Tonight was one of those nights when Alex remembered that her life with Olivia would never go according to plan.
She had gone back to being utterly weepy about halfway through her labor. Diana was being slower than ever. She also wouldn't stop moving, elbowing her mother in between contractions. Alex had never been so uncomfortable before. Even with her pain relief. It was driving Alex insane.
Olivia kissed Alex and pulled her back up into a sitting position. She had been sitting behind her for support. Alex had leaned against her wife just for a beat. It felt better than trying to expel a stubborn baby from her body.
"Sit up." Olivia cooed in her wife's ear. "You're doing really well."
Alex shook her head. "No!"
Olivia continued to be patient. "Diana needs you. We're so close!"
These words were motivation enough because she let Olivia maneuver her into the proper position.
"Alright." Alex whimpered. "Someone tell me when."
The doctor checked. "On three, alright?"
Alex nodded in understanding.
"One more push will do it!" the doctor prepared herself. "One, two, three!"
Alex promptly bore down with everything she had.
Olivia watched in awe as Diana Pearl Cabot entered the world. At long last.
"She's here!" the doctor called as Diana began to wail. "Your baby girl is here, and she's perfect! You see?"
The doctor held Diana up for her mothers to see.
Both of them wept in joy.
This little miracle was a major reason for her parents even coming together. She was hope. Their indication that things would get better in the future. Diana had even endured Alex's abduction. If anything, she was coming into the world as a warrior. Naming her for Wonder Woman had been the perfect choice.
Alex exhaled shakily. "Go cut the cord so you can clean Diana up for cuddles."
Olivia didn't need telling twice.
Before she knew it, the bond had been cut and she was cleaning Diana up on a warming bed.
"I am so happy to finally meet you. Feels like it's been five years."
Diana was very startled to no longer be in the comfort of her mother's womb. Everything had been been perfectly fine. But she calmed when she recognized her mother's voice.
Olivia realized the connection that Diana was already trying to make. "You recognize my voice, huh?"
The baby simmered down and fussed only a little bit.
Suddenly...
A sharp gasp sounded from the bed. It was Alex.
One of the nurses quickly took over Diana's care.
Olivia hurried to Alex again. "Talk to me."
Alex was hunched over in more discomfort. "The medication is wearing off, and now I feel as though I should push again! Is that crazy?"
"No, baby." Olivia got situated behind Alex once more. "Not at all."
The doctor moved into position at the foot of the bed again when his patient began to bear down. Alex's instincts were kicking in.
"I have the pleasure of telling both of you," the doctor said in surprise. "That Diana is a twin!"
"WHAT?!" the Cabots both shrieked in confusion.
It took naught but ten minutes before Cabot baby number two had joined the world.
Alex fell back into Olivia's arms again. She was confused and very tired. But at lest she was allowed a brief break before she had to get the placenta out of her body.
"Who is here?" she asked wearily.
The doctor held up the second child. "Say hello to your other daughter."
Alex and Olivia could only stare.
A twin? How had they missed this? How had anyone?
Their lives would now never go according to plan anymore. For the rest of their days. Diana and her sister were already living proof. But the twin's arrival into the world—this was fate's decree.
Of something.
Alex was the first to snap out of it. "Is my girl healthy?"
"She is!" the doctor said cheerfully over the baby's indignant squalls. "It's rare, but sometimes one twin hides behind another until the very last second!"
Not rare for this family, Olivia thought.
"We can never do anything quiet."
Olivia sighed and kissed the top of Alex's head.
"You are an angel." she whispered to her. "I'll be right back."
Feeling slightly stunned, Olivia got off the bed and cut the umbilical cord of her second daughter. Was she even real?
Her loud cries and kickings limbs all said yes.
Olivia cleaned her other daughter up just as lovingly as she had Diana. She dressed her in a fresh onesie, swaddled her in a new blanket, and fit her with a clean cap after she was weighed, measured, and put into a diaper. The little one wasn't even as noisy as Diana. In fact... she was remarkably calm. She even sucked on her thumb. It was like she was relieved to not be cramped by Diana anymore.
"Look at you, my other sweet tiny love." Olivia said to her. "Little treasure."
The baby just sighed happily. Her mother's voice was very assuring.
Olivia gently scooped her up. "Come on. Let's bring you over now."
The baby let out another sigh. Being in motion was pleasing.
Meanwhile, Alex was finally done with delivering the afterbirth. Now she could hold her daughters.
