Chapter 52 Is forever enough
I slip
in bed when you're asleep
To hold you close and feel your breath
on me
Tomorrow there'll be so much to do
So tonight I'll drift
in a dream with you
Alex pulled at his black shirt, feeling nervous already. He checked once again if the box was still in the pocket of his black coat before taking off. There was a time I had nothing to give ... he almost sang it along, having the song heard for many times these last few days. He switched the radio on tuner before getting out of his Ute. Nervous, that's what he felt ... his heart was beating quickly, adrenaline rushing through his veins.
They
didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to
come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like
a serenade
'I wanna take you somewhere', he tried to sound nonchalant. Stevie gave him a strange amused look, pulling softly at his black coat. Strangely enough he wore it only occasionally, while he looked great in black. 'Okay', she said giving him a smile, which made him smirk. 'Good, have you peed?' She pushed him. 'Hey where we're going there's no loo, so I had to check.' Stevie thought for a moment. He was right; she should visit the bathroom before they head off to where ever.
Regan smirked at him. 'Looking good, Alex'. He nodded pleased, and he could see she had noticed his tension. 'Anything special planned?' 'Maybe ...', he couldn't suppress his smile, when Stevie returned. 'Ready?' 'Yupz?' She said while glancing away shyly. It was funny that she sometimes still could feel shy around him. It was just in the way he looked at her, that caused her an extra heartbeat.
How
long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever
enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause
I'm never, never giving you up
'And we're here.' 'Ah the lake'. Stevie didn't move, not sure what Alex was planning. 'Just come with me.' He did the same as months ago, sitting down on the loading platform of his Ute, this time pulling her on his lap. Stevie looked at him, a soft smile on her face wondering what was going on. She noticed he was different tonight, not totally relaxed. 'Why did you take me to this place?' He held her close, staring in her brown eyes. 'I thought you might like it.' She only smiled at him, touching his face to give him a gentle kiss. 'So I guess you do.' Stevie nodded, 'But we can't stay too long ...' He looked questioning at her. 'I don't feel that great today', when she said it her hand grabbed her stomach, pressing her eyes and teeth together.
'You're okay?' Alex asked concerned, rubbing her lower back. She smiled, feeling the pain flowing away. 'Just some aches. I had some earlier.' 'You're sure, cause I can take you back.' She smiled sweetly at him, caressing his face. 'It's okay, I like it here, with you.' 'Good, let me put on some background music.' Stevie looked amused at him, getting of his lap. He indeed was acting strange. Background music? Alex got in the Ute, hearing her let out a muffled scream. He rushed out within a sec.
'What?' Alex asked confused, seeing her hold her stomach, pain showing on her face. 'I think this is a real woe.' His eyes grew big. 'You think the baby is coming?' She nodded. 'If the contractions are coming at regular intervals.' She breathed out. 'I'm gonna take you to the hospital', Alex said quickly. 'Maybe it's false alarm, maybe it still takes some time before the labor starts.' 'No need to wait for that, it's not that the hospital is just around the corner. And I wanna be sure you and the baby are okay.'
They drove to Fisher, while Stevie got another contraction. 'Do you have a watch, or something. I got no clue what time was in between', she said. 'I guess we're ten minutes on the road now. You're okay?' She nodded quickly: 'Yeah, this is quicker than I thought.' 'I know, what is it? Almost three weeks too early.' Stevie nodded again, trying to stay as calm and relaxed as possible. Not much later her water broke. 'We're officially in labor', she mumbled. 'No worries, we'll be at the hospital within no time.' Alex reached for her hand. She grabbed his and pinched it softly. He looked aside, sharing a smile. He felt still pretty relaxed, already happy they were on their way to the hospital and that he was with her.
It was more than an hour later. Stevie was lying on her left side on a hospital bed, Alex close next to her. The contractions were lasting long and more frequent. The active labor had started. Stevie got of the bed again to walk around a bit. During a contraction she leaned on Alex, who supported her, rubbing her back.
Hours later Stevie got to the hardest part. She squeezed Alex' hand hard, for another time, breathing heavy. 'You're doing great', Alex said, getting back up from the nurse. She shivered. 'Oh God, this hurts', she breathed out feeling the end of the contraction. He swept her forehead. 'It's going perfect Steves.' 'Can I push with the next one?' She asked the doctor. 'Just a few more to go before you're fully diluted', Dr. Cahill said calm. 'You gave birth before. It probably won't take that long.' 'Well, that one feels like ages ago', she sighed.
'Only push if you feel like it.' Stevie nodded feeling her uterus contract. She changed position when she felt another contraction coming, now feeling the urge to bear down. She let out a heavy scream. 'Ahhh ...' 'Keep pushing ... take your rest now ...' Alex could only focus on her, telling her she was doing a great job, feeling the pain in his hand when she pinched it.
'You're doing great, keep pushing ... I see the baby's scalp', Cahill spoke loud. 'Now slow it down, keep blowing ... blow, blow, blow ...' She kept blowing, accompanied with Alex, who felt the need to join her. The next contraction the baby's head became more visible, while she got instruction to once more take it easy, although she felt the immense need to push. 'Perfect ... the head is out ... the next one push it hard.'
Alex felt excitement taking over his body more and more. 'Now push ...' Stevie let out another loud scream, while the baby made his way out. 'There we have ... her ... it's a girl', dr. Cahill said, smiling, while they could hear her start crying. He laid her on Stevie's stomach to hold, a blanket to cover her. 'Oh my God', Stevie uttered, a wide smile taking over her face. All kinds of emotions were running through her body, when she started crying of joy. 'Look at her.' She now looked up at Alex, who watched proudly and with a huge smile down on his daughter. 'She's perfect. Look at those little fingers. Hey ...' He now stretched out his index finger, which seemed huge near his daughter's hand, who grabbed it a second later. 'See, already daddy's little girl.'
As you
wander through this troubled world
In search of all things
beautiful
You can close your eyes when you're miles away
And
hear my voice like a serenade
The doctor now clamped the umbilical cord in two places and let Alex cut it in between. Stevie had to laugh. He looked at her. 'You were great', rubbing her forehead before placing a gentle kiss on it. 'Thank you, for being here for me, for us.' She looked at him, than at her daughter while saying it. 'Your daddy has been of great support', she now tickled her baby, holding it close to her breast. Just a couple of minutes later the baby started to nurse.
How
long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever
enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause
I'm never, never giving you up
Dixie Chicks - Lullaby
