The Starting Line

Chapter 12

Eleanora lay on the bed, her back to the headboard as she flipped through an article. Mark leaned on the bathroom door, looking at his wife with a small smile.

Eleanora felt his eyes on her and looked up, her nose wrinkled. "What happened?"

"I'm okay, doll." Mark assured her, pushing open the door and heading to bed. They had finally unpacked most of the house, just a few small things left to do, and then the twins' future rooms still needed to be done.

Mark lay down, placing his hand on his wife's belly. A big smile appeared on his face as he readjusted himself so he could be a little closer to her.

"Hello kids. It's dad again."

"I think they know your voice, Mark." Eleanora laughed, moving the article to the side and moving one hand to run her fingers through his hair. "You talk to them more than me, which is impressive since I'm the one carrying them."

"They know who's going to be the fun dad." Mark joked, moving to look at her. "Tomorrow is the big day. Final prediction?"

"One of each one." Eleanora responded quickly, smiling. "I have a feeling."

"I think they are two girls." Mark told her, focusing again on her stomach. "Two little princesses."

"I think Josie would be upset if she wasn't your little princess anymore." Eleanora laughed; Mark joined her. After a while longer, Mark finally moved to sit next to his wife, pulling her to lie on his chest. He grabbed the item she had set aside and handed it to her, pointing towards it.

"What are we reading tonight?"

"Clinically defined ALS occurring after mild electrical injury." Eleanora informed him, turning her head to look at him. "Do you want me to start over?"

"Just pick up where you left off, doll." Mark responded, resting his head in the crook of her shoulder as she opened the article, her soft voice carrying through the room as she read the article aloud.

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S7 EP17

"Very well, everything looks good in your labs. "There are no signs of any illness in the fetuses or in you," Lucy Field told Eleanora, sitting in her rolling chair after returning with the lab results.

Mark took his wife's hand and stood next to her head. They both had a mix of excitement and nervousness on their faces.

"But you can tell us the sex of the twins, right?" Mark asked, moving to scratch the back of his neck. "She's far enough."

Lucy smiled, setting up the ultrasound. "Of course I can. I assume you two have been placing bets?"

"We haven't." Eleanora informed her. "Yes, we've guessed, but my friends, Alex and Cristina, have a small betting group with more of our friends."

"Well, don't let the losers know that I was the one who confirmed their loss." Lucy joked; Eleanora laughed.

Lucy focused on the monitor, humming as she took a few pictures. "Both babies look healthy. The right size, the heartbeat is steady. And... here we go."

Eleanora perked up a little, squeezing her husband's hand tightly. Mark grimacing before focusing on the ultrasound Fields turned to show them.

"Baby A is a boy." Lucy informed them, Eleanora and Mark perked up. "And baby B... is also a boy. Congratulations, Dr. and Dr. Sloan. You are having twin boys."

Eleanora's eyes widened slightly, Mark letting go of his wife's hand to raise both arms in the air, an excited and shocked laugh leaving his lips.

"I'm going to have boys! Did you hear that, doll? We have two little boys!" Mark leaned down and cupped her cheeks, pulling her in for a kiss. Lucy turned around and focused on a few other things, giving the couple some privacy. Eleanora laughed softly, watching as Mark continued to ramble.