Chapter 33:

Sophia's POV:

We leave the house, one by one. Everyone rubs me on the back and offer some quick tips before I get in the car.

"We'll see you in five minutes, honey, you keep those babies in there," Emily orders, giving my belly a quick rub. I could see Jayden behind her shoulder, he really wanted to say something but my Mum closes the door quickly. She never saw him there because she was too busy worrying about me getting to the hospital. I really want to know what he wanted to say and if he's okay.

"Are you okay?" James observes from the front seat. I nod my head quickly and wave at everyone before they get in the other cars we own. "Are you ready to go?" I nod again in reply and turn back to Jake who's squeezing my hand like crazy.

"You're the one who needs to calm down, Jake," I chuckle, poking his nose.

"I can't help it, Soph, I'm sorry," Jake pouts. "I'm calm now as long as you're okay."

"I am, I haven't even got another one yet." His hand relaxes and he rubs my knee. Halfway through the journey, I get another one and bite my lip.

"Breathe, sweetie," he advises. The contraction goes quickly and I sigh with relief. "Thank God, they're quick."

"Maybe for not much longer."

"Forget about that." He puts a loose strand of my hair behind my ear and smiles supportively at me. James parks the car when we arrive and Jake runs to get a wheelchair for me. I call him back because I can make it to the hospital, I'm not in pain but he doesn't listen and I find that so sweet. "We're here now, everything's okay." I feel like he should be saying it to himself and not to me. I'm fine, I'm not that worried, but him, he's freaking out already! "I'm sorry, baby, I'll calm down."

"Just breathe, Jake," I smirk and we all laugh. James signs me in at the counter while Jake and Zach stay by my side. Everyone else will be arriving any minute now.

"Okay, Soph, they're going to take you to a room now. Don't be worried," James tells me slowly, cupping my cheek and giving it soft strokes.

"I'm not; you're all the worried ones! Guys, I'm fine, please don't worry," I assure them.

"We'll stop worrying after those babies have popped out of you," Zach explains.

"Don't remind me of the pain!" I groan, cringing at the thought of two babies coming out of me...down there. EW! OW! Jake wheels me into a room, directed to us by a nurse. They ask me to change into a gown and I do so while my brothers wait outside. Jake never once leaves my side and I thank God for such a loving and caring fiancé. When I'm dressed and in the bed, my brothers and everyone else emerge from the waiting room. Not everyone could fit in, so the rest stayed outside for their turn. "You all didn't have to come."

"You're my best friend, I'm staying," Emily objects, taking my hand and kissing my cheek.

"Thank you, everybody, it means a lot to me that you're all here. It's getting late though and I don't think I'm a lot dilated, so, go home and come tomorrow when they're here instead. There's no point in you all staying," I insist.

"Nope, we're staying," Jayden declares, holding onto Emily's hand which is clutching mine. I have the best friends ever.

"We'll wait outside, it's getting quite crowded in here and you need privacy. Also, the others want to come in to see you, so, they can wish you luck," Cameron says.

"Good luck, honey, you're doing fantastic so far, keep it up. Let us know when we can come in to see our beautiful nephew and niece, we all can't wait!" Brad encourages. Everyone in the room gives me a tight hug, a kiss, a rub on the belly and wishes me luck.

"Look after her, Jake," Danny commands. The guys ruffle Jake's hair and man hug him.

"You're going to be a daddy soon," Bennett reminds, awestruck.

"He already is one, Bennett," Charlie notes, nodding at my oversized bump.

"It's amazing to think that nine months in a belly leads to a baby though," Austin marvels, studying my belly.

"And two babies in this case," Alex adds with a smile, patting my belly.

"Your family just arrived, Jake," Zach announces, putting away his phone.

"Was that from Sarah?" Ty grins, nudging Zach in the shoulder who goes crimson with embarrassment.

"You guys, go home and thank you for coming today, we'll text you when you can meet these two little ones. You've already done so much for me by planning that picnic, now you need to have your sleep and relax at home. I really appreciate everything you all do for me, I hope you know I'm really grateful, I always feel so bad because I never do anything in return," I comment.

"You do, you're always here for us. That's what friends are for; we don't need things in return. You just being our best friend is repayment enough," Taylor remarks.

