~.

At 8am the next morning we sat in my OB-GYN's office, our hands tightly joined, Andrea's leg bouncing up and down, betraying the tension she must be under. My own pulse beat a little faster as well, but outwardly, I believe I didn't show any signs of nervousness. A lie, of course, but I wouldn't be who I am, if I wasn't able to hide my true feelings. I gave a quick reassuring squeeze to Andrea's hand, while my free hand rested protectively over my extended belly, over my children.

"Here we go," Andrea murmured, "It's now or never."

The doctor mercifully didn't take long to come in and got on to matters right away. I knew why I liked him.

"Well, Miranda, Andrea," he began. "The DNA test tells me both children are perfectly healthy." We both let out a huge breath in relief at the good news, me more so than Andrea I guess. She clutched my hand even tighter after that, if that was even possible.

"You, Andrea," he turned to face her, a smile on his lips.

"Yes?" her voice was so timid and low when she spoke, while her eyes bore into the doctor, her complete focus on him. My heart reached out to her.

"Congratulations," he beamed and instantly Andrea released my hand to cover her face. If I was not mistaken, she squealed a little, which caused me to smirk. "You are the other parent to at least one of the little ones."

Andrea's hands fell as her head shot up. I myself took a sharp breath.

"One?" Andrea asked at the same time as I exclaimed, "What do you mean, one?" My heart beat so fast at that moment, I am certain wasn't good for my healthy children. I opened my mouth to inquire about more details, but my doctor beat me to it.

He nodded to placate us and then elaborated. "We only got your DNA, Andrea, to compare the fetuses with, since Stephen refused to send a sample. One baby's DNA matches yours perfectly, and there is no doubt you are their parent. For the second fetus, however, DNA is inconclusive. You may be the parent or not. I am very, very sorry, but at this stage, we are unable to tell."

I gripped Andrea's hand firmly.

"How? They're twins..." she wanted to know.

"The scientific explanation is a rare phenomenon called heteropaternal superfecundation. Basically, what happens, is that the female, in this instance Miranda, expels two eggs instead of one which are both able to be inseminated. This can happen at the same time or most likely within a few days from each other. With two eggs present, sometimes different men can father a child at about the same time with the woman. I am not saying this is what happened to you Miranda," he faced me now, "but as I said, in the absence of a clear DNA result, there is a chance for Stephen to have fathered one child. I am sorry, but I needed to inform you."

For a few moments, no-one spoke. I was simply too stunned to gather my thoughts, of course I had realized early in my pregnancy that the babies were fraternal and not identical since there were two gestational sacs, but for them to be able to have different fathers? I had no idea such a thing even existed.

Feeling the need to break the silence, my doctor cleared his voice and continued, "It's more common in elder…"

"Thank you doctor," I interrupted him, for now, I had heard enough.

Andrea still hadn't said anything. "Darling?" I turned to face her, fear knotting my insides about what her reaction might be. Silence wasn't a common reaction for my lovely, usually bubbly partner.

"Andrea?" I tried to catch her attention. She still didn't react.

I got up and stood beside her, placing my hand on her shoulder to softly stroke back and forth.

"Please, darling, look at me," I implored.

Much to my relief, she did.

"God, Miranda," a hesitant smile played on my Andrea's lips. "I'm going to be a parent…" She caught my gaze and held it, and we shared our moment of tentative joy.

I clenched my hand on her shoulder in relief. For a minute, I hadn't been sure of her reaction, but she seemed alright and able to focus on the bright side of things. At least one child was hers, and to me, that was all that mattered. Either we never got the second child tested if Stephen never asked for a paternity test and accepted both children as Andrea's or, well, we would, and got to know the truth once they were born.

Truth for me right then meant, I was pregnant with my lover's children and we both would be their parents. As the thought sank in, I felt all the pent-up tension fall away and profound relief take over. I couldn't stop a joyful tear to run down my cheek if my life depended on it. Blame the pregnancy hormones, will you?

