A/N: Fun fact I introduced my Nanna to Terra Nova.. My Nanna didn't get the appeal of dinosaurs but she did however get the appeal of Jason O'Mara without a shirt on! Lol she's a gem! P.S. Not a Doctor and I know nothing about babies except which way to hold them and that they are ridiculously cute as long as I can hand them back at the end of the day… Enjoy the Installment! And a huge thank you for the reviews and favourites!
"Ok I want the Surgical Bay prepped just in case we need to perform a C-section. Someone Call Dr Hastings and Chen in and Nurse Ogawa could you please make sure the Private room is ready" Elisabeth ordered as she rushed outside at the sound of a Rover pulling up out front. She stepped back as Taylor carried his wife out the rover.
"Tell me what's going on" Elisabeth said to them.
"It's too soon" Alicia bit out as she held onto Taylor her hands twisted tightly in his shirt as she was in pain.
"Her water broke in the back of the rover on the way here. Contractions are irregular but fast" Taylor told Elisabeth as she directed them inside the infirmary.
"Says you. It's your fault you asshole" Alicia bit out before she let out a loud groan of pain.
"Ok let's get you into the private room" Elisabeth said as she directed Commander Taylor towards the private room reserved for birthing, it had all the equipment ready for a natural birth. It also doubled as the room for after the baby was born so the parents could stay in the room with their newborn without people milling around with their own medical problems.
"It's too soon" Alicia said as Taylor laid her on the bed, Elisabeth and two nurses got to work turning on the bio scanner hooked up above the double bed and hooking up an IV and Vitals monitor onto Alicia. "Tell me its Braxton Hicks" She groaned as the pain was unbearable.
"The puddle in the rover and what's on my pants says it's not" Taylor told Alicia.
"I'm not talking to you. Do you have a medical degree?!" Alicia snapped at him hotly, those in the room had seen all matter of behaviour from a pregnant woman in labour but this was different, it was like Alicia was trying to draw blood with her words.
"Commander if you could step outside and change into scrubs it would be appreciated. When you come back I'll be able to give you both a better picture of what's going on" Elisabeth said, Taylor nodded and followed Nurse Ogawa.
Alicia looked to Elisabeth who was looking at the monitors. "Alicia, we are going to have to do a emergency c-section" Elisabeth said before she motioned to her staff to get to their duties.
"No, I want to try for natural birth" Alicia said as she took measured breathes.
"I know but we talked about this. How you may not be able to do a natural birth due to your previous injuries now the twins vitals are bombing and I'm seeing signs of a uterine rupture, we have to get you into surgery now" Elisabeth told her.
Meanwhile at the Shannon Residence,
"Were you just sleeping with your eyes open?" Jim asked as Kate turned her attention back to the table. She had drifted off mid thought until she blinked and realised she was holding her fork with a bite of lime meringue pie waiting to be eaten. She looked at the others at the table who were looking at her oddly amused but also concerned. Maddy, Reynolds, Jim and Kate were eating dessert talking about nothing in particular when Jim noticed Kate staring off into space he tried to get attention she didn't respond at first.
"No" Kate said in a way that sounded like a 'maybe'. "How long did Elisabeth say she was going to be?" Kate asked she would have assumed Malcolm would be asleep by now, she knew that she wanted to be asleep as her body ached to lie down.
"She said an hour but seeing as it's been over that why don't you go and have a kip on the couch. I'll wake you up when she gets home" Jim suggested.
"I think I might" Kate said with a sigh as she placed the fork down too tired to finish her half eaten dessert. "Don't throw that piece of pie out" Kate told Jim as she sluggishly rose from the table and moved to the lounge lying down. She closed her eyes and within seconds she was asleep.
"I don't know what Doc gave me but damn I almost don't feel as angry as I should be right now" Alicia told him in a slightly slurred voice. She was definitely angry but not to the same level as the drugs had mellowed her out. Taylor had come back into the room to find Elisabeth and the nurses moving Alicia onto a gurney. The twins were in distress and Elisabeth was concerned if they didn't perform a C-section then they would lose the twins.
