Aaron and Idina stepped into the cabin.

"Mommy!" Walker called, jumping up from the floor where he and Erika were playing battleships and beelining straight towards his Mother.

Aaron stopped him right before her collided with her stomach, explaining to him that he had to be gentle for a while.

"But I thought mommy was going to be all better," he said.

"She is a lot better, but everyone has to recover from surgery," Aaron explained to his stepson.

"You can hug me," Idina said. "Come 'ere," she said, opening up her arms. She wanted to hug so badly she did not care. She swooped down to his level and bear-hugged him. He hugged her back, just gently, as if he were afraid that she was made of glass.

"I don't want to hurt you mom," he said.

"I know sweetie. I love you so much." She kissed him and held him for what seemed like the most perfect moment in the history of time, then she finally let him go.

Aaron helped her stand up. The effects of the medication were slowly wearing off and as it did, Idina became more and more aware of the throbbing in her abdomen. Walking now was taking its toll, and soon breathing would become painful too. She was not sure how much stronger it would get, or when it would fade. Sometimes she would forget about it for a moment, then move and sudden sharp pain would rip through her lions and for a split second she would think she was loosing the twins, then remember that it was just the surgery. She was okay. They were okay. Or she hoped they were okay. But the doctors said they were, so they were.

It was five in the afternoon. Aaron made her lay down on the couch while he took it upon himself to make everyone pasta. Apart from Walker rattling away, telling her about all his adventures, the room was quiet. They ate in silence. No one knew what to say.

Later that night, Idina was in the bedroom rewrapping her bandages when Erika walked in.

"Oh, sorry," the girl said quickly when she realized she was intruding. 

"It's fine," Idina said. "It's just my abs."

Erika looked her up and down. "You're doing that wrong," she said finally.

"Huh?"

"You're wrapping it wrong," she replied, reiterating her original statement. Idina was having flashbacks to the microwave incident. Erika never pointed something out or initiated a conversation unless it was absolutely necessary.

"How do you know that?" Idina questioned even though she was fairly certain she had no idea what she was doing. Erika drew a line across her shirt where her scar was. "Oh, right," Idina said.

"So, unless you want it to look like mine you might want to do it properly," she said. Erika crossed the room in a few strides and got down on her knees. "You have to do it like this," she said, taking the gauze out of the star's hands and unwrapping her progress. "Start here," she explained, holding the gauze up against her skin, "then circle around this way." She reached for the scar pads Idina had been given. They supposedly would help the stitches heal without scarring. "Now put these on, then wrap them in," she said, walking India through the steps as she peeled the pads and secured them in place by wrapping gauze around them. Finally, Erika clipped it in place with the metal clips the hospital hade provided.

"Is it too tight?" she asked, standing up and taking a step back.

"No," Idina said. It was tighter than what she had been trying to do, but the scar pads left secure and it was not hurting her too much. She was not sure why, but she ran her index finger along her sternum. "Thanks," she said, unsure what else to say.

Just as suddenly as she had appeared, Erika left the room. Idina walked out in a bit of s stupor, unsure what had just happened. Erika was on the far side of the room, sitting akimbo on the couch reading while Walker was sitting on Aaron's lap and showing his stepfather some rocks that he had found. There was no indication that what had just happened had not been a figment of her imagination.

Aaron looked over and smiled when he noticed her. She sat down beside him, and he wrapped his arm around her. She leaned on him and rested her head on his should, pulling her feet up under her and looked over to what Walker was showing Aaron. She looked over at Erika who was across the room and ignoring them.

Idina wanted to say something, but she was not sure what. Not to mention that the ache in her stomach was growing now and demanding more of her attention. She reminded herself repeatedly that it was her body reacting to the stitches both inside and out; she was not losing them. She tried to modulate her breathing. The pain was more of a six now, but that did not change the fact that it hurt a whole lot. She held Aaron's hand and rubbed circles on the back of it absentmindedly.

Sometime later Walker was laying on Aaron, Idina's free arm around him, half asleep.

"I think this little man needs to go to bed," Aaron said playfully.

"No," Walker mumbled.

Idina smiled and stroked his hair and kissed the back of his head. She went to pick him up and carry him.

