Addison's POV

Two days after dress shopping for my bridesmaid and maid of honor, which ended up just Bree getting a dress. It's Tuesday and I have a doctor's appointment after school. And, for once, I'm really excited.

Today's our first ultrasound.

My pen anxiously tapped against the notebook, eyes glued to the slow ticking clock, until a soft hand settles over mine and startles me out of my focus. I stare wide eyed at my best friend who's smiling at me.

"If you don't stop, you might get detention." She whispered, gesturing towards the teacher eying me as they lectured. I shrink into my seat. Bree retracts her hand and straightens in her own chair.

"5 more minutes Addy. You can make it." She whispered teasingly with a quiet giggle.

I take a deep breath, settling my excited nerves. A familiar warmth suddenly fills my chest and I smile. Zed's thinking about me. I return the favor, focusing my thoughts on how much I love him. I feel pride start to course through my system and a smile spreads wider across my lips.

There are so many people who will never feel how I do about Zed. The love we share is one of a kind. Even before we had our connection, I knew he was my forever. I don't think anyone has ever felt the way we do for each other. Or maybe they have and have kept it top secret. I force back my giggle and just shake my head.

It doesn't matter if no one ever understands our relationship. We have each other and, soon, our little bundle of joy. My hand slides off the tabletop to my stomach.

All of the sudden, I feel like I could cry, tears welling up in the corners on my eyes. I love our baby so much already and it's just the beginning of the pregnancy! I can only imagine how I'll feel when I can hold them, kiss their little face.

The bell rings, making me jump from my thoughts. Bree looks over at me with a smile that suddenly drops from worry the next instant. "What's wrong Addy? Are you ok?" She asked, gentle hand placed on my shoulder.

I let out a wet chuckle and wipe my eyes. "Yeah Bree, they're happy tears. I'm just so excited." I assure her. "These damn hormones are gonna kill me!" Bree giggles at my joking and pulls me in for a quick hug.

"You'll have to tell me everything after your appointment! I can't wait to see the little bean in the ultrasound photos!" She basically squealed. I giggle in excitement along with her.

Until a pair of arms come up behind me and wrap over my chest, a kiss planted in my hair. I smile, relaxing as I lean back into him and close my eyes. I could just live in his arms for the rest of eternity and not regret a second of it.

"Hi Zed! Are you as excited for the ultrasound as Addy is?" Bree asked as she gathered her books into her bag. Zed chuckles and kisses the top of my head again before collecting my things to help me pack up as well.

"Beyond excited, Bree!" He stuffs my books in the backpack I held open, then nuzzled his nose into my cheek. "Addy's been doing such a great job growing our little one that I just can't wait!" He coos goofily, causing my giggles to re-emerge. Bree smiled and rolled her eyes at us.

"Well you two love birds better get a move on if you're gonna make it to your appointment on time!" She said, wagging a mock scolding finger at us.

My whole face lights up with a wide excited smile as I squeal, jumping to my feet and grabbing Zed's hand. He throws my backpack over his shoulder along with his and smiles fondly down at me while I pull him out of the classroom.

"I'll see you Monday Bree! Have a good cheer practice!" I yell behind us in my rush. "I'll root for you in spirit!"

The halls are way too crowded for my liking. I continuously stretch up on my top toes to see how much further the doors are as we move with the stream of students. I let out a frustrated huff and Zed chuckles, releasing my hand to snake his arm around my waist to hug me tight.

"We have plenty of time, Adds." He assured me, planting a kiss to my scalp. I sigh but relax into his side.

"I know. I'm just excited." I say too quietly in my embarrassment that only his enhanced zombie hearing can pick up.

"Me too, Garziga. Me too." He chuckles and kisses my hair again, leading me (at a much more leisurely pace) towards the front exit of the school.


"Addison?" The nurse calls into the waiting room.

"Here!" I basically jump out of my seat and speed walk over to her, Zed close on my heels. It felt like we'd been waiting an eternity after the normal appointment when, in reality, it was only about 10 minutes or so. But it was finally time!

