14. Giving Birth

When February rolled around, Alex was still determined to go to school until she absolutely could not do it anymore.  She had already made arrangements with the administration to join a program for ‘homebound’ students, specifically made for sick or pregnant teens.  After she had the twins, and she was ready to start school work again, a teacher was going to come out to her house a few times a week to help go over her studies with her and take in all her completed work.  When Kara heard about it, she signed up too, because there was no way in hell she was going to let Alex stay home alone trying to take care of twins.  At first they weren’t going to let her do it, but with Eliza’s interference, they went ahead and gave her permission.  It made the Kryptonian extremely happy because she hated school, and this was the perfect excuse to get out of it.  They would both finish the semester at home, and they would be able to graduate with their class in the summer, no problem.  They had both already taken the SATs and the ACTs, since they didn’t want to have to bother when the kids arrived, so that was out of the way,  The only major school event they had left was the prom, and that was months away.  They still hadn’t decided whether or not to go.  They figured they’d see how they felt when the time came.  They didn’t know how tired they were going to be after having the twins.

Today was the day before Valentine’s Day.  Alex and Kara were sitting in their last class of the day, one that they shared, when Alex got a cramp in her belly that made her cry out.  Kara went into an immediate panic.  “Ohmygod, Alex, are you OK?” she exclaimed, jumping out of her seat.

“Calm down, spaz,” Alex told her.  “I’m fine.”  The Kryptonian had been on high alert for the last two days, since their appointment with Dr. Landry, where the woman told them that she was already a half-centimeter dilated.  She assured them, though, that the babies were both looking very healthy, both head down like good babies, and if they were born that day, the girls could probably go right home with them in the normal amount of time.  Dr. Landry sent them home with instructions, but it was still two days later, and until now, Alex hadn’t had any kind of contractions that she’d been concerned about.

“Is it the babies?  Do we need to go to the hospital?” Kara continued to freak out.

“I said I’m fine!” Alex insisted.  “Now sit down and stop giving everyone a heart attack!”

Kara looked around the room and saw all the students and the teacher looking at them, and she blushed hard and sat back in her seat.  “Sorry.”

That didn’t really make anyone feel any better.  They all kept staring at Alex.  

“I’m fine!” she assured everyone exasperatedly.

They all reluctantly went back to the class lesson.

She had another contraction on the bus ride home.  By the third one that came as soon as they got home, Kara was calling Eliza.

“Kara, calm down, honey,” Eliza told her.  “Babies take a long time to come out.  We still have a long ways to go before Alex actually gives birth.”

“I told her that,” Alex huffed.  “She wouldn’t listen!”

“Just stay calm and try to get some rest.  You might not be getting much sleep again for a while.”

“I’m trying to stay calm, but it’s really hard!” Kara exclaimed.  “There’s no way I could sleep right now!”

“OK, well, for Alex’s sake, you need to try to relax as much as possible.  It’s not going to do anyone any good for you to be stressing her out more.”

Kara looked sheepishly at her wife.  “Sorry.”

Alex smirked.  “It’ll be OK, Kara.  Come on, if you’ve got so much energy, you can give me a massage while I lay down.  You might not be able to sleep right now, but I’d like to try.  My contractions are only like an hour apart right now.”

“Alright,” Kara sighed, getting off the phone with Eliza.  She tended to her partner for the next few hours, ignoring their homework, and trying to relax like Eliza told them.  By the time Eliza came home around 6:45, Alex’s contractions had stepped up to being a half-hour apart.

“Well,” Eliza mused, “Should we head down to the city and get a hotel room for the night, just in case?”

“Yes!” Kara nodded emphatically.

Alex rolled her eyes at Kara for not letting her answer on her own.  “Yeah, I guess,” she agreed.

The drive to National City was long and quiet except for Alex’s occasional cries of pain because she couldn’t stand having the radio on, even for music she liked.  They got a hotel room near the hospital and called Dr. Landry, letting her know the situation.  By the time they made that call, Alex’s contractions were about 20 minutes apart.  Dr. Landry confirmed that they should all get as much rest as they could until it was time to go into the hospital.

They slept fitfully most of the night, with everyone waking up every time Alex had a contraction and cried out.  In the morning, they had breakfast at the hotel café and urged her to walk around since her contractions had stalled out at twenty minutes apart.  Birthing pangs aside, there were some really cool stores in the area of the city they were in, and they had fun looking at all of them.  By 11:30am, the time between contractions rocketed down to six minutes apart, and Alex didn’t want to walk around anymore, so they went back to the hotel, had lunch, and rested.  Finally, around 2:30pm, Alex’s contractions were about four minutes apart, and they called the hospital to tell them they were on their way.  

