Chapter 11

¤¤¤

I sat down in the chair feeling exhausted from all of today.

Melanie left to get something leaving me with Marcus.

I set my head down on the table and let out a huge groan. My head was aching and I was also feeling immense gratitude for all the mothers who had without fail raised their children tirelessly.

But there was also the fact that they didn't have a total of thirty-six babies to feed, wash, and look after.

I looked up as Melanie walked back in carrying a bottle of water and a basket.

She sat them down on the table and the scent of spicy spaghetti floated into my nostrils.

"Get up." Melanie said shaking me slightly.

I groaned and lifted my head from the table.

"Drink some water." she said passing me a glass of water she had just filled.

I put the glass to my lips and stared at her as she filled up another glass and handed it to Marcus.

She took out a box from the basket and a few plates. She opened up the box and started putting some spaghetti into the plates, then handed them over to us with a fork.

"Eat up." she said and poured water into another glass.

We sat and ate in silence. The silence was suffocating while the atmosphere was somehow relaxing.

When we had finished eating, Melanie packed up all the utensils and put them into the basket.

"You guys can head back, I'll be fine." I said and put my head on the table.

I could feel them staring at me and could just hear their thoughts..

Melanie walked out and Marcus walked behind her. I just sat there with my head on the table, not looking up until I heard something being dragged across the floor.

I looked up to see that Marcus had dragged a mattress over to the room. He walked inside the nursery and came and stood beside me.

I looked up at him as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. I stood up and looked over at him as he pulled all the chairs back and then pulled the table back. He put the chairs onto the table and pushed them as far as he could without choking any area if the babies woke up again.

He then proceeded to pull the mattress inside and set it down.

"I'll settle this down better tomorrow." he said bringing in a bedspread and pillows a minute later. He went back again and came back with two blankets.

"You didn't have to.." I mumbled as I sat down on the soft mattress.

"I know, but this is better than sleeping away from them all or on a chair." he said looking at me with a knowing look.

I simply looked away from him and covered my feet in the blanket.

"I'm quite curious about how there are so many diapers here when none of us remember bringing them here." he said looking through the bottom cabinet and then looking over at me with his piercing gaze which made me flinch. "You went out, didn't you?"

"I may have... No one was there and the babies were close to starting a fuss." I said avoiding his gaze.

Just then I let out a big cough. You had to pick the worst time, didn't you?

¤¤¤

I lay in bed, more or less on the mattress, and started at the ceiling. I was kinda getting used to this.

I turned to the side. Ok, now I seriously want to sleep. I lay down straight facing the ceiling again and closed my eyes shut.

¤¤¤

Opening my eyes, I looked up at the ceiling and then looked to my side at the cribs.

The babies were sleeping peacefully, but not for long..

I got up and walked out of the nursery. I strode over to the bathroom to freshen up.

Walking back to the nursery, I went over to the fridge and took out two bottles of milk.

Stepping downstairs, I went into the kitchen and started heating all the milk and transferring it into bottles.

I carried the bottles back upstairs to the nursery. Putting them down next to the door, I pulled the table to the center and took down the chairs. Picking up the bottles, I put them on the table.

I walked over to the cribs and picked up one of the babies and brought him over to the table. I sat down in the chair and held the bottle to him as he drank up all the milk.

When he was done, I went ahead and put him back in his crib and picked up the next one.

I was about done feeding the fifth when I noticed that the milk had lost its warmth.

Putting the baby back in his crib as he had finished, I went out and walked downstairs carrying all the empty bottles.

Warming up some more milk and pouring it into the bottles, I hurriedly closed them and carried them upstairs.

I continued what I had been doing before and brought the baby from the sixth crib.

¤¤¤

It had been almost an hour and all the babies had almost been fed.

Melanie walked in just at that moment carrying the basket she had brought yesterday and set it down on the table.

I fed the last baby and settled him back into his crib as Melanie set my breakfast on the table.

I sat down and started eating as Melanie excited the nursery.

"I'll be right back." I heard her say as she walked through the door.

I just sat and ate my bacon, toast, and eggs, not even looking up.

¤¤¤

As Melanie strode back inside a small while later, I looked up to see that Marcus had come with her.

Melanie packed up all the utensils from the table and took them out while Marcu dragged the mattress out into the hall.

I walked up to him as he took the mattress inside the room beside the nursery which he had been clearing.

"Which room is the one where you guys put all the medical stuff?" I asked as I stood in the doorway.

"Three doors to the right." Marcus said looking over at me with a small smile.

"Ok." I responded and strode off.

Entering the room, I gaped at how much of a mess the room was. Taking a deep breath, I got to work.

*sigh*