It was the next day that they left Ruby's room with some assistance from her room nurses and a wheelchair.
It pained Oscar to see Ruby flinch and wince when she made certain movements, but it warmed his heart to see her at least a little mobile. As they made their way down the corridors, he couldn't help but stare at Ruby's stomach.
While the looseness of the robe's fabric partially hid the distinctness of the shape and size of her bump, it was still very much there. Inside of it was his and hers child-or children, which he would soon find out.
Ruby had been on the brink of spoiling the news to him all the rest of the day before. At least it'd been hard enough to tell weather she was excited about the fact that there were two babies or just one. He didn't really know her preference on it.
They entered the room, which was quite dim, Ruby was taken onto a bed-like table with a papery sheet covering it. The nurse in charge of the whole thing began going through what they would be doing, but Oscar didn't even try to understand.
He was far too eager to see the baby-or babies, that would be born and grow up into children. It was a little hard to fully grasp, the fact that he was going to be a father, marry Ruby, and raise kids.
Those were surreal thoughts that constantly fluttered dreamily around in his head as he anticipated this very moment in time.
"We're going to untie your robe, little mama," the nurse informed Ruby, with her eyes glancing momentarily at Oscar, "It's a little chilly, so just a heads up."
"Okay," Ruby said with a nod. She looked over at Oscar, cheeks flushing as the robe around her waist loosened and dropped to the sides. They gently pulled aside the fabric by her abdomen, minding her bandages, and exposed her stomach.
Oscar instinctively averted his gaze, even though it was just her bump that was being shown. But he found his eyes slowly inching back to it, provoked by curiosity.
He couldn't help but gawk at how large she was. He'd never really seen it "raw" like that before, but seeing it like that really showed how big it was.
From what he knew, 6 months through wasn't suppose to be as large as it looked. At least with a single baby. But the thing was, it usually varied with size, so he couldn't be sure.
The nurse squeezed out some clear petroleum jelly onto her stomach and began smearing it around with the special wand. The screen on the computer close by began to shift and change into a black and white image.
"Aaand there they are," the nurse said with a big smile, "Look at them, snuggled together like that."
Oscar's eyes widened.
There, on the screen in that odd type of display, was the image of his children. Yes, children! There were obviously two little babies on that screen, practically shoved together in the small space they had.
"Oh...oh wow..," Oscar managed to choke.
Ruby looked over at him with an excited, almost tearful face. He slowly stepped over to the computer and allowed himself to lightly touch his fingers to the screen.
One of the babies' faces suddenly turned in the direction of his fingers, startling him.
"D-did the baby see my fingers?!" Oscar gasped, taking a step backwards. Ruby giggled along with the nurses.
"No, little daddy," the main nurse chuckled, "First off, they can't see anything with their eyes closed. Second, they can't see anything through Ms. Rose's stomach. Third, what you see on the computer is only a display."
"I know, I know," he sighed, "I'm just being weird and not thinking."
"Oscar likes being weird and not thinking," Ruby said playfully, "It's his favorite thing to do when nothing's going on."
They both looked up at the screen together, their hearts pounding with love and joy at the sight of their children.
"I can't believe we're having twins!" he said after several moments of awe filled silence, "I mean, I find it hard to digest the fact that we're having anything, but still!"
"Me either!" Ruby squealed, "Oh! And guess what? They're gonna tell us their genders, too!"
"You don't know yet?" Oscar said, confused.
"Nope," Ruby replied, shaking her head, "I was able to see them, but that's about it. They were just making sure everything was fine and stuff, since it was super important that they find out if something was wrong."
"Well, at least we can both be surprised," Oscar said excitedly. Ruby's face took on a hyper look and she began to practically vibrate on that bed-like table thing.
Oscar looked hopefully at the main nurse, who nodded with another chuckle and response. She rotated the wand a certain way, adjusting the angle on the screen. Then she grinned, a very wide and warm grin.
"There we go," she said, "It looks like right over there on the left...yes, that one's a boy."
Oscar felt his hand lightly bump against Ruby's. He wanted to grasp her hand, but then felt her slim fingers close sweetly around his own before he got the chance. He gave it a brief squeeze of happiness and offered her a quick smile.
"And...the other one's a boy, too," the nurse finished. Ruby frowned, a deep and confused frown. She looked up at Oscar as if dissatisfied.
"Seriously?" she grumbled, "I at least wanted a girl if there was going to be two of them."
