iGo Into Shock

Sam paced the halls of Seattle University Medical Center so frantically that Melanie thought her sister would wear a groove into the floor.

"Samantha, please… She's in perfectly capable hands… and why are you not in there?"

Sam blushed. Only two people in the world – Melanie and Carly – knew that, deep down, Sam Puckett was incredibly modest. The notion of seeing her Cupcake in any stage of undress in any place other than their home caused Sam's stomach to tie itself in knots.

Sam babbled in a language that only her sister could understand. It was the same made-up language they'd spoken only to one another as small children. This was the language of their innermost secrets. Freddie Benson looked on as his wife and sister-in-law regressed into their own childhood. He couldn't help but smile. He hurt for Sam. He knew that this was as awkward for Sam as it was for him and for Melanie. Sam, for the first time in her life, couldn't solve this problem by beating it into submission or simply running away from it. This was a situation that needed to be confronted head on.

"Samantha, screw your damn foolish modesty… go in there and be with Carly, for pity's sake!"

She opened her mouth to protest, but Melanie had thought this through.

"Go on or else I'll tell Freddie to kiss you… on the lips!"

Freddie Benson had gone ashen. He couldn't believe his ears. Sam Puckett was beet red with embarrassment.

"Fine…"

Sam reluctantly knocked on the door to Carly's exam room, waited, and quietly entered.

To Sam's surprise, this wasn't anything like Carly's previous appointment. It was simply Carly, Dr. Sharkey, and equipment that did Sam had no idea what.

Carly was radiant. She chuckled out loud, her t-shirt pulled up to expose her midsection only.

"Is this what you were so afraid of?"

Sam nodded, like an innocent little girl, still incredibly red faced.

"Sam! You're so stupid sometimes…"

Carly loved teasing her this way. She and only she knew how much of a girly-girl her blonde partner truly could be.

"I'm sorry, Cupcake… I guess I still have the habit of tuning out things that feel too much like school…"

TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER…

"Well… hmmm… Oh my…"

Sam Puckett was no med student – far from it – but from where she sat, hearing 'Oh my' from the Cupcake's lady-doctor didn't exactly inspire confidence. She responded in typical Puckett fashion, much to Carly's embarrassment.

"What exactly do you mean, Oh my? What's wrong with my baby's baby?"

Carly scolded Sam. She hadn't sensed anything was the matter until Sam had opened her big, dumb, blonde trap.

Dr. Sharkey, sensing she had inadvertently caused a spat that would elevate her patient's blood pressure, thought she had better clarify her previous statement.

"Oh mercy… What I mean to say… There's nothing wrong with the child per se, although I do have a question for the both of you…"

Carly's palms began to sweat. Sam felt physically sick; hanging on the doctor's every word.

"Is there any history of multiples in either of your families?"

It took a minute for Carly to decode what was being asked of her. Sam beat her to the punch. The words came out much harsher than she'd intended.

"You have met my sister, remember?"

Dr. Sharkey continued undeterred.

"Well, yes… but beyond your sister, is there any history that you're aware of?"

"Not that I know – "

Carly cut her partner off.

"My mom was a twin, why?"

Sam sat there, Carly's hand in hers, stunned. This was something that the Ghost of Cupcake's Past had never confided in her. Carly, on the other hand, had, until now, never seen the need to.

Dr. Sharkey broke into a bit of a grin pointing to two distinct, if somewhat hazy bright masses on the video monitor.

"It's still a bit too early to tell who's who or what's what, but I must tell you… Congratulations, you are most definitely having twins…"

Carly flushed pink, beaming. Sam immediately dropped Carly's hand, making a beeline for the tall stainless steel trashcan in the corner of the exam room and promptly threw up.

While Sam's sickness was certainly distracting, Dr. Sharkey was a professional and used to any manner of responses from parents-to-be. She ignored Sam and focused, instead, on her partner.

"Is she usually like this?"

Carly smirked. She was in shock herself, but tried to contain herself.

"Yeah, Sam's kinda… well… Sam's special…"

Sam had finally stopped retching, wiped her mouth, and politely slunk out of the room, thoroughly embarrassed. She felt like a heel, leaving her precious Cupcake alone in that room, naked and vulnerable, without Mama there to protect her.

HALF AN HOUR LATER…

The exam room door yawned slightly, allowing both Sam and Carly to exit gracefully. Sam had come running out earlier that afternoon, bolting straight past her sister and directly into the women's restroom. As she was the only one who could, Melanie Benson broke into a run after her sister. It was clear to her and her alone that her sister had not only been sick, but also crying. Melanie Benson had become the world's foremost expert at reading her sister's tears.

This time, however, Sam led Carly from the exam room, joined only by the fingertips. Carly's curled into Sam's gently, but nothing could separate them. Sam beamed. Her Cupcake wasn't having her baby – she was having her babies.

Melanie's eyes caught her twin's. She could read them clearly. The pain and the tumult were over. She was no longer afraid of becoming the second coming of Pam. No one had laid a finger on Sam Puckett in years, although, when need be, Melanie Benson had no qualms about getting a little dirt under her fingernails and verbally slapping some sense into her younger sister. This afternoon had provided her with just such a moment, reminding her sister, in as stern a voice as she could muster, that she was being a melodramatic, stubborn ass and that Carly needed her to be strong, now, more than ever before.

Carly exited the room, flushed and beaming. Her next appointment was scribbled on the card in her jeans pocket. She was all smiles – until seeing Melanie. She hauled off, channeling her inner invisible ninja, and slugged her sister-in-law as hard as she could in the shoulder.

"I hate you…" Carly teased.

Melanie beamed. She had told Carly well over a month ago that she was carrying twins, and that she would put money on it. Carly, of course, thought that it was the famous Puckett eggplant parmesan talking, and had blown it off entirely.

Melanie smiled a perfect, porcelain-white smile at Carly.

"Love you too, Cupcake…"