"I love you all, we'll text you later. Thank you, again! I won't ever be able to stop saying that," I say, chuckling as I give them all another hug each.

"We love you too, good luck!" they repeat in unison as they depart from my room, waving goodbye. The last people to enter, who were waiting outside are Liam, Isabella, my parents, Jake's family and Avril. Sarah goes straight over to Zach's side and I give them a cute gaze as I watch them smile at each other. Zach slowly takes her hand and Sarah shyly looks to their hands. THAT IS ADORABLE! As Avril's giving me a tight hug, I get another contraction. I clench my teeth through it and curse. Jake grabs my hand and squeezes it while whispering in my ear to breathe.

"Av, you should go, I don't want to scare you by seeing me like this," I notify, pulling back from her.

"I'm going to have to go through it too, I'm going to need to get used to it," she declines, refusing to take no as an answer.

"You're going home in five minutes though," I dictate, "You need your sleep, it's almost nine."

"I don't sleep till half ten, so I'm staying," she informs.

"It will take twenty minutes to drive home; you're getting big now and need the rest. Don't argue with me, Avril, I'm doing this because I care about you. You can see the babies tomorrow, I don't think they'll be here till then anyway," I guess, cradling my belly.

"She has a point, Avril; you never had a nap today. You need to sleep to catch up on the missed nap. We'll come here straight in the morning," Liam agrees, resting a hand on her belly.

"Okay," she sighs, "Just ten more minutes."

"That goes for you too, you have a college interview tomorrow morning and you need the energy. I don't want you all tired for it by staying here late," James prescribes, playing with Isabella's hair before kissing it.

"I wish I didn't have to leave," Isabella frowns, "How are you so far, Sophia?"

"Fine at the moment, they're bearable," I answer, running my hand over my belly. "I just want this one to stop worrying." I take Jake's hand, referring to him and stroke it.

"You can't blame me for worrying at a time like this," Jake objects.

"There's no need to worry though, the babies are healthy and they'll be here soon enough," Tom assures.

"It's about time you went into labour. I would have thought they'd have run out of space a long time ago," Maria points out.

"They liked it in there too much to want to leave," Tom concludes.

"My labour wasn't bad, sweetie, and I was only two years older, so I wouldn't worry about it," Natalie informs. "Once you hear your baby's cry, you forget all about the pain. Just keep picturing the twins and that'll get you through it."

"Thanks, Natalie, I'll keep that in mind," I beam, smiling involuntarily at the thought of finally holding my babies. The ten minutes pass by without anyone realising and an hour later, I notice that they were supposed to leave! They kept making jokes and talking about the twins that I forgot about them going home! "Avril! Liam! Isabella! Look at the time!"

"I'm staying, I changed my mind," Avril argues, taking my hand.

"Liam, take her home," I protest.

"Will do," Liam accepts, standing and beginning to lift Avril up.

"No, please!" she begs.

"Please do it for me. Go home and have a rest and come back tomorrow, you said you would!" I request.

"Okay, I'll ring Ryder to come and collect us," she gives in, getting her phone out and calling her brother.

"I'll see you after your interview. Good luck, baby, but you don't need it because you'll get it," James admits. "I love you; I'll text you after it." He gives her a long, big kiss and hugs her tightly to his chest

"I love you too, James, I'll text you straight after I get out and I'll meet you here to see these beautiful babies," Isabella apprises.

"Good luck, Isabella, it'll go great, and then I can introduce the babies to their aunty Isabella," I smile.

"Can't wait," she confides. She gives my cheek a kiss and hugs me before doing the same with Jake. "Bye, guys, I'll offer you congratulations now because I probably won't be there when they're born." Everyone wishes her luck and James walks her out.

"Your turn," I recall, pointing at Liam and Avril.

"Okay, honey, but I'm coming here as soon as I wake up! I wake up early, just so you know!" Avril says.

"Fine, but you better get your sleep now then! I don't want you tired tomorrow," I say. She whispers encouraging words and holds me to her while rubbing my back. We all say our goodbyes again and the only remaining people are Jake, my brothers, Sarah, Zoey, Natalie, Jayden, Tom, my parents, Maria and Emily. My favourite and closest friends in the world are going to be by my side and I'm so grateful. They've been here every step of the way and I'm glad they'll be here for the final stage. I know they'll be here after that too, to help with the babies.

