A/N
FINALLY!!! I am posting. Again I ask for your apologies... And thanks for sticking with me and P2P...
While Evelyn was scanning the book shelve for reading material to take home, she experienced a cramp and laid her hand on the side of her protruding belly. She winced slightly because this cramp was a bit more intense than the previous ones. Evelyn waited a few moments and when the discomfort passed, she pulled one book then another from the shelf. Evelyn, with books cradled in her arm, made her way to the doorway of the library when a searing cramp assaulted her.
"aaahhh!!" Evelyn dropped the books immediately and leaned against the doorframe.
"Evy old mum, it's time to go" she heard Jonathan's approaching voice.
"OOOHHH!!" she moaned again as the cramp twisted within her.
"EVY!" Jonathan rushed to her side when he saw her slumped against the doorframe. "Are you OK?" he stupidly asked as he reached out to her.
"I think... the baby's... coming" Evelyn breathed as she felt a gush of wetness pour down her inner thighs.
"Holy heaven Evy!" Wide eyed, Jonathan secured his arm around her waist.
"I'm wet!" Evelyn gasped as she gripped his shoulder for support.
"You can't have this baby now!! You can't!!! The doctor's not here. O'Connell is going to KILL ME!!!" Jonathan lamented. "Holy heaven!! O'Connell is going to KILL ME!!!""
"And it hurts like hell!" Evelyn yelled as the cramp's intensity magnified.
"What do I do? Evy!!!! What do I do?!!!!" Jonathan said anxiously. "O'Connell's gonna KILL me! What do I do?!!!"
"aaaahhhh!" Evelyn moaned and grabbed Jonathan's hand as another cramp assaulted her.
"Evy... my hand" he whined as her grip tightened. "You're hurting my hand" he complained.
Evelyn, eyes shut tight, squeezed Jonathan's hand even tighter.
"ooooohhhhh!" she groaned.
"o u c h!" he protested.
Both Carnahan siblings were left moaning in pain. When Evelyn's contraction began to ease, she slowly loosened her hold on Jonathan's hand. Jonathan wasted no time and quickly snatched his hand away from Evelyn's grip.
"I think my fingers are broken" Jonathan murmured as he held up his hand and eyed his battered fingers.
"Forget about YOUR hand Jonathan!!" Evelyn said evilly. "I'M THE ONE having the baby!!" she breathed as she waited with baited breath for another excruciating contraction.
"Yes. Right" Jonathan said as he shook his hand and turned his focus back to Evelyn.
That excruciating contraction Evelyn was waiting for did not delay.
"oooohhhh!!!" Evelyn burst out and leaned into Jonathan as the pain vibrated from her womb and seemed to travel to every part of her body. "god! It hurts" she whined as she dug her fingernails into Jonathan's forearm.
"Evy" Jonathan forgot about her pain and focused on his own. "Your nails are a tad bit biting."
If Evelyn heard him, she did not acknowledge it. Instead she moaned over her pain. Jonathan bore up a little better under the digging nails but was immensely relieved when Evelyn's contraction passed.
"I think it's time we got you home" Jonathan said as he eased his forearm from beneath Evelyn's biting fingernails.
Jonathan took her by the hand and slowly walked Evelyn from the library. As they passed a worried Hamid, Jonathan asked him to ring Rick and tell him that Evelyn was about to deliver their baby.
When Jonathan finally got Evelyn to his car, he held her about the waist with one hand and opened the car door with the other. He helped her in, slammed the door and rushed to the driver's side. Jonathan broke the normally accepted speed limit to get his sister home.
After pulling up in front of the house, he put the car in park and jumped out.
"Damn it!! Jonathan!" he heard an ominous voice shout as he rounded the front of the car.
"Evy's having the baby!" Jonathan explained to his quickly approaching brother-in-law.
Rick's eyes had been pinned on Jonathan the moment he saw the car pulling up to the house. Upon hearing that 'Evy's having the baby', his eyes darted to his wife.
"EVY!" he rushed toward the passenger's side of the car.
Evelyn was at the height of another painful contraction as Jonathan pulled opened the car door.
"aaaahhhhh!!!" she moaned in agony, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Evy! Sweetheart!" Rick shouted anxiously as he pushed Jonathan aside and stepped in and took hold of Evelyn's hand.
"rick..." Evelyn groaned as she squeezed his hand. "it hurts..." she whimpered.
"Jonathan!" Rick said, not taking his eyes off Evelyn. "Go ring the doc! Evelyn, sweetheart" he said in a calming voice as he smoothed her hair back. "Open your eyes and look at me."
After several moments, when the contraction began to ebb, Evelyn slowly opened her eyes.
"I'm scared Rick..." Evelyn whispered as she looked into his loving, worried eyes.
"You don't have to be scared sweetheart" Rick assured her as he caressed her cheek. "I'm right here."
