*I tried to make this as accurate as possible. I've never had a baby so internet research was my go to, so hopefully it's alright. If anyone spots anything totally wrong, please let me know and I'll fix it. Thanks!

Heartbeats

"Christian, come on, we can't be late for another doctor appointment, as the queen and a mother-to-be that kind of makes me look bad." Lissa's not really worried about looking bad to her people, but I know she is annoyed about the prospect of being late.

We'd only had two doctor visits so far and had been late to both of them, both times had been my fault, but I didn't really see the problem. How's that saying go, 'the queen is never late, everyone else is early?' And Lissa was the queen so the doctor should be honored to even be her doctor – at least in my opinion. Lissa, on the other hand, was always on time, always cordial, and never liked to keep anyone waiting for her.

I know they'll be hell to pay if I don't hurry up, so I grab the only matching shoes I can find and meet her by our 'front door.' It was as much of a front door as it could be, seeing as we lived inside our own huge suite inside an even bigger palace.

"Ready to go," I ask wryly, knowing she's beyond ready.

"You know I am, so why even ask," she laughs a little while saying this and then points to my shoes. "At least I don't have to see the doctor while wearing dress shoes with that outfit." I don't even get the chance to look down before she grabs my hand and leads me out the door.

Living at court has its advantages and one is that it takes about five minutes to walk to the doctors' office, putting us there exactly 3 minutes before Lissa's scheduled appointment. Luckily, because of who Lissa is, she doesn't have to fill out any paper work and the receptionist brings us right into a very large private exam room.

"Dr. Techov will be right with you, Your Majesty." She said quietly before shutting the door and leaving us alone.

I remember something from our last doctor visit and turn to Lissa. "You didn't go pee before this, did you? Didn't the doctor say you needed to have a full bladder this time for an ultrasound?" It's not the most romantic question, but the doctor and receptionist had been adamant about this information the last time we were here.

Lissa gives me an exaggerated look and I know she remembered not to use the bathroom. We're both just looking around the room when Dr. Techov comes in. He has a clipboard in his hands and a smile on his face. If he wasn't an openly gay man I'd want to wipe that smile right off. I wasn't really a jealous person by nature, but any other man seeing my wife without underwear on didn't exactly sit the right way with me, doctor or not.

"Hello, Your Majesty, how are you feeling today?" He looks at his clipboard before meeting Lissa's eyes.

Lissa, who had already sat down on the examination table (or maybe it's more of a chair) smiles a little. She really liked Dr. Techov. "I'm feeling fine, thank you for asking. How are you doing, any fascinating things going on in the medical world?"

The doctor knows by now that Lissa will always be friendly and normally he would love to chit chat with her, but he must be busy today because he gets right down to business. "I'm doing well also. Now, let's see how you're doing, shall we?" He puts on some gloves and starts checking Lissa's vitals: heart, lungs, blood pressure, etc… I just continue standing there while looking at all the baby related paraphernalia around the room.

Finally he's ready to do the ultrasound. "All right, let's see this baby. I'm going to do a normal ultrasound this time instead of a transvaginal one, all you'll have to do is life up your shirt. The only unpleasantness is that the gel can be a little cold."

Lissa lifts up her shirt, baring a stomach that looks completely normal, if not extremely sexy, and tenses before Dr. Techov even applies the gel. I do a double take when he does.

"Why is the gel blue?" I can't help but ask. I've been quietly holding Lissa's hand throughout the appointment, but the blue gel kind of intrigues me.

Dr. Techov is surprised by my question. "You know, I'm not really sure, it's just always been blue." He chuckles while saying this and goes to grab what, to me, looks like a microphone. He places it on Lissa's abdomen and turns on a small screen next to the table.

A confusing black and grey image appears on the screen, I can't make head or tails of it, but Dr. Techov knows exactly what to look for and moves the microphone around before finding what he wants. He points to a gray blob on the screen.

"Right here is your baby. Everything looks good, the size is right, and the umbilical cord looks good and healthy. Let me turn on the sound so we can hear the heartbeat."

I'm looking at the blob on the screen as hard as I can trying to see a baby shape anywhere, but I can't. Lissa, however, has tears in her eyes and is looking at the picture with a sense of awe. I turn back to give the image another try and while I do Dr. Techov flips a switch and a loud fast sound is heard throughout the room.

I can make out the sound of a heartbeat in all the noise, but it sounds almost distorted and I hope nothing is wrong. The doctor immediately looks back at the screen with a perplexed look on his face. "Hmm," is all he says before moving around the microphone thing again.

