The Twelve Tables Ch. 18

"That's not huge. You're not even trying to be as big as a house are you?" Dante chuckled as he walked into the room

"You try carting three babies around in your belly, and then we'll talk about how huge you feel," Peri grumbled. "Is Josh going to be late again?" she asked not bothering to try and sit up knowing she looked like a beached whale when she tried.

"Papa is coming home with him tonight," Dante said. "I think your about to have your husband home for a whole weekend," he grinned. "They went past the hospital on the way to visit Emily and Timo. There was another small hiccup, and they have taken him in for observation."

"Shouldn't you be there too instead of babysitting me? I have Bridgette if I need anything," Peri struggled to sit up, and he came forward to help her.

"I don't do hospitals," he shrugged.

"Liar, I saw you down in Canberra when I was in the hospital," Peri laughed thinking he was making excuses for Josh sending him here.

"I was there to stop Josh from ripping anyone's head off, that was different," he chuckled.

"Emily must be beside herself," Peri said softly her hands protectively curling over her baby bump.

"Timo came very early, and there were bound to be a few complications. He's a Donati though and we're a pretty touch breed. I'm sure he'll be fine and home by tomorrow night."

"My babies will be early too. My doctor says my triplets will run out of room and want to get out around thirty-four weeks, though it's not unusual for them to come earlier if they are big boofy boys like the Donati brothers," she teased.

"I'd like to argue with that statement but I can't," he chuckled. "I hope they are not being mean to the little princess trapped in there with them."

"She was holding her own at the last scan so I think she can look after herself," Peri said looking down at her big belly. Her scans had shown that she would deliver identical twin boys and a girl. "Were you mean to your sisters?"

"Nah, it wasn't worth the hiding I would get from Papa. They were his princesses and we all pretty much caved into their demands," he gave a soft smile. "Possibly a little too much in some cases, Lucia and Maryanne were sweet enough but Izzy and Nik, well I guess I don't have to tell you what bitches they could be," he chuckled.

She had slowly gotten used to people casually mentioning Nik as they spoke of Josh as a little boy and how the siblings had gotten along but it still made her flinch every so often. The movement wasn't lost on Dante, and he frowned.

"Too soon?" he asked keeping his voice light.

"Yes and no," she said carefully. "Josh said he always knew he would lose Nik, not like this but to another family eventually but I feel bad that he can't share this with his twin," She rubbed her belly as she spoke.

"No one blames you Peri, least of all Josh," Dante said. "She was always going to escape the facility. You being there at the time was just a bonus for her. She would still be exactly where she is for the death of Giorgio. I know you have heard all of this before, but you have to start believing it and let yourself off the hook."

"I don't think anyone has ever said it that way before," she said truthfully. "It always seemed like I was the catalyst and at fault for his death too. Like she wouldn't have killed him if she wasn't trying to get rid of me."

"Well now you know, so let it go and move on. You are in no way responsible for her behaviour or anything she did that night," he said seriously.

"She would have tried to escape the facility even if I wasn't there and she still would have hurt Giorgio and those others," Peri repeated as if the words finally sunk in. "So even if I hadn't been there she would still have escaped the way she did?"

"A crime of opportunity, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time," he shrugged.

"Dante if I could get up I would hug you so tightly right now!" Peri said with a smile. "Oh damn it, just don't laugh," she wiggled to the edge of the couch and heaved herself up. Then, waddling towards him she threw her arms around his neck, "Thank you." She kissed his cheek, and she felt his arms wrap loosely around her belly and waist as she pressed against him to reach his shoulders.

"Umm your welcome," he said stunned by her reaction.

"Nobody ever brings up that night," she said stepping back from him. "Which had always been fine with me. I spoke to my shrink about it, but if she or anyone suggested that I wasn't the focus of Nik's rage, then I didn't hear it. I didn't hear a lot of things back then, I suppose" she admitted looking up at him and seeing an odd look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I forget not everyone is a fan of the belly," she said awkwardly not sure of the look she saw there.

"It's a great belly, I'm a fan," he said shaking his head in confusion.

"Would you like a beer?" she asked. "I don't know what Josh brought home last time, but it smells strong." She waddled toward the kitchen.

