They waited for what seemed to be an eternity to Ty, in reality it was close to two hours. He paced the little waiting area back and forth for that entire time, running his hands through his hair. He felt guilty for not having insisted that she skipped the last two days at the gallery, he wished he would have just whisked her away back home as soon as the showing had ended.

He looked at his watch. It was past ten at night and still no one had come to update them on what was happening. He heard the door open and turned around hopefully, but it was just Daphne. He could see that she had been crying as she walked up to him and enveloped him in a hug. Regina and Angelo came in shortly after and also hugged him.

"Any news?" Regina asked.

Ty just shook his head. Half an hour later the door opened again and the Doctor was standing in the room.

"Are you the father?" he asked Ty.

"Yes."

"Could we please have a word in private?"

Ty stepped out into the hallway. He looked at the Doctor with despair in his eyes.

"We've just finished operating on your wife. Her placenta became disconnected, a condition we call pre-eclampsia. It's serious and not uncommon with pregnancies involving twins, but luckily we caught it just in time."

"How is she?"

"We've transferred her to the ICU for the time being. She lost a lot of blood and had to get transfusions. She'll be mostly in and out of consciousness for the next two days, but you should be able to see her soon."

"How're the…" Ty couldn't get himself to finish the sentence.

"Your son and daughter are healthy under the circumstances. They came early, so we had them transferred to the NICU and it's most probable that they'll need to stay in the incubator for another 2 to 3 weeks."

"When can I see my wife? When can I see my babies?"

"I'll have a nurse take you to the NICU soon and you should be able to see your wife within the next two hours. We'll get you settled in a room so that you can stay with us."

"Thank you for saving them Doctor, thank you."

"They'll be fine. Could I just ask you to sign here for me please?"

Ty scribbled his name down on the form and saw the Doctor's name for the first time. He looked at the Doctor, then at the name again. 'Could it be?' he asked himself.

"Were you related to Private Scagliotti by chance?"

He saw the brief look of pain in the Doctor's eyes.

"Yes, she was my daughter. Did you know her?"

"I served with her in Kabul back in 2013. I heard what happened, I'm so sorry for your loss."

Ty knew that Aida had been hit in the head by a stray bullet in Yemen two years ago and that she had succumbed to her injuries. He ran his hand across the scar on his chin.

"She was the one who stitched me up right here after I got hit by debris."

The Doctor looked at it and Ty saw a ghost of a smile pass across his face.

"Well, if you hadn't told me about it, I wouldn't have noticed. She was always good with a needle, ever since she was a little girl."

"Doctor, she was an amazing woman. I'm proud that I got a chance to serve alongside her."

"Thank you…" the Doctor looked at him with a question in his eyes.

"Ty Mendosa, ex-Staff Sergeant Mendosa."

"You're not in the army any more?"

"I left last week after 8 years."

"I wish my little girl had never joined in the first place, but she said it was her calling."

They were interrupted by a nurse who came to take Ty to the NICU. The Doctor shook Ty's hand and excused himself.

"It was nice to meet you Ty, if you allow me to call you by your first name."

"It was nice meeting you too Doctor and thank you again."

Ty excused himself for two minutes while he went to brief the rest of the family. They looked worried, but relieved and vowed to wait until he had seen Bay. He followed the nurse through the innumerous corridors and they took the elevator to the third floor. Ty saw the signs for the NICU and 'Authorized Personnel Only" and felt his heart contract. The nurse smiled at him in understanding and opened the doors with her card. Ty followed her inside and soon they were standing in front of a glass wall. Behind it Ty saw two incubators with the tiniest babies he had ever seen inside them.

"Mr. Mendosa, there's your son and there's your daughter."

Ty looked at his babies and took a deep breath. Beneath all the tubes and machines he could see that they both had black hair. He felt tears in his eyes.

"Do they have names?" He heard the voice of the nurse in the distance.

He cleared his throat and tried to speak.

"Yes. Kai and Mariana." He croaked.

"Those are beautiful names. Do you want to touch them?"

"Could I?"

"Yes, let me get you a gown and gloves and I'll take you to them."

She came back a short while later and Ty donned the yellow hospital gown and put on the gloves, cap and the protective plastic over his shoes.

He followed the nurse, who opened the door and they were greeted by another nurse, also wearing the protective NICU gown.

"Hello there, I'm Nurse Teresa, let me take you to your babies."

Ty followed her to the two incubators.

"Do you see those two holes in the side? That's where you can put your hands through."

Ty carefully inserted his hands through the two openings. It felt warm inside. He slowly stroked his daughter's belly and her hand. The infant grabbed his finger in reflex and Ty gasped.

"Hey there sweet Mariana. Welcome to this world, although it was slightly too early. I'm your Daddy. Everything will be fine I promise and soon you'll get to meet your Mum as well."

