"Oh shit," Matt grumbled. "We need to be prepared then." It was funny seeing him say that because his expression looked just like his sister's. He and Gabby looked exactly alike with their dark hair and green eyes.

About that time, a car door slammed outside and I heard Gabby's animated voice shouting with excitement. I didn't even have to bother with the door because she barged in, with Paxton and Mason right behind her.

"Where's my little man at?" she asked, smiling at her brother and Shelby. Then her eyes went wide and she did a double take, focusing on Shelby's stomach. "And I do believe I've missed something."

Mason stood beside her, oblivious to Gabby and her gaping mouth. "He's with Claire and the kids. Madison begged your brother to let him stay and when my daughter wants something, she gets it."

"Just like her daddy?" Gabby said, crossing her arms at her chest, turning her glare to Shelby and Matt. Paxton smirked, shaking his head. He knew she was about to charge in on her brother and his wife.

Mason winked. "You know me well."

Matt put his arm around Shelby, knowing Gabby was about to scold them. "Okay, the cat is out of the bag. Go ahead and say it," he said, trying hard not to chuckle.

"Why didn't you tell me you guys were gonna have another baby?"

Shelby sighed and her smile slowly began to fade. I knew she had a miscarriage a long time ago late in her pregnancy. She had to deliver the baby and everything, knowing that the chance of survival was slim to none. I had that same fear when I was afraid I was going to lose my twins a few months ago. If I had lost them, I honestly don't know how I would've recovered.

By the look in Shelby's eyes, Gabby sighed and pulled her into a hug. "No need to answer that, Shelby. Stupid me should've known. Is everything okay? No problems?"

Shelby's smile was back. "None. I think we're good to go. You're brother's hoping for a little girl this time."

Once she let Shelby go, she marched over to me. "Speaking of babies, how are my niece and nephew doing? I haven't talked to you in days. Where have you been?" Matt and Shelby both tried to conceal their chuckles and failed. Gabby heard them and glared back and forth at all of us. "What else am I missing here?"

Biting my lip, I held out my hand so she could see the wedding band. "I kind of got married," I informed her sheepishly, but then quickly added, "But we're still having a big wedding in October. I can't not have my fall wedding."

A small smile splayed across her lips. "Well, it's about time you did something smart," she quipped. "I never understood why you two wanted to wait so long anyway."

"So you're not mad?" I asked incredulously.

"No, silly. You said it yourself, you're still having a big wedding. I at least get to have fun with that. I'm just glad Ryley got what he wanted. I knew he wanted to get married before the twins were born."

"And how did you know that?" he asked, lifting his brows.

She grinned from ear to ear and looked back and forth at us. "Because, you two are my best friends. I think I know you better than you know yourselves. Besides, I had a feeling you cave and do it."

"It's true," Paxton said. His bright green eyes glanced humorously over at her. "She's been saying for days she felt you two were keeping something from her. It wasn't hard to guess."

"Well now that the secrets are out, are you all ready to get started?" Shelby asked. "I have lots to ask you." Setting down her bag, she pulled out a tape recorder, a notepad, and a pen. Everyone gathered around the living room and took their seats. Ryley put his arm around me and I snuggled into his side.

Clearing her throat, Shelby got comfortable in her seat and smiled. "I know before, given the nature of the circumstances, you weren't allowed to speak about what happened. Now time has passed, Mason assures me that you can discuss the details of those fateful nights. Is that right, Mason?"

Nodding, he crossed his leg at the knee, all calm and collected. Mason was UFC royalty. He was the bad ass to beat all bad asses. You couldn't go to a match and not hear his name whispered among the crowd. When a new fighter came into the scene, they were always compared to him.

"Okay, here we go," Shelby started. "Let's begin with you, Ryley. Why don't you start by telling me how you felt when your brother didn't show up for the title fight?"

Ryley blew out a breath and chuckled. "Oh hell, here we go."

Chapter Eleven.

Ashleigh For two hours, I sat listening to Ryley talk about everything that happened to us. It was strange hearing it from his point of view. We didn't talk about that night often. It was best to leave it as a bad memory and move on.

After Shelby listened to our story, she put a hand over her heart and sighed. "Wow, I don't know what to say. I've heard stories about what happened, but never in this kind of detail."

"Just wait," Gabriella cut in. "You haven't heard mine and Paxton's yet."

"Are you two ready to begin?" Shelby asked.

