Her back was killing her.
She lay in the nest of pillows she created every night to cushion and support the muscles of her aching body, trying to sleep. She glanced at the clock. 4:27. She'd slept less than two hours. This was getting ridiculous - and the thought of two more weeks was enough to drive her mad.
Robert shifted next to her in his sleep, the arm thrown protectively across her swollen stomach tightening briefly, moving higher on her skin. Creating a new warm spot. A moment later, an ?arm? ?leg? from inside shifted as well, following the heat. Erin smiled. She was tempted to wake him, to indulge in some blissful distraction. But her inner voice chided her, telling her to let him rest. She had, after all, kept him up into the wee hours the night before. And the night before that. She giggled a little to herself. After this pregnancy, it was amazing the man had any fluid left in his body. She wiggled out from under his grasp and rose awkwardly to her feet. She shuffled into the bathroom for what seemed like the fifteenth time since retiring, pressing her hands to the base of her spine. A thump beneath her diaphragm, and she rubbed her belly gently. "I get it, I get it. I'm going."
Gretel and Sophie followed her down the stairs, a spring in her step. "What are you going to do when these cravings are gone, girls?" She grinned, stroking the dog's heads. Rummaging through the fridge, she was rendered breathless by a sharp pain that began in her lower back and slowly slid seductive fingers over her abdomen. Braxton-Hicks. She doubled over a bit, forcing herself to breathe, rubbing the sudden flurry of activity below her navel. "I know," she muttered through clenched teeth. "This isn't fun for me either." A few agonized seconds, and blissful release. Sighing, she straightened, and reached for the milk and the left over fried chicken. She considered returning to bed, but realized he already thought she was crazy. So she grabbed the quilt from the back of the couch and wrapped herself in the crook of the arm. She fished the remote control from between the sofa cushions and began to scan the channels.
She managed to doze off for a bit, but was roused by the rumble of footsteps on the stairs and Gretel's cheerful bark. Sophie, still curled around her feet, raised her head in greeting as well as Robert entered the room. "You okay?"
Erin rubbed her eyes. "Mmm-hmm. Couldn't sleep."
"What's new?" He grinned.
"Cold fried chicken and grape jelly," she giggled at his grimace. "Wish I'd discovered this three months ago." Her breath suddenly hissed through her teeth as the muscles of her abdomen contracted once more. Robert raised an eyebrow. "Having lots of those?" He asked, keeping his voice deliberately mild. Erin glanced around at the clock. It was ten after seven.
"Two or three. Nothing to write home about yet." Disappointment apparent in her voice.
"You sure?"
She nodded.
"You know," he purred silkily, crossing his arms over his chest, "they say sexual endorphins help stimulate uterine contractions."
"Oooh, baby," Erin struggled to her feet. "I just love it when you talk clinical." She stepped over the dogs and into his embrace, offering her mouth up to his. He kissed her deeply, running his hands over her stomach, marveling at the drumming kicks that greeted his touch. "Looks like he wants out of there."
"Or she." Erin smiled coyly. The embraced as they made their way back up the stairs. He slid her robe of her shoulders, breathing in the sight of her, the scent of her skin.
"Damn kid."
Erin swatted his shoulder. "Hey!"
"What? It's gonna show up here soon and then, bam! Hormone Highway is closed for construction. Three months.." He growled in his throat as he pulled her body against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him warmly.
"You'll survive," she grinned. "Besides, between diapers and baths and two am feedings, the time is going to fly. But just in case." She pushed him down onto the bed and moved carefully above him. "Let me give you something to remember.."
When their bodies had cooled, she slept in his arms, listening to the gentle beating of his heart. He lay his hand on her stomach, feeling the child move within, and the occasional tightening of the muscles beneath the skin. Reflexively, he began watching the clock. Twenty minutes, twenty- four, eighteen. he sighed heavily.
