“That’s a baby… That’s our baby,” Nickolas said, moving closer to Jai, after having stepped back when the doctor and nurse came in.
“That’s your baby, and so is this one,” the doctor said, showing the second image.
“Oh, he’s so beautiful,” Nickolas said chokily.
“Or she,” Jai said, with a serene smile on his face as he looked at their babies.
“You don’t know yet? You don’t know what they are?” Nickolas said.
“No. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.” Jai replied his eyes still on the screen showing their babies.
“Do you want to know?” The doctor asked.
Nickolas looked at Jai, leaving the decision up to him even though he wanted to scream, “yes,” over and over.
Jai looked at him, and asked, “Do you want to know?”
“It’s up to you, baby,” Nickolas said.
Jai shook his head, “You’ve missed so much, and that’s my fault, so I think you should decide.”
Nickolas didn’t want to have this conversation in front of strangers, but he also didn’t want Jai feeling like he had to do something he didn’t want to do as penance, or something equally as crazy.
He put his hand on Jai face and used his other hand to hold one of Jai’s hands, ignoring the people in the room, “Don’t feel like you have to do this to make up for me missing out. That’s on both of us, and I don’t want you finding out the sex of our babies if you don’t want to, just because you think I do.”
Jai smiled at him, “I know, and you’re right, we both made mistakes, but I asked you to choose… because I want you involved. Honestly, I don’t need to know, but I don’t mind knowing if you want to.”
Nickolas nodded and took Jai at his word, “Yes, I think I’dreallylike to know,” Nickolas confessed.
“Well, okay then,” the doctor said, snapping them out of their bubble, “This one is a boy…” the doctor paused a moment, “and it’s a little difficult with the way the babies are positioned, but I’m almost certain, this other baby is a boy too.”
“Two sons,” Nickolas breathed. “We’re having twosons,” Nickolas said, his grip tightened on Jai’s, his thumb and forefinger gently massaging Jai’s wrist as he looked at the monitor completely enthralled, and losing a part of his heart to those two images.
“Are they healthy?” Nickolas heard Jai ask anxiously.
“Yes, they are, but… and don’t fret,” the doctor cautioned, “they are a little smaller than I would like them to be. I know you’ve had a lot of nausea so far, but that should settle down now. If it doesn’t I’ll prescribe something, just in case.”
“Okay,” Jai then asked, “what can I do to get them to the right weight.”
“Honestly, we really need to get your food to stay down, that's the main thing. And I am a little concerned about your blood pressure. It’s not high enough to worry about, yet, but I’d like it a little lower. So, no stress, and maybe stay off your feet as much as you can.”
“Yes, doctor,” Jai said.
“I’ll make sure we follow all your instructions to the letter, thank you, doctor ” Nickolas said.
“Well, we have your discharge papers already sorted. Just make sure to get a lot of rest, eat plenty and take your prescribed vitamins. And as long as there’s no more trouble, you can just go and see your regular gynecologist in a month’s time.”
The reassurance they received seemed to help Jai lose some of the tension in his shoulders.
“Let’s get you home,” Nickolas said when it was just the two of them.
Jai sighed before saying, “I don’t even know where that is anymore.”
“Home is with me.” Nickolas said, “Home is with me, baby. Let me take care of you, please?”
Jai must have seen or heard something that convinced him, or he was too tired to argue. Either way, Nicholas was taking the win.
His sense of satisfaction and his anticipation for what was to come was at an all-time high. He’d always believed that he didn’t care whether he had children or not. But the instant those tiny people had appeared on the screen, everything had changed.