"It hurts so bad" she lamented as a tear escaped her eye.
Feelings of guilt began to assault Rick. "I know sweetheart..."
"No you don't" Evelyn assured him in an acid voice.
"I'm sorry honey" Rick said.
Just then, another contraction began and Evelyn winced as she waited for the pain to increase. When the contraction ended, Rick lifted her from the car and carried her into the house.
"The doctor's on his way" Jonathan anxiously informed the couple as Rick, with Evelyn in his arms, walked through the doorway. "Everything's going to be OK Evy" Jonathan said more for his sake than for hers, as he followed them up the stairs. "The doctor will be here in no time" he said, trying to calm himself down. "He'll be here in no time at all."
When Rick got to the bedroom door, he used his foot to push it open. He took long strides toward the bed then laid Evelyn gently down on it. After only a second or two, Evelyn told Rick she would rather sit in the rocking chair because she could not get comfortable lying down.
Rick immediately scooped her up in his arms and took her over to the rocking chair.
"How ya feeling?" Rick asked with great concern after he set her in the chair.
"OK for now" Evelyn squirmed in the chair as the beginnings of another contraction started. "I want to stand" she said as the cramp began to throb.
Rick helped her to her feet. Evelyn put her hands on his shoulders and laid her forehead into his chest.
"My back hurts..." she whispered into his chest.
Rick automatically began to rub it.
"Lower" she said.
Rick moved his hands to the base of her back and moved his fingers in gentle but firm circular motions.
"Better?" Rick asked.
"oooohhhh!!" Evelyn answered through gritted teeth as the contraction reached its pinnacle.
"Damn it!! Jonathan!" Rick cursed. "Where the hell's the doctor?!!"
"He's coming. He's coming" Jonathan said nervously as he paced back and forth watching his sister agony.
"Walking around a bit might help" Evelyn said when the contraction subsided.
"You don't want to sit?" Rick asked.
Evelyn shook her head 'no'.
"Jonathan" Rick barked as he began to help Evelyn walk around the room. "Go downstairs and look out for the doctor."
Thirty long, agonizing minutes later, the doctor and his nurse were escorted into the bedroom by Jonathan.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Rick shouted as he walked Evelyn around the room.
The doctor did not take offence at Rick's tone or his question. He had plenty of experience dealing with anxious fathers-to-be.
"I WANT THIS PAIN TO STOP!!!" Evelyn screamed as she leaned into Rick, grabbed his forearm and dug her nails into his skin. "GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!!!" she demanded no one in particular.
"OK! OK!" Rick said, experiencing his own pain. "We'll get him out" he said trying to pacify her.
"GET IT OUT NOW!!!" she cried.
"Alright Mr. O'Connell" the doctor said as he walked toward the parents-to-be. "We'll take over from here. You can wait down stairs."
"Is my sister going be alright?" Jonathan asked anxiously. "She seems to be in a LOT of pain" he said as he looked at her with worry.
"She will be fine. The birthing process can be painful but women have endure it since the beginning of time" the doctor said.
"How long is this gonna take?" Rick asked the doctor when he reached their side.
"Depends on the baby. When he decides to come, he'll come. Now" he said in a soothing voice. "Let me and my nurse take your wife" he reached for Evelyn. "And you and your brother-in-law can wait down stairs for the good news."
Rick hesitated but then gave in to the doctor's order.
"I'll be right outside Evy" he said softly, then kissed her forehead before releasing her into the care of the doctor and his nurse.
**********************
"Having a baby sure takes a hell of a long time" Jonathan commented as he turned up a bottle of whiskey to his lips.
It had been 5 hours since the doctor arrived and Jonathan had been drinking for 4 ½ of those 5 hours. And he still was not drunk.
"Aren't you glad you aren't a woman O'Connell?" Jonathan asked.
Rick did not answer but sat silently on the floor next to the bedroom door. Jonathan had been flapping his lips about much of nothing but strangely enough it had not irritated Rick. He just listened with ½ an ear while his mind was focused on Evelyn.
"I'm sure as hell glad that I'm not a woman! For starters, I'd be one ugly dame!!" he laughed. "You'd make an ugly dame too O'Connell!" he said, drawing a slight chuckle from his brother-in-law.
"And my god!" Jonathan continued. "Just think. If I were a woman, I'd be expected to marry and have children!! No thanks!! I'm glad the Almighty decided to make me a man. And I'm glad He decided to let the woman bear the children!!"
The bedroom door opened then and Rick jumped to his feet.
"You're wife's resting Mr. O'Connell" the doctor said.
"Is it over" Jonathan asked before Rick could say anything.
"Not yet" the doctor answered. "He's not quite ready to come."
"How long is this gonna take doc?" Rick asked again as he looked in and saw Evelyn in the bed.
"We just have to wait" the doctor said.
