“Right. Okay,” Daniel says. He runs his hand through his hair, and I know that he's still on edge. Mac is lying on the bed, stomach exposed and covered in gel, but she's cradling it with her hand, rubbing it gently.
“You alright, Mac?” I ask, rubbing her leg.
“Yeah, just a bit confused. I mean, why would he need to check something with the doctor?”
“Maybe the baby is just big or something.”
“Or maybe he needs to check that there isn't a third leg, and it's actually his huge penis,” Daniel butts in, a smirk on his face.
“Daniel!” Mac whacks his arm as he just laughs at her. “It's a girl, I just know it.”
Five minutes later the technician and the doctor walk in. After shaking hands with Mac and Daniel, they get right back down to business. The technician puts the wand on Mac's swollen stomach, and the baby is on screen again with the heartbeat racing in our ears. I turn my head, trying to focus on just the heartbeat. I can hear the second one, but it is a lot faster than mine.
After a few minutes of nodding and pointing at the screen, the doctor asks the technician to move the wand over and in the screen I see two heads. Say what?
I look at Mac who is now propped up on her elbows, her eyes wide as she turns her head slowly and looks at Daniel who has raised a hand to his chin, engrossed in the sight before him. He stands up, not letting go over her hand.
“As you can see, we all got a little surprise here today. Congratulations, you're having twins!”
I gasp.
Mac groans and drops her head back onto the bed as Daniel just stands there dumbfounded and speechless.
Twins. Who saw that coming?
Mac had a hard enough time wrapping her head around one baby. Now there are going to be two? I sense a Mac freak-out level ten coming sometime in the future.
“Holy shit, Daniel. You are a superhero, aren't you. With super sperm it seems,” I say, trying to avert the inevitable.
Mac glares at me. “Not helping, Kate.”
“Sorry, but isn't this great? Twins! Get your two kids over and done with all at once,” I explain, trying to make her feel better, but not knowing if it's working at all. Her face is expressionless now. I think the shock is setting in.
Daniel leans over the bed, still holding Mac's hand as he whispers in her ear. She turns her head toward his, and they kiss before he touches his forehead to hers, resting it there.
“Both babies are okay though, right?” I ask, not wanting to break up the moment Mac and Daniel are having.
“Yes, the OB will talk to you more about everything as you'll need to be monitored more closely now, and you'll also have regular ultrasounds, but Twin A is the bigger one of the two. Twin B is slightly smaller, but they're both strong and healthy.”
“And how did they not know there were two babies in there?” Yes, that's me, the nosy bitch who has to know everything.
“Without a scan, the OB was likely using a Doppler to listen to the babies' heartbeats but would've been unable to tell that there were two in there, hence how baby number two was missed. Look, I know this is a lot to take in, and as I said, the doctor will talk to you more about the ultrasound once we're finished in here. Would you like to know the sex now?” He turns and looks at Mac and Daniel, waiting for their answer.
“Yes,” Mac whispers, still looking at Daniel who is still leaning over her. This moment is so special that I kind of feel like an intruder. I stand up to leave.
“No, Kate, please stay. I want you here.”
“Ok, babe, I'll stay.”
I watch as both Mac and Daniel turn their heads, their hands entwined as they watch the screen cheek to cheek and wait for the news.
“Twin A is a bit of a show off today, so definitely a boy. Can you see that…” the technician explains, pointing between the baby's legs where there is a small, but obvious penis on full display.
“There's my boy,” Daniel says quietly.
“And now for Twin B...this is a bit more difficult. Mac, can you just roll a little bit to the left for me...great, now just a moment. We need to wait for the babies to move.”
“Holy crap, that wasn't a kick, that was an entire body roll,” Mac contends.
“There we go. Twin B is a bouncing baby girl. So you've got one of each, congratulations.” The technician gets up and wipes Mac's stomach with a towel before she takes over the job herself.
Daniel stands up and shakes the technician's hand, the smile on his face unforgettable. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem,” he says. “If you just head back to the waiting room, the nurse will call you when the doctor is free.”
“Holy crap,” she whispers as Daniel leans back to stand up beside her. “Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap.”
“Gorgeous, we'll get through this. You said I was your superhero, but to me, you're the strongest, most determined and capable woman I've ever known. We can do this. There are two of us, and there will be two of them.” He leans down and kisses her belly.
God, this guy knows what to say and when to say it. Mac's right, he needs to run classes on this shit.
“Okay,” she says, her eyes wet with tears again. “Goddammit, no wonder I've got leaky eye syndrome. There are two of them in there working against me. Oh my god. My vagina is going to be as big as the grand canyon once they're finished with it.”
Through my laughter, I step forward and wrap my arms around her, squeezing tight as she clings to me and cries happy tears into my shoulder. “You're gonna be awesome,” I say into her ear.
I leave them in the waiting room, walking back to work with a huge grin on my face and butterflies in my stomach as I remember my date with Zander tonight. I can't wait to see what he has in store for me.
Chapter 18: “Just The Way You Are”
KATE
“You're joking, right?” Zander asks, shaking his head at the news that Mac is pregnant with twins. “That is unbelievable. She must be freaking out, surely.”
“Not really,” I reply, lifting my glass of red wine to my mouth.
We're at an amazing French restaurant that Zander told me he found on the internet and chose because of their menu and the reviews. He really put his homework into this date.
Arriving home after work, I was greeted with a glass of chill Pinot Grigio-my wine of choice-and a kiss that left me no doubt that the night ahead would test all of my rules and ideals. I had a shower, got dressed and headed to the living room where I was struck by the sight of Zander wearing a pair of black slacks and a tailored grey, pin-striped, short-sleeved dress shirt that fit him like a glove. He'd also done his hair up into a fauxhawk which made me drool. Literally.