Technically it is still Friday on the east coast so I did not lie about updating on Friday. This chapter took longer to write than I wanted it to, but it is written. I hope you enjoy. :)
Rachel took a deep breath and slowly released it as she massaged her stomach. She rocked back and forth on her birthing ball praying Finn would arrive soon and help distract her from the pain and take her to the hospital. Now that her water had broken, she hoped the whole process would move a little quicker. She didn't want to end up like the horror stories she'd heard about labor lasting for days.
As she released another breath, she heard the front door open and the sound of feet scuffling along the hardwood. "Rachel?!" Finn called out frantically. She leaned forward and gripped the coffee table to peer into the foyer just in time to see Finn's feet fly out from under him forcing him on his back.
"Finn!"
He groaned loudly and rolled onto his side, rubbing his ass. "Ow." Pushing himself upright, Finn looked around for the offending culprit when his hand came into contact with a clear liquid.
"Finn, are you alright?" Rachel inquired, standing up and meeting him in the foyer.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just slipped in something. Did you spill water?"
Rachel's cheeks flamed in embarrassment. "I thought I cleaned it all."
Finn stood and brushed himself off. "It's okay. It's just water."
"No, it's not water. It's my water. It broke and I didn't really notice so I tracked it all over the house. I thought I got it all when I cleaned up."
"That's your amniotic fluid?" She nodded. "Ew!"
He dashed to the bathroom and scrubbed his hands and Rachel appeared in the doorway behind him, arms crossed over her chest, face stern. "I'm about to push a bloody mess the size of a watermelon out of hole no wider than a cucumber and you're getting squeamish about amniotic fluid?"
"It's just gross. I don't want the nasty pregnancy fluids all over me."
"It's amniotic fluid. It's clear and odorless and not even the most disgusting thing I'll eject from my body today! I'm not going through this alone!" she shouted at him, her eyes narrowing, nostrils flaring. He flinched at the outburst which began getting worse as she rounded on him, moving closer until he was backed against the wall. "You were more than happy to be there when he was created; you're going to be there when he's born. It is going to be bloody and my vagina is going to go through hell and I will scream in pain and sweat and cry and there will be bodily functions going on you never wanted to see, but you're going to because Theodore is your son and I am your fiancée and we both need you. I don't care if you get nasty pregnancy fluids all over you, you will do it and be happy about it. My body is going through all of this because of you and your inability to pull out, so whatever qualms you have about getting dirty, get over 'em!" She gripped his shirt and tugged him down to her level to stare him in the eye, hard. "Got it?!"
He gulped in fear and nodded like a bobble head. Rachel was terrifying and there was no way he was going to further enrage her.
"Good." She released his shirt and it was like a switch had been hit. Rachel became loving and happy again, smoothing out the wrinkles in the material, smiling at him. "Now, my water has broken and I need to get checked out to see my progression. My contractions are still pretty far apart but they may keep me depending upon how dilated I am. Dr. Pearl will meet us at the hospital." She patted his chest before waddling back out to the living room and her birthing ball. "How exactly are we getting to the hospital? Is our ride available or do we need a cab?"
"My mom is getting us. I called her when I got off the subway."
"I should call my dads. I've been so consumed with my contractions, I hadn't even thought about it."
"Already taken care of. I sent out a text to all my contacts."
"You told my parents they are about to be grandparents in a text?" she deadpanned, displeased.
"Do you know how long it would take to call everyone?"
"We could have at least called my dads!"
"Does it really matter? Text or call, either way they're leaving now."
Her face contorted and she held her stomach, breathing so heavily the pages of her magazine began flipping. Finn knelt behind her while she gripped the edge of the coffee table and began massaging her back and hips. "Is that helping at all?"
"A bit. Keep going…" she strained to say. "Oh God. Harder." Finn chuckled lightly and Rachel grunted. "What could possibly be funny about my pain?"
Sensing another chewing out, he quickly elaborated. "Nothing. It's not your pain. It's just kinda poetic…you said the same thing when Teddy was conceived as you are when he's being born."