The nurse looked at him and smiled.

"They're beautiful. Congratulations."

"Yes, they are."

Ty walked to the next incubator, where his son was laying. He inserted his hands through the openings there as well and stroked his head. He then moved his finger down to the tiny hands and his son grabbed it immediately. He held on to his finger tightly.

"Hello Kai, you do have a strong grip. We named you aptly. I'm so happy to meet you; I know your Mum can't wait to see you."

He spent another half hour alternating from one incubator to the other. His eyes moistened again when he saw that the nurses had placed two signs on the sides. On the blue one they had written Kai Mendosa and on the pink sign Mariana Mendosa. The emotion of seeing those two tiny humans now boasting his name was a bit too much for him and he ran his hand across his eyes to wipe away his tears.

The phone rang and after a muted conversation between Nurse Teresa and whoever was on the other side she hung-up the phone and walked over to Ty.

"That was the Nurse from the ICU. She says your wife is awake and you can go and see her now."

"Really? Oh my God. I'll be right there, which way do I go?"

"I'll take you but first you have to get out of the protective clothes."

Ty removed the clothes as fast as he could and tossed them into the bin outside. He followed the Nurse to the elevators and she gave him clear directions on how to get to the ICU. Soon Ty was standing in front of another pair of scary looking doors with warning sings all over them. He rang the bell and another Nurse opened the doors.

"Mr. Mendosa?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Please come in. Your wife has been asking for you."

"Thank you."

"She keeps saying something about switching her babies; do you know what she means?"

"Yes I do. Her maiden name is Bay Kennish. She is one of the two babies who got switched here in Kansas City 24 years ago."

The nurse looked at him open-mouthed.

"Really? I remember that story so well. It made headlines about 10 years ago."

"Yes. Really. I guess she is scared it's going to happen to our kids as well."

"No it won't. This is not the same hospital."

She gave him yet another gown and Ty slipped into it quickly. He followed the Nurse to the third room on his right.

"There she is. Please take it easy, she's still recovering."

Ty nodded and gasped horrified when he saw Bay. She looked as white as the pillow she was resting on. She looked tiny and fragile in that bed and was hooked up to an innumerous amount of tubes and needles. She had her eyes closed and he carefully pulled up a chair to sit next to the bed.

He slowly took her hand in his, careful not to touch any of the IV needles that were stuck into the back of her hand. With his other hand he tenderly removed a strand of hair from her forehead.

She opened her eyes and looked around confused. Her eyes settled on him and she tried to focus.

"Ty"?

"Yes baby, I'm here. You're ok."

"The babies?"

"They're fine and beautiful. I just saw them. You'll see them very, very soon."

"What happened?"

"You got sick and they had to get the babies out really quickly. But everything will be fine now."

"My belly hurts."

"I know, they did a c-section, it's probably where they cut you open."

"I'm so tired."

"Go back to sleep so that you recover quickly."

Bay closed her eyes and was instantly asleep. Ty got up and went out to brief Bay's family. By the time he arrived at the little waiting room Angelo and Emmett were also there. He gave Angelo a hug and shook Emmett's hand. He then proceeded to brief everyone on the progress. They were all happy that things seemed to be going more or less well and Ty took them Kathryn, John, Regina and Angelo up to the NICU. When they arrived the Nurse tried to stop them.

"Only immeadiate family please. Father and grandparents are allowed."

They all looked at one another and laughed.

The Nurse looked at them and smiled.

"You're the ones aren't you? The ones with the switch?"

"News sure travels fast" Ty said smiling.

"They do when we have such a famous patient. I guess I can make an exception. It's past midnight. No one is around anymore and the only babies who are here are yours."

She opened the doors and beckoned them inside. They stood in front of the glass and looked at little Mariana and Kai in astonishment.

"They're so tiny." Kathryn said and had tears in her eyes.

"They're adorable." Regina was also wiping her eyes.

Angelo and John looked at one another and smiled.

"How does it feel to be a grandfather?" They asked at the same time, then laughed.

"I guess we should go and have a beer to celebrate." John said.

"You two go, I'll catch a ride with Kathryn." Regina said.

"Ty, you look like you could use a drink." John said.

"Uhmm…I don't know. I really don't want to leave Bay and the babies."

"Come on Ty, everyone is sleeping, Bay and the babies included."

"I guess."

Ty went to have a drink with them at a bar nearby and returned to the hospital. He went to see Bay and his babies again, but all were asleep. John promised to bring him a change of clothes and a toothbrush in the morning. Ty went to the maternity ward and looked for the room that would have been Bay's had she not been in the ICU. He found it and stretched out on the bed. He hadn't realized how exhausted he was until his head hit the pillow. He was asleep in minutes, but tossed and turned during the whole night.

