DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor do I profit from, the Disney Channel program 'Austin & Ally' or the characters therein. They are simply used in the following story for my own entertainment. Original story 'In The Army Now' written for the Buffy fandom by Im_bloody_english. This work belongs to her and I take no credit for the story line. Names and locations have been changed to suit the Austin & Ally fandom. No copyright infringement intended.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: Labor Day
Eight months later on a Friday evening...
Ally stood over a bubbling crock-pot of chili, stirring it with one hand while the other lay on her aching back from the extra thirty pounds she'd gained when she felt her husband's arms slip around her waist to stroke her swollen belly.
Somebody's been busy. She hadn't made dinner, she'd created a banquet. A huge salad, homemade cornbread, baked potatoes, several tiny bowls full of condiments for the chili and freshly baked apple pie? Not just one, but three? Okay, sure, he'd taught her how to cook and even bake over the last year until she was fine on her own, but it seemed like an awful lot of food. And for him to think it... that was saying a lot.
"I think I love this look on you."
"And what look would that be?"
"Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, cooking my dinn-OW!" He received an elbow in the stomach for his jibe.
"Stand down, soldier, or you'll be wearing your chow instead of eating it."
"Hey," he chuckled. "You know I don't mean it." He kissed the top of her head.
"Yes, you do. You enjoy issuing insults."
"That's not all I enjoy issuing," he whispered seductively, bucking his hips against her bottom.
She jabbed his stomach again. "Don't go confusing your rank with my authority and I'll let you live."
"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled. "You know you're the Commander in Chief of this house, baby." Feeling her tense as she placed a hand to her stomach, he asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah, mmph. Fine." A sigh of relief rushed between her lips when the pain subsided. "Just the baby kicking."
"He wants to get out... meet his father so we can start training, get him ready for West Point."
"And what if we have a girl?" But of course that didn't deter his military frame of mind; his answer came with a shrug of indifference.
"West Point takes females." He wanted to know what they were having after the ultrasound, but Ally insisted on being surprised and even threatened the obstetrician into silence over the subject. He kissed her head again while rubbing her lower back with one hand to ease the pain his growing child was causing her.
"Mmmmm, that feels wonderful." Setting her spoon down, she placed both hands on the counter and arched into his strong touch while closing her eyes.
"I'll finish up here, Ally. You go sit down and relax. After dinner I'll give you a back massage, how does that sound?" The fact the entire house looked like she'd turned it upside down with her rearranging of things hadn't escaped his attention. Which was fine with him, but the multitude of changes seemed like an awful lot to have achieved for one in her condition and the fact she'd done it during the eight days while he was gone?
"Really?" She turned into his arms and laid her head against his chest, enjoying the freshly showered smell of his skin. He'd come home not an hour ago from the field and this time he smelled a little too rank for her taste and had shoved a much grumbling Austin in the direction of the bathroom after only a short hug and a kiss.
"Anything for you, baby." He held her, gently stroking her long hair as his heart swelled with pride. She was giving him a child, and it was the second greatest gift he'd ever received next to her love and their marriage. "I want to have at least two more children." He could picture a tiny house full of love and laughter, several blonde and brunette children running around his beautiful wife, begging for her attention.
"Let's get through having this one then we'll negotiate that proposal." Her pregnancy was as healthy as could be, but of course brought with it all the normal, physical annoyances. "I'm going to go take a quick shower then start another wash-load of your clothes."
"You do that. I'll have the table set by the time you're done." Giving her rear a playful pat, he was glad to be through with his latest FTX. His incessant worry over her being past her due date had him calling her several times a day even though cell phones weren't allowed in the field, making her promise to text him the moment she thought she might be going into labor.
oOo oOo oOo
"Ally! Would you PLEASE sit down? You're making me dizzy." She was running around the place doing chores with so much enthusiasm it was ridiculous. The house looked spotless, immaculate rather, so what was she trying to do, freaking sterilize it?
"But I need to get your uniforms pressed once they come out of the dryer, the dishes need to be put away and the bathtub still needs... what?" Did I sprout a third eye? That was the sort of look he was giving her.