"I don't remember talking that much once we got started. To be honest, that night feels like a lifetime ago."
"It kinda was…at least for Teddy." They both chuckled and Rachel finally let out a breath.
"Thank you. The distraction was really helpful."
"Anytime." She sat up and spun around on the ball. Finn rubbed Rachel's knees and pressed a kiss to her belly. "I can't believe after all this waiting we're about to meet."
"We hope. It could be hours yet." She glanced at the clock seeing it was just after two and moaned. "Based on when I first started feeling pain, I've been in labor for about twelve hours. I think that last round of sex actually did kick things off. Yay!" She fist pumped half-heartedly.
"Glad I could help."
"Where is your mom? I want to get this show on the road."
Finn pulled out his phone reading the info from a text. "She took a wrong turn in Central Park and had to double back. She doesn't drive much since she hates the traffic."
"Then why isn't Burt driving?" she whined, wiping sweat from her forehead. "It's hot. Why is it so hot?"
"Burt isn't driving because he's at a fundraiser for one of his charities today. He said he'll meet us at the hospital once he can though."
She groaned and slid off the ball, maneuvering so she could lean on it instead. "Finn, I'm thirsty."
"I'll get you some water and turn down the heat."
Rachel closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing and Teddy's movements inside her. He moved around a lot between contractions, attempting to get comfortable, and Rachel took it as a sign that he was strong and doing well.
As she waited for Finn, a knock on the door called her attention and Rachel got up to answer it, sighing in relief when she saw it was Carole. "I am so happy you're here." So happy she began to cry and hugged Carole tightly. Her emotions were running high and she was already exhausted.
Carole rocked her back and forth and stroked her hair in a comforting manner. "I know, Rachel. Believe me I know."
"I just want him out."
She held Rachel at arm's length and looked around her at Finn who had just returned. "Are you both ready? Rachel really needs to get checked out if her water has broken."
They helped Rachel out to the car and Finn sat in the backseat with her to help her through her next contraction and massage her back and abdomen. When they arrived, Carole dropped them off then left to pick up Burt, and Rachel was ushered into an exam room and Dr. Pearl took care of her.
"You're in luck. You're just over four centimeters dilated so we can keep you here. Things should start picking up soon."
"It took thirteen hours to dilate two centimeters?!" Rachel asked in disbelief.
"I know it's frustrating, but child birth runs on no one's schedule. Every pregnancy is different. If you want to speed things up we can give you some Pitocin."
Rachel shook her head. "No drugs. I'll stick to natural methods."
"Well, we can start by walking you to your LDR suite and getting you hooked up to a few heart monitors. Then you can relax or walk around. You'll want to stick close to your bed since your contractions appear to be getting stronger now," Dr. Pearl commented when she noticed Rachel's face beginning to scrunch in pain and the grip on Finn's hand making him squirm in his chair.
"I've noticed," she replied through her teeth.
Once settled into her suite, in a hospital gown and hooked up to monitors, Rachel rested on her side while Finn kneaded her back.
"Knock, knock," Hiram said as he poked his head in the room, a beaming smile on his face.
"Papa! Come in!" Grateful for the distraction, Rachel pushed herself upright and glowed when she saw the items in their hands. "Flowers, balloons, and teddy bears?"
"Theodore is our first grandchild. Of course we're going to celebrate," Leroy explained, setting the huge 'It's a Boy' bouquet down by the window and the balloons and bear on the table next to her bed. "The bear is from both of us, the balloons are from your father, and I picked out the bouquet. Blue gerbera daisies since blue is generally accepted for boys, gerbera daisies because Gerber baby – Gerbera, white roses for new life and innocence, and of course baby's breath because…well, that should be obvious." Leroy was very proud of his flower choices.
"They're beautiful. Thank you."
"So what is the status? How close are we to being granddaddies?" Hiram twitched in excitement.
"I'm at four centimeters. Dr. Pearl said I was into active labor now. It's already been thirteen hours. I hope it won't take too much longer."
