Chapter Twenty Nine: New Life
After bragging about her beautiful new daughters that she was eager to adopt, for a few more hours, Jean finally decided to call it a night and head home with her husband. She kissed and hugged her son, son in law and grandchildren, before she grabbed her purse and made her way off towards the door, with her husband in tow.
In the car drive home, she felt a twinge in her stomach, but she decided not to worry her husband with it, as she was probably just hungry, since all the food she brought with her, was for her son.
Later that night, she received another jolt to her stomach. This time, she decided to wake her husband up, so he could time her contractions. Daniel held her hand through the night, supporting her through each one. He called their Doctor the next morning, informing him that her contractions were still ten minutes apart, but her water hadn't broken yet.
Doctor Lambert told them to stay put for now, not wanting them to wait in hospital for hours on end, as her contractions were still very far apart.
"Another one, another one!" Jean called out to her husband.
Daniel rushed back to the bedroom, checking the time on his watch. "That's... eight minutes. I packed slippers, socks, night gown, your hair stuff and toiletries." He double checked her hospital bag. "What else will you need?"
"Um... did you get me a change of clothes?" She asked, while texting on her cell phone to her mother. "Don't forget the maternity pads and things." She pointed to the bag by her dresser.
Daniel nodded to her, then made his way over to her closet, selecting her something to wear in the hospital. He grabbed the bag by her dresser, emptying the contents into her hospital bag, before he looked towards her again. "Now, what do we need for the baby?"
Jean chuckled softly, shaking her head at him. "Anyone would think you've never had a baby before, Daniel."
"The last one was nearly thirty years ago." He reminded her. "And we were only eighteen; your mother packed your bag for you."
"That's right, and she just texted back." Jean held up her phone. "We need the car seat, a stretchy all in one outfit, because we don't know how big he or she will be. Diapers, booties, baby blanket, those little glove things, a hat..."
"For one baby?"
"A baby needs a lot of things, sweetie." She laughed, immediately stopping as another contraction ripped through her body. Daniel quickly climbed onto the bed with her, holding her hand, while he helped her with her breathing after all the classes they took together. "How far... apart are they now?" She panted for breath.
"Um... seven minutes."
"Are you timing them wrong, or are they really getting closer together?"
"I'm timing them right." Daniel protested, handing the watch over to her, so she could do it herself. "I'll go grab some of the baby stuff from down the hall. Will we need those little vest things?"
"The bodysuits? You could grab one for while they're in the hospital." She nodded, waving him off then reached for his watch to look at the time for herself. "Are they supposed to only last a minute each time? I'm sure they were longer than that with Greg."
"They get more intense as you get closer." Daniel reminded her, putting the baby's things into the hospital bag too. "I gotta go and get the car seat; it's still in the box..."
"Daniel." She rolled her eyes at him. "I told you to check the restraint things on it last weekend."
"It's brand new, how bad could they be?" He pecked a kiss to her cheek, then hurried down the stairs to unwrap the car seat. He checked the straps and things first, then set it down by the door, ready and waiting for when they finally left for the hospital.
He hurried up the stairs again to check on his wife, watching her breathing through another contraction. "Do you think I should call, Doctor Lambert again?" He suggested, taking a seat beside her to support her. Jean nodded her head, gripping the covers beside her tightly. "How far?"
"Still seven minutes. Don't forget the camera." She reminded him, giving him a smile as he reached for the phone. "Did you already pack my change of clothes, toothbrush...?"
"Yep, I got all that." He assured her, dialling the Doctor's number. "Do you think we should call, Greg?"
"Already texted him." Jean grinned at him. "He said his little brother or sister must want to get out, before their nephews do. He's at the hospital alone for the moment, but I texted Nick too, he's dropping Libby off at school, before he takes Danielle up the hospital to see Greg."
"He doesn't have work?"
"Nope. He's got the week off." Jean reached for Daniel's watch again, waiting for her next contraction, as it had been six minutes since her last. "I wish this little one would have waited a little longer, I wanted to help Greg out with the twins, for his first few weeks with them. He's gonna be in hospital for a while after the c-section, then he's gonna be on his own with three babies, while Nick returns to work."
