The Simulation
Please read "Finally Official" and "All Over Again" for the backgrounds.
Maddy was too young to appreciate this but others weren't. Topher, T.C., Kenny, Mollie and Jordan showed up for the show Claudia was putting on starring Drew and Rick with the assistance of her OB/GYN at her office. Since she was now carrying their second child, a boy, she conned them into being hooked up to a labor stimulator for an hour. The two still bragged that they were sure their training in the army could handle it without breaking a sweat. This, even though Drew had attended to laboring women before.
Now donning paper gowns on side-by-side stretchers, both men were being hooked up to the machine. The group filled in.
"What the hell?" Drew said.
"Someone told us there was a show," T.C. said.
Kenny grinned. "Just remember to relax and breathe, fellas."
The first ten minutes the two were able to uphold their bravado. Then Drew started to crack. He was never going to tell a woman to "just breathe, you're fine" ever again.
"Fuck this hurts!" He exclaimed, thrashing around the gurney.
Then Rick followed. "You're killing me! Make it stop!"
Laughter filled the room. The gage was only at five. It went to ten for "the full experience."
By the time the hour was over and the two endured stage three contractions for twenty minutes both were soaked in sweat and begging for drugs and mercy.
Hearing the men say "stop! Stop! You win! We're wimps!" the whole room erupted.
Drew was never so glad he was a man. "I'm gonna puke!" was his last plea
Maybe Claudia wasn't going to experience labor because she had a scheduled c-section like with Maddy but she thought the two fathers-to-be should experience this to stop their bragging about how tough they were.
"Oh, I love you, sis!" Drew said, hugging his sister.
"Oh no problem, brother. Thanks for the show," she laughed.
Getting dressed Rick said his gut and ribs still hurt. How or why any woman did this without drugs was beyond him.
"I still feel like I'm gonna throw up." He said.
"Me too," Drew said. "And my back hurts. I'm sure I threw it out."
This was the reason he told patients in pain to stay still. He would have more patience from now on.
"You do know we gotta go back out there and say we were acting, right?" Rick said.
"Oh yeah," his husband said. "I have to face them tonight," he said referring to his friends.
On shift that night, Drew got the last laugh at T.C. and Topher anyway. They were signed up for the same thing for the following week.