"I'm sure our little Theo is eager to get out and meet his Mama. I don't think he'll keep you waiting too much longer."
"Daddy, his nickname is Teddy."
"I prefer Theo. How many adult men do you know that call themselves Teddy?"
"Teddy is a good nickname for a child and as he grows older we can start calling him Ted. And Teddy Roosevelt was called Teddy. So don't tell me Teddy cannot be a grown man's nickname when one of our finest presidents was known by Teddy," Rachel replied testily. She could feel another contraction starting and it seemed every time one happened her temper flared and she grew short with everyone around.
She white-knuckled the railing of the bed and writhed around as she fought to get comfortable and all the men gathered round to tell her to remember to breathe.
"I am breathing!" she roared at them, her nostrils flared and her eyes glowing angrily.
They all took a large step back until she began to relax again, releasing the railing and taking deeper breaths.
Finn tentatively moved closer and leaned down to eyelevel. "Babe…"
"I'm sorry. It just hurt so much."
"There's still time for an epidural."
She adamantly shook her head in protest. "No. I don't want him coming out all doped up. With you as a dad he'll be dopey enough." Hiram snorted and Leroy nudged him. "I'm sorry, that was rude."
"It's okay. I am kind of dopey and pain can make people lash out when they don't mean to." But he still looked slightly hurt.
"Finn, I'm sorry. I love you and I don't mean to be mean."
"Really, it's fine. I'd probably be mean if someone kept repeatedly kicking me in the balls. I'll be your punching bag today if you need it."
And it turned out, she would.
Hours passed and nearly every time she had a contraction – growing stronger, longer and closer together with each occurrence – she verbally kicked him in the balls until the pain grew so intense she couldn't speak through it.
"I hate your stupid face! Stop smiling at my pain, you ass – oh!" Her back bowed and she thrashed on the bed, kicking her blankets down and forcing her gown up to display her uncovered parts. Her fathers balked at the sight and excused themselves from the room for some air.
Finn moved to the end of the bed to grab the blanket and throw it back over her lower half but instead got a kick in the face when her foot slipped on the material. He held his jaw and when Rachel's contraction ended began to complain about the pain.
Rachel glowered at him. "I will kick you again if you don't shut up. You do not know pain!"
Finn dropped the subject and sank down in his chair quietly. Another knock on the door distracted them both and his mother and Burt walked in.
"Hi, Rachel. We just wanted to check on your progress."
"It's been four hours since I got here, seventeen total since labor started, and I'm only at six centimeters."
"And her contractions are getting worse but she won't accept an epidural. She keeps insisting she doesn't want drugs."
"Because I don't. I can do this without it, Finn. For thousands of years women have been giving birth without drugs. The female body is built to deal with the pain."
Carole berated her son. "Let her be, Finn. It's Rachel's decision what she wants to do."
"I just hate seeing her in pain when she doesn't have to be."
Despite her grumpiness, Rachel took his hand and smiled at him. "That's so sweet, but you don't need to feel bad. I made this choice and I can handle it." She shifted uncomfortably. "Finn, do you think you could get me some more water? I'm kind of thirsty."
"Yeah, I'll get some. Did you want anything else?"
"Maybe a popsicle."
"Sure." He kissed her forehead and left the room with Burt who was rather finicky about the whole birth thing.
Carole took Finn's seat. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm a wreck. I'm peeing nearly every half hour, I can't sleep because the contractions are so bad, I keep going back and forth between hot and cold, and Finn keeps pestering me about getting an epidural."
"He's just worried about you."
"I know, and I love that he cares so much, but it is grating on my nerves that he won't drop it after I've repeatedly told him to."
"It's probably a coping mechanism. He's not going through the same things as you, but it's still a scary time for him. You and Theodore are the most important people in his life and he wants both of you to come through this as easy as possible. I know when Finn was born, Chris was a mess. He had a sympathetic pregnancy and cried harder than I did during my labor."
