A/N: Ok next chapter!

I don't own GMW, just the plot of this story.

Chapter 4: "Ups and Downs of Birth"

….

2:21AM

Maya was sleeping soundly in the bed. At this point she was already three days past her due date. Her doctor assured her that it was normal to be off from your due date; the baby would come out when she was fully grown and ready. Normally, Lucas would just go along with what the doctor was saying, but he was so devastated by seeing Maya so uncomfortable all the time that he secretly just wished the baby would come out.

The small blonde was jolted awake by a sudden pain in her stomach. She winced in agony as the pain kept on. She tried rolling every which way into different positions to help ease the tension in her belly, but nothing worked. After less than a minute, the pain stopped. Her breathing steadied as she looked over to her husband, who was still sound asleep. Maya rolled over, trying to find a comfortable position with her belly in the way and fluttered her eyes closed. Only 9 minutes had passed when the same pain returned. A gasp of pain escaped from Maya's mouth. Her tiny hands clenched into white knuckled fists. She just hoped the pain would end soon. Like the time before, the ordeal only lasted less than a minute. Once Maya got her head on straight again, she understood what was happening. She reached over and shook Lucas until his head lifted to look at her, wondering if she was ok.

"Babe I think this is it," she said, panting for breath. She was trying to stay calm but with so many thoughts racing through her head, it was hard to focus on staying calm. It didn't take Lucas long to process the information from his wife; even with him being half asleep he lifted his body ready to get out of bed. He quickly asked Maya if she was sure. "Yes! This feels different than the other times! This is it!" Maya was almost yelling, but Lucas stroked her arm a few times, effectively calming her down some before getting out of bed and running to the closet to get dressed. A couple times within the past couple weeks, Maya and Lucas had made midnight trips to the hospital only to find out Maya was having Braxton Hicks contractions instead. But now Maya felt something different. The doctor told her she would know when her body was telling her it was the real deal, and that moment was now.

Maya eased herself up to sit on the edge of the bed. She could hear Lucas rummaging in the closet. Maya found herself strangely calm about the whole thing all of a sudden. Her little hand landed on her belly, feeling the baby move around inside. All her emotions seemed to go away and she suddenly felt numb. She didn't even flinch when Lucas emerged from the closet, dressed and ready to go. He held Maya's hospital bag that had been pack for weeks now in one hand and a sweater and pair of shoes for Maya in the other.

Lucas helped Maya slip on her shoes and called the Uber on his phone, knowing there probably wouldn't be too many cabs in their quiet neighborhood at this hour. He was too high-strung at the moment to notice Maya's blank expression at a time when she should've had a face as anxious as Lucas's.

The cab ride was quiet. The only noise was Maya's pained gasps during the 2 contractions she had on the way to the hospital.

"Breathe Maya just breathe ok," Lucas told her over and over. He tried to remember all the breathing techniques he was taught during their birthing classes and help Maya to do them. He didn't know if they would really help with the pain, but he could only hope.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, Maya's water had broken in the hospital waiting room. The good news was that dramatic entrance earned Maya a wheelchair right away. She was wheeled into an available room and set up in the bed. Maya hadn't said much the whole ride over. She actually hadn't really said anything since she woke Lucas up. Her husband barely realized this when the nurse left the hospital room, telling Maya the doctor would be in in just a minute to check her progress. The pregnant blonde gave a small nod before her eye sight went to and stayed on the beige blanket that laid over her bed. Lucas dragged a chair to the side of Maya's bed and sat down, eyeing his wife.

"Maya what's wrong?" he asked concerned. It was expected that Maya would be nervous, but even a nervous Maya wasn't like this. This was something else and Lucas knew it.

"Why would you think something's wrong?" Her eyes never left the blanket. Lucas's hand inched over to cover Maya's as it laid on top of her belly. For the first time since they arrived at the hospital, she looked at him. He couldn't help but notice her eyes were worried and sad.

"I know you. Maya if something's wrong you have to tell me! Just tell me what I can do." Lucas wanted nothing more than to make his wife comfortable. Well, as comfortable as she could be. He just needed her to talk to him. As she was about to respond, Maya was hit with another contraction. Her hand suddenly clutched onto his, putting more pressure on it than Lucas knew she was capable of. Lucas counted her breathing out loud, helping in the only way he knew how. In the cab ride over, he figured out the contractions lasted about 45 seconds, so he timed it for her now. Right at 45 seconds, the pain ceased and Maya let out relieved breaths. Her husband's hand went up to stroke her hair. This always seemed to calm her down, though Lucas never understood why.

