Chapter Twenty-Three
Nearly every night Wendy had slept with her head lying against Warren's chest, but lately she had been forced to sleep however she could find comfort considering her growing stomach had taken up significant space in their bed. Most nights she tossed and turned, unable to find the slightest bit of peace. She rarely got sleep. As a result, Warren had trouble staying asleep as well. One morning she woke up particularly moody. "I am just ready for this kid to come OUT of me!" she complained as she looked down at her immense belly. "I think it's time for an immediate eviction."
Warren was used to her constant displeasure. She was now about 18 days from her due date. "Everything hurts, Warren," she said as she threw an arm out, smacking him on the chest as she did her best to rise up out of bed.
"Owww!" she screamed. "I can't move!"
It was Saturday, so thankfully Warren had the day off. He sat up in bed, taking her hand and helping her rise up off the mattress. Her hair was a mess of wild dark curls swirling around her face. She didn't look too perky. "Ohhh my God!" she cried out as she sat on the edge of the bed. "I - I think I just peed!"
Warren looked over, his eyes widening as he saw Wendy's maternity nightie was soaked with liquid. "Uhhh, honey, I don't think that's pee," he stated. "I think your water just broke."
"WHAT? No! My water- my water broke?" she gasped. "Does this- this mean...?"
"Yeah, I think this means the baby is ready to come out and greet us," Warren said as he got out of bed and hurriedly started dressing. "We better get to the hospital."
"Wait... wait. I don't feel any contractions. I don't feel anything," Wendy said in confusion.
"If your water just broke, you're going to be feeling something in about an hour if not sooner. I am taking you to the hospital," Warren insisted.
"But I can't go in wet clothes!" Wendy cried out.
Warren reached into the closet and grabbed one of Wendy's maternity dresses. He located all of her other clothing items and rushed to her side. "Warren, what are you doing?" she asked as he was undressing her.
"You said you couldn't go to the hospital wearing those wet things, so I am helping you get dressed in something clean and comfortable."
She grew quiet as he expertly removed her clothing. "This is how we got into this situation," she suddenly burst out sarcastically. "You just couldn't wait to take my clothes off!"
Warren smirked. "I don't recall you protesting."
"It's not my fault you're so irresistible."
"Ohhh Wendy," he said as he finished helping her get dressed.
"It's true. You seduced me!"
"And you loved every second of it," he said as he kissed her on the tip of her nose.
He helped her to her feet as she clutched her swollen stomach, wincing as her face screwed up in pain. "Did you have a contraction?" he asked.
"I - I am not sure. What are they supposed to feel like?"
"How the hell should I know?"
"If feels like someone stabbed me in my lady parts," she told him graphically.
"I would say you probably had a contraction then. Wendy, you have the bags packed for the hospital, don't you?"
"Yeah, they are in the hall closet. Let's get to the hospital, Warren. I don't want to have the baby in the elevator."
"I don't want you to have the baby in the elevator either," he said, looking horrified. "The doctor is delivering our child, not me. I've already done my part."
"Really, Warren? You got the fun part, huh? I won't be having much fun when my insides are split open like a ripe peach."
"Do you really have to be so graphic?" Warren said as he held her hand and lead her out of the bedroom. He grabbed the bags she had stashed in the hall closet filled with clothing for herself and the baby. "You had fun, too, conceiving our child. I was there. I remember."
Wendy was walking slowly, still leaking a little bit of fluid. "Ohhh my God! This is so humiliating."
"It will all be over soon, honey," Warren said as he grabbed his keys and Wendy's purse and they headed toward the door.
"No, it won't!" she practically screamed. "I have to push a child out of my- my -!"
They were standing in the hallway as the neighbors stared. Warren wrapped his arms around Wendy in an attempt to calm her. He said soothingly, "Everything will be alright. We have been through so much more and we've survived it. We'll get through this, too."
Wendy hugged Warren tightly as a few frustrated tears squeezed out of her eyes. "Let's just go get this over with so we can see the baby."
"That's the spirit," he said as he pulled away to give her a comforting kiss.
She took two or three steps, then she was wincing again. She gasped when Warren swept her off her feet, carrying her to the elevator. Somehow he managed to carry her, the bags, and everything else he was trying to juggle.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
"I am getting you to the hospital. You said you didn't want our baby born in the elevator."
She looked at his face, concentrating on his ebony eyes. "Warren, I really love you," she said as she hugged him around the neck.
"I love you, too, sweetheart."