The rose from the bed just after noon, and Erin slipped into a hot shower. She was massaging her lower back when another cramping pain pushed all the air from her lungs. She gasped her way through it, wiping the steam from the glass door to see the clock above the sink. 12:17. Remember 12:17. The pain slowly subsided, and she returned to washing her hair. She finished bathing, emerged, dressed. Brushed her teeth. 12:29. She glanced at her watch, adjusted it a bit, fastened it to her wrist. She moved into the closet and pulled out the bag she had packed a few days earlier. She had forgotten to include shampoo. She fumbled through its contents, smiling at the tiny outfits included for the little stranger she'd be bringing home. Laughed at the memory of Robert's grumbled, "If you weren't so damn stubborn we wouldn't have to by green and yellow." She zipped the bag closed and set it back inside the closet.
She was descending the stairs when the next pain hit. 12:36.
She made her way to the kitchen. He sat at the counter, reading the paper. She stroked his back, kissing him between his shoulder blades. She poured a glass of juice and reached for a banana. Read the Metro section over his shoulder, nibbling gently on his ear. He wound an arm absently around her waist. Another pain. It was 12:55.
By three o'clock, they were coming every eleven minutes.
He led her to the couch. "Lie down." She obeyed and he knelt next to her. Began easing her leggings down. Reaching down between her legs, and she grinned. "My strong, handsome doctor."
"Four centimeters. Eighty percent effaced. Get in the car."
"Robert, I'm not even halfway.."
"Doctor's orders." His voice was gruff but there was an undeniable light of excitement in his eyes. "We're going. Now."
By the time they reached the OB ward, the contractions were seven minutes apart, and she was writhing. "Babcock. Alexander. Anybody," she pleaded. "Drugs. NOW!"
They admitted her, set her up in a private room, and started an IV. Babcock arrived, and she could have kissed him. The epidural began to flow, and she sighed in relief. Janie, a tiny blonde OB nurse, grinned as she examined her. "Nick of time, Dr. Romano." Robert looked at her absently. "Huh?"
"I think she's talking to me," Erin groaned as the last edge of pain slipped away. She relaxed against the pillow. "Did you page Dr. Merritt?"
"We did, but she's got a patient laboring in the OR. We may not see her until show time."
A strange sensation spread through Erin's abdomen. "I think my water just broke."
Janie lifted the sheet. "Sure did. It's clear. Now things should really start to move along." The medication made Erin's eyes heavy, and the young nurse smiled. "Nap if you can...you're going to need all your energy soon."
Robert smoothed her hair back from her forehead. "Only you could sleep at a time like this."
She grinned weakly. "Yes, well, excuse me for not sharing your fortitude, Captain Ibuprofen, but I happen to like the good drugs."
He kissed her tenderly. "Think you could survive a few minutes without me?"
Her grin widened. "Let me guess..you want to go strut."
"Oh, yeah."
He stepped off of the elevator and strode through the ER as if on a cloud. He approached the admit desk and leaned on the counter. "Jerry, where's Dr. Lewis?"
"She's doing a pelvic in exam one."
"How ironic. Got a little of that action going on upstairs myself." He began, when Elizabeth emerged from curtain two and called his name.
"Robert? What are you doing here?"
He fixed her with a dazzling grin. "Had to drop the wife off upstairs."
"Nothing's wrong?" Her expression tensed.
"Not at all, Lizzie. But you ought to stop in later. Meet the new little Romano."
"I thought she wasn't due for two more weeks," Elizabeth's tone was nearly impossible for him to critique.
"Yes, well, we Romano's have always been quick, early, eager. And once we set our minds to something..look, point is, we're having a baby. Come by and say hello if you've got the time." He caught sight of Susan heading down the hall. "Gotta dash - I don't think my wife will be reporting for duty tomorrow, and I should probably tell the boss."
Once, he might have been aware of her eyes clinging to him as he walked away. Now, he seemed barely aware that he'd spoken to her at all. Elizabeth sighed heavily, then headed down the hall towards the elevator.
