Gift of Song

Nine hours later, just as CC reached seven centimeters and they thought the rest of the guys weren’t going to make it in time, the door to the labor and delivery room flew open. Jake was the first one to run over the threshold, immediately grabbing his fiancé’s free hand. Andy, Jinxx, and Sammi followed close behind, Logan having stayed out in the waiting room with Amy, Marissa, and Shelby since he didn’t need to bear witness to this little one’s birth.

After giving his husband a quick kiss, Andy offered to take Rori back out to the waiting room since she really didn’t need to be here either. The oldest of the band nodded his head, trying not to let on to the fact that he’d been in just as much pain as their drummer since before he’d called to say he was in labor. Jinxx headed back out to the waiting room with the pair, not really wanting to see a man shove a baby out his ass, but swore he’d be back later once the birth had occurred. CC understood his reasons and made him promise to come back later, but let him leave for the time being anyway.

“You okay, Ash?” Jake asked, taking his attention off his fiancé after his latest contraction ended.

“I’m fine,” he answered. “My back’s just been hurting all day, and bending over the opposite side of the bed as CC hasn’t been helping.”

“You should’ve said something, Ash,” CC panted, trying to push his sweaty hair out of his face. “You didn’t have to be over here with me. You could’ve been sitting down part of this time.”

“Ceece, I know how this feels. There’s no way I’d let you go through it alone with Jake up in the air,” he told him, trying not to snap as a new wave of pain overcame them both.

One of the times that he’d had to leave the room for a bathroom break and to get Rori some food, he’d asked the nurse taking care of his friend if there was any reason why he should be in just as much pain when he wasn’t pregnant. They’d already told her that they had the same “gift” and that he knew what labor felt like, and while his current pain felt like it, he swore he wasn’t pregnant.

The nurse, whose name was Alexis, told him that, although he wasn’t the laboring man’s significant other, he could very well be experiencing what were known as “sympathy pains.” Ash’d arched an eyebrow at her in confusion and curiosity, having never heard of such a thing before. She told him that usually sympathy pains were experienced by the closest person to the laboring mother, which would normally be a significant other. However, since it was obvious that the significant other in question hadn’t been there and he had the same “gift” on top of knowing what labor felt like, he could very well be the one to experience them right now.

It kind of made sense to him and would explain why he’d felt like he’d been in labor since pretty much the time CC claimed to go into labor, so he hadn’t questioned it any further. That didn’t mean the pain had stopped once he got that explanation, though; in fact, it only seemed to get worse with every passing hour. He could only hope and pray that, once the drummer had his baby and delivered the placenta, his own pain would finally end since he wouldn’t be laboring anymore.

“Okay, CC. I need you to get up on the bed for me,” Alexis said as she pulled on a latex glove.

“Oh, my Jinxx,” he groaned, breathing his way through a contraction.

“We can wait until the contraction ends, but I do need to check you again,” she said, smiling at him a bit.

Confused, Jake merely leaned over his back side so he could massage his back as he continued to labor.

“Ashley, can you and this other fella help him onto the bed?” the nurse asked, eyeing Jake questioningly.

“I’m his fiancé, Jake,” the guitarist told her, helping him stand upright.

“Ah, the one that had to fly over from England,” she said, enlightenment dawning in her eyes. “You don’t sound like an Englishman, though.”

“I’m not. I’m American,” he told her, working with Ash to get the drummer on the bed. “We’re all part of a band that was touring in the UK. CC stayed home this time for obvious reasons, and Ash said he wasn’t feeling well enough to fly overseas.”

“What band are you guys a part of?” She waited until CC was ready before attempting to check him. “Nine centimeters, one hundred percent effaced. I’m gonna go grab Dr. Hill real quick and we’ll start setting up.”

“Jesus, Ceece,” Ash chuckled. “You dilated pretty quick.”

“I’m just ready to get this kid outta me!” he cried, a contraction starting as he began to speak.

