Welcome to the World: January 1st 2020

"You don't have to hide your smile, Houdini. I'm sure you're bursting with excitement," Sydney teased.

"I don't know what you're talking about." As Joe said it, he could feel a grin start to appear.

"Sure. We'll just pretend that you're not excited to have a son." Sydney smiled down at her almost five-month-pregnant-stomach. Unlike last time, they had opted to learn the baby's gender before the birth, but they had debated on it for a while. So today's prenatal appointment had been a big one.

"I already have a son."

Sydney's smile vanished. "A son you barely know."

Joe glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He reached over from the driver's seat and grabbed her hand. "It's okay. JJ and I will get to know each other better someday."

"You shouldn't have to get to know your own son."

Joe pursed his lips. It still bothered him that Sydney had hid their son from him for eight years, but he had mostly gotten over it. True, things were weird between him and JJ, but Joe felt like they could get over it eventually. At least he hoped they would.

Joe decided it would be best to change the subject. "I'm just worried how Jade will react. You know she won't like that she's getting a younger brother."

"She'll warm up to it. Speaking of Jade, I should call Anna and tell her we'll be there to pick her up soon."

Sydney fished her phone out of her pocket. Before she could make the call, her phone started buzzing. Sydney furrowed her brows. "Odd."

"Who is it?" Joe tried to look over to check the caller ID.

"Dr. Madill. I wonder what she wants."

"Maybe she forgot to tell us something?"

Sydney shrugged and answered her cell. "Hello?"

Joe didn't like the look that appeared on Sydney's face, and the tone she responded with didn't help either.

"Um, yeah. Of course. We'll be there soon." Sydney ended the call and bit her lip.

"What is it?" Joe was having trouble keeping his focus on driving. Something wasn't right.

"She said they found something in the sonogram. They need us to come back." Tears began to well up in Sydney's eyes and she wrapped her arms around her belly. "Joe, she sounded serious. What if something's wrong? I never should have gone into After Time, all that warping, and forcing myself to be in those conditions…"

"Hey, it's going to be okay." But even as Joe said it, he was turning the car around and speeding back to the doctor's office. "You had to go to After Time, you wanted to rescue Jade. You can't blame yourself for that. I'm sure it's nothing." Joe didn't believe his own words.

"She wouldn't have called us back so quickly if it was nothing." Sydney continued to let emotion overwhelm her. "Gods, what have I done?"

"It's not your fault. Whatever this is, we'll get through it. I promise."

"You know I haven't felt the baby move at all. What if he's dead?"

"He's not dead. We just heard his heartbeat an hour ago." Joe quickly pulled into the parking lot and grabbed Sydney's hand before stepping out of the car. "You need to take a deep breath. Your pregnancy brain is getting to you and you're just overreacting. It will be okay."

Normally, Sydney would have yelled at him for accusing her of pregnancy brain and wild emotions, but she was too distraught to argue. She nodded and took a deep breath as suggested. "Let's go."

They hurried into the building and the receptionist redirected them into Dr. Madill's office. The doctor greeted them with a forced smile and gestured for them to sit.

"Mr. and Mrs. Arthur, I'm so sorry to have to call you back like this. I-"

"Skip the spiel, doc. What's wrong with my baby?" Sydney watched Dr. Madill with worried eyes.

"Wrong?" She tilted her head. "I'm sorry, there must be some sort of misunderstanding. Your babies are perfectly fine."

"Babies?" Sydney and Joe exchanged bewildered looks. "What are you saying?"

Dr. Madill folded her hands and carefully placed them on her desk. "I assure you, in all my years of doing this, this has never happened before. It has been known to happen with other doctors, and it is rare, but not impossible. Normally, this is something we would have picked up right away."

"I'm hearing a lot of talking, but not a lot of explaining." Sydney frowned. "What is happening?"

"Well… to put it simply… you are having twins."

Sydney and Joe were silent.

