Chapter Thirty-four

Epilogue

Sayid sat with Nadia in the hatch while Jack examined her. Sayid didn't usually come along for these appointments, but Nadia had been worried lately by the rather extreme activity of the baby. "He is just going to be a football player," Sayid had said, but she had wanted to see Jack, and her concern had made him nervous enough to accompany her.

"You look like you've gained more weight than I expected," Jack said.

Sayid looked hesitantly at Nadia; it was not the sort of thing one told a woman without repercussions. But she only shrugged. "I have not been eating that much."

"Do twins run in your family?" the doctor asked.

Nadia looked startled. Sayid didn't seem to process the import of the question. "No," she said. She glanced anxiously at Sayid, who was finally beginning to realize what Jack was implying. His eyes grew very large; Nadia hadn't seen him look that frightened since she had fallen through the ice. "No," she said again. "Not in Sayid's family either."

"Well, it's not proven it's hereditary, anyway, but…" Jack smiled, obviously trying to suppress a laugh, "just be prepared for the possibility."

Sayid and Nadia glanced at one another nervously.

"The babies could come any day now," continued Jack, "so I think you both ought to stay in the hatch for the time being. That way, Nadia will already be here when she goes into labor. The delivery will be much safer here. I have everything at my disposal, and there's the shower."

"Of course," said Sayid, speaking somewhat mechanically. "I will go back to the beach and pack some things for us."

Jack stretched out an arm and patted Sayid's shoulder. "She's going to be fine," Jack assured him. "And so are the…babies."

"Babies," Sayid murmured. Nadia gripped his hand, and he squeezed it hard.

"I won't lie," Jack admitted. "It's going to be rough, but, Nadia, you're a strong one."

At this Sayid nodded. After Jack spoke to them for awhile longer, Sayid asked to consult with him privately, and Nadia made her way into the center of the hatch, where she sat down at a table. Sawyer, who was on computer duty, leaned back in his chair and drawled, "Well, princess, when are you going to drop that thing?"

"Soon," she said, with a slight smile. Sawyer had never been able to get a rise out of her, and she knew it irked him that he could not. After all, he had had her normally collected husband swinging punches on the second day after the crash…but not Nadia. She never seemed to bat an eye at any of his comments. She now coolly picked up a book of crossword puzzles, and Sawyer sneered and returned a bored gaze to the computer screen.

Back in the infirmary, Sayid asked Jack, "So, how long is it safe to, uh…Nadia insists it is fine all the way up until the delivery, but I just want to make sure I have not been hurting the baby. Or babies."

If Jack had not been standing there in the position of doctor, he would have been as embarrassed by the conversation as was Sayid. But because of what he was, the exchange didn't bother him in the least. Nonetheless, Jack's professionalism could not prevent him from smiling at Sayid's discomfort. "It's fine," he said, "as long as you've been picking positions that don't put too much pressure on that area. Like, for instance--"

"That information is quite sufficient. I do not require examples."

Now Jack had to suppress a laugh.

Sayid looked at the ground. "And, after the delivery, how long until…you know."

"It depends on how the delivery goes, but, at the least, wait six weeks."

Sayid nodded and ducked quickly out of the room.

He passed Sawyer, who revealed his dimpled cheeks and said, "I heard you might be expecting twins, Mohammed."

Sayid only looked silently at him.

"Of course, you A-rabs are quite virile, aren't you?"

Sayid's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing as he made his way over to Nadia, who had now moved to the couch. When Sayid sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her, she put aside the book of puzzles. He glanced at it on the table. "You have only answered one clue," he said.

"I never liked those things," she said. "I was just trying to ignore Sawyer."

Sayid kissed her tenderly. "We will make it through this."

"Sawyer's tediousness?" she asked.

He laughed. "No. The twins."

"I know we will," she said softly, snuggling up close against him. She noticed he was smiling broadly. "It is rare for you to smile that way. And you seemed so shocked before. Are you actually happy about the twins?"

"I am at least partly reconciled to the possibility. But that is not why I am smiling so."

"Why then?" Nadia asked.

"You told Jack twins did not run on my side of the family."

"What? And they do?"

"No," he said, laughing now with his eyes, "no they do not."

"Then…what…what are you so pleased about? Why do you look so self-assured?"

He kissed her forehead and then her lips softly. Her baffled tone convinced him that she was not acting. She truly did not realize that, even if twins were hereditary, it still would make no difference whether they ran in Sayid's family. She seemed to have momentarily forgotten that he was not the biological father. "No reason," he murmured, and he kissed her again.

She broke the kiss and glanced in Sawyer's direction. He was swiveling back in forth in his chair, which he had turned in their direction, and smirking. "Get a room," he said in mock disgust.

"It just so happens," replied Nadia, standing and tugging on her husband's hand, "that we have one."

Sayid shot Sawyer an exulted look and followed his wife through the hatch.

Four days later, the twins were born. The girl came first, followed fast by the boy. Their son was underweight, and he had to struggle for survival, but he put up quite the fight, and at last Jack assured them he would be safe. Sayid now looked down at the daughter cradled in his arms, and then he glanced over at Nadia, who was holding their son. He was nervous and uncertain, more unsure of himself than he had ever been. But he was also happy. And when Nadia looked up and caught his gaze, he felt a surge of love overwhelm his insecurity, washing it away.

THE END

Note to readers: Thank you so much to those of you who commented on this! Comments are the fuel of fanfiction writers. If you liked this, you might try some of my other fanfiction pieces. Just click on my name to get a list of them, or search by character. My other Lost stories on (Retold)"

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