Chapter 14

"Just ten more minutes," Dr. Endo coaxed a very uncomfortable Misaki, who was lying on a reclining chair with pink and blue straps wrapped around his huge tummy. The straps were connected to a machine that was churning out a piece of paper slowly. The sounds of the babies' heartbeats echoed around the room. Dr. Endo was doing her usual checkup using the fetal heart rate monitor that was placed in Misaki's bedroom, and Takahiro, Manami and Akihiko were looking on.

"These straps are making me itch worse," the thirty-six-weeks pregnant teen groaned as he shifted himself, trying not to touch his tummy, which was covered in red streaks and stretched so tightly that he was amazed it hadn't exploded. His tummy rash was bothering him day and night, and was the main reason why he was looking forward to his scheduled C-section next week.

"Beeeep!" An alarm sounded and suddenly, only one of the heartbeats could be heard.

Misaki gasped. "What happened? Why is there only one heartbeat?"

Dr. Endo calmly came forward and re-adjusted the straps. "It's either you moved, or one of them moved, that's why we couldn't catch the heartbeat. Just keep still, please." She shifted the ultrasound transducer on Misaki's stomach until the sounds returned.

"Blurp blurp!" The twins' movements were also picked up and broadcast by the monitor.

"I can't believe it, we're going to see our boys real soon!" Manami gushed excitedly as Takahiro beamed and put his arm over his wife's shoulder.

"Are we going to have the operation here as well?" Misaki asked.

"Yeah, with the kitchen knife," Akihiko answered sarcastically.

Dr. Endo smiled patiently as she explained. "A Cesarean section is a major operation, so it is not possible to do it at home, dear. We'll need to do it at the hospital."

Akihiko sighed as he threw Misaki his usual "why-are-you-so-stupid" look. "Seems like the pregnancy has killed whatever few brain cells that you have," he said, tapping a ballpoint pen on the teen's head.

"Bastard!" Misaki cursed. "I'm having a hard time with this pregnancy, can't you show me some empathy? Aarrgh, I can't stand it anymore! My tummy is itching like crazy!"

Takahiro patted his little brother on the shoulder. "I'm sorry that you have to go through this, Misaki. And I'm sure Akihiko will give you a nice, long, massage after you're done, won't he? Eh? " He said, winking at the silver-haired writer, who looked away quickly. Even though he had come out to Takahiro about his relationship with Misaki, he still wasn't comfortable talking about it.

"Okay, we're done!" Dr. Endo announced. Misaki immediately ripped off the offending straps and started scratching his tummy wildly. Dr. Endo looked closely at the graph churned out by the monitor, and her face took on a serious expression.

"Is everything alright?" Takahiro asked.

"One of the heartbeats looks a little slow, at some points," the doctor replied.

"Oh no, does this mean the baby is in trouble?" Misaki's own heart was starting to pound faster.

"Well," Dr. Endo said, "Not necessarily so. But I am going to bring forward the C-section to tomorrow, just to be safe. One of them might be undergoing some stress."

"Oh… okay," Misaki gulped, taken aback by the sudden change of plans.

"So, get prepared to stay in hospital for at least a couple days. Meanwhile, just continue to count the kicks like you do every day," Dr. Endo advised. "And if you're worried, give me a call. See you tomorrow!"

Misaki nodded.

After the doctor had left, everyone began discussing preparations for the emergency C-section and the early arrival of the little ones. It was decided that Takahiro and Manami would stay over for the night, so that they could all accompany Misaki to the hospital the next day. They already had a guest room in Akihiko's spacious penthouse reserved for them, as they would be staying on for the first couple of weeks to help with the twins. Another of the guest rooms had been converted into a nursery, where the twins' cot was all set up. There was already a mountain of clothes and enough diapers for a small army. Takahiro and Manami went out to stock up on all the other baby essentials.

At midnight, Akihiko was the only one sleeping. Manami was up sorting out the baby stuff and helping Misaki to pack his hospital bag. Misaki was particularly restless that night. In addition to his usual pregnancy discomfort, he couldn't help feeling nervous about the delivery. What if something went wrong during the operation? What if something happened to the twins?

At 3 am in the morning, Takahiro had just come out of the bathroom when he noticed his brother sitting on the living room couch, all alone in the dark. He walked over and saw that Misaki was wide awake and teary-eyed, both hands cradling his swollen tummy.

"Everything alright?" Takahiro asked, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"I don't know," Misaki sniffed. "They seem to be moving less."

"Really? Do you want me to give the doctor a call?"

"Well, I don't know... they're still moving about, it's just that they seem to be - " Misaki's sentence was cut short by a strong kick and a punch inside his tummy. He smiled with relief. "They just moved. I think they're okay."