"I can't do this Lucas. I'm not strong enough to do this," she cried. Tears ran out of her blue eyes like an ocean. It broke Lucas's heart. She was scared, he could see that. Fear ran through his body, too. All the thoughts that ran through his head making him scared to be a dad to an actual human being were weighing heavily on him from the moment Maya told him she was pregnant. Even with all of that going on inside him, he knew it was nothing compared to what Maya was going through right now. She had the same fears and nerves he did when it came to being a parent. Right now hers fears were doubled by being the one who had to give birth. She was terrified.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Lucas asked, trying to keep his wife calm. Sniffling, Maya nodded. "You are probably the strongest person I've ever met." A small grin appeared on Maya's face, still heaving with soft, tiny sobs. "And I know you can do this. This baby is coming out and when she does, you're going to be a mommy."

"I'm scared." Maya had only seen someone give birth during movies. But she knew it had to be painful. She kept having this fear re-enter her head that she wouldn't be able to do it and she would fail the baby. Lucas would be disappointed in her. But his hand was in hers. She felt a comfort shoot through her fingers and into her veins.

"But I'm going to be right here," Lucas promised. Right as his words left his mouth, the door burst open and Riley ran in. Still clad in her flannel pajamas, her hair disheveled into a ponytail on the top of her head, Riley made her way to Maya's other side. "And Riley's going to be right here," Lucas added after seeing how Maya's eyes lit up with the sight of her best friend.

Lucas knew Riley wouldn't want to miss the birth of the baby. He also knew Maya wouldn't want to have this moment without Riley. In between contractions in the cab ride to the hospital, Lucas texted Riley that it was time. Since about a week before Maya's due date, the brunette had begun to leave her phone on loud at night, just to be ready when the baby was on its way. A very exhausted looking Farkle came trudging into the room after her, settling on standing right at the end of the bed.

"Riley please tell Maya that everything is going to be fine." Lucas asked. Riley sat down on the side of the bed, taking Maya's free hand in hers.

"Peaches everything is going to ok! You're body knows what to do alright?" Lucas had never seen such a calm and collected Riley before. Especially during Maya's whole pregnancy, Riley was bouncing off the walls with nervousness and excitement. She had made it to the hospital before when it turned out to only be Braxton Hicks contractions and every time she was wired. This was a different Riley. Lucas could only guess that she saw the distress in Maya's eyes; she couldn't be anxious or overly hyped now. For Maya, she would calm down and try to keep her calm back. He felt pressure on his hand as Maya squeezed.

The doctor soon came in and checked Maya out. Her tiny hands never let go of either her husband's or best friend's as the doctor did the examination. Unfortunately, Maya was only 3 centimeters dilated out of the 10 centimeters she needed to be in order to be ready to push. With a sigh, Maya slumped back into her bed. The doctor left the room, telling all of them to prepare for the wait.

….

12:57PM

The sun was already high in the sky by the time Maya was just a little more than half way dilated. Ten hours since arriving at the hospital and she was barely 6 centimeters. Lucas remained in his seat next to Maya's bed. He hadn't moved much except in the event Maya needed something. Across the room, Riley was fast asleep in a chair, her head on a sleeping Farkle's shoulder. Riley almost refused to go to sleep. She insisted that she stay awake with Maya. But finally, just a couple hours ago, Farkle convinced her to close her eyes. But not before she made the nervous Texan promise that if anything were to change with Maya, even a tiny thing, that he wake her up. Maya tried to get Lucas to go to sleep. How was he supposed to do that? With Maya in the bed going through intense contraction pains every 8 minutes. So he stayed awake. He tried to comfort her as much as he could, but honestly he felt like he was doing nothing.

Watching her be in as much pain as she was in was the worst feeling in the world for Lucas. He felt useless, not being able to do a damn thing while she winced in pain and cried. She only barely was at a far enough point in her labor to have the epidural shot to ease some of the pain. About an hour ago, the nurse came in and said she was dilated enough to have the shot.