Rachel smiled and tried to imagine Finn going through her pregnancy symptoms. "I hope he can make it. He slipped in some of my amniotic fluid earlier and threw a little fit. I'm nervous he'll pass out or flee when the really gory stuff starts to happen."
"Finn does have a bit of weak stomach for blood, but he wouldn't miss the birth of your child for anything."
The door opened again and Finn walked in, a nurse behind him. Carole exited the room and left the nurse to check on Rachel's continued progress and once she deemed she had reached seven centimeters dilated, Rachel settled back in to bed.
"Why does my back hurt so much? My uterus is up front." She pouted at Finn and he handed her a popsicle.
He twirled his finger, motioning for her to flip over. Rachel got on her hands and knees and rested atop some pillows and Finn knelt behind her on the bed to start massaging while she enjoyed her cherry popsicle. He was just getting into it and making her feel so much more at ease when the door opened again.
"Is that the position you were in when she got pregnant?" Puck asked, smirking at the couple on the bed.
Quinn smacked him and walked over to the free chair sitting Ben on her lap, while he stood next to her, and Beth went over to the window to look at the flowers.
"One, it's rude to enter a room without knocking first, and two, no it is not. It's just more comfortable for my back right now."
"I had the same problem with Ben. All the pain was in my back. But with Beth it was just my abdomen. I hope with the third one it will be so quick and slippery she'll just shoot out without much pain at all."
"You mean he'll just shoot out. We're having another boy."
"That's what you said about Beth. Then you thought Ben was a girl. You're not exactly batting a thousand when it comes to guessing our children's sexes."
"Eh, whatever. Already got one of each so I don't really care as long as it's healthy."
"How far along are you?" Quinn asked, moving on from the subject.
"Seventeen hours, seven centimeters."
"That's not too bad."
"Just have the kid by midnight or else Brittany wins another bet. I still cannot believe she was right about Ben."
"I don't even care about the bet anymore. I just want him out of me."
"Don't you dare give birth yet, Rachel! You have to wait for the sixth!" Brittany yelled as the door slammed open and she walked in without preamble, walking up to her belly and speaking directly to it. "You're too early, Teddy! Stay in there!"
"Don't listen to her. I am your mother. Come out whenever you want, baby."
Brittany did not look pleased that Rachel was already in the hospital. "He lied to me. He said he would be here on the sixth."
"He still could be," Santana added. "She's got another five hours to give birth on Finn's day or else we win." She linked pinkies with her wife and they shared a quick smooch on the lips. "Oh, we brought you these."
Finn took the gift box from Santana and opened it to find two onesies and a five set of pacifiers. "'I'm just a stud muffin looking for my cupcake', 'Cute like Mommy, Smelly like Daddy'," Finn read. He showed Rachel the onesies and she got a good giggle out of them.
"They're very cute."
"You didn't see the binkies. I picked them out." Brittany yanked them out of the box and showed her.
"That's adorable. Little mustaches."
"Now he can have a bangin' 'stache all the time...you know if he ever doesn't have your boob in his mouth. My favorite is the mutton chops."
Rachel looked at Santana who just shrugged. "Thanks. That was very nice of you to get for Teddy. I'm sure he will appreciate it."
"It's kind of a bribe. I thought maybe he'd stay in longer so I could win the bet if I appeased him like the Mayan gods. That's what I did last year to spare the world from the apocalypse and it totally worked. Lord Tubbington was not happy that he had to give up smoking for them. But I told him if he didn't give up smoking to save the world from ending then he would die and never be able to breed with his girlfriend, Lady Mary, down the street. He wanted kids more than he wanted to keep smoking so he quit."
The room went silent until Rachel started squealing, tugging on the pillows and scrunching her face in pain before her squeals turned to screams and she buried her face in the top pillow. As she hit her peak, the door opened and a man none of them knew wheeled in, Kurt behind him barking orders.
"Okay, really get in there and capture her pain. Close-up! Before the contraction ends!" Kurt pushed Wheelchair Man up to Rachel and he started snapping away with his camera.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell?" Finn jumped off the bed and pushed the random camera guy away from Rachel. "Kurt! What the fuck are you doing?"