“Don’t mind anything he says, Jake, especially if he starts cussing you out,” the bassist said, still chuckling. “He doesn’t mean any of it. It’s just a side effect of the pain and pushing a baby out his ass.”

“You should know, Ash,” Jake chuckled in response. “You’ve been here and done this.”

“That I have. I called Andy a ‘shit-sucking rotten son of a still-fucking whore’ as I was delivering Rori,” he chuckled.

“I remember that,” CC chuckled, groaning as another contraction started. “You had her…out to her…waist, as…I recall.”

“No, I had just delivered her shoulders. And that shit fucking hurt,” Ash corrected him.

“Oh, yeah. I remember that now,” the drummer agreed, sighing. “Help me back outta this bed. I’m using the same position you did.”

“What position was that, Ash?” the guitarist asked curiously. “Andy and CC were the only ones there when you had Rori.”

“The same position he was in when you got here,” he answered.

“I’m guessing it’s easier to push like that?” he asked, helping him get CC moved.

“It’s less painful during labor than laying down, and he should be looser while pushing, if he’s anything like me,” the bassist answered, nodding.

By the time they got CC positioned at the edge of the bed the way he wanted to be, Alexis returned with Dr. Hill, who could tell by the look on his face that he was struggling not to push. She immediately got prepared while she had the nurse check him one more time, which confirmed that he was indeed ready to push. Jake even had to stand behind him the same way Andy’d stood behind Ash while he was trying not to push so the baby didn’t come out too fast and tear him.

Once they were set up, Dr. Hill sat down on a little rolling stool so she could sit behind him, prepared to catch the baby as it was born. Jake and Ash stood on the opposite side of the bed, each one holding one of his hands as he and Andy’d done for the bassist. When he was given the go-ahead, he took a deep breath, curled himself downward as much as he could, and pushed down hard.

It took only a couple pushes to have the baby crowning, which elicited a pretty loud cry of pain from the drummer, but they were able to keep him focused. Dr. Hill even told him to stop pushing as the baby crowned to avoid tearing since a man really shouldn’t be the one giving birth. Moments later, she checked for the cord and didn’t find it wrapped around the baby’s neck, then told him to give a gentle push. CC groaned loudly as he managed to get the baby’s shoulders out, panting as he felt the baby slide out to his waist. Two more pushes after that, and the OB/GYN announced that they had a handsome baby boy.

Jake’s face split into a grin as he watched her suction out his nose and mouth so he could breathe, his happiness really radiating from him when she asked if he wanted to cut his son’s cord. He gracefully stepped around the bed and did so, following Alexis over to the warming table to watch as she cleaned him up while CC delivered the placenta. Ash stayed by his friend’s side, trying to ignore his own pain still, as he delivered the placenta, then called the guitarist over again to help get him back in the bed. It took both of them to manage the task while Dr. Hill ripped off her gloves, gown, and mask after making sure he didn’t need any stitches, though the bassist turned his back as he was helped into a pair of boxers.

“So what are we gonna name him?” Jake asked quietly once the baby was put in his fiancé’s arms.

“I say we name him after both of us,” the exhausted drummer murmured, staring down at their son. The baby looked almost identical to Jake, but had CC’s chocolate-brown eyes.

“But how are we gonna do that? I don’t think there’s a name combination that suits him,” he pointed out.

“What surname are you giving him?” Ash asked curiously.

“Pitts,” the guitarist answered. “We already decided that CC’d take my name when we got married, so it only makes sense that our son have my name, too.”

“Christian Jacob Pitts,” the bassist said. “He can go by CJ when he’s older if he doesn’t like it.”

“Th-that’s…awesome,” CC breathed, looking up at his friend. “How did we not think of that?”

“I don’t know, but I like it,” Jake agreed with a grin. “Thanks, Ash.”

“It’s no problem,” he answered, returning the grin. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom down the hall. Want me to head out to the waiting room on my way back and tell everyone else?”

