One Day At A Time
24 weeks
“Lexa, wake up”Clarke whispered, shaking the sleeping girl. Lexa shot up off the pillow, looking around the room for danger before focusing on Clarke.
“Clarke?”Lexa croaked, squinting at the pregnant woman. “What’s wrong?” Clarke took Lexa’s hand and placed it on her stomach.
“You feel that?” Lexa spred her palm over Clarke’s bump and stared in awe when she felt a slight kick against her palm. She sat up, more awake, and placed both hands on her girlfriend’s stomach. Lexa looked up at Clarke with tears in her eyes before leaning in to kiss her.
“I love you”Lexa mumbled against her lips before moving to her stomach, kissing all over the bump. Lexa laid back down only taking one hand away from Clarke’s stomach, not wanting to miss any movement that might happen during the rest of the night. Clarke gave Lexa one more kiss, returning the words of affection before going back to sleep.
“I don’t know why you are so nervous. Look at how many people showed up”Clarke said, sliding up next to Lexa. Lexa moved behind her and her hands found their usual place on her stomach.
“I know but I still feel like this could go away at any moment. I don’t want this to be a flop. I love this place and I don’t want to be the reason for it to fail”
“It won’t”Clarke turned to kiss her cheek but her brother walking in with a girl caught her attention. “Who’s that with my brother?”
“You know, it’s a real confidence booster for my girlfriend to be focusing on her brother instead of me on the opening day of my cafe and birthday”Lexa teased, tightening her grip on Clarke. “Leave him. I think he’s on a date. Don’t be that sister”Clarke nodded even though she was still following Aden and his date with her eyes. She caught sight of her dad and untangled herself from Lexa to talk to him.
“Dad, who’s that with Aden?” Jake looked up from his phone and smiled.
“Charlotte. He’s been talking about her for weeks. Rumor has it, he bragged about knowing the owner of the place and invited her as his date”
“You’re letting him date? He’s only like fifteen”
“He’s sixteen and you were dating by the time you were fourteen, but I’m pretty sure your “hanging out” was not as innocent as you made it seem. And I’m pretty sure you didn’t get those babies by dating so I think he’s fine” Clarke narrowed her eyes at her father before returning back to Lexa’s side. “Her name’s Charlotte. I don’t trust her”
“You don’t even know her, Clarke” Clarke snapped her head around the glare at Lexa and Lexa quickly backtracked. “But I’m sure you’re right” Clarke nodded, pleased with her answer. She turned right back around in time to see Charlotte kiss Aden.
“Why are you kissing my brother?!” Clarke shouted, moving as fast as she could over towards the couple.
“Clarke! Don’t” Lexxa tried but she was too late. Clarke was already embarrassing her brother with zero remorse.
“So how did you do?” Clarke asked, pulling up a seat next to the brunette.
“We’re way over the projected profit, so I think we’ll be good. This is the best birthday present I could have”
“Well, I think I have one that might challenge that”
“I thought we agreed no buying presents”
“I didn’t buy one but I did think some things over and I decided that our kids having your name was the best present you can’t buy”Lexa beamed, tugging Clarke in her lap.
“I thought we said we were going with Griffin-Woods”
“We were but I remember you promising to make me a Woods one day and I’m holding you to that”
“Well, I’ve never broken a promise before why start now?”
28 weeks
“How are you feeling?”Lexa asked, rubbing Clarke’s stomach. Clarke had been in bed all day, complaining about her back and lack of sleep.
“Terrible. Your children are are making my feet swell and keeping me up at night, so I’m exhausted. I can’t really take anything for it so I have to sit here and suffer”Clarke sighed, earning a sad smile from Lexa. Lexa moved onto the couch, setting Clarke’s feet on her lap.
“How about a foot rub and warm bath?”Lexa suggested, rubbing up and down Clarke’s leg. When Clarke nodded, Lexa slid out from under her and disappeared into the bathroom. She came back and carried Clarke into the bathroom once she finished running the water. She sat her on the toilet to undress her before sitting her in the water. “Is it too hot?”
“No, it’s perfect. Thank you”Lexa took one of Clarke’s feet and started to massage it. “We haven’t discussed names yet”
“I know I thought we were just going to wait until we see them. Maybe get inspired”
“You want to wing naming our children?”
“Why not?”
“Because these are our children’s names. They stay with them for the rest of their lives”
“Technically they can change them once they’re eighteen”Lexa switched feet as she spoke. “How about I choose the name for our daughter and you choose the name for out son? That way we can both include a name we want”
“I guess I can go with that. But if you name our kid like Goku or something”Lexa interrupted her sentence.
“Why would I name our daughter Goku?”
“I don’t know you could be inspired by it or something. But I think we can both agree on the godparents, right?”
