Alexis woke up to a sharp pain ripping through her stomach. She immediately knew she was in labor "it's not supposed to be for another month". She turned over and nudged Randy "Randy I'm in labor" Randy shot up and looked at Alexis, wide eyed.
"What? It's not time yet" he said dumbly, still half asleep.
"Oh really? Well the kids don't know that" Alexis said with her best smartass tone. Randy got up out of bed and put on some clothes, he then pulled Alexis out of bed and helped her downstairs. He guided her to the car, holding her hand the entire way.
Randy got to the hospital in record time. He had skimmed a few 'pink' lights and glided around a few vehicles he deemed moving too slowly and had made good time arriving. He helped Alexis out and to the waiting room. "My wife's having a baby" he yelled out, getting the attention of everyone within earshot. A nurse came over and helped him get Alexis into a wheelchair.
"Oh my God" Alexis said, as another contraction had ripped through her. Her doctor said she was at 8 centimeters already and it wouldn't be long before she would be ready to deliver the baby.
"It's ok sweetheart just breathe" Randy said wiping Alexis' face with a cool towel. She looked at him, reminding Randy of someone possessed. He was almost ready to see her head start spinning in circles.
"OH SHUT UP" she bellowed, startling Randy "YOU WE'RE THE ONE WHO GOT ME INTO THIS! GO AWAY! GO CALL MARK! I WANT HIM HERE! HE WOULDN'T DO THIS TO ME!" Randy scurried out of the room and down the hall. He got to a payphone and put change in, dialing Mark's number.
"Hey man" Randy said when Mark answered. "Alexis is having the babies...Yeah we're at the hospital and she's asking, well more like demanding, that you be here". Mark said he was on his way and Randy hung up the phone. He walked back down the hall and back into the room with Alexis.
"You know Randy" she said through gritted teeth, in the midst of another contraction. "You are never getting near me again with your dick. You're going to have to cut it off before I even think about letting you get within five feet of me". Randy gulped, a wide eyed look on his face.
"Don't worry" a nurse whispered to him "all women are like this when they give birth, especially the ones that have multiple births it means they have to be in pain longer and that sucks for them". Randy nodded, still taken aback by how harsh Alexis was being.
"Alright Alexis I think we need to do a C-section. The babies are having a bit of difficulty coming out, plus they're early and that's not good either" both Randy and Alexis looked at the doctor in alarm when he said this.
"What do you mean doctor, will my babies be ok?" Randy asked, rushing up to the doctor.
"This is routine for multiple births" the doctor soothed Randy "we do a C-section when it looks like the mother's are going to have a hard time with the birth".
"What would happen if Alexis tried to deliver the babies naturally?" Randy asked, almost afraid to hear the answer but needing to know all the same.
"You don't want to know" the doctor said gravely. "Now Mr. Orton I hate to say it but you have to wait in the waiting room while the C-section is going on, we don't allow anyone else in the room. It shouldn't take more than an hour at the most though". Randy nodded, even though he really wanted to kick and scream and tell them they'd have to kill him before he'd leave Alexis' side. Instead though he went over and kissed her softly, whispering to her that it would be alright and in an hour they'd be the proud parents of a little boy and girl. Alexis nodded and gave Randy's hand one last squeeze before he left the room, slowly going toward the waiting room.
"Randy" Mark said, standing up from his seat "what are you doing out here? How's Alexis? Have the babies been born already?" Mark stopped his rapid fire questions when he saw that Randy was pale and looked like he had been punched in the stomach. "Randy? What is it man, come on you're scaring me". Instead of answering Mark, Randy dropped down on the floor, burying his face in his hands and crying for all he was worth. Mark dropped down next to him and hugged Randy to him, despite his desire to shake Randy and demand to know what was up. A few minutes later Randy still hadn't quit crying and John, Trish, and Jessie showed up. Mark was relieved that he had called them when he had left.
"What's wrong with him?" John asked gesturing to Randy "did something happen?"
"I...I dunno man" Mark replied to John's question "he's been like this for quite a few minutes now, I haven't been able to get anything out of him". To everyone's surprise Jessie sat down on the floor next to where Randy and Mark were sitting. She touched his arm and he looked up at her.
"What's going on Randy?" she asked him softly, he wiped his tears and took a deep breath.
"The doctor's doing a C-section on Lexi. He said that the babies are having trouble coming out and that with multiple births it was better to do a C-section" Randy finished his explaination and broke down again. Mark wasn't too far behind him, worried about his sister. Jessie wrapped her arms around Randy and Trish sat down beside Mark, both trying to comfort the guys. John didn't know what he could do so he went to the cafeteria to get coffee's, and in Jessie's case a hot chocolate.
After Randy and Mark calmed down everyone moved to some seats, it was also about this time John got back with the drinks. He handed everyone one and they all sat together, no one really talking everyone preoccupied with Alexis and how she was doing. After a little while Jessie moved over to the other side of the waiting room, away from everyone. John noticed the action and debated on whether or not he should go see what was wrong. Finally he decided to just go try and see if Jessie would talk to him.
"Hey baby girl" John said sitting down beside her "been one heck of a day so far hasn't it". Jessie nodded, not looking toward John. She had her head rested on one of her hands and seemed to be shaking a bit. "Honey" John asked, becoming concerned "what's wrong?"
