Author: Merel
Time Frame: Takes place after the show ended, the marriage is common knowledge
Author's Notes: Thank you, Pam,
for taking the time to beta-read for me. Your feedback and interest in
this story is much appreciated.
Great Expectations
14/15
Amanda awoke to a gripping pain in her lower back. She eased off the bed slowly, not wanting to wake Lee. If this wasn't labor, no sense in worrying him needlessly… if it was… well, he'd be in for a long haul of it and would be thankful for the extra sleep.
She padded down the hall and into the nursery. Even in the dim, early morning light, the soft pastels of the bunnies and bears theme worked their magic on Amanda and she felt the muscles in her back relaxing. She sat down in the rocker that Lee had presented her with. Draped loosely in ill-fitting wrapping paper and tied up with a big green and red bow, she'd had fun trying to 'guess' what it was. They'd ended up, later that evening, him in the chair, her in his lap, watching the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree and knowing that next year they would be seeing the holiday through a new pair of eyes.
Curling her toes over the bottom rung of the rocker, Amanda pulled a teddy bear off the nearby dressing table, hugging it to her chest. It wouldn't be long now. She smiled, her trembling hands clutching the bear even tighter. She'd never thought she'd look forward to being in labor, but the last two weeks had proved her wrong.
Overdue. Up until now she'd only been acquainted with the word with regard to library books. Now it referenced her condition. She stood slowly, tossing the bear back onto the table. Her stomach strained against the confines of the robe that had fit her only last week. One hand followed the arch of her stomach, coming underneath to support the extra weight and give her back a little relief. She knew her feet and ankles were swollen… not that she could see them, but they felt tight and itchy. She opened her robe and caressed her stomach through the thin material of the navy blue silk nightgown. Tracing a finger around her protruding belly button, she sighed. Please let this be labor. Please, dear lord, let me deliver this child soon… if not for my sake, then for Lee's sanity.
As if on cue, another pain started deep in her back, this time slowly traveling around her abdomen to grip it in a vise-like contraction. She breathed deeply, steadying herself with a hand on the dressing table. She tried to relax, breathing as she'd been taught, allowing the pain to wash over her, but not to intimidate her. When it had faded, she eased herself back into the rocking chair.
Amanda knew she should go wake Lee, but she wanted a few more minutes. A few more moments when it was just the two of them. Soon so many people would be there. So many hands helping, easing, and comforting. So many voices reassuring, urging and congratulating. She just wanted to spend a few more precious moments with her unborn baby. Never again would she feel this way. Even if she and Lee had more children, this was a unique moment shared just between her and this child. He… or she… was still part of her, but would never be again. She'd hold it close in her arms for the rest of her life, but would never again be able to give it the protection of her body. Only the protection of my heart.
****
She climbed into bed, wrapping her arms around her sleeping husband. He grunted softly and rolled onto his back. She sat for a moment, watching him sleep. Pushing the hair from eyes she wondered for the millionth time how he could look sexy even in his sleep. She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his parted lips. He stirred, his hand coming up to cup the back of her head and pull her lips more firmly against his own.
"What time is it?" he mumbled, still half asleep.
"Time for you to become a daddy," Amanda whispered against his lips.
"Wha…what?" Lee pulled back from her, running a hand up her arm to grip her shoulder.
"I'm in labor, Lee," she smiled softly at him.
"You're in labor?" he asked, more alert now. "Oh, okay… well, okay." He rolled to the other side of the bed and stumbled across the bedroom floor, his feet tangling in the comforter that had been so carelessly tossed aside in last night's activities. He grabbed the pair of jeans that had landed on the ottoman and started to pull them on.
Amanda laughed softly, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. "Yes. I guess Penny was right, hmmmm?"
Lee stopped, his jeans pulled up over his hips, but not zipped or buttoned. He smiled at her obvious reference to their lovemaking. "Yeah, I guess she was. Remind me to thank her, will you?"
"I will," Amanda smiled. "Ah, are you forgetting something?" she gestured to the part of his anatomy that, without benefit of boxers, was now left to fend off the advances of his jean's zipper.
Lee looked down, assessing the situation. "Oh, yeah," he looked over at her sheepishly.
While he adjusted himself, Amanda took a moment to check the contents of her overnight bag. It had been packed for a good month now and checked at least twice a day by Lee, but she wanted to make sure she had everything she needed. Assured that all was ready, she decided it was time to get dressed. As she walked towards the closet another pain hit her. This one started at her pubic bone and worked its way with slow determination up the center of her abdomen. When it ended she felt the warm, wet flow of what she knew was amniotic fluid.
"Lee, my water just broke."
Having just finished zipping and buttoning his jeans, Lee was shrugging into a sweatshirt. His head popped out, his mouth open and his eyes wide. "Oh….okay…."
