Part VII

Rachel griped Lance's hand as another contraction ripped through her midsection. Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes and she clenched them shut.

"Breathe Rachel," Lance said soothingly. He brushed his fingers across her forehead until the contraction eased. "I'm not really sure what to say to not get yelled at."

Rachel chuckled opening her eyes. "It's alright. You don't have to say anything. I'm not going to yell at you."

"Good," Lance grinned. He felt sick. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to come to the hospital in two days for a scheduled c-section. Even though Rachel was willing to do a natural birth Nick was in the middle of a tour. His sister wanted Nick in the delivery room with them and Lance understood. He and JC would no doubt be basket cases over their children and he didn't want his sister to be lost in all the excitement. He didn't feel like he'd be the type of person to just forget about his sister, but he didn't know what would happen after his children were born. Nick would be there for Rachel.

"Any word from Nick?" Rachel asked reading Lance's mind.

"JC just went to call him again," Lance squeezed Rachel's hand. Nick was supposed to fly out of St. Louis tonight after their concert. When Rachel went into labor a couple hours ago, their frantic calls to Nick's cell went unanswered. "We'll get a hold of him, Rachel."

"I should have told him to come home this morning when I talked to him," Rachel sighed. She woke up feeling funny; achy and sore. It was in the back of her mind that she might go into labor but she didn't really believe it would happen; thought it was just normal aches and pains of being fully pregnant with twins. There just wasn't anymore room inside of her for two babies.

"You didn't know. You couldn't have known," Lance tried to placate his sister. He looked up when the door opened. JC walked in. He sighed seeing the look on his face and the small shake. He hadn't been able to reach Nick this time either.

"Sorry, I tried him a couple times and he didn't answer. None of them did." JC eyed the IV sticking out of the inside of Rachel's forearm. He shivered. That had been the reason he had volunteered to try and reach Nick. He wasn't sticking around for needles.

"Do you want me to put the blanket over it?" Rachel asked gently, knowing JC's phobia of needles.

"Nah, I'm good," JC took a seat on the bed bending a leg in front of him. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, C," Rachel laid her hand on his ankle. "Thousands of babies are born every day."

"Not mine," JC said.

"I hope not," Lance chuckled. "Be hell in child support."

"Ha ha," JC rolled his eyes.

The door opened again, this time revealing a nurse pulling a portable ultrasound machine. Lance quickly got up to hold the door open. She positioned the machine on the opposite side of the bed where Lance's chair was and JC was currently sitting.

"Hello, I'm Sandy," the nurse smiled. "We're going to take an ultrasound to check the position off the babies. You know in order for you to have a vaginal delivery, baby one must be head down. If baby one is head down, once the baby is delivered, baby two will usually just follow."

"If the second baby doesn't?" JC asked worriedly. He felt Lance standing next to him and reached for his hand.

"Normally if the second baby doesn't follow, then Rachel will have a C-section to deliver the baby," Sandy explained patiently. "It's up to the doctor but if the first baby is delivered vaginally, they'll try to get the second baby to use the route. As long as the second baby is not in distress and the mother is doing good. Both Rachel and the babies will be monitored closely. I know you were scheduled for a c-section in a couple days, was that because the babies weren't positioned correctly?"

"No," Rachel shook her head. "That's so my husband could be here." She blew out a breath. Scheduling didn't help one bit.

"We'll keep trying to call him, Rachel," Lance put a hand on her shoulder. "We will get him here."

"I know," she gave him a small smile. "But considering he's all the way in St. Louis and I'm already in labor at the hospital, even if we did get a hold of him, he won't make it."

"Keep the faith, Sweetie," Sandy said she lowered Rachel bed into a flat position.

"I know, I should have told him come home."

"You couldn't have known," JC said, watching as the blankets were moved down on Rachel's waist and her hospital gown pushed up her stomach. He smiled catching the movement across her belly. Soon, he would be holding his son and daughter. It couldn't come fast enough for him. After waiting all these months, he was ready now.

"And I got Mom trying to call him," Lance eyed the nurse as she put the gel on the wand. This was his favorite part of the whole pregnancy, being able to see his children. This might be the last time he'd see them this way. "It gives her something to do and Lisa is trying everything she can to track him down."

"Alright, let's take a look at these babies," Sandy smiled. "I have no doubt they are gonna be the most gorgeous babies born in this hospital," she applied the wand to Rachel's belly. The screen came to life revealing two babies in cramped quarters.

