When he woke up to his cell phone going off, he answered it with his name.As soon as he heard Millie talking to someone else, he knew what had happened.There would be no doctor’s appointment in the morning; she was going to have her baby tonight.
“My water broke.I’m not in hard labor yet, but I can feel the contractions are getting harder.”He told her to go to the hospital and that he’d meet them there.“Is everything going to be all right?I didn’t have my water break the first time.”
“Everything is going to be fine.I’ll meet you there.”He moved his legs and discovered that Debra had stretched out over him with her head on the pillow and was awake.He told her what was going on.“Did you want to come with me?It won’t be long, I’ve been told.”
“Yes, of course.”She hurriedly got up and pulled on her shoes.“I’ve never seen a newborn before.I’m excited that Millie’s will be my first.”The two of them talked as they got dressed to go.“Do we have to call anyone?”
“I have to call the hospital and have things ready for her.Other than that, I’m sure that Charlie has everything under control.He’s very calming, isn’t he?”Debra agreed and was dressed before he was.He would normally wear his street clothing into the hospital and change there, but today was different.He wanted to be ready to go when she was.
He made the calls while Debra drove them to the hospital.She’d go in through the emergency department, and they’d take her right up to Labor and Delivery.At least that was the plan when he called in to have her moved.As soon as they pulled up in front of the ER, he was out of the car and on his way to Millie and Charlie.It was nice that Debra said she’d park for them; it gave him extra time to get to where he was going.
Things were moving right along when he met them in the labor room.Millie would be in this room from now until she went home with her newborn.It was easier on the staff to know where she was going, and he liked the fact that it was all central to one room as well.He knew just where he was going when he got there.
“The contractions are moving right along, Millie.You’ll have this baby by morning.”She asked if he was sure everything was all right.“Why do you ask?Does this feel different than your other birth?It’s all right if it does.All births are different.”
“I feel bloated this time.Like I’m too big.”He didn’t know what that meant to her, so he had her clarify.“When Charles was born, I felt like I was just having a baby; the rest of me didn’t get big.With this baby, I feel like I’m so swollen all the time.The doctor’s been keeping an eye on me.He did tell me I was larger this time to expect a bigger baby than Charles was.”She looked helpless.“I’m sorry.I’m not making any sense.”
“You are.I understand.And I’ll keep an eye on you as well.Had you waited like a good girl, I would have given you a thorough exam in the morning.”He laughed with her.“We’ll be just fine.Ihave a great staff here, and they’re ready for most anything.How about I run an ultrasound for you and see if the baby is all right and get a guess on how big she is?”
“That would be great.”She was starting labor now that she was in a good place to begin, and he carefully ran the scan over her swollen baby three times.“Is she all right?”
“She is.Her heart rate is a little fast, but I don’t foresee a problem with that at the moment.Like I said, we’ll keep an eye on the two of you.She’s not large at all.She should be about six pounds.I think that’s a good weight for you.She’s head down and ready to come out and see you guys.”Millie thanked him, and he had to smile.“You’re acting like a good mom, and that’s what we hope for on our end.You’re going to be fine.”
He told the staff what he wanted done, and they got on things immediately.The baby’s bed was pulled out to get ready, as when examined, Millie was progressing faster than he’d expected.Things were going well, and he had things going in the event that things went south, as he always did.He didn’t expect anything to go wrong, but he was never without that thought in his head.
At just after one in the morning, things were ready.Millie was ready to push, and Charlie was there to coach her through labor and delivery.Kahana was at his station, and he kept an eye on the monitors.The child’s heart rate was still a little fast, but he was waiting for it to be born before he said anything.It was time to bring the little one into the world.
After the baby was born at one twenty, he could say that she was a healthy little thing, weighing six pounds and one ounce.Her Apgar was perfect at the onset, and he was thrilled with the way Millie was handling things.When she said that she had to push again, he didn’t panic but watched as the head of a second child came into view.
“We’re having twins.”Millie said no, and Charlie looked like he might faint.“Did the doctor tell you that you were having twins?It wasn’t mentioned in my paperwork.”
“He said that there were two when I first got my first scan done, then he said it had been a mistake as he never saw her again.”She pushed harder, and he delivered the baby.“Christ, I knew that I felt different.”
