Arabella was laying on the couch with her eyes squeezed shut. Ajax, Jolie and Piggy were by the edge of the couch and looking at her with worried eyes. She was laying on her side and her 9 month old stomach was off the edge of the couch because it was so massive. Just as she started to calm down and relax a little bit, Arabella felt the pain coming over her again and she groaned, wishing that she could fold in on herself. "Where the fuck is Hunter?" She breathed and she let out a dry little sob. Ajax stepped a bit closer to her and licked her hand light and Arabella let out a sigh, petting him softly. This was not going to be fun.
Hunter pulled into the driveway with a little tired sigh. Something in the water today was making none of his students listen to him. He got out with tired legs and moved to the door, opening it and taking a deep breath. Immediately he could tell something was different. "Sweetie?" He said, looking around. He left his bags by the door and walked into the living room. He saw her laying on the couch and when she saw him, it looked like she wanted to crush his head into pieces. He quickly sat down on the edge of the couch and took her hand. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" He said quietly.
Arabella snatched her hand away from him and she groaned. "No...I'm not okay" She mummbled in a snippy voice. There was a moment of silence and Arabella could tell that Hunter was trying to figure out what to do or say. Jolie wobbled over to her side and barked softly. "I'm sorry" Arabella breathed to Hunter in a watery voice. "Maybe we should go to the hospital" She suggested and she groaned again as Hunter helped her stand and waddle out of the house. At this point, 9 months pregnant with twins, Arabella was really hating being pregnant. As they were walking towards the car, Arabella stopped suddenly and her eyes went really wide. "Hunter...I think my water just broke" She squeaked.
Hunter looked down and saw the pool at her feet and completely froze. He had prepared with her and made sure he had everything planned and sorted out, but now that it was crunch time, he was drawing a blank. It took Arabella screaming at him for him to actually move again. "Okay! I have your bag and I have a towel. Here we'll take my car." He said quickly. He set out the towel on the seat and handed her one, then helped her into the car, making sure she had enough support. "Where's your phone?" He asked quickly as he got in and started the car. She practically threw it at him and he quickly called the hospital, telling them that she was on her way.
"Please hurry, Hunter...I want the drugs and I want them now" Arabella groaned and she put her hands on her stomach, closing her eyes tightly. All she wanted was to have the babies out of her, be back in her own bed and just skip over the whole giving birth thing. After a small moment, her latest contraction died down and she tilted her head back against the head rest.
"Honey, I know you're in pain." He said, reaching over and placing his hand gently on her stomach. "Breathe. Just breathe. It'll be okay." He brushed some hair out of her face and sighed a little. He wished that he could make it painless, but he knew that wouldn't be possible. "We're almost there. Just breathe." He pressed on the gas a little bit harder and in a moment he was skidding to a halt outside the hospital. Immediately there were doctors surrounding them, lowering Arabella into a wheelchair.
Arabella took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed. After a moment, she opened her eyes and she looked around, trying to find Hunter. Finally, her eyes landed on him and she tried to calm down a little bit. Part of her wanted to yell and smack someone and the other part of her wanted to fall apart into sobs. Arabella tried to take deep breaths as the doctors pushed Arabella into the hospital and down to a room.
"Okay. See you soon." He said, finally hanging up her phone. He looked up just as he saw the doctors pushing her into a room and he quickly ran to follow. He slipped into the room where they were changing her into a gown and he turned away, waiting for them to finish. He looked back a couple moments later and she was changed and waiting for the doctor to get there. He hurried over and took her hand. "I called Danny and Tom and your dad and Tyler. They'll all be here and they've paged Dr. Harris and she'll be here as fast as he can." He said quickly, holding her hand in his. "How you doing?"
Arabella took a shallow breath and she shrugged a little bit. "A bit better" She told him in a low voice and she closed her eyes. The contractions were painful and they were pretty close together but she was thankful that she was in the hospital and she was laying in a bed. With any luck, this would be over quickly and she wouldn't be giving birth for 36 hours. "I just want this to be over with" She whispered and she squeezed her eyes shut in pain as she was hit with another contraction.
