~ The Nipple Factory ~
by JLNicky and Hunnybakedham
JLNicky says - This part is tricky. Needless to say…you read and I'll listen to your laughter.
Hunnybakedham says - Hooray for boobies and no, keyboards do not like the taste of Coca Cola.
The Nipple Factory (part 2 of 3)
Sheila kneeled down to better meet the green-eyed siren. That emerald gaze looked back at her with anger and a touch of fright.
"Ms. Dellicroix, my name is Sheila Patton. I came to deliv…" Sheila hesitated on speaking the word for fear other things might happen…"drop off your…baby bottle things back to you, like you had asked me too."
She winced as Bobbi grimaced and then groaned loudly clutching at her ribs. The pain filled gaze was suddenly hidden as Bobbi closed her eyes in agony.
"Must…lie…down." Bobbi gritted out her distress.
Sheila quickly reached over and carefully twisted the small handle at the base of the reclining chair and lowered the woman backwards into a fully horizontal position.
Bobbi moaned out at her instant temporary relief. The back pain slowly subsided as she lay in the recliner. She remembered the intruder and turned her head to take a look at the Major Patton woman. As she looked over the BDU dressed military figure she raised her eyes and clashed with the brightest blue she had ever seen. Mon Dieu! She is beautiful.
Sheila suddenly felt her world tilt as she stared down at the short woman's seductive expression. Lord! Look at those eyes, those lips…she's gorgeous!
Sheila was totally captivated by the unique dynamo of a woman in front of her. She trembled at the thought of loosing her butch rep if she got caught drooling. Catching some of her suddenly stolen breath, she managed to ask if Bobbi was all right?
"Non! Can you not see? I am in condition and it ez full of ze pain. I am non able to sit. It is ze babie's." Bobbi expressed her frustration. Sheila was entranced at the accent and almost did not understand the statement, while she absorbed the beautiful 'whining'. Looking around the apartment to find some pillows, or something to further ease the discomfort Bobbi was facing she saw, fully, the disaster of an apartment. She knew Bobbi was in trouble.
"When are you due?" Sheila asked, gasping as her hand was suddenly clutched by the swollen woman and squeezed. Sheila's eyes grew wide and frightened as she noticed the other free hand of the woman waving three digits at her.
"Trois…trios semaines. Three weeks of this must see me in ze bed. Merde! Le docteur is an evil one and must be mort. Can you do that for…?" Bobbi moaned and clutched her stomach, interrupted from saying 'moi'.
Sheila, feeling the beginning strain of hyperventilation striking down, saw no other options as she released the small woman's hands and walked over to where she had noticed a phone residing.
Picking up the receiver she quickly punched in 10 digits and spoke into the receiver.
"This is Blade calling in Code 4, I repeat…Code 4. Tell The Boss to hurry."
Sheila hung up the phone, barely noticing the sound of the female voice on the other end, gasping in surprise. Sheila clicked on a metallic device that looked suspiciously like a watch. It began to blink, meaning that her special issue locater beacon was activated.
She walked to the small figure and sat down, clasping the hand of the woman and began the wait for the Cavalry to arrive.
****************
A series of events were set in motion from the instant the call was received. Captain Hillary Buchanan gasped, as she heard the click of the receiver going dead. Her mind was in shock for all of half a second as she recovered from the coded message. Then she jerked herself out of the stupor and began to relay the message to the proper authorities, namely her other ten sisters and three brothers, along with their mother. Hillary's position as FBI director of the bureau's Houston office, allowed her to use certain resources that were available for emergencies. She employed them now. Her dancing hands typed encrypted messages out over the Internet and addressed messages to two of her siblings; who would in turn contact other siblings, setting off the 'Patton Family Emergency Phone Tree'. Her mother was altogether an easy contact to arrange.
Hillary picked up the red phone that she had installed at her office right after she had been promoted and waited for that voice to pick up.
"This had better be good. The history channel is replaying Jacques Cousteau's 'The Silent World'."
"It's good mom; believe me, its good. Blade just called in a Code 4. I repeat…Blade just called in a Code 4."
Hillary heard a clunk on the other end of the telephone as the receiver was set down hastily. She continued to listen to slight scuffling for a few minutes and then her mother's voice came back on the line.
With military precision she went down a mental list of the information she wanted Hillary to relay.
