Eddie was bouncing her knee nervously in the waiting room. Jamie threw her a look.

"Eddie calm down."

She looked at him. "I'm telling you he's going to tell us that something is wrong."

"Maybe it's just the fact you almost got blown up yesterday?"

"Maybe..."

When the nurse called her name they stood and were led back to a dark room. The nurse looked at her.

"Everything off from the waist down."

She left the room after handing Eddie a blanket. Eddie stripped and laid her clothes on an empty hair before sitting on crinkly paper that covered the table and setting a scratchy blanket over herself. Jamie was watching her closely as though waiting for her to explode. As soon as the doctor walked in Eddie relaxed. He smiled.

"Well Edit you had quite a day yesterday."

Eddie nodded. "I'm in no rush to repeat it and please call me Eddie."

He chuckled and shook Jamie's hand. "I'm Dr. Ross." When the nurse walked in he smiled. "This is Angela."

Eddie nodded. Dr. Ross turned on the machine and handed Angela a clipboard.

"So they estimated you between 4-5 weeks?"

She nodded.

"Well let's see if that is accurate. Lay back for me."

She did and he started getting everything ready.

"Okay you're going to feel some pressure but nothing too bad. I'll keep the screen towards me and then i'll let you see."

They nodded. Eddie felt the pressure he meant then saw him staring intently at the screen. Jamie grabbed her hand and squeezed reassuringly. Dr. Ross spoke softly.

"Okay...I would say your about 6 weeks and 3 days. Everything looks...oh...oh."

Eddie snapped to attention. "Is something wrong?"

Jamie even went on alert. Dr. Ross clicked something then spoke quickly.

"Umm, is there a history of multiples in your families?"

Eddie shook her head as did Jamie. He smiled and spoke with his eyes still on the screen.

"You have two sacks."

Eddie looked at him confused. "Two sacks?"

He turned the screen and started pointing. "Right here is your uterus, this is an amniotic sack and here is another. There is a baby in each...but then...woah."

Jamie started to feel his heart pounding. "Twins...we're having twins?"

"Actually...triplets."

Eddie almost shot up on the table. "Huh?"

He pointed. "In this sack there are two babies. Then there is only one in the other. So a set of identical twins and then another baby."

Jamie thought his legs were going to give out. "Three?"

"Yes. I'm positive."

He turned the screen and showed them the three very clear flickering heartbeats. Eddie and Jamie's jaws both dropped open. Dr. Ross saw and nodded to Angela. He turned off the machine and removed the camera. They left the room to let Eddie get dressed. She felt numb. She knew that she felt off but she didn't think that she was that off. How did this happen? She had just warmed up to the idea of one baby but three? When she was done changing Angela led them down the hall to Dr. Ross's office. He smiled at the politely.

"Have a seat."

They did and he saw how pale they both were. He had Angela shut the door and he spoke softly.

"I am guessing that this is a shock. I also noticed that you two are not married so I have to give you all of the facts here. I have had three cases of triplets and only one case was naturally conceived. Now that couple did choose to reduce and have identical twins to reduce the pregnancy risk. Now the two couples that conceived through IVF did keep all three embryos. I did consult with a doctor at St. Victors Hospital and he delivered all of them via C-section. But I have to warn you that there are risks."

Eddie barely heard a word the man said. Jamie rubbed his face before speaking.

"What are the risks?"

"To the babies you risk premature delivery, delayed fetal growth, higher likelihood of cerebral palsy, underdeveloped lungs and hearts, many birth defects, neonatal death, and with having a set of identical twins TTTS. That stands for Twin-twin transfusion syndrome. Identical twins share a placenta and one baby could get too much blood flow while the other doesn't receive enough."

Jamie felt everything sinking in. "What are the risks to Eddie?"

"Anemia, gestational diabetes, hyperemesis gravidarum, polyhydramnios, stillbirth, early miscarriage, postpartum depression, postpartum hemorrhage, pre eclampsia, placental praevia and placental abruptions are all common in mothers of multiples. However if we monitor her closely and she receives the proper prenatal care we can keep her risk to a minimum."

Jamie felt like there was ice in his veins. "If we reduce by even one baby does that minimize the risk?"

"In my opinion not by much. It would be more of a risk to try and remove one baby."

Eddie spoke for the first time in a while. Her voice was quiet.

"We're keeping them."

Jamie looked at her stunned and Dr. Ross looked carefully.

"Eddie this is not something you should decide so quickly. As your doctor it is my job to give you all the facts so you can make an informed decision. Please sleep on it. Angela will make an appointment for you tomorrow night."

