"Can you believe it, our son is in the nursery and our daughter is almost here." Dante wrapped his arms around Lulu.
"I know, first we thought we were never going to be parents and now we have a beautiful set of twins to welcome into our lives." Lulu smiled, still not believing everything that has happened within the past few days.
Since the day they found out Brit's baby was theirs, every second has felt like a dream. And if it truly was a dream, neither she nor Dante were willing to wake up any time soon.
"Twins?" Dante needed her to clarify.
"Yes twins. Both of our kids were born on the same day. Under normal circumstances that would make them twins. Believe me it'll be easier saying that than having to explain the real story." Lulu explained, leaning her back into her husband's chest.
Dante gave a small laugh. "That's true."
Suddenly, Dr. Lee appeared in front of them.
"How are Maxie and the baby?" Lulu asked.
"So far so good. If all goes according to planned you'll meet your little girl by tonight."
Dante and Lulu looked at each other in amazement. They couldn't believe all of this was happening so fast. As quick as they could, they were back by Maxie's side, not wanting to miss a single thing in regards to the birth of their daughter.
"AAAHHH! It hurts so bad!" Maxie squeezed Lulu's hand in pain.
"Just breathe Maxie, it'll be over soon." Lulu coached her through her latest contraction.
"You're doing great." Dante didn't know what else to do. He sort of felt out of his element.
Sweat pouring off her face, Maxie didn't know how much more she could take. In the midst of her screaming in agony, she knew there was only one person who could help her.
"SPINELLI!" She screamed.
Dante and Lulu shot each other quizzical looks. Out of everyone in the world, why was it always him?
As if by some telepathic force, Spinelli came through the door.
"Gracious greetings."
Without even knowing it, his smile had melted most of Maxie's pain.
"You have perfect timing." Dante said into Spinelli's ear.
Spinelli gave him a look of confusion. Was Maxie asking for him? He decided not to question it, instead moving toward the one he came to see.
"Maxie, you are the picture of radiance. Do you feel as good as you look?"
"Only if I look like I got hit by a truck."
"Nonsense, you're beautiful." Lulu smiled.
"The Blonde One is right." Spinelli smiled, sitting on the edge of Maxie's bed. He took her hand. "You're as beautiful today as the day I met you."
"Thank you Spinelli." Maxie tried to smile, but another bout of pain overcame her. She gripped his hand tight.
Sensing they were interrupting a special moment, Dante and Lulu decided to give the once perfect couple some privacy.
"Hey Spinelli, can you keep her company while we go tell the family how the baby's doing?" Dante asked, already knowing the answer was yes.
Spinelli nodded as the expectant parents walked out the door.
"You want to go see our son while we're at it?" Lulu asked.
"Sounds like a plan." Spinelli and Maxie heard one last comment as the door shut behind them.
The two sat in silence for a moment, taking in the fact that fate had once again brought them together.
"Can I get you anything?" Spinelli broke the silence.
Maxie smiled. "You just being here is enough."
"The Jackal will always be here." Spinelli once again took her hand into his. "You're my best friend and my life would be mundane and non-existent without you in it."
"Best friend?" Maxie questioned. Part of her was jealous; she had been demoted from true love to best friend. The other part of her was riddled with guilt. Even if all she was to Spinelli was a best friend, she had been a horrible one for months. Best friends are supposed to tell each other everything, especially when it involved them. This best friend was hiding a secret; one that would affect the life of the man she still loved, the man that was her 'best friend'.
"Of course, there's nothing in the world that would ever come between me and the friendship I have with my fair Maximista."
Spinelli was so sweet, which made the guilt feel even worse. She had to tell him.
"Actually…" Maxie paused, wondering how exactly she was going to kill all of the people she loved most.
"Maxie?" Spinelli looked concerned.
"There's something I need to tell you; something that might ruin the perfect image of our friendship you have in your head."
Before Maxie could finish, another contraction came, stopping her dead in her tracks. As Spinelli coached her through it, a thousand thoughts ran through his mind. How could he keep something from her? They told each other everything. What did she want to tell him? Was it so important as to be told on such a joyous occasion?
This contraction wasn't like the others. Maxie knew something wasn't right. Soon enough, machines started beeping. Both Dr. Lee and the happy new parents rushed into the room. Spinelli tried giving the little family some room, since the day was about them, but Maxie refused to let go.
"What's going on?" Maxie let a tear fall. She was set on having a normal delivery; obviously God and the rest of the world had other ideas.
After a quick examination, Dr. Lee came up with a conclusion. "You're baby's heart rate has dropped."
"There's something wrong with the baby's heart?" Maxie panicked. "She got that from me!"
Everyone in the room eyed Maxie. Did she really just say that?
Trying to make sense of the situation, Lulu talked to her friend. "Maxie, you must be delusional. There is no way you gave the baby a bad heart. This little girl isn't biologically yours, remember?"
"I'm not delusional!" Maxie yelled, a mix of pain, anger, and guilt manifested at once. "Believe me I would love to be delusional because then I wouldn't notice the excruciating pain I'm in right now!"
Maxie gripped Spinelli's hand tight. He too wanted to know what she meant.
"I believe the Blonde One was simply asking why Fair Maximista would believe that a child that is not biologically hers would have obtained some degree of her genetic make-up."
"Because she's not hers!" Maxie argued as Dr. Lee continued to find out what was happening to the baby.
Still believing Maxie was simply crazy, Dante and Lulu turned their attention to the woman who had their baby's life in her hands.
"Is the baby going to be ok?" Lulu practically begged, hoping for good news.
"The baby's heart is fine; no defects were found."
Dante and Lulu breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, they knew there was more to the story.
"However." Dr. Lee continued. "The umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck. We'll have to keep a close eye on Maxie as her labor progresses. If things turn out to be unsafe to deliver the baby naturally, we may need to do an emergency C-section."
Dante and Lulu just stood there, not knowing what to think. Their daughter's life was hanging in the balance, and there wasn't anything they could do.
"We should go tell everyone what's going on." Dante held his wife tight, trying to be the strong one in the situation.
"Ok." Lulu neither agreed nor disagreed. She was just happy somebody else was making the decisions. With all of this being thrown at her, she was in no state to make any decisions herself.
The once happy, now afraid, couple left the room, once again leaving Maxie and Spinelli together…alone.
Trying to ease Maxie's mind a little, Spinelli went back to the topic at hand before all the drama occurred.
"Maxie, what was it you needed to tell me? And why would you say that Lulu and Dante's daughter wasn't theirs?"
Once again, emotions took over and Maxie found herself sobbing. "Because she's not."
Spinelli still didn't understand, so he waited for Maxie to explain.
Maxie caught her breath before driving the knife into everyone's perfect little world. "She's yours!"