Magnesium, that was Dr. Douche's grand solution to Erin's rapidly rising blood pressure. He didn't call in another doctor as Dave had suggested, he just hooked her up to an IV, stuck an oxygen mask on her face, strapped a traditional fetal monitor across her belly and left.
"David-" Erin called out faintly. The pain was all but forgotten, replaced with weakness, sweats, chills so severe that he was afraid she was going to bite her tongue off. "Put your damn phone down!"
He paced, barking orders over the phone. "Get another doctor in here!" He ground out, "Actually-wait. Try this. I'll put this in terms you can understand." He paused at the foot of the bed, refilling Erin's cup with ice chips. "Stand up from your chair and lean out the window," he paused, this time for dramatic effect. "You see that sign, on the outside of the neonatal ward?" He paused, waiting on an answer. "That's right. I'm that Rossi. Get another OB in here." Demanding a return on his investment wasn't too much to ask. "You have an hour to find someone competent with a decent bedside manner. "I don't care if you have to pull them out of bed, out of retirement or out of a coma. Get someone else in here, or I'll pull my donations. Are we clear?"
"Scaring the secretaries won't help," she said, clutching a pillow against her chest like a lifeline.
"That wasn't a secretary," he stuffed his phone in his pocket and pulled up a chair at her bedside. "That was the chairman of the board at this hospital." He offered her another spoonful of ice chips. In the dim light, Erin seemed to relax a little easier with the lights out. "He's sending in another OB."
"That's why you picked this hospital? So, you could boss them around?"
"I made a charitable donation from the money I got from my book advance after we were here last time. Is it such a terrible thing to want some leverage?" He made a big donation, but bigger hospitals wouldn't be so impressed. He could be a big fish in a small pond here and use that to his advantage; in getting Erin and Carlo the best care possible.
"You didn't make a donation, you made them owe you."
"Is that a problem?" He laid a cool cloth across her forehead, "I wish there was something else I could do for you." He said, bathing her face and neck with water. Silently praying for a solution that would bring them closer to meeting their son.
"Just don't leave." She demanded, forcing one eye open. She couldn't do this without him.
"I'm not going anywhere." It was a promise, an army couldn't drag him out of that room.
"I don't want to do this anymore," the exhaustion finally caught up to her, "I just want him out."
"I know," he ran the pad of his thumb between her brows. Offering what comfort he could. "He'll come out when he's ready."
There was another quick at the door.
"Come in," Dave bit out. The door swung open just enough for a new doctor to walk in.
"Erin, it's Dr. Klein." She pulled up the rolling stool and sat down to be at eye level with her patient.
"You retired," Erin ground out, she was having an out-of-body experience. Surely, she was floating over her body, watching this whole exchange. How the hell did David Rossi manage to pull her former OBGYN, the same doctor who delivered all of her children, out of retirement?
"I want to try to get you off the magnesium," Dr. Klein offered, strapping the blood pressure cuff on Erin's arm.
"Do whatever you want," Erin said, without opening her eyes. "I just want him out."
"Okay…." Dr. Klein released the cuff and wrote down the results. "You're back in normal range…. There was an accident, so the anesthesiologist is still delayed."
"But you can give her something in the IV," Dave threw in.
"If she wants it." Dr. Klein unhooked the magnesium drip.
"I can handle it." Erin said, curling further into the fetal position as another contraction spread through her hips. "No drugs!" They didn't help her, just made her feel more out of control. "David, I said no drugs! Stop pushing drugs on me!"
"Okay…" he placated, as she squeezed his hand through the pain. "I guess we don't need drugs."
"Do you want me to check your cervix or leave it alone?" Dr. Klein offered.
"Nothing." Erin shook her head, "just the monitors. I don't want anything to interfere with him if he's okay."
Dr. Klein checked the tape on the fetal monitor. "Baby's doing fine without it." She glanced up, making eye contact with Dave, "step outside."
He nodded; a knot of concern formed in his stomach as he kissed Erin on the forehead. "I'll be right back, Love." He followed Dr. Klein into the hallway, closing the door.
"Dr. Klein, she's miserable-" he jumped in, looking for someone to offer a solution. Anything, he'd do anything to help Erin. She was miserable and Carlo couldn't be much better. "She trusts you. You gotta do something." He didn't know what else to do or who to turn to. Erin needed him and the longer this went on, the less trust she would have in him.