"Are they positioned correctly?" Rachel asked, holding Lance's hand.

"Baby one is head down," Sandy nodded with a smile. She moved the wand up, catching the second baby. "Looks like once Baby one is born, number two should follow suit. I see no problems both these babies won't be born vaginally."

Relief was evident through the room. The last thing Rachel wanted was to not only heal from a vaginal birth, but from a c-section as well. Talk about a double whammy.

"They aren't breach," Sandy continued. "They are in perfect positions."

"Good," JC sighed, the hand that tightened around his heart loosened hearing the nurse's words.

"They just decided to come a little early," Sandy said removing the wand from Rachel's stomach sitting it back on her cart. She took tissues and wiped the gel away, laughing when she felt a kick. "I'd say they are ready to go."

"Well I may be in the minority," Rachel said as Sandy bid her farewells and headed for the door. She placed a hand over the spot where one of the babies was kicking. "I hope they hold on for a little bit longer." She pressed her call button. "I need to go to the bathroom." She answered JC's and Lance's questioning looks.

"Okay," Lance said. He would have gladly helped her to the bathroom with her IV stand, but she had a monitor wrapped around her stomach that kept track of contractions and the babies' heartbeats. She also had a pulse ox on her finger; not to mention a blood pressure cuff that went off roughly every fifteen minutes.

"Hello," Leah walked in. "What can I do for you?"

"Bathroom, please."

"No problem," Leah smiled and sat about unhooking Rachel from everything but the IV. She freed the IV stand and took Rachel's hand as she sat up and turned on the bed, swinging her legs to the floor. "Here," she nudged the pink slippers so Rachel could slide her feet right in.

Rachel was in the middle of standing, holding onto Leah's arm when the door opened again.

"I'm disappointed; this gown completely covers your behind."

Rachel nearly fell when she whirled around at the voice. Standing inside the door, grinning widely was Nick. "You're here!"

"I'm here," Nick walked around the bed, passing a surprised JC and Lance.

"But... I don't understand," Rachel said confused. She reached for his forearm, pulling him as close as she could with her protruding belly. "How?"

"After I talked to you this morning and you said you were feeling funny I decided not to chance it. Talked with the guys and wormed my way onto the first available flight to get back here." Nick kissed her softly.

"But the concert..." Rachel said dumbly. She couldn't believe that Nick was here that he just somehow knew after speaking with her that he needed to come home. He was here and he wasn't going to miss the birth.

"It's not cancelled though I'm sure they'll be a lot of disappointment when the fans realize there's only four on stage instead of five, but I'm sure they'll understand. It's not exactly a secret that you're due date was approaching."

Rachel was at a loss of what to say. She laid her forehead down on his shoulder and pressed her hands into his back. She couldn't wait to be able to actually hug him again. As she was holding on to him, another contraction hit. She dug her fingers into his back and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked softly.

Rachel shook her head, blowing out a breath softly.

"Contraction?" When his wife nodded he tightened his hold. "Just hold onto me," he whispered softly, kneading her lower back. He murmured in her ear; song lyrics, his love for her, how amazing he thought she was. Anything he could think of as they waited for the contraction to pass. Only when he felt her hold ease, did he ask if she was okay.

"Yeah," Rachel said into his chest. She blew out a breath as her muscles relaxed. She lifted her head smiling into the kiss Nick gave her.

"Hey," Nick laughed rubbing his belly where he felt the kick. "Guess they don't like me kissing you." He knelt down, speaking directly to his wife's belly. He pressed a hand to her belly. "Sorry guys, you're gonna have to deal with me kissing this lovely lady. But I promise you right here, I will never kiss your Daddy JC or your Daddy Lance." He grinned when he felt the kick. "I think we reached an agreement.

"I'm glad," Rachel said amused. "Okay, bathroom before I embarrass myself."

Nick watched as his wife, with Leah's help, made it to the personal bathroom. Leah came back out of the bathroom and shut the door, giving his wife privacy.

"We have been trying to reach you for hours," Lance said.

"I've been on a plane," Nick sat down on the bed and rubbed his hands over his face. "The only flight I could get on had a lay over in Denver. When I landed in Denver, I was trying to get find a flight into LA. There was too long of a layover for the LA flight, but I got one into Vegas. There was a flight boarding for LA but it was full. I begged and pleaded and resorted to bribery trying to get someone to give up their seat for me."

