Fic: Plentiful Bounty, (3/5), J2, Mpreg, Bigbang
| - Part One - | - Part Two - |
Please see part one for warning and notes.
22 weeks / 18 weeks
Jensen fidgeted nervously on the waiting room chair, his hand stroking over his big belly almost continuously in an attempt to calm both him and his restless babies. He grinned sheepishly at Jared when he felt his husband’s palm soothing circles into his shoulder blades.
“I know, nothing at all to be jumpy about, it’s just....”Jensen sighed in frustration at not being able to accurately explain his sudden nervousness at the prospect of seeing his three little ones in 3D on the ultrasound. They had seen them at 12 weeks but they were still tiny and barely real to Jensen.
Today, he knew he’d be really seeing his babies and that was both exciting and terrifying.
After what had happened with Bethany, he had done his best not to think too much on the fact that he had three new lives completely dependent on him for their survival or he’d go mad. He had just focused as much as he could on Jared’s pregnancy rather than his own and finally it was more than time for it all to become extremely real for him that he too was nourishing new lives.
He knew it was ridiculous to think that way, given he already looked almost to term and the movement of the babies insured that he knew they were there just about every minute of the day, both waking and sleeping, but seeing them...right there, moving and whole and...real was going to make it impossible for Jensen to ignore it all and not get excited for his babies and really...that right there...that was what he was terrified of; getting excited and then possibly having to go through losing them.
He just knew that he couldn’t survive that again.
After Bethany, he had thrown himself into work, blindly taking any role that came his way to keep his mind off what he and Jared had lost. It was coming home to Jared curled up on the couch, sobbing over the picture of all three of them at the hospital...their only family photo, that pulled Jensen out of his steadfast denial and made him truly realize that he wasn’t the only one that lost a little girl that day, that Jared had too, and he needed him as much as Jensen was denying that he needed anyone. It was then that they decided to try one more round of IVF before they would give up and reconcile that they weren’t meant to have a family. Now, he was faced with having five new babies in the span of a couple of months. Life really was a rollercoaster ride at times.
Jensen was pulled from his thoughts when Jared tugged at his rubbing hand.
“Babe, hey? They are ready for you,” Jared urged as he started to pull him up from his seat.
“What? Oh, okay, sure,” Jensen answered vaguely as he swallowed down the lump of fear that was currently lodged in his throat and offered Jared a weak smile in return for his indulgent one.
“It’s okay, Jensen. You are allowed to want them and love them. We won’t lose them, I promise you,” Jared soothed as he pressed a kiss to Jensen’s tense jaw.
“You can’t promise that, Jared, no one can,” Jensen replied sadly before moving past to follow the technician who was waiting patiently for him down the corridor.
~o0o~
Jared silently tugged at his arm, urging him into the study. “Come and see,” he coaxed as Jensen hesitated at the doorway. He gently led Jensen over to one of the chairs set up in front of their two laptops arranged side by side with the media player cued and ready to play.
Once they had both settled into the chairs, Jared quietly clicked both mice to set the media files to play simultaneously.
“Look Jen, it’s all our babies,” Jared said with a soft smile tilting the corners of his mouth, his eyes gleaming as he looked between the five babies wriggling and squirming on the display in front of him and Jensen’s shell shocked face.
“Wow...I...Jared...this...,” Jensen stuttered as he tried and failed to express just how awed he felt to see all 5 of their babies in 3D in front of them.
He looked over at Jared, the emotion of the moment getting the best of him as happy tears slid down his face to disappear into his trembling grin. Taking a stuttering breath, he clasp Jared’s hand in his and squeezed tight. His other hand found its way onto his hard belly, his hand automatically soothing the skin with gentle strokes.
“Ours Jensen, and no one is going to take them away from us, I promise,” Jared said as he gestured at the screens and shifted to face Jensen, his hand cupping Jensen’s trembling jaw as he stroked away Jensen’s falling tears.
“We will bring them all home, safe and sound,” Jared promised, his voice catching as he leaned in to kiss Jensen softly.
Jensen pulled back and smiled at him softly. "Yeah, we will. All five of them!” Jensen exclaimed as the pulled Jared in for another kiss, his hand dropping to sooth over Jared’s own hard belly.
Jared grinned into the kiss before resting his forehead against Jensen’s. “We’re going to be busy, aren’t we?” Jared pondered with a chuckle.
Jensen giggled and kissed Jared’s pouting lips. "Yeah baby, very, but it will be all worth it.”
Jared gazed at him tenderly, his eyes still glazed with a film of happy tears.
"So worth it.”
~o0o~
27 weeks / 23 weeks
“Hello,” Jensen answered as he pressed the phone precariously between his ear and his shoulder as he jostled the key in the lock in his attempt to get into the house.
“Ah, hi, my name’s Robyn. I’m a nurse here at the county general...,” the young female voice replied.
Jensen’s key’s slipped from his suddenly nerveless fingers, “what? Oh my god, what’s happened? Is he okay? Oh my god, what about the babies?”
“Please sir, you need to calm down. Firstly, can you confirm for me who you are for confidentiality purposes,” the woman on the other end of the phone coaxed.
“What, yes, of course...ah...Jensen, Jensen Ackles. Is he okay, are the babies okay?” Jensen asked again, his voice tight with his anxiety.
“All I know is that we have a Jared Pada...ah..that is Jared Padalecki admitted here at County General and you are listed as his next of kin. Are you able to come down now?” the young woman asked gently.
“Oh my god, um...yes, of course, I’ll be there in...ah...15 minutes. Please tell him I’m coming.”
“I’ll pass on the message sir, your rapid response is much appreciated,” she finished before hanging up, leaving Jensen panting on the other end of an empty line.
Swiping angrily at the tears spilling down his flushed cheeks, Jensen put a steadying hand to his rolling belly, drawing in deep deliberate breaths in an attempt to not only calm himself down so he could drive to the hospital to Jared, but the babies too. They were doing somersaults in there in response to his anxiety and stress.
“It’ll be okay babies, papa will be just fine, I promise,” Jensen soothed as he stroked his turbulent belly, the action working to soothe his own nerves as well as the babies agitation.
