I know…you've been waiting for this one for soooo long, but here it is…finally :)
Enjoy & review!
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Chapter 28: Coming full circle
"It's okay, Auntie Karo. I pee my pants as well sometimes. Mommy says I should not be embarrassed," little Dylan said out of nowhere, waking his Uncle Roman out of his trance again.
"Your what?" the Samoan asked totally taken aback by the sight in front of him, unable to process what was happening right now.
"My water broke, goddammit," she winced in pain, holding her baby bump tightly before looking at the shocked faces in front of her desperately. "Would somebody please help me?"
Seth was the first one to react, getting up so quickly that his chair fell over. He immediately ran to his best friend, helping her stand up straight before looking at their friends expectantly. "Let's bring her to the hospital...come on, guys."
"And how do you think we will bring her there? We've all had way too much to drink," Maxine butted in, as always the voice of reason.
"Fuck," Seth cursed, sighing heavily when Karo squeezed his hand tightly, giving away that she was in severe pain. "Reigns, wake up, man. Your wife is in labor, you fucking idiot."
"Fucking fucking fucking," Dylan said in a sing-sang voice, finally bringing his parents back to reality.
"I'll call an ambulance. You guys bring her into the living room and make her feel comfortable. Maxine, please take the kids and bring them upstairs. They really don't have to see any of this," Shannon ordered, sobering up the instant she realized that this was getting serious. Her friend was really having her baby that very day.
She ran into the house and searched for her phone, sighing in relief when she found it on the kitchen counter just a few seconds later. She never would have thought that anything like that would happen on her wedding day, but she knew that her friends were always good for a surprise. Siaki seemingly didn't want to miss out. Not that she could blame him.
"Hello 911, what is your emergency?" a friendly female voice answered the phone after just one ring, making Shannon swallow hard. She always hated calling 911, she had no idea why.
"My friend's water broke, she's in severe pain. Nobody can drive her to the hospital as we were having a party. She seems to have contractions but I'm not sure how far apart they are already," Shannon explained, nodding her head when the lady on the other end of the phone explained to her what they needed to do.
After Shannon gave her the address, they quickly hung up so that she could make her way over to the living room where Karo was seated in an armchair across from the couch, Roman holding her hand while sitting on her left while Dean pressed her legs together tightly.
"And what do you think you're doing?" Shannon asked, directing her question at Dean who immediately looked up, his eyes blood-shot from all the alcohol he had consumed but also wide open, probably as he was in a state of shock.
"Stopping Siaki from popping out," he said nonchalantly, swallowing hard when Karo once again groaned in pain.
"I told him to stop but he thinks it might work," Seth said, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
Shannon simply nodded her head, looking over to where Roman was sitting, the big Samoan unusually quiet.
"You okay, big man?" she asked quietly, taking a few step towards the group until she was standing right next to him. "Roman?"
He looked up at her and ran a hand over his tired face, taking a deep breath before he answered. "I just can't believe I'm about to become a father and I'm drunk as fuck."
"You'll sober up as soon as you see your...ahhhh...son," Karo groaned, breathing in and out deeply, trying to remember what she had learned in the prenatal classes.
"You all relax now, ok? The ambulance is on its way and everything will be fine," Shannon said loudly, wanting everybody to calm down as she knew that Karo needed some reassurance. It wouldn't help her to relax when her friends were emotional messes.
Karo looked up at Roman and gave him a warm smile, letting him know that she was fine and that he shouldn't worry too much. She knew he was surprised that all of this was happening right now, and that he would rather be sober than slightly intoxicated, but she believed he could be strong for them either way. She just needed to let him feel that she had faith in him.
"Dylan...no...you stay right here," they heard Maxine yell, turning their heads around to see the little boy trying to get away from his aunt who had a tight grip on his arm, but he kept fighting her off, not wanting to stay in his room.
"But I want to see the baby now," he barked, kicking his legs frantically.
"Dylan Ambrose, you listen to your aunt now, you hear me? Get back into your room and behave," Shannon said sternly, shooting her son a glare. "And no buts. We'll get you when the baby is here, okay? Now be a good boy and stop whining."
She heard her son huff, but was distracted when Karo let out a scream of pain that shook her to the bone.
"Let go of me, Ambrose. I need to push," she said through gritted teeth, trying her best to spread her legs but Dean wouldn't let her.
