Bart watched from a safe distance as Belle and Shawn continued shopping at Salem Place. They had been shopping now for hours and it was boring him to tears - he had seen enough sleepers, cribs and bottles to last him a lifetime. At least things would have been interesting if these two didn’t get along, but in the five hours that he had been watching them, the only disagreement he heard was when they talked about what color to paint the nursery.

"I still can’t believe that you would want our son to sleep in a room with Anne Geddes hanging on the wall," Shawn exclaimed as the two left the store.

"Son! What if it’s girls or even one of each?" Belle asked coyly. Shawn smiled as he placed his arm around her middle and pulled her close.

"How ‘bout a compromise – one boy and one girl?" Belle giggled, while Bart rolled his eyes. He eyed up Belle again – he couldn’t believe she had just turned 18 years old - to him she looked more like 25. And if she looked this good when she was seven months pregnant, then he knew that she had to be a total knockout when she wasn’t. Bart groaned as Shawn and Belle went into Java Café. "Don’t these to ever go home?" he mumbled to himself. He shook his head disgusted as he took a table nearby where Shawn and Belle were sitting. He grabbed an abandoned newspaper that had been lying nearby, in hopes that he could find something to read while Belle and Shawn disagreed about wallpaper and curtains. He became so enthralled in the sports page that he didn’t even notice that Belle and Shawn had left.

"Damn!" he swore as he through the newspaper down and hurried out of the Café. He looked left and right in hopes of being able to see where they had headed – but they were no where to be seen.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

It was after midnight when Shawn awoke to find that Belle was no longer laying next to him. He sat up and looked around, noticing that she wasn’t anywhere in the room or in the bathroom.

"Belle?" he called out as he rose from the bed. "Where are you?"

"In here," Belle answered. Shawn walked into the nursery, which was virtually empty except for a wooden rocker, given to them by Gram, that they had placed near the window. Shawn admired Belle’s beauty as he saw her sitting in the chair, bathed in the moonlight.

"Are the babies keeping you up again?" Belle nodded no as she placed her hands on her stomach.

"No, that’s not it…Its just…lately Shawn I’ve had this weird feeling, almost as if someone’s always watching me. Its not only when I’m at home, but when I’m at school, when I was out shopping with you earlier today. It scares me Shawn. I don’t want anything to happen to you or the babies." Shawn kneeled down in front of his wife and took her hands into his.

"Belle, you know that I’ll never let ever hurt you or the twins. Nothing’s going to happen, I promise. Have I ever lied to you before?" Belle took a deep breath and nodded no, knowing that Shawn was right. She was just being paranoid.

"Actually," she said as a smile formed. "There was that one time when we were five…" Shawn laughed as he kissed her gently.

"You ready to go back to bed now?"

Belle agreed as Shawn helped her up from the rocker. Once they were in bed, Shawn placed his arms protectively around Belle. "Everything will be all right, I promise."

"I hope your right," she whispered. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t shake the funny feeling that something would go wrong.

Thanksgiving Day at the Brady home was chaos. While the men spent most of the day in front of the TV watching football, the woman spent most of their holiday in the kitchen cooking. What was supposed to be just a small gathering had turned into an all out family reunion.

Belle stood in the kitchen trying to help, but it seemed like every few minutes she would either have to run to the bathroom or sit down just to rest. "I swear, I’m beginning to feel like I’m going to be pregnant forever!" Belle exclaimed as she eased herself onto the chair. Hope smiled as she walked past where Belle was sitting, carrying a pan of rolls that were to be placed on in the oven.

"Ah, but it will all be worth it in the end, sweet girl," Marlena said as she whizzed by Belle, carrying a large pot of mashed potatoes. "Once you have those babies in your arms, it will seem as though these past nine months have just flown by."

"I hope so," Belle replied.

"Have you picked out any names yet?" Julie asked.

"Yep. Just last night we settled on two girls’ names and two boys." All of the women in the kitchen stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on Belle.

"Something wrong?" Shawn asked as he entered the room. He walked over towards where Belle was sitting. Belle smiled up at him as she eased herself up from where she had been sitting.

"No nothing’s wrong. I was just about to tell everyone what names we settled on." Shawn breathed a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around Belle.

"The way everyone was looking at you I was beginning to think our sons were about to make an appearance in time for dinner."

"No, I don’t think that your DAUGHTERS will be arriving for a few more weeks yet." Marlena and Hope laughed as they heard the two of them go back and forth.

"I guess that’s one thing that’s not going to change," Hope whispered to Marlena who was standing next to her.