Hunter took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Let me help. Squeeze my hand as hard as you want. I'll be okay. It'll help. I promise." He said quietly. He thought back to the time he had been hit by an arrow in the leg and he had to have it taken out. He remembered how much it had helped to have a hand to squeeze the hell out of while they were slowly and painstakingly sliding it out of his leg. This was probably a million times worse and he wanted to take as much of the pain as he could.
Arabella normally would have told him that she didn't need to squeeze his hand and that she was fine but now, she was holding onto his hand with everything she had and whimpering in pain. "Make it stop...make it stop" She muttered under her breath. Arabella looked up at Hunter with wide eyes and she bit her lip softly. "You're gonna be a dad soon" She breathed.
----------------------------------
Hunter brushed some hair out of her face and kissed her on the cheek. "You did so well, sweetheart. You did perfectly." He whispered into her ear as he held her hand. "You did it." He said with a smile, pressing his lips to her temple. "I love you." He heard a door open again and he looked to see the doctor walking in with his two children. One boy and one girl.
"Here is your son, Mrs. Reed." She said, passing off the child in the blue blanket to Arabella. "And your daughter, Mr. Reed." She said, handing the baby in the pink blanket to Hunter. Hunter watched Arabella accept the child and he did his best to copy what she did, supporting the head, cradling the whole body. "I'll tell your guests that they can come in." She said before disappearing out the door.
Arabella looked down at the baby boy in her arms, tears falling down her cheeks easily. She was exhausted and shaking and she felt like she looked horrid but she never felt happier. Arabella gazed down at her son and she took a shaky breath. She had never loved someone like she loved the baby boy in her arms and the baby girl in Hunter's arms. IT was like someone flicked a switch in her and suddenly, she didn't care about anything other than making sure that these babies had a perfect life. After a moment, Arabella looked at Hunter with tired eyes and she smiled a little bit. "You look really good with a baby" She teased in a slightly raspy voice.
Hunter was entranced at the sight of his daughter in his arms, but he looked up at Arabella's words. "I have no idea what to do, Ellie." He said quietly. He looked down at his son a moment who yawned a little and went right back to sleep. He then looked back at Arabella and sighed happily. "You look beautiful." He said with a smile before leaning over and kissing her tightly on the lips. He felt small shifting in his arms and looked down at the baby girl in his arms as she squirmed slightly. "Here you hold both of them. I don't know what to do." He said before passing off the baby and looking at her from the foot of the bed. "You've never looked as perfect as you do now." He said with a small smile as he looked at Arabella and their two children.
"Oh, let me see one!" Danny said with a giggle as he practically skipped over to Arabella's bedside. "Why aren't you holding one?" Danny asked Hunter.
"I uhh...I thought this was a better picture. The mother with her two twins. Autumn and Jason." Hunter said quietly. He felt a small lump form in his throat. "I'm...I'll be right back." He said, giving Arabella a quick kiss on the cheek and then slipping out of the room.
Arabella watched Hunter leave and she took a small breath before looking up at Daniel. She smiled and yawned a little bit. He started begging her to hold one of them and Arabella handed Jason over to him, shifting slightly so that she was holding Autumn close to her. Autumn wiggled a little bit and yawned. She was awake and was looking up at Arabella with massive, dark eyes that looked a lot calmer than Arabella had exptected from a newborn. Arabella yawned and looked up just in time to see her dad slip out of the room after Hunter. She was nervous about Hunter but she knew that he was going to be okay. He was going to be a wonderful father and she had faith in him.
"Oh, hunnie...they are beautiful" Daniel cooed, looking down at Jason with a big smile.
"They are, aren't they?" Arabella whispered, looking back down at Autumn and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Hunter walked a little bit down the hall and sat down on a bench against the wall. He took a deep breath and put his face in his hands. He already felt like a horrible father and he knew that it was only going to become more and more obvious as time went on. He could feel tears falling down his cheeks and he couldn't do anything to stop it. It was a moment later when he felt someone sit down next to him. He quickly pulled back his tears and shook himself, finally looking up to see Arabella's father looking at him.
