5am

Tom was awoken to his wife sliding out of bed and getting to her feet. He peered through the dark room and watched her as she got ready to go swimming which she had begun to do three times a week instead of her usual running. She had to go rather early becuase then she avoided the times when the pool was busy.

Once she had her bikini on under her clothes, she began brushing her long, thick hair from root to end. She was okay with wearing a bikini because no one she knew went swimming at that time in the morning so she didn't care what others thought about her belly.
"If you hair gets any thicker because of the pregnancy, it's gonna be weighing you down." Tom joked sleepily.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She apologised as she turned around to see that he had began to sit up in bed.
"It's alright, don't worry." He smiled.

At just twelve weeks pregnant, Sam was feeling massive, and in reality she actually looked around twenty weeks pregnant, but Tom kept on reassuring her that it was just because she was skinny that she was showing so much, not because she was getting fat.
"Are you excited?" Tom smiled sleepily becuase he knew that it was finally the day that he would see his baby on an ultrasound machine for the first time.
"I'm telling you now, it's going to be twins." Sam huffed as she tied her hair back into a ponytail.
"I must admit, that thought has crossed my mind too." Tom admitted.
"Right, I'd better get going." Sam stated as she picked up her bag with her towel and the rest of her kit in.
"Okay, see you soon." Tom smiled as he got comfortable under the duvet again. Sam smiled before she left to go and get some gentle exercise.

Sam came back from swimming with her wet hair tied back in a messy bun because she preferred to have a shower and get ready at home in her own bathroom.
"Have a nice swim?" Tom asked as Sam entered the bedroom where he was getting dressed.
"Yep. Have a nice lie in?" Sam asked and Tom smiled.
"Right, what do you want for breakfast?" He asked as he pulled his shirt over his head.
"Ooh, full English and a double expresso." Sam smirked as she untied her hair.
"And what do you actually want for breakfast?"
"Um... Strawberry and banana smoothie please."
"And something solid to go with it." Tom ordered.
"Er... And a slice of toast?"
"Coming right up." Tom stated as he headed for the kitchen. Sam quickly got changed whilst Tom made her breakfast before she went to the breakfast bar and sat opposite Tom as she ate her lightly butter slice of toast. "You excited?" Tom asked as he smiled at the thought of seeing the baby for the first time.

"You asked me that earlier." Sam stated.
"I know but-"
"But you're excited." Sam stated and Tom nodded.
"Aren't you?"
"Yes but I'm not so excited that I can't sit still on my chair." Sam stated as she noticed him fidgeting.

10am
After getting some time off with Zoe, Sam and Tom were sitting in maternity waiting to be called for their appointment.
"I reckon we'll be able to see if it's a boy today." Tom stated.
"Yeah, emphasis on the if becuase it's going to be a girl." Sam stated firmly.
"Mrs Kent?" Mr T queried and the couple looked up. They greeted the obstetrician before they followed him to his consult room. "Right, just a few quick questions, how have you been feeling in general?" He asked curiously as he opened her file that was very thin - she had almost no medical history other than the odd scratch when she was little.
"A lot more tired than I thought I'd be." Sam admitted. "And, I didn't think I'd be this big at just twelve weeks." She added as she gestured her large bump.
"Well, it varies from woman to woman, you'll probably slow down growing soon whereas other woman could start growing faster." Mr T explained. "Okay, any morning sickness?"
"From about 6 weeks to 8 weeks it was almost every morning but it was mainly just nausea, I only actually vomited two or three times in total." Sam explained.
"Brilliant." Mr T said as he began writing it all down in Sam's notes. "Right, any dizziness or fainting?" He asked and Sam shook her head. "So judging from the details you gave us last time and the results of your blood and urine test, your due date is roughly, Saturday 6th September." He stated. "Okay then, I don't want to keep you waiting, if you'd like to get on the bed we'll have a look at your baby." Mr T smiled as he stood up.

Tom helped Sam onto the bed and then sat besides her, whilst Mr T ensured the screen was facing him in case of any irregularities, and then he put the lubricating gel on the small transducer probe. Sam rolled up her top and put the provided tissue in the top of her trousers before she settled on the bed and held Tom's hand for support.
"Right this is going to be a bit cold." Mr T stated as he gently pressed the probe onto her bump and then he moved it around a little before he settled. Neither Sam nor Tom could see the screen so they focused on the consultant's face instead. "Oh my g..." He whispered.
"What?" Sam asked worriedly. "What is it?" She demanded as she squeezed Tom's hand.
"It just that um, sorry I know this might seem a little scary but please just relax and I'll be back with a colleague in a minute." Mr T stated as he placed the probe in it's holder and then quickly left the room.
"Tom?" Sam mumbled.
"It's gonna be okay." Tom said reassuringly, but he was just as panicked as she was. "C'mon, don't cry, it's okay." Tom pleaded as he placed his spare hand on her thigh. Sam could feel her eyes watering so she looked away from her husband and took a deep breath to try and hold back the tears.
"Why wouldn't he say what's wrong?" She asked.
"Maybe he... Maybe he's just not experienced enough so he needs a second opinion." Tom suggested but he knew that it was clearly not the case. A few moments later, Mr T arrived with another obstetrician and they both put a pair of gloves on and approached the ultrasound machine.

"Right Sam, this is Dr Wren. She's just going to take a look okay." Mr T said softly as he sat down on the stool, and got the ultrasound probe on Sam's bump again.
"Did you say 12 weeks?" She asked.
"Yes." Mr T stated.
"Wow, that is extraordinary." Dr Wren whispered and Sam and Tom were frustrated as they sat there with their hearts beating ten to the dozen because they didn't know what was happening. "It's definitely a multiple pregnancy." She stated and Sam and Tom glanced at each other.
"I told you it was twins!" Sam stated.
"Um, no Sam, it's not twins." Mr T stated.
"What? Triplets?" Tom asked confusedly.

