Carter couldn't sleep. Every time Brand got up to go to the bathroom, he woke from his half-sleep, heart racing, and it wouldn't slow until Brand was back in bed and in his arms.

As Brand slid back under the covers again, Carter asked, "Everything okay?"

Brand grunted. "I keep feeling like I have to pee, and like, two drops come out."

Carter tried to keep from laughing at how disgruntled he sounded.

"And the contractions are pretty intense tonight. I feel like my stomach is just stretched tight all the time."

Carter's heart kicked up another notch. "Are you sure it's not actual contractions?"

"Maybe."

That hadn't been the response Carter had expected. He'd kind of expected Brand to brush aside Carter's worries. Brand had constantly assured Carter that while twins were often early, they wouldn’t really start expecting them until thirty-six weeks. "Should we call Dr. Shirley?"

Carter's worries were only amplified when Brand nodded approval. While Carter was waiting for Dr. Shirley to pick up, Brand clenched at his arm and said, "Actually, tell her to meet us at the clinic."

Carter went into full panic mode. He ran to the closet to grab the hospital bag they'd packed a month ago, cursing at the phone, urging Dr. Shirley to pick up.

"Carter?" Brand's voice was thin and tremulous. "We may need to hurry."

The phone went to voicemail and Carter hung up. "She isn't answering."

"We can call from the car. Come on."

Carter helped Brand slowly down the steps, pausing when the pain was too much for Brand. While they were on the stairs, Carter's phone rang. He nearly dropped the hospital bag while attempting to answer.

"I think Brand is going into labor. What? Has his water broke? I don't think so. Has your water broke?"

Brand shook his head.

"No. No, we didn't check his blood pressure. We're on our way to the car now. See you at the clinic."

Brand rested a weak hand on Carter's arm. "Tell her to have a team on standby."

Carter relayed his words, trying to hide how they terrified him. Brand needed him to be strong right now. He signaled to the two guards sitting at the end of his drive way and filled them in as they walked. As soon as Brand was settled into his seat and buckled, Carter raced to the driver's side, and then they were speeding to the clinic. It was just past two, and if any cops were waiting for speeders, there'd be no way they could miss their convoy, but they wouldn't be stopping. Thankfully, the roads were mercifully clear and they made it to the clinic in fifteen minutes, the guards bracketing them once more.

There were already two cars in the parking lot, and even though neither of them was a white van, Carter was struck with the sudden fear that one of them might belong to someone who had come looking to capture Brand again. He froze momentarily, caught between the need to get Brand into the clinic as swiftly as possible and the need to protect him, but their protectors solved the issue for them, two men disappearing into the clinic while two more helped Brand out of the car, four more remaining on watch.

Carter jumped into action, grabbing the bag from the back seat and taking over assisting Brand inside.

Dr. Shirley was already waiting for them. "Good morning, Brand. You realize you're a little early, right?" She said it with a smile, but her eyes darted, cataloging Brand's current state.

Brand's return smile was weak. "Only two weeks earlier than a lot of twins," he said, his voice wavering.

"Well, let's get you changed into a gown and up on the table and we'll see what is going on."

Carter helped Brand change while the doctor finished suiting up. She was accompanied by a nurse, who took Brand's heart rate and blood pressure.

Dr. Shirley reviewed the data and settled on to a rolling stone next to Brand. "Hmm… a little high, but no more than earlier. How are you feeling?"

"Something… something isn't right," Brand said.

"Is it pain?"

"Pain… pressure… I feel like I'm out of breath."

"Are your contractions consistent?"

Brand shook his head. "Sometimes they're two minutes apart, sometimes seven."

"Well let me take a look down here and we'll go from there."

The doctor disappeared under Brand's hospital gown for a moment, and Carter leaned down to kiss his mate's head. He meant to reassure him, but instead what came out was, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Of course I am," Brand said sleepily, without a smile. "I'm not allowed to be not okay."

That wasn't assuring.

"Well," Dr. Shirley said, "your body is ready to get these babies out, and with your current state, I’d like to try inducing. Are you okay with that?"

Brand nodded weakly.

"Okay, I'll get Holly to start the drip as soon as the rest of the team gets here. They should arrive soon. Carter, you'll want to robe up."

Carter kissed Brand's hand and followed.

"I don't want to alarm you," Dr. Shirley said, "but if his condition doesn't improve soon, we will need to change tactics to an emergency C-section. Do you have any objections to that?"

Carter swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Whatever it takes to keep Brand and the babies safe."

Dr. Shirley clapped him on the shoulder. "I haven't lost a patient yet."

Carter couldn't help but wonder, what if Brand was the first?

As Dr. Shirley had said, the rest of the team arrived quickly, and then they were starting Brand on some kind of drug to induce him and gave him an epidural. It was so very different from when Aaron had Jax. Carter clung to Brand's side, sliding out of the way as needed, but desperate to be close, to touch him, to know he was still there.

"Doctor!" one of the nurses suddenly snapped, and then everything burst into chaos. There was blood, too much of it, and the doctor told Brand and Carter they were going to have to do a C-section. Brand didn't respond, his face white, his eyes closed. Carter felt cold, and distant, as if he were watching everything from outside his body. He kept his eyes on Brand's face, watching his nose flair with each breath, letting the sounds of the doctors and nurses’ words and tools fade into the background. It was just him and Brand. They'd barely found each other, lost each other, and then found each other again. He wasn't ready to lose him. Not so soon.

And then someone was pulling him away, and he was yelling. They couldn't take him from Brand. Brand needed him. He needed Brand.