Together Again

Only three hours after getting his epidural, Ash was prepped for delivery and awaiting Dr. Bohn’s command. Legacy and Magick stood on either side of him, holding his legs up and open as his grandparents had done while he was delivering them. In this position, they were being helpful and didn’t have a clear view of his crotch, which was what he’d wanted when the OB/GYN suggested having them help out.

Andy was standing on his left side, his hand hidden under his upper back as he prepared to help him curl up around the twins while he was pushing. He was exhausted from not getting much sleep, and now the exertion his body was putting itself through. To say he’d sleep good after the delivery was a huge understatement, they all knew.

“Arrgghhhh!” the older man cried, panting as he flopped back after a particularly strong push. “I will fuckin’ end you, if you ever think I’m doing this again, Andrew!”

“You won’t ever have to, unless you wanna,” his lover promised him, gently kissing his temple. “And if you do accidentally get pregnant again, I’ll let the guys hold me down for you to castrate me.”

“I’m holding…you…to that,” Ash panted, then took another deep breath.

“C’mon, Mama! You can do it!” Legacy said, giving him as gentle an encouragement as she could.

Another scream ripped from his throat as he ended his latest effort, his chest heaving.

“Hang on before you try again, Ashley,” the OB/GYN said. “You’re gonna need another episiotomy so you don’t tear.”

“A what?” the younger man asked, his head whipping around to face her.

“An episiotomy. In women, it’s a small incision into the tissue between the vaginal and anal openings,” she explained, taking the scalpel handed to her.

“And what about in his case?” Andy asked curiously.

“It’ll be into the same tissue, the perineum, just going toward his scrotum.”

“Fuckin’-A!” Ash snapped, fisting his hands in the sheets. “That’s gonna be a bitch to deal with later.”

“Better than you tearing, isn’t it?” Dr. Bohn asked, her gaze focused on his crotch.

“I suppose,” he conceded, grimacing as he fought the urge to push with the next contraction.

Moments later, the OB/GYN handed the scalpel back to the nurse, her incision on either side of his entrance made. She looked up at him and told him he was free to push whenever he felt the urge, earning her a nod and a sigh of relief. With as deep a breath as he could manage, Ash grabbed the backs of his thighs and curled up around his middle again.

Just as he had before, Andy continued more or less cheering his sweetheart on, helping him curl up around the babies to make delivery quicker and easier. Even Legacy and Magick were cheering on, encouraging him to keep going, even when he just wanted to flop back and give up. With their encouragements, the older man finally found the strength to continue, and before he knew it, his new son was squalling from where he lay on his chest as his daddy cut his umbilical cord.

Once their son was taken over to one of the two warming tables, the exhausted new mother waited a few minutes for his cervix to dilate completely again. It’d tried to snap shut again once the first twin was born, but his body realized it wasn’t quite done with the delivery. He smiled tiredly as he listened to his newborn’s screams, taking joy in knowing that he was doing well enough to breathe on his own.

After about five minutes, Dr. Bohn told him he was fully dilated again, meaning that pushing wouldn’t hurt him or his unborn baby. The older man nodded once again, now too exhausted to bother speaking, and somehow found it in him to continue his efforts. Ash clenched his jaw as he held his breath, sweat rolling down his face as he pushed once again. His lover encouraged him, gently wiping his face with a cool cloth once he flopped back since he was turning red. Both girls were still managing to hold his legs, although their arms were shaking for the effort.

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

“Thank all that’s holy!” Ash cried, flopping back for the last time.

“You wanna cut this one’s cord, too, Daddy?” she asked, looking up at Andy.

“Are you kidding me? I’d have to be nuts to say no,” the younger man answered with a grin as he took the scissors.

Dr. Bohn gently laid the little girl on her mama’s chest, watching closely as he gently caressed her slimy head while his lover cut her cord. “You know what comes next, Ashley.”

“Unfortunately,” he groaned, nodding.

Confused, but not wanting to look like an idiot, Andy chose to keep his mouth shut.

“Delivery of the placentas,” she chuckled. “It’s not quite as hard, nor takes as much effort, as the actual delivery.”

“Do we need to hold his legs up again?” Magick asked.

“Nah, he can just brace his feet on the bed for this part,” the OB/GYN answered.

Both girls heaved sighs of relief, their arms sore from holding them up for over an hour.

“Oi, I could sleep for a week after this,” Ash groaned, curling up and giving a gentle push.

“I’ll bet. I’ve never had twins myself, much less twice, but I’m sure it’s worse than a single baby,” Dr. Bohn chuckled, gently tugging on the remains of the umbilical cords.

“I’m on the opposite end of that,” he chuckled, flopping back before giving another good push.

Shortly thereafter, he’d delivered both placentas while the newborns were assessed, and by the time he was done, he was beyond exhausted. In fact, he was so exhausted that he dozed off for a bit while the OB/GYN was stitching up the episiotomy incisions, which drew a chuckle from everyone in the room.

Andy was able to wake his sweetheart up when the nurses handed their new babies to him, that way he could greet them a little better than before. He sleepily took both of them, wincing slightly but sighing as they latched onto his nipples through the wife-beater he wore to cover his torso. He chuckled softly as he took in his lover’s curious expression, shaking his head when he seemed amazed that he had the ability to nurse. If he had the ability to carry children, it stood to reason that he’d be able to nurse any children he carried.

Within an hour, Ash had been moved to a recovery room just down the hall from where he’d given birth for the second time. Considering that he was forty-four this time around, he was being kept a couple extra days to ensure his health, just in case anything went wrong when they least expected it. He, his fiancé, and their daughters all got to hold the new babies before they were taken to the nursery so they could get some rest.

Unlike when he’d had Legacy and Magick, he wasn’t quite as wary of turning his babies over to the pediatric staff, although he was still a little worried. It wouldn’t be natural if he didn’t worry about them somewhat, but he wasn’t completely terrified like he’d been before, either. Ash sighed softly as he felt Andy crawl into the bed beside him so he could snuggle him, therefore making his rest a little more peaceful. Having raised the girls more or less single-handedly, he knew their lives were going to anything but peaceful once the left the hospital, and he was grateful for the reprieve.

Notes