As always, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I want to say a special thank you to iloveromance who inspired the direction that this chapter took! I love reading reviews and what they inspire in the story!
Jack frantically sprinted down the corridor of the hospital, hoping that he wasn't too late. On his way home from his audition, he had decided to take the subway. Unfortunately, the train was stopped for nearly an hour as the tracks were being repaired. By the time Jack emerged from the tunnels and back onto the street he had three missed calls, one from Leo and two from Karen. When he heard the voice mail Leo had left he immediately ran in the direction of the hospital. It was only a few blocks before he decided to take a taxi instead.
As Jack ran through the hospital, he realized he had no idea where he was going. Fortunately he heard Will call his name.
"Jack!" Will had called when he saw his friend running through the maternity ward. Jack turned around and went back in the right direction.
"Oh my God, what did I miss?" He gasped. "Where's Karen? Is everything okay? Can I see her?"
"The doctor just went back," Vince said. "They just got her started pushing."
"What!" Jack exclaimed. "I'm missing it!"
"You can't go back there,"Leo said. " Grace is helping Karen. Everything's going to be fine."
"Ugh, I feel so useless! I wish I could do something!" Jack stamped his foot.
He walked down the hall and stood outside of Karen's room and paced. Jack could hear everything as he pressed his ear against the door. Karen was screaming in pain and he wished that he was the one to hold her hand. She had given him the amazing privilege of being allowed to help her raise her daughter and Jack felt like he had had already failed both Karen and the baby.
As Jack continued to listen, he could hear Karen's strained groan as she pushed with the little bit of energy she had left. She let out a huge sigh of relief and there was a chorus of cheers inside the room. Their little girl had been born. However, Jack didn't hear a cry amongst the joyful noise. He stood up from where he had been crouched and began to open the door. Before he could, though, the door was swung open into his face. Jack was knocked onto the ground.
"Oh my God!" Grace shrieked at the sight of Jack on the ground. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Jack shook his head, probably too quickly. "Where are they taking her? What's wrong? I didn't hear her cry? Aren't babies supposed to cry?"
"The umbilical cord got wrapped around her neck." Grace explained. "They were able to cut it off before letting Karen see her, but she was having trouble breathing and she's a little premature so they took her to the NICU to make sure everything is okay."
"And Karen?"
"She was exhausted. I think the actual delivery was pretty stressful on her mentally and physically, so she's asleep now. But, I think she's going to be okay."
Jack walked into the delivery room where Karen was sleeping. Her hair was pulled back messily into a ponytail and her bare face glistened with sweat. Jack had never seen her more beautiful. He sat down next to the bed and took her hand. Karen's eyes just barely opened.
"Oh, Jackie, I tried to wait but they wouldn't let me," Karen explained.
"Don't you worry about it." Jack smiled. "As long as you're okay and the baby is okay, I'm okay."
"Vivian." Karen smiled softly as she rested her eyes again.
"What was that?" Jack asked.
"Her name... is Vivian Emilene Walker."
"Oh, Kare," Jack smiled as he choked back tears. "That's beautiful. That's perfect."
"I want to see her again..."
"No, no you go back to sleep and rest." Jack said, kissing Karen's hand. "Vivian is fine, the nurses are taking care of her. We'll be here when you wake up. Okay?"
"Okay..." Karen sighed as she turned on her side and faced Jack. She opened her sleepy eyes and grinned as she came upon a sudden realization. "Jack?"
"Yeah, Kare?"
"Jack, I'm a mommy." Karen smiled as tears began to fill her eyes.
"And you're going to be the best mommy Vivian could ask for." Jack smiled. He stood up slowly as Karen finally began to fall back asleep. He brushed a lock of hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.
Jack gently closed the door behind him as he walked down the hallway. The gang had crowded around the nursery window, where he guessed that they were hoping to see the baby.
"There she is." Grace whispered excitedly as one of the nurses laid down a small pink bundle into one of the bassinets. "There's Vivian."
Vivian was still and peaceful as she slept. She didn't move much, either. The infant was hooked up to a ventilator to help her breathe, but other than that it seemed that she was perfectly healthy.
"Welcome to the world, Vivian," Jack smiled. "You've got a whole lot of crazy coming your way."
