I heard Eli talking to Mason. They had no cell service, not a single one of them. We were in the middle of nowhere, in a snowstorm, and there was no cell service. The nearest hospital was God knows how far away and I was in labor.
Mason hopped out of the truck, and Eli called out, “I’ll try to drive back to town and call an ambulance from there.”
“Thank you,” Mason said, rushing around to my side of the truck. “Skyler, do you mind sitting in the driver’s seat and letting your mom get in the back?”
“Okay,” she said meekly.
Mason talked in soft, soothing tones. “It’s going to be okay. I was a medic in the military. I’ve got this,” he said, speaking to himself as much as to us.
He helped me move into the backseat where I could lie down. Skyler leaned over the seat, watching me. God, what an experience for her - first her dad tried to kidnap her and now she gets to witness the miracle of childbirth. I prayed she didn’t have to witness anything worse than that, that we’d all be fine. I prayed that my babies would be born safely, hopefully in a hospital, but I had my doubts as the contractions continued coming, closer and closer together. I could hardly catch my breath.
Luckily, I was wearing a dress, so Mason easily slipped my panties off and pushed the dress up.
“Breathe,” Mason said. “There you go, just take it easy.”
He stood in the snowstorm, the white stuff sprinkling into the truck. The frigid cold felt good to me as sweat dripped from every pore of my body.
“Alright, here we go, I see the head,” Mason said. “It’s happening.”
I tried so hard to hold my babies inside me, but the desire to push was too strong. My body had a mind of its own, and whether I was ready or not, they were coming.
“Mason, oh God…”
“Shh, it’s okay,” he said, his voice calmer and surer of himself than I’d ever heard from him before. “We’ve got this. We can do it, Danielle. The baby will be here any minute now.”
I bore down hard, screaming as it felt like my body was being ripped apart. After a few more pushes and several screams, I heard a glorious sound. Crying.
“Skyler meet your new baby brother,” Mason said, holding the tiny, frail, screaming infant up.
There was hardly any time for me to relish in the relief of seeing my son as the pain continued to tear through my body. Mason handed the boy to one of his brothers, who wrapped him in his jacket before getting in the front seat of the truck with Skyler.
My son. My beautiful, perfect son was born. His cry was like music to my ears as Mason delivered the second baby.
“And your sister, Skyler,” Mason said proudly.
She came out easier than 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.
“I don’t know yet,” I said. “We haven’t really talked about it.”
“Can I name them?” Skyler asked. “You said I was good at names, remember?”
For things like cats and guinea pigs, yes. But actual children. I feared my little girl would come up with names like Snowflake and Turkey since they were born in a snowstorm a few days after Thanksgiving.
Mason chuckled. “We’d be open to suggestions, wouldn’t we, Danielle?”
“Of course, honey. We can decide as a family, like we talked about, remember?”
“Well, I’d really like to name the boy Mason, and call him MJ,” she said.
I raised an eyebrow at Mason. “That’s actually not a bad idea. What do you think?”
“Naming my son after me? Like I’d say no to that,” he said with a laugh.
“Hmm, well, we might take you up on that suggestion, Skyler. What else do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking since the babies were born in a snowstorm—”
Ahh, here we go, I thought. Here comes the snowflake or winter names.
“It made me think of Frozen. I really like Anna or Elsa.”
“What about Eleanor Anne?” Mason asked.
“Or maybe Elianna?” Skyler said. “And that’s similar to Eli! How cool!”
As soon as I heard the name, it hit me. It was perfect.
“I love the name Elianna,” I said. “What about you, Mason?”
“I think it’s beautiful,” he said. “Good job, Skyler.”
He held out his hand for a high-five, and she giggled as she slapped her tiny hand against his. “You helped, you know.”
“Yeah, but it was your idea.”
“I wouldn’t have thought of it if it wasn’t for you,” she said, grinning wildly.
And at least for a moment, it felt like all our day’s problems had melted away. She was happy again, smiling and no longer afraid.
Mason took my hand in his and gave me a look that said he was thinking the same thing.
Everything was going to be okay.
Ooo000ooo
“The babies are coming home!”
Skyler had been shouting those words for the last week, waking me up with them every single day. And most days, I had to tell her not today. But today was different.
Today was Christmas Eve. And she was going to get a very special surprise that had nothing to do with the presents underneath the tree.
“Yes, they’re coming home today, sweetheart,” I said, feeling like my face hurt from smiling so big.
My little girl bounced from the bed and practically ran circles around the bed, rushing over to Mason’s side. “Wake up! We have to get Elli and MJ today!” She nudged Mason playfully.