One and a half months later
After the dust had finally settled and things had gone back to normal, things were on the up rise. Alvin had returned to work, Caitlin spent most of her time resting and finding it very difficult to get around. The twins were keeping her up most of the night, on most nights, with their incessant dancing and kicking and even though she was exhausted, there was nothing she loved more. What she loved even more was that no matter how big she got, the way Alvin looked at her didn't change.
After having had a nice dinner, at their apartment, with Hank and Meredith and Kim and Adam, they had turned in for the night, but not before Alvin had left her sailing somewhere up in seventh heaven.
It came to her at first as if it was part of her dream, but after a while, she woke and realized it wasn't. She sat up in bed and looked at the time. It was 4 am. She felt her stomach tighten again. It was slightly odd and uncomfortable but it wasn't painful. She rubbed her belly and waited. Seven minutes later on the clock, another one hit her. She kept timing her contractions until it was 5 am. They were irregular, some at 5 minute intervals and others at 7 minutes. She debated whether or not to wake Alvin up but as they were quite irregular, she felt she had time and at the rate things were going, their alarm clock would be the one to pull him from his peaceful sleep.
She difficultly got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. A nice warm shower would do her good, especially if in the hours that followed, she'd be in labor in a hospital room. After a long shower, she felt revived and relaxed. She dried off and put on a shirt and a pair of leggings quietly, careful to not wake Alvin up.
Feeling the coldness of the empty spot next to him in bed, Alvin opened his eyes and looked at the time. It was half past 5. He slightly rolled over to look for Cat. He was surprised when he saw her standing in front of the wardrobe dressed. He sat up and looked at her.
"Everything alright baby"?
"I didn't want to wake you. I'm having contractions".
He pulled the bed covers away from his body and stood.
"How far apart"? he asked as he walked towards her.
"Between 5 and 7 minutes. Don't worry, I think we still have time".
He caressed her belly just as a contraction arrived. She blinked a couple of times then looked down as Alvin followed her stare.
"My water just broke", she said scared and amused at the same time.
He smiled, he had been through this before and he knew that by the end of the day, they would be a family. "And you thought we still had time".
"I guess we don't really after all", she said laughing. The fact that he was calm and relaxed helped her.
"Why don't you change and I'll get dressed quickly and put the bags into the car and we'll head over to Med".
She changed and headed into the living room while Alvin was outside. When he came back he put his arm around her.
"Still OK"?
"Yep. So far so good".
He looked at what she was carrying in her hand. "What are you doing with that"? he asked pointing at the towel.
"Well, you don't want me to wet the car seat do you"?
"Good point".
As they neared the hospital, the contractions got more intense and closer together.
He held her hand. "Nice, slow and deep breaths. We're almost there".
At 8 Hank, arrived upstairs as he hung up the phone with a huge smile on his face. "That was Alvin, Caitlin's in labor. They got to the hospital a little more than an hour ago".
"This is so exciting", said Kim.
"I'm going to head over to the hospital", he said.
"Mind if I join you"? she asked.
"Why don't we all go"? said Jay.
Hank nodded. "I'm sure they'll like that. But it could take a while".
Jay shrugged. "Well, in all honesty, I'd rather be there waiting for good news, than here".
"Alright then. But we need to stay available, so be ready if we're needed".
Dr. Baxter walked in with the nurse that had admitted Caitlin an hour earlier. Caitlin had been walking up and down the hospital room, trying to get her mind off the contractions. Every now and then, they were so strong and intense that she paused and bent over the bed, allowing Alvin to massage her lower back.
"Caitlin, Alvin. How are we doing"?
"Can you ask me that question again when all of this is over"? she said as she grabbed again the corner of the bed.
"Now, might be the time to ask for an epidural", said Baxter.
"Oh yeah", responded Caitlin through gritted teeth.
"Let's check your progress first. Nancy says you were at 3 centimeters when you arrived".
He waited as Alvin helped Caitlin settle down on the bed. He put on a pair of gloves and checked her out. He gave a big smile.
"You're at 6 centimeters. Good work mom. We probably have a couple of hours. Shall I call the anesthesiologist"?
She nodded as another strong contraction settled in.
He smiled as he watched Alvin help Caitlin get through it. "Alright then, I'll get him up here and I'll check back on you in an hour. You're doing great".
Twenty minutes later, the anesthesiologist came in with his intern and Nancy.
"Alvin', said Nancy smiling, "you've got a group of impatient people out in the waiting room. Now might be a good time for you to give them an update. I'll come get you when were done".
He knew it was protocol, that the future fathers were best to wait outside during the epidural. The last thing they needed was one passing out at the sight of the needle. He kissed Cat and left the room.
Everyone stood as he entered the waiting room.
"So"? said Hank, who had been joined by Meredith, most probably as excited and eager as Caitlin and Alvin.
"She's doing great. She's at 6 centimeters and they're doing the epidural as we speak. Doctor says it could be another couple of hours".
"That's great to hear", said Kim.
"Do you need anything"? asked Jay.
He gave Jay a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks, we're good. Caitlin and I appreciate you all being here".
"There's no place we'd rather be", said Hank as he put his arm around Al.
Nancy walked inside the waiting room.
"Al"?
"All done"? he asked with a huge smile on his face. This was definitely one of the happiest days of his life.
"She's all yours", smiled back Nancy.
