Chapter Text
Tobin opened one eye and blinked several times as her vision acclimatised to the brightness of the room. She frowned. It wasn't supposed to be this bright at seven in the morning. She turned quickly to see that it was almost 9...She jumped out of bed. Christen was not with her, away in New York for the launch of the next RE-INC capsule. Tobin rushed to the bathroom and began brushing her teeth while trying to get dressed. Time was running out. As she put on a pair of shorts, she almost fell face first onto the floor and caught herself in extremis at the wardrobe. She stopped for a few minutes to catch her breath. Her fall could have been serious and could have had consequences. She decided to take a little more time. They were going to be late anyway. She left her room and walked to the next door. She knocked gently on it and poked her head through the half-open door. She looked around for her eldest son and realised that the bed was empty. She frowned and opened the second door into her daughter's room. Once again the room was empty. She quickly descended the stairs and arrived in the kitchen. The room, like the rest of the house, was empty. She walked over to the fridge where coloured post-its were stuck. She laughed as she saw the bright colours and drawings on them. She recognised the handwriting of Jackson, her eldest son of 14.
" Mama, don't worry Mal and I got the little ones ready and called Aunt Tyler who came to pick us up. She took Louis and Luna to school and took the day off to watch Tom. Have a good day, love you Jackson."
"Mama, I made your favourite smoothie with the help of Auntie Lindsey. It's in the fridge. Everything has been washed and put away in its proper place. Get some rest, I love you Mal."
"Mama, we promise to be good at school even if Henry puts a pencil up his nose, we won't laugh, we love you ! Louis and Luna".
The last post-it note was just a few pencil strokes, the sure signature of Tom, her youngest son.
Tobin burst out laughing as she read the note from her children. She also wiped away a few tears that had slipped down her cheeks. She has been extremely emotional lately. She opened the fridge and grabbed the smoothie her daughter had made. She poured herself a decaf and opted to make French toast to accompany her smoothie.
Within minutes, her favorite breakfast (well, the one she'd been craving for the past four months) was on the table. She sat down and took her time with her breakfast. She groaned when she realised that her phone was still in the room. With some difficulty, she got up from her seat and retrieved her phone. As she sat on the deck, she noticed numerous notifications, which she proceeded to open as she went along:
"Hi Tobin, Jax texted me this morning to tell me about your evening last night...I'll give you a verbal shout out later today. We're taking care of the kids with Linds' and we'll see you later today. Linds will do groceries shopping on the way home from work....Chris knows ....need I tell you she's very angry...love you"
Tobin groaned as she read the message from Tyler, her sister-in-law.
"Tobs when you get this message call me, it's about the design of the last sweater"
Tobin nodded as she read Megan's message. If Christen found out that Megan had sent her a message about work, she won't be happy with their friend and if Tobin answered and worked, she'd be in for a rough time too. She promised to slow down the pace.
"Hi sweetie, I hope you're okay that you're not too tired with Christen away for the week. Call me if you want, I'm home all day. Love you."
Tobin smiled fondly at hier mother's message. She thanked God every day that she had her mother and could not imagine losing her.
Grieving for Stacy, who was her mother-in-law, had been very hard for her and especially for Christen.
"Yo Tobs, how are you doing? Ali and I will be in LA next week, if you're available with Chris we could grab a bite to eat?"
Tobin was already huffing and puffing tiredly at the thought of dressing in anything but a t-shirt and sweatpants.
"Tobin, I had Tyler on the phone this morning. I'll bring you lunch around 12:00...get some rest and call me if you need anything."
Cody Press was a good dad, better than hers for sure and a man who could be counted on. Tobin smiled, happily, she knew that for lunch, she would get a burger.
Tobin decided to call the one person she wanted to talk to that morning. She clicked on her wife's smiling face and put the phone to her ear. She waited for her to pick up, but to no avail. She would try again later.
She decided to take a shower to relax her aching muscles. Once done, the exhaustion set in again and she decided to lie down on the couch to rest. She was now feeling guilty for not calling anyone last night. She frowned as she thought back to the previous evening.
Tobin had been busy all day with childcare and housework. Before leaving, Christen had tried to convince her wife, the help of their family to take care of the children, including taking them to and from school and taking them to their respective sports practices. Tobin was offended, she was quite capable of taking care of their children alone. The conversation was cut short, as Christen did not want to argue with Tobin just before she left for NY.