"Just hang on a minute." Mr T said as he and the other obstetrician peered at the screen. "How many do you make it?" He asked quietly.
"Eight." Dr Wren whispered.
"Eight?!" Sam and Tom both shrieked.
"Yep, I'd agree." Mr T stated as he turned the screen to show the soon-to-be parents the screen showing just many small blob-shaped babies. Mr T slowly moved the probe around to show them the rest of the babies.
"And you're sure there's eight?" Tom asked.

"Well, it can be difficult because we can't see all eight on one screen because they're too big at this stage, however we'll have to continue performing this scan, and we'll hopefully be more certain of the number at the end of that." Mr T explained.
"Sam, have you been having any fertility treatments?" Dr Wren asked.
"What? No, I- we planned this but we didn't plan this." Sam protested weakly.
"Are you sure? Because the odds if naturally conceiving octuplets is infinitesimal. I mean, if this is a natural conception, I think that this will be the first ever naturally conceived set of octuplets to make it past the 12 week mark." Mr T stated.
"No, I haven't had any treatments, it was just natural." Sam stated as she tried to take the news in.
"This is just... Unbelievable!" Mr T gasped. "Look, Sam and Tom we'll need to book an MDT meeting which is a-"
"A Multidisciplinary Team Meeting. Yeah, we know." Tom interrupted. "We're doctors down in the ED." He added.

"So you'll know about the possible complications and risks about a multiple pregnancy such as this." Dr Wren stated and the couple reluctantly nodded.
"Look, we'll need to discuss this a lot further but all we can do now, is to take some images from this scan, and I'll start to build a case for the meeting." Mr T stated. "This would explain why you've been growing so much, and why you've been so tired." He stated.
"I um... Just to get this clear, you said eight. Right?" Sam queried.
"Yes. Octuplets." Mr T confirmed but he then noticed a slight tension between the couple as they avoided eye contact and Sam folded her arms across her chest. "Just sit tight for another ten minutes or so, so that I can get the images and Dr Wren do you want to go and book a MDT meeting?" He asked because he knew that the couple would want the fewest people possible.
"Yep, sure." She nodded as she left the room.

1pm
Sam and Tom were finally called into the room but the poor pregnant woman froze at the entrance as she saw a table surrounded by medics, along with a small crowd of extras at the back of the room, eager to listen in on such a rare opportunity.
"Tom, Sam. Please take a seat." Mr T smiled as he nodded to the only two spare seats at the table near the projector. The couple went in and sat at the table, and Tom entwined his fingers with his wife for support. They had barely spoken since the scan; they just didn't know what to do.

"Right, any questions feel free okay, I'm chairing the meeting and it's nothing too formal." Mr T said quietly to Sam and Tom before he stood up, ready to begin the meeting. "Right, I need to stress to each and every one of you in this room, that you are not to tell anyone about this becuase one, you are restricted by patient confidentiality so you shouldn't anyway, and two, if the press find out about a set of octuplets, who knows what will happen." Mr T explained sternly. "Okay, upon further inspection of the images from Sam's ultrasound, myself, Dr Wren and Dr Lock have all agreed that there are eight foetuses in total. And after searching for any medical records from private clinics, we can confirm that this is the first set of octuplets ever in history that has been conceived naturally. Now there are three placentas, and three amniotic sacs but it is too early to determine the gender, because the genitals of all the babies are swollen."

"Now finally, we need to discuss with you, Sam and Tom, about selective reduction, or selective abortion. Which would mean us terminating five or six of the foetuses because that would give the remaining babies a much higher chance of survival, and it would reduce the risk on you as the mother." Mr T explained.
"Can we have time to think about it?" Sam asked.
"What? No, we don't need time. You can't kill some of them and not the others it's just wrong!" Tom stated as he dropped her hand.
"Tom, we need to talk about this." Sam stated.
"What? You're actually considering this! Sam, abortion is murder!" Tom shouted as he stood up, making Sam feel vulnerable at her height disadvantage.
"So is having eight babies Tom. The percentage of octuples that survive are-"
"I can't believe you!" Tom laughed as he began to leave the room.

"No. No Tom, don't go. Tom please." Sam pleaded as she chased after him but she quickly became out of breath and had to stop. As she leant against the wall to recover from the short sprint, she realised that she could either go back to the meeting, or she could go home to have some time alone to think. And she certainly knew which one she'd prefer. So she straightened her dark blue hoodie and neatened her hair, before she strode out of the hospital.

Sam sat on the sofa, in the flat where Tom had not disappeared to - she didn't know where he was. During the meeting, they had told her so many things, most of which she couldn't remember. But one that she could remember was that she had to aim to eat around 300 extra calories per baby, so that meant she had to eat around 4400 calories a day!

She sat on the sofa, nibbling away at a packet of biscuits and she knew that she was just comfort eating becuase she just wanted her husband to engulf her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But instead, her husband -who had vowed to be with her no matter what- wasn't there for her. She put the biscuits down on the table and heaved herself up off of the table before she headed for her bedroom. She missed the smell of Tom's after shave so she crawled into his side of the bed and nuzzled her nose into his pillow, whilst she organised her pillows behind her so that it seemed like he was besides her. At the thought of everything going on with the pregnancy and her husband gone AWOL, she slowly cried herself to sleep, leaving Tom's pillow a damp because of her actions. At 12 weeks she had shed one tear during her pregnancy. Until now...

Thanks for reading, please leave a review to let me know what you think :) Also, that is actually true that a pregnant mother of octuplets has to eat 4400 calories a day in the second trimester!