Chapter Text
Tim Bradford woke to a hand shaking him so he turned over to see Lucy leaning against the side of the bed. The expression on her face spelled pain so he knew instantly that she gone into labor. He quickly got out of bed and moved around to her.
“Contraction?” She didn’t respond but nodded and he saw the app she planned to use for contractions open beside her hand. Taking her hand, he held it and felt her squeeze hard as she moaned softly. “I’m here Luce, just squeeze my hand.”
Soon she let go of his hand and he ran his free one down her back. Waiting for her to speak, she finally did. “They’re six minutes apart.” She pushed her phone away and he picked it up to scroll down to the start of the recording.
“You’ve been laboring the whole day.” It was almost five in the morning, his usual wake up time. He’d gone to bed about ten because of exhaustion and her telling him she’d come to bed once she finished the episode of whatever HGTV show she’d been watching. The contractions seemed to have been mild throughout the previous day and evening but were ramping up. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
The look she gave him made him want to scream because it was full of love. “You were exhausted after the manhunt yesterday.”
Tim knelt beside the bed next to her. “Baby, that doesn’t matter. This is more important than sleep.”
“Are you mad?”
“No, I’m just worried.” He brushed her hair back from her face and he notices she was sweating a little. “I’m going to go wake up Tamara and let her know what is going on and then I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Knocking on Tamara’s door, he opened it and saw the now twenty year old sleeping. Shaking her lightly, she groaned and opened her eyes. “What?”
“Lucy’s in labor and I’m taking her to the hospital.”
That seemed to wake the girl up and she sat up while rubbing her eyes. He figured she’d gotten in late because he hadn’t seen her before he’d gone to bed. “What do you need me to do?” The question was interrupted by a yawn.
“I’m going to call Pine when its closer to my time for work. You know how to feed Nox so do that. I’ll call if anything changes or when the babies get here.”
“Yeah.” She quickly got out of bed and seemed to follow him down the hall towards the living room. The master bedroom and other bedrooms were on separate ends of the house with the kitchen and living room in the middle. He heard the TV turn on and knew Tamara was going to keep herself awake. Despite repeatedly telling her that his K9 wasn’t allowed on the couch, he heard the Belgian Malinois jump up next to Tamara.
Lucy was in the middle of another contraction when he entered the master bedroom. Immediately, he was over holding her hand and brushing back her hair. It seemed to last forever in his mind so he knew she was definitely feeling it. Lucy had a high tolerance for pain but knew the closer the contractions got, the more painful it was. All she was doing was moaning and squeezing his hand, which amazed him. “That’s it, Luce. Squeeze my hand, break it if you need to.”
Once the contraction was over, he knew he needed to get her to the car before the next one hit. Her hospital bag was in the car, packed by Angela once Lucy hit thirty weeks. The woman had labored twice so she knew what was needed and he was thankful. He’d heard several Instagram and ClipTalk stories because the closer Lucy got to full-term, the more she watched those about labor and delivery.
He got her standing, “Tamara?”
“On the couch with Nox. I told her I’d call if anything changes or the babies arrive.” He made sure to grab the keys for their car instead of the shop that stayed at home due to it being for a K9 and handler. His truck also wasn’t a good idea due to the height. He double checked the keys were correct as they passed thru the kitchen to head to the garage.
Getting to the hospital, Tim helped Lucy with everything from paperwork to changing into a hospital gown. She was having contractions during everything and the nurse assigned to help her check in was very patient. It took a couple contractions to get an IV line in and draw labs, monitors were being placed during a contraction due to Lucy’s focus being on holding the bed’s handle and his hand. When it came time for checking dilation, he was shocked by what the nurse told them.
“Lucy, you’re at six centimeters. You’ve done amazing laboring at home.” She stripped off her gloves and proceeded to wash her hands. “Usually I have first time moms coming in at one or two centimeters. Now, are we doing pain meds or not? Just know you can change your mind if you need to. Our anesthesiologists like to be wild and cut off epidurals at seven centimeters instead of four like those at my last hospital. We also have gas or IV meds, but I will tell you we prefer not to give IV meds.”
“No drugs.” She told the woman as she watched the nurse write on her small clipboard.
Tim brushed Lucy’s hair from her cheek. “Anything we need to worry about because its twins?”
