"Mom? Mom, you need to wake up now…"
A soft voice shook me from my slumber, I saw that Alexis was leaning over from her chair and shaking my shoulder gently.
"Hi, Sunshine." I yawned. "How long was I asleep?"
"Three hours."
"Where's dad?"
"He went home for a little bit so the kids didn't stage a coup against Gram, Serenity, Jordan or Rafferty."
"The Shaws are at our house?"
Alexis nodded. "They volunteered and wouldn't take no for an answer because we are their family."
"The Shaws are some of the most loyal people I've ever known."
My body suddenly stiffened as I felt the baby kick me.
"Damn, why does this kid have to be so strong-willed? Give me your hand!"
Alexis did as she was told and coached me through the pain until it subsided.
"How much longer until dad gets back?" I asked.
"He sent me a text about five minutes ago saying he was getting ready to leave."
The words were barely out of her mouth when a familiar Skype ring filled the air.
"He's calling me…"
Alexis fished her tablet from her bag and answered the call, but instead of Castle being on the other end, it was LJ and I had no trouble hearing her loud voice.
"Lexie, where is mama? We wanna talk to her!"
Alexis handed me the tablet, and I was immediately greeted by the grinning faces of Lily, Jameson, Jeremiah and Johanna.
"Hi, babies!" I cooed, more awake now. "Thanks for calling me!"
The little ones blew kisses as LJ took charge.
"Mama, we just wanted to say hi since we can't visit!"
"An' I love you!" two-year-old Jameson added, leaning in. "Very lots!"
"I love you, too, my little Nemo."
The old nickname caused him to dissolve into giggles, and he fell back against the couch, so Jeremiah got his thoughts in.
"Love mama!"
"Me, too!" Johanna threw in, blowing another kiss. "Love baby!"
"And she loves you, too, Joey. So do I."
"Me?" Jeremiah pointed to himself.
"You, too. Don't you worry, my Duckling."
He grinned and then sat back as LJ seized control of the tablet again.
"Mama, will you double check to make sure that she doesn't have wonky eyes like mine?"
"You bet, Baby Bird. Anything else?"
"Could you give her extra kisses from me, Jamie and the twins, too?"
"Of course! Where's daddy?"
LJ handed the tablet off to Castle took it to another part of the room he was in, appearing calm and collected.
"I'm on my way out the door now, Kate. I was about to leave when they all ganged up on me, asking to call you."
"What are they doing now?"
"Discussing with Jordan what Pixar movie to watch."
"Sounds like a good time to vamoose."
"I intend to, and before you ask—I have your hospital bag ready by the door."
"Is the porcupine toy in it? LJ will be tickled that we decided to use it as the baby's first stuffed animal."
"I put it in yesterday." He paused, stealing a quick glance at something out of my sight range. "The Toy Story theme is playing, so it's now or never. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
We hung up and I handed the tablet back to Alexis, who put it on my bedside table.
"Do you need anything, mom?"
"Just one of my doctors." I shifted, trying to get comfortable. "Surely I'm more than three centimeters dilated by now."
"Well, here's hoping that you are."
She pressed the 'call doctor' button and for lack of better things to do, I just waited.
The universe has decided to conspire against me now because when Emily checked on my progress, I'd gone from three centimeters to six. Unfortunately, I still had four more centimeters to go and it just went without saying that it was going to be more than a few hours before there was any action. Much to my dismay, that meant even more waiting to pass the time, and even after Castle returned, I got so bored that I went back to sleep.
I was woken some hours later by Amaya this time.
"Hey, Katie-girl, it's time to wake up again!"
"Where's Emily?" I looked around and saw that we were the only ones in the room. "Where are Rick and Alexis? What time is it?"
"One of Emily's high-priority patients went into labor about fifteen minutes ago, so it looks like I'll be overseeing the delivery, instead. It's about three-thirty in the morning, and your husband and daughter just went down the hall to change into scrubs because your contractions are almost on top of each other."
My heart leapt into my throat upon hearing this development. "I'm flying so high on the epidural that I can't feel the contractions, but I'm surprised that I haven't started talking nonsense yet. Tell me if I do…"
"I promise I will."
My stepmother had been watching the monitors and checking my centimeters of dilation while we'd been talking, and when she was done with that part, she stood and was beaming at me.
"Guess what, sweetie? As soon as Rick and Alexis come back, we can get you off to the delivery wing!"
"Fantastic…"
I gave a small moan of discomfort and massaged my lower belly, which immediately put her on guard.
"I thought you couldn't feel anything!"
"Well, I definitely can't feel the contractions, but I'm starting to feel Serenity's kicks through the epidural." I blew out a breath. "Jamie and the twins weren't like this, Amaya, so why is this one giving me so much grief?"
"Maybe she inherited your admirable strength."
"I think this is a trait she got from my mom's side of the family…"
I let out a frustrated yell as I felt another kick.
"Damn this pain; I am never having kids again! I love all six of my babies, but I don't want have this kind of drama ever again! All I want is to just hold Serenity against my chest and kiss her!"
Amaya patiently held my hand as I swore my way through a few more kicks and punches. When it was over, she spoke with the tender love and affection of a mother.
"Kate, you're doing so well and I'm so proud of you!" she kissed my forehead. "Now look towards the doorway!"
I did, and my whole body flooded with relief when I saw Castle and Alexis both standing there, dressed in mint green scrubs, ready to go. Turning back to Amaya, I asked the only question on my mind.
"Time to get the show on the road?"
"Absolutely."
Hooray!