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thegirl20Her pregnancy has been relatively drama free. Save for Emma going into complete overprotective mode and nearly driving her insane at times. But that's understandable, Emma's own pregnancy was fraught with difficulties so it's no surprise that she should expect the worst and worry at the slightest twinge. Terri thinks it might be karma; the conception was hard enough, it's only fair that the pregnancy be easy. However, Terri worries that this means she's in for a hell of a delivery.
She's lying in bed, counting the seconds out between the pains in her abdomen. They're getting stronger with every repetition and she's pretty sure it's the real deal. She rolls over and gently shakes Emma.
"Emma, honey..." she says. "Baby, wake up, I think we need to go to the hospital."
Emma is awake immediately, her hand at Terri's belly.
"What's wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay? Are you bleeding?"
"Shhhh," Terri says, silencing further questions with a finger over Emma's lips. "I'm fine, I just think that the baby wants to put in an appearance pretty soon."
"Oh, good," Emma says, her body relaxing, only to tense right back up again as she realises what Terri's said. "Oh! Oh my gosh, okay, okay...right, okay."
Terri smiles and leans in to kiss Emma's nose, to get her attention and to stop her babbling.
"Emma, we know what we need to do, okay? So let's do it now before these pains get any worse and I turn into a complete nightmare."
*
They try to rouse a sleeping Isabelle, but she's never been the easiest child to wake up, so Emma carries her to the car, still mostly asleep. They've called ahead and Will is at the kerb waiting for them when they draw up. Emma gets out to unbuckle Belle from her seat and Terri winds the window down. Will leans on the door and smiles at her.
"You'll do great, Terr," he says, reaching out to gently touch her bump. "I know you will."
She grimaces as another contraction hits and she grabs his hand until it passes. He squeezes her hand and she looks up at him with a half-smile.
"Yeah. You're only saying that because you don't have to be in the room with me," she jokes.
He laughs softly and winks at her.
"That's a distinct possibility," he agrees, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Not at all," he whispers in her ear.
He pulls away and stands to take the slumbering child from Emma's arms, cradling her easily against his shoulder.
"Everything will be fine, Em," he assures her, leaning down to give her a kiss.
"Uh huh," she agrees, barely even registering what he's saying. "Here's her stuff. I'll call you with news and we can decide what to do from there."
She drops you a quick kiss on Belle's hair and heads back around to get into the car.
"C'mere," Terri says to Will, her eyes welling up suddenly. "I want to kiss my baby goodbye."
Will stoops and Terri sweeps Belle's hair away from her face and presses her lips against her forehead.
"Bye sweetie," she whispers, blinking tears away. "I love you."
Will stands back up and steps away from the car.
"Good luck guys," he says. "I look forward to meeting my new niece or nephew soon."
"Not soon enough," Terri grits out, another contraction taking hold.
Emma reaches over and takes her hand.
"Breathe," she encourages. "C'mon, like we practised."
Emma demonstrates the ridiculous panting they had learned in the pre-natal classes and Terri laughs through her pain.
“C’mon,” she says as the worst of the pain passes. “Let’s get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can get drugs.”
They wave goodbye to Will as Emma pulls away. The traffic is almost non-existent as it’s the middle of the night, and Emma drives carefully so as not to add to Terri’s discomfort. Terri looks over at her and smiles at the determined concentration on her face. She thinks back to Isabelle’s birth.
“It’s less scary this time,” she says.
Emma glances over at her incredulously before returning her eyes to the road.
“I’m glad you think so,” she mumbles.
Terri tilts her head and smiles.
“I know, I’m sorry,” she says. “It’s difficult to be where you are.”
She remembers the feeling of utter powerlessness of watching Emma in pain and being able to do nothing about it. She reaches over and takes her wife’s hand, bringing it to press against her bump.
“Everything’s okay,” she says. “I’m okay, the baby’s okay…everything’s going to be fine.”
