A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! Please enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!

Gunner opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Amelia sighed and stepped into the room, sat on the end of the bed facing him. Gunner looked cautiously at her, searching for a sign of Kenzie's fate. She looked wrecked, absolutely exhausted. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her skin was pale. She'd changed into a wrinkled green scrub top but still had her original blue pants on, and Gunner's eye was drawn to a streak of blood down the side. Gunner's heart began to thump with dread and he was suddenly afraid, absolutely terrified, to ask her about his wife. As long as neither spoke, there was a chance that Kenzie had survived, as soon as Amelia opened her mouth that could change.

Amelia rubbed her eyes tiredly and finally said. "Kenzie lost a great deal of blood, Gunner; it was a serious haemorrhage. She never stopped fighting." She drew in a deep, shaking breath and let it out slowly, her head lowered.

Gunner was suddenly struck with the crazy urge to grab her by the shoulders, shake her and shout in her face. "Stop with the cliff-hangers! Is Kenzie okay?!" He felt his mouth go dry and he hardly dared breathe, it was hard to tell if Amelia was simply exhausted or devastated.

Amelia raised her head and Gunner saw that she was smiling. "She made it Gunner. She's alive."

Gunner stared at the doctor for a long moment, uncomprehending. He suddenly felt hot and tingly all over, like a huge adrenaline rush. "Kenzie's alive?" He whispered, certain he'd misheard.

Amelia nodded, eyes shiny with tears. "Yes, Gunner. She is." She smiled widely.

Gunner stared at Amelia for a few seconds more before bursting into tears himself, all the stress and uncertainty of the past few hours boiling over. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed, chest heaving. Kenzie was alive, she'd survived. Gunner sagged with relief, his limbs vibrating with emotion, gasping for breath, his cheeks hot and chest burning, almost hyperventilating. Finally, he gained control of himself and raised his head, breathing hard, feeling simultaneously exhilarated and exhausted. Amelia was smiling at him, her hands clasped together under her chin.

"Can I see her?"

Amelia nodded. "I'm going to keep her here for at least a week; we had to transfuse a large volume of blood to replace what she lost, and she's going to be quite tired for a long time, even for a new mother. I'd like to keep her under observation and make sure her blood levels and iron come back up before I send her home. The twins will of course stay here with her, I won't discharge one without the other. I've set her up in the private recovery suite of the delivery ward, so you're welcome to stay with her."

Gunner smiled in relief, then furrowed his brow and asked hesitantly. "Will she ever be able to have more children?"

Amelia frowned thoughtfully. "We didn't have to resort to major surgery, so I don't see why not...but I would worry about the same thing happening again. If Kenzie were to become pregnant again, she would be classified as high risk."

"Did this happen because of her past?"

Amelia pressed her lips together, she knew of Kenzie's previous medical history; her ectopic pregnancy and traumatic assault in Brazil. "It's hard to say, but it's definitely a possibility...would you like to go see her now?"

Gunner nodded and stood, followed Amelia out of the room, unable to keep an idiot grin off his face, he was practically walking on air. It didn't matter to him if Kenzie ever had more children, he was perfectly content with the twins, would never gamble her life to add more to their brood.

They rounded the corner and saw Barney in the waiting room, his face drawn with anxiety. Seeing Gunner and the doctor, Barney jumped to his feet and hurried towards them, hope growing in his eyes as he saw Gunner's expression.

"Kenzie's okay?" He rumbled, eyes like a hopeful puppy dog.

"Yeah, she okay." Gunner grinned widely, giddy with relief after hours of uncertainty and anguish.

Barney's face broke into a huge smile and tears streaked down his cheeks. He grabbed Gunner by the back of the neck and pulled him into a rough hug, laughing and crying at the same time. Pushing Gunner away he turned to Amelia and pulled her into a considerably gentler hug, rumbling his gratitude. Releasing her, Barney grinned at Gunner then asked. "Can we go see her?"

Amelia smiled and nodded. "Gunner and I were just on our way." She continued down the hallway and the men fell in step behind her, Barney reached over and clapped Gunner's shoulder. Now that they knew Kenzie was okay, they were also celebrating the birth of the twins.

"So, one of each, huh? A boy and a girl?" Barney asked.

"Yep. Can't wait to see them again." Gunner replied, remembering his baby's reaction to him speaking to them. He couldn't wait to hold them in his arms.

Amelia stopped outside a set of doors. "Kenzie is in room 3, at the end of the hallway. It's the largest private recovery suite, so there's room for your crew to all visit, but please keep it short, Kenzie needs to rest. As I said before, Gunner, you're welcome to stay with her. Please tell Kenzie that I'll be in to see her in the morning, after breakfast. If you need anything, ask the nurses, I'll be sleeping in my office."

