This is long as all fuck. That's all I'm going to say...
Enjoy!
Chapter Summary: "The sharp pain that tore through her brought her to her knees. She'd realized that she left her cellphone in the kitchen and she couldn't get it. "Please god, no," she begged as the fear gripped her. She felt faint and weak, could barely keep her eyes open. She was in so much pain, could feel the blood, the energy draining for her body. The last thing she felt was cool hardwood floor against her face as the world went black.
Athena moved slowly down the stairs of their home. Her back was killing her, but bed rest was starting to take it's toll. She had to move, well, as much as her 33 week pregnant body would let her anyway.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Her husband asked as soon as her foot hit the living room floor.
"Don't worry, I don't think the 10 feet I walked did too much damage," Athena said sarcastically as walked into the kitchen.
"Athena." Seeing the worry in his eyes, her face softened. She knew he was only this annoying because he was worried about her.
She waddled her way over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning up on the tips of her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "I know you worry about me, about us, but I'm fine."
"Are you?" His skepticism was warranted, he knew she wouldn't be completely honest with him, thinking she was protecting him. "Because if you're not..."
"I know, I know," she pecked his lips twice, "but I really am fine. This isn't my first time at the rodeo, it's nothing that I can't handle."
"It's your first time being pregnant with twins, though." He said as he smiled down at her.
"And I've been handling it pretty well." And she had, besides a little hiccups and scares, she felt she'd been handling everything pretty well. Listening to the doctor, doing as she was told.
"I have to admit you are taking the bed rest thing a lot better than I thought you would." Bobby said as she let him go and moved into the kitchen to find something to eat. It had been a month since she'd been officially told that she would have to spend the rest of her pregnancy on bed rest.
Athena grumbled and rolled her eyes, "you know me, but it's for the babies."
"It's for the babies." He reached down and kissed her on the forehead. She knew he hated having to leave.
She met his eyes, "don't look at me like that, leave, you'll be home to annoy the hell out of me soon enough."
"You know you miss me when I'm gone."
She absolutely does. "You wish."
The exaggerated pout on his face was almost cute. "I love you," He kissed her once more before leaning down to her belly, "alright girls, be good for your mommy, don't cause her too much trouble, but let her know if she's doing too much," as he put his hand there, she felt the little kicks of movement that were a little painful, but nothing she was going to say anything about. Plus she loved when Bobby bonded with the girls and the little movements she felt when he touched her. She could already tell she had a couple of "daddy's girls" on her hands and she couldn't wait.
"Would you stop encouraging them and leave. Before you're later than you already are."
"Alright, alright. Fine." Grabbing his bag off the edge of the kitchen counter, Bobby walked towards the door and out of it. Athena came behind him and waited until he got out of the driveway before closing the door.
"Okay, girls," Athena placed a hand over her stomach as she turned and looked towards the living room, "let's get something to eat." She felt light flutters or movement under her fingers, "I knew you'd like that."
Athena made her way to the kitchen where she'd made herself a light breakfast. Afterwards, she went to work unpacking boxes and putting stuff in order, making sure she wasn't lifting, bending or reaching too much. A couple of hours in she felt a sharp pain slice through her stomach into her back. She immediately stopped what she was doing and sat thinking that her body was telling her that she was overexerting herself.
She tried putting her feet up and getting comfortable on the couch, but even that was proving to difficult. She got up and walked a bit, super uncomfortable, but used to the discomfort at this point. The babies were settled at the moment which she was thankful for, knowing that kicking wouldn't help the situation. As she went to sit down again the action made her dizzy.
This was quickly turning into a nightmare. The pain was only getting worse, she was nauseous and dizzier. She hoped and prayed that the pain would subside, but it wasn't happening. She felt the blood before she saw it. She got up from the couch again to find that their was a significant blood stain where she sat. She looked down at the shorts she was wearing and she saw it. The room and was continuing to spin and dim as she willed herself not to freak out.
She needed help. She needed to call someone. She needed...
The sharp pain that tore through her brought her to her knees. She'd realized that she left her cellphone in the kitchen and she couldn't get it. "Please god, no," she begged as the fear gripped her. She felt faint and weak, could barely keep her eyes open. She was in so much pain, could feel the blood, the energy draining for her body. The last thing she felt was cool hardwood floor against her face as the world went black.