"He'll be fine, and Nick's not gonna just leave him to it." Daniel assured her, before he spoke into the phone. "Yes, this is Daniel Sanders, calling for Doctor Lambert." He stepped out into the hall to inform the Doctor of what was going on, before he returned to the room to double check Jean's bag. "Okay, he's gonna meet us at the hospital."
"We have to go now?" She complained, struggling to slide herself towards the edge of the bed. "But my mother's still in LA. She's not even close to getting here."
"You can do this without your mother, honey." He assured his wife, helping her up from the bed. "And she's gonna meet us at the hospital anyway, you know she wouldn't miss this."
"What about Alexa and Mackayla? We can't cancel on them, and we can't juggle a one week old and the adoption process."
"Yes we can, and we'll worry about that when we get to it." He pulled her arm around his shoulders, helping her to stand, then grabbed for her bag, so they could leave. "Alexa and Mackayla knew we were having a baby, and they know that we still want them. They'll understand, and we won't let them down." Daniel assured her, helping her into the car. "Just worry about this baby for now, not your mother, Greg or the girls, just the baby."
"I love it when you say the girls, it's like they're already ours." Jean grinned at him, leaning back in her seat, so Daniel could strap her in. "Daniel, don't forget the car seat." She pointed towards the seat, still sat in the doorway.
Her husband closed the car door on her, then hurried back to the house, grabbing the car seat to strap into the back. An excited smile spread across his lips, as he climbed into the car with his wife, as he had been waiting for this day for a long time.
After dropping Libby off at school, Nick drove in the direction of the hospital, with his babbling toddler in the back. He was excited to see Greg again, but he was nervous about going back to the hospital, as his twins would be here in just two days time.
With his toddler in his arms, Nick approached Greg's room, feeling his heart pounding heavily inside of his chest, as there was a nurse in his room, giving his lover an injection. "What's goin' on?" He immediately asked, adjusting his babbling child against his side.
"It's nothing to worry about." The nurse assured him. "Just a shot of steroids to strengthen the baby's lungs. There we go, the doctor will be down soon and we'll get you a spinal tap ready too." She smiled at her patient, then made her way out of the room.
"Spinal tap?" Nick looked at Greg wide eyed, making his way over to the side of his bed. "What's goin' on?"
"I was gonna call you once I talked to Doctor Simpson." Greg spoke softly, turning on his side to look at Nick, with an almost heartbreaking expression on his face. "Baby B's heart rate started to drop again. Doctor Simpson is on his way to check me over and the baby's condition . . . they might move up my c-section." He explained, giving his husband a nervous smile, as the man took a step closer to hold his hand. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were staying home with Danielle, since Libby's sleeping round Casey's tonight?"
"I wanted to see you . . . did your mother call you?"
Greg nodded his head. "She and Dad are on their way in now. Looks like they're trying to beat their nephews out." He smirked, rubbing his hand across his uncomfortable stomach. "Can I hold my baby?" He reached his arms out for Danielle.
Nick carefully lifted her onto the bed, watching Greg wrapping his arms around her. "So, why didn't you call me earlier?" He asked him.
"Because... I don't wonna lose your baby, Nick. All I can do is stare at that stupid machine and watch my baby slipping away from me. I feel so helpless." The younger man spoke softly, laying Danielle down beside him on the bed to hold. He unzipped her jacket for her, listening to her babbling as she handed the doll from her hands over to him. "The Dolly isn't wearing a jacket, sweetheart. In fact, she's not wearing much of anything." He remarked, as the baby doll was in a pair of frilly knickers and odd socks.
"She took the other stuff off in the car." Nick took a seat on the edge of Greg's bed, watching the younger man tickling his little girl to make her giggle, rather than telling him what was really going on. "So, they're gonna move up the c-section?"
"Uh huh, Doc Simpson is on his way down now."
