As her due date got closer everyone at the station was anxious. Everyone
watched her like a hawk when she was there working on paperwork, which got
a little annoying after a while but she said nothing about it because she
knew it wouldn't do any good. Even going up a small flight of stairs was
very tiresome especially since she was nearing the end of her pregnancy.
A week before her due date they went to their last prenatal appointment. Everything on the ultrasound was normal and she'd had no complications with the pregnancy thus far. Doc had told her to stay home and rest since it was getting close for the baby to be born. He'd greatly appreciated her doing all the paperwork and scheduling for him but as her due date approached he wanted her to relax and not worry about anything else. Joey was getting anxious to see his new brother or sister and normally that's all he could talk about when he wasn't playing video games. Kim's mother came up and stayed with her till Bobby got off from work just as a precautionary measure to make sure nothing happened unexpectedly.
Several days had past after her expected due date and she could tell Bobby was getting nervous. She tried to assure him she was fine and that the same thing had happened when she had Joey but it was working. Even Jimmy told him the same thing when he overheard Alex and Bobby talking, but it didn't make much difference. When she was a week overdue the doctor had her come in for another ultrasound to make sure the baby was doing ok. Since the baby's heart rate was normal the doctor decided to wait and see if the baby came on its own.
"Since everything is fine with the baby we'll wait and see what happens. But if the baby hasn't come by the 31st then we'll either induce labor or you can have the baby by c-section." Dr. Cunningham said to both of them.
"Hopefully we'll see you before the 31st gets here." Kim replied smiling as she and Bobby got ready to leave.
When they got back to the car and headed home, Bobby glanced over at Kim since she was resting her head on the glass.
"Everything ok?" he asked as he put his hand on her stomach.
"Just tired and achy that's all." She replied softly, looking out the window as they headed home.
When they arrived home, he helped her out of the car and together they headed up to their apartment. As they walked through the door Bobby asked, "Do you want to lay down for a bit? It might take some of the pressure off your back."
"That sounds like a good idea," she replied smiling a bit.
When she lay down, Bobby stretched out beside her and told her of the competition Jimmy had started with everyone at work.
"Did I tell you what Jimmy's doing down at the station?" he asked.
"Do I really want to know?" she asked, afraid to hear what her ex-husband was plotting.
"He's having everyone at the station write down their guesses on the baby's gender, length & weight." He said snickering.
"Leave it to him to do that. What are the guesses so far?" she asked.
"DK says it will be a boy that is 20 inches long and weigh 8 lbs. 15 oz; Walsh says it will be a boy that is 21.5 inches long and weigh 9 lbs. 10 oz. Lombardo says it will be a boy that is 21 inches long and weigh 10 lbs. 5 oz. Alex says it will be a girl that is 20 inches long and weigh 7 lbs. 6 oz. Jimmy thinks it will be a boy that is 21 inches long and weigh 9 lbs. 8 oz" He replied.
"Leave it to Alex to go against the crowd." She replied laughing, seeing that all the guys thought she was having a boy.
"I thought that was funny too." He replied chuckling.
"Who do you think will be the closest?" she asked.
"Honestly I don't know, we'll find out soon though." He replied, watching Kim start to drift off to sleep.
He placed a tender kiss on her forehead and fell asleep alongside her, anxiously awaiting the birth of his son or daughter.
On the 29th the day began as any other would. Kim had gotten up to fix something to eat and looked in on Joey who was still asleep. She headed in to take a shower and let the hot water soothe the sore muscles of her back. She glanced down at her large stomach and wondered when she would be having the baby. She knew the wait was driving Bobby crazy but since neither she or the baby were in any danger he didn't say anything. After spending about thirty minutes in the shower she changed clothes and got Joey up so he could eat breakfast. While Joey straightened up his room she made herself an omelet with green peppers, tomatoes and small pieces of ham in the middle. When Joey joined her in the kitchen he asked for an omelet with just cheese in it. Bobby awoke to the smell of eggs cooking and got up. He walked in just as she put the plate in front of Joey.
"Good morning," she said smiling as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Good morning to you too." He replied, resting his hands on her pregnant stomach.
"What kind of omelet do you want?" she asked as she started to pour the egg mixture into the skillet.
"Just ham and cheese in mine." He replied, taking a seat next to Joey.