"We're only a few hours away from dawn," Takahiro reassured him. "Soon we'll be seeing Mitsuo and Minori. I'm sure they'll both be healthy, bouncy boys!"

"I hope so," Misaki said hesitantly. "I don't know why one of them has a slow heart rate. What if he's... " he covered his face with his hands and shook his head. "It's all my fault. Maybe it's because I didn't get enough rest!"

"Rubbish," Takahiro chided him gently. "Whatever happens, we won't blame you okay? You've already done so much for us." He knew he wasn't very good at comforting others, so that was all he managed to say at the moment.

Misaki didn't look relaxed at all. He simply stared at Takahiro with furrowed brows.

"Um, hey, Misaki, can we talk about something else?" Takahiro suggested in a bid to distract his brother from worrying about the twins. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions about Usagi?"

"What kind of questions, Nii-chan?"

"Well… I noticed that he was kind of… verbally abusive towards you today." Takahiro sounded concerned. "Is he always like that?"

"Was he?" Misaki scratched his head. "Oh, you mean this afternoon, during the check-up?"

"Yeah. I thought he was quite mean to you. Are you sure he really loves you? Remember what I told you – that you and he are from entirely different backgrounds?"

Misaki nodded. "I'm sure Usagi-san loves me. It's just that… it's just the way he talks, I guess."

Takahiro sighed and ruffled Misaki's hair. "My little brother is so kind and gentle, and that makes me worried."

"Don't worry about me, Nii-chan," Misaki smiled.

"So, what is it about Usagi that you like? Is it his looks, talent, wealth or something else?" Takahiro asked curiously.

Misaki kept quiet for a few moments. "No. I don't know how to explain it… it was –"he stopped when he realized he couldn't continue without revealing that Akihiko once held a torch for Takahiro. It would make things even more awkward between them if I told Nii-chan that, he reasoned, and decided to keep his mouth shut. "It's just a feeling that he gives me."

Takahiro didn't seem convinced by his answer. "I really hope you know what you're doing."

"Hey, I'm an adult now!" Misaki insisted, pointing to his tummy proudly. "Look, I'm a m- I mean, I'm a surrogate parent!"

Takahiro chuckled. "I know you love kids."

"Yes. Me and Usagi-san, we're going to have our own kids some day," Misaki said dreamily, but decided not to mention that invitro fertilization treatment that he saw on TV the other day.

"How about Mitsuo and Minori? I know you love them."

"I do, but they're not my kids," Misaki said a little wistfully. "They're my nephews."

"I'll definitely tell them how special you are to them," Takahiro promised earnestly.

"Please don't tell them that I gave birth to them!" Misaki pleaded. It's going to be so weird. I don't want them to be teased for it."

"Don't worry, Misaki. I'll find a way to tell them how special you are without making them embarrassed."

As they talked, Misaki's eyelids began to grow heavy, he soon gave in to fatigue and drifted off to sleep on the couch. Takahiro fetched a blanket for him, and then lay down to catch a couple hours of sleep before setting off to the hospital.

Dawn arrived, and Misaki was woken up by a backache and horrible constipation pains. It felt like there was a hand inside him twisting his bowels. He shifted his weight on the couch trying to ease his discomfort, but it was not helping. His pain came in waves and was getting so bad that he couldn't move an inch. Soon, he realized that he wasn't experiencing constipation, but birth contractions! Misaki yelled for help. He needed to get to hospital as quickly as possible; he had no idea what those contractions would lead to, since he wasn't a woman. Something awful was going to happen if he didn't get medical help soon.

Akihiko drove everyone to the hospital, and on the way, Misaki's contractions became more and more intense. What made him even more worried was that he couldn't seem to sense any movement from the twins. All this made him panic so much that he started hyperventilating.

"Breathe slowly, Misaki," Manami urged. "The babies need oxygen."

Misaki began taking slow, deep breaths, and then squeezed Takahiro's arm as his body tensed with another contraction.

"We're reaching soon! Hang in there!" Takahiro encouraged him.

"My stomach... " Misaki groaned as his face turned green. Manami recognized what that meant. She quickly whipped out a paper bag and held it in front of Misaki, who promptly vomited into it. Nothing much came out as he had skipped breakfast.

When they arrived at the hospital, Misaki was quickly wheeled into a private room to get ready for his operation. By then, he was in quite a rough shape. The nurses helped him to get changed, laid him on the bed, hooked him up to an IV drip and began asking him questions.

"Do you want to be awake or asleep during the operation?" asked the anesthetist, who had just arrived.

"Awake," Misaki said weakly, and then shuddered at the thought of it. However, he forced himself to overcome the fear as he really wanted to witness the twins being born. "Is it going to hurt?" He asked.