"Greg, you're not gonna lose him." Nick gently lifted his lover's hand, weaving their fingers together. "I know you; you're too strong to let him slip away from you."
Greg wanted to believe him, but he was still terrified that he wasn't strong enough to hold onto the two little lives inside of him, depending on him to survive.
"Hello, Jean." Doctor Lambert greeted his patient, as he entered the room. "Hello, Daniel." He smiled at her husband, who as usual, looked more nervous than the one having the baby. "The nurse tells me that you're only four centimetres dilated at the moment, so we'll keep you and baby monitored for now. Have your waters broken yet?"
Jean shook her head. "No, baby's still moving and I'm not spotting..."
"There is nothing to worry about, Jean." He assured her. "I know you're worried, since your last pregnancies didn't exactly go to term, but this baby is perfectly healthy. At the rate your contractions are going, we should be meeting him or her in just a few hours, and you'll see for yourself. At least you didn't go for the dramatic approach for this birth." He grinned at her. "And from the looks of it, I won't have to cancel my dinner plans either. This one's going just as quickly as Greg."
"Greg's here actually." Jean informed her doctor. "He has to wait here in the hospital, so they can monitor his twins, before his scheduled c-section on the third."
"Oh, I hate putting patients through all that waiting. That lack of noise down the hall must be his well behaved little one." He smirked, as the halls were completely silent and the proud grandmother was always bragging about her perfectly behaved granddaughter. "I'll have to stop by and see him. I haven't seen him since he was coming out of you, after all."
"He's much more mature now, I'm sure he won't pee on you again." Jean chuckled softly, remembering the unfortunate incident of her doctor getting urinated on by her newborn son.
"How are we doing?" Doctor Simpson asked, entering Greg's room.
"Pretty good." Greg answered.
He smiled as he saw Nick fast asleep on the chair beside Greg's bed, with Danielle sat on his lap, fiddling with his keys. He gave his patient a smile as he looked round at him, then reached for Greg's chart from the end of the bed, so he could check on him again.
"Are they doing okay?" The nervous young man asked, watching his Doctor checking over his charts again.
"The steroids seemed to help." He nodded, checking the time on his watch. "We might move up your c-section to tomorrow morning though. Your blood pressure is a little high, Greg, but everything else is okay. How's that epidural working for your contractions?"
"Better, I can't even feel them."
"According to this, they're still a little irregular too. Looks like one baby wants to come out, but the other doesn't." His Doctor smiled at him. "Remember, there won't be anyone to watch Danielle, while you and Nick are in surgery, so you'll..."
"I already called someone." He assured him. "I want Nick to stay with me tonight, so they're gonna be here in a few to take her home."
"Okay, I'll check on you again in a few hours, then I'll be back in the morning." He signed Greg's chart, then set it down on the end of the bed. He gave Danielle a wave as she looked up at him, then made his way out of the room.
Greg watched his lover sleeping for a few more hours, until the babysitter finally showed up. "How long do you need me to take her for?" The babysitter immediately asked, feeling a little overwhelmed already.
"Warrick, you're her god father. You realise that if something ever happened to me and Nick, you'd be looking after her fulltime." Greg reminded him, before he pointed him over to the bag behind his sleeping husband. "Take that with you. Her pyjamas and things are in it. Sara gets off work in five hours, if you can't handle her. And her car seat is in the back of Nick's truck."
"I'll get that first." Warrick carefully pried the car keys from his sleeping buddy's hands, then lifted Danielle's bag from the floor. "She's not still in diapers, is she?"
"Not exactly... she wears them at night, and she's wearing one now, because she's away from the house." Greg pointed out to him. "They're in the bag too. Ask her if she needs to go potty before bed, then she probably won't have any accidents during the night."
"Okay." Warrick nodded, then turned for the door. "I'll be back in a minute."
Greg waved him off, wondering if he was up to the task of caring for a child. He had called Sara first, but she was still working, and it would be well past Danielle's bed time when she finally got off.