Several minutes later she put the plate in front of him and sat down and they enjoyed a quiet family breakfast, talking primarily about how anxious they were for the baby to arrive. After breakfast was over she was getting ready to start on dishes when Bobby looked up at her and asked curiously, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting ready to do dishes." She replied, starting to run water in the sink.
"Oh no you don't." he replied, getting up from the table; "You cooked breakfast so I'll do the dishes."
Bobby turned and looked at Joey who had just finished eating and said, "Hey Joey, take her in the living room and play video games or something."
"Me doing dishes isn't going to hurt anything," she said as Joey took her hand and began to lead her to the living room.
"You need to be resting and not worrying about stuff like this." He replied, watching Joey lead her to the living room.
She decided not to argue with him and followed her son into the living room and propped herself up on the couch, while he stretched out in the floor and started up the game system. After finishing the dishes, Bobby straightened up the kitchen and joined Kim and Joey in the living room. They played video games up until it was time for Bobby to get ready to leave for work. As he got up to get ready for work he asked, "Is your mom coming over after I leave for work?"
"She should be here any minute." She replied watching him leave to get ready for work.
As she turned her attention back to her son and the game he was playing, a soft sigh escaped her lips as she rested her head on the arm of the couch. A short time later there was a knock at the door and she slowly began to stand to answer it. Joey looked at his mother and got up off the floor said, "I'll get the door."
Kim eased herself back down on the couch and curled up as Joey let in his grandmother. As Kim's mother entered she gave her grandson a hug and headed over to where her daughter was curled up on the couch. Joey locked the front door and took up his spot back on the floor and began to the play the game he'd paused. She raised her head up off the couch and saw her mother putting her purse in one of the chairs and head towards where she was laying.
"How are you feeling this afternoon?" her mother asked, leaning on the back of the couch.
"A little tired but pretty good," she replied sitting up slowly.
She saw Bobby heading towards the living room out of the corner of her eye as she talked to her mother. Joey paused the game he was playing and hopped up on the couch beside his mother and joined in the conversation they were having. After Bobby left for work Kim looked over at her mother and said, "I hate to crash the party, but I'm going to go lay down for a bit."
Her mother watched her head into the other room and stayed with Joey in the living room talking to him while he played video games. She curled up under a blanket on her side and soon drifted off to sleep unaware that she would soon be going through the first stages of labor. Several hours later she awoke to a constant ache in her lower back. She sat up and rubbed her lower back, hoping to cause the ache to dissipate so she could go back to sleep for a bit. After several minutes she was able to lay back down and go back to sleep. Around seven-thirty her mother came in and woke her up, asking her what she wanted for dinner.
"You feel up to eating dinner?" her mother asked as she sat next to her daughter.
Kim shook her head no, feeling a sharper pain in her back than what she'd felt earlier.
"I'm going to go get dinner for the rest of us, will you be ok alone?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, running her hands through her hair.
"I'll have Joey stay here with you incase you need anything while I'm gone." her mother said.
"Ok, I'm gonna go take a shower and see if it helps ease the pain in my back." Kim replied, slowly standing up.
As Kim shut the door behind her, Joey looked up and saw his grandmother on her way back to the living room.
"Hey Joey, what do you want for dinner?" she asked.
"Pizza!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"You behave for your mother while I'm gone. You know the drill incase something would happen, right?" she asked.
"Yep," Joey replied turning off the game station.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." She replied giving her grandson a kiss on the cheek before she left.
Ten minutes later Kim emerged from the bathroom and slowly headed towards Joey in the living room. He heard his mother coming down the hall and turned his head in her direction. When she sat down next to him on the couch he could tell something wasn't right.
"Mom? Are you ok?" he asked putting his hand on her arm.
"I'm fine baby, just sore and tired." She said, as she felt the pain that had started in her back descend into her legs and felt the once mild contractions that had started while she'd slept begin to intensify as they became more frequent.
She got up again and slowly walked back down the hall hoping that walking might help reduce the pain her legs. She stopped near the bathroom when a very strong contraction tore through her. She leaned heavily against the wall and waited for the contraction to stop before she continued on, stopping in the bathroom again. Another sharp contraction hit her as she sat on the toilet when she felt her water break. As soon as the contraction was over she headed back to where Joey was and eased herself down on the couch and said, "Hey Joey, go call Bobby and tell him the baby's coming."
