Oops (General Hospital)

Double Trouble

December 13th 2018

     "But Daddy, I wanna stay with you." Leo complains, pulling on Julian's arm.
     "Buddy," Julian says softly, "Oscar is taking you to Kids' Zone. You're gonna have so much fun. You can play games and win prizes. You'll have fun with Oscar. Kim and I are just shopping. It's no fun for kids."
     "I wanna be with you and Derek and Kenny." Leo says.
     Oscar comes over and ruffles Leo's hair. "Come on, buddy. They have mini golf in Kids' Zone."
     Leo perks up. "Bye bye, Daddy!" He grabs Oscar's hand and pulls him inside.
     Julian laughs and turns to Kim, she's laughing too. He checks on the two infants in his chest carriers, both still fast asleep. Kim holds Julian's hand as they head down the mall. "So, what are we getting first?" He asks, starting to fall behind her.
     "Stockings, stocking stuffers, presents for the kids and your grandkids, Avery, any Christmas decorations, oh, and we need Christmas outfits for these two and the twins. We should probably get an outfit for every baby, we don't know who'll decide to join us."
     Julian chuckles, rubbing his babies' fuzzy heads. "There's a seasonal store. We could check there first." He suggests.
     She nods and they head there, Julian starting to limp. Kim stops him. "Use the cane if you have to."
     He sighs and takes the folded up cane out of his back pocket, unfolding it and leaning on it. "Thank you for looking out for me, dear." He teases.
     "I'd push you but you're holding my two little angels."
     "I see that I'm loved." He laughs.
     "You are loved." She kisses him.

Later

     "Excuse me, sir." Julian says, going up to the cashier. "Those family stockings you have, I'm gonna need eleven of them."
     "Eleven? Are you buying for the whole family?" The man laughs.
     "If I were, I'd clean you outta stock. We just uh, have quite a few young ones. I'll need a two men's, a woman's, four boys, two girls, and two of the gender neutral ones."
     The cashier stares at him for a while, then goes into the back. He comes back out with a pile of them. "Do you want them labeled?"
     "Yeah. On the two men are Julian, with an a, and Oscar, with a c. The woman's is Kim. For the boys, there's Leo, Derek with a k, Tomas with no h, and Abel with the e before the l. The girls are Kendal with one l and," He turns to see Kim and leans in, whispering something.
     Kim hits his arm. "What was that?"
     "Oh, nothing. I just told him the one for Rose's baby."
     "You came up with one? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Come on, I'm signing her birth certificate."
     "And I'll tell you when I'm holding her." He teases.
     "You punk ass."
     "It's a surprise. Paige's and Alexis' are completely surprises, but Tomas and Abel are preplanned. I figured my little rosebud may be a bit of a surprise."
     "Is it Rosebud?" She asks.
     "No." He says, digging his phone out of his pocket and pressing to his ear. "Jerome... Woah, woah, Marissa. Calm down. What's wrong?... Okay, just relax. Kim and I will be there in a little while." He puts his phone back in his pocket.
     "Is Marissa alright?" Kim asks.
     "She doesn't feel good and Ellie isn't home. She's kinda hysterical. I think I should head over."
     "I'll come too. She may want some actual help and not your mansplaining."
     "I don't mansplain. Do I mansplain?" He asks.
     "Not much. But there's a good chance Marissa is in labor."
     "What?" He starts to breath heavily, rubbing his head.
     "Calm down. She's thirty-seven weeks with twins, it's about time. If we get there fast enough and she's earlier enough than she can still have her c-section."
     "We'd better get there fast, she won't be happy if she has to deliver naturally."

A Few Minutes Later

     Julian unhooks the two chest carriers and carefully passes them to Oscar, him and Kim adjusting them to fit him. Neither Kenny or Derek wake up through the whole debacle.
     Julian pats Oscar's shoulder. "Drew is coming to pick you guys up in a little while. Just stay in the Kids' Zone or in the hall if it's too noisy. These are the keys to my car so he'll have the car seats. Do not lose these keys, that car costs more than my knee surgery."
     Oscar shoves the keys into his pocket. "How are you getting to Marissa's house?" He asks.
     "Uber."