The nurse smiles, seeing the excitement written all over our faces. "Hi Addison! I'm Maggie. I'm going to be your ultrasound technician today!" I reach out and shake her hand then turn back.

"This is Zed, Baby's daddy," she introduced, earning light laughs as Zed shook her hand as well.

"Nice to meet you! Right this way!" Maggie motioned for us to follow her as she escorts us to the ultrasound room. We walk into the dark room, only lit by the ultrasound monitor and a few track lights along the ceiling, and I'm instructed to lay down. She helps me tuck the sanitary paper into my leggings and makes sure she has enough room on my lower abdomen to work.

Being laid out like this, I can really see my baby bump. I grab Zed's hand that's closest to mine and he returns an excited squeeze.

"Ok Addison, this is gonna be cold at first!" Maggie warns before squeezing the freezing cold gel onto my belly. I jump but am quickly distracted when she presses the paddle into me. My head snaps over to look at the screen.

"Alright! Let's find the heartbeat of your sweet little...bundle of joy..." she trailed off as she moved the paddle around a bit. I couldn't tell what exactly I was looking at but her tone didn't sound good. I stare at the screen and I can swear I see movement when she's not moving the paddle across my stomach. My heart flutters.

But what could Nurse Maggie be concerned about? Is it something to do with our baby being half zombie? Did she see something abnormal? The nagging worry makes my stomach churn.

"Is everything ok?" I vocalize my worry. My hand is constricting Zed's. His free hand coming up to rub my arm for comfort and support.

Maggie's head snapped in my direction like she'd been lost in thought. She flounders for a moment before taking the paddle away and starts cleaning up the gel.

"O-oh! Everything's fine! I'm just, gonna go get the doctor. She'll finish your ultrasound. You two hold tight!" She tells us before rushing out of the room.

I take the opportunity of us being alone to turn back to Zed, my brow wrinkled with concern. "Do you think something's wrong? She acted like she'd seen a ghost!" I say, free hand instinctively going to the chilled skin of my belly. Zed's larger one lays overtop of mine.

"The baby's fine, Addy. I'm sure she's just never seen such an adorable zombaby in an ultrasound before!" He tried lightening my mood, though he should know I can feel his anxiety as well.

I let a small smile lift the corners of my lips and lean towards him. He gladly scoots closer and let's me rest against him, his temple pressed affectionately to mine.

"Everything's gonna be fine." He whispers, either for my comfort or his own. I nod silently, mind wandering.

Luckily, we weren't waiting long before Dr. Carter comes walking in. "Well! Long time no see!" She jokes, having just seen us for my regular exam.

"Yeah, good to see you again, Doctor." I reply softly. Having not gotten even a chuckle out of us, she wastes no time taking the seat Nurse Maggie had once occupied.

"Ok, so your nurse asked me to come take over the ultrasound after noticing something very interesting." She said. The almost excited tone of her voice made it seem like she knew more than she was letting on.

"Did she say what was wrong?" Zed speaks up. But Dr. Carter smiles and shakes her head.

"You two don't need to worry. I'm going to take a peek to confirm what she thought she saw and we'll go from there, ok?" She offers.

I glance at Zed and we share a feeling of comfort through our bond before nodding to the doctor to proceed. A new glob of freezing cold gel is squeezed onto my midsection and she presses the paddle into it as she searches for our baby on the screen.

"There you are." She mutters, the blip from before reappearing on the screen.

My heart jumps to my throat, watching the blip intently as Dr. Carter moves the paddle around my stomach to get a better view. Zed squeezes my hand and I tear my eyes away to glance over at him, his neck craning to see and eyes glued to the screen like mine were. My heart fills with pride that he's just as eager as I am.

"So that's what that was about." Dr. Carter said more to herself. I turn my attention back to her expectantly and she readjusts the screen to face us a little more. "Say hi to your babies!" She chimed. Excitement flares in my chest, my smile wide with happiness.

