Writer200: this one should be right up your alley ;)
December 31
Saint Brigid's Hospital , 5:45 PM
Kate's Point of View
Today is mine and Castle's wedding anniversary, which means that we've been married for two amazing years that I've enjoyed immensely and would never change for anything, ever.
What really bums us out is that I'm still stuck in the hospital for a few more days and extremely on edge because the twins' arrival is set for any time between now and January ninth, and if they're still not here after the ninth, Juliana will induce me and deliver the babies on the tenth in a c-section. All of that means that my husband and I can't have any 'special events' like we had for our first anniversary. (We both tried to ask Juliana if I could go home for a few hours, but she still said no) Castle has only just left with the kids because they were getting hungry and were about to freak out if they had to stay in the hospital a second longer than they had to, so I was left alone.
(But every time that I get sad about all of the time I've spent away from my family during the second half of my pregnancy, I remind myself that it's going to be totally worth it because I'll be in better health and there will be two new babies in the family—Duckling and Joey. Staying in bed, even if it's driving me completely insane, will have been completely worth every bored afternoon I've had and every frustrated tear I've ever shed in this room)
"Kate, I have some good news and some bad news."
I bookmarked the page I was reading in my comic book and set it on the bedside table as I looked up to see Juliana standing in my doorway.
"Hello to you, too, Juliana." I teased. "Good news first."
"The good news is that I just found Jordan, Justice and Jubilation down by the hospital entrance because they were coming to visit you."
"If three new visitors are the good news, then what's the bad news?"
Juliana gave a sad sigh, stepping to the side to let the Shaw women enter so they could remove their snow gear and hang it up. "The bad news is that the whole city is under a storm watch for a blizzard so that means that it's probably going to be awhile before you see your family again."
"Oh, okay…"
I was distracted from feeling too sad by the sound of a giggle and saw Justice climbing onto my spacious bed with a helpful boost from Jubilation.
"Don't be sad, Auntie." She gave me a cheerful smile. "Me, Jubes and mommy are also your family, so you and the babies aren't actually alone right now."
I pulled my niece closer to me in a squeezing hug. "You're right about that, angel, and I'm very glad that you and your mommy and Jubes are all here to keep me and the babies company. It's going to be a long night, but I think we're all going to be able to have some fun."
The little girl nodded seriously. "Are Duckling and Joey—oof! Hey! Duckling just kicked me in the gut!"
I didn't have the heart to correct her that it was actually Joey who had nailed her and didn't even get the chance because Jubilation decided that she also wanted to feel the babies kick, so she asked Jordan to help her up. While that was happening, I once again returned my attention to Juliana who had been watching the scene with a fond smile.
"Jules, I'm sad that I won't be able to see Rick and the kids for awhile, but they know that I'm in good hands, here, and it's not all bad because I have three more family members with me right now."
The older woman smiled more at this and turned to leave. "All right, Kate, and don't forget that thanks to the impending blizzard, I'll also be here all night, which means I'll be very easy to reach in case you need me for something. I'll be by in an hour or so to check up on you."
When she left, Jordan sat in the chair closest to my bed. "Happy anniversary, Kate. How are you feeling, being in the last week of your pregnancy?"
"Anxious, to tell you the truth."
"Are the babies giving you extra grief tonight?"
"Yes, they are." I stretched out a little in my bed, making both of my nieces giggle hysterically as their baby cousins reacted by moving right up against my skin so their arms and legs were clearly visible. "Did Justice and Jubilation give you this kind of grief when you were in labor with them?"
Jordan shuddered visibly. "They kind of did, and it all didn't help that I was feeling as anxious as you are now."
"Mommy, we made you anxious when we were in your tummy still?" Justice inquired with wide eyes as her twin adopted an identical expression. "We're so sorry for that!"
"It's okay, babies." Jordan told them. "You didn't make me too anxious when you were growing inside me."
"But that still means that something bothered you, mommy." Justice reasoned. "What was it?"
Jordan's calm expression faltered and I knew she was having flashbacks to her captivity, so I came to her rescue by answering Justice's question myself.
"She was just anxious because she really wanted to hold you and Jubes, but why don't we talk about something fun right now, hmm? Do you two have some fun toys that you brought? When I was a kid, I spent lots of time in the hospital with my family, so I always brought some books and toys with me."
