Chapter 123: Hello LJ

Hath groaned. “I don’t know if I can wait a few more minutes. I’m so uncomfortable.”

Dr. Donovan looked at her, frowning. “Uncomfortable how?”

“God, they feel like they want to just burst out like on Alien,” she chuckled. “That would make even more of a mess, right David?”

“You mean it’s forward pressure?” Darcy asked. She put her hands on Hath’s abdomen and pressed. She studied the readouts on the fetal monitors for long minutes. “Hath, I won’t lie to you, I’m worried.”

“Worried?” David echoed, his face going white.

“Yes, that’s the wrong kind of pressure,” she said to him, before turning to Hath. “Everything’s progressing, but I want you to be prepared. If something starts to go wrong, I won’t hesitate to take you into surgery.”

“Anything to save my family,” David said, his hand crushed by Hath’s.

“What kind of wrong?” Hath asked, terrified now.

Darcy just shook her head. “Nothing we can’t handle,” she said. “Let’s check you again.” She smiled. “Someone’s crowning! It’s baby birthing time! Do you want the mirror?”

There was a mirror mounted to the ceiling, opposite the bed. It was on a swivel and currently turned so it would face the wall. But if they wanted, the nurse would turn it so David and Hath could watch their children being born.

“David, it’s up to you,” Hath said. “I’m not going to be watching anything but the inside of my eyelids.”

He shook his head at her. “No, I’ll be too distracted.” He looked down at the foot of the bed. “I want to focus on Hath, doc, you focus on our babies.”

The end of the bed came away, and Darcy positioned her stool at the foot. Janelle stood on one side, David on the other, bracing her feet with their hands. Hath’s knees were bent up close to her shoulders, and she grabbed on to her shins with all her strength.

“I love you,” David said. “No matter what vile names you call me, I still love you.”

“I love you tooooooooo,” Hath said, ending on a moan.

“Okay, Hath,” Darcy said. “With the next contraction, I want to you to push. Nice and easy, but hard, can you do that?”

“A little late to be asking me that, isn’t it?” she snapped. “Yeah, I can do it.”

David saw the contraction coming on the monitors a split second before Hath’s chin buried into her chest. She blew out through pursed lips, moaning with the strain of the push.

“Good!” Darcy said. “Very good. Now relax,” she added, when the contraction passed. “There’s quite a bit of hair here, this little one is definitely not bald.”

David peeked around Hath’s leg to see for himself. “Oh Hath, she’s got your hair.”

She breathed heavily. “How do you know that it’s Laura?”

“Because if she’s anything like her mother, she doesn’t want to miss a second, and wants to be first.”

“Ok, Hath,” Darcy said. “Next contraction big push. Hold it as long as you can, okay?”

Hath nodded. She panted and took a deep breath when her abdomen rippled, and pushed for all she was worth. She squeaked a moan through pursed lips.

“Hath, we’ve got the head honey, but stop pushing,” Darcy said. “Now.”

Hath immediately backed off. Something in Darcy’s tone made her scared. “What’s wrong?” Darcy didn’t answer for a minute, she was busy doing something that Hath couldn’t see. “David,” she said, “please, tell me what she’s doing.”

Darcy gave David a look that said, “Don’t you dare tell her anything” when he peered down to see what was going on. Darcy had her pinky finger between the umbilical cord and the baby’s neck. He paled and swallowed hard. As he watched, she expertly and swiftly maneuvered the cord up and over the baby’s head and exhaled sharply.

“D?” Hath’s voice was shaking with terror. “What’s wrong?”

David kissed her cheek. “Not a damned thing,” he answered. “Everything’s fine.”

“He’s right,” Darcy agreed. “Now we work on the shoulders. Next contraction, give me a big push.”

Twenty minutes later, at 11:17, they were rewarded with an indignant scream as Laura Jean slid into the world. “Laura has made her appearance,” Darcy said, holding up the squirming, red wrinkly bundle.

“She looks just like you, David,” Hath said, reaching for her daughter. “Except for my hair.”

