December 3, 2015

When Charming's cold spell broke, it was like the town had exploded to life. The death of November had given way to a week of spring-like temperatures and the town was decorated in red and green. Tinsel hung in every storefront, and there was always a special behind their doors. Christmas music had been blasting in every gas station, restaurant, and grocery store since Thanksgiving, and one could not turn a channel without hearing something about Christmas. The holiday had thrown up on Charming, complete with Chibs' least favorite sight: Salvation Army Santas with their damn bells. The SAMCRO President was more than happy to stay home, but the warm weather had drawn him outside, and on this morning, he needed the refreshing air and a quick smoke.
Chibs stepped out onto the back porch and pulled the carton of cigarettes from his pocket, opening the box and frowning upon seeing his last stick. He thought he had more. Shrugging to himself, he lit up and took a satisfying drag from his cigarette. The sun had just arose over the tree line, and the light was glittering blindingly on the surface of the pond. Chibs blinked as he held his cigarette between his fingers and leaned on the porch railing, smoke immediately vanishing upon the wind. The break in frigid air had brought a sweet smell on the air, and despite the season, it was the perfect weather for a ride. Chibs was itching to climb on his Street Glide, his Dyna and Street Bob in pieces and currently being overhauled. He was sick of being cooped up inside working on them, to be honest. He was ready to ride today, if just for a little while. The air was warm, making this day almost perfect. It was his birthday today. He had been promised the best party of his life from his brothers, and a joy ride had been discussed, but Chibs' mind was on something else entirely.
Chibs finished his breakfast cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray on the patio table, then walked back inside to the kitchen to check the time. The digital clock on the stove read 7:34. His heart skipped, not realizing it was so late. He needed to be at St. Thomas Hospital by 8:00. He wondered if his Old Lady was awake and ready to go.

"Callie!" he called.

I would have rather been anywhere. On a rollercoaster hoping not to die. Going through the tedious chore of listening to the boys discuss the club's finances. Getting a shot in my ass. Having the worst head cold of my life. Eating bugs—willingly. Even being reduced to a Prospect for a day and performing the janitorial duties after a traditional SAMCRO blow-out. My brothers are fucking disgusting. I'll put it that way. I would have rather been doing all of that at once versus my daily ritual of horking my guts out into a toilet bowl. I was several weeks away from my second trimester—the promise of the end of this morning sickness bullshit, but this was beginning to get a little ridiculous. Each week got worse and worse. I would go from puking between the early hours of the morning until around 9:00 or 10:00, to puking almost every four hours. It had gotten to the point where I could not keep anything down. Even water was beginning to come back up, and that was enough of an alarm for Chibs to call and schedule an appointment. Unfortunately, we had to keep my original check-up, as they were booked, but my doc was notified that I was having a hell of a time and they were going to do everything they could to see what was up. I was absolutely miserable. Chibs, on the other hand, was pleased with himself.
I closed my eyes as I clutched the toilet seat, letting my stomach settle and trying to decide if it was safe to stand. My whole body was shaky. This was worse than the flu. When I opened my eyes and looked up, Chibs was standing in the door way, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face.

"What?" I barked, not having it with his shenanigans today.

He grinned.

"Ya wanna know what I think?" he asked.

I just groaned in response and flushed the wok.

"I think I knocked ya up good!" he said proudly.

I pushed myself to my feet and shuffled over to the sink.

"I'm going to chop you into pieces and scatter you throughout Chigger Woods," I grumbled, "I swear to God, Filip!"

Chibs laughed and approached me from behind. I washed my hands and rinsed my mouth with mouthwash as I felt his arms wrap around my torso. I dried my hands with a towel, tossed it onto the countertop, and held his hands and leaned my weight into him, not having the energy to support myself anymore. He held me tighter and kissed the top of my head.

"Guess you're not feelin' any better, huh?" he asked softly.

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"This sucks," I said weakly.

He nuzzled the top of my head.

"I know, love, but it'll be worth it. Besides, we may get to find out the gender today," he said, his positive tone perking me up a little.

I opened my eyes and smiled. He gave me a very gentle squeeze and placed his palm on my stomach, slowly rubbing.

"Mhmm," was all I had the energy to say.

"What are ya hopin' for?" he asked.

I shrugged.

"As soon as I say it, I'll jinx it," I replied.

Chibs chuckled.

"I'm sure you're hoping for a boy," I said, tilting my head to look up at him.

He smiled.

"Not necessarily," he said.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh?"

