Chapter 14:

Angela was in labour. Telling Mona and Samantha precipitated a frenzied rush to get her to the hospital. Mrs. Rossini was sent back to the house to take over from Billy's teenaged babysitter and stay the night with him. She was also entrusted with the careful transport of Angela's birthday gift. Guests were quickly notified and offered up their best wishes to the birthday girl, as Tony, Samantha and Mona raced her to the hospital as quickly as possible.

Tony's fitful driving was alarming to the women in his care; he was zigzagging through traffic, slamming on the brakes unexpectedly to slalom around slowpokes and swerving the car erratically. Finally Angela ordered him to slow down, stop driving like a maniac and to please just get them to the hospital alive!

"Geez Angela, couldn't you have mentioned that you were in labour a bit earlier? Why didn't you just say something during dinner? And here I thought you were simply pissed off at me. I didn't realize you were in actual pain." Tony's sharp tone betrayed his panic. He looked over at Angela, who was protectively holding her belly from his rough driving. He couldn't understand why she hadn't told him about her contractions sooner, instead of simply announcing that it was now time to go to the hospital. She'd been in early labour for hours, keeping silent. He knew she was stoic, but this was ridiculous.

"I wasn't in that much pain, yet. And yes, I'm angry at you, Tony. I'm angry but at the same time, I keep thinking about that amazing gift you gave me and your song and it's hard to stay mad. But really, Tony, why did you have to plead for Kathleen after she . . . ouch ouch ouch, slow down—bumpy road—oh god I'm going to have this baby right now if you don't—thank you . . . ", Angela panted. "Look, I don't want to argue with you when I'm about to push another human being out of me. Can we just not talk about it?" Angela wanted to focus on her labour; not Tony's asinine behaviour earlier. Besides, no man with an iota of common sense would ever want to start an argument with a woman in labour. She was liable to throttle him between contractions.

They made it to Fairfield General in record time; Tony went to check Angela in while Mona drove the Cherokee back home to pick up Angela's hospital bag, snacks, magazines and so forth. Mona had already told Angela that she wasn't too keen on being in the delivery room. Her own experience forty years earlier had traumatized her—she'd been forced to endure an emergency hysterectomy after a near fatal placental abruption. Issues of birth and delivery always made her queasy and Angela understood. Fortunately, Samantha's decision to be there gave her a great sense of relief; she knew that Angela was in good hands with Tony and Sam supporting her through labour. Mona had decided to make herself comfortable in the waiting room with a Jackie Collins novel. That would pass the time until her new grandchild came into the world.

Tony and Samantha were directed to a waiting room while a nurse assessed Angela in the small triage room off of the main Maternity Ward entrance.

"Hi, my name is Sally", the nurse introduced herself to Angela as she helped her up on the examination table. "Looks like you've just come from quite the party. What a gorgeous dress. Okay scoot down, we're going to see how far along you are." Sally was a veteran at her job; she'd personally assisted in thousands of births over the course of her long career. Her patients greatly appreciated her calm and reassuring manner. Angela submitted to the unpleasant examination expecting the nurse to tell her that labour was early yet. She was quite surprised to find out that she was already 6 cm dilated and that things were progressing very rapidly.

"Today's my birthday", Angela informed Sally. "We were at my party when I went into labour. You wouldn't believe the evening I've had. I wasn't expecting a speedy labour to top it all off. We didn't even have time for birthday cake." She was looking for reassurance.

"Don't worry, dear. I've seen it all. Maybe you'll have this baby on your birthday—better than cake, no? It's barely 9 o'clock. You never know. You're going to be fine and I'm going to take good care of you." Sally's motherly bedside manner dissipated some of the tension and worry for Angela. She looked at the older nurse with gratitude and followed her out.

Sally assigned a room to Angela and gave her a hospital gown. "Looks like you'll be meeting your new baby tonight", she informed her with an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Tony and Sam joined Angela in her private room and she filled them in on her progress. She felt a bit apprehensive now; she'd heard that second babies could come notoriously fast. Angela looked over at Tony, needing encouragement but he looked a bit scared himself. He came to assist her out of her party dress and into the hospital gown and helped her get comfy in the narrow hospital bed.

