This is a continuation of In The Arms of Angels Pt. 10.
Recap - In part 10, Paige explains to her family that Other Paige is no longer present in her mind. She's terrified that whatever it is may have migrated to her unborn child, Prue, and worries about what her child may go through if that is the case. When she goes to sleep, she dreams and meets Other Paige in the form of five-year-old Paige. She learns that Other Paige was just a manifestation of her own mind, a way of coping with the emotional trauma she suffered at a young age. And now with Jason, and a child on the way, she no longer needs Other Paige in her life. She also learns that her precognitive abilities were her own all along, and it will not go away now that Other Paige is no more. Jason decides to sell the house in L.A. and purchase the 'castle' in Ghent. While back in L.A. packing up, the family sees Margaret once more, inviting her to visit Belgium on their dime. In Elin's excitement at seeing her friend, Margaret realizes the relationship situation with her friend and that Elaina's child is Jason's. Elin tells her that she and Paige are also pregnant with his children. Before they make the final move to Belgium, they take steps to remove David's last influence from their lives by changing their last name. The Hughes family is no more. Make way for the Van der Meer family. Back in their new home, during a family dinner, Elaina begins to go into labor.
Also, a couple of time jumps: 6 weeks after Sophia's birth, another 5 months, then another month shortly after.
All characters in this story are 18 years old or older. This is a work of fiction.
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In a private room of Maria Middelares Hospital with a beautiful view of the Ringvaart canal in Ghent, Elaina slept peacefully as Jason, Elin, and Paige took turns holding Sophia Natalia Van der Meer, the newest addition to their little family. At 5 lbs., 9 oz., and 19 inches long, Sophia had taken her time to grace them with her little presence.
After checking into the hospital right at 4:30 am, contractions were coming more and more regularly, and with more ferocity. Jason and Elaina had hoped their little girl would pop right out in spectacular fashion. It wasn't until 9:15 pm—nearly seventeen hours later--that their little angel finally decided she was willing to make her appearance, which was promptly punctuated by banshee-like wails and cries of displeasure until she was swaddled warmly and, for a while, placed under warming lights. But once she had settled down, she allowed everyone to bask in her tiny beauty. With a head full of wispy, jet-black hair, and cobalt blue eyes, she was a sight to behold. Both Elaina and Jason had the same black hair, but they had sapphire-colored eyes that ran in their family. Elin suggested that Sophia's eyes may yet change color, or simply get lighter after a few months, but for now, each family member, along with the nurses who got to spend time with her, got lost in those tiny blue orbs.
"She is perfect," Paige quietly commented, noting that Jason had, once again, unwrapped his little girl to count her fingers and toes. "Are you checking for webbed feet, or something?"
He didn't comment as he swaddled his daughter once again, but in his mind, he did worry about her, as well as the two children he would still not see for another seven months. The medical staff had been very thorough in their physical exam and would have told them immediately if anything had been amiss. But Jason knew the high probability of some hidden issue arising later.
Elaina and Paige were his sisters—full sisters, to be exact, and he had gotten them both pregnant. On top of that, his own biological mother was carrying his child, which worried him even more than Elaina or Paige. The division of DNA, chromosomes, or some other sciency-stuff was even less with Elin and their child having an abnormality was a real possibility. But his worry wasn't that they may have to abort, or that they shouldn't have fallen in love and desired to be this new family unit. His worry was only for his wives and their children, despite Paige's clairvoyant insistence that everything would be fine.
Jason accepted who they were: a man who fucked his mother to pregnancy, then had both of his sisters to the same end. But it was, and always would be, true love that led them down this path. They weren't a group of uneducated backwater hillbillies who didn't know better. They had chosen this with one mind.
Maybe it was a case of genetic sexual attraction caused by his absence for so long. In that, one sees someone who is, essentially, a stranger and is attracted to them through familiarity. Sure, the four knew that they were blood relatives, but after a fifteen-year absence, Jason was a complete stranger to the women. They had no idea what he would look like if they ever found him, but when they did, they became attracted to each other by seeing familiarities in the face of this long-lost sibling or son. Of course, the attraction felt between Elin, Elaina, and Paige was a different thing altogether that none of them could truly explain. They only knew that it was real.
"She is perfect, isn't she?" he finally said as he smiled down at the little girl's sleeping face. "I hadn't imagined she'd come out with so much hair."
Elin chuckled. "Elaina was the same way. I was so happy to be able to put little bows on her head for a few weeks until it mostly fell out before regrowing again. It made for some cute pictures."
Both Paige and Jason had noticed that Elin's separation of her past life as their mother had slipped quite a bit once Elaina started labor. She had attempted to speak as if she and Elaina's mother weren't the same person, such as "Elaina's mother had a difficult time..." But now, likely from the excitement and wonder of a new, healthy life in their family, she just didn't care. They were who they were, and no amount of hiding from it would change it. Besides, such a tender moment as this was not the place to try and obscure the past just to make one person feel better. This was family time, and for better or worse, they
were
all family.
"Didn't I come out bald?" Paige asked, leaning against Elin as they sat on a small love seat. The private room, while still a hospital room, had decent furniture and room for several visitors.
"That didn't last long," Elin snorted, then ran a tender hand down the back of Paige's head as she recalled their life from so long ago. "Your hair grew like those little Play Dough dolls that you pushed down, and the hair sprouted up. That's why you wound up with long braids all the time."
Paige put on a proud air and sat up with a regal look on her face. "I was a perfect angel."
"You farted a lot."
Everyone turned to the soft voice to find Elaina's tired eyes fluttering open and a small smile on her face.
"I did not!"
"I was too young to remember you as a newborn, but I think I was around four or five, holding you in my lap, and wondering why you were just farting non-stop." Elaina tried to sit up in the bed, but she was so worn out from giving birth that she just fell back against the pillows. "And you were already using the potty, so it wasn't—"
"Okay!" Paige said loudly, then quickly put both hands to her mouth when Sophia's body jolted from the sudden noise. "Sorry, sweet girl," she whispered, then narrowed her eyes at Elaina. "I'm sure no one wants to hear about odoriferous emanations from a toddler, thank you very much."
Elin, on the other hand, was laughing silently, her face turning red as she tried to hide the smile behind a hand, not wanting to embarrass Paige any further.
