Badump. Badump. Badump.

"As far as I can tell everything looks great," Dr. Rominov informed with a smile as he kept the ultrasound wand on the side of Hyukjae's stomach while listening to one of the babies heartbeat. Then, he very slowly glided it across trying to find the second one. It took some maneuvering but after following the outline on the screen, they heard the second beat.

Dadum. Dadum. Dadum. Dadum.

"Ah! There it is!" He cheered then looked at Hyukjae with an even bigger smile on his face. "It's a little faster than the other one but still within the normal range. I hope you and your husband are runners cause this one might be trouble." He joked trying to keep the atmosphere light. He glanced towards Donghae - who was watching patiently on the side - and saw his eyes and mouth wide in awe.  "How is our future Dad of three feeling?" 

Donghae, upon hearing his question, closed his mouth and immediately changed it to a wide grin as he gently hugged Seowon close, who was still snuggly fitted into the baby carrier strapped in front of his chest. 

"Excited. Anxious. Scared." Donghae laughed nervously and grabbed Seowon's hand that was hanging in the air to play with. "Don't get me wrong. I'm totally ready. I just...don't know what to expect..."

Hyukjae imitated Donghae's nervous laughter cause he was feeling the same way. Having Seowon at three months old was scary enough. Now that he's starting the third trimester of his very much unplanned pregnancy, the reality of having two newborns was starting to settle in, and it was daunting to say the least. 

"I've seen hundreds of parents-to-be in this office and I have yet to meet ones who didn't feel the way you did at this stage." 

"So, everything's good then?" Hyukjae asked trying to divert the subject to something less anxiety inducing. 

Dr. Rominov turned to Hyukjae and happily nodded his head. "Everything's good. Although, I would recommend that you try and stay off your feet for the remainder of the term."

Hyukjae's face contorted in confusion. "Wh-Why?"

"It's just a precaution, don't worry," he assured while grabbing a couple of tissues to wipe the gel off Hyukjae's stomach. "The result of your blood test showed that your white count level has decreased from our last check up and your blood pressure was elevated as well. The next couple of weeks, you'll start to feel changes in your body as the boys further grow in your body. There's going to be significant weight added in that your spine or your ankles might not be able to handle."

Donghae didn't like the sound of that and covered Seowon's ears before asking, "Is he going to be okay? Should I be worried?"

"No, No. Do not worry." Dr. Rominov tried to maintain the same assurance he had earlier but at the same time, couldn't down play the risk of it all. "I've been reading many studies about Hyukjae's case." 

"Weren't there only three documented cases like this?" Donghae asked, not at all optimistic at the statistic given to him. 

Dr. Rominov just smiled, eyes crinkling slightly before saying, "I've read these cases many times over. There's also some research I've done personally myself. Back home in Russia, a long long time ago, I've come across a patient just like Hyukjae." 

"You have?" Donghae sounded surprised and adjusted his hold on Seowon now that he saw her head was drooping a little on the side. "How did it go?" 

"There were...some complications that we didn't expect so I want to establish as many precautions as possible with Hyukjae-ssi before it could happen. We are, afterall, still very much in uncharted territory." He said then turned to Hyukjae and squeezed his wrist to give him a bit of encouragement. "I will do everything I can to make sure you and your babies see this through the end. If you feel anything different at all, no matter how small, even if you think it's just indigestion or headache, give me a call. No symptom is too small or insignificant, okay?" 

"Okay," Hyukjae replied with a nod of his head. 

Dr. Rominov was satisfied with that response and collected Hyukjae's chart together before leaving the parents to be in the room to have some private time. Donghae walked closer to Hyukjae and held his hand while using the other to support Seowon's body. She was fast asleep in her carrier which allowed the two men in the room to have a private discussion. 

"How are you feeling?" Donghae asked while grazing his thumb over Hyukjae's hand. 

"Uh...okay, I guess." Hyukjae looked at Seowon's peaceful sleeping face then at Donghae and couldn't help but smile gently when he saw that worried look in his eyes. "Don't worry, Hae. I'm fine. Everything's going to be okay." 

Donghae took a deep breath to calm his nerves and squeezed Hyukjae's hand tight before bringing it up close to his face and kissing the back of his hand. He would have leaned close to kiss the top of his head but didn't want to wake Seowon up in the process. 

"Don't hide anything from me, okay?"

Hyukjae knew the meaning behind Donghae's words and just squeezed his hand back to let him know that there's nothing to worry about. Hyukjae fixed himself up and tried to push himself off the reclined bed he was laying on but due to the heavy weight of his stomach, gravity has not been his friend. Donghae had his back Hyukjae as he tried to carefully gather their things together without waking Seowon up in the process. 

Hyukjae struggled quietly trying to turn on his side, then to the other, then giving up before going back and tried to give pushing himself up off the chair another go, but no matter how hard he tried or which direction he went, there was no scenario in his head where he didn't feel like losing his balance and falling on the ground. The anxiety of failing to get up from the chair he was sitting on was causing his heart rate to rise which in turn caused his breathing to go heavy. Donghae finally finished packing and as he was putting on the baby bag on his shoulder, he turned and saw the other struggling. 