Darcy rested the baby on Hath’s abdomen while she cleaned up and waited for the cord to stop pulsing. When it did, she placed clamps about a quarter inch apart on the cord, and handed David a pair of scissors. With tears in his eyes, he cut the cord, cupping his daughter’s head with his big hand. He looked at his wife. “I love you so much,” he said, his voice cracking.

“I love you too,” Hath answered, and turned her face up for a kiss. They gazed down on their daughter until the nurse came to take her for her APGAR and to weigh and wrap her. Neither of her parents could keep their eyes off their baby girl.

Only when Laura was safely in her bassinet by the bed did they turn their attention back to Darcy, who had a big grin on her face. “One down, one to go.” She consulted the monitors, and noted that everything looked good.

“Why don’t I feel like I’m still in labor?” Hath asked. “Nothing hurts anymore.”

“It could be euphoria or it could be that John doesn’t want to arrive on your schedule,” the doctor answered.

David laughed, looking at Hath. Though their son wasn’t named for his friend, the child already seemed to have his temperament. “Why does that not surprise me,” he said.

“I’d take the time to relax; get to know your daughter,” Darcy said. “You’ll know when John is ready to make his arrival.”

David gently lifted the warm little bundle out of the bassinet and handed their daughter to Hath. “Here you go, Mom,” he said, smiling.

Hath took the baby, settling her in the crook of her arm so David could see her face. He traced the baby’s forehead with a gentle fingertip. “Happy birthday, Laura,” he said softly.

Laura’s deep navy eyes blinked at the lights in the room. Hath pressed her face in close to her daughter’s. “Hi, Laura,” she said. “I’m your mama and I love you very much.” She kissed a tiny cheek and was rewarded with a big, gaping yawn.

“Guess she’s not as enthralled with you as you are with her,” David joked. He leaned in close too, pressing his cheek against his wife’s. “Hey baby girl,” he said softly. “I’m your daddy and am going to spoil you rotten.” Hath chuckled at that. Laura’s eyes blinked slowly, and drifted closed, her teeny little eyelashes resting on her cheeks.

David retrieved their camera from Hath’s bag, and framed his girls in the lens. He snapped off a couple of pictures before handing the camera to Janelle. “Would you mind?” he asked before returning to his wife’s bedside.

“Oh, D, she’s perfect,” Hath said sleepily. “Absolutely perfect.”

David looked at Hath. Exhausted from giving birth, her eyes were drifting closed. David whispered, “let me take her, you rest.”

He scooped the little girl from her mother’s embrace. The jostling woke Laura, and she let out a little squeak of protest. David settled into the rocking chair in the corner of the room and rocked his daughter, singing to her softly.

You're the end of the rainbow, my pot of gold,
You're daddy's little girl to have and hold.
A precious gem is what you are,
You're mommy's bright and shining star.

Janelle took several photos of David with Laura, and returned the camera to the bag. Darcy came over to stand by his shoulder. “How’s our baby doing?” she asked.

“She’s just perfect. Thank you,” he said, his eyes telling her exactly what he meant. “You saved her,” he whispered, tears springing to his eyes.

Darcy smiled and patted his shoulder. “All in a day’s work,” she quipped. “If she was in real danger, I would have taken Hath to the O.R.”

David covered Darcy’s hand with his. “Thank you,” he said again, and this time Darcy simply nodded. “How long do we let her rest?” David asked, nodding at Hath.

Darcy chuckled. “Believe me; she will not sleep through labor. When your son is ready to make his appearance he will wake her up. I’ve got another patient to check on; I’ll be back soon.”

After the doctor left, David sat and rocked a while longer; content to just hold his daughter. Soon after, Hath started to stir.

“David?” she said, her eyes not quite open.

“Over here, my love.”

Hath turned her head, and the sight of David rocking their daughter brought tears to her eyes. “What a beautiful picture you make. Oh! Picture! The camera…”

“Already taken care of,” Janelle said. “How are you doing?”

“Fine,” Hath answered. “Just sleepy and sore.” She rubbed her abdomen and chuckled. “Now that John has the place all to himself, he won’t be in such a hurry to come out.”

Janelle laughed. “That may be true, but he doesn’t have much choice in the matter.”