Joey ran into the kitchen and got Bobby's cell phone number off the refrigerator door and picked up the phone and dialed the number, looking nervously at his mother, seeing her wince as another contraction hit.
Bobby and Alex had just returned to the station from a call when his cell phone began to ring. He looked at the number flashing and felt his stomach tighten as he answered. As soon as Joey heard his voice he began to talk a mile a minute telling Bobby what had happened.
"Joey? Wait a minute, slow down and tell me what's wrong." He said nervously as he looked over at Alex, stopping in his tracks.
As soon as Alex heard Bobby tell Joey to slow down she spun around to face him, seeing a look of fear cross his face.
As soon as Joey repeated everything he'd said only slower, Bobby replied, "Leave a note for your grandmother and unlock the door, I'm coming to get you."
As soon as he got off the phone with Joey, Alex looked over at him and said, "Is Kim ok?"
"She's going into labor. You drive I've got to make some calls on our way over to get her." He replied as they ran back to the bus.
Bobby called the doctor first and told her what Joey had told him and that they were coming in. As soon as they pulled up he and Alex dashed up to the apartment, where Joey had the stuck his head out the door watching for them.
To Joey, it seemed like an eternity had gone by before Bobby and Alex arrived. He'd already gone around the apartment making sure everything was turned off except for the light in the living room. They both heard the sound of a siren approaching and knew Bobby was here. Joey looked up at his mother and asked softly, "Is there anything else I can do?"
"Not really, you've been a great help so far." She replied, hugging him close. Several minutes later both Alex and Bobby were in the apartment and Joey was very relieved when he saw them come through the door. Joey and Alex went on ahead and took the bags they'd packed in advance down to the bus and came back up incase something happened. Bobby helped her off the couch and together the group of four headed down to the bus. Alex drove and Joey sat in the passenger seat beside her, glancing back at his mother as they drove. Luckily the traffic was light for that time of evening so it didn't take long for them to get to the hospital, arriving there a little after eight o clock at night.
While she got situated to her room after being admitted, Bobby called his mother to let her know the baby was coming and Alex called down to the station and let them know what was going on. About five minutes later Kim's mother arrived on the unit after finding Joey's note in the apartment when she'd arrived from getting dinner. She spotted Bobby on his cell phone and headed in his direction to find out how her daughter was doing. As soon as things settled down in her room, Bobby took her mother and Joey in to see her while Alex waited for some of the guys from the station to come down. The group of four sat talking for a while as they waited for the labor to progress when it hit her mother that she should call Melanie to let her know that her sister was going to be having the baby soon.
"I'm going to go call Melanie and let her know what's going on, I'll be right back." Her mother said as she stood up.
"Can I talk to Aunt Melanie too?" Joey chimed in before she'd left the room.
"Sure," her mother replied smiling.
Bobby placed a gentle kiss on Kim's forehead and said smiling, "I guess we don't have to worry about coming back on the 31st, now do we."
"Leave it to you to crack jokes." She replied smiling as Dr. Cunningham walked in.
"You want to listen to any CD's or anything?" Bobby asked Kim, going through the bag they'd brought with them.
"Sure, go ahead and put something on." Kim replied as the doctor closed the door.
"Let's see how things are coming." Dr. Cunningham said, pulling the curtain around the bed incase anyone walked through the door.
"Five centimeters so far. Everything is progressing slowly but nicely." The doctor replied smiling before leaving the room.
Kim began to relax as the music from the CD he'd put on played softly until another strong contraction hit. As the contraction passed she slowly collapsed back onto the bed, not wanting to aggravate her back anymore than what it already was.
"Do you want me to rub your back and see if that helps any?" he asked, noticing the discomfort she was in.
"You can try and see if it helps." She replied as another contraction ended.
"Scoot down a bit so I can sit behind you." he said.
After she moved down he sat behind her and began to massage the lower part of her back and said, "Let me know if this helps any."
A few minutes later he stopped and said, "Feel any better?"
"Much better," she replied, happy to have some temporary relief from the pain in her back.
Kim looked over at Bobby who had gone back to sitting in the chair by the right side of her bed and could tell he was thinking about something.
"You look deep in thought, wanna share?" she asked, rolling onto her right side looking at him.
