Welcome to the World: January 23rd, 2020

Married life had been fantastic for Anna and Skyler. Anna couldn't understand how some couples struggled and became miserable. They had had no fights, and Skyler was always there to take care of her when she needed it. With the pregnancy, that had happened a lot.

Anna smiled proudly down on her large stomach. She wasn't due for another five weeks, but she was more than ready to welcome her children into the world. It had been quite the shock to learn that they were having twins, but they quickly adapted. Skyler seemed even happier to learn it was two kids instead of one, happier still when they had learned they were both boys.

During her down time, Anna liked to imagine what the twins would look like and how they would behave. She pictured them with Skyler's dark eyes, but hoped they wouldn't grow to be as tall as Skyler was. Skyler practically had to pick Anna up every time they kissed, not that she minded. She hoped they were adventurous like her, but maybe mixed with a little of Skyler's practicality and level-headedness.

It was around mid-afternoon. Right now, Skyler was at rehearsal with Sydney. Though Sydney had yet to be cleared for physical activity, she was still sneaking in dance sessions with Skyler in preparation for their next show. Anna was glad Sydney was back to being involved with their business. Skyler had taken on a lot of the work during her pregnancy and though Anna appreciated how much dancing kept Skyler in shape (a very nice shape she might add), it had taken up a lot of his time when it was just him. Sydney was still busy caring for her twins and Skyler was about to become busy caring for his, but the two seemed unconcerned about not being able to devote all of their time to dance. Anna knew they were planning something big to do in the meantime, but she had no idea what. Whatever it was, the two best friends were keeping it hush-hush.

Anna felt a hard kick in her belly. She laughed and rubbed it. "Did you two have a good nap? You woke mommy up early this morning." Another kick came, this time harder. Anna flinched. "Ow. That one actually hurt. What are you two do- OW!"

Anna clutched at her stomach. Something wasn't right. The twins were never this rough. The last one almost felt like a contraction. Anna knew some women experienced minor contractions a week or two before they were due, but Anna wasn't due for another five weeks. The twins couldn't be coming this early. There was no way they were ready yet.

Another wave of pain shot through her, causing Anna to cry out. She had no doubt that it had been a contraction. But why were they so sudden and painful? Weren't contractions something that built up gradually over labor? Anna couldn't be in labor. The twins were only at thirty-two weeks. If they were born now…

Labor or not, Anna knew she needed to get to the hospital. She reached for her cell phone and called Skyler.

"Skyler, you need to meet me at the hospital… Now."

"I don't know how you expect to get through any rehearsal if you keep this up," Skyler teased Sydney. "Gods know you need the work out." He jokingly poked her pudgy stomach.

"Hey, you know Anna and I are planning on working out together after she gives birth. Trust me, I don't enjoy being fat." Sydney rolled her eyes and continued to rock a fussy Riley in her arms. His mismatched eyes squinted up at her as he made unintelligible whimpering noises. "And I'm sorry my three-week-old children need attention. Don't mock, your life is about to be the same in a month."

"I know. I can't wait." Skyler grinned. He sat down next to Sydney and peered into one of the basinets next to her. Lexi stared back up at him and blinked her large blue and green eyes. He resisted the urge to pick her up, knowing that the moment Lexi saw that Sydney was holding Riley and not her, she'd start bawling.

"You say that, but it's a lot more exhausting than it looks."

"You're forgetting I was there when you were taking care of JJ. I saw all the unglamorous moments. The days when he wouldn't stop crying, the times you almost broke down, but I also saw the moments when you looked at him as if he held the whole world in his eyes. I know exactly what it's like. I am so ready to be a dad."

Sydney shook her head, but couldn't help but smile. "We'll see about that. Life has a way of throwing curveballs at you."

Skyler laughed as he pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket. He smiled when he read the caller ID. "Hello, beautiful wife." Skyler's smile quickly dropped. "What's wrong? Anna... Anna?" Skyler scrambled to stand up and ran around the room to grab all his things.

Sydney watched him with wide eyes. "Sky? What's going on?"

"I don't know. Anna just told me to meet her at the hospital. She didn't sound okay, Syd. I need to go now."

Sydney stood up and joined him. "Go. I'll call Cade to come watch the kids and get Joe. We'll meet you there later. If Anna was able to call you, it can't be that bad."

