"Come on, kick Daddy." Stas poked both sides of AJ's belly, and practically sang to it. "Kick the Daddy. Oh! That's a good boy, come on now, Orla, you can do bett...there you are! There's my girl!" He continued playing with her belly, fascinated with each kick and movement.

Lying back, AJ was creased up with giggles, watching her husband playing with her huge belly. "Oh god ....what is this?" she snickered. "You planning on playing with these two until they decide to pop out in your lap?" One particularly sharp kick got her kidney, and she groaned with another giggle. "Geez, take it easy on mommy, okay, guys?"

"I can't help it." He looked up with a childlike grin on his face. "I never get to do this with my patients. But you're my wife and these are our children. So I want to play with them." He lowered his head then to kiss her belly on both sides. "You two, that's enough for now. Time to rest." His hands flattened against her belly and rubbed gently as he hummed a lullabye.

Smiling fondly at Stas, AJ stretched comfortably, enjoying the silly play despite her weariness. "I gotta tell you, if I'm going to be this tired after I pop, you're going to have to prop me up and attach them to my boobs," she grinned, laying her hands over his as the babies rolled beneath his palms. She was so pregnant now, you could differentiate limbs just by watching her skin stretch.

"Or we could pump while you rest." He placed another kiss to her belly button before slowly rising to his hands and knees. Crawling over her, he placed a soft kiss to her jawline. "I promise, you'll feel so much better when the twins are born. Tired at first, but that'll wear off."

"Mm, this is true," she agreed, turning her head to return that soft kiss with one of her own. "Frankly, I'm just looking forward to having my body back to being just mine again." She stretched her arms up and linked them behind his head. "And being able to cuddle with my husband without worrying about squashing the wide load."

"I know it's very uncomfortable, but it'll be over soon." He caressed her cheek with his fingertips. "Roll to the side and I'll rub your back, ok?" He was seriously considering buying her a waterbed that moved with her, instead of against her. But he could just see AJ trying to get out of a waterbed and ending up looking like a turtle on its back. A small grin came to his face at that visualization.

Her eyes narrowed with playful suspicion at his little grin. "Do I even want to know what you're brewing in that head of yours?" she asked, rolling obediently onto her side and groaning as there was a small, but spirited objection from her womb. But Stas, she had come to learn, gave the best back rubs in the history of humanity. It was worth putting up with a little discomfort for a whole lot of relaxation.

His hands curled into fists as he pressed them into the small of her back. "Oh, just thinking about turtles." He hummed softly as his thumbs worked the tired muscles of her spinal column. "I think we'll get you a little time at the spa when this is all said and done. A Daddy's day with the twins while Mommy is being pampered. Do you like that idea?"

"Mmm ....sounds wonderful," she murmured vaguely, closing her eyes as his hands pressed against the tight knots of tension that seemed to form in her back whenever she even thought about standing up these days. "I can't believe I'm not due for another month, though ....seriously, I'm not going to survive Christmas carrying this weight."

"I don't think you're going to last that long, either. But if you should go that long, promise you'll let me talk to your midwife about a c-section. I hate seeing you miserable." He continued to apply pressure to her severely curved lower back.

"Darlin', remember that birth plan I got you to sign?" AJ groaned blissfully as her muscles spasmed and relaxed under his attentions. "C-section, right there, should it become necessary. As were epidurals, pethidine, and anything else we could think of." She grinned over her shoulder at him. "And I'm not miserable, I'm just fat."

"AJ, you are not fat." he lifted his head, big blue eyes look at her, unblinking. "You're just very pregnant. You're stomach is taut, just not flat right now. You'll be back to your original Twiggyness when the twins are born." He winked playfully, then lowered his head to hide behind her.

"Twiggyness?" AJ's brows furrowed in confusion. "You're not still saying I'm too thin to be healthy, are ya?" She rolled onto her back to pull a face at him. "This coming from a man who looks like Jack Skeleton's love child after three days of long hours at work."

Quickly, he moved out of the way before he could be smacked. "No, not at all. I think you're absolutely perfect the way you are. And you must have a thing for twigs with round things on the ends because you married me." He thought for a moment and then shook his head. The idea wasn't worth the trouble it would cause, even if he said it jokingly. Yes, Stas was learning to censor himself.

"Hey, it's not the package I married, it's the man, remember?" she grinned up at him, lifting her hand to stroke tenderly against his cheek. "Are you sure you've got your paternity leave sorted out' I don't want you to miss anything in the first days ....I need you to be around for it. Especially if my mother's going to be here."

"The man is the package, or so I thought." He shrugged a bit, then grinned. "Amelia, you worry far too much. It's already been worked out. Department head is going to take my caseload the moment you go into labor. I'll be here, every second that you allow me to be."

"Allow you to be?" She rolled onto her other side, propping her head up to look at him. "What do you mean by that' I mean it, Stas, I need you here. I'm scared stiff of being a mom, you know that. I just ....I can see myself falling completely to pieces if you're not there to help me."

"What I mean, Amelia, is that you're going to be more tired than you ever imagined those first few days. You're not going to want me waking you up just to change a diaper." He reached over to start rubbing her belly softly.

AJ smiled lovingly up at him, laying her hand over his as he rubbed at her skin. "I don't care," she murmured softly. "I don't care about being tired, or getting crabby, or any of it. I'm so scared that ....that I'm going to do something wrong, and they'll get hurt because of me. Look at my mom, I didn't exactly have the best role model, Stas." Her hazel eyes were sincerely worried as she looked at him.

He could see the concern in her eyes and was about to console her and tell her that she'd be a great mother. But he'd said that before and got nowhere. So he decided on a different tactic. "Amelia, they have parenting classes at the clinic. Would you like me to enroll us?"

"So I can watch everyone else be really good at it, and feel even worse?" She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry, I know you must be sick of me going on about this." Back down onto her back she went, both hands braced either side of her belly. "I'm trying, I really am trying to be all brave and face this like a man - well, sorta - but sometimes I just get frightened, okay?" Another sigh, and she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, you don't need to hear this when we're in bed."

He just watched her, and listened. "Amelia, would you believe me if I told you that what you're going through is normal" Most of my patients say the exact same thing." He shook his head and moved closer. This time, to cradle her head in the crook of his elbow. "The ones that don't worry about it are the ones that worry me the most, because when the six week check up comes, they're overwhelmed, depressed and often need a psych consult." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "So I'm glad to hear it, no matter where we are."

Unable to roll into his arms, she compromised by shifting until she was right up next to him, stroking her fingers over his arm. "Well, you can guarantee even if I get depressed, you'll definitely know about it," she giggled softly. "Not like I make any effort to keep my feelings to myself, is it?"

"I'm glad you don't." He was gentle and his voice soft when he spoke. "It does take a lot of worry out of things. Just keep being open and honest, about everything, and we'll be just fine." Leaning his head against hers, he closed his eyes. "I love you, Amelia."

Her own eyes closed as he leaned in close, incredibly comforted by the gentle warmth he radiated. "I love you back," she whispered, holding gently to his arm. In her womb, the babies seemed to have settled, no more rolling or kicking to disturb their parents' reconnection.

((A collaboration between Stas Ryan and AJ Ryan.))