Chapter 22: Surprise or not surprise?
4 months later, 4 a.m. in Downing Street, Julia is trying to shake David's body to wake him up.
"David, David. Wake up!"
"What is it, Julia. Let me sleep. I need to wake-up in one hour to go to work"
Julia hops on the bed and starts to jump on her knees, making David bouncing a little bit
"David, David, I am pregnant, the test is positive" says an overjoyed Julia!
"Yes, we did it Love! I am so happy" says a sleepy but very emotional & overjoyed David. David kisses her softly but then deepens the kiss and starts to caress her underneath her night gown.
"David, stop please. I don't want to take any risk. I don't want to lose our baby"
"Julia, this is perfectly safe, you know it"
"I don't want to take any risk David.."
"I understand, Love but when we have passed the 3 months threshold, we will make up for it then"
"You have yourself a deal, David"
Time is passing, Julia is doing everything by the books, she eats better than she has ever done in her life and is very cautious not to fall on anything, she makes sure to have enough sleep and to walk a bit every day.
Of course, she is stressing each time she goes to the toilet, every time she removes her underwear and even if David is pleasuring her with his tongue and mouth several times a week and she pleasures him with mindblowing blowjobs, they don't have sex with vaginal penetration. Julia is too scared to see history repeats itself..
Finally, there it is: the day of the 3 months scan. David and Julia are both a bunch of nerves and don't talk a lot that morning.
"David, did you manage to swap your morning's job to attend the 3 months scan?"
"Yes, Love. For the 100th time, I have swapped with Louise and I will pick you up at 11 a.m. sharp after your speech at the Senate to be there on time at 12 a.m."
"OK, sorry David. I am just feeling so nervous & stressed about it. What if the baby is non-present like last time or worse – dead in my womb?"
"Love, stop stressing. Everything will be fine and you might end up pregnant with twins and deliver 2 very healthy babies!"
"Oh my gosh, I didn't think about that possibility. Well, not much time to wait to know, I suppose"
"Indeed, my love. Indeed. But, please, try to stay zen. You have very good pregnant sensations and you didn't experience any bloodloss. I am sure everything will be fine!"
"I hope you are right David, because if not, I will be very sad and depressed"
They arrive on-time and are both nervous wrecks. David can't stop moving his legs up & down on his chair and Julia is replying to her emails frantically on her iphone.
The famous gynecologist who delivered all the Cambridge Royal Babies is welcoming them.
"Good morning Julia. Good morning David"
"Good Morning Doctor"
"I can see you are both very stressed, which is understandable regarding what happened last time so I suggest we go straight to the scan and we can talk after, if that's OK for you"
"Yes, please" they both say at the same time
"Can you, please, lie down Julia, and roll up your top so I can apply the gel, I warn you the gel is a bit cold"
"OK, let's see your baby"
The doctor moves the ultrasound probe on Julia's belly and then they hear it: a strong and fast heartbeat!
"Here we go, that's a strong heartbeat!"
Julia's eyes glassed a little bit and she looks at David with so much love, happiness and a massive bright smile. David gives her a quick peck on the lips and then on the temple before moving his eyes on the screen again.
The doctor takes several measurements and looks suddenly a bit tense.
"Is there something wrong with our baby, Doctor?"
"There is nothing wrong, don't worry. The baby is just in the small size range and I just need to check something"
The doctor moves the probe to the other side of Julia's belly and to the bewilderment of both Julia and David, they hear a strong and fast heartbeat again.
"Here we go. Hello baby number 2" says the doctor with a bright smile.
Julia & David both look ecstatic and start to silently cry.
"Julia, David, do you need a moment?"
"No, we are totally fine" they say together in unison and they all laugh!
"OK, let's check baby number 2 then"
The doctor takes new measurements and tell them that everything is normal at this stage of the twin pregnancy.
"Julia, you will have to be monitored closely because of both your age – I am sorry, this is just from a medical perspective related to pregnancy - and the fact it's a twin pregnancy but so far, everything is normal, nothing to worry about"
"Generally, how do you feel? Physically & emotionally?"
"Well, I don't have any morning sickness, I feel great and energized. Emotionally, I am very stressed each time I am going to the toilets and each time I am changing my panties. I don't want to have sex, in case it triggers something bad"
"Julia, please, you need to unwind and stop stressing yourself like that. And sex is totally safe, I would, of course, recommend to avoid rough sex, but gentle sex can only be beneficial for you, David and your babies"
"Thank you Doctor, can we have some pictures of our babies, please?"
"Of course!"
"Doctor, there is something else we want to discuss with you as we don't feel capable of raising a child with Down syndrome. We admire the parents who do it but we know we couldn"t. We also know the stats: generally, the chance of having a Down syndrome birth is related to the mother's age. Under age 25, the odds of having a child with Down syndrome are about 1 in 1,400. At age 35, the odds are about 1 in 350. At age 40, the odds are about 1 in 100. However, I don't want to do an amniocentesis (one of my best friends did an amniocentesis but they pierced the gestational bag and the baby died..) but I would like to do a Non - Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) (NDLR this is a test performed on the pregnant woman's blood to detect chromosomal more common abnormalities such as trisomy 21 (Down's syndrome), trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome)).
