A/N: Chapter two is here! I hope you enjoy meeting the babies and seeing Clara and Josh's love as they welcome their little ones into the world. Thanks for reading! And thanks to Sav for helping with some of the ideas for this chapter.

Chapter Two

Clara and Josh were snuggled together on the sofa, Josh's arm wrapped gently around his wife's frame. Periodically, he would place gentle kisses along her neck or shoulder, letting her know he was here for her even if they weren't up to talking.

Clara had felt some twinges this morning as she was getting ready, and her instinct said it was the beginning of labor. They had sent word to the Russells and stayed home, Josh refusing to leave Clara's side until he absolutely had to. The midwives would force him out, he knew that, but he wouldn't leave his wife until they arrived and kicked him out. For now, Clara was comfortable with it being just the two of them, as the pains and twinges were still quite sporadic and she didn't want a large group of people fussing over her. She just wanted her husband to hold her, and that's what he was doing.

As Josh pressed another kiss to his wife's temple, he could tell something wasn't right. Something was on her mind, but she was holding it in, keeping her thoughts and fears to herself. "You're going to do great, you know," he whispered lovingly in her ear and placed a kiss to the shell of it gently.

Clara chuckled slightly at that. Her husband was always able to read her like a book, and she supposed she shouldn't have tried to hide it. As the reality of labor was becoming more and more real to her, she was growing more and more nervous, but her husband's words soothed her somewhat. "How did you know I was nervous?" she asked.

"I could practically hear all the thoughts inside your head, that's how loudly you were brooding," he teased.

She chuckled. "Well, I guess my attempt to send you a message telepathically worked then," she said with a smirk before getting more serious again. "I love you so much. Thank you for staying with me."

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of leaving you. I would stay with you for the whole thing if I was allowed."

"I know you would, and I love you for it. There's already going to be so many people in the room though, I don't need you fussing over me too."

"I know you don't want to be so crowded, but the team is necessary so that each of our babies has people to look after them."

"I am glad of that, at least. Two healthy babies is all I want. I just wish I didn't have to go through labor to get that. I know that sounds selfish, but–"

He cut her off with a soft kiss to her lips. "It's not selfish. It is normal to be nervous. I'm nervous too. But your body is incredible and so capable. You will get through this and come out the other side with two little ones."

"What if I'm a bad mother? Don't they deserve better than that?" she asked, finally voicing her true fear as she ran her hand along her bump.

"You are going to be an incredible mother," he assured her, placing his hand atop hers where their babies lay. "You've already carried them this far. Now, you will just be carrying them outside of you. I've heard you talking and singing to them, and I know they settle down at your touch and the sound of your voice. That will continue once they're here, you'll see."

"You always have so much faith in me," she marveled.

"You're my wife, and I love you. Having faith in you is my job as your husband," he said, placing a kiss to her nose.

"Well, you're awfully good at your job, then," she said, giving him a gentle peck on the lips in return.

"It's my pleasure," he responded, "Now, can I bring you some more oatmeal?"

She nodded. She had been nauseous this morning and not able to eat much, but now that some of her fears were assuaged she was feeling ready to try and eat something. She knew it would help keep her energy level up for the birth, and she was so grateful to her husband for making it.

Josh rose from his seat, and started to make a move for the kitchen, but he was quickly drawn back to his wife's side because he could tell she was experiencing a pain. She was trying her best to not show it and get through it on her own, but he could sense what was going on. He took hold of her hand, and she squeezed it slightly before the pain quickly dissipated. "Thank you," she said softly, still slightly winded from the pain.

"You're the one going through the pain. The least I can do is try and help you manage it. Speaking of, how about I bring you a warm towel and we can see if that might ease some of the lingering pain?" he suggested.

"That'd be great," she said gratefully. "I know it helped some with the pain of the stretching. It might help a little with this too."

"Then, we'll try it," he said resolutely, giving his wife a tender smile of concern before rising again to head into the kitchen. "I'll be right back," he assured her, pressing a kiss to her nose before leaving the room.