"You shouldn't," Aaron said, "the stitches."

She shrugged him off and directed him to the corner where Erika had fallen asleep on the far couch. "It's him or her," she said.

Aaron shook his head with a smirk and went over to that side of the room. He put her bookmark in the book before picking her up and following his wife to the bedroom. She was surprisingly light. He made a silent prayer that he did not wake her up and freak her out. He highly doubted being carried to bed was high up on the list she wanted, but he was not about to let her spend all night in a bad position on the couch.

He laid her down on the bed and pulled the covers up around her as Idina did the same for her son. Walker was out like a light before he even hit the pillow. It was very late.

"You can take the bed," he whispered to Idina once they went back outside. "There are some extra blankets in the closet, so I'll be fine on the couch."

"No," she protested, "that's not fair to you, besides, I want you beside me."

"Come on Dee, you need this. We do not want the stitches to get aggravated again. Also, did you take the laxatives?"

"Yes," she said.

"Are you sure?"

"You can count the pills if you want," she retorted. "I hate it Aaron, but I took them because they'll do more good than harm. Can't say the same for the painkillers though," she informed him.

"Good, I'm proud of you."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I am," he said. He could tell from the way she was playing with her hair elastic and the way her eyes squinted that she was a bit irritated. Probably a small bit of withdrawal, not to mention that she had been in constant pain since the medication had worn off.

"Are we going to cuddle tonight?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, knowing full well she would try and use the situation to try and fall asleep in his arms and keep herself with him all night.

He took her hand and led her the couch and pulled her onto his lap, laying down a bit as he did so. He kissed the back of her neck and behind her ear and he heard her moan. He could not see her face, but he knew she was grinning as he trailed his kissed further down her slender neck, his arms wrapping around her waist as he did so. Her hands went behind her into his hair, guiding him to where she liked it the most.

"Ow," she exclaimed softly when he pushed too hard on her stomach.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's fine, you didn't mean too," she replied, turning to look at him. She still had a dopey expression on her face from their previous actions. She ran a finger down his face, outlining his jawline. "You need to trim your beard a bit. It's becoming a lot of a beard," she informed him. "remember, you stop shaving, I stop shaving."

He chuckled as she leaned in and kissed his lips.

"I won't kiss you if it starts touching your lips."

"Well, we can't have that," he said, kissing her back.

His hands went under her shirt to the small of her back, rubbing obsessive patterns onto her bare skin near the edges of the gauze. She moaned against him making him smile as she took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Idina was intoxicating and wonderful and talented and gorgeous and marvellous and the only woman for him. There were not enough positive words in the English dictionary to describe how he was feeling in that very moment, knowing that she love of his life was carrying his children and that she loved him so very much that being separated pained them both. There were not enough words to describe the all kinds of awesome that was Idina and her silky, nearly-black brown hair and her captivating green eyes and way she took control and made Aaron feel safe while she did it. Or her china-doll skin that trembled at his touch.

And she could do wickedly devious things with her mouth, he added as she coaxed a very impolite noise from deep within his gut, making her giggle against his lips. There were not enough words to describe the perfectness of that giggle or the way it made the butterflies in his stomach reappear every time he heard it. It was like he was in his twenties and crushing on her from afar all over again, or like they were on their first official date and his hands were clammy and he was tongue-tied the second she had shown up in a glimmering, form-fitting dress that made her look like a goddess among mortals.

They pulled apart, panting, staring at each other like as if this were the first time that they had ever seen someone they loved before.

Idina swore, throwing her head back, a smile on her face. Then she pulled Aaron in for another kiss, straddling him and pressing her body against his. Her nails dug into his thighs.

"I love you," she mumbled in between kisses.

Aaron felt devilish and took the opportunity to take control of the kiss, making Idina grunt and moan, doing everything he knew she liked.

"The kids are right next door," he reminded her, pulling back.

"Eat shit," she retorted with a grin. They were both breathing heavily.

"I love too," he said with a smirk.

"I'm going to make you pay," she threatened.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Just you wait," she said, "one day sometime I'll do something and when you're wondering what could have possibly done to deserve it, this memory will creep back up and it will not be worth it," she explained.

"Oh," he said, pretending to be scared.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," she reminded him.

