Ultrasound
Lily rested her cheek on Phoebe's growing bump, while they waited for the doctor to arrive.
"Will we be waiting for the father, Miss Abbott?" Dr Lai asked.
"We're not really ready to involve him in the process just yet. We sort of had a falling out with him," Phoebe said vaguely.
"Oh… well, okay then; are you ready for your first ultrasound?" Dr Lai asked. Phoebe nodded.
"This will be a little cold," the doctor said, as he pressed a gel covered appliance against Phoebe's bare stomach.
The screen flickered to life. "Miss Abbott, I'm thrilled to tell you that you're expecting twins!" Dr Lai announced, pointing out the two separate embryos, and beaming at Phoebe and Lily.
"What? Oh my God!" the pair exclaimed in unison.
"Would you like some privacy for a while, to absorb this news?" Dr Lai asked. Phoebe nodded. Dr Lai left the room.
Phoebe turned to Lily with tears in her eyes, "Lil, you're going to be a parent of two babies!" she whispered in awe.
Lily squeezed Phoebe's hand tightly, and wiped the tears from Phoebe's eyes. "Honey, are you absolutely sure you want to give them up? It's never too late to change your mind, their biologically your children," Lily said emphatically.
Phoebe shook her head, "I'm not gonna change my mind. I want you to have them."
"You know that I've forgiven you, right? I know you didn't know who Frank was when you slept with him. Whatever you decide, I'm gonna be right here, by your side as your best friend." Lily said gently.
"Lil, I'm not ready to be a parent, there's still so much I want to do with my life before committing to parenthood. I want you to be the mother of my kids. I just know they're gonna have an awesome childhood with you," Phoebe said adamantly. Lily threw her arms around her best friend.
"I'm going to make sure those babies have a wonderful childhood. I'm gonna call my husband, tell him that I'm ready to work on our relationship, for the sake of the kids. They deserve to have both parents in their lives," Lily said, her voice cracking with emotion.
Lily called out to the doctor, "Dr Lai, you can come in now!" The doctor stepped into the room.
"It's too soon to tell the gender, but so far, both embryos are very healthy. Both have a strong regular heartbeat, and are growing at the appropriate pace, for embryos their age," Dr Lai surmised.
"Congratulations, Miss Abbott, you're going to be a mother of two wonderful healthy children," Dr Lai added.
"No, Lily is going to be the mother of two wonderful healthy children," Phoebe corrected. Lily's eyes brimmed with tears. She was finally going to become a mother, after all these years.
"Phoebe, I promise that I'm going to be there for them forever," Lily promised.
As we all know, Lily did not keep her promise. By the time the children turned 13, Lily had ended her life. The question still left unanswered, is why?