BREAKING AND ENTERING ^{© 2003-2007}

By Lessa and Takara Soong

Chapter Eleven

The summer was a hot and humid hell for Lyssa as she grew in size. Sabrin did his best to keep her comfortable but it was only the cooler temperatures of September that brought any type of relief to Lyssa. By this time though, the doctor had ordered bed rest for Lyssa for the duration of her pregnancy so Rose arrived from Phoenix to help out.

Sabrin’s play closed to a packed house. He was disappointed Lyssa and his mother could not be there, but Lyssa's blood pressure had been slightly elevated and her doctor had ordered her to take it very easy or he may have to take the babies early. This frightened the couple, but Rose assured them she was going to see to it that Lyssa relaxed and got her pressure down. She was right. They had a nurse come to visit and check her at the apartment every two days and the last time, it had come down to the high end of normal, but it was still in that range.

With the play over, Sabrin made plans to move back to California. He called his agent to discuss his next job. The man was pleased to inform Sabrin that a highly rated sitcom had wanted him to join the cast as a recurring character – to start. Sabrin was thrilled and instructed his agent to agree. Lyssa was delighted this was still a couple months down the road and that Sabrin would still be able to be with her when the babies came. While it was difficult, Sabrin started looking for a new house over the Internet so he would not have to leave Lyssa. She was taking a moment from her bed to look at some suitable listings he had found when Lyssa grabbed for the side of the desk and put her other hand over her belly. Sabrin jumped to his feet and guided Lyssa to the chair asking what was happening.

"Unless I missed my guess, I think that was a contraction."

"MOM!" Sabrin hollered.

Rose came rushing to them and helped Sabrin help Lyssa to the couch to lie down.

"Is that the first one?" Sabrin asked nervously.

"Yes," Lyssa said as she reached for Sabrin to sit next to her. She held his hand tightly. "Let's start timing. It could still be quite a while."

Since the doctor had said that Lyssa could have the babies at any time, a bag had been packed with everything ready to go two weeks ago. When the next contraction had not come a half hour later, Lyssa asked Sabrin to help her back to a chair by the computer so they could look at the houses again. They had been looking for a few minutes when Lyssa reached for her belly again.

"I'm calling the doctor, Lyssa," Sabrin told her. He left a message with the doctor's answering service and the doctor called back about forty minutes later. Sabrin told him Lyssa had started having contractions and they were about thirty minutes apart. The doctor advised Sabrin to bring Lyssa to the hospital and he would meet them there.

Since this was Lyssa's first delivery and also because of the twins, things would be handled a little differently.

When Sabrin, Rose and Lyssa arrived at the hospital, Sabrin was sent to do paperwork. A nurse came to collect Lyssa in a wheelchair and Rose followed along. Lyssa had asked Sabrin if he would call her parents and let them know what was happening, so after the paperwork was completed, he called Ruth and Aaron before coming to join Lyssa and his mother in the birthing suite.

Lyssa was taken to a special room reserved for high-risk patients. Her progress was assessed and she was told she was 50% effaced and dilated to two centimeters. The fetal monitors were attached to her belly and Lyssa sighed as the sound of two distinct heartbeats came through the speakers.

The nurse kept throwing glances Sabrin’s way as she worked. Sabrin was too distracted to notice, but as Lyssa was watching the woman for signs that she should worry about the state of her babies, she noticed.

“You look familiar,” the nurse finally said to Sabrin. He was taken aback for a moment, but came out of his daze and realized what she was asking.

“I’m an actor,” he admitted.

"Oh, that must be it then. What have you been in?" she asked. However, before Sabrin could respond, the doctor entered the room.

"Good evening. Lyssa, how are you doing?" the doctor asked with a smile.

"So far so good," Lyssa grimaced as another contraction began.

"Good," he commented. "And Sabrin, how about you?"

"Nervous, excited," he joked.

The doctor examined Lyssa and spoke briefly with the nurse. They left Sabrin and Lyssa alone and said they would check in on them often.

"Are you ready for the premiere of the Berry babies?" Lyssa laughed.

Sabrin kissed her. "As ready as I'll ever be and looking forward to it. How about you? No regrets on how your life has changed over the past year?" he asked.

"What is there that I could possibly regret? I met and fell in love with the most amazing man I’ve ever known and we are about to become parents," Lyssa smiled.

The doctor came back in two hours later and Rose came in too. He gave Lyssa a more thorough exam so he could be certain of the babies’ positions. “Baby A is engaged in your pelvis in perfect position, Lyssa. Baby B is behind baby A forming a ‘T’ with their combined positions. I want to warn you both that while vaginal delivery of twins is often possible, there are times when baby A is delivered fine, but baby B will not engage. The uterus has been stretched out from carrying two babies and may not be able to push out the second child. I’ll do everything I can if a c-section is not what you want, but sometimes there is no choice in the matter.” The doctor warned the couple.

Lyssa looked frightened, so Sabrin held her tightly. It was then that the doctor decided to break her water and ‘get this show on the road’. Lyssa’s labor progressed quickly after that. It seemed like minutes, though it had actually been hours before she was sitting up and, with Sabrin’s and the doctor’s encouragement, was pushing her first baby into the world. With a great forceful groan, Lyssa gave the push that brought forth a daughter. Sabrin let go of Lyssa’s hand for just a moment as the nurse took the child to assess her Apgar score. Sabrin could not help but be drawn to the squealing little bundle as the nurse took her to the warming tray and did a multitude of things that Sabrin could not have repeated if quizzed on later. Lyssa cried out, pulling his attention back to her. Rose came over to look at her grandchild as Sabrin rushed back to Lyssa’s side.

“Is he moving...engaging?” Sabrin asked the doctor nervously. The doctor was poking at Lyssa’s belly, pushing here and there trying to determine just that.

“Yes...yes...very good. He’s moving down. Great. Okay, Lyssa. Time to work again. Let’s meet your son,” the doctor encouraged her. The little blue blanket that had been prepared for the male Berry twin was soon in use as a second nurse set about assessing him and doing all the necessary precautions to protect against infection. The first nurse had the baby girl ready to meet her mother.

“What are the weights, ladies?” the doctor asked the nurses as he saw to the final details of birth.

“5.4 for the female and 5.11 for the male. Lungs are strong on both.”

The nurse carrying Baby Girl Berry, handed her to Lyssa.

"Here you go, mom," she said. Both Sabrin and Lyssa had looks of absolute amazement on their face as Lyssa took the little bundle into her arms.

"Hello there, Sarah Paige Berry. We're your mommy and daddy," Lyssa whispered to the baby.

"She's so beautiful, just like her mother," Sabrin beamed as he sat next to her on the bed, staring at his daughter. "You did great, Lyssa."

"No, we did great," she corrected.

The second nurse now made her way to the parents with Baby Boy Berry in her arms.

"Now dad, here's one for you too," the nurse smiled as she carefully placed the baby in Sabrin’s arms.

"Hello, my son. You already know your sister and now you are here with your mommy and daddy. Welcome to the family, Samuel Isaac Berry," he whispered.

Lyssa and Sabrin both had tears running down their faces as Rose looked over their shoulders at her new grandbabies. Sabrin let her hold Samuel and enjoyed the pride filled smile that took over his mother's face. Lyssa decided to try and nurse the babies for some of their feedings so the nurse came over to help teach her how this could be done with twins. It was not an easy task, but it was interesting.

"It almost hurts and almost tickles at the same time," Lyssa told Sabrin who just found the whole thing mind boggling.

Lyssa should have been exhausted from the labor and delivery but instead she found she was having an amazing burst of adrenaline and could not have slept even if she wanted to. The babies were bundled up and in a special bassinet for twins as Sabrin and Lyssa fawned over them. Rose nudged the two and smiled.

"I think you have some phone calls to make," she suggested. "I'm sure Ruth and Aaron are pacing back and forth waiting to hear from you."

Getting permission to use Sabrin’s cell phone, Lyssa called her folks to tell them they were grandparents to two healthy new babies. Both Ruth and Aaron were beside themselves with excitement and promised to fly up soon to see them when Lyssa was out of the hospital.

Once she got off with her parents, Sabrin dialed Sonny's number and was told to tell Sonny the name of the male child.

"You-you know that is my real name. Did you know that?" Sonny asked, uncertain.

"Yes, that's why we named him that. We both wanted to name Samuel after you in honor of your devoted friendship to Lyssa and to me." Sabrin smiled over at Lyssa as he said all this. She was nodding her agreement. Sonny remained very quiet for several seconds.

