The following morning
Groggily, I woke when the chest under my head moved. "Hm?"
Clutch stroked my black hair, which I'd let grow out during the cold winter. "Vicki has an update."
I pulled myself up and rubbed my eyes. Everyone from Fox had been here all night. Benji lay sleeping on Diesel at Frost's feet. Other residents had come and gone, checking in to see how New Eden's first birth was coming along. The excitement was palpable. Nerves were on edge as everyone waited.
Vicki, one of the two people assisting the doctor with Deb's birth this morning, stood in her scrubs, smiling. "Dr. Edmund says she's fully dilated. It should be any time now." With that, she turned and hustled back into the room.
I stood and stretched. Jase and Hali stopped their card game to stand and watch the door. Clutch and Griz also came to their feet. Only Frost remained sitting, but his gaze never left the door.
Five minutes passed. We waited. I paced the floor. Jase and Hali joined me. Ten minutes passed. I wanted to be in there, with Deb, but the doctor had been adamant about keeping the room as germ-free as possible.
Deb cried out, and I froze.
"It's time," Frost said. "She's having the baby."
I could hear Dr. Edmund's muffled voice and Deb's cries through the door. The doctor was giving orders, and I heard a flurry of movement behind the door.
"She's seizing!" the doctor yelled. "Hold her down."
I moved toward the door, but Clutch held me back. With my back to his chest, I clasped onto his forearms that wrapped around me. My heart pounded as we waited.
As quickly as the ruckus began, everything silenced. Then, the sound started softly but grew in volume. A baby's cry.
I let out the breath I'd been holding, and turned in Clutch's arms. We smiled and kissed. "It's going to be okay," I whispered.
I tapped my foot, waiting for them to bring out the baby.
"I wonder if it's a boy or girl," Hali said.
Then, a second cry broke free, adding to the first. My eyes widened. I squealed and covered my mouth. "Twins!"
"Two?" Griz asked. "Wow, Tack had some strong swimmers."
A moment later, Vicki and Izzie emerged, each carrying a baby, and neither looking up from her precious cargo. We rushed the two women to see the babies. They were wrinkled and purple and adorable.
"Are they healthy?" Frost asked first.
"Yes, they are a perfectly healthy boy and girl," Vicki said softly.
"Can we see Deb now?" I asked, excited to congratulate the new mother.
Izzie sniffled and started to cry.
I swallowed and looked at Vicki. "Deb?"
Her lips trembled, and then she slowly shook her head.
"Oh, no," Hali gasped. "Not Deb."
"She hemorrhaged," Vicki said after a long silence. "She lost too much blood, and we couldn't stop it. We tried."
No one spoke. I found I could only stare at the babies, the weight on my chest making it hard to feel anything.
"I promised her I would look after his babies," Vicki said quietly.
I swallowed, then placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do it alone. We'll all take care of them. Together. Because that's what families do."