Hello my lovely readers! I'm super excited for this chapter! I'm currently writing this at one in the morning because my brother is snoring like a bear and I can't sleep. I've jumped ahead quite a bit this time, so sorry if that's confusing, but I think you'll like this nonetheless! Please enjoy!

P.S. Don't forget to review! The last chapter only got ONE review, and I know you all can do better than that!

Chapter 12-Blessed

**Natasha**

"Are you sure you're alright with me going out tonight?" Maggie asked nervously as she tried to pick earrings to match her outfit. "I mean, you're nearly thirty-six weeks pregnant and you look like you're ready to pop!"

"I'll be fine." Natasha assured her as she rubbed her massive stomach. "I haven't felt any contractions yet. Besides, it's been a while since you and Craig went out. You should go have fun."

Maggie smiled at her before returning her attention to the outfit she was currently trying on.

"Okay, so what do you think?" She asked, turning all the way around so Natasha could see the full ensemble.

"You look great." She smiled. "What time is Craig coming to pick you up?"

"Eight o' clock." Maggie told her.

"And what time is it now?"

"Four."

Natasha laughed.

"You got ready a little early, don't you think?"

"I was just trying this on." Maggie mumbled before going back into her closet and changing back into the clothes she had been wearing earlier.

"So, where are you and Craig going tonight?" Natasha asked curiously.

"He's taking me dancing!" Maggie said excitedly.

"Dancing? Where are you going dancing?"

"Gary's Pub is having a special dance night tonight. Me, Craig, and a couple of our friends are all going." Maggie told her.

"Sounds like a lot of fun!" Natasha said as enthusiastically as she could.

"Yea, I'm really excited." Maggie grinned. "But enough about me. How's the baby doing today?"

"It's really active." She said, grunting slightly as it jabbed her with its foot for the umpteenth time.

"That's good! And active baby is a healthy baby." The young doctor said positively as she felt Natasha's stomach. "Do you have any names picked out?"

"Oh, I wasn't going to name it." Natasha mumbled.

"What!? You have to name it!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Well, I just thought that I could let its new parents name it."

"And what are we supposed to call it until we find it a family? The Baby?"

"Why not?" Natasha shrugged.

"No. You are going to pick out a name." Maggie said definitively before marching over to her bookshelf and pulling out a paperback book. "Here." She handed her the book. "You can use this to help you decide."

"'Baby Names.'" Natasha read the title of the book out loud. "Why do you have this?"

"It was my mum's. She used it to pick my name when I was born." Maggie explained. "It mostly has names of Celtic or Gaelic origin, but there are also some English, French, and German names in there as well."

"Okay." Natasha sighed.

"Oh, don't look so down, Natasha. Try and have fun with it!" She exclaimed, patting her friend's shoulder. "At least it will give you something to do tonight while I'm gone."

"What do you mean gone? Where are you going?" Cathleen, who had suddenly appeared in the doorway, asked.

"Craig is taking me dancing tonight, Mum." Maggie told her.

"Dancing, huh? Well you may want to go a bit early. It's gonna storm later." The elderly woman said.

"What do you mean? The weatherman said there was only a ten percent chance all day."

"I'm telling ya. There's gonna be decent storm tonight." Cathleen insisted.

"Yea, well I've got a weatherman and a Doppler radar. All you've got is an arthritic knee. I'm gonna take a chance here and say that I'm right." Maggie scoffed.

"There's a storm coming, Maggie, believe me. Just wait until tonight." Cathleen muttered as she walked away. "You'll see."

Four hours later…

"It's pouring outside." Natasha said as she stared out at the massive storm that had suddenly popped up.

"Yea, yea, whatever." Maggie mumbled, irritated that her mother had been right. "Can you help me zip this?"

"Sure." Natasha waddled over to where her friend was standing in front of her mirror and zipped up her dress.

"Thanks." She said, appraising her outfit in the mirror.

"Maggie!" Cathleen called from downstairs. "Craig just pulled in!"

"I'll be down in a moment!" Maggie called back. "Could you please go down and keep him busy until I'm done getting ready?"

"No problem." Natasha said agreeably. She made her way out of Maggie's room and downstairs just as Craig stepped through the door.

"Whew, it's really stormin' out there!" He exclaimed.

"Just like I said it would." Cathleen muttered.

"Oh, wow Natasha, look at you!" Craig gasped when his eyes glazed over her enlarged stomach. "It looks like we could pop ya with a needle! How much longer do ya have?"

"It could be any day now." Natasha told him, gasping as a sharp pain shot through her stomach.

"You alright?" Craig asked with concern.