"Go and sit down I'll get it," he said following her.

"All I seem to do is sit down lately," she sighed. "I'm pregnant not an invalid. I want to dance or swim in the lap pool, or something but Josh is always so tired when he finally gets home I hate to ask, and Bridgette is not strong enough to help me."

"I'm here, so swim, what do you need help with?" he asked.

"I can't get out on my own because I'm huge!" She blushed and laughed lightly.

"Swim, I'll call a crane in to get you out," he offered with a cheeky grin. "Seriously I don't mind helping you. You only have to ask."

"Stay for dinner and I might take you up on that offer," Peri said knowing she didn't have to twist his arm to stay for one of Bridgette's meals.

"Better tell Bridgette to expect Josh and Papa too, I suppose," he said taking the beer from her hand and smiling at Bridgette, who stood in the kitchen behind Peri.

"If your father will be here do you want to let Lio know? It wouldn't be nice to leave him downstairs alone while we all eat together," she said with a tilt of her head.

"Yeah, I'll get him to bring up some from his wine collection, I would hate to see what Papa and Josh could do to mine," he chuckled.

"I'll spruce this dinner up a bit then," Bridgette said, "I'm sure you would like to impress Mr. Donati Snr."

Peri watched as Bridgette went to work and Dante walked to the door to go down one floor and speak to Emilio about Dinner. Momentarily at a loss, she walked to the bedroom to change her clothes feeling that she was a little too exposed to greet her father-in-law.

Over an hour later Josh and Joseph came through the door as she, Dante and Emilio sat on the couches chatting about what the doctor had said at her check-up and how she was feeling. She wore a new blouse that Andie had brought her, and she realised as she was sitting and talking that she should have taken longer to decide on her outfit as Emilio commented on her cleavage and asked if she would prefer a night alone with her husband.

"Papa can stay with us downstairs tonight if you like" he waggled his eyebrows at Peri, who blushed and lifted her hands covering herself slightly.

"It's not that bad is it? Should I change?" She asked anxiously.

"You're asking two red-blooded men if they mind seeing cleavage?" Emilio laughed.

"Don't listen to him, Peri," Dante shook his head trying not to join his brother's laughter. "You look perfectly respectable. He's just teasing you about your new figure. Personally, I like it, impending motherhood suits you."

The door opened as Dante was speaking and Josh ushered his father into the apartment. He seemed tired Peri thought as she struggled to her feet to greet her father-in-law who led the way to where the trio sat.

"This is a nice surprise Papa, thank you for bringing Josh home in time for dinner," she smiled and kissed him on both cheeks. She then moved to embrace Josh and kiss him tenderly. She was glad he was home and wouldn't be called out again tonight. She hoped he would relax enough with his father and brothers to get a good night's sleep.

"How are you feeling?" Josh asked releasing her from the embrace and looking at her critically.

"I'm feeling great especially with you home for dinner," Peri said cheerfully. "Would you like a beer before dinner? Joseph, can I get you one too?"

"I'm sure Dante has a well-stocked bar around here somewhere," he looked at his son. "I'll have a scotch."

"Beer for me thanks, D.," Josh grinned and guided Peri back to the couch and sat with her.

"I live but to serve," Dante said dramatically and came to his feet walking across the room to a well-hidden bar.

"Good to see you haven't raided this yet, Wah-wah," Dante called out as he poured a scotch for his father.

"Maybe if I had have known where it was hidden," he chuckled in return. "I wouldn't expect it to look that way the next time you're here."

"I knew I should have pushed you harder towards taking Lio's place," he shook his head and walked back with the drinks.

They chatted about the house and how the build was going, and Josh described the drama's as well as the progress that kept him so late most nights. For Peri, it was the first time she had heard some of the information, and she listened eagerly without saying much. Not that she had to as his brothers commented and joked with him all of the way through his recounting of the different facets of the build.

"Take my advice little brother and just let Tarsia do her thing," Lio said. "If you keep having to be there every step of the way you are going to wear yourself out and Dante will steal your wife. I think he's here more than you are lately."

"Did you have to warn him? How am I supposed to seduce her now?" Dante groaned. "We had a date to go swimming tonight before Papa ruined it by making Josh come home at a reasonable hour and now you tell him of my genius plan."

