December 6

Clare sat at her laptop, finishing some work before she gave herself a winter break. Eli was at his last class before winter break started for him, so he would only be working from ten in the morning to six in the evening every day. Clare's due date was on the twentieth of December, which was only two weeks away. If the twins waited until then, Clare would be able to finish high school only a week or two after their birth, but she had opted for taking a break to spend time with Eli, since they hadn't seen each other very much. She smiled and continued working. She felt a tightening in her abdomen and was worried at first, but it was gone after a few minutes.

Eli was home only half an hour later, and Clare had already had two more contractions (that's what she hoped they were). "Hey. How was your day?", he asked when he walked through the door. Eli loosened his tie and searched through the refrigerator for the Thai food they had eaten the night before.

"Everything's been good, and I talked to Al-" Clare cut off when another contraction hit her without warning, more painful than the first. She breathed through it until it ended and looked at her phone for the time. Her last two contractions had been eleven minutes apart, but it could still be Braxton Hicks contractions.

Eli looked at her in concern when she stopped suddenly and abandoned his hunt for food. "Are you okay?", he asked worriedly. He was looking at her, and his jade eyes were filled with anxiety, because she hadn't answered his question yet.

"I've been having contraction, only for an hour or so, that are eleven minutes apart, but they could still be Braxton Hicks contractions." Clare was trying to reassure herself more so than Eli, because no amount of classes could prepare her for the birth of her children.

"Braxton whats?", Eli asked. He looked more confused than ever, and Clare regretted telling him he didn't need to go to the birth classes with her.

"They're false contractions that are like practice runs for the body, but I've had those since months ago. It's perfectly normal.", she explained. She had called her doctor the first time they had occurred but hadn't told Eli for fear that he would worry.

"You never said anything about them, and they never stopped you in mid sentence before this. Could that mean this is the real deal?" He was trying to ease her into the idea, because she seemed a little worried. He also wasn't ready to deliver twins in their apartment.

Clare bit her lip and said, "It can't be. I'm not ready, and everything seemed so much easier when they were just living in here. Now it's real, and I'm scared." She hadn't realized she was scared until that moment, because it was easy to ignore once she had gotten used to the extra weight.

Eli smiled and walked her over to the couch. He sat beside her and took her hand and said, "This will be one of the hardest things you ever do, but you will never be doing it alone. You have done so much with out any support except from the guy who's always working or in class. You're going to be the best mom ever, and these kids are so lucky to have you. You've already fought for them, now you just have to raise them."

Clare smiled and felt another contraction. It had already been eleven minutes. "Maybe we should go to the hospital.", she said. Eli went to the bedroom and put some clothes and books into a bag. He called a taxi, which took twenty minutes on the Friday night, and he and Clare went to the hospital.

They checked in with a nurse and were about to be lead to a room when Clare stopped suddenly. "Not to alarm anyone, but I'm pretty sure my water just broke.", she announced to Eli and the nurse in a scared voice. The nurse assured her everything was alright, and that it was normal. Clare wasn't sure what to feel in that moment. She was a mixture of excitement, fear, anxiety, joy, and so many other emotions that she couldn't place.

The doctor talked to Clare and said she was dilated and would be having the babies soon. She was taken to a sterilized room where a doctor told her she would need to push soon. "Eli, I can't do this." She screamed at the end of her sentence when another contraction over took her body.

Eli hated seeing Clare in that kind of pain, and he wished there was something he could do. He held her hand and told her it would all be over soon. "It's okay. Remember, the doctor said you're almost done."

The doctor looked up and said, "Alright, Miss Edwards, I need you to push. Now." Clare did as she was told and pushed. When she stopped, she didn't feel any better. She was crying and squeezing Eli's hand in a death grip. He would have complained but could easily predict how that would end. "Again, push.", the doctor ordered.

Clare pushed again and fell back into the bed sweating. "You're doing so good, Clare.", Eli said encouragingly. He could tell he hadn't helped, but she smiled at him before another contraction hit her. She screamed again and pushed when the doctor gave the order. The sound of crying filled the room, and Eli looked at Daniel for the first time. "He's beautiful."

Clare looked up at him. "He?", she asked. She wanted to know who had been born first but couldn't see.

Eli smiled down at her in the few minutes of peace they had. "He. Daniel Edwards.", he told her as he looked back at the tiny person.

A nurse took Daniel to be cleaned, and the doctor turned back to Clare. "Alright, we're halfway there.", he said.

Clare's eyes widened in realization. "I have to do that again?", she practically screeched. Her chin trembled as she realized she was about to go through that again.

Eli held her hand tightly and said, "One more, and we get to meet Tori. I can't wait to see what she looks like." His words seemed to remind her why she was doing all of this, and a determined expression replaced the expression of fear that had been there.

