chapter16
Chapter 16

It seemed a thunderstorm had moved in over Port Charles as Zander awoke to the roll of thunder and a flash of lightning as he looked at the clock on his night stand. Two o'clock am was written in neon green across the front of the clock as it stared him in the face. He glanced over at Emily sleeping peacefully next to him and wondered what she was dreaming at that moment. As he lay in the darkness and the silence of the room only to hear the rain pounding against the windows and the roll of thunder, he remembered what had happened a few days before with Steph and their conversation in the park. He knew he left her hanging with only "I don't knows.." but that was all he had for her at the moment. He turned onto his side as he snuggled up close to Emily and lay awake wanting so to forget about what had taken place in the park. He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss Steph and he shared, even though she instigated, he gave in. It will be something that would never happen again...he had to make sure of that. He closed his eyes as he felt Emily take a hold of his hand and bring it across in front of her. He interlaced their fingers as he started to drift back to sleep.

The alarm rang at seven o'clock sharp as usual, as he turned over to turn it off. He missed the off button and slapped the snooze instead. It was raining and the sky was clouded over, it was just a day to stay in bed. He could do that now...he was the boss and he could take the day off if he wanted to. He lye half asleep as he felt Emily's hand drift up across his bare chest. She lay next to him and fully aware that he wasn't sleeping either. "Zander...you awake.." she asked as she pulled herself closer to him. "Yeah..." he whispered. "I didn't wake you did I.." she asked quietly. "No....I was awake..just thinking." he replied as he looked down into the soft eyes that looked back at him. He reached over and turned the alarm off before it sounded again. She drifted her hand up long the front of his chest to his chin and drew it down to met her face to face. She reached up and kissed him lightly on his soft lips as she did every morning. "I love you...." she whispered softly as she brushed his lips again as she released the first. "I love you too...always.." he replied as she left him breathless. This is where he wanted to be forever and always, right here with her...she was his life and he promised her the moon when he married her. He had no intention of going back on his word...he loved her and was never going to leave her.

Dr. Meadows had told Emily at their last visit that she could deliver any day now...she was past the date he was concerned with and the baby would decide when he was ready. And today of all days looked to be the day...

Zander noticed Emily wince as her hand moved quickly from his chest to her side as if to gesture she had pain. "Em...are you alright.." he asked with concern. "Uh..no..I think it's time..." she replied as the pain she was feeling became stronger. Zander hesitated for a moment while he thought of the things they needed to take with them. Emily had a bag already to go when it was time and they way it looked the big day had finally arrived. "Tell me what you need me to do...Em." he asked as he quickly jumped out of bed and slipped on his jeans. "I need you to..." she began and then "Ououwah..." she cried out. Zander knew with that..they needed to hurry and get her to GH. He grabbed the tee that lay over the chair and slipped it over his head...he then assisted her to her feet. "Grab the bag...." she said as she tried to walk towards the door. Another contraction had made her buckle as he quickly grabbed on to her to catch her. They contractions were close enough together for them to know if they didn't get to the hospital shortly, he would be delivering this baby on his own. Zander helped her down the stairs with the bag in hand as he opened the door and yelled for Antonio. "We need to get to the hospital, the contractions have become stronger and their about 7 minutes apart." he replied as Antonio rushed towards them. Antonio helped Emily to the elevator as Zander closed the door behind him. He had enough time to grab her robe, slippers, and his shoes before they left the apartment. The contractions subsided, but not for long. Emily winced everytime would start so Zander could time them on his watch.

They finally reached the emergency room, where he quickly assisted her out of the car and towards the automated doors. No surprise, Alan was standing at the nurses station as they arrived. "Dr. Quartermaine...call Dr. Meadows.." Zander shouted as they made their way to where he was standing. "Oh my God..when did the contractions start..." he asked concerned. "This morning...and their about..." Zander began as he looked at his watch.."five minutes apart." he added. "Amy call Dr. Meadows and tell him to meet us up on the maternity floor...we'll take her up there." Emily sat down in the wheelchair one of the orderlies had provided her. "Em...do you have any pain now..." her father asked as Zander stood next to her. "No...not now..I think it passed.." she said as Zander took the handle bars of the wheel chair. The took the first elevator that came down and stepped in side quickly as Alan pressed the number 4. The doors opened once again as soon as they closed.

