Chapter 5-7: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

               The day of the celebration arrived quickly enough. Dahlia had stayed long enough to celebrate but then she had to head back to Storybrook. Summer was slowly fading away and she would need to prepare for her senior year of high school.

               While the guests mingled around, Camille and Donovan decided it was time to bring the twins to their cakes. Being the first to be born, Evangeline was the first to blow her candles out.

                Next was little Emerson. As his family cheered him on, Joshua was perplexed at Sylie’s tears. How can anyone be unhappy at a little kid’s birthday party? What no one knew yet was that Sylie had just discovered she was pregnant again and was a little emotional about, well, anything. Her babies were growing up and seeing the Avendale twins blow out their candles reminded her of that.

               Little Evangeline was not impressed with her brother’s nose picking skills.

               Even though she had been older when Dahlia was born, Camille couldn’t recall that toddlers were so messy. She knew she had to let the kids learn to do things on their own but sometimes it pained her to watch them feed themselves. Baby food everywhere!

               Evangeline was still a sour puss but Donovan could always make her smile. He tried not to have favorites between his children but his daughter was such a character. Every day when he got home from work, he would go to the nursery or playroom or wherever the kids happened to be and snuggle them both before changing and working on any articles he needed to finish before his deadlines.

               Soon, the twins were starting to babble on their own. Each day, Camille and Donovan would sit down and tell them stories about teddy bears on picnics and princesses in castles. They’d practice making their sounds and it wasn’t long until each was trying to mimic those noises. Evangeline hung on to her daddy’s every word, always fascinated by the stories he told. Emerson never liked to sit still for long though. The only time he would really be captivated by what his parents were saying was if they were singing lullabies to him. Otherwise, he had no use for their stories.

               “Who,” Emerson gurgled to a strange looking doll while Evangeline looked at her brother with mild curiousity.  Donovan didn’t remember seeing this thing before and it creeped him out just a little.

               

                “Camille, what is that thing Em’s been playing with,” he asked her as they laid down that night.

               “Who?”

               “The doll.”

               “I know. His name is Who. I have no idea why but that’s what Em calls him.”

               ‘Where did it come from?”

               “I don’t know. I think Brielyn or Dahlia must have brought it for him. I don’t remember seeing it before that.”

               Strange, but what harm could a doll do, right?

               Her blossoming feelings for Donovan scared her. Camille wanted to make things work for her kids and she wanted them to grow up with both a mother and a father. She was scared of being in an actual commitment though and scared that by advancing their relationship things would be more severely harmed if they did not work out in the long run. So when Keith Hopkins, an aspiring politician, invited her to a black tie party at his loft, she readily agreed and failed to mention to Donovan that she could bring a plus one.

               Keith was a handsome man, and an eligible bachelor that most of the single ladies in St. Clair would have traded their first born for a chance to be on his arm. Camille wasn’t really one of his adoring fans but he was nice to look at.

               “Apart from being sexy, what do you do for a living?” Camille laughed, knowing that Keith knew she was a cop but flattered to be called sexy anyway.

               “I could put you in handcuffs and let you find out the hard way.” She couldn’t resist a little flirting back. The thrill of a new conquest, even if she didn’t have the actual intention to follow through made her feel like herself again.

               The playful bantering went on for a while and Camille could feel the eyes of jealous women boring into her back. It made her feel superior and powerful, both feelings she relished and had strived for when she first set out on her own. She had something to prove then and she had done so. So why do I still need to feel that way? She didn’t have time to contemplate further as her phone rang.

               “Excuse me, I have to take this,” she apologized to Keith who immediately turned his attention to a buxom blonde.

               “Donovan, I’m sorry, I’m at that fundraiser event.” She listened before hurriedly rushing out, forgetting to play the grateful guest and thank her host for a lovely night.

               She rushed to the hospital. Donovan’s phone call had been to tell her that Emerson had been running an extremely high fever that wouldn’t go down; not with cool rags, not with baby medicine, nothing. Donovan had called the pediatrician’s after hours number and was informed that they needed to go to the ER. She rushed her way back through the nurses, running in her heels, ignoring the requests to slow down and sign in with the head nurse. Finally, she caught sight of her son behind some curtains, Donovan sitting there in his grungy clothes. He must have called a sitter for Evangeline.

                “Oh my poor baby,” she reached over to him, smoothing his sweaty brow. He didn’t seem too fussy for being so sick which Camille took as a good sign. He was always good natured though, unlike his sister. She knew if this was Evangeline, the girl would be screaming her head off.

               Donovan came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned into him, worried and trying not to cry, feeling guilty that she had been gone when her son needed her most. Mixed with those feelings of guilt were feelings of relief that Donovan, reliable as ever, had been there and known what to do. What would I ever do without him?

               “He’s going to be fine. It’s just a pretty bad earache,” Donovan assured her. “They’ve got him on antibiotics now and, as soon as his fever breaks, we can all go home.

               

               With his antibiotics, Emerson quickly got over his ear infection. Some toddlers were more prone to them than others so his doctor gave them signs to look out for to try and prevent another late night emergency room run.

               If others knew her guilt, people may have said that it drove Camille to spend even more time at home and with Donovan but she would tell you that wasn’t true. She realized now that she had slowly been falling in love with Donovan since before she had even gotten pregnant. Maybe she would have come to the conclusion on her own but the pregnancy had forced her into a relationship with him. It had required her to form a bond with him that she otherwise would have run from.

               She didn’t know what it meant though. She certainly wasn’t ready to admit it to him and could barely admit it to herself. Letting people in, after being sent away from home, after being tricked by her “friends” was no easy task. Hopefully his patience wouldn’t wear thin before she could come to grips with her feelings.