"Where is she? Who is she with? How long do I have? I'm ready to leave, have a car sent here for me to go to the airport immediately.
Hillary noted the commands and immediately buzzed her secretary. She could just picture her mother standing with her giant handbag full of gizmo's already waiting at the door.
"I'm sending your car immediately. I've scheduled a direct flight down to Florida and a driver will be waiting. You will meet with Greenback, Klingon, and Spook. The trio Razorback, Warthog and Wildboar are hooking up with Wingnut and flying over shortly. I'm just getting info from Wesson that the signal has been locked onto. She will meet up with me and we will fly over. Cain and Abel are going to arrive late as usual. Squid, is out to sea and Piglet, is currently on an undercover assignment. Animal is still in Africa on that Zoological conference. Three short, but the rest should all converge within 24 hours."
Hillary quickly motioned to her entering secretary to take the hastily scrawled message from her hand, while she still listened into the phone. "I don't know, ma'am." Hillary answered her mother's questions even as she jotted down more notes. She shooed away the already nodding secretary, who was leaving to make the flight arrangements and car rentals.
She heard the ding of having received email, even as she replaced the red handled phone receiver.
Her sister Lieutenant Amy Winger, code name Wingnut had replied immediately and confirmed she was en route from her post at San Antonio in Kelly AFB where she served as a helicopter pilot, flying the Apache Helicopters for the USAF. She noted the included stop to pick up Razorback, Warthog, and Wildboar on Amy's itinerary.
Code 4, wow. What the hell is Sheila up to? Hillary also code name Smith to match her twin sister Wesson, pulled out an old black book from her smallest desk drawer. It was an address book for her family members. She scrolled all the way to the back of the book and rechecked the Codes once more.
1. Code 1 - Come Home
2. Code 2 - Medical emergency
3. Code 3 - Wedding announcement
4. Code 4 - Birth Imminent
5. Code 5 - Potential Date Interrogation/ Background Check required
6. Code 6 - Babysitter Needed ASAP.
The long elegant finger slid down the list and went back up to Code 4. Yep, it said, Birth Imminent. Hillary quirked an eyebrow at the crazy turn of events taking place. Sheila was most certainly NOT pregnant.
Oh well, I always wanted to be the eldest child; Mama is probably going to kill her. I hope that she's had her will redone recently.
*****
The silken feel of the water inside their mommy's tummy felt wonderful as long as they were floating; but mommy would never stay lying down. Baby one was always complaining to baby two about the sloshing water that occurred every time they were put on a vertical slope. The thumping thing above them was beating very fast and the muscles surrounding their cocoon were trembling with exhaustion. They were tilted left, then right and all three kicked out in misery as the squishing continued. Baby two rubbed his hand over his almost completely formed eyes. Baby one muttered some bad word his mama was always saying.
"Would you quit touching me?" Baby one yelled at baby two. Baby two gave an exaggerated sigh.
"She must be out of bed. Again."
"How can you tell? Is it because your foot is crushing my armpit, or did the elbow to my stumpy thingy on the way down give it away?" Baby two complained while attempting to twist around and remove the offending appendage. "We need a bigger place; I'm fed up with this living on top of each other crap, I want my own pad."
"Ahhhhhh!" was all baby three could say as the other two babies turned and adjusted their much larger bodies taking up way more than their allotted space. There was going to be some serious paybacks when they were free of this prison.
"I wish she would send down some of that peanut butter. That stuff is fantastic!" Baby one said with an elbow firmly digging into Bobbi's spine.
"Nah pickles are the best and that cold stuff that they come down with. Mmmm pickles. HEY MOM I WANT PICKLES!" Baby two demanded yanking on the umbilical cord coming down from above for effect.
"Ow! You big goober! That was MY umbilical cord. Pulling on it will only cause me to…" Baby two mentally yelled at his sibling.
"OUCH! Stop kicking me. It was an accident. I'm just hungry. She hasn't been eating right."
"Ahhhhhh!" The third baby cried out again agreeing with that statement hoping for some pharmaceutical medication to be sent down, her tummy wasn't feeling so good.
"You'd better hurry up and grow, or you're gonna get left behind!" Her larger sized brother lectured to the third baby. "Momma might not care for a little, undercooked thing like you! Besides, look, your stumpy thing hasn't even grown yet."
