The bags had been packed for weeks. Casey’s mother was staying with them to help run the store and would stay for as long as April needed after the babies were born.
It had been decided that it would be best to deliver the twins via a caesarian section to prevent complications. April was monitored regularly, with weekly visits to both her doctor and a specialist. The goal was for her to make it to at least thirty-five weeks. Any sign of labor and she would have been rushed to the hospital.
To help increase her chances, April used the breathing exercises that she had learned from Splinter to reduce her stress. Luck would have it, she made it to the goal with few problems. She thought she had gone into labor once but it turned out to be nothing more than false labor pains.
Her cesarean section was scheduled for ten o’clock so she had to be at the hospital at least two hours early to get ready. April had her list of everything she would need to take with her. She had set everything out the night before and double checked it in the morning.
Nerves kept them quiet on the way to the hospital and Casey was extra cautious in the way he drove. April looked behind her at the back seats. The car seats were already in place, expertly put in by someone at the local fire department.
The whole time the man worked, April thanked him for his help and apologized for being a bother. He assured her that it was no problem at all and that he wished more people would be like her. There were few things more heartbreaking than seeing a life lost over an improperly installed car seat.
The hospital staff was ready for them and they didn’t have to wait long before they were escorted to the room where they would prep her for surgery. April removed all of her clothes, placing them in a bag before slipping into the hospital gown. She then got up on the bed and waited while Casey filled out some paperwork.
A nurse came in checked April’s temperature and blood pressure before inserting and I.V. in April’s hand. Several hospital bracelets were placed on April’s wrists, including the electronic security device for her babies. The nurse then placed a heart monitor on April’s finger and made sure all the devices were working properly before taking her leave.
The anesthesiologist was the next to come into the room. He instructed April to sit up with her back towards him. The large man had to raise the bed to its maximum height so that he could be at the right level to insert the epidural in April’s back. Casey pulled a chair up so that he could sit in front of April. The bed was so high that April was able to comfortably rest her feet in Casey’s lap.
April held tight to Casey’s hand while the doctor worked. She squeezed each time he injected the local anesthetic around her spine. He spoke to her as he worked, letting her know what he was doing. Though it was explained to her, the sensation of the needle sliding along her spine was nauseating.
Her grip on Casey’s hand had her knuckles turning white and his fingers turning purple, but he didn’t complain. He used his free hand to caress her cheek as he whispered up to her, “You’re doing great.”
“Done,” the doctor said as he placed a large protective cover over the epidural. “You can lie back down.”
It was nerve wracking to lie down knowing that there was a needle in her back, despite the fact that she knew it was flexible and would bend with her. Satisfied with his work, the doctor left to make sure the operating room was ready.
As she waited for the drugs to take effect, another nurse entered the room to make sure that her pelvic region was clean shaven. She made quick work with an electric razor, cleaned up, and was gone in under a minute.
After a few minutes, the first nurse entered the room. Placing her hand over April’s legs, she said, “Touch my hand with your foot.”
Try as she might, her leg would not lift. “I can’t,” April admitted.
The nurse smiled. “The epidural is working.”
Casey was instructed to put on his scrubs and to make sure that all of his hair was secured and under the cap. By the time he was done, another nurse entered the room and, along with the other nurse, wheeled April out.
Keeping her eyes on the ceiling, April concentrated on her breathing. In just a few moments, her babies would be born.
The operating room was cold and several people were in the room, including the specialist, the anesthesiologist, and April’s obstetrician.
The nurses wheeled Aprils bed next to the operating table. “We’re going to move you over now,” one of them said. “We need you to cross your arms over your chest.”
April did as she was instructed and the nurses rolled her onto her side, frightfully close to the edge of the bed as they slid a board under her. Though the small nurse standing between April and the floor gave words of reassurance, April couldn’t help but doubt that she would be able to do anything if she did start to fall.
April didn’t have to fear for long. The medical team had her on her back and over on the operation table before the panic could set in.
A large curtain was put in place to block April’s view and Casey was directed to have a seat at her head. Someone placed a blanket over her upper body to help keep her warm and turned on a fan that blew warm air into it. Then, the doctors tested her one last time to make sure she couldn’t feel anything before they began.
The scent of her own burning flesh filled the air. Casey, without prompt, reached over and held her nose for her since she wasn’t supposed to move. It was the little things that Casey did that showed how much he cared.
Even though she was numb, April could still feel a slight tugging. It was a strange sensation that lasted for a few moments before she heard the sound of a baby crying.
“We’ve got the girl,” one of the doctors announced.
April looked up at Casey and saw him trying to get a look at their daughter. “Go,” April said with a soft smile. “Take a picture of her first moments and then come back to tell me how perfect she is.”
“Right. Pictures,” Casey said, getting to his feet as he dug his phone out of his pocket.
There was more tugging, followed by the sound of the second baby’s cries. The doctor looked over the curtain at her. “We’re almost done. How do you feel?”
“Eager to see my babies,” April answered honestly.
Casey returned, sitting back down at April’s head and holding out his phone. There were two sets of tiny foot prints on his scrubs. “They are both beautiful and so small.” He flipped through the pictures for her to see. “They even let me take a little video.”
A nurse appeared with one of the babies in her arms. “Here’s the girl. We’re going to take her to the nursery to get her cleaned up and run a few tests. We’ll have her ready by the time you’re in your room.”