"Sometimes the way one twin is positioned, it can block the view of the other one. That's why we didn't know earlier. They must have shifted and so when I was reviewing the images from today's appointment, I noticed something. That something was another baby. I am so, so sorry about all of this."

Sydney clenched her teeth. "You are one of the top OB/GYNs in the country. And you're telling me, it took you eighteen weeks to figure out I'm pregnant with twins?"

"Like I said, it couldn't be helped. Your son was blocking the view of his sibling."

Joe quickly grabbed Sydney's hand before she did something regrettable. He could feel the anger radiating off of her. "At least they're healthy and nothing's wrong. Remember how worried we were? We just get two sons instead of one now."

"Not exactly," Dr. Madill cautiously spoke up. "I'd have to perform another ultrasound to be sure, free of charge of course, but it appears that the twins are fraternal. So you are having a boy as well as a girl."

Sydney groaned and fell back in her chair. "I just want to go home and sleep."

"I understand your displeasure at hearing this news, and I promise to make it up to you. We will waive all fees for your next few appointments. With twins, you will need to have check-ups more frequently."

"Of course I do." Sydney sighed.

"I'd like to have you back in next week for another exam. I'll have my receptionist call you when I have a time available. Thank you for coming back in on such short notice. I promise there will be no more errors for the rest of this pregnancy."

"There better not," Sydney grumbled.

They went back out to the car and started the drive home.

"At least when we tell Jade she's having a brother, we can soften the news by telling she's also getting a sister."

Joe laughed. "I'm sure she'll appreciate that."

"What do you think about Devon?"

"Who?" Joe glanced at Sydney as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"As a name. I was thinking about it for a boy, but now that we're having a girl too… I don't know, I kind of like it for a girl."

Joe thought about it. "It's alright I guess. Not too great."

"Can you think of anything better?"

Joe bit his lip. "No, at least not for a girl. I can think of a lot names for a boy that I like."

"Hmm… How about this, I pick out a name for the girl, and you pick out a name for the boy. We won't reveal them to each other until they're born. Deal?"

"Deal."

One of Joe's favourite things about being married was getting to wake up next to his wife every day, which was a rare occasion given that Sydney was normally an early riser. She was currently snuggled up into his side. The largest bed Joe had ever seen, and they only took up a small area in the center.

Joe wrapped his arms around Sydney and pulled her in close. He kissed the top of her head and was greeted with the lovely scent of vanilla, easily his favourite smell. He slowly let one of his hands roam up under the front of her shirt. He loved that she slept without a bra on. He didn't know how he could have ever dated a girl with a small chest.

"Do all men wake up this lustful? Or is it just you?" She murmured into his chest.

Joe let out a low chuckle. "Not all men get to wake up with a beautiful woman like you."

Sydney rolled away, effectively putting herself out of Joe's reach. He frowned and scooted closer to her. He softly kissed the back of her neck. "Come on, you know you want to."

"I'm not in the mood, Joe."

Joe rolled onto his back and mumbled under his breath, "You haven't been in the mood for months."

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Joe slid out of bed and went into their bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face to clear his mind. His eyes drifted up to his reflection in the mirror. He focused on the Warp Wizard mark on his chest glowing back at him in the dim lighting, mocking him.

This is all your fault, Joe thought. He had tried reaching out to Isis several times since they had returned from After Time. My marriage was fine until you came along and ruined it all.

No response. Why should he expect anything else?

Joe groaned and walked back out the master bedroom. Sydney was gone and the door to the hallway was wide open. He debated whether or not he wanted to go out and find her. He was frustrated to say the least with their lack of lovemaking lately, but he couldn't blame Sydney for everything. They had had a trying year with Jade and Anna's kidnapping, Joe learning about JJ, Anna getting pregnant (Joe was still angry about that), and finding out that Sydney was pregnant with twins despite being told otherwise for five months.

It was hard switching to a 'less active' love life, especially when he was use to a more passionate relationship. He'd give anything to be eighteen again. No kids to worry about, just spending every minute he could with his amazing girlfriend. Sometimes he still couldn't believe a guy like him got a girl like her.

