Unexpected Fight

by Kaylee Ryan

  “Please?” I ask, standing.

  “Okay, baby. Whatever you want.” He rushes to the bathroom, and returns, pulling a hoodie over his head. He sets the towels on the edge of the bed and tugs on a pair of sweatpants. “Ready?” he asks, picking up the towels and sliding his arm around my waist. He walks me out to the garage and helps me into the car. He then lifts the garage door and starts the engine. “I’m going to go get the bags. I’ll be right back.” He kisses me on the corner of my mouth, then races back into the house.

  “I’m so excited to meet you,” I whisper to my belly. I know there could be complications from the placenta previa. Dr. Hatfield has talked extensively with us about this. I want to try to deliver naturally. And by naturally, I mean give birth with an epidural vaginally. However, if a caesarean section is necessary, then I want Dr. Hatfield and her team to do whatever it takes to bring the boys safely into the world.

  Ty rushes back, tosses our bags in the back, and slides in the driver’s seat. “You okay?” he asks, his eyes full of panic.

  “Hey.” I reach over and place my hand on his arm. “It’s okay. I’m fine. The boys are fine. I’m not even in any pain. Yet,” I add, because I know that’s coming. “We get to meet our sons today,” I whisper, barely able to see through the tears starting to form in my eyes. This pregnancy has been a challenge, with so many highs and lows. We’ve waited a lifetime to meet them. Our sons.

  He grins a boyish grin. “I love you, Reagan Justice. Let’s get you to the hospital. We’ll call our families on the way.”

  Thanks to the hospital’s preregistration process, they send us straight upstairs to the maternity ward where I’m assigned a room. Tyler helps me change into my hospital gown and then into bed. A nurse comes in and hooks the babies up to fetal monitors to watch their heartrates. There is also a machine strapped to my belly that captures contractions.

  That’s what I’m doing now—watching, breathing through yet another strong contraction. I did well on the way here and even while they were signing me in. The doctor came in and checked me, and the boys must have decided they were ready. About fifteen minutes later the first strong contraction hit and they’ve been coming like clockwork every fifteen minutes since.

  “You’re doing great, babe,” Tyler encourages from his spot beside my bed. “That was a good one,” he says, eyeing the printout from the monitor.

  “I know,” I deadpan. He doesn’t need to tell me.

  “Sorry.” He winces. I know he’s trying to help, but it’s my body and I know when I’m having a contraction. He brings our joined hands to his lips and kisses my knuckles. Closing my eyes, I rest my head against the mound of pillows behind me and wait for the next one.

  “More ice?” he offers.

  “No, I’m—” I’m cut off by another strong contraction.

  “Ten minutes,” he says, letting me grip his hand with force even I didn’t know I was capable of.

  I breathe through the pain until it subsides. “I’m sorry,” I start again. “This just hurts.”

  “I know, baby. I don’t know what to do for you. I’m here, okay, for whatever you need. Rip my hand off, cuss me out, whatever. I’m your man.”

  I smile over at him. “I love you.”

  “I love you, and these guys,” he says, placing his hand on my belly. I’m not sure how he found a spot that wasn’t connected to some kind of wire or monitor, but he managed to do so.

  His phone pings with two messages, one right after the other. I watch as he pulls it out to check. “Our parents are here,” he tells me. “You want to see them?”

  “Yeah, I’m not sure how much longer until these little guys get here.” He types out a reply and slides his phone back in his pocket. A few minutes later, our parents are lightly knocking on my door and pushing it open.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” Dad says. Mom smiles with tears in her eyes, as does my mother-in-law, Helen.

  “Hi.” I wave awkwardly.

  “How are you feeling?” Helen asks.

  “Good. The contractions are strong, about fifteen minutes apart.”

  “That last one came close together,” Tyler chimes in.

  “Yeah,” I agree, feeling my belly tighten. He must sense it as well because he offers me his hand. He watches me as I breathe through the pain.

  “That was eight minutes.” Again, I don’t need him to tell me, but I know he feels helpless. I bite my tongue to keep from snapping at him. Again.

  “Ridge is on his way. Kendall is staying home with the kids,” Mom tells me.

