You're Having Twins who: Adam, Anthony, and Maddie what: Sometimes two isn't better than one when: Tuesday Afternoon where: James Peterson Memorial Clinic warnings: None
Maddie hated hospital gowns. They were itchy and never closed all the way in the back. It didn't help she was already getting her baby bump either. Today they were going to listen to the baby's heartbeat. She was so excited. She couldn't wait until she got an ultrasound and could really see the baby
She turned to her husband and gave him a soft smile. Dr. Berkowitz would be pleased to see no new bruising on her she was sure. Anthony had been wonderful since starting his medication and seeing a therapist. Maddie was really hoping everything was going to be ok. "Are you excited?" she asked him.
Excited didn't really cover it. Tony was downright ecstatic. He was pleased that he had been able to make such a drastic change thanks to therapy and medication and the help that Maddie was giving him without even realizing it. Now he got to find out how far his wife was along in her pregnancy and maybe hear a tiny little heartbeat. It would certainly make it even more real than it already was to him. "Completely." he said, pushing her hair back from her face and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Adam was much less concerned and a much happier doctor than he had been the last time he’d seen the Halls. Maddie still hadn’t gained much weight, but she had gained some. Rupert Gibbons, the therapist he’d referred Tony to, had given him positive reviews of the man’s progress with therapy and medication. Needless to say, he had a lot less concerns about this pregnancy than he had the last visit. “Good afternoon,” he greeted as he entered the room. The nurse had reported no new bruises and the ones she had from a few weeks ago had faded well. They both just seemed happier. Setting the fetal heart monitor on the counter, he looked over the vitals again. Her blood pressure was a little higher than last time, but that was pretty normal. Other than that, this was probably the healthiest Maddie Hall had been in years. “How are you feeling?” he asked. He didn’t want to waste too much time on small talk, since they probably wanted to get to the good part of hearing the baby’s heartbeat.
Maddie smiled as Dr. Berkowitz came into the room. She could tell he was much happier this time and it served to relax her more. "Good afternoon, Dr. Berkowitz." she said cheerfully. "I'm feeling ok. Tired a lot and sick in the mornings, but that's normal, right?" Maddie had been reading pregnancy books, wanting to do everything perfectly.
Tony shifted a bit, moving to the side of Maddie so the doctor could do what he needed to do. He was glad that the visit already seemed to be going ten times better than the previous one. There were no harsh words and just comfortable back and forth conversation. It was definitely something new and different for Tony and he knew it would take some getting used to, that was for sure. "Afternoon." he said, flashing the doctor a smile.
“Completely normal,” he assured Maddie. He pulled the tape measure clipped to her medical charts off and carefully measured her uterus. She was already showing quite a bit, which while she was so small that was reasonable, her uterus being this large made him wonder if she wasn’t further along than they first thought. “When was your last period again?” he asked as he drew a blanket up over her legs and started digging through the cupboard for the ultrasonic gel. He wanted to listen to the baby’s heartbeat before he ordered the ultrasound. “You may be a little further along than we first thought. I’ll order an ultrasound for this week, just to make sure.”
"Something like two months ago..." she said, looking a little confused. "How much further?" She and Tony had only gotten the crib so far and the nursery was no where near ready. She bit her lip, fretting a bit on how much she had to do before the baby came and now they would have less time than she planned.
Anthony could tell that Maddie was starting to get nervous. He was too, a little, but he wanted her to be calm so he lifted his hand and gently began to brush his fingers through her hair. "Don't worry, Maddie." he told her, flashing her a little smile. "It's no big deal." he promised her. "What's a few weeks?"
That was the problem. At 8 to 12 weeks, he shouldn’t even be able to feel Maddie’s uterus above her pelvic bone. That usually wasn’t possible until 18 to 20 weeks. There was several perfectly normal reasons for this, so they needed to investigate. He carefully drew up her gown to smear some of the gel on her abdomen. “I’m going to try to find the heartbeat,” he explained. “There’s several reasons you could be measuring as large as you are. With how underweight you are, your periods aren’t really a going to be a good indicator of your fertility. So you could be a few weeks further along than we thought.” There was another possibility he wasn’t voicing it just yet. Partially because the idea of this small woman in fragile health carrying multiples wasn’t something he wanted to scare any of them with.