"Tony, this baby is coming fast. I wasn't expecting that. Oh God, I haven't done this in sixteen years; it's going to be a lot harder this time. I'm not twenty-four anymore. Toneeeeeeeee . . ." Angela braced herself as a strong contraction rocked through her body. "Oooooh that one hurt", she breathed hard as it subsided. She looked up at Tony, her expression tense. Tony wasn't sure what to do. He'd never been in a delivery room before. When Samantha was born in 1972, fathers didn't attend deliveries. He'd been relegated to pacing the waiting room with Nick, his late father-in-law. The two of them had treaded over the worn carpet and waited for the nurse to announce the baby's arrival. Then, they'd smoked cigars in Sam's honour. Now, in the '90's, dads frequently attended their wives' deliveries, watching the whole thing and then cutting the cord. Tony wasn't sure he was up for that. He felt nervous and was worried about Angela, dismayed to watch his fiancée in obvious pain. He scanned the room, noting the baby scale in the corner. This was real; this baby was coming tonight and he was going to be starting all over again with diapers, midnight feedings, and sleepless nights. Tony suddenly felt a twinge of panic twisting his stomach uncomfortably. He couldn't imagine what Angela must be feeling at that moment. He looked over at her; her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, waiting for the next contraction. Tony took her hand in his and squeezed it. She opened her eyes and he "smiled" at her.

Samantha wasn't sure what to do with herself. Angela was in pain but coping very well. Dad, on the other hand, seemed scared and was grimacing strangely at Angela. Maybe he was trying to smile, she thought. As another contraction took hold of Angela, Samantha came and held her other hand in support. Angela looked over at her gratefully. Her Dad was a bit out of his element, she realized.

"Hey Dad, would you mind getting us coffees? We're going to be awake for most of the night." She gave her father the permission he needed to exit the room. He gladly escaped and made his way to the cafeteria, relieved to finally breathe.

"Thanks Samantha. Your poor dad looks completely freaked out", Angela smiled at Sam thankful for her calming presence. Just then, Sally came to check on her again.

"I just saw your husband take off for the cafeteria as though he were being chased by rabid dogs", she laughed. "How are you doing, Angela? How's the pain level? Do you need pain meds? You have a small window left for an epidural, if you want one."

Angela thought about it for a few seconds, assessing her pain and decided that she could endure it. "I think I'll decline, Sally. I'm actually managing my pain. I remember having an epidural with my first baby and the migraine that followed lasted three days. It's something I'd prefer to avoid. Besides, I have Samantha here helping me through it." Samantha flushed at the compliment and suddenly felt quite important in her role as labour coach. If her dad couldn't handle it, then she would step up and make sure that Angela felt cared for.

Sally checked Angela again and declared that she was now at 8 cm and continuing to progress very rapidly. "It'll be soon now. Another hour or so until you can push, dear. I'll be back to check on you shortly." And with that, Sally left the two women alone again.

Tony returned then, handed Samantha her coffee and sat down in the chair at the foot of the bed. He was jittery enough without coffee.

"I ran into Mona in the waiting room. Here's your hospital bag, Angela. Do you want a magazine? A snack?"

"A magazine or a snack? No thank you, Tony." Clearly Tony was out of touch. How did he think she'd be able to read when these contractions were hitting every minute and lasting at least 30 seconds each? She didn't have much time to pause between the crescendo of waves, ebbing and flowing over her again and again. As for eating a snack; the mere thought of food made Angela nauseated.

Samantha shook her head at her dad's cluelessness and offered to rub Angela's sore back. She suggested to Tony that he rub Angela's feet. She'd read that it helped distract from the pain. And she'd certainly done quite a bit of reading on labour and delivery prior to the big moment. She wanted to be ready. Together, Tony and Samantha helped ease Angela's discomfort, holding her hands through painful contractions, reminding her to breathe properly and speaking words of encouragement. Samantha suggested a warm shower to help with the pain; more information she'd gleaned from books. Tony and Sam helped Angela get under the soothing spray and wash off her party makeup while they were at it. But the contractions were too intense and after only a few minutes in the shower, Angela was ready to get back into her bed. She needed to lean on her coaches, the strength of her contractions was making it impossible to walk or stand.