"I'm fine." She assured him, brushing off the pain. "It was just a big kick."

"I'm ready!" Maggie exclaimed as she ran down the stairs.

"Wow, you look great." Craig said, pecking his date on the cheek when she reached the door.

"Thank you." She blushed slightly before turning to Natasha. "You. If you feel anything-even the slightest contraction-you call me right away. Got it?"

"Got it." Natasha laughed. "Now go. Have fun!"

"I'll be back by eleven." Maggie said as she waved goodbye and followed Craig out the door.

"Well, dear, it looks like it's just you and me." Cathleen said as she shut the door. "I've got some tea made, would you like some?"

"Yes, that would be lovely." Natasha said thankfully. As she followed the older woman into the kitchen, another sharp pain hit her.

"So, have you looked through that baby name book any?" Cathleen asked, distracting her from the strange sensation in her stomach.

"Yea, I skimmed over it." She replied, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Any names stick out?"

"A couple." Natasha blew on her tea and took a sip.

"I hope you picked out names for a boy or a girl." Cathleen muttered. "You may end up with either."

"Don't worry, I did." Natasha laughed. "And honestly, I think they're pretty good."

"I'll be the judge of that." The elderly woman smiled. "Let's hear em'."

"Okay, for a girl, I was thinking-" She suddenly gasped as yet another sharp pain erupted from her stomach.

"Natasha, dear, are you alright?" Cathleen asked worriedly.

"No." Natasha muttered. "Not now."

"What's wrong, hon?"

Natasha was about to tell her that she might be going into labor when a sudden gush of fluid soaked her pants.

"My water just broke!" She exclaimed. "Oh my God my water just broke!"

"Ah, shit." Cathleen said calmly.

"What should I do?" Natasha asked in a panicky voice.

"The first thing ya need to do is calm down!" She ordered.

Natasha took a couple of deep breaths as she tried to come to terms with what was going on. This was it. She was in labor. The baby was coming.

"Now, I want you to go upstairs and change your pants while I call Maggie. As soon as she gets home we'll take you to the hospital." Cathleen said with authority.

"Okay." Natasha gasped again as the pain of another contraction overcame her. Holding her stomach, she carefully began making her way out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. As she was walking down the hall, the front door suddenly flew open and Maggie and Craig stepped inside. Cathleen ran out of the kitchen with a phone in her hand and stared at her daughter in relief.

"Thank goodness you're here! I was just about to call you!" She exclaimed.

"Why? What's wrong? Did something happen?" Maggie asked anxiously.

"Natasha's in labor." Cathleen told her.

"What? Really?" The brunette said, a look of excitement in her eyes.

"Yes, really! Now get back in the car, we need to get her to the hospital." The old woman said.

"Uh…" Craig scratched his head nervously. "We're not going to be able to get her to the hospital."

"What!?" Natasha exclaimed as another contraction hit.

"He's right. There are trees and power lines down everywhere. The road into town is blocked." Maggie said. "She'll have to have the baby here."

"Oh, no, no, no, I am going to the hospital." Natasha insisted.

"Natasha, you can't. There's no way to get there." Craig assured her.

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to keep this baby in here until there is a way." She said stubbornly.

"Craig, help me get her upstairs." Maggie told her boyfriend. "Mum, could you go in the closet and get my medical bag? It should have everything we need for a home birth."

"Anything else I should get?" Cathleen asked.

"Oh, get some ice in a cup and bring it. She's gonna need it."

Without another word, Cathleen went off to get the medical bag and ice while Maggie and Craig helped Natasha up the stairs and into her room.

"Help her into the bed. I'm going to go get some towels." Maggie said before running off to the linen closet.

"This is insane." Natasha breathed as she sat down on her bed.

"Don't you worry, Natasha. Everything is going to be fine." Craig said reassuringly.

Maggie quickly returned with the towels, placing a decent sized stack of them on the dresser and tossing a small washcloth onto the nightstand.

"What's that one for?" Natasha asked.

"Oh, it's for you to bite on when the time comes. Wouldn't want you breaking your teeth." Maggie laughed.

"Great." Natasha sighed.

"Here, I've got the ice and the medical bag." Cathleen said when she entered the room. She handed the ice to Craig who then handed it to Natasha.

"Give me the bag." Maggie ordered. Her mother handed her the medical bag and the young doctor opened it, pulling out various things they might need.

"What do we do now?" Craig asked.

"We wait." Maggie said simply.

"For how long?" Natasha asked.

"However long it takes. You're going to need to be ten centimeters dilated before you can pop that sucker out, and that's going to take hours considering that you just went into labor." Maggie explained. "So, if I were you three, I'd get comfortable."