Now, her eyes were closed. She had drifted off just a few minutes prior. All through the night, she tried to sleep. But the pain was always too intense and there was no comfortable position for her. He knew the sleep probably wouldn't last long, once the next contraction came through, but he could hope.

A loose strand of blonde hair twirled through Lucas's fingers as he watched his wife sleep. He loved her so much. Part of his wedding vows was about how he would always protect her. Nothing bad would ever happen to her, she would never feel pain or suffering as long as he was around. He couldn't help but feel like he let her down a little bit.

His thoughts were ripped apart by the door flying open. Instinctively, Lucas made a hushed tone towards the doorway. He looked over to see Zay panting as if he had run all the way to the hospital and up to Maya's room.

"I made it as soon as I could! I had to get a flight back from D.C.!" he panted. Lucas had left Zay a message the following night as well when they arrived at the hospital. Zay was in D.C. attending a meeting for work and Lucas didn't think he would make it back on time, understandably.

But he also didn't think it would take so long for Maya to get to ten centimeters and deliver the baby. Lucas was about to speak when a little pressure made its way into his hand. His head turned back to see Maya, awake, and clearly in pain. She yelled about a contraction, Zay rushing to her other side to hold her free hand. Lucas counted through the seconds while Zay helped Maya with her breathing exercises. There had been a couple birthing classes that Lucas wasn't able to make due to work commitments. As willing as he was to cancel on work, Maya wouldn't hear of it. To help, Zay offered to go with Maya to her classes so she wouldn't have to go alone or miss the class all together. At the end of the day he didn't mind. Once the contraction passed, Maya tried to be chipper, greeting Zay.

"Can you believe it took me ten hours to get to 6 centimeters?" she chuckled, gritting through pain. She asked only for ice chips when Lucas asked if she needed anything. Zay offered to go with him, saying he wanted to get some food for the wait. It looked like they might be there for a while longer and he, like everyone else, didn't seem too keen on leaving Maya, even if there were three other people in the room to take care of her.

Once in the hallway, Zay turned a serious glance onto Lucas.

"How is she really? I know she puts on brave face but it's already been 10 hours," he wondered. Lucas could only drag his hand across his face, frustrated. Frustrated that he couldn't do more to help her; frustrated that he didn't even really have words to say to her to comfort her; frustrated that she had to shoulder almost all the pain and discomfort from the pregnancy.

"She's in a lot of pain. And she's terrified to give birth and be a mom. To be honest, I'm losing my mind in there! All I want to do is help her and I can't. I feel useless and it's killing me. She's hurting worse than I could ever imagine and she feels like she has to be strong for me. I hate that she feels that way! And it's been 10 hours and this baby still isn't here! I want this baby to come out so Maya doesn't have to be in pain anymore. But then I feel selfish because I don't want the baby to come out because I know once it does… I'm going to be a father and that scares the crap out of me." Zay stared in disbelief at his best friend's long-drawn confession. He didn't expect the outpour if emotions.

His hand landed down on Lucas's shoulder as Lucas's head sunk into his hands.

"Lucas there is nothing that you can do to take all of that pain away! And Maya knows that. But you're doing everything you humanly can to help her," Zay preached. That was his best friend. He was being his typical self and not wanting anyone that he cared about to be hurting. It was like an unspoken job Lucas set on his own shoulders to protect everyone around him. Zay could see how much it killed him that he couldn't help Maya in this moment.

After Zay gave him more words of encouragement, Lucas seemed grateful. He was grateful! But nothing seemed to really make him feel better about not being able to help Maya.

….

8:29PM

Lucas had finally been convinced to sleep around sunset. Riley sat with Maya on her bed crisscrossed, rubbing Maya's swollen belly. Everyone in the room, except the blonde's own sleeping husband, was talking to her about every subject to keep her distracted. Part of her just wanted them to shut up. But she had to admit, their constant conversation was keeping her distracted from the pain.

She looked over to see Lucas shift in his seat before opening his eyes completely. He wasted no time before walking over to her. She mustered up a small smile, right before another contraction hit her. All four of her friends gathered around her close. None of them apparently thought about maybe backing off to give her some room to breathe. The contractions were getting worse for Maya as time went on. She felt like her face had a permanent expression of pain on it.

After the contraction passed, the door opened and her doctor walked in.

