New Addition

Chapter 12

“Oh yuck!”  Reid and Luke both turned from the people they were talking with at their party to spot Molly spitting something out onto her plate.

Luke ran over first, taking the plate from Molly and tossing it into a nearby trash can.  “Reid, if the way you get patients here is by giving them botulism I’m not sure I want our babies born at Memorial.”

Reid was the first doctor to reach the scene, quickly followed by Dr. Reynolds and Jason.  “Luke, as much as I respect you, you’re not a doctor.  Although I’m not an obstetrician, my guess is Molly’s outburst had less to do with her food and more to do with pain.”

If their friends and family were going to give them a party at the hospital, they couldn’t have timed it any better.  Reid watched closely as Molly’s doctor did a cursory exam.

“Shit!”  Molly grabbed her belly.

Hovering over her patient, Dr. Reynolds looked directly at her.  “Okay, Molly, breathe.”

Luke grabbed Reid’s arm, his wide eyed stare focused on Reid’s own eyes.  “Is she in labor?”

“Ew, gross!”  Ethan pointed as Molly’s water broke.

Jason stood up.  “Okay everyone.  I guess rather than being a shower this has turned into a welcome-the-children party.  I think it’s time you all left and gave Molly some privacy.”  He glanced over toward Mark.  “Would you please show everyone the way to the waiting room in the Ob/Gyn wing?”

“Excellent idea, doctor.”  Mark and Noah ushered everyone out of the room, exiting with them.

“Reid, isn’t it too soon?  I thought we had about another two or three weeks.”  Luke gripped his spouse’s arm so tightly, Reid thought he might actually be stopping his circulation.

“Remember, we talked about this last week with Dr. Reynolds.  There are times when babies, particularly multiples, come early.  It doesn’t mean anything’s wrong.”  Reid approached the doctor and patient.  “Does it, doctor?”  Reid didn’t want to alarm Luke, but he was just as nervous about adding two more to their family earlier than planned.

This was the kind of moment Reid hated the most.  He was totally out of control and at the mercy of others.  Reid had to accept that he had to trust those he loved with doctors other than himself, hard to do for a perfectionist like himself.  It had happened with Ethan and Luke, and now with two kids who didn’t even have names yet.

“Dr. Oliver-Snyder, I would strongly recommend you and your husband follow the gurney I called for.  It should be here any moment.  When we arrive in the delivery area, one of the nurses will take you and Mr. Oliver-Snyder to wash up and change into scrubs.  From what I’m feeling, I suspect we may need to perform a C-section.”

“Wait, doctor.”  Luke bit his lip.  “I thought we all agreed the babies would be born naturally?”

“I remember.  But, as I’m sure you recall, I said if there was any risk to the children or the mother, the plan would change in an instant.”

“Is something wrong with Molly?”  Without missing a beat, Luke was holding Molly’s hand.

“No, Luke, Molly may be uncomfortable, but she’s fine.”

“You’re damn right I’m uncomfortable, but it better be for a damn good reason!” Molly yelled just before she started breathing through another contraction.

Standing next to Luke, and putting his arm around his waist, Reid glared directly at Dr. Reynolds who was focused on her patient.  “What are you saying?  Could there be something wrong with the babies?”

“Doctor, Luke, you must remember the babies aren’t due quite yet.  From what I can feel, before getting Molly into the delivery room to do an actual exam, I don’t think they’re positioned to be delivered naturally.”

The door to the consultation room, where the party had been going strong just a few minutes earlier, swung open and two orderlies and a nurse came in with a gurney.  Molly was helped onto the thin mattress by all those around her, Luke and Reid included.

“Reid.”  Luke’s brow was furrowed.

“I know, Luke, but I don’t want to interrupt Dr. Reynolds.  Our questions will all be asked, and answered, in good time.  I’m sure the babies are fine, but they clearly want out.”  Reid hoped his words calmed Luke because they certainly weren’t helping him.  Reid wished for the first time he was a clueless father-to-be.  Instead he started dwelling on all the worst case scenarios.

Following the gurney, everyone moving at close to a jog, Luke laced his fingers with Reid’s and squeezed.  “Dr. Reynolds, wouldn’t it be more comfortable for Molly if we moved slower?  She can’t be calm at this pace.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Oliver-Snyder, but I need to examine Molly and get those babies out quickly.  I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them is in distress.”

“Oh God.”  Luke’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“My sentiments exactly, but Dr. Reynolds is the best obstetrician on my staff.  She knows what has to be done and she won’t screw it up.”

“Okay.”

As soon as they passed through the doors of the delivery suite, Reid watched as Molly was taken into the exam room then he and Luke were shown into the changing area.  Under most circumstances, he would be able to make jokes about watching Luke strip or playing doctor with him, instead all Reid could focus on were the unborn babies. 

“Luke, we don’t even have names we could agree on.”