"When were you going to let me on this plan?" Peri asked with a perfectly seriously face making them all look at her. "I always assumed you'd be that creepy Uncle, who lived in our cellar and scared the children."

"That's my retirement plan," Dante said conversationally. "I have to keep myself entertained until then. Taking Josh's toys has always been fun." He shrugged

"You can't fight true love," Josh chuckled taking Peri's hand.

"Remember that time we hid your horse," Emilio laughed loudly. The rest of what he said was lost in laughter as Dante joined him in relaying the story. Most of it was lost on Peri, but Joseph added to the story as Josh fumed at his brothers like it had happened yesterday. Thankfully Bridgette came in and announced dinner and Peri was relieved of the burden of trying to follow the conversation.

Peri found following a conversation of half-spoken sentences as they all cut each other off or talked over each other was difficult. By the time dessert came and the third bottle of wine was opened she had grown too tired to follow any of it, let alone join in.

"Well gentlemen, I'm afraid I can't keep up with you all, so I am going to call it a night," Peri interrupted their conversation to take her leave. "It's so good to have you all here laughing so much I think the noise of it soothed the babies, so I am going to rest while they seem to be asleep. They tend to wake me up to play a couple of times a night now," she laughed lightly.

"We won't stay late," Dante said with a gentle note in his voice.

"Stay as late as you can it's been some time since I have seen Josh this relaxed," she said with a smile. "Thank you for bringing him home tonight Papa. I will see you in the morning." She kissed Josh, who had stood to help her and encouraged him to stay. "I can walk as far as our room by myself," she reassured him smiling and touching his cheek. "Please stay and enjoy dessert, you know Bridgette has made something wonderful. I'll have mine tomorrow."

Peri was surprised with how quickly she had fallen asleep and when she woke two hours later with the insistent kicking of one of the babies telling her it was playtime; she could still hear the murmur of the men talking in the other room. Groaning as she rolled over awkwardly, she clutched at the body pillow and having settled the babies, closed her eyes once again. When next she woke the apartment was silent, but the bed was empty, so she forced herself up and padded quietly out into the main rooms.

Josh was stretched out on the couch with a blanket covering him. Lying on his back, he was snoring, and Peri was grateful that the sound was not in the bed beside her. She smiled and kissed his forehead before padding back to bed and another few hours of restless sleep.

Peri smiled as she felt Josh climb onto the bed beside and opened her eyes seeing dull morning light through the windows. She rolled to her back and turned her head to look at him. "Did you have a good night?" She asked still smiling.

"I did, but it seems my devious family has seen fit to take away my phone and car keys," he grumbled.

"Is it so bad having to stay home with me for a day?" Peri asked the smile slipping slightly.

"There's nothing I want more, but I want to do it in our home. I need to be there to make sure it's moving forward," he explained as if it was perfectly obvious.

"Tarsia seems pretty capable of managing the build. I mean that's what you're paying her for isn't it?" Peri tried not to feel upset that he wasn't looking forward to spending the weekend with her. "Your family will all be coming tonight so that will be fun and may take your mind off not being at the house," she tried to keep her voice positive.

"Yeah, Andie and Charles will be coming too, so it should be a nice dinner for both of us," he agreed.

The passion and the strong love she had always felt from Josh seemed to have disappeared in the last few weeks. She had put it down to him working so hard to build both his business and the house but now given the chance to relax and spend time with her he seemed just as distant. Feeling the babies wake up and begin to move she placed a hand on her belly.

"Seems everyone is awake this morning," she said in a gentle voice looking down and seeing the movements as well as feeling them. Josh placed his hand beside hers.

"They definitely seem awake, are they trying to do the wave in there?" He asked watching as he his hand moved slightly with her belly.

"Well, Romulus and Remus seem to think they are rugby players and are always wrestling for room to move. Rose just likes to stretch every so often, and that usually calms her brothers down," Peri laughed lightly.

"Romulus and Remus?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well I am not calling them Joshua and Josh Junior," she poked her tongue at him as she struggled to rise. "I guess I could refer to them as Larry, Mo and Curly Jo like your brother suggested." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood carefully.

