Mpreg Special 13 - Finally big brothers

The days flew by. The twins' hair grew back, my belly got bigger and bigger, but not nearly as big as with the twins. And then something completely unexpected happened for all of us, something that plunged us all into deep grief. Grandpa Xiao had died suddenly and absolutely unexpectedly overnight. Fell asleep and never woke up.

It was still very early in the morning when Eve suddenly came crying into our bedroom and woke Zhan up. She whispered something to him and he immediately turned pale in the face. He turned to me, took my hands and whispered, "Grandfather died in his sleep."

I shook my head. Since I had formed such a deep, close and heartfelt relationship with Grandpa Xiao since I met him, I didn't want to believe that he had died. I cried bitterly while Zhan held me in his arms. It was his grandpa, but he had to comfort me because I was grieving so much for him. And I know I would have been so emotional even if I wasn't pregnant.

After I calmed down a bit, we went to Grandpa Xiao and Eve's bedroom and I smiled tearfully when I saw him lying there in bed. "Even in death, he's still smiling." I whispered. We sat by his bedside, holding his hands and wishing him a safe journey. And suddenly the twins were standing in the room asking about their great-grandpa, who wanted to go hunting with them that morning.

Zhan and I then had to explain to them why their great-grandpa could no longer go hunting with them. We took them on our laps and told them that Grandpa Xiao had fallen asleep forever and was now up in heaven with the angels. The twins are much too small to understand what death means and so they scolded that their great-grandpa should have taken them with him because they wanted to see angels too.

I think it was Wangji who, when he saw Grandpa Xiao lying in bed, realized that Grandpa would never wake up again. Because he suddenly started to cry and then Ying also understood and the two of them clung to their great-grandpa. They were completely overwhelmed, just like Zhan and me.

Just the night before, Grandpa Xiao was fine. He had made plans for a hunt with the twins and was also planning a short trip together with Eve. There was nothing to indicate that he would die.

Only after half an hour did we take the twins with us and leave the room. Zhan called his parents to inform them of Grandpa Xiao's death, while Eve and I took care of the twins. Fortunately, they are still so young and quickly forgot their grief after Eve promised them ice cream for breakfast.

Since my in-laws are still in Finland traveling the country, they were able to be with us within a couple of hours. They took care of everything. They informed the pack, organized everything for a fire burial, as is their tradition, and went over the procedure with Eve on how things would proceed.

Out of concern for me and our unborn daughter, because it could be any time now, Zhan was to take care of me and the twins while his parents prepared everything for the funeral with Eve. That is to say, Grandpa Xiao's body as well.

We retreated to the living room where the twins were playing in their play corner and Zhan was sitting on the sofa with me. He was holding me in his arms, stroking my arm and talking softly to me, when suddenly I felt a crazy stabbing pain on my stomach. It was so painful and so unexpected that I cried out.

The twins dropped their toys in fright and Zhan immediately jumped up and called for Eve. She hurriedly came running to us and immediately patted my belly. "We need to go to the birthing room. Now!" She almost shouted.

Zhan carried me upstairs, my father-in-law took care of the twins, Eve and my mother-in-law came with us to the birthing room. And as soon as I lay on the stretcher, I had another sharp stabbing pain. This time there was no time for a relaxing bath in the tub. Instead, Eve cleaned my belly with a damp cloth.

I lay on the stretcher while Zhan held my hand. Eve put the numbing ointment on my belly, which fortunately worked very quickly. My mother-in-law helped Eve prepare everything. Again, they put up a little privacy screen so I wouldn't see Eve cutting open my belly and taking our daughter out of it.

After a few minutes as the numbing ointment took effect and I had another strong contraction, Eve began her work. She cut open my belly and I felt the pressure again like I did almost four years ago when she reached into my belly to get our daughter out of me.

From the cut to our daughter's first cry, only three minutes passed. While my mother-in-law cleaned our daughter a little and wrapped her in a baby blanket, Eve warmed some of Zhan's blood and gave it to me to drink. My mother-in-law put the little girl in Zhan's arms and he handed her to me. She looked so cute and seemed to look me straight in the eye.

Thanks to Zhan's blood, my wound healed immediately and I was able to sit up and finally together with Zhan, bathe, change and dress our daughter. But before that we measured and weighed her. So our daughter was born on 05.07. and her name is Shenmi, as it was Grandpa Xiao's wish. She is 52 centimeters tall and weighed 3440 grams at birth.

After only half an hour we could leave the birth room together with our daughter Shenmi. Eve went to prepare a bottle of baby milk and Zhan and I had to introduce the twins to their little sister.

Already when I came downstairs with the little one in my arms and the belly was no longer visible, the twins immediately came running to us. I sat down on the sofa and Zhan put the twins next to me. "This is your little sister Shenmi." I said softly and showed her to them.