"I don't know what to say...I never...I'm honored...very honored," Sonny said in an unsteady voice. Sabrin knew how he felt. Lyssa took the phone and talked to him for a while, describing each of the babies to him. She also confirmed that Samuel was named after him and that Isaac had been Sabrin’s father’s name. Lyssa had tears in her eyes before she hung up and must have told him she loved him ten times.

Finally the nurse came in and said it was time to take Lyssa and the babies to her room. They had a wheelchair ready and helped her into it, but once she was seated there, her face suddenly went deathly white, and she fainted. Sabrin nearly collapsed at the sight of her. Rose grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the way so the nurses could see to Lyssa.

The nurse moved Lyssa back to the bed and got some smelling salts to revive her. She took Lyssa's blood pressure and had a doctor summoned to the room. Lyssa was pretty groggy when she came to. A doctor came in to check on Lyssa and gave her a quick examination. The doctor explained that Lyssa's blood pressure had dropped suddenly which had caused her to faint. They got a gurney and moved Lyssa and the babies to her room so she could get some rest. Rose went back to the apartment to get some sleep but Sabrin insisted on staying with Lyssa and the babies.

There was a chair in the private room that reclined and was quite comfortable, so Sabrin was relieved. A nurse came to help Lyssa to the bathroom and Sabrin went to see why Sarah was crying. Samuel had nursed well according to the lactation nurse, so he was sound asleep. Sabrin picked up Sarah and was pleased she opened her little eyes and tried to focus on him. She stopped crying and just stared.

"Well, pretty girl, what do you think about all this? On the whole, would you have rather stayed where you were?" he asked her. He sat back down with her on his lap and they had a talk. "I'm not sure how much I will be away as you grow, little one, but I'm going to do my best to be there. I love your mommy, you see and I really don't want to be away from her. So, you’re going to have to remember to share her with me. You think you can do that, angel face?"

Lyssa and the nurse came out of the bathroom and Sabrin grimaced. Lyssa was obviously in pain as she gingerly walked to her bed and Sabrin felt horrible that she did.

"I heard her cry. Is she okay?" Lyssa asked as the nurse helped her into the bed.

"She stopped when I picked her up," he said proudly. Lyssa grinned at this.

"I know you wanted to keep the babies with you as much as possible, but the doctor was concerned about your collapse. I'm going to take Samuel and Nurse Tillet will come back for Sarah. We're going to run a few more tests and take care of them for about four or five hours and let you get some sleep. I'll bring them back in the morning and you can feed them and then we'll get you a shower. I'll have Nurse Tillet bring your dinner before she comes for Sarah." Lyssa was reluctant to agree to let the babies go, but Sabrin told her she was tired and needed the rest.

The nurse arrived with a tray and helped Lyssa adjust her bed and table before taking Sarah for the additional tests. Lyssa looked at the food and picked at it a little.

"Lyssa, you need to eat to get your strength back," Sabrin encouraged.

Lyssa smiled and took a few bites of the entree.

"For hospital food, this isn't too bad," she commented as she continued to pick at her plate.

"Lyssa, please eat. I was absolutely terrified when you fainted. I don't want that to happen again," he begged. Lyssa looked into his pleading eyes and sighed before having some more of the food. When she finished, Sabrin moved the table away and sat down in the chair next to Lyssa.

"You look exhausted," he whispered to her as she lowered the bed.

"I am," she replied quietly. “Please hold me."

"You do remember I caught hell for doing that in Chicago," he reminded her.

"But we're in New York now. Please." It was Lyssa's turn to beg.

Sabrin climbed onto the bed and took Lyssa in his arms. He kissed her gently and within minutes she was asleep.

It was 3:00 a.m. when a nurse came in to check Lyssa and scolded Sabrin for being in her bed. Sabrin sighed, having known this was coming, and slipped back to the recliner.

"You need to have the bed to yourself, missy. You don't want him to roll over on you and tear something," the nurse told Lyssa firmly.

Reluctantly, Lyssa agreed to obey. The nurse proceeded with her checks of Lyssa’s health and told her to get a little more sleep. They would be bringing the babies in to them in about ninety minutes. With one more warning glare at Sabrin, the nurse left.

"I'm going to be the bane of nurses everywhere if I don't do something to keep you out of hospitals," he teased Lyssa. She wanted to giggle, but it hurt, so she just sighed instead. They were both still tired, so they fell back to sleep until the babies were brought in at 4:30.

Sabrin woke up as soon as the nurse came in with the bassinet. Sarah was asleep but Samuel was beginning to squirm quite a bit, so Sabrin picked him up and began to softly sing a lullaby while gently rocking him to sleep. Lyssa watched silently until Sabrin had laid Samuel back into the bassinet. As he returned to the chair, he could see Lyssa smiling at him.

"You did that like a pro. You sure you've never done this before?" she teased.

Sabrin smiled and kissed Lyssa. "I love you. I can't wait to get you and our babies home."

Rose arrived as soon as visiting hours allowed and was followed throughout the day by other friends and colleagues. Sabrin had called Paul and Deborah as soon as it was a decent hour in LA and they were going to fly to New York in a couple of days so Paul could find out what he needed to know to be sandek to Samuel.

Sarah started fussing next, but this time it was a hungry cry, Sabrin picked her up before she could wake up Samuel. As Lyssa nursed her, a very contented expression came over her face, and also the face of the baby.

Lyssa held Sarah and ran her hand over the baby's head lovingly as the infant suckled.

Lyssa looked up to see Sabrin looking at her with loving eyes.

"What?" she asked as she moved Sarah to her other breast. Sabrin startled as though he had been lost in thought.

"I-I just think you look so natural like that. Like you've been doing it for years. You've been a mother for hours and already you are a wonderful one. I'm in awe."

Lyssa blushed and looked away. "This is like nothing I've ever experienced before." Lyssa felt tears begin to run down her face. "I think I'm falling in love with them," she admitted.

Sabrin grinned and looked over at Samuel, who was waking up again. "Me too."

Lyssa finished nursing Sarah and started nursing Samuel while Sabrin burped Sarah. He then rocked her gently as she began to look sleepy again. It was now Sabrin’s turn to have that content look on his face. An amused smile was added when Sarah did a big baby yawn. Once she fell asleep, Sabrin placed her back in the bassinet and repeated the procedure with Samuel. After Samuel was asleep, again Sabrin sat on the edge of Lyssa's bed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Our children are so beautiful," he whispered. "Just like their mother."

"I can see so much of you in their faces," Lyssa answered. They were sharing a tender kiss when Lyssa's doctor came in to see how she was doing.

Lyssa and Sabrin were very appreciative when he told them he had made a referral for the babies to a top pediatrician in New York who had agreed to take them as patients for the duration of their time in New York. He had also spoken with the top pediatrician in Los Angeles who had also agreed to take the Berry babies as patients when they moved.

The doctor concluded his visit by checking Lyssa and giving her instructions on care for herself and gave her a card that already had her appointment with the OB/GYN in Los Angeles.

"You'll like him. Mark and I went to med school together. He's a great guy and one hell of a doctor. If you look this good day after tomorrow, you can go home. Normal time is two days, but with twins, I like to keep the mothers an extra day, just to make sure. You're doing fine though, take a nice walk today and you can shower too." He patted her on the leg and, with a pleasant smile, nodded to Sabrin and left them alone.

Shortly after that, when Lyssa and Sabrin had hoped to get a bit more sleep, both babies started fussing at that same time.

"They just ate. What could be wrong?" Sabrin wondered out loud.

Lyssa covered her mouth with her hands and started to laugh, but it hurt so she stopped and just smiled.

"What?" he asked.

"We forgot to change them," she told him.

Sabrin looked at the package of diapers that was under the bassinet and grimaced. "I take it that means me?" he asked, not sounding eager.

By the next day, Sabrin had become very adept at changing diapers and Lyssa was feeling well enough to go home. The doctor okayed Lyssa leaving the hospital. The babies were dressed in special homecoming outfits. Sabrin carried both babies in baby carriers while a nurse wheeled Lyssa to the door in a wheelchair. The baby carriers were seatbelted securely in the back seat by Sabrin while Lyssa walked gingerly to the front seat for the ride home. When they reached their building the doorman helped Lyssa and carried her bag while admiring the sleeping babies.

"Congratulations!" Mr. Carlton said quietly to not wake the babies. "They are absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you. I'm a little biased but I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment," Sabrin beamed. When they reached the apartment, Rose was prepared for everything. She had been cooking all morning so any visitors could have a snack. As Mr. Carlton had to get back to the lobby, Rose wrapped up a few things for him to take with him.

A couple of hours after they arrived home they had their first visitors. Paul and Deborah had arrived from Los Angeles and stopped by to see the newest members of the Berry family.