"I'm sorry about your family being in the hospital, Auntie, but we did bring some toys even though we didn't know that we were going to be having a sleepover with you and the babies…"
I watched in fascination as she turned to her mother and a question in what I was pretty sure the language of Gaelic, and I was genuinely surprised when Jordan gave her a perfect response, also in Gaelic before she reached into her purse and pulled out a large drawstring bag. Justice took it and held it as if it was a Holy Grail of some kind.
"What's in there?"
"Our cubes, Auntie. You know what Rubik's Cubes are?"
"Oh, yes. They really confused me when I was little."
Justice giggled like this was the funniest thing she had ever heard. "That's because not everybody has patience for puzzles."
"I guess this means that you and your sister do?"
Jubilation all but elbowed her sister out of the way so she could have my attention and add to the conversation. "We totally do, Auntie! We can do a regular cube in fourteen seconds or less!"
When I looked at Jordan to see if this was true, the answer was clear because she had a look of pride on her face.
"It's very true. Everybody who has tried to beat their records have all failed, even Melissa, who learns quickly by watching someone do it first."
"What about Calvin?"
Jordan shook her head. "Just the fact that the twins are so young and can achieve something so complex in such a short amount of time really eeks him out. It's kind of like how Chandler was on the show Friends, when the topic of Michael Flatley, of Lord of Dance was brought up. I kind of agree with that opinion, now that I think about it..."
"Auntie, here!"
Jubilation was brandishing a standard five-by-five Rubik's Cube at me with slight urgency. I took it from her, getting into the spirit of things.
"What do you want me to do with it? Mix it up?
"Yes, please. Mommy is already mixing one up for Justee! Go, go!"
I laughed at her enthusiasm and began turning as many of the cube's faces as I could before she asked for it back. Justice took hers back from Jordan and both twins waited patiently for her to get her iPad from her purse and locate the timer app so the talent could be properly shown off.
Both of the twins finished their cubes at twelve point two seconds, and I immediately applauded them.
"That's very impressive, you two." I complimented. "Do you have any other puzzle cubes you can show me?"
Jubilation put away the little cubes and pulled out two more puzzles, but they were different than the first two because they were almost spherical in shape, but when I looked closer, I saw that they were Rubik's cubes with twelve sides, so it looked like she was now holding an oddly-shaped ball in her hands.
"We have these ones, Auntie."
"What are they, Jubilation?"
"They're called the 'Twelve Surface IQ Pentagon Rubik's Cube,' and mommy and daddy told us that they'll grant us each one super special wish when we finish them."
"Do you know what your wish is?"
"Yeah, but I can't tell you it!" she giggled as she got off the bed with her puzzle and her puzzle bag. "I can't tell you anything about it!"
Jordan raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her daughter. "If you can't tell Auntie, can you tell me yet?"
"Nope!" Jubilation was taking way too much joy in her answer. "I can't tell you or Auntie
Katie or daddy. I can't even tell Justice until it's about to happen!"
Justice was appalled by this and let her sister know it as she slid off the bed to join her, her own pentagon puzzle in her hands.
"Why can't you tell me? Jubilation Amaya, we tell each other everything!"
Jubilation whispered an explanation into her sister's ear and grinned when the look of dawning comprehension fell across her features.
"Do you understand now, Justee?"
"Yes!" she nodded and beckoned to her sister. "Come on, Jubes! We can sit by the window and do our puzzles while we watch the snow fall!"
Jubilation agreed to this, leaving me with Jordan, who was still at my bedside. We talked about everything under the sun, and I was thankful for it because I knew that she was trying to distract me from the discomfort that my body was going through because of the annoying Braxton-Hicks contractions I kept having. I became particularly thankful that she was with me when Juliana came by to give me a check-up that led to a distressing conversation.
"Katie, you are already five centimeters dilated. Those aren't Braxton-Hicks contractions that you've been feeling since your husband and kids were here."
I felt the color drain from my face in a flash as I processed her words and recalled how Emily Ryan had found herself in the same situation a few days ago when she had her son.
"They weren't? You mean to tell me that this is the real thing? I've been in labor this whole time and I didn't know it? I've been pregnant before, so how could I have missed the signs?"
"Every labor and birth is different, and I can tell you that from experience, not just from the viewpoint of an experienced midwife." She replied in a tone of practiced patience. "Be happy that you're actually in a hospital and not at the precinct like you were last time, especially since we are now in the middle of a pretty big blizzard."
I sobered up a little at this point, extra thankful that my water hadn't broken. Yet.
"Do you have any questions, or will that be all for now?"
"Juliana, since I'm halfway through it now, does this mean that we can still go through with the c-section, like we planned?"
