A/N: Okay so this is a one shot to my "Second Chance" fic. I don't want to say much in this author's note, for fear of accidentally revealing too much. So anyway… I hope you'll enjoy this short story.
Disclaimer: I only own Desmond and Iris.
After five hours of sleep, Beth Hotchner woke up. Sure, she was tired, after all that she had just went through, but she found herself unable to sleep longer. She was just too thrilled. After two agonizing days of being in labor, she finally gave birth. It was one of the greatest moments of her life. She never thought she'd be capable of bringing life into the world.
"Hey sleeping beauty," said a voice.
Beth turned and saw her husband, Aaron standing next to her bedside. She smiled at him. "Hey handsome. You been standing there this entire time," she wondered.
Aaron smiled. "No, a little bit after you fell asleep, I also fell asleep," he said. "but then about an hour later, I couldn't sleep any longer. So I went for a little drive. How are you feeling," he asked.
Beth sat up, slightly, but grimaced in pain, soon after. Aaron moved closer to her, with a worried look on his face. Beth held up her hand to stop him. "No, it's alright. I'm okay," she said. "I just moved a little too quickly. That's all."
"You sure," Aaron asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Beth reassured him with a smile. "What time is it," she asked.
Aaron looked at his watch. "It's 1:30 in the afternoon," he said.
Beth sighed. "I can't believe that seven hours ago, I did something I never thought I could do," she said.
"Oh don't worry about it. I'm sure the doctor will forgive you for nearly hitting him in the face when you threw that cup of ice chips in the delivery room," Aaron teased. "He knows you were just in an extreme amount of pain during that time. I'm sure he won't hold it against you."
Beth grinned as her face turned a shade of red. "I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about giving birth," she said as she began to laugh. "But I do feel bad for throwing that cup of ice chips at the doctor," she admitted.
"I'm pretty sure you're probably not the only pregnant woman to do something like that," Aaron reassured her.
"Can we come in," asked a voice.
Beth and Aaron turned and saw his little brother, Sean standing in the doorway. With him, were David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Alex Blake, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia, Jennifer Jareau-LaMontagne, Will LaMontagne and their children, Henry and Michael. Henry was holding Michael in his arms.
Beth and Aaron smiled. "Absolutely, come on in," said Beth.
The group of eleven filed into the room. Each one of them giving Aaron and Beth a congratulatory hug or handshake. They were all so happy for the two of them.
"Congrats you two," said Derek. "Savannah sends her congrats too. She would have came with me, but Hank's running a slight fever."
"We understand," said Beth. "I hope he gets to feeling better soon."
"So do I have a niece or a nephew," asked Sean. "Oh by the way, this is for him or her," he placed a medium sized teddy bear on the bedside table next to Beth.
Beth looked at Aaron. "You didn't tell them," she asked.
"No, I just figured it would have been best to tell them all in person and not through text messages," said Aaron.
Everyone could feel their hearts skip a beat as worried expressions crossed each of their faces.
"Tell us what? Is something wrong? Did something happen," asked Emily. Everyone else was wondering the same thing.
Aaron grinned. "We won't be taking home one baby," he said.
"Wait. What," asked Derek. He along with everyone else were now very confused.
"We had twins," Beth grinned as she explained.
"Two babies? Oh my God! That's awesome," Penelope happily exclaimed as she and everyone else breathed sighs of reliefs. Another round of hugs or handshakes were given to Aaron and Beth.
"But you said there was only gonna be one baby," said Henry.
"He's right. You did say that," David agreed. "Were you two keeping the second baby a secret from us," he raised his eye brow.
"We didn't even know about the second baby until this morning," said Beth. "She managed to keep herself hidden, this entire time."
"I have a little niece," Sean grinned. "Awesome! What's the other one?"
"A boy," said Aaron. "He's three minutes older than his sister."
"And are they both doing okay," asked Alex.
"Despite being born five weeks early, the doctor said they're fairly healthy and we should be able to take them home by next week," said Beth.
"Well that's good," said Will.
"See babies," Michael innocently asked.
"Awe! How long has he been talking," asked Beth.
"A couple of weeks now," said JJ. "He doesn't know a whole lot, but he's learned a few."
"Mommy, see babies, " the eleven month old was growing impatient.
Everyone laughed. "I'll go ask the doctor if I can bring them in here for a few moments," Aaron walked out of the room.
