Chapter Thirty Five
Three days later, Lila still had no signs of impending labor, but her latest trip to the doctor determined that the baby had dropped to minus 2 station and her cervix had completely effaced. Before Steven left for work that Thursday morning, he gave Lila a kiss, then leaned down to talk to her tummy. "Hey little ones, Daddy sure could use an excuse to get out of work this afternoon, so if you'd care to make some noise, that'd really help me out." He kissed his fingers and laid them on Lila's tummy.
"Good luck, babe," Lila said getting up to give him a hug. She didn't want Steven to leave today, but he wanted to save his leave time for after the babies came.
"Thanks," Steven replied. "Same to you."
"It's not up to me," Lila answered "But we'll see what happens."
Lila tried to focus on cleaning the house and getting things ready for when the babies made their arrival, but quickly grew frustrated.
"Forget this crap," she said to herself. She flopped onto the bed and pulled a baby name book out of her top, night table drawer. She and Steven had been going over names for 4 months and had managed to narrow it down from 26 girls names and 34 boys names to 15 girls names and 21 boys names. They had chosen one for each already, but since they decided to wait they had to have back up names in case they had two of the same sex.
"Maybe…maybe…nah…still like Reagan, if it's a girl that's her name. Reagan and Rachel for girls," she said as she went through the list she'd jotted those names on the top of her list. She didn't know which names were still on Steven's as far as boys went list, he didn't let her see it anymore, but she had a feeling they were going to end up choosing the second boys' name after the babies were born since it had proven to be a real challenge to settle on one beforehand.
"Let's see if anything new strikes my fancy" she said aloud to herself as she flipped to the beginning of the book and began glancing over the familiar pages. She was halfway through the "D's" in the boys' section when…
"Ooooh…" She put the book down and held her hand on the spot where the pain had been. It went away quickly, and she waited for another, hoping it was more than just the baby moving around. After 3 minutes, she picked the book back up and continued looking through it. Eleven minutes later…
"Ouch!" The pain was in the same place, only this time it took her breath away. She kept her hand over that spot and silently prayed that this was finally it.
"Come on, little ones," she whispered. "Don't tease Mommy, that's not nice. I'm not going to call Grandma and get Grandpa to pull Daddy out of work I'm sure you're on your way, so if you are, let me know, Okay?" Just then, there was a knock at the apartment door. Lila waddled to the living room, "Who is it?"
"It's Mom," Eddie called.
"Come in," said Lila grateful for her mother's timing. Eddie entered and saw that Lila was holding a hand on her tummy.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" asked Eddie.
"I'm not sure exactly," replied Lila. "When your labor started, how long was it before you knew for sure it was the real thing?"
"Well, with Joey about an hour, with you, not long at all," laughed Eddie. "Why?"
"I've had two really sharp pains in the same place in the last half hour," Lila told her mom.
"How far apart were they?" asked Eddie.
"14 minutes," answered Lila. "That's why I'm not sure if they mean anything or not."
"Do you want me to call Dad? He can get Commissioner McKay to get Steven…" Eddie asked Lila.
"No, not yet," Lila replied. "I don't want to call him and have it be nothing. Would you wait here with me and we'll see what happens in the next hour or so?"
"No problem, Lila," Eddie replied. "Let me call your Grandpa and tell him I won't be home so he's not watching for me then we'll sit and wait it out together."
"Okay," said Lila, leaning back in the easy chair and attempting to relax. Eddie returned a few minutes later and sat on the sofa near her daughter. "Any more pain?" she asked.
"Not like the first two," replied Lila. "But yeah, a few twinges."
"Well, let's keep our hopes up," Eddie encouraged. She knew how much Lila wanted the babies to come. "This is the most that's happened so far, right?"
Lila nodded. "I really hope this is it, I'm so ready for this part to be over."
"Been there, done that, Lila," agreed Eddie. "Has being pregnant been what you thought it would be?"
"I'm not really sure" said Lila. "It's been neat in so many ways, and scary in so many ways, wonderful, exciting, aggravating, and challenging - it's definitely been an experience!"
"Can't argue with you there. And the best is yet to come, believe me. This part is scary and painful but…trust me it is a short amount of time compared to how long you get to enjoy it. I'm still enjoying you and your brother after so many years."