"This is a very good idea Julia, I fully support that. I will do the prescription right away. However, as this is a bank holiday tomorrow, you will have to wait Monday to take the blood sample (or the blood will be too old and the test will be non-conclusive) and then up to 3 weeks to have the results"
"3 weeks! OMG I am going to die from the stress!"
"Stress is not good for the babies Julia, please try to stay zen"
Julia and David are now in the car on their way to Downing Street, cuddled at the back of the car and looking at the pictures with a massive smile on their faces.
"Are you scared, David?"
"Scared? No. I am just happy. And you?"
"Well, I am happy, of course, but I am a little scared that things go wrong. I would not be able to stand to lose them, as we lost our previous precious child".
"Everything is going to be alright, love. You have heard the doctor, everything is normal and we have passed the crucial 3 months threshold"
"I know David, I know. But I can't stop myself to think that something is going to go wrong or that the test will be positive. But I will work on it"
"Maybe, you can discuss it with Devon next week"
"Yes, I was planning to do that"
On that evening, Julia is entering their home in Downing Street and she finds herself in the dark. All lights are off. As usual, she removes her coat and her shoes and put them in the foyer. Then she sees a light orange glow coming from the corridor.
« David, are you home ? David ? »
No answer. So she decides to follow the light.
There is some kind of "path" bounded by candles on each side.. she follows the path and then there is a chair with a note written on it: "remove your dress and follow the path"
Julia smiles and does as she is told..
Then she founds another chair with a note written on it: "remove your bra and find me"
She continues the path, just dressed in her black thong..
Then she finds David, stripped naked on the sofa holding a sign: "remove your panties and come here"
Julia follows the orders and when she reaches David, he stands up and holds her close. They start to kiss slowly and sensually. They both get aroused very quickly after all these months of abstinence.
For once they skip the foreplay and they both lay down on the couch, they caress each other and continue to kiss, then David literally carries her and puts her on top of him and she sinks onto his sex ever so slowly. They both moan at the same time, rediscovering their sensations and that pleasure.
They make love very slowly, Julia being in charge of the rhythm and she does not only do up & downs movements but also circular movements.
They reach their peak quite quickly and then they stay cuddled on the couch and fall asleep under a duvet David had prepared.
On the Monday, Julia is doing the blood test and she starts to get more nervous with each day passing. The test results are delayed because of another bank holidays, despite Julia threatening to cancel all the bank holidays.. but at the same time she doesn't use her position to speed up things.
It's finally THE day.. Julia calls the hospital early in the morning and she is told that yes, the results have arrived but that she will have to wait the doctor to call her: these results can't be given over the phone. Julia is mad but she understands the rationale.. so she waits and waits.. but then at 3 o'clock she can't take it anymore and she goes to the hospital. She even doesn't tell David because she is in such a state of stress, she feels she is on the brink of losing her nerves and hit somebody if she doesn't get the results NOW!
She arrives at the Doctor's office but the assistant tells her she doesn't have the results (they are on a fax somewhere, a fax! Who on earth is still using a fax machine? Well, apparently, hospitals! They could just have emailed the results to her and ends her misery, there is nothing worse than not knowing..). Julia says she is going to stay there and wait until somebody can give her the results! The assistant is trying to convince Julia to go back home and that the Doctor will call her when he has finished the emergency surgeries he has to perform since the morning.. he didn't even had the time to eat!
At that point, Julia doesn't even care, she is just crying and starts to struggle to breath.. she sits down abruptly and at that moment, another doctor arrives and recognizes her immediately. She asks her what she is doing there and Julia explains. The doctor says she will be right back. She comes back 2 min later, the longest 2 minutes in Julia's life.. even the 2 minutes during the Thornton Circus attempt on her life sounded shorter..
"Your babies are fine Prime Minister. You can breathe now and please, stop stressing. Your babies are fine"
Julia can't stop crying, but from joy now.
"Thank you Doctor. Thank you so much. I will never forget your kind and human gesture"
Julia finally calls David, still crying which drives him instantly almost in a panic attack but Julia quickly reassures him: 'David, our babies are fine. Our babies are fine. Our babies are fine"
"Julia, why are you crying? Where are you? What happened?" says David with a frantic voice
"I am sorry.. I am at the hospital. I went there to get the results in person. I couldn't handle it anymore'
"Phew, you got me so worried Love. So the NIPT is negative for both our babies?"
"Yes, David. Our babies are fine. Our babies are fine"
"OK, so now we can announce it to our families"
"Yes, I have got an idea about how to do it:"
"I am sure you do Love, I am sure you do"
The next day, Julia calls her mum and invite her for tea the next Sunday, explaining that David's parents are visiting them that weekend as well and it would be a good opportunity to meet again. Ella & Charlie will be there as well.
Julie printed extra pictures of the last ultrasound scan and wrap it in 4 boxes: one for her mum, one for David's parents, one for Ella & the last one for Charlie.