Zander wheeled his wife out of the elevator as they met Dr. Meadows who was standing at the nurses station waiting for them. "Emily...how far apart are the contractions..." he asked. "About five minutes...and they are coming on strong.." she replied as she winced when she felt one coming on again. Dr. Meadows noticed her facial expression and took it to mean they were now closer than five minutes. "Zander, you have to stay here for a few minutes..I'll come and get you when she's ready..." he said as he took over the handle bars from him. Zander knew there was no arguing with him...even though his concern was for Emily, he nodded in agreement. Alan had placed a call to Monica who was on the tenth floor making rounds. Zander followed close behind Dr. Meadows until he wheeled Emily through the double swinging doors marked RESTRICTED. Zander anxious to be with her and concerned for her stood and wrung his hands in desperation. He didn't want her to be alone and hoped it wouldn't take that long for Dr. Meadows to come and get him.

It wasn't long before he saw Dr. Meadows walking down the long corridor towards him. Zander rushed to meet him as he walked out from behind the double doors. "Can I go be with her now..." Zander asked in a panic of a concerned father to be. "Yes you can .. come on...I'll take you to her.." Dr. Meadows replied as he held one of the doors open for him. "How is she.." Zander asked as they walked side by side down the long hallway. "She's fine...she's only about 6 centimeters dilated though so it will be a little while longer till she is in full labor." he replied as he stopped in front of the room where they had put Emily. Zander walked in and saw her lying on a hospital bed propped up with two large hospital issued pillows. The nurses had her already prepped in a hospital gown and had a fetal monitored hooked up. There was a nurse standing reading the heart monitors and making notes on her chart as she read the tape that came from the machine. "Emily...do you want an epidural? " the nurse asked as Zander approached. As she was about to answer her question, another contraction came on pretty strong as Emily winced in pain. "Yeah...anything if it takes away the pain..." she replied as she laid her head back on the pillow.. "Zander...Dr. Meadows said it would be a while yet.." she said as he sat down on the stool next to her. "Yeah that's what I hear." he replied.

Zander sat with her while she laid in the bed obviously in pain from the contractions that seemed to becoming closer. As they sat holding each others hand....the anesthesiaologist came in the room to give Emily her epidural. "Emily...what I need you to do is lean forward and bring your knees to your chest. Take your pillow and place it between you and your knees. I need an unobstructed view of your back." he said as he stood by her bedside. Zander assisted her in doing so as he tried to soothe her while the intern applied the pressure of the needle into her back. Emily crying in pain from the insertion hoping it would be over soon. "Almost done...Emily...your doing fine.." he replied as he attached the tube. Zander just wanted to take the pain she was feeling away as he caressed her arms. "I'm here...Em. "It's going to be alright in a few minutes..." Zander said as he noticed the intern was almost done with taping the tube fast. "Okay..Emily you can lay back down now...but becareful now...cause you have the tube in...we don't want to have to do it again. It should take effect in a few minutes.

Monica had heard Emily screaming from down the hall and had rushed into the room to be with her daughter. "What happened?" she asked in panic. "She's fine...he just gave her the epidural..." Zander replied. "And it hurt like hell..." Emily replied as she felt more uncomfortable now with the tube in. "I know Em...I've been there remember...but it will take the pain away...believe me." her mother replied as she looked over the vital signs on the monitors. The baby's heart beat was strong at 135...anything below 120 she would be concerned. "Everything looks fine..." she replied as she looked over Emily's chart. "You have a little while to go..." she added. "Em...another contraction is about to..." her mother began. Emily winced once again as the contraction added the pressure to her lower abdomen area. Zander sat with concern through every contraction Emily had...she squeezed his hand tightly through every one.

