Moments Between Sleep

"What are those little things called that they hang over the cribs, with like, the little toys that play music?"

"I don't know, Alex."

"What color do you want the crib to be? I like the cherry wood, but we can get the regular, or white, or even black if you like it."

"I really don't care."

"Okay, Ayden," Alex slammed on his brakes. We were currently on our way to a small shop Alex's mother recommended for our baby buying needs. I had put off going out with Alex for as long as I could. After a week of excuses, I finally agreed, but I was more bitter towards Alex than ever before. Lisa had been over every single night this week, and still he pretended to care. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me Alex," I spat. "You're blocking traffic. Would you drive?"

"No. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the Hell is going on with you? Have you have you been such an ass to me?"

"Alex-"
"No, you're going to answer me!"
"Alex!"

The panic in my voice was enough to make Alex jump. I couldn't take my eyes off the black pick-up truck flying towards us. Every other car around us was honking, and there was even a woman screaming out of her car window for us to get out of the way. Cars were flying on the wrong side of the road to avoid the pick-up, but by the time Alex started to react, it was too late. Instead of flooring it out of the way, he threw his body over top of mine before the impact.

When I came to, I found myself in a private hospital room. Despite the pain in my head, there were only two things I could focus on: Where was Alex, and was my baby safe? I glanced up above my bed to see a small screen reading my heart beat and my breathing. My eyes scanned around the room, but no one was there. I was alone.

Just as my finger was about to push down on the red call button, the door slowly opened. Alex slipped through, his head lightly bandaged and his left arm in a sling. I suppose he was trying to be quiet because he thought I was asleep, but the moment his eyes met mine, he rushed to my bed and threw his good arm around me.

"Adyen I am so sorry," he breathed into my neck. "How are you? How are you feeling?"

"I'm, well, I don't know."

Alex gave me a soft nod. We sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, but the creaking of the door made both of us look up. A younger man, I'd say in his mid thirties, stepped into the room. He was wearing light blue scrubs, and he shot us both a gentle smile.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Ross. I take you two are," he flipped open a chart. "Ayden and Alex Gaskarth?"

I glanced to Alex with a confused look, but he simply smiled and nodded his head at the man. The doctor sat himself down in a seat and rolled his way over to my side of the bed.

"Okay, Ayden." He smiled again. I hated how often doctors smiled. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Well, I remember Alex and I were talking and there was a black pick-up truck. I know it hit us, but that's it."

"Good, good." He flipped through the chart again. "Alex was lucky enough to only suffer a few cuts on his face, and a sprang to his left arm. You probably would have been killed if it wasn't for him. But because he blocked your impact, you just bashed your head real good against the window. It's nothing to be concerned about, but we are going to need to have a look at that baby."

"I.." My voice was cracking lightly. "I didn't lose it, did I?"

"No, you didn't lose the baby." For once, I was happy to see him smile. "But I need to check and see if there were any complications. Sometimes when an accident occours, you don't lose the baby at first, but it is possible. I don't think there's any reason to worry, just hang in there."

His words were like a shot in the face. I had no idea what I would do if there was something wrong with my child, much less if he told me I would lose it. This baby was my everything, I would have nothing left without it.

I sat impatiently as the doctor started the ultra sound. I was so upset that I didn't even notice the cold on my belly. Alex held my hand tightly as we glanced at the small screen across the room. He was shaking just as bad, if not worse, than I was. He may be a jerk, but we were in this toghter.

"Okay!" The doctor laughed. "You've got one healthy baby in there. You are really lucky, guys. You're about four months now, huh?" He grinned at us. "Whao. What's that?"

"What's what?" I questioned. "Oh, gosh. Is something wrong?"

"No.. not wrong. But look at this," the doctor wheeled himself over to the screen. After pushing a few buttons, he enhanced the photo. "Do you see this, right here?"

Alex and I both watched as he used his finger to trace around a figure on the screen. Even squinting my eyes, it was rather hard to see. I was terrified that it was something terrible, but the smile on the doctors face said otherwise.

"What it is?" Alex spoke. "Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

"Well," he rolled himself back over to where we were. He wrote something down on my chart, stood up, and pushed the chair back over to a small desk by the computer. When he started walking to the door, I thought Alex was going to tackle him for an answer. "Ayden, Alex," he finally spoke. "You're having twins."