Lile didn't get a chance to respond before…"Oooohhh!" Another pain hit her.
"Lila!" exclaimed Eddie. "I'm going to call Dad."
"Call him!" answered Lila in a painfully stern voice. She forgot for a moment she was speaking to her mother.
Eddie grabbed her phone and put a call in directly to Detective Meyers desk. The birth plan, if Steven was at work, was for Eddie and Jamie to get Lila to the hospital and Jamie to reach out to Steven's command and have him report to Lutheran hospital. When Meyers answered Eddie kept her voice even, "Please tell the Commissioner that it's time and we need to get to the hospital as soon as possible."
Meyers scribbled a note on a yellow sticky and as soon as Eddie hung up knocked on Jamie's office door. When is security guard opened it Meyers handed him the note. "Please give this to Commissioner Reagan right away," she whispered, handing the note to the guard.
The detective charged with Jamie's safety approached his boss wearily, he was in a heavy discussion and ordered that ne not be disturbed. "Sir," the detective said softly then handed him the note that said nothing more than "It's time."
Jamie pushed back from the table, "Chief Reagan will take things from here," he replied. "Detective Han, please get the detail ready, we are going to my daughter's the heading straight to Lutheran. The babies are coming."
Jamie got into the SUV and with the grace of God and the New York traffic they arrived at Lila's apartment in record time. Eddie let Jamie in, he hurried to his daughter's side and held her hand. "What's happening?"
"I'm having pains that hurt like hell!" replied Lila.
"How close together?" he asked her as he rubbed her knee.
"14 minutes between the first two," answered Lila. "Then a couple smaller ones 12 minutes after that, and the one I had right before Mom called you was 11 minutes after those."
"That sounds like the real thing to me," Jamie replied. "I called Commissioner McKay, he's having Steven's captain locate the fire safety van and pull him off the detail. What do you think, Eddie?" Jamie asked looking for his wife to confirm it was hospital time.
"I'd have to agree with you, Jamie. I mean, they're still pretty far apart, but getting closer."
"Do you want to go to the hospital with me and Mom or try to wait here for Steven?" Jamie asked Lila.
"The sooner, the better," said Lila as she pushed herself up out of the chair. "I know if we get there and it's not real labor, they'll probably send us home, but I really think this is it."
"Well then," replied Jamie. "Let's go. Steven will meet us there. Uncle Danny will drive Grandpa." Jamie grabbed Lila's baby bag and began helping her out the door with Eddie monitoring both of their steps from behind.
Eddie noticed Lila tensing, "So, I guess all the tricks you tried to induce labor might have worked after all," she commented lightly as the SUV pulled out into traffic.
"It sure looks that way from here," Lila replied. "Even if not, it was a really ni- oh, dammit!" She laid her head back on the headrest and took slow, deep breaths as another contraction hit her.
"Just keep breathing, Kitten" Jamie gently advised. "We'll be at the hospital as fast as we can."
"I'm Okay," said Lila as the contraction finally ended and she caught her breath again. "That was the worst one so far."
"You handled it really well though" said Eddie as she took her daughter's hand. "You're going to do just fine with this Lila."
"Are you ready for this?" Jamie asked, always the worrywart.
"Definitely," Lila answered, a big smile gracing her face. "I'm ready for everything they could possibly throw at me, and knowing Steven the way I do, that could be just about anything." Steven had an adventurous side that assisted him in being a terrific firefighter.
"Since these contractions are merely a preview of what's yet to come" Lila laughed. "By the end I may be literally throwing things at him."
"That's fine, honey," Eddie replied. "I almost took your father's eye out when I had your brother." They pulled into the hospital parking lot. "We are both here for you, and any minute Steven will be too. Everything is going to be all right." Eddie hugged Lila tight.
"I know it is," replied Lila. "Dad, did they say how long until Steven gets here?"
"Probably a half hour," Jamie replied as the SUV pulled up to the hospital doors. "Do you want me to run in and get a wheelchair?"
"No, it's fine. "I can walk, no problem."
Jamie got out first, followed by Eddie. She held Lila's hand helping her step out of the SUV. The three of them walked hand-in-hand to the entrance, hoping the next contraction would wait until they made it inside. No such luck.