“Everything is looking go right now. Heart rates are good and steady, if one or both drop, we’ll start worrying then.” She moved to the dry erase board in the room and started writing all the medical staff that would be part of Lucy’s care. “Do we know gender and names?” She waited patiently as Lucy went through her contraction.
As the contraction ended, Lucy spoke softly. “We’re waiting.”
“Oh, so we’re going to get some surprises in a few hours?”
Tim watched the nurse write ‘Surprise A’ and ‘Surprise B’ on the whiteboard. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“You can call me Laura.” She smiled as she grabbed the door handle. “I’m going to bring you some ice chips. Do you need anything else?”
Lucy nodded, “do you have a medicine ball?”
“We do, I’ll bring it for you.”
Tim found himself supporting Lucy as she rocked on the medicine ball in front of him. One arm was around his neck while he held her free hand. He knew she was a warrior before she even got pregnant but he couldn’t believe what she was doing. He knew the science and the birthing process from at least a dozen videos he’d watched, but seeing her go through it was something else entirely. He would take it all from her if he was able. “That’s it, Baby. Squeeze my hand.” Kissing her brow, he closed his eyes. “You’re doing so good. If I could take all the pain from you, I would. I really would.”
“You wouldn’t survive a second.” She said as a contraction ended.
A laugh escaped him. “You’re probably right, but I’d still take it.” Opening his eyes, he saw her head on his shoulder and felt weak. “I feel useless right now. You’re doing all the work and I’m just sitting here holding your hand.”
“That’s all I need.”
“Okay.”
A knock came on the door after a few minutes and he looked up to see Laura and another nurse. “How are we doing in here?”
Lucy felt the next contraction and squeezed Tim’s hand so he spoke. “She’s having another contraction.”
“Any urge to push yet?” The two nurses walked over, “we’ll wait. You doing okay there, Dad? Do you need anything?”
Tim shook his head. “I’m fine. Lucy and the babies are all that matter right now.”
“We’ll get you some water at the very least. Last thing she needs is you passing out on her.”
The contraction ended eventually and Lucy picked up her head. “Are they alright? The heart rates?”
“Yes, babies are fine. We’re just having shift change and Megan is going to be your new nurse. I’ve already filled her in on everything that has happened since you arrived four hours ago.”
Megan smiled, “hello Lucy. I was wondering if you’ve been feeling any pressure to push.”
“Some, not a lot.”
“Are you okay with me doing a cervical check?” Lucy nodded. “Okay, let’s get into bed.”
It was between two contractions that the nurse performed the cervical check much to Lucy’s discomfort. Tim didn’t even know how to comprehend the discomfort he saw her going through so he just held her hand. Megan peeled off her gloves and pulled the sheet down. She rubbed Lucy’s leg as she went through a contraction, so Tim glanced at her. “She wants to give birth either squatting or on all fours, she doesn’t want to be on her back. How can we make that happen?”
“Our beds can convert so I’ll bring in a squat bar.” Megan smiled as she wrote down information on her clipboard. “You’re nine centimeters, almost there. First baby will come with some pushing and I suspect the second will come between fifteen and twenty minutes after the first. This is a marathon and we’re almost to the midway point.”
“Thank you.” He looked down at Lucy and used his free hand to brush back her hair, she refused to let him put it in a ponytail or braid it.
Two hours was all it took before Tim was watching Lucy squat on the bed while leaning against the bar. Shaffer, who by some miracle was on call that day, and two nurses were working to help her give birth. He stood beside the bed trying to encourage because Lucy had asked him not to touch her already once. He suspected she was overwhelmed and sensitive.
“That’s it Lucy.” Shaffer nodded, “head is out so next push we’re going to get one shoulder and then the second.”
Megan glanced at him. “You alright there, Dad?”
“I’m fine, focus on Lucy.” It annoyed him that they kept asking how he was periodically since they’d walked in the door in the early morning. “You got this, Baby. First one is almost here.”
Shaffer nodded as Lucy bore down and the nurse started counting to ten again. “Good Lucy, that’s very good. You’re a natural at this.” She reached in to slip a finger under the second shoulder. The baby came quickly afterwards. “And here’s Baby A.” She watched as one of the nurses helped Lucy lay back to rest during the transition from first baby to second. Baby went straight onto Lucy’s chest, crying as it’s rubbed. “It’s a girl.”