"Photographing Rachel's labor and delivery for nostalgia and posterity's sake. I'm sure she'll want to remember today forever and show Teddy how he came into this world."
"I think the kid that comes at the end is a pretty big reminder," Finn raged. "Rachel is going through enough right now without some guy she doesn't know taking pictures of her at her most vulnerable." The man started getting pictures of Rachel turning around to see what was going on and when her gown fell open again and he took a few shots of her bare womanhood, Finn ripped the item out of his hands, tore the memory card out of it, and started bashing the camera against a garbage can until it broke into multiple pieces.
"Dude! You're going to pay for that! And it was not cheap," Wheelchair Man scowled, narrowing his eyes dangerously at him.
"No, he is!" Finn pointed an accusatory finger at Kurt who looked appalled. "You can't just come in here and start taking pictures of Rachel's lady parts while she's in labor! What is wrong with you?!"
"I'm just doing the job I was hired to do."
"Be a nuisance like the rest of the paparazzi?"
"I am not a paparazzo. I am a professional photographer and an aspiring director. Kurt hired me for the night."
"We would have been here sooner, but Artie was stuck in traffic coming back from a wedding in Long Island."
The door opened again and Dr. Pearl walked in, startling when she saw the amount of people in the room. "Okay, I don't know how you all got in here, but hospital policy is birth partner and two guests."
"We'll be the two guests!" Kurt raised his hand and grabbed Artie's raising it for him. "You have another camera, right?"
"Kurt, while I appreciate the thought, I really do not feel comfortable having someone taking pictures of one of the most intimate moments of my life. I would really prefer that Finn be the only guest in the room for the birth."
"But this is my gift to you. Artie is very expensive and I paid him already!"
"You can take pictures once Teddy is born. I have no problem with that. I just don't need a camera up my vagina. I have enough things coming out of it. Why don't you all go out to the waiting room and take pictures of family and friends eagerly awaiting news of Teddy's imminent birth for the baby book? I'm sure when Teddy is older he'll like to look back and see all the people who showed up to see him," Rachel suggested. She was growing tired of everyone watching her misery and wanted to suffer through quietly.
"I suppose. But we will be back to photograph my nephew when he arrives."
Everyone wished her luck and hoped the rest of her labor would go quickly and smoothly.
When everyone besides Dr. Pearl and Kurt had left, Finn and Rachel both gave him the stink eye. "Kurt, get the hell out of here."
"I haven't gotten to see Rachel at all. You've had her all day."
"After the shit you just tried to pull you're lucky if I even let you back in this room again. Now get out!" He shoved his brother out of the room and when he turned around, Dr. Pearl was between Rachel's legs checking out her cervix.
"Still at seven. Looks like you still have a few hours to go."
Rachel threw her head back in a fit and tears began to leak from her eyes. Finn moved to her side and took her hand in his, kissing the back of it. "Don't worry, babe. You'll get through this."
Unfortunately things didn't move quite as fast as they hoped after that either. It was nearing eleven pm when Rachel was giving up hope of ever reaching ten centimeters.
"So much for winning the bet. Looks like Brittany is going to be right again," she lamented, pressing a cold towel to her sweaty forehead. She had been unbearably hot and the hospital gown had been scratching her sensitive skin so much she ended up lying naked in bed to avoid the friction on her nipples and to cool down.
"Hey, don't give up yet. There's still an hour in this day."
"Finn, I wasn't even at nine centimeters the last time the nurse checked me. It takes about an hour for a first time mother to actually deliver the baby, at least."
"I still have a good feeling about today."
She gripped his hand as another contraction hit and squeezed so hard he thought she might break his fingers, but he didn't dare complain.
At the tail end of her contraction, Dr. Pearl and a nurse entered the room and performed another check. "Good news, Mom, Dad…you're fully dilated. Looks like it's time to start pushing finally."
"Thank God!" Rachel cheered, a genuine smile crossing her face for the first time in hours.
