10th Oct, 2027
Our House...then San Francisco Birth Center
San Francisco, CA. America
Hi. Yeah. I know…I know. Been a few months huh? I know I said I would pull no punches when it comes to the Fallen and I haven't. There has literally been no new updates about them. I am not kidding. Whatever Derrick, Meghan, Monika and the others whipped up to deter Sekh from getting information was working like a goddamn charm. What have I been doing in the mean time? Typical stuff. Drills, tech projects, making sure Ela is ok…totally not freaking out while standing in the shower at midnight because her water just broke. Yes, you heard that right. The time has come for me to join the parents club officially. I can't believe it's already been 8 months since the Tournament of Champions. Oh yeah, I had been talking with Derrick about what it takes to be a parent too.
"Chief, once you get over that initial feeling of fear, it comes naturally. The literal moment Tina gave Zoey to me was when the fear melted away and I became Zoey's Daddy," he had told me one day at lunch. "You'll have Ela too."
"She's uh…been having a lot more doubts than me…plus I think she thinks I'm going to do what her father did to her and Zofia," I retorted. That was also true. I had caught Ela talking to herself about that very fear a few times.
"If either of your kids asks you if they are your favorite, just tell them they are your favorite son or daughter. That's what my mom used to tell me whenever I asked," Derrick said. Meanwhile, back in the shower, I finally snapped out of my daze, turned the water off and dressed quickly. Ela was already near the door and as she was about to deliver two babies that was impressive she had got there with no help.
"You ok?" she asked after looking at my face.
"Y…yeah…" I answered and grabbed the keys and my hospital overnight bag that Derrick had told me was a life saver. "H…how are you?" Ela winced at that exact moment which made me panic but she reached over and squeezed my shoulder.
"Relax. This is normal," she whispered. "Come on, help me into the back of the car." I proceeded to do so. Thankfully, the SUV (Ela's. She liked bigger cars) was the one that was parked closer to the end of the driveway as opposed to my Passat. Oh shut up! I know I'm falling into the stereotype! It's not my fault American cars are garbage! It was between that and a Corolla! I proceeded to make my way to the hospital. I believe that San Francisco Birth Center is the closest one to our house and that was still about 25-30 minutes away. I did take the route at an increased rate but not enough to get pulled over. Plus I don't like driving on the interstate when it is dark out. Especially in big cities. Nate and I had a close call with a drunk driver back in college once. Both of us thought we were goners.
"Lukas, I want you to call Monika when we get there," Ela said from the back seat.
"What? Why?" I answered but still kept my eyes on the road. I glanced in the rearview mirror to see that she had winced in apparent pain again.
"Because I can tell you're freaking out. And if I can't calm you down, I know the person who can. I don't want you shaking while you're in the delivery room with me," Ela explained. "Will you do that for me when I get in the room?" I nodded and then she added "Good. Cause Zofia was right about labor…this is not fun." I pulled into the parking lot about 10 minutes later and helped Ela get out of the car. The night receptionist saw us coming and had already prepared a wheelchair for her.
"Having a baby?" she asked me.
"I'm not, she is," I said almost without thinking. Wow…my first dad joke. AWESOME!
"Christ Lukas, I haven't even had the babies and you're making dad jokes?" Ela said a little exasperatedly. The receptionist still chuckled and then pointed us in the direction of a nurse who was standing there waiting.
"Wait," Ela said as I started to walk alongside her and the nurse. "You promised Lukas." Right…right…call Monika.
"Need to make a call? Understandable. We will be in Room 27 Mr…" the nurse began before Ela finished for her.
"Weiss. Yes, that is the same Lukas Weiss you might be thinking of," she said. The nurse had in fact been studying my face intently for a little.
"I'm not the important person here at the moment," I said and pointed to Ela. "She is."
"Oh yes! Right this way Mrs. Weiss," the nurse said and wheeled Ela off in the direction of Room 27. I walked back outside and dialed Monika. She picked up on the 2nd ring again.
"Another bad dream brüderlein?" Monika's voice said. She didn't even sound tired.
"Uh..no…better I think," I answered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Monika asked.
"Uh well…guess where I am," I said.
"The base?"
"No."
"Out drinking with Derrick?"
"Nope."
"The hospital?"
