*****074:

Dr. Breckinridge's exam room where Aubrey had worked up until about a year ago, was spacious enough to fit all seven of us, the table, the machine, and Aubrey, the nurse and the doctor. It wasn't super comfortable, but I could see the screen and hold my wife's hand. The worst part was that it was a vaginal ultrasound and she was dressed in a hospital gown, and even with a blanket modestly covering her legs, there was nothing particularly modest about five extra guys down by her feet, standing around, trying to avert their eyes.

I had asked them initially to wait in the lobby--- but seriously--- the dejected whipped dog looks I got from them was pathetically convincing---

Aubrey consented and here we all were.

The screen was small, and everyone was leaning forward practically over her body. I felt like I had to hold them all back.

Dr. Breckinridge, who Aubrey called Ger--- short for Gerald, was in his element. He had been against Aubrey being with me, but he'd attended the So Cal reception and made a huge effort to be very nice, inviting us out to eat, calling periodically to include Aubrey in practice decisions. Now it was more than obvious she would be quitting the practice, and becoming his patient.

He'd already seen the screen himself, and was even now, simply pointing out what the rest of us were working so hard to get from the little black and white blobs....

Aubrey's face glowed like an inner lamp was burning. "See them Rafe? There's Sailin, and Troy. You got your boys! I think Sailin's on top and Troy's here." She pointed and I could easily see their little bodies and faces. I was leaning over her, and feeling great energy pouring off her, and our connection. I swallowed in disbelief. I'd never seen this kind of ultrasound--- like a 3-D thing--- they looked like little gold and silver aliens, with their eyes closed and their little hands hovering in amniotic fluid near their faces. I squeezed Aubrey's hand, and she winced and squeezed mine back. Our eyes met and she blinked tears away.

"Gees, Rafe, your boys can freaking swim." Mutt said in admiration and there were some raucous high fives. I bowed my head with a flourish.

"Would you look at that?" Lance wiped his eyes. "There's five babies in there. What'd you guys do take fertility treatments?"

Dr. Breckinridge snapped his head to Lance. "They are naturally conceived quintuplets--- would have been sextuplets." He growled, defensive for no reason. Lance was joking, to cover his deep emotion.

I stared hard at them. The last time--- when we'd first got home, she'd been six weeks along, and they were barely little blobs, dark places on the screen. Now---- there were five babies in there. Obviously babies. Three girls and two boys.

I pushed Aubrey's hair back and cupped my hand to her ear. "I've revised my opinion about abortion."

Her eyes told me she knew to what I referred. On our tour, to keep our hands off each other, we'd devised controversial subjects to explore--- abortion had been one of them, and I had always been pro-choice, not understanding the true nature of biology and the science of having a baby. These little guys might only be sixteen weeks along, but they were fully human babies. Abortion was killing, no matter how, when or where it took place. If they were human babies now, then the one we'd lost had also been a human baby.

I caught my breath at the thought.

"Should we have some kind of memorial service for the baby that died?"

"What did you do for the last one?"

"I wrote it a letter."

"Okay then. It was likely a girl."

"Oh God...." I whispered, having not thought that far. Aubrey's eyes were shining and sad.

"It's okay, Rafe. It's for the best."

"But--- ." I looked back at the screen, where my guys were admiring the blobs in wonderment.

"Write her a letter, and give her twin a name."

I took a deep breath. "You wanted Chloe and Noah."

"I'm not attached to them right now." She said sincerely, we were whispering very softly, only the two of us could hear. Only because the guys were buzzing as the doctor took measurements. He finished what he was doing, and the picture on the screen stayed the same, but Aubrey was finally covered completely.

Everyone took a giant sigh of relief.

"I've labeled them Baby A, B, C, D and E, for convenience sake's but I understand you've given them all birth names that are pretty firm. If you would like I can record and mark them for you. Take a look at the picture and tell me what you want."

That of course, was news to my guys. There was more discreet buzz.

"Harper? Charlotte? Emily?" I recalled our list, but as I looked at that sweet little girl all cuddled as close as she could get to the side where her sisters were snuggled, looking just a tad bit alone and forlorn, I shook my head. None of those fit.