"She's fine," Dr. Klein assured. "Just try to get her to move around a little more."
"What's going on?" Vera snapped, practically running up to him. "What the hell's going on? It's been hours," Erin's mother pointed out. "It wouldn't kill you to give us an update."
"Firstly," He held up one hand, stalling Vera in her tracks. "I didn't know you were here. Secondly, Erin's refusing pain meds and I think they would help-" he answered truthfully. "She doesn't want to compromise the baby."
"I'll talk her into it-" Vera jumped at the chance to get into that room, she tried to push past Dave and failed.
"Oh, leave them alone," Carmelina clucked, coming up to Vera's side. "The baby will come when he's ready."
"I don't care when the baby gets here. Why isn't anyone doing anything to help Erin?" Vera snapped, anxiously. "This is my daughter-"
"He'll get here and then it will be over," Carmelina assured, taking Vera by the elbow. "Come sit and wait."
"It shouldn't take this long," Vera protested. "Let me in there!"
Dave dug in his heels, fully prepared to bounce his mother-in-law out of the hospital if necessary. "Erin's doing fine and I would tell you if she wasn't. She's resting and doesn't want to be bothered."
"You obviously don't know much about giving birth," Carmelina said, taking the moral high ground against Vera. "She doesn't need help."
"I had drugs…" Vera shrugged offhandedly.
"You don't seem like the type to handle pain." Carmelina eyed Vera skeptically.
"Okay, fine. Erin's an only child and I had Twilight Sleep."
"That seems more like it." Carmelina clucked, leading Vera back to the waiting room. "Call us when you need us," she threw over her shoulder, pulling Vera away.
Dave just shook his head and went back to the room. "Our mothers have turned into anxious grandmothers," he stepped lightly to the side of the bed. "I was just giving them an update."
Erin squeezed her eyes closed, kicking one leg over the edge of the bed because she could. "I'm never doing this again."
Dave chuckled, "Babe, I think our odds of ever having to do this again are slim to none."
"Your odds are zero" she fixed him with a withering stare, "because I'm never sleeping with you again."
"Ouch!" He covered his chest in mock pain. "Bella, you wound me."
"You're only laughing because you think I'm kidding," She sat up, letting her legs hang off the mattress. "Don't talk to me about being in pain," she grumbled.
"Let's try something," He slid in behind her. Interlocking his hands under the mound of her belly.
She moaned low in her throat as another contraction hit, throwing her head back into his shoulder.
"You got it," he whispered in her ear, gently cradling their unborn child between his hands and lifting just slightly. "Lean into it."
"I-" she dragged out the word, on a guttural moan, "wanna kill you-"
"I'm sure you do, Cara Mia." He mumbled, turning his head. Sweeping his lips across the column of her throat because the same moves that put the baby in would surely get him out.
She gasped, as his tongue glided across her pulse point. "What are you doing?"
"Endorphins," he responded, nonplused. "Mother Nature's number one painkiller." He let his hands wander her body, lingering on her breasts. "What goes in must come out."
"He was a lot smaller when you put him in!"
"Your boobs are bigger," he mumbled against her neck, fumbling with her bra.
"You're such a perve." She shivered slightly as he slipped his hands under the bra, freeing her nipples.
"What?" A lecherous grin spread across his face, "What got him in, will get him out."
"Dave, I love you and your ridiculous optimism, but I don't think you playing with my tits is going to help anything."
"Wanna bet?"
"Do that thing again," she bit out as another contraction began to build, waves of endorphins and oxytocin washed over her. "D-Dave-do it!"
"What thing?" He asked, brushing her hair out of the way, and pressing another kiss to the base of her neck.
"H-Hold him up, again." She gasped, her body contorting back against Dave's chest. "It felt good."
"Got him," he reached around again, gently lifting her bump. "You're doing great!" He encouraged, against her neck. "I wish you would consider getting an epidural."
"You just told me I was doing great-"
"You are…but there's no reason for you to suffer."
"The baby- I don't want to expose him to anything else."
"Our son, Carlo." He said his son's name intentionally, "will be fine if you want to take the edge off."
"No." She was adamant, "he's- too little to fight it off. I had one while I was in labor with Allison and her heart rate dropped. I'm not putting him at risk."
"He's my son, too. He said, "and if we're making parenting decisions on what to expose him to, I think the benefits outweigh the risks."
