In which we meet Baby Caroline... enjoy.
Olivia has been struggling to fall asleep all night, tossing and turning, she unintentionally kept Ed up. "I'm sorry, baby," she said, curling into his chest. "I just can't get comfortable." She was officially at the nine month mark today. 36 weeks. And she was just uncomfortable. She wasn't in pain, just a lot of discomfort. "I'm going to go go the bathroom, because I have to pee, again." She got up and went to the bathroom, sitting down and feeling a popping sensation, followed by a trickle of fluid, followed by a sharp pain. "Ed!" She saw him run into the bathroom. "Call your mom and then call Lucy. I think my water just broke." She looked from her stomach to his eyes. "I'm in labor." She smiled and let out a breath. "I'll call the hospital and have them page the doctor." She got up and walked back into the bedroom and got dressed and got her hospital bag. Within fifteen minutes Lucy was there. She had another contraction. "God," She breathed through it. "Okay, hospital. Your mom can meet us there."
Ed grabbed his bag and helped her outside, getting her in the car. "We'll be there soon. Hold my hand. Squeeze if you need to." Ed rushed to the hospital, lights and sirens going, feeling her squeeze his hand closer and closer together. "Your contractions are about 5 minutes apart."
She nodded. "Trust me, I know." She let out a breath, seeing them pull up to the hospital. He ran inside to get a wheelchair and he wheeled her in. "I'll be good. Go park the car." She went to the desk. "I'm in labor. I need paper—" she let out a breath as a contraction hit. "Paperwork. Please." She rested back against the back of the wheelchair. In what seemed like minutes Ed was back, kissing her cheek. The nurses were wheeling them back to Labor and Delivery, Ed has their bags and the paperwork. "Is Dr. Cooper here?"
The nurse got her set up in the room, giving her a gown to change into. "She'll be in, in just a few minutes. Change into that so she can check you."
He set their stuff up in the corner. "Thank you." Once the nurse left he helped Olivia her undressed and helped her into the gown, then into the bed. "Our baby is going to be here soon."
Olivia smiled and kissed him softly. "I can't wait." She rested her head on the pillow, groaning as another contraction hit. "Shit, and they're only going to get worse." She saw the doctor come in and she smiled. "Please tell me I can get an epidural. I'm in so much pain."
The doctor sat at the foot of the bed once she had gloves on. "Let me check to see how dilated you are, and then if you're far enough along I'll call the anesthesiologist, and we'll get you an epidural. You'll be feeling minimal pain, okay?" She lifted Olivia's gown once she was up in stirrups and put her hand under her gown to check how far along she was. "And when did your water break?"
Olivia let out a breath. "About an hour ago. Contractions started right after."
Dr. Cooper shook her head. "Hate to tell you, you've likely been in labor all day. Any pain, even mild."
Olivia looked at Ed. "A little, nothing that rendered me unable to do anything."
Dr. Cooper nodded. "You're about six centimeters dilated. We need 10 before we can start pushing. I'll call for an anesthesiologist, have them set you up with an epidural." She paged for the specialist and waited for them. "Hopefully we'll be welcoming baby Tucker into the world in a matter of hours."
Olivia looked up at Ed. "She'll be here soon." She smiled, seeing the anesthesiologist come in, followed by Caroline. "Mom," she smiled and reached out to hug her. "Sorry to wake you in the middle of the night."
Caroline brushed it off. "I'm old, I've had plenty of sleep over my lifetime."
Ed looked at his mother. "You're beautiful, Ma."
Caroline put her hand on her hip. "Damn right I am. But I never said I wasn't. Old and beautiful aren't mutually exclusive."
His eyes cast downward. "Sorry." He kissed Olivia's head.
Olivia smiled. "I'm really glad you could—" She gripped Ed's hand. "Make it." The anesthesiologist told her to sit up and face away from him, with her head down and her shoulders rolled forward. She did as she was told, and stayed still as the doctor inserted the catheter and started the flow of medicine.
"You'll feel the full effect in about twenty minutes. Congratulations, I wish you the best of luck."
Olivia laid back and let out a breath. She turned to Ed. "Don't let them put a daddy stitch in, okay? If I tear and they need to use stitches, don't let them put anymore than necessary in."
Ed kissed her forehead. "You got it, baby."
Olivia took a deep breath, another contraction hitting. They were coming closer and closer together. "Baby? Can you get me some ice chips?"
Caroline stood up. "Oh, no. I'll get them for her. You stay here with Olivia. She needs you." She kissed her future daughter-in-law's head and walked to get her some ice chips.
Ed smiled. "Thanks, Ma." He watched the monitors she was hooked up to, seeing her since as a contraction showed on the screen. "You're doing wonderful baby."
Dr. Cooper came back in and checked Olivia again. "You are progressing really quickly. You're fully effaced and about 8 and a half centimeters dilated. Any time now. I'm going to get set up and get the team in here, and then you should be set to push. Baby Tucker really wants out."
Olivia looked up at Ed, tears in her eyes. "I'm scared," she whispered.
Ed kissed her head and saw his mother come back in. "You're going to be wonderful. I'm right here, mom's right here. We've got you."