“That’d be awesome,” the drummer said, sounding like he wanted to fall asleep.

“You won’t be able to have visitors for a while, though, Chris,” Alexis spoke up. “A couple hours, at least.”

“That’s fine,” he told her. “We just want ’em to know that he’s finally been born.”

Nodding, Ash turned to leave the room, showing no signs of still being in pain as he made his way to the empty bathroom. The only time he showed any signs of pain was when he got the door to the stall closed, and even then, he only splayed a hand across his belly and groaned softly. If he didn’t know any better and hadn’t miscarried back in March, he’d swear he was pregnant.

He quickly got his jeans and boxers yanked down, hoping that taking a massive shit would make him feel better since he’d been constipated the past couple days. Sitting there on the can made him feel slightly vulnerable, but he knew it was now or never. Just a few pushes later, he realized that something was wrong because this felt far too big and far too painful to be just a simple bowel movement, even while constipated. When it dawned on him what was happening, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he fished his phone out of his back pocket.

Ash quickly sent a text to his husband, whom could get him the help he needed, and hoped there was enough signal for it to go through. He sighed in relief as it sent, clenching his muscles as tight as he could, and hoped he came soon. Not a full minute after he’d sent the text, he heard the main door to the bathroom open and his lover’s basement-deep voice as he called out to him. Unable to speak due to a sudden contraction, he stomped his foot as best he could.

“I’m gonna have to crawl under the door, mio deviante,” he said, already dropping to his knees.

“Just…do it!” the bassist ground out.

“Can you stand up?” Andy asked, now kneeling beside him.

“I honestly…don’t know,” he answered, panting as the contraction ended.

“Grab the bar beside you to hang on to,” his lover said. “I’m not gonna carry you outta here with your pants around your ankles.”

“At least you won’t embarrass me like that,” Ash ground out.

“Of course not,” he agreed, managing to get his jeans up and fastened. “But how long have you known?”

“Since I sat down…to take a shit,” he groaned, another contraction starting.

“This explains everything you’ve been through the past few months,” the frontman said thoughtfully, gently lifting him up bridal-style.

“Yeah, it does,” he agreed, still panting. “I don’t know why I didn’t go see Dr. Hill sooner.”

“Hey, I need Dr. Hill, like, yesterday,” Andy said, now standing by the nurse’s station.

“What’s wrong?” He turned to see Alexis coming down the hall from CC’s room. “Holy crap, Ashley. C’mon.”

The nurse quickly led them to a free labor and delivery room when she realized what was wrong, immediately telling her colleague to find Dr. Hill. The other woman nodded as Andy followed the first down the hall, his husband in his arms. Ash bit his shoulder hard enough to break skin and draw blood as he tried not to scream and push, but the young singer wasn’t worried about it. He knew he’d never hurt him like that without a reason, as well as that he hadn’t meant to then, so he wasn’t going to say anything.

“Lay him down so we can get his pants off,” Alexis instructed.

“No,” Ash gasped. “I wanna…use the position…CC used.”

“Are you sure, Ashley?” she asked.

“It was the position he used when he had our daughter,” Andy answered, sensing that he didn’t want to talk, or was physically unable to.

“So he’s been through this before?” she asked.

“Mmm hmm. Our daughter’s gonna be three in February,” he answered. He quickly pulled the bassist’s boots off, then pulled his jeans down. “Lift your legs for me one at a time so I can get ’em off.”

“What seems to be the problem, Ashley?” Dr. Hill asked as she walked in.

“Apparently he hasn’t been having sympathy pains all day like I thought,” Alexis answered.

“What? He hasn’t come into the office saying he even so much as suspected he was pregnant,” the OB/GYN said, confused.

“Just hurry up!” he cried, unable to fight off the urge to push any longer.

“Alexis, go get a warming table now!” she said, already yanking on and tying the gown she needed.

“I’m on it!” the nurse answered, running out the door.