XXXXX
They had a little bit of down time today as they sat around and joked. Hen looked around at her team, thinking about the changes that were about to take place. Her eyes landed on Bobby. There'd been a glow to him since he found out about Athena's pregnancy and she couldn't be happier for him.
"I'm just saying that you could have chosen me to be captain again while you're gone." Chimney's statement was met with unanimous groans of disapproval.
"If that happened I'd go out on leave too until Bobby came back," Eddie halfway joked. The response was a balled up napkin thrown in his face.
"Uh, as much as I don't doubt your captaining skills and as good a job you did last time, I just felt Hen was the best choice this time around to replace me," Bobby chimed in as he put a hand on Hen's shoulder.
Before Hen could respond she felt he phone vibrating in her pocket. She fished the device out of her pocket to see Buck's name and the picture they'd taken last Christmas.
"You know you having a day of means that I get a day off from you too, right?" Hen joked as she answered the call.
"Hen is Bobby near you or do you have me on speaker?" Buck's tone was near frantic. Hen's face fell into a frown, she also could have sworn she heard sirens in the background.
"Yes and no," Hen thought it best to answer his questions as simply as she could until she found out more about what was going on. "Hold on." She excused herself from the table in the loft and made her way outside until she was completely out of earshot of everyone else. "Okay, Buck, I'm here. What's going on? Are those sirens."
"Hen, it's Athena," her heart dropped into her stomach, "I- I, uh, went by the house to have lunch with her," Buck's pause was freaking her out more, "that's when I found her. She was passed out in the living room. There was- there was a lot of blood. I call EMS and had them dispatched over, I made sure you guys wouldn't be alerted. I'm in the ambulance with her on the way to the hospital," She could tell that Buck was in tears as he tried to tell her what was going on.
"How is she and the babies?"
"She's still unconscious, they're worried about the babies, possible placental abruption. Hold on," Hen could hear Buck talking to the EMTs, but couldn't make out exactly what was being said, "we're pulling into the hospital, can you, uh, can you let Bobby know I was gonna- I can't-"
"Buck, Buck, don't worry about it. I got him. Just stay with Athena as much as you can. Call me if anything changes before we get there."
"Yeah, thanks, okay." The call ended. Ben took a few calming breaths before going back inside.
She raced upstairs. Before anyone could speak, "Bobby." She thought it best to explain what was going on in front of everyone instead of pulling him to the side. Seeing the look on Bobby's face almost broke her as she relayed what Buck told her.
Time passed in the blur from that point forward.
They'd left a skeleton crew in charge as she, Bobby, Eddie, and Chimney went to the hospital. As they drove, Hen knew there was going was bound to be some fallout from the breaks in protocol: leaving without notice, using a fire truck with sirens for personal use, but she didn't care. She gladly deal with whatever she needed to following this and she knew everyone else felt the same.
Bobby had been silent, eerily so, since she'd told him. She had no idea what was truly going through his mind, but it couldn't have been good. She wanted to say something, offer some words of encouragement, but everything felt stale and generic, so thought it best to not say anything. She, instead, settled on taking one of her hands off the wheel and placed on his. She could feel him shaking under her fingertips. He didn't look her or return the gesture in anyway, but he knew she was there for him. That's all she wanted.
Hen knew her parking was all sorts of illegal, but she'd work that out later. All of them jumped out of the truck, making their way up to the maternity ward on the third floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened they saw Buck. Hen, Eddie, and Chim went towards Buck, while Boby went towards the nurse's station to find out what was going on.
"Oh my god, I've never been more happy to see you guys." Buck exclaimed as soon they made eye contact. Buck rose from his seat and Hen was going to hug him, but stopped at the sight of blood on his arms and clothing. Buck followed her line of sight, "oh, uh, yeah. When I was trying to find where the blood was coming from and when I helped lift her body on to the stretcher." She pulled him in for a hug anyway.
As soon as she let him go Eddie asked, "were you able to find out anything else?"
"All I know is she needed an emergency c-section. Not much else."