Sally appeared again. Angela groaned; she hated being checked but submitted to the examination once again. "You're at 10 cm and ready to push!" Sally announced jubilantly. "I just broke your water. It's time, Angela." At that moment, pain radiated through Angela's entire lower abdomen and back. Her suffering increased exponentially with her water breaking. She hadn't known these intense contractions with Jonathan's birth, as she'd been given an epidural back then. This pain was new to her and it was unbearable. She cried out in agony as a strong contraction constricted her belly in a vice-like grip. Tony stroked her hair, trying to reassure her but the breath was knocked out of her and she panted and gasped, trying to regain control of herself.

"Sally, I want pain meds!" Angela cried out, desperate for relief.

"I'm sorry, Angela. It's too late for that now. You're ready to push. I can't give you a thing. Come on, let's adjust this bed for you . . . here you go, sit up. Put your chin to your chest, legs up. Yes, good, just like that. Okay. Now, you've got two helpers so they each get to hold a leg. How perfect is that?" Sally ordered Samantha to grab Angela's left leg and Tony her right one. "Bear down, Angela. I'm going to tell you when and you're going to push as hard as you can. Got it?" Sally was in control now, directing the players in this little drama.

Sally waited for the next contraction and told Angela to push with it. Angela gave it her all but didn't feel as though she was making much headway. The urge to push was strong but she waited for Sally's go-ahead before pushing again. She had to push with the contractions, not ahead of them. Samantha and Tony looked at each other; she excited and he tense. Sam smiled encouragingly at her dad then turned her attention back to Angela. It was time for another push. "Come on Angela, push, push!" Samantha cheered her on.

Sally told her she needed to push harder. But Angela was so tired. She'd woken up early and had had such an emotionally wrenching, exhausting day. She just wanted to put her head down on the pillow and sleep. She began to cry tears of frustration and pain. "I can't push. I'm so tired. You push."

Tony saw her self-defeat, knowing he had to encourage her. "Hey, Angela. Look at me. I'm going to sing to you and you're going to listen to me and push. I know you can do it, Sweetheart. It's hard but you're doing a great job. Just a bit longer. Baby has to come out now. Okay?" Tony started singing The Book of Love to her. "Chapter One says you love her, love her with all your heart . . . "and on he sang, encouraging Angela to push while looking into her eyes, trying to distract her.

Angela tried to concentrate on Tony's singing but she was also encountering the well-known ring of fire as her pushes intensified. This pain was no myth-it was absolute agony. Angela became one with her pain. She no longer knew where she ended and it began. Samantha was continually telling her to push, holding her leg in a vice-like grip and Tony's grip was even tighter, despite the fact that her thighs were now slick with sweat. Angela felt like a wishbone about to be split apart. She wondered who would win the wish. She wished she was at home, asleep in her own bed. Sweat was pouring down her back; her hair was drenched and she was running out of steam.

Sally took out the Doppler and monitored the baby's heartbeat. She looked serious when she said that the baby's heart rate was dropping. Angela needed to push harder and deliver this baby immediately. Her frightening words gave Angela the adrenalin surge needed to make the final push. And with one last, incredibly powerful push, the baby's head emerged from the birth canal. The doctor had only arrived a few moments earlier, certain to take credit for the entire delivery. He delivered the baby all the way out.

Samantha watched in absolute fascination, staring as the baby come out and then announced ecstatically, "It's a girl. It's a girl! Yesssss!"

