“Now Ezra, you know these things take time.”

“Shut up Buck.”

“All I’m saying is…”

“I said shut up.”

Ezra resumed his not so patient pacing as he waited for Nathan to pop his head out of the bedroom. It had been more than a few hours since he’d called the healer to his house, and the wait was starting to kill him. What could possible be taking so long? He glanced at the door again before turning around to walk the ten paces to the other side of his parlor. The sun was starting to peak up over the horizon and sent it’s cheery light through the window, but he didn’t see it.

He was just worried. It was too soon. His wife wasn’t due to deliver her baby for a another month, but when she started having pains the previous night, Ezra sent for Nathan anyway. The healer gave Ezra a glass of whiskey, kicked him out of the room and left him to the tender mercies of his friends. Buck kept telling him to calm down, Chris kept plying him with whiskey, Vin paced along side him, Josiah sat in a corner with a silly grin on his face and JD? He was the worst.

It was understandable since Casey and Ezra's wife were both due about the same time, and with this happening, all JD's insecurities about impending fatherhood were making themselves known. The kid was quiet. Not just subdued but down right, deathly quiet. All he was doing was sitting in a chair, hat in hand, wringing the poor piece of headgear. Every time Ezra caught a glimpse of JD, his own worries surfaced and he wondered what in heaven’s name had ever lead him down this path.

Aside from the love of his life screaming out curses that would make a cowhand blush, there was the fact that he, Ezra P. Standish was about to become a father. Nathan had already come out a few times to assure everyone that things were going fine, and Mary had bustled in and out of the room, so he knew (in his mind anyway) that everything was going well. It was too soon though, and he kept wondering and worrying over what all could go wrong. His wife was strong though. She could handle anything, and had proven that little fact many times over, but this?

He didn’t think HE could handle it, and he just had to sit here and wait. How on earth was his wife handling this? Considering the language that was coning out of the small room, he didn’t think things were going as well as Nathan would like him to believe. The curses had dwindled in the last hour, and the faint wail of a newborn could be heard in the sudden silence.

Ezra took a deep breath, and mindlessly gulped down the whiskey that found it’s way into his hand. He stopped his pacing and simply stared at the door waiting for Nathan to show himself. As the minutes passed and he didn’t, Ezra thoughts took a turn to the worse. Not his Wife, not the one woman with the courage, strength and audacity to put up with him. She had to be fine. If she wasn’t…

Nathan finally opened the door and while his face wasn’t grim, there was a faint look of surprise.

“Where is she? Is she okay? How’s the baby?” Ezra started plying him with questions, his fancy words leaving him in his haste to find out about his wife.

“Everyone’s fine it’s just…” Nathan didn’t get a chance to finish. Several questions were pelted at him from the other men in the room as they crowded around. Once Ezra heard his wife was fine, he just left them and went into the bedroom, anxious to see his new family. Ezra’s sudden “WHAT!?!?!” broke through the chatter and Nathan was able to finish his news.

“It’s twins.”