He was chatting animatedly with Susan and Haleh when his pager sounded from his hip. "The fruit of my loins beckons, ladies. If you'll excuse me.." He departed on a wave of their well wishes and took the stairs two at a time. When he arrived back at her bedside, it was clear the edge had worn off her epidural. Her brow was damp with sweat and she shifted uncomfortably against the mattress. He kissed her tenderly, reaching for her pillow from home and propping it behind her back. "Hanging in there?"
She nodded wearily. "How much longer?" She asked the nurse. "I really want to push."
Robert was incredulous. "She's feeling the urge to push and you don't have an OB in here? Where the hell is Dr. Merritt?"
"I'm sorry, Dr. Romano, but her emergency c-section crashed. There's no way she's coming out of that OR." Janie seemed quite flustered.
"What about Gupta?" He demanded.
"She's observing a labor with breech presentation. She can't leave her patient, either."
"Then where the hell is the resident on call?"
"We're - not sure," Janie stammered. "We think he might have stepped out for something to eat."
Romano rolled his tongue in his cheek and clenched his jaw. "Then page Coburn."
"No!"
Erin's passionate cry startled both of them. "No?"
"No! I don't want Janet Coburn anywhere near this baby!"
"You've got to be kidding me, Windsor -" Robert began but she shook her head violently. "We need to get you a doctor-"
"You do it."
"What?!"
"Robert, you've taken strangers, opened up their chests, and reconstructed their hearts. The least you can do for me, your wife, is catch." She was stammering through ragged breaths.
"Erin, I can't remember the last time I delivered a baby." He shook his head.
"Do you remember the last time a woman in labor tried to beat you to death with an IV pole?" Her words were caustic, but her eyes were full of pleading, and the slightest bit of fear. He sighed heavily, and for the first time in years, felt his stomach knot at the idea of the procedure he was about to undertake. He glanced at the cowering nurse and nodded. She hurried to the cart in the corner and retrieved a gown. He shoved his arms into it with that old familiar gesture, then offered his hands out to be gloved. Another nurse began situating Erin in the bed, and he took a deep breath. "All right, let's roll."
In retrospect, it didn't take very long. She was crowning by the time the nurse gave her the green light to push. He would never forget the girl's delighted exclamation.
"This can't be Romano's kid..look at all that hair!"
Reflex clinical thinking taking over. Reaching, turning, asking for suction. A tiny wail, a responding gasp from Erin. "Shoulders now - toughest part. Push for me, now." Slippery purple body in his hands, arms flailing, legs kicking.
He had a son.
Erin had hardly realized he was gone. The rush of narcotics swept through her like a tide, pulling her down into quiet oblivion. She drifted half in and half out of awareness, heard voices from a distance, felt hands on her body. "Nine and a half, one hundred percent, and I can feel the baby's head. Better dial back that drip and let her come around."
A few more minutes of dreamy peace, and then a gnawing edge of pain and pressure. She opened her eyes groggily. "Hey, what happened to my fix?" Janie laughed and started to answer, but her voice was drowned out by a sudden urge from deep within Erin's body, not quite a pain, not quiet an ache, but a contraction demanding response. "Oh, God, I think I need to push."
"No, Erin, don't. Hang on for just a few minutes. We paged Dr. Romano, and we should have an OB in here very soon...."
"Easier said than done - dammit!" She clamped every muscle in her body down on the sensation in her abdomen. She lost herself in the struggle for a few minutes, and then he was there, by her side, holding her hand, his lips on her forehead. Angry at the absence of a doctor. My hero, she thought to herself before a wave of pain swept through her once more. There were heated words, the mention of that woman's name -No! Anyone but her! - and then he caught her gaze from the end of the bed. His voice, a beacon through the tearing agony, soft, encouraging. His eyes, demanding her focus, screwing her concentration down to one single point of swirling chocolate brown.
A burning sense of release.
A small, airy cry.
His voice, another, blessedly agonizing separation.