He had to grab her in order to make her stop moving and face him. "Take a break." He spoke slowly so she understood he was serious." I just got home, I wanna spend some time with my wife, not watch her run around."
"But-"
"Whatever it is can wait. It'll still be there waiting for you tomorrow. There's no need to do anything other than pay me a little attention."
"But-"
"At LEAST for an hour or two and then I'll HELP you do whatever it is you feel needs to be done tonight." So difficult. Dragging her towards the couch as he spoke, he couldn't believe how hard it was for her to relax. She wasn't even looking at him; her eyes were still darting about like there were a million things left undone. "Sit before you burn yourself out."
"Okay... you win." Sighing in defeat, she knew he was right. But the last couple of days she felt great, really great. Had tons of energy and spent it spring cleaning and found it tough to remain still for any length of time. "Just... I'll be right back." He raised a warning brow at her. "I promise." Kissing his cheek, she pulled his hands from her waist, er, where her waist used to be and headed for their bedroom.
"You'd better," he called after her. "Just because I can't take you over my knee doesn't mean you won't get spanked." Chuckling after her biting retort of 'yeah, yeah, whatever', he went and grabbed himself a glass of iced tea before sitting in front of the television.
"Ughh. I so can't wait to have this baby... to be able to see my feet again will be bliss."
Waddling into the living room, Ally carried a small pink tote, busy fumbling around inside it looking for something. "What are you doing now?" he asked, exasperated. She sat next to him on the couch and propped a foot on the edge of the coffee table.
"I just need to paint my toenails." Hey, if she had to sit, she may as well do something productive, right?
She opened the bottle and then struggled to get into a position that allowed her belly proper clearance so she could lean forward, but he could see it was difficult for her to breathe when she stretched to reach her toes. "You're stressing yourself and cramping my son. Here." Snatching the bottle out of her hand, he gestured toward the couch. "Lay back and get comfortable. I'll do it."
"You're going to paint my toes?" she asked, her tone suggesting he wasn't capable.
Austin scoffed. "It's not rocket science." He pushed another pillow behind her head and moved so her feet were in his lap. "Have you been taking your vitamins like you should while I was gone?" Removing the brush of her strawberry pink polish, he grabbed a foot and started with her big toe.
"Of course, er, well, I did forget the other day." Pausing from his work, he fixed her with a scolding pair of eyes.
He shook his head disapprovingly but let it drop. She'd become increasingly forgetful about a lot of things, an apparent hormonal by-product of pregnancy. "How did your appointment go the other day?" He tried to attend all of her appointments whenever he wasn't in the field, but unfortunately that wasn't very many. So with the help of Jace and Trish playing informant, he strictly enforced any orders or limitations the doctor gave her.
"It was fine. I'm another half centimeter dilated," she chirped happily, but it quickly turned to a frown. "I just wish there was something more I could do to speed this up. I hate getting poked, prodded and probed. So not fun." Pouting, she went on to complain. "I mean, I've been eating spicy foods, taking super-hot showers even took castor oil once... tried all the old-wives tales but nothing works." Wow, he was a doing an awesome job on her toenails. Fast, too, she thought as he started in on her other foot.
Thinking it was pure silliness for her to be doing any of it; he kept his opinion to himself when remembering something both Dez and the doctor told them. "There's one thing you haven't been able to try that I'll be glad to help you with tonight, baby." His suggestive smirk had her pouting even harder. "Orgasms might trigger contractions plus-" he lowered his voice. "-you wouldn't want to deny your husband after being gone for several days... now would you, sweetheart?"
"I'm as big as a house!" she cried. "How can you even WANT to sleep with me? I'm fat for Christ sakes." But that never stopped him... thank God. He was all too happy to feed her incessant desire for sex with no qualms whatsoever despite the positions she was limited to. As a matter of fact, he was quite creative on occasion.
"You're not fat, you're pregnant. You look absolutely gorgeous being pregnant." Despite the moody factor, she was beautiful to him, stunning even. She wore her pregnancy well; constantly glowing, looking all sorts of cute in maternity clothes... he even admired the funny way she walked. Finishing the last of her tiny toes, he set the bottle down just as she winced and held her breath. "Are you alright?" he asked, rushing to place a hand over hers as she clutched her stomach.
