Chapter 53
Previously: Sam was about to share with her sister, an idea she had as to how to have a baby.
"It's your choice to make, Sam." Melanie smiled slightly. She was disappointed for her sister. "But no one would blame you if you guys decided to re-think all this." She was disappointed that this pretty much spelled the end of her being able to help them have their baby.
"We're not giving up." Sam nodded. "But we've been thinking about maybe approaching it a little differently."
"How so? A doctor in another state or something? Please tell me you're not thinking of going out of the country like how Marissa had that tracking chip put in his head. Or are you thinking of adoption?"
"Um, no." Sam replied, quietly without looking up.
"What then? You want to get Freddie to get me pregnant the old fashioned way?" Melanie asked in jest.
Sam just had an odd look on her face and gave no sign of this being a joke or any kind of prank.
"Sam. Are you being serious right now?" Melanie sat back and looked a bit mortified. "I'm not really sure I'm altogether comfortable with that. Does Freddie even know about this idea?"
"It's just something we talked about. There's nothing saying we have to go through with it."
"This is . . . wouldn't that be kind of weird, Sam."
It was the day after Christmas. Sam and Melanie were alone in the Bensons' house. Freddie had taken Alex to exchange some clothes she got for Christmas that were too small and Sam had invited Melanie to meet up with her to do another pregnancy test.
"Alright, Sam. Set your timer. I'm done." Melanie called from the bathroom, while washing her hands.
"I sure hope it works this time." Sam sighed, sitting on the hallway floor outside the door. She was getting tired of the routine only to be disappointed a couple of weeks later.
"I kind of have a feeling this time." Melanie told her as she walked out of the restroom. "Come on, let's go out to the living room. There's almost five minutes to go." She carefully held the test stick in her hand.
"No. Sit down here with me." Sam argued and reached up for her sister's hand.
Melanie did just that and sat down beside Sam on the floor. "Good thing you have nice soft carpet." She leaned her head into Sam's shoulder and sighed. "It'll work this time Sam."
"How did you find out last time? With Alex, I mean."
"The test and all. Oh man, what a mess. I had got back to school and settled in, then classes started and I was really busy. Sophomore year and all you know."
Sam shrugged. "I didn't go to college, remember?"
"Right. Anyway. I didn't even realize I was late until, like a couple of weeks went by. I didn't give it any mind because I was so busy and the stress and all I just thought it was throwing things off. So one morning I got up and I felt like crap. I barely made it to the bathroom before I was puking my guts out."
"And then you probably just figured it was something you ate?"
"I did. But my room mate didn't. I had kinda told her about hooking up with my ex-boyfriend right before I left for college and well, Kendra was never known for being subtle, so she just blurts out 'OMG, Mel! You're knocked up!' and I damn near had a heart attack. I never thought about it. I mean sure Freddie and I had hooked up and there was a couple of times when we didn't always use protection but we had always been that way, so I just never even considered it."
"And then what?"
"Well, Kendra. She disappears and next thing she's back and she's got a test. She said she got it from one of the other girls she knew in the dorm. So, I peed on it and then it like immediately turned pink. And I couldn't believe it so that day I went and bought a couple more and they all came back positive."
"So this room mate, did she help you and all?"
"Sorta. She went with me to the clinic and they confirmed it. She was a good friend, even if she was a little raw. I got some pre-natal vitamins and they told me to come back in 3 months. I had no idea what to do. She kept telling me to call Freddie and tell him but I couldn't do that."
Sam shrugged as to ask why.
"I had myself convinced that I was going to but I talked to Mom and she told me that you came back and hooked up with Freddie. So I just handled it on my own. It was right after my 3 month checkup that I found Dad and he talked me through some pretty rough times on the phone."
"Dang! You pretty much did it all on your own? I - uh, I don't know how you did it?"
"What about you? The time when you were . . .?"
Sam just sighed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push. It's got to be painful for you. You don't have to tell me. I shouldn't have said anything."
"Psh. It's not much to tell. I really don't even know how it happened. I mean, I had went out with this dude for a while. We played around but never really, like, you know, went all the way. I had quit taking the pills when I left Seattle and Fredbag and I split up." Sam recalled as she twirled her wedding ring around on her hand and I wasn't even sure about doing it with this dude."