The normally 15 minute trip took him just under 12. He fielded a few odd looks as he waddled as fast as he could over to the triage desk in the ER, his hands unconsciously rubbing soothing circles over his big belly. At 23 weeks with triplets, he almost looked full term for a single pregnancy so he shouldn’t have been at all surprised that the triage nurse took one look at him and dragged him through to the exam room without even asking him a single question.
Before Jensen could get a word out, the nurse had guided him down to sit on the paper draped bed and was reaching for the blood pressure cuff.
“Oh, no, no, I’m not here for me. I’m fine. I had a call about my husband, Jared Padalecki, please I need to know if he’s okay?” Jensen pleaded with the nurse before she could start attaching the Velcro cuff around his upper arm.
“Oh, oh...I’m so sorry, I just...well...you look. Okay, look, I’m really sorry, that was really unprofessional of me. How about you rest here and I’ll go check on the database regarding your husband’s condition okay?” the nurse blushed as she quickly replaced the sphygmomanometer in the bedside drawers and hustled her way out of the room before Jensen could offer an answer.
He shuffled himself back on the bed until he could lean back on the wall, trying to get comfortable in the hard bed. He had just shut his eyes, trying to calm himself and the babies twisting and turning inside him, when the door pushed open with a burst of noise from the busy ER.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here. Are you being seen by someone?” a dark haired, serious-looking young man in a white lab coat asked.
Jensen struggled to push himself up to sitting, finally managing it with a sigh of frustration, “um, yeah a nurse was just going to see how my husband is. I got a call earlier to come down ‘cause he’d been admitted but I haven’t heard how he is yet,” Jensen replied, his anxiety for Jared and his children’s well being increasing once more.
“Oh, sorry to hear that, but do you mind waiting in the ER waiting area? I really need this exam room to assess someone who’s just come in,” the young doctor apologized as he helped Jensen slip off the bed and guided him out the door to the waiting room.
“Oh, ah, ok. Sorry.” Jensen nodded as he moved out of the room into the loud crush of the busy ER.
“No problem, hopefully the nurse will be with you soon. I hope it’s good news for you both,” the young doctor said in parting as he ushered a pale young girl and her obviously distressed mother into the exam room he had just vacated.
“Yeah, thanks, me too,” he sighed at the suddenly shut door, turning to survey the over-crowded ER for a possible place to sit while he waited. Giving that up as a bad joke, he sighed heavily before making his way over to a spare side of a pillar and leaned himself up against it, trying to take some of the weight of his belly off his lower back, as he set in to wait for news.
It was forty minutes and multiple harassed staff later, when he finally got news on Jared and was quietly ushered into his sleeping husband’s room.
All of the emotion he had been suppressing while waiting for news came bubbling up in a gush of tears as he finally laid eyes on Jared, curled tight around his belly. The visible parts of his face bruised, swollen and tight with pain, even in his sleep.
Rushing over to the bed to clasp Jared’s sleep slack hands in his, Jensen couldn’t help the hitch in his breath as tears continued to fall from his eyes, creating a damp patch on the heavy white sheets of Jared’s hospital bed.
“He’s okay, I promise. The babies are fine too.”
The familiar soothing tones couldn’t prevent the startle that the sudden assurance caused Jensen. He pulled in a shaky breath as he looked up at the calming presence of their close friend and trusted doctor, but couldn’t help the shuddering sob that escaped him when he saw the sympathy in his knowing gaze.
“Oh god Misha, I can’t lose them, I just can’t. What the hell happened?” Jensen sobbed as he felt his friend come around behind him and brace his shoulders in a supportive hug.
“You won’t, I promise, well at least not on my watch, okay?’ Misha soothed as he gently squeezed his shoulders in support. “From what I could get from the unit that brought him in, he was involved in a robbery and got a lot of this when he tried to protect a little boy and his frightened mother from their drug heightened assailant.
“What the hell? What was he doing putting himself and the babies in danger like that?” Jensen growled, trying to keep his voice down as he felt his slumbering husband’s hand twitch in his.
“Jen...’at you?” Jared’s voice was hoarse and tight as he stirred and blinked sleep heavy eyes at him.
“Jared, oh my god, are you okay? You scared the crap out of me,” Jensen said, trying to swallow back his emotions to focus on Jared.
Jensen’s heart clenched tight in his chest as tears pooled in Jared’s eyes and his face crumpled into pained sorrow.
“I’m so sorry, Jen, I didn’t mean to get involved, but he was going to hurt them and the little boy was so scared. I couldn’t just let it happen. I know it was stupid and I know it could have endangered our babies...I...I’m so sorry, but I’d do it again.” Jared confessed, dropping his gaze from Jensen’s, silent tears slipping down his face.
Jensen ducked his chin to his chest, not at all sure how he felt about Jared’s heartfelt confession. He couldn’t help but love him for wanting to protect the little boy and his mother, but to put his own children at such risk made anger bubble up under the surface of that love. He had lost their little girl because of the thoughtless act from a drunk driver and would do anything to have her back. Having gone through that horrifying experience once, Jensen couldn’t stand by and let it happen again.
Jensen reached out and pulled Jared’s chin around so that his teary gaze met his own. The fresh tears that spilled down Jared’s cheeks hit Jensen hard in the chest, his next breath difficult to take in fully, but he had to let Jared know how much his choice had hurt him.
“I know you meant well, but I can’t go through losing another child...I just can’t,” Jensen confessed as tears welled up in his throat, making it hard to get the words out that he needed to say.
“I love you so much, Jared, and if anything happened to you or our babies, I’m telling you now, I wouldn’t survive it,” Jensen finished with a choked whisper as his throat closed over as the tears spilled freely from his eyes.
“Jensen,” Misha and Jared’s voices echoed their horror at his statement.
All Jensen could do was look between the two of them as sobs started to escape from his chest and he crumpled down onto the edge of the bed, his emotion draining him of all his remaining strength.
“Jen, oh god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think, I just saw how scared he was and I just...I’m so sorry. I won’t leave you, I promise,” Jared assured him through his own tears. His arms reached out to pull Jensen to him as best he could with their pregnant bellies in the way.
Misha laid a reassuring hand on both their shoulders and bid his goodbyes for the moment, reminding them both to be gentle with each other.
