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“She’s ok.” Faye’s words break through the haze surrounding me.
“Blood is normal,” I say out loud to remind myself. I’m never getting her pregnant again! I’m not sure if I can ever bear to go through this more than once.
Dr. Wright chuckles and pats my hand. “You’re doing fine, Dad. So is Ana. One more push and baby one will be in your arms.”
A slow deep breath recenters me, and I lean forward, using a cool damp cloth to wipe the sweat from Ana’s flushed face.
“You hear that, babe?” I ask her. “Just one more push and we’re halfway done.”
She laughs tiredly. “Only half done?” she asks ruefully. “I guess I can manage that.” With a determined smile, she pulls her knees back toward her and looks to the doctor for instruction. When she nods, Ana sets her jaw, a long, throaty moan accompanying her contraction and the push that comes with it.
As fast as that, the tiny body of our first baby slides free of her body, quickly scooped out of the warm water by Jenny’s competent hands. Faye feeds Ana a small spoonful of ice chips, while the umbilical cord is cut, and the baby is quickly wrapped in a warm blanket.
“Baby one is a boy.” the doctor says proudly as Jenny hands him to me.
“Did you hear that, Sunshine? Our son!” Her emerald eyes lock on where I hold him carefully against my chest. The smile that she gives me could light an entire city block.
“He’s beautiful,” she whispers, her voice hushed with awe.
“Just like his mama,” I tell her, leaning forward and pressing a small kiss to her dry lips.
We smile into each other's eyes, lost for long moments in our shared happiness until another contraction wracks Ana’s body, and she heeds natures urge to push again. Baby two is a tiny girl. Her little head already covered in the whitest fuzz of wet hair. Her little face is red and pinched. She wails loudly the second she is pulled from the warm water and placed in Ana’s eager arms.
“Ohhh, she’s perfect!” Ana exclaims, cuddling the tiny body against her chest while tears stream down her face. After a few minutes, the nurse takes both babies across the room to be thoroughly dried off and weighed. I watch anxiously as they put some kind of drops in their eyes and check their breathing, while the doctor and midwife step in and help Ana with the rest of her labor. When she climbs painfully out of the water, I’m waiting for her, knowing that they are in good hands, with my arms open, to gather her against me as I wrap her in a fluffy towel.
“You did so good, baby.” I murmur, drying her off carefully before leading her to the bed and helping her into a clean hospital gown.
When she is settled under the covers, she drifts off instantly, waking abruptly minutes later when the nurse brings the babies to her so she can try to feed them.
“Why don’t we have Uncle Gray and Uncle Travis come in and meet these two in a bit?” she says yawning, as she tries awkwardly to get our son to latch onto her rosy nipple.
“I’ll go get something to eat and bring them back with me in a while.” Faye offers, hopping to her feet like she hasn’t been awake all night, and heading toward the door. She won’t be moving so quickly in a couple of months, I can’t help but to think with a small chuckle to myself.
Grateful for the time alone with my little family, I squeeze onto the bed beside them and hold my tiny daughter while Ana nurses our son. We plan to switch off once we get home so that while she breastfeeds one, I will bottle feed the other. We decided to do it this way so that I will have more one on one time with them. That and Ana won’t ever have to feel like she is bearing the burden alone. I’m even looking forward to bathtime and diaper duty… well maybe not really diaper duty, I won’t ever tell her that though.
Even though they are small, we are blessed. Before she leaves us alone, Dr. Wright assures us that we should be able to take both of them home in a week or so, as long as they are eating well, and don’t develop any jaundice or problems with their lungs.
I know that they are going to be ok. We all are…
At least that’s what I think until the door opens a while later, and Faye slips back in. Her eyes betray her worry as she looks at the four of us crowded onto the narrow mattress. Travis is right behind her with a look on his face that I can’t quite read. Something is wrong. Very wrong.
Ana’s hand slips into mine as Grayson comes in last. She sees it too. His face is hard, rage tightening every inch of his enormous body.
“What happened?” Ana asks, breaking the brittle silence in the room.
“They fucking let Dominic out,” Gray growls, his eyes, half-crazed with anger and worry.
“They lost track of him, about an hour after his lawyers escorted him from the jail.” Travis fills in the details. “Weaver’s been trying to call you. Finally gave up and called me.”
“How long ago?” My back teeth grind together in my effort to contain my anger. I can’t let it
out here. Not in front of Ana and our little ones.
“A few hours,” Travis says. So first thing this morning, probably as soon as his lawyer could find someone to authorize it.
“Dammit.” Ana finally speaks. “Has anyone told Nikki yet?”
The second the words are out of her mouth Grayson turns and stomps out of the door, pulling his phone from his pocket and texting furiously.
