"Excuse me?" questioned Molly, "Would you repeat that again?"
"You're having twins," repeated Dr. Thompson.
"Twins? Are you sure?" asked Nick in shock.
Dr. Thompson placed the doppler back on Molly's abdomen and spun the screen towards them, "There's one baby," she pointed to a small, wiggling blob on the screen, "And there's the second baby," she pointed to a distinct, separate blob.
Nick and Molly gazed wide eyed at the screen before Nick spoke again, "So twins? That means two babies?" he held up two fingers.
"Yes, it means two babies," confirmed the doctor in amusement.
"So that means the first baby will come out, and then the second baby will come out, and then we'll take them home and raise them?" asked Nick, using gestures to prove his point.
"That's generally how it works, Nick," said Dr. Thompson.
"Okay," he sighed as the news started to sink in for him. Molly's eyes hadn't left the monitor the entire time.
"Molly, when was the date of your last menstrual period?" asked Dr. Thompson. Molly didn't answer, "Molly?" she asked again.
"April 28th," Molly answered quietly.
"Well, based on that and the scans, I'd say you're at approximately seven weeks right now," informed Dr. Thompson, "Would you like to hear their heartbeats?"
"Heartbeats," Molly said to herself.
"Plural," said Nick.
Dr. Thompson took those answers as a yes, so she pressed the probe down more firmly and tapped a couple of keys. Moments later, the sound of what could easily be described as trotting horses filled the room. Molly was sure she stopped breathing and Nick sucked in a sharp breath when they heard the out of time heartbeats. But even through the anxiety, the sound was very comforting to the both of them. At least Molly's fear about something being wrong with the baby, make that babies, had disappeared; instead they had been replaced with fears about growing, delivering, and parenting twins, "Well, everything looks good, Molly. Based on the start of your last period, I would put your due date around January 31, 2020, but keep in mind that twins are usually born a couple weeks early, anywhere between 36-38 weeks. I'm going to write you a prescription for some prenatal vitamins. Remember to eat healthy and do mild exercise, but I would stick to walking, swimming, stationary bike riding, nothing overly intense."
"I'll speak to my boss about not having my classes for the next several months. Maybe he'll give the women already signed up a refund of deposit," said Molly.
Dr. Thompson handed Molly the script, "I'd like to see you in another five weeks for your twelve week scan and then I'd like to see you once a month after that appointment. I'll only suggest more if we run into any complications."
"Okay. Thank you, Dr. Thompson," said Nick as she left the room. His wife and he went to their car, both not knowing what to say, "Wow," Nick finally uttered.
"Yeah," Molly responded.
"You took off today, correct?" Nick looked over at Molly. If she hadn't, he was going to suggest she call or text Daniel and urge her to call-in for the day.
Molly shook her head, "No, I had no classes today, so I took off for the day. We should probably just go home. I'm too tired to do much anyway."
"Okay," Nick nodded in affirmation. They went home and poor Molly spent most of the day alternating between sleeping and hugging the toilet. Nick was supportive by holding her hair back while she was vomiting, getting her water, ginger ale, crackers, and toast in between, and researching twin pregnancies while she was napping. At around 9 PM, Nick decided to turn in for the night. He went to the master bedroom and surprisingly, Molly was awake. He changed into his pajamas and settled in next to her. He closed her laptop and whispered, "Get some sleep."
"I know, I'm just studying things," said Molly.
"Sweetheart, you shouldn't be stressing out. It's not good for you or the babies," said Nick.
"Oh please don't say that word," said Molly.
"Sweetheart, I know you're scared…"
"Scared? I'm terrified!" shouted Molly.
"But we talked about children…"
"I know. And I was fine when I thought we were having one baby, but we're not. We're having twins, Nicholas! Twins!" she emphasized, "That means twice the feedings, twice the diapers, twice the expenses, twice the responsibility," she listed in a panic, "Not to mention the fact that I now have to manage to grow two babies and then push two fully-formed human beings out of me!" she finally started to sob into her hands.
Normally, Molly was the calm, cool, and collected one while Nick was the Nervous Nelly, but Nick had read that day how common mood swings were in pregnancy, especially considering the fact that she had a higher amount of hormones surging through her body at the moment, "It's okay Molly, just a surge of emotions. Nothing unexpected," he comforted. He let her cry for a few more moments before he had her look up at him, "Yes, twins are all of those things. But twins also means twice the hugs, twice the kisses, twice the 'I love you Mommy's, and twice the love," he wrapped his arms around her.
Molly sniffed, "Just feels like we're going to run a marathon before any sort of training or stretching," she chuckled.
"I know," Nick admitted. He had to laugh at Molly and her fitness metaphors, "But we'll be fine. I mean, you know Lisa will melt the moment she lays eyes on them and will always be willing to babysit," said Nick and Molly chuckled. They were both pretty sure Lisa would explode with excitement once they told her she was going to be an aunt. Nick turned out the light and snuggled next to her. He kissed her temple and rubbed her abdomen, "Now get some sleep. All three of you need it," he kissed her belly twice before settling into a comfortable position. Molly stayed awake for a while longer until her extreme fatigue along with the annoying, yet comforting sound of Nick's snoring helped her drift off into a much needed sleep.