Anything Could Happen

Chapter Forty: Heirs to the Throne

A sharp pain awoke Briana from her sleep and she gasped resting a hand on her bump as she attempted to ease the pain in some way; she carefully sat up in an attempt not to disturb Lionel who was sleeping beside her.

The last few weeks of her pregnancy had flown by since they had announced that they were expecting twins; it had caused an even greater media frenzy when it came to the new King and Queen.

The date for their coronation had officially been set for after the twins had been born, it would be in May and something that had kept Lionel busy recently.

He had so much on his plate now and Briana felt bad that she couldn't help him in anyway; she was under strict instructions to relax until the twins were born.

Edging her way towards the end of the bed, Briana swung her legs out and tried to quietly climb out of bed; she didn't wish to wake Lionel just yet when she wasn't sure what was happening.

"Briana?" Lionel grumbled waking as she moved to get out of bed, he slept rather lightly now since he wanted to be prepared in case anything happened during the night.

Briana closed her eyes, she hadn't meant to wake him and she had hoped to have a few moments to herself; she had been having contractions most of the evening but they had been far apart until now.

"I'm having contractions," Briana told him with a look over her shoulder, she didn't want him to worry and they should slowly start getting ready to head to the hospital.

Lionel sat up and stared at his wife, the hair on top of his head stood in different directions and he was quickly to start climbing out of bed as the news started to sink in that it was finally happening.

They would have to alert security to have the car ready for them, they had to move quickly if they wanted to get to the hospital without alerting anyone to what was happening.

***

"Do you need anything?" Lionel asked stepping into the private hospital room, they had just been ushered in through the back of the hospital so that no one would notice them arriving.

It was early in the morning and Lionel had a feeling that it was going to be a long wait for the twins to be born; he was tired and he wanted to stay awake in case Briana needed anything.

They were in for a long day and soon the palace would make an announcement that Briana was in labour; it would only be a matter of time then before people started to gather outside of the hospital to await the birth.

"I'm fine," Briana reassured him with a smile, she was tired and she couldn't help but hope that this wasn't going to drag on for hours.

It was nerve wracking enough waiting for the twins to be born and Briana was worried just how painful this was going to be; she settled down on the bed trying not to think about it.

Lionel watched her and slowly moved further into the room, their presence at the hospital couldn't be hidden forever and he had a feeling that their arrival wouldn't be a secret for much longer.

He was worried about people trying to come and see Briana and the twins while they were here; he would be happier when they were safely at home again.

There was just no telling how things would work out between now and when they left the hospital; Lionel wanted to keep them safe for as long as possible.

He couldn't imagine just how crazy this situation would get when everyone knew what was happening here.

***

Lionel couldn't keep a smile off his face, he couldn't believe that he was finally a father and that everything had worked out; he had never thought in a million years that he would end up here.

It had been a few hours since Briana had given birth and for security reasons, it had been decided that her and the twins would come home a few hours after the birth so that they could recover properly from the birth.

Crown Princess Danielle had been born first and Lionel wouldn't deny that he had cried when the nurse had placed her in his arms.

His daughter had been so perfect and Lionel knew that she was going to be beautiful when she grew up; he could only imagine that she would look like her mother when she was older.

Prince Daniel had arrived five minutes after his older sister, he had been a little bit smaller than her and Lionel couldn't help but smile at the tuft of hair on the top of his head.

He was adorable and Lionel was sure that there was no one that could deny that; he had been rather quiet since birth but the doctors had assured his parents that he was just fine.

Briana was dressed already and ready to leave when he was, they didn't want to linger too long considering how many people where now stationed outside of the hospital waiting to see them.

News about the twins' birth had been announced around an hour ago, not much had been announced other than the safe delivery of the twins and their genders.

"Are you ready?" Lionel asked carefully moving to pick Danielle up, he cuddled her in his arms and he would be glad to get away from the media that were going to want pictures of his family.

They just had to walk out of the hospital and to the car, there was no hiding this time and Lionel just wanted to get it over with so that they could relax.

Briana nodded her head as she smoothed out the pink print V-neck jersey midi dress that she was wearing; she was comfortable and that was all that mattered to her right now.

Once the family were ready to leave, they didn't waste another moment in the hospital before they stepped outside and into the view of the media; the crowds around them cheered at the sight of their King and Queen.

News had travelled fast about the impending birth of the twins and everyone had wanted to see the new prince and princess for themselves.

Lionel and Briana forced a smile as they stopped for the cameras, they were sure that it wouldn't be too long until they were on their way home; it had been a long enough day as it had.

People called questions to them wanting to know what the name of the twins were, something that wouldn't be announced for another couple of days.

Lionel gently shifted his hold on Danielle, he couldn't imagine how strange it was for the twins who were only hours old to be greeted in such a way; it was loud for him and Briana, and he couldn't imagine what it was like for them.

Starting to move towards the car, Lionel was relieved that this was over and that for now the twins could be shielded from the life that their parents lived; it wasn't going to be easy but his own parents had done that.

Lionel and his siblings hadn't had to face the responisblities of their lives until they were twenty-one; even if they did become aware that their lives would never be normal at a very early age.

Briana carefully placed Daniel into his car seat and was almost relieved to be ushered into her own seat by security; she was exhausted and the sooner that they were at home the better.

Leaning back in her seat, Briana waited for Lionel to join her wondering if this was what the rest of her life was truly going to be like.