Looking back towards Bobby, he was now talking to a woman that Hen recognized as Athena's OBGYN. The doctor's name was eluding her, but she remembered her from an appointment she'd attended with Athena couple of months ago. Her ears focus in on the conversation. "Due to the nature of the situation we can't allow you to be with her. You'll know more when I do. We'll do everything we can" she heard the doctor say
"Wait. If it comes down to it," he pauses, "save the- save the babies, it's what she would want." Hen's breath caught in her throat.
Athena placed the cup of tea in front of her. As sat down in the patio chair across from hers.
"I'm going to miss this place when you move." Hen said as she looked around the home she'd come to know almost as well as her own. Looking back inside the home, there was nothing around, save for boxes and the little bit of furniture that was needed for the next few days.
She sighs, "so am I. This place has been my home so long, I raised my first two babies here. But we needed more space," Athena rubbed her stomach lovingly, "it was also time that Bobby and I got something that was ours, you know."
"How are the kids adjusting to well, everything?"
"They're fine with it. May's just May, going with the flow of things. Harry's more excited than anything because his best friend lives down the street-" she paused and her hand flew to her stomach.
"You okay?" Hen ready to jump up if needed.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She said as she settled.
"Do you need me to call Bobby."
"No, no, absolutely not. I'm fine, there's no need to worry him. The babies moving can be painful sometimes, it's nothing that I can't handle, that I won't handle."
The ominous way Athena said that last sentence bothered Hen. "Athena... is there something I need to know?"
Athena looked up at, almost like she contemplating telling her before she said, "just that if anything happens to me, please take care of Bobby."
Hen choked on the tea she tried to drink. Of all the things she expected Athena to tell her... "what do you mean take care of... are you... is this..."
"It's no secret that this pregnancy is high risk for all the obvious reasons. And there have been complications since practically the beginning. I've been told of the threats this could have on my life," she sighed as as fresh tears rolled down her checks, "we aren't Buck's age, an accidental pregnancy doesn't just happen at our age. This has to mean something, it has to. And I don't want to give up on that even it means... look, I'm saying that I know for certain that I'm not gonna be around or anything. I'm gonna fight like hell to be. I wanna be, more than. But, if I comes down to it, I just want to know that someone is gonna be looking out for Bobby and the kids, not allowing him to collapse in on himself. I trust you more than anyone. And I trust you to keep this conversation between us."
Hen was stunned at what she'd just heard. The possibility of losing her best friend was a lot. She could ask her what she specifically meant, what she knew, what the doctors told her, but she didn't. So she said the only thing that felt right, "I got them, Athena, you know I do."
Athena wiped her eyes and offered a simple, "thank you."
"We'll do all we can for both of them." The doctor finished as she ran towards the OR.
Looking back behind everyone else behind her, she could see they'd heard it too. As Bobby walked towards them she was able to really look at him. It been a long time since she'd seen the light so drained from his eyes. Bobby looked towards them, before he kept walking down the hall. Buck went to follow him before Hen stopped him, volunteering to go herself and telling them to wait there. Buck reluctantly agreed. Hen had a good idea where he was headed before she went after him.
I got him, Athena, she thought to herself.
I got him.
XXXXX
When Bobby reached the chapel, he was thankful that there was no one there but him. He sat down in one of the chairs and immediately just started praying. Praying for the health of his children and his wife. The praying quickly dissolved into practically begging God not to take them, any of them, to the point where she was bargaining his life for theirs. He thought what he could have possibly done to deserve what was happening, but those thoughts left his mind, hearing Athena's voice in his mind telling him not to think that way. His thoughts changed to Athena and their life together. One particular memory stood out.
Bobby and Athena walked, hand in hand, through the park. The view was scenic as the setting sun cast a pinkish orange glow over the park. Athena had a craving for ice cream, which he happily obliged.
"Are my girls happy now?"
"Yes. We are." Athena answered between licks of her strawberry, Oreo, chocolate cone. He smiled as he licked his own salted caramel cone.
They walked a little further before Athena stopped him at the fountain. "Need a rest?" She nodded as they sat on the fountain, giving them a perfect view. She giggled a little before bringing his hand to her stomach, allowing him to feel the little kicks under his fingers. "Woah, someone's active."