He heard Kim's voice cut through his thoughts and bring him back to his senses and replied softly, "Just thinking about how close we are to seeing our new son or daughter."
Kim began to smile and said, "I know. The wait is the hardest part of the whole process."
"I'm gonna grab something to drink, you want anything?" he asked as he stood up.
"A cup of ice would be fine." She replied, sitting up for a bit.
"Ok, be right back." He said, before placing a gentle kiss on her lips before he left.
When he left Kim's room he found her mother, Joey, Kim's sister Melanie, his mother and sisters all sitting out in the waiting room talking up a storm. Joey looked up and saw Bobby and asked anxiously, "Is the baby here yet?"
"Not yet. It'll be a little while longer before the baby is here." He replied seeing the expression on Joey's face.
"Be right back, gotta take her a cup of ice." He replied before he headed off down the hall towards her room.
She looked up as Bobby came back into her room carrying the soda and her cup of ice and said, "Don't you think my mom should have been back by now?"
"Don't worry she's fine. Your mom, Joey, Melanie, my mom and sisters are all sitting outside talking." He replied laughing.
"I should have known," Kim replied laughing.
Bobby sat down on the edge of her bed and passed her the cup of ice and said, "The first thing out of Joey's mouth when he saw me was 'Is the baby here yet.' "
She had to laugh at the comment her son had made, when Bobby said, "I think he's getting anxious to be the big brother."
"And I know someone who is going to be an amazing father." Kim replied after placing a piece of ice in her very dry mouth.
One hour later the contractions had intensified in severity and were coming much more frequently. It was hard for him to see her in so much pain but the end result would more than make up for it. Minutes later one of the nurses came in to check and see how she was doing and see how far dilated she was. As soon as the latest contraction subsided, the nurse said smiling, "You're up to 9 centimeters, and progressing nicely."
As another very strong contraction ended, she collapsed back onto the bed. Exhaustion lingered on her mind from all of the strong contractions, but pushed it away focusing on how soon it would be before their child was born. Things outside her room were settling down a bit and most of the firefighters from the 55 would be coming over after their shift but D.K and Jimmy sat with Alex anxiously awaiting any news. D.K looked over at Jimmy and said, "You didn't forget your estimation paper did you?"
Jimmy rolled his eyes at D.K and said, "Not the best time to ask that, but much to your disappointment it's here in my pocket."
Alex just shook her head at them and began to wonder how Kim was doing.
Kim's mother and Joey left for a moment to get something to drink and update the waiting area on how she was doing. Alex looked up and saw them heading for the soda machines and headed in the same direction.
"How's she doing?" Alex asked, removing a soda from the machine.
"She's in quite a bit of pain with the contractions. She's dilated 9 cm so we just sit and wait till the time comes." She replied as Joey got a soda from the machine.
"How's Bobby holding up to all this?" Alex questioned.
"He's hardly budged through the whole thing. Compared to Jimmy when Joey was born I have to say he hasn't lost his cool through any of this. Jimmy on the other hand just about went nuts on us." Kim's mother replied before she and Joey headed back to her room.
Alex walked backed over to her chair and sat down when Jimmy asked, "How's Kim doing?"
"In a lot of pain, but doing fine." She replied.
"I'm betting she's not going for an epidural to help relieve some of that either." Jimmy said looking towards her room.
"Why do you say that?" Alex asked curiously.
"Because she didn't have one with Joey either, no matter how much I tried to persuade her to." He replied, looking from Kim's room over to Alex.
Bobby glanced up at the clock on the wall; it read 9:15 pm. He too was fighting exhaustion but didn't dare say anything because that was nothing compared to what Kim was going through. Joey had fallen asleep across his grandmother's lap and Melanie was still wide-awake though. Melanie got up to go get something to drink and put her hand on Bobby's shoulder and said, "You want anything to drink?"
"Coffee would be fine." He replied, not taking his eyes off Kim.
Melanie nodded and disappeared from the room and headed down the hall. Kim closed her eyes briefly as the latest contraction had ended, and tried to rest a bit because she could tell that soon it would be time to start pushing. The door to her room opened and one of the nurses walked in, followed by Melanie with a soda and a cup of coffee for Bobby. She opened her eyes when she heard the door open and saw her sister and one of the nurses walk in.