🏢🚖🏠

     Kim and Julian help Marissa onto the couch. Kim kneels in front of her. "You're sure you haven't had any contractions?"
     "I'm sure. I've been looking out for them. I haven't had any." Marissa says, leaning back, taking deep breaths.
     "Would you mind if I felt around your belly?" Kim asks. Marissa moves her hands, letting Kim feel around. Kim stops, sighing. "Can I check to see if you're dilated?"
     Marissa nods. Julian turns around, helping Marissa to relax a little. Kim looks up at Marissa. "You're positive you haven't felt a single contraction?"
     "None."
     "You're in labor and you're pretty far into it." Kim tells her.
     "No. No I can't be. I'm going in for a c-section tomorrow. I have everything all planned."
     "Things don't always go as planned. I didn't plan on giving birth at the bottom of the stairs. But I was fine. You are going to do just wonderfully."
     "Is there any way you can stop it or do a c-section still?"
     "Marissa, I can see the first baby's head and you're about six or seven inches dilated." Kim states. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to get you into the car, we'll call Ellie and tell her to meet us at GH, we'll drive to the hospital, we'll get you into a nice room, you'll push, you'll have your first baby out, then you'll push again and have a second baby. Everything is going to be fine."

Later

     Ellie crashes into a nurse as she runs down the maternity ward hall. She bursts through the delivery room doors and over to her wife, covering her cheek in kisses. "I'm so sorry I left you for that stupid business trip. I should've never gone anywhere even remotely away from you."
     "You're here now." Marissa pants, pressing her forehead to Ellie's lips, letting out a cry.
     "Keep breathing Marissa, you've still got a little while to go before you're ready to push." Kim tells her.
     Marissa turns to face Julian. "Can you wait in hall until I have to push?"
     He hesitates, but nods and heads out. "I'm sorry, I'm just embarrassed. I look like Hell."
     "You look so beautiful." Ellie says, running her fingers through Marissa's hair. "So strong, so fierce. You're definitely the badass chick I married six years ago."
     "I don't feel like it."
     "You didn't then either." Ellie laughs. Marissa laughs too, that turning into a soft groan.
     "Will you hold me?"
     "You've never needed anyone to hold you. I feel honored to be the first."
     Marissa smiles and looks down at Kim. "When they're born, give them to Julian. I don't wanna hold them. I can't get attached. He needs to be the first one to hold them. Promise me?"
     Kim nods. "I promise. Okay, you'll have to start pushing on this next contraction. Should I call Julian back in?"
     "Yes." Marissa groans. Kim motions to one of the nurses. She goes over to the door and let's Julian in. He goes over to Marissa's other side, touching her shoulder. "Shirt off." Kim tells him.
     "Thank you. Thank you, Marissa." He says, unbuttoning his shirt and putting it on the beside table.
     She nods, trying to focus on Kim, who's nodding. "Okay, now give me a big push. Bigger, honey, bigger." She prompts. "His head is out, let's get those shoulders. Give one more big push and the first twin is out."
     Marissa squeezes Julian's hand, that is, with the hand not wrapped around her wife. Crying starts up, making Julian cry too. Kim puts the first twin into Julian's arms, going back to Marissa. Julian moves the twin to one arm, getting ready for the second. Who, by the sound of Marissa's screams, was close behind.
     In a matter of another minute or two, Julian has the second twin in his other arm, both soaking up the warmth from his bare chest. He goes back and forth kissing their tiny heads. "Welcome to the world Tomas and Abel, I'm your Daddy."
     Marissa reaches over, touching one of their backs. "They look like my daddy." She cries, her hand trembling.
     "Did you change your mind? Do you wanna hold them?" Julian asks.
     Marissa nods, bursting into tears. "Yes. Yes, I wanna hold my babies."

The Next Morning

     Julian rocks the chair slowly, a twin on cradled in each elbow. There's a knocking at the door. Sam and Lucas poke their heads in. "Good morning. Can we come in?" Sam whispers.
     Julian nods, a blissful smile across his face. Sam and Lucas sit on either side of him. "They're precious." She beams. "Identical or fraternal?"
     "Fraternal. Sam, take the one with the green hat. Lucas, take the one with the orange hat." Julian says, waiting until his two youngest are in his two oldest' arms. "Sam, meet Tomas Samuel Jerome. And Lucas, meet Abel Lucas Jerome."