~*Chapter Twenty-Five : It's Not a Cyclops*~
Sam slept deeply that night and only awakened when baby Fredward woke up, hungry for his breakfast. She crawled out of bed and gathered her three-month-old son in her arms. Holding the baby close, she returned to the bed so she could feed her little boy. Looking down into his beautiful face, Sam felt waves of love overcome her.
"Freddie," she whispered to her husband who was still sleeping. "Wake up. We need to talk."
Freddie's eyes opened sleepily and he looked at Sam. "What's wrong, baby?" he asked. This was an odd hour to want to talk, but he knew that something had to be bothering her if she had awakened him.
Sam held Baby Freddie to her breast as he was nursing. Gently she stroked his little cheek. She then looked at Freddie when he spoke. "I think you should go with me to the doctor this morning before you leave for work," she told him softly. "Something isn't right. I've never fainted before... ever. And when I was pregnant with baby Fredward, I was a little sick, but nothing like this. I'm scared. What if something's wrong?"
Freddie sat up in bed and put his hand on Sam's arm in a comforting gesture. "It'll be okay," he said softly. "I'll go with you to the doctor. Try not to worry so much. This could just be that you're stressed out which isn't good, but if that's the case, we can get rid of the stressors and keep your environment stress-free. The doctor will know what to do, so we'll go visit my dad," he said softly.
"We both know why I have been under so much stress. I think I need to send my parents to Cambodia," Sam said sadly.
"And as for seeing the doctor, I don't wanna go, but I know it's for the best," spoke Sam. "You know how I hate doctors and hospitals." Sam continued to feed the baby until he had taken his fill. After baby Fredward had finished nursing, Sam changed his diaper and lay him down in his crib.
"I'll go take a quick shower, then I'll meet you downstairs," Sam said to Freddie.
Sam managed to keep her morning nausea at bay while she had her shower and got dressed. When she got downstairs, she saw Gibby and Carly on the couch together sitting very close, Carly's head on Gibby's shoulder. They both looked startled when they saw Sam.
"Hey, Sam. Gibby and I were up all night talking..." Carly explained. "So I spent the night. Are you feeling any better?"
Sam shook her head, looking miserable. "No, I'm not... so Freddie's taking me to the doctor. Will you and Gibby watch little Fredward for a couple of hours?" Sam asked.
"Sure," Carly promised her best friend. "Sam, Melanie said you fainted last night."
Sam nodded. "Uh huh," Sam said softly, not ready to share her news yet about the pregnancy. It was a miracle she had even told Freddie yet.
"I hope everything is alright, Sam," Gibby spoke up.
"Thanks, Gibs," Sam replied as she saw Freddie coming downstairs.
"Carls, we are borrowing your car again," Sam said to her best friend on the way out.
"Alright, Sam," Carly said with a laugh.
Freddie found the keys to Carly's car. "Thanks," he said to Gibby and Carly because they were watching the baby and considering Carly was loaning them her car. He hoped he could start saving and buy him and Sam a car, but right now they had far too many expenses. As he led Sam out to the car and took her to the clinic, he did wish he could send her parents to Cambodia for her.
Sam was unusually quiet on the way to the Seattle Women's Clinic where Freddie's dad worked. She just stared out the window, thinking of all that had occured since she and Melanie's birthday party. She wondered if there really was a way to lower the stress in her life. She was willng to try anything at this point.
When they got to the clinic, Sam asked to see Dr. Benson. She told the receptionist it was urgent she see him right away. "Uhhhh, just a second," said the receptionist. She rang for Dr. Benson and told him that a woman was at the front desk, insisting to be seen ASAP.
"Let me in there, lady, or I am gonna puke all over your desk," Sam said in a growl.
The young woman looked at Sam in fear and sent her right in to see the doctor. Sam took Freddie's hand and went to the exam room to wait for Freddie's dad.
"Hey, Freddie, Sam," said Dr. Benson when he entered the room.
"Hey," Sam said in reply.
"What brings you back today?" Jonathon asked his daughter-in-law. "Still feeling sick?"
"Extremely sick. Plus last night I fainted. And I have been falling asleep constantly," Sam answered. "I am afraid that something may be wrong..."
"Well, we could do an ultrasound... just to make sure everything looks as it should," Dr. Benson suggested.
Sam shrugged. "Okay," she responded. "But why did I faint?"
"It's hard to say... but I suggest you take it easy over the next few days. Try to stay off your feet as much as you can. Get some extra rest and relaxation. For now though, we'll do the ultrasound and check to make sure all is well," said Jonathon.
A few minutes later, the nurse had Sam all set up for the ultrasound. She was trying to breathe deeply and just stay calm as Dr. Benson squirted some warm gel onto her tummy and placed a tranducer onto her abdomen. He was looking at the screen, trying to get an image of the baby.
"Interesting..." he said softly as he was gazing at the monitor.