She could feel the physical strain in her bones. Currently, she was setting the table to the sounds of her children. Jackson, 14, and Mallory, 13, were arguing over a stupid video game.
Louis and Luna, the 5-year-old twins, were running around the house playing a game that only they knew the rules to and 2-year-old Tom was gibbering a few words that almost only he understood, hanging on Tobin's pants.
"Guys, help me set the table," Tobin asked for the first time, raising the tone of her voice slightly.
In view of the ambient noise, nobody listened to her request.
"Guys!" She repeated the request in a curt way but again, no effect.
"That's enough! I don't want to hear you anymore!
5 heads turned in shock towards her. Tobin was not the type to yell and even less against her children. But her patience was wearing thin and her fatigue was at its peak.
"Jackson and Mallory, I'm tired of hearing you argue all day long over video games. Starting tonight, I'm confiscating your gaming systems and laptops. Louis, Luna you want to be loud ok, but you go to your room, Tom please let go of my leg, you're going to knock me over!" Tobin finished her tirade out of breath and felt herself faint. She held onto the kitchen counter to keep from falling.
Scared Jackson and Mal rushed to her.
"Mama! Sit down!" said Jackson as he walked her to the kitchen chair.
"I'm calling Aunt Ty," Mal called out as he grabbed her phone.
Tobin's hand stopped her.
"No, I'm fine, it's nothing, I’m just a little tired."
"Mama...are you sure?" asked Jackson worriedly
"Yes, I would just like you to, please help me set the table! We're having dinner and then everyone goes to bed...I'm just tired" Tobin reassured them.
Jax and Mal looked at each other worried but nodded. They helped their mother all evening by taking care of her and their younger brothers and sisters who were a little young and didn't understand the seriousness of the situation.
Everyone went to bed early that night and Tobin hoped that the next day she would be less tired.
A hand stroked her hair. That was the first sensation Tobin felt when she woke up from her nap on the couch. She stretched gently and felt a hand on her cheek. A scent of coconut and mint invaded her nostrils. It couldn't be. This scent, which she loved so much, was in NY. She opened her eyes abruptly when she felt delicate lips placing a kiss on her forehead. Christen was crouched before her, a gaze filled with love but also concern. "Chris? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in New York." Tobin slowly rose to a sitting position with Christen's help
"I took a red-eye. Jackson called me last night to tell me and then I talked to Tyler too." Her wife's soft voice reassured Tobin. All she wanted to do was snuggle up to her.
"The capsule is important, you should have stayed in New York," Tobin muttered.
"No, I belong here with my family and especially my wife. You should have called me last night. I made an appointment with Dr. Montgomery at the end of the day, just a quick checkup to make sure everything is okay" Christen slid in next to Tobin on the couch.
When she had arrived an hour earlier, she had found her wife asleep on the couch, obviously exhausted. She hadn't heard the door open or even heard Christen showering.After changing into comfortable clothes, Christen had decided to wake Tobin up .
As soon as Christen was next to her, Tobin moved so that she had to snuggle up to her. She sighed in contentment.
"I'm just tired...that's all," she said as she grabbed Christen's hand and played with her fingers.
Christen placed a kiss on her forehead.
"I know...and I know you don't like to ask for help but my love...you are 7 months pregnant, you need to rest."
Their linked hands rested on Tobin's rounded belly, gently caressing the taut skin.
"I just need you," Tobin remarked with a smile.
"Don't try to soften me up, I'm waiting for you to be less tired and the appointment with Adison tonight to get mad at you and the fact that you didn't call anyone after your breakdown yesterday" Chris commented
Tobin sighed as she knew that tonight, if all went well, she would get a lecture. She knew she deserved it but she didn't want to worry anyone, especially her wife who was, a few hours ago, on the other side of the country.
"I'm glad you came home early," she stated as she turned her head and kissed Chris.
"Me too."
The two women remained snuggled on the couch, gently caressing the rounded belly that housed their sixth baby.
Never had both women imagined having such a large family. They thought they would have three children, maybe four at the most, but life had changed their plans and they couldn't wait for this baby to arrive.