Chapter 122: Not Yet!

“Christ, Hath!” David yelled, swerving the car. “Hold on! Don’t have the babies in the car! We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

David sped up a little, splitting his attention between the road, which was blessedly empty, and the passenger seat that was anything but.

“What the fuck choice do I have BUT to hold on?” she shouted. “You’re driving like a damned old woman! Put some oomph into it, man. Like you mean it!” She cried out as another contraction wracked her body.

“Shit,” David said, and pressed harder on the accelerator.

He was doing eighty as he approached the hospital. He tore into the parking lot and screeched to a halt in front of the Emergency Room, blocking an ambulance. An EMT was coming out of the hospital, and frowned at him.

“You can’t park there, man,” he said.

“Yes, I can,” David said. “If this isn’t an emergency, I don’t know what is!” He indicated the passenger seat where the EMT saw a very pregnant woman panting and muttering to herself. The EMT ran back into the hospital and got a nurse, an orderly, and a wheelchair while David ran around to the passenger door and helped Hath out.

“Jesus, baby, were gonna need a new car. There’s no way that smell is EVER coming out.”

“Shut up, you idiot,” Hath groused.

“Ma’am, what’s your name?” the nurse, Janelle, asked as she stopped in front of Hath and took her arm. Gently, she helped Hath lower into the chair.

“Hath Rashbaum. I’m pretty sure I’m becoming a mother today.”

“Let’s get you inside then,” Janelle beamed. She adjusted the footrests, and steered the chair slowly through the doors. She stopped the chair at the nurse’s station and set the brake. Picking up a packet of paperwork, she said, “Your husband can fill this out while we wait,” she said cheerfully handing David the sheaf of paper before typing something on her computer.

“I sure as hell hope we’re not waiting too long,” Hath mumbled.

Janelle laughed. “This must be your first child.”

“Children,” David corrected. He put his hand on Hath’s abdomen. “We’re having twins.”

“No, no,” Hath said. “I’m having twins. You’re just standing there.”

“Now, children,” Janelle scolded. “Play nice.” She finished whatever she was doing on the computer, and took two long wristbands from her drawer. She wrote something on one of them and fastened it around Hath’s wrist. “Now one for Dad,” she said, writing on the second done and putting it on David. “The babies will get them too. That’s one way we make sure there are no mix-ups,” she said seriously.

“We have to worry about THAT?” Hath said, struggling to get out of the chair,

“No” Janelle said placatingly. “I promise, you and your babies are perfectly safe. Now; let’s get you settled in your room.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“David, I’m tired of laying in this bed,” Hath said four hours later. “I need to move around.”

She’d been put on a pair of fetal monitors, which were attached to a box that was beeping softly and happily by her side. A blood pressure cuff took a measurement every half hour, just to make sure that everything was alright. An IV dripped fluids and nutrients into her bloodstream, as she wouldn’t be allowed to eat or drink anything, just in case an emergency C-Section became necessary.

The IV insertion was a chore. The first nurse couldn’t find a vein, and stuck Hath three times before giving up. A second nurse tried just once before Hath demanded the anesthesiologist. When the short, wiry man came into the room, he smiled. “I see you called in the big guns,” he said, in a voice that was too big for his small frame.

“I’m done with amateur hour,” she said. “Hook me up.” And he did.

Now, she was getting restless, and her legs were cramping. She needed to stretch.

“Are you sure getting up is a good idea?” David asked. Hath just leveled a stare at him that made him chuckle. “Yes, dear,” he said. He helped her sit, and carefully draped the monitor’s wires over her shoulder. Taking her arm, he helped her stand and pulled her IV bag behind her as she made a slow circuit of the room.

“Oh, that’s SO much better,” Hath said. She breathed deeply as she circled the room again. “Oh!” she cried as another contraction hit. She stopped to rub the side of her belly. “Damn, that was a hard one.”

“Are you sure you don’t want the epidural?”