Jake and I still haven't agreed on godmothers and godfathers. I want Zoey and Emily to be the godmothers and Jayden and James to be the godfathers but that's not fair on Jake because none of his best friends would be their godparents then. I wish I could make all my other close friends the godparents because I'll feel bad if I choose someone more favourable than another. For example, I picked Jayden over Zach, even though he's my brother and that's not right. I don't want to hurt Zach's feelings if Jake allows me to choose Jayden. Maybe if I pick one set of godparents and Jake chooses the other. That seems fair. We can talk about it later, there's no point worrying about it now when I'm in labour! One of the midwives enters and come over to me.

"Hey, dear, I'm your midwife, my name's Nurse Miller. How are you feeling so far?" she introduces with a bright smile.

"Okay, I've only gotten two in the past hour. They're not too bad and they don't last very long," I respond.

"Very good. Do you know how long exactly they're lasting?" she inquiries. Jake checks his watch and looks back up at the midwife.

"Twenty three seconds every twenty to thirty minutes," Jake replies. Aw, Jake's been keeping count. He's more prepared and involved in this than me!

"You have a very sweet boyfriend," she praises.

"I know, I'm very lucky," I concord, squeezing Jake's hand that has never left mine.

"You're a very cute couple. Now that all the other visitors have left, can I do an examination to check how much you're dilated?" she asks.

"Of course," I approve. She lifts up the sheets at the bottom of the bed and checks my dilation. I spread out my legs for her, the only person who could see down there was whoever pulled the sheets up. I know no one else will want to pull them or else they'll be horrified for the rest of their life.

"Four centimetres. How long have you been getting contractions?"

"For about eight to seven hours. My water broke almost two hours ago though."

"Well, you're going to have to sit back and enjoy the ride for a bit longer because you still have a while to go. Just press that button if you want me to check on you or get you anything."

"Thank you," we all say in unison and she smiles before leaving.

"So far, so good," my Mum says.

"I just want it over and done with as soon as possible," I say.

"Things might go quick now," Zoey consoles.

"Did you hear about Sarah and Zach, guys?" James smirks, looking at each of their parents.

"I guessed from the holding of hands," Maria mentions, smiling at the newly formed couple. "I approve of your first boyfriend, Sarah."

"Do you think Dad will?" Sarah asks nervously.

"I see no reason why he would not. Zach's a lovely gentleman and he's funny, they'll get on great together," Maria guarantees. The time flies by and so does my labour. The contractions are sore now and coming quicker. It's almost three A.M. and I'm only five centimetres! I've been in labour for ten hours and I'm only five centimetres!

"Babies, hurry up!" Emily mumbles, poking my belly.

"Ems, you're tired, go-"

"No! Don't tell me to go home because I'm not leaving," Emily interrupts before I can finish my sentence. She looks exhausted; everyone's half asleep besides from Jake and I.

"Take a nap at least," I plead. She shakes her head sternly and pokes my belly continuously.

"Poking her belly won't make them come out, Emily," Jayden laughs.

"Shut up, Jayden, you never know," Emily mutters and we all chortle at her. My laughter is cut short because I get the sharpest contraction yet and dig my fingernails into Jake's hand to get rid of the pain. Jake turns hastily to check on me and bites his lip from pain. I move my fingernails along his hand as the pain gets sharper. I bite my lip really hard and bend forward while holding in a yelp. The girls do their best by rubbing my back and whisper soothing words to me. Jake emits a pained cry and flinches. I feel so bad for hurting him. This one lasts longer than the others and is the worst contraction yet. I take long, deep breaths while I yelp in agony. I grip his hand tight and he squeezes it in return.

"I'm here, honey, and I'm not going anywhere," he promises. The contraction stops and Jayden fixes the pillow under my head so I'm comfortable. Everything has gone so slow. You'd think after all the time I've had that I'd have time to come to the realisation of it all, but I haven't. I'm going to have two babies soon, well, hopefully soon because this pain is unbearable already. Jake sits on the side of the bed beside me and strokes my hair and cheeks, kissing me and telling me he loves me so much. I've never been this scared in my entire life. I'm not ready to be a Mum, not ready at all. How can I look after not just one baby, but two at such a young age?