"Yes and it's just this one. Her sister is just as chill as she can be. I feel her kick, but she's nowhere near as active as her sister," Athena commented.
"Well we know which one we're naming her." He and Athena has finally come to a decision on names about a month prior.
"And when they come this one will definitely be your baby, she obviously gets this from you."
Bobby playfully scoffed, "um, I think that she definitely gets this from you." Bobby could feel her finally beginning to settle. He met Athena's eyes, "you know, I still can't believe this is happening."
"Neither can I," He saw the look in her eyes shift to something more serious and he felt the mood change, it was no longer light and airy, "Bobby I need you to promise me something."
The smile on his face dropped. "Anything," he was almost reluctant to say.
"If it comes down to it, not saying that it will or won't, not wanting to put that out there, but if it does, please choose them."
"At first Bobby was a bit confused at what Athena meant, but he soon he realized and he could feel himself closing off, "Athena, no." He let go of her hand and rose from the fountain's edge.
"Bobby, please."
"No. Athena. No, I'm not going to choose." I wasn't the first time that Athena had brought up the possibility of her not making it through the birth. He knew and understood the risks. He knew there were complications and she'd been put on bed rest through the rest of her pregnancy. He could feel Athena had been hiding something from, he never would have guessed it was the fear that she might not make it. "Athena why are you asking me this? Is there something I don't know that you wanna tell me?"
He looked back towards her to find her pulling her lip in between her teeth, "no, you know everything. I just want to take comfort in the fact that if something were to happen, if something were to go wrong that you'd let them know to not worry about me and save the babies."
She was near tears now and so was he. Bobby wasn't completely convinced that she wasn't keeping something from him, the real reason for her fear and this conversation, but he knew better than to push. Maybe it was just her anxiety making her think like this. He made himself trust that it was truly something life or death that she would have told him. It still didn't make this conversation any easier. Having the choose between his wife and their children was not a hypothetical scenario that was sitting well with him.
"Please don't make me choose," he said as he sat next to her and scrubbed a hand over his face.
"Bobby, please." The watery catch in her voice nearly broke him.
He swallowed around the lump in his throat, not wanting to say the words he was about to, "okay, Athena, okay. If and only if it absolutely comes down to it, I will let them know. But it won't come to that. You're going to have a successful full term pregnancy and we're going to have two happy, healthy little girls driving us nuts for the next 18 years." He pulled her into him and kissed her temple, trying desperately to get back to light mold they'd originally had.
"Thank you Bobby." Athena told as she nuzzled into his shoulder comfortably.
As the memory faded back into the obscure recesses of his mind, he felt the moisture on his face a from the fresh wave of tears. He felt he was no longer alone and knew exactly who was behind.
"You know," his voice raw as he tried to talk around the heavy emotion, "when I found out that Athena was pregnant I thought it was my penance, God forgiving me for everything that I'd done, giving me a second chance to do things right," He took a deep breath willing himself not to break down as Hen sat next to him, "I know that you're not supposed to question these things, but I want to. Want to know why this is happening," the last shred of his resolve broke and the dam just burst, "I can't loose, Hen, I can't loose her," he could feel Hen wrapping her arms around him as the deep sobs wracked his body.
Hen whispered words of encouragement to him as she let him get all of the emotion. He didn't know how long he'd sat there and just let everything go, but by the time he felt his body calming, he couldn't cry anymore. With all the things he was currently feeling, he noticed he felt better. Hen nudged him and handed him some tissues, which he gladly took.
"You and I both know how stubborn your wife is, she'll be fine. God knows better," Hen joked lightly.
His lips curved up into a small smile, "don't I know it."
"And so will those kids, the fire fam will have two more babies for us to spoil rotten. Well, more than we already have." He hadn't really thought about it. After today, he'd officially be on paternity leave.
"Make sure the kids don't burn the place down while I'm gone."
"You got it, cap." She patted his knee before rising to leave him alone once more.
