A.N.-Chapter 3! This isn't my best, I admit. I don't really like this chapter that much, but I wanted to get it done for you, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it. We finally meet the Quincy twins this chapter. The winning name is...drumroll...Lillia Dawn! Congratulations to the winner. All right, enough babbling.
Disclaimer: I do not own IS or "My Little Girl". I only own the story and the Quincy twins.
It's been two weeks since we found out we're having twins, and I still can't believe it. We had to buy more clothes, another crib, and more diapers. Since Jude is on bed rest, Sadie bought the clothes. She seemed excited about shopping, but then, it is Sadie. I honestly think she was more excited about getting to spend my money though. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, Jude being on bed rest that is. She's been pretty good about it. Of course there were those few times when she got really cranky and threw objects of varying shapes and sizes at my head. She always missed, thankfully. I've been planning a surprise for Jude, and everyone's been helping. She'll find out soon enough.
"Jude, are you ready? The appointment is at ten." You'd think she want to get there as soon as possible, considering she might get off of bed rest. But no, she's taking forever. "I'm coming. I am carrying two children you know." She's grumpy? I'm the one who had to go out when she got some absurd craving, and she's grumpy? "I know. And I can't wait to meet them. So let's go, okay? We'll stop and get smoothies." She's taken to drinking smoothies now, since she had to cut down on her coffee intake. That was a fun experience. Not really. "Okay." She says, much happier than before.
Twenty minutes later, we're waiting for the nurse to call us in. "Jude Quincy." the nurse called, a clipboard in her hand. "Follow me please." We follow her down a hallway and into a small room. "The doctor we'll be with you shortly." She says with a smile. Five minutes later, the doctor is examining Jude. "Everything looks good. I trust you've been staying in bed?" I made sure she did, and I have the bruises to prove it. "Yes. The bed and I have become good friends." Jude says with a laugh. "Alright, let's have a look at the babies, shall we?" She sets up the machine and soon we're looking at our daughters. "Good, good, hm." The doctor is staring at the screen intently. "What is it? What's wrong?" I ask, taking Jude's hand in mine.
"The second baby is smaller than the first. It's not uncommon for one twin to be smaller; however, your baby seems smaller than what is normal. This may be because she isn't getting as much blood from the umbilical cord, which means she's not getting as much oxygen and nutrients." No, this isn't how it's supposed to go. She's supposed to say that we have two healthy little girls. "What does that mean? Is she okay?" Jude asks as she squeezes my hand. "She seems fine other than that. I wouldn't worry too much. There's not much we can do until after they're born, anyways." Don't worry. I'm not worried. I've just been told one of my unborn daughters is smaller than she's supposed to be. I'm not worried at all. "Doctor, you can't tell us that and expect us not to worry." Jude is squeezing my hand really hard now, and it's starting to hurt. "Mrs. Quincy, I know your instinct is to be worried, but I assure you, there's no reason to worry, as far as I can tell. The best thing you can do is stay relaxed." Jude laughs bitterly. "Well considering I just found out that one of my daughter's might not be getting enough oxygen and nutrients, and you want me to relax? Oh no. Ahh!" Jude's tone was no longer sarcastic. "Jude, what's wrong? What's wrong baby?" I ask, trying not to panic. "The babies are coming, you idiot!" I'll let that slide since she's about to give birth to my children. "Okay, okay, breathe." She grabs my shirt with her free had and pulls me close to her. "I'm a little more concerned with the fact that I'm giving birth a month early, than with remembering to breath, Quincy." I pull her hand off my shirt, and hold it. "Okay, I'm sorry." I turn to the doctor, who's making a call. "Prepare a room, please. Quincy, that's right. Thank you." She turns back to us and smiles. "Mr. and Mrs. Quincy, we're getting a room set up right now. A nurse will be taking you down as soon as it's ready. I'll see you when you get down, okay?" She smiles sympathetically as Jude scream again. "Okay." I say, turning back to Jude. A few minutes later, the doctor leaves as a nurse comes into the room with a wheelchair. "Tommy, go call everyone, okay?" Jude asks as the nurse wheels her out. "Okay. What room she be in?" I ask the nurse. "Room 215. Down the hall and around the corner. First door on the left." She says, wheeling Jude out of the room. I take out my phone and head into the hall to start making calls.
