In the hospital, Ai was laying down in one of the beds with wires and cables hooked up to her. There was a band around her bulging belly and a midwife monitoring the machine next to her.
"How are you feeling lovely?" The midwife asked in a chirpy voice.
Ai looked a little frazzled, but she still replied truthfully, "I'm nervous…"
"Don't be nervous honey, our bodies were built for this." Naomi who was nearby spoke up, trying to ease her daughters nerves.
"Your mom is right, us women have been doing this for thousands of years. You'll be fine." The woman added on, giving her a smile.
The words seemed to calm her down thankfully.
"Still, your little ones seem quite eager to enter the world. They even picked the day where the Ligers won the World Series." The midwife laughed, busy recording the results of one of the tests.
"Eh? They won!?" Ai sat up abruptly in shock, yet her face wore a beautiful smile.
When all 3 women celebrated and looked genuinely happy, the midwife was quite confused. She evaluated them silently for a few moments before raising her eyebrow.
"Are you guys big baseball fans?" She asked curiously.
"My son, her husband plays for the Ligers." Yuki added, wearing a proud smile.
"EH!? Who is it?" The woman seemed flabbergasted, but it quickly turned to excitement as she probed further than she should have.
"KEN IS YOUR HUSBAND!?"
Her loud shout caused the older nurse in the room to give her a glare, but she didn't seem to notice. Only after seeing the nodding heads of the 3 women did she realize she was in the presence of a celebrity's wife.
A mixture of jealousy and other less tangible emotions appeared on her face, but they were quickly hidden by her professionalism.
"Ahem… You're quite lucky to be married to a professional baseball player, I wish I could date one too." She said, letting out a wistful sigh.
"Wait, does Ken have any single friends on the team he can introduce me to?"
At her request, the 3 women shared a look, the same figure appearing in their minds simultaneously.
"Ouch~" Ai grimaced, her body tensing in the next moment from the pain.
The midwife's expression quickly changed as her medical training kicked in. Her eyes moved to the machine and she began to record the contractions and the twin's heart rates throughout.
"Alright, everything seems to be progressing well. Let's check your dilatation and we'll be able to gauge how close to delivery we are." The midwife said, securing a chair and gloves.
The woman disappeared under the bed covers and performed the test, all the while Ai looked rather uncomfortable.
Some time later, the midwife appeared once more and took off her gloves, addressing the 3 women. "You're at 6cm dilation, which means we're getting close. Will your husband be joining you in the delivery room?"
Ai nervously turned to Yuki, as if waiting for her to answer.
"We called grandpa, he should have told Ken already…" Yuki replied, looking unsure. "Let me quickly go make a call."
Once Yuki left the room, Ai turned to the midwife and probed further. "How long until its time? I don't want him to miss the birth of Natsuki and Kenji…"
"Don't worry, there should be at least a few hours until its time. But because you're so far along, we need to take you right to the delivery room. I'll give you some forewarning, you might hear some screams, but everything is fine I assure you." The midwife said with a small smile.
Hearing this, both Naomi and Ai shared a pained look.
Yuki returned a few moments later, her expression full of relief. "Ken and Daichi are on the way now." She announced.
Ai looked visibly relieved at this.
"Alright, let's move you to the delivery room now. I'll tell the girls at the front so that Ken can come meet you there." She assured them, removing the band that was wrapped around Ai's bulging belly.
Ai was then helped to her feet where she waddled after the midwife. Yuki wished her luck and left to return to the waiting room where a few nervous faces waited.
"Is it done? Did she give birth!?" Tetsu shot to his feet, his anxiety evident.
"Sit down you old fool. Do you think giving birth is that easy?" Yuki scowled at the man, causing him to flinch. He stammered for a few moments before doing as he was told.
"Ai's been moved to the delivery room and Ken and Daichi are on their way. We just need to sit tight and our grandbabies will be delivered in a few hours time." She stated, taking her seat beside her husband Chris.
"Don't be too harsh on him…" Chris nudged his wife and gestured to Tetsu who seemed to be the personification of anxiety. With his daughter going into labor, he was beside himself with worry.
Yuki's expression softened a little, "I can still remember your expression on the night Ken was born." She said, letting out a small chuckle.
"Oh yeah? What was it like?" Chris asked, humoring her.
"Well, you looked like—"
Just as she was about to go into detail, two figures burst into the room. In the lead it was Ken whose expression was filled with utter panic, as if the whole world had collapsed beneath him.
"That… That's the exact expression you had." Yuki pointed at Ken incredulously. It was almost as if the clock had turned back and a young Chris was standing in front of her.
"Mom! Where is Ai?" Ken ran over, grabbing her outstretched hand.
"She's been moved to the delivery room. Go up to the counter and they'll take you there." She said, making a shooing motion. "Be strong for your wife, take care of her okay?"
Hearing this from his mother seemed to calm Ken down. He nodded with determination before giving a small grin, "Thank you all for looking after her." He said, bowing deeply.
Then without a word, he walked up to the counter.
"Please take me to my wife, Ai Takagi…"