He smiled shyly.

"Never had a baby girl in the clubhouse before," he said, "I think there's been too much testosterone in there lately."

I laughed at that.

"I'd like to have a girl," he said softly, then cupped my stomach.

I smiled and laid my head on his collarbone, kissing his neck.

"Maybe when they find out what's going on, I'll feel well enough to go to your party tonight," I said.

"Ya do whatever ya feel like. Don't push yourself."

"I won't. What do you want, birthday boy?" I asked.

"Nothin'," he replied.

I snorted.

"Oh, come on!"

But Chibs, being the notoriously stubborn man he is, shook his head.

"All I want is for you to feel better and to know the baby is 100 percent and everything is going to work out. That's all," he replied.

I smiled and shook my head. In being so sick, I had not had the energy to go out and buy a slew of presents for my Old Man, but Venus had let me know that she had that taken care of. All I had to worry about was me.

"I hope everything is okay," I said tiredly.

Chibs gently rocked me.

"It will be," he said confidently.

I felt him feel my stomach, then tense a little and stretch my t-shirt. Confused, I looked down to see what he was doing.

"You're showing, sweetheart," he said.

I jumped and looked down. I hadn't noticed I was showing. I had gained a little weight, obviously, but I had not noticed any bump forming.

"Bullshit! It's too early for me to show," I said.

"Look, Callie girl," he said.

I looked down to see the very slightest swell beneath the fabric of my t-shirt. I lifted the hem and pushed the waistband of my sweats down to inspect further.

"Probably just bloating, Filip. My stomach is probably so inflamed from puking, it made it swell," I said.

Chibs chuckled.

"No, that's a baby bump," he said stubbornly.

I shoved my shirt back down and turned to face him.

"I'm sure the doctor will say differently," I said.

"We'll see. Come on. We need to head down there or we'll be late," he said.

He turned away and I watched after him.

"Don't forget the puke pail!" I called.

I heard him explode with laughter.

"Packed and ready, love!"

I smiled and rubbed my stomach. It did feel a little swollen.

"You're your daddy's child," I said, "Already giving me hell."

"Filip!" I hissed.

Chibs jumped as he poked at a plastic diagram of a uterus, and I watched the pieces of it fall and clatter to the floor. I growled and pinched my nose. I couldn't blame him for being bored, but I swear, it was like taking a child to a toy store and telling them not to touch anything.

"Shit!" Chibs growled, and quickly snatched up all the pieces and attempted to put them back together.

I rolled my eyes and looked up at the fluorescent lights in the ceiling of the exam room. There wasn't much to it. A counter on the far side, two exam tables, a curtain to separate them, cabinets, and beside me, the ultrasound machine. I had been directed to lay back on the bed, nude from the waist down, with a papery blue sheet covering me and steel stirrup staring back at me. I already felt nervous enough, but those made my heart race.

"Where the bloody hell does this piece go?" Chibs hissed.

I glanced back over to see him trying to reattach a plastic ovary.

"I told you not to mess with it!" I growled.

"I know, but we've been in here for a hour!" he whined.

I smiled and playfully swatted his arm. I accidentally made him jump, and consequently, sending half of the uterus back to the floor.

"For fuck's sake!" he exclaimed.

I tried not to laugh.

"Jesus Christ, Filip," I sighed.

There was a knock at the door and the ultrasound technician entered, smiling and noticing Chibs trying to reassemble the organ.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully.

I looked from Chibs to her and exhaled tiredly.

"Hi. Sorry. He accidentally bumped it," I said.

I watched Chibs snap his head over to me out of the corner of my eyes.

"Oh, that's alright," she said, "You don't know how many times people have knocked that thing over."

I just smiled nervously as I watched her turn on the machine to warm it up. She was a short, heavy, African American woman with long curly hair pulled into a pony tail, wearing dark pink scrubs covered in cats.

"Well, now I've been hearing you've been having some pretty bad morning sickness. Is that right?" she asked, fiddling with the machine and looking down on me with concern.

I nodded. Chibs finished fixing the diagram and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, the leather of his jacket creaking.

"Yeah, she can't keep anything down," he explained.

The tech nodded.

"Okay, okay. Well, let's go ahead and take an ultrasound and we'll get down to the root of the problem," she said, walking over to the cabinets and select a bottle.

She then returned, popped the cap, and instructed me to lift my shirt so she could spread the gel across my abdomen. I winced when I felt the cold come in contact with my skin. The technician just smiled sympathetically.