"Actually," he corrected her, "I like to think I have a better idea than most about what you're capable of."

She slapped his arm playfully. "I'll make your life a living hell Aaron," she said through giggles.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, my beautifully talented Eye-Dina," he replied.

She snorted a bit too loudly and promptly covered her mouth to try and stifle it.

She propped herself up on her knees so that her stomach was in line with his face and started running hands through his thick black hair, massaging his head with fervour. "A living hell, Aaron," she reminded him as she did so her focus on her obsessiveness with his hair.

"I can't wait to see," he told her, his head rolling back and shivering from the lightning she was sending down his spine, "it will be fabulous."

She sat back down on his legs, her arms falling to rest on his neck, his resting lightly on her thighs as they just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.

"What did I do to deserve you?" she asked for what seemed like the millionth time. Honest to God, she had no idea. She must have been a literal saint in her past life to have been such a wild child and still end up with someone so amazingly perfect for her.

"Everything," he replied, kissing the inside of her elbow and making her smiler more and bringing a flush of red to her cheeks.

She brushed some hair behind his ear with the most adorable expression of affection on her face. She was like a puppy in some regards, soaking up every bit of love and attention he had.

"I don't know how we'll be able to go back to normal after this," she said after a while. What she meant by normal, she did not say. Normal as in not being attached at the hip all day everyday or normal as in no blackmailers, she did not specify.

"I think we'll manage," he replied, answering for both senses.

"What were you thinking about earlier today at the hospital?"

"Honestly," he paused. "I was just stressed Idina, honest. I needed to clear my head a bit."

"It's my fault," she decided.

"No," he argued, shaking his head. "Everyone gets stressed."

"But situations make you stressed," she argued., "I orchestrated the stressful environment."

"And I haven't done the same to you?" he pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's different."

"How Dee? You are no less deserving than I am. We stress each other out sometimes. It is fine and normal. We're both flawed and it's okay."

"It's just different, Aaron."

"No, it is not," he repeated. He took her face in his hand, rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs. "You don't deserve any less than I do Dee. You are allowed to mess up just as much as I am. You are not less than me, you are not worth less than me. We are equals, equally allowed to mess up and have feelings." He wiped a tear that was starting to trail down her cheek and she kissed his palm. "Idina Kim Mentzel," he said, using her full name at birth. "You are a human being, one of the most amazing people on the planet. You are an amazing mother and sister and you are the woman I fell in love with. You have no right to be treated poorly or worse than anyone else and you have every right to have a bad day. However, that does not give me the right to lash out at you and if I did, I am sorry, just as you are when you slip up. We are human Dee. We will make mistakes. There is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with you. You are deserving of my love, all of it Dee. And I gladly give you everything I have because I trust you and I love you."

"Aaron," she croaked in a high-pitched happy cry. She kissed his palm again. "I love you so much."

"And I love you," he said. He would spend every day building her back up again if it meant her got to see that smile and that realization that she was enough just one more time.

They pressed their foreheads together in silence which soon fell into a chaste hug with her head resting on his shoulder and the world was blameless and problem-free until the finally pulled apart.

Idina yawned.

"Let's get you to bed," he said, picking her up.

She giggled. "Careful," she said.

"Be quiet," he told her, "you'll wake the kids up."

He carried her into the bedroom and put her into the bed. He got her some pyjama shorts and a shirt, but she only changed her bottoms stating that she did not want to change her shirt. He then kneeled by her bedside and talker her to sleep as if she was a child because for once she was letting him take care of her and she was being venerable in front of him and he loved her even more for it.

He left the room and closed the door quietly after making sure the three most important people in the world were sound asleep and safe. They were definitely booking a no-electronics cabin trip for the holidays if they were not sick of this by then. It was already November. Time was passing so quickly.

Aaron pulled some blankets out form the cabinet and went to the couch. He laid down, still in his shirt and jeans, and laid there for a while, staring up at the dark ceiling, listening to the noise of nature. The air was fresher out here. The world seemed so much smaller and larger at the same time. He was too enthralled with it to be tired.

Sometime later, he heard someone come out form the bedroom, probably going to the bathroom. Instead, he heard the footsteps come into the living room and the figure sat down on the edge of the couch and curled up with him.