Baby three assumed that if you grew the stumpy thing between your legs it meant that your brain was underdeveloped, and didn't mind not having one. The other two just played with it all day anyway.
"Shhhhh!" Baby two said to baby one. "Quit teasing the little one for a second. Someone is talking out there. Someone new, listen!"
All three babies strained to listen to the voices. The gentle deep rumble from the newcomer had all three baby's attentions. Suddenly the much more comfortable horizontal position was achieved and the three small ones inside the womb gave a nice sigh of relief. The erratic thumping sound from above slowed and began a sweet lullaby to the three angels beneath.
"Whoever it is…Momma is finally lying down. I like them already." Baby two yawned and performed a full stretch in the liquid heat. The other two babies agreed as the three of them started floating nicely and decided to take a nap.
*****
Sheila held the phone to her ear tightly. She is whispering demands into the phone and getting laughter on the other end.
They probably think that I'm some psycho freak. I cannot believe I am doing this. Oh God, I wish The Boss would hurry up and get here, I have no idea what I am doing here.
A tinny voice responds from the other end of the phone line.
"Lady! We can send you over peanut butter sandwiches and some sliced pickles on a quart of ice-cream; and I can only gather from your selection that your taste in cuisine is disturbed for a reason. No problem. My wife had kids too, unfortunately. I feel for you. But, I must say this is the funniest call I've ever received here at Jean Luc's Supreme Cuisine. We are a French restaurant for goodness sake. Peanut butter. Hahahaha." His voice left the phone again as he started laughing.
Pickles and peanut butter sandwiches are at least slightly better than the tuna fish on ice cream that Hillary had been so fond of when she was pregnant with her boys.
Sheila just managed to relay the factories address from a business card that was lying on the nearby desk and she stood before hearing a throat being cleared behind her. Standing tall, she felt her muscles bunch at the noise. Having turned her face away, she wrinkled her face into a major wince before clearing it to turn around.
At the door to the apartment, stood her mother. Who was Code-named 'The Boss'. The shorter woman waited, with her huge black purse in hand, her stout body wrapped in a one-piece colorful muumuu. An impatient foot tapping could be heard clearly as the silence thickened. She looked over at Sheila with an eyebrow raised. Sheila was filled with great trepidation at the action. Things did not look good toward her continuous existence. She was about to get 'told' and she could feel it. The elderly mother of the Patton clan started to open her mouth and demand an explanation.
Sheila took one look at the older woman's face and realized she was in big trouble if she didn't move quickly.
"Mama, shhhhhh." Sheila pointed over toward the recliner that held a sleeping Bobbi. She was half hidden from the doorway by the tall stacks of books and debris. Her beautiful, thick pile of red hair, was splayed out over the maroon cloth of the chair and her delicate, pale features were visible. Mrs. Patton moved closer to the chair and took in the beautiful creature there. Her angry features softened and then widened in shock as she took in the monstrously swollen stomach. Sheila stepped closer to them and yanked a blanket off the back of another chair, draping it over the resting figure.
"She is sick mama. I just want her to be OK and I needed your help."
Mrs. Patton looked over at her eldest child and took in the frightened expression and tense stance. Sheila was extremely upset. If she didn't know any better, she would say that the girl was about to hyperventilate. She frowned and quirked a curious eyebrow at her eldest child.
HALLELUJAH. A redhead! Finally some new blood in the family and it's been a long time in between redheads. That also raises the question, WHY THE HELL DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS? My eldest and usually most responsible child has gotten some poor girl pregnant and didn't even tell her Mother! And they had better have at least gotten married, I wont have any of my Grand-babies born out of wedlock.
The older woman's expression turned serious and dreadfully intimidating. Mrs. Patton, code named 'The Boss', assumed the full role and started giving the 3rd degree to the eldest of her 15 children. She needed the when's, where's and why's before she would let herself be mistaken at a critical time like this. A woman with a child on the way was in the crossfire. As she listened to the chaotic explanation pour out of Sheila, her small smile began to grow. Her blue eyes twinkled, even as Sheila leaned down and slightly adjusted the blanket over Bobbi's shoulder before continuing to pour out her worries and fears. If everyone played his, or her cards just right, the clan might expand a bit before the month was out.
