AN: At long last, the birth of the twins! (Oh, and I do realize that I made her pregnancy the "normal" 9-month length, when usually she is portrayed as having a shortened pregnancy (somewhere around 6 months, I think), courtesy of the Witchblade). Also, I have never given birth, so I have taken liberties in my descriptions. Hopefully, I am close to reality.

SAVE THE LAST DANCE

Chapter 12

"Dammit, get that thing away from me!! I don't want it!!"

"Ma'am, it's good for the babies—"

"I don't want it! They'll be out soon, so why bother?!"

"Ma'am, I must ask you not to pull out your IV again. This is the third time I've had to replace it in your arm."

"Damn straight. I won't pull it out again, 'cause it won't be going back in. Period. I got through the last one without it, and I'll get through it this time. So leave!!!" The nurse left immediately, looked affronted and muttering something about "stubborn patients".

Ian sighed deeply. "Sara, why don't you just let her put it in?"

She crossed her arms and stared him down menacingly. "Because it bothers the hell out of me! And-and-and I just don't see the need for it—oh! Oooooh…" She winced, hissing as pain rolled over her in a wave, making her arch her back as her muscles constricted. He soothed her gently, easing her down from it as the pain faded, only to return less than a minute later, even worse than before. It continued like this for nearly an hour before the doctor finally announced that she was ready to push. Ian took Michelle outside, leaving her with her Uncle Danny while he returned to his lady's side. She groaned, a deep sound that reached his very bones, as she pushed with all her might.

"One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…"

"Count faster!!"

"Eight-nine-ten," he finished quickly as her grip on his hand increased exponentially.

"AAAAHHH!!!!!" She cried out as she felt her insides spread to accommodate the passage of her child.

"It's crowning! I can see the head. Okay, Sara, you can stop pushing for just a moment. Would you like to feel the head?"

She nodded eagerly, and he took her hand, guiding it down to rest on the emerging mound that was her baby's head. As her fingertips grazed wet, downy hair, a single tear rolled down her cheek. She was going to be a mother again. By the end of this long day, she would hold her two newest children in her arms. She was then seized by another contraction, at which she was instructed to continue her efforts to expel her child from her body. She complied, straining as her baby rushed to join them. She felt a strange hollowness deep within her as her child quite suddenly slipped from her body.

The doctor lifted the squalling newborn up so that the new parents could see their daughter. "It's a girl!"

Ian kissed Sara's temple as they both gazed at this tiny miracle. "No wonder she was in such a hurry," he joked. "She's her mother's daughter." She ignored the comment, watching intently as her baby girl was wrapped and placed in her arms.

"Ian, we have a daughter. We have a little baby girl!"

"Yes, my love. And she'll be as beautiful as her mother. She already is."

She looked up at him. "Here, take her. Go show her to her big sister."

He smiled and took the tiny bundle, leaving the room briefly.

Out in the hallway, as he pulled back the folds of the blanket to let her face peek out, Michelle let out a happy shriek. "She's so pretty! Can I hold her? Please?"

"Not quite yet, honey. In a little bit, you can hold them both, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy."

"That's a good girl."

He quickly went back into the room, where Sara was preparing for the second child to make his or her appearance. It was not until an hour and fifteen minutes later that this twin finally came into view.

"Sara, would you like to feel this one's head, too?" She nodded, her attention now divided between the infant leaving her body, and the one lying in the small bed across the room, being examined by nurses. She touched the slick head, and felt another contraction begin to creep up her body. She groaned.

"Ian, this one definitely takes after you. It even takes it's time to come—"

"The head is out! One more good one, and you'll be done, Sara!"

She bore down with all of her strength, but still the baby did not come.

"Your baby doesn't seem to want to come yet," the doctor said as she supported the child's fragile head and neck. "I guess you'll need one or two more good pushes before this one arrives fully."

Sara nodded and ground her teeth as she moaned her way through three more pushes. Then, finally, she felt her child leave her, leaving another hollow space deep within her.

"Congratulations, it a boy!" The doctor held this one up, too, and then settled him in his mother's left arm, while Ian placed his sister in the other. Now that she was dry, they could see that the dusting of dark hair across the top of her head was the chestnut of her mother's.

"Ian, we have a son! And look, he's got your hair!"

"I know. He's beautiful."

"Handsome, isn't he? Just like someone else I know."

"Oh, really? And would I know this handsome man of yours?"

She shoved him playfully. "You are so bad!"

He nuzzled her neck, his breath tickling her skin as he spoke. "But it feels so good."

"Go get your daughter." He started to lift the infant from her arm. "Nooooo, your other daughter."

"Oh. Right."

He brought Michelle in a moment later, and she ran to the bed, scrambling up to sit beside her mother. She gazed down at the sleepy twins, admiring their tiny faces and delicate hands.

She looked up at Sara. "Mama, can I tell them their names now?"

"Sure, baby. Go ahead."

********

AN: Next chapter will follow upon receiving enough feedback!

(Are you happy, Eli?)