Imogen nearly fainted when she saw Harper's engagement ring. She began to babble about wedding plans, while Danni went on about all the pictures she would take. Parker urged her to tell them all about their engagement story. Arthur and Elliot were happy to see her so cheerful, even if they came off as a bit annoyed at how much she gushed over it. Arthur was just the slightest bit relieved that Harper and Tom were a bit more serious than they had originally let on.
The last few months passed easily, leisurely, with Tom and Harper making the mutual decision to tie the knot after the arrival. Tom became increasingly nervous and doting as the due date approached and barely let Harper out of his sight. She found it endearing. He just wanted to be a father so bad, but at the same time, he wanted to preserve the short amount of time he had left of it just being him and Harper. Soon, their nights would be filled with the soft, constant cries of a baby, of which would keep them up regularly.
So when a week after her due date passed, Tom was a bit more than annoyed and confused, while Harper just wanted it all to be over with in favor of having her mobility back, to wear normal clothes again, and to just be comfortable. Where was their baby? He just wanted to hold him or her right then! He stayed by Harper's side at every waking second - what if she went into labor when he wasn't around? What if another hemorrhaging episode took place and no one was there to help? Tom couldn't even bear to think of what could happen if he left her alone! So after a few more days passed, Danni waved him away, wanting some alone time with her friend, too, and she insisted that Harper could stay at her place. Danni advised him to go home and get some sleep and stop worrying - nothing was going to happen. Oh, how wrong she was.
Harper enjoyed spending time with her. They talked about trivial things, along with how her job at ClickIt was going and how her family was doing. They even went over baby names for a short bit, something that she and Tom had neglected up until then. While Harper liked some of the names she could think of, and a few Danni proposed, none of them struck her.
After a while, the pair crawled into their beds, murmuring gently until sleep overrode their brains and caused them to fall into a slumber. Danni fell asleep easily, but Harper, unable to get comfortable, laid on her side and closed her eyes. She began to speculate how the child would look and be like. Would it be a boy or girl? She and Tom had decided to keep it a surprise so they could get creative when setting up the baby's room, but sometimes she regretted that decision. She was just so anxious! Who would he or she look more like?
As the thoughts raced through her head, Harper's exhaustion finally weighed down on her eyelids heavily enough that she was able to overlook her discomfort and lull to a gradual sleep. But as her luck would have it, just as her mind began to succumb to the tempting darkness of sleep, did she suddenly feel something wet between her legs.
With a jolt, she sat up and threw the blankets to the side. Much to her delight, and deeply-instilled fear, there was not a spot of blood in the liquid. It was clear, it was water. And then it hit her - oh god, it was water. Her freaking water had broken.
Her heart beating wildly, it took Harper a few minutes to find her voice before she called to her friend frantically, "Danni." No response - she simply flipped over, facing the wall. "Danni." Still nothing. "Danni!" Harper shouted, and the girl shot up.
"What? What is it?"
Harper swallowed, and pointed at the end of the bed. Eyes widening, Danni jumped up. "Oh god, oh god, oh god...I'll call Tom or whoever and I'll take you to the hospital, just... stay here!" Harper could see that Danni was just as flustered as she was, the only difference was that in a few hours, she wouldn't be having a baby.
"I wasn't really planning on leaving," Harper called sarcastically as she lay down, trying to grasp the situation. Of course, this would happen when Tom wasn't around. Of freaking course.
Danni whipped out her phone and quickly mashed the 'call' button, swearing silently to herself as it rang. When Tom finally picked up, still groggy from sleep, he asked her why she was calling him at three in the morning.
"Think, Tom," she said. "Why would I be? Harper's having your kid! Get the hell up!"
At these words, his heart seemed to jumpstart and he felt like he was having a momentary cardiac arrest. "I'll meet you there," he said before hanging up the phone. Bolting up, he collected his everyday clothes, his mind spinning. This was it - he was going to be a dad, responsible for another human being. And honestly, he was so scared it was almost debilitating, and he had to stop to catch his breath a few times, flitting in between his utter incomprehension and fear all at once.
He tripped on his own feet and fumbled a bit, and finally grasping the situation a bit, he bolted out of the apartment.
Harper grumbled, stretching out to the best of her ability and lying uselessly against the pillows placed behind her. Danni and Imogen sat on either side of her, doing their best to comfort her, and she listened to what they said intently before another contraction shook her weakening frame.
She clutched her friends' hands, both of whom squeezed back. Arthur felt useless as he paced at the other end of the room, feeling guilt pass through him as he watched his poor granddaughter in pain. He wished he could prevent her from feeling it somehow. He also felt bad that her parents couldn't be there for her during such a significant milestone in her young life.
Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. There it was - the feeling that in just a few hours, he'd have a great-grandkid. The thought scared him a little, but then he looked at Harper and thought of how terrified she must be at the moment. Unable to bear watching her be in pain, he joined the three of them on the other side of the room, and standing next to Danni, he took Harper's hand squeezed it like Danni and Imogen had been.
Harper relaxed as the contraction disappeared, blowing a stray curl out of her sweaty forehead. Almost immediately upon arriving to the hospital and getting placed in a room, did the contractions rock her, shaking her to her core and renewing her fear, rooting it deeply.
