Knocked Up 6/8

[pyrosgf]

Adam had already been through his normal appointment by the time the buzzer indicated they had a guest waiting.

“That’s for me.” David got up from his perch on the coffee table and hit the button for the gate.

About ten minutes later the doorbell sounded and David was off to answer it, leaving Adam perplexed as to what he was up to. Adam heard something rolling up the hall and then David and Dani entered the living room. Adam smiled and carefully made his way to his feet.

“ADAM, OH MY GOD LOOK AT YOU!” Dani’s voice was a lot shriller than Adam remembered.

“Inside voice,” David reminded Dani when Adam visibly tensed.

“Sorry.” Dani ducked her head and came closer to the couch with a small - suitcase on wheels in tow.

“Quite alright, I know I must be quite the shock.”

“You look amazing. And to think I’m the only fan who will ever know the truth… it just… hey… next tour I want concert tickets for this,” she giggled and her eyes glittered with mischief.

“I think I’ll owe you one after this,” Adam replied.

“Especially since I am the most cunning ultrasound tech you’ll ever meet. I checked out this portable ultrasound from my hospital and brought it to David’s clinic. Apparently theirs is broken and they needed one this morning. Anyway, then I called the hospital and told them I had something come up and had to go out of town and I’d return the ultrasound when I got in later this evening. They weren’t happy about it.”

“Thank you,” Tommy finally piped up from his place on the couch.

“Anything for my two favorite rock stars.”

“Excuse me,” said Adam and headed for the bathroom. He couldn’t handle the thought of her prodding his belly when he had to pee.

When he walked out David was sitting in the chair, Dani’s butt was on the coffee table along with the portable ultrasound machine, which looked like a high-tech laptop, and Tommy was on the couch.

“That’s only the beginning.” Tommy laughed at Dani; her nose was wrinkled in disgust.

“What’s only the beginning?”

“Was just telling Dani about your midnight snack.”

“Oh yeah, pickles dipped in mayo, who knew that could be tasty?”

“Tasty to you,” muttered David.

“No worse than the French Silk ice cream with guacamole,” added Tommy. “They aren’t on my snack list.”

“At least he’s not craving tar or chalk,” Dani chimed in.

“Thank heavens for small miracles since there’s no telling him no.”

Adam huffed at David’s words but David just turned to him and motioned toward the couch.

With a hand from Tommy Adam eased himself down on the couch.

“Before you lay down you might as well take the shirt off,” Dani directed.

Tommy dutifully helped him pull the shirt over his head leaving him in his yoga pants and the sports bra. He wasn’t sure how much longer this thing was going to fit comfortably. With each day his chest felt heavier. He’d taken to putting folded pieces of toilet paper over his nipples on the off chance he leaked. It wasn’t often, but after the first time of having small wet circles on the bra he didn’t want a take two. David had suggested nursing pads and had even gone as far as bringing home a box, but Adam just wasn’t ready to emasculate himself any further. He shook away the thoughts and lay down on the couch with his head in Tommy’s lap.

“Before we start do you have any questions?” asked Dani.

Tommy spoke first. “I… I was kinda wondering if you could give us a estimation of what day Adam got pregnant.” Tommy had been curious what night it had happened.

“I can give you about a five day window. Anything else?”

“Can you possibly determine if I have a birth canal?” asked Adam. I uhh… I’ve dreamt of birthing them…”

“I would laugh at that, but I never expected to find a uterus, let alone babies. I can take a look, and depending on the babies positions I might get a view.”

“Thanks,” Adam sighed.

“You’re going to check the weight of the babies, aren’t you?” David asked.

“Yep,” said Dani, “and if the little cuties cooperate I might be able to tell you the sexes, if you want to know.”

“No need, Adam and I are confident we already know.”

“Well Tommy, last time I looked they weren’t in a good position to tell, so what do you guys think and I’ll confirm it?”

“A boy and a girl,” Adam said, smiling.

“Alright then, lets get a look at these babies.”

