A.N. Read and enjoy, but I apologise for typos and any errors I have included; I have no beta reader and I have already had to read this story twice over (I don't really want to do it a third time). Also errors are probably common as I'm not from America and I really don't know some things.
I am pretty certain that you can tell my favourite characters are Millie, Mouth and Quinn. That should explain the extra added Quinn bits in this story.
Perfect Family -
Her fingers lay splayed over her large bump as she felt a soft kick underneath her palm. Tenderly, she rubbed the spot in an attempt to calm the baby. The large, yet fitting, pink top hung perfectly from her bigger bust, flowing down to add comfort to the almost nine month bump. She felt a hand on her back, rubbing it in smooth circles.
"You should sit down." Came Marvin's voice from behind her. Upon hearing his words, Millicent could not help but smile.
"I'm fine." She assured him as his hand stopped working its magic on her back and he came and stood next to her.
"And the baby?" He asked. As his own eyes met Millie's he saw her's light up.
"Kicking like crazy." She informed him, taking his hand in her own and placing it on the spot where their baby was going insane.
"Wow." He smiled, never wanting to let go. "That's just amazing."
"Yeah, not when it keeps you awake at night," She laughed.
"Guys, you have been saying the exact same thing for almost four months." Skills gave a roll of his eyes as he moaned. Seeing the couple pull away from each other only made him smirk slightly with success.
"Yeah, come on and play football Uncle Mouth!" Jamie smirked, bubbling with joy (and chocolate; it was Easter after all.)
"You, have had way too much chocolate little man." Mouth teased, dropping his hand from her stomach.
"Go on, you go and play." Millicent gave him an encouraging smile.
"Maybe I shouldn't." He debated for a minute, looking between his nephew and pregnant girlfriend.
"If I promise to sit down will you go and play?" She smirked at him, giving a slight sigh as he gave an eager nod. Then she watched as Clay placed a chair next to her just off of the grass before sitting down. "There, now play." She flicked her hand over in the direction of waiting people. Slowly, her smile grew even wider as she watched her friends and boyfriend play. "Come on Marvin!" She cheered, giving him an extra push to want to do well. Mouth gave her a wide smile and a big thumbs up.
As she continued to watch the game unfold, she felt a small tingle in her back. It was weird. Not like her normal back pains at all, that alone was enough to make her stop. She found herself arching her back slightly, and as she relaxed back into the chair her eyes darted to the game in front of her. A satisfied smile played on her lips as she saw no one has noticed.
The game drew to a close and Millie slipped away from the game and into the kitchen where Haley and Quinn were making dinner while Brooke watched on with a glass of wine. Her eyes darted to the floor where Quinn had just dropped a tray of potatoes.
"Sorry." She looked guilty for dropping it but the hint of amusement stayed on her face.
"Just get away from the food." Haley whacked her away from the food and around to where Brooke sat at the counter. Millie found it obvious that Haley must have been grateful for the helping hand but regretted letting Quinn near the kitchen now.
"Want me to help?" Millicent held her hands out in front of herself, offering them to Haley. Haley gave a laugh.
"No, I'm fine, you should go and sit down." She insisted.
"I've been sitting down all day, just let me help."
Haley let a sigh leave her body, "If you're sure." She rambled on, giving her something helpful, yet not to destructive and crucial if it went wrong, to do.
Standing at the kitchen sink, Millie washed the vegetables in the bowl of water as Haley tended to the meat she was cooking. Dropping all form of vegetable in her hand, letting it splash and catch the attention of the rest of the people in the kitchen. Then, one by one, each grew in worry as Millie arched her back another time, a deep exhale leaving her lips.
"Millie, are you okay?" Haley put the plate she was setting down on the table and went to Millicent's side. There was another long pause and a few deep breaths before she gave her answer.
"I am fine, just back ache, stop worrying." Her hands went back to work at the food.
"No you don't. Back to that chair!" Haley ordered, guiding and helping her onto one of the remaining seats. "If I let you carry on I am certain Mouth would kill me. Just relax." Haley walked back around to the plates and watched as her sister softly rubbed at Millie's lower back, just as Millicent rubbed her stomach in circles.
"Hey, Millie, best not be popping my niece or nephew out already." Brooke teased. Millie gave her a smile.
"No." She laughed, but there was doubt in the back of her words, doubt that only Quinn picked up on.
"This might be too much to ask for, but, help?" Haley held a tray of cutlery in her hands.
