"Hold on Kate," Jack said nervously.
He was always nervous when we got to the hospital- baby number five and here he was, in a panic at the most natural of happenings in the world.
I got out of the car and into the wheelchair waiting for me, looking at the back door of the truck as my children piled out. Ethan and Liam, who were now both eleven, helped out their little sisters- Amie, who was five and Tessa, who was two and looking forward to being a big sister.
"Come on kids," I smiled before crying out as a contraction rocked me.
Jack was by my side- as he had always been- as I was taken up to my room, his hand around mine. I said goodbye to my children as they waited for the others to arrive, the last look of my children waiting anxiously as they waved me off.
"Oh, this is worse than Aime," I said, gripping Jack's hand. "But it'll be worth it."
I pressed my hand out and screamed through a contraction as my feet were pressed to the stirrups. My husband kissed my hand and looked at the doctors coming to the room, "Just relax and breathe Kate; its just as easy as that, nothing to it-"
"You should know after you got a black eye last time that you shouldn't say things like that to me! If its so fucking easy then you do it Jack- you go and squeeze a fucking nine pound baby out of your dick and see how fucking easy it is then!" I broke out in a sweat and then he began to sponge off my forehead, my free hand clutching at the mattress for dear life. "I want to know what we're having Jack," I said suddenly, my husband looking uncomfortable.
"Kate, you told me not to tell you. No matter what," Jack replied, chewing on his bottom lip.
This baby- our last baby- was a complete surprise, conceived when we weren't even trying for another child. When it came to learning about the sex, I had wanted to keep it a secret but Jack just had to know and so for the last four months, he'd kept quiet.
I cried out and the doctors began to rush into position, Jack looking at me in a panic, "We're having a boy Katherine!"
"A boy," I asked, panting heavily. "Oh, Jack, he's coming! I can feel him-"
My words were cut off by my own scream, my entire body bowing up underneath the power of the contraction. "The baby's crowning," a muffed voice said, my eyes staring into my husband's as he stroked my hair back from my sweat-covered face.
"One more push Katie," Jack whispered, nodding with a smile. I nodded as well and pushed for a final time, gasping at the sudden loss of pressure.
"Congratulations, it's a boy," one of the doctors said underneath high-pitched cries, Jack lifting my head so that I could see our baby.
The nurses took him before the doctors returned to tend to me, the residual pain ignored for the time being. I reached up as a nurse brought my son to me, Jack peering down at him when he was laid in my arms. "Oh, he's gorgeous," I whispered, stroking his cheek. The baby looked up at me with eyes just like my own and I kissed his forehead, stroking his lovely curls.
"What are we going to name him," I asked quietly Jack lifting him from my arms.
He sighed heavily and looked down at our son, shrugging slightly, "I dunno..."
I was cleaned up just as Trish called to inform us that she was there, Jack answering the phone without jostling our baby the slightest bit.
There was a knock on the door and we were greeted by balloons and smiling faces, the kids rushing in to meet their newest sibling. I held Tessa to my side, answering her excited questions as the others got the first look of the as-of-yet unnamed baby Mercer.
Trish came to my bed and bent down to kiss my forehead, working around her own burgeoning stomach. "You look damn good for just having given birth," she smiled, her son Robby at her side. I smiled and ran my fingers back through my hair, "You tease even though you know you're gonna be in my place in a couple of weeks." Trish laughed before moving to hold my youngest son, Bobby sitting down at my feet. He patted my feet and pulled Aime up into his lap, wrapping his arm around her securely. "So what's the newest little terror's name," he asked, watching as his wife bounced the baby in her arms."
"We haven't quite figured that out yet," I replied as Sofi walked in and began to squeal excitedly over the baby. "Have you called Angel?"
"He sends his best from Iraq, said he's coming home on leave in a couple of weeks. Jerry and Camille are flying down this weekend," Bobby said before opening his arms as Sofi passed the baby to him. I watched, bemused at how much he had changed from the 'Michigan Mauler' to doting father.
Jack looked up at me and smiled, sitting down at my side. I hummed contently as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, snuggling into his side lovingly.
Soon enough, the baby was back in my arms, his eyes fluttering closed as he nestled down into my embrace. My mind wandered to our future and I let out a tiny sigh, Jack giving me a knowing look. We had no delusions at the difficulties that lay ahead of us- many of which we had to confront time and time again. But none of that mattered, not when we knew we were going to pull through. I smiled as I thought of all the people that I loved more than life itself, knowing that the majority of them were in this room, safe and relatively happy.
"I'm exhausted," I murmured, Jack kissing my forehead.
He looked down at our son and cupped his downy head in his massive hand lightly, his brow furrowing before he smiled almost triumphantly. Jack looked to me once more, inhaling deeply, "I'm going to let you sleep, but after we give this kid a name. I'm thinking Thomas… Scott; its a strong name."
"Thomas Scott Mercer," I smiled, pressing a kiss to my baby's head. "Welcome to the family."