Gus and Jason stood side by side at the large window in the hospital waiting room, their sides touching as they stared out at the slowly lightening sky beyond. It felt as if they had been standing in this same place for days, although they actually spent most of their time in Heather’s room. Time had never seemed to move as slowly as it was doing so now. Each passing hour only increased their anxiety tenfold, but they were not the only folks suffering. Gus glanced back behind them to see how well everyone else in the room was holding up. From the nervous pacing by most of the folks there, it was a good guess that they were feeling the anxiety too. Naturally all three of Gus and Jason’s dads were in the room, along with both of their sisters. Thankfully JR and Gidget’s husbands had been willing to take the day off from work in order to take care of their babies, leaving the girls free to be with their brothers. Even Michael had come, bringing Debbie with him.
Those who were not pacing, sat in their chairs with their heads in their hands, or staring at the backs of the prospective fathers. Every time that Gus and Jason left Heather’s room, so that she could be examined by her doctor, the folks in the waiting room had eagerly awaited to hear some good news. So far, there had been little to report. Heather’s labor was far from moving along smoothly. Despite her water breaking, it hadn’t ensured a quick delivery. The Sun was just starting its task with dispelling the night sky, and yet she hadn’t dilated more than a few centimeters. The only good news was that both heartbeats of the twins were still quite strong. Heather also appeared to be dealing well with her labor. She mentioned more than once that this time was not as difficult as her first time with little Steven. Seeing how much of a trooper she was being, had the effect of calming her visitors and the prospective fathers slightly.
More hours stretched by with little progress being made with the births. By the time the Sun was high in the sky, more folks had come to the hospital to check on Heather’s progress. Emmett arrived, claiming he was going to be the best Auntie Em the babies could ever wish for. Ted showed up close behind with his husband, Blake in tow. Jason had received numerous calls from his brothers, checking to see how the progress was coming. But the hours continued to drag by with no good news to impart. Finally, those in the waiting room received some relief when Gus and Jason informed them that the doctor had finally decided to try and induce her labor to speed things up, and to reduce the stress on both mother and babies. Sixteen hours after her water broke, Heather was still making little to no progress. Another hour passed when the nurses noticed a change in the babies’ heartbeats, which were just starting to show some stress. They immediately got the doctor to return to the room. The decision was made to schedule a C-section to make sure that neither baby would be stressed any longer. As she was being wheeled to the delivery room, Gus grabbed her hand and kissed it.
“It won’t be long before you know if you have a son or daughter,” she told him. “I mean a son and daughter,” she corrected herself.
“Or two sons or two daughters,” Gus laughed, tears forming in his eyes.
As they wheeled Heather away, Jason drew his arm around Gus and smiled shakily.
“I can’t believe it, Gee. We really are about to become parents.”
“I know. And I’m a bit scared, Jase. Maybe we should have asked to know what the sexes were before now. Then maybe we would be better prepared for what is coming. We don’t even have their names picked out yet. What if we aren’t up to the task after all?”
“Oh, Gee, my love, it doesn’t matter whether we have one son or two… one daughter or two. We have enough love for whomever we are gifted with, and enough support to handle any problems that may come up. Trust me on this. Now, let’s go and tell all those anxious folks out there what is happening. I think they’ve been as much on edge over this long delay as we have been.”
Gus kissed Jason and walked out of the labor room with him hand in hand. They hurried to the waiting room so that they could deliver the good news. They couldn’t hang around to answer all the questions that were being thrown their way. They needed to rush back, since they were told they could be in the delivery room during the operation, once they were scrubbed up. Soon, they stood on each side of Heather and held tight to a hand, which gripped theirs tightly. They couldn’t see what was happening over the barrier, which was set up to cover the progress of the medical staff, as they opened Heather up and began removing each baby, one at a time. In no time at all, they heard the sound of a baby crying, coming from the first newborn. The doctor lifted the baby up so that the new fathers and Heather could see the miracle just delivered. Immediately they could see that they had a son. Pure joy lit up their faces.
“Would one of you want to cut the umbilical cord?” asked the doctor.
Gus nodded at Jason. “You go first, my love. I’ll get the next one.”
As Jason severed the cord, he couldn’t contain the tears of pure euphoria, which he was experiencing at the sight of his healthy, beautiful baby son. He watched in awe as a nurse took the baby away to be cleaned up. By the time she returned with their son swaddled up, and handed the bundle to his father, the second baby was delivered. Again, the doctor lifted the baby up so that Gus could see the twin. Once again, it was clear that they had another son. Gus squeezed Heather’s hand tightly and mouthed, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you’, to the woman who had just made their greatest dream come true. Heather smiled back, then released Gus’s hand so he could join the doctor and cut the second baby’s cord. Just as quickly as with the first infant, the nurse removed and cleaned up the twin. Moments later, Gus and Jason stood side by side, gazing with unadulterated love at the two little miracles, who now completed their happy lives. They could barely make out how the babies actually looked, tears of joy clouding their vision. It didn’t matter. Their sons were everything they had ever wanted, and they owed it all to Heather. They could never repay her enough for what she had given them.