As Clara watched him make his way to the other room, she thought about how lucky she was to such a caring husband. Joshua William Borden was all she could ever have dreamed of and more. She knew he would be the best father when the time came, and he would help her tremendously in managing the care of two little ones.

The prospect of twins was daunting at times for sure, but she felt confident that they'd be alright simply because they were together. She could count on his support, and he could count on hers. And that made it all worth it. They would count their lucky stars everyday for the rest of their lives because they had each other. And now they would have a family together too.

As his hand grabbed hold of the knob, Josh reflected on what was awaiting him beyond the door. His babies were here, both healthy along with Clara as the midwife had informed him a little while ago. Now he was finally allowed to go in and see them, and he couldn't wait. He needed to see for himself that they were all okay after the agonizing wait.

He turned the knob and was immediately struck with the most perfect image of his wife holding two wrapped bundles. Her hair was disheveled, and she had several curls stuck to her neck from sweat, but she was glowing in the most gorgeous way imaginable to him.

She was looking down at her babies in awe, but she looked up for a second to give her husband a small smile when she registered his presence in the room. He made his way towards the bed still too stunned to speak. "Come meet your children," Clara said, motioning for him to sit on the edge of the bed beside her.

"Clara, they're perfect," he said sincerely.

"They truly are," Clara agreed, "Your son and your daughter are absolutely perfect."

"A son and a daughter," Josh said, tears welling up in eyes.

"One of each," Clara confirmed with a smile. When she was pregnant, she had secretly hoped for this, and she felt abundantly blessed now that her babies were actually here.

"Look, he has little curls just like yours," Josh noted in awe, running his hand softly along his baby boy's head.

"Well, she has your nose and smile," Clara pointed out, stroking their daughter's cheek softly with her finger as her husband gently took hold of her foot.

"Not sure how well that will suit her when she gets older," he teased with a grin.

Clara smiled softly before rebuking his self-deprecating joke, "She's beautiful, and so are you. Besides, her stubbornness will keep the boys at bay more than her looks will."

"Stubborn already, eh?"

"She did not want to come into this world as easily as her brother did, that was for sure. She will be the stubborn younger sister, I just know it."

"And how much younger is she?" he asked.

"Nearly 20 minutes," she answered, "It was an exhausting wait, I'll tell you."

"I'm sure it was. I'm so sorry I put you through that, but I'm so glad they're here as a result."

"Don't be sorry, love, I'm perfectly fine now that it's over," she said with a slight chuckle, "And I wouldn't trade them for the world." Looking down lovingly at her babies, her eyes sparkled with love for them. She truly felt like the most blessed woman on Earth.

"Me either," he agreed, running his hand tenderly over his wife's. "Shall we give them names then? It wouldn't do for our most precious blessings to go walking around nameless, would it?"

"No, I suppose it wouldn't," she agreed. "Do you still like Ruth for our girl?"

"I liked it when we first thought of it after church all those months ago, and I still like it."

Clara smiled, her eyes lighting up. It had been a magical moment shortly after they found out they were expecting when they had heard the story of Ruth in church and decided that was to be their little girl's name if they ended up having a girl. Now their girl was here, and she couldn't possibly imagine a better name. "Ruth Amelia," she said, speaking her baby's full name for the first time.

"After the girl who was fiercely loyal to her mother and your own mother who you loved so dearly," he said, punctuating their girl's new name with a soft kiss on his wife's nose.

"I miss her," Clara admitted, "I wish she was here to meet her grandbabies."

"I do too," he sympathized. "You speak so highly of her that I know she would make a wonderful grandmother, but her legacy lives on through her granddaughter. And through you."

"I always wonder if I will be as good a mother as she was."

"I know you will," he assured her sweetly, "Look how comfortable they are with you already. They haven't stirred a single moment yet."

Clara gave her husband a soft smile, deeply appreciative of his words and support. He made her feel infinitely more confident just with such simple and sweet words, and she loved him so much for it. A comfortable silence fell over them as she ran her fingers along her children's cheeks, in awe of the tiny babies who made her feel so much more complete.