"I hope you're right." Skyler ran out to his car. He drove much faster than he should have been, but his mind was focused on getting to the hospital in time. Anna had sounded so pained when she had called. Skyler focused on what Sydney had said. If Anna was able to call him, it couldn't be that bad. She was still alive. He had to believe that that was a good sign.

It took a lot longer than he wanted to get to the hospital and his parking job wasn't exactly the greatest, but there were more important things at hand. He rushed into the building and started to barrage the nurses at the desk with a million questions.

"Sir, I'm going to need you to calm down." One of the nurses finally broke through Skyler's panicked babble. "We can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong."

Skyler attempted to still his wildly beating heart by taking a deep breath. "I need to find my wife. She told me to meet her here."

"And what's your wife's name, sir?" A nurse typed something into the computer as Skyler told her Anna's name and information.

"Is she okay? Where is she?"

The nurse bit her lip. "She was checked in about ten minutes ago. She is currently in the OR."

"The OR?! Why is she there?"

"Her file doesn't say, sir. My guess is they rushed her in immediately and didn't have time to fill out the report. If you want to know more you'll have to wait until she's out of surgery, which could be an hour or two."

Skyler failed to find any words. He dumbly nodded his head and collapsed in a nearby chair.

An hour. He could wait an hour. Anna was in the hands of the doctors now. He had to trust them. There was nothing else he could do.

"Skyler? Skyler, talk to me."

Skyler heard Sydney. He could even see her crouched right in front of him. But his mind hadn't processed anything since he had gotten here. Joe and Sydney had gotten there about ten minutes ago. Skyler hadn't said a word to them since they arrived. He felt selfish for not sharing what little information he had. After all, Anna was Joe's sister and Sydney cared a lot for her sister-in-law as well. But Skyler couldn't form any words.

Anna was still in the OR apparently because no one had come out to give him any information and it was driving him insane.

"Skyler, you need to tell me what's going on."

"I don't know," Skyler barely managed to get the words out.

"You don't know?" Sydney tilted her head and furrowed her brow.

"I got here and all they told me was that Anna had been checked in ten minutes before I arrived." Skyler groaned and rubbed his forehead. "She is in the OR and they can't tell me anything else until she's out of surgery, which could take a while apparently."

"Surgery? Why is my sister in surgery?" Joe clenched his fists and glared at Skyler.

"I just told you, I don't know. They can't tell me anything because there's nothing on her file yet." Skyler closed his eyes. Anna was going to be okay. She had to be.

Sydney shot Joe a look telling him to be quiet. "Joe, call your mom and tell her to get down here. I'll stay with Sky." Joe stomped away, grumbling to himself. "He might say some stupid things to you today, but he's just worried about his sister."

"He can say whatever he wants. I don't care. My only concern right now is for Anna." Skyler stared at the doors leading out of the waiting room, willing someone to come through and tell him what was happening to his wife. "What if something happened with the twins? I can't lose my wife and my sons, Syd."

"Anna is with the doctors now. You just have to hope she got here in time." Sydney grasped Skyler's hand. "It will be okay."

"Excuse me, sir. Are you Skyler Maka?" A short balding man with large eyes blinked at them.

"Yes." Skyler shot up. "Are you here to tell me about my wife?"

The tiny man nodded. "Your wife has just entered into recovery. You will be able to visit her soon."

Relief flooded through Skyler. He almost collapsed in the middle of the waiting room.

"Your wife should make a full recovery. However, your sons are looking at about an eighty-five percent chance of survival."

Skyler froze. "What did you just say?"

The doctor paused. "I'm sorry. I forgot that you haven't been informed of anything. Your wife came in about forty-five minutes ago with severe abdominal pain and contractions. She's very lucky she got here when she did. If we weren't able to get her in surgery, she and the twin boys might not have made it."

"What happened?" Sydney spoke for Skyler who was too shocked to form words.

"There's a rare condition called placental abruption that's a little more common in twin pregnancies than single child pregnancies."

Sydney's face paled. Her eyes widened and she nodded her head. "I know what it is. Gods, and you're sure Anna is okay?"

"Yes, but as I said the twins are going to need some care. We had no choice but to do an emergency C-section. They are moderately preterm and their lungs are not fully developed. They are currently being treated in the NICU for a few other concerning issues. I'm afraid I won't be able to tell you if they'll make a full recovery until they have received proper treatment. You can go see them now if you wish."