She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Duckling and Joey are coming a little too quickly, even as we speak, so that's no longer an option. This will be a push birth, like it was with Jameson."
"But this means that it's going to be a hard birth because my body is already coping with the fact that the babies are both pretty long according to your measurements, and…" (I paused to figure out how to best phrase my thoughts and fears without scandalizing either of my nieces, both of whom were paying rapt attention to the situation) "I'm a bit on the small side, here, being the taller and more slender one of our friends! How is this going to work? Rick isn't even here and there's no way he'd make it in time because of the snow, so he's going to miss everything…"
Unable to maintain decorum any longer, I broke down into worried sobs and was vaguely aware of Jordan sitting next to me and guiding me into a sitting position so I was leaning into her arms as my feet dangled over the side of the bed. Jordan sat with me and made soothing noises until I felt better and saw that Justice and Jubilation were standing in front of me.
"I'm sorry that you're not feeling so hot right now, Auntie," Justice gave my knee an awkward pat. "But here you go."
She held up a box of tissues to me and I took a few.
"Thank you, sweetie."
After I blew my nose, Jubilation held up the little trash can I kept next to my bed.
"And here's a trash bin to put the tissues in."
I thanked her and discarded the tissues, whereupon she set the trashcan down and made a show of dusting off her hands before coming closer to me.
"Auntie Katie, is it okay if I touch your tummy? I need to talk to my cousins."
"Is it okay if I do it, too?" Justice chimed in, not wanting to be left out.
"Sure, and I'll even let you feel the babies move because they really like it when they know that somebody is right next to them." I pulled back my pajama shirt to show them my baby bump. "Thank you for asking, but be mindful of the wires, all right?"
"Okay." They chorused sweetly.
Both sisters placed their hands on my belly and giggled when their cousins kicked them in way of greeting.
"Duckling, Joey, I know you can hear me," Jubilation began authoritatively. "So listen up: you two have been having lots of good fun, growing inside your mommy's tummy, but I think that it's time for you to just chill and come out already because your mommy would really like that. She's one of the best mommies ever, and she's going to be so happy to meet you and she'll also be extra happy to say hello. Please come out."
"Game over." Justice added for emphasis, smiling happily when Duckling gave her a solid punch. "Game over, babies. Will you please come out now? Your daddy and sisters and brother and even Toby and Ashley will come here later, but right now, your mommy wants to meet you and so do I—my name is Justice, and I'm one of your cousins."
The babies both stretched out, but didn't kick and that gave me a little bit of relief because I was now dealing with the part of the labor where my belly had gone rock solid and that was a whole different level of ill comfort.
"I also have a sister called Jubilation and she's also a twin! My mommy's name is Jordan and she's just as excited to both of you, so won't you please come out now? Please? We would all like it if you did!"
My undoing was when Justice gave my belly a hug, which was followed by Jubilation giving it a quick kiss and pat because the sweetness and adoration they had for the babies had me tearing up and wishing for my husband and children all over again. I became distracted when I had another contraction and yelled my way through it. Being the dutiful one, Jordan sat next to me, timing it and letting me squeeze her hand for as long as I needed to. After the contraction ended, I looked up and saw that my nieces were once more standing in front of me, but what was different this time was that both of their mouths were hanging open in surprise.
"It's a hard business, having babies." I told them. "You two will be mamas one day, when you're grown-ups and married to the man of your dreams, like I am."
Justice nodded in agreement after a minute. "Okay, but while we're waiting to be all grown up, we'll play with Calvin's and Tía Missy's babies. That'll be good practice, especially if the babies are girls."
"Whatever." Jubilation gave a little shrug. "I'm not scared of anything, even pain. Me and Raja will have three babies, but I especially won't be scared because I know that he'd be holding my hand the whole entire time."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Raja is the man of your dreams, Jubilation?"
"Yep! Raja Singh is my guy, and I'm his girl!" she grinned broadly. "We go together, like how one plus one is two, but you know what, Auntie?"
"What?"
"You and Uncle Rick go together like that, too."
Thanks to my hormones being on super overload at the moment, I got teary-eyed yet again because of how sweet Jubilation's words were. Luckily, she was understanding and gave my knee an awkward comforting pat before back off to the window with her sister and they sat down to keep working on their puzzles.
"Jordan," I addressed my sister-in-law as I wiped the tears from my eyes again. "How did you and your husband get such sweet children?"
"Rafferty and I ask ourselves that question every single day, especially because Calvin was the same way at that age, but enough of that for now."