The room fell silent and Adam winced when Dani squirted the gel onto his belly. He was pretty sure he would never get used to that. Dani hummed quietly and pecked something into the machine. Adam focused intently on the screen when Dani put the wand to his skin.

“Well,” she said after a couple of minutes of moving the wand and typing things into the machine, “I would venture to guess you probably got pregnant between December eleventh and December sixteenth . Personal opinion I’d say closer to the sixteenth.”

“Oh,” whispered Adam. He knew he and Tommy had unprotected sex at least twice during that time.

“Yeah,” replied Tommy and reached to give Adam’s hand a squeeze.

“Alright, you have one baby laid on this side of your belly and the other baby is on this side. They almost look like parentheses. The baby on your left is a girl, and she’s head down. The baby on your right is a boy and he’s still head up. Baby girl is measuring about five pounds and baby boy is a little bit over. You’ve got about four weeks until your due date so if you make it until then they should probably be about seven pounds.”

“I’ve already gained thirty-five pounds,” Adam moaned dramatically.

“Adam, a lot of that is placenta, babies, fluid, and breast considering you were flat-chested before,” David explained for the millionth time.

“I know, I know, it’s just hard.”

“The let me make it a little easier,” Dani giggled and turned a button on the machine.

The swish-swish of dueling heartbeats filled the room and Adam melted. Every pound was worth that sound.

“I put in a DVD before we started. The next few minutes I’m just gonna look around in there and record it for you.”

“Okay, and about the birth canal?” Tommy reminded.

Dani moved the wand across his skin and wordlessly Adam prayed to the universe that she could confirm what the dreams had been telling him. Several minutes passed in silence; Adam watched the picture on the screen change from a face, to a spine, and finally tiny toes. The same progression again with the other baby with more time spent on his little face. His little fist was near his mouth and Adam was pretty sure his heart was going to explode with joy. Adam’s attention was drawn away from the screen when a tear hit the side of his face. He looked up at Tommy whose face was tracked with tears and more pooling in the corners of his eyes.

“Hey, kinda crazy isn’t it.”

“Yeah.” Tommy wiped at his eyes. “I figured you’d be crying too.”

“Too overwhelmed with it to cry.”

“Those are our babies. Mine and yours Adam, can you believe it?”

“I guess it’s a little easier for me to wrap my head around it since I get to feel them squirm and shift inside of me.”

“I’ll get to hold them soon.”

“Soon,” Adam echoed.

When Adam turned back he noticed Dani wiping at her eyes. “Can’t help it, you two have everything I ever dreamed of. From the moment I saw you guys on tour kissing like you shared the same soul I always wanted to find someone who’d kiss me like that.”

“Fuck,” Tommy groaned. “It wasn’t like that in the beginning, it really wasn’t.”

“Maybe not, but even if it was friendship then I could still see the love in Adam’s eyes reflected in yours.”

“The perfect man for you is out there somewhere.”

Dani’s laughter was unexpected. “Woman,” she corrected.

“Oh,” Adam and Tommy both said in unison.

“Why do you think I hadn’t hit on Tommy yet? He’s pretty, but he’s got that one extra thing.”

“So what you’re saying is you’d do me if I was a chick? I’ll take that.”

“Alright now.” Dani calmed her giggles and turned her attention to the machine. “You have a DVD since I’m done recording and I even managed to get a couple of good shots of them that I’ll print out.” She hit a button and a printer Adam hadn’t noticed came to life on the floor by her feet. She opened the DVD drive and sat the DVD on the coffee table, and then added the scans when the printer finished. “You’ll want to date the DVD and the scans and be sure to label it was as thirty-six weeks. Now one more look to check for a birth canal.”

Dani scanned down his belly and when she stopped he couldn’t make out anything on the screen. She pressed in and Adam whined, his bladder throbbing. “Sorry, sorry, believe it or not a little fluid in your bladder goes a long way to making it easier to see this.” She shifted the wand slightly.

“Hurry!”

“Well I’ll be damned, excuse my French, but looks like whatever gave you that uterus also gave those babies a way out.”