"I… I…" Skyler's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"Give us a minute." Sydney sent the doctor away and turned to Skyler. "You need to focus on the positive. Anna will be fine and eighty-five percent is a good chance of survival for the twins."

"I missed the birth of my sons." It was all Skyler could say. "I'm a dad, and I missed the birth of my sons."

"There was nothing you could do. You couldn't have predicted that this would happen, Sky. Placental abruption is a very rare occurrence." Sydney forced Skyler to sit back down. "Take a minute to recover and then we can go see your sons."

"Placental abruption. What is that exactly?"

Sydney sighed. "Twin pregnancies have increased risks for both the mother and the children. Premature births are very common and most twins are underweight at birth. There are several conditions and diseases that are more frequent with twins that don't occur with single births. Placental abruption is one of them. Basically, the placenta partially or completely separates from the uterus before the baby's born. It can deprive the baby of oxygen and nutrients, and cause severe bleeding. The doctor was right when he said that if Anna didn't have an emergency C-section, she and your sons could have died."

Skyler ran his hand through his hair, not caring if it was a mess. "I can't believe I missed the birth of my sons."

"Are you ready to go see them? Sky, you have to understand that they're probably in incubators and have feeding tubes and IV lines connected to them."

"I don't care." Skyler stood up. "I need to see my sons."

"You okay to go alone?" Sydney watched as Joe made his way back over to them. "I'm going to have to explain what's going on to Joe and his mom when she gets here."

Skyler nodded. "I'll be fine." He waved the doctor back and had him lead the way to the NICU.

Anna squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't deal with the world right now. She wanted to remain in this hospital bed by herself forever. Her insides felt like they had been tossed around, and in a sense, they had.

The last hour had been a blur for her. She had called a cab to take her to the hospital and the moment she arrived they had rushed her into surgery. She heard the doctors say that she needed an emergency C-section and after that she had drugged up so much she couldn't remember what had happened no matter how hard she tried. She knew her sons had been taken away, that she was no longer pregnant. She knew what that meant for them.

Anna buried herself in the bed, pushing her thoughts away, desperately wishing that she could escape the world. Maybe she just wasn't meant to be a mother.

"Anna?" A familiar voice filled the room.

Anna lifted her head and stared blankly at her husband. She could see the joy on Skyler's face as he realized she was alive and well. If only he knew.

"Oh, Anna." Skyler practically flew to her side. He grabbed her hands and showered her with kisses. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Anna silently pulled her hands away. "I shouldn't be allowed to be alright."

Skyler frowned and tried to reach for Anna, who only pulled away. "Anna, what are you talking about? It's amazing that you're doing well, and our sons are-"

"I know exactly how they are." Dead. Or almost dead. Either way it didn't matter. Anna had failed as a mother without even having the chance to try.

"No, I went and saw them. They have a few machines hooked up to them, but they look great. The doctor said they have an eighty-five percent chance, but it was looking really good for them and that they should be just fine." Skyler managed to grab Anna's hands again. "They look beautiful, Anna. We're officially parents."

Should be. Those words rang through Anna's mind. Eighty-five percent was a lot higher than she had thought, but there was still that fifteen percent to worry about.

"I took pictures of them." Skyler reached for his phone. "You have to see them."

"No." Anna pushed Skyler's phone away and refused to see the photos.

"Anna…"

"If they survive, the first time I want to see my sons is when they are happy and healthy. I don't want to see them on infant life support."

"But Anna, you can't just not see them. They could be in the NICU for up to three days."

"Then I'll wait three days to see them."

"We almost lost them. I almost lost you. How can you not be dying to see them? To hold them?"

"We still may lose them. Don't get your hopes up." Anna pulled herself away from Skyler again.

Skyler sighed, not wanting to fight, but his face was etched with worry. "Your mom, brother, and Sydney are here. They want to see you too, but the doctor said no more than two visitors at a time."

"Tell them to go. I don't feel like seeing anyone right now."

Skyler stared at her in shock. "They're your family, Anna. They're worried about you. You can't just turn them away like that."

"Well, I am. And I'd appreciate it if you left too."

Skyler felt as if he had just been shot in the heart. "But…"

"Please, Skyler. Not now. Just go." And with that, Anna officially cut herself off from the rest of the world.

