This is a song fic to the song by Carrie Underwood, All American Girl. I hope you enjoy it. It's kind of jumpy and I'm sorry about that.
Jeb Batchelder ran through the parking garage, dodging the five o'clock traffic. He clicked the button on his keys, looking for the old car that brought him to work faithfully every day. Today though, it needed to him to the hospital.
Throwing open the rusted door he clambering in and slammed the key into the ignition, hoping he wouldn't need another jump like the day before. Thankfully, the car started it's usual wheeze and Jeb peeled out of the parking space.
His cell phone that delivered him the news was vibrating in his back pocket. He awkwardly got it out all while surpassing the speed limits to the hospital.
He glanced down at the number then flipped it open.
"Hello?"
"You better be here quick Jeb or godammit I will make sure you never walk again. And I will make you pay child support." His wife, Valencia was in labor with their first child. Jeb was very excited, but they agreed to kept the gender of the child a secret , wanting a big surprise for the D-day. The suspense was killing him.
The hospital was close to Jeb's office, so he didn't kill anyone with his reckless driving. He ran inside the first set of doors that he could find, his patterned tie flapping over his shoulder as he ran. Asking for directions, he made it up three floors and through almost every wing in the hospital, finally reaching Labor and Delivery. He heard the cries of his wife as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.
Quickly, he followed her screams into a room where he saw his wife covered in sweat and grasping at the nurses hands as another contraction took over. The orderlies were running around, preparing for the baby as Valencia was moved from the wheelchair into a hospital bed. Rushing to her side he tried to calm her down,
"Hey darling. I'm here. You can have our baby now, I'm not missing anything. I got here as fast as I could, but you know how the car is. It can't go over fifty two without…"
"I HATE YOU!" He winced as the nurse gave him Valencia's white knuckled hand. Immediately her finger nails which she took pride of keeping long dug deep into the tender skin of Jeb's palm.
"Ready honey. One two three. One two three. Just like we practiced. Keep breathing. In and out, in and out, in and out…" He continued talking her through the contractions. They both agreed on a natural birth, so an epidural wasn't coming anytime soon.
Finally, the doctor said that it was time to push. After four very loud screams from both of them, the cries of their baby filled the crowded room.
Jeb wasn't looking at the child as they moved it over to clean it off, Jeb just focused on the wife's face as it calmed down. He could already see what his trooper would be doing in a few years time with his old man.
Images of a dark curly haired boy in a fishing boat, then changing to him throwing a spiral in the backyard filled Jeb's mind. They fast forwarded a few years. This time his boy was the football captain, leading the touchdown that won the game. Jeb couldn't wait until the kid grew up and made him proud.
Hearing the cry of the baby again snapped him out of the day dream. He turned his head to the nurse, who was carrying a baby wrapped in a very pink blanket.
The images in his head changed drastically. The boy in is dreams turned into a girl, who was becoming homecoming queen and shopping with her mother.
He couldn't be happier.
Holding his daughter for the first time was a changing moment for Jeb. He looked at the tiny baby's sleeping face, wondering what on Earth could be better than holding his little girl in his arms.
Fang threw the football to his buddy, not quite concentrating on his aim.
"Ow, watch it. Keep your mind away from the chicks bro, they'll be waiting after practice." His receiver, Iggy, waggled his fingers while smiling at the two cheerleaders that were staring at the football team. They giggled when they saw Iggy and turned around to whisper to each other. Fang shook his head at his friends love of girls.
Fang caught the football that Iggy passed to him, then looked at the cheerleaders once again. There was one girl that wasn't entirely focused on the rippling biceps of the football team, but more focused on the routine that, as far as Fang could tell, she had perfected. She held Fang's interest more than any of the other girls.
Finally, Coach blew the whistle, signaling the end of another hard practice. All of the sweaty boys headed for the showers, but not without a few stolen glances over their shoulders.
Sure enough, Iggy was right. The cheerleaders where waiting in the middle of the field for their various boyfriends. Fang, not really committed to a girlfriend, searched around for the girl that he was watching earlier. Finally, he found her.