Gabby looked over at Paxton and smiled. "It all started when Paxton gave me his terms. Needless to say, I owed him for helping me and Ash get Ryley out of the Dark Side."

I hadn't heard all the details about their situation, so I was interested to see how it all played out. Sitting on the edge of my seat, I listened attentively. "So what exactly were Paxton's terms?"

Gabby bit her lip and sheepishly glanced over at her brother. Paxton, on the other hand, sat beside her and smirked. Before she could reply, I felt something pop deep within my belly. I sat there frozen, afraid to move, but apparently I wasn't the only one who heard it.

"What was that?" Ryley asked.

The second I moved, a gush of fluid soaked my underwear and it wasn't stopping. "Oh my God. I think my water just broke," I gasped. Ryley jumped to his feet and so did everyone else.

"Are you having contractions?" Shelby asked. I just sat there, holding my stomach. She rushed over to me and looked in my eyes. I must've been in shock because I couldn't seem to talk. "Do you have a bag packed? Because, honey, you're going to need to go to the hospital. Those twins are coming soon."

My pants were soaked now. "I need to change clothes," I said, feeling oddly embarrassed. It looked like I pissed on myself.

"Come on, angel. We need to get you out of here," Ryley said quickly. Gabby rushed to my side while Ryley was on the other and they helped me up the stairs to my room. Ryley got my bag out of the closet which was already packed and ready to go.

"Ryley," I called. Breathing hard, his head jerked in my direction. The poor thing looked more nervous than me and it made me laugh. "Call Christine and tell her what's going on. Tell her we'll be there in twenty minutes." While he dialed her number, Gabby helped me change clothes. The only problem was, the fluid was still coming out. "What should I do? A pad isn't going to keep me dry."

"Uh, let's see what we can do," Gabby stammered, searching around the room. She took off for the bathroom and then came out with a towel. "Here, put this inside your pants."

I held it in my hands, gaping at her incredulously. "You can't be serious. It's gonna look like I have a diaper on."

"Well, it's better than looking like you pissed yourself. It'll keep you somewhat dry."

She actually had a point, so I stuffed the towel between my legs and put on a new pair of pants. By the time we got downstairs, the car was all warmed up and ready to go. Ryley took my hand and led me down the stairs with Gabby and Pax close by.

"Pax and I will follow you there," Gabby exclaimed.

Once in the car, Ryley sped us down the mountain to the highway. "Christine said she would meet us there. Are you having any contractions?"

It just so happened my stomach started clenching, and the pain expanded from my stomach to my back. I'd never felt it there before. "I think they're starting up," I told him. "It hurts a lot more."

His foot pressed down on the gas and I grabbed his hand. "Ryley, honey, slow down. I'm not having the twins in the car. I think we have a little bit of time."

He squeezed my hand and held it. "I know. I guess I'm just a little nervous."

"So am I, but I promise we'll get through it together."

"Does that mean you're not gonna be yelling at me to get the fuck away from you? I've seen plenty of movies like that."

The pain heightened and I hissed. Holy shit that came quick. "No," I grumbled, leaning over. "I can't do this without you."

Chapter Twelve.

Ryley I was trying to keep calm for Ashleigh, but I was freaking the fuck out inside. She didn't seem to be worried, so I took that as a sign I needed to calm down. The whole way to the hospital I could see the pain in her eyes each time she had a contraction. There was nothing I could do to help her and it was killing me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I felt so goddamned helpless. By the time I got her to the hospital and out of the car, she could barely walk. Luckily, Gabby and Paxton were there.

"You guys stay with her and I'll go inside and get her a wheelchair," Paxton shouted, rushing off inside.

Gabby watched him run off while holding onto Ashleigh's arm. "This is going to be you one day," Ashleigh teased her.

Gabby scoffed. "Not anytime soon. I'll be happy to take care of yours, knowing I can give them back."

About that time, Paxton came storming out with a nurse in tow, wheeling a chair with her. Gabby and I guided Ashleigh to the wheelchair and the nurse started pushing her inside, asking all sorts of questions.

"You doing okay?" Gabby asked as we followed.

"Fuck, if I know. I don't like seeing her in pain. I'd do anything to take it from her."

Gabby held onto my arm and squeezed. "I know you would, but what she needs right now is to have you by her side. When she's in pain, talk her down. Talk about the things that make you both happy. Do whatever you can to get her mind off the pain."

"Have you preregistered?" the nurse asked me.