Emma nods. They’ve had this conversation over and over. Emma had been reluctant to even let Terri try to get pregnant because of the traumatic experience of her own pregnancy. It’s true what Terri says, everything has been fine. But Emma keeps waiting for something to go wrong. She spreads her hand out over Terri’s belly, the familiar hard softness bringing her comfort.
“I know,” she whispers. “I just…I love you.”
It’s her way of saying ‘I can’t lose you’ without actually saying the words.
Terri strokes her thumb over the back of Emma’s hand.
“I love you too.”
*
Four hours into the labour, and Terri is not feeling quite so lovey-dovey.
“If I ever have a crazy idea like this again, slap me,” she tells Emma, who is wiping her face with a damp cloth.
Emma has calmed down considerably since they reached the hospital and the doctors reassured her that everything was perfectly normal and there were no expected complications. Now all she has to deal with is a cranky Terri. And that’s Emma’s speciality.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” she soothes. “I think we’ll definitely be stopping after two.”
“Oh God,” Terri whines, her head dropping back against the pillows. “Here comes another one.”
“Yep,” the obstetrician agrees from between Terri’s legs. “I want a really good push this time, you’re doing really well.”
Emma braces herself just as Terri squeezes her hand almost to breaking point. She leans in and presses her forehead to Terri’s temple, muttering words of comfort against her sweat soaked cheek.
Terri pushes as hard as she can, blocking out everything except Emma’s voice, concentrating on it and trying to focus all of her energy on pushing.
“That was great, Terri. Another couple like that and we’ll have your baby in your arms in no time.”
“No time? No time?” she pants. “We’ve been at this for hours.”
“You’re doing so good, honey,” Emma says, kissing Terri’s hair. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t punched anybody yet,” Terri grumbles. “So I’m doing better than I expected.”
Emma feels Terri tense up and knows another contraction is about to hit. Terri lets out a gasp, which turns into a whine of pain. Emma feels tears tickle the back of her eyes, not for the first time. She hates to see Terri hurting like this.
“Almost there, Terri,” the obstetrician cheers her on. “One more.”
Terri turns to Emma, her eyes wet and wide.
“Oh my God, we’re gonna have another baby,” she says.
Emma, despite herself, laughs out loud. She kisses Terri on the mouth as another contraction rips through her, her cry of pain mingled with the higher pitched crying of a baby. They both turn to see the doctor holding up a screaming, pink, tiny, perfect baby.
“It’s a girl,” he says, beaming. “Ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes and one nose. You wanna cut the cord?”
Emma nods in a stupor, letting go of Terri’s hand, and taking the surgical scissors from the nurse, snipping the thick cord where indicated. She hands back the scissors and before she knows what’s happening, she has her new daughter in her arms. She looks down to find the baby has stopped screaming and is staring up at her with the biggest bluest eyes she’s ever seen.
“Hi baby,” she whispers, tears running down her cheeks. “I’m your Mommy. Come meet your Mama.”
Emma carefully places the precious bundle on Terri’s chest, sliding an arm around her shoulders as she sits down on the bed next to her, she strokes the downy, matted hair on the tiny person’s head.
“It’s a girl,” Terri whispers in wonder.
“You did it,” Emma whispers back, kissing her cheek. “She’s here and she’s perfect and so are you and…”
The rest of her sentence is cut off as her throat closes up. All she can do is kiss Terri’s temple and then turn to rest her head against Terri’s, staring at their daughter.
“No,” Terri says after a moment. “We did it.”
“Yeah,” Emma agrees with a smile. “We did.”
Terri turns her head to face Emma.
“I love you so much,” she says, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I love you,” Emma says. “Both of you. All three of you.”
“We got our two kids and our picket fence,” Terri says, watching as Emma gently touches the baby’s cheek with the pad of her thumb. “Now all we need is a dog.”
Emma laughs tearily.
“Not on your life.”
Terri smiles.
“So, are we going with the name we’d picked out?” she asks just as the tiny person yawns a tiny yawn.