As the hours passed by, Jean's contractions became more and more intense. Her doctor was hopeful that no intervention would be needed for the birth of her child, but she was frustrated with it taking it so long. She hadn't dilated any further since she arrived, and the contractions had stuck to their regular seven minutes. She tried gas and air, but it didn't seem to help with the constant pain in her sides.
"You're seven centimetres dilated now, Jean." Doctor Lambert informed her. "You and the baby are both doing fine. I know it's not in your birth plan, but I'd like to offer you an epidural for your pain."
Jean immediately shook her head. "No, I hate needles, especially ones that go where I can't see them. I can soldier through."
"Alright." He nodded to her, setting her chart down. "You know where the call button is if you change your mind, and I'll be back to check on you shortly."
Jean waved him off, then turned to look at her husband sat on the chair beside her. "Are you okay, honey?" She indicated towards his shaking leg.
"Yeah, I'm... fine." He nodded his head. "I stopped by to see Greg earlier, his c-section has been moved up to tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning?" She looked at him surprised. "At this rate, our babies are going to be born at the same time."
When he had agreed to babysit Danielle for the night, Warrick had no idea that it would be this hard for him. He was under the assumption that childcare was easy. He had fed the toddler one of the jars of pureed vegetables as Greg had said. At least, he thought that some of it went in her mouth. A lot of it ended up on her face, down her clothes or on his own shirt. He just about managed to bath her in the tub, that he never used after that, but the bed time part was a lot harder than he ever expected.
After half dressing Danielle into her pyjamas, the toddler somehow managed to wriggle away from him, deciding to scream at him in a high pitched voice, while hiding from him beneath his furniture. He decided to call in the reinforcements as the night dragged on, and the toddler was only getting more and more hyper by the minute, making Warrick more and more stressed out.
"Danielle, don't touch that."
"Danielle, that's not a toy."
"Danielle, not in there."
"That's not a toy either."
"Don't throw them."
"That's not for you."
"Danielle!"
But no matter what he said, the hyperactive child just wouldn't listen to him.
"Sara, thank god." He smiled in relief, opening his apartment door to her. "This wasn't the naked girl I had in mind for my evening."
Sara chuckled softly, rolling her eyes at him. "Where is she?"
"Follow the chaos." He pointed through his apartment.
Sara removed her jacket, tossing it over the marble counter in his kitchen, before making her way through the apartment, hearing the garbled babbling of a toddler. She stepped over the glass marbles, pillows and stationery from Warrick's desk, before she knelt down beside the three year old, who was lying on her back beneath the coffee table, singing to herself as she fiddled with the remote for Warrick's CD player, that he had finally decided to unplug, before the neighbours complained about the loud music.
"Hi, Danielle." Sara smiled at the toddler. "Whatcha doing, kiddo?"
In her own baby babble, Danielle explained to her Aunt Sara what she was doing, while she held out the sticky remote from her hands to her.
"Well, did you know that its bed time?" Sara lifted her out from under the table into her arms, then climbed to her feet, handing the sticky CD player remote over to Warrick. "Where's her pyjama bottoms then?"
"On the bathroom floor." Warrick wiped down his remote, then hurried through to the bathroom to get it for her. He watched Sara dressing her into her diaper and pyjamas, before putting her to bed in the travel cot. "Thanks Sara, you're a life saver."
"I wouldn't have to be if you weren't afraid of children, Warrick." Sara smirked, helping him clear up the mess in his front room. "You're gonna have to do this full time for your own daughter soon. And your daughter will still be in diapers, that you'll have to change." She pointed out to him.
"I know, I know. But it doesn't matter how much I prepare myself for it, I'm not father material." He slumped back onto his sofa, looking down the hall to see Danielle finally passed out in her crib. "Did you wonna take her? I'm sure she'd be better off with you."
"Nope, I think you'll be fine." Sara smiled at him, handing him Danielle's blanket from the floor. "Just don't be afraid of her. She's just a baby, and she's depending on you to survive."
"Are we talking about Danielle... or Tori?" He looked at her confused. Sara just smiled in response, grabbing her coat so she could leave. "Thanks Sara, I owe you one."