“Lincoln and Octavia”
“And Wells. Lincoln and Octavia are like one person now”
36 weeks
“You’ve got to be kidding me”Clarke groaned, trying to steady herself. She made it a few more steps before bumping her side into the wall. “That’s it. I’m not going!” Lexa appeared in the hall, smiling softly at her girlfriend.
“What’s wrong?”Lexa asked.
“You’re kidding, right? What’s not wrong? I’m fat! I have stretch marks everywhere. I can’t walk more than three step at a time before bumping into something. My breast are literally leaking. And I’m waddling, Lexa”Clarke huffed, trying to walk straight to prove her point. Lexa lifted Clarke’s shirt and kissed the top of the swell before she spoke.
“You look beautiful,Clarke. You’re body is preparing to feed our amazing children. This is going to go away once you have the twins but know that this doesn’t make you any less amazing than you were before. I know you’re uncomfortable and I wish I could take some of that away but I can’t. I will, however, love you no matter how you look. And in my opinion, you’ll always look amazing”Clarke scoffed at her response.
“I still waddle”Clarke tried. Lexa smiled and moved closer to Clarke, taking her head in her hands.
“And I still love you”Lexa mocked her tone, planting a tender kiss to the blonde’s lips. “ Now, are we going to go to our baby shower or not?”
“Fine, but I’m eating whatever I want”
39 weeks
“Lexa?” Clarke called out. Lexa poked her head out from the kitchen. “Where’s the bag for the hospital?”
“Right by the door. Are you in labor?” Lexa’s eyes widened and she stepped out from behind the wall, already heading for the door.
“No. I just want to check to see if we put everything in there we need” Lexa nodded and went to get the bag. She and Clarke unpacked and repacked the bag,putting it away before Clarke called back out for Lexa to get the bag.
“Did you forget something?” Lexa asked as Clarke pushed herself off the couch.
“No. Grab your car keys”
“Where are we going?”
“Hospital. I think my water just broke” Lexa ran to Clarke's side,supporting most of her weight. She grab the car keys and guided her to the door. The pair shuffled through the cafe after snagging the bag next to the door.
“Wells, lock up! Operation stump removal is a go” Clarke rolled her eyes at the dumb name her girlfriend and Wells came up with for the birth of the twins.
“Sorry everyone! I know it's early but I'm about to be a godparent and the owner is about to be a mother, so we’re closing early. If you haven't paid for your coffee, don't worry about it. Thank you. Have a good day”Wells announced, closing the register and turning the lights off. The customers eased their way out, giving their congratulations as they left. The mothers to be gradually made their way towards the door with Wells sprinting after them.
“How are you feeling?” Lexa asked as she sat Clarke in the car. Wells hopped into the backseat, fastening his seatbelt.
“I feel pretty fine” Clarke shrugged before turning to Wells.”Can you call everybody?” Wells nodded, already dialing.
5 hours later
“How are you feeling, honey?” Abby asked, sitting next to her daughter and grabbing her hand. Lexa sat on the edge of the other side of the bed, holding her other hand.
“I was doing fine before I got to this damn hospital. Now, it’s starting to hurt. You’d think with all this fancy equipment I’d be holding my children by now”Clarke grunted, inhaling a sharp breath. Dr. Cartwig walked in, giving Clarke a sympathetic smile after catching the last part of the conversation.
“Unfortunately, that’s not how it works”Dr.Cartwig informed her, pulling up a seat in front of her.
“How many centimeters dilated are you?” Abby questioned, rubbing her daughter’s arm.
“I was five about an hour ago”
“Well now you’re seven. I’d give it about two to three hours”The doctor announced, leaving the three alone to talk.
“Have you two talked about names?”
“We decided a few weeks ago”Lexa said, pressing a kiss to the crown of Clarke’s head, gently rubbing circles on her hand. ”I named her and Clarke named him. Now we wait”
“Hopefully not for long”Clarke groaned.
Clarke was sweating and exhausted, gripping Lexa’s hand. Lexa was ignoring the pain, focusing on Clarke and whispering encouragements in her ear. She had been pushing for a little over half an hour.
“You’re doing great,Clarke. One more big push and you can take a quick break. It’ll be over before you know it. Just one more”Dr.Cartwig prompted, looking up from between Clarke’s legs.”You got this. Ready?” Clarke nodded as best as she could.”Okay, push!” Clarke gave it all she had. “Almost there, Clarke. Just a little more. There we go…. She’s out!” The doctor clamped the umbilical cord and rubbed the newborn’s back, getting an ear splitting shriek in response. “Do you want to cut the cord?” Lexa looked away from Clarke and reached out to cut the cord, smiling at the sight of the screaming newborn. Lexa watched Dr. Cartwig as she passed her little girl to the nurses.
