Page 55 of Bear with Me
"I like it." Cassie's voice was so soft, I almost missed it as I walked back to the bedroom door. I hesitated in the hallway, curious what she would say next.
"Our parents didn't lie to us, exactly, but they never spoke their minds. Your family is so real. I love it here."
"Thank you," Mom said. "That means so much. Blake is stuck with us now, but you're always welcome at our home, too, Cassie. It must be hard with your parents gone."
If I stayed in the hallway, I would start crying. I knocked on the bedroom door before opening it a crack.
"Get in here!" Blake shouted. "I'm not doing this without you!"
I opened the door to find our bed covered in thick absorbent padding. Blake was on his hands and knees in the middle, with his bare ass pointed at me. It was still so round. His cheeks fit perfectly in my hands as I spread them wider. "Is that?—"
"The baby's crowning. It's almost time to push, Blake."
He whimpered and flattened his chest to the bed while keeping his ass in the air. "I don't want to. It hurts."
I rubbed his ass again, and slid my hands up his spine, kneading the tight muscles in his lower back. "You want to meet our babies," I reminded him. "You can do this."
"That's it," Denise said when his next contraction started. "Push."
He sobbed against his arms and every muscle in his body flexed. The first baby's head appeared. With his next push, a shoulder popped free, and then the other. She fell into my arms with a whoosh, all slick, bloody, screaming, and perfect. She was ours, this little miracle of fate.
Denise whisked her away to the birthing station she'd set up on top of our dresser. After making a few measurements and dripping some drops into the baby's eyes, she handed her to me.
"Show Blake."
His body shook with another contraction, but he smiled wide when he saw our beautiful daughter. I lay her by his face, and he kissed her perfect nose. She stared up at him and made a soft cooing sound. "So beautiful."
"So are you." I leaned in for a kiss of my own, but it was cut short.
"Fuck," he said. "How much longer?"
"In a few minutes, I'll need you to push again."
He dropped his head to give our daughter another kiss. Beads of sweat dripped from his hair onto the mattress around her.
"Take her," he said. "I don't want to get her all sweaty."
"You can put her in the cart." Denise had brought a two-bed rolling cart lined with soft blankets. I gently set her in it, expecting her to cry. Instead, she closed her eyes, waiting patiently for her sibling.
"Family,"my bear said. He'd been crowing about family all day, but I'd assumed he meant the baby shower. I should have known better. Silly traditions meant nothing to my bear. He'd been telling me our children were coming today.
"Get over here!" Denise shouted. "It's better for the baby if their daddy catches them."
Daddy. I was a daddy! My arms trembled as I held them out, waiting to catch our second child. Blake shouted as he pushed, and I caught our son with a wet splat.
"Only a little bit more, and you'll be done." Denise took the baby from me. When she returned with him in her arms, he stared up at me with the same awe our little girl had when she looked at Blake.
"Do you have names for them yet?" she asked.
"Rebecca," Blake said. "We'll call her Becky or Becca, whichever she prefers. And Elias."
"Those are strong names." Denise patted his leg.
"They were my parents' middle names." His voice was thick with tears. "Cassie wanted their first names, so this is the next best thing."
My eyes filled with tears. I'd seen their names on some of Blake's paperwork from the estate and will, but hearing the names aloud sent warm shivers down my spine. I felt like they were in the room with us, looking down on our beautiful babies.
I scooped Rebecca into my arms. I'd always been too cautious to carry twins at the same time, but with my own, it came naturally. Denise opened the door for me and asked Mom to run Blake a sitz bath.