He shook his damp hair out, and cleared his throat before approaching her. He took her all in while she didn't notice. Her turned back made it a very easy task. Her long legs where clad in shorts, but not those short shorts that most of her team was wearing. A simple tee-shirt covered her torso, but also gave a great impression of her curves. Her hair that was tied up in a pony tail before was taken down, now flowing in waves down her back. Fang felt his mouth go dry.
"Hey," Fang wasn't very articulate.
The girl turned around, giving Fang a once over before replying. Apparently, from the way she kept looking at his naked middle, he was in the clear. He then remembered that he wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Hey yourself." She smirked crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one foot.
"I saw you practicing today. You were pretty darn good." Fang said, hoping that it was a good conversation started. As it was said before, he wasn't very articulate.
"Yeah, I kind of have to be, being cheer captain and all." She rolled her eyes, but still smiled. Fang half grinned back.
"When did you get her?" He didn't mean to come off rude, but he blurted out something to keep the awkward silence at bay. She didn't mind.
"Last month. I made a good impression and the old cheer captain moved so they thought that I would make a good replacement. I've been working my ass of since."
"Yeah, but I think that being the new captain of the football team would be a bit harder." He played it off cool.
"New?" she questioned.
"Yeah, the last guy got busted for steroids, so he was expelled. We don't take too kindly to fakeness around here." He looked at her pretty brown eyes.
"Neither do I." The girl turned her head to where the rest of the cheerleaders were calling for her.
"I guess I got to go. Nice talking to you. Bye!" She touched his arm briefly before she ran over to the rest of the girls. She stopped beside the two girls that were looking at Fang and Iggy before.
"Wait, what's your name?" She turned to look at him for an answer.
"Fang." He yelled, hoping that she heard him. She smiled at him and waved before turning around again. He waved at her turned back and smiled to himself.
"Don't worry, I already know who you are." He mumbled to himself as he turned to the direction of his car. He found out when the girls called her over. It wasn't that hard to figure out.
Her name was Max.
"See you later Ig." Fang called over his shoulder. School had just finished up and Fang was planning to meet up with Max. They've been going steady for 2 weeks now.
"Aren't you coming to practice?" Iggy asked.
"Naw, I'm skipping." He turned around.
"Coach is going to have you head, man." Fang smiled. His bright mood was hard to damper even with threats of Coach.
"Who cares? I have to see Max." With that he turned and jogged to the school parking lot.
Iggy shook his head at his friend's enthusiasm.
"So are you guys like, officially dating or what?" Nudge asked as she added a clear coat of nail polish to her freshly manicured nails.
"Well, he hasn't officially asked me out, but we're always hanging out after school. Does that count?" Max asked, not really caring about the details of her and Fang's relationship.
"It sounds like it to me." Ella giggled as she added another curl to her hair. Max smiled slightly. She really liked Fang. She hoped that they were dating but it didn't really matter, as long as she was still allowed to be with him.
"OMG!" Nudge called out as a sudden thought occurred to her. "Have you guys kissed yet?"
"Oh, um. No…it's not like that." Max stuttered as she blushed. Nudge just shrugged.
"It's only a matter of time. I mean, look at you. You're gorgeous." Max blushed even harder. She was never one to be classified as a girlie girl, but she knew she looked alright compared to others.
Suddenly there was a tap at her window. All three girls looked over, not seeing anyone in the window. They waited for a second. Then they heard it. Someone was throwing rocks at Max's window. Ella and Nudge started squealing.
"I bet that's him now!" Nudge whispered rather loudly. They crept behind Max as she walked over to the window. Looking down, she saw a figure bending down for more rocks.
"Who is it?" She asked after she slid the window open.
"Me?" Fang's chocolate voice sounded. He stood straight again and they could see his silhouette in the minimal light. Nudge and Ella squealed again pushing forward to see Fang and all his muscular glory.