She had to wait for the pain to pass before answering but managed a smile over his worried look. She adored his constant concern for her well-being and even his over-protectiveness. From the time she'd told him he was going to be a daddy, he went from treating her like a princess to treating her like a queen, hardly letting her lift a finger or anything over ten pounds, making sure she napped whenever she needed, went to the store for any cravings she had and was always cooking a ton of food, insisting she eat "just a few more bites... for the baby." "I'm fine."
"Kickin' you again?" Lifting her shirt, he laid his hand and cheek on her belly, caressing it with his fingertips, listening as her stomach gurgled from dinner.
"My ribs. Really strong, too." She placed a hand on his head, running her fingers through his growing locks and smiling as she listened to him coo and talk to his child.
"You better stop kickin' your mommy or you'll be giving me fifty pushups the sec... holy shit! Would you look at that? I guess he knows my voice!" A tiny limb rolled beneath her skin, a visible bump on the otherwise perfectly round mound of flesh. The sight never ceased to amaze him. He kissed the last place the baby appeared then sat up to shift on his side at the back of the couch so he could hold her. "Now, back to our original conversation..." Grabbing a handful of her breast, he fondled it while his lips sought out the patch of skin on her neck that always drove her crazy.
"Later. I wanna watch Zaliens three, it's on tv..." Which, surprisingly, he'd actually managed to get her addicted to. But he was already getting to her, purposefully attacking 'that spot' with those soft lips and wicked tongue of his.
"That's what the DVR is for." Pumping his hips into her backside, he was hard as nails. Anything past two days without sex was too long for him. "Record it." He nipped at her skin. "Watch it later." He reached beneath her shorts. "Want you now." He launched every weapon within his sexual arsenal on her. She'd give in. Her libido would demand it.
Damnit! He was right and she was screwed, well, would be any second here. Hitting record on the remote, she closed her eyes, thoroughly distracted when she heard him slowly unzip his pants and let his touch ignite her needy body.
Minutes later and Austin was completely absorbed in the moment, focused on nothing else but making love to his wife when he mistook a sound she made for a moan of passion. What came out of her mouth when she suddenly whispered threw him off... waaaaaaaaaaay off in the left field of misunderstanding.
"Oooooo... Braxton Hicks." Her hands gripped her stomach and much to her relief, Austin ceased all movement. What she didn't expect was for him to pull out then tug on her shoulder so he could face her... with very jealous eyes and an accusatory tone in his voice.
"Who the FUCK is Braxton Hicks?!"
"Oh my God, Austin." She started laughing, but very quickly stopped when his expression hadn't changed. Seems he seriously didn't know so she clarified things for him. "It's not a WHO, it's a WHAT."
"Huh?"
"Braxton Hicks. They're contractions. FAKE contractions. You don't remember what the doctor said? It's the body's way of practicing for the real thing... to contract in order to push the baby out."
Well, shit. Did he ever feel like an ass! Wait a minute... "The doctor never told me that... and neither did you." A guilty look spread across her features.
"Ooops?" she offered meekly. Thank God the jealousy melted from his face, because he'd seriously looked pissed. "Guess I forgot. It was probably the appointment I had while you were gone for seven weeks. Sorry?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry, too... for over reacting." She nodded before he kissed her lips then teased him.
"I can't believe you thought what you thought or think anyone would find a pregnant woman attractive."
"It's not unreasonable some other guy would want you. Pregnant or not, you know you're gorgeous, Ally."
Okay, so this was one of those rare moments he turned her to complete and utter mush. She may not believe that, but he did, every word of what he said, she could tell and it melted her heart. "Now that THAT'S cleared up, I believe you're shirking your responsibility, soldier."
"And what would that be, baby?" Such a minx! Rubbing her bare and delectable ass against him like that while berating him military style.
"Whenever you're not busy at work for Uncle Sam... your only duty is to please this booty."
