Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, or whatever from the show Hamtaro, just Candace.
Chapter Seven: A Star is Born Pt. Two
"Sandy, you've gotta push! P-U-S-H! Push, Sandy, push! That baby's in there backwards and you might be suffocating her!" Candace screeched. Sandy looked horrified.
"Um... Miss, maybe it would be best if you didn't scare her like that. She still has time, but we'd still like to hurry."
"Huh?" both women asked.
"Never mind. Now, Mrs. Edwards, you're going to have to push here." Sandy ignored the doctor's calm order, too dazed with pain. "Okay..." she muttered, getting an effective idea. "Sandy, you have to push! The baby's suffocating!" Candace sweat dropped.
-.-.-.
"Where is Maxwell Edwards?" a short man wanted to know. He glanced at the secretary's name plate on her desk. "Sophie..." he growled, right almond-shaped eye twitching.
She held up her paws defenselessly, shaking. "Um... he... stepped out?" She let out a nervous laugh.
"Stepped out!" The man was enraged. "When will he be back?"
"Ugh..." The man stared.
"I'm waiting..."
"Ugh..."
"Yes...?" he demanded.
"Here I am, Mr. Yoo," Stan said, extending his arm.
"Um sir...?" Sophie motioned for Stan to come closer. "What are you doing?" she whispered.
"I'm covering for Max, so don't blow it," he answered, whispering as well, beginning to walk back to Mr. Yoo.
"Oh. And, sir?" Sophie clasped her paws together and subtly bowed. Stan felt stupid. No wonder the guy didn't shake his paw.
"It is an honor to have you here." Stan bowed. Mr. Yoo bowed, as well as his two assistants and a woman in her late-thirties. Stan guessed she was the secretary.
"This is Mr. Wong, on the left and this is Miss Chin," Mr. Yoo indicated his assistants. "And, this is Mrs. Lee-Woo-Chong, but you can call her Betty."
"Okay. shall we be leaving?" Stan gestured to the door and the other four left. He ran over to Sophie. "What do Chinese people like to do?"
Sophie shrugged. "Beats me!"
"Do you know where I'm supposed to take them?"
"No. Maxwell didn't mention that." Stan groaned.
"Damn..." He ran outside to join the others. "So...Where were we going again?"
-.-.-.
"Sandy, you have to let go! The baby wants out and you need to let her! Think about the look on Maxwell's face when he sees her! Sandy? Are you listening?"
Sandy whimpered. "Candace, I can't."
"Yes you can, Sans!"
"Mm-mm." Sandy shook her head.
"SANDY!" Candace angrily shouted. "You have to do this, sweetheart." Her voice softened as she crouched to her friend's level. "You're the strongest lady I've ever met. Don't try to tell me that you can't do this, because I know you can." Sandy bit her lower lip. "Breathe with me, kiddo."
-.-.-.
"We're going to the Shea Renee, remember Mr. Edwards?" Miss Chin said.
Stan didn't know where or what that was, so he took them to the next best thing.
The video arcade.
"He is a maniac on the floor!" Mrs. Lee-Woo- -Betty cheered.
"Alright Yoo!" Stan bellowed.
"Wong, go! Go Wong, go!" Miss Chin yelled.
"Yeah, Wong!" Stan yelled also.
"Mr. Edwards, you try," Mr. Yoo panted, wiping sweat off his brow with his already soaked tie.
So Stan climbed upon the machine and danced. Danced, danced, danced. His first song was against Miss Chin.
-.-.-.
Maxwell ran through the halls of the maternity ward. So far, he had walked in on two Lamaze classes, three births, and five check-ups. Had Stan played a prank on him? He thought to check at home, just in case, when he saw Candace dash towards a room with a Styrofoam cup. He followed.
"Candace!" She turned around. Her wary brown eyes filled with tears.
"You're here! I can't believe you made it. Oh Hon... you gotta get in there, Sandy is this close," Candace said in a weepy voice, making a gesture by closing her pointer finger and thumb together.
"Oh my gosh..." Maxwell gaped. Candace handed him the cup of ice chips and pushed him into the room, where he heard his wife's moaning.
"It's okay, Sandy. I'm here..." Maxwell soothed. Sandy whimpered and cried at seeing him.
"Maxy..."
"I'm here, Sandy. I've got you." He took her paws and kissed her cheek.
"Mrs. Edwards, the last push," the doctor announced. Sandy groaned and Maxwell stared in wonder.
"Good luck you two..." Candace whispered through the door and walked across the hall.
It didn't hurt as much with her husband there. Candace had been a great helper, but Sandy felt as though she could do anything with Maxwell near...
-.-.-.
'Ah...nothin' like a gang of drunken Chinese hamsters...' Stan thought, walking out of the arcade, grinning. 'They really know how to party!'
"Mr. Edwards. I just wanted to say thank you. We had a wonderful time this evening." The others nodded, agreeing with Mr. Yoo.
"Thank you for coming. I'm sorry about the inconvenience with the restaurant."
"This was better than any restaurant!" Betty squealed.
"I hope we meet again, friend."
"Me, too. Hey, call when you're in town again."
"Oh we will!" Mr. Wong said cheerfully.
"Sayonara!"
"Huh?"
Stan sweat dropped. 'Did I not say that right...?'
-.-.-.
Maxwell sniffled, handing the tiny thing back to her mother. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at them. His family.
"She's so pretty, guys," Candace gushed, wiping away her own tears of joy.
"Star's going to look just like her mother," Maxwell said.
"But look! She has her daddy's eyes..." Sandy cooed as the baby opened her navy blue eyes for the first time.
The couple looked at their child affectionately, then at each other lovingly. Candace knew that she didn't belong here. This was Sandy and Maxwell's moment and she wanted to keep it that way for them. She quietly crept out of the room and watched the picturesque scene get smaller as she tiredly walked off to the lounge.
-.-.-.
"There you are!" Stan said cheerfully, entering the lounge, striding over to Candace.
"Heeeeey!" Candace flung her arms around him. She stepped back a little, lifted his collar up, and playfully pulled at his tie, slipping it off of him and put it around her own neck. She giggled. "You look so cute all dressed up," she gushed, pressing her nose to his. "So, how was the meeting?" They sat down at a table.
"Had nothing to do with money or making deals! And Max said I didn't know anything about business," Stan chuckled.
"What did you do then?"
"Played DDR." Candace giggled at the absurd situation. After a moment...
"So, have you seen Starlette yet?"
"Yeah... She's so beautiful." Stan sighed. "She's gonna break a lot of hearts." Candace seemed uncomfortable. "Somethin' wrong, babe?"
"Well..." Candace took in a breath. "I don't know how to put this..." she mumbled almost inaudibly.
"What?" Stan's eyes flickered with concern. Candace sighed, wrapping both of her paws around one of his.
"I... I think that..." Another sigh. "Maybe we should stop seeing each other." Stan gasped, wide-eyed. "But, only for a little bit," she added quickly. "It's just... we started off so... weird. I just want to do it over- begin new, you know?"
"I guess..." Stan mumbled, sadly.
"Oh sweetie... It'll only be for a month," Candace reassured him.
"Can we still be together for tonight?" Stan asked, hopefully.
"Sure." They embraced.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Forget about chapter five being the longest! XD Again, sorry for the...(counts on fingers) twelve-day delay! I've been so busy with school and I just didn't feel like writing... Anyway, thanks for reading! Review if you would like! Hope this made up for the wait! Happy B-day, TonightIsTheNight!