Wendy tried to walk after they got off the elevator, but she found that the twinges of pain were far too much. "I am such a wimp. How will I ever have this baby?"
"You're not a wimp," Warren said as carried her outside toward the parking lot. "You had that terrible car wreck and you were so brave. You hardly even cared about yourself as you were healing - all you cared about was our baby."
"I love our baby so much. I can't wait to finally meet him."
Outside in the parking lot, Wendy didn't see Warren's vehicle anywhere. "What's this?" she asked when he brought her to some strange car and gently set her down on her feet by the passenger's side.
"I - uhhhh - bought a different car."
"You WHAT?!"
"Wendy, I had to do it. I am about to become a father. We needed the cash more than I needed that car."
Instant tears filled Wendy's eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked when he opened the door and helped her get seated in the replacement vehicle. It was nice, but it was nothing like Warren's BMW MI. That car had been Warren's most prized possession.
"What else haven't you told me?" Wendy asked as he assisted her in buckling the seat-belt around her protruding belly.
"I sold my portion of the club," he admitted when he got into the car and put the key into the ignition.
When she stared at him with a wounded look on her face, he said, "I had to do it, Wendy. We needed the money."
"But Warren -."
"Forget about it. The baby's coming. That's the only thing you need to concentrate on. I will take care of everything else."
"But I don't like you keeping secrets from me. You've sacrificed so much. The club. Your beloved car."
"Nothing means more than you and our baby."
He would sacrifice everything for the well-being of Wendy and their unborn child. Even if it meant he had to suffer. And he was suffering deeply. There was one secret he carried that outweighed any of the others. Suzi was carrying his baby. Warren lamented the situation as they drove to the hospital. He wanted to be emotionally there for Wendy, but his knuckles were white as he clutched the steering wheel. He felt sick inside because he had been lying to his wife for months. He didn't want to break her heart. He feared the secret he had been carrying would destroy his and Wendy's marriage.
*I can't think about that now. I have to be there for Wendy and our baby,* Warren thought as they arrived at Henderson Hospital.
Wendy was strangely quiet as well; no doubt in shock that he had sold his portion of the club and his car. "Please don't be angry, honey," Warren said as he helped her out of the vehicle. "I am sorry I didn't tell you my plans, but -."
"Ohhh Warren, I don't care about that right now! I am having contractions and they hurt."
Warren lifted her in his arms and carried her inside, crying out for help for his pregnant wife in the lobby. A nurse came running with a wheel chair. "How far apart are the contractions, dear?" the nurse asked Wendy.
"I don't know."
"Don't worry. We'll take care of you," the nurse said cheerfully.
Warren let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried as hell, but he knew now that Wendy and the baby were in good hands. As the nurse wheeled Wendy away, she clutched Warren's hand. "Don't leave me, Warren," she pleaded.
"I promise I won't," he said.
A little while later, Wendy was situated in a hospital bed as the nurse monitored her vitals and contractions. Warren took a moment to call Kristin on the bedside phone. "Wendy's in labor. You and Brian can come, but whatever you do, don't tell Stephanie. Not yet anyway," Warren said to his sister.
Kristin was whooping with excitement. She nearly broke Warren's eardrum. "Brian, I am about to become an aunt!" she exclaimed. "Wendy's having the baby!"
Kristin then said into the phone, "Brian and I will be there in a little bit. Take good care of Wendy."
"Always," Warren said as he hung up the phone.
He then placed all of his attention onto his wife. He brushed the dark tendrils of hair out of her face. "Kris said she and Brian will be here later. Don't worry about anything," he said as he sat down in a chair at her bedside and took her hand in his.
"Warren, I don't know if I can do this," Wendy said after another fierce contraction. "What if I can't? What if I fail you or our baby?"
"You could never fail me or our baby. You're so amazing, Wendy... and so brave. You can do this. I know it."
Wendy placed her free hand over her bulging stomach. "I have waited so long to meet this baby," she said with tears in her eyes.
"It's finally going to happen. After everything you went through, you'll finally get to hold our little miracle."
"He is a miracle, isn't he?"
She saw Warren's eyes shine with a sheen of tears. "Any baby of ours will be a miracle," he stated as his lips lowered onto hers in a long, lingering kiss.
Just then the doctor walked in. "So, this baby has decided to come a little early?" chuckled Dr. Nichols.
"I - I guess," Wendy replied. "It's not too early is it?"
The doctor shook his head. "I don't think there should be a problem. Let me put on a pair of gloves, then I'll examine you."