Alicia was not happy as she was resigned to having the caesarean. So they rolled Alicia to the surgical bay and gave her some pain killers that were making her incredibly loopy. Elisabeth assured him it was a common side effect and just to keep Alicia talking so she stayed relaxed and happy. So far Alicia was relaxed but Taylor felt Happy was the last thing he could make Alicia right now.
"Alicia, I didn't do what I did out of malice" He said taking her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. He looked over the curtain they had put up so Alicia couldn't see what Elisabeth and the second doctor were doing. There was a third doctor waiting for the twins with mobile incubators ready to go.
"Yeah I know the world is just one big puppet show for you and you're the master while the rest of us are just puppets and you just yank on our strings so we play to your tune. I just never thought I was one of your puppets" Alicia drawled as she looked up at the ceiling completely stoned on the drugs Elisabeth had given her.
"Alicia I love you please let's not talk about this while you're high on drugs" Taylor said he didn't need a whole room of medical staff knowing his marital problems.
"Puppets, that's a funny word like Muppet" Alicia chuckled as though she ws having her own private conversation with herself. "Muppet, Kate called Olivia a Muppet when she ran into a door yesterday" she said giggling. "Hey where are the babies?" Alicia asked him.
"Just relax, Doc Shannon is getting them as we speak" Taylor told them as he looked over the curtained area and couldn't see much as there were medical staff blocking his view but from the way they were speaking with calm voices everything was going well.
"Oh that's good. I think they are going to be beautiful" Alicia slurred in a dreamy state.
"Of they will, they got half your genes in them" Taylor said to her.
"Hmm that they do. Kate's going to have pretty babies"
"I'm sure she will, when she and Malcolm gets round to it" Taylor said Alicia snorted and rolled her eyes.
"They already did the fun part. Now she has to do the realy hard yards" Alicia said.
"Kate's pregnant?" Taylor asked as Alicia was implying so.
"Due in the summer!" she said but her smile fell into shock as she realised she said it out loud she was having difficulty focusing on what she was thinking and actually saying out loud "Oh no I wasn't supposed to tell you that. She's going to- Oh my god!" Alicia said in shock making Taylor look at her in concern she was feeling pain and also in shock that Kate was pregnant and didn't tell him.
"What? Are you ok? Are you in pain?" He asked as he was afraid for her.
"We don't have names for the babies... they are nameless babies" Alicia said. He tried not to roll his eyes and laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation as Alicia looked incredibly upset.
"Hey its ok we'll name them together later" he assured her.
"But the list is so long and we aren't ready. They have no names Nathaniel, they are non entities" Alicia said before giggling and repeating the word 'non entities' as if it were the third funniest word she had ever heard after 'Puppet' and 'Muppet'.
"Ok Baby one is out" Elisabeth announced. Taylor watched as the first of his children was passed around the room like a pass the parcel before she was placed on a table with the third Doctor. A few seconds of work and the baby gave tiny little wails of life.
"You hear that?" Taylor said looking to Alicia.
"Hey that's a baby" Alicia said her face lighting up with a smiled.
"It's our baby" he told her proudly.
"But we have two" Alicia frowned as her drug slugged brain did the math.
"Baby two" Elisabeth announced Taylor watched the same drill again for the second girl. The twins were cleaned up and quickly placed into incubators and the second doctor moved in the way cleaning the babies and doing his work. Taylor smiled at turned to Alicia.
"They are small but look healthy, you did good Soldier" he said, Alicia smiled but it soon disappeared as she slipped out of consciousness. "Alicia?" Taylor said but she didn't respond. "Alicia" he said trying to get her to wake.
"I need more suction here" Elisabeth said
"We're getting some hypertension" another person said,
"She's tachycardia" another announced, Taylor didn't understand what they were saying but the activity in the room rose into critical as one of the doctors cursed out loud and ordered for more equipment.
"There's a lot of bleeding, hang another bag O positive. Commander you need to leave now" Elisabeth ordered.
"What's going on?" Taylor asked as he got up from his chair.
"We'll talk later but for now let me do my job. Go" Elisabeth told him before went back to work on Alicia. An orderly came up to Taylor and pulled him by the arm gently saying it was better for him to wait outside. Taylor didn't fight him and against his own desire to stay he left.