Just as she was starting over with a complete history of the useless people over in the warehouse, two dark heads peeked inside the door. A man, who was the same height as Sheila, decided the coast was clear and opened up the door. He required a wide berth as his chest came into view and the snuggle pack, complete with a six month old, sleeping infant was crookedly strapped to his $4000.00 Armani business suit. His silk tie was dangling free and rested over the babies thick dark hair, down into the drool being provided free of charge from the sopping lips. He cleared the door and carried in one hand a small rolling business carry on bag and the other hand was clinging to an enormous diaper bag covered in a garish display of pink and purple elephants. The contents of which were poking outward and clearly jumbled in various shapes.
He swept his eyes around the room and focused in on Sheila and her mother. Sheila was looking downward at something and he thought he could see someone, or something reclining in the chair.
His attention was diverted by a small wire that ran from his suit pocket up into his ear and he focused on the voice speaking into his brain. Frowning, he stood just within the entryway. In a whisper, he spoke into the microscopic mic near his chin.
"No, I said a 20% margin markup with the inclusion of 2.3% liability across the 4 years probate. Mr. Gates will require the charts, which I have sent over by email. Get the Netmeeting arranged for 10pm Central. I'll call you tonight." His quiet professionalism never raised above a whisper as he watched the small baby breathing on his chest.
Sheila mentally checked off her sibling James, code named Greenback, from the arrivals list.
James turned to see his sister, who was two years younger than himself, stepping through the entrance behind him. With her code name Klingon, Riley was identical in height, color and build to James. Her attire however, was so completely 180 from his; the two of them could be considered Oscar and Felix from the odd couple. She was dressed in a ripped at the collar sweatshirt that had the sleeves severed off at one point and sporting the name of a favorite college team. This was enhanced by the faded blue jeans, with the appropriate rips and holes from being eaten in bleach. At her waist, she wore a small plastic covered badge. Disregarding her casual dress, Riley propped her black duffle bag inside the doorway and stood quietly, with 'at ease' precision, hands crossed behind her back and feet that were exactly 18 inches apart. She regarded the occupants of the room, then leaned slightly toward James and whispered without moving her lips…
"Uh oh….mama looks mad. Who's the redhead? Get a load of the dishes piled up in that sink!!!"
James whispered back with just a slight movement of his lips. "She does look mad. In fact, I haven't seen her this mad, since you came home with a Mohawk in the 10th grade. Sheila is in for it. Where is Spook?"
Riley jerked her head back toward the hallway.
"Some laughing French looking guy showed up and asked if this was the delivery place. She is paying for the food. Hope Blade ordered enough for everyone?"
James nodded and ran his hand protectively over the small baby in his care.
"I can't wait for little Emily to start eating pizza. I think I've forgotten how a pepperoni tastes."
"Well you won't get it from this order." A smooth low voice stated, as a huge bag moved inside followed by another spitting image of James and Riley. Megan, code named Spook, for her work employed in the CIA branch of the government; was born in between James and Riley, by one year on both sides. The twisted humor of her code name was not far off in terms of job requirements. She was a high-ranking agent for her level in office. And she had scared the crap out of her siblings for years, with her twisted sense of humor and her ability to soundlessly stalk and pounce on her prey. She looked over at her oldest sister, who was getting the third degree from their mother and shook her head. "Looks like Hillary, may get to be number one child after all. Mama is maaad!
The three siblings at the door all moved as one, when the low-toned-conversation taking place between the two women stopped.
James grabbed his baby bag and started searching through it for a bottle just incase his itty bitty widdiw babikins awoke. Riley started to unbuckle the buckles of her big brother's snuggle buddy, so she could hold the baby for a while. He kept looking and held the baby with one hand while searching with the other.
Megan brought the bag closer to the pair inside the apartment. As she neared, the mop of red hair started to move.
"I smell ze peanut spread." Green eyes looked up and around vaguely trying to remember what had happened. Her confused gaze searched the room's occupants and swung around until they landed on Sheila.
'You have cloned some of your DNA? What ez happening?" Sheila was shaking her head in denial, when Mrs. Patton stepped between the two women.
"My Sheila, was so worried about you that she's asked us to come help her. She said, she needed a few extra hands to make sure you are being taken care of during this last month of your pregnancy. The doctor said you were supposed to stay in bed and we think that you'll need a few friends. What do you say, Bobbi? My name is Mrs. Patton. We are gonna be pals, so you may as well call me Mama. Rest here a moment and eat something, while we get your bed fixed up."