"Don't look at me, I'm banned from helping." Quinn held her hands in front of her, in mock surrender.
"Can't." Millie pointed to her bump. That left only one. Haley's pleading eyes fell onto Brooke.
"Fine." She placed the glass of wine down and stood to take the tray away from Haley. "Just call me Cinderella." She gave a sigh and walked towards the table.
"Oh, and Cinderella, forks and knifes go on the left of the plates!" She reminded Brooke and teased her before returning to finish the vegetables Millie had previously been doing,
"So." Quinn waited for Haley to be out of hearing distance before whispering. "What's really going on with you?" She asked, concern lining her eyes.
"What do you mean?" She played it innocent.
"The back pain and the stomach rubbing, if I didn't know any better I would say you were in labour." Informed Quinn.
"I'm not. The baby is kicking like crazy and I've had back pain for the past month." Millie bit at her bottom lip, keeping something secret from Quinn.
"Millie." Quinn raised her eyebrows, not believing her.
"I'll be fine, can we please leave it there?" Quinn gave a nod.
"Sure." She was not going to let Millie get out of eyesight for the rest of the day. Not when she seemed to be the only one that knew what was happening.
The next time Quinn James noticed Millicent Huxtable wince from a 'back pain' was twenty minutes later as they were watching the boys playing a game of rock band. Discreetly she noted down the time on her cell phone, twenty three minutes, before going back to watching the game.
By the time dinner was ready at six o'clock, she had already figured out that Millie must have been in labour for seven to eight hours, and the woman's contractions had gotten down to around seventeen minutes. She carefully made note of her strong hold of the chair and knew that this must have been taking everything out of Millie. There was also that slight giddy feeling in her stomach that told her by lunchtime tomorrow they would have baby Huxtable-McFadden.
"Millie, sit down." Haley ordered, "I'll go and get everyone in." Softly, Quinn helped Millie to sit in her seat. "How are you feeling?" She asked her, placing a hand on Millicent's shoulder.
"Fine." Quinn could hear she was getting fed up of having to answer that question.
All conversation was cut as the rest of them entered and began taking their seats. Millicent was seated next to Marvin (of course), and, after some skilful mixing of places, Quinn sat next to her also. Perfect place to keep an eye on her.
"Hey." Mouth placed a kiss on her lips, "How's my gorgeous girlfriend and baby?"
"Fine." She answered, a little more happily than every other time Quinn or someone else asked.
"Good." He gave her another kiss.
Dinner was almost over and Quinn could not help but noticed the lack of food Millie had eaten. Mouth looked at his girlfriend in concern, Quinn on the other hand, was not too concerned, knowing sickness was common during labour, and Millie was not exempt from it.
"Millie, eat something, please." He practically begged.
"I'm not hungry, Marvin." If looks could kill, Mouth would have been dead twice over with the glare Millicent was shooting him.
"Okay then." His eyes fell onto his own plate as he made a mental note not to tick off a hormonal Millicent.
"Why don't you guys go and play before desert?" Haley finally broke the silence. The table soon became less filled as Jamie, Nathan, Julian, Skills, Clay and Marvin all went back to where the game was sat up in the front room.
"Millie, accept it." Quinn waited as Haley entered the kitchen and Brooke joined Julian in the front room.
"Accept what?" She huffed.
"That you're in labour." Quinn insisted, just like she had been for the majority of the day.
"I'm not, the baby isn't even due for three weeks!"
"Due or not, that baby is on it's way." Whispered Quinn.
"Whatever, I need the toilet." Pushing her chair away from the dinning table, Millicent waddled up the stairs to the bathroom.
Giving the time on her phone another glance and realised she needed to find Millie; the contractions had been getting more painful and she really did not want Millie to fall down the stairs because of the pain. Tediously, she crept up the stairs and found Millicent on the hallway, clutching the balustrade tightly. Her eyes closed, one hand under her stomach as she held her breath to stop herself from crying out. Automatically, Quinn rubbed her back, and tried her best to support Millie so she did not fall to the floor.
"Deep breaths, Millie." She coached her and soon after her release on the balustrade lessened and she began to stand straight and properly, still looking a little flushed.
"Don't even say it." Millie avoided Quinn's looks.
"You need to go to the hospital." Insisted Quinn.
"Not yet." She gave a sigh, "We haven't even had desert yet and I don't want to pull Marvin away from Jamie." Millie explained.