Maybe they should take a vacation. Somewhere fun where they could forget about everything for a while, like Las Vegas. Anything to get their relationship back on track.

He sighed, resigning to head downstairs to check on Sydney. He found her sitting at the kitchen counter, absentmindedly stirring a bowl of cereal.

"You know you're supposed to eat it, right?" Joe smirked at her and leaned against the open archway frame.

"Twenty-six weeks."

Joe paused. "What?"

"Twenty-six weeks and they haven't moved once."

Oh. Joe moved to sit down next to her. Ever since they had gotten back from After Time, Sydney had been worried that the pregnancy had been affected in a negative way. At any sign of problems with the twins, Sydney practically had a panic attack and started hating herself for going into After Time.

Joe ran his hand through her soft hair. "We just had an appointment last week. Dr. Madill said everything was great."

"Dr. Madill also said we were only going to have one kid."

"You have to believe that everything will be okay. All this added stress won't help anything."

"I'm not stressed."

"Really?" Joe nodded to her hands. During their conversation she had started to scratch her wrists, threatening to break skin. He reached over and grabbed Sydney's hands. He pulled her left hand to his mouth and gently kissed her ring finger. The black ink was identical to the one on his ring finger, except where she had a J, he had an S.

Sydney yawned and leaned into Joe's shoulder. "I just want them to be okay."

"I know." Joe's hand went back to running through her hair. "How about you go back to bed for a little bit? We both know how early this is for you anyway."

Sydney yawned again in response.

Joe laughed softly. He helped her stand up and walked with her back to the bedroom.

Sydney gladly curled up under the covers. "Are you mad at me?"

"Mad?" Joe sat down on the bed with her. "Why would I be mad at you? Whatever is happening with the twins, it is not your fault."

"Not that, even though it is." Sydney shifted in bed so that she could look up at Joe. "I'm a terrible wife."

Joe couldn't help but laugh. "What? No you're not. You're an amazing wife. I love being married to you. Everyday has been wonderful and I haven't looked back once."

"You didn't seem that way this morning."

"What are you-" Joe paused and mentally cursed. "You heard me."

"You've never been good at being quiet. Something we'll probably need to work on in your self-defense lessons." Sydney sat up and wrapped her arms around herself. "I know I haven't exactly been fulfilling my wifely duties."

Joe laughed again. "You're only duties are to love and care for our children and to emotionally love me. Yes, it's frustrating that we haven't been together in a while, but I'm happy as long as you are." He pushed her bangs away from her face, exposing her scar. "Are you happy?"

Sydney shrugged and placed a hand over her stomach. "I'd be happier if I could feel a kick or two."

Joe placed his hand over hers. "You will. Just give them time."

"You promise you're not mad?"

"Sexually frustrated maybe, not mad."

"I know I've said it before, but I promise I'll make it up to you." Sydney paused and laid back down, her eyes closed. "Maybe when I'm not so tired."

"It's okay. I'll hold you to it this time." Joe bent over and gently pressed his lips against hers. "Our show will go on, Fosse. I promise you that."

Sydney hated being pregnant. She could handle the nausea, the constant need to pee, the weird food cravings, and even the wild emotional fluctuations. What she could not handle however, was the constant exhaustion, but not matter how tired she got, she could not get comfortable enough to fall asleep. The doctor insisted that sleeping on her left side would be better for the twins, something about improved blood circulation. The problem with that was that Sydney slept on her right side normally, and her left side was just not as cozy.

She sighed and glanced at the clock. 7:27 glowed back at her. Sydney gave up on trying to go back to sleep. She gently slid out of Joe's arms in bed and paced over to the doors leading out to the balcony off of their bedroom. The chilly winter air greeted her as she stepped outside.

She wrapped her arms around herself, already regretting not grabbing a sweatshirt. But the cold air helped clear her mind so that she could think, and if there was one thing Sydney needed, it was time to think. Because if she was going to be completely honest with herself, the pregnancy wasn't the only thing keeping her awake at night.