A few hours past and Dr. Meadows returned to check on Emily's progress. He allowed Zander to stay as he checked how far along Emily had dilated since she arrived. "Emily...any time now...your about 8 centimeters...I'd say within an hour so...maybe two..." he replied as he stripped the latex glove from his hand. Emily's water hadn't broke and he didn't seemed concerned about it....at least not yet. Emily had been allowed visitors till it was time for her to deliver, so her mother and father frequently visited within the past few hours. Emily was showing signs of exhaustion...she was tired and completely worn out even before she started full blown labor. Zander sat quietly with her trying to soothe her and make her comfortable. By this time she wasn't feeling any of the contractions, the epidural had taken full effect.

Zander had let it up to Monica to make the phone calls to Elizabeth and Alexis, as well as Sonny and Carly to let them all know that Emily was at the hospital in labor. He sat with her and held her hand as he heard familiar voices outside the door as Edward and Monica walked into the room. "Emily, dear....how are you feeling?" he asked as he stood next to Zander. "That's a stupid question there, Grandfather..." she replied as she turned her head to look at him. "I'm hangin in there...Zander's been a great help and comfort." she added. "Dr. Meadows said it should be soon...." Monica replied as she rubbed her hand along Emily's leg trying to relieve some of the pressure. Surprisingly Edward didn't say a word to Zander as he visited with Emily...usually he had a few choice words to say to him...deviant, kidnapper, criminal...take your pick. Zander figured this was one time he wasn't going to start anything...his great-grand-child was about to be born.

Zander looked at his watch and noticed that they had been at the hospital now about 4 hours since they brought her in....and he wondered how much longer it would be. With that thought, Dr. Meadows appeared in the doorway. "Okay..Emily...how are we feeling.." he asked as he approached and slipped on another latex glove. "Fine.." she replied. "Any pain?" he asked as he sat down at her feet. "No..no pain..." she replied. "Good that's how we like it.." he replied jokingly. As he examined her, he decided it was time to break her water...it hadn't broken on its own and the baby was getting closer to the canal. However he wasn't quite in the position he would of liked. "Emily, I need you to lay on your side for a little while. We need to move the baby's position..." he said as a concerned look came over Zander's face. "Nothing to worry about...it happens sometimes..." he replied. Zander and her doctor assisted her onto her side and he tried to soothe their concerns before he left the room. Zander started massaging her upper leg to relieve some of the tension she had. It was a long process and soon it would be over...he hoped.

The waiting was torture...and Emily was exhausted. She slept most of the time as Zander sat and held her hand just patiently waiting for the doctor to give her the signal to push. About a half hour had past and the doctor returned. "Okay...Emily..let's see if this baby is ready." he said as he sat once again at her feet. Emily turned onto her back as Zander brushed her auburn hair away from her face. Dr. Meadows examined her again and looked up at her with a smile. "I'll be right back...and than we can start. You're fully dilated now...but I need to get some assitance in here to help us out." he replied as he got up and headed for the door. Emily relieved to hear him say those words. She had been in labor now for close to six hours.

Dr. Meadows returned with three nurses and the equipment he needed. The nurses laid a blue drop cloth on the floor as one removed the bottom part of the bed and lifted the stirrup type brackets into position. One nurse than assisted Emily putting her feet up on the bracket as the other laid a cloth over top of her midsection. One watched the monitor intently noticing that a contraction would soon arise and it would be the cue for Emily to start pushing for the first time. Between Zander and one of the nurses they propped Emily up to prep her to push her first push. "Okay..Emily...as soon as you feel the contraction coming on...I want you to push. Just bear down and push as hard as you can." her doctor said as he looked up at her from beneath the blue cloth sheet. "Okay..." she said in anticipation. Zander stood beside her waiting for the cue to urge her on.

