She was weak, tired, and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. But... She couldn't stop watching. It was like her worst nightmare was being played out in front of her very eyes. Because it was. The doctors swarmed around her baby, blocking her view of it. Slowly, the commotion in the room had ceased to be nothing more than an indistinct grumble in the back of the room. She'd gotten herself into a sort of trance. She just laid there, not hearing anything else. Vaguely, she thought she'd heard a nurse ask if she was alright, but she hadn't responded.
Finally, she heard a cry. Clear and strong, it rang out from the heart of the room and into the depths of her soul. Finally, she laid her head down to rest.
***
She didn't know how long she'd slept for. It was bright out, which meant that she'd been out at least six hours. When she'd asked a nurse, she was told that she'd slept an entire day. It surprised her. She asked the nurse how her twins were, and she replied, smiling, that they were fine and healthy. She sagged back in relief. It then occurred to her that she hadn't known the gender of the twins. The doctor came in shortly after the nurse had left, and came with the news that she had delivered a healthy boy and a perfect girl. She felt particularly pleased that she'd given birth to one of each. It was a good balance to have in the family. It wasn't until then that she realized that Drew was sleeping quietly in the chair beside her. The doctor looked at him for a moment, and then at her.
"Have you picked out names yet?" He asked. She read his name tag. Dr. Aaron, it seemed, was a nosy man. She examined him for a moment: brown hair that was perfectly coiffed, sparkling blue eyes, and perfectly white teeth. No muscles that she could see, although she suspected he kept fit because he had a decent sized middle.
"Yes." She replied slowly.
"Excellent. I'll have a nurse bring in two birth certificates for you to fill out." His smile was kind, and ver infectious. It annoyed her to a degree, but since this man had her children's lives in his hands, she thought it best to hold her tongue. She nodded her silent thanks, and the kindly doctor left the room, leaving her with her thoughts.
***
She was sent home two days later. Luke Adam and Margo Ann Lipsky were coming home with them. As she walked to the hovercraft with her husband, it occurred to her that this was the vantage point that they would have to set the rest of their lives for. It was a boundless future, full of new inventions, new battles, and new experiences. A new day was dawning, with her future stretching out to the horizons. And, as she looked down at her children, who were asleep in their carriers, she found herself lost in the memory of the first time she held her children, the first time that she'd ever really been whole, or alive for that matter. It was in that moment that she'd become a mother, and she never thought she could ever forget it.
***
The hospital rooms were always very clean. That was something she had really appreciated in those four days. Drakken usually kept the lab a mess, so when she'd seen the stark, shiny surfaces of her hospital room, it was something she had truly enjoyed. She ran her fingers daintily over the polished wood of her nearby chair handle. It felt smooth and wonderful. She understood messes and chaos, but occasionally she found something comforting in a smooth and clean surface. The nurse had last checked on her an hour ago, when she thought Shego was sleeping. Clearly she hadn't been. As soon as she's heard the clunky white nurses shoes move opposite her, she'd shot right up in bed, alert and focused.
Today was the day she was going to meet her children.
It was in this that she found an eternity of peace and solace. Drew had already seen them, but she stopped him before he could tell her anything about them. She'd wanted to see for herself. The wait was moving as slow as a slug. It was then that she'd started to try and find something to occupy herself with. She'd started to try and read a book she'd found on her bedside table, but it was only a bible. It was a book about a God that she herself didn't believe in. She quickly put it back in the drawer where she'd found it. The TV was off and she couldn't find the remote. Even if she had, the only thing on at this time of day were those cheesy talk shows, which of course she hated. She wished forlornly for the comfort of cable TV. She wanted to watch all of her guilty pleasures- from Evil Eye For The Bad Guy, to American Starmaker, to Agony County. The torture of waiting for this moment was going to drive her wild. She questioned herself, all of her doubts, and all of her fears. She lay there, contemplating everything at once until they blurred into a mess of jumbled senselessness. It wasn't going to be easy, she reasoned, but it would certainly be worth it. Her fingers skimmed over the cold metal railing of her bed, just looking for something to touch. The blankets on her were a bit scratchy, and nothing on the bed was particularly nice to see. She kept running her fingers over the railing, trying to maintain a good train of thought. She didn't notice when the rail had grown warm with the heat of her fingers, nor did she notice when a nurse had come back into her room.
"You're finally awake." She stated, startling Shego from her thoughts. She started into a defensive position, but once she saw the nurse she backed down. The nurse was a nice African American woman, with mischievous brown eyes, and hair pulled back into a neat bun. From the amount of wrinkles on her face and hands, Shego guessed her to be in her mid to late forties. She had a quirky smile and a tenacious and sassy demeanor that made Shego smile. She nodded to the nurse.
"You ready to meet your kids?" Asked the nurse. She nodded her head rapidly. Yes. She had been waiting for this for months.
The nurse helped her into a wheelchair and wheeled her toward the back of the maternity ward. A giant window greeted them near the end of the hall. As they got closer to it, she was greeted by the sight of babies- at least a dozen of them. Each in their own little unit, with glass walls, and holes to put their hands through. But which ones are mine? She wondered. Her question was soon answered when a nurse inside the room grabbed two little pink and blue bundles in beds right next to one another. Somehow, one of her children had already been placed in her waiting arms before she'd had time to gasp. It was in that moment that her life was altered.
It was Luke she held in her arms. It was he who bore the bruise of the umbilical cord around his neck. But that wasn't what she saw. He was perfect. Her little boy was absolute perfection. His skin was a bit too light to be considered normal, and his eyes were shut. He had a little button nose, and when he opened his little mouth to yawn, it was the most perfect thing she'd ever seen. Margo was in her arms next, she was just a tad pinker than her brother, but otherwise they were completely identical. She stared at them both, shocked and awed. What amazed her the most was when little Luke wriggled his arm from his blanket and wrapped his hand around her finger. And in that moment, she had become a mother. The love that had burst within the confining space of her heart had been to big to hold. It was too powerful to explain with words. But it was there. And she knew, with a quiet nod, that it had altered her beyond what reason could strive to explain. She kissed both of their fuzzy heads and pressed them close to her chest. She thought back to when she'd pulled the bible from her bureau, and knew that wether or not she believed in a God, this was her taste of heaven.
***
As she strapped the twins into the craft, she could see the sun dipping low beneath the mountains, and the moon beginning to rise in the sky. It felt symbolic to her. The sun was setting on her old life, and a new moon was heralding a new one, full of joy and laughter. She thought of the Christmases they'd spend together, the Easters, the horrible obligatory family dinners that would end in disaster, and all the firsts she couldn't bear to miss. She wistfully hoped that they would love their new home, and those who came with it. She hoped for them to get wisdom and insight as they got older, and that she should Probably start saving for college now. It occurred to her that someday they'd be teens, mouthing off to her, then growing up and moving out and-
A knife twisted painfully in her heart. No. She wouldn't think about that now. The sun had almost gone completely behind the mountains, the moon had risen just above the middleton skyline. As the sky turned from shades of rose to blue, she got into the car, and, taking one last look at the hospital, drove off into her future's horizon.
THE END
YOU ARE READING
Unexpected Plans
RomantizmShego becomes pregnant by her blue-skinned employer. How will she take the news? How will Drakken react? And will they decide to keep the baby?