“Well it’s nice to have that confirmation before he goes into labor,” said David. “Now I don’t have to worry about explaining to Hayworth why the person he’s performing a C-section on has a penis.” He sounded relieved.

“I’d imagine that would’ve been fun. Anyway, here go ahead and clean up and go to the bathroom,” Dani said and handed Adam a towel from her bag.





It was the last day of August and with Adam at twenty-eight weeks and six days, the poor guy was verging into miserable territory. And when Adam wasn’t happy no one was. I could see how much discomfort he was in with the frequency of Braxton Hicks increasing, and the strain that his belly was putting on his back made sleeping a near impossibility no matter what position he was in.

Seeing the way the pregnancy changed Adam was intriguing for me though. I know Adam had issues with how feminine he looked, but honestly he was beautiful. By this point his hair was falling over his shoulders and every inch was so black it was almost blue in the right light. It was one of the few things Adam had insisted upon keeping up during his pregnancy. I couldn’t understand why his natural color was so bad, but since he couldn’t go out to get a haircut, the hair dying was a must. I found it curious that hair color had been his main staple; he’d given up a little over halfway through the pregnancy on meticulously applying foundation to cover his freckles. And the only other thing from the glam Adam days that he clung to was the eyeliner. It wasn’t an everyday thing, but on random days Adam would look in the mirror and the next thing I knew he had an eyeliner pencil in hand. Heavy dark liner was smudged to perfection, and given the roundness of his face and the length of his hair, the visual effect was stunning. His eyes popped, and those were normally the days Tommy had ended up cock in hand in bed with Adam.

Alas, I’m getting off track here. My entire point was to say that Adam had done a lot of changing, and now he was very uncomfortable and antsy. Each night when Tommy lay sleeping Adam would slip away and retreat to the pool. The water was the one place that soothed away the aches and he would spend hours just floating in the dark watching the stars.

Tommy and David could see the toll the pregnancy was having on Adam. Tommy, who was getting rather scruffy, woke up that morning alone. The sun wasn’t up yet, but when he found the other side of the bed cold he hightailed it to look for Adam. David on the other hand, had been plotting a way to hopefully brighten Adam’s spirits. With all that said, back to the story at hand.





Adam muddled over a million things, the weightlessness of his body allowing his mind freedom to roam. Adam knew that when everything came out about him and Tommy and the twins, his dad would be hurt, along with others. He felt guilty about the many phone calls from family and friends that wanted to get together. He kept putting them off with excuses, the main one being that he was taking an extended vacation and wasn’t in town. He didn’t know exactly how he was going to explain everything to them, let alone the fans and paparazzi, once they arrived home. It all made his head hurt.

“Adam,” Tommy called, pulling him from his thoughts.

Adam had made it a point to leave the sliding door open so Tommy would know where to find him.

“Morning baby, sleep well?” asked Adam.

“Yeah, would’ve slept better if you’d been beside me. You need the rest. I can see how tired you are and without the makeup those dark circles are really making an appearance.”

“I just… it’s like my body can’t settle. It’s not even the babies anymore. They’ve nearly run out of room so all that kicking has been muted a little. I dunno, it just feels like there’s an undercurrent just itching underneath my skin.”

“I wish I could help, I feel useless.”

Adam sighed and floated over to the steps. He stood, his knees none to happy about the weight, but he needed to be closer to Tommy. He dripped along the concrete and pulled Tommy into a hug. “You’re not useless. I know you’ll be there when I need you.”

“Always,” whispered Tommy.

The sun crept over the horizon as they embraced, highlighting the world around them in soft orange. The moment was peaceful and it wasn’t until many minutes later Adam that finally disengaged. “Gonna grab a shower… sorry, looks like you’ll need to let your sleep pants dry.” Adam grinned, grabbed the towel he’d left by the pool and wrapped it around his waist. He’d shower then join David and Tommy for breakfast just as he had for the past couple of weeks.

After he showered and dressed Adam joined Tommy at the kitchen table. David hummed to himself while hovering at the stove. Adam wasn’t even sure what David was cooking up this time. He couldn’t make out what was in the pan. He quirked a brow at Tommy.