Natasha laughed a little and glanced at Craig, who was settling into a wooden chair in the corner of the room.

"How's this for a date night?" She asked.

"Not exactly what I expected." He replied sheepishly.

They both laughed a little more before settling in for the undoubtedly long night ahead.

"Holy shit!" Natasha exclaimed as an exceptionally strong contraction shot through her. She had gone from early labor to active labor over the course of the night with Maggie checking her dilation regularly. Now she was in the stage of labor called transition, which meant that it was almost time for the baby to be born.

"Natasha, how ya doing?" Maggie asked tiredly. She, Craig, and Cathleen had stayed up all night in anticipation and now the time had finally come.

"I think it's time." Natasha said breathlessly.

Maggie lifted the sheets at the foot of the bed to check her dilation.

"I think you're right." She smiled.

"What should we do?" Craig asked, gesturing to himself and Cathleen.

"Mum, you stand next to me with a towel. Be ready for when the baby comes out. Craig, put that wash cloth in her mouth and hold her hand." Maggie ordered. Cathleen grabbed a towel and stood by her daughter while Craig moved to Natasha's side, putting the folded cloth in her mouth and taking her hand in his. "You ready Natasha?"

She nodded.

"Alright, on the count of three, I want you to push. One…two…three!"

Natasha pushed with all her might, groaning in pain as she felt the baby start to come out.

"Good, good! I can see its head!" Maggie said excitedly. "Keep pushing!"

The Russian did as her friend said and continued to push until she felt fatigue begin to settle in.

"C'mon, Natasha, you're almost there, you have to keep going!" Maggie exclaimed.

"I…can't…" Natasha said weakly as she gasped for air.

"Yes you can! One more push, that's all you need!"

Biting down hard on the wash cloth, Natasha squeezed her eyes shut and cried out in pain as she gave one final push and felt the baby leave her body. She spit the cloth out of her mouth and leaned back against her pillow in exhaustion. She did it. It was over.

Suddenly, the shrill cries of a newborn infant filled the room and Maggie squealed in delight.

"Oh, Natasha! You won't believe it! It's a-"

Before Maggie could finish her sentence, Natasha let out a strangled scream.

"Natasha, what's wrong?" The doctor asked anxiously.

"Uh, Maggie. I think you may want to have a look at this." Cathleen said from the foot of the bed with Natasha's baby still in her arms. Maggie rushed back to her mother's side and gasped.

"Oh my God." She said in disbelief. "Natasha, I need you to start pushing again."

"What!?" Natasha exclaimed. "Why?"

"JUST DO IT!" Maggie yelled.

Frightened by her friend's tone, Natasha did as she said and started pushing once more. The same pain she had felt when her baby had made its way out of her filled her again. This time, she didn't have anything to bite on, so all she could do was scream as she pushed and pushed until, finally, the pain ended.

"I don't believe it." Maggie breathed.

"What's going on?" Natasha asked wearily as sweat dripped down her face. "What happened?"

"Natasha," Maggie laughed as the sound of a second baby's cry reached her ears. "You had twins."

"Twins…" She said in disbelief.

"Oh, Bail ó Dhia ort!" Craig exclaimed happily, placing a kiss on her damp head.

"Can I see them?" Natasha asked.

"Of course. Just let us get them cleaned up a bit." Cathleen said.

A few minutes later, Maggie and her mother came around on either side of the bed, each of them holding one of the babies.

"Natasha," Maggie said with a smile. "Meet your son." She gently placed the whimpering newborn in one of his mother's arms.

"And," Cathleen was smiling as well. "Meet your daughter." She placed the baby girl into her mother's other arm.

Natasha sat there, holding both of her newborn children, in complete shock. She couldn't believe it. Twins!

"Hi there." She said as a tear escaped her eye. "I'm your mommy."

The infants continued to whimper softly as they tried to adjust to their new surroundings.

"Shhhh…" Natasha tried to soothe them. "It's okay. I'm here." She gently placed a kiss on each of their heads. "I'm going to take care of you."

Translation of Bail ó Dhia ort: The blessing of god upon you.

Boom. It was twins! Whaaaaat!? I've been planning that all along and I made sure I didn't give you any hints! MWAHAHAHAHA! PLEEEAAAASSSEEE tell me what you thought! I want to see reviews people! Were you surprised at all? If you were, TELL ME! Review, review, REVIEW! Sorry if I'm going a bit crazy. It's really late (or early, however you want to look at it). Thanks for reading and I can't wait until the next chapter! TTFN!