Mark was watching a football game in the living room, when Brandy walked in. He looked up at her, and smiled. He loved seeing her pregnant, knowing it was their children growing inside of her. She always seemed to have a glow about her, making her look even more beautiful. "Hey there, gorgeous," he said, holding a hand out to help her sit down.
"Don't say that, I look hideous," she growled. "I hate being so fucking fat. It makes me feel like a lard ass."
"Hey, there are little ones present," he said, placing his hands on either side of her belly, and they both laughed. Letting out a sigh, Brandy rested her head on his shoulder, and he immediately wrapped an arm around her, his fingers idly sifting through her hair. "To be honest, I can wait until we have another baby."
"We haven't even had these two yet!" Brandy exclaimed.
"I know, but I love all of this. Most guys say dealing with their wife when she's pregnant is torture, but it wasn't for me. I've loved every second of these past nine months," Mark replied, and tightened his arm around her.
"Oh Mark," Brandy said, taking his hand in hers. "You always know what to say to make me so happy."
He grinned down at her. "That's what I'm here for," he replied, and gave her a gentle kiss. "I'm gonna get something to eat. You hungry?"
"Yeah, just get me whatever you get," she said, and he headed into the kitchen. About five minutes later, he finally walked back into the living room, and frowned when he saw the look on Brandy's face.
"You okay?" he asked as he set the food down and then sat next to her on the couch.
"I don't know," she replied, rubbing her belly.
"Do you need to lay down, or something?" Mark asked, placing a hand on her stomach.
She was about to reply, when she suddenly let out a pain-filled cry and clutched her stomach. "Oh god…I think the babies are coming," she said, and Mark wasted no time in rushing upstairs to grab the bag they had prepared. Once he was back downstairs, he helped Brandy out to the car, and they made their way to the hospital.
Six hours later, Mark was sitting behind Brandy on the small hospital bed, softly rubbing her shoulders and back as she waited for the next set of contractions to come. "I wish I could just get this over with," she commented, letting her head fall back on Mark's shoulder.
"I don't blame you, but you just have to let it come," he murmured, placing his hands on her belly. "The babies will come when the babies will come."
"Yeah, well I wish they wouldn't take their dear ole times like this," she replied, making him chuckle. Just then, a fresh wave of pain hit her, making her shoot straight up in the bed.
"Is it another set of contractions?" Mark asked, and all she could do was nod. Taking her hands in his, he said, "Remember your breathing," and did the breathing techniques with her, until it finally passed.
"Oh, this is torture," she groaned, falling back against Mark.
"You're doing good, darlin'. Just remember your breathing, and stay as relaxed as possible," he said as he softly rubbed her arms. "Just relax," he whispered in her ear.
"I don't know what I would do if you weren't here, Mark," Brandy murmured.
"You'd be utterly lost," he chuckled, making her grin and kissed her temple.
Just then, the doctor walked into the room. "Have you been keeping track of how far apart the contractions are, Mrs. Calaway?" he asked.
"They're down to four minutes," she replied.
The doctor nodded. "You've still got a little bit of time. Mr. Calaway, do you plan on being here during the birth?"
Mark looked down at Brandy. "Do you want me in here?" he asked, and she immediately nodded. "I guess so, then."
"Alright. If you'll come with me, I'll help you get prepared. Once we get back, Mrs. Calaway, you should be completely dilated, and ready to begin pushing," the doctor said.
"Okay," Brandy replied, and looked back at Mark. "Please hurry back," she whispered to him.
"I will," he replied, and kissed her before getting up and following the doctor out of the room. Not long after they left, a nurse walked into the room.
"Has it been long since you had your last contraction?" she asked Brandy.
"Maybe a minute or so," Brandy replied, rubbing her stomach.
"You're doing great, Mrs. Calaway. Everything is looking good, and it appears the babies are fine as well. So far, we're right on schedule. I'm sure the doctor said this, but once they get back you should be ready to begin with the birthing process."
"Yes, he did, which I'm glad for. I'm ready to get this over with," Brandy replied, making the nurse grin.
"Is this your first pregnancy?"
"Technically, yes. I had a miscarriage about a year ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am. I've been in the same situation, so I know how it feels." Brandy simply smiled at her. "Have you been nervous, with this being your first time and all?"
"Yeah, somewhat. I read books, though, and my friend, who recently had a baby, told me what all to expect."
"Well that's good. Help from others is always a plus," the nurse replied. Brandy could feel another wave of pain coming, and the nurse asked, "Are you having another set?" Brandy nodded, and she added, "Okay, just do your breathing treatments. There you go. Ata girl. You're doing great." Once it finally passed, Brandy collapsed back against the bed. "It's draining, I know. You did good, though, hon."
When Brandy saw Mark walk back in, she was extremely glad to see him. "You doing okay?" he asked, standing next to her and taking her hand in his.
"Yeah, I'm alright," she replied, giving him a weak smile.
The doctor sat her feet on the bars, and lifted up the cover to examine her. "Okay Mrs. Calaway, when the next set of contractions hit, I'm going to need you to give me a big push," he informed her.
