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When Ali fills out emergency contact forms and signs waivers and permission slips for her daughter, she always says a silent prayer that they'll never be needed. She doesn't pray really, aside from when she's watching a sporting event she's particularly invested in or when she can't find a good parking spot, but when it comes to Mackenzie, she figures a mother can never be too safe.
A mother also tends to know when these things are going to happen, but she feels like her senses have been heightened ever since she got pregnant with the twins. When Mackenzie and Ashlyn left for school this morning, Ali had gotten up with them to go to Starbucks, something she usually doesn't do. For some reason, she just wanted a little extra time with them, and when they parted ways at the coffee shop, Ali gave Mac a few extra kisses and hugged Ashlyn a little longer than usual.
So she can't say she's completely surprised when she wakes up from the nap she took to shake off the weird feeling to a missed call and a voicemail from an unknown number as well as three missed calls and two texts from Ashlyn.
“Pick up pick up pick up,” Ali mutters, flying down the stairs to find her keys. “Jesus, Ashlyn, pick up the fucking phone!”
“Language,” Ashlyn says on the other end, having answered midway through Ali’s exclamation.
“Where are you? What happened? Is Mac okay?” All Ali knows is there was an ‘accident,’ per the office voicemail, and that supposedly everything is okay, but she's supposed to call Ashlyn back ASAP if not sooner.
“She's fine,” Ashlyn says calmly. “We’re at the hospital.”
“What?” Ali exclaims, her eyes filling with tears and her heart racing. “What happened?”
“There was a playground incident,” Ashlyn says. “She broke her arm. She tells the story better, but she can't talk right now. Alex was there and took care of her the whole time till I got there”
“I'm coming,” Ali says. “Drop me a pin.”
“Okay,” Ashlyn agrees, pulling the phone from her ear to send her location quickly. “She's a tough cookie. Other than the arm she just needed a few stitches and lost a few baby teeth we might never find, but honestly it's gross to keep baby teeth anyway.”
Ali crinkles her nose. She was guilty of keeping the first few, but after a while she realized how creepy it could seem. “Is Brent there?”
“In the operating room.”
“She's getting an operation?” Ali exclaims.
“No, no, he's in surgery for the next few hours, he doesn't even know we’re here,” Ashlyn says. “That's why they came and got me, I was next on her contact sheet and they couldn't reach you two. It probably makes more sense to put the one in closest proximity first, but do you.”
Ali rolls her eyes. “So you're with her and she's okay?”
“She's fine, baby,” Ashlyn says softly. “I was more worried about you.”
“I'll be great as soon as I see her,” Ali promises. “See you soon. Love you.”
~
Based on how Ashlyn sounded on the phone, Ali isn't even slightly prepared for what she sees when she walks into the room where Mac is being treated.
Her 9-year-old has a black eye, a cut above her right eyebrow, a busted bottom lip, and scratches and bruises all over her flawless baby face. Her arm is already in a cast, which she's silently grateful for, having had her fair share of broken bones and knowing how gruesome they can look when they're bruised and swollen.
She’s more sensitive to that sort of thing these days, too. The first time she tried watching Grey’s Anatomy with Ashlyn after she got pregnant, she had to watch almost every scene through her fingers and still ran to the bathroom during every surgery scene.
Ali bursts into tears when she sees her, which makes Mackenzie burst into tears immediately after.
Ashlyn stands up to greet Ali, but Ali rushes to her baby’s side, pulling her into a tight hug.
“She's fine?” Ali hisses at Ashlyn. “She looks like she was in a bar fight.”
“I mean, a monkey bar fight,” Ashlyn quips, clearly amused with herself. “It looks worse than it is. No concussion, and she's up to date on her tetanus shots. Nothing a little ice and baby Tylenol won't fix.”
“Baby, what did you do?” Ali sighs, looking straight at Mackenzie and wincing.