“Southwestern omelets,” Tommy supplied. “You want OJ or milk?”

“Ooo tasty. OJ please,” Adam said with a grin.

“Coming right up.” Tommy got up from the table and grabbed three glasses from the cabinet. “David?”

“Milk,” David replied cheerfully.

It wasn’t long before David plunked three plates down on the table along with a bottle of ketchup. Adam groaned. The omelet was nice, but the hash browns cuddled up beside them made him happy. They needed something though and ketchup definitely wasn’t it. In fact, he frowned when Tommy coated his omelet and hash browns with the stuff. Adam got up from the table and made his way to the fridge. He returned with a bottle of faintly pink stuff and doused his plate with it. It was Tommy’s turn to frown. “Shrimp sauce,” Adam said, grinning, and dug his fork into the thoroughly coated shredded potatoes.

The rest of breakfast was spent chattering. David reminded him he’d be thirty-nine weeks tomorrow. Adam couldn’t believe how fast it had gone. Tommy and David cleaned up once they were finished and Adam sat rubbing his belly.

“Adam, got a surprise for you, if you’re up for it.”

“As long as it doesn’t involve moving anywhere quickly I’m probably good.”

“Well I told you my mom was a midwife. Since she’s not actively practicing anymore she’s started up her own little business. She comes in and does belly casts, takes the hardened product and sands it until it’s smooth, seals it, and paints it for couples. Since she can’t really come here to cast your belly I got her to ship me the supplies. After it’s set I’ll sand it and seal it for you. I’m no good with painting, but I presume once the story comes out that you’ve had twins by a surrogate you could tell one of your artsy friends that it’s the surrogate’s belly cast. Let them paint it for you and then you’ll have an art piece you can display at home but guests won’t link it to you having been pregnant.” Adam gave David a funny look. “Tommy told me about the pictures. Not really something you can display anywhere, and as an added bonuses it’s a 3D representation of your pregnancy that you’ll be able to share with the twins once they’re older,” explained David.

Adam knew that having this done would be something he wouldn’t regret. The pregnancy hadn’t been easy, but the product would be worth it. Capturing his form now would be something he could look back at, proof of how he really looked because he knew as time went by that the memory would fade. The babies kicking, his palm resting on his stomach…it would all be a faraway dream. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. What do you think, baby?”

“I think I always want to remember your body like this, so a 3D representation would be fucking awesome,” Tommy giggled.

“Alright, guess that settles it. David, what exactly does all this entail?”

Adam wished he’d known when they’d started exactly how this would feel. David had advised that it would take at least thirty-minutes so he should probably pee first, and he had, but fifteen minutes into it he was very uncomfortable. They’d covered his belly and breasts with something David had said would keep the strips from sticking to his skin. Then Tommy, per David’s directions, had put a sheet of plastic over the chair in the living room and once Adam was seated, Tommy placed a piece of plastic wrap over Adam’s lap in order to protect his swim trunks. Finally David had started wetting white strips in a basin full of warm water he’d placed on the coffee table. The first layer was down. David had used one of the strips and cut it into three small squares. He’d used those to accentuate Adam’s popped bellybutton and each nipple. At this point into it David was wetting and laying strips every which way, adding to the layers. He explained to Adam that the more layers, the more strength the piece would have. Nearly forty minutes passed before David stepped away.

“Sorry, I forgot mom’s thirty minute estimate probably meant in a singleton pregnancy. You have a little more surface area to cover with you carrying twins not to mention your height.”

“It’s okay,” Adam muttered.

“Now we wait until it dries enough so that it will separate from your skin.”





David was lucky he decided to do the belly casting when he did. Thirty-nine turned out to be the magic number. Adam actually slept more the night of the casting than he had in days, but the next morning he got up just before sunrise and vomited for the third time that week. I saw it for what it was, but Adam wasn’t catching on. Instead he pulled his hair into a ponytail and crawled back into bed.