"One night, we ended up in bed and just did it. He ghosted me after that and next thing I know I'm late. I took the test and I told Jade. She didn't believe it but I showed her the stick. I didn't really have anybody else. I was scared and alone and I seriously considered abortion. I went to the place and got the pills and everything but I couldn't bring myself to go through with it."
"Aw, Sammy." Melanie squeezed her hand.
"Fast forward a few weeks and Aunt Flo finally showed up. Or so I thought. I bled for over a week and finally I passed out one night in the kitchen and the girls called 911. I wound up in the hospital where I found out what happened. You sort of know the rest."
Sam's phone timer went off startling them both out of conversation.
"You look at it, I can't." Mel fussed.
Sam slowly picked up the stick and saw the plus sign. She grinned slightly and turned to smile at her sister. "You did it, sis. It's positive."
"R-really?" Melanie gasped. I mean, I thought, but I was so afraid . . . "
"Yep. Go pee on the other one just to be sure." Sam pointed toward the bathroom.
"Uh, you're gonna have to wait till I need to pee again." Mel smirked.
"Well, get to drinking, woman." Sam ordered and handed her the half bottle of water from her left side. "I want to be 100% positive when Freddie gets home so we can tell him the good news."
A couple of hours later, Freddie and Alex arrived to find the sisters sitting in the living room watching TV.
"Mommy!" The kid jumped in Melanie's lap for a hug before turning her assault to Sam.
"Hey, kiddo!" Sam acknowledged with a hug and a tickle, wedging the child into the couch between them.
"We got bigger sizes on the shoes and the 2 shirts but they're out of her size with the pants." Freddie told them. "We'll have to check online. We stopped at Sub Place by the way." He held up a bag with Sam's favorite sandwich.
"Um, Alex. Why don't you go try on the clothes just to be sure." Sam suggested. "Then your mom can see you in that cute shirt Aunt Carly bought."
The kid ran off and Freddie raised an eyebrow, realizing why she was sent away. "So?"
"So what, Fredlumps?" Sam tried to play coy but Melanie's expression told the story.
"We did it?" He asked.
"Yup." Sam smirked as he now sat down between the twins.
Sam simply turned to him for a kiss. Melanie looked awkward as their lips locked but as soon as they broke apart, Sam pulled her into a group hug. "Thanks for doing this, Mels."
Melanie set up an appointment with her doctor for her first pregnancy checkup. Sam insisted on going along and met up with Melanie outside the doctor's office, still wearing her work clothes.
"Thanks for coming, Sammy." Melanie smiled as she saw her sister.
"Well, I might not be the one carrying this kid but I intend to be here every step of the way. Besides, wouldn't it seem kind of awkward you dragging your ex-husband along to the gynecologist?"
"Even though it's his baby?" Melanie said with a giggle to her tone. "You know, that reminds me, what about the delivery? I mean, are you going to be there or him, or both of you?"
"Carly was saying something about wanting to be there."
"OMG! Do we need to sell tickets?" Melanie joked.
Over an hour later, the twins were walking out of the office with confirmation and an expected due date of mid-October. Sam was already texting Freddie with the details. By the time they got to the car, he replied and the sisters soon left to grab some quick lunch before going to the school to pick up Alex.
"Since we've got a due date and pictures, should we tell Alex soon?"
Sam nodded. "Well, not that the pictures look like much other than a blob, but yeah, we should tell her. Freddie and I already talked about it and we don't want to keep this from her. She needs to be prepared."
"So I guess we'll get better images next time. I don't remember seeing any ultrasounds of Alex until I was about 4 months along."
"Then we've got a ways to go. The doctor said you're only six weeks in." Sam replied, and pulled into the parking lot of a fast food place that was not far from the doctor's office.
"Yeah, I was really lucky to get an appointment so soon."
"Well, this time we weren't messing around." Sam joked.
"Yep, and this time I'm not doing alone." Melanie grabbed Sam into a hug as soon as they got out of the car.
"Alright, easy there old girl. Not a hugger."
"Well, you'd better get used to it." Melanie sniffed. "These damn pregnancy hormones are starting already and I'm either ready to bawl or needing a hug."
"Oh, God." Sam moaned internally.
That evening, Melanie joined Sam, Freddie and Alex for dinner so they could share their news with the third grader.