"Right in three. That's 33% there Mon. You sure you're gonna be ok with that score?" I said, feeling some of my worry start to melt away as I talked with Monika.
"Hah hah, very funny. Why are you the-...wait a minute…WAIT A MINUTE," she shouted into my ear. Ow.
"Yes Mon. Time to become an Aunt again," I said. On the other line I could hear Meghan's voice.
"Meghan! Meghan, Ela is having the baby!" Monika said excitedly. Oh BOY, wait until she finds out it's actually 2 babies. Oh fuck…2 babies…I felt the creeping dread sneak up on me again. It was saying things like "they will hate you" and "Ela will leave you the moment you fuck up."
"Lukas? Lukas, are you still there?" Monika asked, snapping me out of it.
"Yes," I answered.
"Why did you call me? Were you freaking out over being a dad?" she asked.
"Yes…"
"Lukas, you will be a great father. Let me tell you something. When you were about one year old or so, Mom had a rough day at work. She had come home crying and was barely talking to any of us. But then you walked over to her sitting on the couch, hugged her leg and said 'I missed you Mommy!' You turned her entire day around and you were just one year old. If you can make Mom feel loved at just one year old, you can definitely do the same to your son," Monika said. Huh…I never knew about that. Bet you anything my mom has told all her friends about that.
"Thanks Mon," I said.
"Go be with Ela. Call us when the baby is here ok? Meghan says hi too," she said and then hung up the phone. I took a deep breath and started to make my way to room 27.
10th Oct, 2027 (Several Hours later)
San Francisco Birth Center
San Francisco, CA. America
I was currently standing by Ela's shoulder gently caressing it as she was panting and grunting in pain. The past 12 or so hours had been a blur. Hard to believe it was about 12:30 pm right now and we had gotten here a little bit after midnight.
"You're still doing great Mrs. Weiss," the doctor, whose name was Dr. Jenkins, said. Ela looked up at me with eyes that told me she wanted it to be over so bad.
"I know," I said in Polish. "I'm right here." That caused her to smile and place her hand on mine. Moments like this happened for the next several minutes before I heard Dr. Jenkins say "Alright, I think it's time. I need you to start pushing Mrs. Weiss." I kept my hand firmly on Ela's shoulder as I felt her start to push. A few seconds later I began to hear the sounds of crying.
"And here's baby number 1! The boy!" Dr. Jenkins said and handed my...surprisingly bloody and goopy son to one of the nurses. I hadn't expected to see him like that but still…I was now officially a father. Tobey was here. His lungs were working and he looked pretty healthy to me. 2 minutes passed and I don't think Ela even noticed that Tobey was crying for his mom. Tobey's new sister made her little voice heard next.
"And here's baby number 2!" Dr. Jenkins said. "Both of them look very healthy." I looked down at Ela who had some tears running down her face. I wiped them away with my finger and she opened her eyes.
"My…my babies?" she said softly.
"They're just wrapping them up," I said trying not to cry myself but I eventually lost that battle. "Do you need anything?"
"I want our babies Lukas. I must have them," she answered. Ela got her wish almost immediately. 2 nurses were walking over to us carrying our children. Tobey's eyes were open and he had stopped crying but Izabela had her's closed still and she was crying. Ela reached out towards Tobey and the nurse handed him to her.
"H...hi sweetie," Ela said, letting the tears flow again. "I'm your momma. It's ok. I've got you. You're safe." The nurse holding Izabela was looking at me expectantly and (after gulping) I held out my hands for my daughter. I took her into my arms and felt something rush through me. It was a feeling of immense love. I would die for this little girl as well as her brother. She looked just like Ela but you know without the green hair. Izabela opened her eyes after a few seconds and started staring at me. That even caused her to stop crying. I nearly lost it myself. I could just tell she already loved her daddy.
"H...hi little one," I said and kissed her forehead. Izabela responded with a baby noise.
"Do you have names for these two Mr. and Mrs. Weiss?" Dr. Jenkins asked.
"Y...yes," Ela began. I could tell she was still crying "The boy is Tobias after my husband's father."
"And the girl is Izabela after my wife's mother," I added. Izabela made another baby noise. Almost felt like she was telling me that she liked her name.
"Tobias is spelled t-o-b-i-a-s?" Dr. Jenkins asked. I nodded.