“Take slow, deep breaths, mio deviante,” Andy said softly, gripping his hand tightly.

Ash took as slow and deep of breaths as he could, struggling to fight off the urge to push, which wasn’t easy. His body was demanding that he do so, and with the position he’d chosen, he was opened up more than he’d normally be. Dr. Hill took her place behind him, just as she’d been no more than half an hour ago as CC delivered his and Jake’s son, giving him the go-ahead to push. Thankful that he didn’t have to fight off the urge any longer, he took a deep breath and gave it his all.

Andy continued squeezing his husband’s hand, not caring that the laboring man was turning it blue with his tight grip, as he counted to ten for each push in his ear. Not long afterward, just as Alexis returned with the warming table and started setting it up, the baby’s head emerged from his ass. The bassist screamed bloody murder, just like he had when delivering their daughter, as his ass felt like it was on fire from how much it was stretching for the birth. The OB/GYN gently checked for a cord, didn’t find one, and told him to give her another gentle push so he wouldn’t tear as the shoulders emerged.

Once the shoulders were delivered, the birth was pretty smooth, only taking a single push to get the baby completely out. Ash sighed with relief and dropped his head to the mattress of the bed, glad that their surprise baby was here safely, and waited to hear it scream. Dr. Hill suctioned its nose and mouth as she announced that it was a baby girl, and seconds later, the gurgling screams of a newborn could be heard.

He stood there panting and struggling to catch his breath as his husband walked behind him to cut their second daughter’s cord, glad that it was over. But just as the cord was cut, the baby taken over to the warming table to be assessed, his eyes flew open as he felt the urge to push again. The bassist screamed in pain again to get everyone’s attention as he bore down to deliver the next baby. It was obvious that there was at least one more in there, because this felt nothing like delivering a placenta; this felt exactly like delivering a baby. Andy rushed over to his husband and grabbed his hand again, Dr. Hill taking her place behind him once again as another nurse was called to bring in a second warming table.

“Okay, stop pushing for me, Ashley,” the OB/GYN said. “The baby’s head is almost out, and we don’t want you tearing.”

“It fucking hurts!” he screamed in agony. “Andy, you shit-sucking rotten son of a still-fucking whore!”

“Wow, what a potty-mouth,” Alexis chuckled as she got their second daughter’s foot prints for her birth certificate.

“He said that as he was delivering Rori,” Andy chuckled, which earned him a violent squeeze of his hand. “Ouch, Ash!”

“That’s nothing compared to how I feel right now,” Ash growled, bearing down again.

“I know, I know,” he crooned soothingly. “And I swear to you that I won’t make you go through this again unless you want to.”

“Arrgggghhhhhhhh!” he groaned, finally getting the baby’s shoulders out. “I’ve got a good mind to have those parts ripped out so that I can’t!”

“One more push, Ashley,” Dr. Hill said. “One more push should do it.”

“Get it outta me!” the bassist screamed, bearing done one last time.

“And it’s a baby boy!” the OB/GYN announced.

Ash sighed and dropped his head to the mattress once again, his son starting to scream before the doctor could even suction his nose and mouth. It was obvious that the baby was just as healthy as his older sisters, and for that he was extremely thankful. The fact that he hadn’t known he was pregnant could cause enough complications with their health, and he was terrified enough of that, as it was.

Dr. Hill called his husband around to cut yet another cord, and that was the only time he let go of his hand since he’d delivered their second daughter. Once their son’s cord was cut, he was handed off the second nurse, who’d entered the room without them realizing it, so he could be cleaned up and assessed. Andy stood between the two warming tables and watched, thankful that his sweetheart didn’t scream in pain and start pushing again. That meant that the only thing left to deliver were the babies’ placentas, which wouldn’t be nearly as painful for him as their actual births.

