Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me awhile to update...I'm trying to write multiple chapters at a time so I can get them up faster, but it's taken longer than I thought...I have no idea how long this story is going to be, but so far I have at least two or three more then maybe an epilogue, but we'll see.
Chapter 3 --- Birth
"H-hi." Stacy looked up to see Dr. Lisa Cuddy standing in the doorway of her hospital room, looking absolutely shocked.
"I had no idea you were even pregnant." Cuddy said, coming to stand next to the bed.
"I'm gonna go check on a few things." Wilson released Stacy's hand. "The nurse is going to page me, I'll be back before you deliver, I promise." He excused himself, slipping from the room to give the women some time alone.
"How far apart are your contractions?" Cuddy asked.
"About fifteen minutes. How did you know I was here?" Stacy asked curiously.
"Nurse Brenda came to my office, after she checked you in I guess. Told me you'd been admitted." Cuddy explained. "Why didn't you tell us you would be here?"
"James is the only one who knew. I didn't really want it getting around."
Cuddy looked around the room. "Where's Mark? He should get here soon or he's going to miss it. Do you want me to-"
Stacy stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Mark isn't coming. We aren't together anymore."
"Oh Stacy. I'm so sorry. I had no idea."
"It's okay." She sighed. "He just didn't want to raise kids that were not his." Stacy said sadly.
"Not his? But who else-" Cuddy interrupted herself as it dawned on her. "The something after Baltimore."
"Yeah."
"Does he know?"
"No!"
"But Stacy, he deserves to know."
"I'm not telling him Lisa. If he wouldn't commit to me, how the hell do you think he'll deal with twins? I won't put my kids through that." Stacy said adamantly.
"You're having twins? Whoa." Cuddy sighed. "Okay, I'll leave it alone for now." She held her hands up in surrender.
"Thanks, I - ah!" She gasped as another contraction hit. "Oh God. I ca-can't do this!" Stacy gasped out, sinking back into the pillow when the contraction passed.
"Yes you can, and you will." Cuddy assured her, checking the monitor. "They're getting closer together. It'll be over soon." Cuddy's pager sounded loudly in the room. "Damn it." She exclaimed, looking down at it. "I have to go take care of something."
"Right now?" Stacy asked incredulously.
"Unfortunately yes. I'll try to hurry back." Cuddy told her regretfully. "The nurse is going to page Wilson as soon as you go into delivery, and she can get him earlier if you need her to okay?" Stacy nodded and Cuddy squeezed her hand. "I'll be back soon." Cuddy walked out of the hospital room and headed straight for the nurses station. Grabbing a piece of paper, she wrote out a quick note and handed it to one of the senior nurses. "I need you to take this note down to my office. Mr. Andrews will be waiting. Give him this and tell him there's been a family emergency and we'll have to reschedule our meeting. And tell my assistant to push everything back a few hours."
"Yes Dr. Cuddy." The nurse hurried off.
Cuddy grabbed Nurse Brenda. "Keep an eye on the patient in room 2110. Page me if anything changes."
"Yes ma'am."
Heading to the elevators, Cuddy went to the fourth floor and straight to Dr. Wilson's office. She pushed the slightly ajar door open, chuckling as he jumped and shoved a gift bag under his desk. "Relax, it's just me." She laughed as she came into the office. "What is that anyway?"
He pulled the bag from underneath his desk with a sheepish grin. "Gifts for the babies. Blankets and onesies."
"Cute." She shifted in her chair, glancing at the glass door that led to Wilson's small 'patio', almost expecting House to hop the wall. She looked back to Wilson to see him watching her with eyebrows raised.
"How's Stacy doing?" He asked her.
"Okay, getting closer. Listen Wilson, I'm-uh, I'm going to tell House."
"You're what? That's a bad idea Lisa." Wilson shook his head. "She doesn't want him to know."
"She shouldn't have to do this alone." Cuddy exclaimed.
"She's not. We're going to be there, just not him."
"Do you really want to go in that delivery room?" She questioned.