They all received the box at the same time and opened it together.. Ella & Charlie are ecstatic & both ran in Julia's arms hugging her & kissing her.. David's mum cried a bit and was smiling at the same time and hugged both David & Julia at the same time. David's dad has glassy eyes and simply hugs them.
"Mum, are you happy about the babies"
"Julia, is it not dangerous to be a mother at your age?"
"Well, there are some additional risks; of course, but I am closely monitored, we have done a NIPT test to check for the main chromosomic abnormalities in a non-invasive way and both babies are fine and developing normally"
"Mum, you are finally going to become a grandmother. I know it was a long lasting dream for you. I don't understand your reaction"
"Well, I am scared for your life Julia. I am happy for the grandbabies, of course. Ecstatic even. But I don't want to lose you, my baby girl"
"Oh mum, everything is going to be fine, I promise you". They hug each other and squeezes the life out of each other.
On the Monday, the press release announcing Julia's pregnancy is out:
"Prime Minister, Julia Montague, and her husband, David Budd, are happy to announce that they are expecting twins. The Prime Minister plans to work until the end of her pregnancy and will then take a six-weeks leave, during which time Deputy Prime Minister Mike Travis would run the country."
BBC comments were, of course, related to the comparison with Jacinda Ardern and also stating that the now popular 42-year-old politician's pregnancy is one of the very few examples of an elected leader holding office while pregnant and the first in UK's history. On top of Jacinda Ardern, Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto gave birth while she was prime minister in 1990.
1 month later, Julia has to do the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), also referred to as the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT), to check if she is suffering from gestational diabetes. The test is used to determine whether the body has difficulty metabolising intake of sugar/carbohydrate.
Julia is in a very bad mood this morning as she was asked not to eat, or drink certain fluids, for 12 hours before the test.
"Love, why are you in such a bad mood this morning?"
"Because I am hungry, thirsty and I would love to have my cup of coffee! And because I don't need to do this fucking test! I didn't gain much weight, despite carrying twins, and I don't eat sweet things! It's just because I am 42 and statistically I have more chances to get gestational diabetes! I am so sick of that age thing! Leave me alone, I am fine and the babies are fine, I don't like the way they over-medicalise everything!'
"I understand Love, but in a few hours, they will get the confirmation you don't have gestational diabetes and there will be no more test except the monthly scans which you love because we got to see our babies.. and next week, we will normally find out if they are boys or girls or one of each"
"I know, David, I know.. but I am so pissed off right now! I want my peanut butter toast and my coffee!"
"Well, I have got 2 peanut butters toasts in that bag and a mug of coffee ready"
"You are such a cutie. I love you. Did I tell you that?"
"Well, yes, but I am happy to hear it every time you say it"
Julia also hates blood tests, and David knows it, but he didn't want to mention it, to add any stress. Julia first has blood taken to measure her blood glucose level before the test. Then she has to drink a very sweet tasting, glucose drink.
Julia is doing some emails in the waiting room but then suddenly she doesn't feel well at all. She decides to lie down on the floor as she feels she is going to pass out..
"David, get some medical help. I am going to pass out"
"Julia, I am not leaving your side, I am your husband and your ex-protection officer. I am sending somebody to get some help right away!"
Julia passes out for several seconds and then is back in this world.
"Love, are you OK?"
"I am fine David, really. I am just not used to intake that much sugar so my body and the babies didn't like it"
2h30 later and 2 additional blood tests later (one each hour and she stays 30 minutes in observation because she passed out), they are on their way back to Downing Street.
2 days later, they got the results back and it was, of course, negative! No gestational diabetes. Julia can't stop herself to consider that as a small victory against the medical world and their stakes on pregnancy after 40.. 'life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get".
Today, Julia has a very important scan: they are going to find out the gender of the babies. Julia's stake is on "one of each" and David's stakes is on "2 girls".
"OK, so baby #1 is a… girl"
"Yes!" they both say at the same time.
"Come here baby #2, yep, turn around now… oups, looks like baby #2 likes to keep some mistery"
"What does that mean?"
'Well, it doesn't want us to know if it's a boy or a girl, yet.."
"well, it seems it tooks that after its mum then!"
"David!"
"what Love? It's true, everything happens on your own terms.. baby #2 is starting early"
"Fair enough, David. Fair enough"
Her pregnancy is closely monitored but nothing taints their happiness & Julia has a dream pregnancy. She is taking her blood pressure three times a day as she is aware of the pre-eclampsia risk for older pregnant women.. but it is always steady and at good levels.
She is also still a bit stressed about not being able to look after the babies because of her leg but David and her mum manage to find the right words to reassure her. She covers that with Devon during 2 sessions in a row as well.
Baby #2 ended up being a boy, much to Charlie's delight.
Julia manages to enjoy calmly the end of her pregnancy as everything is going well with the babies and she feels them move a lot every day.
David spoils her and buys a lot of things for the babies like for example a blue and a pink baby bodysuits with "don't mess with me, my dad is a bodyguard" written on it.
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