He was chuckling so hard the couch shook. "I'm gonna have to keep Dez away from you. He's a bad influence." He cracked a joke of his own in a unique way so he could get back to the 'business' of pleasing his wife and himself. "Mmmmmm, you can take the girl outta the Army... but-" He slid back inside her warmth to drive home the point of his jest. "-you can' take the Army outta the girl."
oOo oOo oOo
-Zero four hundred hours- Stupid false contractions
-Zero five thirty- Go away, leave me alone
-Zero six ten- Damn
Her body's center of gravity had shifted drastically due to the extra weight she'd gained during these last two months, rendering her movements clumsy and difficult. She panted and groaned while rolling to one side, having to use her arms just to push herself upright so she could get out of bed. And there Austin lay... on his back, mouth hanging wide open, still snoring away peacefully. Envy wasn't a word strong enough to describe how she felt that he got to slumber through the night undisturbed.
-Zero six thirty-
Okay, this was really starting to get on her nerves and there was definite pain involved this time as her stomach balled up so tight she could have dropped a pant size. Still convinced it was nothing, she made her roley-poley way to the bathroom but when she got back, Austin was awake.
"You alright?" In the early morning's light, he could see the annoyance on her face.
"No," she huffed. "I mean yes. It's just these stupid contractions are disturbing my sleep." Crawling back under the covers, he startled her when he all but shouted.
"Contractions?!" He was half asleep, but that statement sure as hell put his brain on high alert.
"Calm down." Jeez, jumpy much? "It's just Braxton Hicks."
"You sure?" He tucked her in tight then helped adjust the body pillow between her legs.
"Yeah. They've woken me up four times already." His voice went suspicious on her.
"Four times?" She nodded. "How far apart?"
"Uhmm... the first one was around four... I think. Then the next was... maybeeeee five thirty. The one after that was definitely ten after six and then just now. Austin? What are you doing?" He was playing away with the controls on his watch.
"I'm gonna start timing them." From the sounds of things, these 'fake' contractions were steadily getting closer together. Turning a pointed finger at her, he ordered, "And you're to let me know every time you have one." She rolled her eyes at him.
"Whatever. I'm going back to sleep."
"Ally! I'm serious!"
"Alright, just... go back to sleep so I can, too... please?"
Yeah, okay! Like he was going to get any sleep now? He kissed her forehead then pulled her tight against him, choosing not to say anything more. If labor had begun, she was going to need the rest.
And sure as shit, every fifteen minutes for the next forty five, she had another before they steadily got closer and closer together.
Hmm, maybe I should change. She frowned in the mirror at the deep blue sweat suit she chose to wear. I look like Violet Beauregard right before the oompa-loompas started singing. "Would you stop that? There's no need to panic." Back and forth, back and forth Austin paced past the bathroom while she fixed her hair and makeup.
No need to panic, no need to panic she says. He was a god-damned wreck. But did his wife help matters any? Nope. The woman was taking her sweet time, primping like she had all day. Until her contractions were five minutes apart, she absolutely refused to leave. According to the doctor, until they were five minutes apart she wasn't in any danger and boy if she didn't wait `til the last fucking contraction started at minute number four and had her doubled over.
"That's it. Put the damn curling iron down. We're leaving. Now!"
"Yeah... whew, okay... I'm good now." The pain was steadily getting worse. She could barely breathe whenever the contractions came. And he was standing there looking nervous enough for the both of them, keys jingling in one hand, the bag of her 'baby' things he'd packed himself over two months ago dangling from the other.
He shuttled her as quickly as he could towards the car and fired up the engine, intent on breaking every motor vehicle law during the ten minute ride to the hospital. She swore he was punishing her by hitting every bump in the road on purpose, jolting her womb and intensifying the pain. And did he think she was going to drop this puppy in the parking lot when he made her perform the mad dash from the car to the doors of the hospital?
Once in the maternity ward and after being given a flimsy gown to change into, the nurse performed her initial exam and announced Ally as six and a half centimeters dilated. "Looks like its baby day today." Then off she ran to find the anesthesiologist so Ally could receive an epidural, leaving the couple alone.
Ally turned to Austin, bursting into tears. "I'm scared," she sobbed. "I don't think I can do this." Her Lamaze instructor said it could be hours of these contractions before her cervix reached the full ten centimeters required before she could start pushing... and that's when the real pain began. It already hurt so bad she'd much rather go through Basic all over again, even with Austin as her Drill Sergeant.