Leaning over to my bedside table, she picked up my phone and placed it in my hand.
"Are you up for calling your husband? I'm sure that he's going to want to know what's going on right now."
I nodded and took the device from her. "That's a good idea, but please don't get up just yet. I normally don't like showing weakness, but I think that there's a free pass hidden in here, somewhere."
"There is, Kate, and I've found it, so don't you worry. It's okay to admit weakness and I'll have you know that I learned it that hard way when it hurt the most." (I knew that she was talking about her abduction) "I'll be right here and I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to."
Feeling a little more confident, I sat up a little straighter as I dialed my husband's number and felt relieved when I heard his voice after the third ring.
"Hey, Kate! How are you feeling?"
"Hello, Kitten." I purred to him, which had Jordan raising her eyebrows and giving me a nudge in the arm, telling me to hurry up and get straight to the point. "I'm calling now because I'm in labor."
"I—what? Did you just say what I think you said?"
"Yes, I did, but Jordan and her girls are here right now, and they're taking good care of me."
"How far along are you in the labor right now?"
"Halfway, according to Juliana, who just stopped by a little while ago to check on me and the babies."
"How are the babies?"
"They're coming, but I'm sure that they're going to be super slow and equally stubborn about it," I arched my back as Joey nailed me very close to the ribs. "But I have some news that you're not going to like it."
Castle's tone was wary. "What is it?"
"It's still going to take awhile for our son and daughter to get here, but because I was in labor without realizing it, it's going to have to be a push birth because it's too late for a c-section now."
"Oh, Kate…"
"Yeah, it sucks, but I'm making the most of it. I'm just sad that the blizzard is keeping us apart right now. I'm so sad that you're going to miss it."
"That sucks, too, but I promise I won't miss it when we have the next one."
I smiled even though he couldn't see it. "Okay, good. You also have to promise me that you aren't going to be the hero and come see us until things are safe."
"I don't think I'd even try that. It's a full house over here right now."
"Define 'full house' to me."
"Our kids, our grandson, Ashley, my mom, your parents and all of your brothers and sisters."
I whistled a long single note. "How did all the extra people get there? That's a lot!"
"Alexis, Ashley and Toby came home with me and Lily and Jamie after visiting you, and as for my mother, she just happened to be in the neighborhood, but what else is new?"
"And how did my parents and the kids get there?"
"They were leaving the hospital because they were there for an ultrasound, and we ran into them in the lobby. Amaya was feeling extra skittish because of the weather reports and Alexis picked up on it."
"She invited them over, didn't she? Amaya always gets different levels of skittish before a big storm comes. She claims that it has something to with her being born on the night of a massive rainstorm."
"Alexis did invite them over and they took the invitation. Between you and me, I think that Jim was relieved because Amaya was looking tired and was thankful for it because it meant a chance for him to feel relaxed because Amaya would be off her feet and the baby would stop giving her so much grief."
"So you're holding down the fort?"
"I am, and we're all snowed in. The kids are treating it as a big sleepover and now Lily Joy and Shinju are standing in the doorway, watching me like hawks. I owe them a Guitar Hero battle."
I laughed. "Don't let them catch you going easy on them. Lily pitched a total hissy fit the first time she caught you."
"But it's just unnatural how good she is at playing Through the Fire and the Flames, Kate!" he protested childishly. "That's like one of the hardest songs in the game, and she can do the long version! That's seven minutes!"
I tried not to laugh as I thought of Alexis had long ago mastered that song on both the piano and violin, just so she could show off. Naturally, LJ wanted to learn how to play because Alexis could, and the last time I checked, LJ is really close to having it nailed.
"Whatever, Rick, but don't come crying to me when LJ wins again and Shinju gloats about it because she's a witness to your downfall at Guitar Hero."
"Not cool, Kate."
I laughed at him because his tone was almost a whine. "At the end of the day, I'm always going to have to side with the girls because I'm Lily's mother and I'm also Shinju's oldest sister. My allegiances are clear."
He sighed heavily in defeat. "I should let you go. Tell the babies when you're holding them and kissing them that I love them and I'm sorry that I had to miss it. Tell them I'll be there soon."
"I will, Rick." I promised him. "I love you, too."
"Right back at you, my love." He paused for a minute. "I gotta go—Nozomi has joined Lily and Shinju in staring me down, and you know as well as I do that they're a triple threat when they join forces…"
I laughed again, warned him to be careful, and ended the call, putting the phone back down on the table where Jordan had gotten it from. Speaking of whom, while I had been on the line with my husband, Jordan had been out in the corridor on her own phone, placing a call to her own husband after she had made sure that I'd be fine on my own for a few moments. When she came back in, she saw me blinking back tears and massaging my belly.