"What a handsome little guy," Paul exclaimed, in soft tones as he lifted Samuel. "He obviously takes after his mother in one very important area," he said, touching the tip of his own nose and grinning at Sabrin as he held the baby with the other arm.

"Where did I read that you don't do comedy very well, Paul?" Sabrin teased back.

"You're losing your touch, my friend. That hardly got a chuckle." The two men continued their friendly banter as the women ignored them and admired Sarah.

"She looks like she's going to be a contented baby. You're lucky there. I have watched my cousin’s kids before. Monsters, all of them. Even when they were small." Deborah ran a finger along Sarah's little cheek, enjoying the wonderful softness. Sarah simply sighed and yawned.

Lyssa was in her bed as everyone stood around her or sat beside her. She was still feeling weak from lack of sleep since nurses always seem hell bent on not allowing their patients more than forty-five minutes in a stretch. Rose fussed over Lyssa more than the babies since Lyssa provided most of what they needed.

"Are you nursing them completely?" Deborah asked.

"No, I didn't think that was a viable option, so we’re going to both bottle and breast feed. It’s not what the lactation nurse wanted to hear, but she didn't have twins."

"We can go to the Synagogue later if you want," Sabrin suggested to Paul.

"That is an excellent idea," Paul responded. "I am so honored that you and Lyssa asked me to be a part of Samuel's ceremony."

"You’re my best friend, Paul. You've always been there for me when I needed a friend the most. We're honored that you accepted," Sabrin smiled.

They continued with their visit until Rose shooed everyone out of the bedroom so Lyssa could nap. Deborah visited with Rose while Lyssa slept and Paul and Sabrin went to speak with Rabbi Silverstein at the Synagogue. They went over the details for about thirty minutes and the Rabbi asked when would be a good time to see Lyssa, saying she would come visit then.

The rabbi went in alone to chat with Lyssa and congratulated her on delivering two fine additions to God's children. She was delighted Sabrin and Lyssa wanted to have her perform the Bris before they packed up for their move back to California.

"You will be beginning a new life there," the rabbi observed. "A new area of the country, a new home, the babies and soon, a new husband. While you will be far away, if there is ever anything I can do, any counsel I can give, please ask."

"You have already done so much. Sabrin has felt so welcome at Temple from the first moment we entered. It has been a joy watching him rediscover his faith and you have been a huge part of that. I thank you for that," Lyssa told the woman, earnestly. Rose was forced to interrupt the nice chat they were having by bringing in a very hungry Sarah.

"I'm sorry, Rabbi, but the little dear does not want anything to do with the bottle this time. She seems to want the real thing."

After the Rabbi left, Sabrin came in to let Lyssa know that her parents had called and they would be arriving late that evening but they would wait until morning before coming by. Lyssa and Sabrin stood over Sarah and Samuel as they both slept contently, admiring their offspring. Sabrin wrapped his arms tightly around Lyssa and kissed her tenderly.

"Do you want to wait until after the Bris to set a date to get married?" he asked.

Lyssa smiled and kissed him before answering. "I think that would be a good idea. One ceremony at a time."

"Good, I was thinking the same. But I wanted to make sure you agreed." Sabrin rubbed her arms gently.

"I do," she said with an amused grin.

"Keep practicing that. I will be requiring you to say that. Did you want to go traditional in the wedding or modern?"

"What would make our parents happy?" she asked, seeming to be paying more attention to his hair, as she ran her fingers through it, than what he was actually saying.

"We’re getting married. It’s for us, Lyssa, not them. You pick, I want to make you happy."

"I just want to make sure I'm in shape so we can have a honeymoon. Even if it’s just one night, I want to be alone with you."

Sabrin grinned, flattered. "I would’ve thought you'd have gotten enough of me before the babies came."

Lyssa grabbed his chin and looked sternly into his eyes.

"You are going to be desired by me for a hell of a long time. So take your vitamins and do your sit-ups, because that is not going to change."

"I will do everything I can to keep up with you and our children," he quietly laughed and kissed her again.

They joined Rose, who had already prepared supper and had it lain out on the table. They spent a quiet evening and had a relatively peaceful night. The next day, Aaron and Ruth arrived to see their grandchildren. They also had a surprise visitor with them.

"Look who we ran into at the hotel," Ruth smiled as she and Aaron stepped aside.

"Sonny!" Lyssa exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're here."

After everyone was in the apartment, hugs were exchanged between everyone.

"Let me look at you, my sweet Honey. You look beautiful. You are absolutely glowing," Sonny smiled. "Did you lose weight from giving birth? You know other women will hate you for that."

"No, I did not lose weight from giving birth," Lyssa told him.

"Ah, Lyssa, you have been so lucky. You look like you only have a few extra pounds and those will be gone in no time," her mother smiled.

"I gained almost forty pounds during the pregnancy but I’ve lost twenty-seven of them so far according to our scale. My doctor told me to stay off my feet as much as possible this first week and then slowly get back into the swing of things." Sabrin took Lyssa's hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

"Since I don't want to marry just anyone, you need to do as the doctor told you. So, why are you standing?" With a chorus of voices, Lyssa was told to take a seat on the living room couch and the babies, who were asleep in their bassinet, were rolled over for everyone to see. Since day one, Sabrin and Lyssa had been trying to get the babies used to sleeping with noise, so the new voices in the house did not faze them. Even Sonny's delighted gasp as he saw his namesake yawn did not wake the sleeping twins.

When the babies awoke an hour later, it was time for a diaper change and feeding. Sonny was absolutely thrilled to give Samuel a bottle while Grandma Ruth fed Sarah. Soon the apartment had even more visitors as Paul and Deborah stopped by as well. Rose immediately headed for the kitchen to prepare a cheese tray and other refreshments for everyone. Sabrin introduced Paul and Deborah to Lyssa's parents and Sonny.

Paul shook Aaron's hand and said hello to Ruth who was just finishing feeding Sarah before turning to Sonny. "Sonny, I've heard a lot about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Paul said as he shook Sonny's hand.

"The pleasure is mine," Sonny responded a little dumbfounded that Sabrin and Lyssa would tell Paul Smythe about him.

Lyssa, watching as Sabrin put a sleeping Samuel back in the bassinet, looked around at everyone in the room.

"This is wonderful," she smiled. "There isn't anything better than being surrounded by your family and best friends."

But it got just a little sweeter as Sabrin came back to the couch, taking her hand in his before he kissed her temple. "I love you," he whispered in her ear and then kissed her again.

Sonny sat down on her other side and still looked shelled shocked. Paul had seemed to enjoy talking with him and Sonny did not seem to know what to think about that. Lyssa leaned over and rested her head on Sonny's shoulder, drawing him out of his thoughts and back into the world.

"You are having a good time, Sonny Bunny?" she cooed.

The still bemused man took one of her hands in his.

"Pinch me and let me know if this is real," he mused. Lyssa chuckled.

"What do you think of your namesake?" Lyssa asked, hugging him instead.

Sonny met her eyes with misty ones of his own. "I can't tell you how blessed I feel that you and Sabrin are including me in your lives so much. I thought for sure he would mean the end of our friendship. I was very jealous of him for a while, Lyssa. I wanted you to be happy more than anything after your last break-up, but I didn't want to lose you. This is like a wonderful dream. I love both the twins and I will always treat them as though they were my own. Now if I could just find someone." Lyssa hugged him again.

"You will, Uncle Sonny," she assured him.

Paul and Deborah stayed for a few hours before leaving to do some special shopping, promising they would stop by later. Ruth convinced Lyssa she should take a nap while the babies were sleeping so she could keep up her strength. Sonny convinced Rose and the Pages to join him for a late lunch at a café down the street while Lyssa rested. After everyone left, Sabrin joined Lyssa on the bed, taking her in his arms trying not to wake her.

"Are we alone?" she asked.

"Just the four of us," he smiled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't," she said as she turned to face him. "Want to make out a little?"

"Lyssa, you can't have sex."

"I know but we can still make out a little. I'll let you get to second base if you're good," she teased.

Sabrin realized she most likely just wanted to be assured that he still found her desirable, even after all he had seen of the birth process and her being pregnant. She need not have worried. He kissed her tenderly, running his hands over her back, being careful of her sensitive breasts and lower.

"I love you, Lyssa," he told her. "Nothing is going to change that and nothing ever will." She tried to continue the kissing, but Sabrin knew how tired she really was, because he knew he was tired.

"Sleep, my love. You need to heal so we can have more home runs. Lots more home runs."

Lyssa grumbled a bit but, after a yawn, relented and settled into his arms to sleep. Smiling with contentment, he closed his eyes.