Wilson winced. "Not really. But she's my friend and I promised her she wouldn't have to do it by herself."
"She won't. Now," She stood, smoothing out her skirt, "are you going to come with me to tell him? Or am I going to have to do this alone?"
Wilson sighed, "I'm coming." He followed her out of his office and next door to House's. They slipped inside, watching through the glass as the team worked on the differential for their current patient. After a few minutes, Cuddy became impatient and opened the door.
"House."
"Think people." He ignored her. "Give me something, anything to explain the symptoms. Doesn't have to be good..."
"House." Wilson tried from his place beside her.
Chase shrugged apologetically at them. "Could be an infection."
"Nah, symptoms point to something neurological." Foreman put in. "MS?"
"Greg." Cuddy said softly but forcefully, and four pairs of eyes fell on her, brows raised at her use of his first name.
"Fine, get me an MRI and be ready to start him on broad spectrum. Go." House ordered before limping towards his office and the pair that stood watching him uncomfortably. "You know, it may look like I'm doing nothing, but on a molecular level, I'm really quite busy." He sat at his desk, reclining and raising his eyebrows at them. "If you've got something to say, say it. Otherwise," He shooed at them with his hand.
"House - Greg." Cuddy took a deep breath. "Stacy's back."
He tensed almost imperceptibly. "And? What does that have to do with me?" He stood, leaning heavily on his cane as he popped a Vicodin.
"She's here as a patient, House." Wilson told him, watching his friend carefully.
House sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead. "What do-"
Cuddy interrupted him impatiently. "Look, she doesn't have that much time left-"
House swore, pushing past them and moving more quickly down the hall than they'd thought possible. "What room?" He barked over his shoulder.
"2110." Wilson called after him.
"Jeez. Not exactly the response I'd expected." Cuddy commented as they followed him at their own pace.
"You as much as told him she was dying Cuddy!" Wilson exclaimed.
"What?"
"She's running out of time?" He repeated.
"Oh damn." They picked up their pace, exiting the stairs and rounding the corner just as House stepped into the doorway of Stacy's room. He leant heavily against the doorframe, silently taking in the sight in front of him. Stacy was lying there, her head back against the pillows, eyes closed, with one hand resting over her forehead, the other on her very pregnant belly. A moment later the hand over her eyes dropped and they fluttered open, coming to rest on the figure in her doorway. She gasped and her eyes filled with tears.
"Greg." She choked out on a whisper.
"Stacy." His tone and expression were unreadable, but as her contraction hit, he limped to her side, using his cane to drag a chair next to the left side of her bed. Sitting, he took her hand, letting her squeeze it tightly as he used his other to smooth the hair from her face.
As it passed, she looked down at him with watery eyes. "Hi."
"Hi." He squeeze her hand gently, looking down at his cane resting against the bed and back up at her. "You didn't tell me you were pregnant."
"I know, and I'm sorry." She watched him as he looked down at their joined hands. He turned her left one in his, looking down at it then back up at her in surprise. She wasn't wearing a wedding ring. "Mark left when he found out I was pregnant." She explained in a shaky voice.
"Why would he do that?" He asked quietly.
She drew a steadying breath before confessing. "He knew the babies aren't his."
House wasn't sure which part of that sentence to be more surprised about. "Not his?" He repeated.
"No. Mark and I hadn't, uh, had sex since we came to Princeton." She admitted softly and winced as he pushed himself to his feet and began pacing.
"So the babies you're about to have - twins - are mine? I'm going to be a father of two - today?" Another contraction hit, preventing her from answering with anything more than a wince and a nod. "Jesus." He swore softly, back at her side and gripping her hand as she gasped through the pain. "How close together are they?"
"Couple minutes. Five or so, I think." Stacy responded, breathing heavily.
"You get anything for the pain?"
"No," she moaned and he winced. "Progressing too fast. Was already too late when I got here. Oh God." Another contraction hit.