"Izabela will be spelled the Polish way. So i-z-a-b-e-l-a," Ela stated.
"It will be done!" Dr. Jenkins said. "And will they have middle names?"
"Tobias…Antoni?" Ela asked me. "Antoni was my grandfather's name. I don't feel right copying Zofia by using Jan and I was a lot closer with my grandfather. That's a-n-t-o-n-i by the way."
"Of course. As long as Izabela's is Emilita. You know, my mom's name," I said looking down at Izabela again. "Daddy's gonna call you Izzy. Is that ok?" Izzy made her baby noise again.
"So Tobias Antoni Weiss and Izabela Emilita Weiss then! Beautiful names!" Dr. Jenkins said. "We will give you some alone time with your children. Congratulations!" Dr. Jenkins along with the 2 nurses left us to it. Tobey had noticed me and was studying me intently.
"See that man Tobey? That's daddy! You look just like him!" Ela said. Izzy turned her head at the sound of her mother's voice and noticed her and Tobey. She said "ahh!" again.
"Yeah Izzy, that's mommy and your big brother Tobey!" I said and walked over to Ela's side again. I went to lean over to kiss Ela's forehead but she moved her head back and smiled at me. I knew what she wanted now. I instead kissed her on the lips as I felt Izzy grab my finger and hold onto it.
"Our babies," she whispered. I saw Tobey do the same thing to his mother. Ela felt him do so and said "I love you so much Tobey." I smirked as I had just remembered something. Ela made a face.
"What's that face for," she asked.
"I do believe it's time to tell the aunts," I said.
Smash cut (jeez, I hang out with Derrick too much) to about a few hours later. Ela was still laying in the bed holding Tobey in her arms. Little guy was fast asleep after getting fed. I was out of sight of the door and the only way anyone could see me was to turn to their right. According to my most recent text, Meghan and Monika had just arrived and were making their way up to the room. I heard footsteps and Monika's voice from where I was standing and gave the signal to Ela. There was a knock a few seconds later followed by Ela saying "Come in." I heard Monika gasp and start to hyperventilate.
"Easy Mon," Meghan said.
"But…but…he's so cute!" Monika said. I rolled my eyes. Come on Monika, you haven't even seen him up close.
"Come on," Meghan said. I saw both of them come into view but neither of them noticed me. They were too focused on Tobey in Ela's arms. Ela could barely contain her excitement about what I was about to do either.
"He's so precious! What's his name?" Meghan asked as Monika was silently weeping with her hands over her mouth.
"Tobias. Tobias Weiss," Ela said. Monika gasped loudly (as I knew she would).
"That's…that's my father's name," she stammered. Outstanding. Perfect time to make my appearance.
"I know that Mon," I said. Monika and Meghan looked over in my direction and stared at me for a few seconds. Monika noticed first.
"SHUT UP," she shouted. "Shut up RIGHT NOW! Lukas…Ela, I am going to start sobbing." Monika proceeded to do so. Upside that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Meghan was looking from me and Izzy to Ela and Tobey and back again.
"You…you had twins?" Meghan asked.
"No Meghan, I stole this one from the nursery," I said. "Izzy, that crazy lady is your Tante Monika. This other lady is her wife, your Auntie Meghan." I motioned Meghan over so she could hold her new niece.
"What's her name? Izzy? Like Izabela?" Meghan asked and gently took Izzy from me. I nodded. Izzy was still fast asleep but I heard her make a small noise when she felt she had left my hands. I went to take her back but I remembered that Meghan was great with kids. It must be my new fatherly instincts kicking in.
"Oh you are so cute Izzy. Don't worry, I'm friendly. I'm your Auntie," Meghan was telling her. Meanwhile, my crazy sister was being coaxed over by Ela.
"Monika, come here. Hold your nephew," Ela said and held Tobey out to her. I walked over and stood near Monika in case she couldn't handle it but she took Tobey with surprisingly steady hands.
"H…hi Tobias," Monika began between sniffs. "I'm your Tante." Monika then looked from Tobias to me and back a few times. She let out a small sob and then said "I'm…I'm five years old again…it's just like when…when Lukas was born. Tobias…"
"I know. He looks just like Lukas. Right down to the eyes," Ela said, looking over at me. I patted Monika on the shoulder as she held Tobey in her arms.