It didn’t take him long to find the heartbeat, listening for a few minutes. The baby sounded good, but the faintness of the heartbeat did not correlate to her being further along than they had first assumed. Letting a long breath, Adam started searching for a second heartbeat. He closed his eyes and almost cringed visibly when he found it. Now he needed to explain himself, because Maddie would be able to feel his concern. “I need to have you have an ultrasound today,” he told her honestly. “Because I’m fairly certain you’re having twins. You’re measuring far too large and I just found a second heartbeat. We need to confirm, because that will change your care drastically.”
The longer Dr. Berkowitz was examining her, the more she was beginning to panic. His mood had changed drastically from calm to concerned and she was terrified there was something wrong with the baby. Her fear was stark on her face and she gripped Anthony's hand tightly as he searched her belly with the little stick thing a second time. Finally he told her why and the fear turned to shock. "Twins?" she said, looking at her belly with awe. "We're having twins?" She looked up at Anthony with wide eyes, wondering how he was going to take it.
Tony thought he might faint. His face drained of color and about fifteen different thoughts went rushing through his mind, the first being he'd definitely have to get overtime more often if Colin would let him. Two babies? Jesus. He blinked a little and let his eyes flick from the doctor to Maddie and then to her stomach. "Twins." he breathed, the word barely even audible, almost as if he was wondering if he could even say the word aloud at all.
Well, at least Maddie had calmed down since he confirmed his suspicions. Tony, on the other hand, looked more than a little pale. Without moving from his own seat, he pushed a chair a bit in Tony’s direction with his telekinesis. “I think you might want to sit down, Mr. Hall,” he cautioned. The last thing they needed was him fainting and concussing himself. Wiping the gel off Maddie’s abdomen, he moved over to jot down a few notes and send a message to one of the nurses to get an ultrasound tech in there as soon as possible. “If you are having twins, taking care of yourself is even more vital, Maddie,” he cautioned. “You’ll need to gain at least forty pounds over the course of your pregnancy, and there’s no way in the world I want you to try to deliver naturally. I don’t think you could handle the stress of one birth, let alone two.” That was the tip of iceberg, just to start getting these things out in the air and squared away.
Now that Maddie knew she was having twins and there wasn't something wrong, she was much more relaxed. She smiled to her husband. "Sit, dear." she said softly, squeezing his hand. While twins was a shock, it wasn't an unwelcome one for her. They would make do, as always. "I'll do whatever I have to to make sure my babies are healthy, Dr. Berkowitz." she said, resting one of her hands over her belly.
Tony was glad to take the offered seat. Settling in against the cushion, he brushed his hand through his hair and listened as his wife talked with Adam. He knew they'd figure out a way to get by financially, but Tony hadn't been prepared to hear they were having twins. Sure he was making progress, but would he keep making progress knowing that two babies were on the way instead of one? He hoped so, but he was worried he'd just make things more complicated. And now she was going to be put on even more strict orders and he'd have to help her meet those. Needless to say, he was more than a little worried.
Maddie was probably taking this better than he or Tony was. Which was good, but hopefully she wasn’t going to start stressing out from their worry. “Good,” he told her. “Because you’re going to need therapy and a good support network. I’ll check with my wife about possibilities to helping you cope more easily with the emotions around you. But even more so, no additional stress, take it easy and get as much rest and food as you can handle.” Hopefully, she was nearly the end of her first trimester, which was when the morning sickness usually started wearing off. Then her body would most likely take care of her appetite issues on its own. “In your case, I’d say there’s no such thing as eating too much. But try to pack as much into every bite as you can.” He looked over at Tony. “The state will pay for almost all the medical expenses and even my wife’s intervention can be billed as ‘alternative care’. “ The nice thing about the Canadian healthcare system. “So you don’t have to worry about paying for this. I will insist all of this is necessary for her health. And get people to back me.” Fathers always worried about paying for everything. He was a little, even though he had a good paying job and most of Julianna’s care was being done at home by him. “Do you have any questions?”