"My water broke and I'm having contractions," Wendy reported.
"Then it probably won't be long at all," the doctor said as he washed up and put on a set of sterile gloves. He pulled back the lower sheet to examine Wendy who was now dressed in only a hospital gown. She gasped as he completed an internal exam. The intrusion was almost worse than the contractions she had been feeling.
Wendy squeezed Warren's hand as the doctor finished the exam and announced, "The baby isn't going to wait much longer."
The doctor then ordered the nurse to get everything prepared for an imminent birth. It was like a whirlwind as the medical staff rushed around to get Wendy prepped for the pushing stage.
"But I've hardly even been in the contraction stage yet," Wendy protested.
"You'll have plenty of contractions when you're pushing," the nurse stated.
"You need to go suit up and get ready for the baby's delivery," the doctor said to Warren. "We have to have a completely sterile environment."
Warren stood up to leave but Wendy clung to his hand. "Don't leave me, Warren."
He pressed a kiss to her brow. "It will only be for a second. I will be right back. I promise."
After Warren left to put on scrubs, the medical staff prepped Wendy for the pushing stage. There was a feeling of tremendous pressure in her pelvic area. The doctor positioned himself to deliver the baby as Wendy did everything in her power to remain calm.
"Warren!" she cried out as it seemed he had been gone an awful long time when really it had only been minutes.
When he came back, he sat down next to her and held her hand. He looked so strange, wearing all that medical garb. She might have laughed if she wasn't so scared. The pain intensified. Wendy felt dizzy.
"Is it too late for ask for any pain meds?" she asked almost pleadingly.
"I'm afraid it's far too late. Mrs. Carter, your baby is already crowning. It's time to push now."
"You can do this, honey. I know you can," Warren said as he raised her hand up to his lips, tenderly kissing her fingers.
She nodded through her tears. She didn't really know what she was doing, but she gave it her all. She pushed with all her strength. "That's it," said the doctor. "Excellent."
Listening to the doctor's instructions, Wendy pushed her baby into the world. Meanwhile, Brian and Kristin were pacing the hallway right outside. "What's taking so long?" Brian asked fearfully.
"Brian, we've only been here about a half hour," Kristin gently reminded. "I read that first babies can sometimes take hours."
"I don't like to think of my little sister suffering or in any sort of pain."
"I hope Warren hasn't fainted in there."
Brian laughed at the thought of Warren fainting. He then went back to pacing as Kristin watched, sitting down on a bench. All of the sudden, she heard a baby's cry. She knew it was coming from Wendy's hospital room.
"Brian, did you hear that?" she said in excitement. "I think the baby's here!"
"A baby! Kristin, a baby!" Brian said as he rushed over and tugged her up in his arms. "I'm an uncle!"
Kristin smiled joyfully at her husband. "That you are."
Wendy fell back against her hospital bed, completely exhausted. She knew her baby was healthy as she heard the blessed sounds of the newborn's cries. "Mr. Carter, would you like to cut the cord?" Dr. Nichols offered.
"I'd be honored," Warren said as he looked at his squirming child in amazement. Warren cut the cord as instructed, then the nurse took the baby.
"Where- where's my baby?" Wendy said as her arms ached for her child.
No sooner had she said the words when the nurse returned with the baby and placed the precious bundle in Wendy's arms. Gazing down at her baby wrapped in a receiving blanket, Wendy smiled in amazement. She saw thick dark hair, midnight blue eyes, and soft pink lips. A perfect baby!
"Ohhh Warren," Wendy said, her earlier pain completely forgotten as she looked at her baby in a state of complete bliss. "We made this perfect little person."
Warren's voice was soft and low with tenderness. "We did, honey, but you deserve most of the credit. I mean, you're the one who had to go through all the pregnancy scares and discomforts, plus the birthing experience."
"It was all worth it. I'm so happy," she said as she kissed their baby's chubby cheek.
"Wendy ~ sweetheart, there's just one thing," Warren said as he looked at the infant in Wendy's arms. "This baby who you've been calling a boy for the past few months - well, it turns out our baby isn't a boy, so you're not going to be able to call her Warren Carter Junior. We'll have to come up with a different name."
Wendy stared at Warren in shock, then her eyes settled on the baby. "Not... a boy?"
She was having trouble believing it until she pulled away the blanket and saw herself that their baby definitely wasn't a boy. "It's a girl!" she said in shock.
"I was so sure, Warren. I was so sure we were having a boy."