"Wow," JC shook his head. "Crazy."

"I know. I was so busy trying to get flights that would get me as close to LA as possible I never looked at my phone. It wasn't until Vegas when I saw she was in labor. Finally a husband and wife graciously let me have their seats."

"No bodyguard?" Lance asked.

Nick shook his head, "It was easier with just one seat to worry about. Trust me, they weren't happy about it. But," he shrugged and Lance and JC understood. "But there were no problems. I think everyone knew I was in a hurry."

"Leah?" Rachel cracked the door open, leaning heavily on the door knob.

"Are you okay?" Leah asked, moving quickly to the door as JC, Lance and Nick gathered together.

"My water just broke."

*~*

"Just remember," Nick spoke softly in Rachel's ear as he held her hand tightly. "I didn't do this to you. Project all your anger toward JC."

Rachel giggled, letting her temple rest against Nick's head. "Look at him Nick, he looks like he's about to faint or throw up. He couldn't take my anger."

"I'm fine," JC said, making a face at Rachel and Nick. He hadn't felt like he was going to pass out at all during anything. Granted he had to leave the room while Rachel got an epidural but still, he didn't pass out.

There was a lot going on in the delivery room. It was filled with doctors and nurses. Everyone set, just in case something went wrong. This wasn't a normal delivery because there were two babies coming. Everyone was prepared for something to happen; for a change in plans.

Lance had expected a lot of things to happen when Rachel announced her water had broken. He figured water breaking meant delivery. But when she was checked, she still wasn't fully dilated yet. Nothing could happen until that point. They just continued to monitor her and the babies and kept checking dilation. He felt like it would never happen.

But the time finally came. Rachel's body was ready. When that happened it was a flurry of activity. Lance watched and tried his best to stay out of the way as everything was set up. He'd been happy when Rachel finally opted for an epidural. He'd seen the amount of pain she'd been in when the contractions hit. The later ones brought tears to her eyes and he felt like the most horrible person on the planet for his part in his sister's pain. He wanted to watch the anesthesiologist give the epidural, but one look at JC's face nixed that idea. He took JC's hand and pulled him from the room before he hyperventilated.

"You've done this before," the doctor stated from between Rachel's legs. A sheet draped across hiding the view. "Same thing as before. Only this time you'll be pushing two babies out. One at a time," he looked at the monitor behind Nick. "When I tell you to push, you push. We'll push on the contractions then rest. Nick, when she pushes I want you to count to ten. When he gets to ten take a breather."

"Nothing to it," Nick smiled. "Soon this will be over."

"That's sad," Rachel frowned. "I like being pregnant."

Nick leaned closer; his lips brushing against her ear as he spoke, "When you get the okay, I'll knock you up."

"There's a line I bet you never used before," she chuckled.

"This would be a first."

"I'm not giving you an answer yet," Rachel told him quietly. "I'm under the influence of drugs."

Nick laughed, bringing his wife's hand to his lips, kissing her fingers. "I know better than to take anything you say at this point of labor seriously."

"I love you."

"Well... Except that." Nick grinned. He kissed her softly. "I love you."

"Alright Rachel," the doctor spoke. "On the next contraction you're going to push."

Lance held JC's hand watching as the doctor told Rachel to push. Her face screwed up and she took a deep breath before silently pushed. Nick started counting softly to her, his hand holding Rachel's hand tightly. Lance could see the white knuckled grip but Nick looked like it didn't hurt. If Lance was in that position, he would certainly overlook a little pain in his hand as well. It was much different from the screams they heard coming from another delivery room on the ward earlier. Even with Rachel's door shut, they still heard the muffled yells. Pride washed through him as he watched his sister pushing nary a sound.

JC felt useless. Standing here watching Rachel push, Nick holding Rachel's hand talking quietly in her ear, words only meant for her to hear. He was standing on the sideline just watching...waiting. There wasn't anything for him to do. What could he do? It's not like he could move the doctor out of the way and take over. He couldn't push his children out into the world. He could talk to Rachel but Nick had that area completely covered. He was glad Nick was here. If he hadn't been able to make it, JC would have taken his place in a heartbeat. Lance too.

For now, they were delegated to the sidelines to just sit back and watch. It was eye opening watching everything unfold. In minutes, he could be finally holding his son or daughter in his arms. This was an experience he would forever hold on to. He was witnessing the miracle of birth. These two little lives, carrying his DNA, were about to come into this world, take their very first breathes, make their very first cry. They would open their eyes for the very first time.