"Yeah you do." She smiled round at him, quietly leaving his apartment, so she wouldn't wake Danielle, giving Warrick a whole new set of problems.
After seventeen long hours of painful contractions, things finally starting moving along for Jean Sanders, as her waters suddenly broke and she was dilated to ten centimetres. The Doctor and nurses gloved up, getting ready for the delivery of her child, telling her how to breath, when to push and relax in between contractions.
"You're doing great, honey." Daniel set the camera down on the table beside her bed, then slipped his hand into Jean's, holding it tightly as she got ready to push again. He felt as though he was going to pass out when the nurse asked him if he wanted to look, and he saw a full head of hair sprouting from between his wife's legs.
Within a few more pushes, the baby's head was out and Jean was screaming, "Oh my god, get the pain killers now!"
"You're well past the point of an epidural, Jean." Doctor Lambert pointed out to her. "Just try to relax. It's almost out."
"It's not quick enough." She complained, gripping her husband's shirt collar tightly, as the nurses told her to push again. "God I hate you, Daniel. You did this to me, again!" She screamed at him.
Daniel tried to ignore what she was saying, taking another look at the baby, wishing he hadn't, as the room suddenly started to spin, after seeing all the blood and the tiny face of his new baby being pushed from his wife's body.
"Take a breath, honey." A nurse coached her. "Push down, push... push... that's good, honey."
Another push and the baby's arms were out. "Oh god... oh god... help me... oh god... Please, just give me the pain killers! Oh god... oh my god, help me." Jean continued to scream, pulling Daniel closer to her, as if he were her life line. "Get it out! Please, get it out!"
"Keep pushing, Jean." One of the nurses coached her on.
"Ow... please, get it out!"
"Push down, push down." The nurse continued. "Push down, keep going... push honey, push, push, push."
"Your baby is almost out, Jean." Her Doctor lifted the cord from around the baby's head, giving his patient the go ahead to push again.
Jean screamed at first, feeling a white hot pain tearing its way through her body. She gripped the bedding with one hand and her husband with the other, struggling to push her baby out, really regretting her choice to avoid any pain medication.
"Give me another big push, Jean." Doctor Lambert reached for some tools from the nurse beside him, giving his patient a smile as she gave out another push, freeing the baby from her body.
"Here they come!" The young nurse announced, taking a picture for Jean, as her husband was trying to stay focused on not passing out.
"That's it, Jean. Here they are. You have a beautiful baby . . . girl!" He lifted the baby onto her belly, clamping the cord once it was out. "Daniel, would you like to do the honours?" He handed a pair of scissors over to him, giving the nervous father a smile, as he slowly extended his shaky hand to cut the cord.
It took him a couple of tries, but he eventually cut through the cord, then took his first look at the crying baby lying on his wife's stomach. The nurses gently wiped her down with towels, clearing the fluid from her nose and mouth, only making her cry louder, but it was the most beautiful sound Daniel had ever heard.
Their baby girl finally stopped crying as Jean gently rocked her, studying her features, her tiny little pink fingers and the full head of dark brown hair.
"Happy Birthday, little girl." The nurse announced, wiping the little girl clean, while the other nurse took a few photos of her, congratulating the new parents. They eventually lifted her free from Jean's tummy, carrying her over to the warming table, where she immediately started crying again.
"Aww, she wants her Mama. We'll take you back in a second, baby girl." The nurse whispered softly to her, cleaning her off, before she measured and weighed her. "Six pounds... ten ounces." She announced. "And that's... hold still little girl, eighteen inches long."
Doctor Lambert smiled at Jean and Daniel, before he started checking the baby's heart and lungs, assuring the new parents that their newborn was perfectly healthy.
"Now let's go back to Mama." She bundled the little girl into her blanket, then carried her back over to her parents, carefully setting her down in her mother's arms.
"Congratulations you two." Doctor Lambert smiled at them both.
"My mother missed it." Jean immediately complained, making her husband beside her smile. "I can't believe her; she said she'd be here."