"Dee..." he said.

"No," she replied, "I'm staying here. Don't 'Dee' me."

"Alright," he caved.

They were becoming co-dependent on each other. Soon they would not be able to function without skin-to-skin contact. He turned on his side and took the big spoon position, pulling her closer. He adjusted the pillow so that she would have some too. Her hand instinctively fell over his and moved it down over her wrapping to where their children were growing.

They really were co-dependent when it came to sleep, for he finally felt tired as he heard his wife's breathing begin to level off and soon, they were both asleep on the couch.

~

Aaron woke up to a swift kick in the shins. Idina was groaning and squirming beside him, making deep sounds of discomfort.

"Dee?" he asked, holding her arm, and stroking it in a calming manner. He reached over to the lamp and turned it on so that he could see her face. It was around four in the morning according to the oven clock.

"It hurts Aaron," she gasped quietly before whispering a tirade of swearing. "I can't seem to stop it, ooohh," she gasped. "Eff it, that's it I'm done," she muttered.

"How bad is it?"

"Ten," she muttered.

"Should we call the doctor?" he asked, concerned.

"No," she said. "I think the laxative finally wore off. Earlier in the hospital, it was like a fifteen on ten, this is just a ten on ten," she explained through gritted teeth.

"Lie on you back," he ordered, carefully crawling over her to get up of the couch and give her the space she needed.

She did as she was told, gritting her teeth, and swearing until the spell ended; she sunk into the couch heaving in relief. Aaron helped her through it by peppering kissing in her hand and wiping her hair out of her face and explaining to her for the millionth time that she was the most amazing person in the world.

Her face contorted in ways she never thought she could move. She reached out for her husband's hand, grasping it for dear life.

"Just make it stop," she pleaded as he stroked her brunette hair. Her knuckles were white around his hand, but he was willing to be a human stress ball for her.

It seemed to subside for a moment, Idina relaxing into the couch. Then suddenly, her face contorted and started twitching, and she was writhing in pain again, arching her back, squeezing Aaron's hand, anything to make it stop and pass.

"I'm calling an ambulance Dee," he said. "something could be wrong."

"No," she said firmly when she had enough time to breathe. "I think it's over now," she said with a sigh of relief. Her free hand trailed down between her legs, checking herself for non-existent blood. She closed her eyes. "I'm not losing them," she reminded herself, whispering it over and over again. "It's just the surgery, I'm not losing them." She took controlled breaths until the panic left.

Aaron watched her, wishing there was something he could do. The way in which she muttered "I'm not losing them" repeatedly made him kick himself for pushing this, even though he knew they both wanted this and they both agreed to it. He felt like it was all his fault. She was like a scared child, still grasping his hand in a vice grip.

They stayed there for five minutes until Idina finally announced: "I think it's over," she said.

"I still want to call an ambulance," he argued.

"It's not safe and I don't want to go back there. We will worry Walker even more. Besides, they said I might feel stabbing pains as a side effect."

"This is more than a side effect," he said.

"You don't know that," she snapped. "Contractions hurt," she said, gesturing to her lower body. "When it gets irritated, which it is, it does this, and it hurts," she explained. "It's the most painful muscle in my body having a spasm."

"At least take a laxative," he rationalized.

"No," she said firmly. "We have to do everything to protect them, Aaron. I do not care if it hurts me. They're what matters here." She sat up, wincing as she did so. "So, unless you're going to tie me down and waterboard me, I'm not taking them."

"I care if it hurts you," he argued.

