"Hi Lizzie. Look, we're at the hospital right now. Your mother's gone into labor-"
"Labor? Now?!" Lizzie exclaimed. Gordo, not wanting to be rude, but wanted to know what Sam was saying, put his ear up to the phone. His face was just inches away from Lizzie's.
"Yes. I'm sure your mother would really like you here, and Gordo could come if he'd like. Could you take a taxi? The room number your mom's in is 156." Sam said, trying to hear Lizzie over the noisy sounds of the busy hospital.
"Okay, Dad. I'll be there as soon as I can." She promised. She pushed the OFF button on the phone, and handed it to John. She turned to Gordo. "My dad wants us to get to the hospital because my mom is going into labor. He said to take a taxi." She told him.
He nodded, already knowing this from listening in. They hurried outside, got a taxi, and asked the man driving it to please hurry! Lizzie was a little stressed out at this point, and Gordo tried to cheer her up. "Just think Lizzie, you'll have two new siblings. You can watch them take their first step, say their first word..." His voice trailed off.
Lizzie nodded, starting to imagine just what it was going to be like. She imagined being stuck in the nursery, changing smelly diapers, and her friends not wanting to come over because Lizzie would be too busy for them.
Gordo saw her frown at something she was thinking. "What's wrong?"
"You'll still want to come over and stuff when the babies are born, right?" She asked, concerned.
And here I was thinking they wouldn't want me over because of them! He thought with a chuckle. "Lizzie, of course I'll still visit you! I've never had any siblings... so it'll be fun for me to help you with the babies." He smiled reassuringly.
"Thanks Gordo." She said. He always knows how to make me feel better. She thought, feeling her knees melt. Gordo sat there thinking of what Lizzie had told him. "Yes. I do know."
They looked into each other's eyes. Lizzie had finally figured out that she liked Gordo, something that she bet Gordo had wanted for a long time. But she didn't want to rush things. She still couldn't believe that she'd actually kissed her best friend... but she'd enjoyed it at the same time.
"We're at your destination, ma'am." The taxi driver told Lizzie. She thanked and paid him, and her and Gordo got out of the taxi. Gordo closed the door behind him, and the two walked through the parking lot of the hospital. They went inside, and found their way to room 156.
Lizzie peeked inside, and saw her family there. She rushed over to Jo. "How are you feeling?"
"Still here." She replied, and tried to smile at her daughter through her pain. "Did you have a good time skating?"
Toon Lizzie: Did I? What kind of question is that? (Jumps up and down)
Lizzie nodded. "The best." She sat down on a chair near her, and Gordo pulled one up next to Lizzie. She held Jo's hand as she went through a contraction.
"Would you like me to get you anything? Gordo asked her, trying to be helpful. He also wanted Lizzie and Jo to be able to have some mother-daughter time, as much as he wanted to be with Lizzie.
"Yes, some ice water would be great." Jo told him. He nodded and went out into the hallway. He eventually found a soda machine, but it didn't have an option for water. Gordo sighed. He could have gotten some water from one of the water fountains, but it wouldn't have ice like Jo wanted.
So he looked and looked, and finally found the hospital cafeteria, where one of the serving women there gave him a cold glass of water with ice in it.
He thanked her, and eventually found Jo's room. "Here, Mrs. McGuire." He handed her the glass. Jo smiled, and drank the contents of the glass quickly. She leaned back on her bed, and sighed.
"From what the doctor's said, it's still going to be quite a while." Sam told Matt, Lizzie, and Gordo, hinting for them to leave. He wanted to be alone for a while. "You might want to go to the waiting room. There's a TV and some books in there."
Matt reluctantly left, with Lizzie and Gordo not far behind him. They walked to the waiting room, and sat down amongst all of the others in the room. They all looked bored and tired.
Toon Lizzie: I bet we'll look like that after a while, too! (Falls asleep, snoring)
Gordo wanted to sit next to Lizzie who was on the end, but Matt beat him to it with a annoying grin on his face. He wanted to be next to Lizzie so he could to irritate her. "Matt, go sit somewhere else." She whispered to him, trying not to disturb the others in the room. Matt flat-out refused, crossing his arms.
Lizzie rolled her eyes and picked up a book that was lying on the floor beside her chair. It was called, David and Elisabeth. Her mouth hung open for a moment. She flipped through the pages. It was a little kiddie book, but she didn't care.
Matt chuckled. "Still like baby books huh?" Lizzie ignored him.
"Gordo, look at this." She passed the book down to him. His eyebrows went up as he read the title. The characters on the front cover look a teeny bit like Lizzie and Gordo. The boy had brown hair, and the girl had blond hair. They were at kindergarten, playing with blocks.
"Wow." Gordo replied, and handed the book back to Lizzie. What a coincidence." Lizzie nodded, and slowly laid the book where she'd found it. She tried to shake the images of the characters from her mind, and watched the tiny TV in the waiting room.
It was turned to one of those dull news channels, and Lizzie soon found her eyelids getting heavier. She leaned her head on the back of her chair, and closed her eyes, thoughts and images of that day swirling through her mind.
And the next thing she knew, someone was shaking her shoulder and telling her to get up. "I'll get up in a minute, Mom." She mumbled sleepily.
"No, it's me, Gordo!" Gordo told her. "You're mom's... uh, ready to push." He told her, stumbling on the words. Sam had just sent a nurse in the waiting room to tell them, and Gordo had thanked her. "C'mon, Lizzie."
"Oh!" Lizzie said, who was now wide-awake. Her, Gordo, and Matt all rushed to Jo's room. Lizzie and Gordo sat down on hard chairs near Jo. Matt however, got sent back to the waiting room by the doctor. Kids younger than thirteen were not aloud to watch, due to "rules and regulations of the hospital", a nurse told him
Matt tried to protest, but finally gave in when he found out that complementary doughnuts were being served in the waiting room.
Toon Lizzie: Food gets him every time!
Sam held Jo's hand, while the nurse and doctor counted. "One, two, three push!" Jo groaned as she pushed, and let a big breath of air. "One, two, three push! Push, push, push!" The nurse and doctor coaxed.
This went on for a while. Lizzie nervously watched her mom. Thoughts ran through her head. What if something happens to the twins? I've heard that a lot of times they have birth defects. Or what if Mom looses them?
Gordo sensed her fear, and tried to reassure her that the babies would be fine. "Just relax, Lizzie." He smiled, and started thinking about what had gone on at the skating rink that day.
He was so deep in thought, that when the nurse yelled, "One's out!" he jumped. A couple of minutes later, she told them that the other was out. She rinsed off the babies with expert hands, and wrapped them in pink and blue striped blankets. She snuggly fit a cap on their heads, and handed the babies to Jo and Sam.
Lizzie smiled at them. For her, it had turned out to be a perfect day.