Sarah woke them up about an hour and a half later. Feeding time again.

Sabrin brought Sarah to Lyssa so she could feed her. He watched as the tiny baby suckled Lyssa's breast. Just as Sarah was finishing, Samuel started to fuss as well. Sabrin brought him to Lyssa, switching off so she fed while he burped.

"What a great team we make," Sabrin joked. "Perfect handoffs every time."

Lyssa smiled as Samuel latched on to her. "Yes, we do," she agreed.

The babies were both fed, changed and back to sleep when Rose, Ruth, Aaron and Sonny arrived back from lunch. Sabrin and Lyssa were cuddling on the couch when they came in.

"How was lunch?" Sabrin asked.

"It was wonderful." Rose gushed. "Sonny is such a wonderful young man."

"I agree," Ruth injected. "You do know you’re always welcome at the Page home."

"And the Berry," Rose agreed.

"Both of them," added Sabrin.

"You’re making him blush. I wish I could have gotten a picture of that. I've never seen Sonny blush before," Lyssa teased.

Sonny was still red, but turned to give Lyssa a playful glare. She stuck her tongue out at him and he came over with the intent of tickling her, but realized she may not be in any shape for that just yet.

"You need to heal so I can pay you back for that one," Sonny told her while she just giggled.

Lyssa was amazed that people so different could come together as family so easily, but this group did.

Paul and Deborah arrived about an hour later with a doorman in tow. Two baby swings, a double stroller and a bag full of new toys and clothes were carted into the apartment, as Sabrin, Lyssa and the rest stood by looking stunned.

Deborah, looking over at Sabrin, blushed. "Sorry. I love babies but I think I kind of got carried away. Paul was no help though. He just kept agreeing with everything I wanted to get." She grinned at Paul who gave a guilty smile.

"It was fun," he said with as much dignity as he could muster.

Lyssa hugged both Smythes. "Thank you so much." Sabrin followed behind her to thank them too.

"You have to see this. It's so cute," Deborah said excitedly as she dug through the bag of clothes. She held up two adorable little matching outfits.

"Oh my gosh, those are so cute," Lyssa exclaimed.

Deborah laid out all of the little outfits to the delightful squeals of the ladies while the men set about putting together the swings.

"Do us all a favor, please," Rose said as she turned to them. "Read the instructions before you try to put them together."

"Now I know where you got your sense of humor from," Sonny said to Sabrin.

"What, from her? She's not funny. My mother is one of the must unfunny people I have ever- Ouch!" Sabrin ducked as a piece of crumpled newspaper bounced off his head and fell to the floor. He turned to see his mother raising a challenging eyebrow at him and smiling.

"I can be a hell of a lot funnier than you are if I want to be, son. So you just mind your manners," Rose cautioned him, with a shaking of her finger. Lyssa was giggling beside her as was Deborah.

"Where are my loyal fans when I need them?" Sabrin sighed.

"Bothering the people who bought your house, I would guess," Paul threw in. Sabrin picked up the crumpled paper and threw it at him.

"At this rate, the babies are going to be in high school before you get those swings together. Do you need female guidance, sweetheart?" Lyssa offered. Now Sabrin glared at her.

"So many targets, so little ammo," Sabrin lamented.

When they finally did start putting the swings together it did not take long at all. They finished just in time to test them with Sarah and Samuel, as they had been fussing after being fed and changed. The swings had a bassinet attachment for small babies so after each was put in and the swings started to move slowly, it did not take long for both babies to fall fast asleep.

Everyone was having such a great time so Sabrin ordered some pizzas to be delivered and then the men made a quick trip to the store to pick up some beer. The pizzas arrived a short time later. Everyone dug in and sat around in the living room having a great time. Paul and Sabrin told a few stories about each other from over the years that left everyone in tears from laughing so hard. It was well after midnight before everyone left. All were excited about the Bris in the morning.

Lyssa was upset she had to wear this dress. It was not her normal size and it was not maternity wear. Her mother had picked it up for her before leaving Illinois. It was a pretty dress, but it was not her size and it still grated on her that she had to wear a ‘fat’ dress to the Bris.

Sabrin came up behind her as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, putting his arms around her waist.

"Hi, beautiful," he said smiling at the eyes of her reflection.

"Not so! Fat, very fat. I'm too big for my clothes still and I-"

"Lyssa! It’s only been a few days and you’re not far from where you were anyway. For God's sakes, woman, you just had twins. If I hear one more word like that, I'll- don't cry." He pulled her gently into his arms. "Lyssa, why are you crying?" he asked the sobbing woman clinging to his chest.

"I don't know. I just feel strange. I feel so empty and I don't know why," she admitted. Sabrin comforted her and, at her urging, left her to finish her make up. He found his mother and asked a few questions.

"Oh, I bet she has a little postpartum depression. It’s common as long as she doesn’t lose interest in the babies. We will just make sure that we pay close attention to her and remember that just because the spotlight is on the twins, we mustn't forget Lyssa needs attention too."

Lyssa was taking longer than normal to finish her make-up so Sabrin decided to check on her to make sure she was okay. The door was partially open and he could see Lyssa was staring at her reflection again from different angles. She sighed and turned to leave when she saw Sabrin standing there.

"You are so beautiful, Lyssa," he smiled. Lyssa smiled half-heartedly as if she did not believe his words. He hugged her tightly as if to try to emphasize his words. Lyssa looked up at him and kissed him tenderly.

"I love you, Sabrin," she whispered between kisses. "You know exactly what to do to make me feel better."

"I love you too, Lyssa, and I always will. Come on now. We have a Bris to attend," he smiled.

Samuel, Sarah and Rose were all ready to go so the happy family packed everything they needed and headed for the Synagogue. When they arrived, Aaron, Ruth and Sonny were already there. Paul and Deborah arrived a few minutes later. Soon, the other guests started to arrive as well. Lyssa's friends from Illinois had been unable to attend, however their absence was more than made up for by the many friends from the neighborhood who attended, including Parker Jackson and his wife. Many of Sabrin’s friends had flown in for the occasion, including Maria Suthern, another co-star in ‘Time and Space,’ and her husband.

Paul held Samuel carefully as Rabbi Silverstein performed the circumcision. Lyssa watched as all the men in the crowd winced in vicarious pain for her son, who let out a sharp cry. The blessing was given and Sabrin announced Samuel’s Yiddish name and his full English name. Sarah’s ceremony was a little briefer and a lot less stressful for the men in the group. After the final blessing was said, everyone thanked the rabbi and the others who officiated, and left for the feast. Samuel was given the first slot of nursing once they got home, to calm his fretfulness, but Sarah was not happy about waiting. Ruth held her so all the food preparations could be made in peace.

Once the nursing was done and the babies asleep, Lyssa came out of the bedroom to join the feast. It was interesting to meet Maria and her husband, Tom and chat with them. "Has Lyssa met Robert?" Maria’s husband, who had been a director for more than half of the episodes, asked Sabrin. Robert was Robert Carey, the executive producer of ‘Time and Space’.

"No, not yet," he responded. "Why?"

"He may want the two of you to make a few appearances together to boost the syndication ratings. A woman as beautiful as Lyssa would certainly help break the stereotype that only geeks and nerds are fans of the show," he explained with a smile as Lyssa blushed.

The rest of the morning and afternoon went well. Lyssa even had a chance to sit down with Maria while she nursed Samuel in the bedroom. Lyssa told her how she and Sabrin hoped to be moving to California very soon and Maria sounded interested in getting together with them when they did.

"If you two need help with sitters so you can go out once in a while, I think you will have a lot of volunteers there. Most of us are great with kids. You may have to actually request the return of your babies if we all start passing them around," Maria joked.

Lyssa smiled and thanked her. She was taken aback with how well received into the family of actors she had been.

Soon after the food had been eaten and cleaned up, Sabrin showed everyone the houses they had been looking at on line and got more offers of help should they need any. About that time, everyone said their good byes and well wishes and left the apartment.

Chapter Twelve

It was early November when Sabrin flew out to LA for a couple of days to check out the houses he and Lyssa had talked about. As well, his trip coincided with the premiere of the movie he had filmed just after he had first met Lyssa in Denver.

Sabrin called Lyssa to let her know the house they had liked best turned out to be even better in person. Although Lyssa was still having difficulties with the price of real estate out there, they agreed to put an offer on the house. Since Sonny knew Sabrin was going to be out of town for a couple of days, he took some time off work to visit Lyssa and the babies. With Rose having gone back to Phoenix a week earlier to take care of some things at her home, both Lyssa and Sabrin were thrilled that he came.