"Yes, you can, baby." He hated seeing her cry. He stroked her hair, covered her up with a blanket, did whatever he could to comfort her. "You're my girl, you're tough, you're-"
"But the pain." As if her body wanted to prove her point, another contraction hit, so hard it made her throw up.
Thirty minutes later and the nurse came back with the anesthesiologist in tow. Austin held Ally's hand after they turned her on her side and began swabbing her spine with iodine. At the first sight of what had to be the largest needle in history however, he began to sweat.
"Uh, be right back..."
"Wait!" she cried hysterically, gripping his hand as tight as she could. "Where are you going?"
"Needle." He began panting. "Big. Long." He turned white. "Fucking huge."
Coward! But she couldn't really be mad with him. It was better to have him leave than to throw up on her. She'd been doing enough of that for the both of them. "Go and call everyone then come back." He nodded gratefully, leaving the room without another word from his pale lips.
'The plan' had been in place now for months. Once her parents received a phone call from Austin to tell them she was in labor, they would be on the next available flight to New York. Trish was coming as soon as she got word to film the birth.
The hours seemed to drag on, and on, and on. And despite receiving the epidural Ally still felt a pounding in her chest, more than just her heart beating, it was enough to make her dizzy.
Austin noticed her head starting to bob as she appeared to be fighting to stay conscious. Panic began to fill him. "Ally, baby, what's wrong?"
She still had a couple of centimeters left to dilate before she was ready to push so she shook off the nausea and dizziness and plastered a fake smile to her face.
Trish mentioned feeling hungry, the nurse told them they had plenty of time to grab something to eat. "There's a restaurant just around the corner." Looking to Ally, Trish added, "It shouldn't take us long," she said motioning to Dez and Jace. "We'll be back before you know it. Did you want anything while we're out, Austin?"
"I'm fine, thank you. I don't wanna leave Ally's side," he smiled.
Trish nodded and smiled, turning on her heel and heading out toward the others.
Ally waited for everyone else to be out of earshot before she spoke. "Aus, baby, go with them, I know you're hungry. The doctor said this could still take a while long- ohhh!" Her hands flew to her stomach.
"What?" he panicked. "What is it? Do you need me to call someone?"
"No, I'm fine. The nurse said it would be awhile." Letting go of her belly, she grabbed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.
Austin gazed at their interlocked hands for a moment and just let pure emotion overtake him. In an indeterminate amount of time his whole life would change… again… for the better… again! Not long ago he was a grumpy bachelor who took his anger and resentment out on the one recruit who stood up to him.
Ally.
His beautiful, amazing, sweet, sexy wife. She walked into his life and turned everything upside down, and now she was about to give him the greatest gift of all, a child of his own. She was an angel sent to him, there was no denying it. She saved him.
Seeing her face screwed up in genuine agony, the blonde was shaken from his thoughts and stuttered through his next sentence. "I-I'm just going to... to go g-get someone." Ally was shaking her head no but he had slipped his hand out of hers and dashed out of the room regardless.
"I'm okay," she huffed though her husband was already gone. A few seconds later, he returned with a nurse then came back to hold her hand while she was being examined. She directed her next statement to the nurse. "I thought I wasn't supposed to feel anything."
"Well, you'll feel some pain the closer you-OH-MY-GOD!" Her eyes met Ally's. "Whatever you do... DON'T push."
"What?!" came a unified cry from the married couple.
"The baby's head is halfway down the birth canal."
Ally gasped and immediately snapped her legs shut. "Oh no," she groaned, clutching Austin's hand even tighter. "Don't leave me."
He shook his head and hid the panic that was arising within him. Something was wrong, the way the nurse ran out to get the doctor, her body language said it all. She was rigid, and rushing, not what he would expect if everything was going smoothly.
Ally cried out as another contraction hit. "AUSTIN!"
"Ally? Holy hell! This is really happening." Austin said more to himself while his wife answered him sarcastically.
"Ya think?!"
