Page 39 of Nick

“Your blood pressure is going way up. You need to calm down.”

“How can I calm down when something might be wrong with my baby?” I looked up, and Ashley pushed the sonogram into the room.

“I knew you would want to see them the moment you woke up.”

“Can I watch them?” Axel asked, walking up to where I lay on the bed. He must have been so scared when he heard I had been shot.

“Who told you I was here?”

“I was with Angel and Hunter when Jeff called and told them you were shot.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yes, especially after we see the babies. Ashley raised the blanket and kept me covered with a sheet. When the babies showed up on the screen, Axel freaked out.

“Holy fuck!” he yelled, jumping back. Then he walked closer to the screen. I saw him wipe his eyes. I looked at the screen, and the babies were holding hands. “Look at them.” When he spoke, we all gasped. It looked like they turned their heads to his voice.

“How are my babies doing today?”

“They look fine to me,” Ashley said.

“The excitement must have made one of the baby's hearts speed up.” I looked at Ashley, as she added, “I want to monitor the baby's hearts.”

“I agree,” she said, looking at the babies. “Axel, say something to them.”

“Hey, you two. I will never call you twins. I remember I had a friend that was a twin. He said people called him and his brother twin. He said it was like never having a personality of their own. I will only call you by your name.”

As we watched, the babies seemed to be cooing at him. They reached toward him. Their connected hands looked like they wanted to touch him.

“Okay, we all know who these two want the most. They want their big brother, Axel.”

Ashley turned the machine off, and I heard Axel sniff. He wiped his eyes again. Then he looked at me, “You have two babies inside of you. Two real humans. You can’t drive the car, and you can’t climb any step stools. I saw you climbing one yesterday. Holy crap, I would want to keep hooked up to that machine so I would know the babies are safe. I love you two, and I can’t wait to meet you,” he said to my stomach.

He put his hand on my stomach, and the babies kicked him.

“Did you see that? They high-fived me.”

“They can’t wait to meet you. Axel, I am so proud of you. I could never ask for a better man to be my son. You are the best human I know, and I love you more than anything in this world. Thank you for being my son.”

“I love you too, Mom. These two are going to love you as much as I do. We have to name them now. I don’t want to keep calling them the twins.”

“Okay, you’re right. We have to name them.” I heard the noise in the hallway and knew my family had arrived. Samuel stepped into the room, followed by Grandpa and Jade.

“Jade, what are you doing here?”

“I was coming for a visit when I had the strangest feeling come over me. I knew something was wrong. What happened to you?” she asked, hugging me, then she hugged Axel. “You are so handsome. You’ll be breaking hearts left and right.” He looked at Jade, who was ready to pop.

“I can’t believe you risked the baby’s life flying in an airplane. Move, Mom. We need to hook Aunt Jade up to the machine.” He was dead serious.

“Axel, the baby is fine. I saw his picture last week. Did you see the little ones on the screen?”

“Yes, they are so smart. They reached for me, and then they high-fived me. I had never thought about babies inside their mom’s tummies before. It’s completely different now that I know they are real babies waiting to be born.”

“I’m glad you are all here. But I’m going home today.”

“You were shot. You have to stay at least one night,” Angel said.

“Only one night,” I said as I cuddled with my pillow, turned on my side, and went to sleep.

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