10

"Come on, guys, she's gonna need you to keep her steady here," McCoy says, wiping sweat from his brow. "Jesus, they're stronger than I thought!"

"…you…promised me…I wouldn't…feel shit…"Nyota hisses through grit teeth as another sharp contraction rips through her. Her babies are coming four weeks early and the labor pains are going to kill her yet.

"I know, darlin', I thought the meds would help. I keep forgetting you're not delivering regular human babies," McCoy huffs. Then, to Spock and Jim, (who's insisted on being present as it's the first birth aboard the Enterprise), he repeated his orders, "I need you to hold her head and her knees. Don't let her lay flat!"

"We're all one big family now, like it or not," Jim chuckles as he grabs Nyota's right leg.

"That's too tight!" she snaps at him.

"Oops. Sorry. Anyway, Spock, don't hold it against me that I've seen your wife in all her glory."

"How are their vitals?" Spock asks, ignoring Jim completely.

"Stable, though she's losing a lot of blood," McCoy states. "The sooner these twins are delivered, the better."

Nyota screams as another contraction tears through her.

"Screaming is only going to make it worse!"

"That's easy for you to say!" Nyota shouts angrily.

"I'm telling you the truth, honey. You've got to push through them. Legs back, let me see if I can do it this time, one of them at least—"

"PLEASE HURRY UP AND GET THEM OUT! WHAT THE FUCK IS TAKING SO LONG?" she screams.

"First one, here it comes! Oh, shit!" Jim exclaims, and lets go of her knee.

"Hey! Get back here, Captain!" she curses. A powerful wave of pressure hits, and then, she hears it, the tiny wail of a newborn.

"Did…did you catch him? Is he okay?" she gasps. But they are talking and no one answers her. She can feel that she's not done yet. "Who has my baby? Did you let him hit the floor? Jim, you bastard!"

"Stop bitching, I got him, I got him!"

"Nyota, keep calm. Your performance so far has been most admirable. Mother...would be proud." Spock's voice wavers slightly at the mention of the late Amanda.

"Number two, I've got it by the head, hold on…hold on…here we go…it's a girl!"

"Doctor, please, allow me to be the first to hold my daughter."

"With pleasure, Spock. Here you are. Jesus Christ, what a day! What a day! Great job, guys!"

The room erupts into cheers and a flurry of activity begins as the nurses begin to assist in the after care. McCoy appears briefly from between Nyota's legs, covered in green and red fluids. "Congratulations to the Mr. and Mrs. And, by the way, I've never seen a pair of healthier twins."

A laughing Jim holds up her tiny son, and Spock cradles her little girl, unmistakably mesmerized at the tiny, light brown baby in his arms with a head full of curly black hair. Both babies were squalling, tiny arms and legs flailing.

It's a scene Nyota will remember the rest of her life.