Maddie knew the hardest part would be eating. She had had a small appetite as it was and throwing up all the time hadn't helped it much. She would make sure everything she ate was heavy as opposed to the light food she was used to eating. "I probably have a million questions, but I can't think of any right now." she said, her happy mood quickly dissipating in the rush of worry between the two of them.
Knowing that a lot of the bills would be taken care of by the wonderful Canadian health care system was a good thing, but it was more the diapers, wipes, food, clothes and other things that went along with having a child that were flooding through Anthony's mind. He knew that Maddie was feeling everything he was, so he did his best to focus on the positive side of things, they could figure out money issues later. "We're going to need a bigger house if you're giving me two babies, baby." he told her, flashing her a little smile as he took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Well, don’t be afraid to ask them when you think of them,” Adam told Maddie. “Either of you. I’ll be happy to answer them if I can, or find the answers if I can’t on my own. You’re kind of going to be a guinea pig, as there’s just nothing in the records about untrained empaths having babies. Of course, it’s happened before, but nobody recorded it. So these therapies we’re trying with you will hopefully work and set a medical precedence so they can help other women in your position in the future. At least, that’s the goal.” Which if the healthcare system wouldn’t pay for them, he’d lean on the SAO to do so. He chuckled as Tony said that. “I think that can wait for awhile, Mr. Hall. Most twins don’t like to be separated until their much older. They’ve been together since conception, after all.”
There were alot of emotions flying around and Maddie had to close her eyes for a minute to filter them out. She had already started working on that herself, since Dr. Berkowitz had stressed the importance of her not being stressed. She smiled when Tony squeezed her hand and looked at him. "We'll be ok." It would be a challenge, but they had some time since the doctor explained the twins would want to be together. "Anything I need to do, Dr. Berkowitz, I will. Anything you think will benefit the babies."
Babies. Plural. Dear god. Tony nodded regardless and lifted Maddie's hand to press a kiss to her fingers. "We'll figure it out." he assured her. He was sure Colin would help him out with all the hours he might need so he really didn't have all that much to be worrying about really and Adam was right about the twins staying together for a while. Though it would be easier to move before the babies came, but that could be talked about later. "Is there anything I need to be doing to help her?" Tony asked the doctor. "Anything that I can do to make things easier or whatever?"
“Well, if you have any concerns about what I suggest, let me know,” he cautioned. “You need to be as informed as possible about your care. If anything, knowing what’s going on will make it easier for you.” At Tony’s question, Adam let out a wry chuckle. “Well, for starters, you can take a few deep breaths and calm down a bit,” he suggested. “But not beyond what you’re already doing.” He turned his attention to Maddie. “I’m referring you to Dr. Gibbons as well. He’s specializes in the mental healthcare of people with supernatural abilities. Tony’s already seeing him, but you need to learn coping techniques while you go. He’ll be able to help you there, or refer you to someone who can. Rupert and I have known each other for a few years. I consider him my counterpart in mental healthcare for pushing for better care for people with supernatural abilities. You’ll be in good hands.”
Maddie giggled a bit when Adam told Tony to calm down. She could feel her husband was freaking out a bit, but it didn't make her freak out, it just made her love him more. He was worried about being able to take care of their family. It warmed her heart and she was definitely making goo-goo eyes at her husband. "Alright, Dr. Berkowitz," she said, though she was much more focused on Tony than Adam at the moment.
Tony drew in a breath and let it out slowly. He did need to calm down, that was for sure. "I'll do my best at that, but I'm sure if your wife was having twins you'd be feeling about like me." he said, chuckling a little. "Twins." he said, his eyes moving to his wife. "I can't believe we're having twins."
