Chapter 16 - The Longest Night
At thirty-four weeks, I went into labor.
The irony wasn't lost on me.
Thirty-four.
The same number as Ethan's age on the birthday that changed everything.
Only this time, the hospital didn't feel like a place of terror.
It felt like a beginning.
Ethan stayed beside me.
Rebecca waited outside.
My sister brought coffee nobody drank.
Hours passed.
Doctors monitored both babies closely.
Baby A remained strong.
Baby B showed occasional signs that made the team watch more carefully.
I became terrified.
“What if something happens?”
Ethan took my face gently between his hands.
“Then we're already in the best place we can be.”
It was exactly what I needed.
No false promises.
No pretending.
Just presence.
Near dawn, the medical team decided delivery should proceed without further delay.
Everything moved quickly.
Bright lights.
Blue gowns.
Machines.
Voices.
Then—
A cry.
Small.
Angry.
Beautiful.
Baby A.
A girl.
I sobbed.
Ethan laughed through tears.
Then everyone focused on Baby B.
Seconds stretched.
I searched the doctors' faces.
“Why isn't he crying?”
Then another sound filled the room.
A softer cry.
Our son.
Ethan collapsed against my shoulder.
“They're here.”
Our daughter weighed four pounds, eleven ounces.
Our son weighed four pounds, three ounces.
Small.
Perfect.
Alive.
We named them Emma and Noah.
May you like
And when Ethan held them for the first time, I saw something disappear from his face.
The fear of becoming his mother.