'Blue or green?' He wondered. Would they have blue eyes or green? Would it be one of each? How much hair on the top of their tiny heads would they carry? Would it be brown or blonde? Would they recognize his voice from all the times he talked to them while they were still tucked safely inside Rachel's body?

"Baby A is crowning," the doctor said. He looked up, looking first at Rachel, then at JC and Lance. "Would you like to watch?"

JC and Lance looked at each other, then at Rachel.

"It's up to you," Rachel told them, holding strong to Nick's hand. He had wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The pressure was unbearable. The epidural blocked out most of the pain, but she could still feel pressure. She closed her eyes briefly when Nick kissed her temple.

"No thank you," Lance shook his head. He didn't know if he could actually look considering this was his sister and he wasn't sure he wanted to see anyway.

"Alright Rachel, when I tell you to stop, I want you to stop pushing, so I can clear the baby's airways," the doctor explained. The head came out and he told her to stop and quickly sucked the mucus out of the baby's nostrils and mouth. "Next contraction, give me a big push. Then we'll see who the owner of all this brown hair is."

Tears welled in JC's eyes. Brown hair. One his babies had brown hair. Just like his. He dropped Lance's hand, wrapping his arm around his waist pulling him closer. With his free hand, he reached across his body for Lance's hand.

"Get ready Dad," the doctor spoke, watching the monitor for the next contraction. "We're gonna need one of you to cut the cord if you wish."

"You go first C," Lance whispered as tears rolled down his cheeks. The next thing Lance knew, a new baby was sliding into the doctor's hands and cries resounded off the walls.

"It's a girl!" The doctor smiled proudly. "Come here JC." A nurse toweled off the baby, who voiced her displeasure.

Lance was unable to stop himself from going to his daughter. He stood by JC's side as his lover's shaking hand cut the umbilical cold. Tears poured down his cheeks as the nurse swathed the baby in a towel placing her in JC's arms.

"Hi Baby," JC choked. His cheeks were wet with tears but he made no move to take a hand off his daughter to wipe them away. He rocked the tiny baby in his arms, silencing her cries. "I'm your Daddy." Bright yellow-green eyes blinked up at him and he let out a small noise seeing the eyes of his lover. He drew the baby closer to him, hugging her gently.

Rachel turned her head into Nick's neck as she was overcome with tears. Nick dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her chest, holding her to him. He felt her hand hold onto his upper arm. His own eyes filled with tears he made no move to hide; let them fall unabashedly down his cheeks.

"I need to push," Rachel's voice came out quietly. The pressure was back and she knew baby number two was ready.

"You got this, My Love," Nick whispered kissing her temple. He took her hand again, hugging it to his chest, careful of her IV. "Almost done. I'm so proud of you. I love you."

Lance pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead, then to JC's lips before he moved back toward his sister. His stared into her eyes trying to convey everything he felt at that moment. Nothing he could do would ever repay her for this moment. He would forever be in her debt.

In what seemed shorter than the last time, the doctor was clearing the mouth and nostrils of a blonde headed baby. Lance stood next to the doctor and watched as the baby slid into his arms. Stating it was a boy wasn't needed since they knew before hand what they were having, but Lance still grinned. He was surprised to find his own hand shaking when he cut the umbilical cord while his son squirmed and cried. The nurse quickly cleaned him up before wrapping him in a towel and passing him into Lance's arms.

With a blurry gaze, Lance stared into the blue eyes of his son. Shushing his cries until the baby settled into his arms. "Hi," Lance whispered, feeling brave enough to leave the baby cradled in his left arm. He brought his right hand up, pushing the towel down away from his son's mouth. He smiled as the baby stared at him; those bright blue eyes wide with wonder. "I'm your Daddy and I love you very very much."

JC, with his own bundle in his arms, moved to Lance coming to a stop in front of him. He stared down at his son, pacified in Lance's arms and smiled through his tears. After working up enough courage, he copied Lance, cradling his daughter in his left arm. He brought his right hand up and ran a finger down his son's cheek.

"We did it JC," Lance spoke softly looking between his children. He lifted his eyes, staring into the same eyes that had been passed onto their son. His heart was full.

"We did it," JC echoed. He removed his hand from his son's face, cupping Lance's face. With their babies' cradled between them, he pressed his lips to Lance's.

Life was complete.