“Go. I’ll still be here” Clarke whispered, following her line of eyesight. Lexa followed the nurses’ every move as they examined her. The nurses worked quickly, cleaning and checking over the baby.
“Do you have your own blanket or hat for her to wear?”One of the nurses asked as they finished, tearing Lexa’s eyes away from her daughter. Lexa didn’t answer, instead she reached into their bag and pulled out a Seahawks blanket and a Patriots hat. The nurse smiled, taking the items and putting them on the infant before placing her in Lexa’s hand. “Support her head” Lexa cradled her daughter in her arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Hey, beautiful. Want to meet your mommy?”Lexa looked over at Clarke, who was trying to focus on the two. Lexa walked back over to her girlfriend and kneeled so Clarke could see their daughter. Clarke gave them a small smile before Dr.Cartwig pulled her attention away.
“It looks the next one is ready to come out. You have to start pushing when your next contraction comes. It’ll be over before you know it”
“They’re beautiful,Clarke” Lexa mumbled, staring at the twins resting on her chest.”I love you” Lexa kissed Clarke, careful not to disturb the twins. A nurse popped her head in the door before walking all the way in.
“Sorry to interrupt, but they have to be fed”Clarke nodded and the nurse went to her side.”We’re going to try to do both at a time. Push down your robe. Keep them close. Sooner or later they will latch on. Then adjust so they can actually get the milk.From there if still don't, I’ll try to get them to get the milk out on their own”Clarke nodded and did as told. Lexa watched, stroking the hair of the twins as they try to breastfeed for the first time. “Do you have names? Woods baby boy and girl isn’t very catchy”
“Her name is Arryn. Arryn Aspen Woods”Lexa told her, smiling down at her breastfeeding daughter.
“And him?”
“Alexander, but we’re going to call him by his middle name,Leif”Clarke answered, shifting the infants in her arms.
“You have some fans waiting for you outside. Do you want me to send them in?”
When Clarke nodded, Lexa bent down to take Leif, who was struggling to keep his eyes open. Lexa had him settled in her arms before the room was filled with their family.
“Excuse me. Why are my grandchildren in Patriots clothing?”Gustus asked, entering the room. Leif was wrapped in a Patriots blanket with a Seahawk hat on his head. Arryn was moving her head so much that her Patriots hat was falling off. Jake pushed past him with a grin plastered on his face but it was quickly wiped away once he caught sight of the Seahawks paraphernalia his grandchildren were sporting.
“I think a better question is why do they have on Seahawks clothing?”Jake argued, frowning at the thought of his grandchildren supporting the “traitors”. Lexa sat in the chair next to Clarke's bed, oblivious to the other people in the room besides Clarke and their children.
“How are you feeling?”Abby asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Tired”Clarke smiled at her before signaling the two at the door over. “Don't just stand there. Come meet your godchildren” Octavia and Wells eased away from the door in mesmerized by the infants in front of them. Lincoln walked in, carrying balloons and two teddy bears.
“I didn't know if I could bring flowers so I got these”He said, lifting up his gifts. “Anya said she'll be here soon. She had something to take care of first” Tris ran into the room followed by Nyko.
“Lexa!”Tris shouted, skipping over to her favorite cousin. Lexa grinned, gently shushing her, nodding to the newborns in the room. “Who's that?”Tris whispered, pointing to Leif in her arms.
“This is your nephew,Leif”Lexa told her before pointing to her daughter. “That is your niece, Arryn”Tris peeked over the blanket and scrunched her eyebrows together.
“They're wrinkly” Everybody laughed.
“Yeah. You know when you're in the bath too long and your fingers get wrinkly?”Lexa asked and Tris nodded“Well, they were in Clarke's stomach for a long time so they had to be in liquid to keep them safe. The same thing happened to you but you grow out of it”Lexa paused and pointed to Gustus. “Until you get my dad's age, then it comes back”
“Now that you have insulted me, do you think I can hold my grandson?”Gustus asked.
“I guess if your fragile old bones can handle it you can hold your granddaughter too”Clarke answered,grinning at the offended expression in his face.
“Hey”Anya said, gaining Lexa’s attention. “Sorry I’m late, but I thought someone should knock some sense into Raven. How are they doing?”Anya asked, tilting her head towards the sleeping blonde and dark haired twins.
“Clarke’s fine, just a little tired. Arryn and Leif are taking after their mother when it comes to sleep”Lexa beamed at the thought of her children.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“A little. I don’t want to let them out of my eyesight. What did you say to Raven?”
“Nothing different than what Octavia or Clarke has said to her but I think the way I said it might have made a difference.Get some sleep. You got a few long nights ahead of you”