Aubrey pointed to the screen. "There's Jackson Troy, named for Jackson Browne and Troy Eggleston. We're calling him Troy."

Appropriate noises were made, and a lot of back-patting and throat clearing went on as my guys appreciated my tribute. I looked up at them and then pointed. "So that little guy is Sailin Sea, named in Mazatlan on the catamaran."

"Oh, come on Rafe, really?" Jeff believed traditional names were best so kids didn't get teased. I pretty much figured nobody did that anymore, since people named their kids whatever they wanted, including Apple and River and Dog and Moon Unit.

Aubrey ignored him and pointed to the intact twin girls. This is Peyton Call and this is Sereniti Lynn... is Lynn okay? It's for my mom."

I nodded. I thought it was very nice, and then we all stared at the little mystery princess.

The guys threw a couple of crock names out there like Ladykiller and Subway.... What were they thinking? And then Lance came to my side, squeezing through till he could bend over and whisper in my ear.

"Her name should be Rabrey Teomah Elizabeth Stryker. Rabrey is the letters of your names combined and it's cute and Teomah means female twin in Hebrew and Elizabeth is for Aubrey and----." He was thinking of our mother who was also Janice Elizabeth.

Aubrey cocked her head to the side as she struggled to sit up. "But I'll call her Tia. Just Tia. I like it. I like it the best. What about you Rafe?"

"Tia it is." I felt a supreme relief, as if in the naming of our little mystery daughter, we'd solidified her presence once and for all.

"Shouldn't it be Teo?" Lance stood back up smiling broadly.

Ben was counting them up, "Tia, Sailin, Peyton, Sereniti and Troy."

"Weird." Jeff stated and turned to leave the room so that Aubrey could dress and we could have some privacy.

Lance stayed behind. "Are you sure? It's okay if you don't name her that. I just thought it was fitting."

"I love that you named her." Aubrey said smiling at him. "But I like Tia better than Teo--- although Teo is cute too. We'll have to see when she arrives. For now, she can be Tia. Rabrey Teomah Elizabeth--- it's a really long name for such a little smidgen."

The guys trooped out, our names were dutifully recorded and we finally left alone.

"How did we miss a whole other baby?" I asked her as she pulled on a cute little gray pinstriped skirt and a soft lacy tank with another cute top over it. She had several necklaces and bracelets as well, and her sunglasses perched on top of her curls were covered in bling.

"She was so little and behind the others, and yeah--- her twin must not have developed, and that was what I felt inside on St. Thomas. Sorry."

I helped her off the table and she stood with her baby bump only touching my stomach. We both looked down at it.

I breathed hard, gulped and took a deeper breath. "This is so amazing."

"I know, right?"

"Better to know now than later. Delivery table surprise."

"It could have happened."

I blew out my breath. "Roger wants us to announce it, make a media thing out of it."

Aubrey slung her majorly multicolored crazy big floppy bag over her shoulder and tossed her curls. "I'll do it."

"Do what?"

"Well, I think I'm putting myself on home duty. I think a little more rest and a lot less stress is required. It's what I would tell me if I were my patient."

"What about the tour?"

She shrugged. "Only you can make that call."

"You can't come at all?"

She opened the door. "I can come. Get me a motor home and a relaxing atmosphere, and yeah, I'll come for awhile. I'm not coming all summer. I'm due July 30th. But if you're going out from March to June 30th, I'll come."

"Really? I still feel rushed and anxious about it." I remembered what the guys had been saying about getting a different, bigger house.

"Rafe, we agreed if we're bus touring, then we'll do it together. Mom's got a motor home, or there's a fifth wheel down here, I think it's Marshall's. I could go look at it and see if it would work for us."

"I own a freaking tour bus, Aubrey, we'll just take one for ourselves." I was exasperated, because I really thought we should all just stay at home--- maybe buy a ranch style house, one story, so Aubrey carrying five babies wouldn't have to climb a bunch of stairs.

*****