"Well are you going to tell us what you decided on or what?" Julie asked impatiently. Belle and Shawn looked at each other.

"Well, the girl names’ we decided on are Allison Nicole and Christina Renee." Belle began.

"And the for the boys names, we like Christopher Michael and Joshua Evan." Shawn finished.

"Those are beautiful names," Hope smiled. All of the women looked at the young couple, smiling.

"Ah, are we going to eat any time soon?" Bo asked carefully from the doorway. "Because if not, I going to grab some snacks for us." Julie smiled as she surveyed the room.

"Looks like everything’s about ready Bo. Why don’t you gather up the men why we get everything on the table as we carry the rest of this in the dining room." Belle smiled as Shawn helped her up from where she had been sitting.

"You hungry?" Shawn asked quietly.

"Yeah, but the problem’s going to be finding room in here," Belle replied patting her stomach.

"I guess I’ll have to eat your share then." Belle laughed as she took Shawn’s hand and followed him into the dining room.

"Shawn, did I ever tell you that its not a good idea to blindfold a pregnant woman?" Belle giggled as she held onto Shawn’s hands tightly. Shawn continued to maneuver Belle carefully, being sure to avoid anything that may cause her to stumble.

"Don’t worry, I got you. We’re almost there anyway."

"Where’s there? You never told me."

"That’s because it’s a surprise." It wasn’t long before Shawn guided Belle to a stop. "Okay, were here." He reached up and untied the blindfold. Belle opened her eyes, glad to finally be able to see again. As she blinked a few times trying to focus her eyes on the scene laid out before her. The room was dimmed, which made it harder for Belle to see. In the center of the room was a single table set for a candlelight dinner for two.

"I thought we deserved one last night out before the babies come."

"Oh Shawn," Belle said as she looked around.

"I know that the babies aren’t due for awhile yet, but after Dr. Bader said the other day that it could be any time now, I thought that I shouldn’t wait." Belle continued to look around.

"This is so romantic. Thank you." Shawn smiled as he walked over and hit a button on a CD player that he had placed nearby. He then turned back to Belle and extended his hand.

"My I have this dance, my lady?" he asked as he bowed towards his wife. Belle attempted to courtesy the best she could.

"But of course." Shawn took Belle in his arms as the song ‘How Did I Fall in Love With You’ by the Backstreet Boys began to play in the background. Belle wrapped her arms around Shawn’s neck as the two swayed to the music.

"Have you ever listened to the lyrics of this song?" Shawn whispered into Belle’s hair. Belle nodded.

"It sounds like it was written for us, doesn’t it?" Bell replied as she looked up lovingly at her husband. The two continued to move in time with the music. When the song ended, the two stopped dancing and made their way over to the table. "Shawn, this is all so perfect," Belle said as she motioned to the room. "Thank you."

"A perfect night for my perfect girl." Belle smiled as she reached up for Shawn and pulled him in for a loving kiss.

"Oh this is so cute!" Belle squealed as she pulled the baby outfits from the bag. She held up the matching boy and girl outfits for everyone to see.

"I thought that it would be better to buy one of each," Sami exclaimed. "That way you’ll have at least one to use and if you have two boys or two girls, then you can take the other one back and get something else."

"Thanks Sami, these are too cute." Sami smiled, glad that her little sister liked the two outfits that she had picked out. Belle smiled as she looked at the other women seated around the women. "This is all so great you guys. Thank you. When Hope called me earlier to ask me to come over for lunch, I had no idea that I was really coming to a surprise baby shower!"

"Well, if you knew, it wouldn’t have been a surprise now, would it?" Hope asked smiling as she stood up and began picking up the stray cups and plates left sitting around the room. Belle laughed as she eased herself out of her seat so that she could help her mother-in-law.

"Here Hope, let me…" Belle said as she reached out to take some of the paper cups and plates from Hope’s hands.

"No sweetie, we’re fine. You just sit here and rest," Julie said as she grabbed what Belle had been reaching for and followed Hope into the kitchen.

"Really, I’m…" before Belle could finish she was overcome with a sudden pain and gently eased herself back down into the chair that she had been sitting in.

"Belle?" Chloe asked, instantly noticing the funny look that had developed on her friend’s face. "What’s wrong?" Belle shook her head unable to speak as Chloe moved next to her, laying her hand on her shoulder for support.

"Dr. Evans," Chloe called out to Marlena, who had also disappeared into the kitchen to help. Marlena emerged, drying her hands on a towel.

"What’s wrong Chloe?"

