Page 13 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)
W hen a quadruplet mom went into labor, things happened so fast, the parents’ heads spun as they went from the tedium of waiting to the chaos of delivery.
They were moved to an operating room in case a C-section became necessary and were immediately surrounded by people—nurses they knew well by now and doctors they’d never seen before.
A doctor explained that there would be two people assigned to each baby when they arrived, which accounted for eight of the people in the room, along with others on standby in case they were needed.
One of the nursing students had taken the sleeping Liam from his dad and promised to stay with him until his grandparents arrived in the morning. “We’ll be right down the hall,” the young woman named Dana said. “You can check on him any time.”
“Thank you so much,” Adam had said as she left with Liam.
“Where’s Izzy?” Abby asked of Dr. Isabella Connors, who’d been monitoring her since they arrived in Providence.
“On her way,” one of the others replied.
“I’m scared,” Abby said to Adam.
“You’re in the best possible place, surrounded by all the right people.” Adam brushed the dark hair back from her face. “This is the moment you’ve been training for all your life, my love. You’ve got this.”
She frowned. “How does one train to deliver four babies at the same time?”
“I’m not sure, exactly, but if anyone has been preparing for this, you have. It’s your dream come true.”
“I dreamed for a baby, not four .”
Adam chuckled at the emphatic way she said that. “Your dream is coming true times four. What can I say? When I aim to make you happy, I go all out.”
She grimaced with discomfort as another contraction started. “You can quit that now.”
They’d been given birthing lessons bedside a few weeks ago, so Adam tried to remember what he was supposed to do when she was in pain. Focus on breathing. Right. That’s it. When he encouraged her to breathe, she glared at him, so he shut up and let her do her thing.
Izzy came rushing in ten minutes later, gowned and ready for battle. “I’m here! Let’s have some babies!”
Murphy Callahan McCarthy arrived twenty minutes later, followed shortly after by his brothers Rory, Kane and Beckett, each weighing between four and five pounds, which had been the goal.
Murphy and Rory were identical twins, as were Kane and Beckett.
The nurses applied the colored armbands Abby had read about on a multiples Instagram account to help them keep the babies straight.
“Are they okay?” Abby asked over the cacophony of four babies crying at the same time.
“They’re great,” the neonatal specialist said. “They scored eight or above on all their Apgar tests, and they’re breathing well on their own. Well done, Mom.”
Adam released a sigh of relief at the same time Abby did. Their eyes met, and they smiled as he kissed her. “Well done, indeed, my love.”
“I can’t believe they’re finally here.”
“The noise is a pretty good indication that they’ve arrived.”
“I suppose we need to get used to that.”
“Probably so. How’re you feeling?”
“Like I got run over by a tractor-trailer, but so, so relieved that they’re here, they’re healthy, and I can finally get out of this freaking bed.”
“Should we announce their arrival?”
“We need a picture.”
They waited until the doctors had brought them all four babies and posed one set of twins with Adam and the other with Abby so a nurse could take the picture for them.
Thankfully, the babies had stopped crying for the moment.
Then the nurse held two of the babies so Adam could send the text to their family and friends:
Help us welcome two sets of identical twins, all of them with Callahan as their middle name: Murphy and Rory (with Abby), Kane and Beckett McCarthy.
They’re each at least four and a half pounds and measuring between sixteen and eighteen inches.
They’re breathing on their own and scored well on the Apgar, which is a huge relief to Mom and Dad.
Mom was a trouper through delivery and is looking forward to being OUT OF BED for the first time in almost nine weeks!
She’s a superstar, and I’m so proud of her. Much love to all of you!
After he sent the text, he took the babies back from the nurse as the medical personnel filed out of the room to give them time to get to know their new sons.
“What now?” Abby asked when they were alone with the babies.
“Um, well, I think we’re expected to raise them into men we can be proud of.”
“ By ourselves? ”
He knew that laughing wouldn’t be recommended. “Much of the time, yes, but with lots and lots of help from grandparents, family and friends.”
“There’s another one, you know,” she said, sounding slightly frantic.
“I heard something about that. I think his name is Liam?”
“Adam, be serious. We have five baby sons. Five! ”
“Remember when we thought we wouldn’t have any? We showed them, didn’t we?”
“You’re not being serious.”