Wangji kissed her forehead and stroked her hand. "Hello Shenmi, it's me, Wangji, your big brother." He said happily.

Ying kissed his sister's hand and caressed her cheeks. He offered her a lollipop and said, "Finally, you're here. We've been waiting for you. Now we're finally big brothers."

With all the hustle and bustle, we had forgotten, at least for a while, about the sadness. But when the memory came, it almost hit us harder. Because unfortunately, Grandpa Xiao had not been able to meet his great-granddaughter. Whereas Eve is convinced that his soul was still with us and he witnessed everything.

Within two days our house was full again. In the house and on the property were family, friends and relatives of Grandpa Xiao, who came to say goodbye to him and to welcome Shenmi to the pack. The pack prepared the fireplace where Grandpa Xiao would then receive his cremation.

On the third day after Grandpa Xiao's sudden death, we all gathered at the fire pit. Grandpa Xiao was laid on it in a traditional robe and after everyone said a few more personal words and Eve gave a speech, the wood was lit with torches.

The pack howled together in farewell for Grandpa Xiao, Wangji and Ying also joined in. Shenmi was fast asleep and didn't notice anything. She actually sleeps all the time and even has to be woken up for feeding.

After the communal howling, some threw flowers into the fire. And also the elves came again and said goodbye to him with their own tradition, which was important for Eve.

For me, it had all been a bit too much. I was completely overwhelmed with the situation, so I didn't write everything down in detail. The death of Grandpa Xiao, the sudden birth of Shenmi, and then Eve also told us that she would go back to her kingdom for the time being to be able to mourn appropriately there, all this happened on the same day and I had no time to process it for myself somehow.

On the day of the cremation, we mourned Grandpa Xiao's death and celebrated his life. That same evening, we held the traditional ceremony for Shenmi to welcome her into the pack. She slept through this one as well. We received many gifts for her and everyone also had a wish for her. We were happy, but also glad when we were back in the house with our children and had our peace.

The twins slept with us in the bedroom because Shenmi also slept with us. They wanted to stay with their sister and take care of her. Zhan and I thought that was nice and we really enjoyed our time as a family. Thanks to my great husband and children, I was able to cope well with the grief of Grandpa Xiao. I don't think I could have gotten through it without my family.

After a week, peace returned to our house. And for the first time, Zhan and I were alone in the house with our children. Eve had gone to her realm with the elves, my in-laws were also traveling again, and Grandpa Xiao was no longer here.

At first it felt strange that we were now the only adults in the house. But after a few hours we got used to it. And finally we could enjoy the happiness of holding our daughter in our arms. Still, deep inside me was the sadness for Grandpa Xiao. I tried not to let it show, but Zhan now knows me better than anyone and knows exactly what is going on inside me. 

Whenever we were alone, when the children were asleep, Zhan would hold me in his arms and let me grieve. I know it was Zhan's grandpa. But he had become a very important part of my life and someone who was a kind of surrogate father and surrogate grandpa to me. Someone who was always there for me and always listened to me, advised me and taught me many things.

I knew Grandpa Xiao for almost 18 years and that is a lot of time to create shared memories. I hope that soon I will be able to overcome my grief properly and enjoy my family happiness to the fullest. At the moment I rather have the feeling that I am standing next to everything.

The twins were especially happy that Shenmi is here now. They had been waiting impatiently for this day and asked us every day when she would finally be here and when they could see her. And now that she is here, they can't get enough of her little sister. They are constantly around her and watching over her.

Wangji and Ying also always take turns feeding her. Only with the stinky diapers they don't want to have anything to do. But they want to help us to bathe the little one and to dress her. They also see it as their job to tell her a story every night, just like they did every night during the pregnancy.

And yesterday when we were in town with the kids to go shopping, the twins were holding onto the stroller left and right, making sure no one could get too close to the stroller. I think they will always treat their little sister like a princess and not let anyone hurt her. They are proud big brothers who love their little sister very much. Even if they can't do much with her yet, though that doesn't seem to bother them either.

All that matters to them right now is that their little sister Shenmi is here now and they are finally big brothers. It is nice to see with what ease the two go through life and just enjoy everything to the fullest. Even the little things.

I hope that I can soon leave the sadness behind me and look forward again joyfully. Just like Zhan and the twins, I just want to be able to enjoy the fact that there are no longer just four of us, but five. I also just want to enjoy the happiness of the birth of my daughter.

A/N: I dedicate this chapter to a good friend of mine. While she gave birth to her child by cesarean section, her grandmother died only a few hours later. She also had a very close bond with her grandma and lived with her almost all her life. I took her memories of that day and processed them a bit in this chapter. With her consent, of course.