"Screw five minutes, that couldn't have been more than three." He stated and she squeezed his hand as he pushed the call button for the nurse.
Moments later, Dr. Baker was back. "Well Stacy, you're at ten centimeters. It's time to go become a mommy." She stood up and helped the nurse prep her to move to the delivery room. House followed as they rolled her towards delivery.
"Dr. House, you'll have to-" A nurse made an attempt to prevent him from going any further.
"Greg!" Stacy gasped out and he pushed past the nurse.
"I'm going with her." He grabbed Stacy's hand, squeezing it encouragingly as they reached the delivery room. He stood by her head, watching her almost lovingly as the doctors prepared her to deliver the twins. He dropped a kiss to her forehead, smoothing back her hair as he whispered, "Let's do this." She nodded.
"Alright Stacy. You're ready to start pushing."
---
Outside in the hallway, Cuddy and Wilson were pacing nervously. They'd both been paged, but had only gotten there in time to see House heading into the delivery room. Both friends were nervous wrecks, as worried about the father of those babies as they were about the delivery itself. As they paced, Wilson looked up, freezing in his tracks as he saw all three of House's fellows standing in the hallway in front of him and watching him in concern. With a grunt, Cuddy paced directly into his back.
"What the-?" She looked over his shoulder and winced.
"What's going on?" Foreman asked.
"Is everything okay?" Cameron eyed them in concern.
"Yeah-uh, we're good." Wilson stammered. "You guys need something?"
"The MRI was clean. Do you know where House is?" Chase asked.
"He's going to be busy for the rest of the day." Cuddy told them. "What do you need?"
Chase glanced at the others. "Help." He told her honestly. "We have no idea what's wrong with this patient."
"Keep me updated okay?" She whispered to Wilson, then sighed. "Alright, familiarize me with the case. I'll see what I can do." She joined them and the group made their way back to House's office, leaving Wilson pacing alone.
---
"Alright Stacy, the first baby is crowning, I need you to bear down on the next contraction." Baker told her, and she bore down, holding tightly to House's hand, nearly screaming.
"I c-I can't," Stacy cried, falling back as far as House's arm around her back would let her. "It hurts."
"I know, but you can do this." He whispered, kissing her forehead.
"His head's out Stacy, just one more push and you'll be a mommy."
Stacy began pushing again, collapsing back on the pillows as the baby's first cries were heard. She was laughing and crying at the same time as House cut the umbilical cord and watched as the nurses took the baby aside to clean him.
"It's a boy." Dr. Baker said with a grin.
House looked down at Stacy, amazement evident on his face. "He's incredible."
"Nicholas Gregory." She whispered, and he nodded.
"Okay Stacy, your daughter's on her way, I need you to-" House watched, stomach sinking as Dr. Baker interrupted herself a look of worry crossing her face. As another contraction hit and Stacy began pushing, she looked up quickly. "Don't push Stacy. I know you want to, but stop."
"But-" Stacy gasped, but House interrupted her.
"What's wrong?"
"Your daughter's breach. She's presenting her arm first." House was reeling, as much from the complication as the phrase 'your daughter.'
"Oh God." Stacy cried and House squeezed her shoulders comfortingly.
"What do we do?"
"It's too late for a C-Section. I'm going to have to turn the baby manually. Now this is going to hurt, but the baby has to be turned."
"Okay, do what you have to do." Stacy told her doctor, reaching up and grabbing House's hand with both of hers. He stepped closer and she buried her face in his abdomen, nearing screaming at the pain. When the doctor finished she nodded up at House who squeezed Stacy's shoulder, releasing her so she could lay back against the pillows.
"Alright Stacy, now you can push. Okay? Here's the next contraction. Push." Baker ordered and Stacy bore down twice more and Dr. Baker looked up. "Good Stacy, it's a girl."
"She's not crying, why isn't she crying?" Stacy gasped, tightening her grasp on House's hand.
"They're working on it, she'll be okay." House whispered, reassuring himself as well as Stacy. Just a few torturous moments later the baby's small wail was heard, the whole room breathing a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank God." House looked down in mild amusement when he and Stacy sighed in unison.