Kara was practically vibrating with nervous energy.  If it weren’t for a rock steady Eliza constantly telling her to breath and calm down, she would probably be in full-blown panic mode.  She hovered over an annoyed Alex and held her hand through every contraction, while Eliza coached them both through breathing.

Eliza drove them to the hospital, and they were directed to the OR where Alex would give birth.  They all were praying that she didn’t have to have a cesarean, but that’s where they would be, just in case.  The nurses got her all checked in and set up with all the heart monitors and things.

“You’re already six-and-a-half centimeters dilated,” the nurse told her.  “Are you going to want an epidural?”

“Yes, please!” Alex sobbed loudly.  “It hurts so much already!”

Kara nearly passed out when she saw the epidural needle.

“Relax, Kara” Alex chided.  “It’s not like it’s going in you!”

“Yeah, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” Kara answered.

“Yeah, because you’re the one that needs to feel better here, right?” Alex huffed.

Kara pouted.

“Why don’t you let my mom come in here for a little while?” Alex suggested.

“But-”

“Kara!”

“OK, OK.”  Kara walked out of the OR and sent Eliza in.

“Quick, do it while they’re gone,” Alex told the anesthesiologist.

The woman chuckled.  “It’s not an IV.  It takes more than a few seconds to do this, sweetie.”

Alex whimpered.

“Hi, honey,” Eliza greeted.  “We’re kicking Kara out already, huh?”

Alex made a face at her, “I didn’t want her passing out on me while I was getting my epidural.”

Eliza laughed.  The Girl of Steel being afraid of a needle was too hilarious.  “OK, well, now she’s sitting out on the bench pouting.”

“Well, she can stay there until this is done,” Alex huffed.

“Alright, sweetie,” Eliza soothed.  She held her daughter’s hand through her contractions during the placing of the epidural needle.  When it was all done she stroked Alex’s hair.  “You did great, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom.  Will you check on Kara?  She’s probably pacing holes in the floors out there.”

Eliza poked her head out the door and talked to the Kryptonian.  “She’s begging to be let back in, but I told her she needed to pull herself together before she was allowed back.”

“It’s too bad we can’t give her some tranquilizers,” Alex groused.  It was strange to think that, of all the pharmaceuticals in the whole hospital that could give adverse reactions to a human by just taking one, Kara could take every bit of them, and not get so much as indigestion.

“Indeed,” Eliza agreed.

Alex relaxed as the epidural took effect, and after a few more minutes, she finally let Kara trade places with her mom.  “No more freaking out,” she told her wife.

Kara gulped.  “I’ll do my best.”

Just then, Dr. Landry came cheerfully strolling in.  “Hello, ladies!  Are we going to give birth to some Valentine’s Day babies today?”

Alex smiled.  “Oh, yeah, it is Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?”

“Let’s take a look,” Dr. Landry said, checking Alex’s cervix.  “Oooh-ho-ho, look at you, already  at eight-and-a-half centimeters!  Those babies want out, huh?”

Kara bounced in place, grinning like an idiot.  

“Somebody’s ready,” she chuckled at Kara.

“Yeah,” Alex snorted.  “She’s been driving me crazy this whole time.”

Kara pouted and crossed her arms across her chest.  “I’m sorry!  I’m just worried…  And excited…  And confused…  And nervous…”

Dr. Landry put a hand on Kara’s arm.  “I know, sweetie.  It can all be a little overwhelming at times, but everything’s going to be fine.  Everything has gone so well up to now, there’s no reason to expect the worst at this point.”

Kara nodded her head.  “It’s just…  I keep having this nightmare where the babies come out and…  laser-vision the whole hospital to the ground.”  She whispered the last part, so the nurses wouldn’t hear.

Dr. Landry frowned.  “Well, I suppose it’s not completely out of the realm of possibilities, but I see it as highly improbable.  Like I said, if something like that were going to go wrong, I would have expected it to have done so already.  Right now, we just need to focus on the birthing process.  Can you do that?”

The Kryptonian took a deep breath and let it out, then nodded her head.

“Good girl,” Dr. Landry patted her arm, then looked at Alex.  “I’m just going to step out and chat with your mother for a few minutes, OK?  You just keep up the good work.”  She patted Alex’s shoulder and headed out.

Alex watched the bells on the contractions monitor grow with each pass.  She was unbelievably grateful that she’d gotten that epidural.  She couldn’t really move much anymore, but it was worth it.  She closed her eyes and laid her head back and let Kara stroke her hair for a while.  Eventually, she dozed off, and was awoken sometime later by the doctor’s return.  She looked at the clock.  It was 6:04pm.  She’d slept for an hour-and-a-half.

“Let’s see where we are, ladies,” Dr. Landry sing-songed.  “I’ve got a feeling.”  She peeked at Alex’s cervix.  “Alright, we have a winner!  How do you feel?”

