It did not seem so strange now, AJ mused to herself as she walked through the empty house, to think that she was going to be a mother. That she was a mother already. Though not yet a wife ....that was a hurdle they had yet to climb, but it would happen soon, she was sure of it.

Thank God the back-breaking nausea seemed to be over and done with, though. Admittedly, she did still feel unwell from time to time, but at least she was no longer throwing up unexpectedly every time she got too emotional or moved too quickly. Everyone she'd spoken to said that this was the best part of pregnancy, this second trimester, and to enjoy it as much as she could.

Stas had finally given in and allowed her to choose her own hours of work, thankfully; hence her being alone in the house. It had taken a while, for the good doctor seemed determined to dictate her life to her as much as he could, but quite suddenly he had just caved, dropping the doctor routine to speak with her as though she was his girl again. She had her suspicions as to the source of that sudden change of heart, too; she must remind herself to drop by the Clinic and thank Maranya sometime. Somehow without Stas finding out.

Still, it was time to make herself presentable for the outside world. Devon would be swinging by at some point to walk her to the studio. She rolled her eyes, laughing a little as she ran her hand over the shirts hanging in the closet. They had heard nothing of this Anubis fellow for what felt like months, and yet the men of the household were still insisting on walking her to and from the studio everyday.

Shirt and underwear chosen, AJ lingered for a while considering what pants to wear, settling finally on her trusty old jeans. She hadn't worn them for a long while anyway; for some reason they weren't at all comfortable when you had your head halfway down a toilet. But, as she had already noted, the nausea was gone, which meant she could confidently wear her favourite clothing once again.

Her eyes fell on the stack of magazines by the bed, and she groaned. She loved Stas, really she did, but sometimes he did go a little too far for her liking. Not content with terrifying her with all the details of every little thing she asked about - seriously, just a sketchy answer would do - he had now decided to start educating her about what she would need in the coming months. The main one being nipple pads, for some daft reason as yet unexplained, and maternity clothes, which she was determined to resist for as long as possible.

A few minutes spent in the bathroom, brushing her teeth and attending to her hair, and she was back in her bedroom, pulling on underwear with a wince for the constriction of her bra. She didn't dare mention the near constant ache in her breasts to her over-protective fiance. He'd have her in granny bras within hours, if she did. No, that was another thing to add to her long list of questions if she ever met a woman who had been through this and wasn't going to mention it to Stas - where to buy underwear that wouldn't hurt so much.

It was at this point AJ realised she'd been trying to do up the button on her jeans for the last five minutes without success. "What the hell ...?" She knew they were a little tight, but she shouldn't be having any trouble with them, unless ....Hazel eyes widened, and she rushed back into the bathroom, standing sideways in front of the mirror to stare wide-eyed at her reflection.

It wasn't much, wouldn't be immediately noticeable to anyone who looked at her, but AJ had a bump. Small and gently rounded, there was the physical evidence that she really was pregnant. A small, delighted smile lit up her face as her palm rubbed over it protectively. Well, that was an eye-opener and no mistake. Then that delight faded into consternation as she realised her beloved jeans were going to have to go into storage for the next God alone knew how long. She didn't want to be one of those mums who wore their favourite clothes until they split.

With a low sigh, ignoring the lump attempting to make itself known in her throat at the depressing thought that she was getting fat, she wandered back into the bedroom and dragged a loose skirt out of the closet. Might as well be comfortable. And fat.

Yay. One more step along the road to the biggest adventure of her life.

Now this would make an interesting sight for anyone if they cared to look into the little room that was slowly being converted into a nursery. AJ was barefoot, standing comfortably on a two-step, swathed in overalls that were several sizes too big for her. A pair of headphones had been secured firmly to her ever increasing bump, and if you listened very carefully, you could possibly make out the strains of John Williams' Star Wars soundtrack - the original trilogy, of course. Looked like the baby bean was getting an education in the more modern application of classical orchestral pieces. And the mommy ....well, she was humming along, ridiculously out of tune, whilst carefully tracing a continuous vine pattern in pencil on the newly painted wall.