"I mean, I see what you mean..," Oscar sighed, "I can't really sympathize, though."
Ruby shot him a cold glare before elbowing him sharply on the pressure point on his forearm. He winced, but the pain quickly faded because of the magical concept known as aura.
"That stinks!" Ruby complained further, "I was seriously wanting to have a cute little girl to dress up in a different outfit every morning! With little bows and little socks and little dresses..."
"Hey, I can't control that! And where would we get all the money to buy that stuff?" Oscar asked, "I don't think we should spend so much on clothing and what not-"
"Don't say that!" she hissed, "You're ruining my vision of the future!"
Oscar couldn't decide if she was being serious about wasting so much money or if she was merely dreaming about it. Either way, it was sort of funny, so he laughed.
Ruby rolled her eyes, but also joined him in laughter.
"Oh, woops," the nurse said, frowning slightly, "The image blurred all weird. That one's a girl, not a boy."
Ruby and Oscar stared at each other and both smiled at the same time in cartoon-like synchronization. Each's hold on the other's hand tightened and Ruby let out a joy filled cheer.
"Yessss!" she cried, "Oh, thank goodness! I was so scared for a moment there! Oh boy, that would've been awful!"
The nurse let out a loose, unhinged laugh, shaking her head.
"I find it so wonderful and amusing to see two young teen parents as yourselves enjoying this journey right now," she said, still smiling quite widely, "Let alone, seeing that the man involved is still fully in it with the girl. It's always gloom, shadows, and hate with all the other times I've experienced. This is refreshing."
Oscar shrugged.
"It's definitely been an interesting journey," he said, "And we still have a ways to go."
"But we will carry on...uh...undaunted!" Ruby continued for him enthusiastically. Oscar gave her a doubtful look, partially for humor's sake, and then shrugged one more time, earning a good laugh from the staff around the room.
"Do you have any names picked out at all yet?" another nurse asked, "Since you two are so enthusiastic about all this?"
"I suggested the name Jubilee," Oscar chuckled, "Because her cravings all this time were for watermelon. She didn't get to satisfy that craving until recently."
Ruby let out an exasperated sigh. "Tell me about it!"
"Do you like that name?" the nurse asked her. Ruby shook her head.
"It's funny and nothing else," she replied, "I don't actually wanna name the girl that. I was thinking something more after my mother. Like, Summer or Rose or something."
"Those are beautiful names," the main nurse said, turning off the screen and putting away the equipment, "How about the boy's name? Does little daddy have any ideas?"
"Not a clue," he replied, shaking his head cluelessly and getting yet another laugh from the staff.
"I like the name Pinyon," Ruby said to him, "It's super adorable."
"What's it mean" he asked curiously.
"It's a kind of pine tree," she answered as if restraining the urge to laugh, "I think it'd suite him perfectly."
Oscar shook his head and sighed. "My last name is just a meme now, isn't it."
The nurses must've though he was a total hoot, because after most of the things he said, they would either laugh or chuckle. He seemed to somewhat appreciated this, but didn't verbally say so.
"Well, I wish you two excellent luck for your future," the main nurse concluded, fastening Ruby's robe back on and standing up straight, "Have a wonderful day!"
"Thank you!" Ruby and Oscar both answered in unison. One of the nurses aided Ruby as she effortfully lumbered off the bed and got herself situated into the waiting wheelchair. Then they wheeled her next to Oscar as they went back to her room.
"You know, I think that nurse was right," Ruby said on the way to the room, "We should really think up some names now that we know there's two of them and that there's a boy and a girl."
"Eh, maybe that can wait until they're born," Oscar replied. Ruby gave him another glare before crossing her arms over her big stomach and letting out a disapproving sniff.
"You know how much trouble that'd be?" she argued, "Imagine if we couldn't agree on any names and they were nameless until kindergarten! It'd be like, 'Oh, what're they're names?' and we'd be like, 'They don't have any names!'. You know how awful and sad that'd be?!"
"We could just homeschool then," he answered with a humorous smirk.
"No," she shot back instantly.
"That's a really unrealistic scenario," he said a moment later. Ruby only responded with another eye roll, a barely visible smile, and a slight headshake.
About an hour after they'd settled back into her room, a quick and short knock sounded on the door frame outside. Even though Oscar had never heard that knock before, he had an odd idea of who it might be.
"Come in!" he called.