"Yes," I replied quickly. "We did it a few days ago." Ashleigh was already in their system and ready to go. The last thing we wanted to do when we got there was to have to fill out a shit ton of paperwork.

The nurse wheeled Ashleigh into the elevator and well all got on with her. She was breathing hard, a sheen of sweat had broken out across her brow. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and kept up with her breathing. "It just hurts."

When the elevator door opened, the nurse took us to a room. Gabby grabbed my arm before I could go in. "I'm going to wait out here with Pax. Let me know if you need anything. I know you two need to do this together and I don't want to interfere."

She put her arms around my waist and I hugged her tight. "Thanks, Gabby. I'll keep you all updated." When I got inside the room, Ashleigh was given a hospital gown and told to change. As soon as the nurse left, I helped her take off her clothes.

She held up the pair of meshy underwear the nurse gave her and large pad she was to put on and laughed. "Wow."

I didn't ask, I just watched her put it on the way she was supposed to and kept my mouth shut. All of this was so foreign to me. I had no clue what the fuck to do. Taking her hand, I helped her up on the bed and pulled the blanket over her legs.

"Are you comfortable?"

She doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach. I took that as a no.

"The contractions," she cried, taking a deep breath. "They came so fast."

I brushed the hair out of her face and held her hand. She squeezed it tight when another contraction blasted through her. I wanted to get someone in there to help her, but I didn't want to leave her side.

My prayers were answered when Christine bounded through the door looking at Ashleigh's chart, with another nurse on her heels. The nurse came straight over to Ashleigh and started plugging her up to various machines. Her name tag said her name was Jeannie. The way she handled Ashleigh made me like her even more.

Christine put the chart down and leaned against the bed while Jeannie put the IV in Ashleigh's vein. "How far apart are the contractions?" she asked, looking at us both.

"I don't know. We were in the car when they started to fire up and they've steadily gotten worse since we've been here."

Ashleigh nodded in agreement, still concentrating on her breathing.

Christine washed her hands and gloved up. "Okay, Ashleigh. I'm going to see how far you've come along. If you've dilated more from the other day, I don't think we'll be able to give you an epidural. Do you know what that means?"

"Yes," she ground out through clenched teeth. "I have to do this au natural." She laughed, but I could tell it was forced. Once Christine had Ashleigh spread open, she checked her out and her eyes went wide.

"What is it?" I asked, moving closer. Ashleigh started to breathe harder, her face scrunched up in pain.

"These babies are coming now."

Jeannie rushed out of the room, while Christine went to the sink and started scrubbing down. It was all happening so fast. More people entered the room, bringing all sorts of machines in their wake.

Ashleigh squeezed my hand. "It's okay, it's normal. The nurses have to be in here and I'm pretty sure they're bringing in extras because we're having twins." She grimaced in pain and cried out when another contraction hit. According to the machine, it was a bad one.

Talk her through the pain. "Angel," I murmured, brushing the hair off her face. When she focused on me, I continued, "Do you remember the first time we went to the beach?"

"Yes," she ground out. "Our first date."

As soothingly as I could, I murmured low, "I want you to think about the ocean and how you always loved the way the waves sounded as they crashed against the shore. Close your eyes and imagine you're there. We walked along that beach for hours picking up shells. I'll admit, I'd never done that with anyone before, but I loved doing it with you."

"That's not . . . all," she said, squeezing her eyes shut. I looked over at the machine and she was at the peak of another contraction. She was so fucking strong.

"What did I forget?" I asked, wiping the sweat off of her forehead.

This time she opened her eyes. "It's something I never told you. That day at the beach was the first time I realized I loved you. I was just too scared to tell you."

"And now look at us. You're my wife and about to push out two Jameson babies. I'd have to say you're fucking Wonder Woman right now." That made her laugh, but then she cried out when another contraction struck.

Christine had finally come back, masked and gloved with two nurses. "It's time you two. Ashleigh, when I tell you to push, do it as hard as you can. I want this to go as smoothly as possible. Both babies are down, so once we get baby number one out, we'll get you prepared for baby number two. I'll try to give you a small break in between."

"Okay," Ashleigh replied. "I'm just ready to see them."

Once she was in position, Christine looked straight at me and nodded toward Ashleigh. The hardest part was about to come.

"You can do this, Ash. I'm right here and I'm not leaving your side. I love you so fucking much."

"I love . . . you too."