Stas had given her almost complete autonomy when it came to the nursery, or at least, the way it should be decorated, and AJ had been quick to settle on greens and blues. Very calming colours, hopefully calming enough to persuade an overtired and cranky baby to shut up and go to sleep. The base paints had already been applied, with Stas hovering in the doorway every time he passed until she'd given him a paintbrush and told him to do the far wall. She laughed, remembering that. Anyone would think she was about pop any day the way he was going on, and even she knew she wasn't. Almost four completed months along, she had plenty of time before the scary day approached.

She'd decided against -

"Alayne."

The name came out of nowhere, and she rolled it around in her head for a while, staring into space as it was tried out against her new surname, and the various thoughts they'd been having about second names for a possible girl. Deeming it fit to go on the list, AJ carefully stepped down and moved over to the CD player, beside which was a pad and a pencil. There were several names already on that list, both male and female, and none of them in Stas' handwriting yet. She rolled her eyes, writing 'Alayne' beneath 'Kaylee' and opposite 'Matthew'. She would corner him into actually having a thought about names at some point.

That done, she returned to her twostep and her more appropriate pencil, leaving soft marks against the smoothly painted wall. She'd decided against using stencils, preferring the freedom of simply creating a pattern as she went along. She wanted her baby, her child, to see all the flaws in her work as they grew older, as well as the beauty of what she was trying to create for them. And as someone who had been forced to live in a room decorated with Barbie pink until she was fourteen, AJ was also determined not to force the same fate on her child.

Hence the natural colours, the non-gender specific decorations she was adding the guidelines for now. There would be no childish animals or anything like that - anything that appealed to the baby in his or her various age ranges could be added with pictures, posters and toys. No, AJ was going for the illusion of being outside, but enclosed; open, but protected. There would be trees in every corner, every leaf handpainted; flowering vines to curl around the doorway and window, along the skirting boards and ceiling. The floor Stas had called in men to fix up, so that now when she stepped down, it was onto cool, smooth wooden boards. Hopefully it would not influence their little one to do anything but -

"Taran ....Tamsyn?"

Those two required a little more thought. She liked them, they had a nice rounded sound to them. But Taran Ryan' She shook her head; that just wasn't fair on any kid. Tamsyn Ryan' She thought about that for a moment. That one could work, and there was potential for nicknames there. She stepped down again and added 'Tamsyn' to her ever growing list. The problem was, she seemed to be better at finding and remembering girls' names than she was at boys'. That could prove problematic in the next few -

"Kieran ...no. Darryl?"

Again, she nodded slowly, and added 'Darryl' to her list. In her belly, the baby kicked, fluttering happily against her kidneys. AJ patted her bump fondly.

"Easy there, kiddo, nothing's set in stone yet," she laughed. A thought occurred to her. "Hey, remember what we talked about coupla days ago' It's all set, we're going to have a scan tomorrow. I want you to wave to your Da, it'll make his day. Just don't go waving whatever naughty bits you've got in there at him, or you'll spoil the surprise."

Another fluttering set of kicks, and AJ laughed again, returning to her work on the nursery wall. There seemed to be so much to do, still. But no matter. They had months yet in which to do it, and she was determined not to be pushed to one side simply because she was carrying the reason for all their work.

Advice. Reams and reams of advice. From everyone! From her mother and Stas' mother, from the doctors, from Stas, from the women at her prenatal classes ....even from the little old man who worked reception at the Studios. And where to begin" How to tell them that their advice was driving her totally insane"

After all, she couldn't exactly turn around to her parents and Stas' parents and tell them to mind their own business, could she" And their respective mothers weren't taking the hint that, yes, she accepted that they knew more about pregnancy and babies than she did, but they had never had to deal with twins. The doctor, who was full of care and support, and equally full of the horrors of what could happen. AJ was at the point where if she heard another thing about pre-eclampsia, TTS, prolapsed cords, bedrest, haemorrhaging, or anything else that could potentially lead to her or one of her babies dying, she was going to scream. Then there was Stas, with his near constant ushering her to bed for yet another nap, making her spend most of her freetime sitting down with her feet up ....she loved her husband to distraction, but if he didn't let up soon, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. And as for old Henry ....he was close onto eighty! And male! What did he know about being pregnant, let alone with twins"!

