"Scary?" he asked. He gulped visibly.

"Not at all."

​​

The nurse came by with a chalky drink.

"What does this do?" Qian Meng asked as she looked at the liquid with distaste.

"It neutralizes your stomach acids," the nurse informed. Her eyes strayed to Mo Qingchen, who looked nervous but still scared anyone who came into the room. Father Bear was definitely not playing around when it came to his family. "We will give you a catheter and IV soon. After that, the mother will be taken to the operating room and the father will suit up in scrubs and a mask," the nurse informed. She knew these two were fishing for information.

And it went just like that.

A curtain was pulled across her midsection so that she couldn't see the procedure. She was thankful for it. She didn't need to see her guts being spilled. But as Mo Qingchen took his place by her side, she grew curious.

"Why do you have that look on your face?" Mo Qingchen whispered.

"What look?" she questioned.

"Like you are plotting something," he said, concern evident in his voice.

"I am trying to listen to what is happening behind the curtain."

Qingchen tried to hide his smile. "You're starting to feel scared, aren't you?" he asked.

"Not at all," she stated. "With so many senses out of commission, I am trying to keep busy and compensate."

"What do you hear?" he asked, trying to take her mind off the impending procedure.

"I hear the scrub nurse… another nurse or two. The anesthesiologist. Oh, the pediatrician is here too. Is there anyone observing?"

Qingchen shook his head. "It's just as you said."

For Qian Meng, it felt like a dream. When the doctor arrived, there was music on the radio and her doctors and nurses were singing along to the songs in unison. Like it was a movie set. She had asked for music but hadn't expected the impromptu musical to play out behind the curtains.

It was such a major life event for Qingchen and her. She had expected everything to be stiff and serious around her, but she realized it was just another ordinary day for everyone else.

That gave her comfort. If it was just an ordinary day, it meant that the risk was minimum and the procedure was progressing according to plan.

It eased the fear of not knowing what was being done to her own body. It eased Mo Qingchen to see her not be panicked.

No, she didn't feel pain, but she did feel pulling and tugging, almost as if someone was trying to tickle her from the inside in an uncomfortable way.

"Do you feel anything?" he asked.

"No pain… just my insides being moved around. Certainly, a feeling right out of a thriller movie," she commented.

He snickered but stopped in the middle when the babies were slowly brought up over the curtain one by one.

Mo Qingchen looked at the little ones with wonder in his eyes and watched as the nurses took them away to do thorough checkups.

Suddenly, Qian Meng burst out into tears, scaring him. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I would see the babies and feel like they were my whole world," she sniffed.

Mo Qingchen gripped her hand. "It's okay not to feel that way. They were just born. We will slowly get to know them. We can love them slowly, okay?" he assured.

"Oh, it's not that," she choked. "The first thing I thought was: 'Wow, I thought our babies would look cute, why did I give birth to alien potatoes?'" And she started to bawl.

Mo Qingchen tried his best to hide his laughter but failed miserably.

"Don't laugh. I feel horrible," she accused.

He rolled his eyes. "We can't return babies, sorry. You will have to make do with alien potatoes for now," he told her playfully.

She glared at him. "Babies look ugly when they are born. I am sure my genes will do wonders," she sneered.

He nodded in agreement. "Our genes are superior. If we managed to conceive triplets naturally and in such a short time, I am sure these babies will get some of our overachieving tendencies."

It was her turn to roll her eyes.

- - - - -

Afterward, Qian Meng was sent to her hospital room. At the time, Li Li Hua accompanied the nurse who had brought in the three babies. "You have two daughters and a son!" Li Li Hua exclaimed.

Qian Meng looked at the babies and froze with surprise. Seeing this, Li Li Hua laughed. "Why are you surprised at getting three babies, now?"

Qian Meng shook her head and looked at Qingchen. He had not seen the babies their birth, either. This was their first meeting.

"Do you want to carry them?" the nurse asked Qinghcen.

He remained still. He had not adjusted to his new identity as a father. Only at this moment did he realize how much responsibility he had as the father of three children.

From now on, these three children would be relying on Qian Meng and him to survive. Although, he had prepared himself for this, truly seeing the babies wrapped in bundles made him panic just a little.

Qian Meng noticed this and gestured for him to come over. "You can't hold all three babies at once. How about I hold one of them for you?" she said.

The nurse slowly taught them how to hold the babies before placing them slowly in their arms.

The babies looked so tiny, especially in the arms of Mo Qinghcen. However, they were sleeping and safe.

He breathed in relief.

"Now that they are cleaned up, they don't look as bad," Qian Meng whispered, fearing that the baby in her arm would wake up.

"A few hours did wonders to their appearance. A few more years and they will look human," Mo Qingchen commented seriously. The nurse laughed as she witnessed the scene.

"Well, the babies and parents will definitely have a good relationship," she said.

Li Li Hua looked at the careful expression on her son's face with a satisfied smile.