L&D

[abyssum_invocat]

Sinthia woke up groggily, blinking at the unfamiliar surroundings as the drugs wore off that had clouded her perception. There was a baby crying somewhere that she couldn't see, beyond the drape that covered everything below her ribs.

"...Illya," she murmured, tilting her head way back to look up at the blond who was bracing her, stroking her shoulders; Solo was on the other side of the curtain, and she could only see his head over the pale green papery cloth. "'M awake, Illyusha." She wasn't sure exactly when she was--she knew she was at the hospital, knew she was in a delivery room, and assumed all had at least gone, if not gone well.

"What happened?" Sinthia asked.

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Leaning down, Illya kissed her forehead, "Everything is Okay. They had to do C-section." He knew she would be sore for a while and he and Solo would have to take care of the childcare end of things until she healed completely. But they were prepared for this possibility. It was all he could do not to smile like an idiot. "The girls are doing very well."

Solo poked his head around the curtain, "Would you like to meet your daughters?" He was grinning widely and in his arms were two little bundles. He brought them over for Illya and Sinthia to see. Both girls were small and slightly fussy. One had a shock of dark curls and the other was toe-headed.

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"They had to do a C-section," she repeated, trying to get the words to come out right as her tongue felt thick. "They're okay?" Sinthia asked, a smile coming to her face as the words sunk in, talking about her daughters in Solo's arms.

Her babies, wrapped tightly in pink that make her laugh, because they'd purposefully decided against pink for the nursery. "They're so big," she said lightly, reaching out the hand that didn't have an IV line in it to touch one of the girls' dark curls. "This one's Margot. She has to be."

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He couldn't help but smile then. Their daughters. It was so strange and wonderful. "They are perfect," Illya said. Solo sat down on a rolling stool next to the bed so that the babies were in her reach.

"She is, and this is Mischa," Solo gently laid the blond twin in her arms. Mischa had little wisps of white blond hair sticking up off her head.

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Sinthia gingerly held her baby, gentle fingertips toying with Mischa's white-blonde hair, touched beyond words to finally be holding her children. "They're so beautiful," she whispered, touching her lips to her daughter's forehead.

"I never thought this would happen," she admitted. "That they'd actually be here."

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"They are," Illya said watching Solo and Sinthia hold them. "Oh, we should get pictures." He pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Here, let me," one of the nurses said. "You should be in the picture too." Illya gave his phone to the nurse and she stood back at an angle so that she could get them all in the picture.

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"This is all your fault, you know. Both of you," Sinthia murmured to both men, though she didn't lift her head yet from watching Mischa curl her tiny fingers around the edge of the blanket. "Nothing will ever happen to these two."

She'd make sure of that, the thought still strong even as the other twin began to cry, losing her sister's touch and seemingly only just realizing it. "Hold her for a minute, Illya," Sinthia told him, shifting her arms enough that her lover could take the blonde-headed girl. "I want to see them with you two."

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"Okay," he gently took Mischa from her and cradled the tiny girl in his arms. "Hello, my darling, Mischa," he whispered to her. "I am totally happy being guilty for this," he admitted.

"Me too," Solo said. He'd never had any idea that it was possible to fall in love with someone at first sight like this.

"When will be able to take them home?" Illya asked, meaning Sinthia as well as the babies.

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Sinthia let her fingertips trail over Illya's arm as he took the little girl, and she smiled at both her girls in their fathers' arms: it was almost perfect, seeing all of them healthy and doing well, which was not a guarantee given the short while ago Illya had been in the hospital himself.

"It shouldn't take more than three or four days for mom," the nurse answered, which got Sinthia's attention; she hadn't anticipated needing a cesarean section at all, but knew it was fairly major surgery. She was doing her best not to think about the complications it would cause with her own body. "Your girls may need a day in the neonatal unit just to make sure they're off to a good start." Their initial measurements had been good, and they both had healthy lungs on them.

"Will they need formula since there are two of them?" Sinthia asked; sure, her breasts had grown larger with pregnancy, as she'd expected, but she didn't see any way her body could keep up with two growing ones without help.

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"Your body should be able to keep up with them. We'll have a lactation coach come in after a little bit that can help you with your first feeding," the nurse told her. "And give you help and advice as long as you need it. It looks like you'll have plenty of help with the two of them," she said looking at the two men with the babies.

"The babies will come home before Sinthia does?" Solo said. He didn't mind taking care of them, but if she was breast feeding, how was that going to work?

"They'll stay close to Mom and come home when she does. Don't worry, you'll have lots of help." The nurse assured them. "For the moment, just enjoy them."

"Thank you," Illya told her. He knew it was going to be a whirlwind and most of the childcare was going to fall to him since he didn't currently have a job. "It'll be Okay. We can do this."

"We're with you all the way," They had planned for it. Had been preparing for the arrival of their girls since they found out Sinthia was pregnant with twins. Solo was taking paternity leave for the next six weeks and Illya was currently unemployed. They had taken all the parenting classes and gotten everything ready that they could.

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"It would be hard to back out now," she replied to the boys, twisting as much as was comfortable, though that was not a lot. Sinthia could smile at her lovers and her daughters, one each with their fathers.

"How long will it take for the incision to close?" she asked.

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Illya and Solo both smiled back at her. He had a tear in his eye that he wiped away, "They are so beautiful."

"Would you like to hold Margot?" Solo asked, rising, to exchange babies with Illya.

"It should be fully healed in about six weeks. The incision should be healed up enough we can take out the staples in about a week. It will be alright to get up and walk around, but don't lift anything heavy until you're fully healed." She couldn't help but smile. "I'll leave you alone with your children for a little while. I'll be back with the lactation coach in about half an hour."

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Sinthia smiled as the nurse departed, and watched Illya and Solo with the twins; she somehow felt amazed that this was all real and she wasn't being rudely interrupted by her alarm, breaking the reality of a dream. She reached out to tousle Margot's tiny curls though it made the infant cry a tiny noise of discomfort at being disturbed.

"Ssssh, it's alright, little girl," Sinthia soothed quietly. "This doesn't feel quite...real," she confessed. "It's been so long that I knew they were there, and I could feel them, but seeing them without a screen in between...they're perfect. I don't want to mess that up."

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Both of the boys nodded in agreement. "I can hardly believe it. We are both fathers," Solo said.

"It is amazing, they are so perfect. So beautiful," Illya said. It would probably take them quite a few days to come to terms with being parents. "I am so proud of you, my love," he said taking Sinthia's hand. "You make beautiful babies."