They were a family.
She lay in the nest of pillows she created every night to cushion and support the muscles of her aching body, trying to sleep. She glanced at the clock. 4:27. She'd slept less than two hours. This was getting ridiculous - and the thought of two more weeks was enough to drive her mad.
Robert shifted next to her in his sleep, the arm thrown protectively across her swollen stomach tightening briefly, moving higher on her skin. Creating a new warm spot. A moment later, an ?arm? ?leg? from inside shifted as well, following the heat. Erin smiled. She was tempted to wake him, to indulge in some blissful distraction. But her inner voice chided her, telling her to let him rest. She had, after all, kept him up into the wee hours the night before. And the night before that. She giggled a little to herself. After this pregnancy, it was amazing the man had any fluid left in his body. She wiggled out from under his grasp and rose awkwardly to her feet. She shuffled into the bathroom for what seemed like the fifteenth time since retiring, pressing her hands to the base of her spine. A thump beneath her diaphragm, and she rubbed her belly gently. "I get it, I get it. I'm going."
Gretel and Sophie followed her down the stairs, a spring in her step. "What are you going to do when these cravings are gone, girls?" She grinned, stroking the dog's heads. Rummaging through the fridge, she was rendered breathless by a sharp pain that began in her lower back and slowly slid seductive fingers over her abdomen. Braxton-Hicks. She doubled over a bit, forcing herself to breathe, rubbing the sudden flurry of activity below her navel. "I know," she muttered through clenched teeth. "This isn't fun for me either." A few agonized seconds, and blissful release. Sighing, she straightened, and reached for the milk and the left over fried chicken. She considered returning to bed, but realized he already thought she was crazy. So she grabbed the quilt from the back of the couch and wrapped herself in the crook of the arm. She fished the remote control from between the sofa cushions and began to scan the channels.
She managed to doze off for a bit, but was roused by the rumble of footsteps on the stairs and Gretel's cheerful bark. Sophie, still curled around her feet, raised her head in greeting as well as Robert entered the room. "You okay?"
Erin rubbed her eyes. "Mmm-hmm. Couldn't sleep."
"What's new?" He grinned.
"Cold fried chicken and grape jelly," she giggled at his grimace. "Wish I'd discovered this three months ago." Her breath suddenly hissed through her teeth as the muscles of her abdomen contracted once more. Robert raised an eyebrow. "Having lots of those?" He asked, keeping his voice deliberately mild. Erin glanced around at the clock. It was ten after seven.
"Two or three. Nothing to write home about yet." Disappointment apparent in her voice.
"You sure?"
She nodded.
"You know," he purred silkily, crossing his arms over his chest, "they say sexual endorphins help stimulate uterine contractions."
"Oooh, baby," Erin struggled to her feet. "I just love it when you talk clinical." She stepped over the dogs and into his embrace, offering her mouth up to his. He kissed her deeply, running his hands over her stomach, marveling at the drumming kicks that greeted his touch. "Looks like he wants out of there."
"Or she." Erin smiled coyly. The embraced as they made their way back up the stairs. He slid her robe of her shoulders, breathing in the sight of her, the scent of her skin.
"Damn kid."
Erin swatted his shoulder. "Hey!"
"What? It's gonna show up here soon and then, bam! Hormone Highway is closed for construction. Three months.." He growled in his throat as he pulled her body against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him warmly.
"You'll survive," she grinned. "Besides, between diapers and baths and two am feedings, the time is going to fly. But just in case." She pushed him down onto the bed and moved carefully above him. "Let me give you something to remember.."
When their bodies had cooled, she slept in his arms, listening to the gentle beating of his heart. He lay his hand on her stomach, feeling the child move within, and the occasional tightening of the muscles beneath the skin. Reflexively, he began watching the clock. Twenty minutes, twenty- four, eighteen. he sighed heavily.