A baby's so small and delicate, they need to be looked after at all times and I'm going to be a bad Mum. How can I possible give them all the care they deserve? I won't know what to do or how to care and look after them but I know one thing for sure: I'll give these babies so much love. I've loved these babies since the second I knew I was having them and I know I'll just love them more when they're born and I see them.

They'll always be my first priority and I won't let anyone harm them. I know Jake is the same and I love him so much too. He's being so supportive and caring and I wouldn't be able to do this without him, he's my rock. I curl my fingers into a fist as I feel another contraction coming on. They're becoming more frequent and strong and I really want something for the pain. Jake demonstrates the deep breathing we were shown by the midwife at an appointment. Thank God he remembered the breathing, because I forgot it. I copy him and he smiles with satisfaction.

"That's great, Soph, keep breathing," he recommends. "Do you want to try some swaying?" I nod in response; he takes my back, my two hands and guides me up. My hands and legs are shaking and I feel like I can't stay standing for long. "I'll help you back to the bed."

"Are you okay, Soph? You're shaking so much," my mother interjects with trouble in her voice and on her face.

"I'm fine, thanks, and no, Jake, I want to try it, forget about the shaking." He sighs and does as I say because he knows I'll shout since I'm in pain. He takes my hands from behind me and holds them out in front of me. He's basically hugging me from the behind except our hands are out in front of us. He glances at me for confirmation to start moving and I give him a quick smile to go ahead. We start off slow, moving from side to side, right to left, right to left, right to left. After I get used to it and my shaking has lessened, we start to rock rhythmically. It's helping a tiny bit and when I say tiny, I mean tiny! Jake wraps one arm just under my breasts before my bump was sticking out for support and places his other hand on the right side of my bump where he places soothing circles on it. His loving self is one of the only things getting me through this. He rubs his hand up and down my bump and places a feather like kiss on my cheek.

He's surprisingly calm during all of this. How?! He is the one who panics, not me! I think someone's taken my fiancé.

I get another horrible contraction and bend over with pain. Jake holds onto me and sits me on the bed. He takes both my hands, strokes my fingers, one by one and rests his forehead against mine. In that moment, I want to tell him I love him and never let him go but I'm not able to because I'm groaning with pain. He smiles when the pain has passed and kisses my forehead tenderly.

"Are you okay, Sophia?" my dad frets.

"Yeah, much better," I answer, with a reassuring smile, looking at Jake, so he knows it's because of him. He gives me a firm hug and rubs my back. Jake helps me back up and we continue to rock.

"That one was very near to the last contraction, I think we should get the midwife," Jayden worries.

"I'm okay for the moment, Jay, don't worry," I say. Two hours pass quickly and I'm only one more centimetre dilated. I'm getting sick of this; I just want to give birth right now. This pain is unbearable, I feel like I'm dying.

"How are you now?" Zach asks, squeezing my hand tight.

"Sore, sore, sore," I grumble. I get a sharp pain so I clutch my stomach and let out a loud shout as I close my eyes shut.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, breathe," James instructs, moving my hair from my eyes before placing a kiss on my forehead. Jake takes my hands from my belly and I look down to where he laces my fingers with his before looking up into my eyes.

"I love you, keep breathing, darling. You can do this, you're so strong," Jake urges with pain in his eyes. The pain continues and I let out a cry. The pain is only getting worse and I'm starting to go crazy. He places a soft kiss on my lips and I smile in his presence.

"Oh my God, Jake, it's so sore," I murmur, gripping his hand tighter as I get another. One of the nurses comes over to me from the other side of the room.

"I'm just going to do another examination to check how much you're dilated," the nurse states. It feels quite uncomfortable and I scrunch my nose up at it. It's not as uncomfortable as these contractions, that's for sure. These contractions have me shouting in pain. "You're another centimetre now. Just three more to go, sweetie." No one has slept all night and I want them all to go home and sleep but they won't listen. It's almost six A.M. and I'm seven centimetres.

"Nurse Miller, will there be time for everyone to go home and sleep for a few hours before the babies arrive?" I ask.