"Where are you going? We have been ordered to sleep in this morning," Josh said with a chuckle at his brother's names for his children.

"The babies think my bladder is a trampoline," she groaned and walked to the bathroom.

"We probably should talk about names," Josh called after her. "Do you have any in mind?"

"I was trying to think of names that were hard to give a goofy nickname to, like Hannah Banana," Peri said when she came back into the room, "and names that weren't too common it seems everyone is calling their babies Liam or Emma at the moment."

"Well what have you come up with?" he asked curiously.

"Not much, Brett is hard to rhyme with. Ryan maybe or Thomas?" she said a little nervously. "Honestly the more I think about names, the harder it gets."

"So you came up with Romulus and Remus?" Josh chuckled shaking his head. "We could always go with the initials they already have like Mama did."

"We can't call them A, B, and C!" Peri laughed.

"No, but Angus, Brett and Claire maybe," he suggested.

"What if the girl is born first? I would like to think our boys were little gentlemen, and would let her go first." She said as she plumped up the pillows and sat on the bed resting her back against the headboard.

"They will be protective big brothers and scope out the landscape to make sure it's safe for her out here," Josh moved up beside her and placed his hand on her belly once again.

"I don't know, she's pretty pushy in there," Peri giggled. "I was contemplating going all soap opera with their names. There are so many people in your family that I thought we might not find a traditional name we like and have to resort to Cruze or something like that."

"Honestly, I quite like Cruze," Josh looked at her thoughtfully as he spoke. "What else have you got?"

"Chase, Thorn, Ridge, Cato or maybe Echo or Willow for the little princess," she laughed. "There's this site," she picked up her phone and began to bring up the page. "What do you think of Eden?"

"I don't mind that one either you might be onto something here. So far I 'm pretty sure they would be unique names in my family," Josh moved closer to look at the phone with her. "Blaze is good, Cruze and Blaze sound good together for the twins."

"Sounds like an arsonist," Peri shook her head.

"Think of it as a trailblazer," Josh cajoled still looking at the names as she scrolled.

"You're just trying to get the A, B, C thing for them again," she accused. "What about Zander," she offered instead, "Or Rafe? I like the flowery type names as well for girls like Lilly or Violet."

"Eden would have all those flowers," he said ignoring her comment about the boy's names. "Violet reminds me of the girl in Willy Wonka or whatever it's called. We don't want her seeing that and comparing herself." He pulled a face. "Lilly and flowery names just make me think of old ladies. "Why don't we get Bridgette to make us some breakfast and we can talk about it a little more."

"Breakfast sounds great, I can't believe how hungry I am lately, and I'm getting so big I can't tell if it's just the babies or I am genuinely getting fatter," she lamented.

"You look fabulous," Josh leaned over and kissed her his hands running down her body. "We can always come back to bed after breakfast, and I could show you how irresistible you are." He murmured and deepened the kiss.

"Maybe we could just stay here now and come back after breakfast," she purred at him thinking her husband finally had his attention on her rather than the house or business. She leaned closer and kissed his neck and behind his ear.

Josh groaned softly and ran his hand over her belly and down to her cunt feeling the wet welcoming warmth of her. He kissed her deeply before moving his head to follow his hand down her body, trailing kisses down her neck to her breasts as his fingers brought out the heated sounds he adored from her. Her breasts seemed fuller and firmer, and he indulged himself playing roughly with one nipple as his mouth sucked, bit and tormented the other.

Whimpering at the pleasures he gave her Peri lay back stroking his hair and twirling her fingers into the curls at the nape of his neck. She gasped as she felt his fingers grip the slippery oyster of her clit and twist slightly making her arch, her belly rising to push him away from her breast. He moved to kiss over her belly murmuring tender words she couldn't make out but she knew they were not for her ears but rather for the three little bodies snuggled inside her.

Placing his hands under her ass and raising it Josh bent his head to her taking in the familiar scent and fluttering his tongue over her well-lubricated folds. He felt the tell-tale beginnings of tremors in her thighs before he had even touched her clit with his dancing tongue and smiled. Pulling her legs up over his shoulders and raising her hips further his brought one hand to the slick wet hole and pushed two fingers into her deeply as his lips clamped around her clit and tongue whipped it.