"If he looks like me, there's a high chance he'll act like me too," I told her. At that moment, Tobey opened his eyes and looked up at Monika. Monika squeaked. Tobey proceeded to say something that sounded like "tah!" Monika pressed Tobey closer to her chest and looked over at Meghan. Meghan wiped her eyes with one of her free hands.
"Derrick's idea?" she asked Ela and I.
"Was there ever any doubt?" I answered.
Smash cut yet again to later in the day where I took up my position out of sight again. This time we were awaiting the arrival of Zofia and her family. Derrick had said he and a couple of the other people from the base were going to come see us tomorrow so I sense Ela and I will be doing this routine more than we expected. Izzy was in my arms again and she was asleep again. She looked so comfortable laying in my arms. Sometimes I caught myself simply staring at my children over the past few hours. I can't believe I helped create 2 human beings. Yes yes, I know Ela did most of the work but I fucking jumpstarted the process didn't I? Eventually, I heard the sound of 3 people speaking a mixture of Polish and English followed by another knock at the door. Ela answered "come in" in Polish. Then I heard my niece's voice say "Hi Ciocia!"
"Hi Jana, this is your cousin, Tobias Antoni Weiss," Ela responded in English. Zofia, Andrzej and Jana came into my view a few seconds later. Zofia looked overcome with emotion, which if you remember, is extremely rare to see.
"Antoni?" Zofia asked. "After…after."
"Yes Zo. After grandfather. I took a leaf out of your book," Ela responded. Andrzej put a hand on Zofia's shoulder and then asked "Where is Lukas? Getting food?" Jana had been the one who spotted me standing there.
"He's right there tata!" she said. Zofia and Andrzej turned to face me. Zofia noticed Izzy first, screamed and then clutched Andrzej's shoulder I assumed very tightly because he winced.
"Ow! Laska, what was that fo-" Andrzej began before he spotted his new niece in my arms.
"Ela…Did…did you have…" Zofia stammered before Ela stopped her.
"Yes Zofia. We had twins," she said.
"Is…is that one…" Zofia stammered again and pointed to Izzy.
"Girl," I said.
"Her name is Izabela," Ela said. That was almost too much for Zofia. She had clutched her chest and needed to be helped into a chair by Andrzej and Jana.
"Are you ok mama?" Jana asked. Andrzej had already got a glass of water and handed it to Zofia. Jana walked over to see Tobey after helping her mom sit down. I knelt down next to Zofia and said "You gave me the perfect name for her at Monika's wedding Zo. I hope you don't mind." Zofia shook her head and held her hands out for her niece. Her hands were steady too.
"Here Zo, you can hold her. Izzy, this is Ciocia Zofia," I said. Zofia gave a sharp inhale upon hearing herself be addressed like that and took Izzy from me. I heard her start to whisper things in Polish to Izzy. I caught a few words and phrases like "I love you", "I will be there for you" and "you won't lose me."
"She..she looks just like you Ela," Zofia added this time in English.
"That's what I said. Must be why Izzy feels so safe around me," I said smiling. Andrzej had taken his new nephew from Ela and was holding him in his arms while Jana started making funny faces at him.
"Hey little man! I'm your…oh boy…English…uncle? Yeah! That's the one! Uncle…" he said.
"Andy?" Ela said. "I'm pretty sure the English equivalent of your name is Andrew. It might be hard for them to say your name if we're raising them speaking English. Especially when they're small." Andrzej nodded.
"That will work for now," he said and sat down next to Zofia. I walked over to Ela and watched Zofia and her family hold their new niece and nephew. I gave Ela a one armed hug and she leaned into it. Operation Sister Surprise was a complete success!
11th Oct, 2027
San Francisco Birth Center
San Francisco, CA. America
I was fast asleep on the reclining chair in the bedroom until I was woken up by a little girl's voice saying my name.
"Ookuss!" Zoey said. I opened my eyes and rubbed them. As my eyes adjusted, I saw that Derrick, Tina and Zoey (being held by Tina) were here. Elena and Dom had also come with him. Dom without his headgear on is rather jarring to say the least. He looked almost like a member of Hell's Angels but with a shorter beard. Ela was still laying in the bed with the two bassinets next to her. As expected, Ela was holding one of our children. It was Izzy this time.