They nodded. Before they left Angela handed Eddie an envelope. She looked inside once she was in the car. She felt a lump in her throat. It was her sonogram photos. One of each baby and then one of all three. Jamie glanced at her as he drove but didn't say anything. They ended up back at her apartment. He finally broke the silence when they were laying in her bed.

"What are you thinking?"

She flipped onto her side and propped her head up with her arm. "I don't know...what do you think?"

He sighed. "All those risks...they kinda scare me."

"Me too."

"Yeah but not only the ones to the babies but Eddie you could literally die trying to have these babies."

She nodded. "But you heard him the risk could be even worse if we try to reduce them. And I am sorry but that is still abortion in my book and I'm not doing it."

He flipped over to face her. "Look I am against abortion too but if it means the other two babies stand a better chance..."

"No."

"Eddie."

She shook her head. "I'm not killing our baby."

He searched her face and saw that she wasn't going to budge. "Okay. But this is a lot. That's three times what it would cost to have one kid and unless you won the lottery and forgot to tell me, we can't afford it."

She sighed. She knew that he had a point. "We'll find a way."

He threw her a look and she laughed. "Well what other options do we have? They're coming."

He nodded and pulled her to him. "Are you sure about all of this?"

She nodded. "Are you with me because I can't do it without you."

He kissed her and then smiled. "Always."

She flipped on top of him and kissed him. Then she groaned.

"We're really going to have to tell our parents now aren't we?"

He nodded. "I may have to buy my dad a drink first."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The next day Jamie made a point to call a family meeting. He went over to his dad's before he and Eddie's doctor's appointment. She was telling her family at the same time as he told his. When he walked in he yelled.

"Dad? Pop?"

"Living room!"

Jamie followed his dad's voice. He walked in and found Danny, Linda, Erin, Nicky, Frank, and Henry already there. He sat down and glanced at Danny.

"Where are the boys?"

Linda answered. "Jack has a test tomorrow so they're home."

He nodded and frank looked at him.

"Okay you called the meeting. Now what's up?"

He took a deep breath. "Eddie and I have been seeing eachother outside of work."

No one looked surprised and he looked at Erin.

"You told them?"

She held her hands up. "I didn't say a word."

Frank smiled. "You have seemed...happier lately and you talk about her a lot more then usual."

Danny nodded. "We all put two and two together."

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Well...she's pregnant."

Again no one looked surprised. He looked at them in disbelief.

"There is no way you guys guessed that one."

Linda smiled. "I saw her chart."

Erin nodded. "I figured that was what you were trying to tell me when you came clean about dating her."

Danny took a sip of scotch. "Linda told me."

Nicky smiled. "Mom told me."

Frank set his drink back on the coffee table. "It was in the doctor report I had to sign off on and...I may have told Pop."

Henry smiled at his grandson. "So is it a boy or a girl?"

Jamie smiled and looked at his hands. "Umm we don't know yet but when we went to the doctor and she had her first sonogram he found something..."

Frank suddenly looked concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah but...we're having triplets."

The room went dead quiet. He looked up and saw that everyone was stunned. Danny was the first to speak.

"How the heck did you two manage that one?"

He smiled. "One egg split and then another one released at the same time."

Linda nodded. "I've heard of it happening. I've seen naturally conceived quadruplets."

Jamie threw her a look. "Three is enough."

Erin smiled and tried to make a joke. "Well you did it one and done. You'll never have to have another baby."

Jamie wasn't in much of a mood to laugh. He tried to crack a smile. Frank saw the fear in his son's eyes.

"Jamie can you and Eddie really handle this?"

Jamie looked at him. "She and I talked everything through last night. We both do not want to reduce even by just one baby...it's still our baby. Besides the doctor says it may cause more of a risk to the other two."

Henry spoke seriously. "Can you two afford it?"

"Not really but I just finished paying off my student loans, I have good credit...I can moonlight if I have to."

Linda spoke up. "But when the babies come Eddie is going to need your help."

"Well even if I just do it for a few months to save up a little..."

Nicky nudged her uncle. "I can offer free babysitting and I'm sure Sean and Jack will too."

He smiled. "Thanks Nicky."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Eddie met up with Jamie at the doctor's. She was waiting when he walked in. She looked up at him.

"How did it go?"

He sat down and shrugged. "They took it well. How did your family say?"

She made a face. "Umm my grandma is excited."

"And your mom?"

"She's worried."

"Maybe she'll come around."

She nodded. When Angela called them back they went straight into Dr. Ross's office. He smiled and spoke carefully once they were settled.

"Have you two made a decision?"

They nodded and Eddie spoke. "We're keeping all three."

He nodded. "Okay then we can move forward."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000