"None of that now." She scolded slightly, coming over to put an arm around my shoulder. "Your babies can't have you being all weepy on them in the last of the final homestretch!"
"Then what are we supposed to do?" I protested stubbornly.
"Juliana told me that as long as we check in with her first before we do it, we can go on a walk down to the end of the corridor where the baby nursery is. Would you like that?"
I nodded and she pressed the call button on the bed rail in response. "That sounds like a marvelous idea and at this point, I'm desperate for something that could possibly speed up the labor and make my water break! The only thing that I'm not looking forward to are contractions!"
The last word had barely been out of my mouth when I had another contraction right on schedule, right as Juliana walked in. She and Jordan helped me through it and when it had passed, I was given another examination and after that, Juliana reported that I was now six centimeters dilated, meaning that I could finally be given some epidural drugs. I almost began crying from relief because of how much relief I felt after that, but I pulled myself together and let Juliana ready the portable fetal heart monitor so it would be easy for me to tow as we went along. I even waited as patiently as I could while she inserted an IV needle into one of my veins and informed me that I wasn't allowed to have anymore solid foods until after the babies had been delivered and I was recovering.
And because Juliana said that she didn't have any patients in labor who required her attention when I asked her about it, I invited her to come with us. Juliana happily agreed and made herself useful by towing the fetal heart monitoring machine while we went down the corridor. As for Jordan, she walked on my other side, towing the IV pole that the bag pumping fluid into my veins was hooked up to.
(Justice and Jubilation walked a little ways ahead of us, both still working on their complex puzzles)
It was a slow process, getting to the end of the corridor where the nursery was, but I was determined to make it and I was rewarded with high fives when I did.
(Well, Justice and Jubilation both nodded in acknowledgement because they were concentrating on their puzzles, and Jubilation's even looked like it was nearing completion)
"What's going on in that head of yours, Kate?" Jordan asked as she, Juliana and I looked through the big window at the rows and rows of bassinets, each one filled with a newborn baby. "Is there anything you want to share with the class today?"
I turned back to look at them. "Do you two think it's crazy that Rick and I still want another baby after these two come?"
"Yes."
"No."
I was a bit surprised that they'd given me two different answers at the same time, but I was even more surprised when it had been Jordan who'd said yes. Once I saw that her daughters were out of earshot, Juliana and I rounded on her.
"Explain yourself, Jordan."
"It's just that six kids is a lot." My sister-in-law immediately backpedaled as I took her step closer. "I'm not saying that I'll be unhappy with being an auntie again, but I'm just wondering how you and Rick would manage…"
"Last time I checked, you have three kids." Juliana remarked, absently gliding a hand over her lower abdomen. "You're halfway there."
"Shush, or get back on topic." I warned her, taking note of what she was doing with her hand. "What are you, five? I have a five-year-old, you know."
Jordan just looked at our friend curiously. "Now I'm curious to see what you have to say."
"It doesn't surprise me that you would say something like that, is all. I had two siblings, and you only ever had one."
"And totaling all of my siblings, both living and deceased, along with my stepsiblings along with the one on the way, I have eleven." I added.
"That still only leaves Jordan with Meredith…"
Realizing that she was digging herself into a hole, Jordan fired back, reminding me of how her daughters do the same thing when they get in the same boat when they realize they're fighting a losing battle.
"Well, my parents made it clear that even though they favored Meredith over me, they still didn't want either one of us because they would have preferred sons. The lasting effect of that made me reluctant after that to even have kids of my own."
We gaped at her in surprise because if anybody, it was Jordan Shaw, whom despite her bad-ass reputation at the FBI, absolutely loves kids, especially all three of her own.
"But Jordan," I struggled for words. "You love your kids."
The redhead nodded in agreement. "Yes, I do, even though none of them were planned, but even after all these years, I'll always have my parents to blame for planting that mustard seed of doubt in my mind in the first place."
"Why's that?"
"Because mother physically abused me and my father took the lead in emotionally starving me and Meredith. I didn't want to risk the chance of turning out like either one of my parents."
"Which you didn't." I emphasized and then winced when I had a brief pain spasm. "You turned out to be one of the kindest, most loving and one of the strongest women I've ever admired in my entire life."