Angela breathed a sigh of relief. The pain was over and she heard the lusty cry of her newborn daughter. She'd secretly been hoping for a girl this time. Tony looked at the baby in amazement. Here she was, brand new and perfect. The doctor handed him the scissors to cut the cord. Tony cut the umbilical cord while Sam and Angela watched him. With tears in his eyes, he stared in awe at this new little person and at the woman who had just brought her into the world. Emotions overwhelmed him as he pressed a kiss to Angela's forehead. "We did it, Angela. Our baby is here." She grabbed his hand and looked over at the baby being weighed on the little scale and examined by the doctor. Sally then wiped the baby down and wrapped her in a blanket. "As you know, it's a girl. Seven pounds, five ounces. A beautiful, healthy, perfect baby girl. Congratulations!" With that, she handed the bundled baby to Angela. "And Happy Birthday to both of you. Time of birth 11:57pm. You've got yourself a heck of a present there", Sally smiled at her then added conspiratorially, "It beats birthday cake, doesn't it?"

Tony and Angela gazed at their new baby in awestruck wonder. She was so tiny and perfect; one little hand covering her face. The doctor tended to Angela to deliver the afterbirth, but she was so caught up admiring her new baby that she barely noticed. Sam went to get Mona in the waiting room while the nurses attended to Angela. Tony held the newborn, feeling a deep surge of love for his baby girl. His baby girl. As far as he and the rest of the world was concerned, there had never been an Andy. This was Angela's and his baby and he loved her as such.

"You did great, Angela. I'm so proud of you. No way could I have done what you just did!" Tony was simply amazed and leaned in to give her a kiss. Then he kissed the new baby on her little hat, staring at her, enthralled by her delicate perfection.

Mona and Samantha came in then; Angela had been given a fresh nursing gown and clean bedding. She and Tony were marvelling at their baby when Angela saw her mother. "Mother, look. It's a girl. She's so beautiful."

Mona had tears of joy in her eyes. Her daughter looked absolutely exhausted yet serene now that she was holding the baby. Mona went to meet the baby and experienced a powerful sense of deja-vu. "Oh my goodness, Angela. She looks exactly like you when you were born. Not like Jonathan but exactly like you. It's like seeing the same baby all over again. Oh my! May I hold her?" To see a carbon copy of her own baby forty years later was a bit surreal and the emotional impact of it hit Mona quite profoundly. She held the newborn girl with deep love and kissed her tiny brow. "Congratulations, dear. You did well. Without pain meds, I heard. You're a brave woman and I'm extremely proud of you." Words of praise from Mona to Angela were quite rare, and Angela simply reveled in maternal pride.

Sally reappeared to help Angela nurse the baby. While adjusting the baby and reminding Angela about proper latching techniques, she inquired if the baby had a name yet.

"Not yet", Angela frowned thoughtfully. For some reason, she'd assumed her baby would be a boy. She had some names in mind for boys, Luke, Alexander, Simon . . . but for a girl, she was at a bit of a loss. She peered intently at the newborn's face while she suckled, inhaled her delicious newborn scent and looked up at Tony questioningly.

"You know, Angela. My mother's name was Rosa. Would you consider naming her Rose? She's such a beautiful baby, like a perfect little rose. Your favourite flower, I might add." He looked at her hopefully.

"Rose? Tony, it's perfect. I never would have thought of it but you're right, she's like a perfect, tiny, pink rose. How about Mona for a middle name? Named after her two grandmothers. Rose Mona Micelli? I like the sound of it." Mona was delighted and it was agreed all around that they'd found the perfect name for the newest member of their family.

Sally smiled; she loved seeing families like this where several generations came to support and care for the new mother and baby. She knew this baby would be greatly loved. She turned to Samantha then, and asked to speak to her privately. Startled, Sam followed her into the hospital corridor.

"Hey kid, I saw how you were in there. You impressed me. I haven't seen any teenaged labour coaches like you over the course of my many years as a delivery nurse. You're a natural; you were very reassuring, firm and kept a cool head about yourself. I like that."

Sam was elated at receiving such a wonderful compliment from the grizzled nurse. "Thanks, I asked Angela months ago if I could be here today. And I'm so glad that I was. This experience was just amazing."