Baby girl two was just as perfect as baby one.She weighed six pounds and three ounces, and her Apgar was perfect.They both had blonde hair and were the cutest little things he’d ever delivered.Of course, they were his first set of twins, too.Millie was stitched up and ready to hold her little ones when Charlie said he had a feeling that things weren’t as set as he’d been told.
“I explained how twins had run in my family, and he said that Millie was too small to be carrying twins.I didn’t know what that meant, and he didn’t seem to be inclined to answer me.”Kahana didn’t say anything; he would never say anything against another doctor, but this could have been dangerous.Treating for twins might have saved Millie from feeling so bloated all the time.“I’m glad you were here to deliver them.There is no telling what he might have done had he been in the operating room with her.This is so much nicer.He would have had her delivering in an operating room rather than a cozy room like this one.”
He didn’t tell him that had he known there were twins, he might have done things differently.Millie was a small woman, and having twelve pounds of baby could have been hard on her.Not that things would have turned out perfect anyway, but with twins, you just never know what is going to happen when they’re delivered.
Since he was acting as pediatrician for the babies, too, he ordered tests on them and was happy when some of the blood tests came back fine.Both girls were taken to the nursery, where they were cleaned up and examined, and he did the same for Millie.She was in great shape for a woman who had just delivered, and he was proud of how well she’d handled the second child coming along, in that she didn’t seem the least bit surprised that she’d had twin girls.
“How could he miss an entire baby?”He said that sometimes one will hide behind the other, and that will cause him to miss one of them.“Is that the reason for the fast heartrate?You were listening to two of them?They told me when I went in for my last scan that the baby wasn’t large and that there was a fast heartrate.I think I knew then and was going to tell you in the morning.Once I got here, Iwas too busy to think about anything but having a healthy little girl.Now I have twins.”He told her that she was lucky in that.“I know that I am.We only wanted a boy and a girl.I’m so happy that I have the girls that I could bust.Charlie wanted a girl with Charles, but neither of us would trade him for the world.”
“He’s going to be happy about having two sisters.”Millie said he was at the jealous age and might not care that there are two dividing his time with her and Dad.“He’ll get over that soon enough.I’m sure that you’ve read how to combat those sorts of feelings.You’re a smart mom.”
“I have read all the books.I’m just happy that things are going to go well from now on.That other doctor was too old to be delivering babies in this time.His ideas were too old for what modern mothers want to have done.He told me to expect to stay five days in the hospital when I delivered so that the nurses could care for my little one.I want them right here with me all the time.I don’t want to miss them.”He just held her hand while she spoke, and when she kissed the back of it, he was a little startled until she explained.“You were wonderful.You never told me to be put under when I went into hard labor.That’s the way that he does all his labor and delivery cases.”
“I don’t think you needed to be out.I like it when I can talk to my patients.”She said that he’d done just what she’d wanted.“Good, then it was a success all the way around.Now you have to tell your parents that you have two little girls to spoil, and they’ll be thrilled no matter how they came into the world.”
“I can’t wait.Charlie is going to talk to his dad first.”She told him that things would go better that way than telling her parents.“They tend to go a little overboard.I’m so happy right now I could bust.Twin little girls.Can you believe it?”
He did and was happy that things were going so well for the young couple.He couldn’t wait to have his own children being born and decided that as soon as Debra was ready, he’d have fifty kids if she wanted.He loved children and newborn babies.He didn’t think that he’d deliver them; he’d be a nervous wreck if he were in that situation, but he would be there for Debra every step of the way.
After signing off on their birth certificates and handing them in, he stayed in his office until things were settled in the waiting room.He didn’t want to meet up with the parents of the couple and let the cat out of the bag about the babies.After they were told there were a lot of visitors to Millie’s room, he didn’t have the heart to tell them that only three visitors at a time.He let the staff handle it.They’d know the best way to make sure that Millie wasn’t overwhelmed, nor would the babies.
As soon as he saw Debra, he felt the love for her that he did every time he saw her.She was his everything, and he could tell her that every minute of every day, and it still wouldn’t be enough to let her know how deeply in love with her he was.They were on their way home at four in the morning, and all he wanted to do was sleep.With Debra.They’d work out the sex later.
Chapter 6