The only good advice, advice she intended to keep to, was from the women who attended her prenatal class. One in particular, a woman called Sarah, had already had twins, and was expecting another pair. She was about the same term as AJ, too, and the two of them were thoroughly expecting to be on the ward at the clinic together. She had some of the best advice AJ was certain she would ever hear.

"Get ready months in advance," was one thing Sarah was constantly repeating. "You want to be ready to have babies in your home from about the 6 month mark, 'cos you can give birth any time from then. I'll make you up a list of what you need one of and two of - the other stuff can come in from people giving you stuff. Trust me, they will. You got two levels at home" Make up a changing station on each level. Fill a chest of drawers with romper suits and changes of clothes. Forget about housework or planning lists for the first month; sleep when they do. I'd recommend two changing bags - one for each of them if you want to take them out separately. If you need anything, here's my number. Seriously, call me anytime."

And she had. Already AJ was spending at least half an hour a day on the phone to Sarah, learning everything she could about what she should be doing, what she should be expecting. And now, list in hand, she was browsing through the one mother and baby store she'd found in RhyDin city, working out what they could afford to buy. Some things she wasn't going to skimp on; others she knew she could get gently used second-hand for much less than the actual price. Stas wanted to be a part of the actual buying experience, but AJ knew her husband well enough that she had to have a set idea of what they were and were not going to be buying before she let him loose with his card in a store like this one.

"Oh, how wonderful," she jumped, looking at the middle-aged woman addressing her with no little surprise. The woman smiled, and one hand reached out hopefully towards AJ's bump. "May I?"

And that was another thing. What the hell was it about being pregnant that suddenly gave every damn member of the general public the right to stop and touch her at every opportunity' No matter where she went, complete strangers would come up to her and suddenly her bump was magnetising their hands, it seemed. Most of them didn't believe her when she told them she was almost five months along, not unless she added that it was twins, which would then get her drawn into a long involved conversation during which they would recount all the horror stories they'd ever heard about birthing and raising twins. Did they not think that maybe telling these stories to the mommy was a bad idea, huh?

It was irritating and more than once AJ had come close to growling angrily for everyone to just back the hell off, but she never did. Because part of her recognised the wonder in the faces of the people who gathered around her, the sheer respect that they had for the fact that she was going into this scary world of motherhood by diving into the deep end with no safety line. And they just wanted to feel like a part of it. She could understand that. So she smiled and nodded, and let them pat and stroke her bump for a little while before thinking up an excuse to keep walking. The guys at the Studio and at Riverview were probably getting used to the number of times AJ would suddenly walk in through the doors, full of purpose, mill around for a few minutes and then walk straight back out again.

And they had advice on how to avoid it! This motherhood thing was turning out to be a whole lot more trouble than she had ever anticipated.

"Now, have you made any decisions about where and how you'd like the birth to proceed?"

AJ blinked, a little startled. That had come out of nowhere. One minute she was talking about heartburn, and the next Mylene had a pad open and was ready to take notes on the birth' Of course, it made sense, but AJ had always thought Stas would be here when she had to answer these questions; after all, he knew more about it than she did. But then, she reminded herself, most of their arguments came about because he had made decisions about her body without consulting her, so she supposed this must be karma getting its own back on them.

Mylene was waiting patiently, with that sweet smile that suggested she had all day to devote to this particular mom-to-be, even when AJ knew that was nowhere near the truth. She fumbled for some kind of answer.

"Uh, well, uh ....I, I would like to try and give birth naturally, if I can," AJ said finally, if a little hesitantly. Oh, where was Doctor-Know-It-All when she needed him' "I know it might not be possible, but I want to try, at least."