The rose from the bed just after noon, and Erin slipped into a hot shower. She was massaging her lower back when another cramping pain pushed all the air from her lungs. She gasped her way through it, wiping the steam from the glass door to see the clock above the sink. 12:17. Remember 12:17. The pain slowly subsided, and she returned to washing her hair. She finished bathing, emerged, dressed. Brushed her teeth. 12:29. She glanced at her watch, adjusted it a bit, fastened it to her wrist. She moved into the closet and pulled out the bag she had packed a few days earlier. She had forgotten to include shampoo. She fumbled through its contents, smiling at the tiny outfits included for the little stranger she'd be bringing home. Laughed at the memory of Robert's grumbled, "If you weren't so damn stubborn we wouldn't have to by green and yellow." She zipped the bag closed and set it back inside the closet.
She was descending the stairs when the next pain hit. 12:36.
She made her way to the kitchen. He sat at the counter, reading the paper. She stroked his back, kissing him between his shoulder blades. She poured a glass of juice and reached for a banana. Read the Metro section over his shoulder, nibbling gently on his ear. He wound an arm absently around her waist. Another pain. It was 12:55.
By three o'clock, they were coming every eleven minutes.
He led her to the couch. "Lie down." She obeyed and he knelt next to her. Began easing her leggings down. Reaching down between her legs, and she grinned. "My strong, handsome doctor."
"Four centimeters. Eighty percent effaced. Get in the car."
"Robert, I'm not even halfway.."
"Doctor's orders." His voice was gruff but there was an undeniable light of excitement in his eyes. "We're going. Now."
By the time they reached the OB ward, the contractions were seven minutes apart, and she was writhing. "Babcock. Alexander. Anybody," she pleaded. "Drugs. NOW!"
They admitted her, set her up in a private room, and started an IV. Babcock arrived, and she could have kissed him. The epidural began to flow, and she sighed in relief. Janie, a tiny blonde OB nurse, grinned as she examined her. "Nick of time, Dr. Romano." Robert looked at her absently. "Huh?"
"I think she's talking to me," Erin groaned as the last edge of pain slipped away. She relaxed against the pillow. "Did you page Dr. Merritt?"
"We did, but she's got a patient laboring in the OR. We may not see her until show time."
A strange sensation spread through Erin's abdomen. "I think my water just broke."
Janie lifted the sheet. "Sure did. It's clear. Now things should really start to move along." The medication made Erin's eyes heavy, and the young nurse smiled. "Nap if you can...you're going to need all your energy soon."
Robert smoothed her hair back from her forehead. "Only you could sleep at a time like this."
She grinned weakly. "Yes, well, excuse me for not sharing your fortitude, Captain Ibuprofen, but I happen to like the good drugs."
He kissed her tenderly. "Think you could survive a few minutes without me?"
Her grin widened. "Let me guess..you want to go strut."
"Oh, yeah."
He stepped off of the elevator and strode through the ER as if on a cloud. He approached the admit desk and leaned on the counter. "Jerry, where's Dr. Lewis?"
"She's doing a pelvic in exam one."
"How ironic. Got a little of that action going on upstairs myself." He began, when Elizabeth emerged from curtain two and called his name.
"Robert? What are you doing here?"
He fixed her with a dazzling grin. "Had to drop the wife off upstairs."
"Nothing's wrong?" Her expression tensed.
"Not at all, Lizzie. But you ought to stop in later. Meet the new little Romano."
"I thought she wasn't due for two more weeks," Elizabeth's tone was nearly impossible for him to critique.
"Yes, well, we Romano's have always been quick, early, eager. And once we set our minds to something..look, point is, we're having a baby. Come by and say hello if you've got the time." He caught sight of Susan heading down the hall. "Gotta dash - I don't think my wife will be reporting for duty tomorrow, and I should probably tell the boss."
Once, he might have been aware of her eyes clinging to him as he walked away. Now, he seemed barely aware that he'd spoken to her at all. Elizabeth sighed heavily, then headed down the hall towards the elevator.