At the first sign of the pressure, Emily started to push. "Push hard..Emily..almost done.." he replied as he saw the first sign of their newborn. The contraction was over in a few minutes..."Okay relax...now they are going to start coming closer..only a minute or so apart.." Dr. Meadows replied. Emily relaxed she could feel another one start. She started her push again, as Zander encouraged with every ounce of strength he had. "Okay..Emily...I see his head now...your doing great. Hang in there...only a few more pushes and he'll be out.." "Promise.. " she replied. "I promise.." A few moments passed as another contraction started. Emily cried out in pain with this push as the baby's head was crowning now. She felt the pressure being applied as the baby made his way down. "You're doing great..Em..just great.." Zander said as he snuck a peak at what was going on below the blue sheet. "Emily...I need you to breath deep and have a complete push...follow through." her doctor said. The next push came fast as she did what she was told, and with one push the baby's head appeared. Dr. Meadows asked for the suction dropper to suction out the baby's mouth as another push was immediate. "Another good push there Emily...and the shoulders will follow..." he replied as Emily pushed as hard as she could. "You're doing great there, Emily..one more like that one.." Zander said as he snuck another peek at his son who was almost here. She looked at him exhausted as he brushed her hair back. "One more Emily...come on one more..." Dr. Meadows said as he caught the baby's shoulders in his hands. He suctioned the rest of his mouth out as the rest of the baby just slipped through. "Emily...the two of you have a beautiful baby boy..." he replied as the baby's first cries were heard from below the sheet. She and Zander cried together tears of joy as Dr. Meadows placed the baby on the blue sheet that lay over her. He took the umbilical cord in his hand and offered Zander the scissors. "Wanna cut the cord..." he asked as Zander stood in awe of his newborn son. "Yeah sure...where.." he said as he took the scissors in his hand. "Right there..." Dr. Meadows pointed to a spot on the cord. The nurse quickly clipped it off and wrapped the newborn in a soft cloth type blanket as Emily held her son close to her.

"You did it...Emily.." Zander said as he kissed her lightly on her lips. "No..Zander..we did it.." she replied as the tears of joy trickled down her cheeks. The nurse picked up the baby boy gently as Emily hesitated in giving him up already. "I'll bring him right back..." the nurse said with a smile as she knew Emily didn't want to give him up yet. The nurse laid him in the glass cradle of sorts and gently washed him off as she counted every toe and every finger making sure they were all there. Zander walked over and took a good look at his son. He too counted all his fingers and toes to make sure they were all accounted for. The nurse picked him up and carried him over to the metal scale that sat next to the him where she placed him inside to weigh him. "7 pounds...6 ounces..." she said aloud as Dr. Meadows wrote down on Emily's chart. "Measurements...21 inches long...head..." she began as Zander became oblivious to her words as he stood as stared at his son in the glass basket. His little legs and arms moving back and forth. He had been crying in the whole time...he certainly got the lungs from the Quartermaine side of the family. Zander chuckled with the thought. The nurse was finished taking the measures and wrapped him in a blue blanket and handed him back to Emily as Zander came and sat beside her. "He's perfect..." the nurse replied as Emily took her son in her arms. "I knew he would be..." Emily replied as she looked at her husband who hadn't taken his eyes off of his son. The couple shared a few precious and emotional moments with their newborn before visitors were allowed in to see him. "Zander...why don't you go out and let everyone know...I'm sure they are frantic by now." Emily asked as she held her son tightly. "Sure...I'm sure your parents are beside themselves by now..." he replied with a grin at the thought. With that said he kissed his son lightly and turned towards the door. "Em...I love you.." he said as he turned and looked at her once more. "I love you too." she replied. "Go.." she added as he stepped into the hallway.

Zander made his way down the hallway, showing his emotions of joy and excitement as he made his way towards the double doors that led into the waiting area. He stood for a brief moment as he peered out the window and saw the waiting area was filled with her family and their friends. He pushed open the door as they all looked up and noticed he walked through the doors.

