10am

Sam and Tom had just left their flat, ready to go to their new home. At 21 weeks pregnant, Sam was sitting in the passenger seat besides her husband hoping that everything would go as planned. The removal van had already arrived at their new home and Sam and Tom were just going to meet it there because thankfully, Imogen and the rest of goodbye magazine had decided to let the couple settle in themselves.

They had only actually seen their house on the inside once before, but that was weeks ago when the previous family's furniture was still inside it so it didn't seem real. However, when they pulled up outside their new home to see the 16 seater, white minivan on their driveway and the van with their things in parked at the side of the road, it had begun to hit home.

"Right." Tom concluded as he put on the handbrake and undone his seatbelt after parking on the spacious driveway - they had sold Sam's car because they had the mini van along with Tom's car, and the money would certainly be needed in the future. "Do not lift anything even slightly heavy or large." Tom ordered. He got out of the car and walked around her side before he helped his pregnant wife out of the car and onto her feet. "Right, you've got the plans as to where everything's going haven't you?" Tom asked the removals men - there was just two of them because their previous furniture was part of the agreement and it came with the flat, so all that they had with them was their clothes and other possessions including a rather large collection of DVDs.

"Yeah." One of the men replied as he opened the two doors of the van up.
"Right, seeing as I'm not allowed to lift a feather, I'm going to go and see what goodbye magazine's idea of a 'fully stocked kitchen' is." Sam stated as she took the bunch of keys off of Tom and waddled towards the front door. Tom seemed more than content with letting her do that becuase it didn't involve lifting so he decided to help the men to make the job quicker.

The men were just putting the suitcases filled with clothes in Sam and Tom's large master bedroom on the first floor when Sam poked her head around the door.
"Do you three want a bacon sandwich?" She asked and Tom stood up properly and wiped his forehead after lifting Sam's main suitcase onto the bed.
"Yes please." Tom nodded. He was perfectly happy for Sam to do that because he had thought that she would be getting in the way and trying to lift things.
"Yeah, that'd be lovely thanks." One of the men smiled.
"Yep, great." The second stated.
"And tea? Or coffee?" She asked.
"Er tea no sugar thanks." Tom replied.
"Black coffee one sugar."
"Black coffee and no sugar because-"
"He's sweet enough." The other man interrupted. "I bet you've never heard that one before." He joked and Sam smiled before she left and headed downstairs to cook them all a late breakfast.

It wasn't until early afternoon that everything was unpacked and the couple were finally alone and ready to explore their new home.
"Right, care for a tour my lady?" Tom asked poshly as he linked arms with his wife.
"Depends if I get a foot rub at the end of it." Sam stated sheepishly.
"Of course. C'mon." He smiled and they went around their vast new home. There were nine bedrooms in total, seven of which were ensuite. But only one was currently being used. There were three cots in their master bedroom where the octuplets would co-sleep for the first few months of their life, until they would each have a cot bed shared in two bedrooms - the boys in one room and the girls in another because didn't plan on letting their kids have their own bedrooms until they were much more independent.

Three of the spare bedrooms were being used for storage for hundreds of nappies and other supplies, including lots of toys and a few play sets designed to be put in the garden when their children were older.

Aside from the bedrooms were five living rooms, a large kitchen two dining rooms, a games room -with gym equipment-, a study, a utility room, two family bathrooms, a garage and a massive grass garden with a patio and decking area. All of which was perfect for the couple expecting their new family's arrival in a just a few months time...

At 22 weeks pregnant, Sam had just arrived in Mr T's consult room with her husband on the day that the soon-to-be parents were going to be allowed entry to NICU, the very unit that their babies would soon be in and it had only just been refurbished. There were two other neonatal intensive care units at Holby City General Hosptial because each one could only hold a maximum of eight babies, however the third one was rarely in use and so it was being kept clear just for the Kent Octuplets.
"Right, are you ready?" Mr T asked.
"Yep." Tom replied as he got up and then waited for his wife to go first before the three made their way to the unit.

"So, you'll have four babies on the left and four on the right... Now, I know you know about intubation and ventilators so I don't need to explain that. But basically the requirements for your babies to be discharged are what the neonatal team are going to be constantly focusing on and there's three main boxes to be ticked. Number one is can they maintain a steady temp in an open cot for 24-48 hours without requiring warming up or cooling down. Number two is can they manage their feeds and keep them down without needing supplements. And number three is are they gaining weight at a good rate." Mr T explained as Sam and Tom stared at the plastic doll attached to various monitors in an incubator, sealed off from the world to keep it safe. "I know it's a lot to take in so, are there any questions?" He asked softly.

"When can I get out of bed after the c section?" Sam asked bluntly.
"You mean, to come down and see your babies?" He asked and she nodded. "Well,
probably not for a few hours at the very least but we promise we will keep you informed frequently and I'm sure Tom can show you some pictures if possible. It'll all depend on when we take the epidural out." He explained. "Have you got any toys for them to go in their incubators?" He asked to change the subject.

"Oh um, yeah. There's one toy each and a sleep suit and little hat for them." Sam stated as she pulled a carrier bag out of her hand bag containing eight white baby sleep suits, eight white hats and eight small plush toys - a meerkat, a horse, a duck, a bunny, a lamb, a panda, a penguin and a teddy.
"Right, well I'll get them sterilised for the birth then." Mr T stated as he took the bag off of her.

9pm
Tom was reading the thin book of the three pigs to Sam's bare bump so that his babies would get used to the sound of his voice, just like their mother's and usually, his story would send Sam off to sleep, however he had just gotten to the end and she was wide awake. He put the book on his bedside and then laid next to her on the bed in their massive new home.
"It was a bit scary seeing it all like that wasn't it?" Tom said softly and his wife nodded. She was feeling weepy so she decided it was best not to talk unless she had to. "But at least they'll all be sharing a room together from the very start. Just imagine, give it a few years and they'll be arguing over who gets to go on the swings first." He said softly in the hope that it would cheer her up.

"I don't want them to die Tom." Sam croaked as she took a deep breath to combat her tears, but the battle was inevitable as a single tear rolled smoothly down her cheek.
"Oh Sam." Tom whispered. "Come here." He said as he pulled her into his arms. Sam even managed to shock her own husband as she began sobbing into his chest. She had barely cried at all throughout her pregnancy. In fact, it had only been once when Tom had left her for one night after their argument about abortion, but it wasn't the hormones making her cry, it was her maternal instinct and the bond that she had developed with her babies over the recent months. "I don't want that to happen either." He stated. "And hopefully it won't because we have the best medical team possible, each of our little girls and boys has their own nurse, their own doctor and their own consultant so they've got an amazing care team. And best of all they've got you as their mum. So if they've got even a fraction of your fighting spirit, they'll be just fine."

Tom soothed his wife as her sobs became smaller and smaller, until they were no more than a hiccup when she finally stopped and became limp in his arms - she had cried herself to sleep. Without disturbing her too much, Tom reached behind him and switched the light off, before he too settled down.
"Night night sweetheart." Tom whispered as he pecked Sam on the forehead. "And night night my babies." He added as he gave Sam's bump one last stroke before he fell asleep.

The next chapter is Sam when she gets put on bed rest at 24 weeks. Thanks for reading, please review :)