Alex shrugged.  “I’m pretty numb down there.”

“Do you feel like you need to push?  I’m not one of those doctors that forces pushing for hours and hours with nothing happening.”

“Um,” Alex mumbled, “I don’t know.”

“Do you want to try pushing for a little bit and see if we make any progress?”

Alex bit her lip nervously.  Even though she’d had a nap, she still felt exhausted, and now they wanted her to push?  “Actually, I kinda feel like I need to use the bathroom,” she admitted.

The doctor nodded.  “That’s probably the baby pushing on your nerves.  Let’s try some pushes and see what happens.”

Kara squeezed indentations into the bedrail.

“Kara!” Alex chided.

“S-s-sorry!” the blonde squeaked.

Dr. Landry laughed.  “That’s something I’ve never seen before.”

Luckily, the nurse had stepped out to grab some other nurses and bring them back, so no one else saw what the Kryptonian had done.

The doctor coached Alex through a few pushes.  “I don’t see anything happening yet.  Let’s just relax for a little while.”

Alex fell back with a sigh.  “I don’t know how I’m gonna do this!  I’m so tired!”

“You can do it, baby girl,” Kara encouraged.  “You’re doing so great already.”

“That’s right,” Dr. Landry confirmed.  “You’re doing great, Alex.  Just take it easy, and we’ll try pushing again in about half an hour, OK?”

Alex nodded and leaned into Kara for comfort.

“I love you so much, Alex,” Kara whispered.  “You’re the most incredible person there is.  Thank you for doing this for me.  For us.  I’m so happy right now, I could just explode!”

Alex smiled tiredly.  “I’m happy too, Kara.  Just exhausted.”  She closed her eyes and let Kara hold her.

“Can I come in for a little while?” Eliza asked, poking her head in.

“Yeah, Mom,” Alex answered.

Kara reluctantly retired to the waiting room.

“How is everything going?” Eliza asked.

“I’m so tired, Mom,” Alex whimpered.

“I know, honey.”  Eliza played with her daughter’s hair.  “Other than that, you’re feeling OK?”

Alex nodded.  They sat peacefully until the doctor came back in, Kara in tow.

“Ready, sweetie?” Dr. Landry asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” Alex sighed.  She pushed a few more times with her mom on one side and Kara on the other.

“Now we’re making some progress!” the doctor announced.  “Good job.  Let’s push some more.”

Alex cried out at the burning sensation in her pelvis, as the first baby’s head came down, “Fuck!”  

“You’re doing so good, Alex!” Kara told her.

“No talking!” Alex snapped.

Eliza bit her lips to keep from laughing.

It took a good two hours, but Baby A was born at 8:37pm.

“Look at that beautiful girl!” Dr. Landry said, handing the baby over.

Alex sobbed happily.  “Hi, Jamie!” she whispered.  “I’m your mommy.”  The newborn stared at her.  She didn’t even cry except for a little fussing at the initial insult of being cold, but as soon as she was wrapped up and warm in her mother’s arms, she was fine.  “You’re so little!” she exclaimed, letting a tiny hand wrap around her finger.

Kara and Eliza both cried too, as they cooed at the new baby.  “She’s so beautiful!” Eliza declared.

“So perfect,” Kara agreed.

“Alright, let’s get her cleaned up and taken care of, and we’ll get your other baby delivered, huh?” Dr. Landry chirped.

Alex whimpered.  She was so exhausted she was ready to pass out, but she still had to push out another baby.  “I can’t do it!”

“Aw, sweetie, you’re doing so great,” the doctor told her.  “Don’t give up now!  But I’ll let you rest a minute before we start pushing again.”

Alex laid back and panted, “I can’t do it.”

“Yes, you can,” Eliza encouraged.  “I’m so proud of you Alex.  You’re doing so great.”

“I need a drink!”  She pouted while Kara fed her ice chips.

A few minutes later, the doctor had her pushing again.  

“I feel like I'm gonna throw up,” Alex told them.

One of the nurses got her a sickness tub just in time.  She threw up what little she had in her stomach from lunch, and continued to dry heave.  

“This happens sometimes when your body gets too tired,” Dr. Landry informed.  “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.  You’re just going to be using some different muscles to push this baby out than you did the first one.”

“Oh, God!” Alex cried.

Finally, at 9:14pm, with one last heaving push, Alex delivered her second baby.  Unlike the first one, this one screamed bloody murder when she came out.  

“Another perfect little girl!” Dr. Landry cheered, placing the baby on Alex’s chest.

“Hi, Jessie,” Alex panted.  “It’s OK, little one.  Mommy’s here.  I love you so much.”

Jessie started to calm down at the sound of her voice.

“Yeah!  Who’s my good girl?” she cooed.