Once she arrived at the hospital the next morning, Greg's Nana Olaf stopped by to see him first, giving him plenty of hugs and kisses to wish him luck, before she went in search of her own daughter, hoping she wasn't too angry with her being late.
"Where's my grandchild then?" She asked, bursting into her daughter's room.
"Oh, so you actually care now?" Jean remarked, before pointing her mother over to her husband in the other chair, holding their brand new baby girl in his arms. "She was born at eleven forty five pm, last night. Weighing six pounds and ten ounces, eighteen inches long." Her daughter proudly reported.
"And... what's her name?" Her mother reached her hands out for her grandchild, carefully lifting her from Daniel's arms.
"Well, I think we've decided on the name..." Jean pursed her lips together, keeping her mother in suspense for a moment. "Georgia." She smiled towards her husband, as he gave her a nod, loving the new name for his little girl. "Georgia Sanders."
"Aww, she's beautiful." Nana Olaf took a seat on the chair beside Daniel, carefully unwrapping her granddaughter's arms to take a closer look at her. "Welcome to the family, Georgia Sanders. You're a very lucky little girl." She smiled down at the yawning little girl, then looked up at her daughter. "Congratulations, sweetheart. Has Gregory met her yet?"
"No, he was sleeping earlier." She shook her head.
"Mind if I take her through?" Nana Olaf immediately climbed to her feet, wanting to be the first to introduce Greg to his new baby sister.
Jean nodded in agreement to let her go, while Daniel decided to follow her, not wanting to let his new little girl out of his sight.
"Gregory, there's somebody very special here to meet you!" She announced, entering his room.
Greg looked up at her curiously, struggling to sit up straight to see what was in her arms. "Who's...?"
"Meet your new baby sister, sweetheart." She stopped beside his bed, gently pulling away the blanket from the baby girl, so Greg could take a closer look at her.
"Sister?" He asked, looking up at his Nana and father.
"Yeah, your baby sister . . . Georgia Sanders." Daniel lifted his daughter from Nana Olaf's arms, letting Greg hold her. "Georgia, this is your big brother, Greg I was telling you about." He spoke softly to her, watching her giving her brother a curious look. "You know, when you were little Greg, you always used to beg us for a little brother or sister to play with." His father reminded him. "Sorry she's a little late."
"I think you're forgiven." Greg smiled at him, gently holding his little sister's hand in his own. "Hi there, Georgia." He spoke softly to her, giving her a smile as she continued to give him a curious look. He looked up at his father as he immediately pulled his camera out to take the first picture of his children together. "I knew you were gonna do that."
"I have to get the first picture of the two of you together." He smiled at his son, before he pressed a kiss to the top of his son's head. "Good luck with your surgery today, kiddo. I'll come see you after, okay? I wanted to go in with you, but your Doctor will only allow one person, and I figured you'd want Nick."
"Uh huh. Believe me, I would want you there, but I want Nick to be the first to see them." Greg explained to him, handing his little sister back to his father, just as his husband walked into the room.
"Alright, I better get her back to your mother. I love you." His father whispered to him, before making his way over to the door with his daughter in his arms.
"I love you too." His Nana Olaf grinned at him, pressing a kiss to his forehead too. "You wonna meet Greg's baby sister, Georgia?" She looked towards Nick, showing him the baby beneath the blankets in Daniel's arms. "Georgia, this is your brother in law, Nick. I guess you'll be meeting your nephews later, since you beat them into this world." She smirked.
"She's beautiful. Congratulations, Daniel." Nick smiled at him, admiring the little girl in his arms that looked a lot like Greg.
Nana Olaf and Daniel wished them both luck, before they made their way back to Jean, so she wouldn't get lonely without them.
"So, you're not an only child anymore. Do you think you'll ever recover from your parent's lack of attention?" Greg's lover smirked, greeting him with a kiss.
"I think I'll survive." Greg smiled at him, relieved to see him again, as it felt like hours since the last time he saw him.
"I just bumped into the Doc in the hall; he's on his way here now." He spoke softly to him.