Mylene nodded, making a note of this with another of those supportive smiles. "It's perfectly natural to want to do it the old-fashioned way," she assured her boss' wife, settling herself more comfortably in her chair. "But you should be aware that not every birth goes to plan, not even the apparently straight-forward ones. You should have some kind of plan in place, so that you and we know what to do in the event that a natural birth is unlikely."

AJ nodded, her brow furrowing in thought. She'd read everything she'd been given about labour and birth, and discussed most of it with Stas, although there were some things she knew she'd have to decide now and speak to him about later. The plan could always be changed, right"

"Okay," she agreed with Mylene, one hand absently stroking against her bump as she thought about it. "Well, there's no way in hell I'm giving birth anywhere but the clinic, we've already talked about that. It'll hurt, won't it?" Before Mylene could nod in agreement with that, AJ ploughed ahead, speaking her thoughts as they came. "I'm not all that good with pain, so I guess I want drugs. But I don't want them straight away, I really want to try and do this without anything helping me along. But if I do need them ....there are options before we get to an epidural, aren't there?"

Mylene chuckled lightly, reaching over to squeeze the concerned mommy's hand. "There are always options," she said reassuringly. "I'd suggest you talk it over with your husband before you make any decisions on that, but I'll make a note of it. Bear in mind, if an epidural is a possibility in your plan, we may have to site it during the first stages of labour, before things are too advanced for us to do so later without causing you or the twins undue distress."

"Oh, no, I understand that," AJ was quick to agree. "And I think it will be a possibility. Stas has already mentioned it to me. He wants me to have one straight away, but he does get that I'm not so sure."

"It's good that you're talking this over with him," the midwife nodded with a grin. She knew exactly how obsessive Stas Ryan was over his children and their mother - she would probably have to relay to him everything that was said when she went on her lunch break. And AJ knew it. "Doctor Ryan tells me that you are aware that you may need a C-section, should the babies' positioning be wrong?"

AJ nodded quickly. Oh, yes, she was well aware of that. Stas seemed to work it into almost every conversation about the birth. "I do understand that," she assured Mylene. "Really, I do. It's just scary."

Mylene laughed gently, the rich laugh that always made AJ feel much better even if she couldn't see the joke. "Trust me, a lot of mommys find the thought of it scary," she smiled. "There's really nothing to be afraid of. Stas will be with you every step of the way, and so will I."

And that, really, was that. AJ nodded, smiling in relief. Mylene always knew how to end a session on a high.

Huge. Waddling. Hot. Sweaty. Itchy. Aching. Sore. All good, descriptive words in their own right. Perfect for describing exactly what AJ was feeling right now.

"Pregnancy sucks," she muttered to herself, one hand beneath her bump as though she might be able to take some of the weight off her back as she manouvered herself out of her seat on the little bus and shuffled her way to the front. Her path was filled with apologies for bumping people out of the way, groans where she had to squeeze between bodies and seats. Public transport had never been this difficult when she was thin. And yes, people were very obliging, offering her places to sit, not letting her carry anything bigger than her own head, insisting that she should sit down and take the weight off her feet, constantly, unrelentingly reminding her that she was pregnant with twins -

"Because I'm so likely to forget that," she growled under her breath, plastering on a smile for the little old gent who took her arm to help her down off the bus.

With the festival fast approaching, it felt like she was forever travelling back and forth from home to the studio, to the galleries and the museum, to the little park in the Southern Glen where some of the exhibits were to be put up for the week, back to the studio, back home, only to get a phone call and have to climb back on the gods-forsaken bus to go back downtown again! And all the while she would be on her cell phone, calming other people down from their minor panic attacks over whether their work, or their gallery, or gods forbid, they themselves, were ever going to be good enough for a city-wide event like this.

She was seriously contemplating murdering her mother and mother-in-law as well. She hadn't mentioned it to Stas - yet, she added in the privacy of her mind - but Lillian Drake and Alyson Ryan were conspiring to make her life a living hell. Not a day went by when there wasn't a phone call, or a letter, or a sheaf of leaflets and informative books, a class they recommended she take, lists of what they thought she needed. And on top of that, every damn day one of them told her she was doing too much, that what she was doing was all wrong, that her lifestyle was endangering her children and that they would just have to speak to Stas about it. So far she'd managed not to yell or snap, but her temper was fraying at an alarming rate.