Jared shuffled himself painfully across the narrow bed, dragging a pliant and silently crying Jensen with him, so that Jensen was forced to climb completely on the bed to lie next to Jared or let go.
Unable to face each other because there just wasn’t enough room for their bellies, they shuffled around until Jared’s belly was resting gently on Jensen’s, with Jensen’s head tucked under Jared’s chin, his face buried into Jared’s shoulder.
~o0o~
It was in that exact pose that Misha found them an hour later when he came to check on Jared’s concussion. He gently shook Jared’s shoulder, bringing him awake slowly.
“Sorry, Jared, last check and I can let you sleep as much as you want,” Misha apologized as he lifted Jared’s eyelids and quickly flashed his pen light across his vision, checking for pupil reaction. Both pupils were equal and reactive, so Misha smiled his encouragement and patted Jared on the shoulder and told him to rest.
Jensen stirred in Jared’s arms and blinked up at him with swollen red-rimmed eyes.
“Hey baby, how are you feeling?” Jared asked gently, his gazing flicking to Misha’s, seeking his reassurance that he would stay to ensure Jensen was indeed okay.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” Jensen croaked, his voice scratchy from sleep and rough from tears.
Jared pressed a kiss to Jensen forehead, wincing slightly when the movement pulled at stiffening muscles.
“I’m fine, Misha just checked me out and gave me the all clear for a concussion so how about we just curl back up and get some more sleep, hey?” Jared reassured him as he stroked at the tear tracks still marring Jensen pale face.
Jensen looked over his shoulder at Misha, seeking his reassurance that what Jared was telling him was indeed true.
Misha smiled and nodded. “He’s fine Jensen, we’ve kept him as precaution. If he is still doing well in the morning, I’ll probably discharge him home to bed rest, just to be safe.”
Jensen blew out a heavy sigh. “Okay, so long as you are sure he’s alright. I don’t want to get him home and then have something go wrong and risk the babies,” Jensen fretted as he nervously worried at the edge of Jared’s sheet with his fingers.
Misha squeezed Jensen’s shoulder and assured him that he wouldn’t put Jared or his babies at any undue risk by releasing them too soon.
Jensen nodded, blushing slightly with embarrassment. “Sorry Misha, I know you wouldn’t put any of them at risk, it’s just...” Jensen couldn’t finish as his emotions almost got the better of him again.
Misha gave his shoulder a reassuring pat, before nodding at Jared. “I know Jensen, you don’t have to explain it. You will all be fine with some time. Just be kind to yourselves and take it easy, okay?” Misha instructed as he stepped back towards the door.
Jensen smiled at him briefly. “Thanks Misha,” he said before tucking his chin back onto Jared’s chest and shuffling himself into a more comfortable position.
“Night Misha and thanks,...for everything,” Jared said as he settled himself into Jensen’s embrace, saving a last wink for Misha as Jensen finally closed his eyes.
Misha smirked back at him, comforted that his friends would be okay.
~o0o~
28 weeks / 24 weeks
When Jared was finally released from the hospital, as promised, Misha ordered a week’s bed rest. Jensen planned to ensure that the only thing Jared would be doing was moving from their bed to pee and shower, maybe. Unfortunately, at 28 weeks pregnant with twins, this was a fairly frequent occurrence, but he could at least ensure that Jared wasn’t up for anything else. What he hadn’t figured on what Jared’s stubbornness and determination to not let him carry out his objective; Jensen take proper care of him. Four days into Jared’s bed rest and things were not going according to Jensen’s plan.
“Jensen, please just stop. The house is clean enough, come lay with me,” Jared whined loudly from the bedroom upstairs.
“I’ll be up shortly, I just want to finish getting this load of washing sorted and then I’ll be up with some lunch for you,” Jensen answered as he finished sorting the clothes into piles and started loading the washer with the rest of their laundry.
“Jensen! Seriously, stop...doing...e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g...and come up to bed with me. You are going to run yourself ragged and I’m going to need to look after you. You are pregnant too, remember?” Jared shouted, his frustration coming through his voice loud and clear.
Jensen quickly finished putting the washing detergent in, slammed the lid closed and quickly set it to wash.
“Okay, Okay, I’m coming. I’ll just get us something to eat and I’ll be up there, I promise,” Jensen soothed as he moved as quickly as he could into the kitchen.
“Fine! But hurry up, I don’t want you getting distracted with any other house work, okay?” Jared groaned.
In Jensen’s rush to get the lunches made as quickly as he could, he failed to notice the patch of water on the tiles near the sink, and as he went past it to get the cutting board of the dish drainer, his feet slid out from underneath him.
Jensen’s arm shot out to grab hold of the sink, but his slick fingers slipped off the edge and he landed on his hip with a heavy thump.
Pain instantly spiked up through his wrist and back and he couldn’t help the moan that escaped him as he immediately tried to pull himself back to standing. He had almost made it to his feet when he heard a cry behind him and Jared’s hands were bracing him, helping him regain his feet completely.
“What the hell happened? Are you okay?” Jared asked as his hands started to explore Jensen’s body in search of injuries.
“Hey whoa, I’m okay. I just slip on the water. What are you doing up? Misha told you bed rest Jared,” Jensen scolded as he turned to face Jared, unable to stop a wince when his bruised hip protested the movement.
“Oh my god, you fell! Did you hurt yourself? Are you feeling any pains?” Jared asked in a panic, his hands fluttering over Jensen’s torso along with his gaze.
“Jared, stop, I’m okay. A little bruise here or there maybe, but we’re fine. Stop fussing,” Jensen told him with a sigh as he grabbed Jared’s hands to stop them. Unfortunately, his wrist was not happy with his move and he gasped as a sharp throb of pain spiked up through his wrist into his forearm.
“Argh, god dammit, okay that hurt. Maybe I did hurt myself a little more than I thought,” Jensen cursed as he pulled his injured wrist protectively to his chest.
“Shit, Jen, you’ve probably broken it. Did you land on it when you fell?” Jared asked with concern pulling his still bruised face tight.
“Umm, don’t know, I guess. I’ll put some ice on it and it will be fine in a few days,” Jensen assured him as he moved off to gather their lunch supplies together.