"Already?" Greg gave him a nervous look.
"Hey c'mon, everythin's gonna be okay, baby." He whispered, gently brushing his fingers through the younger man's hair. "What are you so worried about? You're finally gonna meet these two little monsters that have been causing you so much trouble these past few months." He smiled at him.
"Talk about something else to keep my mind of it then."
"Um... okay." Nick took a seat on the edge of his bed, holding his hands tightly in his own, as he tried to think of something to say. "Well, you've got a beautiful little sister now..."
"What was her name again?"
"Georgia." The older man chuckled softly. "You can teach her the tricks for survivin' your mother. I always wanted a little brother or sister when I was younger. I never liked bein' the baby of the family. They all had different memories of their childhood, but I was the last one, so they just gave up and expected me to find my own way."
"Don't get me depressed." Greg scowled at him.
"Sorry, I couldn't think of anythin'." Nick gave him an innocent smile, mindlessly brushing his fingertips through Greg's soft hair. "I'm just sayin', you have a baby sister to look after and teach now, and she'll always look up to you. I looked up to all of my older sisters and brother. I used to want to be just like them."
Greg rolled his eyes at his husband, cupping the man's face in his hands. "Nicky, I love you, but you're such a..."
"Don't curse in front of the babies." Nick warned him, gently rubbing his hand across the younger man's stomach. "I'm sorry; you know I always say the wrong things when I'm nervous or scared. Look what almost happened when I found out that you were pregnant with Danielle."
"Where is Danielle?"
"She's out in the waitin' room with uncle Warrick. He said that she wrecked his apartment in under an hour, and he was wearin' most of her dinner."
Greg giggled softly. "So, I guess he wasn't up to the challenge of being a father for the night after all."
"At least our child came back in one piece. You've gotta give him some credit for that." He smirked. "Oh, and Danielle told me to give you one of these." He remembered, pressing a kiss to Greg's cheek. "Sara's on her way over, she's gonna sit with Danielle, when Warrick goes in for his shift, but he promised he'd be back later to meet the twins. I called my Mama and she wants lots of pictures."
"She's not coming over?" Greg looked at him surprised, as Nick shook his head. "I guess the wedding was too much for her."
"On a better note, you have a beautiful little sister." He tried to change the subject again, realising he just moved Greg from an anxious mood to a bad one.
"You wonna ditch the older sibling and marry the younger one?" Greg teased him.
"I think that's illegal G, especially since she's barely a day old. I'll have to wait a few more years before I can date her."
"Then you'll just be the creepy old fart stalking my little sister." He chuckled, playfully tickling his husband. "I'll need your help with the sibling part. I've never had one before, you've got five."
"Six, G." He smirked. "I have five sisters and one brother. You're married to me and you can't even remember how many siblings I have."
"Leave me alone, I'm tired." Greg poked him, then closed his eyes as Nick pressed a kiss to his forehead. "What was that for?"
"Because I love you, and you're so beautiful, so I have to kiss you."
"Sometimes... I can't believe that you actually love me." Greg spoke softly, looking up into his husband's eyes. "Considering where we started with all of this, it's not that hard to believe. You were a married man with a life of your own, while I was... some guy you were sleeping with from the lab."
"You weren't just... some guy, Greg. You were my best friend, still are." He pointed out to him, before he touched a kiss to the younger man's forehead. "I like it better this way though, don't you?"
"Definitely." Greg closed his eyes as Nick kissed him, sweeping his fingers through the older man's soft hair to pull him closer. He snaked his arm around Nick's neck once he pulled back for breath, clutching his husband tightly against him. "I love you, Nicky."
"About half as much as I love you." The Texan whispered back to him. He pulled back to look his lover in the eye a moment, then raised his gaze to the door, spotting Doctor Simpson, all gloved up in his hospital scrubs. "Looks like its time, baby."
Greg followed his partner's gaze, gulping hard as he saw the Doctor ready and waiting for him. "That time already, Doc?"