"I know, honey. But I had a feeling we were having a girl," he stated. "And I am glad we have a daughter. She looks just like you."
Wendy tenderly stroked her baby girl's hair. "She does look like me. Maybe - maybe she'll have your eyes."
Warren smiled. "Maybe. She definitely has your lungs. Listen to her cry."
"Maybe she's hungry?" Wendy said as she cuddled the baby. "What - what are we going to name her?"
"You said I could name her if we had a girl."
"Ohhh Warren, I'm scared. Please don't name her Wilma ... or uhhhh Wanda Sue."
Warren laughed softly. "Why would I name her that?"
The medical staff had left Wendy and Warren in peace to get to know their daughter. Warren had just removed the ridiculous medical garb when there was a soft knock at the door. "Who is it?" he called out.
"It's Kristin and Brian," his sister called out. "Can we come in?"
"Sure," Warren agreed.
Kristin and Brian rushed to Wendy's side. Kristin was marveling over the new baby. "It's a girl," Wendy said incredulously, still in shock over the fact that she hadn't had a boy.
"A little girl. Ohhhh! Isn't she precious?" Kristin said as touched the baby's tiny hand.
The baby was crying loudly as Brian asked Wendy, "Are you okay, Sis?"
"I'm fine. And so is the baby, although she doesn't have a name yet."
"You could always name her Brianna," suggested Brian.
"No, don't think so," Warren said, shaking his head.
Kristin also had a suggestion. "How about Kristina?"
"I have the perfect name in mind," Warren said.
"Hold that thought," Brian said. "Mom should be arriving right about now."
"You called her?" Warren asked, not looking too happy about it.
"Well, she is the grandmother," reminded Brian.
As if right on cue, Stephanie came bursting into the room. "Wendy, I have to talk to you!" Stephanie insisted. "I know now isn't the best time or place, but I have to tell you now."
"Stephanie," Warren said, his voice harsh. "I won't have you upsetting Wendy. Not now. Our baby has just been born."
"Shut up, Warren Carter. What I am about to say has nothing to do with you," Stephanie said, giving Warren a hateful glare.
"What is it, Mom? What's wrong?" Wendy asked as she immediately came unglued.
Kristin reached for the baby, snuggling the infant close in an attempt to comfort her. "It's Rainey. I got a phone call early this morning," Stephanie said to Wendy. "She hadn't been well. Her neighbors went to check on her... and I am afraid - I'm afraid she's dead, darling."
"WHAT?!" Wendy gasped. "Rainey died? That - that's just awful."
"Stephanie, get out of here!" Warren exploded when he saw that Wendy was inconsolable. She was in Brian's arms crying as Warren confronted his mother-in-law. Out in the hallway, Warren let Stephanie have it. "Wendy just gave birth. She's been through so much. You didn't even comment on your own granddaughter. You just proceeded to come into Wendy's hospital room and you told her that Rainey had died."
"Ohhh, shut up! I could have told her a lot worse and you know it. Wendy deserves to know about Rainey. That woman was her grandmother."
"Go home," Warren said angrily. "You're not wanted here."
He then went back into Wendy's room. He took the baby from Kristin. He managed to calm his daughter as he spoke to her in a soft, soothing voice. He sat down next to Wendy who was in Brian's arms. "I'm sorry, honey, about your Grandma Rainey. I know you loved her so much. She loved you, too."
"She- she never told me she was sick," Wendy said sadly.
"She wanted to tell you, Sis, but she knew you were having troubles with your pregnancy," Brian said as he brushed away Wendy's tears.
"She can't be gone. She just can't be," Wendy said in a little sob.
"Honey, listen to me," said Warren as he held his daughter and raised Wendy's chin so she met his gaze. "Your grandmother will never really be gone. You'll carry her in your heart always. I've been thinking a lot about a little girl's name. I was thinking Wendy Michelle would be wonderful, but now I've changed my mind. Her name will be Wendy Raine."
"Just like me," Wendy whispered.
"We'll call her Rainey," Warren said.
"I love it," Kristin said. "Rainey Carter."
"It has a nice ring to it," Brian agreed.
"Do you like it, sweetheart?" Warren asked Wendy.
"Yes," Wendy said as she looked down at the little raven-haired beauty in Warren's arms. "Welcome to the world, little Rainey."
"What would my life be without a little wind and rain?" Warren asked teasingly.
"Big brother, if you want a rainbow, sometimes you have to put up with a little rain," Kristin said with a joyful laugh.