"Dr. Green please tell me I'm ready to push!" Maya exclaimed when the doctor walked in. It had been nearly 18 hours since she was admitted to the hospital. This whole thing was some sort of never-ending nightmare. She felt bad thinking of it like that, but she couldn't help it. Nothing seemed to end her pain. Even the epidural shot didn't do as much as she thought it would. At times, it felt like the baby would rip through her stomach at any second.

The doctor positioned herself to examine Maya's progress. The blonde squeezed nervously on her husband's hand. Only moments later did the doctor pop her head up. "You're ready to push Maya." Although it was exactly what she was hoping for, Maya looked at the doctor in disbelief. The room suddenly became hectic. Different nurses came in to wheel Maya to a delivery room, her friends all scattered around trying to get out of the nurses' way, Lucas shot up from his seat. His mumbled words to Maya were lost once they got to her ears. She was currently trying to process that she was about to have a baby. Just a matter of minutes separated her from being a mom.

The delivery room just had the doctor and two nurses to assist her. And of course Maya and her nervous husband. He hadn't stopped talking to her since she was told she was ready to deliver. Maya had barely heard a word though.

"Lucas!" she yelled, wanting him to stop talking. Her voice turned to whisper with her next words. "It's hurts really bad."

Lucas did nothing but kiss Maya on the forehead. He didn't know what to say honestly. He knew nothing would truly help, but he believed she could do this.

Maya began pushing minutes later. Her husband stood beside her, her hand in his. Little strands and chunks of blonde hair stuck to her sweat covered forehead. Tiny pants made their way out of her mouth as she tried to breathe through pain. Lucas felt like every bone in his hand would break. He said nothing, not wanting to upset her. Something about the way she was gripping his hand like her whole life depended on it made him not say anything. If crushing the life out of his hand made her feel better, even a tiny bit better, than she could crush it all she wanted to. He would take that pain for her.

For such a tiny girl, Maya sure could scream. Those dramatic birth scenes in movies with the mother yelling at everyone and screaming like she was being ripped apart; Lucas always thought those were so unrealistic. But Maya was proving him wrong. Pushing was proving much harder than they thought it would be. There was a small complication with the baby and Lucas had to work overtime keeping her calm. Maya had been known to overreact during her pregnancy, but Dr. Green said she had to keep calm now or the baby's heartrate would rise and that could put even more risk in correcting the complication.

"Just keep looking at me alright!" Lucas kept saying. Maya couldn't deny she was nervous, terrified out of her mind to be more specific. But nothing calmed her like looking into Lucas's green eyes. He kept repeating the words to her. The urge to push ran through her whole body, but pushing was bad until the complication was corrected. It felt like hours until Dr. Green gave her the green light to push. One tough push after another, Maya gave it everything she had.

"One more big push Maya!"

Maya felt tired, drained, and worn-out. She didn't know if she could build up enough strength for another push. She was so uncomfortable, like every bone in her body was cracking or breaking up into dust inside of her. Her breaths had turned into quick pants with sobs running in between them. She was hot and clammy, but shivers still wracked through her. Lucas's hand was still in hers and she knew she was clutching it too tightly. But it's like when you have to bite down on something to prevent pain; she felt a little pain be relieved when she squeezed her husband's hand. She turned her head to face him.

"Lucas I can't do it. I can't!" Lucas wouldn't have any of it. Ignoring the sweat that covered her head, he let his hand run through her tangled blonde waves.

"Look at me. Just one more push ok? I know you can do this," he promised. His heart broke a little when Maya shook her head a little, unsure of herself. He could tell how exhausted she was. But this was it. They were at the end. Nine months to get to this one moment. "Yes you can! You may be a shortstack but you're strong enough to do this." It was enough to get a chuckle out of a distressed Maya.

One kiss on the cheek later, Maya took a deep breath and pushed until she was going to pass out if she didn't take a breath. She didn't know what happened, but she felt some kind of relief when she stopped pushing. She looked to Lucas to ask what was happened. But he looked captivated with something else.

Suddenly, she heard a tiny little screeching cry. The baby was here.

A/N: And a baby makes 3…. Only one more chapter you guys! Told you it was a short story lol

Not much to say in the author's note. Just that the road trip story is going well! I'm having serious trouble writing some parts but others are flowing really well but it's definitely getting written! And I had a dream last night that gave me a little inspiration for another story…but I won't focus too much on that until after I finish writing road trip story;)

Thanks again beautiful readers!