  “Call him and tell him not to come. Who knows how long it will be? Just tell him you’ll keep him updated,” I tell my parents.

  “Good luck with that.” Dad chuckles.

  I know he’s right. My big brother has been there for me my entire life. I can’t see him missing this for the world. “You’re probably right.”

  “Dawn and Mark are out in the waiting room,” John, my father-in-law, informs us. “They said Kent and Seth are on their way.”

  Hot tears prick my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I tell them. “I hate that everyone’s sleep got interrupted. You should go home. We’ll call you when they get here. We don’t know how long this is going to take.”

  “Hey.” My dad comes over and kisses my temple. “We want to be here, Reagan. All of us. We don’t feel obligated. We want to be here for you.”

  “I-I love you all.” I can no longer hold onto the tears as they stream down my face, at the same time, another contraction hits. I try to breathe through it, squeezing the life out of my husband’s hand.

  “Five minutes,” Tyler says, and I can hear both the worry and the excitement in his voice.

  “We’re going to go back to the waiting room. We just wanted to say hello.” Helen gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “We’ll be waiting to meet those baby boys,” she says, her eyes now misty with tears as well.

  “Thank you.” My parents say goodbye as well and leave Tyler and me alone. I struggled with who to have in the delivery room with me. In the end, I decided I wanted it to be just the two of us. I love my family, but this moment, it’s ours, and I want to have time with our babies, just our little family of four. Even for a few minutes. It’s a moment I know neither of us will ever forget.

  The next couple of hours pass by in a blur. Contractions come and go. I’m checked more times than I can count, and finally, I’m given my epidural. The relief from the pain is welcome. Not only does it relax me, but I can tell that it relaxes Ty as well.

  “You doing okay, Reags?” he asks.

  I smile at him. “Wonderful. The pain is gone. I can feel pressure, but it doesn’t hurt.” He nods, his shoulders visibly relaxing. “Good.” He leans in and kisses the corner of my mouth.

  I’m so relaxed that I drift off to sleep, only to wake with the feeling of extreme pressure. “Ty,” I say groggily. He’s lying with his head on the bed. He looks completely uncomfortable.

  “Yeah?” he asks, sitting up and blinking.

  “I think it might be time,” I tell him. His eyes dart to the machine that monitors contractions, and he nods like he knows how to read it or something. Standing, he hits the Call button for the nurse.

  Not a minute later, she’s breezing into the room. “How are you, Reagan?” she asks.

  “I’m good. No pain, but I feel a lot of pressure.”

  She nods. “That’s normal. Sounds like you might be ready. Let’s have a look.” She proceeds to check me. At this stage in the game, I’m used to it. I never gave much thought to how often pregnant women are in compromising positions. It’s a lot. “It’s time. You ready to meet your babies?” she asks.

  We both nod as worry takes hold. I don’t know what to expect, and I pray my boys arrive safely into this world. She pulls a phone out of her pocket and rattles off my room number and tells them it’s time to summon the team. That’s when things begin to happen so fast I can hardly keep up. When she said team, she wasn’t kidding. The doctor comes
in followed by eight other people. Four for each baby.

  “Wow,” I say as they scurry into the room and take their places.

  “You’re in good hands, Reags. We made sure of that,” Tyler reminds me.

  He’s right; we did. We did our research with the help of Dr. Hatfield, making sure the hospital was prepared for a multiple birth. They assured us they could handle any issues that might arise. It helps that the local children’s hospital is just a few blocks over. And while Dr. Hatfield is adamant that both the boys are healthy, I still worry.

  “All right, Reagan, are you ready to push?” Dr. Hatfield asks.

  My legs are in stirrups, and I’m exposed to everyone in the room, but I can’t seem to find it in me to care. It’s time to meet our baby boys. “Yes,” I say, gripping Tyler’s hand tightly. I’m more than ready to meet our boys.

  The next fifteen minutes are a blur. I push and push. The nurse and Ty hold my legs as I grip the sheets. I’m exhausted already and I’ve not heard the first cry.

  “You’re doing great, Reagan. One more and Baby A will be here.”