“Hey, I’ll get that, you get the ice for your wrist. Come on, we can look after each other, alright?” Jared coaxed him as he rubbed a soothing hand into the back of Jensen’s shoulder.
Jensen rolled his eyes at him.
“Fine, have it your way,” he mumbled under his breath as he bent to grab a dish cloth out of the drawer with a groan and moved off with a slight limp to get the ice from the freezer.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you did a real number on yourself,” Jared asked softly, his concern overriding his frustration at the obvious pain Jensen was in.
Jensen smiled back at him as he pulled the ice from the freezer with his right hand and balanced the dish cloth on top of his huge belly.
“Hey, see that, this giant belly does come in handy for some things,” Jensen chuckled as he quickly wrapped the ice up one handed and lay the make-shift ice pack across his sore wrist with a light hiss of pain.
“You still didn’t answer me,” Jared whispered into Jensen’s ear as he slotted himself to Jensen’s side and slid his long arms around his husband’s shoulders.
Jensen leaned into Jared’s comforting warmth for a second before looking up at him and smiling his assurance that he was okay.
“Just a sprain, Jared, I’ll be just fine, I promise,” Jensen reassured him, trying to ignore the throbbing of his wrist despite the ice treatment.
“Funnily enough, I don’t trust you so let’s eat some lunch and then we are going to call Misha and let him decide what you should do,” Jared smirked as Jensen frowned at him.
“What? No, come on Jared, it was nothing. Definitely not something to bother Misha about. You know what he’s like, he’ll insist on coming over after work and that will just be a waste of his precious family time,” Jensen tried to reason as he pouted his displeasure at Jared’s suggestion.
“Nope, not budging on this on this one Jen, you’ll just have to get over it,” Jared said as he moved off to get their lunches from the fridge and transfer it all onto a tray.
“But...no...you...Fine! He can check you out while he’s here then,” Jensen finished with a smug, satisfied smile.
Jared glared over his shoulder at his husband.
“Cute Jen, very cute, but you’re still getting checked out. Maybe when Misha gives me a check up, he’ll take me off bed rest now I’m feeling that much better,” Jared said as he poked his tongue out at an infuriated Jensen.
Jensen huffed loudly and limped his way back up the stairs, following Jared to their bedroom with their lunches.
“Get comfy Jen, I’m just gonna have a potty break first,” Jared told him as he awkwardly placed the tray of food on the bed around his stomach.
Jensen pouted at him, resisting the urge to poke out his tongue and stoop to the same childish levels as Jared.
His wrist was sore, but it wasn’t that bad. Well, he was pretty sure it wasn’t broken. It was just fine so long as he didn’t move it too much.
He knew Jared was just looking out for him, but he was supposed to be looking after Jared, not the other way round.
Jensen sucked in his bottom lip, frowning his displeasure at the bathroom door in anticipation of Jared’s exit. His plan to continue being angry at Jared was killed instantly when Jared walked out of the bathroom minus his shirt, his huge belly on display.
Jensen couldn’t help but smile at him as Jared rubbed soothing circles into the tight skin as his twins moved visibly under his skin. Jensen never ceased to be awestruck by the beautiful sight of his children moving freely. His fingers itched to soothe them through the tightly stretched skin and let them know that their Papa was here and looking out for them too. Unable to resist any longer, he stretched out his right hand and made grabbing motions to indicate to Jared that he wanted a piece of the action. Jared beamed at him, clearly having been aiming to distract him with the sight all along. Jensen scowled at him briefly before whining pathetically until Jared rolled his eyes at him and moved onto the bed to join him, pushing aside their neglected lunches to the end of the bed.
“You just can’t resist it when they are active can you, babe?” Jared teased as he lay down on his side his belly facing an eager Jensen.
Jensen smiled before shuffling over with a brief wince to lay alongside him, his own big belly sliding under Jared’s so that each movement pushed into his own. This gave Jensen easy access to kiss and caress Jared’s belly as his children kicked and pushed into their siblings. Jensen grinned happily when he felt his own babies start to move around at the intrusion from above.
Jensen giggled as two of their babies pushed out at the same time and essentially pushed at each other.
“Look at that, they’re not even born yet and they are fighting over the attention from their Daddies. We are going to have our hands full with this lot,” Jensen grinned up at Jared.
Jared laughed as he smiled back at Jensen’s delight.
“Jen, we are going to have our hands full regardless if they are feisty or not. Five babies all at once...no way we aren’t going to be running from dusk ‘til dawn...and probably much of the time in between to start with,” Jared mused as he gently stroked his hand through Jensen’s hair.
Jensen frowned a little sheepishly at him. “Yeah, I guess you’re right there.” Jensen looked at Jared, his face suddenly very serious.
“Do you think I’ll make a good Dad,” he asked softly as he stroked his hand down the side of Jared’s belly, lingering slightly when a tiny foot pressed up to meet his hand.
Jared pulled Jensen’s chin up to look at him properly.
“Jen, I think you will be the best Daddy in the world. Look at you, you love these guys so much already, how could you not be an awesome Dad?” Jared questioned, all mocking gone from his tone.
Jensen smiled lopsidedly at him.
“I hope so. I’ve wanted this for so long and now that it’s so close I’m...well...I’m kind of scared that I’ll suck at it,” Jensen confessed as he bit at his bottom lip in anxiety.
Jared pulled Jensen’s head in to rest over the top of his belly and leaned down to kiss his hair and hold him close as he murmured into his hair, “I’m scared too babe, but I know that with you beside me I’ve been able to do things I never dreamed I could do, so I don’t doubt that we can do this too.”
Jensen pressed a gentle kiss into Jared’s belly and snuggled in so that there was no space between them. “How about we have a nap and then we can eat lunch and call Misha?” Jensen suggested, closing his eyes and getting comfortable.
Jared moved slightly against him, snuggling down to murmur into Jensen’s hair, “Mmm, sounds like a plan to me, but I’m still calling Misha.”
Jensen chuckled lightly, the vibrations going through both their bellies, causing all of their babies to move restlessly.
“Yes, yes, I get the hint, you are all out voting me, you can call Misha after we have a nap,” Jensen sighed as he relaxed into sleep, Jared’s gentle breaths into his hair, soothing him into sleep.