"I can't lie to you anymore" Jessie said softly "there's something I need to tell you..." John knew where this was going so he decided to stop Jessie before she got emotional.
"Baby girl I know" Jessie looked startled and John went on "I heard everything you told Trish. I can't say I'm not disappointed or that it doesn't make me think of your mom in a different way because it does. I mean I loved your mom I really did and to hear that she treated our daughter like crap hurts me. It makes me feel like somehow it was my fault, I mean I know there was no way of me knowing all of that but I still feel that way. All I want to do now is make sure you have the best life possible" Jessie reached over and hugged John.
"You do" she whispered.
"Come on" John said standing up "let's go rejoin everyone. I'll let you sit on my lap. You look tired anyway and maybe you can get some sleep" Jessie nodded and followed John back across the room. She sat in his lap when he sat down and he covered her up with his jacket. Within minutes she was asleep again, having had another rough night the night before.
About an hour and a half later the doctor Randy had seen in with Alexis earlier came into the room. He was still in his scrubs and looked stoic. Everyone stood up, except John because he had Jessie in his lap, looking at the doctor in anticipation.
"Well" the doctor started "mother and babies are as good as can be expected considering the circumstances she was under. Alexis is still under the anesthesia and she'll be sore for about 6 weeks while the stitches do their job and heal the area. You're little girl is really small, her lungs aren't fully developed yet and she's gonna be put on a breathing machine to help her breathe. Other complications later on might show up but we won't know until then. You're little boy is the better of the two. He has some deformity with his feet though, which may affect his ability to walk. Other than that he's fine. His lungs were already developed and he's breathing really well on his own. I wanna keep them here until Alexis is ready to go home, your little girl may have to stay longer but I'm not really sure yet".
"When can we see her or the babies?" Mark spoke up quietly, Randy seemed to be really out of it and he knew that Randy wouldn't be able to ask anything at the moment.
"Well we wanna get the girl settled in with a breathing machine and all first but they should all be in a room in about 30 minutes, we'll have a nurse come get you when you can go back" the doctor left then. Everyone looked over at Randy. He was open mouthed and seemed to be in a shocked state.
"They're alright" Mark said to Randy, putting a hand on his shoulder "I mean yeah the babies have a few complications from being born early but its minor things, they're alive and reasonably healthy. It'll be ok, just be glad that it went as well as it did".
"I am glad" Randy said "I'm just...shocked that my little boy and little girl have things wrong with them. I mean don't get me wrong I still love them more than anything in this world but it just hurts to know that they aren't 100 healthy and all. I just need to see them, once I do I'll be fine" Randy shook himself off and took a deep breath. About that time a nurse came and they followed her to the room that Alexis and the babies were kept in. As Randy made his way in he felt tears spring to his eyes, Alexis was in bed still asleep. She looked kinda pale and Randy could see the bulge of a big thick bandage under her hospital gown. He started to walk toward her when a small cry stopped him in his tracks. He looked to the other side of the room and saw two small cribs set up. One had an oxygen tank sitting next to it with a cord leading inside of the bed. Randy turned toward the nurse, a questioning look in his eyes. She nodded and motioned him toward the cribs. He walked slowly toward them, almost hesitant. He saw that it was his little boy who was crying. He reached inside the crib and gently pulled the crying baby out. He brought the little boy to his chest and looked down at the small face in wonder. "Hey big guy" Randy said softly "what's with the tears huh? Why you crying? Awww little man it's ok daddy's right here" Randy started bouncing the infant lightly and he walked around the room a bit. After a few minutes the baby calmed down and quit crying. Randy sat on the edge of Alexis' bed and held his little boy, looking at him in wonder. He couldn't believe that he was holding his little boy in his arms, his son.
"Matthew David" a voice creaked out behind Randy. He shifted so he was sitting sideways and saw that Alexis was awake and looking at him. He bent down as best as he could with Matthew in his arms and kissed Alexis softly.
"So that's what you wanna call him?" Randy asked once he had pulled away from the kiss.
"Yeah Matthew means gift of the Lord and David means beloved one" Alexis whispered. "Can I hold him?" Randy nodded. He handed the baby to Mark and helped Alexis up into a sitting position. Once she was sitting and comfortable he got Matthew from Mark's arms and handed him to his mom. Alexis held her little boy and had the same look of wonderment that Randy had earlier.
"What are you gonna name your little girl?" Mark asked from where he was standing, watching Alexis hold her small baby in her arms. He felt this insane amount of pride in his heart for his little sister. He couldn't believe that she had grown up so much and that now she had babies of her own.
"Sydney Grace" Randy spoke up. He remembered that they had decided on those two names a while back "Sydney means cherished one and Grace means blessing" at that moment Sydney started whining a bit. Randy smiled and walked over to her bed. He picked her up and started to move toward the bed when he remembered her breathing tube that was hooked to a large tank of oxygen. John walked over and he wheeled the tank while Randy carried the baby. Randy took up his position beside Alexis, both of them just enjoying their time with the babies.
"We're gonna go" John spoke up "we'll let you two enjoy your time with your new babies and once they come home we'll have a welcoming home party". Randy and Alexis nodded and after an exchanging of hugs and congratulations everyone left as the new parents took in their new life. They knew it wouldn't always be easy but both of them were ready for what life threw at them.