Mrs. Patton didn't give Bobbi a moment to speak as she pointed to the bed and then to Megan and Sheila.
"Get it fixed and change the sheets. We will make a schedule in a few hours. Hillary can handle the organization stuff." The two women rushed over and stripped the bed, while Riley hunted down some clean sheets. James, finally unencumbered by Riley's abduction of his lil pookie wookie, went over to see if he could repair the footboard and headboard. Obviously, the lady had removed them to lower the bed, but now that their family was helping, she wouldn't need to get out of bed so much. He found the screwdriver and a hammer and began his task.
As the day moved on into the evening hours, the rest of Sheila's relatives began to arrive. The birth of a new baby was always a cause for both, celebration and concern. Code four was considered a mandatory attendance, nothing is more important than family.
The second wave of arrivals was Hillary and Hailey, code names Smith and Wesson, respectively. Both twin sisters tested for the FBI academy and were accepted at the youngest entry level available. Hillary was like James in the business acumen and proceeded to obtain a bachelor's degree in Business Administration while attending the four-year FBI academy. She was instantly promoted to a position of authority over a small contingent in Austin. Over the years, she met her husband, had three boys, and with determination and keen insight, she had become the head of the FBI resources of the Southern Division.
She arrived with a small suitcase and one of her three boys. Toby, was the youngest of triplets by six minutes. At twelve years of age, he was gangly, thin and cute as a button. His Aunt Sheila, was his hero and he hoped to one day, follow in her footsteps as a member of the military.
Looking at Hillary's twin was another story all together.
Hailey's identical resemblance stopped after their faces and hair color were examined. Hailey's body had changed over the years. She had pumped enough iron to physically dominate all of her sisters. Although, she was by no means, exaggerated to the point of being grotesque, she stood tall, however and looked most intimidating. The built up mass of weighted muscle covering her broad shoulders and enhancing her thickened legs, showed Hailey's own method of determined focus. Her tapered waist and flat abdomen showed that she had put time in maintaining her body well. She spent her entire academy stint improving the physical side of her persona. She took on bodybuilding as a means of improving her physical fitness and allowing her to beat the crap out of men. Some of who would never expect a woman to dominate them. And, she wanted to show off to the ladies.
Hailey was always a rebel, seeking to follow her own path and fully aware of her own lesbian inclination, she didn't feel that path was going to be found in her hometown. Following her sisters steps into the FBI, she was plucked out of her class for specialized training after taking on the hand-to-hand combat instructor and pinning him. She began instructing lower academy trainees in basic hand-to-hand during her 3rd year. Eventually, she was asked to take on the position full time. Upon graduating, her career was interspersed with road trip demonstrations to promote the FBI career field, or the occasional bodyguard mission during escort duty. She was the consummate dyke and gloried in her freedom.
They looked around the apartment that James, Riley, Megan and Sheila had begun to straighten. Their mother was speaking with some little redheaded spitfire. Hillary and Hailey, aka Smith and Wesson, the twin sisters, looked at each other and nodded with a strange silent communication. Their telepathy was right on target with each other. Sheila was involved and it would probably be up to the two of them to get the goods and straighten out this mess.
"Toby, go take little Emily from Uncle James and find a nice quiet corner to babysit in. I'll reimburse you with 'golden time' spent only with you and your Aunt Sheila and her damn knife. Looks like she may have tons of time in the dog house if there 'is' a dog." Hillary murmured that last sentence to her sister next to her as they watched Toby head toward his cousin.
"Yep, mama is mad. Look at that clenched handbag. Gheesh. Can you see the size that belly is? Has a pregnant woman ever burst? I thought you were big with the boys. Dern. I'm so glad Darla, decided she was the pregnant type, or my three girls would never have been around. Wow! Can you feel your legs having that much weight resting on them?"
Hillary rolled her eyes and let her sister ramble down. Hailey had always been the verbal one, out of the two of them. Hillary tended to listen and smirk appropriately, inferring her superior attitude. This method had come in good stead with her FBI position and strangely, also with her husband. Of course delivering his three boys in one night of hell, she had managed to cower him sufficiently at the hospital prior to parenthood. She guessed the smirks, were now more for control and to fulfill the promises she had screamed while clutching his hand in a death grip.