Lyssa, who had been a little worried Niki might try to pull another stunt like she did at the premiere Sabrin attended earlier that year, and Sonny watched coverage of the event on the movie’s website. They could not help but smile at the protectiveness of Sabrin’s friends. Paul, Deborah, Maria and Tom all had attended but acted more like bodyguards than celebrities, keeping an eye out to make sure no unwanted guests crashed the festivities. Lyssa’s smile grew even brighter when Sabrin pulled out a picture of her with Samuel and Sarah to show off to the reporters. 

The next day when Sabrin called to let Lyssa know their offer had been accepted, she was thrilled but even more so with the news that he had a flight back that afternoon.

Sonny drove them all to the airport to pick up Sabrin, who was delighted to see his family once he got off the plane. Sabrin put his arm around Lyssa's waist as they walked.

"I missed you and the babies so much," he told her. "I don't ever want to be away from you all like that again."

"Does this mean you want to bring Sarah and Samuel with us on our honeymoon?" Lyssa teased.

"No, just you and me for that but I will miss them dearly every minute," Sabrin said as he pulled Lyssa closer.

When they reached Sonny, he handed Sarah to Sabrin while he carried the sleeping Samuel in his car seat.

"Welcome back," Sonny smiled.

"It's great to see you, Sonny. Thanks for staying with Lyssa while I was away," Sabrin responded. "And it's so good to see you, my sweet little girl," he cooed to Sarah. "I swear they’ve gotten so much bigger while I was gone."

When they got to the car, the babies were safely placed in the back seat with Sonny sitting between them. Sabrin excitedly told them both about the house and how much he thought Lyssa would love it.

"The kitchen is even bigger than it looks in the picture. You’ll love it. I can hardly wait until the deal is done and we can go home," he smiled.

"God, that sounds nice," Lyssa said in a bemused voice. "I love our apartment and the neighborhood, but there isn't enough room now with the babies and I want them to have their own room or rooms soon."

"Can't have them spoiling mommy and daddy's fun when you get to have it again, huh sweet Honey Buns?" Sonny teased from the back seat.

"That’s for sure," Sabrin agreed. Lyssa sighed at both of them.

Lyssa had her six week check-up next week, so she wanted to be ready for the long anticipated alone time with Sabrin. She had wanted to try and play around already, but Sabrin was very worried about hurting her, so he had refused. In their new house, with the babies in another room, or in the care of a nanny, Lyssa intended to give him no choice in the matter.

It was almost midnight when they got to the apartment and both Samuel and Sarah were fast asleep.

"I'm going to check out that little club down the street. I won't be out too late...early?...whatever," Sonny laughed.

After Sonny had left and the babies were in their cribs, Lyssa and Sabrin cuddled on the couch in the living room and talked about the events of the last couple of days.

"Don't worry. You didn't miss any milestones," Lyssa promised.

"Good. I don't want to miss anything that happens with our children," Sabrin smiled contently. "Tonight, at the airport, it was like something I'd never experienced before. Seeing you standing there with Sarah in your arms and Samuel in his car seat," he sighed. "My family was meeting me at the airport. If felt so fantastic."

He leaned over and kissed Lyssa, pulling her into his arms.

"Tomorrow, we'll hire some movers. They can pack what little we have here that’s going.“ Sabrin looked to Lyssa who was nodding her agreement. “We shouldn’t have to take much with us while we wait to move in to our new home."

Lyssa gave him a squeeze when he said that. She could not wait to get there and finally have room to spread out and also to store all of the babies’ things. It seemed like things were piled everywhere or tucked into every corner.

"I can't wait," she sighed. "My appointment with my new doctor is coming up, so we'll make it just in time," she looked up, grinning at him. "Then we get to have sex again. "

"You know after we get married, we're going to have to stop that, don't you?" Sabrin gave her a knowing look.

"Like hell we are," Lyssa exclaimed. Sabrin laughed.

"But married couples don't have sex, they ignore each other," he teased again.

"Not this one."

Sonny stayed for a few more days to help out with the move. The closing had gone smoothly and the lawyer in LA was going to hold on to the keys to the house until Sabrin and Lyssa arrived. The week went quickly, even more so after Sonny had left and there was one less set of hands to change diapers. The last thing Sabrin and Lyssa did before leaving was take a walk through the neighborhood to say goodbye to their neighborhood friends. They promised that any time they were in New York they would stop by and also made Parker Jackson promise that if he and his wife were to visit LA that they would get together. Sabrin and Lyssa were both sad and excited as they drove the rental car to the airport. They had said goodbye to some wonderful people but they were looking forward to settling into their new life.

The flight to LA was uneventful as both Sarah and Samuel slept through most of it, much to the relief of their fellow passengers. When the family disembarked, they collected their bags and Sabrin went to get his car from the secured parking lot. He was back quickly to load their luggage while Lyssa secured the twins in the back seat. Their first stop was the lawyer's office to get the keys and gate control for their new home.

Sabrin took Lyssa's hand, squeezing it as he turned onto the street.

"You are going to love it, Lyssa," he sounded excited.

"What a beautiful neighborhood," Lyssa exclaimed in awe as they drove past all the amazing homes on the street. By the time Sabrin turned up the driveway to their house and pressed the button to the gate, Lyssa was in tears.

"It's so beautiful, Sabrin."

He drove up the rest of the drive while the gate closed behind them, smiling. "Wait until you see the rest. Those pictures did not do this house justice at all."

Sabrin lifted Samuel's car seat out of the back of the car as Lyssa got Sarah. Slowly, they made their way to the front door. Lyssa looked at the front grounds, Sabrin watching her expression as she did. She was in awe.

When the door was opened, Lyssa walked in like she was in a wonderland. She walked slowly through each room noting the colors and the floors and how huge everything was. The moldings, the fixtures, everything was top notch and Lyssa was feeling like royalty.

"Take Sarah out of her seat and come with me to our bedroom. You'll love it, Lyssa." The room was carpeted with a neutral colour pile and the walls were painted a deep rich red. The room felt sexy. Sabrin grinned and led her into the bathroom.

The red and white tiles went well with the master bedroom, but the huge tub in the center made Lyssa gasp. She had seen the pictures, but this was ten times better. Lyssa turned to Sabrin and he could see a smile on her face that told him she had many ideas about what they could do in that tub.

"Our furniture will arrive tomorrow from storage but we still need to do some shopping," Sabrin reminded Lyssa.

"What do we need to buy?” she asked.

"We definitely need some new furniture for our bedroom and some new things for the other rooms too. I didn’t keep much of the furniture from the other house. I didn't want to start life in our new home with stuff you don't like or that has baggage attached to it."

"What about my furniture?" Lyssa asked.

I thought we could put your bedroom furniture in one of the guest bedrooms. I really want our bedroom to be special, filled with furniture that we choose together. Am I a sap or what?" he grinned. "Let's go look at the other rooms and figure out what we want to do with them."

As the babies slept in their car seats in the living room, Sabrin and Lyssa went from room to room discussing the possibilities. There was a bright sunny den that was perfect for Sabrin’s career memorabilia. Next to the living room was an open area with a wet bar, the perfect space for entertaining friends.

They checked into the hotel where they would be staying until the house was set up. Lyssa nursed the babies and Sabrin changed them to prepare for their shopping outing.

Since room had been in short supply, they only had one crib for the babies, but now they could buy the other. They also bought another changing table and two chests of drawers.

The master bedroom was harder to outfit. In this area, Sabrin and Lyssa discovered they had different tastes. Lyssa preferred simple yet modern, but Sabrin leaned more towards classic, more elaborate styles.  They were thrilled when they found a bedroom suite that offered the perfect compromise of a simple, modern design based on the classics. As the house had more of a classic design, furniture for the other rooms leaned in that direction as well.

They returned to the hotel room with take out and a handful of receipts for all the furniture, except the formal dining room set. The babies had been getting cranky from being taken in and out of the car all the time, so the couple decided to call it a night.

It took some time, but within a week after their furniture being delivered and everything coming out of storage, their home was taking shape. They still had not unpacked everything but the essentials were there. Lyssa was swimming everyday in the pool as part of her exercise regime to tone up and it was working. In some ways too well as Sabrin was having to take a few more cold showers than he wanted.

Finally, the day came for Lyssa's appointment with her new doctor. He seemed very nice and it was obvious he was a friend of her former doctor from the way he spoke of him. When he completed his examination of Lyssa, they spoke for a few minutes.

"You’re in terrific shape, Lyssa. From looking at you I never would have guessed you had twins six weeks ago. Most of my patients would be very jealous over how well your body has returned to pre-pregnancy form," the doctor smiled.