He spent a few more minutes in the chapel, saying a couple more prayers before rising to leave. He walked through the halls towards the waiting room, the walls a little too white, the lights a little too bright as his eyes adjusted to change of scenery again. His ears hyper focus on the ticking clock on the opposite wall, the monotonous ticking torturous, yet, oddly grounding. He didn't want to look at it, didn't want to be reminded of just how long it's been since... this all began. He sits continuing to wait.
Tick tock. Tick tock.
"You shouldn't go to him like this. It's probably best if you go home and change."
"No I... yeah, you're, uh, you're probably right."
"It do you some good to get out of here for a minute. I'll take you back to my place it's closer, after I drop the truck back at the station, of course."
"I want... I don't wanna... can you tell him I'll be back soon."
"Sure."
His brain was monetarily distracted from the ticking, catching bits and pieces of the conversation between Hen, Buck, and Eddie. Not wanting to linger, it zoned back in on the ticking, protecting itself from being reminded of why he's here. He sighed audibly as he rubs his tired, sore, eyes. He felt the residual moisture from tears he's not able to cry anymore.
Tick tock. Tick tock.
"He's doing as well as can be expected."
"Yeah, she's still in surgery. Nothing yet. How far are you guys?"
Knowing Hen's footsteps behind him, he isn't startled when he feels her hand on his shoulder. She says nothing. The touch lasting just long enough for his hand to cover hers, giving a gentle squeeze. The action was followed by two pats and she walked further down the hall to continue her conversation. She knows who she's talking to and he takes a moment to zero in on his guilt. He knows he should be the one to talk to Michael and the kids, telling them what's going on. They deserve to hear it from him. But he just can't do it. Not right now. He sips at the coffee that Maddie and Chimney brought him.
Tick Tock. Tick tock.
He's still not aware of how much time has passed, still not wanting to look at the clock. It feel like days, though. He was at the point where he just wanted to know something, know if his wife and daughters were okay... or if they weren't. He's gone through the motions, cycled through the inevitabilities and worst case scenarios, even the ones he didn't want to think about. He just needed to know something. Though, he wasn't looking at them and no one was speaking, he knew everyone felt the same way. A thick tension had permeated the air and he was ready for this entire nightmare to end.
"Mr. Nash?" Bobby's body rose out the chair at the sound of his name, before his brain fully caught up. He spotted the surgeon walking towards him As she removed her head cover and mask, her expression remained neutral, heightening his racing heart beat. As she stopped in front of him, her lips curved into a small smile. "Good news first, all three of them made it. You have two 4 lb, 2 oz baby girls. We're monitoring them closely and they'll have to stay in the NICU for a while, but the odds are looking good."
Bobby released an audible sigh of relief. The anxiety of the situation mixed with the overwhelming excited of his daughters almost made him light headed. Buck's hands clapped on the shoulders and he heard the happiness around him, but he couldn't bring himself to fully celebrate, not yet... "I'm scared what the bad news is."
Her smile faltered and he feared the worst. He balled his right hand tightly into a fist at his side to stop the shaking. "Things were a little touch and go, for a moment and she lost a lot of blood," Bobby felt the tightness in his chest, "and, honestly, she coded shortly after we took the babies. All the stress the pregnancy had caused her body finally caught up to her. We were able to get her back, and finish the surgery successfully without any further complications. She should wake when the anesthesia wears off. "
Bobby couldn't say anything. His mind was a roller coaster of emotions, but he maintained careful control of his composure. All of his girls were alive, he'd just focus on that. God answered his prayers.
The rest they'd get through.
XXXXX
Though he was told he'd have to wait before he could see Athena, he was allowed to visit his daughters. As she walked him down towards the NICU, he was given more information about his wife and daughters. It was a placental abruption that caused the distress. During surgery Athena's and the babies' heart rates had dropped to unstable levels. As soon as they were able to get the get girls out she started hemorrhaging and that's when things down hill even further. They ended up having to completely remove her uterus, but they stopped the bleeding and were able to stabilize her. The girls weren't able to breath on their own fully and had to be put on respirator for the time being. And there was also the risk of infection and problems with body temp to be on the look out for. Other than monitoring their weight and ability to feed there weren't any other complications that were a cause for concern at the moment. Hopefully there wouldn't be anymore causes for concern in the future.