The door opened and in walked Sammy. One of his hands was in his pocket while the other held his scroll. He was wearing the same outfit as before, but this time, the white shirt was now a black one and his shoes were different.
"Sammy!" Oscar exclaimed with a smile.
"Who's-" Ruby began, but then remembered Oscar's previous mentioning of him, "Oh wait, never mind."
Sammy acknowledged their greetings with a brief nod and let the door close behind him.
"Hello," he said, "Good to see your girl up and running."
"Up and running..?" Ruby repeated slowly, "Uh..."
"I have some good news and some bad news," he continued, walking over to them and taking a seat in the chair set up in the corner, "The good news is that I got you two a place to stay."
Ruby's eyes widened with surprise and delight, her mouth immediately turning up into a smile.
"Woah, really?!" she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, thank you so much!"
"Thank you!" Oscar practically cried, "You didn't have to do that..."
"I don't think so," Sammy muttered, "It'd be cruel to leave the you two in this big city with nowhere to go, especially if those friends of yours don't show up anytime soon."
A heavy silence suddenly shifted into the room after he finished his sentence. Oscar's head hung slightly, along with his posture, and Ruby didn't say anything as her eyes took on a sadder look.
"I hope they come for you," Sammy said, breaking the uncomfortable cloud of gloom hanging in the air, "But in the meantime, I have a hotel set up for you two to stay in for...hmm...what was it-"
He pulled up his scroll and swiped through it, squinting through his dull gray eyes. "I paid for a next 3 months' stay. So, to cover you until she has her kid. If you have a brain, you'll have something for yourselves by then."
"Y-you...paid...for 3 months' worth...of staying...at a hotel?" Oscar barely managed to murmur. His eyes and mouth were wider than dinner plates as his mind fumbled to grasp the this wonderful concept.
"Yep," Sammy replied flatly, "It's fine. Got nothing better to spend my money on, anyways."
"Thank you so, so, so much!" Oscar cried, "I...we...there's gotta be some way we can repay you for this! I mean, that's a lot of money! And for us?! You don't even know us!"
"I can't just help strangers because I feel like it?" Sammy sighed, "I love young people's logic."
"No, it's...I..," Oscar answered, but he was unable to finish, clearly still completely flabbergasted. Ruby's face was frozen in an expression of utter shock and joy, leaving her perfectly speechless.
"I'm glad that I'm able to help you," Sammy finished, "I need to know when you leave here, though, so I can show you your room so you can get acquainted. I made sure it wasn't too far from here for the sake of your girl."
"Thank you!" Oscar choked. His brain was completely blown over from Sammy's insane acts of kindness. He'd secretly been stressing over what in the world he and Ruby would do after they were discharged from the hospital. Now it was completely covered, just like that.
"Like I said, it's not a problem," Sammy said. He stood up, put his hands back into his pockets, and then started for the door. Ruby blinked out of her state of delighted shock, stirring in her bed.
"W-wait!" she called after him. He stopped and turned around, body still facing forwards.
"Hm?" he asked.
"I-I just wanted to say thank you," Ruby chirped, "Thank you so much. I-I don't know what to say..."
"You already said it," he said. He flashed her an unexpected and abrupt grin that almost instantly faded back into the straight line that served as his mouth.
Ruby smiled back at him and then waved as he exited. Oscar joined her, and then the door closed. Another period of silence drifted through the air, only it was simply full of perplexing and wonder.
"I can't believe this," Oscar mumbled.
"Me either!" Ruby squealed, "But isn't this exciting?! We have a place to go after this! Plus, maybe once the others get over here, they can get a room, too! They'll just have to pay for it..."
She touched her finger to her chin and suddenly perked up in realization. "Wait, have you tried contacting them? What's their status right now?"
Oscar's head hung and he felt his heart thumping with nervousness despite the massive ball of stress that'd been removed by Sammy's deed.
"I got five voicemails yesterday," he said in a low voice, "No one picked up, called me in the last week, or called back after I tried. I have absolutely no idea where they're at, and it's very concerning."
"I'd say!" Ruby agreed nervously, "I mean, they'll be fine, right? We've gone through worse things, so...it'll be fine. I'm sure they'll show up sometime soon."
Even though she spoke strongly, false determination dripped off her words. She couldn't fool anyone, even herself, with that statement. It was just a bunch of fake assurance mostly for herself.
"I hope so," Oscar muttered.