Jordan turned beet red at the compliment and muttered her thanks.
"Was it Rafferty who changed your mind about having kids?" Juliana wanted to know.
"He did, and I'm thankful for it, every single day."
I changed the subject by turning to Juliana and asking her a question. "Why did you say that you don't think it's crazy that it's crazy that Rick and I are planning on having one more baby after Duckling and Joey?"
"Because I don't. Jalil and I would both love to give our children another sibling, and since it would take more than a miracle for me to even conceive, we're considering other options, alternative ones."
She smiled fondly as she unconsciously touched a hand to her lower abdomen again and gave a little excited squeal.
"I could actually have a baby of my own in my arms by this time next year!"
"That's wonderful news, Juliana!" (Since I couldn't give her a hug without risking harm to the wires I was connected to, I gave her hand a warm squeeze, and she immediately returned it) "I'm so excited for you two, but I have a question for you."
"Oh?"
I nodded towards where her hand was placed. "That's two times now that you've touched a hand to your stomach area, like you're guarding a baby. Are you sure that you aren't pregnant now?"
"I'm quite sure." She laughed. "Trust me, Katie; I would totally know if I was pregnant."
Jordan jumped into the conversation to rescues Juliana as she flustered. "Does anybody else know that you and Jalil are exploring options for expanding your family?"
"Nope, and before you ask, the kids don't know about it, either. Jalil and I wanted you two to be the first to know. Your families are very important to ours."
"Kate and I are very honored. We won't say a word."
Juliana thanked us, but tacked on an afterthought. "One of the options that has really caught our eye is that of surrogacy. We aren't knocking adoption at all, but we'd like to try surrogacy first."
"If surrogacy works out, do you know who you'd ask to be the surrogate mother?" I asked the question because I was unable to contain my curiosity. "Is she anyone we know?"
My friend gave me an enigmatic smile as she responded. "It's definitely someone we know because she's one of our friends, but doctor-patient confidentiality prohibits me from telling the name."
I nodded again, this time while trying to mentally go through the process of elimination, but my thought process was interrupted when Jubilation suddenly came hurrying over with her sister following close behind. Jubilation held the puzzle out to Jordan for inspection.
"Mommy, mommy! I finished my puzzle first! Look!"
Jordan took the complex Rubik's Cube and examined it to make sure her daughter had gotten everything right before handing it back to her.
"Well done, Jubilation Amaya. Do you want to tell me what your wish is now?"
"Yes!" the little girl chirped happily. "My wish is that Auntie Katie's babies would come right now!"
"Sweetie, I don't think wishes work like that."
As Jubilation gave a sigh of disappointment, I felt a particularly strong contraction and cried out in pain and doubled over. I jumped a little as I felt Jordan's and Juliana's hands on me y back because of how sensitive to touch my body was right now. (Any physical contact would probably feel like sandpaper or some other unpleasant texture) Before I could say anything to confirm for myself what I was thinking, my pajama pants felt wet and when I looked down and saw the dark spot I realized one thing that made all of this as real as could be: my water had broken.
"Actually, I think that the wishing rule gets a free pass on this one."
The next thing I knew, I was being hurried back to my room which was being prepped for delivery. Jordan, bless her heart, didn't leave my side the whole time after she had seen her daughters off with a nurse who promised to keep them entertained and out from underfoot. When I was in my bed and everything was all set up, Juliana gave me another examination.
"Well, it looks like that walk was exactly what you needed because it definitely speeded things up." She reported. "It's kind of remarkable…"
"How many centimeters am I at now?"
"Eight. You went from six centimeters dilated to eight centimeters dilated."
"What?" I protested in disbelief. "Shouldn't I be having more contrac—ow, ow, ow!"
My friends coached me through the contraction and Jordan let me hold her hand again until it was over so I'd have something to focus on through the pain.
"Good job, Kate." She soothed as she smoothed my hair back so it was out of my face. "Good job."
"I haven't even started pushing ye—Jules, what are you doing?"
Juliana was emptying a syringe of something into my IV tube. "I was just about to yell you that this is a little something to help your body catch up with the contractions, all right?"
"Okay…"
She made a sympathetic noise as disposed of the syringe in a nearby hazardous waste bin and then crossed the room to shut the door.
"I'll leave you be, but first, Jordan and I are going to help you change into a hospital gown."
I had nothing against that and when I was dressed, Juliana left us, promising to come back in another hour. Meanwhile, Jordan found my comb from my bedside table and twirled it around in her fingers.
