I sit bolt upright in our bed, I can feel a trickle between my legs and a cramp in my stomach. "Derek." I reach over our bed and slap him on the shoulder until he wakes up.

"What? What?" He groans before trying to roll over and go back to sleep, I keep hitting him until he sits up and looks at me. "What's wrong Elle?" All the grumpy sleep has left him and a look of fear is there instead.

"I think it's..." I gasp as another contraction hits my stomach like a rolling ball of fire. "I know it's time."

We have had a few close calls in these recent weeks, being pregnant with triplets is a total shit show. I haven't really been able to leave the house for two weeks because I've been so unstable on my feet. There was one time when I was convinced my waters had broken in the kitchen but it turned out one of the babies had kicked my bladder and I had no control. I cried for two hours after because I was so embarrassed, to make matters worse I couldn't get down onto the floor to clean it up so I had to call Derek to help me.

He found me sobbing my heart out on the sofa, hiding from the puddle in the kitchen. Without a word, he carried me upstairs and into our bathroom, started running a bath, pulled off my wet legging and pants before wrapping me in a dressing gown. He left me for a minute before helping me into the bath and sat with me until I wanted to get out.

I was too embarrassed to go downstairs and see what had happened in the kitchen but Derek insisted. When I walked in I found no evidence of my shame, he'd cleaned it all up for me. Not another word was spoken about it, Derek merely asked me what I wanted to eat and cooked it for me. I cried again at how lucky I was to have found such a man.

"Is it definitely time?" He checks once again, his eyes huge with untamed excitement and fear. I nod and whimper as another contraction hits. "They're really close together Derek, we need to get to the hospital now!"

Derek moves so fast he's like a blur, one second he's helping me from the bed and getting me dressed, then he's checking our delivery bag and calling members of the club to tell them. I'm barely down the hall before Derek wraps his arm around my waist to steady me- I'm eternally grateful, my entire centre of gravity is wrong and I'm unsteady.

"Are you ok Elle?" He asks as he bundles me into the car, somehow in that time he has also made a hot water bottle and fetched a blanket for me to have in the car. He's always so thoughtful, it's freezing outside in the November air and the car won't warm up for a while.

"I'm ok Der." I gasp out as another contraction hits, "But you really need to start fucking driving now."

He nods and flies out of the compound in the car, now, I would never admit to Derek that I knew this but, Astrid told me that in these last few weeks of my pregnancy Derek has been making practice runs to the hospital to cut down on time. Pregnancies with triplets often come before their due date and once labour starts it can be fast.

Astrid was right, the journey that should have been thirty minutes was only twenty, not that I really noticed, I was too busy panting and trying to not push.

Derek kisses my cheek quickly before dashing into the hospital- he knows exactly where he's going and seems calm and in control. I'm very lucky.

The next contraction hits as I'm climbing from the car towards the wheelchair Derek bought me. It's so hard that I almost drop to my knees in a scream, but as always Derek catches me before I fall.

He helps me into the chair carefully and pushes me into the hospital towards the lift, he's not even looking at the signs he knows exactly where we're going.

"You ready baby?" He asks as the lift carries us to the right floor, I haven't had another contraction so I can reply to him finally.

"I'll be ok, just the last tiny stretch to go." I tease knowing it's going to be the hardest part before the babies arrive. We decided not to find out the genders of the babies, wanting them to be a surprise.

Neither of us mind what genders they are, so long as they're healthy and happy. That's all that matters.

Our doctor has already been called ahead to warn them of our arrival, probably Astrid, as triplets is a big deal.

"Hello Elle, are you ready to have these babies?" The doctor smiles at me as Derek pushes us into a room. "How far apart are your contractions?" I panic, I haven't been counting!

"They're currently at every 4 minutes." Derek replies calmly, how did he count when he was driving?

"Gosh that's very close together, perfect time to arrive at the hospital." Our doctor smiles warmly at us both and it feels good to have some positive reinforcement that we are doing the right thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ok Elle, now is the time to push." The doctor encourages from between my legs, there really is no dignity in child birth. Derek is holding one of my legs so I can push against him, a nurse the other. With the next contraction I bear down and push with everything I have. After about five minutes of pushing I'm screaming in agony as the head is crowning. The contraction calms and I carefully reach my hand down, with the doctor's encouragement, and touch my first born's little head. Derek is sobbing by this point and the doctor tells him to not faint again.

