DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE NOR HAVE ANY AFFILIATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT!
AJ's eyes went to her legs and the patio floor, widening when he realized that it indeed broke, "Oh man, let me help you up." He moved the items off her lap and stood in front of her, grabbing ahold of her hands as he guided her off the couch at the same time Kara came out of the house.
Kara saw the stress present in both of their faces, looking at them in concern, "What's wrong?"
"My water just broke."
"WHAT?" Her loud reaction grabbed the attention of everyone out back, the question of what was going on answered, causing a chaos of responses.
"Mom and Mrs. Jones went to the farmer's market, I'm going to call them." Laney offered, getting up from the table with her phone, putting it on speaker after she dialed.
Mercedes rolled her eyes at the panic, wincing a bit as she felt a contraction emerging as she made her way into the house, "I'm going to clean myself up."
"Hello?"
"Hey." Laney responded as she looked at everyone, "Mercedes' water just broke."
"WHAT?" The voices of the grandmothers combined over the phone, which was sending them and everyone else back into a panic, "Oh my...she needs to get to the nearest hospital."
"Ma, we know." AJ called back, his words creating an overwhelming amount of responses at one time, "Isn't it too early for her water to break?"
Veronica put two fingers in her mouth and whistle an irritating one, causing them to groan, "Everyone hush and calm down. Here's what we're going to do. All adults that are here, you'll stay with the kids. AJ, you're coming with me to the hospital because Mercedes doesn't have her detail aka our brother, who someone needs to call ASAP. Mom and Mrs. Jones, we'll meet you at the hospital."
Ishmael was inside on the couch when he heard all the commotion going on, he went to the room to assist his mother with whatever she needed. When she came out, he grabbed ahold of her hand as they walked outside, AJ and Veronica already at the car as he went and opened the door to the backseat, sliding in once she got in.
"Seatbelts everyone. It's going to be a bumpy and very fast ride."
Veronica grabbed ahold of the side of the door when he pulled out and floored, glaring at him, "Don't kill us."
Mercedes sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment before grabbing her phone out of her purse, dialing her doctor. She had called Sam twice while she was in the room but received no answer. Hearing the girl on the other end, she placed her hand on her stomach, "Hey, this is Mercedes Jones. I need to speak to Dr. Wynn right away, it's urgent...like baby is about to come urgent."
"Give me a second, Ms. Jones."
Veronica dialed Sam's number, grunting lowly when it went straight to voicemail again. Her voice dropped down in a low tone so Mercedes wouldn't hear, "He's not picking up still."
"He better have a hell of an explanation."
"Mercedes, what's going on?"
"I'm about to go into labor, Doc. I'm not even back home, I'm in New York. I can't give birth here. I can't. I have to come home or I'll be stuck here for God knows how long. Is there anyway I can come back home?"
"I've honestly never been in this situation before and I don't want to risk anything. I'm sorry honey, but one thing is for sure, I can come to you. I can be on the plane within the next two hours."
"Please." Mercedes closed her eyes, nodding as if she could see her, "I don't want anyone else handling me."
As they made it to the highway, they saw traffic on the other side due road construction. Willing to bet that's where Sam was, his siblings were wondering why on earth he was picking up his phone. It took them a little under twenty minute, to the normal forty, due to the fact that AJ was driving hella fast with the emergency lights on. Once they made it to the hospital, their mothers were already there. Madelyn had to get everything in order with the chief of staff, which included NDA's being typed up and signed, and her detail doing a sweep. Mercedes was brought into a room at the end of the hall on the maternity floor, where no one was and was immediately attended to. After her vitals, the baby's position was checked, and the IV placed in her hand, the nurse had left them alone, her contraction progressing more and more, altering her mood.
"Where is Sam?" She groaned out as she held onto AJ's hand, wincing in pain from the contractions. Once they had finally got in contact with Sam, he had made him promise not to leave her side until he got there. Evans' men truly kept their word, but that might be cut short due to fact that he felt every bone breaking in his hand.