True to her word, as soon as April was settled in her recovery room, the nurse brought the baby. “No one is to take this baby from the room besides you or a nurse and it must be in the bassinet,” the nurse instructed. “The nurse has to have a badge like this one. Any time she is brought to you, we will check her bracelet and yours. This one here,” the nurse pointed to the electronic bracelet on April’s wrist, “will also let us know that she is yours.”
The nurse placed the tightly swaddled baby in April’s arms and a short melody played. “If she was the wrong baby, the song would not have played and we would have heard a soft buzzing sound. This also works as a security device. If anyone were to try to take her, they would not get very far. We have sensors at all exits and the elevator. The floor would go on lockdown if she was taken anywhere near them.”
“That’s good to know,” April said, studding her daughter’s face. The nurse had no idea the kind of people who would go to great lengths to get their hands on her.
“We take security seriously,” the nurse assured her. There was a small part of April that worried if it was enough.
“When will I see my son?” April asked, trying not to linger on her fear. She wanted nothing more than to see both of her babies, to know that they are both okay and safe.
“As soon as the specialists are done with him,” the nurse replied. “They shouldn’t be much longer.”
“Thank you,” April said.
The nurse had April roll over to her side so that she could remove the epidural. “It will take a little while for the drugs to wear off. We want you up and walking around again as soon as possible. I’ll be back in in a little while to remove the catheter. Don’t try to get up until then. If you need anything more, press the button,” the nurse instructed.
“We’re gonna have to settle on a name,” Casey pointed out after the nurse left. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at the baby. “Jones baby one isn’t gonna cut it for long.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” April said as she ran her fingers along her daughter’s head. She had a full head of dark brown hair. “I want to name her after you.”
“My legal name?” Casey said, making a face. “I don’t think I like the idea of her being named Arnoldina or something like that.”
April giggled. “I was thinking something more along the lines of Cassey.”
“I like that.” Casey smiled. “What about the boy?”
“To keep up with my family tradition, I was thinking Octavius,” April said and waited for Casey’s feedback.
“His initials would be OJ,” Casey pointed out.
“You’re right.” April shook her head. “Octavius is out.”
“You can name him August, after your favorite uncle,” Casey offered. “AJ is a lot better than OJ.”
“August it is,” April said with a laugh. “And AJ is a cute nickname.”
April undid Cassey’s swaddle to get a good look at her. She was so small that the shirt she wore was loose. The diaper was folded down so it wasn’t touching the umbilical cord which was clamped off. Cassey whimpered at being exposed to the cooler air so April lifted her up to rest her on her chest. She knew skin to skin was good for the baby and she craved it herself. “Did you send pictures to the guys?”
“Yeah. They said they will visit after they get back from the Nexus. They wanted to give us some time to get settled.” Before April had the chance to lift the blanket to cover Cassey, Casey leaned over to look at the baby’s back. “She’s got a birth mark,” he said, pulling down the shirt.
“She does?” April looked down and sure enough, there was a mark about the size of a quarter on the left side of her back.
Casey ran his finger over the mark. “Do you think it’s the scar she carried over from her past life?”
“It’s possible,” April said, with a slight nod as she brought the blanket up. “I wouldn’t doubt it. Fortunately, that seems to be the extent of it for her, unlike her brother.”
“Here we go,” a nurse announced as she came into the room, pushing the second basinet. As the nurse maneuvered the cart to the side of April’s bed, the specialist entered the room.
April passed Cassey to Casey and then held out her arms for August. The nurse had anticipated this and was already in the process of checking the medical tags. She lifted August from the basinet and handed him to April. The short song played.
“I’ll be back to check on you later,” she said before tuning to leave.
April smiled down at her son. She found humor in the fact that his thick red hair stuck out in every direction. Through the blanket, April could feel the braces around August’s torso and legs and wondered how it was that he could sleep with all that equipment on.
She listened with rapt attention as the specialist went over their plan to straighten August’s spine and legs. April was able to breathe a sigh of relief when the doctor said that it didn’t look like he would need surgery to correct them.
Both April and Casey were instructed to remove and put on the braces several times, until the doctor was satisfied that they would get it right. The hardest part was doing it all while August cried. She wanted to stop what they were doing and pick him up to comfort him. But, it was important that they learned how to do it. So, she strengthened her resolve and got it done.
They were given books to read and instructed to make an appointment in one month so that August could be fitted with the next set of braces. He was going to go through several as he continued to grow before his spine and legs were corrected.
The specialist left and the nurse returned to remove April’s catheter and instructed her to stand. April wasn’t sure if her legs were ready but the nurse insisted that it had to be done. “We don’t want you forming a blood clot. You need to get up and moving. The rest of the drugs will exit your system faster if you move.”
Her legs felt like she had been sitting on them for too long but at least they supported her weight. She shuffled her feet from one end to the room to the next. When she got back to the bed she had more feeling in her legs but she was exhausted. The day’s events were catching up with her so she lay back down and decided to get some rest.
The sound of one of the babies grunting drew April from her lite sleep. She opened her eyes to see Casey’s mom holding August. With a smile on her face, Casey’s mom reached out to grab hold of April’s hand. “They are beautiful. You did good, April.” She looked down at the baby in her arms. “He’s a fighter like his dad, I can tell. He’s not gonna let this hold him back for long.”
Squeezing her mother in law’s hand, April nodded. He had chosen her to be his mother and she was determined to makes sure that he got a chance at a full life.