Next part
Please see part one for warning and notes.
22 weeks / 18 weeks
Jensen fidgeted nervously on the waiting room chair, his hand stroking over his big belly almost continuously in an attempt to calm both him and his restless babies. He grinned sheepishly at Jared when he felt his husband’s palm soothing circles into his shoulder blades.
“I know, nothing at all to be jumpy about, it’s just....”Jensen sighed in frustration at not being able to accurately explain his sudden nervousness at the prospect of seeing his three little ones in 3D on the ultrasound. They had seen them at 12 weeks but they were still tiny and barely real to Jensen.
Today, he knew he’d be really seeing his babies and that was both exciting and terrifying.
After what had happened with Bethany, he had done his best not to think too much on the fact that he had three new lives completely dependent on him for their survival or he’d go mad. He had just focused as much as he could on Jared’s pregnancy rather than his own and finally it was more than time for it all to become extremely real for him that he too was nourishing new lives.
He knew it was ridiculous to think that way, given he already looked almost to term and the movement of the babies insured that he knew they were there just about every minute of the day, both waking and sleeping, but seeing them...right there, moving and whole and...real was going to make it impossible for Jensen to ignore it all and not get excited for his babies and really...that right there...that was what he was terrified of; getting excited and then possibly having to go through losing them.
He just knew that he couldn’t survive that again.
After Bethany, he had thrown himself into work, blindly taking any role that came his way to keep his mind off what he and Jared had lost. It was coming home to Jared curled up on the couch, sobbing over the picture of all three of them at the hospital...their only family photo, that pulled Jensen out of his steadfast denial and made him truly realize that he wasn’t the only one that lost a little girl that day, that Jared had too, and he needed him as much as Jensen was denying that he needed anyone. It was then that they decided to try one more round of IVF before they would give up and reconcile that they weren’t meant to have a family. Now, he was faced with having five new babies in the span of a couple of months. Life really was a rollercoaster ride at times.
Jensen was pulled from his thoughts when Jared tugged at his rubbing hand.
“Babe, hey? They are ready for you,” Jared urged as he started to pull him up from his seat.
“What? Oh, okay, sure,” Jensen answered vaguely as he swallowed down the lump of fear that was currently lodged in his throat and offered Jared a weak smile in return for his indulgent one.
“It’s okay, Jensen. You are allowed to want them and love them. We won’t lose them, I promise you,” Jared soothed as he pressed a kiss to Jensen’s tense jaw.
“You can’t promise that, Jared, no one can,” Jensen replied sadly before moving past to follow the technician who was waiting patiently for him down the corridor.
~o0o~
Jared silently tugged at his arm, urging him into the study. “Come and see,” he coaxed as Jensen hesitated at the doorway. He gently led Jensen over to one of the chairs set up in front of their two laptops arranged side by side with the media player cued and ready to play.
Once they had both settled into the chairs, Jared quietly clicked both mice to set the media files to play simultaneously.
“Look Jen, it’s all our babies,” Jared said with a soft smile tilting the corners of his mouth, his eyes gleaming as he looked between the five babies wriggling and squirming on the display in front of him and Jensen’s shell shocked face.
“Wow...I...Jared...this...,” Jensen stuttered as he tried and failed to express just how awed he felt to see all 5 of their babies in 3D in front of them.
He looked over at Jared, the emotion of the moment getting the best of him as happy tears slid down his face to disappear into his trembling grin. Taking a stuttering breath, he clasp Jared’s hand in his and squeezed tight. His other hand found its way onto his hard belly, his hand automatically soothing the skin with gentle strokes.
“Ours Jensen, and no one is going to take them away from us, I promise,” Jared said as he gestured at the screens and shifted to face Jensen, his hand cupping Jensen’s trembling jaw as he stroked away Jensen’s falling tears.
“We will bring them all home, safe and sound,” Jared promised, his voice catching as he leaned in to kiss Jensen softly.
Jensen pulled back and smiled at him softly. "Yeah, we will. All five of them!” Jensen exclaimed as the pulled Jared in for another kiss, his hand dropping to sooth over Jared’s own hard belly.
Jared grinned into the kiss before resting his forehead against Jensen’s. “We’re going to be busy, aren’t we?” Jared pondered with a chuckle.
Jensen giggled and kissed Jared’s pouting lips. "Yeah baby, very, but it will be all worth it.”
Jared gazed at him tenderly, his eyes still glazed with a film of happy tears.
"So worth it.”
~o0o~
27 weeks / 23 weeks
“Hello,” Jensen answered as he pressed the phone precariously between his ear and his shoulder as he jostled the key in the lock in his attempt to get into the house.
“Ah, hi, my name’s Robyn. I’m a nurse here at the county general...,” the young female voice replied.
Jensen’s key’s slipped from his suddenly nerveless fingers, “what? Oh my god, what’s happened? Is he okay? Oh my god, what about the babies?”
“Please sir, you need to calm down. Firstly, can you confirm for me who you are for confidentiality purposes,” the woman on the other end of the phone coaxed.
“What, yes, of course...ah...Jensen, Jensen Ackles. Is he okay, are the babies okay?” Jensen asked again, his voice tight with his anxiety.
“All I know is that we have a Jared Pada...ah..that is Jared Padalecki admitted here at County General and you are listed as his next of kin. Are you able to come down now?” the young woman asked gently.
“Oh my god, um...yes, of course, I’ll be there in...ah...15 minutes. Please tell him I’m coming.”
“I’ll pass on the message sir, your rapid response is much appreciated,” she finished before hanging up, leaving Jensen panting on the other end of an empty line.
Swiping angrily at the tears spilling down his flushed cheeks, Jensen put a steadying hand to his rolling belly, drawing in deep deliberate breaths in an attempt to not only calm himself down so he could drive to the hospital to Jared, but the babies too. They were doing somersaults in there in response to his anxiety and stress.
“It’ll be okay babies, papa will be just fine, I promise,” Jensen soothed as he stroked his turbulent belly, the action working to soothe his own nerves as well as the babies agitation.
