It started with a cramp.
Elena stirred in bed, clutching her belly with a frown. It was faint, like the ones she'd had before. Nothing unusual. Just another ache… right?
But then the second cramp came—sharper, lower, and more insistent.
"Zay?" she whispered, her voice barely audible in the quiet room.
Zayden was asleep on the couch near her bed, arms crossed, eyes closed—he hadn't slept properly in days, hovering around her like a shadow.
The third cramp twisted through her, and she gasped.
His eyes shot open instantly. "Elena?"
She bit her lip. "I think—I think something's happening."
He was on his feet in half a second. "What do you mean happening? What kind of happening?" He was by her side, crouched down. "Is it the babies? Are you hurting?"
"I don't know," she choked out, clutching his hand. "It hurts. Low. It's not just pressure. It's pain. Real pain."
Zayden's entire body tensed. "Stay here. Don't move. Not an inch. I'm calling the doctor right now."
"Zay—"
"No, no talking," he said, already grabbing the phone and pacing. "Doctor Langford, now. No, I don't care what time it is, get her on the line! It's happening!"
Within minutes, he was carrying Elena—carrying, despite her protests—down the stairs and into the car he'd kept running on standby every night for the last week.
She was trying to stay calm, breathing the way the doctor had taught her, but Zayden's panic wasn't helping. His jaw was clenched, knuckles white around the steering wheel, voice breaking as he called the hospital again to scream for a gurney to be ready.
"Zay," she whispered through clenched teeth. "You need to breathe too."
"I'll breathe once you and the babies are safe," he snapped, tears dangerously close to the edge. "Just hold on, Elena. Please."
They reached the hospital, and everything moved in a blur—nurses, stretchers, beeping machines, a whirlwind of chaos.
Zayden refused to leave her side.
"She's having twins. Thirty-four weeks. Pain started thirty minutes ago. No, I'm not going anywhere!" he barked as a nurse tried to usher him back. "I'm her husband. I'm the father. I stay."
Inside the delivery room, Elena gripped his hand like a lifeline. Her breaths came in shallow pants, tears in her eyes.
"It's too early, Zay…"
"You're doing perfect, angel. I'm right here. Just keep breathing, okay?" He kissed her forehead again and again. "I love you. I love you. You're the strongest woman I know."
A sharp cry pierced the air.
Then another.
Zayden blinked. Then broke.
He let out a strangled breath as the first tiny body was lifted, swaddled, and held up.
"It's a boy!" the nurse beamed.
Seconds later, the second wail followed.
"And a girl!"
Elena sobbed, half in pain, half in awe. Zayden just stared, stunned and shattered all at once.
Two babies. Two perfect, pink, crying babies.
He kissed Elena's hand as tears streamed down his cheeks. "You did it," he whispered. "God, Elena… you did it."