A day later and Anna still wasn't allowing any visitors. The doctors had been keeping her family updated about her status as well as the babies'. The twins had been doing remarkably well and they were now expected to make a full recovery. In just two more days, they'd be out of the NICU and in Skyler and Anna's arms. At least, Skyler hoped they would be in Anna's arms.

While the twins were improving, she had gotten worse. Physically, Anna was perfect. She had shown no signs of infection and the scar from her C-section was healing nicely. Her mental state was a different story. The doctors had officially diagnosed her with postpartum depression. They had recommended that she start counseling and had prescribed antidepressants to her to take for the next six months.

The doctors had told Anna about the good news with her sons, but she hadn't been impressed. No matter what she was told, she could not be convinced that her sons were going to be okay. She was still refusing to see her children as well.

Skyler hoped that when she finally held their sons, she'd snap out of it. In the back of his mind, he knew that wasn't likely. He'd seen Sydney in enough dark mental states back at Draylon to know that these things weren't something you could just shake off. Still, holding their children had to help a little bit, right? They were going to need their mother. Skyler couldn't do it all on his own.

Skyler had stayed overnight at the hospital, refusing to leave in case Anna changed her mind about him seeing her. The rest of her family had been coming and going, always making sure Skyler had someone there with him. Currently, it was Anna's mother.

He knew Sydney and Joe wanted to stay the whole time with him, but they had their own twins to take care of. They were much too young to be without their parents, mainly their mother, for more than an hour.

Skyler couldn't help but be jealous and a little bit angry that their twins had been born perfectly healthy. He immediately felt guilty for even thinking about it. He knew Joe and Sydney had had their share of problems over the past year.

Skyler stared at the picture he had taken of his sons. Sydney had been right about them being hooked up to a few machines to keep them alive. They still looked perfect to Skyler. Their chestnut hair sat on top of chocolate skin that was dusted with tiny freckles. The twins hadn't been opening their eyes much, but Skyler caught a glimpse of the same dark brown eyes that he had.

Skyler knew his sons would pull through. They were strong, just like their mother. And that was how Skyler knew that Anna would pull through this as well. She had to. Skyler would make sure of it.

Anna wasn't a crier, but she was finding it difficult to hold back tears as she held her sons for the first time.

They were alive. They were healthy. They were hers.

And yet… A familiar darkness loomed over Anna's mind. Anna knew they wouldn't be here long. She couldn't be this lucky. She didn't deserve to have healthy children. She'd clearly done something wrong with the pregnancy. How could she be expected to take care of them now?

Anna pushed the twins towards Skyler's arms. "Here, you hold them."

Skyler softly laughed and pushed them back to her. "I've been holding them all day. It's your turn to enjoy them. Don't you want to hold our sons?"

"I…" Anna looked down at the large, dark eyes of her children. She couldn't allow herself to get attached. She pushed away the small amount of love that was building up inside of her and handed the twin boys to Skyler. "I think they'd prefer their father."

Skyler gave her a curious look and reluctantly took the kids away from her. "Okay. Though you know nothing is better for a child than its mother's love."

Anna shrugged. "A father's love is important too."

"So you ready to discuss names?" Skyler quickly changed the subject, knowing not to push it with Anna's PPD. "I know we already have names picked out and decided that their middle names would be after our father's names, but who's going to be who?"

Both boys were staring wide eyed around the room. It was their first time out of the NICU and it was obvious they were happy to be unhooked from all those machines. They seemed to have an odd connection and kept blinking simultaneously and moving in the exact same way.

"I think this one is more of a Connor Johnathon." Skyler nodded towards the boy in his right arm. "Something about him makes me think of your father. While this one," he nodded to his other son, "is more of a Carter James."

Anna forced herself to smile. "Sounds good to me."

She couldn't blame Skyler for becoming so attached to the boys, but she wouldn't allow herself to do the same. The twins may not be linked to their infant life support anymore, but anyone could see that they were still weak and were going to need a lot of help to survive. Help Anna couldn't give. She had accepted the fact that they wouldn't last long outside of the hospital.

Anna had already given them over to death.

A/N - Sorry for the somewhat depressing ending to this chapter, but I wanted to use it to set up for a future one where all the drama will conclude. So think of this as basically a part one.

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