**Sadly this story must come to an end. I have a couple of other ideas rolling around, so I will still be writing! There will be one more chapter after this one, and it will be like an epiloge. Just an idea I have and want to write it. I hope you have all enjoyed this story. Thanks so much for reading! Love to you all! ~Rachael (Saphire Dancer) :)**
March 15, 2012:
Danny had tried to stay home from work, but Ricki was not having it. He had made her promise that she wouldn't go to the cemetery until he got home. She wanted to tell him that even if she wanted to go to the cemetery, she probably wouldn't be able to walk all the way to the grave. Danny also made her promise to call him if anything happened. She was annoyed at him being so paranoid, but then again she was 3 days over due with twins!
Danny was sitting at his desk that afternoon, doing paperwork after spending the morning running after 2 drug lords who had decided to make Oahu their new territory. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Ricki had been having trouble sleeping lately and in turn he had too. If she was up, he was up. That was just how it worked. He couldn't sleep if she wasn't in bed.
He looked down at the form he was filling out and realized he had spelled his own name wrong. That is how tired he was! He tore up the form and pulled out another one and started over. He decided to get some coffee and was getting up out of his chair when his cell phone started ringing. A picture of Ricki standing sideways so you could see her pregnant belly popped up on the screen. He answered it immediately.
"Hey beautiful! You ok?" he asked.
The only answer he got was some heavy breathing and a small whimper on the other end.
"Ricki…Ricki what's going on? What's wrong?" he asked raising his voice slightly.
His heart was pounding. He stood frozen, standing next to his desk. Then he finally heard a small voice say,
"Danny".
"Ricki, baby, what's wrong? Is it time?"
The panting continued as Ricki answered breathlessly.
"Yes…Danny…it's time. My water…just broke and…and I'm…having contractions…hard ones."
That made Danny's feet move. He grabbed his keys and hurried out of his office.
"I am on my way babe. Be there in 10" he told her. "Do you need me to stay on the phone with you?"
"No…I'll be ok. Just please hurry" she told him catching hr breath.
Danny was scared. Hearing Ricki sound so scared and helpless made his heart hurt. All he could thing of was that he had to get to her to make sure she was ok.
Steve had seen Danny run out of his office on his phone and knew he was talking to Ricki. He ran after Danny and stopped him in the parking lot.
"Danny" he called.
Danny turned around and looked at Steve and Steve knew.
"I'll meet you at the hospital. I just need to take care of a few things" Steve told his friend.
Danny nodded and jumped in the Camaro and peeled out of the parking lot, lights and siren going.
Ricki was waiting for him when he reached the house they had moved into after they found out they were having twins.
It wasn't a large house and it certainly wasn't new. It had 3 bedrooms, one for them, one for Grace, and one for the twins. It had needed a lot of work. They had managed to get a loan for it. It really wasn't much more than they had been paying for their tiny apartment.
Danny, Steve and Chin had scraped and painted and repaired everything they could do on their own. They had gotten a good deal on some new carpet and Chin had a friend who put it in for them.
Danny and Steve had painted Grace's room a light purple, a color she picked out, with white trim.
They had painted Ricki and Danny's room and light, green. It was very calming. At least that's what Ricki had said.
The twin's room was painted in baby blue with yellow, and soft green accents. The men had managed to get along until it came to putting the cribs together. Ricki just rolled her eyes and let them argue. Danny needed someone to vent to, and if Steve was that person for now, she didn't mind. She brought them both a beer and they seemed to calm down after that.
Ricki watched as Danny pulled into the driveway at a high speed and wondered if he was going to fly right through the garage. He did stop the car in time, thankfully. He jumped out and ran up to the door.
"Ricki?" he called as he came through the front door.
"In here" she called from the kitchen.
Danny ran around the corner to the kitchen and stared at his wife. She looked miserable. She had a death grip on the counter with one hand and her other hand was on her stomach. Her face was scrunched up in pain and she was panting through the contraction. Danny noticed that she already had her bag at her feet and the keys to her car were on the counter next to her hand.
Another change they had made when they found out she was having twins was to get a bigger car. They had taken Ricki's beat up old blue sedan and traded it in on a used Chevy Tahoe. Ricki had gotten so big that she couldn't even get into the Camaro.
