All Roads Lead Home

Chapter 17-7 months later

"C'mon, Christine; you can do it." Mike said as Christine continued to push the contraction. He stood beside her and held her hand throughout the labor, but she was exhausted. The baby had to come soon. Of course, once he was born; there would be no feeling of a relief because a heart condition had been detected. They didn't know how severe but they knew that their son had a heart murmur. It had been a rough pregnancy for Christine. She was a lot larger then she had been in her previous pregnancies, had developed gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. To go into a stressful situation would be incredibly hard for both of them.

"It hurts." Christine moaned.

"The baby is crowning. In fact, his head is almost out. Just another good push." Dr. Garrick said. All too soon, Christine began pushing again. Mike kissed her head and waited. There was little else he could do. Within just a few moments, there was a sound of a newborn crying.

"Is he okay?" Christine asked. Mike could tell by the doctor's expression something was off, but the baby sounded perfectly fine.

"Doc?" Mike asked.

"Dr. Sanders, take him. I think I've figured out the source of the heart murmur. It was never a murmur. It was a second heartbeat, beating in tandem with his. Christine, I know you are exhausted, but I need a few more pushes." Dr. Garrick said after she handed off the baby boy to the pediatrician. The umbilical cord was cut and the baby was still crying.

"What does that mean?" Mike asked. Christine had already began pushing and Mike continued holding her hand.

"It means that you're having another baby. I would say he or she was hiding behind your son. Its incredibly rare but it does happen occasionally." Dr. Garrick explained.

"Oh!" Christine cried out and Mike's attention went to her.

"You can do it. Just squeeze my hand." Mike said. Christine was already squeezing, to the point that Mike was afraid she was breaking bones. A moment later, a second cry filled the room and Mike looked down towards Dr. Garrick. "Doc?" Mike asked.

"You have a beautiful baby girl. Congratulations." Dr. Garrick said. The nurse lowered Christine's gown and placed the baby on her chest.

"Your little guy is completely fine. I can't hear a murmur now at all. It might not hurt to do a few tests, but he seems to be the picture of health." Dr. Sander said before passing the baby over to Christine, who held both babies until it was time for the baby girl to get checked out.

"We're going to have to find a name for her." Christine said. Mike kissed Christine's forehead and smiled at their baby boy, all while keeping an eye on their new daughter.

"Yeah. She's going to keep us on our toes, I think." Mike remarked. Dr. Sanders walked back over with the baby and handed her to Mike, who put her back on Christine's chest. As much as he loved holding their babies, he felt it was important that they have the first few minutes of their life bonding with their mother. Both babies were watching Christine closely and would need to be dressed soon.

"Christine; if you'll hand the babies over to the nurses; they'll clean and dress them and I will get you finished up so you can enjoy them and then rest." Dr. Garrick suggested.

"I suppose so." Christine said as she gave the babies over to the nurses. "Mike, can you go with them?" Christine asked. Dr. Garrick nodded at him and he followed the nurses to the small room off to the side of the delivery room. A couple minutes later, Christine was taken to a hospital room and two freshly bathed babies were back on her chest.

"What will the girls think?" Mike asked as he sat back down next to Christine, grateful they had chosen a hospital that offered queen-sized beds in the maternity ward. It made things so much easier for both of them.

"They will be happy. Katie wanted a boy and Hannah wanted a girl so they will both be thrilled. I was so scared when they told us he had a heart murmur. To think it was never a heart problem, but another baby?" Christine said with a smile.

"Yeah. The nurses said they are both healthy as can be. She's a bit on the small side, but doing good." Mike explained.

"Tess Elizabeth. I like that name." Christine said.

"I think it fits. And we still agree on his name? Andrew Felix?" Mike asked.

"Yep. Tess and Andrew." Christine said. She repositioned the babies, unbuttoned her gown and began nursing both babies. For Mike; it was absolute perfection. The only he didn't care for was how tired Christine was, but as soon as both babies ate their fill, he was going to make her go to sleep. He'd take care of the babies and call the girls. Even while she was nursing them, she struggled to stay awake.

"Okay; once you finish this; you are going to get some rest. I will either take care of them or I will take them to the nursery so that we can both get some rest. In either case; you will get some sleep." Mike announced.

"That sounds like a plan. Its almost seven and our early bird will be up. Why don't you call her and I'll finish up here?" Christine suggested and Mike nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." Mike said before giving her a long kiss. He also leaned down and gave both babies a kiss before pulling his phone out. Katie answered on the second ring, fully awake and alert.

"Dad! Is the baby and Mom okay?" Katie questioned. Mike had her on speaker and both he and Christine smiled.

"Both babies are perfect. Mom is doing good. Just overly tired. She's going to take a nap soon." Mike said, hoping Katie would pick up on his grammatical correction.

"Oh, that's good. Hannah and I have been so worried. We've been up all night, worried!" Katie said.

"I'll say it again. Both babies are okay." Mike said. He and Christine could hear Hannah too, so apparently Katie was utilizing her own speaker phone.

"One baby is single baby. Babies is plural for more than one baby and both means two. Remember your English, ladies." Christine gently corrected her daughters.

"Twins!" Hannah shrieked. Both baby's eyes popped open and Tess detached enough to start whimpering.

"Careful. Their ears are sensitive. You've just upset your baby sister." Mike warned. He sat the phone down and took Tess from Christine.

"A boy and a girl?" Katie asked.

"Yes. Your sister was hiding behind Andrew. Her name is Tess Elizabeth." Mike said. He could hear both girls happily giggling.

"Andrew is fine too. The murmur they heard was actually Tess's heartbeat." Christine explained.

"That's good. When do you get to come home?" Katie asked.

"Probably not until tomorrow. You girls, after you get some sleep; I need you to go and get another bassinet, along with some stuff for a girl. You don't need to go crazy. Just enough for her to be comfortable with. She's small so go with newborn and 0-3 month sizes. We also will need another car seat. Dad will have to install it here. You can bring the car seat and a few of the clothes by this afternoon, after you've slept and done this bit of shopping." Christine instructed. Mike could hear Katie taking notes. Katie was like her mom, and Hannah was much more like him.

"Okay. We can do that." Katie agreed.

"Good. Now, we are going to get some rest. Mom and the babies are fine. Call before you get here." Mike said.

"We love you both very much." Christine finished.

"We love you too." Katie said and Hannah echoed.

"Get some rest, girls." Mike said.

"You guys do too." Katie answered before Mike disconnected.

"We have a few hours before Hurricane Hannah arrives. I think Tess already loves her daddy." Christine said. Sure enough, Tess was watching Mike and giving a slight smile.

"Or she's filling her diaper." Mike remarked. He kissed Tess's hand and smiled down at her.

"And you wouldn't mind that in the least. Now, why don't you head them both to the nursery? They've ate and they've burped. The nurses will want to see them anyways." Christine suggested.

"Yes, ma'am." Mike said before giving her another kiss. He put Tess into the bassinet, and then Andrew in next to her. He was clearly not happy to be separated from his mommy, but she needed to rest, and Mike could use a nap too. By the time he got back to Christine's hospital room, she was sound asleep. He changed clothes and climbed in next to her. He was honestly too tired to do much reflecting, but he was extremely happy. His family was as complete as it could be given their circumstances. They were luckier than most.