Chapter Forty-Four

The next two days after the council meeting were filled with worry and stress. I avoided anything having to do with the engagement and Reece didn't press it. I had gone to bed alone, Reece had been roped into many phone calls from lawyers and people his father had worked with. It was around one in the morning that I woke up to terrible pain. Looking around the dark room, I was alone. Reece was still on the phone.

I tried to roll over back to sleep but the pain got worse. With a huff, I sat up, hoping the adjustment helped. It didn't. Something was wrong.

"Reece!" I called, my voice hoarse and quiet for some reason. No response. 

"Reece!"  I yelled this time and immediately heard him come thumping up the stairs.

"Vinnie? What's wrong?" He opened the door and hurried over to me, flipping on the light. 

"It hurts." I said, my throat tight. He kneeled in front of me, placing a hand on my leg gently.

"What? What hurts?" He asked.

"I feel sick, dizzy." I said, wincing at another round of pain. "But I don't think that's what it is."

"Okay-"

"Reece, I think it's time." I wheezed, pointing to my stomach. His eyes widened and he jumped up.

"Oh! Oh god!" He cried, running over to the dresser. He tossed a pair of shorts onto the bed for me and yanked on his sleep shirt. I pulled the shorts on and stood shakily to my feet.

"I got you." Reece said, sweeping me gently off my feet and out of the room.

He headed out into the dark hallway, and hurried down the stairs.

"You feel warm, like fever warm." Reece said suddenly. He picked up the pace and out the front door, kicking it shut behind us. The brisk night air bit at my bare legs as Reece sped down the walkway towards the car. 

Reece opened the passenger door and placed me on the seat. Shutting the door he hurried around the front and into the drivers seat. He clicked the door shut and started the car. I pulled on the seat belt.

"It's gonna be fine, you're gonna be fine." Reece assured me as we pulled off the driveway and down the dark road to the hospital. 

We arrived within ten minutes, due to Reece's speeding. Once in the parking lot he jumped from the car and scooped me out of the passenger seat and raced barefoot into the hospital. Thankfully the nurse at the front desk was a vampire, so all she needed was a look at Reece's face and they took us immediately. One perk of being a Hawkwood.

I was settled into a private room and the nurse assured us the doctor was on her way.

"Vinnie, talk to me." Reece said.

"Not what I had in mind right now." I whispered, gripping the blanket tightly.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, a hand on my shoulder. I reached up and grabbed it at the next round of pain. The door opened and the doctor came in.

"Just shut up and hold my hand."

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After an a half an hour emergency C-section, we were parents. It was at 2:03 am on February 7 that our twins, Percy David and Quinn Sabine, were born. We gave my father's name to be Percy's middle name and Reece's mother's name to be Quinn's. 

"I feel like I'm going to break her." Reece said, cradling Quinn in his arms.

"Me too." I sniffled, holding back tears. I was beyond exhausted, but all I wanted to do was hold them. But they were still newborns, so they were whisked away by the nurses, including the vampire from the front desk. I lay back in bed, closing my eyes for a second. The quiet tap of Reece's fingers on his phone made me open them.
"What are you doing?" I asked, groggily.
"Letting the council know. As much I don't want to, I have to." He sighed.
"Did you send good pictures?"
"They're of them, so of course they're good." Reece grinned, his happiness bringing a smile to my face.

They kept me in the hospital for four days, I was impatient the entire time. I didn't want to be there being poked and prodded by doctors and nurses, I wanted to be home. They'd determined that the fever I had was from a sudden bad case of strep, but I didn't believe them. With everything that had happened to me in the past two years I didn't believe anything was that normal.

We came home finally, and got the twins settled in their rooms. I pulled on a pair of pajamas from before I was showing and crawled into bed with Reece.
"I still can't believe this is real." I sighed. Reece pulled my hand over to his heart.
"Does that feel realer?" He said.
"I don't know if I can do this. I barely know the first thing about being me, let alone a mother." I confessed.
"I feel the same way. But hey, we've got each other and we'll figure it out." Reece said. "And if you're worried about they're safety then don't. The council will protect them."
"That's worse. I don't want them anywhere near the twins." I frowned. He squeezed my hand.
"Trust me, I don't either. But they'll be safe." Reece assured me.
"I guess." I sighed.
"God, what am I doing? You're probably exhausted, let's get some sleep. Who knows when those two will wake up." Reece said, leaning over and turning off the lamp.

"Wait, one more thing." He whispered suddenly.
"Hm?"
"Thanks. For letting me give Quinn my mom's name." He said. I stood on my knees and pulled him into a hug.

"She was your mother, of course Quinn should be named after her." I said.

"What about your mom, or Lauri." He mumbled.

"Percy has my dad's name, and they aren't even my real family." I replied bitterly.

"Hey, don't say that."

"Anyway," I said, changing the subject. "You never talk about your mom."

"I guess I just don't know what to say." Reece shrugged. I kissed the top of his head and laid down.

"Well if you ever do, you can tell me." I rolled over, not facing him and closed my eyes. Silence filled the room.

"Reece." I whispered after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"We're parents." I sighed happily. In response he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, snuggling his face into my shoulder. He gave me a tiny kiss and we both closed our eyes, now no longer the only two in the house,