               One weekend, they decided to take the twins to the park. As with all small children, they seemed to love the spring riders the best. Who could resist the fun noises and bouncy ride?

               “Mama, buwdy!” Evangeline shouted. Camille assumed she was talking about the pigeons.

               “No honey, don’t touch those. They’re dirty.”

               “Dutty, dutty, dutty!” She certainly liked hearing herself talk.

               With the twins learning more and more words every day, Camille and Donovan began sitting down with them to teach them colors and bigger words. Evangeline was such a daddy’s girl that he had to be the one teaching her while Camille worked with Emerson. She hated if Daddy paid more attention to her brother!

               The next party Camille got invited to, she made sure to bring Donovan along. This one was actually at Ian’s house. They hadn’t seen each other much since she had the twins and, in that time, he had also knocked up Jane and married her. Mostly because her daddy was a high profile judge who liked to hunt on the weekends. Ian figured that a shotgun wedding was better than a funeral.

               She was nervous about showing up with Donovan as her official date, especially to Ian’s party. Donovan looked uncomfortable which made her feel even more nervous. Does he not want to go? Would he rather me go alone so he can have time with the kids? Maybe he has an actual girlfriend? In actuality, Donovan had no idea how Camille felt and was worried that seeing Ian would reignite her old feelings for him. They’d never had that “exes” talk so he had no idea that Camille had never felt anything but friendly affection for the guy, despite their one night stand.

                When they got up to the party, they both loosened up some enough to start enjoying themselves. Donovan was pleasantly surprised that Camille spent the whole evening with her eyes focused on him. Ian kept stealing small glances over to her but she was oblivious.

                Donovan slipped off to the bathroom and Camille pulled Ian to the corner.

               “I finally catch your attention,” he smirked at her and reached a hand towards her hip. She pulled back just enough to be out of his grasp and he caught the hint.

               “I’ve noticed you trying to get my attention all night,” she remarked. “You knew I was binging Donovan.”

               “And you knew Jane would be here. We can still have a little fun though.”

               “You know, once upon a time I would have taken you up on that offer. Although, back then, I probably would have come alone.”

               “You’re falling for him, aren’t you?” Ian was far more insightful than she had ever given him credit for.

               “Yeah, I am.” She smiled, lost in thought. She didn’t notice Donovan had stepped out of the bathroom just in time to hear her confession.

               To his credit, Donovan said nothing. He didn’t want her to know that he knew. She may be ready to admit it to Ian but she obviously wasn’t ready to say anything to him about it. He felt that waiting was all there was to their relationship but she was worth it. She was such a strong, brave woman who was fiercely independent. He respected and loved that about her and didn’t want her to change for or because of him. Her dedication to both the twins and those she considered her closest friends, Pearl especially, showed that when she did love someone she loved them completely and with a fiery passion that no one could hold a candle to.

               Unbeknownst to them when they first started seeing each other, Camille and Donovan had since discovered that they shared a birthday. The day arrived and they decided to throw a joint party for the two of them with a ton of people. Camille had no idea what to wish for. For her last big birthday she had wished for her mom’s forgiveness and look how long that had taken. She didn’t want to risk wishing for something she’d have to be patient for years for again.

               “Camille, we just got a beep. We need to head into the station,” Chief Randall summoned her. It didn’t matter that they were celebrating her birthday, or Donovan’s birthday. All that mattered was that duty called. She quickly changed and stayed long enough for Donovan to quickly blow out his candles and then she and the chief headed out the door.

               Luckily, Pearl stayed and volunteered to help clean up behind the remaining guests. Can anyone guess what she is hiding behind that stack of plates?

                Camille swore that Donovan must be the baby whisperer. Evangeline had him wrapped around her little pinky but she was wrapped around his as well. Emerson adored him and giggled any time Donovan picked him up. Of course, the awful claw attack was no end to some of the giggle fits.

               Now that she was getting older, Camille felt even more pressured to stay in shape. She wanted to stay with her career and make it to the top. Chief had talked to her about becoming a secret agent. She wanted to take the job and she knew she would be good at it but now she had to think of her children instead of just herself. Running in the morning before she left for work helped her get her thoughts in order and really focus and kept her in shape in case she wanted to take the job.

                At some point, she would need to sit down and talk to Donovan about it first. Though it was unspoken, both were of the opinion they were a real couple now. Camille wanted to share decision making with him but wasn’t sure what she would do if he asked her not to take the job. She figured she would go through the courses and training without accepting the actual position. If she made it through, and wanted it, then she would talk to him. If not, then there was nothing to discuss.

               Donovan met her at the steps, as he left for the morning and she came back from her run. From there, she would head inside to shower, feed the twins their breakfast, and leave for work herself when the sitter arrived. They’d discussed putting the kids in preschool but the only decent school on the islands was full with a waiting list of over a year.

               Luckily, with their schedules, Camille and Donovan had enough time between them to get Evangeline and Emerson ready for school without the benefits of preschool. Also, Pearl and Joshua would come over with Lowell to help socialize all three kids. None of the parents wanted the kids biting or not knowing how to share when they finally went to big kid school. Pretty soon the Panems would be adding to their family as Pearl was pregnant again, this time with twins of her own.

               And in no time at all, once again, it was time for the Avendale-Matter family to celebrate birthdays. They decided to hold this one at the nearby park so the kids could play at the playground once they had blown out their candles.

               Evangeline, finally a “big kid”, waited for her brother to join her. Joshua had come alone since Pearl was home taking care of her new twins, Darrel and Casie.

               With both the twins aged up, they had the last few remaining weeks of summer before they would start school. During that time, Camille had the final weeks of her training classes before she had to decide once and for all whether she wanted to become a secret agent. And Donovan had something on his mind as well that he needed to discuss with Camille.        

Chapter 5.6                                                                                                                                      Chapter 5.8