Toby was just goo-gooing at the baby, when the three police officers arrived at the door.
Code named Razorback, Warthog and Wildboar respectively, Sarah, Samantha and Sandra stood at the entrance in an easy repose and looked in curiously at the earlier arrivals. James and Megan, were replacing books onto the bookshelf, while the other women converged over on one side of the room looking at the little scrap of a redhead, who was eating everything she found out of a brown bag.
"Looks like the little missy is gonna need some help. I see why Sheila called us. That loser at the warehouse bays looked ready to bolt, when I told him I was here at my sister's request." Sandy said, raising a dark eyebrow toward Samantha.
"You must not have passed the freaky people in the small offices back there. They eyeballed me like they were criminals for the mafia and needed our specific degree of guidance." Samatha said, as she shoved a fist into her open palm, making a slight smacking noise.
"Well I don't know bout you two, but this factory is just perfect for you both. It makes freak'n baby bottle nipples. Oh Lord! I'll bet that Sheila, had a fit about that when it came up in conversation. We all know what the 'N' word does to her. It's too bad that the sets of twins you two both had are a bit too old to appreciate the added convenience of the produced product spitting it's little rubber self out in that automated conveyer belt next door. I bet James is gonna place an order." Sarah grinned at her older brother and all three women grinned together. They looked quite similar, almost eerily so. The three women all had short bob cuts to easily maintain and commonly enough had the same relaxed stance of leaning slightly toward one, or the other of their triplet siblings.
"Whats the story, bacon breath?" A low voice of authority stated from behind the three sisters. Two of which got goosed, as they stood jumping in place. All three turned to look at the lone figure behind the main door.
"Not much, Wingnut! You're gonna get tackled and our oldest sister is in lust with a preggo. The boss is mad!" Each sister responded with a sentence in sequence to the other. The shorter, dark-haired woman looked up at her three triplet siblings and blinked. She shook her head at the weirdness between them and shrugged.
"Not the first time you three have tried to pin me down. But, as I've always said…you'll never keep my feet on the ground." Her wide grin was infectious as her three sisters smiled back once again, appearing eerily identical. Their second to youngest sister Amy, was well known for her about bragging on her ability to fly any plane in the USAF. She stood now in her blues and was casually tucking her flight cap into her navy blue belt. The three cops turned back to the tableau of Patton kin and started one by one pointing out the strange happenings.
After a bit of time the group moved from the door and split up to help with the various tasks of getting reconnected with their siblings, whom they hadn't seen since the last holiday of July 4th over four months ago. They weren't officially due to gather again until Thanksgiving. This little fluctuation of the schedule was four weeks early.
Twenty minutes later, a soft knock on the front door had Hillary nodding at Toby to go open it. The he gave a big grin to his two uncles standing outside.
Uncle Michael, the taller and older of the two men, stood looking down at his nephew and smiled at the youth showing his Patton charm. Toby beamed upward at the sparkling blue eyes and relaxed features hoping once again, that he turned out as handsome as his Uncle. Michael, code named Abel, was dressed in his robes of trade and was prominently wearing his collar. The official sanctity of the religious side of the Patton clan was saved, when Michael took to the catholic study during his early years and found his niche in life.
The man rested his hand on Toby's shoulder as he passed. Toby felt the love in his touch and let his gaze move to the next visitor. The same royal blue met his own and an arched eyebrow held his gaze as an equal.
Uncle Mathew, code named Cain, twin brother to Michael, showed his sharp wit of the lawyer he had become, when he grinned down at Toby and whispered, "He can save your soul, but I can make you rich!" Mathew snickered and Toby rolled his eyes. Mathew grabbed his chest and acted as if he were in pain. Toby couldn't restrain the giggle that escaped and Mathew laughed with him.
Hillary waved at the two men and motioned them over. The walked in and stood side-by-side, perfect identical twins the only obvious difference was the height and a blaring white priestly collar. Mathew had a suspicious habit of using his black eyebrows to make more effective communication, but Michael had that steady look of solidity that priesthood had ingrained in him.
"Where is this baby birthing Mama? Did Sheila break a commandment?" Mathew teased his eldest sister as he took in the entire group gathered.
Michael had leaned down to look at the sleeping baby that Toby had recovered from his Aunt. He shook his head at his twin's remark.