The normally 15 minute trip took him just under 12. He fielded a few odd looks as he waddled as fast as he could over to the triage desk in the ER, his hands unconsciously rubbing soothing circles over his big belly. At 23 weeks with triplets, he almost looked full term for a single pregnancy so he shouldn’t have been at all surprised that the triage nurse took one look at him and dragged him through to the exam room without even asking him a single question.
Before Jensen could get a word out, the nurse had guided him down to sit on the paper draped bed and was reaching for the blood pressure cuff.
“Oh, no, no, I’m not here for me. I’m fine. I had a call about my husband, Jared Padalecki, please I need to know if he’s okay?” Jensen pleaded with the nurse before she could start attaching the Velcro cuff around his upper arm.
“Oh, oh...I’m so sorry, I just...well...you look. Okay, look, I’m really sorry, that was really unprofessional of me. How about you rest here and I’ll go check on the database regarding your husband’s condition okay?” the nurse blushed as she quickly replaced the sphygmomanometer in the bedside drawers and hustled her way out of the room before Jensen could offer an answer.
He shuffled himself back on the bed until he could lean back on the wall, trying to get comfortable in the hard bed. He had just shut his eyes, trying to calm himself and the babies twisting and turning inside him, when the door pushed open with a burst of noise from the busy ER.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here. Are you being seen by someone?” a dark haired, serious-looking young man in a white lab coat asked.
Jensen struggled to push himself up to sitting, finally managing it with a sigh of frustration, “um, yeah a nurse was just going to see how my husband is. I got a call earlier to come down ‘cause he’d been admitted but I haven’t heard how he is yet,” Jensen replied, his anxiety for Jared and his children’s well being increasing once more.
“Oh, sorry to hear that, but do you mind waiting in the ER waiting area? I really need this exam room to assess someone who’s just come in,” the young doctor apologized as he helped Jensen slip off the bed and guided him out the door to the waiting room.
“Oh, ah, ok. Sorry.” Jensen nodded as he moved out of the room into the loud crush of the busy ER.
“No problem, hopefully the nurse will be with you soon. I hope it’s good news for you both,” the young doctor said in parting as he ushered a pale young girl and her obviously distressed mother into the exam room he had just vacated.
“Yeah, thanks, me too,” he sighed at the suddenly shut door, turning to survey the over-crowded ER for a possible place to sit while he waited. Giving that up as a bad joke, he sighed heavily before making his way over to a spare side of a pillar and leaned himself up against it, trying to take some of the weight of his belly off his lower back, as he set in to wait for news.
It was forty minutes and multiple harassed staff later, when he finally got news on Jared and was quietly ushered into his sleeping husband’s room.
All of the emotion he had been suppressing while waiting for news came bubbling up in a gush of tears as he finally laid eyes on Jared, curled tight around his belly. The visible parts of his face bruised, swollen and tight with pain, even in his sleep.
Rushing over to the bed to clasp Jared’s sleep slack hands in his, Jensen couldn’t help the hitch in his breath as tears continued to fall from his eyes, creating a damp patch on the heavy white sheets of Jared’s hospital bed.
“He’s okay, I promise. The babies are fine too.”
The familiar soothing tones couldn’t prevent the startle that the sudden assurance caused Jensen. He pulled in a shaky breath as he looked up at the calming presence of their close friend and trusted doctor, but couldn’t help the shuddering sob that escaped him when he saw the sympathy in his knowing gaze.
“Oh god Misha, I can’t lose them, I just can’t. What the hell happened?” Jensen sobbed as he felt his friend come around behind him and brace his shoulders in a supportive hug.
“You won’t, I promise, well at least not on my watch, okay?’ Misha soothed as he gently squeezed his shoulders in support. “From what I could get from the unit that brought him in, he was involved in a robbery and got a lot of this when he tried to protect a little boy and his frightened mother from their drug heightened assailant.
“What the hell? What was he doing putting himself and the babies in danger like that?” Jensen growled, trying to keep his voice down as he felt his slumbering husband’s hand twitch in his.
“Jen...’at you?” Jared’s voice was hoarse and tight as he stirred and blinked sleep heavy eyes at him.
“Jared, oh my god, are you okay? You scared the crap out of me,” Jensen said, trying to swallow back his emotions to focus on Jared.
Jensen’s heart clenched tight in his chest as tears pooled in Jared’s eyes and his face crumpled into pained sorrow.
“I’m so sorry, Jen, I didn’t mean to get involved, but he was going to hurt them and the little boy was so scared. I couldn’t just let it happen. I know it was stupid and I know it could have endangered our babies...I...I’m so sorry, but I’d do it again.” Jared confessed, dropping his gaze from Jensen’s, silent tears slipping down his face.
Jensen ducked his chin to his chest, not at all sure how he felt about Jared’s heartfelt confession. He couldn’t help but love him for wanting to protect the little boy and his mother, but to put his own children at such risk made anger bubble up under the surface of that love. He had lost their little girl because of the thoughtless act from a drunk driver and would do anything to have her back. Having gone through that horrifying experience once, Jensen couldn’t stand by and let it happen again.
Jensen reached out and pulled Jared’s chin around so that his teary gaze met his own. The fresh tears that spilled down Jared’s cheeks hit Jensen hard in the chest, his next breath difficult to take in fully, but he had to let Jared know how much his choice had hurt him.
“I know you meant well, but I can’t go through losing another child...I just can’t,” Jensen confessed as tears welled up in his throat, making it hard to get the words out that he needed to say.
“I love you so much, Jared, and if anything happened to you or our babies, I’m telling you now, I wouldn’t survive it,” Jensen finished with a choked whisper as his throat closed over as the tears spilled freely from his eyes.
“Jensen,” Misha and Jared’s voices echoed their horror at his statement.
All Jensen could do was look between the two of them as sobs started to escape from his chest and he crumpled down onto the edge of the bed, his emotion draining him of all his remaining strength.
“Jen, oh god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think, I just saw how scared he was and I just...I’m so sorry. I won’t leave you, I promise,” Jared assured him through his own tears. His arms reached out to pull Jensen to him as best he could with their pregnant bellies in the way.
Misha laid a reassuring hand on both their shoulders and bid his goodbyes for the moment, reminding them both to be gentle with each other.