Dr. Baker stood, taking the newly clean Nicholas and placing him in Dr. House's arms. "Five pounds, twelve ounces, eighteen inches."
"Hmm." He dropped a kiss to the boy's forehead, then lowered him into Stacy's arms. She smiled up at House, eyes filled with tears.
"He's so perfect." She breathed, looking down at the baby in awe.
"Yeah, he is." House dragged a fingertip across the baby's cheek and his eyes opened, revealing crystalline blue eyes.
"Here's your daughter." He turned to see Baker behind him, holding the small pink bundle. "Five pounds, nine ounces, sixteen inches."
He settled the girl in his arms, leaning against Stacy's bed. "Why wasn't she breathing?" He asked, glancing down at the little girl then back at the doctor.
Baker rubbed the back of her neck. "Because she was breach, the umbilical cord had wrapped around her neck, cutting off her air supply," Stacy gasped behind him. "We had her breathing within seconds. She'll be fine." Baker assured them, and he nodded in acknowledgment as Baker stepped back, preparing Stacy to be moved back to her room.
House rested his hip against the bed, cradling the infant against his chest. Stacy looked up, stroking a finger over the small hand, grinning as the baby grasped her fingertip.
"She's perfect." Stacy whispered.
He nodded, "What's her name?" He looked down, meeting Stacy's surprised look. "You had a name for Nicholas, I can only assume you have a name for her too."
"Danielle Marie." She said softly, looking at her infant daughter, then back at House.
"Beautiful." He said simply, not taking his eyes off of Stacy. With his free hand, he tipped her chin up, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. Pulling away, he looked down at her, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I love you Stace."
"Love you too." She choked out through the tears that were threatening to fall. He leaned down and kissed her once more before straightening. He gestured for Nicholas and she carefully placed the baby into his arm, watching him questioningly.
"I'm going to go show these two off to Wilson and Cuddy. Rest while you can." He advised as he straightened up and took a few tentative steps without his cane. Turning back to the bed he saw that Stacy was already almost asleep and smiled. "Dr. Baker. "He called softly, and she came over quickly. "Can you give me a hand getting to the hall?"
"Absolutely. What do you need?"
Dr. Baker stood at his right, her hand lightly clasping his elbow, guiding and prepared to support him as they slowly made their way out of the delivery room and to the hallway. As they pushed through the doors, Dr. Baker released his arm and stepped back.
"Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Lisa." He called teasingly, watching as they froze and looked up, expressions turning into ones of interest as they saw him. Jumping up, they came to where he stood with the twins. "Meet Nicholas Gregory and Danielle Marie." He said proudly. Both friends 'oohed and ahhed' appropriately, watching as the babies squirmed, and opened their eyes to reveal matching blue eyes.
"They have your eyes, House." Cuddy observed and he nodded. "Can I-" She broke off, slightly embarrassed, but he nodded again. Leaning down, he carefully placed Nicholas into her arms, watching as she melted. "Well hello there handsome." She murmured and he chuckled.
"Can I?" Wilson asked after watching the pair. Hesitating only slightly, House placed Danielle into Wilson's arms. She opened her eyes and let out a squeak. "You are precious, aren't you?"
House stood back, hands in pockets, as his friends cuddled the infants. After a few moments, he took his daughter back from Wilson. "Gimme." He settled the infant against his chest, giving Wilson a look that promised to explain later.
Behind them, a nurse cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. We need to take the babies for the pediatrician to check."
House nodded towards the baby boy Cuddy held. "Take them one at a time."
"But-" The nurse began.
Cuddy laid the child in her arms. "Just come back for Danielle when Nicholas is done." The nurse nodded, turning and carrying to baby back through the doors.
A/N: Review please! I know House is a little out of character, but he's always been a little like that when it comes to Stacy anyway. Thanks to ADASakura for the line about being molecularly busy! The next chapter should be finished and updated relatively soon!