A couple of hours later,
Jim noted the time on his plex and wondered what happened to Elisabeth but knew better than to call as she was probably with an emergency patient. He looked over at Kate who was lying on the lounge fast asleep, he quietly moved to the lounge not wanting to disturb her as he lifted a throw blanket from the second couch they had and carefully draped it over Kate so she wouldn't get cold. She shifted in her sleep and mumbled something unintelligible before falling back to sleep.
The woman slept like a rock even with Zoe and her carrying on loudly protesting her early bed time but then he could only imagine the noise levels at Kate's place with two energetic kids under the age of 7 had trained Kate to block such noise out.
He moved back to the dining table and picked up the plex and went back to reading reports and signing off on them. He was amazed at the hours that could be consumed by it and wished he hadn't taken the promotion out of sheer laziness.
He decided he'd go and check it out as he was now worried, he wrote a note for Kate if she woke up and knew Zoe and Maddy were home so no one was unattended or left in the dark. He quietly left the house and headed towards the infirmary when he got there he found Taylor sitting in the waiting room with his head in his hands.
"Taylor" Jim said carefully, Taylor looked up his expression was wrought with worry and heart ache. "What's going on?" Jim noted the lack of medical staff on the floor and wondered where they all were.
"Alicia went into labour, they had to do a C-Section and Alicia lost a lot of blood. I was told to get out of the OR and told to wait out here. I don't know what's going on" Taylor said as he dropped his head and ran his fingers through his hair. It was driving crazy not knowing if Alicia was alive or not.
"Hey it's going to be Ok. Liz is the best at her job" Jim assured him as he took a seat next to Taylor.
"I can't lose her Shannon, I can't live without her" Taylor told Jim.
"Have you seen the twins?" Jim asked changing topics and hoping that the Twins came out good in the events of the evening so that way Taylor wouldn't dwell entirely on Alicia. He didn't like Taylor speaking the way he was.
"Briefly before they were rolled out" Taylor said.
"Liz told me they keep the babies in the private room so they are close to their mother. Why don't we go check it out" Jim suggested as he got to his feet. Taylor nodded as he too got to his feet he couldn't sit waiting for news about Alicia and he should see the twins.
"Did you and Doc have any dramas like this?" Taylor asked as they walked to the private room.
"Besides Josh's birth, not really. Maddy and Zoe were smooth sailing. But Josh well Liz had an adverse effect to the drugs they gave her when she was in labour. Instant Migraine and projectile vomiting everywhere it was disgusting, amazing and hilarious as I held her hand through it all. My clothes and shoes forever ruined. But in saying that it was worth it and I didn't like that outfit anyway" Jim said, Taylor smiled at his humour even though his mind was solely on Alicia.
Jim knocked gently on the door and slid it open. Inside the room were a nurse and the twins in a large incubator beside the main bed. Above the incubator was a holographic display of the babies' vitals. The nurse looked up and gave a welcoming smile as she motioned for them to come in.
"Commander, you got two very strong girls here" the nurse said as Jim and Taylor walked up to the incubator. They looked down at the small babies. "Do you have names we can call our newest patients?"
"Not yet" Taylor said feeling like the worst parent in the world. He had induced their mother into premature labour and didn't even have a name for the twins.
"Baby Wash and Baby Taylor" Jim dubbed them as he pointed to the one with the larger one of the two as Baby Wash and the smaller one as Baby Taylor. Baby Taylor seemed to be the problem child as she had a respirator on her tiny face. Taylor kept his face neutral while the nurse pursed her lips trying not to smile.
"Well Baby Wash is 3 pounds and 5 oz, 16 inches. Baby Taylor is 3 pounds and 2 oz, 15 inches. Now don't be alarmed by the respirator. Baby Taylor just needed a little help in the lung department we will keep a close eye on them both but I reckon if there are no other complications you'll be able to take them home in a few weeks" The nurse informed him.
"How many weeks exactly?" Taylor asked her.
"6 weeks minimum if there are no further complications but I don't see that happening. They are the healthiest babies I've ever seen for 27 week premature. They just need some more time to mature before they can enter the outside world completely" The nurse assured him.