"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked Kim after closing the door to the room.
"Pretty tired along with having the increased urge to push." She replied, wincing at another contraction.
"Let's see how far along you are." The nurse replied, getting a pair of latex exam gloves; "You're up to 10 cm so as soon as Dr. Cunningham comes in you should be able to start pushing."
As the nurse hurried off to find Dr. Cunningham, Kim sat up trying to prepare herself for the pushing stage of labor. Bobby sat down on the edge of the bed beside her gently began to rub her lower back. A sigh of relief escaped her as some of the pain in her back went down, but it didn't last long. Joey awoke to the sounds of movement in the room and saw nurses getting supplies ready. Dr. Cunningham entered the room smiling and said, "I hear you're finally going to have that baby."
"Finally," Kim replied, bracing herself for another contraction.
"You're completely dilated so on the next contraction you can start pushing." She said.
Feeling the next contraction coming, she braced herself and got ready to start pushing. Joey sat on his grandmother's lap watching what was going on, feeling a little scared seeing his mom hurting so much. Beads of sweat were rolling down her face partially from the hot flashes she'd started to have and partially related to the effort she was putting in trying to push the baby out. Melanie fixed two cold wash cloths for her, one to put on the back of her neck to try and cool her down and the other to put on her forehead. Joey got off his grandmother's lap and sat to the left of his mother, he could tell she was utterly exhausted. The intense pain kept increasing as the baby got closer and closer to coming out. Pushing helped ease the pain but didn't help that much. Tears made their way down her face as she pushed through another excruciating contraction, a small cry leaving her mouth as she felt close to passing the baby's head.
By 9:43 pm the baby's head was almost ready to crown. During a brief break in between contractions she said tiredly, "I don't know how much more of this I can take."
"It's almost over baby. I know you're tired, only a little while longer." Bobby whispered into her ear as she pushed her way through another contraction.
She heard the doctor telling her something as well as Bobby whispering something in her ear but the burning pain she felt as the baby's head crowned drowned out what was being said. She began to tremble a bit as she felt the next contraction tear through her, the burning pain increasing causing her to cry out in pain and tears stream down her cheeks.
She focused on the task of pushing, not paying close attention to what was being said around her until she heard the words, "The baby's head is out." Dr. Cunningham began to suction the baby's nose and mouth and said, "You're almost through. One more hard push and the baby will be out."
Kim dug in and on the next contraction pushed as hard as she could, feeling another bout of pain as the baby's shoulder's appeared. In an instant she felt a sense of relief as the baby slipped into the hands of Dr. Cunningham. Kim collapsed against Bobby, physically exhausted from everything. In almost no time a shrill cry of a baby filled the room. Dr. Cunningham smiled as she placed the baby on Kim's chest and said, "Say hello to your new daughter."
A week before her due date they went to their last prenatal appointment. Everything on the ultrasound was normal and she'd had no complications with the pregnancy thus far. Doc had told her to stay home and rest since it was getting close for the baby to be born. He'd greatly appreciated her doing all the paperwork and scheduling for him but as her due date approached he wanted her to relax and not worry about anything else. Joey was getting anxious to see his new brother or sister and normally that's all he could talk about when he wasn't playing video games. Kim's mother came up and stayed with her till Bobby got off from work just as a precautionary measure to make sure nothing happened unexpectedly.
Several days had past after her expected due date and she could tell Bobby was getting nervous. She tried to assure him she was fine and that the same thing had happened when she had Joey but it was working. Even Jimmy told him the same thing when he overheard Alex and Bobby talking, but it didn't make much difference. When she was a week overdue the doctor had her come in for another ultrasound to make sure the baby was doing ok. Since the baby's heart rate was normal the doctor decided to wait and see if the baby came on its own.
"Since everything is fine with the baby we'll wait and see what happens. But if the baby hasn't come by the 31st then we'll either induce labor or you can have the baby by c-section." Dr. Cunningham said to both of them.
"Hopefully we'll see you before the 31st gets here." Kim replied smiling as she and Bobby got ready to leave.
When they got back to the car and headed home, Bobby glanced over at Kim since she was resting her head on the glass.
"Everything ok?" he asked as he put his hand on her stomach.
"Just tired and achy that's all." She replied softly, looking out the window as they headed home.
