Until the Very End

Chapter 59

Don was relieved when Meryl finally got back to sleep after everything that happened with his mother. When neither of them thought they could sleep, so Don turned on the television, it really was a good distraction for both of them. They didn't talk about Jane or Raymore or what happened in the past couple of weeks, instead, they talked about the shows they were watching and laughed at the television. They held each other and shared an occasional kiss. Don still felt so worked up that he really didn't think there was any way he could go to sleep. He continued to hold his wife and run his fingers through her hair until she fell asleep. Once she did, he turned the television off and just listened to the sound of his wife and youngest babies sleeping. Ever since his mother practically breaking into their home and trying to take the babies, he had wanted to call the older kids and make sure they were all safe and okay. But he told himself it was too early. As the sun began to shine through the blinds, he knew that sleep wouldn't come. He was just too upset. His mother tried to take their children, AGAIN. All night long, once Meryl fell asleep, all he could think about was all of the awful things his mother had done to Meryl over the years. He knew Meryl got upset thinking about the ways that Jane treated him over the years, and it made Meryl upset whenever he would say he was used to it; but after over 65 years, he was used to it. What upset him the most was how Jane treated Meryl and the kids. The more Don thought about the more Don felt like he would explode. He needed to get up. He needed to do something. He couldn't just lay there. Normally he would work on a sketch or exercise, but due to his recent surgeries, he wasn't able to do either. As he heard the babies beginning to move around he thought that was the way he could get up and do something. The last thing he wanted was to wake Meryl, but he also didn't want to scare her, especially after being awakened only a few hours prior to his mother trying to take the babies. As he started to get out of bed, he noticed how Meryl reached for him. "Don?"

"It's okay, baby." Don said with a kiss to her forehead as he pulled the covers up and around her. "Go back to sleep. I've got the babies."

Meryl tried to open her eyes but she was just so tired. "You okay? Babes?"

"We are all fine, love." Don said as he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to relax her back to sleep, and he could tell that it was working. "Get some more sleep, beautiful. I love you."

Meryl smiled softly as she began to fall back asleep. "Love...you."

"Just sleep, sweetheart, you need it." Don whispered with a kiss to her lips and then went to unfold the stroller they had in their bedroom for the babies. He carefully lifted each of them out of the crib and put them in the stroller. "Don't tell Mommy on me, I'm not supposed to lift you out of your cribs. But hey, I'm not carrying you both at once so that's something!" Don teased his babies as Brady laughed at him, and then Mags joined in. "Always laughing at your old man. Come on, little loves, let's let your mommy sleep."

***

Don had taken the babies into the den and changed both of their diapers. He then put them in their swings, and set up the baby video monitor so he could watch them, and walked around the apartment to make sure things were cleaned and put away as his wife liked. He knew that would be the only way he would get her to rest and take it easy, and he wanted that for himself as well. He thought maybe if he just kept busy then he wouldn't think about what his mother tried to do, and he wouldn't explode. He could feel he was on the edge of exploding, he was just so angry. He knew that Meryl didn't want him to keep it in, but he was afraid that if he let go of any control he currently had over his emotions that he would completely break, and he didn't want that for him or his wife. So, he just continued to keep busy, and he hoped that would work.

***

Jane Gummer couldn't believe it. Meryl actually had her banned from the apartment building. She isn't the only one who lives there. Jane huffed to herself. She then went back to her rental car and made a call. Ready to unleash her fury on the woman she felt deserved it.