"I-"
"Erin?" He barked, and the hand of fear reached into his chest and squeezed his heart. "What do you need?"
"I want-" She couldn't get the words out. The pain and the pressure were too much.
"Talk to me," he demanded, reaching for the button on the wall. She trusted him to make those decisions for her, he'd drug her himself and damn the consequences. "Erin, tell me what to do."
"I want the priest!" She cried out, clutching at the sheets for dear life and writhing on the mattress as sweat rolled off her neck in waves, she trembled with a primal rush of hormones and adrenaline. He would give anything to take her pain away.
"I'm sure between our mothers, Father Jimmy, Pete, the kids, and the team; you're getting all the prayers and well-wishes you can handle." He said softly, helping her move onto her hands and knees. "Just breathe…." he ran his hands down each side of her spine in long, smooth strokes, because it's all he knew how to do. "You're doing great."
"I love our baby-" She sobbed, "I didn't take care of him as I should have, but I love him!"
"Of course, you do," he didn't know what else to say. "You can tell him when he gets here."
She grabbed a pillow and buried her face in the cotton pillowcase, absorbing her guttural, animalistic moans.
"Honey, I think we're getting closer to meeting him than we thought-" He hit the button on the wall again. Then, in a move that he wasn't prepared for, swept his palm down the curve of her butt, shoving her knees further apart. Gently cradling her most intimate place, with the palm of his hand. "Don't push." He ordered, calmer and steadier than he felt, inside he was shaking with anticipation. "I can feel his head, but we need a doctor in here."
"David Rossi, you stay out of my vagina!" She ordered, "that's what got me in this position. You have no sense of boundaries-"
"You weren't complaining while it was happening." He threw back, without heat. "Matter of fact, you always have a great time."
"Buyer's remorse." She snapped, "Do not leave me in here-"
Where the hell was that doctor? "Wild Horses couldn't drag me out of this spot," he promised. "Just don't push yet-"
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"Erin," he kept his hand in place, leaning just slightly towards her face. "He has hair."
She gasped as the urge to push overwhelmed her, "he does?"
"Yeah, a whole head full."
A minute later, the door swung open. A swarm of nurses and Dr. Klein rushed in, yanking on her apron and gloves.
"I'll take it from here, Dad." She waited for Dave to move out of the way before taking his place. He took that time to reach into his go-bag and loop his tie around his neck.
"Baby's in a really good spot, you can push whenever you're ready."
"Lucky me," Erin grimaced as her body bowed against the pressure between her legs. "Welcome to the Shitshow. Thanks for showing up at the very last minute."
Dave grabbed her hand with his right and used his left to straighten his tie. "You're doing great, Love." He dropped a kiss to her forehead, "I'm so proud of you."
"Why are you wearing a tie?"
"Push again, Erin." Dr. Klein directed, "One more push, and his head will be in my hands."
"Why are you wearing a tie?" Erin repeated, through gritted teeth, she grabbed the collar of his shirt between her hands as she pushed with all her might. Eyes wide with fierce, primal feminine determination.
"First impressions matter," Dave slowly removed her hands from his neck, one wrong move and her fist would be wrapped around his trachea. Dying just when he had something to live for wasn't on his to-do list.
"Do it again," Dr. Klein instructed, "I'm guiding him out."
"His eyes are open!" Dave exclaimed, chancing a look towards the foot of the bed, practically bouncing in place.
She pushed again, with the last of her strength, "I got him," Dr. Klein called out, passing him between Erin's legs so she could put the baby on her chest.
"I need a blanket," Erin ordered instinctively, sticking her fingers in his mouth, cleaning the airway, and moving the cord out of the way. "Come on Carlo-" she said it like a prayer, briskly rubbing the baby's back.
"Why isn't he crying?" Dave barked, with a lump in his throat. Frozen to the spot, "Erin! Do something!"
"He's breathing," Erin assured as the baby's warm, tiny body moved up and down under her hands. "He's okay…" She ran her hand over his head as he whimpered in her arms. "He's bruised," she pointed out, caressing the purplish mark across his forehead.
"He just needs a minute to acclimate," Dr. Klein assured them, draping the baby in a blanket, and roughly rubbing his back. A second later, the room filled with the sweet sounds of a newborn's cry, and his parents could breathe again.
