“Hey, Micah,” Jasper said, ignoring Tessa’s tirade and offering him a tired smile. “You’ll have to excuse my wife. She hasn’t slept in four days and pushed the equivalent of two six-pound bowling balls out of her vagina less than 48 hours ago.” He touched his lips to the side of her head, and to Micah’s surprise, pressed a kiss into his hair as well. “What she means to say is that she was really worried, and she’s so glad you’re okay. We both are. After all, she knows you didn’t get kidnapped on purpose, right?” He eyed his wife pointedly at this.

Tessa glared at her husband, but when she turned her gaze back onto Micah, it had noticeably softened. “Want to meet my babies?”

Micah was nervous to hold something – someone – so small, especially with only one arm, but there was no universe in which he would ever deny her, so he nodded and watched as Tessa picked up one of the infants and cradled him to her chest before placing him in Micah’s arms.

He’d seemed tiny in the cart, but somehow, the baby was even smaller up close. He was wrinkly, with an egg-shaped head, even with the cap on – probably from being squished through the birth canal. He was also the most perfect thing Micah had ever seen. He could count his little baby eyelashes, and his button nose scrunched adorably as he yawned before turning his face into Micah’s nonexistent cleavage and resettling back into sleep.

Micah was struck by the fact this experience had almost been ripped away from him – his life had nearly been ripped away from him – and suddenly, without his permission, tears were streaming down his face.

With both hands occupied, there was no way to hide the fact he was crying, and Tessa – who had picked up the other twin – burst into her own tears at the sight. Soon enough, they were both sobbing, being careful not to crush the babies wedged between them as they huddled together.

Abram coughed awkwardly into his hand, clearly alarmed at the sudden onslaught of waterworks. “Er-”

“Don’t worry,” Jasper assured, carefully taking one baby from Tessa and then the other from Micah before relocating them back into the cart. “It’s mostly the hormones, I reckon. Want to see if we can find a vending machine? I’m not sure about Micah, but chocolate tends to perk Tessa up.”

Latching onto any excuse to leave the room, Abram nodded. “Yes, please.”

Micah wasn’t sure how long they sat there, crying into each other’s arms – a sweet release of their pent-up emotions – but by the time their tears ran dry, Tessa had managed to squeeze herself into the bed with him – possible only because of her recently shrunken stomach – and was stroking his hair.

When he felt calm enough to do so, Micah picked up the whiteboard.

Names?