When they arrived home, he helped her out of the car and together they headed up to their apartment. As they walked through the door Bobby asked, "Do you want to lay down for a bit? It might take some of the pressure off your back."
"That sounds like a good idea," she replied smiling a bit.
When she lay down, Bobby stretched out beside her and told her of the competition Jimmy had started with everyone at work.
"Did I tell you what Jimmy's doing down at the station?" he asked.
"Do I really want to know?" she asked, afraid to hear what her ex-husband was plotting.
"He's having everyone at the station write down their guesses on the baby's gender, length & weight." He said snickering.
"Leave it to him to do that. What are the guesses so far?" she asked.
"DK says it will be a boy that is 20 inches long and weigh 8 lbs. 15 oz; Walsh says it will be a boy that is 21.5 inches long and weigh 9 lbs. 10 oz. Lombardo says it will be a boy that is 21 inches long and weigh 10 lbs. 5 oz. Alex says it will be a girl that is 20 inches long and weigh 7 lbs. 6 oz. Jimmy thinks it will be a boy that is 21 inches long and weigh 9 lbs. 8 oz" He replied.
"Leave it to Alex to go against the crowd." She replied laughing, seeing that all the guys thought she was having a boy.
"I thought that was funny too." He replied chuckling.
"Who do you think will be the closest?" she asked.
"Honestly I don't know, we'll find out soon though." He replied, watching Kim start to drift off to sleep.
He placed a tender kiss on her forehead and fell asleep alongside her, anxiously awaiting the birth of his son or daughter.
On the 29th the day began as any other would. Kim had gotten up to fix something to eat and looked in on Joey who was still asleep. She headed in to take a shower and let the hot water soothe the sore muscles of her back. She glanced down at her large stomach and wondered when she would be having the baby. She knew the wait was driving Bobby crazy but since neither she or the baby were in any danger he didn't say anything. After spending about thirty minutes in the shower she changed clothes and got Joey up so he could eat breakfast. While Joey straightened up his room she made herself an omelet with green peppers, tomatoes and small pieces of ham in the middle. When Joey joined her in the kitchen he asked for an omelet with just cheese in it. Bobby awoke to the smell of eggs cooking and got up. He walked in just as she put the plate in front of Joey.
"Good morning," she said smiling as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Good morning to you too." He replied, resting his hands on her pregnant stomach.
"What kind of omelet do you want?" she asked as she started to pour the egg mixture into the skillet.
"Just ham and cheese in mine." He replied, taking a seat next to Joey.
Several minutes later she put the plate in front of him and sat down and they enjoyed a quiet family breakfast, talking primarily about how anxious they were for the baby to arrive. After breakfast was over she was getting ready to start on dishes when Bobby looked up at her and asked curiously, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting ready to do dishes." She replied, starting to run water in the sink.
"Oh no you don't." he replied, getting up from the table; "You cooked breakfast so I'll do the dishes."
Bobby turned and looked at Joey who had just finished eating and said, "Hey Joey, take her in the living room and play video games or something."
"Me doing dishes isn't going to hurt anything," she said as Joey took her hand and began to lead her to the living room.
"You need to be resting and not worrying about stuff like this." He replied, watching Joey lead her to the living room.
She decided not to argue with him and followed her son into the living room and propped herself up on the couch, while he stretched out in the floor and started up the game system. After finishing the dishes, Bobby straightened up the kitchen and joined Kim and Joey in the living room. They played video games up until it was time for Bobby to get ready to leave for work. As he got up to get ready for work he asked, "Is your mom coming over after I leave for work?"
"She should be here any minute." She replied watching him leave to get ready for work.
As she turned her attention back to her son and the game he was playing, a soft sigh escaped her lips as she rested her head on the arm of the couch. A short time later there was a knock at the door and she slowly began to stand to answer it. Joey looked at his mother and got up off the floor said, "I'll get the door."
Kim eased herself back down on the couch and curled up as Joey let in his grandmother. As Kim's mother entered she gave her grandson a hug and headed over to where her daughter was curled up on the couch. Joey locked the front door and took up his spot back on the floor and began to the play the game he'd paused. She raised her head up off the couch and saw her mother putting her purse in one of the chairs and head towards where she was laying.
"How are you feeling this afternoon?" her mother asked, leaning on the back of the couch.