"And are we still set on Elias for our boy?" Josh asked after a time.

"Yes, Elias William so he can share a part of you."

"So he gets my middle name as a consolation for looking exactly like you?" Josh joked.

"He gets your middle name because you are a special and important person in his life and someone who he should look up to," Clara answered sincerely.

"Well, alright then," Josh said, pretending to acquiesce despite the tears brimming in the corners of his eyes. He was clearly touched by Clara's words and more than willing to go along with this decision after she had presented her reasoning. "Welcome to the world my little ones," he said, pressing a kiss to each of their cheeks.

At his kiss, the babies began to stir slightly on their mother's chest. Clara gently wrapped her arms around them to prevent them from rolling off. They were so small, and she was weary of anything hurting them in some way. "They're so little," Clara said, slightly in awe and slightly out of worry.

"I don't want you blaming yourself for that, my love," Josh said, practically reading his wife's mind. "The doctor warned us they might be small, but that doesn't mean they're not mighty."

"But Ruth is smaller than her brother, and I'm just so worried for her."

Josh ran his hand along his little girl's arm. As he reached her hand, Ruth squirmed, stuck her hand out, and grasped her father's finger firmly. "And would you look at that? She's got her mother's strength," Josh said, giving Clara a reassuring smile and pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. "She's gonna be just fine, love."

Clara nodded, letting her husband's reassuring words wash over her and soothe her spirit. She had to admit she had been quite worried when she realized just how small her babies were despite the assurances from the midwives that they were perfectly healthy. She was so in love with them, and she wanted to protect them in any way she could. Her husband's words had reminded her that she was protecting them just by being there. She was their mother, and she was stronger than she realized. And she would use that strength to support her children in any way she could, which she was already starting to do.

As the babies awakened a bit more, Clara's tiredness was visibly washing over her more and more. "I guess I ought to feed them," she suggested, "and then we all get some sleep. At least until one of them wakes up wet or hungry again."

"Don't worry about waking, my love. I will change them and soothe them back to sleep where I can. The only time you will have to wake is for the feeds."

"That's sweet of you, Josh, really. But do you even know how to change a diaper?" she asked, teasing her husband slightly.

"I'll have you know I was the best diaper changer and swaddler my family has ever seen," he said in pretend arrogance. "I used to take care of my baby cousin when I was younger, and the adults were always impressed with my skills. Said my swaddling soothed him the best out of anybody."

"Oh really?" she asked with a chuckle. "And how do those skills hold up after 30 years?"

"I've still got it," he said confidently, "Here, I'll show you. Let me swaddle them for you before you feed them."

Sure enough, he managed to take each baby from her and walk them over to the dresser where he laid the baby down and wrapped them in a snug swaddle before handing them back to their mama.

"Impressive," Clara said when he had finished with their second child.

"I thought you might think so," he said with a smirk.

"My husband is truly the best," she said, beaming with delight as she leaned in to his side. "What would I ever do without him?"

"Certainly not have the best swaddler around to help you with your babies," he joked.

"Josh, I'm being serious," she giggled. "I love you so much, and I am so so grateful for everything you do for me and everything I know you will do for our babies while they're growing up. Most husbands wouldn't be nearly as willing to be as hands-on as you are. I feel so lucky and blessed."

"Well, I wouldn't have things any other way," he assured her, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "I love you, Clara, and I truly couldn't imagine anything better than a life with you."

Clara knew he meant it, and she felt the exact same way. They were partners through and through, and they were both equally grateful for the other's support. Their life together was a special treasure, only to be treasured even more by the arrival of their babies. They had the family they had always dreamed of, and they couldn't possibly be anything other than grateful.

Sure, it would be a challenge raising two babies who would become toddlers underfoot before they knew it and then eventually children whom it would likely be nearly impossible to keep up with. But it would be an adventure. A journey they were going on together. And that meant more to both of them than they could ever possibly express.