"Mornin sunshine," Derrick said and helped me get out of the chair.
"Baby!" Zoey said and pointed at Ela and Izzy.
"That's right Zoey, I had a baby," Ela said. "Two actually." Elena and Dom had since realized there were 2 kids in the room with the last name of Weiss as opposed to 1.
"What?! Did you know?!" Elena asked. Derrick nodded.
"Makes sense if you think about it. Don't you have twin siblings too Luke," Dom added.
"Would you like to say hi to the babies Zoey?" Tina asked sweetly. Zoey managed a wave before she pressed her face against Tina's shoulder and made a kind of "mmm" sound. Aww, she was shy. Izzy must have heard Zoey's voice because she had rested her eyes on her. Zoey looked over again to see Izzy looking at her before she turned to her father.
"Fend?" she asked.
"I'm sure La would let Izzy be your friend Zoey. Izzy is still a little too small to play with you ok?" Derrick said.
"Fend!" Zoey said again. Tina hugged Zoey tighter to herself and Zoey responded with a hug of her own. Tina looked in Derrick's direction but he didn't notice. Dom and Elena were taking a look at my son in the meantime.
"You gonna be alright with two babies there Luke?" Dom asked. I nodded. Elena did as well.
"I come bearing a message Luke. Six approved your paternity leave. He even gave you an extra week," Elena said. Outstanding! Could this day get better?
"What's that look for Teen?" Derrick asked.
"Derrick…I…I want another one," Tina said softly.
"Another what? Hug?"
"No…a…a baby," Tina said, still just loud enough for the room to hear. Derrick looked from Zoey, to his wife and then to Tobey a few times before he smiled.
"Alright, I think we can manage that with help from Cindy," he said. Everyone else in the room gasped. Zoey said "Dada!"
"One more ok. Please," Derrick said and put an arm around Tina. "We don't wanna be outnumbered."
"Done! I…I hope we have a little boy that loves me as much as Zoey loves you," Tina said.
"Oh come on Teen," I said. "You must be crazy to think Zoey doesn't love you too."
"Snowflake, who do you look like?" Derrick asked Zoey.
"Mama!" Zoey responded.
"Who is your favorite lady in the whole wide world?"
"Mama!"
"I love you so much sweetheart," Tina said and hugged Zoey again.
"I love you Mama!" Zoey said. Wow, a complete sentence! She's getting smarter that Zoey Castellano. Tina gasped as did Derrick.
"You're…you're gonna make Mama cry," Tina said. Zoey laughed but gave her mother yet another hug. Then she spotted Elena and Dom.
"Layna! Om!" she said.
"Alrighty enough of that, Ela, mind if I hold…uh…Tobey is it?" Derrick asked. Ela hesitated but then nodded. She must have remembered Tina trusted Derrick with Zoey and Zoey turned out just fine. Derrick picked Tobey out of the bassinet and said "Hey little guy!"
"Tobey, that's the man you will be competing with for your father's love," Tina said repeating what Ela had said to Zoey when she was born.
"Oh-bee!" Zoey said and waved.
"Yeah Zoey! That's my son. I'm Tobey's daddy," I said. Zoey pointed to Derrick.
"My Dada!" she said. Derrick and Tina proceeded to look at my son and I turned to face Dom.
"Anything new?" I asked him.
"In terms of your sister's place being attacked? No. Been pretty quiet," he responded. "I heard she essentially lost her mind when she found out about the twins here though."
"Oh yeah," I said. "Don't worry I got a photo." I had managed to sneak a photo of Monika, Meghan and my children for memories sake. Most likely going to frame it and give it to them for Christmas. I had even got one of just Monika and Tobey sharing an auntie/nephew moment. Sent that one to my parents and other siblings. I had gotten a response back telling me that they were going to come and see us (Ela and I) within a few weeks. None of them know we had twins either. Izzy started crying but I heard Ela start to comfort in Polish. She said something like "Momma's here honey. No need to be scared." I looked from Tobey in Derrick's arms, to Izzy in Ela's and back a few times. Derrick yet again was right, my fear of being a shitty father had melted away immediately. I was now Tobey and Izzy's Daddy.
