Siwon and the others hurried through the various terminals and security checkpoints toward the airport exit. Yesung had called Wookie and told them all that their band mates had already been taken back to their hotel for the night. 

Their doctor and the company had advised them to terminate, but Siwon already knew that things couldn’t be that simple. They got into this mess together, so they should be together to decide what to do. Kangin helped him throw everyone’s luggage into the van that was taking them to the hotel and everyone piled in. 

No one spoke, and he knew it was because they were all too worried. This would affect not only the members’ health but each of their families and Super Junior’s whole future as performers. 

It was raining and Siwon figured that it matched the mood in the van as it pulled out into the darkened city streets.

Hotel staff came out to greet them but no one was in the mood to waste time with their luggage or anything else. After checking in at the front desk Siwon went straight up to their reserved rooms and found their missing members in Sungmin’s room.

Heechul hopped off of the chair at the desk and threw his arms around his neck and held on tight. Siwon gently squeezed him back while Sungmin scowled at Kangin as he and the others stepped in behind him.

They all embraced before Ryeowook let Yesung pull him into his lap as he sat on one of the overstuffed chairs near the window.

Leeteuk sighed and let Kangin hold his hand for a moment. 

“Alright,” Their manager said moving to the door. “There will be time to talk in the morning. We will be going to the clinic in the morning to have some more tests done before we meet with Doctor Brooks again.”

They separated into pairs reluctantly, Siwon lead Heechul to another room but not before hugging Sungmin. 

Kangin shut the door behind them and turned to face Sungmin slowly. 

“I won’t do it,” Sungmin warned him without getting up.

That wasn’t what Kangin had expected to hear so he was startled. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know. The company has already said that we should have the operation and I’m not doing it.” Sungmin snapped, turning away from him stubbornly.

“Wait- I never said I wanted you to.”

“You- what?”

“Sungmin, look at me,” Kangin said, pulling the other into his arms. “There is nothing between me and anyone else. I still love you and I don’t want to fight with you anymore. If you want to go through with this, then I will be here too. Hell, Siwon thinks this is the best news ever, since he will finally get to move back into the dorm with us.”

“But what do you think, hyung?”

“I think it is a miracle and that whatever happens, we need to stay together.”

Sungmin huffed and scowled at him. “You say that now but then you’ll go sleep with Leader-shi again.”

“You’ve always been jealous of him with me but I love you.”

“Two years ago you told me that you were just using me. How do I trust you after that? Especially with the way you have been so secretive lately…” Sungmin moved to the chair next to the large balcony.

“I know, and I’m sorry. I regret those words every day. But I didn’t come here to fight.” Kangin sighed; he slid off the bed and knelt down in front of Sungmin as he pulled something from his jacket pocket. “I know that I’ve made a lot of mistakes and maybe I don’t deserve another chance, but I have to say this. I want you to marry me. As for me being kind of secretive lately, I asked the others to help me pick this out.”

Sungmin hated to admit it but he loved Kangin too much to refuse out of anger. He still wasn’t expecting the ring to be so beautiful though. Kangin opened the velvet ring box and Sungmin gasped as the lamp light shimmered across the huge pink solitaire in the center of the wide, intricate platinum band.

“Manager-hyung will freak out when he sees that,” Sungmin warned him, but couldn’t take his eyes off of it.

Kangin smiled. “That’s ok it isn’t for him- or anyone else. I got it for you.”

“It’s beautiful… and I want to trust you but I’m scared that you’ll change your mind again.”

“I promise I won’t. You put me through hell for months now because of what I said and I know I deserved it. No matter what happens- you and I are one.”

“But how did you get a ring like that so fast? It isn’t plastic, is it?” 

Kangin looked horrified. “I’d hope not. The stone is a pink sapphire- five carats and the band is platinum. I regretted what I said immediately but I was being stubborn and a jerk so I didn’t even try to take it back. I’ve been bothering the others for months, trying to figure out a way to propose to you and nothing was working.”

“Wait. You mean that you were going to ask me even before this happened?” Sungmin was shocked, pointing at his still nearly flat belly.

“Yes, I just couldn’t find the right words. So, will you? I mean, will you marry me and be mine forever?” 

“Yes.”

Kangin pulled Sungmin into his arms and finally released the breath that he hadn’t realized that he’d been holding as he slipped the glittering ring onto Sungmin’s finger. “I love you, Lee Sungmin.”

“But…” Sungmin paused and looked at him worriedly. “What if not all of the babies are yours?”

Kangin just smiled and kissed him. “You are mine, so all of your babies are mine automatically too.”

Sungmin smiled back, settling onto Kangin’s lap, facing him, “So, just like that you’ll be fine with 4 kids?”

Kangin wrapped Sungmin in his arms, enjoying the younger male’s warmth and weight against his body. “Yep, just like that.”

“Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”

Kangin frowned. “You aren’t changing your mind are you?”

Sungmin shook his head and sighed looking away. “No, but you know how harsh people can be…”

“We can’t change what they think, but we have to be who we are. If all of this fame and stuff is over, I’ll be fine as long as I have you.”

“But men can’t even get married in Korea anyway…”

“Then we’ll have to do it somewhere else.” 

Sungmin scowled. “You are making all of this sound really simple, and it isn’t, hyung.”

“Of course it is. Besides, I can’t help it, I’m happy- like incredibly happy right now.”

Sungmin rolled his eyes. “Thanks, captain obvious…”

“Just for tonight, let’s be happy that we are together again,” Kangin purred, grasping Sungmin’s and pulling him more tightly against his hips. 

Sungmin shivered but couldn’t argue with that idea. He was already half hard and Kangin’s firm, talented hands were quickly compounding the problem. 

Rather than talk though, Sungmin kissed him and Kangin groaned as he kissed him back.

The soft sound made Sungmin’s jump and he began to rock his hips smoothly against Kangin’s. They stayed like that for a while, their fully dressed bodies pleasurably entwined in that slow, sensual dance before Kangin broke their kiss with a ragged breath. 

“, I want you already…” Kangin growled.

“Then take me.” Sungmin purred, kissing him again.

“A-Are you sure? I mean that won’t hurt the- our babies?”

Sungmin smiled but continued to rock against him seductively. “Dr. Brooks didn’t actually say, but pregnant women are allowed to have up until their last month. So we still have-”

“That’s great, but you aren’t a woman.”

“Good thing too or you wouldn’t be hard right now,” Sungmin writhed against him, and then tried to kiss him again but Kangin gave him a stern look and held him still.

Kangin snorted. “Will you be serious?”

“I’m seriously starting to think you don’t really want me…” Sungmin hissed and tried to pull away but Kangin easily held him still again.

“Of course I want you. I just don’t think it is a good idea to act on it until the doctor says it is okay.”

“I’ll just call the clinic then,” Sungmin said reaching for his phone.

“Tomorrow,” Kangin told him calmly. “That will be soon enough.”

“Then what are we supposed to do all night?” Sungmin looked around. The TV looked almost tempting but all of the shows would be in English, a language he only partially understood.

“I just got off the airplane so I’d like to try sleeping,” Kangin yawned. “With you.”

They got into their pajamas and crawled into bed in each others arms. The TV was on softly but neither was really watching it. Sungmin was looking at the pink jewel set into his elegant engagement ring; it shone more brightly than any gem he’d ever seen before. He still thought it looked like a gigantic pink diamond.

Sungmin hated to admit it, but he started to fall asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. Having Kangin’s arms around him again, he could almost believe that everything would be okay…

Another day of testing and meetings with their doctor turned into another bitter argument with their manager. But they’d won- at least for now. Sungmin and Ryeowook were still stubbornly opposed to the idea of doing anything to the fragile new lives that were growing inside them.

Yesterday, Heechul was the only one who’d supported the doctor’s suggestion to have the operation and Sungmin was glad to see that Siwon had changed his mind over night. 

Teuki was still very quiet but seemed very relieved to have Eunhyuk and Donghae on either side of him. Both of the new arrivals were convinced that having the operation would be a mistake as well. Shindong was prepared to support his group mates whole heartedly and Henry and Zhoumi were flying in this afternoon for tonight’s press conference too.

Sungmin was pretty sure that Yesung hadn’t stopped holding Ryeowook’s hand since they had met them at the hotel last night. Kangin was just as bad when it came to his bunny though, he grinned to himself. Heechul on the other hand was restless, he spent long moments pacing before Siwon was able to coax him into his arms again. Heechul would stay there for a while and then get up to start pacing again. 

When Doctor Brooks came back in with a couple of nurses, Sungmin raised his hand. “Oh! I almost forgot. Hey, I have a question!”

Kangin smacked himself in the face, and shook his head quietly.

“What is it, Sungmin?” The American asked while getting ready to take his pulse.

“Can we still have ?”

Heechul choked and ended up spitting water across the table that squirted the IPad that Kyuhyun was playing with. 

“Hyung!” Kyu exclaimed, frantically wiping the device off with a pair of tissues.

“Sungmin-ah!” Heechul growled. “Give us some warning next time you’re going to do that!”

“Sorry, but my fiancé wouldn’t have with me last night because he was afraid that it might hurt the babies somehow.”

Everyone laughed but Kangin, who scowled. Sungmin noticed almost immediately that the doctor wasn’t laughing with them either.

The doctor hesitated. “Well, that is something I’ve been meaning to talk to all of you about. Because this is such a special case, maybe it would be best to limit your ual activity.”