"It’s Belle," she said worriedly as she noticed that Belle had taken her friend’s hand into her own and was squeezing on it pretty hard. Marlena kneeled down in front of where Belle was sitting.

"Are you having a contraction Belle?" Belle nodded, her eyes clenched shut in pain. "Okay, take a deep breath, and let’s breathe through the pain, just like you did in Lamaze." Belle did as she was instructed, following her mother’s lead. Belle began to calm down as the pain began to subside. "That wasn’t your first contraction today, was it?" Marlena asked knowingly. Belle nodded as she saw the rest of the women come in from the kitchen, wanting to know what was going on.

"They’ve been coming now for awhile. You all had gone to so much trouble, I didn’t want to ruin it. But that was the strongest one yet."

"Well, let’s make a few phone calls and start to head to the hospital."

"I’ll call Shawn," Mimi cried gleefully, excited to be able to pass the little bit of information along.

"No!" Belle exclaimed. "He’s in the middle of his psychology exam right now. And he doesn’t have the most understanding professor in the world, so I really don’t think he’d be too willing to let Shawn leave just because his wife is in labor."

"Belle, honey," Hope began. "Shawn would want to be here and you know that. Let me page him." Belle finally agreed knowing that even though her friends and family were doing their best to comfort her, she would gain the most comfort from having her husband at her side.

Shawn glanced up nervously at the clock, noticing that he had only begun the exam thirty minutes earlier. He sighed as he began to nip at the end of his pencil. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t seem to concentrate on Pavlov and his salivating dogs. He jumped as the pager in his pocket began to vibrate. He quickly hit the button and glanced down to see who was paging him. He noticed it was his mother’s phone number, followed by 911. He knew that Belle was at his parents’ house for a surprise baby shower. Belle knew he was taking an exam and had told him that the only reason that she would page him would be if she were in labor. He stood up from his seat and began to make his way towards the front of the room.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Brady?" his professor asked as he peered over the glasses he was wearing.

"I’m sorry sir," Shawn said as he handed the professor his test. "But I have to go. I just received a page saying that my wife is in labor and I need to go to her."

"You realize that by leaving you will not be able to make up whatever you did not finish." Shawn nodded.

"I know, but right now I need to be with my wife. Even if I did stay, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on what I answering." The teacher stared at Shawn for a moment.

"Very well. The only reason I am letting you go Mr. Brady is that I know that you have had an A in the course up until this point so even if you were to fail the final, you will still receive a C in the course."

"Thank you," Shawn said as he turned around and began to sprint from the room.

"Oh Mr. Brady," Shawn stopped and turned around. "Congratulations – I’ve heard you were having twins." Shawn nodded.

"We are. Thanks again sir." His teacher nodded and smiled despite himself.

"Your welcome. Now go be with your wife before I change my mind."

"Shawn," Philip cried as he noticed Shawn running down the hall. "Wait up."

"Sorry Phil, I can’t. I’m having a baby." Philip laughed.

"I know - Chloe called. She said that Belle wants me to drive you to the hospital so that you don’t get in a wreck on the way there. Slow down, man," Philip said as she finally caught up to Shawn. "You not going to be any help to Belle if you don’t show up there in one piece." Shawn nodded as he stopped and tried to catch his breath.

"Sorry."

"That’s okay man." Philip reached forward and placed a hand on Shawn’s shoulder as he leaned over and tried to catch his breath. "I’m sure I’d be acting the same way if I were about to become a father."

"Football’s only been over for a month and you’re already this out of shape?" Shawn asked laughing.

"Shut up Brady," Philip said between gasps for air. "I still could kick your ass anytime, anyplace." Philip stood upright as he breathing began to return back to normal.

"Okay, let’s get you to the hospital."

Belle leaned forward in the hospital bed and braced her knees as another contraction overtook her body.

"Its okay sweetie, just breathe," Hope said smoothly as she stroked Belle’s hair in comfort. Marlena, who stood on the other side of Belle, reached out and took her daughter’s hand into her own.

"I hope…Shawn…gets here soon."

"He ought to be here any minute," Chloe piped up as she entered the room. "I just talked to Philip and they were about five minutes away." Belle nodded as she continued to pant through the last few seconds of the contraction. Belle looked up as she heard voices coming from the hallway.

"Who’s all out there?" she asked as she sat back against the pillows.

"Oh just about all of Salem," Chloe answered laughing. "I can’t believe how fast everyone got here. You just got here yourself not to long ago." All four looked up as Shawn burst in the room.

