It was six months later, and Rose was now nine months pregnant. She had an easy pregnancy, but she was about double the size she was during the last pregnancy. Her due date had come and gone, and she was still pregnant (much to her dismay).
One morning, Rose was still in bed when Josie came in. Josie was now five years old, and her birthday was a few weeks before. Rose had stayed in bed most of the day since when she stood up and walked around, her back and ankles ached. "Good morning, Mommy," said Josie with a smile.
"Good morning, darling," said Rose, "I'm sorry I couldn't be more fun on your birthday."
"That's okay. I know if you could've you would've. Besides, Daddy made it really special."
Rose smiled, but then she felt something. "Good, that's good. Darling, can you send Daddy in please?"
"Of course, Mommy," said Josie, and she skipped out of the room.
Jack came in and kissed her. "Josie told me that you wanted to see me?"
Rose smiled. "Yes, I did," she said. "My water just broke."
"Oh my god," said Jack. He stopped for a second. "Okay, I'm going to call Jena to come and take Josie, and I'm going to call the doctor. Okay!" He ran away, but then returned and kissed Rose. "We're having a baby."
Rose smiled. "I know." Jack smiled back and then left.
Jena had Josie outside in the backyard, while Rose was in their bedroom with the doctor. Just like last time, Jack convinced the doctor to let him stay with Rose. "Okay, Rose, it's time to push."
Rose pushed and pushed, and finally the baby was born. They heard the cry, and Jack went to see the baby. "It's a girl, Rose," he said with a smile. "Josie has a sister."
Rose smiled and then moaned in pain. "There's something wrong."
The doctor rushed back over to Rose. "Rose, you're crowning."
"What?" Jack and Rose said at the same time.
"You're having twins," said the doctor.
Jack handed the baby to the nurse and rushed back over to Rose. "We're having twins, Rose."
Rose smiled, then pushed again, and another baby was born. This time, it was a boy. "It's a boy," Jack smiled.
Jack was holding his son, and the nurse handed Rose the baby girl. The doctor and nurse had left, and Rose turned to Jack. "We have three kids, Jack. Three."
"I know. And we also have two newborns at the same time." Jack smiled. "We're not going to sleep for another three years."
"That's okay though, isn't it?" Rose asked.
"Of course, sweetheart. We'll figure it out. We always do."
"We should call Josie in, shouldn't we?" Rose asked. Jack nodded and called her in.
"Mommy, are you okay?" Josie asked.
"Of course, darling," said Rose. "Do you want to meet your siblings?"
Josie's face lit up and she nodded. "Josie, this is your brother," said Jack. "And in your mother's arms is your sister."
"I have a brother and a sister?" Josie asked with a smile. "That is so cool!"
Jack and Rose both laughed. "Did Daddy give you the present you asked for?" Rose asked as she looked over at Jack, and Josie shook her head. "I'm sorry, darling. I promise we'll get you your present."
Josie smiled. "That's okay, Mommy. This is my present." Josie put her small hand on her sister's even smaller hand.
Rose leaned over and kissed Josie's cheek. "I love you, Josie."
"I love you too, Mommy. And I love my brother and sister."
Jena entered the room. "Oh my gosh, Rose, they're beautiful. Congratulations!"
"Thanks, Jena," said Rose.
"Jack, let me take the baby so you can put Josie to sleep," said Jena.
Jack handed Jena the baby. Rose turned to Jena after Jack left. "I'm kind of freaking out. How am I expected to handle three kids? Two of them are newborns!" Rose said.
"Rose, you're going to be fine," said Jena. "You probably felt the same way when Josie was born."
"Yeah, I did," said Rose.
"Plus, you have Jack to help you. Have you told him that you feel this way?" Jena asked.
"No, I haven't, it feels silly," said Rose. "It's also not all bad. We always wanted three kids, so that means that was my last pregnancy, which is kind of a relief."
"Number one, this is unchartered territory for you. Having twins is new for you. But five years ago, so was motherhood. Number two, if you told Jack, he would understand and try to help you."
"I know," said Rose. "Wow, you Dawsons and your pep talks."
Jena smiled at the baby in her arms. "Yes, I guess we're both good at that. Anyway, no matter what you have to make sure you're paying Josie the same attention as before. Otherwise, she'll start to resent you both, and the babies."
"You're right," said Rose. "But it's not like you're not a superhero. You and Alex are both doctors, and you take care of Mia."
"It's all communication, I promise," said Jena.
Jack returned, and Jena went home. "So what are we going to name them?" Jack asked.
"Well, we can use the boy name we never used on Josie," said Rose. "Myles Richard Dawson?"
Jack smiled. "I love it. What about our little girl?"
"I don't know, but I hate matching twin names. I do, however, like matching first initials."
"So what can we do? Marie, Michelle, Madison-"
"I like Madison, but Madison Dawson… doesn't exactly sound right," said Rose.
"I got it!" Jack said confidently. "What about Madeline, Maddie for short?"
Rose smiled. "Perfect. How about Madeline Grace Dawson?"
Jack leaned over and kissed her. "I love it. Maddie and Myles."
Finally, all three kids were asleep, and Jack and Rose were in bed. "I can't believe it. We have three kids. Jack, we have three kids."
"I'm kind of still in shock myself too. But it's all going to be fine. I'm taking a paternity leave to help you at home. And during the day we'll only have to worry about the babies, who will hopefully be sleeping for most of the time."
"I know," said Rose. "And I have to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"We said we want three kids, so that would mean that this is our last time with newborns. We should try to enjoy it."
"Yes, we should," said Jack. "Wait, that's not a question."
Rose laughed. "I guess not. I guess what I'm trying to say is that while juggling all three of them and dealing with the stress, we should still try to enjoy it. Savor it."
"I agree. We should try to go to sleep, since the kids will all be awake in a few hours."
"You're right," said Rose. She gave Jack a kiss. "Good night. I love you."
Jack wrapped his arms around Rose's waist. "I love you more than anything."
