"Try and get some rest, Susannah." John encouraged his wife.
"The twins, how are they?" Susannah replied, still drowsy from giving birth.
"20 fingers and 20 toes, now get some sleep darling. You've been through a lot today."
"3 months before the due date John, that's too early. Where are they!" The panic was apparent in her voice. John stroked his wife's cheek, and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.
"They're in an incubator, but they're being well looked after. They'll make it through this. Please, just rest sweetheart." Tears were welling up in John's eyes as he walked away from his wife. Saying the twins would be okay was a promise he was unsure he could keep.
Just down the corridor, there were twin baby boys, fighting for their lives. Their little eyes looked over to the man who walked into their hospital room.
"How you doing, boys?" The comforting voice of their father whispered. "You promise me something," John smiled, reaching into the incubator and touching his son's tiny hands. "You stay strong. For me, for your mummy, and for your big brother Kevin." A tear dropped from his eye, as he turned and walked out.
Inside the incubator was nothing but the sound of two tiny chests, rising and falling in sync. One newly named baby, Edward Grimes, opened his eyes slightly, and looked over at his twin. The boy he already had a bond with, who he loved. Just an hour old, and yet his feelings were clear. His twin, John, wasn't looking back at him. John's chest was rising and falling slower than before. Slower and slower, and then it stopped. Edward didn't understand. They weren't in time any more, was he doing something wrong? Was John doing something wrong? His tiny hand reached across to his twin, touching his arm. No movement from John. He reached down to John's hand, and squeezed it tightly, something he had never done before. Still nothing. And then Edward started to cry. He screamed uncontrollably, confused, scared, knowing nothing about the new world he had been brought into. All he wanted was to be back with John, warm and cosy, where he had been for the past 6 months. Still gripping onto his twins hand with all his might, he heard a bang. It was the doors opening, men in uniforms rushing in, yelling things that he didn't understand. One man opened up the incubator, and carefully lifted baby John up in a panic. Edward was forced to let go of John, which made his cries louder, more frantic. A strange man was looking over him now, smiling and stroking him on the head.
"Don't worry little one, your brother will be fine." There was something comforting about his voice, and so Edward quietened down. He felt tired and weak, but whatever he had done to alert the men, he knew he had done right.
Half an hour had passed, and Edward was still alone. He hated being alone, he wanted to know what the men had done with John. On that thought, the doors opened. The first thing he saw was his daddy, tears in his eyes, approaching the incubator. There was a bundle in his arms, and as he got closer, he could see who it was. John was placed back in the incubator next to his brother, and Edward felt happiness again. Comforted, knowing John was back beside him. His dad smiled down at them both, and then focused on Edward.
"My son. My precious son. You won't understand until you're older, but what you did today, it saved your brother. You changed all of our lives, especially little John's. Edward, he was dying. He stopped breathing completely, and you knew something wasn't right. You're my miracle child. Both you and John are."
Their father stood watching his new born twins, until they finally drifted off to sleep.