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Eight faces pressed against the glass, each one making a face of some kind that caused a few giggles from attending nurses in the newborn ward. By now, three days since the birth of the two adorable twin boys laying in the front row of bassinettes, the nurses recognized all the adult faces. Front and center were the two dads of the twins. They still looked at the tiny infants with a look that could only be described as pure awe. The two younger women next to them were the sisters of the new fathers. The nurses had learned that the three older men and single older woman were the parents of the new fathers. No matter what kind of faces they made at the babies, it was obvious from their looks that pride was uppermost in every face. They had all been standing there for at least a half hour, but finally they stepped away. The nurses knew they’d be back, either together or in batches. And they also knew the babies would have other gawkers staring at them too. The nurses often remarked to each other that these babies would probably never be at a loss for loving attention.
Gus and Jason hugged their sisters and parents goodbye as they separated from them. JR and Gidget needed to get home to their own young ones. Brian and Justin needed to return home and make sure Heather’s room was ready for her release the next day from the hospital. She was to stay with them for at least another week or so before returning home, as a result of having a C-section, rather than the natural childbirth they had expected. Jason’s parents didn’t want to hang around and intrude on their son’s time with the babies any more for now. They knew they would have plenty of time with their new grandsons in the future. And there was no doubt that at least one of the twins was their flesh and blood, although they thought of both babies as their grandchildren.
From the very first day, it was clear that the two babies were not identical twins. One baby was the spitting image of Gus when he was a newborn, just as the other was the spitting image of Jason. Even without a DNA test, it was clear that… by some miracle… each of them had fathered one of the babies. This was the icing on the most beautiful cake ever created, as far as their fathers were concerned. They could hardly wait for tomorrow. Although the boys were born at barely over five pounds each, they were healthy in every way necessary for them to go home at the same time as Heather was being released. The agreement was that she would continue to stay with Brian and Justin, in order to avoid the babies bonding with her while she recuperated from her surgery. This would give Gus and Jason time to fully bond with the twins. And they would have plenty of time to do so, because they had both agreed to take time off from work for at least the next few weeks.
Before leaving the hospital to return home and make sure everything was set up for the babies, they stopped in at Heather’s room. Her smile lit up when she saw them entering her room. They each took turns giving her a warm hug and kiss on the cheek. They were about to say something, when two nurses walked in pushing a pair of bassinettes. Another thing that had been agreed upon before the births was that Heather would provide breast milk for the babies while she was still in town, before they were put on formulas. It was a good way to build up their immunity while her breast milk was available. Without hesitation, she accepted the first baby handed to her, and released her breast so that the infant could find her nipple and begin to suckle. Gus and Jason watched in awe as their son instantly grasped onto his food source. They marveled at how patient the other baby was being while he waited his turn, and wondered if they would see such patience between the brothers as they grew up. They had no idea what the future held for their little family, but they loved imagining it. Suddenly, Heather interrupted their thoughts.
“Well fellas, have you finally decided on a name for the baby… babies?” she queried.
The two men looked at each other and grinned sheepishly. They turned to Heather.
“We, uhh, we… well, to be honest, we were afraid of jinxing it. We had come up with possible names when we tried surrogacy before. We just decided we would wait and make sure nothing went wrong again,” Gus told her, in an almost apologetic tone of voice.
Heather reached for Gus’s hand. “That’s okay, Gus. I understand. Believe me, I had my fears too. Life can sometimes be so cruel. But, we did it! The babies are here. So, I hope you’ll let me know when you decide on the naming.”
Gus squeezed her hand. “Of course, we will.” Gus shared a smile with Jason, then he continued on. “As a matter of fact, we had already planned on discussing it tonight, and we will make a final decision. And tomorrow, when you and our sons leave this place, we are going to all meet up at Dad’s house, before going home, for an announcement of their names. Everyone has already been told to meet us there, so they can all learn their names together.”
Heather laughed. “You always did like a bit of showy drama, Gus.”
Jason laughed too. “Tell me about it!”
They all laughed together. Gus and Jason stayed to watch their second-born have his turn at the buffet, before they finally bid Heather goodbye. The couple followed the nurses down the hall with the bassinettes and waited to see their sons settled in for the night. They were eager to get to work right away with the naming of their sons. It was one task they were eager to perform as parents for the first time. Back in Heather’s room, they didn’t see the silent tear that slowly trickled down her cheek, as the bassinettes were wheeled out. She was so happy for her old friend and his husband. She could remember the joy she felt at being a mother to her beloved Steven on the day he was born. She just prayed that they would appreciate what she had done for them… and understand what she had done for herself.
To be continued………….