That was better. Adam chuckled. “Don’t even suggest it,” he warned Tony. “Right now, she’s the only pregnant woman seeing me who isn’t trying to set a medical precedence with complications. I’d like to keep it that way.” Not that Julianna, who was healthy and hale, having twins would be as dangerous as Maddie. But really, one was enough. He reached out and patted Tony on the shoulder. A knock at the door meant the tech with the ultrasound equipment was there. He turned the knob with his powers as he rose. “Well, now you’ll even get to see them,” he told him as he moved to let the tech in. “Maybe that’ll help.”
Maddie's eyes lit up at the knock on the door and when the ultrasound machine came in, she could barely contain her excitement. Maddie's own happiness drowned out anything anyone else in the room was feeling as she lay back, eager to see her babies.
Tony stood up and pushed the chair aside and moved so that he wasn't in the way of the technician. His fingers began to gently slide through Maddie's hair again in an effort to keep her in that calm state she'd found. Things were about to get real. He could feel it in the air.
Adam got out of the tech’s way as well, surrendering his seat to her as he helped her get the equipment organized. Soon enough the tech had things up and going and had even located the first baby. Adam levitated over a screen pen and circled where that fetus was. “Here’s baby number one,” he said to the parents, using the pen to point out features without being in the way. “See if you can find the second one,” he said. The tech responded with a nod and started moving the probe where Adam directed her. Soon enough, the other child was visible on the grainy display. “And there’s number two.” The tech split the screen so they could see both babies. As much as this already made things more complicated, Adam couldn’t help but be pleased for the Halls.
Maddie couldn't believe she was looking at their babies for a minute. She watched in pure awe as they found the first baby and then the second. Seeing them side by side on the screen made her eyes water and she gripped Anthony's hand. "Oh honey..." she murmured.
Tony's eyes were on the screen as each baby was revealed and it really did feel a lot more real once he could see both of the babies, even if they were tiny little blips on a screen. Those babies were the reason for all the change that he and Maddie had made in their lives and it seemed pretty fitting that there were two of them. They'd needed a lot of change and they certainly were getting plenty of it now. He smiled a little when Maddie squeezed his hand and he squeezed hers right back in return. "Bet picking out names is going to be even more difficult now that there's two." he teased. They'd figure it out, he was sure.
Even Adam was feeling a bit stuffy at the sight. Rupert would be lecturing him about getting overinvested in his patients. Which was probably true, but he didn’t know any other way to be. “Congratulations,” he offered to both of them as the tech printed up copies of the ultrasounds. She offered them to Tony. “Now you can brag to the guys at work,” he joked. “And from the measurements, we’re just about to the 12th week of gestation, so that’ll give you a due date of around March 12th, since twins are considered term at 38 weeks.” Hopefully, they could just schedule a c-section for that day, but there was always a good chance, especially with her empathy, Maddie to go into labor early.
Maddie was in a euphoric state as they printed out pictures from the ultrasound. She held her copy to her chest and smiled, imagining what it will be like to hold her babies in her arms. March 12th. It seemed so far away and terrifying close all at the same time. She was a bit overwhelmed right then and took in a shaky breath.
"Thank you." Tony said to Adam for the congratulations. He took the copies offered to him and looked over the little images. Yeah, there'd be definite bragging. He helped make two babies. What kind of dad didn't brag about that?
Well, at 12 weeks, they didn’t look much like babies yet. But the bragging rights were definitely there. Adam helped the tech move the machine out of the room, then scribbled a note to remind himself to make the referral to Rupert. “I’d like to see in two weeks,” he told Maddie. “Just to check your weight and find out how things are going. Listen to the babies’ heartbeat and probably do another ultrasound just in case.” He looked at his chicken scrawl. “Ask the nurse to remind me to make the referral on your way out as well. So that I can get you referred on to Dr. Gibbons as soon as possible. Anymore questions for now?” They would probably have quite a few, after the shock wore off.
Maddie's eyes were locked on her ultrasound picture of the babies so the most she could do was nod yes to Adam. When he asked if she had any more questions she instead shook her head. She was lost in the knowledge of her twins. She did look up for a second and smile to Adam to let him know she was ok before she went back to the picture. She was going to be a mother of twins. She was going to raise beautiful twin babies with her wonderful husband.