Her mother started off by showing her the ultrasound picture. "Do you know what this is, baby?"
"Uh, no. But it's a really bad picture of something. Who took it, they must not have a Pear phone."
Freddie laughed to himself and Sam just rolled her eyes.
"It's a picture of a baby, honey." He finally said.
"Really? Because it doesn't look like a baby. It looks more like a lump of clay-dough. Why isn't there any color? Is it old?"
"No, it's new. It's actually a picture of your little brother or sister."
"Nu-uh. I don't have a brother or sister." The kid argued, not catching on.
"Sure you do, Alex." Melanie giggled and pointed to her abdomen. "And she or he is right here in my belly."
"Why is she in there? OMG! Did you eat her?"
"Because she's real tiny right now. About as big as a peanut. And she's going to grow and grow for the next eight months and next fall, when you're a big girl in fifth grade, she'll come out and we can all meet her."
No one went into any details with the child about how babies are made, exactly how this one came to be, or where it came out of, but she seemed to understand that she was going to be a big sister before the year was up.
"I think that went well." Freddie remarked after Melanie went home.
"Yeah. So, I guess we need to start thinking about turning that room you have all those boxes piled in into a nursery."
"I was talking to Spencer the other day about that."
"Um, dude, you think that's a good idea? I mean, it's Spencer. I love the dude like he's my own brother, but I really don't want him setting the baby's room on fire."
"I was thinking more along the lines of him helping put the furniture together and maybe doing some painting. Definitely not any electrical wiring or anything."
"Oh, ok. As long as you're here to keep an eye on him and we have an extra couple of fire extinguishers handy."
The next three months seemed like a blur to all of them. There was a list of no less than 50 possible baby names and multiple lists of things that needed done before the baby arrived. Spencer and Freddie had begun working to turn the spare bedroom that was used as a storage area into a nursery by removing everything that was stashed in there, painting the walls and ceiling. Spencer made sure to add stars to the ceiling with special glow in the dark paint in the shape of true constellations.
It was time for Melanie's second checkup and Sam took the afternoon off to accompany her to the doctor's office. She was starting to get overly protective of her sister and the baby inside her and insisted she pick Melanie up at her workplace and drive them to the appointment.
"Thanks for the ride, Sam." Melanie grinned as she got into the car.
"No problem. Don't forget your seat belt." Sam replied. "So, Frederelli says he's going to meet us at the doctor's office. I hope that's OK with you."
"Sure. This is a big deal. We get to have the first good look at the baby. I'm glad he wants to be there. I doubt they'll make me do more than lift my shirt up to smear that jelly stuff on my belly. I sure hope I don't have to get undressed in front of him."
"Not like he hasn't seen it all before."
"Still. It would just be odd. Having him sit there while I'm stripped down to some little paper thin gown."
"Well, if you want him in the delivery room like we talked about, he'll see more than that."
As soon as Sam pulled into the parking lot of the medical center, she spotted Freddie's car. The girls met him in the lobby of the building.
"You ready to get this show on the road?" Sam asked as they quickly kissed.
"Yep. Remember one of us has to go over to the school to pickup Alex." He fussed.
It was a short while later when the three were in the exam room waiting for the doctor to make her appearance. The nurse had taken Melanie's vitals and asked a few dozen questions about how she was feeling.
"Sorry about the wait." The doctor entered the room. "It'll be worth it because we're going to get a good look at this little girl or guy today."
She went on to ask Melanie a few more questions and soon it was time to roll her shirt tail up and smear up her belly with the ultrasound gel.
"You are getting a little bit of a belly, sis." Sam teased.
"It's time to." Melanie defended. "And just wait six months. When I was carrying Alex I looked like a hippo. I swear before I delivered, my boobs were gigantic."
Freddie blushed and looked at the ceiling as the doctor moved her equipment around on Melanie's stomach for a few minutes, taking readings and still images of the different angles.
"This is interesting." She said. "But not to be unexpected."
"What's that?" Melanie asked.
Sam was more than a little nervous given her past problems. "Yeah, what's wrong."
"Oh, nothing wrong, Sam. But you guys are having twins."
"T-twins?" Freddie gulped. He knew this was always a possibility but hadn't given the notion any serious thought.