"Well....tell us.." Monica came rushing to his side. "Is she alright...the baby?" she added in a fluster. "Zander..say something.." "It's a boy! We have a son and Emily is fine." he replied with a smile from ear to ear. "He's perfect...seven pounds...six ounces..21 inches long.." he added as Elizabeth and the gang who was waiting came over and they embraced in one huge hug. "Congratulations...Zander." Monica replied as she stood next to her son-in-law. "Thank you..." he replied as the tears of joy returned. "Can we see her...and the baby..." she asked as Alan walked quickly to be by her side. "Sure..come on.." he replied as he led the way. "I'll be right back.." he added as he turned to the others waiting. The three of them walked dow the hall as they heard the baby crying as they made their way to the room. Monica and Alan entered their daughter's room as the saw her holding their new grand-child in her arms. "Aw..he's perfect..." Monica said as she kissed Emily on the forehead. "Alan...he's perfect.." she added as she looked up at her husband. "Emily...you did good..." he replied as he leaned in and kissed her as well. "I'll give you two a little time with Emily...I'll be right out in the waiting room if you need me.." Zander said as he brushed his lips with hers. "Zander...do you want to hold him for a bit before you leave..." Emily said as he stood admiring the newborn in her arms. "Sure..." he replied "Of course I do..." he added. He gently picked him up from her arms and cradled him close as his son looked up at him. This was the moment he had been waiting for since Emily told him she was pregnant. To hold his son...his son in his arms was the best feeling. He held him for a few moments before on the nurse came in and said she needed to take him for a little while, but she would bring him when it was time to feed him. Zander handed over his son to the nurse who stood before him and kissed him gently on his head. He watched as the nurse turned and walked out of the room with him.

"Okay...now I'm going to leave the three of you alone for a while..." he said as he headed for the door. "Thank you Zander..." Alan replied as he turned and looked at him standing in the hall. Zander made his way down the hall towards the waiting area once again, as everyone was still waiting patiently for him to return. He pushed open the double doors and walked towards the seating area as Elizabeth came to greet him. "Everything is fine..right.." she asked as Lucky stood behind her. "Yeah..everything is fine...the nurse just took the baby for a little while but she said she would bring him back for his first feeding." he replied as they led him to take a seat with them. "So..have you guys been here all day?" he asked as he ran his hands through his hair. "Most of us..." Nikolas replied as he leaned forward in his seat. "Well, I'm sure Emily appreciates that all of you were here for her." he replied. "We wouldn't have it any other way.." Lucky replied as Sonny and Carly came up on them. "Everything is fine..." Sonny asked. "Yes....mother and baby are fine..." Zander replied as he stood up from his seat. "We're happy to hear it...Zander." Carly replied as she gave him a friendly hug. "You should go home and get some rest...you look exhausted..." she said as she stepped back. "Me...I look exhausted...Emily should be the one getting the rest...she did all the work...." he said. "From what I heard she did all the work the first time round too..." Elizabeth said with a giggle. "Hey...I heard that..." Zander replied with a chuckle of his own.

"Well, guys...it will be a few hours before neither of them will be ready for visitors. I would suggest you go home and come back later." Zander suggested as Alexis came up from behind him. "Do you need anything..." she asked. "As a matter of fact I do..." he replied. "I could use a change of clothes...we left the penthouse so fast I didn't get time to get dressed all together." he added. "Sure...I'll be back with a change of clothes for you in a few.." she said as she gave him a quick hug and headed for the elevators. "Now would the rest of you get outta here...go home...I'll call you when she's ready for visitors." he said as he tried to send them all home.

As the mob of friends dispersed...Edward and Lila were left standing before him. Zander looked at Edward as Lila asked how her granddaughter was doing. "She's fine and the baby's fine..her parents are with her now..." he replied to her question. "Would you like to see her..Mrs. Quartermaine.." he asked politely. "I would...would you be a dear and take me to her." she replied as she shooed Edward away from the chair as Zander took the handles of the wheel chair. "Sure I will...I'm sure Emily would be very happy to see you." he replied as he pushed her through the double doors leading back to Emily's room.

Edward stood alone in the waiting room thinking of what it means to have a new great-grandchild in his life. Emily was so happy being with Zander..just as he was so happy being with Lila for the last fifty some years. He sat and wondered if he had made a mistake about Zander and wondered if it would be too late to change his mind about how he felt about him. It was time.

Chapter 17