"A little tired but pretty good," she replied sitting up slowly.
She saw Bobby heading towards the living room out of the corner of her eye as she talked to her mother. Joey paused the game he was playing and hopped up on the couch beside his mother and joined in the conversation they were having. After Bobby left for work Kim looked over at her mother and said, "I hate to crash the party, but I'm going to go lay down for a bit."
Her mother watched her head into the other room and stayed with Joey in the living room talking to him while he played video games. She curled up under a blanket on her side and soon drifted off to sleep unaware that she would soon be going through the first stages of labor. Several hours later she awoke to a constant ache in her lower back. She sat up and rubbed her lower back, hoping to cause the ache to dissipate so she could go back to sleep for a bit. After several minutes she was able to lay back down and go back to sleep. Around seven-thirty her mother came in and woke her up, asking her what she wanted for dinner.
"You feel up to eating dinner?" her mother asked as she sat next to her daughter.
Kim shook her head no, feeling a sharper pain in her back than what she'd felt earlier.
"I'm going to go get dinner for the rest of us, will you be ok alone?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, running her hands through her hair.
"I'll have Joey stay here with you incase you need anything while I'm gone." her mother said.
"Ok, I'm gonna go take a shower and see if it helps ease the pain in my back." Kim replied, slowly standing up.
As Kim shut the door behind her, Joey looked up and saw his grandmother on her way back to the living room.
"Hey Joey, what do you want for dinner?" she asked.
"Pizza!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"You behave for your mother while I'm gone. You know the drill incase something would happen, right?" she asked.
"Yep," Joey replied turning off the game station.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." She replied giving her grandson a kiss on the cheek before she left.
Ten minutes later Kim emerged from the bathroom and slowly headed towards Joey in the living room. He heard his mother coming down the hall and turned his head in her direction. When she sat down next to him on the couch he could tell something wasn't right.
"Mom? Are you ok?" he asked putting his hand on her arm.
"I'm fine baby, just sore and tired." She said, as she felt the pain that had started in her back descend into her legs and felt the once mild contractions that had started while she'd slept begin to intensify as they became more frequent.
She got up again and slowly walked back down the hall hoping that walking might help reduce the pain her legs. She stopped near the bathroom when a very strong contraction tore through her. She leaned heavily against the wall and waited for the contraction to stop before she continued on, stopping in the bathroom again. Another sharp contraction hit her as she sat on the toilet when she felt her water break. As soon as the contraction was over she headed back to where Joey was and eased herself down on the couch and said, "Hey Joey, go call Bobby and tell him the baby's coming."
Joey ran into the kitchen and got Bobby's cell phone number off the refrigerator door and picked up the phone and dialed the number, looking nervously at his mother, seeing her wince as another contraction hit.
Bobby and Alex had just returned to the station from a call when his cell phone began to ring. He looked at the number flashing and felt his stomach tighten as he answered. As soon as Joey heard his voice he began to talk a mile a minute telling Bobby what had happened.
"Joey? Wait a minute, slow down and tell me what's wrong." He said nervously as he looked over at Alex, stopping in his tracks.
As soon as Alex heard Bobby tell Joey to slow down she spun around to face him, seeing a look of fear cross his face.
As soon as Joey repeated everything he'd said only slower, Bobby replied, "Leave a note for your grandmother and unlock the door, I'm coming to get you."
As soon as he got off the phone with Joey, Alex looked over at him and said, "Is Kim ok?"
"She's going into labor. You drive I've got to make some calls on our way over to get her." He replied as they ran back to the bus.
Bobby called the doctor first and told her what Joey had told him and that they were coming in. As soon as they pulled up he and Alex dashed up to the apartment, where Joey had the stuck his head out the door watching for them.
To Joey, it seemed like an eternity had gone by before Bobby and Alex arrived. He'd already gone around the apartment making sure everything was turned off except for the light in the living room. They both heard the sound of a siren approaching and knew Bobby was here. Joey looked up at his mother and asked softly, "Is there anything else I can do?"