"H-He's on his way..I hope."
"I'm not having this baby without him, so somebody better get ahold of him." Mercedes said through clenched teeth as she literally crushed AJ's hand, "Matter of fact, YOU go find him, Alexander."
AJ nodded his head as he bit the inside of his cheek at the pain, feeling the bones in his hands starting to crack. He was grateful that her mother removed the death grip she had on his hand, thanking her silently.
Madelyn smiled at him sympathetically at him as he left out the room, turning back to her daughter, who was now laying back on her back, hands over her face, "What do you need me to do, Sweetie?"
"Air on lower, lights off and don't leave me please."
"Never my love." Her mother smiled before doing exactly what she wanted, going over and placing a kiss to her forehead before taking a seat beside the bed and holding onto her hand.
Sam's foot tapped impatiently as he stood in the elevator, hearing his phone ring just when it came to a stop and the doors opened. He lifted the item from his hand, answering it as he put it to his ear, "Hello."
"I hope to hell you're here."
"I am. Who knew there would be traffic, let alone be in there for an hour and my phone was dead." Sam made his way to the counter, seeing the nurse look up, automatically knowing who he was, she gave him the room number, giving her a thanks before heading to the right, "How is she?"
"She was in some pain once we got settled in the room. I'm downstairs with Mom and AJ. He had to come to the ER." Veronica said comically, a chuckle escaping her mouth as she ignored the death glare their mother was giving him, "Mercedes literally broke some of his phalanges out of anger and pain."
"Shit."
"Yeah...so, she might not be a happy camper when she sees you, which I don't blame her."
"Thanks for your support." Sam said sarcastically as he spotted Madelyn's detail, saying something to his sister before hanging up. He gave them a nod before placing his hand on the nob. He pushed the door opened slowly, seeing Madelyn sitting on the couch rubbing her daughter's leg, while Ishmael was laying next to Mercedes on the other side. At the sound of the door opening, all eyes went to him, but the angry ones that turned into slits bothered him the most, "I'm sorry, I was..."
"GET. OUT."
Ishmael winced at the tone of Mercedes' voice as he cowered down in his spot, eyes going over to Sam worriedly. His mom was not happy and was in a lot of pain and he felt bad, but he wasn't going to leave her side.
Madelyn stood up from the couch, going over to the man as he took a step back, "Come on, let's step out for a moment."
"Okay." He whispered as he backed out the room, his heart beating a little bit too fast as the woman in front of him placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Breathe."
"I was coming, I swear."
Madelyn smiled as she looped her arm around his, "I know and she knows too."
"What happened? She was fine when I left. This is too soon isn't it?"
Madelyn ushered Sam over to the waiting room, two men from her detail followed, while the other two staying by Mercedes' door. Once she got him seated, she took a seat beside him, "Honey, I'm going to need you to take some calming breaths, okay?"
Sam closed his mouth, trying to regain composure of his breathing, blowing out even breaths.
"Her hormones are raging and are off balance right now, and these contractions are no joke. She wants you here, no doubt. Just give her a minute to calm down."
"Okay." Hearing her call out for Madelyn, he watched as the woman reassured him that everything was going to be okay before she left him there.
Ishamel had came out of the room when his grandmother came back and traveled to the waiting room. He turned the corner and found Sam with his face in his hands, going over to take a seat beside him. He patted his back with his hand, watching as he looked over and gave him a smile.
About an hour and a half later, Madelyn had retired to go get something to eat and to check on AJ. Mercedes whined a bit as she turned on her side, opening her eyes, she found Sam outside the door on the phone while the nurse was on the other side of her, looking at the machine, "How much longer?"
The man looked up from the machine to her, "You just hit four centimeters."
Mercedes sighed as she placed her hand on her stomach, closing her eyes back, "He's never coming out."
"Oh, he is. You're actually dilating quickly. Often times when women water breaks, there's the assumption that the baby will come in the next few moments, but that's not always the case." The nurse chuckled as he grabbed her chart and wrote something down, "They like to take their time but seems like your little boy will be making an appearance sooner rather than later."