She absentmindedly rubbed her swollen stomach and stared at the sunrise just starting to peak out over the horizon.

Sydney never wanted kids. She never saw herself as the mother type. She never thought someone like her would be capable of raising and caring for another human being. Then JJ had happened, then Jade, and now here she was, one week overdue with twins.

And their father was a Warp Wizard.

Sydney had been taught her whole life that Warp Wizards were the enemy and to kill any and all Warp Wizards on sight. That they were untrustworthy, cruel, and evil. But Joe was none of those things. He was kind, caring, and could always find a way to make her happy.

She closed her eyes and tried to bring up old memories, something she usually went out of her way to avoid. She quickly hit a mental wall, preventing her from remembering anything about what the Warp Wizards had done to her. Same as always. A few flashes of disturbing images passed through her mind, but nothing she could fully make out. A familiar overwhelming sense of panic built up inside her accompanied by a sharp migraine. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down, but to no avail.

What had happened to her?

She wasn't surprised when she felt Joe wrap his arms around her from behind and slowly roam over her pregnant belly. He always knew when she needed comfort. He was her human anxiety pill. But what was she supposed to do when the cure was causing the disease?

She glanced over her shoulder to look at him and inwardly groaned. Why did he have to sleep shirtless? His Warp Wizard mark was glowing like usual right above his heart. It felt like Isis was mocking her every time she saw it. As if it was her way of saying 'You think this belongs to you? Guess again.'

"You're up early." Joe placed feather-light kisses across her shoulders. "Well, early for your pregnant-self. You okay? Twins fighting again?"

Sydney shook her head and placed her hands over his. "They've been quiet lately."

"I'm sure they're fine. Probably just preparing for the big day." His hands continued to caress her stomach.

Sydney frowned. The twins had been slow to quicken and it had been something that bothered her for a while. She was afraid After Time had affected her pregnancy too much and something was wrong with the twins. She didn't feel their first movements until she was almost seven months pregnant, but when they started moving it had been full force. For a week, it felt as if they were doing a tap dance routine.

"That's not what's bothering me."

"Then what is it?" Joe shifted so that he could stare into her eyes.

"I'm already a week overdue," Sydney lied. "And I'm still getting bigger. At this rate I'll never get my figure back."

Joe chuckled. "You could be the fattest women in the world, and you'd still be the most beautiful."

Sydney smiled softly. "Thanks, but we both know how appearance based my job is. Not to mention how physically demanding it is."

"You know you'll be back to your fit self in no time. By this time next week, we will have two more beautiful children in our lives."

"And I'll be even more exhausted than I am now."

Joe smiled and shook his head. "Come on, let's get back inside. I'm surprised you came out here at all. I know how much you hate the winter weather."

"You just want me to make you breakfast," Sydney teased.

"That'd be nice too." Joe winked at her. "Or maybe we could go back to bed? Maybe we'll get lucky and induce labor."

Sydney laughed. "Nice try. As much as I would like to get these babies out of me, I don't want to force them out before they're ready." She brushed her lips against his. "Go check on Jade and I'll start breakfast."

"Okay. And don't worry. They'll be here soon, Fosse." Joe left, but not before giving her a wink and a kiss.

Sydney sighed and rubbed her stomach. "You are going to come out soon, right? I don't know how much more of this I can take. You better be here before my birthday. That is not a present I would appreciate."

Sydney groaned and glared at her large belly. "Get out of me!"

Joe laughed and shook his head. "Yes, yell at them. That's how this works."

"I've been in labor for eight hours! This is ridiculous! Jade didn't last this long!" Sydney huffed and angrily crossed her arms. "And we're missing all the New Year's Eve celebrations."

"It's not like this is the last New Year's Eve ever. Besides, the doctor said if they're the first babies born in the new year, we get a year's worth of diapers. You know we're going to need them."

"At this rate they won't be born for another five years." Sydney drummed her fingers on her stomach.