"What are you doing here? It's like…late." His bright smile reflected the light coming through the bed room window. It was the only feature of his besides his body that they could see.
"Come down here. I don't care that it's 'late'." Max merely nodded as she threw her high school sweatshirt on.
Nudge and Ella made her wash her face and brush her teeth in case there was a "moment". Finally she refused any more beauty treatment.
"Alright, alright! I'm going down now. Make sure that my parents don't kill me if they find out I'm not in here. "The girls nodded excitedly and watched as Max climbed through the window and onto the roof of the front porch.
She carefully made her way to the edge before stopped. Fang was there, looking up at her.
"Need a hand?" he held his hand up in question. Max looked around and quickly saw her best option of getting down. It would be just like cheerleading practice..
"Yeah, actually, I need you to catch me." Fang was confused for a second, then understood what she meant.
"Are you sure that I can do it?" He asked not certain that he would be able to catch her properly to not hurt either of them.
"Yeah, just hold your arms out like you would if you were holding a giant baby or like your wife as you carried her into the new house." Fang moved his arms accordingly, looking up at her for further instruction.
"Good. Now I'm going to aim for your arms, but hey, if I got off course try to line us back up, okay?" Fang nodded and tensed as Max bent her legs for take off.
Throwing herself into the air she did a simple Russian before landing perfectly into Fang's arms.
Smiling at her he started to walk, not putting her down just yet. He stopped at the sound of Ella's voice.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She whisper yelled. "Don't do anything I would do!" Nudge yelled from behind her.
Max giggled at her friends craze, and looked up at Fang. Her arms went around his neck, expecting him to put her down to walk. He smiled again, and started walking. Startled, she started to struggle.
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down. I'm just taking you to the car."
Max laughed and relaxed into Fang's hold.
Once they got into the car, they simply held each other, sharing random kisses, but never kissing straight on the lips. They would kiss each others forehead or nuzzle their neck. Fang never pushed Max past her comfort zone, keeping the relationship right where she wanted it to be. Max admired him for that. All of her ex boyfriends from her old school never respected her that way. They always made the wrong move that had them in the hospital.
Not needing any words to describe each others feelings, feelings so potent that you could almost taste them in the air. They understood that they really cared about each other, but both of them refused to say the L word. It would only be a matter of time. But until then, they cuddled until the first rays of the sun peaked over the trees.
They shared a look, then Fang untangled himself from Max. He jumped out the car, walking around to hold the door open for Max. Smiling, she climbed out, holding Fang's hand as they moved towards her house.
"Well," Max said in a whisper. Fang just nodded and leaned in for their first kiss before he had to leave.
Their lips brushed at first, both of them feeling the electricity. Fang closed the gap, connecting them in a slow sensual kiss. Max's hands came up, threading through Fang's silky hair. The hands that were on Max's waist pulled her closer as the kiss became deeper.
Finally, they broke apart, breathing hard and gazing into each others eyes. That kiss said more than they were letting on.
"Bye Max." Fang said in a whisper.
Max nodded, not really hearing words over the pounding of her heart. A smile from Fang and he released her, allowing her to creep back into the house.
Max touched her lips as she made her way up the creaky stairs. Fang was someone special. And that kiss just proved it.
She was falling in love with him.
"Martinez! I need a talk after practice. Skip the showers." Coach bellowed at Fang, Fang met his eye and nodded slightly as he continued his laps that he had to run because of missing the last practice.
Iggy ran up beside him.
"What do you think Coach is going to say?"
"A few things…" Fang said with a grin. Coach was defiantly mad at him, but they both knew that they couldn't afford to take him off the team. Iggy nodded. He knew exactly what Coach was going to say.
Fang rounded the final curve of his laps and sprinted to the end. Walking another lap to cool down, he took a swing from his water bottle and wiped his sweaty forehead with a towel from where he left it on the bleachers. After complementing a few of the guys on their practice, he made his way over Coach's office. A smile appeared when he thought of last night with Max.
"Hey Coach," he called out as he shut the door behind him. Maybe if he played it nice, Coach could be nicer.