Mercedes nodded her head, the nerves immediately taking ahold of her as she cried out a bit in pain, holding onto the railing as she directed her words to him, "Is it too late for an epidural?"
"No." He responded as he closed the chart up and placed it back into the holder, "Would you like one?"
"Yes...no...I don't know." She answered unsurely as she stared at him, "I kind of want to do this naturally but the pain I'm in right now, I don't if..." She drifted off into a low groan, shaking her head as the contraction passed through, "Nope, never mind. Bring it on."
The nurse chuckled a bit before nodding his head, "I'll be right back."
Sam met the man coming out, giving him a nod before he went in, eyes going over to his girlfriend to test the waters. She didn't yell at him yet, so that was a good sign to move in further, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm hurting and I'm uncomfortable." She said as she stared at him, feeling her eyes starting to water up, "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. I didn't meant it, I swear."
"Hey, it's okay." He said as he went and took a seat beside her on the bed, wiping away her tears as she shook her head.
"It's not. You've been nothing but so sweet and caring and helpful during this pregnancy and I've been nothing but a hormonal bitch in the past couple of hours. Not only to you but your bother, I think I broke his hand and it's not okay."
"Mercedes." Sam placed his hands on each side of her face, leaning down and kissing her lips softly, "It's okay, I promise. No one is taking offense. AJ is fine, I'm fine."
"I love you, I really do. You're an amazing boyfriend and you're going to be an amazing Dad."
Sam just smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, feeling the wetness of her tears immediately soaking into his shirt, "I love you too, baby but I need you to stop crying and relax because you can't afford to be upset right now."
"I'm scared, Sam." She whispered against his chest, "This is too early. What if something is wrong?"
"Everything is going to be okay." He said as he rubbed her back, changing to subject to try to get her to stop crying, "Now come on, we really have to come up with a name."
Mercedes gave a watery smile with a chuckle, "Yeah, we really do." She said just as there was a knock on the door, revealing the nurse coming back.
"Alrighty, let's get this in. I'm going to need you to sit up straight."
"What is that?" Sam questioned as he watched the nurse with extreme caution, watching as he grabbed a pair of gloves.
"An epidural."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"If there's any movement, it can cause paralyzation but we just have to make sure she doesn't move." He answered as he opened the kit and begun hooking up the necessary things, which didn't take long. He was about to reach over and move her gown back but Sam stopped him.
"I got it." Sam side eyed him, causing Mercedes to snicker at bit as his hands with to pull her gown back, showcasing her bare back enough for him to get where he needed.
"It's apart of his job." Mercedes whispered to her jealous significant other, hearing him grunt brought a smile to her face, she grabbed ahold of his hand and closed her eyes as she stayed still. Feeling the needle insert her spine wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be. Don't get her wrong, it still hurt but it was bearable. He was quick with it, announcing a few moments later that he was finish.
"I just received word that your doctor just touched down and should be here soon. If y'all need anything, just let me know."
"Thank you." Mercedes spoke as she watched him leave out, sighing a bit before turning back to Sam, "Where is everyone?"
"Downstairs still getting something to eat and your mom said that your father is getting on a plane tonight."
Mercedes grunted lowly as she laid back on the pillows, "I'm still pissed at him."
"I am too but this is not the time to harbor on it." He said as he brought her hand up to his lips, placing a kiss to it, "We're about to have a baby."
"We are." Mercedes smile tiredly at him, whispering, "A nameless baby."
Sam threw his head back in laughter, shaking his head before looking a her seriously, raising a brow, "This sort of came to me. Since we have absolutely no clue, how about we let Ish name him? Sure, he was just joking with you before we left, but I think he would come up with something really good."
Mercedes stared at him for a moment, a smile present on her face as she felt her eyes stinging, "You never cease to amaze me. I think that's a great idea."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
After five more hours of waiting, Mercedes had delivered a beautiful baby boy with the assistance of her adoring boyfriend and her own doctor. The labor wasn't quick with no minimal pushing, but she didn't care, as long as everything was done safely and right, no matter how long it took.