“You have to admit it’s kinda funny.”
“It’s not funny.”
“Yes, dear.”
“I mean it!”
“Look at what we did, sweetheart. Look at this family we get to raise and love. Look at how beautiful our boys are.” Two of them were blond, and the other two had darker hair.
“Remember how rare it is to have two sets of identical twins. They’ve been remarkable from the start, and they’re only going to be more so as they grow up.
How lucky are we that we get to watch that happen? ”
“Very lucky,” she said as she gazed down at the babies.
“We’ve got this, Abs. We’ve already proven there’s nothing we can’t do if we do it together.”
“That may be true, but there’s one thing we won’t be doing together until that thing is shooting blanks. You got me?”
Laughing, he said, “Yes, dear.”
“They’re here!” Linda McCarthy said to her husband as she brought him coffee in bed at six in the morning. They were booked on the eight o’clock ferry to the mainland. “Murphy, Rory, Kane and Beckett Callahan McCarthy!”
Big Mac sat up to take the phone from her so he could see the photo of their new grandsons. “Will ya look at that?”
“Thank goodness it’s done and they’re all doing well.”
“So that means they can come home fairly soon, then, right?”
“I think so. They’ll want to keep them for a week or two to make sure they’re good to go, especially since they’re coming to an island.”
“We can pick up the car seats on the way out of town so we’re ready when they’re released.”
“Yes, Adam texted to remind me about that.”
Between Big Mac’s truck and Adam’s SUV, they could bring them all home. The kids would be in the market for a bigger vehicle that could accommodate five car seats before too much longer.
“Good Lord,” Linda said. “ Adam has five sons! ”
Big Mac laughed. “He’s always been an overachiever.”
“That’s for sure. I can’t imagine how overwhelmed they must feel to suddenly have four infants to care for.”
“Grammy and Pop are coming. Let’s get moving! We’ve got things to do today.”
They showered, got dressed and took coffee to go as they headed for Adam and Abby’s house to pick up the infant car seats and some other things Abby had asked them to bring. By seven thirty, they were in line for the eight o’clock boat off the island.
“Thank goodness the weather is with us today,” Big Mac said as he took in the gray skies and flat seas.
December could be wildly unpredictable, which had worried him as they waited for the babies to arrive.
Their friend Seamus had held a spot on the first boat of the day for the last two weeks in case the babies arrived, and the Irishman came to greet them when he saw them in the car line.
“I guess this means congratulations are in order,” he said with a smile.
“It is indeed.” Big Mac showed him the photo. “Say hello to Murphy, Rory, Kane and Beckett McCarthy.”
“Aw, look at them. Beautiful boys.”
“Two sets of identical twins.”
“Amazing. Congratulations to you all. Must be a relief to have it done and four healthy boys to shower with love.”
“Sure is a relief,” Linda said.
“Your family is single-handedly populating this island with the next generation,” Seamus said in a teasing tone.
Big Mac laughed. “We’re doing what we can to keep the island running.”
“How’s Carolina?” Linda asked. “I haven’t talked to her in a couple of days.”
“She’s working hard at PT and determined to make the trip to Ohio for Janey’s graduation.”
One of the great joys of their lives had been when their daughter Janey married Carolina’s son Joe, officially making them family to each other after years of being family by choice.
Joe had hired Seamus to run the ferry company Carolina’s parents had left to Joe and Caro, and she’d fallen in love with the charming Irishman who was sixteen years her junior.
What’d been a big surprise to everyone at the time was now just another thing to love about life on Gansett.
Seamus had been a great addition to their family.
“Are the boys coming to Ohio, too?” Big Mac asked of Jackson and Kyle, the boys Seamus and Carolina had taken in after their mother died of lung cancer.
“Nah, they’re going to stay home with Jace and Cindy so they don’t miss school.”
Jace was the boys’ biological father who’d come to the island to live close to his sons after being released from prison.
He’d succeeded in turning his life around, and the friendship between Jace, Seamus and Carolina had become a blessing for all of them as they surrounded the boys with a supportive, loving family.
“That’s probably for the best.”
“For sure. They barely know Janey and Joe, but that’ll change when they get back to the island and get to spend more time with us. We can’t wait for that.”
“We can’t either,” Linda said. “It’s a dream come true to see our girl become a doctor of veterinary medicine.”