Danny grabbed her keys and her bag. He put a hand on her back and started to lead her out the door. Ricki looked up at him with tears in her blue eyes. She looked terrified. His heart broke seeing her look like that. He stopped and put his arms around her and gently kissed her.
"Everything will be alright. I promise" he told her softly.
Ricki nodded. They slowly made their way to the truck and Danny helped her get in. As soon as she got in another contraction hit. Danny held her hand and coached her though it. Once it was over he jumped in the driver's seat and sped towards the hospital.
Twenty-seven exhausting and labor intensive hours later, Danny cried as the first one of his sons was born. Two and a half minutes later, his second one was born. He cut the cord with each one, just as he had done with Grace. He watched the nurses like a hawk as they took them to clean them up. The nurse wrapped one of the babies up in a blanket and handed him to Danny. She wrapped the other one up and carried him over to Ricki. As she handed him to her, Ricki burst into tears.
"Hey, babe, what's wrong?" Danny asked concerned.
"I just can't believe I am a mom" Ricki said with tears running down her face.
She looked at the little bundle in her arms as her heart swelled with love. She took in the tiny little fingers, his nose and his cute little toes. She gently kissed his little forehead. Danny watched her do this and he felt the tears come again. He leaned down and held his other son for her to see. The nurse took the one baby from Ricki and held him until Danny could pass the other baby to his wife. She did the same thing as she did with the first one. This tiny little baby was her and Danny's son. They both were. They had made these beautiful babies out of love.
Danny looked the baby in his arms. He felt immediately protective of them. He knew he would do anything to protect them. And just like with Grace, his loved these babies so much he would die for them if he had to.
Once the nurses had cleaned Ricki up and moved her to her room, they allowed a few visitors to come in and see the babies. It was late, but Grace and Steve had waited patiently, well Grace had at least. Danny had been scared Steve would pace a hole in the floor, or punch something. Neither of which he wanted.
Grace and Steve walked slowly into Ricki's room. Ricki was sitting up in bed holding one of the babies and Danny was sitting in a chair beside the bed holding the other one. They both looked exhausted but extremely happy. Grace grinned as she saw the babies. She ran over to her father and looked down at the baby in his arms.
"Oh, he is so cute and tiny" she said smiling.
Steve looked ready to run at any minute.
"Steven, come meet your 'nephews'" Ricki said gently.
Steve looked uncertain but walked over to his cousin, who he thought of more like his sister.
She handed him the tiny bundle. He looked down at the baby and his heart filled with love and a fierce feeling of protection, much like Danny's.
"What's his name?" Steve asked.
"This one is Benjamin Meka Williams" she said proudly.
"What's this one's name?" Grace asked.
"This one is Jackson Makani Williams" Danny told his young daughter.
"Jackson?" Steve asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, after my father" Ricki said with tears in her eyes.
Steve nodded and looked down at the sleeping newborn in his arms.
"Benjamin Meka, and Jackson Makani" he said softly. He liked them. They were a good mix of both Danny and Ricki.
Danny stood up and let Grace sit down to hold her new baby brother. After a few minutes, Steve realized he needed to get Grace home because it was getting very late.
They said goodbye with promises to be back tomorrow.
A little while after they left the nurse came in to get the babies. Ricki had opted to let the nursery take care of them for the first night so she could rest.
When they finally had a moment to themselves Danny leaned in and kissed his wife.
"I love you, and I am so proud of you" he told her sweetly.
Ricki smiled sleepily up at her husband.
"I love you too."
He sat down on the bed and pulled her close. She laid her head on his chest and promptly fell sound asleep.
Danny was exhausted himself and settled down and held his wife while she slept. His mind was running. He thought about how so much had happened since he and Ricki had met. He wouldn't change a bit of it. He loved this woman so much. She had helped heal his heart, made him love again. He had done the same for her. They were a perfect fit. He was so proud of her. She had been a real trooper through out her entire labor and then delivery. And now, they had twin sons. He knew the road ahead would be bumpy. After all, he was a boy once himself. But he knew he and Ricki could make it through anything. That's just how strong their love was.
Danny kissed the top of Ricki's head and closed his eyes. He smiled as he drifted off to sleep. This Jersey boy finally had everything he had ever wanted.