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It's happening.

Isy's POV

It was 10:30 pm on a Tuesday evening when Alexia muttered the seven words that changed everything.

"I think I might be having contractions," she said as she emerged from our en suite while we were getting ready for bed. One hand rested on her bump as she leaned against the door frame with the other for support.

"Really?" I shot up from where I was sitting on my side of the bed.
"How many? Are you in pain?" I asked as I rushed over to her.

"I've been in pain for weeks Isy, but something is definitely happening. It feels different."

"How long have you been having them?" I asked as I helped her towards the bed.

"I thought they were just Braxton Hicks, so I ignored them, but this is different now. They started a few hours ago."

"A few hours? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't know if they were contractions." She breathed heavily.

"Ok, um... we should call Eli. Tell her to come and stay with the boys while we go to the hospital."

"Isy, stop for a minute. Breathe. It's only a few contractions, we don't need to rush like I'm already crowning."

"I'm scared. I've not done this before. I'm normally the one having the contractions. I don't know what to do."
I could feel myself starting to panic.

"Me too, but just sit with me for a second."

I stopped pacing the room and joined my wife at the end of the bed. The stress and panic eased the moment her hand intertwined with mine.

"I'm ok. I'm not in full labour yet . Yes, I'm having a few contractions, but they are well over fifteen minutes apart. We don't need to panic. I just want to go to bed and get some sleep before we have two newborns here and we never sleep again," she laughed.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, but I do think we should call Mama and let her know we might need her during the night."

Eli answered quickly. She had been expecting the call for the last couple of weeks now that Ale was further along, but she still sounded surprised. She promised to keep her phone on loud and come as soon as we needed her, which put our minds at ease.

We climbed into bed like it was any normal night, but it was anything but normal. Neither of us could relax, let alone sleep. Ale was uncomfortable and I was more nervous than I had ever been.

"Sleep isn't going to happen, is it?" Ale mumbled as she adjusted her position and turned to face me.

"I don't think so," I smiled.
"What do you want to do? Should we just go to the hospital anyway?"

"I'm not sure. The doctor said we might be in hospital for a while after they're born, so I would like to say goodbye to the boys first, but I don't know if that will make it harder for them."

"I think they'll be fine" I reassured her. Jordi was much more prepared than he had been when Enzo was born, and our youngest didn't really understand what was happening. As long as he had his toys, food, and someone to put him to bed, he would be ok.

"They'll be awake in a few hours, so we could stay until they wake up, if that's ok with you?" Ale asked.

"It's up to you, cariño. You're the one in labour this time." I kissed her temple and stroked her hair.

"I think I want to wait."

"Then we'll wait."

The boys woke earlier than usual, almost like they could sense something was happening. Jordi came into our room just before 5 am, immediately climbing into our bed and rubbing his sleepy eyes in the light of the lamp. Enzo followed not long after, settling into my lap and babbling about his dreams like he did every morning.