shimmerandsing | Follow the sound of my heartbeat, now.

Once again, Alison found herself in the Nexus office of Dr. Beverly Crusher. She was laying on the exam table and trying very hard to hold still as she waited for the doctor to get her equipment set up. Today was they day they would hear their babies heartbeats for the very first time. The excitement was so overwhelming that she was nearly vibrating with it as she waited. It seemed like forever! In actuality, it was probably only about ten minutes. But, it was a very long ten minutes.

They might also get to discover what sex the babies were. Alison had spent a great deal of time with Dakota's daughter, Gloria Jean. And, with John's daughter, Lisa. Miyuki was a constant presence in their lives now, also. And she never regretted any time spent with those girls. Part of her was wishing for a couple of adorable little girls to dress up and spoil.

Part of her was also wishing for little boys to shower with all the affection her first son should have had. Two, beautiful sons to chase their daddy around the castle and learn ninja tricks that would give her premature gray hairs.

She turned to smile at the Daddy in question and squeeze his hand as he stood beside her. Whichever gender they ended up with would be perfect. And, whichever they didn't get would be what they tried for next. She had already pretty much made up her mind that one more baby, at least, was in the cards for them.

Somehow, she didn't think Longshot would require much convincing.

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"I'll guess girls, then. One of us is bound to be right." She grinned and winked. Her feet swung, too, as they waited for the results. Alison tipped her head to the side and rested it on her husband's shoulder.

"I love you."

Longshot kissed the top of Alison's head. "I love you, too."

He didn't want to mention it, but these twins felt more real to him than their first child had been. The loss of that Shatterstar did not lessen any from that, but it would be absolutely devastating to lose his two magical beans.

"So, you're gonna have to think of names soon, huh?"

Alison made an amused sound and shook her head slightly so that she didn't shake it right off of his shoulder. "I think you mean we are going to have to think of names soon. Right?"

She wanted to make naming these babies a joint effort this time.

"I'm not so good at naming," he said flatly. It had come to be something like a mark of doom. He did not want to hurt himself or Alison in that way again.

"Besides, we're on Earth now, and I don't know very many Earth names. The ones I do are kinda used at the moment."

"We'll figure the names out together," she reminded him, gently. "It won't be the sole responsibility of either one of us. It's something we'll do together. Just like we do everything else that is important."

"We can get some baby name books."

He only shrugged with one shoulder. Longshot did not want to knock Alison in the head with the other. "I guess."

He was not all that enthusiastic about it. He was all for breaking odds, but some of those odds had broken him. "Should make sure they go with your last name."

Alison choked down a flash of irrational hurt. She knew he wasn't deliberately trying to upset her. So, she didn't respond to his shrug.

"They can keep my last name if that's what you want."

"I don't have a last name, so yours is better than nothin'," he said with a small grin. "Well, unless you wanted them to have the last name the clan gave me on all those papers."

Longshot was oblivious to any possible hurt he had given to Alison. He was just trying to make the odds better for their children to survive longer. And all he had to go off of was his history with children so far.

"That'll make my mother happy. If I call her." Alison didn't really want to talk anymore, so she lapsed into silence and waited for the doctor to return with their results. Hormones, she kept reminding herself. She wasn't really upset. It was just hormones.

Longshot grimaced a bit when Alison's silence lingered. Oops. He knew he was being stubborn but couldn't help it. All the loses had hurt too much. And remembering them made them feel too new.

"Sorry," he apologized softly.

He hoped the doctor finished soon before he got himself a ticket to turn the Happy Fun Couch into the Lonely Blues Couch.

"It's okay," she murmured.

She knew he was afraid of his past history with children. He had reason to be hesitant. She just wished he'd realize she had lost her only child, too. She was scared, too. But, this was something she wanted more than anything in the world. If he was with her all the way.

Beverly had noticed the married couple had gotten very quiet. She glanced up and shook her head to herself. So many steps they had to take together. It might feel overwhelming at times, but she had a feeling they would get through it.

The last bit of data scrolled across the view screen and confirmed the gender of both babies. Well, that was certainly interesting...

"Whenever you two are ready, I believe I've solved the mystery of your babies genders." Why did she suddenly feel the need for a pipe and a funny hat?

Alison lifted her head from Longshot's shoulder and looked up at the doctor. She smiled a little and nodded. "We're ready when you are, doctor. Which did we get?"

Longshot fidgeted then licked his lips. C'mon girls, he thought. He had always done well with Lisa, Gloria Jean, and Miyuki. He could handle girls well.

"We have a bet going. He says boys, I say girls." She smiled and shrugged a little. Whichever it was would be fine with her. She just wanted babies to hold.

"Well, you're both half right," Beverly said with a small chuckle. "You have one boy and one girl."

Blink. Blink. The surprises with this pregnancy keep right on coming. Alison stared in amazement for a moment and then started laughing again.

"That's just too perfect..."

Longshot scratched his head in confusion. Alison had been talking like the twins would be one gender or the other. But they got one of each. Maybe he spanked fortune a little hard. Though he couldn't stop grinning if he wanted to.

"Guess bending the odds is good for something."

"I thought that was rare? Aren't twins usually one gender or the other?" Alison was not at all displeased by this news. A boy and a girl was the best possible outcome of the test. She was delighted.

"Not really all that rare," Beverly answered. "About 40% of all twins are male-female. The rarest form of twins is actually identical male twins."

She leaned back in her chair and smiled. She did like the way these two kept taking surprises.

"Wow. I didn't know that." She chuckled and shrugged helplessly. Well, they were having a boy and a girl! There was nothing at all wrong with that.

She rested both hand over her belly and smiled softly to herself. Twins. A boy and a girl. Longshot's luck certainly came through this time.

All this information going around? Not so much sticking between Longshot's ears at the moment. He just sat there grinning. Boy, they had a lot to tell their family.

Speaking of family...

"Hey, we never did call Rogue and Dakota. We should tell them, too."

Alison smiled, again, at Dr. Crusher. "This just keeps getting better. I don't even mind the morning sickness anymore."

"Well, don't forget. Some women say that double the babies mean they have double the strength of the pregnancy symptoms." Beverly was glad to only have had one at that thought. She had a hard time with the morning sickness.

"I don't think we need another visit for three to four weeks. You're progressing wonderfully."

"I'll manage." Nothing was going to ruin her enjoyment of this pregnancy.

She smiled. "Thank you for everything. I appreciate your time and effort. We'll give you a call if there are any problems before the next visit."

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Follow the sound of my heartbeat, now.

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