"Sit down Fang." Fang lost the smile and sat down on one of the stools in front of the Coach's cluttered desk.
"Fang, what the hell are you doing? What is your problem?"
Fang hung his head. It wasn't a problem, more of a distraction. He didn't answer Coach,
"Tell me something," He sent a long and hard stare at Fang's lowered head. "Have you lost your mind?" Fang shook his head but other than that didn't answer.
"I know what it is. It's that cheerleader. Oh, who is it…Maximum? Yeah. Max. You boys certainly take a liking to her, especially you." Fang had the decency to blush, but smiled none the less at the mention of his Max.
"Yeah, thought so." Coach said at the pink cheeks and secret smile. "But son, you gotta understand that you need balance. Max isn't everything, as much as you might think so. You need to leave the girl at home and go to practice everyday. Oh, your father called." Fang's head snapped up. A call from his father was never a good think.
"Yeah, I thought so." Like Fang, he had a hard time with words. Coach pulled out a piece of gum holding a piece out to Fang, who shook his head. "He said that if you don't smack down and smarten up, your loosing your free ride to college. "
In anger, Fang stood and started pacing. He needed his Father's money for college. Dartmouth, the school he wanted to go to wasn't cheep. Finally he stopped pacing, gripping the edges of Coach's desk, but never making eye contact with Coach.
"Boy, you better tell her goodbye."
Fang started to slowly shake his his head. That wasn't going to happen. He…dare to say…loved Max, and leaving her wasn't an option. He shook his head faster and faster. He stopped suddenly, looking Coach right in the eye. He had come to a conclusion.
"I love Max. I don't care that my father or even you think that she's bad for me. She's beautiful, perfect, wonderful, sweet…" He stared into the distance. Max was the one, he was sure. Looking back at the speechless Coach, he shook his head. "I'm not giving her up for anything."
Stuttering for words for a second, Coach finally gave up trying to convince Fang to give up the girl.
"Okay son. Just find some balance. You're dismissed."
Fang nodded once and turned to leave.
She was the center of his whole world.
"GET OUT!"
"Max, will you listen, PLEASE?"
"Why? You don't understand! I just want a kid to call my own!"
Fang and Max had just come back from a baby shower. Max had always expressed how she felt to Fang, but this outburst was unusual. Fang guessed it had something to do with what time of the month it was.
"Me TOO! Max, listen." Fang walked closer to his angered wife, slowly taking her hands into his. This wasn't the first time that they had fought about children. Both of them wanted children, but she couldn't believe that Fang was actually agreeing with her. She had a selective reality.
"I've wanted children ever since I saw how you were with my sister. I always dreamed of sandy hair kids running around our house, with dark eyes and your nose. Please understand that I want kids too.
Max sniffed, the tears of anger subsiding. She nodded. Barely. But she still nodded.
Fang smiled in relief pulling her close for a tight hug. She hugged him back just as fiercely as he kissed the top of her head.
"Be honest…" she said into his chest. "Tell me what you want." Fang smiled.
"Honey you outta know." Confused, she pulled back. They never discussed gender of their children, just the concept of children.
"A sweet, little, beautiful one just like you." Max smiled again, tears of joy making her eyes glitter. Max pulled his head down kissing him with a passion.
Overjoyed that she agreed with him, he kissed her back, with the same type of passion. That passion brought them to the hospital nine months later.
"FANG, I FREAKING HATE YOU!"
"I know Maxy, one more push and you can kill me. "
Another scream from Max and there was a very different cry in the air.
"You did it Max. It's over."
The nurses finished wrapping the baby and handed her to Fang.
The crying baby girl in his arms made him almost cry. But men's eyes only moisten. Smiling at Max, he kissed both of their foreheads. He looked down at the squirming bundles.
This baby girl – along with Max – was the center of his whole world.
So, I'm sorry about my other stories, but I hope this is a good subsitute. Please review :D If you want anything explained further, just tell me in a review and I'll try to reply.