FINALLY!!! I am posting. Again I ask for your apologies... And thanks for sticking with me and P2P...
While Evelyn was scanning the book shelve for reading material to take home, she experienced a cramp and laid her hand on the side of her protruding belly. She winced slightly because this cramp was a bit more intense than the previous ones. Evelyn waited a few moments and when the discomfort passed, she pulled one book then another from the shelf. Evelyn, with books cradled in her arm, made her way to the doorway of the library when a searing cramp assaulted her.
"aaahhh!!" Evelyn dropped the books immediately and leaned against the doorframe.
"Evy old mum, it's time to go" she heard Jonathan's approaching voice.
"OOOHHH!!" she moaned again as the cramp twisted within her.
"EVY!" Jonathan rushed to her side when he saw her slumped against the doorframe. "Are you OK?" he stupidly asked as he reached out to her.
"I think... the baby's... coming" Evelyn breathed as she felt a gush of wetness pour down her inner thighs.
"Holy heaven Evy!" Wide eyed, Jonathan secured his arm around her waist.
"I'm wet!" Evelyn gasped as she gripped his shoulder for support.
"You can't have this baby now!! You can't!!! The doctor's not here. O'Connell is going to KILL ME!!!" Jonathan lamented. "Holy heaven!! O'Connell is going to KILL ME!!!""
"And it hurts like hell!" Evelyn yelled as the cramp's intensity magnified.
"What do I do? Evy!!!! What do I do?!!!!" Jonathan said anxiously. "O'Connell's gonna KILL me! What do I do?!!!"
"aaaahhhh!" Evelyn moaned and grabbed Jonathan's hand as another cramp assaulted her.
"Evy... my hand" he whined as her grip tightened. "You're hurting my hand" he complained.
Evelyn, eyes shut tight, squeezed Jonathan's hand even tighter.
"ooooohhhhh!" she groaned.
"o u c h!" he protested.
Both Carnahan siblings were left moaning in pain. When Evelyn's contraction began to ease, she slowly loosened her hold on Jonathan's hand. Jonathan wasted no time and quickly snatched his hand away from Evelyn's grip.
"I think my fingers are broken" Jonathan murmured as he held up his hand and eyed his battered fingers.
"Forget about YOUR hand Jonathan!!" Evelyn said evilly. "I'M THE ONE having the baby!!" she breathed as she waited with baited breath for another excruciating contraction.
"Yes. Right" Jonathan said as he shook his hand and turned his focus back to Evelyn.
That excruciating contraction Evelyn was waiting for did not delay.
"oooohhhh!!!" Evelyn burst out and leaned into Jonathan as the pain vibrated from her womb and seemed to travel to every part of her body. "god! It hurts" she whined as she dug her fingernails into Jonathan's forearm.
"Evy" Jonathan forgot about her pain and focused on his own. "Your nails are a tad bit biting."
If Evelyn heard him, she did not acknowledge it. Instead she moaned over her pain. Jonathan bore up a little better under the digging nails but was immensely relieved when Evelyn's contraction passed.
"I think it's time we got you home" Jonathan said as he eased his forearm from beneath Evelyn's biting fingernails.
Jonathan took her by the hand and slowly walked Evelyn from the library. As they passed a worried Hamid, Jonathan asked him to ring Rick and tell him that Evelyn was about to deliver their baby.
When Jonathan finally got Evelyn to his car, he held her about the waist with one hand and opened the car door with the other. He helped her in, slammed the door and rushed to the driver's side. Jonathan broke the normally accepted speed limit to get his sister home.
After pulling up in front of the house, he put the car in park and jumped out.
"Damn it!! Jonathan!" he heard an ominous voice shout as he rounded the front of the car.
"Evy's having the baby!" Jonathan explained to his quickly approaching brother-in-law.
Rick's eyes had been pinned on Jonathan the moment he saw the car pulling up to the house. Upon hearing that 'Evy's having the baby', his eyes darted to his wife.
"EVY!" he rushed toward the passenger's side of the car.
Evelyn was at the height of another painful contraction as Jonathan pulled opened the car door.
"aaaahhhhh!!!" she moaned in agony, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Evy! Sweetheart!" Rick shouted anxiously as he pushed Jonathan aside and stepped in and took hold of Evelyn's hand.
"rick..." Evelyn groaned as she squeezed his hand. "it hurts..." she whimpered.
"Jonathan!" Rick said, not taking his eyes off Evelyn. "Go ring the doc! Evelyn, sweetheart" he said in a calming voice as he smoothed her hair back. "Open your eyes and look at me."
After several moments, when the contraction began to ebb, Evelyn slowly opened her eyes.
"I'm scared Rick..." Evelyn whispered as she looked into his loving, worried eyes.
"You don't have to be scared sweetheart" Rick assured her as he caressed her cheek. "I'm right here."