"Already high maintenance like her Daddy aren't you kiddo?" Jim said to baby Taylor. Taylor frowned as he was definitely not high maintenance but knew Jim was only making a joke.
"Doctor Hastings said you can't hold them until their nervous systems have matured but you can touch the babies if you want" the nurse offered.
"I'd like that" Taylor said, the nurse instructed him to wash his hands and then talked him through the dos and don'ts before she opened up the two doors to the incubator.
"...Just remember their nervous systems are incredibly delicate so don't stroke or tickle them" she reminded Taylor, Jim stood to the side having too much fun looking through the plastic shell watching Baby Wash's facial expressions and marvelling at how small the twins were.
Taylor reached both of his hands in and smiled as he gently laid his hands over the twins legs knowing it was the safest place for him to touch them and also comfortable for him. He cupped their tiny legs and felt them flex their legs. He marvelled at how beautiful they were and how blessed he felt for them just for being in his world. He barely knew them but he loved them with all his heart as he did Alicia.
"Are you sure they are yours?" Jim asked casually as he pulled out his comm. and took a picture of the babies sending the picture to Kate so she had a copy with the twin's temporary names as a nice surprise when she eventually woke up.
"Of course they are mine why do you ask?" Taylor asked Jim darkly.
"They look nothing like you" Jim said with a smile as Baby Wash was awake and staring up at him. Baby Taylor was looking at Adult Taylor who had become more confident and gently placed his hand on her back the warmth of his hand slowly lulling her to sleep.
"That's a good thing, if they looked at me they'd turn into a couple of really ugly women" Taylor remarked Jim chuckled at Taylor's comment. The door to the room opened and Elisabeth came in with Alicia on a gurney behind her. Taylor took his hands out the incubator and closed the doors so he could help with moving Alicia onto the double bed in the private room.
It was standard to allow the parents to sleep in the same room as their baby before being released. To allow the parents to bond with their child or in this case children.
"How is she? What happened?" Taylor asked Elisabeth who looked ready to fall over from exhaustion.
"Alicia had a uterine rupture and lost a lot of blood but we managed to stop the bleeding and repair the damage. She will be out action for at least a week from the blood loss and the surgery for the next few weeks so we'll keep her and the twins together. Don't worry she'll make a full recovery"
"Did I do this?" Taylor asked as he had let the argument and allowed it to escalate.
"No. If you remember it was one of the many complications that could have happened that I discussed with you. So it was no one's fault. Alicia should be awake in the morning and Dr Hastings will keeping a good eye on her and the twins." Elisabeth told him as she and another nurse finished making Alicia comfortable.
"Thank you" he said to her.
"You are welcome, when Alicia is conscious we'll talk about what happened in more detail along with treatment and recovery regime but for now you can relax. Now let me see your beautiful girls" Elisabeth said with a smile.
"Baby Taylor and Baby Wash" Jim supplied as his wife moved over to the incubator and looked down at the twins for a moment.
"Aren't they just little miracles" Elisabeth cooed as she looked down at them. A misty expression washed over her face as she looked down at the little babies as her heart melted.
"No" Jim said in a firm tone and Elisabeth and the others looked at him funny as they thought he wasn't agreeing with her about the twins being miracles. "We agreed three kids only" Jim told her, Taylor looked at the two with amusement but said nothing as he looked down at Alicia who looked so incredibly peaceful even though she was pale.
"Fine" Elisabeth said with a playful pout as it was a never ending game with them. Elisabeth loved children and Jim loved children too but he was happy with the three he already had and saw no need to add another to mix. That didn't stop Elisabeth with toying with the idea every now and then.
"You want us to stick around?" Jim asked Taylor.
"No, go home. I assume if there is an emergency you'll be called?" Taylor asked Elisabeth, he wanted to make sure Alicia had the best treatment.
"Yes" Elisabeth assured him.
"Then we'll be fine, go get some rest and Shannon will you take over command of the colony for me? I want to be with Alicia and the twins" Taylor said as he looked down at Alicia.
"Yeah, no problem. I'll drop by here in the morning and we can do the handover" Jim said.
"Bring Kate with you. I need to have a word with her as well" Taylor said.