Jade came bouncing into the room with Joe's mom following behind. Jade ran up to Sydney. "Mommy! How's my baby sister?"

"You're sister and brother are being very stubborn and refusing to come into this world."

"Wonder who they get that from," Joe teased. He smiled at his mother. "Hey, mom."

"Hello, honey. Your father called. He sends his love and wishes he could be here."

"And where is the famous architect at this time?"

"Greece. He's studying a scroll that allegedly confirms the existence of the Greek gods and goddesses. I'm sure nothing will come of it. Those are just myths and legends, nothing substantial."

Sydney and Joe exchanged a knowing look. "Right. Anyway, I-" Sydney clenched her teeth and waited for the contraction to subside.

Jade scowled. "Bad sister. Stop hurting my mommy!"

"It's okay, sweetheart." Sydney gave Jade a convincing grin. "It just means they're almost ready to get here."

"In that case, Jade and I will head back out." Joe's mom held her hand out for Jade to take.

"But I wanna stay with mommy." Jade clung to Sydney's side.

"Go with your grandmother, Jade. When you come back, you'll get to see your new baby sister and brother."

Jade reluctantly went over to her grandmother. "Just my sister. You can give the boy back."

"Riley Harry Arthur? As in Harry Houdini? Really Joe?" Sydney cradled her newborn daughter in her arms while Joe held their son. The girl had been born first and the boy followed about fifteen minutes later.

Joe shrugged. "Well you let me pick the name."

"I like it." Sydney smiled at him. She had a layer of sweat on her face and her messy hair was sticking to her forehead. "It's not as good as Alexis Estella Arthur though. Plus Lexi is a cute nick name."

"I have to admit, it is a lovely name. I don't know if I would say that it's better than Riley…"

Sydney rolled her eyes and focused her attention on her children. The doctor had called them mirror image fraternal twins and it was easy to see why. While all their physical features were the same, they were flipped. Riley had a sky blue left eye and a green right eye. Lexi's eyes were the opposite. They both had light blonde hair and fair skin. Unlike Jade and JJ, these two had taken after Sydney.

"At least we get free diapers for a year. Alexis was born at midnight exactly. I almost thought they were going to have different birthdays."

Sydney bit her lip. "I was hoping they'd be here yesterday. Babies born on a new year are special."

"What do you mean?"

Jade came running into the room before Sydney could respond. "Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?" Jade was bouncing up and down in her spot.

Joe's mom quickly appeared in the doorway. "Sorry. She got excited and decided to run ahead."

"It's fine." Sydney smiled down on Jade. "Jade, meet your new sister, Alexis."

"Hello." Jade stood on her tiptoes to look down on her sister.

"And your new brother, Riley." Joe leaned forward and carefully held Riley out.

"Bye." Jade pushed Riley away.

"Jade," Sydney scolded her. "We're keeping him. You have a responsibility as an older sister to be nice and care for him."

Jade pouted. "Fine."

"You'll warm up to him. Eventually you'll realize how much you love him and you'll do anything to keep him safe." Joe beamed at his son. "Trust me. It took a while for me to warm up to the idea of having a little sister. Now I don't what I would do without her."

"Well, you wouldn't be an uncle in a couple months." Sydney smirked at him.

"Don't remind me."

"Can I hold her?" Jade begged. "Please?"

"Be careful." Sydney gently handed Lexi to Jade. She kept her hands nearby in case Jade slipped up. "Make sure you support her head."

Jade giggled. "I'm going to be the best big sister ever. I promise."

A/N - Sorry these chapters aren't in chronological order and are kinda sporadic. I have a lot of chapters I want to write, but I want to publish the chapters that are necessary before I post Dead Debts so I can start working on that. Then I'll continue with the random one-shots and fluff.

Anyway, welcome Lexi and Riley! I have a lot planned for these two. ;) And I can't wait to start working on stories with them as well as all the other kids.

Tell me what you thought by leaving a review! A favourite and a follow is always appreciated! Thanks for reading!