"What is it? Does my baby have two heads or something? What? Is it a cyclops?" Sam demanded, slightly freaking out.
Freddie held Sam's hand in his and looked at his dad. "What is it, Dad? Are Sam and the baby going to be alright? Is the baby okay?"
"Freddie, come here," Jonathon said to his son, pointing out something to Freddie on the monitor. There were two distinct heartbeats on the screen. Jonathon looked at his son as the shock started setting in.
"What's going on?" Sam asked worriedly. "What are you two not telling me?"
Jonathon's gaze turned to Sam. "Sam, everything's just fine. I was just showing Freddie the heartbeats," said Dr. Benson.
"Heartbeats? What?" Sam gasped, freaking out once again. "Do you mean-?"
"Yes, Sam. You're carrying two babies..." Jonathon replied.
"Two?" Sam cried out. It was a good thing she was lying down or she would have fainted again. Twins! Being a twin herself, Sam knew exactly what they were getting into, plus they had another baby at home only just three months old who still needed constant care. It was completely overwhelming.
Freddie looked like he might be the one to pass out this time. " T- twins?" he muttered. How were they supposed to manage THREE kids? They barely had any money, and Baby Freddie wasn't even a toddler yet.
"Ohhh no... you gotta be mistaken. There can't be two in there... I'm not even used to the idea that there is one in there yet," Sam said to Jonathon. She then looked at Freddie, seeing a dazed expression on his face.
"Are you sure?" she demanded of her father-in-law.
Dr. Benson nodded. "Yes, Sam. There are two strong, healthy heartbeats. And from what I can see, you look to be about nine weeks along," he replied.
"Holy chiz on a chisel," Sam quipped.
Dr. Benson finished up with the ultrasound, taking all the necessary measurements and making sure that both babies appeared to be fine. Once it was completed, he gave Sam a small towel to wipe away the gel from her belly. "I'll give the two of you some privacy now to talk about things," Jonathon said to Sam and Freddie. "Just remember, Sam... take it easy over the next few days. Get lots of rest... avoid stress. And call me if you need anything."
"Thank you," Sam said quietly as she cleaned the gel from the flesh of her stomach. She fixed her top and sat up slowly on the exam table.
Sam's gaze moved to Freddie. He actually looked terrified. The pregnancy was a lot to digest. And now they had just been told she was carrying twins. TWINS! Baby Fredward wouldn't even be one year old when the new babies arrived. "Freddie, I don't know if I can do this..." Sam said softly, shaking her head.
Freddie wasn't sure how to process all of this. Finding out about having another baby was shocking, but to discover there were actually two was almost more than he could comprehend. Could they even do this? Was the house big enough? Then he suddenly got an image of Giant-Size Sam storming through the house, crumbling it to pieces, hollering, "Feed Me, Feed Me!"
"Ohhhh God," he uttered.
Angry Big Giant Sam was tearing apart the furniture in Freddie's mind, eating it piece by piece as she hollered about how no one would fed her and she was REALLY ANGRY now.
"Don't EAT the furniture!" Freddie blurted out.
When Freddie cried out "Don't EAT the furniture!" Sam frowned. What the hell? "Fredward, snap out of it... this is serious chiz!" she cried out. "I'm pregnant with twins, you nub!" She wondered if she was going to have to slap him to break him out of his trance.
"I know," he said. " I know. Two. Twins. More than one at the same time." He ran a hand through his dark hair. "We don't have enough room. How are we going to...? I think we'll need a van."
"I'm going to get as big as Girly Cow!" Sam cried out.
"I'll totally repulse you," she said with a frown. She didn't want Freddie to lose his desire for her. She'd totally die.
"Freddie," she said in a sad little voice, going into his arms. She wanted him to make everything better. She lay her head on his shoulder, just holding him so tight.
Freddie wrapped his arms around her, hugging her so tight. "No," he said softly. "I won't be repulsed by you. I love you. It wont matter to me what you look like. I loved you just as much when you were carrying Baby Freddie."
"You're sure?" she asked softly as she pulled back a little bit looking into his eyes. Softly she caressed Freddie's cheek, gazing into his eyes. The twins were their babies too, just as little Freddie was, yet it didn't seem real yet. Sam didn't know what to feel or think.
"Of course I'm sure," he told her with a smile."I love you and nothing will ever change that." He kissed Sam tenderly on the lips.
"I love you, too, Freddie... and we have to do this. We have to get through this. If my mom had twins and made it through it, I can do it, too. Everything is going to be okay, because it has to be... although I am really scared," Sam admitted.
"Let's get the heck out of here. I hate this place," she said, practically dragging Freddie out the door. She was ready to go home and tell Carly and Gibby the big news. She and Freddork were having twins.
Freddie followed Sam out the door. "We'll be just fine," he said. They had made it work when they found they were having Baby Freddie, and they had been nowhere near ready then. They could do this.