"You know, when Arabella showed up at my doorstep, I was...surprised. I knew that I had slept with Aprhodite, but I didn't know that would mean I would be getting a daughter. It was 2 years after that when I married Tyler's mom, but that 2 year period was one of the most difficult times in my life." He said with a breath. "I went from working my way up the corporate ladder to working my way through Walmart, making sure I used coupons for baby food and diapers." He put a hand on Hunter's back in a comforting way. "Weren't you the same guy who was going to marry her and make her happy? And do everything you possibly can to be there for her?"
"Mr. Foster, I don't know what you want me to do. I can't even hold a baby. I'm not going to be able raise them or take care of them or change their diaper or put them to bed. I don't know what I'm doing." Hunter said, taking a deep breath.
"Well, then you need to learn. It's not going to be easy. You will make mistakes. You will feel bad when your baby starts to cry. You will feel stupid." Matthew elbowed Hunter in the side. "But that's part of the process. Luckily you have Arabella to help you learn. I was kind of winging it on my own." He said with a small laugh.
"I never did apologize for that." Hunter looked up and found a beautiful woman wearing a pair of tight jeans and a t-shirt that read "Olympus' Greatest great great great great great grandma." Hunter was surprised to see Aphrodite show up, especially since it was such a small event. "You've raised our daughter perfectly, Matt." Hunter smiled softly and looked back at the door to Arabella's room, thinking about what was awaiting him in there. He couldn't run away from this. At some point he had to face it and at some point, he needed to rely on Arabella help him. He loved her and he loved his children and now he had to take care of them. He was about to announce that he was going back in, but he saw the look on Matthew's face as he looked at the woman he had fallen so hard in love with. The conversation that was long overdue that was about to occur, was not one that Hunter needed to be involved in. He stood and made his way back into Arabella's room, taking his place next to Arabella.
"Hey there, beautiful." He said, kissing her gently on the lips. He looked down at Autumn and smiled at her quiet cooing. "And hey there, cutie pie." He said, carefully reaching to take her from Arabella. "Am I doing it right?" He said, cradling her in his arms.
"Perfect" Arabella said softly, looking down at Autumn and brushing her fingers across her cheek ginerly. She took a deep breath before leaning back into her pillows and closing her eyes. She had never felt so drained and exhausted before in her life but it had so been worth it. From either side of her, she could hear her babies cooing and shifting in their blankets and it was the best thing in the world. Arabella felt like she was exactly where she needed to be. With a little yawn, Arabella slid her hands down to her stomach and she bit her lip. After spending nine months with her two little babies inside of her, she felt almost empty without them. Arabella turned over onto her side and she looked up at Hunter with big eyes. "Are you doing okay?" She asked him in a low voice so that Daniel, Tom and Tyler wouldn't be able to hear. They were too busy with Jason to notice anything, anyway.
Hunter looked up at Arabella and took a deep breath. "I'm doing perfectly." He said with a smile as he looked down at Autumn who opened her eyes a little, revealing a pair of sparkling blue eyes that looked up at him. He looked back into them and brushed his fingers along her head, placing a small kiss against her forehead. "She's beautiful, Ellie." He looked back up at her and leaned in, kissing her cheek. "You are, too."
Arabella blushed a little bit and she smiled. "I love you, Hunter" She breathed and she brushed her fingers along his knee. Arabella was looking forward to going home and sleeping in her own bed. It would be nice to just be alone and in a routine with the love of her life and her babies.
"Here, hun..." Daniel said softly, walking over and handing Jason over to Arabella. She bit her lip as she gingerly took him and placed him down on the bed beside her. "We're going to get some coffee" Daniel told them and he waved before walking out with Tom and Tyler.
"He looks like you" Arabella said with a little giggle, looking down at Jason and gazing into his dark eyes. She smiled and touched his nose lightly with her finger tip then looked up at Hunter. "I can't believe that we actually have these babies.."
Hunter smiled and looked down at Jason. "They're our babies, Sweetie." He said, putting his arm around her. "Hello, Autumn." Hunter whispered, tickling her gently under her chin. She raised her arm up a little and Hunter pressed his finger against her arm. Autumn's fist opened and gently gripped Hunter's finger. "Oh, Ellie. Look at her. She's got an archer's grip." He said with a smile as he wiggled his finger back and forth.
