-July 13, 2258-
James rubbed his wife's leg as she labored to bring their child into the world.
"Come on, Catherine. You can do this." She closed her eyes tight. James watched as the child crowned, and helped the child into the world. He stopped to admire his first child, a boy, who exercised his strong lungs with a loud cry.
"Catherine, we have a boy!" He smiled, then looked back to her. She smiled behind tears as she struggled to catch her breath. James admired his little boy for a moment, and a tear crept into his eye.
"We have a beautiful baby boy."
Catherine cried out in pain, startling James. He handed the boy to Dr. Li and turned back to his wife. He realized quickly that nothing was wrong—they were having twins.
"Catherine, it's twins!" He couldn't keep from smiling now. "You can do this! I know you can, you just did! Push!" Catherine cried out in pain as she and James delivered their second child.
As James held his second child, his heart soared.
"A baby girl, Catherine. We have a son and a daughter—twins!"
"Oh James…we did it." Catherine cried a little as she tried to catch her breath, again. "Twins… ha, I.. I guess… that explains how… I got big… so fast." James felt a tear run down his cheek.
"It does." He smiled as he looked down at them. "I just know you two will have bright futures ahead of you. I'm sure of it." He held his finger out to his son, who took it in his hand. James laughed. "Such a strong grip. You'll be so strong when you grow up." He looked at his daughter. Unlike her brother, who had James' dark brown hair, she had little tufts of blonde.
"You're going to grow up just like your mother. Smart and beautiful." He stroked her soft skin. "Catherine, we can use both of the names we picked."
"Wonderful, James."
"Son, your name is Carter." He let him grasp his finger again. "And daughter, your name is Korin." He smiled wide. "What fitting names, don't you agree, Catherine?" He took a deep breath. "It's a big world out there, you two, full of all sorts of people. I wonder what kind of people you'll grow up to be."
"J-James?" Catherine called out in a wary voice. James shot up as the monitors around him beeped erratically. "Some-something's…something's…" She trailed off as her breathing became irregular. James took a step towards his wife, then a few more.
"Catherine? Catherine?!" He looked to Dr. Li. "She's in cardiac arrest! Start compressions!" He motioned to Dr. Li. "Get the infants out of here! Move! Move!" The beeping became more intense and James threw himself into CPR.
"One one thousand. Two, one thousand." He grunted. "Come on, Catherine!"
The irony of having twins, only to lose his wife, struck him. He shook the thought from his mind and kept going.
"Please, Catherine, don't leave me."