"Come cut the cord, Dad." Dr. Klein said, measuring off the umbilical cord, she clamped it off and handed Dave the medical scissors. With a trembling hand, he snipped the cord. Then hurried back to the top of the bed to be with his love and their child.
"Is he okay?" Dave asked, rubbing the corner of a warm washcloth over Carlo's face.
"It's hard work being born," Erin offered Carlo her breast, where he immediately latched.
"He's been here five minutes and he's already hungry," Dave said in awe.
The nurse stepped into view, ready to examine the baby. "We need to weigh him and check his APGAR score." She said as Erin handed him over.
"Go with him," she insisted.
"I can see him," Dave argued. "You need me-" Still torn about where to stand, his whole world was contained in 140 square feet.
"I don't care." Erin's voice cut through the fog in his head, "I'm alright, go with Carlo."
He hurried across the room, narrowing in on his son. Nothing else mattered, there was nothing bigger or more important than this moment. Who knew someone so small could hold so much power? "Is he okay?" He pulled out his phone, snapping pictures of him as the nurse started her exam.
"He's excellent," the nurse replied, laying Carlo on the newborn scale. Checking his reflexes and listening to his chest. "All six pounds, four ounces of him. He's perfectly pink and healthy."
"When can his mom hold him again?"
"In just a minute," she ran a tape measure down the length of Carlo's body, then around the circumference of his head then wrote down the results and wrapped him in a blanket. Dave followed her across the room like a lost puppy when she passed Carlo back to Erin.
"Give him to his dad," Erin said through chattering teeth, her system flooded with adrenaline as the nurse helped her onto her back.
"What? Me?" Dave didn't know why he was so surprised. "Erin, uh- I think you need to hold him."
"Take him!" She demanded, through chattering teeth. "I don't want to drop him."
"You won't," he assured her, reaching over her to hold him against her.
"Unbutton your shirt, lay him on your chest." she kissed the top of Carlo's soft, sticky head. "You were right, he has a whole head of hair."
Dave fumbled with his buttons, barely getting his shirt open. Then he lifted the baby into his arms without a second thought. "I told you he would look just like me," Dave beamed.
"I wanna see him," she called out, reaching for them. "I want you to hold him, I didn't say you could take him away from me."
He sat down beside her on the bed, shifting his weight so she could get a good look at their son, cradled against his father's chest, while the doctor finished delivering the placenta. "I wouldn't dream of it." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's only 8 Pm."
"If you hurry, you can make the last half of your book signing," She pointed out.
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Perish the thought," there was nowhere else he would rather be.
"You should go tell our family-"
"I don't want to put him down yet," Dave admitted, running his hand down Carlo's back as he started to squirm.
"He'll be here when you come back," she reached for him and waited for Dave to slide him into her arms. "If you take your time, he'll be fed and ready to be changed."
Dave couldn't have been happier if he tried, he practically skipped down the hallway, ready to show off his son to their family. "He's here!" He called out, expecting the rallying cry from the team, back slaps and celebratory hugs. His face fell when he walked into the empty room, the ugly chairs in the waiting room stood vacant. Disappointment washed over him; it was the best day of his life without his 'family' to share it with.
"Is he here?" Carmelina whipped around to face him, with Vera at her side. "Are they-" Mrs. Rossi's face fell, thinking back to the last time they stood in a waiting room on the labor and delivery floor.
"They're fine!" Dave answered quickly, a sudden rush of pride filled him. "Erin was terrific! Come meet him."
"Is Mom, okay?" Cassie jumped to her feet, with Paul and Allison beside her.
"You're mom's incredible!" Dave beamed and pulled them into a hug. "I didn't know you guys were here, I would have come and talked to you-" He didn't mean to keep the kids out of the loop. "I didn't mean to shut you out-"
"I texted you," Cassie pulled back. "I guess your phone was off."
"Where's everyone else?"
"You didn't think we'd leave you alone, did you?" Dave's head snapped up, Hotch came around the corner, with a bundle of balloons in hand and a face-splitting grin on his face. "I want to meet my Godson."
Reid balanced a giant teddy bear under his arm. "We had to run to the gift shop before it closed."
"It's rude to show up to family gatherings empty handed." Penelope teased, with Morgan at her side, with a stack of presents between them.
"Come meet him!" Dave said, eagerly leading them down the hall.
He knocked lightly on the door, waiting for Erin's response.