"Okay, but Haley has a ton of spare rooms, so if you feel, at any point, you need to lie down, go ahead. Alright?" Quinn told her, her hand still working at rubbing Millicent's lower back.
"Sure." She gave her a small reassuring smile. "Best get back downstairs before they wonder where we've gotten to."
Giving a nod, Quinn carefully helped her down the stairs and through to the kitchen where Haley and Brooke were plating up.
"Quinn, great, you can help!" Haley pointed to where the plates where then to the puddings.
"Sure, go and sit down, Millie." She ordered, going to the pile of plates and watching as Millie gave a huff and sat down in the front room.
"Come on Jim-Jam, bedtime." Haley stood in the doorway, smiling as Jamie, Skills and Clay played a game of Rock Band.
"But Momma." He gave her those pleading eyes.
"One more game and then it's bed." Haley reasoned with him.
"With you and Dad?" His little eyes lit up.
"If you want." Haley gave a roll of her own eyes.
Glancing up from where she was sat, Millie gave Mouth a smile as he sat down next to her. His hand went behind her head, pulling it forward as he placed a kiss on top of her forehead, then he tucked a single piece of her hair out of her face and behind her ear.
"Are you okay?" He asked, quickly adding in another bit as he knew she would give the same annoyed answer she had been giving everyone else for the majority of the day. "Only you look a little pale."
"I'm okay, promise." Giving him a slight smile she could not help but feel a flutter of excitement; soon she was going to be a mom.
Then something took over the excitement, something she recognised all to well. As Marvin looked back to the family in front of him, Millie found herself clawing at her pants, biting her bottom lip to hold back the small wince. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Quinn taking a deep breath, to remind her, and so she tried her best not to make any sound as she breathed deeply in and out. Looking away from Quinn, realisation hit her; that was way too soon. It must have been only ten minutes since her last contraction. Then, as it finally passed, she looked up to meet Quinn's face, her eyebrows raised as well, obviously she had realised that also. Both of them looked back to the game where the three of them were finishing up and everyone was clapping and some people gave Jamie high fives.
"You need to go." Quinn said, leaning in close to Millicent's ear as her voice was barely a whisper and was covered up by the woman's clapping.
"Alright." Millie finally answered, knowing it was about time she told Mouth.
The clapping stopped as Haley forced Jamie up the stairs and the room began to fall into silence as Nathan packed the game away.
"Tell him." Quinn whispered, but it was obviously picked up by the man sitting next to her.
"What are you two whispering about?" Clay asked, taking a sip from his can of beer.
"Just the fact that Millie needs to go." Quinn announced, knowing now there was no way Millie could get out of it now.
"What? Are you tired? Just give me a minute and we'll go." Mouth sprung to his feet, but Millie stopped him from going.
"No, not home." She tediously bit her lip. "We need to go to the hospital." Everyone began to figure out what she meant. All except Mouth.
"What's wrong, are you not well?" His hand went to her forehead.
"No, I'm in labour. Have been since around eight this morning." She informed him.
"What? Millie, why didn't you tell me?" Mouth looked nervous, worried and excited.
"Because you would have made me go, and then they were going to send me home, and I'd rather have had fun here." Mouth gave her a look that told her she should have said something sooner.
"Okay, shout at her later, hospital now." Quinn ushered, helping Millicent to stand.
"Yeah, Skills, get the car out front." Mouth turned around and threw his keys at him.
"Sure thing." Immediately Skills had the door open and had disappeared.
"Millie, how're you doing?" Brooke asked, seeing pain well up in her friends eyes.
"Mmm hm-" She froze, clutching for Quinn's hand as it was the closest to her. Giving her head a sudden shake, her body doubled over in pain and she was held up by Mouth. Holding back her breath as she tried to stop herself from screaming and startling Jamie.
"No, Millie, breath." Quinn ordered again and watched as Millie let out a pained breath.
"Car's out front." Skills ran back into the house, holding the door open.
"Alright, come on then." Marvin began to help Millie out of the house.
"We need to get my bag." She informed him.
"Okay, will someone get it and drop it off at the hospital?" Mouth took control, sounding slightly panicked.
"Don't worry, we can stop and get it, we have time." She said.
"No. You need to go to the hospital." Quinn ordered from the other side of her, "I'll get it." Mouth sent her a nod as he got Millie out of the door and into the car.