Olivia nodded and looked at Caroline. "I can't thank you enough for being here. It really means so much." She smiled when Caroline offered her a spoon of ice chips, she gladly accepted them.
Caroline brushed her hair back. "Of course, dear. I know the first one can be scary, but with the epidural you're not going to feel much until later."
Dr. Cooper, along with a team of nurses all ready to deliver the baby looked at Olivia. "I'm going to take a quick peek, okay?" She took a peek, using her fingers. "Okay. You're at ten centimeters. On your next contraction you're going to bear down, as hard as you can, for ten seconds, you're going to rest for a few seconds and then push for another ten. Then one more time. We're looking to get thirty seconds of pushing out of a contraction, okay? Then you'll rest until your next one, okay?"
Olivia nodded and one of Ed's hands and one of Caroline's. The end of the bed came off and Olivia waited and when the doctor told her to, she pushed, hard. Olivia was relatively lucky, Caroline was officially born just a half hour after Olivia started pushing. Olivia lay back on the bed, tears running down her face her newborn baby on her chest. "Hi sweet girl. Hi baby." She looked up at Ed and smiled, kissing him softly. "I love you."
Ed kissed her again. "I love you too." He, begrudgingly, went with Caroline as they cleaned her up and weighed her. He didn't want to, but Olivia insisted that one of them needed to be with her. His mom stayed next to her as she delivered the placenta. And he was next to her, holding the baby as they stitched her up.
Olivia looked at the doctor. "How bad was the tear?" She asked, out of breath.
The doctor looked up at her. "It's a second degree tear, it could be worse, but it'll take a few weeks to heal. There are stitches in multiple layers here, but they'll dissolve on their own."
Olivia nodded and she looked at Ed. "She's perfect." She put her arms out. "Oh, let me hold her." She held Caroline in her arms and she cried. "Caroline Willow," she whispered and kissed her forehead. "My perfect little angel," she whispered and wiped her eyes.
Ed kissed Olivia's head. "Seven pounds, six ounces." He whispered. "You're amazing."
Olivia looked up at him and kissed him again, holding Caroline close. "She's beautiful." She looked up at Caroline. "Would you like to hold your granddaughter?" Olivia slowly handed the baby over to her namesake.
Caroline smiled down at her granddaughter. "Hello, beautiful girl. I'm your grandma. Yeah," she smiled and rocked her gently.
Ed sat next to Olivia. "I love you so much, Liv," he whispered and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. In this moment he just needed to be close to her. Caroline passed the baby back to Olivia and she cried. "She's beautiful, just like her mommy."
Olivia wiped her eyes. "Wow." She rested against the bed, resting Caroline on her chest. "I'm so tired, but I don't want to close my eyes. She's so perfect."
A nurse came in with a wheelchair, and the anesthesiologist in tow. "We're going to take out the epidural, and then get you to a recovery room. We'll get you something for pain and let you rest while we take baby for her first bath."
Olivia groaned and handed Caroline off to Ed, sitting up so the epidural could come out. As soon as it was out the pain hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh my God," She let out a breath and closed her eyes. It wasn't the worst pain she'd ever felt, but it was bad. She accepted help from Caroline getting into the wheelchair, and the four of them walked to her room in recovery, where a bassinet from the nursery was waiting for baby Caroline. "Let me hold her again before they put her in the bassinet." She took her daughter in her arms and kissed her forehead. "I love you, sweet girl. Yes I do. So much."
Caroline smiled. "I'm gonna head home, give you three some time together." She kissed Olivia's forehead, Ed's cheek, and caressed the baby's cheek with her finger. "I love you all."
Ed smiled and hugged his mom before she left then sat next to Olivia. "She has your nose," he whispered. "Your adorable, perfect nose. And your lips." He said, letting her grab onto his finger. "And your grip."
Olivia smiled and looked up at him. "Thank you, Ed. Thank you so much. You gave me the chance to carry a child. My child. And I love you immensely for it."
Ed leaned in and kissed her softly. "Thank you, for giving me a perfect little girl." He kissed her again.
She rested against him. "I never want to have her anywhere else but my arms." She felt his lips on her head. "I can't believe I gave birth to her. I can't believe I gave birth in general. To a healthy, beautiful baby girl." She looked up at him. "And she's named after one of the most incredible women I've ever met. Your mom."
He held Olivia and rested his head on hers. "Do you want me to call Lucy and the Squad, or do you want me to wait until you've had a little rest first?"
Olivia smiled. "I'd say yes, but I've been up more than twenty-four hours. I should try to sleep before I need to feed her. So should you. And don't tell me you're fine. You've been up longer than I have. We're both going to nap until Caroline comes back into the room, probably when she's ready to eat," she smiled and kissed him gently.
Ed smiled and kissed her. "You know me too well."
The nurse came in and smiled. "Do we have a name for the birth certificate?"
Olivia nodded. "Caroline Willow Tucker." She smiled down at her daughter. "Are you bringing her to the nursery?"