"Thank you. Does this mean there are no more restrictions on my activities?" Lyssa asked.

"Yes, except I think you should hold off on resuming sexual relations," the doctor told her. Lyssa looked at the doctor, stunned and completely speechless, all she could manage to do was stutter a few words. The doctor laughed, "I'm just kidding. You can resume sexual relations as well."

Lyssa let out an audible sigh of relief. "That was not nice," she laughed and scolded the doctor at the same time.

Once Sabrin and Lyssa left his office, they could not help but steal glances at each other. Lyssa found herself giggling like a giddy schoolgirl, she was so excited about getting home. But the babies both decided they wanted lunch as soon as Sabrin parked the car in the garage.

The couple shrugged and took their children into the house. It was really shaping up nicely in here and both of them were pleased with the feel of the place. Sabrin held Sarah as Lyssa fed Samuel. It was not until Sarah stated to fuss again that Sabrin started to sing her a lullaby. Lyssa kept sighing as she tried to keep her mind on her son. Even with Sabrin singing a lullaby, Lyssa could feel the tingles his wonderful voice always caused her to feel. And, as usual, the tingles all seemed to be heading straight between her legs.

Sabrin burped and changed Samuel as Lyssa now fed Sarah. So their son would go to sleep, Sabrin sang yet another lullaby. Lyssa was sure she was wet enough to take him right now.

But the babies were not cooperating. Even with both Sarah and Samuel fed and changed, neither seemed interested in sleep. If they did not go down soon, Lyssa was sure she would either have to ask Sabrin to stop singing, or she may just orgasm right there.

Sabrin had set up the swings Paul and Deborah had given them and they placed Samuel and Sarah in them, setting the timer. Sabrin and Lyssa sat on the floor in front of them, smiling. Sabrin began to sing softly to them again as they swung gently. Sabrin could see the effect his singing was having on Lyssa as she squirmed on the floor. When Samuel and Sarah finally fell asleep, they moved them to their cribs. After they closed the door of the bedroom, Sabrin wrapped his arms around Lyssa and began to sing softly to her. Lyssa turned to face Sabrin, pulling him closer to kiss. They moved towards their bedroom while undressing each other, not breaking their kiss.

"Sing some more," Lyssa pleaded, breaking their kiss. She pulled him towards the bed with a hungry look in her eyes. Gulping back a laugh, Sabrin did as she asked. Lyssa began to undo his pants, pulling them roughly from his body, as the song rolled from Sabrin’s lips. Once he was naked, she stripped off the rest of her clothing, tossing it aside with no thought. All she could think of was the impossible need she had for him and the beautiful erection he already had for her.

Needing no help to be ready for him, Lyssa climbed into his lap and simply lowered herself down on his length. Both of them sighed heavily as he entered her. Singing was not something Sabrin could do any longer. He too had been missing this part of their relationship and intended to take full advantage of having it back. Knowing her breasts would be tender from nursing, he strained to be gentle with them as he took one in his mouth, sucking it until it was as hard as he was.

Lyssa raised and lowered herself as Sabrin held her ass and assisted with the motion. Everything they did seemed to take on heightened pleasure - every kiss, every touch, and every thrust. Lyssa buried her face on Sabrin’s shoulder as she moaned loudly from the pleasure. She then began to kiss Sabrin with a fire he had not felt before. It did not take long for either Sabrin or Lyssa to reach orgasm and the strength of their orgasms seemed so powerful that both seemed almost surprised by it after. Lyssa moved off Sabrin and crawled to the middle of the bed. She reached out her arms and Sabrin moved in next to her as their bodies became entwined. Their hands explored each other's bodies as if they were new to each other again.

"You are so damn sexy, Lyssa, and I am so damn lucky," Sabrin whispered in her ear. "There are times when I still think I'm going to wake up and all this will have been a glorious dream." He kissed Lyssa again with a passion that had built up within him over the weeks.

"If this is a dream, I don't want to ever wake up," Lyssa smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too - now and forever," Sabrin replied before pulling Lyssa back into a kiss.

 With a determined look in his eyes, Sabrin pulled out of her arms. Pulling the woman he loved along behind him, Sabrin headed for the living room. Looking through a stack of paper and grunting with frustration, he grabbed Lyssa’s hand to pull her to his den/office. Searching the desk, Sabrin finally found what he was looking for - a desk calendar.

The two completely naked people stood facing each other as Sabrin flipped through pages.

“What are you doing?” Lyssa asked. She sounded as though she was having doubts about Sabrin’s sanity.

He turned to show her the page. “We need to set a date. I’m tired of putting it off. I want you as my wife and I want to set the date now,” he told her with such seriousness that Lyssa was startled. “I have said forever to you, Lyssa. Now I’m going to prove it. I know you need to have time to plan a wedding. How long do you need?” 

Lyssa flipped through the pages of the calendar.

"I've never planned one so I have no clue how much time is needed so..." Lyssa took the calendar and threw it up in the air. It landed on the desk upside down and Lyssa picked it up carefully to preserve the date it had landed on. She turned it over and smiled. "And the winner is March 21."

Sabrin picked up a pen, circled the date and wrote 'make Lyssa honest woman'.

"Hey," Lyssa tried to protest his choice of words but her laughter gave her away.

"And there is no backing out, I've written it with ink," Sabrin grinned as he pulled Lyssa into his arms, kissing her softly.

"That goes for you too," she reminded him.

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Lyssa," Sabrin kissed her again, more passionately this time. He picked Lyssa up placing her carefully on the edge of the desk. The fire was going through their bodies again as they explored each other with their hands. Sabrin moved in closer between Lyssa's legs, plunging his erection deep within her. Lyssa smiled and gasped as Sabrin began to thrust within her.

The couple made love again in Sabrin’s office chair before returning to their bedroom for a last go-round before the babies awoke. It was wonderful to be able to share this again.

The house slowly became complete and the family settled in. The holidays were quickly approaching and Sabrin and Lyssa were looking forward to celebrating together for the first time.

With the babies still so young and with Sabrin getting ready to shoot his first two appearances on the sitcom he was joining, the family decided that Thanksgiving would take place in their new home with Rose, the Pages and Sonny flying in for a four day stay.

Aaron was very much looking forward to having grandbabies to tell about Hanukkah and to give little gifts to. Both babies were rolling over by now and already enjoyed the sound of their grandfather telling them anything.

The long weekend also gave Lyssa a much needed break as the grandparents and Uncle Sonny had insisted on doing as much as possible around the house. Rose and Ruth prepared a wonderful dinner that was overshadowed by two announcements. The first announcement, made by Sonny, was regarding his upcoming transfer to the LA area in the New Year. Next had come Sabrin and Lyssa's announcement on setting the date for their wedding. By the time the weekend was over, everyone was positive it was the best Thanksgiving they had ever had and plans were already being made for return trips for Hanukkah.

Time passed quickly as the twins continued to grow and develop. Lyssa was still trying to adjust to not having snow at this time of year but she loved being able to take the babies outside for walks through the neighborhood with Sabrin. Both were busy with preparations for the babies' first Hanukkah and Sabrin, still enjoying his stint on the sitcom, was also meeting with various people about different parts in upcoming movies. Fortunately, all of movies were going to be shot in or around LA so he would not have to leave the city if he got one of them. Sabrin’s career was going better than ever which surprised him, but not Lyssa. Losing the Edger family connections seemed to help, not hurt, his career as he had once feared.

Rose was the first to arrive for Hanukkah. She surprised Sabrin and Lyssa by giving them a very special menorah that had been in Sabrin’s father's family for generations. Rose had packed it away carefully, waiting for the day she could give it to her son. Sonny arrived next and spent most of the first few hours thanking Sabrin and Lyssa for inviting him. He was estranged from his own parents so he would have been alone otherwise. Finally Rose looked at Sonny, telling him he would always be a member of the family and to be quiet. The Pages arrived with stories of how they almost did not make it because of a snowstorm that had been forecast. Luckily, it did not hit until after they had departed.

The week went by very quickly for everyone. The menorah was lit each evening and the blessings said. Lyssa was able to impress everyone with her wonderful latkes and other traditional Hanukkah foods. They sang ‘Maoz Tzur’ and other traditional songs and played many games with the dreidel. Sabrin and Lyssa had started trust funds for Sarah and Samuel so the traditional gifts of gelt were deposited into the funds. As busy as it was Lyssa was still able to continue with the wedding planning, updating everyone on what she and Sabrin had decided.