As they walked through the double doors, he was met with a sizable room, just as bright and white as the previous one. There were incubators and chairs sectioned off in the room, looking to offer privacy to the individual families. His eyes landed on a nurse taking off her gloves and walking over to them.
"Calliope, this is Bobby, the father of our two newest NICU patients." Dr. Sellers introduced.
"Nice to meet you," she stuck out her hand towards him, Bobby returned the gesture, "don't worry, doc, I'll take care of him."
"I know you will," she turned towards Bobby, "I'll be back to let you more about Athena."
"Okay," he acknowledged she walked back towards the doors.
Calliope fit him with a bracelet with his daughters' date of birth and Athena's name on it. "Just a safety precaution, so we can keep track of who's on the maternity ward. Also lets you be able to visit the babies anytime you want. Alright all set, ready to met your little ones?"
"Yes, of course."
He was lead further into the room, around the corner. The nurse stopped at two incubators with a bit of space between them and a cushioned chair towards the outer side. He saw "Baby A Nash" and "Baby B Nash" written on the outside of each one. He stepped a bit closer to see two tiny babies almost covered with an array of wires. He couldn't be more enthralled and in love if he tried.
"I've got paperwork, so I'll give you sometime alone to get acquainted. We can't allow holding just yet, but you can definitely interact with them through the holes in the sides. Be back to check on them in a bit." He thinks he made a noise of acknowledgement, but he was certain, still caught up in the sight.
His feet carried him in between the two incubators. He saw that one of his daughters was awake while the other was sleeping. Letting the other sleep, he bent down and stuck his arm through the open hole, rubbing his thumb the soft skin of her hand. He marveled at how much she looked like her mother, from her eyes, her nose, her face shape. He looked over towards his other daughter and noticed the same defining features, though he couldn't see her eyes yet he imagined they'd be the same shade of brown as her sister's. He already knew which one was going to be named the names they'd chosen, but he'd wait until Athena could meet them before he said anything.
"Boy, my genes weren't even trying with you guys, were they?" He smiled as she moved a bit, her little fist trying to wrap around his thumb. "Your mom will be down to see you guys soon, she just needs a bit more time before she's ready."
He turned his attention to his other daughter, sticking his other arm through the hole in the side of incubator to cradle her. "I love both of you, so so much."
He took time to bound with his girls, taking pictures and sending them to everyone. He had to be in there for a good couple of hours, only moving away from them so the nurse could check on them. Dr. Sellers had returned to tell him that he was able to see Athena. Calliope told him that that he could visit anytime, but not between 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm and 6:30 am to 7:30 am to allow shift changing. He nodded, letting her know that he'd back.
He walked toward the Recovery Room not far from the NICU and walked into the room number he was given, making sure his bracelet was visible to passing medical staff. He paused to take a deep breath as he entered her room. She was so still as he spotted her lying the bed. He zeroed on the rise and fall of her chest and the beeping monitors as he sat in the chair next to her bed.
"Can you believe we're parents to newborns because I can't," he started, "they are so beautiful, you did so well, babe. I say you because they don't look a thing like me. I told you they wouldn't. Michael and the kids are on the way, finally getting a flight back here. I know you're going to love those babies as soon as you see them. I know I do. I can't wait for you to wake up and meet them." He grabbed her hand, the one not attached to the IVs, kissing her fingers.
XXXXX
The bright lights hurt as she opened her eyes, causing them to close them again until they adjusted. The taste in her mouth was bitter, her throat dry and sore. Her entire body was sore as she became more self aware. As the seconds passed the pain worsened. The room spun as she tired to open her eyes a second time. As her eyes centered she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. She saw the IV pole to her left and figured she was attached to it as she tried to move her left arm. She took the oxygen mask off her face finding it uncomfortable. She looked to her right finding nothing there except a cellphone. She recognized the familiar case, knowing the phone belonged to her husband. She'd figured out she was in the hospital, but couldn't remember why at the moment.
When she tried to sit up, a pain so sharp shot through her abdomen that she regretted even attempting the action. Putting a hand to her stomach, she noticed it was significantly flatter than she remembered and there was stitching. How long had she been out? What happened? Where were her babies? She wracked her brain, but she was coming up empty. Her mind was a hazy mess that was making it hard to remember much of anything.