"You need to push already?" Roman asked concerned, raising her hand and kissing it softly. "Are you sure?"
"Well, we might need to check if there's dilation yet at all," Seth stated, raising an eyebrow when they all looked at him as if he had two heads. "What?"
"And who the hell do you think should do that?" Dean asked incredulously, looking at Seth expectantly.
But the two-toned haired man didn't even have the chance to reply as the ringing of the phone interrupted them, all eyes on Shannon when she mumbled that it was 911 calling them.
"Ambrose," she said after picking up, a huge smile on her face when for the first time ever she referred to herself with Dean's name
But that smile quickly left her face when she heard what the lady on the other end on the phone had to tell her.
"Mrs Ambrose, I'm afraid I've got some bad news," she said apologetically, sighing heavily. "There was a huge accident on route 58 which blocks the whole street. The ambulance is trying to get through as soon as possible but it might take a little while."
"What do you mean it might take a little while?" Shannon shrieked, trying to give Karo a reassuring smile when she looked at her shocked, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, too astonished at what she had just been told.
"I need you to please calm down now, Mrs Ambrose. We will be there as soon as we can. Until then you should prepare yourselves. Get a few towels, make sure that your friend is comfortable. Check how far dilated she is and...," she explained but Shannon cut her off mid-sentence.
"She already has the urge to push. What the hell are we supposed to do now?" she asked in disbelief, slowly starting to panic.
"As I said, check how dilated she is. If she feels like she needs to push, let her do so. I'm sure she won't give birth that quickly. We will definitely be there in time," Sandra, the operator's name, said. "Call me as soon as you think that there is no turning back and I'll give you guidance."
Without answering, Shannon simply hung up the phone. All eyes were on her now, but she didn't even know what to say. She was at a loss of words – and that was a statement.
"Talk to us, goddammit," Roman scoffed, closing his eyes tightly for a brief moment when Karo once again squeezed his hand, another contraction shaking her whole body.
"There was an accident on route 58. They're not able to get through so easily. Which means we have to do this on our own," she explained flatly, running a shaky hand through her long brown hair.
"We have to do this on our own?" Seth yelped, looking at Shannon wide-eyed.
"Look, we can't keep pushing her legs together until they're here. We need to check if she's ready to give birth, and if she is, we somehow have to get Siaki outta there," she managed to say, moving quickly so that she was now kneeling in front of Karo next to Dean, pushing him to the side slightly. "Listen sweetie, you need to trust us now, ok? I know this is the weirdest thing ever, but we need to get you out of these panties and see how dilated you are."
"I'm afraid, Shannon. I can't do this. What if something happens to my baby?" Karo asked in a shaky voice, single tears streaming down her face.
"It's gonna be alright. We're all here for you," she tried to calm her down, turning her attention to Seth now. "Go and get some towels, please. Maybe a cold washcloth as well."
Seth nodded his head and quickly got up, only reluctantly leaving his best friend's side but they all needed to be team players now in order to make this as easy for Karo as possible.
"Let Shannon help you get out of your panties," Roman whispered into his wife's ear, kissing her forehead softly. "Raise your hips, babygirl."
With all the power that was left in her, Karo did as she was told, letting Shannon undress her despite the awkwardness that surrounded her. She had never imagined giving birth to her son in the Ambrose house on their wedding day.
"I'm outta here," they heard Dean mumble to himself, Seth stopping him by stepping in front of him when he came back, not letting him go that easily.
"What do you mean you're outta here? We need you here, Ambrose," the younger man said, shoving a few towels into his friend's hands.
"You'll do just fine without me. You know how much I hate it to see a woman be in pain," he defended himself, once again trying to leave the living room.
"Dean, you have to deliver this baby if the ambulance won't be here in time," Shannon said bluntly, and had the situation not been so serious, she would have burst out laughing by the shocked expression on Dean's face.
"Excuse me?" he asked incredulously, looking from Shannon to Seth and then Roman, seeing the pleading look in his best friend's eyes.
"I'm not delivering my own son, Ambrose. You can't expect that of me," Roman all but begged, the big Samoan now bending down to whisper encouraging words into his wife's ear when she once again suffered a contraction.
"You know I faint when I see blood, baby," Shannon quickly added, so that Dean now focused on Seth.