Once the placentas were delivered, he was called over to the bed to help get his sweetheart in it, but helped him into the boxers he’d already been wearing before he did so. He promised the OB/GYN that he’d run home and get him some clean clothes as soon as he and the twins were settled, and not a moment sooner. She agreed, knowing that Andy was a man of his word, and didn’t nag him about it. He sighed as he stood by his husband’s side, waiting anxiously for them to bring the babies over.

“So what are we gonna name them, mio deviante?” he asked quietly.

“Leila Brietta-Amethyst for the girl, and Levi Briar-Andrew for the boy,” Ash answered weakly, sounding like he wanted to fall asleep, which he probably did.

“Those are beautiful,” the frontman said softly, gently kissing his lips.

“What’ll their surnames be?” Alexis asked, having heard the bassist’s response.

“Biersack,” Andy told her, spelling out the surname letter-by-letter.

“Those are beautiful,” she said, grinning at them.

“He’s the one that named our older daughter,” the younger man said proudly. “I figure, he’s the one that suffered through pregnancy, so I’ll let him name them. Besides, he’s better at picking out names than I am.”

“Hence why I wound up with the honor of naming Jake’s and CC’s son when they couldn’t come up with a combination after themselves that fit,” he chuckled.

“Oh, really now?” he asked curiously.

“Mmm hmm. They wanted to name him after both of them, but couldn’t come up with a good enough combination,” Ash answered. “So I suggested Christian Jacob, CJ as a nickname later on.”

“I’m guessing he’s a little Pitts?” Andy chuckled.

“Mmm hmm.” He took a deep breath as he glanced over to where his newest children lay, screaming their heads off as they were assessed.

“So what’s your older daughter’s name?” the second nurse asked curiously.

“Auroralyn Maci-Ashley Biersack,” he told her.

“Here you go, Ashley,” Alexis said, putting baby Leila in his arms. “Cristi should be done with Levi in a few minutes.”

“She’s so beautiful,” Ash cooed, looking down at her. She was the spitting image of him, but when she opened her eyes, they saw that she had the same icy-blue eyes as Andy, as well as his skin tone.

“She looks identical to you, Ashes,” his husband agreed, gently kissing her head.

“She’s gonna be beautiful when she’s older,” he said softly.

“That she is,” Andy agreed. “We’ll be beating guys off with sticks when she and Rori are older.”

“And here’s little Levi,” the second nurse, Cristi, said as she placed the baby in Andy’s arms.

“Wow. He looks just like I did as a baby,” the younger man breathed, staring down at his son. “He just has your skin tone.”

“Looks like he has your eyes, too,” Ash said when the baby opened his eyes.

“That he does, mio deviante,” he agreed. “He’s the only one who’s a perfect balance between us.”

“Ti amo molto, mio profeta,” the bassist said, tilting his head back for a kiss.

“Anch’io ti amo molto,” Andy answered before giving him the kiss he’d asked for.

After they got to bond with their babies a bit, the frontman told him he was going to head home to get him some clean clothes, as well as try to sort through Rori’s old clothes to find something they could bring the twins home in until they could go shopping for them. He also told him that he’d tell everyone in the waiting room about their new additions, as well as pass on Jake’s and CC’s news since he never got the chance.

With a smile on his face as he began to drift off to sleep once the twins were taken to the nursery, Ash told him that sounded like a good idea. He kissed him one last time before heading back to the waiting room, where he got curious looks from his mother, Jinxx, Sammi, Shelby, and Marissa. Andy couldn’t help the grin that split his face when he announced the births of Christian Jacob Pitts and Leila Brietta-Amethyst and Levi Briar-Andrew Biersack to his friends and family.

Everyone was glad to hear that Jake’s and CC’s son had arrived safely, but shocked into silence when they found out that Ash had been pregnant without even realizing it. Jinxx offered to go back and tell Jake and CC since he had to run home for the clean clothes, for which he profusely thanked him. Life was about to get even more hectic and crazy than it had been before, but he loved his husband and children with every fiber of his being, and to be honest, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Notes