"Yep." He nodded, looking between the two of them. "Are you ready?" Greg looked up into his husband's eyes, weaving their fingers together, before he nodded towards the Doctor. "Alright then, let's get you ready for surgery, Greg."
"Nick, if you'll come with me. We'll get you some overalls so you can come in with him." The nurse behind Doctor Simpson instructed. Nick took a step back from Greg, watching him being wheeled away, before he followed the nurse.
Greg was quickly transferred to another bed in the theatre, before he was prepped for surgery. He felt anxious to get these babies out of him, but he didn't want them to start without Nick there. He looked up just as Nick entered the room, giving him a smile of relief.
"Can you feel this?" Doctor Simpson suddenly asked his patient. Greg shook his head, reaching both hands out for Nick, so they could begin. "Okay Greg, just lie back and relax. You may feel some pressure in your abdomen when we pull the babies out, but it's perfectly normal."
"Okay." Greg spoke softly, clutching Nick's hands tighter.
Nick relived the fearful moment of his first child's birth, as he watched Doctor Simpson making a small cut into his lover's body. He almost couldn't bear to look, but he had to know what was going on, and he didn't want to miss the birth of his twins for anything.
After the longest few minutes of Nick's life, the Doctor had finally cut through the skin and muscles, reaching one hand inside of Greg's uterus, for the first baby. A moment later, a single small leg poked out of Greg's body. Greg clutched Nick's hands tighter, feeling the pressure in his abdomen that the doctor had warned him about.
Nick gently brushed away the tear from Greg's cheek, giving his hands a gentle squeeze, before he lifted his gaze to see what was going on. He watched in fascinated as the Doctor gently removed the other leg, followed by a small stomach, chest, arms and a head, covered with short strands of brown hair.
"Here we go." Doctor Simpson lifted the baby free from Greg's body, setting him down on Greg's belly, where they clamped the umbilical cord in two places. "There's baby A." He announced, stepping aside, so the nurse could wipe the baby down.
"Whatcha foot there kiddo." The nurse smirked, as the baby moved his leg in the direction of her clamp. "Here we go Daddy, would you like to do the honours." She handed the scissors over to Nick, giving him a smile as he nervously cut through the cord.
Unlike when Danielle was born, this baby started crying, waving around his tiny arms and legs as soon as he was out. He didn't look too happy to be out, but Nick was glad that he was, feeling tears coming from his own eyes at the beautiful little baby.
The nurse carried the little boy over to the warming table to begin cleaning him, while Doctor Simpson worked on getting the other little boy out. The new fathers listened to their newborn cry, exchanging smiles, as tears of happiness spilled down their cheeks.
Greg's waters broke with the second baby, and he seemed to slide out a lot smoother than the first one, as he was a lot smaller. Nick watched in suspense as the six pairs of blood covered hands did their jobs, covering up the small baby that he wanted to see. As soon as the second baby started to cry, he could instantly tell how different they were. The first baby was much louder, screaming his little head off for attention across the room, while the second was much quieter, squirming a lot less as they clamped the umbilical cord attached to him.
"Here we go, Nick." The nurse handed him the scissors to cut the cord again, watching him cautiously cutting through the cord for their second baby. "That's it, right above the yellow clip." She nodded to him, smiling as the baby stopped crying a moment to look up at his father, before he started again.
Once Nick cut the cord, the nurse carried him over to the other warming table, gently wiping him down with the towel, while the other nurse checked his heartbeat and things.
"Congratulations Nick and Greg, you've got two beautiful little boys." Doctor Simpson proudly announced, before he started to fix Greg up.
Nick felt overwhelmed with emotions as three nurses surrounded the tables with his little boys on them, both still crying their heads off, wondering where the warm body they were living inside had gone.
Greg seemed to be a little disorientated from the way he was looking around the room, but he was still holding Nick's hand tightly, while the doctor stitched him up. He found the cries of his babies very soothing, especially after months of worrying something bad was going to happen to them.
Thank you for all of your reviews on the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one too. The twins and Greg's baby sister are finally born :D More on the way soon!
~ Holly