This concept hit Alex like a freight train. All this time, she'd had a feeling that the littlest Cabot was a girl. She hadn't been wrong on that front. But a second baby? Nothing in her gene pool had suggested even the possibility of it happening for her.
Harper had had time to adjust when she'd found out about Zoelle.
Sophia had also had time to get used to a second baby upon learning about Esme.
Even Amanda had found time to be comfortable after being told of Billie.
But Alex hadn't been afforded this luxury. As usual, insane situations had been thrust upon her at the last second. This was her new normal.
"Here you go." Olivia set the second baby into Alex's arms and gave her a support pillow for her to rest the weight on. "Baby girl is a perfect treasure. You did an amazing job. I'm so proud of you."
Alex began to cry. "Thank you."
Olivia wiped her tears for her and even fixed Alex's droopy hair bun into a secure topknot. "Right now, I'm going to hang out with Diana so that you can get to know this little miss. Is that alright?"
"Yes."
Alex promptly turned her attention to her youngest daughter.
"Oh, I don't even know where you start with you. But that's okay." Alex told her. "If you felt that hiding behind your sister was the right thing to do, then we won't be mad. I'm actually quite impressed. Bravo."
The baby merely heaved a big yawned and snuggled close. She just wanted to hear her mother's heartbeat. Alex continued chatting to her. Everything about this moment was incredibly surreal.
Olivia turned her own focus to Diana. "You're a sneaky little thing. But I like it. You're going to really keep us on our toes, huh? That already sounds about your speed. We don't mind."
Diana gazed at her mother in awe. She continued to find Olivia's voice enchanting.
Olivia hugged Diana and whispered in her ear, "I'm so happy that you're in the world now. We love you."
Alex's nurse watched the scene with fondness. Not many people would take this kind of development well. But the Cabots were adjusting fast. And well. She hated to break up the scene.
But she had to.
"Pardon me, but do either of your precious darlings have names yet?" she stepped forward with a notepad and pen.
"Well," said Alex. "The one in my arms doesn't."
The nurse showed her kindness. "Nothing wrong there. We'll be around to take that information when something does come."
Alex gave her a kind smile. "Thank you."
The nurse patted her shoulder in a motherly way before speaking this time to Olivia.
"What of this baby princess?" she asked her.
Olivia grinned. "Here we have Diana Pearl Cabot."
"What a lovely name." the nursed copied it down on on her clipboard. "I'm just making a note for now."
"Alright." Olivia said in understanding. "Thank you."
"Of course. I will be right back."
Olivia and Alex just nodded, their attention was already back on their new children.
So the nurse let them be.
Olivia sat on the edge of the bed, close to her wife. "Would you like to hold both of them again?"
Alex's heart filled with butterflies. "Yes, please."
Olivia set Diana in Alex's arms.
"My heart is fit to burst." sighed Alex.
Olivia propped a support pillow under Alex's arms again for good measure. "My heart feels the same way."
"But we were blindsided by a second baby. She has nothing." Alex's bottom lip wobbled. "I'm lost."
"Treasure is clean and dressed properly, and swaddled in warm blanket. She's got us. Diana, too. All of that is already here in this room. I'd call it a strong start."
Alex recognized the wisdom of her wife's words. "Yes. All of that is very true."
"We'll be okay, and I'll make sure things are in order by the time we bring the babies home." Olivia promised her while privately wondering who to call for help now. Probably Trevor. "I'll take care of everything. Don't worry."
"Okay. I trust you."
Olivia hugged Alex. "Thanks. Now let's just marvel over out little darlings, hm?"
Events didn't really come to a head until after the Cabot babies had been fed and cleaned up.
"I think the girls are blissed out now." Alex told Olivia. "Have you heard anything about Sophia, Casey, or Amanda recently?"
Olivia shook her head. "No."
Alex looked her directly in the eyes. "I want the nurse to find Harper."
"A visit from her sounds perfect just now." Olivia pressed the nearby 'CALL NURSE' button beside the bed. "Harp has to be round here somewhere."
She was located in record time.
It wasn't lost on her that so many people in the family depended on her or told her their secrets. On the whole, she was honored. Harper knew her family respected her greatly. They thought her wise. Brave. A survivor of hell. They couldn't not respect that. All of it gave Harper a tremendous amount of pride.
Tonight, so many people had called on her for help.
That gave her even more pride. Harper didn't know if she could handle much else.
"A-am I seeing things?" she sputtered after greeting the new mothers.