Mac hangs her head, not wanting to make eye contact, but Ali lifts her chin to get a better look at her injuries. “We were doing a gymnastics contest,” she says. “And at gymnastics last week I did a handstand on the balance beam, so I wanted to try it on the monkey bars. None of the other girls could do that!”
“I'm sure they couldn't,” Ali says, almost sick to her stomach when she thinks about the ensuing fall and the price Mackenzie’s face and arm had to pay on the way down. “You know our rule.”
“I'm sorry, Mommy,” Mackenzie cries. “I don't want to be in trouble, I didn't mean to.”
“You're not in trouble,” Ali says, rubbing her back. “And I know you didn't mean to get hurt, but that's why we have rules like no gymnastics when you aren't in gymnastics class or at home on the grass being supervised by me or Ashlyn.” She wants to kiss her, but she can't figure out how to do that without hurting her.
“There's a good spot on her temple right above that cut,” Ashlyn whispers, seeing exactly where Ali’s mind is. She'd had the same struggle when Mackenzie was going between bouts of tears and shock.
Ali kisses her there and squeezes Ashlyn’s hand. “I'm happy you're okay.”
Mac’s lip trembles as she starts to cry again, this time probably because of all the emotion boiling to the surface and not the pain, considering the doctors knocked that out with a pretty hefty dosage of medicine.
~
Ali cries when she hears the story all over again upon Brent’s arrival. Mackenzie seems more than pleased to see her dad in the middle of the week, though the promise of stopping at McDonald’s on the way home (which will have to be in Ashlyn’s car because the smell makes Ali queasy these days) and the pain meds probably help boost her mood.
“What would I do without you?” Ali murmurs into Ashlyn’s chest as they step out to get a breath of fresh air and Ashlyn holds her close.
“Probably nap less,” Ashlyn teases. “I've got her, you know. When you aren't around.”
“I know,” Ali says. “Let's be honest, she prefers you. Especially in situations like this where I would have been a basket case if I were the first on the scene.”
“No, you would have been great,” Ashlyn says. “She was happy to see me, but only because she figured you wouldn't be far behind. She needs you still, even when she doesn't want to admit it.”
Ali nods, kissing Ashlyn on the lips softly. “Do you have pictures?” she mumbles. “You know, before she was all cleaned up and stitched up?”
“Yeah, Alex does, but you don't want to see those,” Ashlyn says.
“You're right,” Ali says. “I want her to see them so she remembers next time she does something like that.”
“Kids will be kids,” Ashlyn laughs. “She knows the rules, but even the best kids break them sometimes. She’ll live and learn. It's what kids do.”
Ali pouts. “I want to protect her from everything.”
“I know you do, sweetheart,” Ashlyn sighs, kissing her on the forehead. She places her hands on Ali’s stomach, rubbing her thumbs gently over the slight swell that's begun to form. “There's only so much you can do, but you raised an amazing little girl, and you’re going to raise two more amazing little somethings.”
“We are,” Ali corrects, her hands joining Ashlyn’s on her stomach. “And they'll never do gymnastics on the monkey bars.”
“Sure they will,” Ashlyn says. “And they'll hurt themselves and cry and fight and hate us for setting rules, but we’ll love them and kiss their boo-boos and do our best to shield them from hurt. And when we fail, we’ll try again. And again and again till they grow up and have their own babies and come back apologizing for all the hell they put us through.”
Ali takes Ashlyn’s hands off her stomach, suddenly aware that they're in public and haven't told anyone about the babies yet. “Can you do me one favor and encourage them into any sport except gymnastics?”
“I will do my best,” Ashlyn promises, opening the door back to the inside for Ali. She takes her hand as they walk to the elevator. “I was already thinking about that, so I already have some ideas, I was just stuck between bull riding and mixed martial arts.”
Ali rolls her eyes, bumping her hip against Ashlyn’s. “I think we’ll be fine as long as they don't get your sense of humor.”