@TrinityJade @sooya_ @HyuneWifey @rayhere @CoCoM3L0N @joy_senhouu
Chapter 1: Welcome to the World
Taylor Conway, who is 38 weeks pregnant with identical twin boys, struggled to stay asleep in the early hours of a Monday morning in late April. Her boyfriend, Luke Hemmings, was fast asleep next to her, snoring away like a sleepy dog. Why did she have to be pregnant? Why couldn’t it be Luke?
Taylor’s thoughts were broken by a strong contraction and a wet sensation underneath her. She wasn’t sure if she’d just wet the bed or had her water break, but she leaned towards the former.
“Luke?” Taylor addressed her sleeping boyfriend. Luke simply mumbled something and pulled the covers over his head. “Babe! I think I wet the bed!”
“It’s 3:30 in the morning, love,” Luke mumbled after he rolled over to face her. “What’s the matter?”
“I need you to take me to the bathroom. Hurry!”
“Are you sure your water didn’t just break? I don’t smell piss.” Luke stretched and slid out of bed. “I’m taking you to the hospital, just in case.” He went to Taylor’s side of the bed, where she was, indeed, leaking amniotic fluid. “Right, now I know you need to go to hospital. You’re leaking amniotic fluid!”
As Luke rushed Taylor to his silver Range Rover, reality hit her like a speeding bus. She was about to become a mom at the age of 17, all because Luke had forgotten to put a condom on during sex.
They had been hanging out in Luke’s hotel room in St. Paul after their second date, and a kiss eventually led to sex. Of course, Taylor hadn’t realized the unprotected nature of their little escapade until she noticed an unopened package of condoms on the bedside table. And now, she was about to give birth to her first children. Not one baby… but two. And whenever they learn to walk, she’ll have two mini copies of Luke running around the house.
After he got Taylor settled in the front passenger seat, Luke rapidly punched in the name of the hospital into the GPS. It was a wonder he still got the name right, despite his finger flying across the screen.
“Starting route to UCLA Medical Center,” the GPS announced. Satisfied with his work, Luke pulled out of the driveway and followed the directions to the hospital.
They were there in 20 minutes flat, but by this time, Taylor’s contractions had become even stronger and more painful.
“You alright, Taylor?” Luke asked as he unbuckled Taylor’s seatbelt and picked her up. “Upsy-daisy!”
Luke knew exactly where he was going, as he’d gotten directions to L&D from the lady on the phone when he called ahead. He rushed like the Tasmanian Devil through the corridors, up an elevator, and down another hallway until he reached Taylor’s delivery room.
“Oh, my,” the nurse said when she measured Taylor’s cervix. “I daresay you’re in labor; you’re almost at a ten!”
“What do you mean?” Taylor panicked. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Oh, no – quite the opposite! It just means you’re almost ready to push. I’ll call your doctor really quick, and in the meantime, we can do some practice pushes.”
“Practice… pushes?”
“Yeah, it’s so you can get ready for when it’s time,” Luke replied. “I saw the birth of my cousin Zoe, and her mum’s doctor explained that their purpose is to push the baby a good way down the birth canal.”
The nurse nodded. “That’s correct, Luke! It just makes it easier for you when you push for real. Delivering a baby can be a very daunting task for first-time moms, but you basically hold your breath for ten seconds, then let it out hard, like you’re going to poop.”
“Well, yeah, but I have to do it twice,” Taylor said, her voice still laced with fear.
“I’ll be holding your hand the entire time, and those boys will be here before you know it!” Luke promised.
The nurse came back a few minutes later. “Dr. Choo is in the middle of another delivery, but she’ll be here right after that one. In the meantime, Taylor, would you open your legs for me, please?”
Taylor opened her legs and held her knees as she pushed. She got about five practice pushes before Dr. Choo arrived.
“Good morning!” she greeted Taylor in her Mandarin accent. Her eyes crinkled when she smiled, giving Taylor a familiar sense of warmth. “Are you ready to get this over with?”
“I’m so ready,” Taylor agreed.
“And there we have it – Baby B is here!” Dr. Choo announced over the baby’s cries. Dr. Choo and the nurse each placed a twin on Taylor’s chest and cleaned them off in tandem.
The delivery was rough for Taylor, especially since Baby B had been sunny side up. They were even considering the possibility of an emergency C-section because every time they tried to turn him around, his heart rate would drop. But in the end, he somehow managed to do it himself, so Taylor was still able to deliver vaginally.
“They’ve got your hair,” Taylor cooed. “Oh, Dawson is opening his eyes! Good morning, buddy!”
Luke took a peek at Dawson. “Oh, yeah… they have my eye color, too! I don’t know if they’ll stay that way, but it’s a nice color right now.”
Taylor gave him a playful pout. “What are my eyes, chopped liver?” she teased.
“Babe, you have the prettiest hazel eyes I’ve ever seen. I’m still betting on them keeping their baby blues, though.”
“Do you have names picked out yet?” the nurse asked.
“Baby A will be named Dawson Robert Hemmings,” Taylor informed her. “And Baby B, we’ve decided his name will be Maddox Joseph Hemmings.”
“Okay! I love those names.”
“Thanks,” Luke said. “We do, too.”
That afternoon, Taylor was visited by her adoptive family, Martha and Clint Richards and their kids.
Taylor was adopted last summer by the Richards family after ten years in the Georgia foster care system. She also has an identical twin named Ella, but she was adopted into a different family, one that lived in the next town over from Taylor. They met for the first time in ten years at a 5 Seconds of Summer concert, and they’ve been in touch ever since.
Martha gasped with delight when she saw the babies. “Land sakes alive! They’re identical!”
“And what are their names?” Madi asked.
“The one in my arms is Dawson Robert, and his brother’s name is Maddox Joseph,” Taylor introduced them.
“Interesting choices!” Clint remarked. “Is Dawson named after your hometown?”
“He sure is, and Robert is also Luke’s middle name. Then, we have Maddox Joseph, which just kind of goes well with Dawson Robert… don’t you think?”
“Yeah, they do!” Madi chimed in. “They look just like Luke as a baby, too.”