"Aaron." She shook her head. "I cannot lose them. You don't know what it's like to go through a miscarriage," she started slowly. She sat up on the couch and Aaron took a seat beside her. "It takes a toll you don't expect, and I've never gotten over them." Aaron held his breath.; she had never opened about this before other than telling him it had been awful. He rubbed her back encouragingly. "You know I hate not being in control, and when this happens, I'm not in control. It makes me feel like my body hates me and it is attacking the things I care about and there is nothing I can do about it. And the worse part is getting attached and the longer I carried them, the more attached I got. All but one never made it to the second trimester, but one, a little girl, she almost made it. I could feel her kick and hear her heartbeat and when I lost her it felt like I had killed a person." Her hand was subconsciously rubbing her gauze wrapping from the memory. "And it was like one moment she was there and alive and the next she was gone. It would be like Walker falling over dead," she told him. "That's what it's like. Someone who you know and love, and you do not expect to leave, suddenly dying. She would respond to Taye and I when we spoke and kicked so hard, I honestly thought she would be strong enough to make it. Except she did not, and it was all my fault. And you will never understand what that feels like to have someone inside you. I do not know how to explain it. And it's just..." she cut herself of with a sob. "I can't go through it again and still come out alright, especially now that I have Walker and all I can think about is how much I missed out on and how much they missed out on and how amazing it is to have a child. And I just cannot fathom a world where the twins do not get to even take a breath," she explained, or she tried too. She had suppressed so much and locked it all away she was not entirely sure what she was trying to say. She just needed him to know she would not go through it again. "I know I've said it before, but it's going to crush me. Just thinking about it makes me feel like I can't breathe." She was digging her nails into her skin, her arms shaking, her posture rigid. "I'm really worried what I'll do to myself if it doesn't work out," she admitted. "I um... I tried to take my life after the fifth miscarriage. I don't know why I agreed to get pregnant a sixth time. I'm so glad I did, but I don't know what came over me." She paused, biting her lip, waiting for Aaron to react, maybe blow up at her, even though he had sworn he would never do it. "So um, it's a bit of pain or no me," she said. "I'm so sorry for agreeing to this, I never should have said yes without telling you everything. I just wanted to forget it ever existed." She was not looking at him, just staring aimlessly straight ahead. "And I went to see someone about it and got it sorted out," she said to reassure him. "I'm fine now because of it."

Aaron was silent. He suspected, but that was not what he had been expecting. He rubbed Idina's shoulders, letting her know her was there and supporting him.

She grunted again, tensing up and rubbing her abdomen. "I hate this," she said.

He rubbed her back. This spell subsided in a minute and she leaned into his side and rested her head in the crook of his neck. She had just told him everything and she was soaking in his affection before the shock wore off and he ran away screaming.

Idina was not sure if she wanted him to say something or not.

"Idina," he breathed finally. "Dee... are you okay now?" he asked.

She thought for a moment. "Right now? I think so; I'm simply scared."

He nodded. "I'll drop the laxatives if it makes you feel any better." His hands went to her abdomen. "I'm glad you got help," he continued, "and my original statement stands. You start feeling like that again, you tell me right away."

They were not looking at each other and the tension could be cut with a knife. Their fingers were still dancing lightly on the gauze. The twins had to make it.

"Yes," she said, "I know. I will."

"I want us to have a safe word," he said. "If you need my help, tell me the safe word and I drop everything," he explained. "Nothing matters to me more than you."

"And you say it I drop everything," Idina said. "It works both ways. You mean everything to me as well."

"Okay," he said, knowing he would never use it because he never wanted to put that pressure on her.

"Wampahoofus," she said. "That should be our safe word because we will never use otherwise."

"I'm not even going to ask what that means," he said.

"I love you," she said. "Thanks for listening to me. I think I just needed to get it off my chest."

"I'll listen to you whenever you want," he said. He yawned.

"Oh, I've kept you up," she lamented.

"It's fine Dee, I want to spend every waking moment with you. If that means I lose a few hours of sleeping making sure you are aright, I'll take it."

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her. "You can go to sleep now," she said pulling his head onto her shoulder, "I'm alright now." She kissed his temple.

"Okay," he agreed. They laid back down on the couch. "I love you, Dee," he said. "I'm obsessed with you," he said as he ran his fingers through her hair, "you are amazing, and I would miss you if you left me. Walker would miss you too. The doctors know what they were doing, we will have these children."

She pulled the covers up over them. "I hope so," she replied.

~

Later in the day, they were startled by a knock on the door. Aaron leaped out to get it. It was one of the officers on their case.

Idina came up to the door.

"There's been a development," he informed them.

Idina and Aaron wrapped their arms around each other as the news was broken to them.

"It turns out it wasn't an attack against you, Mrs. Menzel," he said. "It was an attack against your former husband, Taye Diggs."