Naoki and Jin rushed through the hospital doors where Hartz greeted them, giving the teen a well-needed hug. When they pulled away, Jin finally got a good look at him, his heart breaking more.

Hartz looked like a trainwreck.

    “Thank you two for coming so quickly… I didn’t want to stress you out, but Night insisted I call you…” Hartz greeted the couple, taking a breath in. “She’s in surgery right now…”
    "O-oh my god, Hartz, what happened...?" Jin asked him, another round of tears filling his eyes. The lavender-haired man let out an exasperated sigh and pushed his hair out of his face, looking at his fiance’s son with his two-colored eyes.
    “Jin… Night went into labor early…” He told him, Jin’s eyes widening in horror. 
    “She was only, what? Six months along? What made her induce so early?” Naoki asked, setting the twins’ carriers down for a second.
    “Doctor said there could be many things. Working too hard, something she ate, stress, just to name a few.”

Jin felt his heart shatter at the mention of stress, his hands coming up and gripping his hair tightly.
    “I-it’s all my fault…!” He cried, falling to his knees in tears. “I-if it wasn’t for me, s-she wouldn’t be here…!”
    “Jin. no, it’s not your fault-”
    “N-no, you don’t understand…! M-mama and I haven’t talked the last few days because I upset her really bad…!”
    “Honey, it’s okay, she’s going to be fine.” Naoki told him, kneeling down and rubbing his back gently.
    “B-but what if something bad happens…?”
    “She’s in good hands bud, she’ll be just fine…” Hartz reassured, straining a small smile for him.

Jin sniffled softly and nodded, rubbing his tears away.
    “O-okay…” He said, getting back up and looking at his sleeping twins. The teen sighed softly and looked at the two adults, grabbing the carriers. “H-how long has she been in surgery…?”
    “Not long… There were some complications during delivery so she needed an emergency c-section.” Hartz explained, leading them to the room they were stationed in before the surgery. Jin nodded slightly as the three of them sat down, the teen rubbing his eyes stressfully. “How’s school so far? I know you just started, but I’m curious.”
    “Naoki and I got in trouble the first day… He’s on leave and I have in-school suspension for the next month…”
    “O-oh, I’m sorry…”
    “It’s fine… I don’t have that much longer because Mr. Allen and I made a deal…”
    “Really? You never told me that.” Naoki said, leaning back in his chair. Jin nodded slightly, pulling out his phone.
    “The homecoming assembly is coming up within the next week, so I have to help set things up and help with all the games…” He said softly, rubbing his stuffy nose. “I’m not really excited because I have to be in front of the whole high school…”
    “Social anxiety huh? Your mother struggled with that when she was your age too.” Hartz told him, smiling gently at the thought.
    “Really…? But she’s so outgoing and loving…”
    “Well, now she is, but through high school, she was so shy and socially awkward. She didn’t start opening up until our Senior year, and even more when we started college.”

Jin smiled softly at the story, unbuckling his daughter when she started whining to sooth her.
    “That’s a nice story… I never knew that about her…”
    “Well, you weren’t introduced into our life until the few days before your sixteenth birthday. When she told me she was adopting you, oh my god, you should’ve heard the excitement in her voice. She always told me how much she wanted to be a mother, and you gave that opportunity to her before I could.”
    “Well, look at you two now…” Jin told him with a smile, cradling Natalya gently in his arms. Hartz looked at him and smiled, staring at the baby girl in his fiance’s son’s arms.
    “That is definitely true… But I should thank you for helping me with becoming a father.”
    “Why…?”
    “Because I don’t think I would’ve been ready if I didn't have you to help raise…"

Jin giggled and rubbed his eye, sniffling.
    "Well, then I'm glad I prepared you for fatherhood…" He joked, cuddling his baby girl gently. Naoki chuckled as he watched the two, rocking baby Jack in his carrier with his hand as he yawned.

~~~

When Night was rolled back into the room, she broke immediately into tears the moment her and Jin's eyes met, and her son did the same. While nurses set her machines back up, Jin rushed over and embraced her, sobbing and apologizing profusely.
    "I-I never meant what I said mama… I-I didn't mean it…" He cried, holding onto her tightly. Night, tired and hurting, hushed him and held him as her own tears coated her cheeks.
   "I-I know baby boy… I-I didn't mean to hit you…" The mother told him gently, kissing his face over and over.
   "N-no, I deserved it-"
   "Don't you ever say that again… You never deserve that…"

Jin whimpered and tightened his hold on her arms, sniffling softly. He didn't want to let her go. 
    "Thank you." Hartz told the doctor, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion.
    "What did the doctor say, hun?" Night asked, petting Jin's head gently to calm him down.
    "She's alive, thank god… She weighs a grand total 2 pounds 4 ounces, about 8 inches long, and she's severely premature…" Hartz announced, running his hand through his hair. "They're caring for her in the NICU and are putting her on the path to growth and recovery…"

The other three in the room all let out a sigh of relief, Night rubbing her tears away.
    "Thank God she's okay… This is going to be rough, but I'm happy we didn't lose our baby…" 
    "I didn't know you were having a girl…" Jin sniffled, smiling softly.
    "Oh yeah, we found out not too long ago. Before all of this that happened."
    "Did you have a name?" Naoki asked them, watching the sleeping twins carefully.
    "We did actually. We decided to name her Serenity Lynn."
    "I like that name…"
    "Hartz and I did too… We felt it would suit her well…"

~~~

Night slept soundly in her hospital bed, her granddaughter asleep on her chest when she was holding her. Jin held a sleeping Jack as he tried not to nod off himself, Hartz and Naoki talking amongst themselves. Night's doctor came in earlier to inform them about Serenity's condition and the plans moving forward, letting them all know that she was in critical but stable condition.

Naoki looked at the time and stood, shaking Jin's shoulder carefully.
    "I think it's about time we head home… It's getting late and Jin has school tomorrow, but we'll be back in the afternoon…" Naoki said to him, carefully picking his daughter out of Night's arms. Natalya stirred and whined softly before falling back to sleep, the teacher buckling her in her carrier gently.
    "Thank you both for coming when I called… It meant a lot to me and especially to Night."
    "It wasn't a problem. I wish you both the best, and Jin and I are always here when you need us."

Jin yawned heavily as he buckled his son into the carrier, his older lover picking both of the twins up as he shared a gentle kiss with him.
    "Drive safe you two, and have a great night." Hartz told them, sharing a hug with his stepson before they walked out. The lavender-haired man sighed and rubbed his head with a yawn, laying down on the couch in the room before falling asleep himself…

What an eventful day…

NightBear15 signing off...