Sunshine (Take Two Sequel)

Chapter 37: Lilly

My friends arrived at the hospital about an hour after we did, and my doctor, Dr. Richards did not take long to get there. My contractions were getting closer and closer together and more painful. Roger was doing his best to help me, but I just wanted this to be over. I was getting closer. My doctor said I was seven centimeters dilated and I had to be ten, so it was almost time. My friends came in to visit me, a few at a time. Freddie came in with Jim first.

"Hello darling," Freddie said. "I brought you something, but I can't give it to you until the babies are born or it'll get all... sweaty." I rolled my eyes and Jim quietly scolded him.

"How are you feeling?" Jim asked.

"Ok," I said. "It's a really fun feeling when two tiny humans are trying to push themselves out of you." Jim chuckled softly and we heard a small knock on the door. I looked up and saw Lucy and Rami standing there.

"Hi," Lucy said. "I'm so happy these babies are coming early. We have to go back to London next week and we were afraid we would not get to meet them." I smiled softly and Lucy gave me a gentle hug.

A few more of friends came to see me later on, and their reactions to what was happening fit their personalities. Brian, Anita, John and Veronica were really excited for us. Ella and Gwilym were happy and sweet. Joe, Ben and Rory seemed happy, but nervous. I suspected Rory was pregnant and they were getting a glimpse into their future. Winter was awkward, which I expected. She was an only child with very little experience around babies, and she wasn't a fan of them or the process. Our friends visited for a while before Dr. Richards came back in to examine me.

"Good news, Lilly," she said. "It looks like you're ready to go to the delivery room. Are you ready to become a mom?" I took a deep breathe and nodded as they started taking me into the delivery room. Roger followed close by and held my hand, letting me know he was there. When we got to the delivery room we were surrounded by nurses. Dr. Richards pulled her stool to the end of the bed and sat down, ready to deliver the babies.

"Alright Lilly," she said. "It looks like baby number one is already crowning so you're going to have to start pushing as soon as your next contraction starts which should be any second now."

"Ok," I said nervously. "I-I'm ready." I grabbed Roger's hand and he kissed it comfortingly.

"Ok," my doctor said. "On the count of three, I want you to push as hard as you can. One... two... three." I started pushing as hard as I could. It hurt like hell. "Alright," Dr. Richards said. "She's almost here, keep going." As soon as my next contraction started I started pushing, and again a few seconds later. After a few more minutes of pushing, which felt like hours of agony, I heard a baby crying. I sighed happily and looked up at my little girl. Roger and I both smiled happily and he kissed my cheek.

"And baby girl Taylor number one is born," Dr. Richards said with a smile. "Time of birth, August 18, 2019, 11:11am." I sighed in relief as I heard her cry.

"Would you like to cut the cord, dad?" Dr. Richards asked. Roger nodded, walking over to cut the cord. Afterwards, Dr. Richards handed her to one of the nurses to clean her up.

"Alright," she continued, sitting back down. "Baby number two should be along any time now, so you don't have much time to relax."

"I just had a baby," I whined. "Leave me alone!" Roger chuckled and grabbed my hand again.

"It's going to be fine baby," he said. "You can do this." Before I could respond, I had another contraction. Dr. Richards told me to start pushing again. It hurt more of than it did the first time, which I assumed was because I had just given birth, but I got a little nervous when I saw a strange look on Dr. Richards face.

"Is something wrong?" I asked here.

"The baby's breech," she said. "She's upside down so she's coming out feet first. She's going to be alright, it's just going to be a little harder to get her out so you'll have to push even harder."

"O-ok," I said nervously. I squeezed Roger's hand as I started pushing.

"Lilly you need to push harder," Dr. Richards said. "She's not moving."

"I can't!" I cried. "It hurts so much!"

"Lilly, look at me," Roger said. I looked over at him and he continued, "You can do this. You have to do this for our daughter and I know you can. You're strong, and you already had one baby." We both chuckled softly and I nodded in agreement. When the next contraction came I pushed as hard as I could. After a few more painful seconds, I heard my second baby crying. I collapsed on the hospital bed, breathing heavily, relieved that this was over.

"And here's baby girl Taylor number two," Dr. Richards said. "Time of birth, August 18th, 2019 at 11:16am. Be prepared for number one to brag about being five minutes older forever." Roger and I both laughed lightly and Dr. Richards handed her to the nurse.

"We're going to weigh and measure them and wrap them up for you," Dr. Richards said. "And then you can take them to recovery with you, alright?" Roger and I both smiled and nodded. We relaxed for a few minutes before Dr. Richards and the nurse came over with our little ones.

"Do we have names yet?" She asked.

"We do," I said. "But, we want to tell our friends first. They're like family and they helped us name them."

"That's fine," Dr. Richards said. "In that case, we'll stick with baby girl Taylor number one and two for now. Number one weighs four pounds, six ounces, and number two is 4 pounds, ten ounces. Together they weigh exactly nine pounds. They're small, but healthy." Roger and I both smiled and they handed one baby to each of us. They were so tiny and warm, wrapped up in little pink blankets and hats.

Once we were in recovery, the nurse told us we hand a lot of visitors. All of our friends came in at once and cooed at the little ones.

"They're so precious," Lucy said happily.

"Did you pick names yet?" Rory asked.

"Should we tell them?" I asked Roger. He looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and looked at all our friends.

"Alright," I said. "We thought about this a lot and we decided to make their first names names that we liked and their middle names names that meant something to us. So... this little one is Everly Faith, after my older sister."

"That's so sweet," Ella said.

"What about the one Roger is holding?" Joe asked. I smiled as I looked over at my baby.

"That is Audrey," I said.

"You used my name!" Lucy said happily. I smiled as she took my hand lovingly.

"What's her middle name?" Ben asked. I looked up at Rory and smiled.

"Aurora," I said softly.

"You named her after me?" Rory asked. I smiled and nodded.

"You've done a lot for me," I said. "I definitely wouldn't be where I was in my career without you. I might not even be with Roger which would mean these two wouldn't even exist. You deserve it." I saw a small tear form in Rory's eyes and she leaned down and have me a gentle hug.

"Oh darling, I almost forgot," Freddie said. "You can have your present now." He pulled the fuzzy red blanket I gave him in the hospital out of his bag. I smiled as he laid it over my legs.

"That's so sweet Freddie," I said. "Thank you."

"We really should have known that was the gift though," Roger said. "It's our hospital blanket." Our friends stayed around for a little longer. Later on, they left and the nurses came to take Everly and Audrey to the nursery so I could get some rest. I was lying in bed, starting to fall asleep as Roger softly stroked my hair.

"I'm so proud of you baby," he said. "I love you."

"I love you too," I mumbled as I closed my eyes. I felt Roger kiss my forehead softly right before I drifted off to sleep.