12th Oct, 2027
Our House
San Francisco, CA. America
Ela had been released from the hospital 2 days after giving birth to our children. Doctors told us that the babies were happy, healthy and ready to go home. Don't worry, the 2 of us had prepared for the arrival of the kids the past few weeks. We (and by we I mean just me) had hit one of those warehouse wholesale stores and stocked up on baby supplies like diapers, wipes, powder, clothes and food. The first day at home with the kids was a rather quiet one. Tobey and Izzy seemed to have inherited Ela's more quieter personality and only cried when they needed something or a loud noise scared them. For the majority of the day (whenever they were awake), both kiddos just studied Ela or myself or whatever was in the vicinity. Six had called to congratulate us and reiterate to me that I was to stay away from the base and not worry about work for the next few weeks. That was fine with me. Currently, it was about dusk on this cloudy California day. Ela and I were sitting on the couch with Tobey and Izzy in those baby rocker things right in front of us. Both of them were snoozing as was Ela against me. She had done so much in the past few days that she needed a little break. Izzy suddenly made a noise which caused Ela to wake up with a start.
"Get away from my bab…oh…" she said, realizing that no one but me was there. She wiped her eyes and looked over at me. I was trying not to hide a smile but Ela always seemed to know what I was thinking.
"Dork. Can…can you get me some water," she asked softly.
"Sure. I'm thirsty myself," I said and attempted to get up. Ela wasn't letting me.
"Ahem," she began. "You forgot something." Oh right. Silly me. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"That's better," she said and allowed me to get up. I walked to the kitchen and poured 2 glasses of water while humming to myself. For some reason, that one EDM song "The Veldt" was stuck in my head. I didn't mind. It's a relaxing song. I read online that if you listen to that song and the sound of rain at the same time, it's simply euphoric. I'll have to try that sometime. I walked back into the den where I heard Ela speaking. She sounded like she was struggling to say words as well because it also sounded like she was crying.
"You two and your father are the best things that have ever happened to me. I'm so sorry you'll never get to meet my parents. But I promise, you will never lose me or daddy. Ever. Momma loves you both so much already. No one will ever hurt you. Momma will never let that happen," she managed to say. Ela was kneeling next to both babies with her back to me. Tobey and Izzy were still sleeping but Tobey moved his head so his face was now towards Ela. Nice one little guy. I sense you're going to be a big momma's boy huh? Ela glanced up and saw my reflection on the TV. She stood up, turned to face me while wiping her eyes.
"I mean that Lukas," she said.
"I know that," I said, walking over and handing her the glass of water. "I feel the same way about you."
"You do?" she asked.
"Of course I do. I asked you to marry me didn't I? Now we have these two little stinkers to look after. I assume we're done right? Like having kids?" I asked.
"Yes," she responded after taking a sip of water. "I expected one at a time but we got both at once."
"Works for me."
"Tina was right, I can sense that they love me," Ela said. Over her shoulder I had seen that both Tobey and Izzy had woken up. Tobey was staring at his mother's back.
"Course they do, why wouldn't they?" I said. Izzy's eyes had spotted me and she said "ahh!"
"Hi Izzy! Tobey, do you see your mommy?" I said to the kids. Ela turned around and looked down at her son. He looked up at her and gave her what the doctors called a "reflex smile." It's technically not a real genuine smile like say when Zoey sees one of her parents but it was enough to get Ela to cry silently again.
"There you go little guy," I said to Tobey. I picked him up out of the rocker and held him out to Ela. She took him into her arms without a second thought and started speaking to him in a low whisper.
"Did you smile at your momma? You love momma don't you?" she was saying. Meanwhile, Izzy copied her brother and gave me a reflex smile too. Immense love shot through my body again and I picked my daughter up in my arms too. For some reason, I started to hum The Veldt again and Izzy said "ahh!"
"You like it when Daddy sings to us? Remember when he played his guitars or when we heard him around the house? He's got a nice voice doesn't he," Ela said to Tobey and by proxy Izzy.
"Ahh!" Tobey said and then accidentally bonked Ela on the nose.
"Ow! Oh you little stinker," she said and gently grabbed his hand and held it. Ela and I sat back down on the couch with our children and stayed there for a few hours just simply marveling at the family we had started. I hadn't even thought about the Fallen all day. Fuck 'em. What I had right now was vastly more important and I'd cherish it forever.