Sam came out the door and went to the waiting room, where everyone had now gathered, a smile plastered on his face once he saw them, "Six pounds, five ounces, nineteen inches long. Healthy, all ten fingers and toes. The nurse just took him for a checkup."
"Oh my gosh."
"Congratulations son." Mary said with tears in her eyes as she got up from her chair and hugged him.
"Thanks Ma." He hugged her back before letting go, chuckling when everyone else started to get up and congratulate him, "Mercedes wanted me to tell y'all to go back to the house and get some rest. She appreciate and loves every single one of you for being here today, especially you AJ."
AJ just smiled as he nodded his head, his next words causing everyone to laugh, even granting a chuckle from the "oh so serious" detail men, "I wouldn't take a broke hand for anyone else."
Madelyn smiled as she folded her hands together. She would graciously accept them going home. She wanted to see her grandson but she could wait. This moment should be just them right now and she respected that, "I'm so happy for both of you...all three of you."
Ishmael smiled when he felt her squeeze his shoulders, his eyes going over to Sam's, "Tell Momma I love her."
"Actually, you can tell her yourself because you're staying kid." Sam smiled as he gestured for him to come to him, giving the boy a hug.
"God, this sweetness is sickening. Bye." Veronica playfully grunted as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the elevator, causing them to laugh.
Mercedes was exhausted to the point that she had dozed off right after Sam left. She had experience something she has never experienced in her life. It was painful, scary but overall, joyful. She would never forget it. Opening her tired eyes when she heard the door, she turned her head, a lazy smile appearing when she saw the boy coming in, reaching out for him with opened arms.
Ishmael didn't hesitate to fall into the embrace, laying his head on her chest as he hugged her, careful of the wires coming from the machine. Feeling her press a kiss to his forehead, he smiled, "How do you feel?"
"Tired but very happy." She patted his back as she looked at him seriously when he pulled back, "Poppa and I actually have a favor to ask of you."
Ishmael glanced between the two curiously, "What is it?"
"Since we are completely clueless on what to name the baby." Sam chuckled a bit before crossing his arms, realizing how this was sounding. What two parents couldn't name their own child? But he would be surprised that they weren't alone, "We thought it would be a great idea, only if you want to, for you to name your brother.
Ishmael gave them a toothy grin, not even giving another second to answer him, "I've actually have something already."
Mercedes and Sam looked at each other in surprise before their attention refocused on the child, "Do tell."
"Miles and no, not after Miles Morales." Ishmael sent them a look, knowing that they would probably try to say it was after his favorite movie, "Miles Davis. He's a famous black Jazz trumpeter and Poppa Sam's a Jazz junkie, I'm sure he listens to him." He chuckled with a slight shrug, "Jayce for the middle because Dad wrote in one of his journals that he actually wanted that to be my name but my mo...it was shot down. The baby will forever have a connection with his uncle that he will never meet."
Sam was speechless. He knew that letting Ishmael name their child was a great idea but this only furthered showed how mature he really was. The name was thought out and had so many significant meanings. He was touched and he truly, honestly loved the name, "Wow Ish...I love it."
"Me too." Mercedes agreed, taking note of the slip from his lips and how he covered it up but letting it go to the back of her mind and refocusing her attention on the angel in front of her, tearfully smiling, "I love you, kid."
"I love you too, Momma." Ishmael smiled at her just as the door opened to the room, showcasing the nurse coming back in with the baby.
"Look who's back." She entered with a smile as she walked over with the swaddled infant, going over to Mercedes but she shook her head and gestured for her to go to Sam. The nurse stopped at the edge of the bed, leaning over and placing him in his father's arms, "If you guys need anything else, just let us know."
"Thank you."
Sam smiled as tears started to brim his eyes, moving the blanket down a bit from underneath his little chin, his eyes closed as he sucked the pacifier. He had a son and it was so many feelings running through him at the moments, but the most consistent one was happiness.