They put the back of the bed up, put her legs in stirrups and dropped the bottom half of the bed in preparation, and the entire time Finn watched in gross fascination.
After forty weeks of work, seven and a half months of waiting, and twenty-one hours of labor, Rachel was on the precipice of delivering their first child. It was the most prepared for unexpected event in either of their lives. Though Teddy was not planned, neither could say that he was not wanted nor loved. He was what brought them together and changed their lives forever.
"Okay baby, it's crunch time. You've been amazing so far. Just a little bit more and then you'll be done; you'll be a mommy and I'll be a daddy." He held her hand in both of his and kissed her knuckles. "We're almost there. You ready?"
"I've been ready for days now."
Dr. Pearl and the nurses in the room took their positions and prepared for their son's arrival. "Okay, Rachel, when you have your next contraction, start pushing."
Rachel nodded, absorbing her every word, clinging to Finn's hand for strength. She took a few deep breaths to prepare herself and bore down when told to do so. Time moved both slow and fast with each new push and Rachel was in excruciating pain.
"I can't…I can't… It burns…" she whined, crying as she took a break and stared at Finn. "I need the epidural."
"You don't need the epidural. You can do this, Rachel."
"Oh what do you know?! Have you ever pushed a bowling ball out your ass? Because that's exactly what it feels like I'm doing. So do not tell me what I can and cannot do!"
A small smile pulled up the corner of Dr. Pearl's mouth and she repositioned on her chair. "Rachel, you're going to need to push again. Pull on the backs of your thighs, it will help."
Too weak and distressed to hold her own legs back, Finn moved down to hold her foot and push on it while a nurse did the same to her other leg. She started pushing again and Finn happened to catch sight of the situation between her legs. His stomach rolled and he grew pale, feeling the bile and chunks rise in his throat.
"Finn?" Rachel called out when she stopped pushing. "Finn, don't you pass out on me!"
He was swaying dangerously on his feet, his grip slackening. His cheeks puffed out like he was about to barf. When she pushed one more time and bloody dark hair began to show on a little rounded scalp, he lost control of his faculties and puked on the floor right next to Rachel's bed.
"Are you kidding me?!" Rachel roared as she watched Finn bend over and continue to vomit. "Stop it! Stop!" She swatted at him and forgot about her pain as she pounded on his back. One of the nurses paged a few more nurses who rushed in quickly to lead Finn to the chair next to the bed and started cleaning the mess.
"Rachel!" Dr. Pearl yelled, snapping her attention back to the task at hand. "Focus. He's crowning right now. Only a few more pushes and he'll be out."
Her face and voice grew tender, "He's crowning?"
Dr. Pearl nodded and got ready to catch him as another contraction sent Rachel back into pushing. "One more push, Rachel." She strained to get him out and was relieved when she felt something slip out. "His shoulders are stuck. One more, Rachel." A nurse put a soft blanket over her chest and squeezed her shoulder in support and allowed her to hold her hand.
She pushed again and suddenly it was over. The feeling of something big there was gone and the searing pain had dissipated significantly. Then the most satisfying, thrilling, and beautiful sound rang out in the room – crying.
"Congratulations! It's a boy!" Dr. Pearl held the squirming red mass of wrinkles up and Rachel laid eyes on her son for the very first time. He was mad, little face crumpled as he wailed loudly, his little limbs flailing about. Dr. Pearl laid the child on the blanket and the nurse started rubbing him down to clean up the blood and Rachel was still so stunned by what she had just done to even move.
Once wiped down and wrapped up for the moment, her senses came back and she wrapped her hands around the infant in her arms. She pushed the blanket down to better see his face and gently stroked her fingers along his incredibly soft cheek while she held him to her chest. As her fingers made contact, his cries began to subside and he finally opened his eyes to look up at her. They were beautiful and so wide, a brilliant deep blue, and focused solely on her.
"Teddy. Hello," she cooed, running her fingers down his arm and taking his little hand and slipping her finger under his tiny ones.
"Rachel, we need to cut his cord. Do you think Finn will be up for it?"