"Looks like we came back just in time, welcome back Mrs. Nash. Let me get doctor Sellers."
"Athena!"
She looked towards the door to see her husband and nurse she didn't recognize at the door. As the nurse went the opposite direction, Bobby came closer to her. "What happened?" She groaned out around her aching throat.
"Do you remember anything?" She shook her head in lieu of talking. "You had to go in for an emergency c-section."
Athena's eyes widened in fear, "the babies?"
"In the NICU. They are doing okay. They'll be here for a while, but they're okay. Look just like you."
"I knew they would," Athena smiled, "I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about, this isn't your fault and I don't want you thinking that it is."
Before she could speak further, the doctor and nurse came back and started fussing over and asking her questions about how she was feeling. She was given some water to help soothe her throat. Some blanks were filled in about what happened during her surgery. She had never been more horrified and relieved in her life. Knowing how close she had come to not making it, god, it tore her apart and she could tell it was just as hard for Bobby. She could only imagine what he'd been through for the last few hours.
The worst part was trying to move. Even trying to sit up a little bit made her feel like her stitches were being ripped out one by one. Any type of jostling movement shot pain throughout her body. Not being able to move much meant that it would be another day or, possibly two, before she was able to go down to the NICU. Athena understood, but she desperately wanted to see her babies. But she settled for the pictures Bobby had of them, falling completely in love with them all over again.
It was three days. Three days before the effects of the anesthesia wore off and the pain subsided to a point where she could move a bit more without feeling like she was being stabbed. It still hurt like shit, but she'd bare through it if it meant she'd finally be able to spend sometime with her daughters. In that time she been moved out of recovery to a room in the maternity ward. Michael, May, and Harry made it back to California from New York, spending most of the time at the hospital with them.
"Hey, your mom just called and told me they should be in California by this afternoon," Bobby said as he reentered her rooms.
Athena hummed in acknowledgement, "you're actually having conversations with her? It only took a life threatening situation and two more grandchildren for her to like you."
"You know it's still a strong toleration at best," Bobby commented before kissing her and flopping down in the chair next to her bed.
"Yeah, you're probably right."
"Knock, knock," Calliope greeted as she walked through the door with a wheelchair, "how are you guys doing this morning?"
"We're doing great," Athena answered.
"Fantastic. I got a question for you, Mrs. Nash. Are you ready to meet your babies?" Athena's eyes brightened and she would have jumped out of bed if doing so wouldn't have been the worse decision of her life.
"Yes."
Calliope and Bobby helped her out of bed and into the wheel chair. The trip to the NICU was thankfully short. As soon as she could see them she knew pictures didn't do them justice at all. She was sat comfortably in the chair next to the incubators. As soon as she was as comfortable as she could be, she saw Calliope opening the incubators and they babies were being placed in her arms. Shortly after, she excused herself to give them some time alone.
"Bobby."
"I told you."
"They are so beautiful and I have no idea what you're talking about because they do look like you."
"I have no idea what you're seeing, but I'll take your word for it." She noticed him taking pictures on his phone.
"Have you been calling them by their names?"
"I was waiting until you were here before anything was set in stone."
Athena looked at both her children, both awake, one looking up at her with big brown eyes, the other just nuzzled against her chest. "This one that's looking up at me is obviously Ayesha."
"Of course."
"And this is Amelia." She kissed both of her daughters and looked at her husband. He brought his lips to hers before she turned her attention back to her children. "Welcome to the world Ayesha Robin and Amelia Reign."
You've made it to the end!
Ayesha means life. Robins signify renewals and new beginnings. Amelia signifies strength and easy going. Reign signifies resilience. Thanks for reading Life Begins Anew with Strength and Resilience: the Birth of Ayesha and Amelia. Please excuse any errors my tired brain missed. Also, as someone who has never given birth, is not a parent, and trying to tell a multi layered story in one chapter, I may have taken some (re: a lot) of creative liberties with this. I tried to keep this as realistic as possible though. If I made any egregious errors or got something way off base please let me know.
Let me know what you think!