I beamed at my lover, willing her to share my newfound happiness. "Yes, you are darling. We both are, together."

"Together, Miranda." She returned my smile with one of her own, the bright one, I adore so much.

"Um, doctor?" Andrea pulled away from me and looked expectantly at the doctor again. "Isn't there one more information for us?"

Oh my god, of course! I had completely forgotten… I went back to take my seat, my knees suddenly weak.

"Congratulations Miranda, Andrea, you will be parents to a beautiful boy and girl. Well, Andrea, for you right now, it's the girl for sure." His warm eyes rested on us.

"A set of both, oh my god Miranda, best news ever! I would have always begged you for a boy or girl, had we had only a set of one." Elated, Andrea got up and threw her arms around me. "This is so wonderful, you are the best, I will be a mother, me!" she enthused before she moved in to kiss me soundly on the lips.

The doctor cleared his throat again. "Excuse me, Andrea, I do not wish to rain on your parade, but if you are insinuating you would want to have more children with Miranda, I would like to caution you. From a medical perspective, we would recommend you to abstain. I am not saying it's not possible, but definitely not recommended."

Andrea had the good graces to blush. I heartily fought my impulse to stick out my tongue at her in jest, after all, we had been there and discussed that. Still, Andrea and her hopes for the future were sweet and endearing, she definitely wanted a family with me. With me! How did I deserve to be so blessed?

"I..I.. well," Andrea stuttered, "I only.. you know…" her blush got worse and I chuckled at her embarrassment.

I reached for her and caressed her arm. "I'm sorry darling, I wish I could have met you earlier in life, we certainly would have worked on a big family."

"As much as I love to try for a big family, Miranda, may I point out I would have been a little too young for you if that had happened?" To my relief, Andrea wasn't really saddened at the prospect of no more children if the amusement coloring her voice was any indication.

This visit to the doctor's office was a definite turning point in my life. What I had considered a conundrum before, and had been desperate enough about to share my story with you, resolved itself completely that day.

Andrea was and is my partner and I am hers. We are together and we will raise our children together. Maybe our bliss will not continue for all our life, but at least I am optimistic for the foreseeable future.

Our love runs strong, and I truly hope we will be able to overcome whatever life throws at us and enjoy our family. So far, our intimate life is fulfilling in a way I have not experienced with anyone else. I am not going to bore you with details, don't worry, let's just say the pads I should have been using before I became pregnant, I wear them now since leaking the evidence of your partner's enthusiasm into your panties may sound romantic but, believe me, it isn't at work. It's just wet and cold and makes you squirm for all the wrong reasons.

My pregnancy progresses as nature dictates, including all the publicly known glory and all publicly ignored disgraces. Andrea luckily settled for one set of babies, thank you very much, once she realized all pregnancy entails. Don't get me wrong, she and I are both ecstatic about the new life growing in me, but some aspects are just sobering, let me phrase things that way.

As is, I am 35 weeks pregnant, with a giganormous belly and on bed rest. I am scheduled for a c-section in two weeks if the babies want to stay in their confinement for that long. All is well and I thank fate every day for its assistance in solving my conundrum and bringing me happiness and joy instead.

I am fully set to enjoy life and whatever the future has in stock for me and my growing family.

As for you dear readers, I thank you for listening to me and may the fates bless you as much as they did me! Fare well and may we meet again. That's all. 😉

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~ The End ~

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Author's note:

This story is now finished and I hope you've enjoyed it.

I appreciate all feedback, past, present and future and would love to get your review. What have you liked? About the characters, story line, my writing? Letting me know will help me grow...

Also, for the purpose of the story line, I took some creative liberties, mostly with scientific facts, choosing narrative over accuracy. Everything I describe is possible, technically, however unlikely, at least, that is what I am told. How I like the advantages of being a writer… being able to bend real life to suit fictional need, lol

Maybe until next time,

yours truly,

Tendara