Levy eased herself gingerly down onto the bed and sighed in relief. It felt wonderful to be off of her swollen feet at the end of the day. Gajeel let go of her hand and walked around to the other side of their bed, lowering his bulk carefully onto the mattress so as not to upset his petite wife. He'd been yelled at by her enough in the last seven months to learn that any inadvertent bouncing on the bed could easily set off yet another wave of nausea. In the first few months of her pregnancy, Gajeel had been worried that she was throwing up everything she ate, and he just couldn't see how she could be taking in enough nutrients to feed herself and the baby. Later, when they had learned she was carrying twins, his worry had increased. How could such a small body nourish three people at the same time?
His wife had proved to be surprisingly hearty, however. Despite her constant nausea, aches, swelling, and general discomfort, she had managed to stay remarkably active, and even cheerful, for the most part. Now that she had entered her third trimester, however, she had started getting acid reflux pretty badly, making her nauseous all over again, once again concerning Gajeel about how she was going to eat enough for the three of them when what little she managed to eat usually came back up. He was very grateful for Wendy during this time, as she had replenished Levy's depleted nutrient store many times.
Finally sinking into the bed, Gajeel sighed. He would be relieved when this whole thing was over. These twins were already bringing him nothing but trouble. He didn't want Levy to be one of the women who died in childbirth, and the possibility seemed more and more real to him the more her tiny body swelled with child.
Suddenly, Levy's face went wide, and Gajeel panicked instantly. "What is it, Levy? Are you ok? Are you feeling contractions?" They had been warned by the doctor several times that women carrying twins often delivered prematurely, and Levy could hardly sigh without worrying her husband. She wordlessly shook her head, and grabbed both of his hands, placing them on her belly. At first Gajeel was confused. He had felt the babies kicking plenty of times before, why was she acting like this was so weird? His question was soon answered as his wife placed one hand up near her stomach, and the other down close to her pelvis. After a second, he felt it. Two matching kicks, one at the top of Levy's womb, the other at the bottom. As if they were both straining to get into the world and fight against it as soon as possible, and they were determined to work together to accomplish their goal.
After a minute or so, the kicks subsided, and Gajeel saw the ripple of flesh that indicated the babies changing positions. He looked up and met his wife's damp gaze, and grinned back at her. He had felt their courage, their determination, their willingness to shoulder hard work together. He suddenly understood exactly what it was that was making this whole mess worth it to his beautiful wife. He had felt bits of both of them in their twins, kicking out at his hands.
He felt his own eyes mist up a bit. He had been right. These twins were going to bring him nothing but trouble.