Adam’s body was cleaning itself out for the labor. Adam being Adam just presumed that something he’d eaten wasn’t agreeing with him. I was pretty sure that he was in early labor, but even I couldn’t have predicted everything Adam would go through until the twins arrival.

The date was September 1, 2011. It was a day that would forever change Adam and Tommy’s lives. Today they would welcome their baby girl into the world, but I’m getting a little ahead of the story. For now let’s go back to Adam’s bed and see the birth of a new day.





Adam was awake; all thoughts of sleep were distant. He lay on his side and watched Tommy. The room was still dark, but his eyes were adjusted and he could make out the line of Tommy’s face. In the past months he’d seen that face rich with so many emotions. Adam was more conscious of each flicker in Tommy’s eyes than he’d ever been before. He supposed that spending almost everyday together for so many months was the reason. Now he could recognize pain and sorrow with just a tiny shift in Tommy’s eyebrows. Thankfully he was seeing that less and less. Tommy had taken to writing in a journal and Adam knew it was helping Tommy to work through his grief. He was thankful that Tommy, even while working through all these built up issues, had stood by him.

The sun inched over the horizon; her rays peeked in the window and highlighted Tommy’s cheekbones for Adam to admire. The room turned into a land of gold and an array of oranges. Tommy’s fringe was tucked in behind his ear, and the light transformed the length of it into spun corn silk. The moment was brief, but in that instant Adam saw Tommy as a tiny little Fae with red tattered wings. The conversation with David about LA and people who were broken briefly flitted across his mind. Tommy was broken in his own way, but Adam couldn’t love him any less. This was a man who had come into his life like a ray of sunshine when the world was bland and had turned his world upside down. No, he wouldn’t change a thing about Tommy. Tommy had given him a gift.

The sun climbed higher, the colors in the room shifted and the Fae disappeared, leaving behind the man Adam loved. He reached out and brushed his thumb across Tommy’s cheek. The short hairs beneath his thumb were softer than he’d imagined. He still wasn’t quite used to the feel of it, but he’d always loved this look on Tommy.

“Mmm mornin’,” Tommy said with a smile.

“Morning baby,” replied Adam.

Tommy nuzzled closer and Adam brushed a hand across Tommy’s cheek. He was waiting for Tommy to open his eyes, waiting to see what lay there this morning. Adam scratched through the scruff like he would’ve with a cat and Tommy’s eyes fluttered open in surprise.

“M’not a cat,” Tommy laughed and swatted Adam’s hand away.

“No, but you’re my pretty kitty.” Adam brought out the term he’d used many times during the tour. Adam had been certain at the time that Tommy was a cat in a past life.

Tommy wrinkled his nose up and hissed.

“Ooo feisty.”

“You know it,” Tommy smirked.

“I do.”

“How long have you been up? You get any sleep?”

“Woke up just before sun up, was just laying here watching you sleep.”

“Creeper.”

“Can’t help it.”

Tommy sat up in the bed and ran a hand through his hair. His fringe fell loose and settled at his chin. Tommy had been out to get his hair cut and colored several times since they’d been at Dana Point, but he’d left his bangs to grow. He’d explained to Adam that he wanted a reminder of the time passing there and looking in the mirror at how long his hair had grown was his way of showing it on his body. He could look at Adam anytime and tell time was passing by the growth of Adam’s belly and hair, but he’d wanted something for himself. Adam thought he was nuts, but adorable anyway.

“Yeah, you actually slept more than usual?”

“Strangely enough, I think yesterdays round with the casting wore me out even though I was just sitting there. Showering all that stuff off afterward took a lot more energy than I had to spare. I think I was running on empty from the lack of sleep.”

“Sounds about right. Stomach still upset?”

“Little.”

“How little?”

“Woke up to puke.”

“Nice.”

“Yeah… I always forget how much I hate puking until I actually have to.”

“S’why I try to avoid hangovers like the plague. You talked to David about it yet?”

“Nah. Forgot.”

“Other than that how’re you doing?” Tommy asked and reached to rub Adam’s belly.

