Seeing Colors

Chapter 14

March 31, 2016

"You sure you don't want to come with us? I'm sure we can get you a ticket at the last minute," Dec asked their 3-month pregnant surrogate, Michelle.

He and Stephen were briefly - well, it was meant to be brief, but Dec has gone to his full-blown worried dad mode - stopping by her place before they fly off to Barcelona for the Takeaway finale.

"Yes, I'm sure, Dec," Michelle laughed. "You two enjoy your trip. The twins and I will be fine."

"See, she said she'll be fine. Now, we really need to head to the airport, love." Stephen wrapped an arm around Dec and coaxed him to stand up from the sofa. "Michelle, don't hesitate to call me and Dec if you need anything. We're just one call away, alright?"

"Yep, I got it guys," she smiled at the two. "Now shoo, or you're gonna miss your flight."

Dec and Stephen left Michelle's home and drove to the airport, where they met up with Ant and Ali. 

"What took you guys so long?" Ant asked Stephen, while Dec went off to the side to make a phone call.

"We stopped by Michelle's to check on her and, well, Dec started fussing over Michelle and all that." Stephen explained to Ant and Ali. "I bet that he's calling her right now to check on her again."

"He's really excited, isn't he?" Ali asked.

"Yep, he is." Stephen smiled fondly at his husband. "If he could build a time machine, I'm sure he would travel to the future already because he cannot wait for the babies to be born," he chuckled.

An announcement was made that their flight was ready for boarding. "Oh, I should go get, Dec. You two should go ahead, we'll catch up."

Ant and Ali fell in line for boarding, while Stephen approached Dec. He sweetly coaxed him off the phone, saving Michelle from another minute of Dec's worrying, before falling in line themselves.

September 24, 2016, 11:47 pm

Ant jolted up in bed by the screaming coming from Dec's house. He immediately pulled some trousers on before stumbling over to his bedroom window to see what the commotion was all about. 

Michelle had moved in at the beginning of her last trimester so that Dec and Stephen would be on hand when she was going into labor, so the scene unfolding on their front yard was to be expected. Coming out of their front door was a rather disheveled Stephen, lugging several bags, followed closely by Dec, who was guiding a red-faced Michelle to the car. It was obvious that Michelle was ready to give birth, so Ant pulled on his shirt and grabbed his wallet, phone, and keys to help out his friends. 

Once he bolted out of his house, the screaming was much louder. Ant couldn't tell who was louder: Michelle, who was in pain, or Dec, who shouting for Stephen to get the car started already. Judging from the sputtering sound coming from Stephen's car, Ant knew that it wasn't gonna start soon. 

Acting quickly, Ant jumped into his car and parked in front Dec and Stephen's house. "Come on you lot! I'm taking you to the hospital!"

Stephen ditched his car and grabbed the bags, all while assisting Dec with Michelle. He opened the second row door for Dec and Michelle before getting in as well. "You're a lifesaver, Ant!" Stephen exclaimed as he slammed the door shut.

"Aye, I know," he said. "Now, hold tight, 'cause I'm gonna make this car fly!"

Ant zoomed through the almost empty streets of Chiswick, heading to the closest hospital. They made it in quick time and Michelle was immediately rushed into the delivery room, along with Dec and Stephen for support, while Ant waited in the sitting area.

He waited and waited until he finally fell asleep across several hard, plastic chairs. Ant doesn't know how long he had been like that, but it was almost nine o'clock the next morning when he was being shaken awake.

Ant slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of Declan's beautiful blue eyes shining with tears and a smile that can blind you. He sat up only to be tackled into a hug by Dec, causing them to fall over across the chairs.

"They're beautiful, Ant! My babies are beautiful!" Dec exclaimed against Ant's shoulder. 

Ant returned the hug and let out a muffled congratulations. Dec let him go and helped him sit back up. "So the twins, what's their sexes?" Dec and Stephen decided not to find out the sex of the twins, wanting to keep it a surprise.

"A boy and a girl! They're beautiful, Ant!" Dec excitedly repeated. 

"Haha, must have gotten their looks from their mum then," Ant joked.

"Shut up, you!" Dec lightly hit Ant on his arm. "They're gorgeous babies! They got their father's beautiful eyes."

Ant admired the radiance emitting from Dec as he continued to describe his children. He's never seen Dec as happy as he was at that moment; his wedding day was nothing in comparison. It looked like that Dec has fallen in love once more, this time to his children, and at a much greater intensity. 

He snapped out of his thoughts when Dec suddenly grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I can't wait for you to see your godchildren! They're gonna bring them in Michelle's room once the twins are all cleaned up and stuff."

Ant and Dec made their way to Michelle's room and was soon joined by Stephen, who was calling his parents and Dec's mum to tell the great news. There, they saw a very tired Michelle lying in bed. Stephen and Dec profusely thanked the young woman, which Michelle accepted with a tired smile. 

It wasn't long before two nurses wheeled in the twins into the room. Dec was practically bouncing off the walls as he watched the nurses gently lifted the twins out of their respective beds. Dec and Stephen were each given a baby to hold before the nurses left the room to give them privacy. 

"Michelle, would you like to hold the babies?" Stephen asked.

"No, it's fine. They're your babies to hold," Michelle fondly smiled at the two proud parents.

Dec was cradling their baby boy, while Stephen had their baby girl. The two cooed at their babies, both admiring the tiny person in front of them.

"You and your sister are the best birthday presents Daddy has ever gotten. Yes, you are. Yes, you are," Dec cooed before nuzzling his son's nose. 

"So have you decided on their names?" Ant asked as he looked over Stephen's shoulder.

"This gorgeous lad is Daniel Oliver Mulhern-Donnelly. Ollie for short," Dec said as he stroked Ollie's cheek. "And that little lass is Mika, short for Mikaela Antoinette. She's named after Michelle, and of course, you, Ant."

Ant felt tears prick at his eyes upon hearing the little lass' name. "You named her after me?"

"It was Stephen's idea, actually," Dec explained.

"Yeah, I wanted to name her after two people who are very important to us. Michelle, who made this all possible for me and Dec. And after you, for being our best mate. You've always been here for me and Dec and we really appreciate that. We love you, mate."

"I love you guys as well." Ant gingerly hugged the two, careful not to crush the precious cargo they were both holding. "I promise I'll continue being here for you twos and I'll be a great godparent for Ollie and Mika... I'll do anything for the lot of you. Anything."