A couple of moments later with the help of a nurse, Aaron returned with the twins. He was carrying the baby girl, who was wrapped in a pink blanket and wearing a pink baby cap. And the nurse was carrying the baby boy, who was wrapped in a blue blanket and wearing a blue baby cap. Both babies were sleeping. Aaron and the nurse placed both babies into Beth's arms.
"You two have a handsome son and a beautiful daughter," said David as everyone else agreed with him.
"Thank you," Beth smiled.
Aaron took Michael out of Henry's arms. "You wanna get a closer look at the babies," he smiled as he placed Michael at the foot of the bed.
Michael crawled up to where Beth and the twins were. He reached his arms out and lightly patted the two tiny babies' faces.
"Be careful, Michael," said Henry. "They're smaller than you are. And they're new."
Michael looked up at Beth with innocent eyes. "Sorry," he said.
Beth smiled. "It's alright, sweetheart," she said. "You didn't hurt them."
The twins suddenly began to cry. Frightened by the sudden sound, Michael scurried off the bed and into Aaron's arms.
Aaron smiled at the youngest LaMontagne child. "Did that scare you," he asked.
Ignoring Aaron's question, Michael looked back at the twins. "Babies sad," he asked.
"No, they're not sad," Aaron reassured him as the twins began to quiet down.
"So what are their names," asked Spencer.
"Their names are Desmond Austin Hotchner and Iris Ophelia Hotchner," Beth proudly answered.
Six weeks later, Aaron and Beth decided it was time to take the twins to the cemetery and introduce them to their beloved late brother, Jack. Wanting them to look extra nice for the introduction, they had Desmond in a baby blue tuxedo along with a matching bowtie. His dark hair was combed very neatly. Iris was dressed in a beautiful purple dress. A matching headband with a rose attached to it, complimented her dark curly hair.
It was a beautiful day that afternoon. Despite being Summer, it was fairly cool out, seven five degrees, to be exact. As Aaron held Iris in his arms and Beth held Desmond in her arms, the two of them made their way through the cemetery, finally stopping at Jack's grave. When they arrived there, they noticed a few beautiful butterflies fluttering nearby the tombstone. It was a peaceful and beautiful sight for the both of them.
Sitting down on the cement bench that was given to them, by the LaMontagne family, Aaron and Beth held a moment of silence for Jack as they each wiped away tears from their eyes. Finally after a moment, Aaron cleared his throat and spoke.
"Hey buddy, it's me, your dad," said Aaron. "Beth's here too. Do you remember when we came here and told you that you were either going to have a little brother or sister? Well, it turns out, you got both. This beautiful little girl right here," he smiled as he held up Iris. "decided to keep herself a secret until it was time for her to be born. Her name is Iris Ophelia Hotchner. "And this handsome little boy that Beth is holding," he smiled at Beth, as she held up Desmond. "His name is Desmond Austin Hotchner," he said.
"Jack, your father and I wish you were still here," said Beth. "because without you here, it's like these babies were robbed of the chance of growing up with you. We tell them everyday all about you and how wonderful you were," she paused for a moment as she wiped away a tear. "We have a picture of you on the wall of their nursery, just so they'd know who you are. You're father and I can only hope that Desmond and Iris grow up to be just like you."
With Iris in his arms, Aaron stood from the bench and walked up to Jack's tombstone. He knelt in front of it, softly touching it with his fingertips. "When Iris and Desmond came into my life, they stole my heart, but there's still a huge hole in my heart because after losing you, I just knew that nothing could fully repair the damage," he fought back tears as he spoke. "No matter how many children, Beth and I bring into the world, or no matter how happy I am, a part of my heart will always remain broken. Nothing will be able to fix that," he placed a soft kiss on top of the tombstone and whispered, "I love you, Jack."
From above in Heaven, along with Haley, Jack was watching as Aaron and now Beth were kneeling at his grave, in a moment of silence. Both of them had a hand placed on the tombstone. Their eyes were closed, but Jack and Haley could still see the tears.
"Desmond and Iris are so adorable. Don't you think so, mommy," Jack proudly asked.
Haley smiled at her son. "They sure are, sweetheart," she agreed.
The End.
I couldn't think of anything else to add to this story. So I just ended it with Haley and Jack looking down on Aaron, Beth and the twins from heaven. I hope you all enjoyed this little story. Also, even though I haven't made a full decision on it yet, I'm seriously considering writing a series of stories that center on Aaron, Beth and the twins. Anyway, for the time being, could you all please leave me some reviews? I'd love to know what you all thought. Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it!