"How many weeks are you, Mrs. Telford?" she asked.

"Nine-"

"Nine weeks," Chibs said quickly, interrupting me before I could finish.

The tech raised an eyebrow at him and chuckled.

"Sorry," he quickly apologized.

She smiled softly.

"He's excited," I explained.

"Is this your first?" she asked.

Chibs and I exchanged nervous glances. Technically, the answer was no.

"Yeah," I replied softly, watching Chibs.

His eyes widened. I smiled and reached for his hand. He smiled warmly and took it. Since the news of Kerrianne's true parentage and my first miscarriage, we couldn't really count them, but Chibs still loved Kerrianne, and the memory of the nightmare in Stockton still haunted me, but this one was 100 percent ours and completely intentional. I still couldn't get it into my head that we were going to be parents, but I had a feeling this ultrasound, so long as nothing was wrong, would make it real.
The technician pulled out the wand and sat down on a stool, applying the wand to my stomach and watching the monitor. Chibs scooted closer and watched with wonder. I held his hand and watched as the tech found the organ in question.

"Were there any specific concerns?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"Just wanting to know why I'm sick so much and if there was something that could help me out," I replied.

The tech nodded.

"Oh, there are definitely some things we can try. It could just be one of those things. We can get you a…" she paused as she watched the monitor.

Chibs reached an arm up and pointed at the screen.

"Is that the fetus?" he asked.

She slowly nodded. I watched her worriedly.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"No, hun. But just to make sure, I'm going to have to go inside to get a clearer picture," she said, "That okay?"

I nodded nervously. She switched to a narrower wand and prepared it before doing what she needed to do. I tried not to squirm. It was slightly uncomfortable, and not to mention awkward. I tried to remain still and focused on the monitor. The tech made some adjustments before smiling.

"Alright. I do have a question for the both of you," she said.

Now Chibs was just as nervous. She looked from the screen to us and smiled.

"Do twins run in your families?" she asked.

I could have shot out of the room, and Chibs' jaw hit the floor.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Holy shit! Nuh-uh!" I exclaimed.

"Callie!" Chibs scolded.

I caught myself and covered my mouth, apologizing.

"That's alright. We get that reaction all the time," she said.

I looked up at the screen, searching for two little blobs.

"You're kidding," I said.

She smiled and shook her head.

"Right here," she said, showing me the first blob, "Is Baby A. And right here."

When she showed me the second blob, I gasped. She wasn't kidding!

"Is Baby B," she finished.

I covered my mouth, staring at the monitor in shock. Twins? TWINS?

I whipped around and backhanded Chibs' shoulder.

"I'm going to kill you!" I hissed.

Chibs laughed. I turned back to the monitor as the tech laughed.

"This is real? This isn't some kind of joke?" I asked in disbelief.

"No, hun. There are definitely two. And it seems like that each have their own placenta, so things will be a little easier," she explained, "But this explains why you have been so sick. Morning sickness is worse with twins. Not all the time, but a lot of the time."

I couldn't take my eyes of the screen. The tech removed the wand and tried the first wand again, showing us a different angle. I felt my shoulders drop as I watched the screen. I could just barely wrap my head around having one. Now all of a sudden we had double trouble.
As the tech finished up and discussed what to expect with multiples, I glanced from her to Chibs, and just like that, everything fell into place. I took a deep breath as I watched him, remembering how badly he wanted to be a father, and how he had bawled his eyes out when he received the test. This was more than we could have asked for, and I was suddenly ecstatic.
When the doctor came in to confirm everything, he wrote up my prescription for an anti-nausea medication and we were soon left to ourselves. Before I could say anything, Chibs buried his head into my shoulder. Holding my hands tightly and shedding a few tears.

"Aw, Filip," I said.

He raised his head and smiled, sniffing.

"Twins, lovely," he breathed out.

I smiled and reached up to stroke his cheek. He took my hand, folded my fingers down, and kissed my knuckles.

"I guess you were right. You knocked me up good," I joked.

Chibs laughed.

"Well, ya know I never do anythin' half-assed," he replied.

I laughed and held his hands.

"Guess that's God's way of makin' up for the last one," he said quietly.

I smiled sadly.

"What have we gotten ourselves into this time?" I asked.

Chibs just smiled.

"We got this, sweetheart," he said.

I smiled as he leaned down and kissed me.

"Happy Birthday," I said softly.

Chibs beamed.

"Best present ever."