"Belle," he gasped, obviously out of breath. "I got here as soon as I could." Philip followed him into the room and collapsed into a chair that was just inside the room.

"Dude, you could have slowed down some," Philip gasped. "You didn’t even let me stop the car before you jumped out and started running."

"Come on, Philip stop being so dramatic. You can’t be that winded. There’s a whole bunch of other people here who want to come in and say hi – let’s go outside for awhile." Philip nodded as he allowed Chloe to pull him up from where he was sitting and led him out of the room.

"How you doing?" Shawn asked quietly as he stood next to Belle’s bed.

"Okay I guess. Dr. Bader said that I’m already dilated to almost 6cm so it won’t be too long now."

"Izzy?" John asked as he and Bo stuck their heads into the room. "Mind if we come in for a minute?"

"Sure," Belle answered as she reached out for Shawn’s hand as she felt the beginning of another contraction. "The more the merrier." Bo and John stood back uncomfortable as they watched Shawn, Hope and Marlena coach Belle through the contraction.

"Uh…maybe we should wait outside after all," Bo said pointing to the door.

"No…its ok…it’s almost over." Belle sighed as slowed down her breathing. "Sounds like there are a lot of people out there."

"Yeah," John laughed as he edged closer to the bed. "Let’s see, you already know that Philip and Chloe are here and so are Jason and Mimi."

"My parents are here," Bo piped up "and so is Doug and Julie, Mrs. H, Jack and Jenn,"

"If everyone’s here, then who’s watching JT?" Shawn asked.

"Sami and Brandon are watching both JT and Abby – she said that she would take them to McDonald’s and maybe the park to play. Then later on Gran will have JT."

"It’s like a big party out there. Pretty soon the nurses are going to want to kick us all out," John said laughing. A knock on the door caused everyone to turn and look. Dr. Bader stuck her head inside.

"Belle…oh good Shawn you’re here. Anyway, I need to check how far along you are Belle. Is that okay?" Belle nodded as she tried to sit up some. Shawn had to hold in a laugh as he saw both his father and John sprint for the door.

"Ah…we’ll just…" Bo started stumbling over his words, obviously embarrassed.

"We’ll just wait outside with the others," Hope said as she grabbed her husband’s arm and guided him outside.

"How you holding up Belle?" Dr. Bader asked after everyone had cleared the room, leaving she and Shawn alone with Belle.

"Okay I guess. The pains are getting kinda intense now." Dr. Bader nodded as she stood up and began to push around on Belle’s stomach.

"You’re moving right along Belle. It should be a couple more hours and then it will be time to push," Dr. Bader said as she removed the gloves from her hands.

"A couple of more hours?" Belle said surprised. "How dilated am I?"

"Between 7 and 8 cm. Don’t worry – it may only be an hour or two. I’ll come check you again in about half an hour." Belle nodded and reached for Shawn’s hand as another contraction began. Dr. Bader smiled and then left the room.

"Ah…let’s take a deep breath Belle and try to pant through the pain." Shawn winced as Belle gripped his hand even tighter.

"I know what to do Shawn, I’m trying – and it’s not working. I’m beginning to think that I’m never going to let you touch me again. Either that or your getting a vasectomy."

"Belle, come on…You don’t mean that?!"

"You think I’m in a joking mood right now?" Shawn looked at Belle, his eyes wide.

"Belle didn’t mean that…she couldn’t…its just the pain talking," Shawn repeated to himself over and over again. Belle began to ease up on his hand as the contraction subsided.

"Whoa…that was the worst yet. It seems like the contractions get worse after each time Dr. Bader examines me." Shawn nodded, unsure of what really to say.

"Belle," Mimi said as she stuck her head in the door. "Do you mind if Jase and I come in for a minute. We both have to head out to work but we wanted to see you before we left." Belle nodded, smiling at her friends.

"Ah…I think I’m going to go outside a minute. You know…give the grandparents an update." Shawn couldn’t get out of the room fast enough.

"Shawn, something wrong sweetie?" Hope asked as she noticed that her son had come out of the room. Shawn leaned up against the wall outside the room and ran his fingers through his hair as his parents walked over to him.

"Yes…no…I don’t know. Dr. Bader said its going to be awhile yet. But during her last contraction, Belle told me either I get a vasectomy or I can’t touch her again!" Hope smiled. "Why are you smiling?" he asked his mother. "It’s not funny."

"I know honey," Hope said as she reached out to touch her son. "But I think that almost every woman in labor says that to her husband at some point or another. It’s the pain talking. I said that to your father both times I gave birth and you can see how well he listened." Shawn nodded – he could tell by the way his parents hung all over each other that they had a pretty healthy sex life.