"OW! Dammit, that hurts!" cursed Lila as they stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Breathe, Lila" encouraged Eddie. "It'll let up in a minute and we'll get you inside."
Lila nodded and breathed as best she could, holding tight to both of her parents' hands for support.
"There," she said after a short while. "It's better now, let's go." They walked the rest of the way to the hospital doors, and once inside Lila took a seat while Jaie went up to the desk.
"Yes, sir, how may I help you?" asked the nurse behind the desk.
"My daughter is in labor," Jamie replied. "She's pre-registered, Mrs. Lila Reag..Tenney. Lila Tenney." The nurse typed a few things into the computer, then went to a file drawer next to her and flipped through it.
"Here we are," she said as she pulled a file from the drawer. "Tenney, she's Dr. Mianni's patient, correct?"
"Yes, that's right," Jamie replied. "Uh-oh, we forgot to call her, is she on duty today?"
"Yes, sir, she is," replied the nurse. "I'll get you taken up to the maternity floor and have them page her for you."
"Thank you." Jamie smiled with relief.
"I need Lila to come up here for just a moment," said the nurse. "I need to get her armband put on."
Eddie helped Lila over to the registration desk, "Here we go, Lila" said the nurse as she put Lila's armband on. "I've got a wheelchair here for you as well."
"I'll take it." She carefully sat down in the wheelchair, and lifted her feet up so the nurse could lower the foot rests.
"Okay, you're all set. Let's get you upstairs."
"Lead the way," said Jamie. He followed the nurse, who pushed Lila's wheelchair, to the elevators down the hall. Moments later, they arrived on the maternity floor, and were led to the nurses' station to check in.
The nurse who'd taken them up handed Lila's file to a nurse at the desk, and gave her a brief run-down of the situation.
"Lila Tenney, Dr. Mianni's patient, 41 weeks, pre-eclampsia from 30 weeks on," she said, "Contracting every 10-14 minutes for the past 2 hours."
"Alright, Lila," said the nurse at the maternity desk. "Let's get you into a room and see what's happening with your babies." She pushed Lila's wheelchair down the hall a short distance and made a left turn into a brightly lit room.
"There's a gown on the bed for you, and once you get changed, we'll get you hoOkayed up to the fetal monitor and we'll check your cervix to see how many centimeters dilated you are."
"Okay," Lila whispered as she got up from the wheelchair. The nurse took the chair out of the room and closed the door to give Lila some privacy. She really wanted Steven now.
Eddie asked Jamie to step out, "Call Steven," she mouthed to him then turned her attention to Lila. "You need any help with this?" Eddie asked as she took the gown off the bed and handed it to her daughter.
"I don't think so," she said as she took the gown and headed to the bathroom in the corner of the room.
"Let me know if you change your mind" Eddie offered. Eddie paced while Lila changed into the gown. Her baby was about to have her own babies…twins…It was nerve wracking but Lila needed them both to be calm now.
"Can you tie this for me?" Lila asked him as she emerged from the bathroom clad in the light blue gown.
"Sure." Eddie was glad to be able to do something tangible while they waited for Jamie to return with news of Steven. "There you go, all tied. Why don't you get in bed and I'll go let the nurse know she can come hooked up the monitors while I check in with Dad about Steven's progress.
"Okay," agreed Lila. Eddie helped her get into bed and covered up, then she kissed her forehead before leaving the room.
"Lila is ready for the monitors and whatever else needs to be done right now," Eddie told the nurse. "I'm just going to check in with my husband."
"Yes, ma'am," the nurse replied. "I think your son-in-law arrived, I saw your husband speaking to a young man just a minute ago."
"Thank you," Eddie replied. "I'll be right back." She hurried to find Jamie and Steven heading back toward Lila's room. "Thank God you are here," Eddie said giving Steven a hug. "She's being brave but she was starting to ask for you."
Within 5 minutes, the three of them were back in Lila's room.
A/N: So it begins. Lila's labor is beginning and her family will soon be gathered around her with much love to anticipate the new arrivals. Be patient, like a real life labor, this procedure will take some time. A few more chapters…This story has forty one in all…
Next update – June 20th – Lila's labor continues, and the family arrives.