The next contraction comes quickly, I barely have time to catch my breath but I don't care. I shift up the bed slightly and push as my body screams at me. Then an infant's wail fills the delivery room.

"We have a boy, little one." Derek gasps and takes the handles of the clamps to cut the cord. The baby is wrapped up and is lifted up for me to see, I feel a moment of sadness that I can't hold him yet, but I still have two more babies to push out.

The second baby comes faster than the first and within a few minutes another round of tears join my boy. Derek gasps again and a sob catches in his throat. "Another boy, Elle, another son."

I cry with joy and collapse against the pillows of the bed. Derek comes up beside me and wipes the sweat from my forehead with a damp cloth, moving the hair from my eyes.

As I feel another contraction I start to sob. "I can't do it again." I beg. "Derek please don't make me do it again."

I have nothing left to give, all my strength is gone and I can barely keep my eyes open. Derek's arm snakes around my shoulders and he pulls me close to him.

"You can do this Elle, you're the strongest person ever and you can do this. One last time and you can hold your sons." Groaning another contraction hits and I have no choice but to push.

Contraction after contraction comes and goes but still no baby. I'm a sobbing mess of exhaustion as the doctor keeps encouraging me to push when the contractions hit.

I sit up, listening to what my body is asking me for. I turn so I'm on my hands and knees, face pressed into the pillows as I push with all the strength I didn't know I had left.

The last baby doesn't cry like the others, it's weaker, sadder, less full of life. Derek cuts the cord like he did the other two before telling me if I have another boy or a daughter.

"Three boys." Derek chuckles. "Three little riders."

I cry again through my laughter, my body is exhausted but I'm overwhelmed with happiness and this love for my sons. The doctors help me to sit back against the pillows and two of my sons are handed to me, one in each arm. While the third and smallest is handed to a now sitting and utterly speechless Derek.

My legs are still spread wide apart as we wait for the placenta but I have no dignity left with any of the people in this room so I no longer care. I'm just staring at my blond haired baby boys, their eyes are closed in sleep and there faces are scrunched up from delivery.

Kissing each baby, I gaze at them, unable to speak or move beyond my eyes. Derek stands, still holding the littlest, and leans over beside me so I can see my smallest. Unlike the bigger two, he has thick dark hair and a more delicate face. I feel the sensation of slimy clumps of tissue leaving me and the doctor informs me that the two I'm holding a identical twins and the smallest is from his own embryo. He won't be identical to the other two.

I'm beyond words, truly blessed and overwhelmed with how lucky and loved I am.

"Hello my boys." I murmur to all three of them. "I'm your mummy, and that's your daddy. We love you more than words can say."

"Are we ready with the names?" Derek asks me quietly from the chair beside me, we had spent many days talking about names for girls and boys. We had two boys names that I absolutely loved, looking down at the two in my arms, I know they're perfect.

"This one is Andrew." I say quietly, almost to myself but loud enough for Derek to hear. Derek looks down at the baby with a tiny mole on his chest and agrees he could be nothing other than an Andrew.

"And Ethan." The other blonde boy in my arms has a strong, grumpy expression and I knew as soon as I saw him, he was an Ethan.

"They're perfect, little one." Derek agrees. "But what about this little one?" He gently shifts his son in his arms and strokes his dark locks from his forehead.

"I want to name him after my brother, if you don't mind."

"What was your brother called baby?"

"Griffin. His name was Griffin."

He looks back down to the face of his son and nods in agreement. "Griffin, it's perfect."

Derek leans over and kisses my lips gently, they're dry and cracked and drenched with sweat but Derek doesn't care. His taste soothes my lips and my soul, I no longer feel exhausted as I look at my rather large family. I don't care if I never sleep again so long as I get to hold my boys in my arms.

"I love you Derek."

"I love you my Elle, thank you for giving them to us. Our little family is perfect."