"Consider a career in it then." Samantha looked at the nurse and smiled, feeling the metaphorical light bulb go on above her head. This inspiration was exactly what she needed. She'd been slaving through boring courses, failing subjects that didn't interest her, knowing that she hadn't found her path yet. She lacked passion for her studies. But now, she knew what she wanted to do. Sally was right; she felt like a natural and was passionate about helping mothers and babies. Samantha hugged the nurse, thanking her for her wonderful service and words of encouragement. She told her that she'd look into applying to nursing school. Sally smiled, knowing she'd found a kindred spirit in this young woman.

Samantha returned to Angela's room, a huge grin on her face. She'd discuss her nursing plans with them later; having a new purpose energized her and she was simply elated. She went to hold her new baby sister, looked into her precious little face and promised her that she'd be the best big sister ever. Tony decided to stay the night in the hospital room with Angela and Rose but sent Mona and Samantha home to get some sleep. Sam went to kiss Angela goodbye but the new mother was fast asleep already; exhausted from the delivery and her long day.

As they were leaving, Tony reminded them to call Jonathan and inform him of the good news. It was early enough in California that they could still reach him by phone.

When Sam and Mona arrived home, they found Mrs. Rossini watching TV on the couch. They filled her in on the good news. She was very happy that Tony and Angela would be parents all over again and gushed accordingly. Then she informed them that the phone had kept ringing but that she hadn't dared answer it. Samantha saw the red light blinking on the answering machine and went to pick up the messages.

The first message was in heavily accented English. "Hallo, ja, this is Runa. Nobody is there? Please call me back when you pick up message, ja?"

Samantha looked at Mona in surprise. Runa, Michael's girlfriend was calling? Sam skipped to the next message wanting to pick them all up before making phone calls.

"This is Runa again. Hello? Uh Jon have accident. Michael gone in Peru. Please call me." This message sounded a bit frantic.

Samantha's heart started hammering in her chest. Accident? She got her address book, picked up the phone and dialed the long distance number to Michael's house while Mona watched her intently. Runa answered.

"Ja, hallo?"

"Runa? This is Samantha. I'm calling you back about Jonathan. You said he had an accident?"

"Ya, he needs his mudder. Where is his mudder? He broke head, ja?"

"What?! He broke his head! His mother just had a baby. She's in the hospital. Can't you find Michael?"

"Michael has no phone. He be in Peru jungle, filming. I go back to Sweden, no get green card. Ja? Jon in hospital. Hit head surfing. He has a confusion. Not be alone now." Runa was doing her best to explain in her broken English. She hoped the girl on the phone could understand her.

"A confusion? Do you mean a concussion?" Samantha's worry was escalating by the second and Runa's broken English wasn't helping at all.

"Ja, concussion. You come? Doctor said not be alone now. I leaving two days to Sweden."

Samantha put Runa on hold, looked at Mona questioningly. "Mona, Jonathan has a head injury and needs somebody with him right now. Angela obviously can't travel and Dad needs to be with her. One of us has to go. My courses are over for the school year. I think it should be me."

Mona nodded at her. "Yes, you go. I need to be here to run things at the Agency while Angela's taking her maternity leave. Tell Runa you'll get a flight first thing tomorrow. I'll put it on my credit card. Oh gosh, I hope my grandson is alright. See if you can find out more." Mona was shaken. One grandchild born and one injured all on the same day. She sat down on the couch. Mrs. R put her arm around her and Mona didn't even protest.

"Runa? I'll come tomorrow. Is he alright, Runa? Is he going to be okay?" Samantha held her breath.

"Ja, I think so. But he hit head hard. He dizzy. You take care of him?" Runa was greatly relieved to be rid of this responsibility. Michael had dumped her and she didn't want to take care of his teenaged son.

"Please tell Jonathan that I'll be there tomorrow. And tell him he has a new baby sister, Rose. I'll bring him home to meet her when he's allowed to fly." Sam knew that Angela would have a fit knowing that Michael had left Jon alone. No way would she let him stay in California after this. The prodigal son would return. Sam chewed her bottom lip, unsure how she felt about that. But she knew she had to go to him. He needed her now.