She looked up at the doctor and saw her holding the tools to clamp his cord and she glanced over to Finn who still appeared a little out of it. "Finn…" She held Teddy in one arm and used the other to poke her stunned fiancé. "Finn."
He looked up from the floor and seemed to finally realize what was going on. "Yeah?"
"Our son is out. Did you want to cut his cord?"
Finn looked at the baby in Rachel's arms and a soft smiled tugged at his lips. "Teddy?"
"Yes, Finn. Teddy. The baby boy I spent over 40 weeks making…"
His smile spread further and he stood up slowly, moving to look down at his son. "Teddy, hey dude." He brushed his finger over his son's forehead and shivered a little, glancing up to Rachel. "He's real. I can't believe he's here. I'm a daddy."
Rachel smiled, chewing on her lower lip. "You're a daddy."
"Well daddy, did you want to do the honors or are you still a little squeamish?" Dr. Pearl held out some surgical scissors.
"Yeah," he started, sounding unsure of himself. He cleared his throat and tried again with more conviction. "Yeah, I'll cut it."
Dr. Pearl clamped down Teddy's cord and guided the scissors in Finn's hand to where he needed to cut. "It'll be a little tough so really squeeze."
Finn worked through the cord, grinning as he severed Teddy's physical line to his mother, at least until he cut through completely and blood sprayed him right in the face. His cheeks puffed out again and Rachel protectively covered Teddy.
"Finn, don't…Finn…"
A nurse turned him away toward a garbage can where he retched again before being led out of the room.
"He probably shouldn't be here for the delivery of the afterbirth. Don't worry, Louise will take good care of him."
Out in the hallway, Finn was taking deep breaths and holding his head between his knees while Louise rubbed his back. "At least you didn't pass out. I've seen a few fainters and those guys are hard to lift off the ground."
"I don't know what my problem is. I watch horror movies and I deal with bloody raw meat all the time and that never bothers me."
"It's different when you watch someone you love going through a disgusting physical process. To be honest, the first time I witnessed a birth back in nursing school, I blew chunks too. It's not as pretty as the movies make it out to be." She squeezed his shoulder. "We should probably clean the blood off your face then you can go tell your family the good news…daddy." Finn looked up at her and she winked before helping him to the nearest bathroom.
As they walked, a thought occurred to Finn. "Hey, did you notice what time it was when he was born?"
Out in the waiting room, everyone was growing impatient and antsy.
"Jesus Christ, how fucking long does it take to have a baby?" Puck whined. Quinn eyed him dangerously. "What? Beth and Ben both came out within two hours of you getting to the hospital."
"It's after midnight now. I totally won the pot." Brittany danced in her seat and Santana kissed her cheek.
"That's my girl."
"I still cannot believe Finn kicked me out of the room. I was just trying to help," Kurt complained for the hundredth time.
Santana growled, "Get over it, Kurt. You didn't even ask permission to photograph the Midget delivering. What did you think would happen when you brought in a paparazzo on wheels?"
"I am not a paparazzo! I am a legitimate photographer."
"Whatever, Professor X. Either way you shouldn't have barged in there and taken snapshots of Berry's vag like she's Britney Spears."
"How was I supposed to know she wasn't okay with it? I was hired by Kurt."
"That should have been your first clue, Sherlock."
The argument continued until Finn rounded the corner silencing everyone. "It's a boy!" he announced to everyone and they all cheered and stood from their seats. The group, which had grown since he kicked them out of the room, gathered around him and asked question after question about his weight, length, and mostly time of birth.
"I totally won the pot. I want stainless steel, Finn."
"It's not that kind of pot, Brittany, and besides, you didn't win."
"What? It's after midnight."
"Theodore Christopher Hudson was born at 11:58 pm on January 5th. Therefore, I win," he asserted smugly.
His mother took him in his arms and kissed his cheek. "Oh honey, congratulations. Now tell us more!"