Then her words sank in.

My face drops in shock and my eyes go wide. "Babies...?" I repeat slowly. She nods.

"Congratulations! You're having twins!" She announces. I immediately turn to Zed, unable to find a coherent thought to form a reaction. I'm met by his wide brown eyes but the excitement that rushes through me makes a smile spread across my face.

"Oh my god! Zed!" I manage before the tears choke me. He engulfs me into his arms in my spot laid out, not interrupting the ultrasound.

"If you look here, I can show you your little babies while I take measurements and make sure everything's going smoothly!" Dr. Carter said, sliding the paddle to readjust the image on screen. Zed holds me hand and we turn to focus once again.

"Here's Baby A, you can see their heart beating right in this area." She pointed to the screen. "Let's give it a listen." She typed and clicked on the keyboard and suddenly a clear heartbeat filled the room.

My heart jumped to my throat and I had tears filling my eyes from happiness. I could hear and see my baby's heart beating. All too soon, the sound cut off and Dr. Carter was moving the paddle. "Let me just get a few measurements really quick~" She sang playfully.

As she did her thing, I just sat and stared at our baby. One of two we'd get to welcome to the world! My heart fills with pride and I can't help but squeeze Zed's hand. He scoots closer again and let's me lean slightly into him, his lips kissing my temple lovingly.

"Now for Baby B." Dr. Carter broke the silence, coming up a bit higher and another little vague shape of a blip took over the monitor. "I'll just get my measurements of you first," she muttered more to herself than us, quickly typing and moving the paddle like she'd just done.

I don't mind the wait, getting to sit and look at our growing babies, no matter how tiny they were, meant the world to me. And when another heartbeat unexpectedly filled the room, I had to cover my mouth as more tears threatened to spill. I close my eyes, trying to soak in the moment as the quick little beats sound.

Both my baby's hearts sound strong and it fills me with joy. Just like before, I'm disappointed when it ceased and the room was quiet again.

"Does everything look ok with them, Doc?" Zed questions beside me. I look to the doctor intently for her answer. Thankfully, she smiles at us.

"They seem to be developing just right according to plan." She assures, letting out a soft laugh when both of us sigh in relief. "It seems Baby B was that little murmur we heard the first time we listened with the doppler device! Trying to give us a hint he or she was there the whole time!" She teases. Both Zed and I chuckle.

"That's good to hear. I was a little worried!" I admit with a relieved smile.

"Nothing to worry about Addison. Baby B does look a little smaller than Baby A but that's completely normal with fraternal twins." She explains. "So we know they won't be identical!" Zed and I exchange an amused look and can't contain the quiet laughs.

The doctor removes the paddle and does a quick sweep over my stomach to get the majority of the goop off then offers me extra napkins. "Ok! We're all done! Go ahead and finish cleaning up while I get your photos to take home!" She instructs cheerfully. My face lights up, nodding eagerly as she leaves us alone in the room.

Zed doesn't even give me a chance to clean up when his hands grab my face to slam our lips together. I slide my free hand into his hair and deepen the kiss, tugging the stands between my fingers to express my intense emotions.

He pulls back reluctantly, both of us already breathless. "If you keep doing that, Dr. Carter's gonna walk into a shocker." He teases. I giggle and get to cleaning off my belly.

Before I can fix my clothes though, Zed interrupts with another, softer, kiss. "Gar gargiza, Addy." He whispered, lips still brushing mine from his closeness as the emotions filling my chest telling me so much more than his words ever could.

"Gar gargiza, Zed." Then he pulled back, leaning his head down to rest on my exposed belly.

"Gar garziga zet, ag garzabi." (I love you too, my babies.) He added, planting a kiss to my skin. I giggle and run my fingers through his hair affectionately.

With not one but two babies on the way, our lives are going to get even more crazy. But I couldn't imagine taking this journey with anyone else. With him by my side, I can get through anything. Even raising twins.