T Novan: Exposure Season 4

Kels cuts in, her voice laden with anxiety. "How much further?"

The driver answers, speaking for the first time. "About ten minutes, ma’am." His voice is cigarette rough.

"Did they seem okay? Do you know anything?"

Before answering Kels, he leans forward and grabs the police radio. "Mike, it’s Roger. You over at the hospital?"

There’s a crackle of static, and then we hear Mike’s voice. "I am."

"Can you give me the status on the Kingsley twins?"

"Give me a sec." After a few long moments, Mike comes back to the radio. "I spoke with the doc. He says they’re fine. The boy is a little dehydrated, but, otherwise, they are unharmed."

"Thank you, God." Kels manages to squeeze me tighter.

"Amen."

A few minutes later, we can see the hospital ahead. It’s a small, three story, brick building, but it’s the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen in my life. My children are inside there.

There are a swarm of official cars in the parking lot. It looks like the police, the FBI and press are all here. Nothing will stop us from getting to our babies quickly. "Ready to go see Fuzzy and Brennan?" I ask my wife softly. It’s a rhetorical question, of course.

She looks up at me with determined eyes that brook no questions. "You know it. I hope they are prepared for the fact that nothing will be taking me away from them."

The car slows to a stop. Before Roger can put it in park, Kels and I are already out of the vehicle and running toward the entrance. A reporter makes the mistake of trying to step in front of my wife. Kels does a quick kick to his shin and shoves him aside when he lifts up his leg to rub it. I flash him an apologetic smile, but continue behind my girl.

We spot Kyle at the moment he sees us. He waves us over. "This way." We go around the corner, step behind a curtain and there are the two most beautiful sights in the entire world.

"My babies. I want them. I want to hold them." Kels hesitates, I assume from fear of possibly harming our angels.

Kyle smiles kindly. "They’re all yours. In every sense of the word."

Without any remaining restraint or barrier, Kels swoops over to them. She first picks up Brennan and conducts a quick inventory, much as we did at her birth. Fingers, toes, all accounted for. She strips off the T-shirt Brennan is wearing and checks for cuts, bruises, anything abnormal. Convinced our daughter is fine, she hands her over to me. Next up is Fuzzy.

In my arms at last, I hold my first born. She’s bigger. Damn, she grew in the past week. And I missed it. I kiss her eyelids. "Mama loves you, baby girl. Mama loves you so very much." I kiss her chubby cheek and am rewarded with a giggle.

My heart swells with joy. I look over her and see Kels finishing inspecting Collin. He too seems all right, but not as chubby as our girl. He begins fussing, but calms quickly when Kels pulls him close to her. "I want to talk to the doctor," Kels says to Kyle. He nods and leaves.

I reach over with one hand and touch Fuzzy’s hair. "Hey, little man."

"They’re okay. They’re home. It’s over," Kels pronounces solemnly, like a benediction. She regards me seriously. "I’m going to be hard-pressed to leave them alone anytime soon. You know that, don’t you?"

"Darlin’, I don’t plan on going anywhere myself. The rest of the world can bite my ass. For all I care, the universe consists of you, me, Brennan and Collin." That is so the truth. We’re camping out in the apartment until some of the pain subsides.

"Good evening. I’m Doctor Stevens."

We look up and see a man who must have graduated med school in the early eighteen hundreds. The two surviving strands of hair on his head are pointing in different directions, though he does have ample ear hair, and he has age spots covering his hands. His thick glasses, however, highlight compassionate eyes. "How are they, doctor?" I ask.

He smiles and reaches out to touch Brennan’s small fist, snuggled against my shoulder. "They’re fine. This one has a little diaper rash," he indicates Brennan, "but otherwise is in perfect health. Your son is good, but he’s a bit dehydrated. Are your breastfeeding?"

"Yes," Kels answers. "When can I start again?"

His eyes crinkle when he smiles. "I think your boy would appreciate immediately. I believe he missed you."

"Not half as much as I missed him." Kels immediately finds a chair and unbuttons her shirt.

"I’ll sign the discharge papers, and you’re free to take your children home." He shuffles out.

I drag a chair over and sit beside my wife and son. I put my arm around Kels’ shoulders and hold Brennan near her brother. This is how Mama and Papa find us when they enter.

"Look at that!" Mama exclaims, tears rimming her eyes.

I do as told and see Collin latched happily onto his mother’s breast. He makes contented sounds as he eats to his heart’s content for the first time in a week. Kels has a blissful smile on her face. Heaven.

"Beautiful," Papa says, reaching out to touch my daughter’s hair.

I hold my little girl close to me as I feed her for the first time in nearly a week. I’m so relieved, I can’t even cry. I’m all cried out; there are no more tears.

I sigh.

But that’s all right, because there’s no reason to cry. Our babies are home with us. This part of the nightmare is over.

Now, of course, there will be a new nightmare in the form of the prosecution and trial of my own mother for abducting my children. Once the press gets a hold of that, they’ll hang on like bulldogs. There won’t be any easy outs now. No plausible deniability for the network. Harper and I will no doubt be completely outed now.

At this point, I don’t care. I look at my daughter, and I don’t care about anything but her and her brother. I can leave the air and be fine. I have lots of other things I can do. And Harper is a producer, not an on air personality. She’ll be fine. She’s too good at what she does for the network to get rid of her.

Brennan ceases in her nursing and turns her little head to look at me. Her green eyes seem to sparkle when she licks her lips. "Hiya, Sweetpea." I stroke her cheek with my finger. "You all done?"

She blows a milky bubble at me then returns to my breast for more. "Hmm, somehow, I didn’t think so." I stroke her head and realize her hair has gotten thicker. "Pretty soon you’re gonna have a fuzzy head like your little brother."

She could care less. She’s perfectly happy right now, and so am I. "We’ll be okay, won’t we? Yup; you, me, Mama and Fuzzy. We’ll make it."

I carry Collin with me while Kels nurses Brennan. Mama offered to hold him, but I can’t let my babies out of my arms just yet. I tuck a blanket around his small form and take him out into the hallway. We’re looking for Kyle. Collin yawns and begins chewing on his fist. "I love you, Collin Lee," I whisper in his ear. He missed me saying that for almost a week. I have a lot of those comments to make up for. "You’re such a good boy."

I see a cluster of cops at the end of the corridor. One of them notices me, and he nudges Kyle. He turns and sees me and my son, his mouth crinkling up in a smile. I know not all of his assignments go so well. He moves away from the others who are busy congratulating each other on the job well done, and approaches us. With a large hand, he reaches out and smoothes down Fuzzy’s hair. "He seems happy."

"He’s well fed and in my arms." Truth is, I don’t know which one of us is happier right now. "What happened to Katherine Stanton?" There, to the point.

"She’s in custody. Federal charges of kidnapping will be filed against her."

I sigh. There’s no end to this. There will be a trial. More publicity. More of our private life exposed to the public’s eye. "You couldn’t have shot her?"