ASHLEY'S POV :

      I lay in bed , attempting to figure out why I'm awake , when I'm reasonably sure that the alarm clock on Tiana's nightstand says 2 : 14 am . Then I realize that I hear her talking to someone , and a second later , she's shaking my shoulder .

      "Babe , wake up and get dressed ." , she says . "We need to go ."

      I sit bolt upright in bed and start flinging off the covers . "Now ? It's too early ! I thought they said everything was okay ! Let me get dressed , and I'll grab your bag , and ..."

      She puts a hand on my arm and says , "Ash , relax , I'm fine . Rick just called , and they're on the way to the hospital . I'm gonna have to be careful about waking you up suddenly , aren't I ?"

      Letting out a huge sigh , I finally manage to get out of bed and start pulling on some clothes . "Sorry I freaked out , babe , I guess I wasn't totally awake ." , I tell her . "I wasn't even thinking about that ."

      "I'm pretty sure Shan is glad to be going , since the little guy is already almost two weeks past the due date . She said a couple of days ago that she was beginning to think that he wasn't planning to come out 'til it was time to apply to college ." , she replies , as she pulls on a stretchy T - shirt dress , and starts looking for her shoes .

      I pull them out from under the bed , and slip my arm around her , to help her keep her balance as she slides her feet into them . She keeps saying that she looks like a keg , because she still has almost two months before her due date , and she's as big as Shan . I remind her that she has two in there , not just one , so that's not unreasonable , and I still think she looks fantastic .

      I pull on my boots , and we head out to the car . As I help T buckle her seat belt , I say , "I hope we don't have that problem , babe . I think we're both a little too impatient to deal well with waiting that long ."

      "From what I understand , with twins , it would be more likely to go the other way , and they might show up early . I guess maybe they get tired of being crowded ."

      I laugh , and reply , "Can't entirely say that I blame them there . That could be about as bad as twelve people on a tour bus ."

      We head across town , and get to the hospital a few minutes later , and promptly have to spend nearly five minutes explaining to one of the nurses that we're just here visiting , and not for Tiana to check in . By the time we finally get to Shan's room , her doctor is already checking her over . "Well , it looks like you might be ready to go to delivery within the next couple of hours ." , he says as we walk in the door .

      "Great , he's still making me wait ." , she moans . "Is this boy ever going to be on time for anything ?"

      "Well , he gets it from you , y'know ." , Scott pronounces . "I remember how dad used to say that if we needed to be somewhere by noon , we had to tell you we should be there at ten - thirty . He even had a name for it : Shannon Standard Time ."

      "Sounds like that old joke about the parent's curse ." , Tiana giggles . " You know , the one that goes , ' I hope someday you have a child who acts exactly like you' ."

      "If that actually works , then it sounds like you two are in some deep shit ." , Brian deadpans , then cocks a thumb in my direction . "Especially if they act like him ."

      Shan and I simultaneously flip the guys off , which has everybody laughing , until she grabs Rick's hand hard enough to make him flinch , and nearly levitates off the bed . The doctor waits until she relaxes , then stands by the bed looking at his watch until she does it again . 

      "Seems like he may have heard you , Shannon ." , he says . "Looks like he's feeling a bit more ready to come out and meet everyone ."

      He steps out of the room for a few minutes , and then a couple of orderlies come in to help her onto a gurney , and roll her out . A nurse sticks her head in the door and tells Rick that if he plans to be there for the birth , he needs to come with her to get suited up , and he takes off , leaving the rest of us sitting around the empty bed .

      "I wonder how long it takes ." , Scott muses . "Does anybody know ?"

      "It kind of varies , from what I understand ." , Brian informs him . " I remember Mom saying that she was in labor with Rick for ten hours , and somewhere around seven for me . And I think it took Kelli somewhere around fifteen hours to get little Trent out . Right , T ?"

      "Sixteen hours , twenty - seven minutes . She was very specific on that ." , Tiana replies . "I get the feeling that's gonna get held over the poor little dude's head sometime later in life ."

      "So , what do you think about all of this , Ash ?" , Scott asks me . "Sort of a ... preview of coming attractions , I guess you'd call it ."

      "I'm sort of starting to think that I should invest in a pair of chain - mail gloves , just to be sure I'll still be able to play afterward . From the look on Rick's face awhile ago , he's gonna be in some pain later on ."

      "Gives you guys a bit of understanding about how we're feeling , is how Kelli explained it to Jerk - off ." , Tiana says , leaning over onto my shoulder , and I wrap my arm around her and give a little squeeze .

      Kissing the top of her head , I say , "Why don't you try to go back to sleep , love ? I'll wake you if they get back ."

      "But you didn't get any more sleep than I did ." , she protests . "That doesn't seem fair ."