"One more push and…say hello to your little girl." Dr. Whitney says, holding up a screaming baby. "She's beautiful, just like her mommy, isn't she Sadie?" I ask, smoothing Jude's hair back from her face. "She's adorable! I have niece." Sadie squeals. "My baby." Jude sniffles, starting to cry. "Okay, baby number two coming." Jude grabs my hand as her face scrunches up. "You're doing great baby. I'm so proud of you." I whisper into her ear. "Mr. and Mrs. Quincy, here's you're second daughter." Dr. Whitney holds up the second baby, who's making little grunting noises. Two nurses take them to get cleaned up. "You were amazing, girl. I love you so much. You know that, right?" I say, leaning down and kissing Jude. "I can't believe it! I'm an aunt. Oh jeez, my mascara isn't waterproof." I hand Sadie a tissue. "Here Sades, why don't you go tell everyone the news?" She nods and leaves the room, dabbing at her eyes.
"She never changes, does she?" Jude asks. "No, she's always Sadie." The nurse walks over with a baby, all bundled up in a blanket. She hands the baby to Jude. "What's her name?" She asks. "Lillia Dawn." Jude replies. She smiles at little Lily. "I'll let you guys have a few minutes to meet her, then I have to take her back so I can weigh her and everything, okay?" she says, walking away after I nod. "She's got your lungs. She's going to be a singer, I can tell." I choke on my laugh, as tears start to dampen my cheeks. "She's got your eyes." Jude hands her to me, and I take her. She looks up at me and smiles. "She smiled at me. I can't believe she's here." The nurse comes back over, smiling at our Kodak moment. "Alright guys, I have to take her back, but I promise to give her back in a few minutes." I hand Lily back to the nurse reluctantly. Dr. Whitney comes over once the nurse leaves. "You did great, Jude. You did an excellent job. However, I do need to talk to you about your daughter. Do you remember me telling you she was small?" This doesn't sound good. Not good at all. "Yes. But why haven't we seen her yet?" I ask, fearing the worst. "Where is she? Why isn't she crying?" Jude demands. "Let me try to explain this as simply as I can. Because she was born early, her lungs are not fully developed. Because of this, she has developed Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome. We're taking her to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The course of IRDS is 2 to 3 days. She'll get worse before she gets better, but provided she doesn't get any sicker, she should be able to go home in a week or maybe less. Please know that we're taking the very best care of you're daughter. I'll give you a few moments with her before we take her down." No, no, no.
I nod, unable to speak. Jude starts to cry, and I let my head drop into my hands. This wasn't supposed to happen. My stomach churns, and for a moment I feel like I'm going to be physically sick. I wipe the tears from Jude's cheeks with my finger. "It's going to be okay. She's going to be okay." The nurse brings Lily back over, and a second nurse brings over our second daughter. I take her in my arms and hold her close. She's so much smaller than her sister. "Cecelia Grace." Jude says through her tears. "Cecelia." I echo. I look from Cece in my arms, to Lily in Jude's. "We're parents. We're holding our daughters." I say, staring in awe at the two tiny babies. They are so beautiful. I want to go show them off. "Hey, how are you doing, mom?" Stuart, Sadie and Darius come into the room. "Hey, dad. I'm tired, but otherwise good." Jude says, looking up. "Want to hold your granddaughter?" Stuart takes Lily from Jude, cradling here in his arms. "What are their names?" Sadie asks. "Stuart, you're holding Lillia Dawn, Lily for short. And this," I say, handing Cece to Jude "Is Cecelia Grace, Cece for short." There are the requisite "Awws" from everyone. "They're adorable." Sadie coos, taking Lily. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to take Cecelia to the NICU now." The nurse says, taking Cece from Jude. We both kiss her on the head, than the nurse takes her away. The three look at us. "NICU? What's going on?" Darius asks. I explain, because Jude looks like she's about to cry again. "She's going to be fine. I know she is. Her parents are fighters, and I know she has to have some of that in her." Darius says. Sadie hands lily to Darius and hugs me as Stuart hugs Jude. "Your sister's going to be fine, isn't she shorty? Yeah, cause she's a fighter, like your mommy and daddy." Darius says, looking down at the baby in his arms. "Let me hold her D. Please." Jude says, holding her hands out for the baby. Our baby. A few hours later, everyone has left and Jude, Lily, and I are in the NICU, visiting Cece. "I'm scared Tommy. It's not supposed to be like this! She's not supposed to be lying in an incubator, getting help to breathe." I put one arm around Jude's shoulder and take Cece's little hand in my big one. "She's going to be okay. She has to be okay." I say, wishing I was as confident as I sounded.
I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm.
You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born.