And the weather! The world was conspiring to make her miserable, she was certain of it. Not content with making her the size of a small beached whale before the end of her second trimester, now the weather had gotten in on the act, fluctuating between scorching hot, when she seemed to be drowning in her own sweat and the only way to stay cool was to sit in the bath for hours on end, which apparently wasn't good for her sciatica, and miserably muggy, when her skin felt tight and stretched, and she couldn't cool off anywhere.

At the moment, the only peace she got was during the naps that she herself had decided on, when the whole world went away for a couple of hours; and the time spent with her husband in the evenings when he was home, quiet and peaceful. He didn't nag at her or tell her she was doing things wrong. He was just there, just Stas, and AJ found herself ever more grateful for the loving man she had fallen for. Despite the speed of their courtship and marriage, she couldn't imagine a better man to be heading into parenthood with.

Thank the gods for Sivanna, though. Without the wonders of that beautiful elfess, AJ would be at her wit's end, she knew it. But thankfully, most of the most stressful part of the upcoming festival was in the very capable hands of Sivanna Cyredghymn, and AJ trusted her beyond anyone to help make the last night a success.

Which reminded her, she realised with a groan. She still had to find some time to go shopping and find a medieval-esque gown to wear on the night of the auction, one that wouldn't constrict her pregnant belly or draw too much attention to it. And then there was helping the guys at the studio find their own clothes for the night ....yet another task to add to her ever-growing list of things to do.

She shouldered her way in through the front door and thumped down onto the couch, heaving a huge sigh of relief. With any luck, it was over for the day. Shoes were kicked off, feet up on the coffee table, and she settled into the softness of the cushions, stroking her bump affectionately as the babies inside wriggled and kicked. One hand tucked underneath the bump, and AJ winced at the sting as the length of her finger pressed against the sore skin there. That was another boon pregnancy had gifted her ....heat rash. In the most inconvenient of places.

Hot. Sweaty. Itchy. Aching. Sore.

Ow.

Oh, okay, that was new. Dizziness, breathlessness, heartburn, backache, constipation, fatigue, a blocked nose ....these were all symptoms AJ was by now more than used to. The babies getting hiccups, not so much.

"Geez, little guys, what have you been eating in there?" she laughed softly, rubbing her palm over her by now huge bump. In her 30th week, the dreaded B day was fast approaching, and she was almost constantly on the telephone to her midwife, or her doctor, or Stas at work, or Sarah. Anyone who could keep her from having a panic attack every time a Braxton Hicks came along.

The twins weren't moving quite so vigorously any longer, running out of space in there to throw wild parties at 2 am. And according to the scans, they were curled into their fetal positions, both heads facing downwards. Now they were just waiting for the bump to lower - which, no doubt, was going to make her hips ache even more than they did already - and then it would be just a waiting game until the babies were prepared to come out and face the real world.

Any day from now on apparently, but it would be better if they managed to hang in there until the 36th week or so. At least that way they wouldn't have to spend their first weeks in incubators in the new wing at Riverview.

She was getting sick of people telling her to relax, though. Everyday someone or other would stop behaving like a normal person and usher her over to a chair, or a couch, or her bed, insist she put her feet up, and then walk away to let her 'rest'. AJ hated that. She was pregnant, not dying. And too stubborn to openly admit that she needed all the rest she could get these days.

She actually needed to liw down right now, but she was compromising by sitting cross-legged on the bed while she did what had to be done. Namely, the hospital bags.

One for her - a comfy change of clothes, underwear, dressing gown, PJs, nipple pads, breast pump, maternity pads, toiletries, towels ....anything she could think of that she may or may not need at the hospital. "Slippers," she reminded herself, not having the energy to get up right now and fetch those straight away.

One for Stas - God along knew how long delivering the terrible twosome would take, so there was a change of clothes for him, his toiletries, towels, a camera, books and CDs ....he could add to the bag as and when he bothered to look into it.