“She’s so perfect too,” Kara exclaimed.  She was holding a clean and swaddled Jamie in her arms, looking down at Alex and Jessie with all the love in the world in her eyes.  She kissed the baby in her arms and gave her back to her mommy.

“You did so well, sweetie,” Eliza told her.  “I’m so proud of you.”  She kissed her daughter’s sweaty forehead.

“Thanks, Mom.”

The nurses took Jessie to clean her up and weigh her and whatnot, and Dr. Landry coached her through the afterbirth and stitched her up.  

When it was all over, Kara and Alex each held a baby while Eliza took pictures.  Alex was exhausted, but her babies were so perfect and beautiful, she couldn’t help but grin.   Jamie Rae Danvers was 5 pounds, 14 ounces, and Jessie Lee Danvers was 5 pounds, 8 ounces.

A short while later, the nurse came in and shooed Kara and Eliza away, so she could show Alex how to feed the babies.  Nursing felt really strange, but looking at her sweet little girls’ faces, she didn’t care.  All she cared about was how happy she was to be the mother of Kara’s children.  She knew she would be happy, but she didn’t know happiness on this level before to even imagine it.  She cried joyful tears and smiled at the babies while they nursed.  “I love you so much,” she told them.  “You’re the most special babies on the planet.  You know it?”

When Kara and Eliza were allowed back in, Kara was beaming and bouncing on her toes.  “Alex, I love you so much!  You’re so perfect, and our babies are so perfect, and I couldn’t possibly be happier!  You’ve made me the happiest girl in the whole universe.  Thank you so much for being my wife and the mother of my children!”

Alex smiled sleepily.  “I’m so happy too, Kara.  I’m so lucky to have you and now them.  I didn’t know it was possible to be so happy.”

“They are perfect,” Eliza confirmed.  “And they look just like Kara.  That’s going to be interesting to explain.”  Neither Kara nor Alex felt particularly concerned about that at the moment.  They just kept smiling and talking softly to the babies.  

Eventually, someone came and moved Alex and the babies to a room.  Around 11, they decided that Kara would stay overnight at the hospital with Alex, and Eliza would go back to the hotel to get some sleep.  Kara stayed awake all night, watching over her wife and daughters cycle through nursing and sleeping.  

At around 8:00am the next day, Eliza showed up with coffee in hand, and insisted that she take Kara back to the hotel so she could sleep too.  Kara left under much protest.  She wanted to stay with the babies, but Eliza insisted that they were all going to need as much rest as they could get if they wanted to get through the next month with two newborns.  She picked Kara back up at about four o’clock, and the Kryptonian was looking and feeling much better than she was that morning.  Alex was actually mostly awake when she came back, so they greeted one another with a few kisses.

“Did you know that newborns get shots?” Alex asked Kara.

Kara froze.  “Uh, no, I didn’t realize that.  What are we going to do?”

“They already got them,” Alex informed her.

Kara looked panicked.  “They did?  What happened?”

Alex shrugged.  “Nothing.  They just got shots.”

“So they’re not…” Kara trailed off.

“Super?” Alex finished for her.  “Nope.  Not yet, at least.”  She showed Kara the tiny bandaids on the babies.

Kara bit her lip.  She didn’t know whether to be happy or upset.  She’d prepped herself so hard for the worst, she didn’t expect this at all.  It was a little disorienting.  She stroked Jessie’s cheek with the back of her finger.  “What are you going to be, little hybrid baby?” she whispered reverently.  Jessie stirred at her touch, but didn’t wake up.

“Come snuggle me,” Alex demanded.  “Before it’s time to feed them again.”

Kara obediently curled around her wife and kissed her forehead.  “Yes, dear.”

“Those should be your new favorite words,” Eliza commented wryly.

Alex, Jessie, and Jamie were all allowed to leave bright and early the next morning.  When they went back to the hotel, the young attendant that had checked them in was there again.

“Oh my gosh!” she gushed.  “You had your babies?  Can I see them?”

Kara and Alex uncovered the infants’ faces, so the girl could see.

“Oh my goodness, they’re the cutest things I’ve ever seen!” she cooed.

Alex started crying.  “Thank you.”  Then she started laughing at herself for crying.  “Sorry, I’m a little delirious right now.”  She wiped at her tears, but they kept on flowing.

“OK, well, you go rest up, and if there’s anything at all that you guys need, you call me, OK?”

Alex smiled through her tears.  “Thanks.”

They went up to their room and got settled in.  They would spend one more night there before they headed out in the morning.  Alex said she wanted to watch a movie, but was asleep before the opening credits stopped rolling, so Kara turned it back off and they all went to sleep until it was time to feed the babies again…  and again…  and again…

The next morning, they all piled into the minivan and headed home.