He was chatting animatedly with Susan and Haleh when his pager sounded from his hip. "The fruit of my loins beckons, ladies. If you'll excuse me.." He departed on a wave of their well wishes and took the stairs two at a time. When he arrived back at her bedside, it was clear the edge had worn off her epidural. Her brow was damp with sweat and she shifted uncomfortably against the mattress. He kissed her tenderly, reaching for her pillow from home and propping it behind her back. "Hanging in there?"
She nodded wearily. "How much longer?" She asked the nurse. "I really want to push."
Robert was incredulous. "She's feeling the urge to push and you don't have an OB in here? Where the hell is Dr. Merritt?"
"I'm sorry, Dr. Romano, but her emergency c-section crashed. There's no way she's coming out of that OR." Janie seemed quite flustered.
"What about Gupta?" He demanded.
"She's observing a labor with breech presentation. She can't leave her patient, either."
"Then where the hell is the resident on call?"
"We're - not sure," Janie stammered. "We think he might have stepped out for something to eat."
Romano rolled his tongue in his cheek and clenched his jaw. "Then page Coburn."
"No!"
Erin's passionate cry startled both of them. "No?"
"No! I don't want Janet Coburn anywhere near this baby!"
"You've got to be kidding me, Windsor -" Robert began but she shook her head violently. "We need to get you a doctor-"
"You do it."
"What?!"
"Robert, you've taken strangers, opened up their chests, and reconstructed their hearts. The least you can do for me, your wife, is catch." She was stammering through ragged breaths.
"Erin, I can't remember the last time I delivered a baby." He shook his head.
"Do you remember the last time a woman in labor tried to beat you to death with an IV pole?" Her words were caustic, but her eyes were full of pleading, and the slightest bit of fear. He sighed heavily, and for the first time in years, felt his stomach knot at the idea of the procedure he was about to undertake. He glanced at the cowering nurse and nodded. She hurried to the cart in the corner and retrieved a gown. He shoved his arms into it with that old familiar gesture, then offered his hands out to be gloved. Another nurse began situating Erin in the bed, and he took a deep breath. "All right, let's roll."
In retrospect, it didn't take very long. She was crowning by the time the nurse gave her the green light to push. He would never forget the girl's delighted exclamation.
"This can't be Romano's kid..look at all that hair!"
Reflex clinical thinking taking over. Reaching, turning, asking for suction. A tiny wail, a responding gasp from Erin. "Shoulders now - toughest part. Push for me, now." Slippery purple body in his hands, arms flailing, legs kicking.
He had a son.
Erin had hardly realized he was gone. The rush of narcotics swept through her like a tide, pulling her down into quiet oblivion. She drifted half in and half out of awareness, heard voices from a distance, felt hands on her body. "Nine and a half, one hundred percent, and I can feel the baby's head. Better dial back that drip and let her come around."
A few more minutes of dreamy peace, and then a gnawing edge of pain and pressure. She opened her eyes groggily. "Hey, what happened to my fix?" Janie laughed and started to answer, but her voice was drowned out by a sudden urge from deep within Erin's body, not quite a pain, not quiet an ache, but a contraction demanding response. "Oh, God, I think I need to push."
"No, Erin, don't. Hang on for just a few minutes. We paged Dr. Romano, and we should have an OB in here very soon...."
"Easier said than done - dammit!" She clamped every muscle in her body down on the sensation in her abdomen. She lost herself in the struggle for a few minutes, and then he was there, by her side, holding her hand, his lips on her forehead. Angry at the absence of a doctor. My hero, she thought to herself before a wave of pain swept through her once more. There were heated words, the mention of that woman's name -No! Anyone but her! - and then he caught her gaze from the end of the bed. His voice, a beacon through the tearing agony, soft, encouraging. His eyes, demanding her focus, screwing her concentration down to one single point of swirling chocolate brown.
A burning sense of release.
A small, airy cry.
His voice, another, blessedly agonizing separation.
They were a family.