Before they knew it, the New Year had been rung in and Rose and the Pages were heading home. Sonny was staying a couple of extra days to look for a place to live. Lyssa and Sabrin were able to help him find a nice apartment close to his work but still not too far from them. After signing the lease, Sonny was back to Seattle to pack. He was back two weeks later and soon settled in. He loved his new apartment and his new job and was quickly acclimatized to his new surroundings.

The months passed quickly as the wedding planning continued. So many details and so little time. Lyssa had found it a little more difficult to concentrate on the wedding as the twins were now mobile. She had been surprised at how fast babies could crawl and had to watch them both much more closely as they had taken great interest in many of their daddy's collection of memorabilia, especially the shiny Saturn and Tony Awards that were high up on a shelf.

The little creepers had gotten into daddy's study so many times that Sabrin had come home with a child proof gate one day. Watching him install it had been priceless. This model attached to the doorframe, so Sabrin needed to sit on the floor and work on it. The moment the twins spied daddy on the floor, they both made a bee-line for him. It took Sabrin two hours to install, due to all the baby help he received. Lyssa kept an eye on all of them and had even taken a few pictures to e-mail to the family.

Sabrin’s birthday was a wonderful day. Lyssa had taken the babies out with her to get his gift, a digital video camera, so he could have some time to relax by himself. The family was not coming today, but Sonny and many of Sabrin’s friends were tonight, for the party.

Sabrin loved the video camera. "Now we can capture the babies’ first starring roles and I can take dirty movies of you," Sabrin had whispered in Lyssa's ear, after opening the box.

Lyssa had just chuckled, blushed and nodded.

Everyone loved the chance to see the twins while mommy and daddy enjoyed the chance to brag and have other people help keep an eye on the little mobile monsters.

There were so many details to look after for the wedding that Lyssa had not known about when she started. ~ Maybe we should have just gone to Vegas ~ she thought to herself. She knew she did not really mean that as the image of walking down the aisle with her family and friends in the procession and seeing Sabrin standing there waiting for her, looking so handsome in a tuxedo, was so wonderful. Lyssa and Sabrin were both so lucky to have found an experienced nanny to come in during the day to help. The first time Lyssa had gone out by herself, she had experienced separation anxiety so after that, when she went out, the twins and the nanny went with her.

It was now a week before the wedding and Lyssa was becoming a little nervous.

"My dress is ready. Your tux is ready. Flowers have been confirmed. The Chuppah, tent, tables and chairs will be set up in the backyard on Saturday. Rabbi Steinberg would like to see us after the service on Saturday to go over final details for the ceremony. Photographer and videographer are confirmed. Music for the ceremony and reception is confirmed. I've got the wine and goblet for the ceremony. I hope I'm not forgetting anything," Lyssa sighed as she rolled onto her side to face Sabrin.

"Lyssa, are you okay?" Sabrin asked.

"I'm feeling wonderful. Why do you ask?"

"You seem nervous, distracted. You aren't smiling as much. We haven't made love for almost a week. You aren't getting cold feet are you?"

"No - no cold feet," she emphasized. "There is so much more to putting on a wedding than I realized. How are you feeling? If you've changed your mind about getting married, that's-"

"I have definitely not changed my mind. I love you so much, Lyssa, and I can hardly wait until you are my wife." Sabrin stroked her cheek, kissing her gently.

"Almost a week since we've made love, hmmm," Lyssa smiled. She ran her fingers over Sabrin’s chest. "Not for much longer."

Sabrin’s mother was due to arrive in the morning to help with the wedding. Lyssa’s parents would be arriving the day after that. If Sabrin had not been cornering Lyssa every night and seducing her into sex, he very much doubted she would have slept a wink this whole week. She seemed to walk around with a perpetual look of certainty that she was forgetting something. The closer the wedding got, even the babies began to sense mommy’s nervousness and fret.

Pulling the nanny aside, Sabrin asked her if she would mind staying the night and allowing them to go out for the evening.

“Seems like Miss Page could really use that, if she’ll leave the twins,” the nanny replied with a grin. Sabrin had nodded with a chuckle.

“She has to leave them for the honeymoon, so this can be the trial run.”

It took Sabrin twenty minutes of convincing Lyssa that they could bottle feed the babies for a while to get her to have some wine. Two glasses later, it looked like Lyssa’s shoulders were finally relaxing.

The warm weather gave Sabrin a wonderful idea. The evening was lovely, so he took her for a drive. Lyssa had drank a total of three glasses of wine, but she could hold her liquor better than she claimed, so she was not out of it. As Sabrin drove, he slid a hand over to caress Lyssa’s knee. In time, he slowly slid it higher. He was only taken aback for a second when he learned she was not wearing any panties. Discovering she was also incredibly wet was not a surprise either.

Sabrin drove to a spot he knew was very private. He stopped the car and turned to Lyssa.

"I'm really sorry but I think we just ran out of gas. What should we do?" he smirked.

"I guess we could call the auto club," Lyssa teased. "But I'd rather make out."

Sabrin leaned over to kiss Lyssa but, as he came closer, she disappeared. Lyssa had activated the seat control causing the seat to go back and recline. Sabrin climbed over the console between the seats to join Lyssa. Their kisses were filled with a fiery passion. Sabrin moved his hand to Lyssa's thigh, moving upward until he was once again fingering her wetness.

"Sabrin, you won't tell, will you? I do have a reputation to maintain at school," Lyssa joked.

"No one will know but me - and all my buddies," he replied.

Lyssa began undoing Sabrin's pants while his fingers were now busy with opening Lyssa's blouse.

"If I go all the way, will this mean we're going together or will I never hear from you again?" she questioned, trying to sound serious between giggles.

"Depends on how good you are," Sabrin laughed.

"I guess I don't need to call home to tell them I'll be late. This should only take five minutes, shouldn't it?" They were both laughing hard now.

"Will you just kiss me," Sabrin finally was able to say. Lyssa complied.

“I’ll do more than that,” she told him as she began to slide his pants down to free his throbbing erection. Sabrin raised his eyebrows as he began to rub Lyssa with his engorged length. Lifting her skirt above her waist, he plunged into her as he crushed his lips to hers. Lyssa moaned into his mouth, loving the feel of his penis filling her. Grabbing her ass, Sabrin squeezed and pulled her to plunge into her further. Lyssa reached up to grab Sabrin’s buns now too. Trying not to dig her nails into his flesh there, she too pulled him tighter against her.

Sabrin hoped his ass was not being seen by anyone as he impaled Lyssa over and over again. But as good as it felt to have his sword sheathed by her tight opening, Sabrin doubted he could stop even if fans began taking pictures right now.

Lyssa arched her back against him, losing her control and digging her nails into his ass. The pain mixed with intense pleasure caused Sabrin to cry out in savage ecstasy.

The lovers exchanged soft kisses as they recovered from their pleasure. Before they had an opportunity to continue, the sound of nearing traffic interrupted them. Both quickly arranged their clothes and got back into their seatbelts. As they reached the street, a police car turned down the road. Sabrin and Lyssa looked at each other but could not help laughing as Sabrin turned the corner to head for home.

When they pulled into the garage, the lights in the house were all off. The nanny was sleeping in a guest bedroom at the other end of the house.

Sabrin leaned over and kissed Lyssa.

"Wait here," he whispered. He jumped out of the car and went into the house, returning in less than a minute. He brought back a blanket, spread it onto the hood of the car and then opened Lyssa's door. He took her hand to lead her to the front of the car, kissing her before picking her up and sitting her on the blanket. Sabrin stood in front of Lyssa, stroked her cheek gently before kissing her passionately. His hands again found the buttons on her blouse, which he proceeded to unbutton.

Lyssa had not been able to find her bra on the floor of the car so once again her bare breasts were exposed to the night air. Sabrin reclaimed her mouth as his hands roamed her chest and stomach.

"Sabrin, the nanny-" Lyssa's words were cut off by her moans as Sabrin stroked her thigh with one hand while his other held her breast as he tongued and nipped at it.

"You're the one who introduced me to risky sex. You aren't chickening out now," he smirked.

Lyssa stared back. "Who are you calling chicken?" she laughed before pulling her skirt up as she moved back on the hood. Sabrin climbed up to join her as she lay back on the blanket. The warmth of the hood through the blanket contrasted nicely with the coolness of the night.

Sabrin kissed Lyssa tenderly at first, but it took no time at all before he was grinding his hardness against her. He began to moan softly as they kissed harder.

Pulling back enough to break their kiss, Sabrin smiled at her, his eyes gleaming.

"I’m hungry," he announced.

"For love, I hope," Lyssa cooed.

"No, I'm really hungry. I need to eat."

Shocking the hell out of Lyssa, Sabrin pulled himself from her arms and scooted off the hood. Heading towards the door to the house, he jerked to a stop.

