Ice, ice, ice, ice.
Joey couldn't even comprehend correctly what was going on as he power-walked down the white hospital corridor. Some of his friends stood around looking concerned at him and back at the door which he came out from. His eyes stung with tears and he wiped his nose with his wrist, followed by a sniff as he finally found the small nook where the ice machine was. He grabbed a Styrofoam cup from the dispenser at the side of the water fountain with his nervously shaking hand and let another tear fall from his eye when he heard his girlfriend screeching like a banshee down the hall. He filled the cup with ice and jogged back to the door that was left ajar.
"Does it take you that long just to get a goddamned cup of ice?" His girlfriend, Kaylee sneered at Joey with a tight frown and beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead. All the exhaustion and pain was making her wavy ginger hair quickly fall out of its once neat ballerina bun. Joey and Kaylee had known each other for five years now, and of all the times he had spent with her, this had to be the most terrifying she has ever been. His usually bubbly and imaginative girlfriend had turned into a total bitch (no offense) ever since she had just gone into labor one and a half hour ago. "Sorry," He mumbled and dabbed an ice cube around her freckled face and neck. "When the hell does this stupid bitch get here?" She closed her eyes and took short breaths. "I don't know," Joey let the now miniscule ice cube about the size of a pea roll down her neck as he got up to go find another doctor, "Girls, take over for me, please?" He asked Lauren, Jaime, Meredith, and Julia who stood outside the door against the wall opposite from the room still in the somewhat formal attire from the restaurant.
They happily obliged and flocked the room, excitedly chatting, consoling, complimenting, and all those other girly things, as Joey put it, to help cheer her up while she felt like shit. "Meredith, take over on ice duty." Julia, who always knew how to handle situations like these, instructed the girl with dark brown curly hair. "What else would you like, Darling?" Julia used a softer and comforting tone with Kaylee when she saw her face red and stained with tears. "Fucking food!" she managed to say at a somewhat more appropriate volume through clenched teeth.
"Jaime, get some chocolate at the vending machine. I mean like, a shit load; as much as you can." Julia pulled a crinkled $10 bill out of her purse and slapped into Jaime's hand. She nodded and ran around to find the closest vending machine that had chocolate. Lauren, Meredith and Julia were the only ones left in the room and only sudden screams and sobs filled the tense air. Lauren pulled out her phone to check the time. 9:28… No 9:29 now. She sighed and hated seeing one of their close friends in such horrible pain but it would all be worth it once this nightmare was over. "Can someone go check up on Joey, please?" Kaylee squeaked and began wringing her hands in the thin sheet that laid over her. Julia gave Lauren her cue and she set out on her own mini expedition to find Joey.
She shivered as she walked down the hall, listening to the clacking of her heels Julia made her wear. Lauren had to admit, they were stylish and made her seem less little, but they were just plain uncomfortable. "It's Joe's early birthday dinner, you have to dress nice." Julia's words repeated in her mind as she watched fat, puffy snowflakes blow around in the wind out of the large glass windows that overlooked the entire city of New York. The skies were covered in dark clouds, which were illuminated into a comfortable brown from the orange streetlights. Lauren had already forgotten what floor they were on but enjoyed the scenery and took her time studying each little light that created the gorgeous skyline.
"Oh my fuCKING GOD! Where is the food when you need it?" The scream from around the corner reminded Lauren to get to her task; there were more important things to do right now than just sit around and dream about Joe Walker. Jaime passed her by with arms full of various kinds of chocolate bars and they exchanged their anxious yet excited grins. The sickly sweet smell of the hospital made her want to jump out those windows for fresh air and almost considered doing just that until she saw a familiar walking figure down near the more vacant side of the parking lot. Joseph Michael Richter, you dumb ass, she thought to herself, ripping Julia's high heels off her feet and storming down the stairs.
"Joey!" Lauren yelled with both hands on either side of her mouth to amplify her voice. Her toes began to get more and more frost bitten with each step she took with her bare feet. A very worried Joey looked over his shoulder and turned right back around, standing in the same spot with both of his hands digging at his scalp.