“David, we went through this already,” she said, exasperated. “I don’t want to be stuck in bed. I want to be able to get up and walk around, or go pee or something.” “She pointed at him and narrowed her eyes. “Stop asking. It’s not that bad yet.”

“Yes, dear.”

“Ah, that’s what I like to hear,” Dr. Donovan said, as she breezed into the room. “Trying to keep Mom happy, I see. How are you feeling, Hath?”

Hath laughed tonelessly. “Like I’m about to burst,” she said. “Surely it’s time to deliver these children?”

The doctor laughed. “We won’t know until we check, and please don’t call me Shirley.”

David laughed, but Hath just groaned. “Oh God; not another Zucker fan. God help me.”

Dr. Donovan had Hath get back onto the bed and lie back, which took all three of them to accomplish. Darcy checked Hath, who moaned at the discomfort. The doctor straightened and smiled, stripping off her glove. “Three centimeters,” she said cheerfully. “You’re progressing quite nicely.”

“Three? That’s IT?” Hath exclaimed. “I’ve been in labor WAY longer than that! Isn’t it supposed to be one an hour?”

“You poor deluded woman,” Darcy said shaking her head. “Babies come on their own schedule and whenever the hell they feel like it. Would you feel better if I checked again?” the doctor asked, reaching for a fresh pair of gloves.

“No,” Hath said. “Sorry. I know it’s not your fault.”

“That’s alright. If that’s as mean as you get, this’ll be a breeze.”

Dr. Donovan told the couple she’d be back in a little while and went to go check on her other patients. Hath spent the time either walking in circles around the room or rocking in the oversized rocking chair in the corner. When she’d sit, David would sit next to her, holding her hand and rubbing her abdomen. He kept one eye on the monitor, and would let her know when a contraction was coming. Hath chuckled and told David she knew before the monitor did, and to save his breath. After a particularly strong one, Hath slumped in the chair.

Alarmed, David shook her shoulder. She let out a little snore and opened her eyes. “What’s wrong, David?”

He chuckled. “Nothing, sorry, you rest.”

“I was trying to,” Hath said. “This may be the last sleep I get for the next eighteen years.” Her eyes fluttered closed again. She’d wake up just before contractions hit, but was able to breathe and moan through them, and dozed in between. David marveled at how she could do that. This woman could apparently sleep anywhere during anything. He chuckled to himself, guessing that he’d be the one getting up with the kids in the middle of the night when they cried.

A couple hours later, Dr. Donovan was back. “So, how are we feeling?”

David answered this time. “I’m fine. She’s snoozing between contractions. She’s really wiped out, but they can’t be too bad if she’s sleeping, right?”

“Right,” she answered. Darcy checked all the various monitors, then checked Hath’s vital signs. “Everything looks good.” She looked down at Hath, who was looking up through slumberous eyes. “Ready for me to check you again?”

“Only if you promise that it’s time to push,” Hath answered testily. “These babies are squooshing my insides all to hell.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” the doctor said dryly.

Once again, and with help, Hath got up on the bed while the doctor examined her. “Great, you’re at about eight now. It won’t be too much longer. How are you holding up? Need any meds? I can give you a shot of Nubaine to take the edge off the contractions.”

“No, no, I’m okay,” Hath said, wincing as a new contraction hit. As she breathed through this one, focusing on a point on the wall, David held her hand, trying to be supportive.

He winced as Hath ground the bones together. “Easy, my love, I have to use that to make a living.”

Hath smiled. “You should have thought about that before you got me pregnant.”

David laughed. “As I recall, you were a willing participant that night.”

“Yes, but I didn’t know that we’d get preg— OH!” She bent her legs and cried out. “Darcy, I have to push.”

Darcy checked her again. “Not yet, Hath.” She nodded to the nurses, who started moving some of the extra equipment and chairs back against the walls. “Soon, I promise. Very soon. You’re at nine. Just a few minutes more.”