Henley beams, the happiest woman in the world with both of her babies cradled safely in her arms. “This is Ethan Eddison Cage.”
“That’s beautiful,” Dr. Branson says. “Elijah and Ethan Cage. I have a feeling the two of them are not only going to be trouble makers, but they’ll be a couple of heartbreakers as well.”
Henley laughs, glancing up at me with a knowing sparkle in her beautiful eyes. “If they’re anything like their daddy, then that’s exactly what they’re going to be.”
I can’t deny it, it’s true.
Ethan is taken off Henley to get properly cleaned up and as Elijah falls into a deep, well needed sleep so I scoop him up off Henley’s chest and put him down into the bassinet despite how much I want to take him to the recliner couch in the corner of the room and hold him while he sleeps.
My babies are both safe and doing well, so in this very moment, it’s all about Henley.
She wants nothing more than to get up and shower, but knowing the risks involved, she settles for letting me play nurse. I help get her fixed up as Ethan is placed into a bassinet and put next to his brother, both sleeping soundly.
I get Henley something to wear that isn’t covered in bodily juices and she demands a new cool wash cloth to wipe over her face, the whole time not relenting on asking about having a shower.
Once we’re all sorted and the room finally clears out, we take our sleeping babies and lay down in Henley’s bed, the four of us together as one.
Together as a family.
Henley snuggles into my side and with Elijah safely cradled in her arms and Ethan in mine, she falls into a peaceful sleep while I proudly watch over my family.
Chapter 4
Henley
Holy shit. That shower was incredible.
Well, that could be slightly over exaggerating. After all, it’s just a regular hospital shower, but after the way I’ve been feeling with bodily fluids plastered all over my skin, sweat from head to toes, and of course, my non-stop aching vagina, that plain Jane regular hospital shower went a long way in making me feel somewhat human again.
Truth be told, it’s probably going to be a while before I start to truly feel human again.
I know they say that childbirth is the most natural thing for a woman to experience, but whoever first said that forgot to take their meds. Nothing about that shit was natural. It was terrifying. It was hard, excruciating, and easily the most traumatic thing I’ve ever been through.
If I didn’t have Noah standing by my side and holding my hand, I don’t think I would have been able to get through it. He was simply incredible. I know I sort of blocked him out and ignored everything he said through the whole process, but he was definitely appreciated.
He’s my man, and today, he gave me the world.
Times two.
Twins.
I still can’t believe it. They’re so damn beautiful.
It’s such a strange concept knowing that I cooked these babies in my guts. Just 36 weeks ago they were one egg that got invaded by my husband and split in half to create two, beautiful little boys.
I guess that’s the miracle of life.
I’m sure over the next few years I’m going to forget about the pain of pushing these sweet angels out and hell, maybe we’ll even consider having another. Maybe we’ll try for a girl, but not just yet.
I guess I really shouldn’t be complaining so much. Women go through this every day and they have it much worse than I did. I had a twelve hour labor when others suffer through days of that shit. My babies came out quickly and safely while others end up in emergency situations with devastating outcomes.
I was one of the lucky ones. I couldn’t bear the thought of something so terrible happening to my sweet angels. I don’t know how other women get through it. They must be so much stronger than I am.
Noah helps me to raise my bed into a sitting position and I cringe as it puts pressure on my lady bits. “What’s wrong?” he panics, looking at me as though he’s desperate to help, but I can’t deny the look in his eye that tells me how damn proud he is.
The second I gave birth to these babies, something changed within him. I wasn’t just the girl he met in senior year who wasn’t afraid to knock his ass back, I wasn’t the woman who stood before our friends and family and vowed to love him every day for the rest of our lives, I was the woman who he sees above all others, the one strong enough to bear his children and give him the world. He looks at me as though I’m some sort of mythical creature who has completely captured him.