Chapter 40
Julia
We walk into the OBGYN office, Kai and Mikey squeeze my hands just a little tighter. I look down, then smile up at them.
“You guys okay?” I ask.
“Yeah…” They both say at the same time, hesitantly.
I shake my head and laugh. “Who would have thought NHL stars are scared of a doctor's office?”
“I’m not scared.” Kai huffs out, like he is big and bad.
We walk up to the front desk, and the receptionist smiles up at us.
“Welcome in, can I get your name please?”
“Yeah, it's Julia De Luca,” Kai growls, and Mikey scoffs at me using my maiden name. The paperwork hasn’t fully processed my name change yet. The receptionist looks at the guys with concern in her eyes and then hands me a clipboard.
“Please fill this out and give it to the nurse when she calls you back.” I grab the clipboard and almost drop it from its weight. Damn, did they need my left kidney also?
“Thank you,” I say politely, even though my stomach is twisting from the nerves.
We move to the row of chairs along the wall. Kai sits first, legs spread, and his shoulders squared like he is guarding a door and not waiting for an appointment. Mikey sits on my other side, close enough that our thighs press together.
I balance the clipboard on my knee and start filling out the paperwork.
Name.
Date of birth.
Emergency contact.
I pause as my pen hovers over that question.
My brain starts screaming at all the what-ifs— what if something happens to me? What if I hemorrhage? What if they regret this?
Kai notices immediately. “Put me down,” he says without hesitation.
Mikey snorts. “Like hell, I’m older.”
“By four minutes,” Kai shoots back.
“Still older.”
I chuckle a little bit and write both their names down, squeezing them into the space.
A nurse calls another name. A door opens and closes. Somewhere down the hall, I hear a baby cry… the sounds slice straight through me.
My chest tightens, and I freeze. Everything is becoming too real. That sound is going to be mine. I am responsible for an entire human being.
Mikey shifts even closer, keeping his voice low. “You okay, Princess?”
I nod, but can feel the burning in my throat. “Yeah. It's just… a lot.”
Kai leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and looks at me like the rest of the room doesn’t exist. “Hey. Whatever happens in there, good news, bad news, scary news, we’re not going anywhere.”
The word we hit harder than I expected.
Are they just as scared? Are they having these same internal thoughts?
A nurse appears in the doorway, clipboard in her hands. “Julia De Luca?”
I stand, and both of them stand with me.
The nurse’s eyebrows lift slightly like she is not going to let both of them in, then nods, “You can both come back.”
Relief crashes through me so hard I almost fall.
We follow her down the hallway, and the walls are lined with newborn photos and smiling families.
Kai’s hand shifts from mine to the small of my back, keeping me steady. Mikey stays close, his presence calming me. These two really don’t know how much just standing next to me calms me and makes me feel safe.
As we reach the exam room, the nurse chuckles and smiles gently.
“First ultrasound today?”
My heart stutters. “Yes,” I answer.
I lay back on the bed and lift my shirt.
The room lights dim, and the tech pulls the curtain halfway closed before sitting in front of the ultrasound machine. She grabs a bottle of gel and shakes it before squirting some on my stomach. The cold hits me, and I flinch.
Mikey notices instantly. “Sorry,” he murmurs, like this is somehow his fault. His hand tightens around mine, and Kai is hovering close, one hand braced on the exam table beside my hip.
The tech presses the wand down, adjusting the angle. “There we go,” she says casually. The screen flickers as she turns it to us. Shapes form, all blurry but there.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
The sound fills the room; it's loud. Mikey freezes, his grip on my hand gets tighter, and I feel his breath hitch beside me.
“That’s…” His voice breaks completely this time. He swallows hard, his eyes locked on the screen. “That’s… that’s a heartbeat.”
Kai doesn't speak at all, just sits there staring at the screen as his hands tremble on the table.
“That’s ours,” Kai finally said. His voice is just above a whisper.
My throat burns from unshed tears threatening to come out.
The tech smiles softly. “Strong heartbeat,” she says. “Perfectly normal.”
Mikey lets out a breath that sounds kinda like a laugh, then scrubs his hands down his face.
“I… I didn’t think it would sound like that,“ he admits.
“Like what?” I ask.
“Like it’s already fighting,” he says. “Like it’s already here.”
Kai leans in closer, his forehead nearly touching mine. “You okay, little dove?” He asks me, but his eyes never leave the screen. Watching the little flickering heartbeat.
I nod. “I think so.”
The tech shifts the wand again, frowning slightly, like she is focused.
“Hmm,” she hums.
Kai stiffens immediately, and Mikey’s head snaps up.
“What?” Mikey asks, quickly.
The tech chuckles at their concern. “Nothing bad, I promise. I just want to adjust something.”
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
Two rhythms. Not an echo or distortion.
Two.
The room goes completely silent.
Mikey stares at the screen. “Wait,” he whispers. “Why–why are there two?
Kai’s hand grabs ahold of the table so hard his knuckles turn white.
The tech smiles wider now. “Congratulations,” she says gently. “You’re having twins.”
The words hit me like a shockwave.
“Tw–” Mikey chokes, then laughs in disbelief. “You’re joking.”
She shakes her head. “Two heartbeats, one sac. Identical twins.”
Kai exhales slowly. “Jesus fucking christ,” he mutters, dragging his hand down his face.
I start laughing and crying at the same time. My body doesn’t know which reaction to choose.
“Two,” he breathes out. “There are two of them.”
Kai sinks into the chair beside the bed, resting his elbows on his knees, staring at the screen, like it’s not real.
Mikey looks up at me with red, tear-filled eyes.
“We’re so fucked,” He says softly.
Kai snorts, letting the emotions crack his tough exterior. “Yeah, we are.”
I look back at the screen again, looking at the two tiny flickering lives, my two little lives that I will protect with everything in me.
The nurse keeps doing things to the computer as we stay there in shock. Measuring something and taking pictures of the babies.
“One more thing.” She says, pulling my gaze from the screen.
“You seem to be further along than we expected for a first ultrasound, and we can see the gender. Would you like to know?”
I turn and look at Mikey, then to Kai, both of them completely shocked.
“It’s up to you, princess.” Mikey kisses the top of my head.
“He’s right, little dove, the choice isn’t ours.” Kai agrees.
I look to the nurse and smile, “Can you put it in an envelope for my best friend?”
The nurse smiles at me and nods, grabs the ultrasound pictures, places two in the envelope with a piece of paper, then seals it with a stork sticker.
I grab it from her, and we head out, holding the ultrasounds close to my heart, still not believing the news we got.