Right then the nurse returned with the doctor in tow, both with extremely concerned looks on their faces. Before he could even ask them anything a series of loud beeps and sirens began sounding from the monitors around her. Immediately the staff of the floor rushed into the room around them, one person seemingly taking a job doing something. The panic arose in him again as he looked to Ally's face. She was pale, and her eyelids were hanging heavy. "Ally… ALLY!"
The doctor pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket and shone it in Ally's eyes. She barely responded.
"We need to deliver this baby now…" he muttered to his staff.
The nurse that had ran and got him turned and looked at Austin before looking back to the doctor. She whispered to him, but it was loud enough for his to hear.
"If we deliver this baby she could bleed out…"
The doctor gave her a curt nod and signaled to the others, and they all snapped into action and got into their apparent pre-planned places.
"Ally, Ally can you hear me dear?" the doctor asked her. Looking positively exhausted already she afforded him a small nod and slumped her head back into her pillow. "We need you to stay with us here, Ally. It's very important that you hold on for a few more minutes, okay? Now take a nice deep breath and let it go. Push, Ally, push!"
She did, or so she thought, she pushed, and pushed, and pushed, grunting during the contraction, a sheen of perspiration breaking out across her forehead in the process. Something was wrong. She wasn't supposed to feel this pain…
Austin planned to ignore the death drip on his hand, but instead what he was noticing was the lack of grip as she was pushing so hard. It was as if she didn't have the strength… He watched her face turn white; thinking the single blue vein beneath her temple was going to burst any second from the effort she exerted.
"Push for me, Ally-sweetie," the doctor repeated.
"I am!" she snapped back. Or so she thought… it came out more like a whisper.
As the baby progressed down the birth canal, the monitors hooked to Ally began to siren even more. Everyone in the room went tense except for the nurse and the doctor. "Don't worry, darling," he soothed.
"Breathe, baby." Austin whispered when Ally finished pushing, hating to see her in so much pain.
"You're doing wonderful. Keep going." Not long now, the doc thought as the head traveled further down the birth canal. "That's it... beautiful! Take another deep breath and give me a good push when you're ready."
Another contraction hit her and after gathering what strength she had, she began pushing again through gritted teeth. "Aaaa-ARRRRGH!" The pain was so blinding, she simply couldn't stifle the scream.
"That's it, that's it, that's it," the doc cried, encouraging her. "Don't stop, keep pushing."
Austin looked up at the monitor then looked to another one of the nurses who was lingering nearby at the ready with what looked like suction tubes and sutures. "What's wrong what's happening?"
"She's bleeding internally somewhere and we will need to find it and stop it quickly, or…"
"Or what?"
The nurse gave him a sympathetic look but refused to answer, turning her attention back to the woman in question.
"Give me one last good one, Ally, just ooooone more-YES!"
"Ohhhh... God!" She let out a sigh of relief and slumped back on the bed.
The first nurse held a blanket ready while the doctor suctioned the amniotic fluid and what looked like pure blood from the child's mouth and nasal cavity. "It's a boy," he announced happily over the sounds of the child's first fragile cry. He took care of cutting the umbilical cord while the nurse took the infant so he could deliver the afterbirth then suture Ally's episiotomy. As she prepared for this, though, she yelled out for the doctor.
"Doctor! She's coding!"
A mass of people began to surround them once again, lowering Ally's bed flat and surrounding her.
Austin soothed his wife's hair back, alternating between kissing her head and telling her what a great job she did, how proud he was of her, tears in his eyes as he looked between her and their newborn. "Thank you, Allison, for giving me my son."
The admiration, the twinkle of happiness in his eye had her shedding a tear of joy. She reached up to cup his cheek, truly happy to have given him what he wanted, and then, as all of her monitors began to siren again, everything around her went black.
To Be Continued…
Honestly given the reviews I received in my absence I don't really know what to say. For those of you who continued to be supportive and loving, and concerned about my well-being – Thank you - from the bottom of my heart. For those of you who lashed out and told me I was a shifty author, or to get my act together, or to the person who said I'm not a real author because I "stole" this story and I'm only a real author if I finish it? Thank you to you also, because if it weren't for your utter negativity, the positive wouldn't have shone as bright as it did. I don't owe anyone an explanation for my actions… or for what I do for me in my life… but thanks for those extra review numbers anyway.