Lucy found herself crying as she held her daughter and Tim moved to stand beside them. “A girl, we have a daughter.” He smiled and reached up to wipe away her tears. “We have a little girl.”
She only nodded as she looked at the baby. “She’s perfect.”
“Yeah, she is.” He kissed her and took the little hand on Lucy’s chest.
As expected, Lucy found herself pushing again within fifteen minutes and it seemed almost quicker than the first. Unlike the first where she was squatting, having shivers made it hard to deliver in any position other than her back. Tim watched from across the room as he stood with their daughter, he knew Lucy was pushing but he wasn’t going to let their daughter out of his sight. Having worked an infant abduction from a hospital before, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“One more big push on the next contraction.” Shaffer looked at her, “we only got the shoulders once again. You do this and you’ve finished the marathon. You’ll have two babies and I know everyone in this room is dying to find out if we got a little boy or another little girl.”
“That’s it Lucy.” Megan smiled at her, “one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten.”
A cry moments later was heard as the second baby was put on Lucy’s chest, rubbed vigorously. Shaffer smiled as she watched her patient admire the bundle. “It’s a boy, you have one of each.”
“A boy.” Lucy was shaking but she held onto the baby as Tim walked over holding their swaddled daughter. “We have a boy.”
He nodded as he kissed her. “You did something amazing and I don’t know what else to say.”
Resting after delivery, Lucy found herself amazed as she held her daughter in her arms. Tim sat in the nearby chair with their son, just gazing at him. Her meal was on the tray next to the bed, she’d been hungry and she’d shown it by eating everything on the plate. Tim’s plate was nearly full since he was more focused on the baby in his arms. She understood because she was amazed with herself but even more so with the babies. She finally understood what Angela and Harper meant when they said there was no feeling like motherhood.
A knock on the door made them both look up and saw Tamara enter the room. “I left everyone else downstairs.” She walked over to Lucy and grinned, “girl or boy?”
“The giant bow on her hat should have been a giveaway.”
“Hey, you never know now days. She’s so cute.”
Lucy patted the bed and Tamara sat down, finding herself with an arm full of baby seconds later. “This is Zoe Lucy Bradford.”
“Tim insisted her middle name be after you?” Tamara looked up with a smirk.
“He wore me down. We’re calling her Zoe after Captain Anderson; up until she died, she would always match training officers and rookies. She made the decision to match us and she was one of the bravest and honorable women we knew. We want Zoe to have those qualities also.”
Tim stood up and moved to the bed, “this is Theo Colin Bradford. Theo after Jackson’s middle name and after you.”
“After me?”
“We couldn’t decide on a middle name and you came in one day joking about calling the baby after you if it’s a girl. It made the decision easy. We had names prepared for two of each, but making the decision on which to use was too easy.”
A knock was followed by Megan entering the room. “I see Big Sister has arrived. What do you think of these two?”
“They’re cute.” Tamara ignored the ‘big sister’ comment. “Something tells me no one is getting sleep anytime soon.”
“I’m just going to squeeze in and take your vitals.” She told Lucy, “how are you feeling?”
Lucy sighed, “happy and tired.”
“You did double the work the last nine months and then giving birth. You deserve to be tired.”
Tim nodded as he exchanged babies with Tamara, almost too expertly. “When we get home the only thing you’ll be focusing on is the twins. Tamara and I will take care of the rest.”
“You have to get back to work.” She told him.
“I spoke with Pine and Grey and I submitted my paternity leave request. We both know I have more paid leave available then one should, so taking off also isn’t a problem. You worked up until last week so you have enough also. Nox will just be off duty with me. Remember that Pine brought on more than one K9 so it won’t be an issue. I have that statement from both of them.”
Tamara looked up from Theo, “I’m not cooking.”
“We’d starve if you cook.” Tim told her, “I’ll be cooking.”
“Do you know how to cook?”
The look of exasperation on his face made Lucy hold in a laugh. “Yes, I know how to cook. How do you think I fed myself before dating Lucy?”
“I don’t know, stories say you could be a Terminator.”
Lucy could help but laughing and glanced at Megan. “I’m so sorry for them. They’re not related but they’re related.”
“I can tell. My son and husband are the same way.” Megan undid the blood pressure cuff. “All that matters is that you’re family.”
Lucy looked at the four in front of her. “Yeah, that’s what matters.”