"What's your excuse, fuckhead?" Dean eventually asked him, clearly annoyed by now.
It's not that he didn't want to help. Not at all. He wished he could take the pain away from Karo, go through this himself. But he simply couldn't. He was afraid. Afraid of delivering a baby, of fucking up. He had never done anything like that before. How was he supposed to know how it was done? How could he be sure that he wasn't hurting Karo or the baby?
"I...uhm...I...I just can't, Ambrose," Seth stuttered, going all pale only thinking about being the one to deliver a baby. He was about to have a heart attack just being there in the room with his best friend giving birth although he had been in a similar position before.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Do you really expect me to do this? Seriously?" he yelled, running a hand over his face nervously, swallowing hard. "Alright, fine...whatever. I don't really have a choice here, do I?"
He looked at his friends one by one, shaking his head in disbelief at what they wanted him to do. But as he said himself already, he indeed had no choice. So he made his way back to kneel in front of Karo, her legs still closed so that he could place his hands on her knees, looking deep into her eyes.
"Okay, look at me, sweetheart," he said in a calm and quiet voice, his heart pounding hard in his chest when he saw the tears in Karo's eyes. "This is the most awkward thing I've ever done in my entire life, but you need to spread your legs for me now. I probably will never be able to look into your eyes again after this, but I need to check out your vagina now."
Seth couldn't help but chuckle, immediately earning a death glare by his short-haired friend which quickly made him shut up again. He wasn't in the mood for jokes. Not now.
Karo looked up to stare into Roman's eyes, needing his reassurance. When he only nodded his head, she turned back to Dean, licking her suddenly very dry lips before slowly spreading her legs. She had no time to feel embarrassed now. Yes, it was awkward and she wished her doctor was by her side right now, but there was nothing sexual about this at all, so she tried to relax as much as possible and let Dean help her.
"Okay, how the fuck am I supposed to know if she's dilated enough or not?" he asked Shannon who was still next to him, the brown-haired woman now taking a look herself as she didn't spot any blood yet.
"How should I know, for fuck's sake?" she asked annoyed, running a hand through her long hair nervously.
"Well, you're a woman and you have a fucking vagina. One should think you would know, rather than me," Dean tried to defend himself but Karo once again screamed in pain, interrupting their conversation.
"Can you two keep going for fuck's sake?" Roman scoffed, kissing Karo's temple over and over again. "It's okay, babygirl. Siaki will be with us soon. Be strong."
"Okay, fine, I'll check google," Shannon said in defeat, pulling out her cell phone but she didn't even have the time to unlock it as Karo suddenly yelled at them.
"Fuck Google, fuck dilation. I'm going to push now," she said through gritted teeth, once again squeezing Roman's hand tightly.
"WHAT?" they all squealed simultaneously, but Karo's screams were definitely louder than theirs, so that they quickly realized that she was very serious about this.
"So, what do you guys think?" Seth asked now, sitting on Karo's right side, holding her other hand.
"Well, the lady on the phone said that if she feels ready to push, we should let her," Shannon explained, turning her attention from Seth back to Karo. "Do you think you can wait a little longer or is the urge to push too high?"
"I'm not sure I can prolong this any longer. I can feel he's in the right position now. I don't think I can control this anymore," she admitted, squeezing both Roman's and Seth's hand tightly when another contraction hit her full force.
They weren't even surprised to hear loud music coming from upstairs, knowing that Maxine must have switched on the CD player so that Leni and Dylan wouldn't hear Karo screaming in pain. It would especially traumatize Leni to hear her mother under these circumstances.
"Okay, the next time you have a contraction, you start pushing, alright?" Dean asked, spreading a towel over his thighs while Shannon moved to kneel in front of Roman now, both her and Seth holding Karo's legs apart.
"Oh God...I can't believe this is happening," she whined when she realized that Dean was really going to deliver her baby. This must have been some kind of crazy nightmare.
"It's gonna be alright, sweetie. We're all here for you," Seth said encouragingly, patting her sweaty forehead with the cold washcloth.
"Don't get me wrong but I wish you weren't," she said in despair, turning her attention from Seth to Roman now. "We have to find new friends after this. I can't get over the fact that Dean is staring into my pussy."
