Until Nico (Until 4)

I jerk up my chin and start pulling on the baggie scrubs over my clothes and then slip the shoe covers over my boots before taking a seat. I don’t know how long I’m in that room alone, but I know I pray more in that time than I have in my whole life.

“Sir, you can come with me.” I look up to see the nurse standing in the doorway. I get to my feet and follow her out of the room, down a well-lit corridor. “Now, when we get in there, you need to stay near her head unless instructed differently.”

I nod and follow her the rest of the way in silence. Once we reach the end of the hall, she grabs my arm and leads me into the room. Everyone is moving around quickly while people yell back and forth to each other around her. When my eyes land on Sophie, my stomach drops. She’s lying on her back, her head the only thing I can see. Her hair is covered, and they are getting ready to put an oxygen mask over her face. I pull my arm free from the nurse and go to her.

“Hey, baby.” I bend down, breathing her in.

“You’re here,” she croaks out.

“Nowhere else I would want to be.”

“All right, Mr. and Mrs. Mayson. Are you guys ready to have some babies?”

I look across the blanket at the doctor, whose cheerfulness relieves a little bit of the claustrophobic tension that’s been building inside me since I heard Goose barking.

“You ready, baby?” I run a finger down her cheek. She nods and closes her eyes. “We’re ready when you are,” I tell the doctor.

“Then let’s get started,” he says before disappearing behind the curtain.

The nurse comes back over, bringing a rolling chair for me to sit on. I thank her and put my face near Sophie’s.

“All right, you’re gonna feel some pressure, Sophie,” I hear the doctor say above the beeping of the monitors.

“You okay, baby?”

“Yeah.” She nods, squeezing her eyes closed.

“There we are! We’ve got baby number one,” the doctor says happily.

I want to stand and look over the curtain when a loud cry fills the room, but instead, I sit there, not breathing, holding Sophie’s hand.

“Okay, Mom and Dad, baby number one is a girl.” I smile down into Sophie’s face, quickly drying the tears starting to fall from her eyes.

“Just a quick hi so I can get her cleaned up,” the nurse says, bringing our daughter over to us.

“She’s perfect,” I whisper to Sophie, looking at our little girl, seeing her cute little face and headful of dark hair.

“Let’s go get you cleaned up,” the nurse coos before taking her away.

“You’re doing great, baby.” I smile down at Sophie, so fucking proud of her.

“Okay, Mom and Dad, we’ve got baby number two, and she is a pretty girl as well! I’ll let you see her after I have her checked over,” the doctor says.

“Two girls.” I laugh, looking down at Sophie, who looks worried. “You did great, baby.”

“Rr-ee.”

“What?” I ask before pulling the mask away from her face so I can hear what she’s saying.

“I’m worried.”

“Everything’s okay, baby. You and the girls are okay.” I kiss her before putting her mask back in place and smoothing her hair away from her face.

“Two girls… Can you believe that?” I ask her, shaking my head. I certainly can’t.

I smile when I see a small one forming on Sophie’s face, and I’m so happy to see that smile again. At that moment, a second cry fills the room, forcing me to let out a long breath. All three of my girls are alive and healthy; nothing would ever matter as much as that.

“See, baby? They’re already showing off. Listen to those lungs.”

“Okay, girl number one is four pounds and seven ounces and seventeen inches long. Girl number two is four pounds and three ounces and sixteen inches long,” one of the nurses yells from across the room.

“They’re so small,” I whisper and watch across the room as a nurse puts one of the babies in an incubator.

“Why are they putting her in that?” I ask, my heart starting to pound.

“Her O2 level’s a little low, but that machine will help bring it up.”

“Are they both okay?”

“Twin number one is doing great, and twin number two needs oxygen but looks great otherwise,” the doctor says, calming me.

“Baby”—I look down at Sophie—“we really need to give them names. I think they may get upset with us if we refer to them as twin numbers one and two for the rest of their lives,” I tell her, trying to change the look of worry I see in her eyes.

I move the mask away from her face again, and she answers, “Willow and Harmony.”

“Those are perfect.” I kiss her forehead.

“Are you mad you didn’t get a boy?” she asks with genuine concern.

“How could I be mad when I have two beautiful girls?”

“I can’t wait to hold them,” she says softly.

“Me either.”

*~*~*

I look down at my daughter, Harmony, who’s been sleeping quietly in my arms for the last hour. Her sister, Willow, is still in ICU being monitored. They said that it’s just a precaution; they were worried about her oxygen levels. I’m willing to do whatever is necessary for her to get healthy so I can take all my girls home. Sophie is still out of it from the drugs they gave her for the C-section. She’s been asleep since they brought her into this room.

I look over at Sophie and can’t believe that it was just a few hours ago I was worried out of my mind, not knowing if she or the babies were going to be okay. After Sophie was brought into the room, I went out and saw my family to let them all know that she and the babies were doing great and I would call them the next day when they could come by for a visit. They were all worried, and as much as I wanted them to meet my girls, I didn’t want anyone near them yet.

“How is she?” I look up from Harmony’s sleeping face to her mom’s beautiful eyes.

“Perfect.”

“And Willow?” Her voice cracks, and I hate that she’s upset.

“She’s fine, baby. The doctor said she should be in here with us by tomorrow morning. They just want to monitor her for now.”

“Can I hold her?”

“Of course you can. Let me lay her down so I can help you.” I carry Harmony over to her bed before going to Sophie to help her sit up, adjusting the bed and pillows around her. Once she’s comfortable, I bring her Harmony and watch as tears fill her eyes.

“She is perfect.” Her eyes meet mine, and this time, they’re smiling.

“She is, and so is her sister.”

“I can’t wait to have both of them with us,” she whispers.

“Soon, baby.”

“I can’t believe how much I love them already.” She traces a line down the center of the baby’s tiny nose. I nod; I can’t talk with the tears clogging my throat.

We stay close the rest of the night, and the next morning, when they bring Willow in, I lose it completely. Seeing my wife holding each of my girls to her breast while they feed is a moment I will never forget. I can’t believe how perfect my family is. My girls are both gorgeous. Harmony has dark-brown hair like her mother, and Willow’s hair is dark blond like mine. We won’t know what color their eyes are for a while, but I pray they’re brown with golden flecks like Sophie’s.

“I want you to sleep for a while, baby. I’m gonna have a nurse help me take the girls out to meet everyone while you rest.”

“They can come in here,” she says quietly, looking down at the girls, who are both sleeping.

“No way, baby-mama. You need your rest, and I know if we stay in here, you won’t sleep.”

“I don’t want to miss anything,” she complains with a pout.

I smile then bend forward, kissing her. “I won’t let you miss anything. They’ll probably sleep the whole time anyways.”

“Okay, but if they smile or do anything cute, you need to take a picture.?

?

“Promise.” I press the call button for the nurse so she can help me take the girls to see my family.

I carry Harmony while the nurse carries Willow into the waiting room. Everyone is excited to see both of our girls, but with the babies being so small and Sophie being out of my sight, I want to get them back to the room as fast as possible. I don’t know how I’m going to stand going back to work. I don’t even like to think about not seeing them for any length of time.

“Where’s your wife?” the nurse asks when we walk into the room.

I look at the bed expecting to see Sophie there, and it takes a second to realize that she’s not in bed. The blankets are half on the floor, and the bed they brought in for the girls is pushed to the side. My heart starts slamming into my ribcage when I see that the bathroom door is open, letting me know that Sophie isn’t in there either. I walk to the bed, pressing the call button before pulling out my cell phone and calling Kenton.