The nurse smiled. "Miss Caroline is actually going to stay in here with you. There's no reason we can see to put her in the nursery, so she'll stay in here. We can put her in her bassinet while you all get some sleep though. And I have some pain meds for you, this way you can relax and get some sleep. You need it. When she's ready for her first feeding we'll bring her in, along with a lactation consultant, who can walk you through breast feeding, if that's the route you want to take."
Olivia smiled. "Of course. I plan to breastfeed as long as I can. It's what's best for her." She kissed Caroline's forehead before the nurse put her in the bassinet, and handed her a cup with a pill in it and some water. "What's this?"
The nurse smiled. "Percocet. It'll help the pain."
Olivia looked at her. "Is it safe? For the baby I mean, since I'm breastfeeding?"
The nurse nodded. "It's a low dosage, and you're only going to be on it for a few days while we get your pain to a level that can be managed with Tylenol or Advil. This is only five milligrams and you can take it up to four times a day. Anything under forty milligrams a day is safe for baby. And it won't secrete in breast milk for the first four or so days." She smiled. "We wouldn't give you anything that hurt your baby."
Olivia nodded. "Thank you." She took the pill and rested her head on the pillow, looking over at Caroline, a smile on her face, touching the outside. "I'll see you soon, sweet girl. Mommy loves you." The nurse took Caroline to the nursery and she looked over at Ed. "Lay down with me?"
Ed climbed into bed next to her, wrapping her in his arms. "Pain meds helping?"
She chuckled. "I just took them." She rested her head on his chest. "Hold me while I sleep?"
He tilted her head up and kissed her gently. "Always," He whispered. He held her close and closed his eyes and they both drifted off to sleep.
Olivia woke up first but didn't move, she just stayed where she was, her fingers running over his chest. She was groggy. She felt him stir and she smiled at him. "Hey." She kissed him gently, pulling back and looking at him.
Ed looked at her. "I'm guessing you're not feeling any pain."
She smiled. "A little. Not as bad. I'm starving, though."
He chuckled. "Let's get you something to eat, baby. I'll page the nurse."
Olivia smiled and kissed him gently. "I love you."
Ed kissed her back gently. "I love you, too." He kissed her forehead. He pushed the button for the nurse.
She rested her head back on his chest. "I can't wait to get back to our own bed. I miss our blankets and our pillows."
He stroked her hair. "I know, baby. Soon." He saw the nurse come in, he and Olivia both looked back at her.
The nurse smiled. "We don't usually let dad sleep in the same bed as mom, but I can see this is exactly how Mom wants to and needs to be right now. How can I help you?"
Olivia smiled. "I'm really hungry. Is there anyway I can get something to eat. Even just a banana."
The nurse smiled. "I'll get you a tray." She smiled and left.
Olivia looked up at Ed and smiled. "Kiss me," she whispered and felt his lips on hers. She smiled and ran her hands over his chest.
Ed pulled away. "Easy, baby," he whispered. "Not until your healed."
She looked up at him. "Sorry," she whispered. She rested her head on his chest. "I'll behave."
He looked down at her. "You? Since when?" He smirked.
Olivia smirked right back. "I needed some excuse to see those stunning blue eyes," she smiled and kissed him. "Mm, besides, you like it when I misbehave." She looked over her shoulder. "We have a beautiful little girl sleeping over there who is proof of that." She chuckled, seething momentarily. "Sorry. I just got a twinge of pain."
Ed smirked. "You don't have to lie, before things ended with Cassidy you couldn't stand me. Or my eyes." He kissed the top of her head. "And you're right, I do enjoy that." He held her securely. "You okay?"
She smiled. "In your arms? I'm wonderful. And I think a part of me… a part of me always wondered what it would be like to kiss you, to be with you," she bit her bottom lip."
He kissed her forehead. "Were you disappointed?"
Olivia smiled. "Never," she whispered. "Your kisses alone make my toes curl. Add to that that you know all the right ways to work my body to have me coming over and over and over again." She let out a breath. "With the pain I'm in right now, sex isn't something I want for the near future. But, there's still that part of me, that knows when we can again, it'll be mind blowing. Like it always is with you. But from the reading I've done, we're going to have to stock up on lube. At least for a little bit while I'm breastfeeding."
Ed smiled and kissed her forehead. "I think we can handle that. But first and foremost, you need to heal. Your body went through something traumatic, and it needs time to heal."
She nodded. "I know. Just promise me something, when I'm not in as much pain, maybe… let me help you out once in a while. I know you don't want me to worry about your arousal, but just let me help here and there. My hand at first. My mouth later." She grinned."
He groaned. "You need to stop talking like that or I'm going to need the bathroom to take care of it."
Olivia smirked. "Sorry," she whispered and chuckled.
A/N: So, she wasn't in labor long and we got to meet Caroline. This is likely going to be the last update until after Christmas, so if I don't see you before then, and you celebrate, Merry Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas and I've missed the holiday you do celebrate (be it Hanukkah or Yule or something else entirely) I apologize, if you celebrate Kwanzaa, Joyous Kwanzaa, and if you don't celebrate anything, I hope you have a happy Tuesday. See you next time, a bit of a time lapse again, but I have it in the works in my head. Leave a review in the mean time! Here or twitter (couricshargitay)