Squeezing Marvin's hand as tightly as she could, Millie breathed her best through a contraction.
"You're doing great." He dabbed her forehead with a cold towel. "Keep on breathing." He coached her. Taking as much of a deep breath as she could, Millie breathed deeply out as her contraction ended. "Good." He gave her a kiss and rubbed her back softly.
"God this is so tiring." Millie huffed, looking exhausted.
"I expect it will be," Teased Mouth, "But soon we will have our baby and this will all be over." He gave her a big smile.
"Marvin…" Millie gave Mouth an unsure look.
"What's wrong?" His face drained of any colour that was left in it. Millie began her tightening of Millie's hand again. "Whoa, fifty eight seconds." He looked at the timer on his cell phone, and as Millie's contraction settled he pressed the call button on the wall. A few seconds later a midwife entered the hospital room.
"Shall we see how far along we are?" She asked and began checking Millie over. "Good news, you're at ten centimetres. Time to deliver baby." She flashed Millicent a big smile. "Mr. McFadden, you need to put on those clothes." She pointed to a cupboard containing a pack of sterile clothes. Mouth picked the pack out and followed as they wheeled Millie out of the hospital room and down into delivery.
"Okay, one last big push and we will have baby." The midwife encouraged her.
"You said that last time!" Millie shouted, and clutched onto Mouth's hand, closing her eyes and giving the biggest push she could manage.
"3... 2..." The midwife counted her down from ten. When they reached one it was like the entire room slowed down for Mouth and Millicent, as a baby's cry filled the room.
"It's a girl!" She announced.
"A little girl? We have a girl!" Mouth's smile was brilliant. He looked as happy as a new dad would be.
"Our daughter." Millie grinned as they showed her the baby before taking the screaming bundle to get wrapped up and weighed.
"Knock knock." Brooke said as she entered the room, followed by a string of people.
"Sshh." Mouth said, telling them all that the baby was fast asleep.
"Awh!" Brooke dropped the bag in her hands at the end of the bed, racing over to see the baby.
"How're you feeling?" Haley asked Millicent.
"Amazing. So happy." She gave her a big smile, her eyes never leaving the small baby.
"Can I hold her?" Brooke bubbled.
"Just try not to wake her." Mouth told her, carefully handing the small baby over.
"She is beautiful." Quinn commented from behind Brooke.
"Thanks." Mouth gave them a smile.
"Oh, me and Julian figured she needed this." Brooke bent down and passed the bag over to Millie.
"Brooke, you didn't have to, you have already brought her so much." Millie looked through the bag and found a small pink pinafore dress and a pink teddy bear. "They're so cute!" Millie smiled.
"Yeah, but she needed some pink things." Brooke commented, knowing everything Mouth and Millie had gotten was strictly neutral in colour. To prove the point she looked at the baby wrapped in a cream blanket and dressed in all white.
"Thanks." She put them on the bedside table.
"You did good, man." Nathan commented as he walked in with Jamie. "Someone wanted to see his cousin." Jamie bounced over, dropping the pink 'It's a Girl!' balloon he was holding at the side of the bed. His eyes lit up as Brooke bent down to show him the baby, but the look on his face soon turned to confusion.
"She's a bit… squished." He commented, earning a laugh from everyone in the room.
"She'll be like that for a while, but she'll grow into it soon." Millie gave him a small nudge on the shoulder.
"Cool!" He laughed, "Does she have a name?" Millicent gave a big smile to Mouth as he said:
"Melanie Huxtable McFadden."
"Well hello Melanie." Brooke smiled. "Does she not have a middle name?" She wore a confused look.
"Yeah… Huxtable." Millie said, with a 'duh' tone.
"Seriously?" Brooke's face scrunched up.
"We thought we'd follow in Tree Hill tradition. Sawyer. James." Mouth nodded his head towards the little boy. "Just without the issue of it being her first name."
"Yeah, I get it, but they were all married. Those aren't their last names anymore… Unless." Her smile grew wider as Millicent discreetly fiddled with the ring on her finger. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"Congratulations!" Chorused all around the room as a baby's wailing began.
"Go to daddy, Mel." Brooke quickly passed the baby over to Mouth who started to settle her.
"We best get going." Haley said.
"Sure. Millie should be home by lunch time anyway." Mouth informed them, saying his goodbyes as they all left.
Eventually the room was empty, leaving just Millicent, Marvin and baby Melanie.
The happy family.