"Hey, I think I know the perfect snack food – you." Suddenly grabbing Lyssa by the thighs, Sabrin pulled her and the blanket closer to the edge of the hood. With a 'cat that ate the canary' expression on his handsome face, he dramatically parted her knees and spread them wide apart.

"Behold - a bountiful feast. Fit for a king, or an aging and starving actor."

Lyssa chuckled at this, but only for a second, for the next, Sabrin had buried his face between her knees and was sucking her juices for all he was worth. And considering what they paid for this house, that was quite a bit.

He did seem ravenous as he licked and sucked her. Just the thought that the fluids he consumed were from her caused her juices to flow even faster and her heart to beat harder.

Lyssa's moans were having their usual effect on Sabrin. Soon he pushed Lyssa and the blanket back on the hood and climbed on top of not only it but Lyssa as well. Their lips joined as Sabrin entered her. His thrusts began slowly but it did not take long for his pace to quicken as he plunged deeper and deeper into Lyssa. Their kisses were only broken to allow for the moans of pleasure emanating from both.

Lyssa's back arched as her orgasm cascaded through her. Sabrin quickly joined her in this ecstasy. Sabrin had yet to lose his erection, continuing to plunge harder and harder. Lyssa was calling out Sabrin’s name in moments as she again reached her peak. Before long, Sabrin was joining her with his own climax. Sabrin moved next to Lyssa and kissed her forehead. They lay in each other's arms for a few moments on the hood of the car before sliding off. Lyssa did up the buttons on her blouse before she went back to the passenger side of the car to find her bra.

Lyssa bent down, running her hand along the floor of the car when she suddenly felt her skirt being lifted. Sabrin ran his hands slowly over her butt. Lyssa looked back without standing and could see Sabrin’s erection had returned. Lyssa spread her legs a little more as Sabrin moved between them and entered her from behind. Lyssa clutched the dash with one hand and the open car door with her other. Sabrin’s groin pounded against her with each motion, bringing Lyssa closer and closer to climax. They cried out in unison as their orgasms overcame them. Sabrin withdrew and Lyssa turned into his arms. They kissed passionately before straightening their clothes. Lyssa grabbed her bra from the car seat and ran to their bedroom. Sabrin locked up and ran to join her.

Chapter Thirteen

With the arrival of Rose, Ruth and Aaron at their home, the soon to be newlyweds found themselves virtually ignored as the grandparents were still so enamored with their toddling grandbabies.

The morning of the wedding, Lyssa was awake at 4:50 to nurse Sarah, who had awakened early. Missing Lyssa in their bed, Sabrin soon ambled into the playroom attached to the nursery in search of his bride-to-be.

“You want some coffee, honey?” he asked in a hoarse mumble, sleepily forgetting his promise not to call her that.

Lyssa could tell how out of it he was, so she let it pass. “Desperately,” she assured him. As soon as the black gold was ready to drink and revive them, the baby monitor was singing with the sounds of Samuel. The little boy was definitely the more content of the two. He normally woke to babble happily in his crib. Chuckling at the precious sounds of his son’s gurgles, Sabrin went to get him.

Taking Sarah from her mother, Sabrin gave Lyssa possession of Samuel so he could have his breakfast. Seeing his mother’s warm smile, Samuel giggled with glee. He latched on quickly, but seemed to be more interested in flirting with his mother. His frequent smiles allowed dribbles of milk to trail down his rosy cheeks. Lyssa could not help but laugh at the sight. 

“So the morning started early for you two, I see,” Rose noted, coming into the room in her gown and robe. “Did you both sleep well?” she asked, bending to kiss her son on the forehead, followed by the squirming Sarah in his arms.

“I think I slept better than Lyssa did. She tossed and turned most of the night,” Sabrin answered, lowering the now changed and burped Sarah to the floor so she could make a bee-line for the toy box Sabrin had already had to purchase to hold the burgeoning amount of toys the twins now had.

“Nervous?” Rose asked Lyssa, now moving to kiss her and Samuel good morning.

“Only enough to make me sure I could die of nervousness. You think it’s possible?”

It was a little after 8:00 a.m. when the Pages joined them. As their guestroom was at the back of the house, the goings on in the nursery had not awakened them. Lyssa prepared a wonderful breakfast for everyone, which helped take her mind off her nervousness a little. Lyssa was ordered by her mother to take a nice relaxing bath before starting to get ready for the wedding. Lyssa had only been in the tub for a few minutes when she was joined by her soon-to-be husband.

"They’re so wrapped up with our children they won't even know I'm gone," Sabrin laughed as he climbed in behind her. He wrapped his arms around her. The happy couple had been relaxing in the tub for a half hour when they heard a voice call out from their bedroom.

"Sabrin Jerome Berry, I know you’re in that tub. Now get out of there and let Lyssa get ready," his mother directed.

The rest of the day was such a blur for Lyssa. She was so glad they decided to have the wedding recorded as well as have pictures done. Everyone told her how beautiful everything was and she could not wait to see the DVD to find out for herself.

The weather not only cooperated but had actually outdone itself. The sky was clear and the sun shone down with above average temperatures the whole day and well into the evening. In fact, it had been so nice outside that it was after 2:00 a.m. by the time the last guests finally left. Thankfully, the nanny agreed to stay over and would look after the twins in the morning so Sabrin and Lyssa could sleep in. It was almost 3:00 by the time they crawled into bed but sleep was the last thing on their minds.

"Lyssa Berry, my wife," Sabrin smiled as he stroked her cheek softly.

"I love the way that sounds and I love you, my husband," Lyssa kissed him gently on the lips.

"If you aren't too tired, I really want to make love to my wife," Sabrin said between kisses.

"I like the sound of that too," Lyssa sighed contently. 

Lovemaking had never been so wonderful as it was that night. They were too exhausted for more than one session, but it was a very memorable one.

The Pages were up early so they could help to see Sabrin and Lyssa off on their honeymoon. The couple was only taking two days because Lyssa did not want to go too long without nursing. Sabrin still would not tell her where they were going, but she knew it would not be long until she knew, since he could not hide the destination of their flight. It was hard to leave the twins and Lyssa found herself crying for a few minutes as she and Sabrin boarded the plane, but his sweet kiss helped her get past her tears. The glass of champagne in their first class seats helped too.

“So why are we going to Denver?” Lyssa asked, giggling as the bubbles tickled her nose.

Sabrin looked incredulous. “We met in Denver. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that already. You’re the young one, I’m the one old enough to be able to claim senility.”

Lyssa reached over and pinched his knee. “You’re not even close to senile. But if you go, I’ll have to move into that old folks home with you so I can screw your brains out ever night. If you’re gone in the head anyway, you won’t miss them.”

“You’re all heart. Why did I marry you again?” Sabrin teased with a laugh.

Lyssa gave him an evil grin. “Because I already do screw your brains out.”

“That was it,” he exclaimed, pointing to her and his nose with the other hand.

Lyssa playfully swatted him for that.

Once they arrived in Denver and made it to the limousine Sabrin had arranged with the hotel, he pulled a blindfold out of his carry-on and put it over Lyssa’s eyes. She began to protest, but Sabrin just kissed her to keep her busy. He gave her more to drink and did quite a bit of making out with her before they reached the hotel.

When the limousine stopped, Lyssa reached up to remove the blindfold, but Sabrin stayed her hand.

“Not yet, my beautiful bride. Not just yet.” Sabrin lead Lyssa to the elevator and then to the door of their suite as the bellman carried their luggage. He nodded at the bellman to enter the suite and put their bags down.

Once the bellman was gone, Sabrin kissed Lyssa passionately and then helped her off with the blindfold. They still stood just outside the door to the suite. 

Sarah looked from Sabrin’s sweet face to the room past the door, and back to the number on the door. “OH! It’s the hotel - the same suite, Sabrin!” She moved to step into the room, but he caught her by the arm and pulled her back.

“Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast, Mrs. Berry. This old man is gonna carry his young bride over the threshold at least this once.” He picked her up carefully and carried her a few steps into the room. Lyssa made him put her down before he hurt himself.

“I can’t believe you went to all this trouble to get me back here. You’re a bit of a romantic, Mr. Berry,” Lyssa cooed as she traced kisses over his face.

“I wanted to get you back to the scene of the crime,” he told her in a matter-of-fact tone.

“The crime?” she repeated with a guilty grin.

“Lyssa ‘Sarah’ Page Berry, I, Sabrin Berry charge you with breaking and entering - into my life, heart and soul. How do you plead?”

“Guilty as charged,” she exclaimed, and pushed the devilishly sexy actor towards the bed where it had all started.