“We’ll know what works when we meet them.”  Luke choked.  “Oh God!  Please, Reid, tell me we’ll get to meet them, that they’ll both be alright.”

“I could tell you whatever you want to hear, but I’m not the doctor this time.”

“But you’re the Chief of Staff.”

“Remember how everything worked out with Ethan when he got hurt?”

“Yes.”  Luke nodded and Reid could see the frightened, insecure young man he’d met a decade earlier.

“Mark took care of him.  I hired Mark and knew he was the best... well, next to me.”

Luke huffed.  It was better than seeing terror in his eyes.

“I hired Dr. Reynolds five years ago.  She’s the best at what she does.”  Reid wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince Luke or himself.

“I believe you.”  After tying the drawstring on the scrub pants, Luke wrapped his arms around Reid and kissed him.  “We’re going to be fathers and our babies will be fine.  Let’s go find out if we have boys, girls, or one of each.”

Reid marveled at Luke’s confidence in him.  He briefly brushed their lips together.  “Let’s go meet Ethan’s younger siblings.”

“Okay.”

The two walked hand-in-hand, following the nurse into the surgical area of the delivery suite.  She handed Reid and Luke each a surgical mask before she opened the door for them.

Inside, Molly had already been prepped.  When she turned her head and made eye contact with Reid, she frowned.  “I’m so sorry it ended up this way.  I took care of myself.  I promise.”

Reid took one of the stools near Molly’s head, prepared for the fathers to sit on during the C-section birth.  “I know you did.”

“We know you did,” Luke added as he took his seat next to Reid.

“It’s a good thing these babies know how to make their needs known, Dr. Oliver-Snyder.”

“What are you talking about, Dr. Reynolds?”

“It seems baby number two has its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck.”

“I knew they were moving too much.”  Molly sighed.

“It happens more often than we’d like to think, Molly.  Now just relax.  You’re about to give birth, and then, in a few days, you can start working on getting your figure back. Remember how we talked about that at your last appointment?”

Letting out a long slow breath, Molly smiled.  “I remember.”

“Even though this is a C-section, I need you to take a deep breath and slowly let it out.”

Molly did as she was told and Reid stood up just in time to watch his son born.  As the baby started screaming, his skin turned bright red.  “Luke, the first baby is a boy.”

Reid could see Luke’s broad grin through the folds of the mask.  “I bet this one was yours.  He sounds just like you.”

Reid snorted, but then quickly refocused as Dr. Reynolds carefully unwrapped the cord from the second baby’s neck.  When the procedure was complete she quickly finished the delivery.

“What’s going on, Reid?  Why isn’t the baby crying?”

Wondering the same thing himself, Reid took a step closer, making sure not to get in the doctor’s way.  She grabbed a suction pump, and after using it to clear the breathing passages, the infant started to cry.  At first it sounded almost like a bird chirping, but soon turned to high pitch wails.

“Luke.”

“Reid?”  Luke’s eyes were red and moist, filled with unshed tears.

“It looks like our daughter is going to be nothing but trouble.”

“She’s okay?”

“She sounds like a little terror.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this one was yours.”

Luke stood up and embraced Reid.  Reid held Luke tight, as he shuddered in his arms.  Although Reid wouldn’t admit it, he’d had the same fears as his husband.  Yes, he was now a husband and the father of infants.  This was going to be so much more than raising Ethan.  Lily and Holden had done the hard part.  Now Reid and Luke were going to be parents from their children’s birth.  Although Luke had played a major part in rearing his infant brother years earlier, this responsibility would be so different. 

The two returned to Molly and kissed her cheek.  Thankfully, Luke was able to express their feelings on behalf of both of them.  “Thank you so much.  We’ll never be able to repay you for carrying them.”

“I already told you.  Be great parents.  Don’t let your kids down or make them crazy.  That’s all the repayment I need.”

Reid leaned close to Molly’s ear.  “You have my word.”

Smiling, Molly closed her eyes, clearly exhausted.  “Do you want to see them before you go to sleep?”

“Remember, their mother was an egg donor, not me.”

Reid grinned.  Molly was certainly playing it cool.  “But you know this family, Molly.  You’ll always be their special aunt, or whatever you want to be called.”

“Then let me be the first to get a good look at my niece and nephew who decided to make a grand entrance, Snyder style.”

The babies, having been cleaned and swaddled, one of the nurses handed the girl to Luke and the boy to Reid.  They shared their children with Molly, who moments later fell asleep.

Still holding the babies in their arms Luke and Reid stood together near the hospital bassinets that had been waiting on standby in the delivery suite. 

“Reid, we still have to name them.”

“I know.”  He couldn’t take his eyes off his children or Luke.  Reid kept looking from one to another, trying his damnedest to keep from losing control.  Luke was the emotional one.

Standing close, Luke and Reid removed their masks, which they were now permitted to do as Molly had been wheeled from the room.  “I love you, Reid.”

“I know that too, right back at you, Luke.”

[TBC]

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