Jared shuffled himself painfully across the narrow bed, dragging a pliant and silently crying Jensen with him, so that Jensen was forced to climb completely on the bed to lie next to Jared or let go.
Unable to face each other because there just wasn’t enough room for their bellies, they shuffled around until Jared’s belly was resting gently on Jensen’s, with Jensen’s head tucked under Jared’s chin, his face buried into Jared’s shoulder.
~o0o~
It was in that exact pose that Misha found them an hour later when he came to check on Jared’s concussion. He gently shook Jared’s shoulder, bringing him awake slowly.
“Sorry, Jared, last check and I can let you sleep as much as you want,” Misha apologized as he lifted Jared’s eyelids and quickly flashed his pen light across his vision, checking for pupil reaction. Both pupils were equal and reactive, so Misha smiled his encouragement and patted Jared on the shoulder and told him to rest.
Jensen stirred in Jared’s arms and blinked up at him with swollen red-rimmed eyes.
“Hey baby, how are you feeling?” Jared asked gently, his gazing flicking to Misha’s, seeking his reassurance that he would stay to ensure Jensen was indeed okay.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” Jensen croaked, his voice scratchy from sleep and rough from tears.
Jared pressed a kiss to Jensen forehead, wincing slightly when the movement pulled at stiffening muscles.
“I’m fine, Misha just checked me out and gave me the all clear for a concussion so how about we just curl back up and get some more sleep, hey?” Jared reassured him as he stroked at the tear tracks still marring Jensen pale face.
Jensen looked over his shoulder at Misha, seeking his reassurance that what Jared was telling him was indeed true.
Misha smiled and nodded. “He’s fine Jensen, we’ve kept him as precaution. If he is still doing well in the morning, I’ll probably discharge him home to bed rest, just to be safe.”
Jensen blew out a heavy sigh. “Okay, so long as you are sure he’s alright. I don’t want to get him home and then have something go wrong and risk the babies,” Jensen fretted as he nervously worried at the edge of Jared’s sheet with his fingers.
Misha squeezed Jensen’s shoulder and assured him that he wouldn’t put Jared or his babies at any undue risk by releasing them too soon.
Jensen nodded, blushing slightly with embarrassment. “Sorry Misha, I know you wouldn’t put any of them at risk, it’s just...” Jensen couldn’t finish as his emotions almost got the better of him again.
Misha gave his shoulder a reassuring pat, before nodding at Jared. “I know Jensen, you don’t have to explain it. You will all be fine with some time. Just be kind to yourselves and take it easy, okay?” Misha instructed as he stepped back towards the door.
Jensen smiled at him briefly. “Thanks Misha,” he said before tucking his chin back onto Jared’s chest and shuffling himself into a more comfortable position.
“Night Misha and thanks,...for everything,” Jared said as he settled himself into Jensen’s embrace, saving a last wink for Misha as Jensen finally closed his eyes.
Misha smirked back at him, comforted that his friends would be okay.
~o0o~
28 weeks / 24 weeks
When Jared was finally released from the hospital, as promised, Misha ordered a week’s bed rest. Jensen planned to ensure that the only thing Jared would be doing was moving from their bed to pee and shower, maybe. Unfortunately, at 28 weeks pregnant with twins, this was a fairly frequent occurrence, but he could at least ensure that Jared wasn’t up for anything else. What he hadn’t figured on what Jared’s stubbornness and determination to not let him carry out his objective; Jensen take proper care of him. Four days into Jared’s bed rest and things were not going according to Jensen’s plan.
“Jensen, please just stop. The house is clean enough, come lay with me,” Jared whined loudly from the bedroom upstairs.
“I’ll be up shortly, I just want to finish getting this load of washing sorted and then I’ll be up with some lunch for you,” Jensen answered as he finished sorting the clothes into piles and started loading the washer with the rest of their laundry.
“Jensen! Seriously, stop...doing...e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g...and come up to bed with me. You are going to run yourself ragged and I’m going to need to look after you. You are pregnant too, remember?” Jared shouted, his frustration coming through his voice loud and clear.
Jensen quickly finished putting the washing detergent in, slammed the lid closed and quickly set it to wash.
“Okay, Okay, I’m coming. I’ll just get us something to eat and I’ll be up there, I promise,” Jensen soothed as he moved as quickly as he could into the kitchen.
“Fine! But hurry up, I don’t want you getting distracted with any other house work, okay?” Jared groaned.
In Jensen’s rush to get the lunches made as quickly as he could, he failed to notice the patch of water on the tiles near the sink, and as he went past it to get the cutting board of the dish drainer, his feet slid out from underneath him.
Jensen’s arm shot out to grab hold of the sink, but his slick fingers slipped off the edge and he landed on his hip with a heavy thump.
Pain instantly spiked up through his wrist and back and he couldn’t help the moan that escaped him as he immediately tried to pull himself back to standing. He had almost made it to his feet when he heard a cry behind him and Jared’s hands were bracing him, helping him regain his feet completely.
“What the hell happened? Are you okay?” Jared asked as his hands started to explore Jensen’s body in search of injuries.
“Hey whoa, I’m okay. I just slip on the water. What are you doing up? Misha told you bed rest Jared,” Jensen scolded as he turned to face Jared, unable to stop a wince when his bruised hip protested the movement.
“Oh my god, you fell! Did you hurt yourself? Are you feeling any pains?” Jared asked in a panic, his hands fluttering over Jensen’s torso along with his gaze.
“Jared, stop, I’m okay. A little bruise here or there maybe, but we’re fine. Stop fussing,” Jensen told him with a sigh as he grabbed Jared’s hands to stop them. Unfortunately, his wrist was not happy with his move and he gasped as a sharp throb of pain spiked up through his wrist into his forearm.
“Argh, god dammit, okay that hurt. Maybe I did hurt myself a little more than I thought,” Jensen cursed as he pulled his injured wrist protectively to his chest.
“Shit, Jen, you’ve probably broken it. Did you land on it when you fell?” Jared asked with concern pulling his still bruised face tight.
“Umm, don’t know, I guess. I’ll put some ice on it and it will be fine in a few days,” Jensen assured him as he moved off to gather their lunch supplies together.