“Same old. Braxton Hicks are the plague, my toes are so swollen they feel like tiny sausages, and I have to fucking piss every time I turn around.”

“Yeah, sounds the norm,” replied Tommy.

Adam, curious as to what Tommy was up to, watched Tommy scoot down the bed. He stopped at Adam’s feet. “Don’t look like sausages to me.”

Adam chuckled, not expecting that one. It quickly turned into a groan as Tommy worked his thumbs into the soles of Adam’s feet. He relaxed to the point where he was drifting off before he even realized it.

The next time Adam became conscious Tommy was whispering softly in his ear. When Adam opened his eyes Tommy was there, smiling and carding his fingers through Adam’s hair. “Brought you some breakfast.”

“Didn’t have to,” mumbled Adam.

“Wanted to, now here, raise up a little.”

Adam scooted up until he was mostly upright supported by a mound of pillows. Tommy reached over to the nightstand and retrieved the tray. Adam smiled. Tommy had made him toast and sat the honey bear beside the plate along with a glass of water.

“Might settle your stomach a little.”

“Feels fine right now, but best to eat something light.”

“Go on and eat, I’m gonna go downstairs and finish cleaning up.”

“Thanks for breakfast, love you.” Adam grinned and squeezed Tommy’s hand. He was pleased when Tommy leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips before getting up and walking out.

Adam took a bite of honey-coated toast and savored the sweetness on his tongue. He didn’t think food had tasted any better than it had while he was pregnant. He happily munched the rest of his breakfast and finished his water, then set the tray on his nightstand. He rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. Peeing standing up was no longer an option, so he sat. Once he finished he washed his hands and brushed his teeth. Just as he reached to turn off the water he felt it.

This contraction started in Adam’s back and wrapped around his front. He concentrated on breathing through it, hands clutched on the sink. When it was over he relaxed and dug his fingers into his back.

Adam wondered for a minute if he might be in labor, but shrugged it off. Without another thought he waddled downstairs and found Tommy in the living room with a mop.

“What an unusual sight,” Adam observed.

Tommy startled, flipped him off with a grin, and then returned to his work. It didn’t take long for Tommy to finish. Adam watched Tommy collect the bucket and tote everything into the bathroom. He returned a few minutes later and kissed Adam soundly. “What do you feel up to today, baby? Wanna watch a movie, maybe take a walk on the beach, or you wanna swim?”

“Such a difficult choice. Thinking you better grab the sunscreen. I normally don’t swim until the sun’s low on the horizon.”

“Swimming it is,” giggled Tommy and dashed upstairs. When he came back down he was holding the spray sunscreen.

“Didn’t grab my trunks?”

“I think poor David has heard and seen it all by now. I don’t think he’ll mind if we skinny dip.”

“Guess so.”

“Lose the pants and assume the position, my porcelain skinned prince.”

“Hah, not quite. I look like someone took a canvas and threw little drops of paint at it all in the same orange and brown hues. Oh except for these lovely rosy stretch marks. I guess the painter had a sense of humor.” Adam dropped his pants, spread his legs shoulder width apart, and raised his arms.

Tommy just shook his head and sprayed Adam down as quickly and efficiently as possible. After Adam had a nice sheen all along his skin Tommy rubbed it in, taking the time to massage Adam’s calves, thighs, ass, lower back, and finally his shoulders. Tommy walked around the other side and ran his hands over Adam’s full breasts and rotund belly, taking extra time to make sure all the sunscreen was worked into the firm skin. Finally he stroked his fingers down one arm and then the other. When Tommy was done Adam made it a point to say thanks. He loved the way Tommy couldn’t resist touching him. It made him feel special, and less like a cow.

“Come on,” Tommy said, grinning, and shucked his shorts.

The day was warm, but the intense heat of the summer had mellowed slightly. Adam couldn’t recollect if it was normal or if they were just having a cool spell, but it didn’t matter because the water was sun warmed and felt amazing on his skin.

“I’m pretty sure you were meant to be a fish.” Tommy’s voice reached Adam at the other side of the pool.

“I’ve always loved the water.”