Olivia spoke very calmly. "Turns out that Diana was hiding an identical sister this whole time."
"Remarkable."
Harper then approached her sister-in-law and gave her a hug. "I know exactly how you feel. Are you doing alright?"
Alex nodded slowly. "I'm still in shock, but I'm doing my best to adjust."
"That's good." Harper said seriously. "All both of you have to do is take little steps."
"At least our family is used to unusual plot twists by now." Olivia murmured.
"What's the word on Serena and Noah?" asked Alex.
"Being looked after by the Novaks." Harper provided. "Your little ones are fast asleep."
"Just what I want to hear. Please tell you've seen the rest of the new arrivals."
Harper swelled with pride. "I've seen all of them. And their parents called on me to deliver the news of them to everyone else. For example, my godchildren are immediately our right. Dominick Abramo the third and Billie Alexis."
Here, Alex brightened. "They're your godchildren?"
"Yes, and I love them so much. Your grandchildren are one room over."
Olivia was quick to start wheedling. "Please tell us their full names now. Sophia and Casey have been holding tight."
"With fun reason. Your grandson is called Henry Augustín Benoît Benson."
"I can see who his mothers wanted to honor." said Alex. "That was really sweet."
You ain't seen anything yet, Harper thought. "Agnes' middle names are Olivia and Violet."
A sudden hush filled the room as Olivia processed this information. She cherished the unique bond that she had with Sophia, but they were friends, too. For her to do something like this... It was beyond sweet. The kindest thing she could have possibly done for her.
"Wow. I don't know what to say." Olivia finally admitted. "That's amazing. And I can't wait to see her later."
Alex nodded in agreement. "What about Esme's full name?"
Harper didn't miss a beat. "She is called Esme Alexandra Beth."
"Oh, wow." Alex's breath caught for a moment as she had a word with her wife. "Casey and Sophia named their kids for their parents. Us. The Novaks. The Rollinses. My heart could actually burst."
"The same goes for me." said Olivia. "You even have two new new teeny-tiny namesakes."
Alex in her tiredness just nominated as she began to ruminate on all that had unfolded.
Harper easily read the room. "How about I go send someone in with your middle kids? I need to get my babies home. They've been hanging out with Trevor and Maisie all this time."
Olivia hugged her sister. "Thank you for all your help tonight. You're officially free from being the messenger, although you are more than welcome to tell the others about our plot twist."
"Copy that." Harper hugged Olivia and Alex. "I love all of you very much."
And with a wave, Harper left the room.
Time to head back. Many people awaiting an update.
It wasn't long before Harper found herself in the waiting room, standing at the head of the throng that was her family. Casey's parents had even returned.
Harper spoke and all was quiet. "Diana Pearl is happily safe and sound..."
Everyone chattered excited with each other.
"And so is her twin sister." she finished.
"What?" the others child small crowed chimed as one.
Donnelley blurted, "I'm as happy as the rest of you, but more twins? Do any of you realize the statistics on that? Am I crazy? Or is there someone sitting at their desk writing out our lives?"
"When it comes to this family," Melinda told her. "You just stop asking questions after awhile and go with it. I learned that early on."
"She's right," chirped Fin. "And I know that better than anyone."
Donnelley just leaned back in her seat and sighed. As always, hanging out with these people always put her through the paces. She enjoyed it. But still… she swore she felt some new grey hairs growing.
Novak Senior cleared his throat. "Sophia is obviously out of commission for the moment, but do her mothers want to see the rest of their children?"
"Yes." Harper told her. "I said I'd make sure someone would send them along."
"Then Vi and I will see to that. Go home, dear. You look dead on your feet."
Sleepiness hit Harper like a brick wall. "Am I ever."
"Then be well." Senior said as he and Violet collected the middle Cabot children from Ellington. "As always, call if you need anything."
Harper loved this man's continuing kindness. "Thank you. Maybe I will."
Harper addressed everyone remaining. "The rest of you can do whatever you want. My next move is to bring my children home."
Things broke up.
Now there was talk of people getting to their various homesteads.
It was very late.
Olivia fell asleep after a long while.
She wasn't sure when because she watched Alex just sleep for awhile. This woman awed her.
After making sure that Alex was comfortable, then seeing Noah and Serena off with the 5th Avenue Novaks, and checking on the twins in the nursery, Olivia finally let sleep overtake her. It was blissful. Even in this even in this environment.
She would see everyone else.
Later.
