Page 67 of A Chance to Believe

Cassie looked exhausted, her face blotchy and puffy from the effort she’d put into the delivery. Deliveries. Not one, but two. She amazed him. Her shadowed eyes were tender, absorbing the little one feeding greedily, his legs pushing on her reduced belly. ‘I still can’t quite believe it. Both safe and sound.’

Doctor Reece came over to Shayne and poked a finger under the baby’s chin. ‘Some days are good days. Have you picked out names?’

Cassie looked at Shayne. ‘I was never quite game to settle on names because it seemed like tempting fate. I suppose I can’t go on calling them B1 and B2.’

Doctor Reese chuckled. ‘Suit yourself, but it could be a problem down the track.’

‘Frederick and Aaron.’ She blurted it out like it had been stuck in her throat. Perhaps it had. She’d ticked them off on the list but hadn’t been ready to commit. Not until they were safe.

Shayne nodded. ‘He’ll get Freddie, but I’m good with that.’

Jen came over. ‘We need to check them over thoroughly because of being premature once the other one has a quick feed. Audrey will clean up and organise Cassie so she can go to her room. Your family is in the waiting room so you could update them while you wait. It won’t be long.’

He handed the baby to her reluctantly and leaned over to kiss Cassie on her soft mouth. ‘I’ll make sure Tess knows, will I?’

It twitched into a weary smile. ‘Please.’

It was hard to drag himself away, but the nurses and doctors were doing their thing, ignoring him as he hovered at the door.

His family. Sucking in a breath, he made his way along the corridor from the birthing rooms to the public area. Everyone was gathered in one of the side rooms and he stopped dead, seeing them all there. It took a few moments to realise the Taites and Cavanaughs would be there for Morgan and Becca. Even Morgan’s two older children were sitting with the group, eyes glued to their phones.

‘Well?’ Kimberley was bouncing.

Dawn looked almost excited for her as she came in for a genuine hug instead of her usual air kiss.

‘Safely delivered. Two bonny bouncing boys. Freddie and Aaron.’ He gave the weights, one a little lower than the other, both smallish but not drastically so.

‘Congratulations, how wonderful! You named one Freddie?’ Dawn sounded doubtful.

‘Frederick, but he’s going to get Freddie, so I figured I’d start as I mean to go on.’

His father stood up to shake his hand. ‘How’s Cassie?’

‘Exhausted. She was amazing. I thought there might be a problem with the second one, but the doctors did something and he finally came out smooth as silk.’

Tess was there, lurking on the perimeter. ‘Hey, Tess. I was going to call you.’

‘Dawn let me know so I got my skates on.’

The questions bombarded him, so when Morgan appeared, he was glad to relinquish the centre of attention. He looked as drained as Shayne felt.

‘We have a son. Well cooked.’ He shot a twisted smile in Shayne’s direction. ‘Not as spectacular as two, but we are both thrilled with the result. His name is Sam.’

It was a relief to sit down and let the activity swirl around him. With thoughts of Jordan on everyone’s mind, there was an almost frenetic happiness at having good news. All he wanted now was to get back to Cassie.

Shayne went to Cassie’s room as soon as he was given the all clear and found her fast asleep. She looked very young, with her hair in a braid and wearing a simple nightdress in a pale blue with pink flowers. One of the maternity ones she’d ordered on-line to replace her usual t-shirts while she was in the hospital. ‘For decency’s sake,’ she’d laughed.

Given the late hour, he’d persuaded the family to come back tomorrow so Cassie could rest. It was vindication for their disappointment to find her resting. He was a little disappointed on his own behalf, still hyped up with all the emotion, but she desperately needed the sleep.

It was well after midnight when the last relatives cleared away after a peek through the big window in the old-fashioned nursery. The twins were easy to spot in solitary splendour in their special cribs and the nurses wheeled them close to the window for everyone to ooh and ahh over. They let him inside to visit and he spent some time with his finger tucked into Aaron’s tiny pink hand. He’d visited with Freddie, but Aaron seemed like he needed a little extra. He looked so frail compared to his brother.

The midwife was checking them while he was there and gave him a smile. ‘We’ll bring them to Cassie when they wake. Freddie is a good weight and will likely only need to be in here for twenty-four hours max. It looks like he was being greedy because Aaron isn’t doing as well.’

‘He’ll be okay, won’t he?’

‘He’s breathing well, and his nervous system seems good so far. Most babies born at this age are fine. It was only because he’s been sharing his twin’s placenta and it was uneven in these last couple of weeks that he’s a bit behind his brother. Especially his weight. He’ll need to be kept warm for longer because he’s light on fat deposits.’ She must have read his concern. ‘Don’t worry. You’ll get plenty of cuddles. They’ll do better in between feeds in the incubator, but we’ll have them in the room with you as often as we can. They’ll thrive with lots of contact with you both.’

Shayne looked at his sons, naked except for a nappy in the incubator. Like a baby chicken, except Aaron looked more like a skinned rabbit. Freddie was fatter and his skin didn’t have the reddish tinge. He could really relate to Cassie’s fear for them now that he could see the results of that competition in the womb. Technically, he knew twin pregnancies often favoured one over the other, but until he’d seen it in his sons, it hadn’t meant as much.

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