He woke up before 6 AM and went to check on Bay. They told his she was stable and if all went well after the Doctor's visit she would be transferred into his room. He went in search of coffee and then dropped to see his babies. He donned the now familiar NICU uniform and spent an thirty minutes with each of them.

By the time he made it back to the hospital room it was past 9. He had a shower and as he was leaving the room to check on Bay he saw that two nurses were wheeling her into the corridor.

"Here you go Dad, she's been cleared to stay in her room as of now." The Nurse said cheerfully.

Ty walked up to Bay and held her hand.

"How're feeling today? I went to check on you earlier, but they told me you were sleeping."

"I'm better, just so tired. My belly hurts a bit. My breasts hurt. When can I see my babies." She asked the Nurse.

"The Doctor said that you can attempt to stand-up after lunch. If we can get you into a wheelchair then, we'll take you to them. We'll give you something to dry your milk as you won't be able to breastfeed." The Nurse said.

"Why aren't they here in the room?" Bay asked panicked.

"It's ok sweetheart. They came earlier than expected and they have to be in an incubator for the next 2 or 3 weeks. We still get to see them, though." Ty said.

"Oh Ty, I want to see them so bad. How do they look like?"

Ty smiled.

"They are tiny and beautiful. They both have black hair and Mariana seems to be a bit more laid back, while Kai has a feisty grip. He must take after you."

Bay managed a smile.

"So our daughter takes after you and our son after me. Guess it'd be worse if it was the other way round. Would you like to raise another Bay?"

"Oh please no, I don't have the energy for that." Ty said smiling.

"Who is older?"

"Kai was pulled out about 6 minutes before Mariana and it shows."

"Can I eat something?"

Ty called the Nurse and she gave the ok for Bay to have a light breakfast. It was delivered half an hour later and she devoured a bagel and drank some coffee. She winced when the bed was lifted a bit for her to eat and Ty looked at her worriedly.

"Are you in a lot of pain?"

"It hurts where the sutures are, but I'll be ok. I think I'm going to rest now for a bit so that I can save my strength for the afternoon."

Ty left to check again on Mariana and Kai as soon as she fell asleep. It was funny that as impersonal as those incubators felt, when they had their fingers wrapped around his, he felt just as close to them as if they were in his arms. He could stay at the NICU the whole day just stroking them and talking to them.

After two hours he went back to the room and Bay had just woken up. Dr. Scagliotti came to check on her and smiled at the progress she was making.

"You are one strong lady, Ms. Mendosa. I think I can give you the all clear to try and stand-up in a couple of hours. I bet you're dying to see those little ones."

"Thank you Doctor, thank you. I can't wait."

"Bay, Dr. Scagliotti is Aida's Dad."

Bay raised her hand to her mouth.

"Oh Doctor, I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you Bay. Every day is a bit of a struggle since she left us. I bet you know all about living in anguish."

"I do know. I hardly slept for when Ty was in Kabul, and luckily he recovered from the serious injuries that he suffered. Unfortunately he also has a lot of scars that are not visible on the outside."

She looked at Ty and grabbed his hand. The Doctor looked at them and smiled.

"At least you won't have to worry about that anymore. I'll leave you two to it then. I'll tell the Nurse to help you into a wheelchair in a couple of hours"

"Doctor…one more thing." Bay said.

"Yes"

"Will we be able to have more children?"

"Yes Bay, there should be no problem with that. Just remember that you just had a c-section so it would be better to avoid a pregnancy in the next 18 months."

"I'm not in that much of a hurry. Just wanted to be sure that we could still have some."

The Doctor left and Ty looked incredibly relieved.

"Ty, stop looking like that. You heard the Doctor. No more kids for almost two years."

"Yes, what a shame and there was me thinking we could try for the third in six months time, while we are on our honeymoon." He winked at her and smiled.

"Oh no we won't! I'll be back on the pill as soon as I can."

"I was just teasing you. Maybe we'll book a romantic weekend in 18 months time." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Maybe…"

After lunch the nurses came to help Bay into the wheelchair. Ty could tell that she was in a lot of pain, but he could also see the steely determination in her eyes. That was the woman he fell in love with. Once they got her settled Ty wheeled her off to the now so familiar NICU. He helped her with putting on the gown and the gloves and finally he took her to see Mariana and Kai.

Bay looked at the tiny babies in the incubator and started crying.

"Oh Ty."

"I know baby, I know."

"They are precious and they are ours."

"Yes they are. Do you want to touch them?"

There you go. Another update. There's nothing like a crappy finale to get my writing juices flowing. I still have so much planned for this story. The next chapter will jump three months ahead and will feature Mariana, Kai and…Daphne! Please keep those reviews coming. I have a few faithful followers out there who never miss posting a review. Thank you all!