"Kate, would you like me to comb out your hair and put it into a braid to keep your hair out of your face?"
"Yeah, that would be great, Jordan. Thanks."
"You're welcome." She undid the hair tie I already had in place for my ponytail and began combing it out when I sat up. "I'll do a loose French braid for you. Does that work?"
"It does, yes."
"Juliana did this for me when I had Calvin, you know."
"What?" I turned to look at her in surprise. "How old are you, Jordan? How old is Juliana? How long has she been a doctor?"
"Juliana is older than you but still a bit younger than me." The older woman straightened me up and directed my head so I was facing away from her. "She was a brand new intern at the time and was assigned to keep me company while I was in labor, especially since Rafferty got into a small spill after dropping me off at the ER."
"What happened to him?"
"Slipped on black ice near the sidewalk when he was coming into find me after he parked the car." She was already braiding but was more than halfway done and that's really saying something because I've let my hair grow out during this pregnancy. "There was no serious lasting damage, thank God, but it was still enough for him to miss Calvin's birth altogether."
"Jordan, you still haven't said how old you are. Quit beating around the bush!"
"I'm on the wrong side of forty, I'll say that much…"
"And you won't tell me how old Juliana is?"
"You got it. Nana Kiley—Rafferty's mother—has an old Irish proverb that she quotes at me every now and again: young people don't know what old age is, and old people forget what youth was."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you trying to scare me with Nana Kiley's words of wisdom?"
"She really does say that!" Jordan protested. "Are you scared yet?"
"No, not really."
My sister-in-law tied off the braid and helped me to lie back down before putting the hair things away and she actually sounded a little disappointed.
"Why not?"
"Because all four of my grandparents, two of whom a hundred years old and extremely bitter now, they all hailed from Russia or Germany."
She sat down in the chair next to my bed and I turned to look at her as she spoke. "That's already frightening, but it sounds like your grandparents are old school."
"You have no idea. The only reason I'm fluent in German is because that's all they would speak to me for ages until my mom had enough and yelled back at them, also in German, to cut it out because I was getting really confused."
"That's just brutal, Kate. How old were you when Johanna yelled at them?"
My reply was interrupted by another contraction and when it was over and Jordan was working on massaging the feeling back into her fingers, she tried to change the subject, but I shook my head because I wanted to stick to one conversation at a time.
"I was five years old when mom reamed them out. We left the house after that and dad took us out for ice cream and a fun day in the park because mom and I were both in tears about it. I was happy about that part, but after that day, I was extremely proud of my mom for what she had done because it wasn't her parents that she stood up to. Her parents always adored me…"
"Johanna stood up to Jim's parents?"
"Yes, she did, and they're the ones who are still alive." I sighed sadly. "They didn't like her because they came from power and money, and my mom's dad owned a magic shop while his wife did the books, and it was all in a neighborhood in the Bronx. When I visited my grandparents after that, they spoke to me in English, but when my parents weren't looking, I got tortured with many Russian proverbs quoted at me in Russian, and by the time I could translate them into English, I got freaked out."
"Why? Do they trump Nana's Irish proverbs?"
"By a long shot."
I felt a sudden twinge my belly and moaned in pain, even though I knew that feeling the contraction was a sign that the medication Juliana had administered was working well. (The epidural medicine had worn off awhile ago and had thankfully been replenished, but the contractions were so hard that I could still feel a certain amount of discomfort) Jordan kept me entertained with stories from her childhood for awhile so I be relieved of at least some of my misery for the time being.
(I've always held Jordan in high esteem, starting on the day that I met her during the Scott Dunn case, and now, for helping me through a time when I'm feeling extremely vulnerable and tired, she was earning 'motherly figure' status with me, just like how Martha, Ophelia, Amaya and Juliana each have... but I'll wait for another time to share that with her)
Two hours later, it was finally time to start pushing and I put as much effort into the process as I could, but after the first baby was almost out, I experienced a horribly painful contraction and fell back on the bed, sobbing.
"Come on, Kate." Jordan soothed in a calming motherly tone. "Sit back up so you can push again. You can do it."
"But it hurts more than it did than when Jamie was coming!"
"Then swear your way through the rest of it! That's what I did when I was in labor with Calvin!"
I looked to Juliana and she nodded in confirmation. "I braided Jordan's hair, like how I've seen she's done yours, but I also encouraged her to swear her way through it and I had no idea what the hell she was yelling because it was all in Gaelic!"
I laughed, but it didn't last long because I experienced yet another contraction and I didn't need telling twice to swear at the top of my lungs if I needed to.