Roman couldn't help but chuckle at his wife's words. He also thought that it was extremely awkward that things were happening the way they were, but he was thankful for their friends' help and didn't want to question any of it. He knew that the minute Siaki was born, all of this would be forgotten.
"Okay, here we go," Karo announced the second she felt she was having another contraction, gripping both Seth's and Roman's hand tightly, making both men wince in pain.
"Uhm...what? Are you for real now?" Dean asked perplexed, not believing that she was really ready to push already. He was hoping he could delay this a little while longer, preferably until the ambulance was there. But by the look on Karo's face, he could tell that she wasn't joking about this.
"Don't ask stupid question, go and get my son," Roman shouted at him, sighing heavily when Dean looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights. "I'm sorry, man. But please just..."
Roman was cut off the moment he noticed Dean's mouth drop open, his eyes wide in shock.
"What is it, dude?" Seth asked antsy, looking at Shannon in desperation when Dean didn't reply right away.
"Dean...what's going on?" Shannon now asked him, all of them tense with fear. It didn't happen often that Dean was at a loss of words.
"There...uh...th...there...well...something's opening up right there," he stuttered, pointing in between Karo's legs before swallowing hard.
"No kidding, you freak. My son is coming, goddammit," Karo yelled exasperated, trying to breathe in and out evenly before pushing once again. "Oh God...I hate you, Roman. I HATE YOU."
Now Roman finally had his Hollywood movie scenario. He had already expected this for when she was giving birth to Joshua and Leni, but back then she had never raised her voice at him. It seemed that now she would call him every name in the book. Considering the situation they were in, he couldn't really blame her for losing her mind.
"Babygirl, I t...," he started but she cut him off immediately, squeezing his hand so hard that her knuckles turned white.
"Don't 'babygirl' me. If you have kept your dick in your pants, we wouldn't be in this mess right now," she scoffed, once again taking a very deep breath before pushing with all the power that was left in her. "Oh God...it hurts...it hurts so much."
"I can only imagine seeing how your vagina just opens up like the fucking Grand Canyon," Dean mumbled to himself, but knew he was heard when Shannon swatted his arm. "What? It's the truth. But you don't even have the guts to watch, so leave me alone."
"You're doing wonderful, babygirl. Breathe in and out...just like we learned in the prenatal classes," Roman encouraged Karolina, ignoring that she told him to shut up and have the baby himself, kissing her temple over and over again while Seth kept patting her forehead with the washcloth.
Roman wouldn't even think about taking her words to heart, knowing that it wasn't really her yelling at him but a woman in severe pain that was doing something he could never repay her for: giving birth to his beautiful son. It was a wonder in itself.
Dean moved even closer to Karo now, holding up the towel in order to catch Siaki should he just plop out. He had no idea it would take a little more effort for a baby to come into this world, but he wanted to be prepared in any way.
"Are you okay, sweetie? Do you need anything? Something to drink maybe?" Shannon asked in concern the moment Karo's contraction started to subside, looking up at her friend with worry reflecting in her eyes.
She was honoured to be a part of this but it was also hard to witness in how much pain Karo really was. Until now, Dean, Shannon and Seth had only experienced how a child was born by a C-section. This was something completely different and it was distinctive, to say the least.
"I just want to get this over with," Karo panted, closing her eyes briefly before collecting herself again. "I just wish the ambulance was here."
"They will be here soon, babe," Seth said, giving her a reassuring smile. "It will be all good. Don't worry."
Karo just nodded her head, trying to suppress the urge to start crying. She was at the end of her rope, not having experienced anything like this ever before. While the birth of Joshua had been way more complicated and unplanned, she had been in labor with Leni for more than 15 hours. But now here she was, just 30 minutes after her water broke, giving birth to her son. She wasn't mentally prepared for this but she had no choice but to keep going.
"Okay Ambrose, here comes another one," Roman announced when Karo's hand gripped his like a vice, looking at his short-haired friend expectantly, smiling at him warmly when he nodded his head, showing him that he was ready.
Karo kept pushing and pushing, her friends and husband whispering encouraging words to her to help her in any way they could. It was as if minutes felt like hours when at the same time it was as if the world would stand still. It was an indescribable feeling.
"Oh wow," Dean said all of a sudden, the look in his eyes reflecting pure awe. "I think I can see his head."