Al looked at the others. "I better get back. Don't want to miss a minute of this".
Hank nodded. "Don't know if we'll be able to stay but if we can't, keep me posted and tell Caitlin I love her".
"Of course". The two men hugged and then Alvin headed back to Caitlin's room.
He quietly opened the door and let himself in, her eyes were closed and she appeared to be resting.
"I'm in love with the anesthesiologist", she said still with her eyes closed.
He shook his head. "How'd you know it was me"?
She opened her eyes and smiled. "Your aftershave. You know after all this time, I still don't know if you wear it to ward off women or attract them".
He walked over, sat on the bed and took her hand. "To ward them off… I've got you, I don't want anyone else".
"Good, let's keep it that way".
"You should talk, you just told me your in love with the anesthesiologist. Not sure I can compete".
She laughed. "Alright then let's say I'm in love with the epidural. It will wear off eventually but my love for you never will".
He leaned over. "That I can compete and live with". He kissed her. "Hank sends his love and all the others are impatient and happy to hear that things are going well".
Nancy walked in and headed for the monitor to check on the progress of the contractions. She looked over at Caitlin.
"You feeling alright"?
"Yeah, why"?
She walked over to the bed and put her hand on her belly and felt around. "You're having really strong contractions and they're very close together". She continued palping her belly. "And I think that twin B is engaging".
She grabbed a pair of gloves. "I'm going to check you progress". After checking her out, she removed her glove. "You're fully dilated, Caitlin and I can feel the head".
Caitlin's eyes grew big. "What? I was 6 centimeters less than an hour ago. How can that be"?
Nancy smiled and shrugged. "The mystery of labor. The epidural has relaxed you, letting the contractions fully take their effect. I'll get Dr. Baxter and we'll get set up".
She hurriedly walked out of the room and returned minutes later and started preparing trolleys and trays of equipment.
Dr. Baxter entered the room. "Seems to me that these babies are impatient to meet mom and dad"!
"We're impatient to meet them too", said Al holding Cat's hand.
Nancy put up the stirrups and helped Caitlin get into position. She then helped Dr. Baxter put on his gown. He then settled at the end of the bed, that they had changed into a birthing bed, and between Caitlin's legs.
"Now, I know it's not going to be easy. The epidural is still at the peak of it's effect and you won't feel the contractions to push, so Nancy will tell you when to push".
Caitlin looked at Nancy and nodded.
"When the next contraction comes, I want you to exhale, then take a deep breath and you're going to hold it until the count of ten and push down at the same time", said Nancy.
Alvin looked at Caitlin. "You've got this baby. I'm right here with you".
Nancy looked at the monitor as she stayed next to Caitlin. "Ok, a contraction is building up".
Caitlin exhaled then took a breath in and pushed down as Nancy counted. Alvin held on to her hand as he supported her back with the other one.
"That was a great push Caitlin. Just keep doing what you're doing. Another big push and the head will be fully engaged and blocked".
She nodded. She went in for another push then laid back down. Beads of sweat were starting to form on her forehead. Alvin took a small washcloth and wiped her forehead.
As she pushed again, Dr. Baxter looked at her. "Caitlin, the head is out, I need you to stop pushing". Caitlin did as she was told and found it actually hard to do, due to the pressure that was down there.
Nancy prepared a cloth and draped it over Caitlin's chest.
"Alright, one last small push".
Seconds later, Dr. Baxter lifted the baby and placed it on Caitlin's chest. "Congratulations! It's a boy"! The little baby boy started to cry as Alvin kissed Caitlin. They looked at him together, with tears of joy in their eyes, as Nancy rubbed him slightly with another cloth.
"He's beautiful", said Alvin kissing him then Caitlin again.
"He's got your eyes", Cat said.
"And your lips", said Alvin.
Nancy took him. "Let's check this little guy out. Do we have a name picked out yet"?
"Gabriel", said Alvin.
"Welcome to the world Gabriel", said Nancy as she headed towards the baby station with him, Alvin following.
Dr. Baxter stood. "You're back to 7 centimeters. That's normal, with twins. We'll just wait for a while".
"We've got 6lbs, 9oz and 16 inches", said Nancy. "He's perfect. Alvin would you like to do some skin to skin before we get him dressed"?
"I'd love that", he said. He headed towards the rocking chair next to Caitlin's bed, removed his shirt and sat down. Nancy placed Gabriel on Alvin's chest then a warm blanket over them. The little boy that had been crying, immediately stopped and closed his eyes as he held on tightly to Alvin's little finger.
Caitlin smiled at the scene. It was so beautiful and pure. Alvin looked at her and smiled back. "Nancy, is there anyway, I can ask you to take a picture of the two of them"?
"Of course".
In the waiting room, Hank's phone beeped. Everyone turned their attention towards him. "It's a boy! 6lbs 9 oz and 16 inches".
Everyone cheered, smiled and hugged each other. Hank returned to the text message. "Caitlin is doing fine. They're waiting for baby number 2".
"Do we know his name yet"? asked Kim.
"Gabriel", responded Hank.
"That's a beautiful name".
"And I have a picture", said Hank as he passed the phone around.
"What an angel", said Meredith.
"A perfect mix of Alvin and Caitlin", said Jay as he handed Hank his phone back.
"One down, one to go", said Hank as they sat back down.