"You don't go home?" Gunner asked, surprised.

"Not when one of my girls has had a rough night." Amelia smiled tiredly, then with a final nod, left.

"Hell of a doctor." Barney said admiringly.

Gunner nodded in agreement. "Lee went home?" He asked.

Barney nodded. "Lacy's having a tough time worrying about Kenz. Go ahead, Gunner. I'll call everyone and tell them Kenzie's okay, to let her rest and come in tomorrow."

"Thanks, Barney. Thanks for staying."

Barney grinned and smacked Gunner's shoulder again. Pulling his phone out he dialled and turned away.

Gunner spun and strode down the hallway. Reaching room 3 he quietly rapped his knuckles on the door and, hearing no reply, pushed the door open. He barely glanced at the room, his eyes drawn immediately to Kenzie. The bed was at an angle to the door, and Kenzie lay curled on her left side, her back to him.

Gunner padded quietly over and sat slowly in the chair facing her. His eyes roved over her, desperate for a sign that Kenzie was okay. Although her skin was ghostly pale, and the delicate skin under her eyes was the color of dark bruises, she looked peaceful and relaxed, her left hand curled under the pillow, her right resting open on the sheets. Gunner was loathe to disturb her, but had to touch her, had to reassure himself through physical contact that she was truly okay. Hesitantly he reached out and curled his hand around Kenzie's, twining his fingers through hers. Her skin was warm and soft and Gunner relaxed a little more.

Kenzie sighed and her eyelids fluttered open. Seeing Gunner, she smiled drowsily.

"Hey baby." Gunner crooned. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." She murmured. "What happened?"

"You started bleeding. It got really scary...I didn't know...if you were going to..." Gunner couldn't finish, the lump in his throat was too big. He swallowed hard and lowered his head, rested his forehead on their entwined hands. He fought to not cry again.

Kenzie reached out with her left hand and rested it on Gunner's head. "Please, baby...don't cry. I'll never leave you...Forever, remember?

Gunner raised his head, nodding, wiping away the tears from his cheeks. He lifted Kenzie's hand and pressed it to his cheek.

Kenzie watched him in concern, his skin was pale and his eyes red rimmed. He looked like he'd just been through the ringer. "Are the twins okay?"

At this, Gunner brightened and a genuine smile broke out on his face. "They're great, baby. I got to see them before they were taken up to the NICU. They're beautiful...do you remember seeing them?"

"Yeah, Hans first, a little boy. And Dolph's a girl!" Kenzie grinned widely. "I was sure we had two boys."

"Me too! I couldn't believe it at first. She's a livewire." Gunner smiled at the memory of their daughter cooing at him and kicking.

"Dolph doesn't really suit her." Kenzie said wryly.

"No." Gunner agreed, laughing. "And he doesn't really look like a Hans either."

Kenzie yawned, her eyes heavy. "We'll have to think of names tomorrow."

Gunner reached out and tenderly cupped Kenzie's face, gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Go to sleep, baby."

Kenzie closed her eyes with a sigh. "Come lay with me, I missed you." She murmured, body relaxing.

Gunner stood and moved over to the other side of the bed. After pulling off his shoes and socks he stretched out on the bed and snuggled up close to Kenzie's back, moulding himself to her, wrapping his limbs around her and pressing his face into her hair. He breathed deeply, inhaling her scent, shuddering with emotion. Up until twenty minutes ago, he'd not been sure he'd ever get to hold her again. Indescribable relief flooded his body, he could lay here forever. He pressed fevered kisses into her hair, buried his face down to nuzzle her neck.

"I love you, baby." He whispered, eyes fluttering closed.

"Mmmm...I love too." Kenzie murmured back, nestling back against him and falling asleep, relaxing completely in his arms.


A few minutes later Barney came into the room and stopped. He gazed at the two sleeping forms on the bed and smiled fondly. The depth of love, devotion and passion that Kenzie and Gunner shared was incredible, something to be in awe of, something few people had the privilege to witness in their lives, let alone experience and share with someone else. Kenzie dying tonight would have meant certain death for Gunner; like a plant in the dark, he would have lost an essential component he needed to continue existing, and would have simply phased out, his heart irreparably shattered. Barney never imagined that of all his friends, acquaintances and men he considered his brothers, that Gunner would be the one to find everlasting, eternal love; that the most unpredictable, unstable, dangerous member of the Expendables would be lucky enough to find his counterpart in life. But maybe, Barney mused, that was exactly why Gunner had been so lucky, the fates were making amends for the rough life they'd given him. They looked so comfortable, so serene in each other's arms on the bed, and Barney remembered that whenever the team had been on a mission after Gunner and Kenzie had gotten together, that Gunner had never truly relaxed, never really slept well or peacefully, had always seemed just a little on edge; and never really settled down until he was home with her again. Barney could only hope that one day, he and the other members of the Expendables were half so lucky when it came to finding their soul mate.