"Mom," Shawn whined as he looked up at Hope. "Really, I don’t need to hear about you and Dad’s sex life right now or ever for that matter." Bo and Hope laughed at his obvious discomfort.

"It’s okay son, really. Just go in there and support her in any way you can. Chances are she’ll probably forget she even said that once you are holding the babies in your arms," Bo said.

"Okay, okay you’re right." The door opened and Mimi and Jason emerged.

"See you later man," Jason said as he patted his friend on the back. "Be sure to let us know – boys, girls, whatever."

"I’ll do that."

"Belle’s asking for you Shawn," Mimi said smiling. "She thinks she freaked you out a few minutes ago when she said about never touching her again. I told her that she was crazy saying that – I mean your only 18 years old if she wants to keep you around she better…"

"Let’s go Mimi," Jason said as he guided his girlfriend towards the hallway.

"But I wasn’t finished with what I was saying."

"Yes you are – you’ve said quite enough." Shawn shook his head as he heard the two continue to argue all the way down the hallway. He entered the room to see Belle smiling at him.

"Hi," Shawn said somewhat apprehensive. "Mimi said you were asking for me?"

"Yeah…I’m sorry if I freaked you out earlier – you know I didn’t mean it when I said about never touching me again or getting a vasectomy. This pain is pretty intense and I don’t know what I’m saying."

"I was hoping that you didn’t mean it. I mean, I know we’ll probably wait a few years but I’d like to think that the twins won’t be our only children." Shawn reached over and stroked Belle’s hair lovingly. "You know if I could, I’d go through this for you."

"I know." She began to pant as yet another contraction overtook her body. "And believe me when it hurts like this, I wish it were you."

"Okay, Belle that’s it…keep pushing…hold it as long as you can…good," Dr. Bader said as she sat on a stool at the foot of Belle’s bed. Shawn reached up and wiped Belle’s forehead with a cool cloth.

"You’re doing great Belle," he whispered, his mouth close to her ear. "Just a few more pushes and the first one will be here." Belle nodded and reached out, grabbing Shawn’s hand.

"Okay Belle, here comes another contraction so take a deep breath and push with everything you got!" Shawn flinched as Belle cried out several times in pain. He did his best to try to comfort her as he looked to Dr. Bader for assurance that everything was okay. "The shoulders are out Belle so you need to stop pushing." Belle leaned back against her pillows, biting her lower lips as she tried to fight off the urge to push. A second later, a baby’s cry could be heard. "It’s a girl," Dr. Bader exclaimed as she reached up and placed the small baby onto Belle’s stomach. Both Belle and Shawn were crying as they looked down and admired their new daughter.

"She’s beautiful," Belle gasped through the tears.

"She is," Shawn agreed. "Just like her mother." Belle looked up and gently kissed him gently. Shawn reached over and grabbed his camera off the nightstand so he could take a picture of his wife and new daughter.

"I hate to interrupt you guys, but our job’s only half way done. The nurse is going to take your daughter and get her cleaned up while we see about getting her brother or sister born. You ready to try to push again?" Belle shook her head yes as she handed her daughter over to a nurse standing nearby. She then took a couple of deep breaths and started to push.

Lexi jumped as the cell phone lying next to her began to ring. While trying to keep her eyes on the road, she reached down into her purse, searching for the phone.

"Hello?"

"Alexandria, darling where are you? You were supposed to be here for dinner half an hour ago."

"I’m sorry father. I decided to stop of at the hospital to see Hope for a few minutes but I’m on my way there now."

"What’s Hope doing at the hospital? Is her son not doing well again?" Lexi shook her head, even though she knew that her father couldn’t see her doing it.

"No, no nothing like that. Belle went into labor earlier today and I wanted to see if there were any babies yet."

"Isabella went into labor?" Stefano asked, his face growing pale. "That wasn’t supposed to happen yet…I mean, isn’t it dangerous for her or the babies?"

"No, not really. She’s only 6 days early."

"Oh, oh," Stefano responded hoping that his daughter couldn’t tell that he wasn’t thrilled with the news. "Well sweetheart, I will see you in a few minutes. But I’m going to go now – I have a couple of important phone calls to make before you get here." Lexi opened her mouth to say something to her father but was met with the sound of the dial tone. Lexi sighed as she threw the phone onto the seat next to her.

"I have the feeling that you’re up to something father…" Lexi asked herself as she continued to drive. "And for some reason I know I’m not going to like it."

to be continued...