“No, we cannot,” Adler said as she squeezed Morgan’s hand tightly.

“Why not?” Morgan asked as she tried not to show that Adler’s short fingernails were digging painfully into her palm because she needed to be strong for her wife.

“If… it’s… a girl… we cannot… name her… Jackson,” Adler said between grunts.

“I think it could be gender-neutral. We could spell it differently.”

“One more push, Adler,” the doctor commanded.

“No!” Adler said through a scream. “You did this… to me,” she added.

“Technically, no.” Morgan smiled down at Adler and pressed her forehead to her wife’s. “I love you so much. You are so strong, baby.”

“No, Jackson… if a girl.”

They’d decided not to find out if they were having a boy or a girl, and it had been torture to Morgan for nine months. She’d wanted to know. Adler hadn’t. That had surprised Morgan because her wife had always been a planner, and knowing whether they were having a boy or a girl would have allowed her to plan more, but Adler had been insistent. 

“If it’s a boy and a girl - Jackson and Paxton,” Morgan suggested into Adler’s ear. “You’ve got this, baby. One more push for me.”

“No rhyming names,” Adler said. “Or… same… initial.” She let out a guttural scream.

They’d found out they were having twins months into Adler’s pregnancy. That had had Morgan worried because it was already a high-risk pregnancy due to Adler’s age and multiples just added a layer of difficulty, but they’d had a great doctor, and Adler had followed all of the instructions. They’d wanted a baby for so long; neither of them was about to do anything to risk the two they were about to have. Paxton, Chris, Reese, Kellan, Kinsley, and Riley were all in the waiting room. Some with their own, older kids. Others had left theirs with babysitters. Soon, Morgan and Adler would need babysitters, too.

“Morgan, I… I love you.” Adler grunted again.

Then, there was a crying baby in the room. Adler looked down, and her eyes went wide. Their baby was covered in… well, everything, and they were crying. They were crying, which was a good thing. Babies cried, right?

“You have a baby boy,” the doctor told them with a smile under his mask. “Congratulations.”

“Jackson,” Adler whispered.

Morgan helped her lie back down and said, “Yes, babe. Jackson, like Jackson Hole, where we met. I love you.”

“There’s another one in there. Can they just stay in?”

Morgan laughed and kissed Adler’s forehead.

“I don’t think so. I think baby Jackson is going to miss his brother or sister if you just keep them all to yourself. I will, too, Addie.”

“Fine,” Adler said and turned to Morgan. “We have a baby?” She smiled wide.

“Yes,” Morgan replied and felt tears sting her eyes.

“Okay. We’ve got one more joining this party,” the doctor said. “Morgan, do you want to cut the cord?”

Morgan nodded, and as she held the weird scissor things, she stared down at their son and couldn’t stop smiling. He was handed off to a nurse, who started cleaning him up, and Morgan returned to her wife’s side.

“Is he okay?” Adler asked.

“He’s perfect. You’ll hold both of them soon. Now, squeeze my hand as hard as you need to,” Morgan instructed as she put her hand back into Adler’s. “Yell at me all you want. I love you. You’re the strongest person I know.”

“You better love me after all this,” Adler said.

Morgan laughed, and several minutes later, Jackson’s little sister joined them in the room. She cried, too. 

“Okay. I relent,” Adler said as they held their infants.

Morgan had Jackson in her arms and lay somewhat beside Adler on the bed.

“On what?”

“Paxton.”

“You relent?”

“I have a feeling she was the one kicking me at, like, two in the morning, which means she takes after her aunt already.”

Morgan laughed and said, “Jackson and Paxton, what? We need middle names.”

“You pick. We should have done this earlier.” Adler ran a fingertip over Paxton’s cheek.

“We could name her Paxton Jane and call her PJ.”

“Jane?”

“My mom’s middle name,” Morgan reminded her.

“That’s perfect,” Adler said.

“And Jackson James, after my dad’s middle name,” Morgan added. “JJ.”

Adler leaned over and rested her head on Morgan’s shoulder.

“I’m so tired.”

“I know, babe.” Morgan kissed Adler’s forehead.