I did just that, and the other two didn't blink an eye when it was all in German and Russian.
"Your boy is here, Katie!" Juliana happily called out over my newborn son's first cries as he slid out of my body. "You have another boy!"
Too exhausted to sit up and look, I asked just one question. "Is my boy okay, Juliana?"
"He's perfect."
It was no smooth sailing with my daughter, either, because she took her sweet time in coming out, but when Juliana announced that she was in perfect health like her brother and that neither of them would be needing any time in an incubator, I finally let the rush of emotions get to me and I just let myself cry, especially when I held them for the first time after we were all cleaned up and they were dressed and wrapped in their newborn blankets that Amaya had given to me a long time ago.
My babies were both here, safe and sound.
Jordan excused herself to go find the girls because I wanted to see them, and it was during that time that Juliana helped me out with their birth certificate information. She even took a picture on my phone to send to Castle a picture, and when she left, I made her promise not to tell Jordan the names of the babies because I wanted to do that, myself. Thankfully, she and the girls came back quickly.
"What are their names?" she asked as I let her hold Joey. "You and Rick haven't told anybody."
"That's because we wanted to keep the names a surprise." I gave Duckling a little kiss on his temple and he sighed contently. "This little one is Jeremiah Richard Sebastian Castle."
"That's a very nice name." she smiled. "I like it."
"That's a long name." Jubilation spoke in a tone of correction. "Was he named for anybody, Auntie? Me and Justee kind of were. I have Auntie Amaya's name and she has Auntie Leila's."
"Jeremiah was named after my Uncle Jeremiah. He was lots of fun, but he's not around anymore."
"I'm sorry, Auntie." She politely sympathized. "Was he also named for Uncle Rick because his real name is Richard? I know he's a writer because mommy has all of his books."
(Jordan blushed bright red at this but didn't say a word)
"Yes, angel, he was also named for your Uncle Rick."
"What about the Sebastian part?"
"That was the name of my mama's daddy. He was also a lot of fun because he owned a magic shop, and he would have really loved you two."
"Wow…" the twins breathed in awe.
I smiled at their expressions and gave Jeremiah another kiss. "So now you know your little cousin's full name is Jeremiah Richard Sebastian Castle."
"What is Joey's full name?" Jordan asked from where she was sitting in the new rocking chair that had just been brought in. "I need to know what to call her because she's fast on her way to Snoozeville in my arms right now."
"You're holding Johanna Jordan Olga Castle."
Jordan's eyes filled with happy tears and was temporarily at a loss for words as she looked down at the baby in her arms with lots of love and kissed her. Justice went and stood beside her mother to look at the baby, but it was Jubilation who stated the obvious.
"Johanna has mommy's name, Auntie Katie! That's really nice!"
"She's also got my mommy's name—Johanna."
"So that's why we've been calling her Joey all this time?"
"That's right. Joey is short for Johanna."
"If Johanna was for your mommy and Jordan is for my mommy, then who is Olga?"
"She was my mama's mama."
"She's not here anymore?"
"No, but she was a really brave person, just like my mama was."
"My mommy is really brave 'cause she's in the FBI. Justee and I tell her all the time that she's brave. It's one of the infinity and twelve reasons that we love her so much."
"Jubes, your mommy is the bravest person I've ever known, after my mama and her mama. That's why Uncle Rick and I picked her name to give to baby Joey."
Jubilation smiled happily as she retreated back to where the others were, kissed one of my daughter's tiny hands and started talking softly to her.
"Kate?"
I looked up from Jeremiah, who was happily sucking his thumb as he leaned closer to me, and saw that Jordan was looking at me with happy tears in her eyes.
"Yes, Jordan?"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
I smiled in return and went back to talking to Jeremiah, who seemed to be over the moon at cuddled while I talked to him. Johanna was responding in the same way with Jordan, Justice and Jubilation.
And you know…
I'd gone into labor feeling really upset that the blizzard (which was now raging) had kept Rick from being here to see our two newest children be born on our anniversary, but I still came out feeling sad, although it wasn't as much as before.
That's because it had dawned on me that a million things could have gone wrong during any point in the process, but they didn't, and some things actually went better than to be expected for a twin birth and delivery.
It had also dawned on me at some point along the way that I could have been completely alone, but I hadn't been because Jordan, Justice and Jubilation stuck by, at my side for the whole time because that's what family does.
They stick by you and stay with you, no matter how hard things get.
That's what family does.