"Come in," she adjusted Carlo in her arms and sat up straight.
"We brought gifts," Penelope called out softly, leading the crowd. "Oh, and good news," she dropped her packages in a nearby chair and pulled out her phone. "You have five healthy puppies."
"We took Bridget to the vet on the way back here," Morgan explained.
"You can have your pick of the litter," Erin said, angling Carlo so he could be seen.
"What a sweetie," Penelope cooed.
Hotch cleared his throat from the back of the room. "What's his name?"
"Well," Erin sat up straighter, making eye contact with Dave. "About that…"
"We've been calling him Carlo…." Dave answered, turning to Erin. "Do you have something else in mind?"
"We can keep Carlo as his nickname, but he's your son and he should be named after you."
Dave caught his balance on the wall, as his knees turned to jelly. "You could have let me sit down before knocking me out with that." He went back to her side, lovingly running his hand over the baby's head. "Welcome to the family, David Charles Rossi."
"So, when we tell him about the night he was born, do we tell him that he shares his birthday with a litter of puppies?" Erin teased, glancing around the room. "Or do we tell him about the love he was surrounded by?"
"Both," Dave chimed in, kissing her forehead. "We'll tell him the whole story."
"I know you're all itching to hold him, but he needs a bath first," Erin said while Carmelina elbowed her way to the front of the line.
"I brought the oil all the way from Italy to wet the baby's head," Carmelina pulled a vial from her purse. "It's a family tradition." She bathed all her babies in the oil that came from her grandfather's vineyard.
"Ma, I think we'll just use soap," Dave said, reaching into Erin's bag.
"Oil has been proven to be good for the skin," Reid cut in. "Olive oil is gentle enough to use on a newborn."
"See!" Carmelina pointed at Reid, "I'm not just a crazy old lady, you don't need soap. Just oil and warm water."
"If we're going to use oil, we'll need a lot of hands to keep him from slipping," Erin offered. Everyone was eager for their turn with the baby, but she wasn't quite ready to pass him around.
"Okay," Dave held up one hand, "but this is a family affair. Erin, you hold him. Allison, come stand here and help your mom hold him." He moved out of the way, for Allison to take her place beside the bed.
"I'll get the towels," Paul offered.
"I actually have a bathtub thermometer," Reid said, reaching for his bag. The words came out in a passionate rush. "I was planning to give it to you. You know, infants and the elderly have a thinner dermal layer and children under the age of 5 make up 61 percent of burn injuries per year."
"Reid and I will get water," Penelope jumped in, pulling Reid into the bathroom by his arm.
"Grandmother's," Dave went back to assigning roles. "One of you can pick the outfit, the other picks the swaddle. Sound fair?"
"I don't care what my role is," Derek said, "as long as I get my turn."
"Somebody grab Father Jimmy from the hallway," Erin said, looking around the room again. Everyone they loved was packed in that small space, "we might as well make it a baptism."
Each member of the family played their role in welcoming the newest edition into the fold, then as quickly as they came, they left. Leaving the new parents to bond with the baby. Erin was sure that the afterglow of fatherhood never suited anyone better than David Rossi. She watched him from across the room, in the dim light. There was no safer place for their son to be.
"You're hogging the baby," she teased, moving over on the bed to make room for them.
"Can you blame me?"
"Of course not, but it's my turn," she pointed to the clock on the wall across from the bed, "look at the time."
"Midnight," Dave shrugged, adjusting Carlo's position against his shoulder. "He's probably getting hungry."
"Not just that," He laid the baby on her breast and sat down beside them.
"Happy Father's Day, Dave." She, stroked Carlo's cheek, encouraging him to suckle.
Dave thought he might burst with paternal pride, there wasn't a better way to celebrate his first Father's Day, than this. Everything he ever wanted or needed in life was right here. "Erin?" He reached into the pocket of his pants, feeling for the velvet box.
"No, Love." She shook her head, smiling. "Don't ask me yet."
"Why?"
"Because… I said so."
"When would you like me to ask you?"
"Ask me tomorrow."
Worry creased his bowline, "will I get a different answer?"
"No." She picked up his hand, "but my fingers won't be swollen so I can wear the ring."
"Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights and our comfort when we occasionally falter."
Brad Henry
There's likely one more chapter after this. Do you guys like this little universe? Do you want to see more? I'm thinking about continuing with a series of one-shots. What are your thoughts?