Lissa is worried now and tightens her grip on my hand. "Is everything all right?"

Dr. Techov doesn't say anything right away, Lissa and I share an anxious look before turning back to the doctor. Finally the picture stops moving and he gets a surprised look in his eyes.

"Well well well, it looks like you're in for a shock. Everything is completely fine, Your Majesty, but it does appear that you'll be welcoming two babies instead of one. That's why the heartbeat sounds so odd, there are two of them, and if you look closely here," he points at the blob on the screen. "You can just see a second silhouette."

I don't really hear anything after 'two babies' because my head fills with the beating sound and all I can think about is how much work twins will be. I'll be ashamed of myself later, but I can't help having a small, internal panic attack. I think I hear Lissa say 'are you serious, twins?' but I just stare at the screen blindly.

I feel a hand on my cheek and it brings me back to the present. Lissa is looking at me with concern but underneath that is excitement maybe even anticipation. "Christian, are you okay?"

I look back into her eyes and I see so much love there that everything else kind of falls away. I don't know much about kids, especially when it comes to raising them, and I have no idea how we're supposed to take care of two at the same time, but I know that Lissa will be a great mom. I also know that we'll have help, not just because Lissa is the queen but also because our friends will want to be there for us. With that thought I take a deep breath and lean my forehead against hers.

"I'm fine, Lis. I was freaking out, still am a little, but I'll be okay. Let's just focus on you and these kids, alright?" I kiss her cheek before leaning back and looking at Dr. Techov. "So what does this mean, do we need to do anything special if there are two babies?"

"No no, there's nothing extra you need to do beside buy two of everything. The only difference with twins is that you'll probably deliver early and get slightly bigger than average. Otherwise, just keep eating healthy, taking your vitamins, and find time to relax a few times a day. Stress is the biggest setback in any pregnancy, I know you have many duties as our queen, but make sure to take life a fraction easier now. Christian, I hope you'll help with that." He looks at me seriously.

I can't help but say my next words; I am Christian Ozera after all. "Oh, I've got plenty of ways to help her relax."

"Christian!" Lissa elbows me in the ribs but all I do is chuckle a bit.

"What? He said relax, that's the only way I know how." Her exasperated look only makes me laugh harder.

"Actually, a healthy sex life while pregnant can be a good thing and it could be very good to help aid in relaxation." I didn't expect Dr. Techov to say that but it makes me almost giddy.

"See, Lis, doctor's orders. We'll get right to that, Doc."

"Oh my god, can we stop talking about this." Lissa's hand is covering her face and I know she's had enough so I say no more.

The doctor sees her embarrassment too. "I'll just get you a copy of this sonogram and then you'll be all done. There are wipes to your left to clean off the gel. I'll be right back." Dr. Techov puts down the microphone, takes off his gloves, and walks out the door.

"I can't believe you said that in front of my doctor!" Lissa looks at me before wiping off her stomach.

"Oh, please, you've been all over me lately. Besides, it's good to know that having sex is basically good for pregnant women." Lissa has been, well, ravenous recently, especially in the last couple of weeks and while it's been a tad bit exhausting it's also been amazing.

"I know, but still, Dr. Techov didn't need to know that." Her look of irritation is gone and it's replaced with a look of wonder. "Can you believe we're having twins? I thought we were blessed to have even one baby on the way and now we have two." She takes my hand again.

"I can't believe it but I know we'll be okay. These kids will grow up loved and hopefully happy and that's all we can really ask for." I give her a tender kiss, but before it can get more passionate Dr. Techov walks back in and hands Lissa a couple sonogram pictures.

"Here you are, Your Majesty. I printed some extra in case you want to give any away."

"Thank you," Lissa says.

"Just make an appointment for next month before you leave and you're all set. Have an excellent day." We all leave the room at the same time but part ways in the hall. I go up to the receptionist to set up Lissa's next visit and then meet Lissa by the exit.

She's looking at the pictures in her hands with a small smile on her face. I put my arm around her shoulders and a sly smile on my face. "Are you ready to go? I know you're dying to tell Rose all about this and that you'll want to make sure every baby supply you've ordered is now doubled."

She grins fully at me now. "Yeah, let's go home." She takes my hand and we walk back towards the palace. "I love you, you know."

I'm a little surprised by her words, not because I don't believe them but because she says them kind of out of nowhere. I give her a weird look. "I love you too," is all I say back but it seems to be enough because she tucks her head into my chest and wraps her arm around my waist and we walk like that all the way back home.