Against All Odds

Chapter Thirty

Getting to the hospital is an interesting experience, since the only calm one in the care seems to be me. Ollie is fretting, going as quickly as he can without being pulled over. Every few seconds, he is asking me if I am okay, seeming to not believe me no matter how many times I tell him I am fine.

Nico is no better. He had ridden over to the courthouse with us and sits next to me in the backseat, letting me squeeze his hand every time I have a contraction. He quietly assured me every time I grit my teeth in pain, but his eyes belie his concern.

Once we get to the hospital, Ollie drops us off at the entrance to the maternity ward before going to find a parking spot. Collected nurses greet us with a wheelchair, which I greatly sit down in. Another contraction is starting, and I want to get an epidural as soon as possible.

It doesn't take long for us to be admitted into the hospital, and for Dr. Romero to show up, a wide smile on her face.

"Milo! Didn't think I would see you so soon, but it seems the boys are ready to meet you." She pushes in an ultrasound in front of her, hooking everything up. "Let's take a look to see how everything is going."

Ollie comes rushing in then, panting. "Sorry! Sorry. There were barely any parking spots. The parking lot here is tiny." He quickly makes his way over to me, taking Nico's place in holding my hand.

"Isn't this happening too soon?" I ask, the worry starting to settle in me. "I'm only thirty-four weeks."

Dr. Romero hums, squirting the gel on my stomach and moving it around with the wand. "This is pretty good for being pregnant with twins. They will most likely need some breathing help and some sun therapy, but they have high chances of being healthy."

She is quiet for a few minutes, eyes closely watching the screen as she moves the wand around. Everything just looks blurry to me. No matter how hard I stare at the screen, I can't make out what is going on.

Eventually, she puts down the wand and turns off the machine. "Everything looks good so far. Both boys are head down and do not seem to be in any distress. But, I am going to hook you up to a monitor in order to keep an eye on the boys. Other than that, you are free to move around, and try to get labor to progress." She moves over to the sink, washing her hands before snapping on a pair of gloves. "Let's take a look to see how far along you are already."

Nico moves over to the chair near my head while Dr. Romero lifts the sheets and sticks her fingers someplace I really do not want them to be. After a couple seconds, she puts the sheet back down and snaps off the gloves, giving me another smile. "It looks like you are about four centimeters dilated, which is pretty good."

"Oh god, I hope this goes quickly," I murmur, wincing as another contraction starts. "Hurts so much."

"Do you want me to call the anesthesiologists to get you an epidural?" Dr. Romero says.

"Yes please," I grit out, teeth clenched together as I ride out the pain.

She just has a knowing look on her face and nods her head. "I'll have one of the nurses page him. Try to rest in between contractions if you can. I'll see you in an hour."

We are left alone for only a minute after that, before a nurse comes bustling in, taking all of my health measurements before setting up the monitor.

"I paged Dr. Leonard. He will be here in about an hour, since he is currently in another ward of the hospital right now."

"Okay, thank you," I say, relaxing back into the bed as my latest contraction finally ends.

"Do you need anything, Milo?" Nico asks from the chair he is sitting in. "Maya is going to head out soon, so I can ask her to pick something up if you need it."