“Hey, I’ll get that, you get the ice for your wrist. Come on, we can look after each other, alright?” Jared coaxed him as he rubbed a soothing hand into the back of Jensen’s shoulder.
Jensen rolled his eyes at him.
“Fine, have it your way,” he mumbled under his breath as he bent to grab a dish cloth out of the drawer with a groan and moved off with a slight limp to get the ice from the freezer.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you did a real number on yourself,” Jared asked softly, his concern overriding his frustration at the obvious pain Jensen was in.
Jensen smiled back at him as he pulled the ice from the freezer with his right hand and balanced the dish cloth on top of his huge belly.
“Hey, see that, this giant belly does come in handy for some things,” Jensen chuckled as he quickly wrapped the ice up one handed and lay the make-shift ice pack across his sore wrist with a light hiss of pain.
“You still didn’t answer me,” Jared whispered into Jensen’s ear as he slotted himself to Jensen’s side and slid his long arms around his husband’s shoulders.
Jensen leaned into Jared’s comforting warmth for a second before looking up at him and smiling his assurance that he was okay.
“Just a sprain, Jared, I’ll be just fine, I promise,” Jensen reassured him, trying to ignore the throbbing of his wrist despite the ice treatment.
“Funnily enough, I don’t trust you so let’s eat some lunch and then we are going to call Misha and let him decide what you should do,” Jared smirked as Jensen frowned at him.
“What? No, come on Jared, it was nothing. Definitely not something to bother Misha about. You know what he’s like, he’ll insist on coming over after work and that will just be a waste of his precious family time,” Jensen tried to reason as he pouted his displeasure at Jared’s suggestion.
“Nope, not budging on this on this one Jen, you’ll just have to get over it,” Jared said as he moved off to get their lunches from the fridge and transfer it all onto a tray.
“But...no...you...Fine! He can check you out while he’s here then,” Jensen finished with a smug, satisfied smile.
Jared glared over his shoulder at his husband.
“Cute Jen, very cute, but you’re still getting checked out. Maybe when Misha gives me a check up, he’ll take me off bed rest now I’m feeling that much better,” Jared said as he poked his tongue out at an infuriated Jensen.
Jensen huffed loudly and limped his way back up the stairs, following Jared to their bedroom with their lunches.
“Get comfy Jen, I’m just gonna have a potty break first,” Jared told him as he awkwardly placed the tray of food on the bed around his stomach.
Jensen pouted at him, resisting the urge to poke out his tongue and stoop to the same childish levels as Jared.
His wrist was sore, but it wasn’t that bad. Well, he was pretty sure it wasn’t broken. It was just fine so long as he didn’t move it too much.
He knew Jared was just looking out for him, but he was supposed to be looking after Jared, not the other way round.
Jensen sucked in his bottom lip, frowning his displeasure at the bathroom door in anticipation of Jared’s exit. His plan to continue being angry at Jared was killed instantly when Jared walked out of the bathroom minus his shirt, his huge belly on display.
Jensen couldn’t help but smile at him as Jared rubbed soothing circles into the tight skin as his twins moved visibly under his skin. Jensen never ceased to be awestruck by the beautiful sight of his children moving freely. His fingers itched to soothe them through the tightly stretched skin and let them know that their Papa was here and looking out for them too. Unable to resist any longer, he stretched out his right hand and made grabbing motions to indicate to Jared that he wanted a piece of the action. Jared beamed at him, clearly having been aiming to distract him with the sight all along. Jensen scowled at him briefly before whining pathetically until Jared rolled his eyes at him and moved onto the bed to join him, pushing aside their neglected lunches to the end of the bed.
“You just can’t resist it when they are active can you, babe?” Jared teased as he lay down on his side his belly facing an eager Jensen.
Jensen smiled before shuffling over with a brief wince to lay alongside him, his own big belly sliding under Jared’s so that each movement pushed into his own. This gave Jensen easy access to kiss and caress Jared’s belly as his children kicked and pushed into their siblings. Jensen grinned happily when he felt his own babies start to move around at the intrusion from above.
Jensen giggled as two of their babies pushed out at the same time and essentially pushed at each other.
“Look at that, they’re not even born yet and they are fighting over the attention from their Daddies. We are going to have our hands full with this lot,” Jensen grinned up at Jared.
Jared laughed as he smiled back at Jensen’s delight.
“Jen, we are going to have our hands full regardless if they are feisty or not. Five babies all at once...no way we aren’t going to be running from dusk ‘til dawn...and probably much of the time in between to start with,” Jared mused as he gently stroked his hand through Jensen’s hair.
Jensen frowned a little sheepishly at him. “Yeah, I guess you’re right there.” Jensen looked at Jared, his face suddenly very serious.
“Do you think I’ll make a good Dad,” he asked softly as he stroked his hand down the side of Jared’s belly, lingering slightly when a tiny foot pressed up to meet his hand.
Jared pulled Jensen’s chin up to look at him properly.
“Jen, I think you will be the best Daddy in the world. Look at you, you love these guys so much already, how could you not be an awesome Dad?” Jared questioned, all mocking gone from his tone.
Jensen smiled lopsidedly at him.
“I hope so. I’ve wanted this for so long and now that it’s so close I’m...well...I’m kind of scared that I’ll suck at it,” Jensen confessed as he bit at his bottom lip in anxiety.
Jared pulled Jensen’s head in to rest over the top of his belly and leaned down to kiss his hair and hold him close as he murmured into his hair, “I’m scared too babe, but I know that with you beside me I’ve been able to do things I never dreamed I could do, so I don’t doubt that we can do this too.”
Jensen pressed a gentle kiss into Jared’s belly and snuggled in so that there was no space between them. “How about we have a nap and then we can eat lunch and call Misha?” Jensen suggested, closing his eyes and getting comfortable.
Jared moved slightly against him, snuggling down to murmur into Jensen’s hair, “Mmm, sounds like a plan to me, but I’m still calling Misha.”
Jensen chuckled lightly, the vibrations going through both their bellies, causing all of their babies to move restlessly.
“Yes, yes, I get the hint, you are all out voting me, you can call Misha after we have a nap,” Jensen sighed as he relaxed into sleep, Jared’s gentle breaths into his hair, soothing him into sleep.
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