"Is this about what Alicia said?" Elisabeth asked referring to Alicia accidently announcing Kate was pregnant to a whole room of medical staff.
"Yes" Taylor said.
"Feeling out of loop here" Jim announced.
"Alicia said Kate is pregnant while under the influence. If she is then we will need to be run through the paperwork. The sooner the better as I assume you've been covering for her" Taylor said to Jim as he wanted to make sure everything was taken care of while he stayed with Alicia and the twins.
"I only found out today" Jim said defensively as he held his hands out in surrender.
"Your staff going to keep their mouths shut about Kate's medical condition?" Taylor asked Elisabeth.
"I planned to tell them to do so before I leave. Last thing I think Malcolm wants to hear is that he has a child on the way" Elisabeth said.
"Why would he not want to know?" Jim asked.
"He's lost over 5 years of memory he's not exactly pleased with being engaged to a woman he doesn't remember nor is he exactly thrilled about how his life has panned out" Elisabeth said dryly.
"Just what Kate needs" Jim said sarcastically as he knew exactly why Elisabeth wanted him to stop Kate from seeing Malcolm. Malcolm was back to being in love with his wife and all the fantasies he had playing in his head about hooking up with Elisabeth again. If anything Jim will be able to watch Malcolm's face fall in disappointment again when they are reintroduced.
"Well at least he'll be able to take up his position as head of the science department again. Will I be able to talk with him in the morning?" Taylor asked as he wasn't ready to expend any more energy tonight dwelling on Kate and her problems or how he could help her when he was up to his neck with his own. He only wanted to focus on Alicia and the twins, when Kate needed him she knew where to find him until then he would let Elisabeth and Jim help her.
"Yes of course" Elisabeth said.
"Good, I need him up to date and back at work as soon as possible" Taylor said as he was working through everything he needed to get done so he could focus solely on Alicia and the twins and being with them.
"Well we shall give you some privacy and I'll see you in the morning" Elisabeth said with a smile as she and Jim bid Taylor a goodnight.
Taylor pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed between Alicia and the babies he wasn't sure which way he should be looking as he wanted to hold all three of them.
Kate woke up to the sweet aroma of pancakes and fresh fruit. She opened her eyes and saw Maddy in the Kitchen cooking and Zoe at the table kicking her little legs as she was drawing on her colour sheet.
"Morning" Jim said as he walked up and placed a cup of tea on the coffee table. Kate sat up and rubbed the fatigue from her eyes as she picked up the cup of tea and took a sip.
"Thanks" Kate murmured as she was still waking up.
"No problem, how you feeling?" he asked.
"Tired but I had a good sleep, what happened to waking me up?" Kate asked as she wished she had green tea in her cup instead of blueberry and peppermint. She missed and desperately needed the caffiene.
"Didn't have the heart to and we got in late" Jim said.
"We?" Kate asked confused as she was sure he had been in the house all night. Well she assumed he was home as she had slept like a rock.
"Yeah I ducked out to see what was taking Elisabeth so long and here is why" Jim said as he picked up her comm unit and showed her the picture. Kate placed the cup on the coffee table and grabbed the comm. device to get a better look.
"No way!" Kate said with a smile.
"Yep" Jim said.
"It's too early! Are they ok? Alicia and the twins?" Kate asked.
"Yes all three are healthy. Baby Taylor just needs some help with her lungs hence the head gear" Jim said.
"Baby Taylor?" Kate asked.
"The small one with the mask the other has been dubbed Baby Wash. I named them" Jim said proudly.
"Of course you did."
"At least I have some originality. You call your monkey 'Monkey'" Jim told her.
"It's easy to remember. What time was this?" Kate asked.
"8:36pm last night"
"Amazing" Kate said in wonder as she looked at the photo of the twins they looked so small with Taylor's hands in the incubator next to the babies.
"Oh and you were outed pregnant in the operating room too" he said in a low voice.
"What?" Kate asked.
"Wash was high on the drugs announced you are having a summer baby. Don't worry Elisabeth told everyone to keep their mouths shut as you want Malcolm to hear the news from you and not from the rumour mill" Jim assured Kate who had paled somewhat from the news that she had been outed. She wasn't upset at Alicia as she knew her friend had undergone a pretty intense life event. That and people were going to find out sooner or later Kate had just hoped she would have had a couple more months.