Adam swam from one side of the pool to the other several times until his shoulders burned with the effort. He finally came to rest near the steps where Tommy had chosen to float. That Tommy actually managed to float was absurd and made him giggle. Tommy looked over to him, eyebrow raised.

“I look like a buoy so it makes sense that I float, but you don’t have an ounce of fat on your body. Can’t wrap my head around it.”

“Not the best swimmer, but floating I can handle.” Adam watched Tommy go from floating on his back to hovering beside him in the water.

Tommy’s fringe was plastered to the side of his face and Adam reached out and tucked it behind his ear. Tommy’s eyes went warm with affection. “What?”

“Just being totally cheesy romantic comedy in my head. Just can’t help thinking how fucking beautiful you are. And you’re kinda perfect because even when I should be taking care of you, you’re still taking care of my heart. And yes I will deny I ever said that.”

“It’s not cheesy. I love you and I promise I’ll totally forget you ever went chick flick on me.”

“Love you, too.”

Adam tensed and drew in a shaky breath. Tommy was right there gripping his arm. Pain seized from his back into his belly and it nearly took his breath away. This was definitely a different experience to the many practice contractions he’d been having. He made a concentrated effort to inhale and exhale slowly until the sensation ebbed to the usual dull ache in his back. “How long have we been out here?”

“I dunno, maybe thirty minutes?”

Adam’s eyes went wide. That would mean the last contraction couldn’t have been more than forty or so minutes before. It’s the first time he could recall having two in an hour.

“Wasn’t the first contraction was it?”

“No, I had one before I came downstairs, but I didn’t think anything of it.”

“You going to be okay if I go grab my watch and let David know something’s up?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Adam felt the fear boiling low in his stomach. “I can do this,” Adam said to himself. “No reason to be afraid, women have been doing this throughout history. It’s not going to be easy, but I can do this.” Adam pushed the fear through his body and went back to swimming. He let all that panic flow into the water. He would be fine, their babies would be fine, and he and Tommy would be parents.

When Tommy walked through the sliding doors he was wearing shorts and David trailed behind him.

“Tommy told me you had two contractions in under and hour?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t think they’re Braxton Hicks?”

“No,” replied Adam. He used a grip on the railing and carefully climbed up the steps and out of the water. He was very conscious of the fact he was nude, but David didn’t mention it. Instead David gestured to the lounge chair.

“Describe them for me,” he said as he began to examine Adam’s belly.

“They’re starting more in my back?”

David hummed and continued feeling around Adam’s bump.

“From what I can tell they seem to be in the same positions as they were during your ultrasound. Baby girl is still head down, and like we discussed a couple of weeks ago when you dropped, she’s in position for the birth. The baby boy is still breech. Can’t determine how he’ll present for birth until after his sister’s born. Either way we’re looking at a breech and that can be dangerous. The risk isn’t as high since both babies were measuring about the same size during the ultrasound, so if the baby girl’s head makes it through then his should too. The size of a baby’s head is why c-sections are done for breech babies usually. With twins though, if they’re near the same size, if one can pass then the other should. But here’s what we have to worry about. A breech baby comes out either feet or butt first, right?”

Adam nodded.

“Well, when he’s delivered up to his belly where the umbilical cord attaches, there’ll be pressure on the cord because it’ll be trapped between him and the wall of your birth canal. That pressure could disrupt the oxygen flow while his head is still inside.”

“So what can I do?” Adam asked with a slight frown.

“The rest of him needs to be delivered as quickly as possible.”

“Okay, anything else?”

“This could be a really long day for you. Time the contractions and when they get about every ten minutes let me know. I’m just in my room working on the belly cast. When they’re ten minutes apart, I’ll check you, which will be a new experience for the both of us. I’m going to presume since you’ve been progressing like women that you will have some form of dilation. When you get fully dilated you can start pushing, until then work on breathing through the contractions.”

“Dilated?” Tommy asked after David went back in the house.

“He’s going to put his finger inside me to see how open I am.”

“Oh.” Tommy’s voice wavered and he went a little pale.