Ryeowook’s eyes suddenly tripled in size. “Do you think it might hurt the babies?”

The doctor shook his head. “No. It should still be early enough in your pregnancies that the babies shouldn’t be at risk. I am worried about something else- especially with you, Sungmin.”

“Me?” Sungmin asked.

“Let me explain.” The doctor smiled and took his hand. “During a normal pregnancy, a woman’s body produces a pheromone that keeps her body from becoming pregnant again while her first embryo develops. I’d be willing to bet that Alison didn’t give any of that chemical to you guys because you aren’t female. I think that her research lead her to believe that it might cause your bodies to abort your pregnancies altogether, rather than protecting them. That is why Sungmin has 4 babies and why Teuki has two.”

“So… You mean they aren’t like- twins?” Kibum asked.

The doctor sighed. “That’s correct. There are... significant differences on the sonograms.”

“Doctor?” A young nurse stuck her head in the conference room, “Are you still planning to go ahead with the press conference today? A spokesman from the venue just called. He said everything is ready and the limo is waiting out back.”

“Thanks, April,” He turned and looked at the young man that was managing Super Junior. “Do you still want me to go?”

Their manager nodded. And the doctor sighed. “Okay, let’s go.”

He lead them trough the clinic and out the back door into their underground parking lot, he was glad that he wasn’t driving. It was almost eerily quiet inside the sleek black limo. 

Though he had worked with a lot of celebrities since coming to New York, he was glad that even in Manhattan, most of his patients were not famous people. Still, compared to the other celebrities he’d worked with, this large group of Korean boys was remarkably easy to get along with. Now that he had figured out which one was which, he was glad to have met them.

Still, being famous and pregnant at their age? He didn’t envy them one bit and he truly hoped that their fans would stand by them. What they were doing was incredibly brave- not only in having their babies but to tell the world about it.

“Thank you all for coming today,” Their manager said, in Korean. Cameras flashed and Sungmin noticed a sharp pain in his belly. After a few moments it went away though so he just squeezed Kangin’s hand and hoped that nothing was wrong. 

Leeteuk accepted the microphone and they did their trademark introduction. “We are Super Junior. I’m sure that our fans have been wondering why we have cancelled a few of our scheduled appearances in the last few weeks to come to America. Well, four of our members including me are pregnant.”

“What?” The foyer of the large media station was thrown into chaos immediately. Journalists speaking English, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Thai were all shouting questions at once.

“Quiet please,” Dr. Brooks said. “The boys have asked me to introduce myself. I am Dr. James Brooks, their prenatal care specialist. They were unaware that they targeted for what we are calling a vicious prank. But rather than have an operation to terminate their pregnancies, they have decided to come forward with it. And we must announce that Leeteuk, Heechul, Sungmin and Ryeowook will be taking a break from all of their group's activities to concentrate on their health-”

The pain in Sungmin’s belly came back, keeping him from listening any more. The pain was more severe this time and it lasted longer, suddenly forcing him to sit down on a near by folding chair.

“Sungmin?” Kangin asked, leaning over him. “Are you okay?”

“Doctor Brooks!” Ryeowook tapped the American on the shoulder. “Something’s wrong with Sungmin- he’s white as a ghost.” 

“It’s fine. Go with them.” Their manager took the mic and gave him a tight smile. “I’ll take care of the rest, but Kibum, I might need your help to answer their questions.”

Kibum nodded reluctantly and watched the others leave; noting that Sungmin didn’t seem to know or care what was going on anymore. Even with the others supporting him he seemed to be in tremendous pain.

Dr. Brooks called ahead to his staff and the clinic was a flurry of activity as they arrived. Kangin and Eunhyuk helped Sungmin into a wheelchair and from there he was whisked into an examination room. 

Two hours later, Sungmin awoke in a hospital bed wearing a hospital gown. His belly still hurt but his head was swimming and he knew he wouldn’t be able to get up yet. “Hey,” Kangin whispered from his other side, gently squeezing his hand. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know, what happened back there?”

“You went into labor- or at least your body tried to.”

“What? So early?” Sungmin’s eyes welled up with tears. “Did we lose the babies?”

“Shh,” Kangin squeezed his hand gently. “She’s fine, but to save her you had to be given an emergency C-section. No sudden movements or getting out of bed unsupervised- because the other three are not ready to come out yet.” 

“I don’t understand- how could she be okay this early?”

“I don’t really understand it either, but I’ve held her. Our baby is perfect. You’re going to love her and-”

“Hey!” Yesung knocked frantically on their door. “Has anyone seen Dr.Brooks?”

“What’s wrong?” Kangin asked.

“I think Ryeowook is having labor pains too!” 

Sungmin tried to get up but Kangin held him down. “I’ll go. You stay here. They need you to rest.”