Arabella giggled and she brushed her fingers across Autumn's knuckles. "Of course she does, my love" She teased and she looked up at Hunter with a loving look in her eyes. She yawned and she leaned back against the pillows, holding Jason close to her and she watched as he started to fall asleep.
"Those are some really beautiful babies" A voice from the door said and Arabella looked over to see a familiar face and she gasped.
"Mom!" Arabella squeaked, her eyes wide. She wasn't expecting to see her and she couldn't be happier.
"You look amazing, Arabella" Aphrodite said, stepping more into the room and looking over Hunter's shoulder at Autumn with a smile on her face. "May I?" She asked Hunter, holding her arms out for the baby.
Hunter smiled and nodded, standing and carefully passing Autumn to Aphrodite. "Say hi to grandma, Auddie." He said quietly, running his hand along her cheek. Aphrodite bounced her softly and kissed the baby on the forehead.
"Oh, don't call me grandma. It makes me feel old and gray." She said, making a face. She smiled down at Autumn. "She's adorable, you two." She said with a smile. Hunter took a deep breath and looked over at Jason a second.
"I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but what are you doing here?" Hunter said, looking over at Aphrodite. Hunter could hear her whispering a little bit of ancient Greek against Autumn's forehead before pressing her lips against the baby's skin.
"Well, it's not very often that one of my children survives long enough to have kids. Especially one that I like as much as Arabella." She said with a wink over at her daughter. Her eyes moved to Jason and she moved to Arabella's side, trading Autumn for the other baby. "Oh, he's going to be quite a stud when he grows up." She said before bringing Jason's forehead to her lips.
Arabella watched in awe as Aphrodite whispered in ancient Greek against her son's forehead. Seeing her do that blew Arabella away and she was not expecting Aphrodite to show up like that. She glanced over at Hunter for a moment before looking down at Autumn and gingerly picking her up, holding her close. "Well, I'm sure that Jason is going to take after his father" She teased with a little giggle and she yawned.
"You say that like that's a good thing." Hunter said with a laugh. He sat down next to Arabella in her bed and put his arm around her. She placed Autumn on their legs and ran her fingers along her cheeks.
"Oh, you guys..." Aphrodite said, looking at Hunter and Arabella. "My goodness, you two are just too much." She said, walking over and placing Jason on their legs next to Autumn.
"We have such beautiful children, sweetheart." Hunter said quietly, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Beautiful just like their mother." Aphrodite cleared her throat. "And grandmother." Hunter added with a little eyeroll.
Arabella giggled and she looked down at her children with tired eyes. Now that everything was over and calming down, Arabella finally felt like she could relax and just enjoy being around her babies. She leaned back against Hunter and closed her eyes for a moment.
"I should get going. You look like you're desperate for some sleep" Aphrodite said with a little laugh and Arabella opened her eyes, looking up at her mother.
"I'm fine" She said simply and she shrugged a little. Aphrodite laughed and rolled her eyes, bending down to place a little kiss on Arabella's forehead.
"Don't worry, my dear..you'll see me again soon" Aphrodite said and she gave Hunter a wink before turning and walking out.
Hunter smiled and looked back at Arabella after Aphrodite walked out. He put his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. The two of them just looked down at their children, soaking in the fact that they were finally a family. It seemed like a long time ago that he was looking for the soonest opportunity to leave her apartment. Now, as he looked down at their children, he wondered about where he would be if he had left her apartment and gone back to living on the streets. He ran his hand along Jason's cheek then looked over at Arabella to find her asleep on his shoulder. At that moment, Danny and Tom and Tyler and Matthew walked in. They stopped at the foot of the bed and Hunter shushed them quickly. They smiled at him and then silently said goodbye before walking out, easing the door closed behind them. Hunter looked over at Arabella and kissed her head gently. "Good night, Ellie. I love you." He breathed into her hair, closing his eyes. "Thank you. For more than I could ever hope for." He leaned his head against her head and knew in that moment that there was nowhere that he would rather be.