He shrugged feeling lame about needing to leave the room. "I don't know more. I kinda had to leave the room because I threw up. I saw Teddy's head as it crowned and it just…" he shook his head as the memory came to him making him queasy again, "then I cut his cord and the blood spattered all over my face and I had to leave. They didn't weigh or measure him when I left."
"This is why women have babies," Quinn stated.
"Why don't you go find out what's happening with Rachel then come back when we're allowed to see her and Teddy?" Leroy suggested, holding Hiram as he cried big happy tears.
"Yeah, good idea. I'm sure the blood and stuff is cleaned up by now."
Finn went back to Rachel's room and when he arrived he found her talking with a nurse. When she noticed him, he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Sorry I had to leave. That was just…it was intense."
"It's okay. Now we know not to let you watch. Dr. Pearl was just glad you didn't faint on her."
"Yeah, Louise said dads that faint are a pain in the ass to move."
Rachel giggled and Teddy jerked in her arms.
"So what's happening here?" Finn asked, coming to stand next to Rachel.
"We just weighed little Teddy and now we're measuring him," the nurse explained.
"How much did he weigh?"
"Eight pounds, six ounces…and he's 21 inches on the dot. And we're done for now. If you plan to breastfeed you can go ahead."
The nurse explained the basics of breastfeeding and when Rachel brushed her nipple along his mouth, his little lips parted and he licked her. Rachel couldn't contain the giggle that escaped her and Teddy started getting fussy until she calmed down and tried again. It took a few more tries to latch, but once he did, he suckled easily and his eyes drooped closed.
"When you're done we can take him to the nursery for his bath and exam and you can get some rest. If you'd like, we can bring him back once we're done. Women who choose to breastfeed usually prefer keeping baby close." Rachel nodded in agreement and the nurse wrote it on her chart. "I'll be back soon to check on you both. Congrats again. He's beautiful."
The nurse left Finn and Rachel alone in the room with their baby and Rachel scooted over and patted the spot next to her. Finn maneuvered into the bed and watched Teddy as he continued to eat.
"I don't know if he just enjoys eating or if he enjoys boobs, but either way, he gets it from me."
Rachel laughed and stroked his soft dark hair, careful to avoid his soft spot. "I can't believe he's finally here. It's so surreal."
"I know, we spent all that time planning and talking about it, but it never seemed like he would show up. But he did and it's…it's a little crazy. I'm a dad. You're a mom. We're parents. Holy shit, we're parents!"
"Finn!" she chastised, covering his little ear like he understood or was even paying attention. "Young ears."
"Rachel…"
"He may not understand now but someday he will. The sooner we get in the habit of controlling our language in front of him, the easier it will be in the future."
"Whatever you say." He lovingly put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "I love you."
Rachel looked up at him with the utmost love in her shining eyes. "I love you too."
Teddy hiccupped and yawned before staring up at Rachel's face intently again. They both chuckled and Finn put his large hand on his son's tiny back. "And we love you too, little man."
"By the way, we won the bet. 11:58 pm on January 5th. Guess that feeling you had was a good one."
"What can I say; I guess I'm just lucky. Even if I had been wrong, I'd still be lucky because either way, I'd still have you and Teddy."
Tears began to run down her cheeks and she leaned into Finn. "That is so cheesy, but so beautiful."
"That's us, cheesy and beautiful." He held her chin and tilted her head back, running his thumb over her bottom lip. "I'm so happy I accidentally knocked you up."
Rachel leaned up to kiss him and when she pulled away, looked down at the child they had created, that brought them together and changed their lives for good and for the better, and knew she felt exactly the same.
"Me too, Finn. Me too."
So, I've been giving it quite a bit of thought the past few days and I think I'm going to split this story in two. I still have a lot of this world to delve into and if I keep this continuous, it'll end up being like 60 chapters. Having decided this, there will be one more chapter of PFTW and then I will start its sequel, All the Days Between. But as I promised I would work on Dates after I finished PFTW, I will uphold that promise and write a Dates chapter before I start the sequel.
Thanks for reading and I hope you'll join in for AtDB.
