The heavy double doors of the recovery room swung open quietly, letting in the dim, warm light of the private suite. Jay-jay was propped up against a mountain of pillows. Her skin was still a little pale, but the moment she saw the double bassinet being rolled into the room, her entire face lit up with the unmistakable glow of a mother.
Keifer walked right beside the nurse, his eyes never leaving his wife.
"Hey," Jay-jay whispered, her voice a bit raspy. "Bring them here."
Keifer carefully lifted the pink-blanketed bundle first, placing Keira gently into Jay-jay's left arm. Then, with practiced ease that surprised even the nurse, he lifted the blue-blanketed bundle, nesting Jayden into her right arm.
As Jay-jay looked down at her twins, tears immediately spilled over her lashes. "Oh my god... they're so tiny, Keifer. They're so perfect."
Keifer sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping his large arms around all three of them. He leaned down, pressing his lips to Jay-jay's forehead while their fingers intertwined over the babies' tiny bodies. For a long, beautiful moment, the room was filled with nothing but the soft sounds of breathing and quiet sniffling. The Mutya, her Prince, and their legacy were finally, safely together.
The peaceful silence lasted exactly ten minutes before the door burst open.
"Can we come in?! We brought gifts! And a sanitized perimeter!" Ci-N announced, practically vibrating as he shuffled into the room, followed closely by Josh, Felix, and David.
"Shh! Quiet down, you idiot, they're sleeping," Felix hissed, though his eyes instantly locked onto the twin bundles.
"Oh my god, look at them," Josh gasped, clutching his chest dramatically. "They look like two little angel cupcakes. Jay-jay, you did so good! Can we... can we hold them?"
Jay-jay laughed softly, carefully shifting Jayden first. "Of course. Felix, you take Jayden. He's been super calm."
Felix looked surprised but carefully took the little boy into his arms. Amazingly, Jayden just blinked up at Felix's sharp features, completely relaxed, making the tough guy melt instantly. "Hey there, little man," Felix murmured, a rare smile breaking across his face.
"My turn! My turn for the princess!" Ci-N cheered, stepping up to take Keira from Jay-jay's left arm.
The exact millisecond Keira left her mother's warmth and entered Ci-N's arms, her tiny forehead creased into a deep, angry scowl.
WAAAAAAAH!
Keira let out a high-pitched, glass-shattering shriek.
"AHHH! I broke the princess! She hates my face!" Ci-N panicked, instantly passing the screaming bundle over to Josh like a game of hot potato. "Josh, take her! You know about fashion and stuff!"
Josh caught Keira, his arms locking into a stiff 90-degree angle. "Uh—don't cry, little diva! Look at uncle's shiny jacket!" But Keira only screamed louder, her tiny fists flailing in the air. WAAAAAAAH!
"Give her to me," David said logically, pushing up his glasses. "Maybe she needs a rhythmic, mathematically precise rocking motion." He took her and began swaying like a pendulum, but Keira wailed with even more fury, completely rejecting his calculations.
"Give her here, guys," Jay-jay smiled, reaching out her arms. "Come to mommy, Keira. Let's get you away from these crazy uncles."
David carefully placed the screaming baby girl back into Jay-jay's arms. Usually, a mother's touch fixes everything. But to everyone's absolute shock, Keira continued to scream at the top of his lungs, squirming right in Jay-jay's lap, her face turning bright pink.
"Uh oh," Jay-jay blinked, totally baffled. "She won't even calm down for me? Wow, Keira, rejecting your own mother already?"
Keifer, who had been quietly watching the entire circus from the corner with an amused smirk, finally stood up. He walked over to the bed, entirely unbothered by the deafening cries.
"Let me," Keifer said simply.
He slid his large hands under Keira, scooping the tiny baby girl up against his broad chest. He supported her head, resting her face right against his collarbone, right over his heartbeat.
Instantly
Complete. Utter. Silence.
Keira's screams stopped mid-wail. She let out a tiny, soft sigh, her little fingers instantly curling around the collar of Keifer's shirt as she buried her face right into him, completely at peace.
The entire room went dead silent. The Section E boys stared with their mouths wide open.
"Are you kidding me?!" Ci-N yelled in a whispered shriek. "She's a total daddy's girl! She already has favoritism!"
"She literally ignored the Mutya just to flex her Watson loyalty," David muttered, totally amazed.
Jay-jay looked up at her husband, shaking her head with a fond, loving smile. "Well, Keifer... looks like you have a little shadow. She's definitely her father's daughter."
Keifer looked down at the tiny girl sleeping peacefully against his chest, a rare, incredibly soft smile gracing his features. "She just knows who runs the security around here," Keifer murmured, his eyes full of pride.
The Watson twins had been in the world for less than twenty-four hours, but one thing was already very clear: Section E was never, ever going to be the same again.