fifteen
As a kid, Michael was always pretty queasy. He hated blood—anything from nose bleeds to paper cuts made him sick. It was a pretty big surprise when he became an obstetrician-gynecologist.
Half of his job was delivering babies. This involved a lot of things that child-Michael didn't want to see.
At twenty-eight now, he's gotten over it.
He stands next to Luke, both of them ready for the first baby of four to be removed through a caesarean section. This patient was technically Michael's, but more than one doctor is needed when more than one baby is present.
The two men watched through the caesarean section, making sure everything stayed perfect with vitals. Their surgeon was a tall, broad man, keeping most of the view out of the way.
It took an entire hour for Baby A, B, C, and D to be safely removed. Luke was sweating, his hairline damp. It was stressful delivering more than one baby, there will almost always be complications.
It was something more than heartbreaking when one of the two OB/Gyn's had to inform their client that their baby wasn't as perfect as they thought. Sometimes their baby never even took that first breath, there was nothing they could do.
Luke collapsed on the couch in the lounge, still in his surgical pants. He stripped off the top somewhere near laundry, not wanting to see loose tracks of human product on him.
Michael came in a half hour later, fresh from a shower. He was in his lounging clothes, ready to pass out for a good hour nap. He slowly fell on top of Luke, cuddling into his chest.
Luke smiled and laugh, wrapping his arms around the younger man. "How're you feeling?"
"Mmph."
"Me too."
Michael rested his chin on Luke's chest, looking up at him. "That family we just delivered weren't sure they were able to conceive. Isn't it weird to think that they have four now? That's some fucking magic."
Luke rubbed his hands up Mike's back then back down to the dimples above his bum. "I've never seen two people so happy, though. Watching them hear that fourth baby crying was amazing, Mike. Did you see it?"
"No, I was making sure I didn't drop Baby D or something." Michael turned his head sideways once more, resting his eyes closed. He listened to Luke's heartbeat ricocheting through his chest, his lungs exhaling a soothing beat.
"I guess that's important."
"Do you have the Saturday shift tomorrow?"
Luke nodded, "Sadly, yeah." His hands slid underneath Michael's shirt, resting his hands at the curve of his back.
"Do you wanna come over after?" Mike yawned before continuing, "We can just hang. I can help you plan for the Christmas party in a few weeks."
"Is Ashton making me host?"
Mike laughed, "Don't pretend you don't want to."
Luke smiled, closing his own eyes. "Whatever. Goodnight, Mike."
"Have a nice nap," he yawned once more, "see you on the other side."