"Okay, push.", the doctor said. Clare nodded to Eli and gripped his hand tightly. She pushed and screamed and then breathed deeply for a minute when she rested. Eli spoke soothing words to her while she waited for the doctor to speak again.

"I see a head and shoulders. One more time, and she should be out. Push." One more push, one more scream, one more set of lungs breathing in while a baby cried for the first time.

Eli looked at Tori and over to where Daniel was. "They're perfect. You did that, you did so good. So good.", he told Clare while she tried to slow her breathing.

She smiled and said, "Can I see them?" A nurse brought Daniel over and set him on Clare's chest while another brought Tori and did the same. "They're everything I ever could have imagined and more." Clare looked up at Eli and smiled. He thought she looked like the most beautiful angel in that moment. She was sweaty and tired and perfect. "Do you want to hold one?", Clare asked.

Eli nodded and held Tori in his arms. "Hey there, Tori Helen Edwards. You're going to be as beautiful as your mom, and I'm going to have to chase away so many boys.", he told the tiny bundle in his arms.

Clare looked down at her baby boy and said, "Hello, Daniel Elijah Edwards. You're going to be such a good big brother." Eli looked at her shocked, because he never would have guessed that she would choose that as Daniel's middle name. She only smiled at him and nodded at his silent question. "Happy birthday, Daniel and Tori.", she said.

After a few minutes two nurses came and took the babies to have tests done and be taken care of. Clare fell asleep soon after she was moved to a new room, and Eli sat in a chair beside her bed the entire night. He watched her for a few minutes and knew he would tell her soon.

Clare stayed in the hospital for a few days to recover, but the twins were moved to her room. Eli had gone back to the apartment to get the baby seats they had gotten, so Daniel and Tori could go home. He walked into the room and saw that Clare was awake. "Hey, you almost ready to go?", he asked as he stepped into the room.

Clare was standing, fully dressed in the clothes Eli had brought her from home. She was holding Daniel's hand and smiling down at the two babies but looked up when Eli spoke to her. "I think I am." She was saying that she really thought she could do it, being a mom and raising Daniel and Tori.

They left the hospital with the twins and happily arrived back at their apartment. Clare stepped through the door, followed by Eli who was holding the baby seats. They walked in and moved Daniel and Tori to their nursery. They walked into the den area, and Clare sat on the couch. "I can't believe I'm really a mom.", she said. It was odd that nothing had changed in their apartment, but the feelings in it had changed dramatically. She was a mom, and Daniel and Tori were asleep in their nursery instead of being inside of her.

Eli sat beside her and took her hand, making her face him. "Clare, I wanted to talk to you about something. I've wanted to tell you for a while, but I couldn't find the right time. I have had the most amazing time these last nine months with you, and I want to keep having this feeling forever with you and the twins. I love you.", he said while staring into her eyes.

He leaned in and kissed her. Clare kissed him back without thought and let her mouth form perfectly with his- until she started thinking. She pulled away and looked down, so she couldn't see the hurt in his eyes. She had kissed him back and then stopped, because she remembered something pretty important. "Eli, I want this so badly, but what I want doesn't matter anymore. I have to think about what's best for Tori and Daniel. I can't get into a relationship that I'm not one hundred percent sure will last. Daniel and Tori can't grow up thinking of you as their dad just for you to realize how hard this is or how not fun it is and leave. How long will you stay when they're screaming all night or getting into everything? One month? Two? A year? You can't guarantee that you won't have a change of heart one day."

Eli heard everything she was saying, but only one thing stuck in his mind. He would stay, because he loved Clare and Daniel and Tori. "I'll be there. I will be there in a month when they're both screaming in the middle of the night, and we both have to get up to take care of them. I will be there when they're spitting up food on my work clothes, so I have to change and be late. I will be there when they're crawling, and we baby proof the house, but you won't think it's enough, so I'll go get more. I will be there when they're walking and getting into everything that's within reach. I will be their when they skin their knees and want me to make it better, which I will. I will be there to hold you when you have to let them go on the first day of school and realize they're growing up. I will be there to tell Daniel that it's his job to protect his little sister, even when she doesn't want him to. I will be there to scare away the first boy Tori brings home- and the second and the third. I will be there for graduations. I will be there for weddings, and I will be there when our grandchildren are born, because I already love them like they're my own kids. Do you want to hear more, because I'll be there for it all. I love you, and I'm not going anywhere."

Clare was in tears by the time Eli had finished speaking, and she knew he meant every word. She leaned in and kissed him. It wasn't a deep, passionate kiss, but it was a short, sweet kiss full of meaning and promises of future kisses.

FIN

Thank you, everyone who stayed with this story until the end. I hope you've enjoyed it...but you can still review and tell me.