  “You’ve got this, Reags. I know you do.” Ty swipes a cool cloth over my forehead.

  I want to slap him and tell him to shut the hell up, but I clamp my mouth shut, bear down, and push with all I have. I’m ready to meet my sons. I’m just about ready to give up, exhausted, when I hear a cry echo through the room. This time it’s not mine; it’s our son’s.

  “It’s a boy,” Dr. Hatfield confirms.

  I strain my tired neck to try and get a glimpse of him. They clean him up as best as they can then bring him to me, resting him on my chest. “Hey, handsome,” I coo as tears fill my eyes. Nine months of fighting to keep them safe, and now here they are. “I’m your mommy,” I whisper. Looking over at Ty, he’s watching us with tears in his eyes.

  “I love you, Reagan Justice. And this little guy.” He softly traces our baby’s cheek with his index finger. “I’m your daddy, and I love you so much,” Ty says, his battle with his tears lost as one slides down his cheek.

  “All right, you ready for baby B?” Dr. Hatfield asks as one of the team scoops in and takes our son from us.

  “He’s crowning, so when I say push, I want you to push with all you’ve got. You’re almost there.”

  I nod, suck in a breath, and slowly exhale. The nurse and Ty have my legs, and my grip on the bedsheets is tight. I’m ready to do this.

  “Now,” Dr. Hatfield says, and I bear down with all I have. It takes three more times before the cries of our second son fill the room. We get to meet him just like we did his brother before the other team whisks him away.

  “Are they okay?” I ask.

  “Perfect,” one of the nurses from Team Baby A says. She brings the baby to us and lays him on my chest. “This little guy scored great on his Apgar scores weighing in at five pounds and six ounces, and nineteen and a half inches long. Born at four thirteen,” she says.

  “And this little guy.” Another nurse, this one from Team Baby B, hands him off to Tyler. “His scores were great as well. He’s five pounds four ounces and nineteen inches long. Born at four thirty-three.”

  The doctor and nurses are scurrying around the room and still working on me, but all I can see are my babies and my husband. So much has happened so quickly, but I wouldn’t change this, not one single second of it for anything in the world.

  “Thank you,” Tyler whispers. “Thank you for loving me and for giving us these two boys to love.” He leans in and kisses me softly. “You killed it, Momma.” He grins.

  “We killed it.” I could never have gotten through all of this without him by my side. He was my rock, and I know without a doubt, he will continue to be so throughout our lives. I’m overwhelmed with emotions. Happiness, joy, relief, and most of all, I’m thankful. So damn thankful. I’m thankful for my husband, for two healthy, happy babies. Babies I was told I would never have. Babies I thought I might lose just a mere few months ago. Now here they are in our arms. Two beautiful healthy baby boys.

  I’m a momma.

  Chapter 22

  Tyler

  * * *

  My boys are a few hours old, and already they hold my heart in the palms of their tiny hands. And their mother, my wife, she’s amazing. She handled the delivery like she has this entire pregnancy. She kicked ass and took names. Once the doctor had her cleaned up, our parents and Ridge came in to meet them. They didn’t stay long knowing how exhausted she was. The staff offered to take the boys, but we wanted to keep them with us. That brings me to now. I’m sitting in the chair that turns into a bed, holding each baby in an arm. They’re so tiny, but the staff assures me for twins they are big boys. They ate like champs the first time. I’m glad Reagan decided to bottle feed so I can help her. I already know we’re going to have our hands full with these two.

  We’ve yet to decide on names. We’ve tossed around dozens, maybe even hundreds. We have a couple of favorites but agreed to see them first before we made any decisions. Although they are fraternal twins, they still look so much alike. Baby A, as we’ve been calling him, has a little more hair than Baby B. Other than that, there is nothing that physically gives an indication they they’re not identical. Dr. Hatfield said even though they’re not identical, they can still have very strong similar traits. I can’t wait to watch them grow up.

  “When Mommy wakes up, we’ll decide what we’re going to call you. It’s a big deal, you know,” I whisper to them, trying not to wake Reagan. They don’t seem to have a care in the world as they slumber in my arms.

