainy, the fear evident in my eyes, and behind me one of the nurses was rolling in a tray with plates covered Sippy cups and two bottles. Before I could blink, Rainy, held Michelle out to me, despite the fussiness and quickly, my arms held the wriggling child, with wild panicky eyes.  She went and lifted Nicole from her crib, grabbing one of the two bottles, waiting for me to do the same, leading me over to the sofa.

“Feed her Chris,” she said a loud when I just starred at the little girl in my arms, not sure that she was settled enough to even latch onto the bottle. Still following Rainy’s lead, I lifted the warmed bottle up, near her mouth, moving closer to Rainy so she could see her mother, hoping that would calm her.

Alarmed, wanting to calm the child and myself, I started humming the same tune I had when Rainy, would fuss as a child, hearing the gasp next to me, I continued, and was relieved when Michelle, started to drink, my shaky hand stilling.

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“How old are… is everyone…?” I whispered to Rainy, who was humming the same tune as well. As the nurse passed everyone’s food, she looked at me, smiling down at Nicole.

“Babies, can you tell Chris how old you are?” she said sending them the same encouraging smile, looking at Michael, nodding.

My eyes following hers, meeting my… my sons, waiting for him to answer, not sure he will. Could he talk? Did he know his age?

“I’m nine,” he whispered, his hands on his lap, not moving towards the plate of food in front of him despite his hungry eyes.

The same hunger in the two boys eyes next to him, Cole and Keith, “Guys?” Rainy prompted them.