David came to join Hath on the bed, sitting on the edge. He handed their daughter to his wife, and kissed them both. “Do you want me to call our moms? Let them know Laura has arrived? Or just wait until John arrives?”

“You can call, I’m sure they’re dying for news.”

That was the understatement of the day. Both his mother and his mother-in-law picked up halfway through the first ring and both were overjoyed to hear that Laura arrived safely. David promised to call back when John arrived, and his moms promised to take care of calling everyone else.

About an hour later, Hath felt a searing cramp low in her abdomen. She let out a loud moan, and the monitor showed a big contraction. “God, here we go again,” she said.

“You’re doing so great,” David said, putting Laura back into her bassinette. He stood by his wife’s side, and smoothed her hair back. “I’m so proud of you,” he murmured against her forehead.

Darcy came bustling into the room and went to the sink to wash her hands. “Ready for round two?”

“As ready as I can be,” Hath answered.

“He’s crowning already,” Darcy said, “and he’s bald as a cue-ball.” She chuckled. “It looks like he’s anxious to come out so Laura doesn’t get all the attention. Give us a big push!’

John Edward Rashbaum slid into the world without any fuss. David commented that this would probably be the last time their son didn’t give them any trouble. After getting cleaned and weighed, John was handed gently to his mother. “David, he looks just like me,” she said. “Except for the no hair thing.”

David came over to look. “He is gorgeous,” he answered. “Hey there, little man.” David straightened and started to laugh softly.

“What’s so funny?” Hath asked, looking at her husband like he had lost his mind.

“He’s an LJ too,” David said. “’Little John’. God, that’s priceless.”

“Oh no,” Hath said, smiling. “No way are you calling him Little John. That’s almost as bad as ‘John Boy’. Uh-uh. I love you, and would never hurt you, but if you call our son that, I will have to kill you.”

“Oh, you’re no fun. We could get him a staff and teach him to parry…”

“Tell you what,” Hath said. “If you can get Richie or Jon to name their next child ‘Robin’, you can call him ‘Little John’. Sound like a deal?”

David laughed. “I can live with that.” He kissed his son’s forehead like he did his daughter’s, then placed a longer kiss on his wife’s lips. “I love you, Hath,” he said, punctuating each word with kisses.

“I love you too,” Hath answered. David picked up his daughter and put her in Hath’s other arm. They sat there together while Janelle took pictures, and couldn’t get enough of their little faces.

A short while later, when Janelle led Hath into the shower to get cleaned up, an orderly came to change the bed. David sat in the rocking chair, holding his son, and made another round of phone calls. Laura lay sleeping in the bassinet next to his chair. He smiled down on the newest member of his family, and started to sing for him.

From the first time the doctor placed you in my arms
I knew I'd meet death before I'd let you meet harm
Although questions arose in my mind, would I be man enough
Against wrong, choose right and be standing up

Touched your head gently, felt my heart melt
Cause I knew I loved you more than life itself
Then to my knees, and I begged the Lord please
Let me be a good daddy, all he needs

Love, knowledge, discipline too
I pledge my life to you

Hath had tears in her eyes as she heard his words. “You know, you do not have a voice for rap,” she said. “Will Smith you are not.”

David chuckled. “It’s the thought that counts. I’ll write something for them later; I couldn’t do it until I met them. Now, the music is swirling through my head.”

“Did you call the moms again?”

David nodded. “Yep, and the guys too. I told Jon his namesake was bald.” He laughed.

“When are they descending?”

“Sam and Lucia are coming today, the moms and Stephanie will come tomorrow. The others will wait until we’re home.”

Hath nodded. Now that the equipment and all the people were gone, and it was just the four of them, Hath was nervous. “What do we do now?” The babies were asleep in the same bassinette next to the bed.

“We watch our children sleep, and maybe get a little rest ourselves. They won’t always be this quiet you know,” David answered.

Hath scooted over on the bed a little, to make room. “Come lay with me,” she said.

And he did.

When the nurses came in to check on them, they smiled at David laying behind Hath, one arm wrapped around her waist. Hath’s hand was in the crib, splayed across her children’s legs. All four Rashbaums were asleep. Janelle quietly took Hath’s blood pressure, and ushered the other nurses out, shutting the door behind her.