"It hurts so bad" she lamented as a tear escaped her eye.
Feelings of guilt began to assault Rick. "I know sweetheart..."
"No you don't" Evelyn assured him in an acid voice.
"I'm sorry honey" Rick said.
Just then, another contraction began and Evelyn winced as she waited for the pain to increase. When the contraction ended, Rick lifted her from the car and carried her into the house.
"The doctor's on his way" Jonathan anxiously informed the couple as Rick, with Evelyn in his arms, walked through the doorway. "Everything's going to be OK Evy" Jonathan said more for his sake than for hers, as he followed them up the stairs. "The doctor will be here in no time" he said, trying to calm himself down. "He'll be here in no time at all."
When Rick got to the bedroom door, he used his foot to push it open. He took long strides toward the bed then laid Evelyn gently down on it. After only a second or two, Evelyn told Rick she would rather sit in the rocking chair because she could not get comfortable lying down.
Rick immediately scooped her up in his arms and took her over to the rocking chair.
"How ya feeling?" Rick asked with great concern after he set her in the chair.
"OK for now" Evelyn squirmed in the chair as the beginnings of another contraction started. "I want to stand" she said as the cramp began to throb.
Rick helped her to her feet. Evelyn put her hands on his shoulders and laid her forehead into his chest.
"My back hurts..." she whispered into his chest.
Rick automatically began to rub it.
"Lower" she said.
Rick moved his hands to the base of her back and moved his fingers in gentle but firm circular motions.
"Better?" Rick asked.
"oooohhhh!!" Evelyn answered through gritted teeth as the contraction reached its pinnacle.
"Damn it!! Jonathan!" Rick cursed. "Where the hell's the doctor?!!"
"He's coming. He's coming" Jonathan said nervously as he paced back and forth watching his sister agony.
"Walking around a bit might help" Evelyn said when the contraction subsided.
"You don't want to sit?" Rick asked.
Evelyn shook her head 'no'.
"Jonathan" Rick barked as he began to help Evelyn walk around the room. "Go downstairs and look out for the doctor."
Thirty long, agonizing minutes later, the doctor and his nurse were escorted into the bedroom by Jonathan.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Rick shouted as he walked Evelyn around the room.
The doctor did not take offence at Rick's tone or his question. He had plenty of experience dealing with anxious fathers-to-be.
"I WANT THIS PAIN TO STOP!!!" Evelyn screamed as she leaned into Rick, grabbed his forearm and dug her nails into his skin. "GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!!!" she demanded no one in particular.
"OK! OK!" Rick said, experiencing his own pain. "We'll get him out" he said trying to pacify her.
"GET IT OUT NOW!!!" she cried.
"Alright Mr. O'Connell" the doctor said as he walked toward the parents-to-be. "We'll take over from here. You can wait down stairs."
"Is my sister going be alright?" Jonathan asked anxiously. "She seems to be in a LOT of pain" he said as he looked at her with worry.
"She will be fine. The birthing process can be painful but women have endure it since the beginning of time" the doctor said.
"How long is this gonna take?" Rick asked the doctor when he reached their side.
"Depends on the baby. When he decides to come, he'll come. Now" he said in a soothing voice. "Let me and my nurse take your wife" he reached for Evelyn. "And you and your brother-in-law can wait down stairs for the good news."
Rick hesitated but then gave in to the doctor's order.
"I'll be right outside Evy" he said softly, then kissed her forehead before releasing her into the care of the doctor and his nurse.
**********************
"Having a baby sure takes a hell of a long time" Jonathan commented as he turned up a bottle of whiskey to his lips.
It had been 5 hours since the doctor arrived and Jonathan had been drinking for 4 ½ of those 5 hours. And he still was not drunk.
"Aren't you glad you aren't a woman O'Connell?" Jonathan asked.
Rick did not answer but sat silently on the floor next to the bedroom door. Jonathan had been flapping his lips about much of nothing but strangely enough it had not irritated Rick. He just listened with ½ an ear while his mind was focused on Evelyn.
"I'm sure as hell glad that I'm not a woman! For starters, I'd be one ugly dame!!" he laughed. "You'd make an ugly dame too O'Connell!" he said, drawing a slight chuckle from his brother-in-law.
"And my god!" Jonathan continued. "Just think. If I were a woman, I'd be expected to marry and have children!! No thanks!! I'm glad the Almighty decided to make me a man. And I'm glad He decided to let the woman bear the children!!"
The bedroom door opened then and Rick jumped to his feet.
"You're wife's resting Mr. O'Connell" the doctor said.
"Is it over" Jonathan asked before Rick could say anything.
"Not yet" the doctor answered. "He's not quite ready to come."
"How long is this gonna take doc?" Rick asked again as he looked in and saw Evelyn in the bed.
"We just have to wait" the doctor said.