      "I'm fine , T , I'm used to being up at all hours . Besides , you need it more than I do right now . I know the doctor says that everything's fine this time , but I still don't want to take any chances . I want all three of you to be healthy and safe , so maybe just humor me , okay ?" , I mumble into her hair . She looks up at me for a second , then purses her mouth , indicating that I should kiss her , and I gladly comply . Then , she snuggles a bit closer to me , and is asleep a couple of minutes later .

      "I get the feeling that you'll probably be even happier to see these two get here than Shan is to finally get Tanner out into the world ." , Scott observes .

      "Yeah , I'd say you're probably right ." , I tell him . "I'm really looking forward to seeing what they look like , and what sort of personalities they have . Plus , I admit that I'm probably a little paranoid . I know things aren't like the last time , but I don't think I'll be entirely comfortable until they're actually here , and I know that Tiana's all right ."

      "Trust me , I feel you there ." , Brian responds . 

      The three of us sit here and talk about random stuff for the next several hours , until we apparently all doze off . I'm jolted awake by the sound of the door opening , and I look up to see Shannon being wheeled back in . I glance at the clock , and see that it says 10 : 25 , so I give Tiana a gentle shake . "Wake up , babe . She's back ."

      She sits up , then looks at the clock . "Why didn't you wake me up sooner ? Have you been awake all night ?"

      "I actually dozed off for a couple of hours . The door woke me up when they opened it ." , I admit , getting up and stretching , trying to get the feeling back in my ass . Then once I'm able to actually stand upright , I help her up and we walk around the room for a couple of minutes so she can work her kinks out .

      "So where is he ?" , Tiana asks . 

      As Rick comes into the room , he says , "They took him to get cleaned up , somebody will be bringing him in a few minutes ."

      I look at my cousin , and inquire , "So , are you gonna need a cast on that hand ?"

      He holds it up and replies , "No , but don't ask me to play baseball or anything for a few days . I'm pretty sure I'm going to have bruises ."

      "I'm sorry , babe ." , Shan says , as he sits down on the edge of the bed . "But I'm guessing that you wouldn't have wanted to trade with me ."

      "I think she's got you there ." , I laugh .

      The door opens again , and a nurse wheels in one of the little bassinette things . Stopping at the side of the bed , she reaches in and takes out a blanket - wrapped bundle , handing it to Shannon . "Here you go , little guy , you can spend some time with Mom and Dad , and meet your adoring public ." , she says , and walks back out of the room . We all crowd around the bed , and Shan pulls the blanket back a bit , so we can see the new arrival .

      He's still a bit red , of course , being less than an hour old , but cute as hell anyway . He already has a mop of hair , and it looks like he's gonna be blond like Shan and Scott , but we can already tell that he has Rick's squared chin . Scott leans in a little closer , and says , "I can already see those Purdy cheekbones , can't you , sis ?"

      Shannon just nods , and Tiana says , "Yeah , I can see that , but I think he's gonna end up with her nose . You're going to have to keep an eye on this guy when he gets around junior high age or so . If he picks up the Purdy temperament , he'll be one hell of a little flirt ."

      Scott finally convinces them to let the rest of us have a chance to hold the baby , and we proceed to pass him around among the four of us . When Brian hands him to Tiana , and she cradles him to her chest and starts talking to him , I actually feel myself starting to choke up . Soon , I'll be able to see this every day , and I can't wait . I sit down in the chair next to her and put my arm around her shoulders , and take a closer look at the baby .

      She lifts him up a bit , and says , "Okay then , Mr . Tanner , whaddya say we let you get acquainted with Uncle Ash now ? He could use some practice holding a baby , so let's give it a try here ."

      She passes him over to me , helping me get him situated in my arms , and after a couple of minutes I'm looking down at this little person , who can't seem to focus his eyes , and keeps making faces . "Hey there , little dude , I'm your Uncle Ash . It's nice to finally meet you , I think Mom was worried that you were planning to stay in there for awhile . I know it seems big and strange and loud out here right now , but you'll get used to it , and when you get a little bigger , we can all show you how much fun it is . And soon you'll have two little cousins to be friends with , and you can all have adventures together . How does that sound ?"

      He responds with a huge yawn , which cracks everybody up . "Apparently , adventure is trailing a distant second to naptime ." , Brian chuckles , and Rick comes over to take him from me , carrying him back to Shan , so she can feed him . 

      Tiana and I excuse ourselves to go home , and as we walk out to the car , she says , "You looked pretty comfortable holding little Tanner in there . I think you've got this , babe ."

      "You seemed to be doing fine yourself ." , I reply . "I could watch you doing that all day , that was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen ."

      She gives me a kiss as I open the car door and help her into her seat . "Well , you'll probably get plenty of opportunity to do that in the not too distant future . And you do realize , we have one big advantage over Shan and Rick , don't you ?"

      I look up from fastening her seat belt , and inquire , "And that is ...?"

      "We'll never have to fight over who gets to hold the baby . There's one for each of us ."