"Can we penetrate this den of inequity?" Mathew eyeballed his brother and continued the tease. Michael elbowed his brother as the comments deepened around his calling.
"Sheila isn't called Blade as a joke. She might not like you teasing her new friend." Hillary nodded toward the now sleeping red-head, who was lying in her bed which was across the loft. Michael and Mathew both looked at the woman for a minute then glanced at each other. With eyes wider than they had been, they both swallowed and turned their amazed gazes toward Hillary.
"What exactly is she having? God bless her." Mathew commented, as he glanced back at the protruding belly on the small woman in the bed. Hillary raised her own dark eyebrow.
Michael nodded in agreement. "She is extremely tiny. Is she a fighter?"
Hillary laughed. "She is ze perfect one for our obtuse and love struck sister."
Hillary laughed softly as she motioned to the now dish-washing, eldest child. The two men watched as their mother waved at dishes to the far left and Sheila gathered them up meekly and went back to washing. They looked back at each other and then down at Hillary with similar smiles.
"I can think of at least ten things that she will need to do over the next few days. Wanna make a list?" Mathew asked his brother with a exaggerated leer and wiggling eyebrows.
Hillary watched, as the two men became more like the two childhood brothers she remembered from her youth. Their infamous grand plans had been extremely trying for all the family members. Memories of fireworks going off in the trunk of the car as mom drove down the road flashed through her mind. The embarrassed image of the family dog, who was shaved bald and the boys using a magic marker to cover the pink skin in Indian symbols as they created the 'ultimate' Indian mascot was another recollection. The two rascals had created a few memories in stirring up the cauldron of drama that her family had endured. She suddenly found an iota of empathy for her older sister, who had helped their mom raise the unruly terrible twosome.
"You two keep it together. Mama, has taken a liking to the little spitfire. She seems really sweet and miserable. Sheila did the right thing in calling Code Four."
The low hum of voices whispering around the loft area made Sheila suddenly aware that the room was becoming quite crowded. Even lacking the three siblings, Nicole the Zoologist of the family, Teagan, the Navy Officer and Jessica, who was the fourth police officer of the crew and the youngest, the loft was covered in Pattons. Nicole was at a conference in Africa to save a particular species of fowl that was nearing extinction, earning her the code name Animal.
Teagan was aboard ship, pulling duty in the Navy as they cruised the Pacific Theater of Japan, Korea and the DMZ regions, hence the code name Squid. Jessica was the baby of the 15 siblings. She was graced with the unfortunate codename of Piglet. Which she only raised an eyebrow to and promptly unclipped her sidearm. Out of the bunch, she seemed to favor her eldest sister most. She was undercover on a sting. They heard from her through Hillary's covert actions and the few emails that she'd managed to send.
Sheila suddenly took her wandering eyes off of the redhead; long enough to see quite a few of her other siblings had suddenly appeared. She didn't want Bobbi to freak out from the crowd, so she walked over and spoke to Hillary. After a 15 minute briefing on the factory and its inhabitants, Hillary spoke with the cops, her twin and Riley. She sent them off to investigate the ongoing procedures in the factory, effectively removing them from the room. James took off to oversee the two kids and start booking hotels for everyone. He spouted out the numbers of his credit card, his driver's license and his cell phone, while reaching over and retrieving a bottle for his little one from his ever-handy baby bag. The other sisters and brothers managed to find tasks to take care of in the vicinity. They were there to help and the Patton crew was notorious for succeeding at their goals. The brothers and Toby made off to explore the plant. Amy and Riley, took the baby and the changing bag off to the bathroom. The room managed to quiet down and thin out fairly quickly.
The Boss, Mrs. Patton, had spent a considerable amount of time calming the French woman down and explaining to her that they were here to help her out. She explained there was no charge and it was the same service that any of her children would get in the same situation. Being blunt, Mrs. Patton blatantly growled out her daughter's concerns and scolded Bobbi for not being more careful with her pregnancy.
At the beginning of the scolding, Bobbi had dropped her head down and winced. She began to realize that she was weak and only growing weaker during these last critical weeks. Her disaster of a girlfriend, leaving her in the first trimester had sustained her enough in anger to carry on for quite some time. Now, she could barely make it to the bathroom every 10 minutes, when one of her babies would do jumping jacks on her bladder and God only knew, what her company was doing.