Amanda watched as he dashed about the room, finding socks and shoes and pulling them on and then running a brush through his tousled hair. He double-checked his back pocket for his wallet, strapped on his wristwatch and turned to find Amanda observing him. "What?"
"It's going to be okay," she assured him with a smile.
"I know that," he huffed back at her. "I'm fine. Don't I look fine?"
"Yes, you look fine, sweetheart," Amanda said, shaking her head and continuing her trek into the closet to get dressed. She pulled on a pair of Lee's sweat pants and an over-sized sweatshirt. Sliding her feet into a pair of sneakers, she tapped the Velcro tabs closed with her toes. The idea had been Lee's and they'd come in very handy once she could no longer reach her feet.
Lee's voice followed her into the walk-in closet. "Well, I am fine. I am in total control of this situation, Amanda."
"Of course you are, honey," she called out to him. And if you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in.
She walked out to find him slinging her overnight case over his arm, a pillow under his other arm, and a picture of Phillip and Jamie in his hands. "I'm going to go start the car and bring your stuff down. Do you need help getting down the stairs?"
"No, I'll be fine. I'll be with you in a minute. I want to call Mother and check in with Joe and the boys. They'll want to meet us at the hospital."
Reaching for the phone, she heard his heavy footfalls down the stairs and then a muffled curse that accompanied his catching his toe on the plant stand she'd moved into the foyer.
*****
"Stop laughing." Lee snapped, tossing an annoyed look over at his wife.
She was leaning against the door of the car, trying to stifle her chuckles with the back of her hand. "How…" She broke out laughing again, then visibly tried to calm herself. "How far did you get?"
Lee quickly glanced at her out the corner of his eye, but refused to answer.
"Come on." She started giggling again. "How far did get before you realized I wasn't in the car?"
"I'm glad you think this is so funny," he mumbled sullenly.
"Oh, come on, Lee," Amanda admonished.
The Wagoneer merged onto I-270 and quickly moved into the far left lane. "Lee?"
Thinking that her teasing had ended, he looked over at Amanda.
"Did you get on the Interstate before you noticed?" The question ended in a fit of laughter that was only halted by the arrival of another contraction. "Oh, my," Amanda moaned, the smile dropping from her lips.
Lee's eyes shifted to her, the concern clearly written on his face. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Amanda sighed as the contraction
eased. "But you'd better floor this thing… that sperm is really doing its
job."
*****
"How are you feeling, Amanda?" Penny leaned over and smiled at her patient.
Amanda finished panting through her last contraction and took a deep, cleansing breath. "Like shit, Penny, I feel like shit."
Lee grimaced an apology to the obstetrician, then attempted to extricate himself from the bone-crushing grip that Amanda had on his hand.
"Ah, ha…." Penny responded, ignoring her patient's obviously pain-induced lapse of good manners. She replaced the chart she'd been looking at and moved to the foot of the bed, flipping back the sheet to examine Amanda. "Well, you're coming along nicely. It shouldn't be too long now."
"No chance I can get a little something to take the edge off?" Amanda asked through gritted teeth. "A Valium, a Percocet…a shot of vodka?"
"There isn't time, Amanda," Penny explained. "You were too far gone by the time you got here. You're almost ready to deliver."
"Damn sperm," she muttered under her breath.
Lee reached over to dab at her forehead with a cool, damp cloth, but she brusquely pushed him away. "I don't need a sponge bath," she snapped at him.
Lee grabbed her hand from where it twisted in the sheets. "Let me help you," he urged. "You keep pushing me away. I just want to help you through this, Amanda."
Another contraction curtailed any response from Amanda, as she gripped Lee's hand and panted through the pain.
Lee ran his fingers through her sweat-soaked hair, leaning down to murmur something to her, his lips pressed to her ear. She gave a shaky smile as the pain eased and looked over into his hazel eyes. "I'm sorry… I love you," she whispered back to him.
He kissed her lips and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Repositioning the picture of the boys on the table near the foot of the bed, he clasped her left hand between his two. "Focus on that, sweetheart." He could feel her hand tightening on his again. "Breathe, Amanda. That's it. You can do this, baby. You can. Just feel yourself opening up, don't fight it."
She pushed her forehead into his cheek, letting his voice and his touch ease some of the tension from her body. This had been so much harder than she had expected. Maybe it was just being older, but she just felt drained and on the edge of losing it both physically and emotionally.
"Okay, Amanda," Penny said, stepping away from the foot of the bed. "It's time…let's get you ready to deliver this baby."
"Lee?" Amanda looked up into his eyes.
"I'm right here, sweetheart. Right here," he whispered to her as the doctor and nurses prepared her for the delivery.
To Be Continued