Chapter 5:

Around 4:00, May 14th, 1981

Dixie thought she was going to pass out from the pain. As much as it hurts, she keeps pushing, pushing, until the pain eases. She gave what she thought would be the final push, and was disappointed. The pain eased for a minute, then she kept pushing. Kel came up towards her head, grabbing her hand. As she gave what was really the final push, he leaned down and kissed her.

"Twins, Dix," he said excitedly. "Twins!"

"What were you hoping for, Mrs. Brackett?" the attending nurse asked, smiling.

"Kel wanted a girl," she said softly, tired but happy.

"Well," the nurse said, "You got your wish, Dr. Brackett, and more. One of each!"

Dixie was smiling wider than she'd ever smiled before. "Two babies, Kel. Two babies. A boy and a girl."

He was grinning, laughing as he answered. "Yes. Yes, a boy and a girl."

The twins were cleaned up while Dixie was wheeled into the recovery room. She was exausted, but more than anything she wanted to hold her babies. Two nurses brought the twins into the room, placing their daughter in Kel's arms and their son in Dixie's.

"Do they have names yet?" one of the nurses asked.

Dixie looked at her husband. They had been discussing first names, so those were set. Middle names, however, she knew she was taking a chance on when she said, "Andrew Joseph Brackett and Abigail Ann Brackett."

Judging from the smile on Kel's face, she knew she had made the right desicion. It just seemed right, she thought, for their children to have their middle names. The nurses left, grinning, to tell the ER staff that the babies had been born.

After giving the new parents plenty of time to hold their children, the nurses returned. Dixie was rather unwilling to relinquish her daughter, but she was also exausted. Finally she allowed the nurses to take them to the nursery, after making them promise to bring them up first thing in the morning.

When the twins were sent down to the nursery, Dixie was moved from the recovery room to a private room. She fell asleep fast, and then Kel snuck out to show his children to Joe Early and Mike Morton.

It so happened that Roy and John were off shift and had come over to Rampart to say hi, and were in Emergency when Kel came down to find Joe. They knew that Dixie was due, and were hoping to find a baby when they came to visit. They weren't disappointed. Joe had told them as soon as they showed up. The ER was quiet, and Kel found Joe, Mike, Roy, and John all in the staff room with coffee.

"Did you guys hear?" he couldn't hide his smile.

"A girl," Roy guessed. They had all heard that the "baby" had been born, but the nurse had neglected to mention to Joe that the "baby" was actually babies.

"Better than that," Kel answered. "Want to guess?"

"No!" Johnny was not the patient type. "Tell us, doc!"

"Twins," the word slipped, barely audible, from his lips.

'"No," Joe was shocked. "Really?"

"Really," Kel was grinning from ear to ear. "A boy and a girl."

"Can we see them?" Mike asked.

"Come on," Kel gestured as he walked out the door.

"There they are," he says, pointing to his little ones.

"They're beautiful, doc," Roy says, smiling. "Are they named yet?"

"Yep," he answered. "Joe, Mike, John, and Roy, meet Andrew Joseph and Abigail Ann Brackett."

The End