She accepted the scolding, knowing it was due. She glanced over at the woman, who was the pebble to this avalanche of bodies now taking over her apartment. The green eyes watched Sheila push a book across the table and stare at some smudged food stain on the it's surface. Suddenly that frowning face looked up in her direction and Bobbi found herself falling into the depths of blue all over again.
Mon Dieu, those eyes are dangereux. So blue, so magnifique, just like the woman. Look at those arms, so strong. The thing I would do to have them wrapped around me at nighttime. Sheila smiled at Bobbi before turning to put the book back on the lower shelf of the bookcase, unwittingly giving Bobbi, a fabulous view of her rear 'attributes'. Bunz of ze steel, ripe like a cantaloupe! How I would love to bite into a piece of that. Bobbi blinked at the fascinating thought.
Time started to move again and the Patton family settled into creating a firmament for the newly found, French, baby factory owner.
Sheila, however, was practically banned from the redhead. She decided her sister Hillary had finally gone mad. Unfortunately, Sheila was the sole victim of her madness. She was starting to think that every task between cleaning the toilets and sweeping the streets of Timbuktu was going to be her responsibility. She stood, slack jawed, as she continued to listen to the list of tasks being rattled off that were going to require her attention.
Right! Armpit high gloves, check!
Acidproof rubber apron, check!
Helmet, check!
Jump Boots, check!
Goggles, check!
Right! We are prepared for a GO, GO, GO.
The only task that she hadn't been given, was socializing and spending time adding some nutritional foods to the frail form called Bobbi, like everyone else had gotten to do.
Laundry is on, with the whites separate. Megan is talking to Bobbi and putting extra pickles on her vanilla ice cream. Floors are vacuumed and mopped and ready for inspection. Now, Hillary is talking to Bobbi. Books are back on shelves, magazines are stacked and under the coffee table, surfaces have been dusted and 'Pledge-polished'. Now Toby is talking to Bobbi, when's it my turn? Ornaments are dust free, windows cleaned and opened to circulate air. The bathroom smells like bleach and is spotless. Bedding has been stripped and changed, hell after so long in the army you CAN bounce a coin off of it. Mama is laughing with Bobbi.
Damn it, I want MY TURN! NOW!!
Sheila removed her rubber gloves and was about to force her way over to Bobbi, when 'The Boss' gave her a direct command to restock the food supplies. Part of being a good soldier is following the commands given by your superiors and in the Patton Family; Mama was the Commander and Chief. So down to the local 'Food Lion' she went. James had sent her off in his hired luxury SUV with a suggested shopping list. She did enjoy the way people scattered out of her way; a soldier in BDU's with a side arm was a great way to avoid Shopping-Cart Rage. She filled the cart quickly with the required supplies and even tossed in a couple of books that dealt with childbirth and babies. An informed soldier is a live soldier after all. The line for the checkout was a mile long.
Why is it, when the store is incredibly busy that only three of the two-dozen checkouts are open?
No one can resist the pull of the Tabloid magazine, while waiting in the supermarket queue and Sheila for all her disciplined training was no different than the rest of the world.
Whoa! I wonder if Riley has seen this yet. She loves all this alien baby stuff. Let's have a look in here. Sheila flipped through the tabloid and came to a stop at the alien birth photos.
Old Mrs. Davison with her Metamucil in hand, watched as the tall uniformed woman in front of her went a subtle shade of green.
"Are you alright, Deary? You look a little pale." She asked with genuine concern. She caught a glimpse of the Tabloid and saw a heavily pregnant woman in the middle of birthing a green alien baby. The disturbing thing about it, was the small, but clearly defined foot that was pushing up against its mother's belly from the inside.
"Oh don't worry, it's perfectly normal in the last couple of weeks, especially with a big baby, or twins. There just isn't enough room for them by then. So they push at the walls around them. Why I remember Frank, went that very same shade of green the first time he saw our first do that, he was such a big boy, 12 pounds he was…"
Sheila had tuned out the little old lady after she heard 12 pounds in regards to a baby. She remembered a former Commander who had a 12-pound shell from the civil war on his desk; she had used it to threaten him a time, or two and knew its weight well. It was enough to make her feel even worse. The checkout girl called for her to come forward; thrusting the magazine back haphazardly onto the rack, she quickly paid for her supplies and double-timed it back to the SUV and the relative safety of the 'thingie' factory.
Continued in Part 3