Barney glanced around, he was far too tired and wore out to drive home, and the chairs in the waiting room would be too uncomfortable to sleep in. Yawning, he stumbled over to the cot on the other side of the room and collapsed on it, falling asleep almost immediately.


Barney woke up first that morning, sat up and looked over at the bed. Kenzie and Gunner were still asleep, Gunner snoring like a chainsaw, his face buried in Kenzie's hair. Kenzie seemed completely unaffected by the foghorn going off by her ear, and was nestled back into Gunner's chest, a small contented smile on her pale face.

The morning was a flurry of activity. Amelia stopped by during breakfast to speak with the new parents and after that, a nurse came in to check Kenzie over and help her shower. Barney took Gunner home to shower and pack some clothes and when they returned Kenzie was asleep again. Gunner immediately moved back to her side and sat down to keep watch over her until she awoke. Barney lingered, talking lowly with Gunner, but his attention was focussed on Kenzie and Barney returned after awhile to the waiting room to wait for the team.

Kenzie awoke later to Gunner holding her hand and gazing at her.

"Hey." Kenzie murmured, yawning.

"Hey baby." Gunner crooned. "You go see the twins yet?"

Kenzie shook her head. "I've been waiting for you."

"Ready now?" Gunner asked, gently touching her cheek with a bent finger. He would never miss an opportunity to touch her now, the memory of almost losing her was too fresh and raw, seared into his mind; would reappear in nightmares for years to come, causing him to snap awake, sweating and afraid, needing to turn and pull Kenzie back into his arms to drive the memory away.

Kenzie nodded, her eyes widening in concern as she saw these thoughts race over Gunner's face. Gunner smiled down at her and leaned down to press a lingering kiss to her lips.

"I'm sorry I scared you." Kenzie whispered as their lips parted.

Gunner smiled ruefully. "You didn't do it on purpose...but don't do it again." He rested his forehead against hers for a moment, then quickly pecked her lips again and sat back up with a sigh. "Let me find a wheelchair and then we can get going."

"I can walk." Kenzie protested, sitting up slowly, her hand circling her lower abdomen.

"Maybe, but you're not." Gunner answered, stepping out of the room.

Kenzie sighed. Gunner was in papa bear mode and it would be useless to argue. Gunner reappeared with a chair and rolled up beside Kenzie, grinning toothily.

Rolling her eyes with a grin, Kenzie accepted Gunner's help standing and let him guide her gently down to sit. She relaxed back into the wheelchair and enjoyed the ride as they left her room and rolled down the hallway to the NICU. Pushing through the doors they stopped and looked around, slightly disoriented by the dim lighting and multitude of beeps and monitor alarms. A nurse approached.

"Can I help you?"

"We're here to see our twins. Jensen?" Gunner replied.

"Oh, yes. Little cuties. Congratulations. They're right over here." The nurse turned and walked away, Gunner pushing Kenzie along behind. The NICU was divided into five pods, each pod divided into four sections. The nurse stopped at the pod labelled 2b. Two little incubators hummed quietly there set head to foot. Gunner pushed Kenzie up to the nearest one and she leaned forward to look in. Their little daughter lay inside, swinging her arms and legs. Tears sprang to Kenzie's eyes as her heart melted.

The nurse gestured to the armchair beside Kenzie. "Would you like to sit in the recliner and you can hold them? Their doctor, Dr. Warner, wants to see if they'll start nursing, and if they do, he says they can move down to the recovery ward with you. They've been accepting a bottle, so it shouldn't be an issue."

Kenzie nodded eagerly and with Gunner's help, stood and moved over to the recliner as the nurse opened the incubator and pulled out the squirming baby, careful not to tangle the monitor leads. Turning towards her, the nurse gently placed their little daughter in Kenzie's waiting arms. Gunner crouched beside the chair and rested his head gently on Kenzie's shoulder, joining her in gazing in amazement down at the little person they'd created.

"Hey little one." Gunner crooned.

Instantly the tiny baby stopped moving and looked directly up at Kenzie and Gunner, pursing her little rosebud lips and cooing back at them.