"Okay," she replied wearily. Seeing how worn out she was, Mark helped her up into the sitting position and kept her propped up with one arm as he held her hand with his free one. When Brandy felt the pain coming again, she said, "Oh god, they're coming again."
"Okay, this is it," the doctor said, pulling the cover back and sitting down in front of her. "On the count of three, push as hard as you can, okay? One…two…three!" Fiercely squeezing Mark's hand, Brandy gritted her teeth and pushed as hard as she could. "That's it, keep pushing. Keep pushing." Brandy screamed in pain as she pushed with all her might. "I see the head! Come on, Mrs. Calaway, you're almost there," the doctor encouraged her. Brandy fell back against Mark's arm, panting and drenched with sweat. The nurse stepped forward and dabbed her forehead with a wet cloth. "You're doing good, Brandy. Give me one more push. You're almost done," the doctor said. Taking a deep breath, Brandy once more pushed, the pain becoming unbearable at this point, and making her ready to finish it.
"That's it, darlin', keep pushing. You're almost there," Mark murmured in her ear, trying his best to help her through this.
Mustering up what was left of her strength, she gave one last push, and heard the doctor exclaim, "It's out! The first baby's out! Okay, Brandy, I can see the other one. Keep pushing for me," the doctor said as he handed the first one to the nurse. Gathering up the last of her strength, Brandy once more continued to push, and after three grueling minutes, the second baby finally came out. "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Calaway, you have a beautiful baby boy and baby girl!" the doctor said as he began to clean the second one.
Brandy collapsed against the bed, and could hear both of the babies crying. Never before did she think she would be so glad to hear that sound. The doctor let Mark cut the umbilical cords, and then wrapped the babies in blankets before handing one to Brandy and the other to Mark. When Brandy finally saw them, she began to cry. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Mark wrapped a free arm around Brandy and pulled her to him. "They're so beautiful," Brandy said through her tears.
Mark gazed down at the baby he was holding, and smiled warmly when he saw tufts of red hair on top of its head. He could see that this one was going to have his red hair. "You've made me the happiest man in the world," Mark whispered in Brandy's ear as he rubbed her shoulder.
"I hate to do this, but we need to bring the babies to the nursery, and Brandy to a private room," the nurse said. They both reluctantly handed the babies over, and Brandy held Mark's hand in hers as she was wheeled down to her own room.
After Brandy got in a much needed nap, the nurse brought the babies into the room, and gave Brandy a plate of food to eat. "Oh wow," Brandy commented when she took a bite of the food a nurse had brought her. "This is terrible."
Mark had to bite back a laugh. "Brandy, that's horrible. At least they're able to feed you while you're in here."
"I know, but…damn. This is almost as bad as your cooking," she said, a smirk on her face.
"Hey, be nice," he chuckled, and looked down at their daughter, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. "What should we name her?"
"Well, we had decided that if it were girls, you would name them, so you get to name her, and I get to name him," she replied, gazing down at the handsome little boy in her arms.
"Okay," Mark said as he gently rocked in the chair. He gazed down at the baby as he thought, and finally said, "How does Olivia Danielle sound?"
"Mark, that's beautiful," Brandy replied. With a smile, she added, "It's perfect." Mark grinned back at her, and leaned over to give Brandy a kiss. He once more gazed down at their little girl, unable to take his eyes off of her. He couldn't believe that he was actually a father, and that he not only had one child, but two.
"What name do you want to give him?" Mark asked, looking back over at Brandy.
Brandy thought for a moment, and then finally replied, "I like the name Brady William." She looked back over at Mark. "Do you like it?"
"I love it," Mark said with a grin as he looked down at their son, running a finger from his free hand along Brady's hand and grinned even bigger when his small fingers wrapped around Mark's one finger.
"You just gave me another reason to love being your wife," Brandy suddenly said.
Mark looked up at her. "Oh really? What's that?"
"The fact that you're going to be a good father," Brandy replied with a smile.
Mark smiled warmly back at her. "And how did I do that?"
"Just by the way you look at both of them. They're both going to be lucky to have a father like you," Brandy replied.
Mark leaned over and gave Brandy another kiss. "And they're going to be lucky to get the honor of having you as their mother," he said, making Brandy grin and blush. "I love you so much, baby girl."
"I love you too, Mark," she replied, and gave him a kiss before settling back in the bed.
Just then, two nurses came in, and informed them it was time to bring the babies back into the nursery. Once they had left, Mark scooted closer to Brandy, and ran a hand through her hair. "You need to get some more sleep. You've had a long day," he commented.
Brandy looked over at him with heavy eyes. "I'm exhausted," she mumbled, taking his other hand in hers. When Mark kissed her forehead, she closed her eyes, and within a few minutes, he could tell she was fast asleep. Mark didn't know how, but somehow she always managed to make him fall even more in love with her. After all…who knew the girl he saved one sunny day would end up being the one who mended his heart, the love of his life, and the mother of his children?
THE END
I really hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did creating it. Thank you so much for all the kind reviews - really, you have no idea how much it means to me, and I truly appreciate it!