One for the babies - and it was huge. Sleepsuits and bodysuits in various colours; a couple of blankets for them; hats for the journey home; pairs of scratch mitts; an inordinate amount of diapers, wipes, cotton wool balls, and creams; feeding bottles (she'd been assured they could be sterilised if necessary at the Clinic); baby wash, baby salve, baby lotion, baby everything ....it would be a real wonder if Stas managed to carry all three bags in at once.

But it was done, finally. She was ready, sorta, for the birth that could happen within days, or weeks. That is, physically ready. Mentally, AJ wasn't so sure. She was terrified at the thought of having two little people relying on her for everything. And even with Stas' constant support and affection, it was a fear that was growing, not abating, with every passing day.

The kitchen counters were covered with shopping bags, each in a variable stage of being unpacked. AJ sighed, pulling herself to her feet.

"You know, I can help you with that ..."

"Oh, no, lovey," Therese, the Ryans' newly hired cook, fussed, waving a hand to make AJ sit down again. "You just sit and drink your tea, I'm fine with this."

She was fine with it, AJ could see that, but it didn't help the mom-to-be with her increasing sense of uselessness. A minor fight with Stas had led to him relaxing his strict rules about bedrest, which was wonderful, and so AJ had taken to wandering around the house, talking to Marie and Therese at every opportunity. At least it got her out of the bedroom.

She winced, sitting a little more upright as her back spasmed uncomfortably. Therese was beside her in an instant, one hand on her back to rub soothingly. As much as AJ hated being fussed over, she was a sucker for a good back rub. She smiled gratefully up at the middle-aged woman, rolling her eyes vaguely.

"Everything all right, Missus?" Therese asked her gently, backing off as soon as AJ relaxed again. One thing they'd got right when they'd hired this woman was her unerring sense of exactly when she was needed and how; she never crowded the couple, even when it seemed as though they were overwhelmed.

AJ nodded wearily, managing a small smile for her new friend. "Yeah, it's fine," she said assuredly. "Just, you know, the latest in a series of nasty tricks my body is playing on me. Constant backache ....to go with the constant nausea and torturous breast pain." She shrugged, laughing it off lightly.

Theresa frowned a little, turning her attention back to the shopping. "How long has your back been making you wince like that?" she asked curiously.

AJ thought about that. It seemed so long since she'd had a normal feeling in her body that now she actually seriously thought about every question anyone asked her about how she was feeling.

"Just today," she said finally, rubbing one hand over her huge bump and the other against the lower part of her back. "It's kind of a new feeling, but it comes and goes, it's not all the time or anything."

"Comes and goes, eh' Maybe you should phone your midwife," Therese suggested mildly, muffled due to the fact that she had head and shoulders in a cupboard as she spoke.

"Oh, no, I don't want to bother her with this," AJ waved her hand dismissively. "It's just back ache, there's nothing sinister about that. I mean, I am kinda carrying half the weight of the city on my front, you know."

"It's always worth setting your mind at rest, lovey," the older woman told her gently, easing herself to her feet once again. "Even if it is nothing, it's best to be sure of that."

AJ rolled her eyes, laughing gratefully for the concern. "Seriously, I'm fine," she repeated herself, shaking her head with a smile. "If it keeps up, I'll phone Mylene, I promise. And no telling Stas, I do not want another lecture on back care."

"Could be the babies coming," Therese murmured softly, glancing back at her employer.

AJ gaped at her. "Excuse me" A little bit of backache and suddenly I'm in labor?" She shook her head forcefully. "No way, that is not it."

Therese didn't say anything, but AJ could practically feel the disapproval radiating off the older woman. She sighed, rolling her eyes, and pushed herself to her feet.

"All right, fine, I'm going back to bed," she conceded, without much grace. "See" Walking back to my boring bedroom, to stare at my boring ceiling, and wait for my darling husband to get home. And no, I'm still not telling him and neither are you."

She stuck her tongue out at Therese, who made a shushing noise and laughed, watching as the very-soon-to-be-mommy waddled out through the door.

((Please read A Reason To Celebrate))