  “Hey.” Her groggy voice greets me.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Sore, but good. How long did I manage to sleep?”

  “You were exhausted.” I look down at my boys in my arms. “Tell Mommy Happy Valentine’s Day,” I whisper.

  “I forgot all about that.” She laughs. “That’s their birthday.”

  “Pretty cool, huh. I can already see them using that with the ladies.” I grin, and she just shakes her head.

  “Did you sleep?”

  “Nah, couldn’t seem to get my mind to rest.” I smile over at her. “You want to hold them?”

  She nods, her eyes shimmering with tears. Carefully, I stand and transfer one then the other into her arms. “I love them so much,” she says reverently.

  “I love you. And our boys.” I wasn’t certain this day would ever be here. I’ve spent the last several months praying to anyone who was listening to keep my sons and my wife safe. Now here we are and all three are healthy. I couldn’t ask for more. “You ready to pick names?”

  “Yeah, I guess we need to do that.” She chuckles. “Thoughts?”

  “I’ve been running through the list in my head for the last couple of hours, but I have other suggestions. If you’re open to them.”

  “Of course I am.”

  “Okay, well, I was thinking Beckett. It’s a strong name and your maiden name. It will keep a part of your roots in our family.”

  She swallows hard. “I love you. I-I wish I’d thought of it.” She laughs, a lone tear escaping her watery eyes.

  Reaching out, I wipe it away with my thumb. “And then I was thinking Benjamin,” I say, looking at my family.

  “Your middle name.”

  “Yeah, I know they have the Justice last name, but I was trying to think of something that went well with Beckett, and well, that’s what I came up with.”

  “I love both of them. Middle names?”

  “Yeah, I didn’t get that far.” I chuckle.

  “How about Benjamin Tyler?”

  “Both of my names?”

  “Yeah.” She shrugs. “I think it sounds good. “And maybe Beckett Alexander. That’s Ridge, my dad’s, and Knox’s middle name.”

  “Beckett Alexander Justice,” I try the name. “Benjamin Tyler Justice,” I try the other.

  “Well?” Reagan asks.

  I nod slowly. “Yeah, I like both of those.” My heart swells,
knowing these little guys are holding family names—the two tiny humans who are a part of me and a part of Reagan. I swallow back the emotion that threatens to break free. Who would have thought becoming a father would cause so many swarming emotions? I mean, I knew it would, but I could never have imagined the impact of watching our babies grow inside her and witnessing them being brought into the world. It’s life altering in the best of ways.

  Pulling into our driveway, I see both my mom and my mother-in-law’s cars. I smile over at my wife. “It’s like they know we’re exhausted,” I tell her.

  She chuckles. “Right? These little guys are a handful.”

  I’m hoping now that we’re home, we’ll get more sleep. Between the boys’ feeding schedule, diaper changes, and the nursing staff coming to check on us, sleep was hard to come by during our stay at the hospital. Pulling into the garage, I climb out of the SUV and rush around to get her door. Her mom appears and takes over.

  “I can walk,” Reagan tells her.

  “Honey, just let us help. You need to take it easy.” Reagan sighs, but relaxes into her mom as they walk into the house.

  “Need some help?” Mom asks me, appearing beside me. “Sure, grab a baby.” I throw her a wink, and she smiles.

  “I know they’re not identical, but I still can’t tell them apart.” She laughs.

  “Beckett has on the dark blue hat. Benjamin has on the dark green one.” She nods, grabs Benjamin’s seat, and carries him into the house. Heidi immediately takes Beckett from his seat while my mom has Benjamin.

  “You two go on upstairs and take a nap,” she tells us.

  “Mom,” Reagan starts. “We just got home.”

  “And you need to let us help you. I know the two of you are exhausted. We’re here for as long as you need us. Take a hot shower and get rested. Helen made dinner, and I handled stocking up on quick, easy foods. Now go.” She doesn’t even spare us another glance as she sits next to my mom on the couch, both of them cooing at the baby in their arms.

  “Rest when they rest and remember, it’s okay to ask for help. That’s what the nurse said who discharged you,” I remind my wife.