They had simply gotten worse and longer as time passed, and though Harper was undoubtedly a strong-willed person, they were riding on both her patience and her body. She was exhausted, having gotten no sleep since the day before.
Biting her tongue, she wondered where the hell her boyfriend - no, fiance, she still hadn't adjusted to that! - was.
As though Tom had heard her mental pleading, he entered the room frantically a few moments later, huffing heavily. He leaned against the wall to regain his breath, before he looked up and saw Harper, and his breath was taken away all over again.
Wandering over to the girl, she smiled at him slightly. Danni nodded at Imogen and they both stood up and exited the room, not before hugging Tom and Harper.
"How could we be so stupid, Tom?" Harper shouted at him. "Why would we even do this? Now I...now I have to push this thing out, ugh!"
She threw her arms out, exasperated, hormones fluctuating. Tom blinked at her, before smiling softly and sneaking a kiss onto her forehead. "Love you, too," he whispered, taking a seat beside the bed.
"S-so," he began, "any news on how much longer?"
"She's barely dilated," Arthur said. "This could take 'til tomorrow if the baby feels like being difficult."
Tom nodded, frowning. He just wanted to meet their baby now. Sighing, he stood up, squeezing Harper's hand. Harper's eyes drooped and then closed, and her head turned a bit, noticeably drifting off.
Tom blinked down at her form, before walking over to Arthur. The pair stood by each other quietly, before Tom placed a hand on the older man's shoulder. The intense look in his eyes told Arthur it was important, and so they wandered out of the room, despite wanting to keep a constant eye on Harper.
Upon shutting the door, the two men stood silently, unmoving. Swallowing, Tom spoke up. "Did-" he coughed, clearing his throat before continuing, "Did you ever feel nervous? Like, when Harper's mom was born?"
Arthur stared pensively at the ground, but upon hearing his words, smiled slightly and looked up. "You have no idea."
He sighed, chuckling to himself a bit as he remembered his daughter's delivery. "I was older than you, but still, nothing can prepare you for your first kid - doesn't matter how old or young you are. Either way, you're gonna be scared. But it gets easier, I promise."
Tom blinked at the man, wide-eyed, and Arthur guffawed. "Not that I expect you two to jump on having more right after this one. Seriously, I expect you to wait a few years."
Tom nodded hastily. "I have no plans about rushing into another kid, Arthur. I just want to appreciate this one first."
Arthur smiled, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. "You really love her, don't you?"
Tom smiled genuinely. "What was your first clue? The ring or the baby?"
Arthur let out a noise between a sigh and a laugh, shaking his head. "You know, I didn't trust you at first, kid. But you've been incredible to her, and I just...just wanted to thank you for that." Arthur looked away. He was never that good at touchy-feely stuff, as he called it.
The scene was awkwardly quiet for a few seconds afterwards, before Tom broke it, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Thank you, too, Arthur," he admitted. "For just...being there."
They stared at each other for a short bit before nodding. The silence between them was broken by Harper's shout, and Tom tensed and immediately made for the door, Arthur following swiftly and shortly afterwards. Tom saw tears of pain and frustration running down Harper's face, and he made his way to one side of the bed and clutched her hand, trying to comfort her to the best of his ability. "Just a bit longer, Harper."
Biting her tongue as the contraction, stronger and more excruciating than the last one, rocked her body, Harper managed to choke out, "Easy for you to say! You don't have to give birth to it, dammit!"
Tom kneeled down and wiped the sweat off her brow and the tears from her cheek. "You're right," he frowned. "I'm sorry. But just think, it'll all be worth it in the end, right?"
Harper, through the curtain of pain in her mind, focused on his words. He was right, it would all be worth it after it was over. They'd have a little baby to call their own in the end of it. And that thought made Harper more scared and elated than anything.
Tom heard her whimper in pain from beside him, and he wished he could take her pain away. He then got an idea, and standing up, he instructed Harper to sit up a bit and lean forward to the best of her ability, which wasn't much, considering the literal ball in front of her preventing her from enjoying anything at the moment. She groaned, disliking all the movement, but when she felt Tom's fingers gently, but firmly, knead into her tense back muscles, did she let out a little contented sigh.
He smiled at her reaction, knowing that a good massage would do the trick to help her relax a bit.
Tom worked from her shoulders downwards, and talked to her casually to soothe her even more. "So, now would be your last chance to put down whether you think it's a boy or girl...I'm still going with girl."
"Boy," Harper countered. "Definitely a boy."
Tom grinned behind her, leaning forward and placing a tender kiss on her shoulder and collarbone. "Soon, Harper."
Harper placed her hand on top of his, which was resting on her shoulders. Curling her fingers around his, she whispered with a faint smile, "I know."
Just then, another contraction hit her, and her fingers dug into his hand and she clenched her mouth shut. Tom wrapped his arms around her and held her back flush against his chest, swaying back and forth comfortingly.
Harper contained her pained cries this time, and it eventually ended. Turning to Tom, she gave him a pointed, unimpressed look. "Soon isn't fast enough." He laughed.