"What if I suck at this, Lo?" He asked, in a broken voice. She finally came around to see his facial expression and instantly had the urge to just hug him. His nose was tinted red from the cold and his tear-soaked eyelashes started the freeze from what she could see, since the same drop hadn't moved at all after all his blinking. "Joseph Michael Richter, you have been prepared for this for how long?"
"Five months." He said lamely, wiping his eyes with the hem of his sleeve of his white button-up shirt.
"And do you want to stay with her for the rest of your freaking life?" She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him like a ragdoll.
"Yes! I do! Jeez, I'm just… I don't even know." His eyes widened in slight annoyance and raised his arms in emphasis, which only landed back onto the back of his head, fingers neatly intertwined.
"You will know once you see your kid for the first time!" Lauren snatched his left wrist and sprinted back to the side entrance of the hospital. It took him a few seconds to catch up with her rapid pace as she nearly slammed him into a wall as they turned the familiar corner where she had passed to unexpectedly found herself admiring the city earlier. "Where the hell have you been?" Kaylee breathed and glared at Joey with a deadly look in her brown eyes. Their doctors had already arrived and were setting up her anesthesia needles.
"Just… clearing my mind a little." Joey flashed a wary smile to his temporarily Satan of a girlfriend and blinked a few excess tears away. All the guys remained outside until they were told to come in. Joey peeked his head back out with an uneasy look on his face and they all backed him up with a thumbs up. He relaxed a little at the encouragement from Joe Walker, Darren, Brolden, Jim, Brosenthal, and Dylan.
"It's your time to shine, Joey." Meredith clapped a hand on his shoulder and turned him around, giving a gentle push into the room while the other girls left. Joey took Kaylee's right hand that was fidgeting and held it with both hands. "You've got this, okay?" He looked her dead in the eye and kissed her on the back of the hand. She only nodded back and forced a smile through all the unbearable pain.
"Now I kind of wished we asked for the gender at the first ultrasound, but nooo, it just had to be a surprise." Kaylee chimed as she held their newborn baby boy. He was pretty fat and had thick, long brown hair just like Joey, which she carefully kissed every few seconds. It had been a half hour since the nightmare had ended, and they were just settling in a little before everyone else filed in. Joey rested his forearms on the windowsill and he waited for his turn to hold their infant again, trying to come up with some kind of name with the inspiration from the breathtaking view.
"Umm… Bruce Wayne?"
"No Batman or superhero related things."
"Ron."
"No Harry Potter."
"Mark Hoppus."
"No blink182!"
"Umm…" Joey was out of ideas and began naming off things he saw for a change. "Linoleum" he said, looking down at the floor.
Kaylee gave him the 'what-the-hell-is-going-through-your-mind-right-now' look and sat up a little straighter. "No."
"Clock"
"No"
"Door"
"No"
"Doorknob?"
"Yes"
"Really?"
"No, of course not." She laughed and snuggled closer to the baby, which Joey had watched and sighed in content. Kaylee looked down at the baby for a while, studying its sleeping figure, and then looked up at Joey; who stood with his back now to the window. A ridiculous grin crept up her face and she held their baby up above her like Simba in The Lion King. "Whoa, whoa, be careful with him now, I know he's all plushy and soft, but he ain't no toy." Joey warned and lowered her arms gently.
"Joseph Michael Richter," She tried to keep her serious tone but failed epically at it, "This here is your son who shall be named…" Her sentence trailed off in cackles and Joey took the boy out of her hands.
"What's his name?" Joey asked impatiently, looking at his sleeping infant and then at Kaylee who tried to compose herself.
"His name is Han Solo."
A silence set around them and Joey looked at her with wide eyes. His mouth was slightly opened as he tried to imagine his son being named after that one memory they had together. "Are you serious? I don't think he'll approve of it when we tell him what his name really means."
"Does it look like I'm kidding?" Kaylee raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, a playful smile enlightening her face. Joey looked back at his poor child and couldn't help but laugh. "Please tell me your kidding, right? He doesn't need to be reminded about how he was kinda made through his own name, you know what I mean?"
"I know, I'm just bothering you. His name's going to be Lucas Skywalker."
"You're kidding right?"
"Maybe."
Joey bit the inside of his cheek and studied the young Lucas Skywalker. "Only Lucas, no Skywalker."
"Fine." She agreed, returning the kiss Joey placed on her lips.
~fin