“Yes,” Emma says, decisively. “I think it fits her perfectly.”
Terri nods. She takes the baby's tiny hand in hers.
“Hi there, Olivia, we’re very pleased to meet you.”
She's lying in bed, counting the seconds out between the pains in her abdomen. They're getting stronger with every repetition and she's pretty sure it's the real deal. She rolls over and gently shakes Emma.
"Emma, honey..." she says. "Baby, wake up, I think we need to go to the hospital."
Emma is awake immediately, her hand at Terri's belly.
"What's wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay? Are you bleeding?"
"Shhhh," Terri says, silencing further questions with a finger over Emma's lips. "I'm fine, I just think that the baby wants to put in an appearance pretty soon."
"Oh, good," Emma says, her body relaxing, only to tense right back up again as she realises what Terri's said. "Oh! Oh my gosh, okay, okay...right, okay."
Terri smiles and leans in to kiss Emma's nose, to get her attention and to stop her babbling.
"Emma, we know what we need to do, okay? So let's do it now before these pains get any worse and I turn into a complete nightmare."
*
They try to rouse a sleeping Isabelle, but she's never been the easiest child to wake up, so Emma carries her to the car, still mostly asleep. They've called ahead and Will is at the kerb waiting for them when they draw up. Emma gets out to unbuckle Belle from her seat and Terri winds the window down. Will leans on the door and smiles at her.
"You'll do great, Terr," he says, reaching out to gently touch her bump. "I know you will."
She grimaces as another contraction hits and she grabs his hand until it passes. He squeezes her hand and she looks up at him with a half-smile.
"Yeah. You're only saying that because you don't have to be in the room with me," she jokes.
He laughs softly and winks at her.
"That's a distinct possibility," he agrees, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Not at all," he whispers in her ear.
He pulls away and stands to take the slumbering child from Emma's arms, cradling her easily against his shoulder.
"Everything will be fine, Em," he assures her, leaning down to give her a kiss.
"Uh huh," she agrees, barely even registering what he's saying. "Here's her stuff. I'll call you with news and we can decide what to do from there."
She drops you a quick kiss on Belle's hair and heads back around to get into the car.
"C'mere," Terri says to Will, her eyes welling up suddenly. "I want to kiss my baby goodbye."
Will stoops and Terri sweeps Belle's hair away from her face and presses her lips against her forehead.
"Bye sweetie," she whispers, blinking tears away. "I love you."
Will stands back up and steps away from the car.
"Good luck guys," he says. "I look forward to meeting my new niece or nephew soon."
"Not soon enough," Terri grits out, another contraction taking hold.
Emma reaches over and takes her hand.
"Breathe," she encourages. "C'mon, like we practised."
Emma demonstrates the ridiculous panting they had learned in the pre-natal classes and Terri laughs through her pain.
“C’mon,” she says as the worst of the pain passes. “Let’s get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can get drugs.”
They wave goodbye to Will as Emma pulls away. The traffic is almost non-existent as it’s the middle of the night, and Emma drives carefully so as not to add to Terri’s discomfort. Terri looks over at her and smiles at the determined concentration on her face. She thinks back to Isabelle’s birth.
“It’s less scary this time,” she says.
Emma glances over at her incredulously before returning her eyes to the road.
“I’m glad you think so,” she mumbles.
Terri tilts her head and smiles.
“I know, I’m sorry,” she says. “It’s difficult to be where you are.”
She remembers the feeling of utter powerlessness of watching Emma in pain and being able to do nothing about it. She reaches over and takes her wife’s hand, bringing it to press against her bump.
“Everything’s okay,” she says. “I’m okay, the baby’s okay…everything’s going to be fine.”
Emma nods. They’ve had this conversation over and over. Emma had been reluctant to even let Terri try to get pregnant because of the traumatic experience of her own pregnancy. It’s true what Terri says, everything has been fine. But Emma keeps waiting for something to go wrong. She spreads her hand out over Terri’s belly, the familiar hard softness bringing her comfort.