Yet another space of silence. Ruby sighed and laid back against her pillows, letting her belly stick out in an exaggerated way. She stared at it, patted it, and then began slowly rubbing it.
"I wish this stupid IV wasn't always stabbed into my wrist," she complained. Oscar lightly chuckled.
"Does it hurt for you?" he asked.
"No," she replied, "But it's annoying. Whenever I move this arm, I feel this weird tugging sensation. Then I feel like I'm restricted and can't move it as freely as I wanna."
"Sorry, Ruby," he shrugged.
"Hey," she said after a few moments of hushed quietness, "Come here. Feel this."
Oscar raised a brow and curiously leaned closer over to her. She took his hand, making his cheeks warm slightly like they always did when she touched him, and set it on top of her stomach.
At first he felt nothing but the gentle rise and fall of her abdomen as she breathed, but then he quickly felt what she'd been referring to.
Within the deep and mysterious cave that was her stomach, a baby moved, making it so that he could feel its motion. The movement seemed to cause the other one to follow suite, so then they both were moving around.
"Isn't that cool?" Ruby said with a large smile. Oscar looked up at her and silently nodded.
"I wonder what they'll be like when they get older," he whispered.
"Me too," she whispered back, "I hope neither of them have your freckles."
"What? Why not?!"
"Because."
"Because what? Are my freckles ugly or something? Do you...do you not like them..?"
"No, no," she giggled, "I'm just messing around with you. I think they're adorable." She reached out her hand and pet the top of his messy brown hair, sliding her hand down so that she booped his nose.
"Boop," she said in a sweet, cute voice. She quickly shifted her demeanor into a more apologetic, embarrassed one. "Sorry, that's Nora's thing, not mine."
"No, that was cute," Oscar said, "Thanks for that."
"Yup!" Ruby said, "So, what's a boy name that you like? You've only ever suggested one name to me, and that was mostly a joke. I think. Was that a joke? That was a joke, right?"
"Maybe," he laughed, "I don't really know. I just remember the name being parallel with your cravings and getting all excited about it because I was too tired not to be."
"Oh, well whatever," she said, "So what's a name? I wanna know."
"Uh..," he said, looking up in thought, "I don't really know. I think the name Oscar has a pretty nice ring to it."
"Really?" Ruby said, unamused, "I mean it, Oscar; be serious. Give me a name suggestion!"
"Okay, okay," he sighed, "How about...Phoenix. That's a cool name, right? For if one of them had red hair kinda like yours."
"It's a cool name, sure," Ruby said, "But would that be for a boy or a girl?"
"Either, I suppose," he answered with a shrug.
"Well I don't like 'eithers'," she grunted, crossing her arms and setting her chin in a way that imitated grumpiness, "They're too suspending. How about a name, a serious one that you actual mean, that would go with one of them? Specifically one of them. Girl or boy."
"Oh, c'mon, Ruby," he groaned, "I can't do this." He covered his face with his hands, pretending to be exasperated, but failed to hide the amused smile that peaked out from them.
"You're a great sport," she muttered. Of course, her "negativity" wasn't real, but she seemed like she halfway meant it. She wanted a little help coming up with names, even if there were still a few more months left before the babies needed them.
"Gee, thanks," Oscar fakely retorted, "I work so hard to save you and what do I get? Insults for not coming up with names at this particular moment in time."
Ruby giggled and fuzzed his hair again. He smiled up at her, pulled her hand off his head, and then set it back on her big stomach.
"I'm going to get some lunch, okay?" he said, "You should order something for yourself while I'm gone."
"Okie," she said, "Be back soon! I'm gonna miss you."
"What in the world, Ruby," he chuckled, standing up, "I'll be back soon; don't worry."
Ruby tossed him a playful grin and settled back into her bed, letting her hand fall next to the large white phone attached to the bed. "See ya."
The reveal has been revealed! A pair of twins with the extremely predictable genders of one boy and one girl. We also got a brief name discussion time, cut short because of Oscar's incompetence. XD
That Sammy guys is WAAAYYYY too nice! A hotel?! For 3 whole months?! Gee golly gosh! Thanks, Sammy! The name Phoenix was suggested by a guest, and the name Jubilee was, to my amusement, submitted by Sweet Guest. Much appreciation for all the submissions, people! Also, hospital drabble is FINALLY going away. Sorry again for the massive ongoing setting at the hospital; their stay is kinda long, though.
Thanks for reading and tune in for more chapters!