"Ok, am I going to find out why I can't see Malcolm yet?" Kate asked as she got up from the couch and swayed as her head swooned but Jim quickly steadied her by the elbow.
"Yes, after breakfast and then we are going to the infirmary today because Taylor wants to square things away before he goes on early paternal leave" Jim said as he picked up the cup of tea and walked Kate over to the table depositing Kate into the seat next to Zoe.
"Morning Miss Zoe and what are you drawing today?" Kate asked.
Alicia groaned as she woke up to a twinge of pain in her lower abdomen she felt down her stomach in her sleep fog thinking one of the twins kicked her too hard. It wouldn't be the first time it wasn't until she ran her hand down that she didn't feel the gargantuan baby bump she freaked out the fog left her mind as she looked around her heart pounding erratically as she was in the private room of the infirmary she looked around and as soon as her eyes landed on the incubator with the twins inside she relaxed back onto the bed with a sigh of relief.
The vitals for the twins were being displayed above the incubator reassuring her that they were both alive and healthy. She exhaled slowly and groaned again as her muscles complained at the movement.
The door to the room opened and Alicia looked over to see Taylor come into the room he looked exhausted beyond belief like he had been awake all night.
"Hey" he said in a soft voice as he held a cup of coffee in one hand and bottle of water under his arm. He placed the coffee and water on the table "how are you?" he asked.
"Sore, Thirsty" Alicia rasped.
"I'll go get the Doc and some ice chips" Taylor said he left the room and moment later Dr Hastings came into the room. He was a Military Doctor who was on the second pilgrimage through to Terra Nova. He was an old friend of Alicia's as they had gone through university in the same degree program did their residencies in different cities.
"Hey Wash, what's going on?" he asked as he moved into the room and checked over her IV and Vitals monitor.
"Apparently I had twins" Alicia said with a wry smile as she shifted and winced from the pain.
"Yeah I was there. We nearly lost you, you bled out on the table which why you're probably feeling out of sorts and very weak but don't worry once we get some more blood and fluids into you. You'll brighten up" he assured her.
"How bad was the rupture?"
"Nothing that couldn't be repaired. You'll be able to have more children in the future but I recommend waiting at least 9 months before you try for another kid" Hastings said looking at Taylor and Alicia.
"So I take it you'll want me up and walking this afternoon?" Alicia asked changing the topic.
"just a slow stroll around the infirmary to keep the blood circulating. You won't be able to do much for the next couple of weeks and mandatory 6 week rest and recovery period before you start running around wild or doing any activities i.e. exercising, lifting anything heavier than one of your babies" he told her.
"How are they?" She asked.
"Well Baby Taylor needed a little help with her lungs hence the respirator but Baby Wash is doing just great" Hastings assured her as he checked her pupil reactions and then her abdomen to make sure everything was healing well.
"Baby Wash and Baby Taylor?" Alicia asked.
"Until you two decide on names the Sherriff stepped up and dubbed them so. Now I'm going to give you the happy button. So don't abuse it you need a clear head for Nurse Ogawa and Dr Shannon when they come in to give you the rundown of everything about babies and taking care of them etc while you're in the infirmary" Hastings told her as he handed her the self medicate button that when she pressed it then a dose of pain killers would be administered through her IV.
"Ok but should I be taking drugs if I'm going to be breast feeding?" She asked him.
"Perfectly safe" he assure d her as he moved to the incubator and rolled it over so it was flush to Alicia's side of the bed and right near her head so she could see them both up and personal even with the casing separating them. "Now I'd like to introduce you to your babies" he said with a smile. Alicia smiled as she looked at her twins, tears filled her eyes as she was incredibly overwhelmed with happiness and love for them.
"When can I hold them?" she asked as she looked up at Hastings.
"Not today maybe in a few days as their nervous systems haven't matured yet but you can touch them if you want?" he said Alicia nodded and Hastings pressed a button that rose the back part of the bed up so her chest was elevated giving her a better view of the twins.