Quick to act on his feet, Donghae placed one hand on Seowon's stomach to keep her steady against his chest as he rushed to help his husband up from the chair. 

"Hey, be careful. I told you to tell me if you needed help." 

Hyukjae grunted but did accept Donghae's help and let him give the force he needed to push himself off the seat he was trapped in.

"Thank you," he mumbled then held his lower back to keep himself upright. "I can't wait for these two to get out of me." 

Donghae frowned and wanted to help Hyukjae walk out of the room but then he heard Seowon whimper which immediately diverted his attention. He tried to gently bounce her up and down to soothe her but not even a minute later and she was already kicking and crying that Donghae had no choice but to get her out of the carrier in order to carry her properly. Hyukjae turned around from his spot and watched Donghae struggle with calming her down. 

He felt guilty that he couldn't reach over to hold her anymore. Not for the lack of trying but it's been considerably hard for him to keep himself balanced that just thinking about carrying her and them falling over together was giving him nightmares. Something that he hasn't quite had the time to share with anyone....or with Donghae. 

"Ssh..hey, it's okay." Donghae dropped the baby carrier attached to his body on the ground and focused on calming Seowon down but it didn't help that she kept turning around to look for Hyukjae while crying her eyes out. He looked at his husband helpless but even he could tell that Hyukjae wouldn't be able to carry her the way she wanted to be held. "It's okay, baby. We're gonna go home with Hyukkie Appa soon." 

"Appa..." she cried out, hands reaching forward for Hyukjae to get her but all the other could do was hold her hand against his while giving Donghae an apologetic look. 

Hyukjae wiped Seowon's tears off her face and rubbed her back to keep her settled in Donghae's arms. That seemed to have done the trick, as her cries lessened to soft sniffles and she was able to rest her head comfortably on Donghae's broad shoulders. 

"Sorry, Seowonnie," Hyukjae cooed softly while glancing every now and then at Donghae. "We'll get home soon, okay?"

Seowon didn't say anything but kept her eyes on Hyukjae. She watched him closely then very lightly nodded her head to what he said. Hyukjae was satisfied with that and leaned forward kiss her cheeks before turning to Donghae to see if he was till doing okay. 

"That's so not fair." Donghae pouted as he blindly crouched down to get the straddle he dropped earlier and readjusted his hold on Seowon's baby bag to keep it from falling off. He looked down to see how Seowon was doing but all he could see was a fistful of her hair as she kept her head turned towards Hyukjae. "How can she still like you more than me? I carry her all the time. We're bonding."

Hyukjae laughed at Donghae's complaint and pinched his cheeks as he kept his hand on his shoulder so Seowon can continue to grip onto his fingers.  

"It's not a competition, meongcheong-ah." Hyukjae said to him but then followed it up with, "I'm obviously just her favorite." 

Donghae pursed his lips together to try and hide the smile he felt coming hearing Hyukjae's joke, and tried to contain his laughter by rubbing Seowon's back as a distraction and keeping his head looking straight so the other couldn't see his face as they walked out of the office. "Just watch. I'm going to spoil her silly that she's gonna start looking for me whenever I leave the room."

Hyukjae snickered before sarcastically saying, "Oh yeah, sure. Go ahead and buy our daughter's love. That's great parenting." 

"You're just nervous it might work."

"Please." Hyukjae scoffed and cooed at Seowon while shaking the hand she was holding causing her to giggle. He and Donghae shared a brief eye contact in which he smirked while Donghae stuck his tongue out at him. "She's literally wrapped her hand around my finger. I don't know how you're going to compete with that." 

"Dada." 

Hyukjae looked at Seowon who was still holding onto his finger and smiling while staring at it. Donghae chuckled hearing her words and kissed the top of her head. 

The two of them continued to bicker, walking at a slow pace so that Hyukjae doesn't feel rushed, and simply enjoyed their time together. Seowon remained quiet for most of the walk as she got comfortable in Donghae's arms and enjoyed the sight of Hyukjae walking right by her side. Completely unaware of his parent's bickering on who she loved more. 

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Several days after the last appointment, and sure enough, Hyukjae's body continued to change. Now that his ankles had swollen to the point where his current shoes no longer fit, Dr. Rominov has now ordered him to be in complete bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy which he hated. It wouldn't be so bad if the bad aches would let him sleep. What's the point of being in bed if you can't sleep?!

"Ugh!" Hyukjae tilted his head back in annoyance while pushing the plate of pancakes Donghae tried to give him for breakfast away. "No. No more food. I'm turning into freaking piglet just sitting here, eating and laying around all the time." 

Donghae sighed at his husband's continued complaints and placed the plate down on a nearby table before taking both of Hyukjae's hands into his and crouching down so that they were at eye level. 

"I know you're bored but it's only gonna be for several more weeks. It's not good for you to walk anyway since your feet hurts when you stand."

Hyukjae groaned and looked towards Seowon's play area where she was currently busy trying to figure out her shapes to pay them any attention. 

"It's not just about being bored, Hae." Hyukjae sighed and looked around the boxes in the living room and the half propped christmas tree by the TV. Donghae was so excited for them to celebrate their first christmas together as a family but he couldn't even stand to help put an ornament o