Fire & Brimstone (Neighbor from Hell 8)

Then again, with three babies that would mean three times the feedings, changing more diapers, chasing after them as well as three times as many nervous breakdowns. He didn’t miss sleepless nights, going into work in the morning only to realize that he was covered in spit-up, or realizing that he’d accidentally grabbed a bottle of breast milk instead of his thermos.

He sighed as he helped her through the garage door and into his SUV. This time, he was going to be able to enjoy all the fun stuff with the babies and none of the soul crushing duties that came with being the parents of triplets. This really might not be so bad after all, he realized as he

carefully closed her door.

“I’m fine. Really,” the little fibber said as he climbed in the car.

“And the contractions?” he asked, cocking a brow as he waited for her latest line of bullshit that she was going to use to try getting out to of going to the hospital, because she was determined to put off pushing three babies from her body until it was absolutely necessary.

Not that he could blame her, because he really couldn’t, but it had to be done and they both knew it.

“They’re just stomach cramps from working out,” she bit out.

“Working out?” he asked, wondering if she was referring to the times when she had to wiggle, shimmy and roll to her side to get off the couch.

“Yes! Working out!” she snapped a bit angrily as she glared at him, getting that look in her eye that she always got just before she gave birth.

She wanted to go for his balls.

Great, he thought dryly as he started the car and pulled out of the garage. This was just what he needed today, he thought just as the screaming began…

*-*-*-*

“Would you stop screaming so I can focus?” Duncan snapped, when the selfish bastard let out another bloodcurdling scream.

“My hand’s broken, you insensitive bastard!” Trevor bitched as Zoe, who was trying to breathe through the next contraction, tightened her grip around Trevor’s disturbingly swollen and bruised hand and tried to bite back a scream.

A few seconds later, still panting heavily, Zoe said, “I’m fine. Really,” making them both roll their eyes, because this was just getting really fucking old.

“You’re not fine, Zoe. You’re in labor,” he explained, deciding that it was time to put the backseat down and help her get comfortable, because there was no way that they were going to make it to the hospital in time.

“Where the hell are you going?” Trevor asked with hint of desperation in his voice.

Not that Duncan could blame him, not when Zoe kept glaring at him in that terrifying way. As he made his way to the back and popped the hatch, he couldn’t help but wonder if Necie was going to try to kill him when they had their first child. He couldn’t really see his sweet, somewhat accident-prone wife trying to go for his balls, but then again, things could change when you had to push a nine pound Bradford out.

“What the hell’s taking so long?” Trevor snapped, and he knew that Trevor was more worried about his wife than his hand.

Bradfords cherished their wives no matter how much they wanted to throttle them. He’d do anything for his wife, absolutely anything and Trevor was no different. He’d take the pain that Zoe was dishing out and then some as long as she safe.

“Dad’s waiting for her at the hospital,” Reese announced as he strolled past him to check on Zoe.

“She’s not going to make it to the hospital,” Duncan said, damn near sighing in relief that his brother had shown up.

Not that he would tell the bastard that, but they were looking at a triple delivery here and he was going to need someone with training to help him. Reese’s training wasn’t as extensive as his, but it would be enough to help him bring these three babies safely into the world.

“What the hell’s going on?” Jason, the cousin that took great pride in fucking with everyone’s head, asked as he joined him at the back of the SUV. Without being asked, Jason started unloading the back and put everything out of the way.

“She’s in labor,” Duncan explained as they put the backseat down.

“What do you need?” Jason asked, reminding him why he liked the annoying bastard so much.

“Towels, sheets, water, anything that you can find to clean these babies and keep them warm,” he said, joining Reese, who was trying to distract Zoe with cheesy jokes.

“Ready?” Duncan asked as he reached for Zoe.

Nodding, Reese took Zoe’s other hand in his and together they helped her out of the front seat. Before her feet had to get a chance to touch the ground they were carrying her. For a second, he thought about bringing her back into the house, but the scream that she released told him exactly how much time they had.

“Should we put her on the ground?” Reese asked as Trevor jumped into the backseat and positioned himself to hold his wife.

“No, there’s no time,” he said, having absolutely no doubt that they were minutes from welcoming the next generation of Bradfords.

God help them all.

“We need more help,” Jason said as he came outside. “I’ve got everything set up inside, but there’s no way that I’m going to be able to handle three babies on my own.”

“Helps already here,” Darrin said with Marybeth by his side, looking happier than he’d ever seen his brother.

“Oh my God,” Marybeth said, who was incidentally looking more terrified than he’d ever seen her and that was saying a lot since she’d grown up around them.

“Hey, beautiful,” Darrin said with a warm smile as he carefully joined Zoe and Trevor in the back. While Trevor sat behind Zoe, Darrin took the side position and took Zoe’s hand into his. “How are you holding up?” he asked, raising their hands so that he could kiss the back of hers.

“I-I’m sorry, Darrin, but I don’t think that I can do this after all,” Zoe said, sounding frantic as she shook her head, obviously having second thoughts.

“I’m afraid that it’s a little late to change your mind,” Trevor whispered, kissing his wife’s cheek.

“No, it’s not!” Zoe screamed while another contraction took over as Duncan carefully positioned her legs.

“I will never forget this,” Darrin swore against the back of her hand. “Never.”

Zoe licked her dry lips as she sat there, trying to breathe through the pain. “Can we possibly renegotiate the terms of our deal?”

Darrin chuckled softly as he pressed another kiss against the back of her hand. “Anything you want.”

“O-okay,” she said, gasping through the pain.

“What do you want, sweetheart?” Darrin asked as Duncan glanced over his shoulder and spotted Marybeth, standing there, pale as a ghost and looking seconds away from becoming his next patient.

He looked for Jason and when he found him, he nodded towards the woman now swaying in the driveway. With a nod, Jason walked over and swept Marybeth up into his arms.

“She’s fine,” he promised Darrin, who looked torn between helping his wife and staying where he was to witness the birth of his children.

“We’re having babies,” Marybeth mumbled in a daze, making him chuckle, because he’d honestly thought that Darrin would have been the one to lose it.

“Yes, yes you are,” Jason said, nodding in agreement as he carried the pale mother-to-be inside.

“I-I call godmother,” Zoe said, groaning in pain as she shifted to get more comfortable.

Darrin chuckled. “It’s already yours.”

“A-and I wanna be there for all the big stuff,” she said, licking her lips again as she struggled through another contraction. “If that’s okay,” she added, obviously worried about crossing the line, but they were Bradfords and she should know better by now.

“That was an automatic,” Darrin said with a smile as he reached over and swept away a few wet strands of hair out of her face.

“And we get first dibs on babysitting,” Trevor threw in with an expression that told Duncan just how hard this was going to be for him to step aside and let these babies go.

Smiling, Darrin nodded. “Done.”

“Oh, no,” Zoe whispered just as the first baby decided to make an appearance.

“Time to bring these babies into the world,” Duncan said as Reese stepped up next to him, holding a large white towel, ready for the first baby.

Zoe screamed as Trevor held her, struggling not scream with her as a she squeezed his badly damaged hand. Darrin did surprising better than Trevor, but that was probably because he was distracted by his first child being born and all.

“Oh my God,” he whispered, smi

ling hugely when the first baby was born.

“Baby girl,” Duncan said, making sure the baby was breathing before clipping the umbilical cord and carefully handing the baby over to Reese.

One down, two to go…

“The boys will be next,” Darrin said, mostly to himself as he