Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,84
the first, but the pain was still enough to make me scream in agony. No amount of pain could compare to the few seconds after she was born, when I didn’t hear a sound coming from her.
“Why isn’t she crying?” I cried, leaning upward to see what was happening. No sound from her. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, like there was a weight on my chest smothering me.
And then, there it was. My little girl was crying, her fists balled up at her sides as she screamed.
I heard a siren in the distance a few seconds later, coupled with the screams of my twins, and I knew everything was going to be okay. Mason wrapped the baby girl in his sweatshirt and handed her to me. Mason was able to climb into the back seat with us and close the door, the heat from the truck blaring to life once Sam switched places with Skyler and turned it up.
Mason held our son, and Skyler was grinning at us from the front seat. “I asked for one of each. A sister and a brother. And I got them,” she said proudly, as if she had wished these babies into life.
The sirens grew louder until they were right outside our window. The bright lights nearly blinding. But help had arrived.
Ooo000ooo
As soon as we were at the hospital, my babies were swooped up by the doctors. There was no greater agony than sitting in the room, waiting for news. They had seemed fine, but they were so small. They were premature, so their battle was just beginning.
After what felt like an eternity, a doctor came into the room. She was an older woman with a nice face, grey hair piled atop her head in a bun, and glasses that kept sliding off her nose.
“Good news, Ms. Baker. Your babies are doing great even though they are premature.”
“Can I see them?” I asked.
“Soon. Right now, they’re getting set up in the NICU. You were lucky to be at thirty-two weeks. The good news is most babies born at this stage are able to control their own body temperatures. They’re very small, though. The boy is slightly bigger than the girl, but both of them are under four pounds. We will need to keep them in the NICU until they’re at least four pounds, and to monitor for feeding issues or infections since their immune system isn’t quite developed yet.”
“But they’re going to be okay?” Mason asked.
“I believe so, Mr. Harvey. Twins born at thirty-two weeks have a greater chance at surviving with minimal to no issues. We just have to monitor them for any infections or developmental issues. But as far as I can tell, your babies are as healthy as any twins born this early.”
I closed my eyes, blocking out the tears. I just wanted to see them, to hold them, to know that they were going to be okay.
“I’ll let you know as soon as you can see them,” the doctor said softly. “For now, you have some visitors. Would it be okay to let them in?”
I nodded my head. Skyler and Mason’s brothers had followed us to the hospital.
The doctor left, and our family flooded into the room. Skyler rushed over to me and Mason lifted her off the floor so she could hug me.
“I was worried about you, Mommy,” she said.
“No need to worry about me, sweetie. I’m doing just fine.”
“And the babies?”
“Healthy,” I told her.
“Can I see them?”
“Soon, baby. Soon.” My heart ached. Who knew when she would be able to meet her brother and sister? I wasn’t sure when they’d allow children into the NICU. Skyler was so excited for them to get here, and now we were telling her to wait.
Eli was standing back from the rest of them. Both Graham and Sam had children. Sam had a herd of them, in fact, since his fiancé had given birth to quadruplets. Eli was the last brother without any kids, and he seemed lost.
But he was the one who asked, “So, umm, have you picked out any names yet? What should I call my niece and nephew?”
Mason looked at me. We hadn’t really discussed names yet. Part of me was worried something could happen, with them being twins and all, I feared we’d jinx ourselves if we picked out names. When it came to Skyler, I had named her after having her. I picked the name that seemed to suit her best.