//11//
I woke up to the loud beeping and whirring of machines. Of course; I was in a hospital. The florescent lights blinded me as I tried to turn my face away from them. I moved my arm just a bit and felt the tug of an IV. I groaned, attempting to sit up without any success.
“Em! You’re awake!” Jace squealed as she rushed to my bedside. I smiled weakly at her familiar face.
“Hey, if it isn’t Julian Humphrey, prince of England!” My rough voice announced as I saw Julian behind my best friend. I grinned simply at the fact that he was here.
“Good news! I’m the father!” He beamed. Yay! I had secretly been praying this whole time that he was, even if I’d only just met him.
“Wait... how do you know? How long have I been out?” I asked suddenly, puzzled.
“Eh, three days tops.” Jace answered, thinking hard about it.
“So let me guess, I’m stuck here until the babies come now?”
They exchanged a secret glance, looked at me, then looked back at each other. Jace laughed nervously.
“Emily...? Funny story...” Julian said, again looking at Jace. “The babies were already delivered, yesterday morning.”
“WHAT?!?!” I shrieked, sitting upright so fast my head started to spin. I stared nervously at my now-inflated stomach. No more pregnancy lump! I was officially back to a teenage girl’s body, that is, except for the disgusting, wrinkled skin on my belly. “So that means... are they all okay? Can I see them? What...” I didn’t even know what to say. I was scared and nervous. A single tear wove a path down my pale face. I wasn’t ready for this. Not now. Not ever.
•••
“Here is Baby A, a boy. Then they go in alphabetical order, right down the row. Boy, girl, boy, boy, boy and girl.” The nurse, Jess, explained as she began to lift my first son out of the incubator.
She handed me his frail body and I cradled him close to my chest. He was very tiny, with pink skin and little tiny fingers, groping the air around him. He opened his little mouth and let out a squeaky little sound as he squirmed weakly in my hands. I felt a tear stream down my face as I allowed Jess to take him away so I could see my first daughter.
She was equally pink, as if her entire body was blushing. She seemed half asleep, although she did try to grab my hair. She was tiny, possibly smaller than her brother. Her eyes were shut, and I couldn’t wait for them to be open. She let out a sharp cry and Jess took her away and lead me to the others.