"No, it will not hurt, I promise," the anesthetist replied, and then proceeded to set up his equipment.

"Only one person is allowed to go into the operating room with the patient," one of the nurses said, looking at Takahiro, Manami and Akihiko. "Who will it be?"

A brief silence ensued. No one had thought about that.

Takahiro was the first one to step forward. "I'll go in." He threw a glance at Misaki, who was gripping the bedrail tightly while writhing with another contraction. He was in too much pain to pay attention to the needles being inserted into his spine, much less care about who would be accompanying him during the operation. No one seemed to object, as Takahiro was his brother as well as the father of the twins.

"Alright, please get changed too," the nurse instructed Takahiro as she handed him some hospital clothes.

Akihiko, who had been quiet the whole morning, suddenly spoke up. "Please let me go in with Misaki."

Takahiro raised his eyebrows with surprise. "Are you sure?" He asked doubtfully. "Childbirth isn't a pretty sight you know. I can tell you that, having seen it once."

Akihiko took a deep breath. "I know. But Misaki needs me. Besides … I'm really worried about him."

Hmm. It looks like Usagi really cares about him a lot, Takahiro thought. "Alright. You go then," he relented, as there wasn't enough time to argue about this. Misaki was all pumped up with the epidural and was starting to feel the numbness in his legs. Akihiko stared at him as he was transferred to another bed and slowly pushed into the operating room. Misaki returned his gaze and smiled for the first time that morning.

It was freezing cold in the operating room. Misaki lay shivering in his thin hospital gown as the medical team busied themselves preparing for the delivery and attached various tubes and wires onto him. Although Misaki was glad to be pain-free, his heart was pounding fiercely. First, it was the thought of being sliced up while awake, and then there was the fear that something could go wrong with the birth. He closed his eyes and forced himself to dismiss such scary thoughts. As his mind conjured up images of his nephews, he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was the anaesthetist, who explained that he was going to test if the epidural was working.

"See this block of ice? I'm going to press it all over your body from the chest downwards. Please tell me if you can feel it."

"Okay," Misaki said, embarrassed that his lower half was all exposed. He could not feel the ice at all, and so he was good to go. A screen was placed in front of him, and Dr. Endo began cleaning his bulging tummy with antiseptic. Akihiko sat beside him, dressed in surgical scrubs too, holding his hand. As he felt the warmth of Akihiko's hand, Misaki felt all his fear and apprehension melt away.

Akihiko's grip tightened. The doctor must be making the cut, Misaki guessed. He was really curious to know what was going on, but at the same time he was glad the screen was blocking him as he wasn't sure if he could stand the sight of his own blood and guts. Next, he felt some tugging and pushing, and imagined Dr. Endo's hand groping around his insides.

"How is it going?" He asked out loud, feeling amazed that he could actually talk at this point.

"Good," he heard Dr. Endo's voice. "Twin A will be out soon."

He felt more tugging, and then he heard the doctor announce, "he's out!"

The baby's screams filled the room. "That's Mitsuo," Misaki gasped.

As the nurses cleaned and weighed little Mitsuo, Dr. Endo continued working on getting Minori out. This time, she seemed to be having some difficulty. Misaki stared at the team of doctors hovering above him, all looking focused and solemn. He couldn't understand what they were talking about, and he was not sure if it was just his imagination, but the atmosphere in the operating room seemed to have become very tense. Akihiko was still holding his hand, but it was hard to read his expression behind the mask.

Misaki continued to feel more tugging and manoeuvring. His whole body was now shaking with the force of Dr. Endo's actions. "What's happening?" he couldn't resist asking.

"We're having some difficulties getting the other twin out," Dr. Endo said. "His head seems to be lodged in an awkward position. It's this artificial womb, it's creating some problems."

Misaki turned his head to look at Akihiko, who was pale and frowning. Please, please , please let Minori be okay, he prayed.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Endo finally announced that Twin B was out. Misaki could not hear anything, and was going to freak out again when, after a few seconds, little Minori began bawling his lungs out. After being cleaned and weighed, he was placed on Misaki's chest, while Akihiko held Mitsuo. Dr. Endo then removed the uterus from Misaki and sewed him back up. Everyone in the operating room was smiling and gushing over the newly minted twins.

"Congratulations! You have just given birth to two normal, healthy boys!"

Misaki couldn't believe it. Tears of joy and relief flowed from his eyes as he felt the warmth of Minori's tiny body and gently stroked his soft little head. It was the most surreal moment in his life.

Hi guys, I am so sorry again for updating so slowly. I hope you liked this chapter, and do drop me a review! Thanks!