He completely forgot that it was his best friend sitting spread-legged in front of him, he had accepted this already. He was simply fascinated by the fact that he was witnessing the birth of a child. It was breath-taking.
"Oh my God...OH MY GOD," Seth shrieked like a little schoolgirl, now patting his own forehead with the washcloth that he actually brought for Karo. "You can see the head already?"
Dean was about to answer when out of nowhere the doorbell interrupted them, making Shannon quickly jump up to run to the front door as fast as she could, more than happy to see that the ambulance had finally arrived.
She quickly led them to the living room, the expression on Dean's face reflecting gratefulness and relief as soon as he saw the two men and women making their way over to them.
"Okay...what's your name, Miss?" the doctor asked, immediately putting on some gloves before moving into Dean's position, nodding at him thankfully for helping out so far. He could only imagine how traumatized the young man must be.
"Karolina...it's Karolina," she panted, feeling more relaxed now that there was medical staff surrounding her. It's not that she didn't trust Dean, but they all knew he had no experience regarding this and so it was only natural that she felt a lot safer now.
"Okay Karolina, I can already see the head... therefore it should only take a couple more contractions until your baby is here with us," Marc, the doctor, said with a smile on his face.
And he didn't lie. After only 10 more minutes, many cries of pain and encouraging words, little Siaki was finally there. He was finally with them now.
When Roman and Karolina heard him cry for the very first time, their hearts swelled with pride and joy. It was always that very moment that told them that their baby was okay, that it was healthy and alive. Nothing could ever compare to this.
"Mommy, daddy, please say hello to your son," Marc said with a huge smile on his face, wrapping Siaki in one of the towels and gently placing him on Karo's chest, giving the brand new parents a few moments to themselves while they still worked on Karo without her really noticing it.
What a sight it was to see how Roman, Seth, Shannon and Dean gathered around Karo, all of them swooning over how beautiful Siaki was with his light blonde hair and the tiny little snub nose. Roman even counted all his fingers and toes, wanting to make sure that his son was complete, making everybody laugh when he stopped at 10 each time.
"Welcome to this world, little man," Roman whispered, kissing his son's head softly before turning back to Karo, placing a soft kiss onto her lips. "We're complete now, babygirl. And you know what this means, guys?"
He looked at Karo, Shannon, Dean and Seth before smiling down at the little bundle of joy: "It means that justice always wins."
The end (I guess lol)
This is it, ladies and gentlemen! This is it! I can't believe it is, but it is. I'm sitting here with single tears streaming down my face. This series is like a baby to me. I never would have thought that it would have 6 instalments when I uploaded the first chapter to 'Please protect me from injustice' back on February 25th, 2013. You all made it what it is today, and I really would like to think it was a success.
I'm going to miss writing about Karo and Roman, Seth and Maxine, Dean and Shannon as well as Leni, Dylan, Joan, Hayley and Siaki. But guys, you know me, there will probably be a few one shots down the road. I'm not sure yet though :P
You all have always encouraged and supported me throughout this story and I can't thank you enough. All the reviews and messages were overwhelming and touching!
I especially want to thank the following people:
Pezziecoyote (you are the most amazing beta reader ever!), rrsexybeast (thanks for being the best friend that you are), reignsbabee (my sister from another mister), CFierce116 (the one and only!), Insane Cali Gurl (hey hey there, Maxine ;-)), RomanReignsWomyn (chocolate?) ,ShannonTheAwesomeOne, melzabelza, Shannon5288, benova13, Gorilla Rollins-101 (*mwuah*), princessreigns, Kinley Orton-Reigns, SkyHighPipeBomb, DeeMarie426, MoxleyLeakee173, RollinsInTheDean, DaShadowAngel, ziva123455, ambrose alleycat, FKP101, CheekyClaudine, CouldThisBLuv, Lilygirl95, Solosunni, Maashmellow, henderson1993, Violet Craine, Ctinaisfashion, angelsdee327, CarolReigns, Alisi824, Alexis Black-Reigns, USO, LexiAmbroseCabana, insky5967, lauraxxx, , WhiteAsukalover, Wwexenareigns and everyone else that has reviewed or given me feedback. YOU ARE AMAZING! (I hope I didn't forget anyone)
I love you ALL!
Well then….so long ;-)