“I know,” she whispers. “I just…I love you.”
It’s her way of saying ‘I can’t lose you’ without actually saying the words.
Terri strokes her thumb over the back of Emma’s hand.
“I love you too.”
*
Four hours into the labour, and Terri is not feeling quite so lovey-dovey.
“If I ever have a crazy idea like this again, slap me,” she tells Emma, who is wiping her face with a damp cloth.
Emma has calmed down considerably since they reached the hospital and the doctors reassured her that everything was perfectly normal and there were no expected complications. Now all she has to deal with is a cranky Terri. And that’s Emma’s speciality.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” she soothes. “I think we’ll definitely be stopping after two.”
“Oh God,” Terri whines, her head dropping back against the pillows. “Here comes another one.”
“Yep,” the obstetrician agrees from between Terri’s legs. “I want a really good push this time, you’re doing really well.”
Emma braces herself just as Terri squeezes her hand almost to breaking point. She leans in and presses her forehead to Terri’s temple, muttering words of comfort against her sweat soaked cheek.
Terri pushes as hard as she can, blocking out everything except Emma’s voice, concentrating on it and trying to focus all of her energy on pushing.
“That was great, Terri. Another couple like that and we’ll have your baby in your arms in no time.”
“No time? No time?” she pants. “We’ve been at this for hours.”
“You’re doing so good, honey,” Emma says, kissing Terri’s hair. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t punched anybody yet,” Terri grumbles. “So I’m doing better than I expected.”
Emma feels Terri tense up and knows another contraction is about to hit. Terri lets out a gasp, which turns into a whine of pain. Emma feels tears tickle the back of her eyes, not for the first time. She hates to see Terri hurting like this.
“Almost there, Terri,” the obstetrician cheers her on. “One more.”
Terri turns to Emma, her eyes wet and wide.
“Oh my God, we’re gonna have another baby,” she says.
Emma, despite herself, laughs out loud. She kisses Terri on the mouth as another contraction rips through her, her cry of pain mingled with the higher pitched crying of a baby. They both turn to see the doctor holding up a screaming, pink, tiny, perfect baby.
“It’s a girl,” he says, beaming. “Ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes and one nose. You wanna cut the cord?”
Emma nods in a stupor, letting go of Terri’s hand, and taking the surgical scissors from the nurse, snipping the thick cord where indicated. She hands back the scissors and before she knows what’s happening, she has her new daughter in her arms. She looks down to find the baby has stopped screaming and is staring up at her with the biggest bluest eyes she’s ever seen.
“Hi baby,” she whispers, tears running down her cheeks. “I’m your Mommy. Come meet your Mama.”
Emma carefully places the precious bundle on Terri’s chest, sliding an arm around her shoulders as she sits down on the bed next to her, she strokes the downy, matted hair on the tiny person’s head.
“It’s a girl,” Terri whispers in wonder.
“You did it,” Emma whispers back, kissing her cheek. “She’s here and she’s perfect and so are you and…”
The rest of her sentence is cut off as her throat closes up. All she can do is kiss Terri’s temple and then turn to rest her head against Terri’s, staring at their daughter.
“No,” Terri says after a moment. “We did it.”
“Yeah,” Emma agrees with a smile. “We did.”
Terri turns her head to face Emma.
“I love you so much,” she says, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I love you,” Emma says. “Both of you. All three of you.”
“We got our two kids and our picket fence,” Terri says, watching as Emma gently touches the baby’s cheek with the pad of her thumb. “Now all we need is a dog.”
Emma laughs tearily.
“Not on your life.”
Terri smiles.
“So, are we going with the name we’d picked out?” she asks just as the tiny person yawns a tiny yawn.
“Yes,” Emma says, decisively. “I think it fits her perfectly.”
Terri nods. She takes the baby's tiny hand in hers.
“Hi there, Olivia, we’re very pleased to meet you.”