Page 98 of The Un-Apparent Heir

“Paul, I am so sorry,” Natalie said. “But they are taking good care of everyone. You will meet your babies soon. I am so excited for you!”

Paul looked beyond help. White Natalie tried to put her worries aside, the baby within her made it hard to disconnect from her worries about a safe birth. She was older than even Sanne. What if things went wrong?

“I just want them all to be safe. But if anything happens to her, I cannot survive.”

“Hey, let’s not go there. And, also, Ed has the boys. They are doing just fine. I rang Lucy for some crisis management. She’s coming to London. It will all be okay. You can enjoy the babies.”

“I never thought I’d be stressed like this, Nat,” Paul said. “To feel so… helpless.”

“I know. It sucks.”

They waited about ten minutes before a doctor appeared.

“You have two healthy baby boys,” he said.

Relief washed over Natalie. It was short-lived.

“However, there were some complications with your wife. She is stable now. However, she had a very bad haemorrhage and is struggling with anaesthesia. We are bringing her out now and she will be in recovery.”

“So, she’s alive?” Paul asked.

“Yes, yes. And she will be okay. She remains in the ICU because she is still in rough shape,” the doctor said. “It’s a precautionary measure due to a risk of blood clots. Once she is fully stable she can leave the ICU and return to a normal room. The babies have been checked over. They’re on oxygen, but they are doing well. They're big for their gestational age.”

“We make big babies,” Paul was spacey. “Can I see them?”

“Yes. We need someone to go with the babies and another tostay with their mum. Who would you elect to do that? Their mother’s directive was for you to stay with the babies, sir.”

Paul looked pained.

“I will be there with Sanne and treat her as my own,” Natalie said. “You know that.”

Paul nodded. “Sure, let’s do that. It is all we can do."

For Immediate Release?—

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Inverness has given birth to two baby boys—Prince Edwin Nicolas Paul George and Prince Oliver Charles Gerald Keir. The Princes will remain in the NICU due to their early gestation and need for supportive services but are expected to leave in a short while.

The Duchess remains in intensive care following an emergency c-section and birth complications. She is expected to stay in hospital for the next week. Prayers for her swift recovery are welcome.

The Princes are the third and fourth children born to the Duke and Duchess and are presently fifth and sixth in line for the throne.

“I just want to see my babies,” Sanne said.

She was defeated after two days in the ICU. Her boys remained in the NICU. That morning, the doctors finally signed off on a transfer to a regular recovery room in the maternity ward. She hadn’t seen her boys in two and a half days. Two and a half days lost without her babies. It was torture. Sanne wanted to see them. She was at the end of her rope.

“I know,” Vanna said.

She’d come by, leaving Paul’s father for the first time in ages. Babies took precedence over all things.

A nurse appeared.

“Uh, she wants to see her boys,” Natalie chimed before anyone spoke. “And I think it is ridiculous she hasn’t been allowed.”

“Ma’am, it’s not up to me. They need to transfer her down by a wheelchair and it’s complicated.”

“She hasn’t met her babies,” Natalie said. “Can you imagine? It’s heartbreaking for her! She’s circling the drain.”

Natalie’s words said all Sanne could not say. She welcomed Natalie’s righteous indignation.

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