"Not really, you've been a great help so far." She replied, hugging him close. Several minutes later both Alex and Bobby were in the apartment and Joey was very relieved when he saw them come through the door. Joey and Alex went on ahead and took the bags they'd packed in advance down to the bus and came back up incase something happened. Bobby helped her off the couch and together the group of four headed down to the bus. Alex drove and Joey sat in the passenger seat beside her, glancing back at his mother as they drove. Luckily the traffic was light for that time of evening so it didn't take long for them to get to the hospital, arriving there a little after eight o clock at night.
While she got situated to her room after being admitted, Bobby called his mother to let her know the baby was coming and Alex called down to the station and let them know what was going on. About five minutes later Kim's mother arrived on the unit after finding Joey's note in the apartment when she'd arrived from getting dinner. She spotted Bobby on his cell phone and headed in his direction to find out how her daughter was doing. As soon as things settled down in her room, Bobby took her mother and Joey in to see her while Alex waited for some of the guys from the station to come down. The group of four sat talking for a while as they waited for the labor to progress when it hit her mother that she should call Melanie to let her know that her sister was going to be having the baby soon.
"I'm going to go call Melanie and let her know what's going on, I'll be right back." Her mother said as she stood up.
"Can I talk to Aunt Melanie too?" Joey chimed in before she'd left the room.
"Sure," her mother replied smiling.
Bobby placed a gentle kiss on Kim's forehead and said smiling, "I guess we don't have to worry about coming back on the 31st, now do we."
"Leave it to you to crack jokes." She replied smiling as Dr. Cunningham walked in.
"You want to listen to any CD's or anything?" Bobby asked Kim, going through the bag they'd brought with them.
"Sure, go ahead and put something on." Kim replied as the doctor closed the door.
"Let's see how things are coming." Dr. Cunningham said, pulling the curtain around the bed incase anyone walked through the door.
"Five centimeters so far. Everything is progressing slowly but nicely." The doctor replied smiling before leaving the room.
Kim began to relax as the music from the CD he'd put on played softly until another strong contraction hit. As the contraction passed she slowly collapsed back onto the bed, not wanting to aggravate her back anymore than what it already was.
"Do you want me to rub your back and see if that helps any?" he asked, noticing the discomfort she was in.
"You can try and see if it helps." She replied as another contraction ended.
"Scoot down a bit so I can sit behind you." he said.
After she moved down he sat behind her and began to massage the lower part of her back and said, "Let me know if this helps any."
A few minutes later he stopped and said, "Feel any better?"
"Much better," she replied, happy to have some temporary relief from the pain in her back.
Kim looked over at Bobby who had gone back to sitting in the chair by the right side of her bed and could tell he was thinking about something.
"You look deep in thought, wanna share?" she asked, rolling onto her right side looking at him.
He heard Kim's voice cut through his thoughts and bring him back to his senses and replied softly, "Just thinking about how close we are to seeing our new son or daughter."
Kim began to smile and said, "I know. The wait is the hardest part of the whole process."
"I'm gonna grab something to drink, you want anything?" he asked as he stood up.
"A cup of ice would be fine." She replied, sitting up for a bit.
"Ok, be right back." He said, before placing a gentle kiss on her lips before he left.
When he left Kim's room he found her mother, Joey, Kim's sister Melanie, his mother and sisters all sitting out in the waiting room talking up a storm. Joey looked up and saw Bobby and asked anxiously, "Is the baby here yet?"
"Not yet. It'll be a little while longer before the baby is here." He replied seeing the expression on Joey's face.
"Be right back, gotta take her a cup of ice." He replied before he headed off down the hall towards her room.
She looked up as Bobby came back into her room carrying the soda and her cup of ice and said, "Don't you think my mom should have been back by now?"
"Don't worry she's fine. Your mom, Joey, Melanie, my mom and sisters are all sitting outside talking." He replied laughing.
"I should have known," Kim replied laughing.
Bobby sat down on the edge of her bed and passed her the cup of ice and said, "The first thing out of Joey's mouth when he saw me was 'Is the baby here yet.' "
She had to laugh at the comment her son had made, when Bobby said, "I think he's getting anxious to be the big brother."
"And I know someone who is going to be an amazing father." Kim replied after placing a piece of ice in her very dry mouth.
One hour later the contractions had intensified in severity and were coming much more frequently. It was hard for him to see her in so much pain but the end result would more than make up for it. Minutes later one of the nurses came in to check and see how she was doing and see how far dilated she was. As soon as the latest contraction subsided, the nurse said smiling, "You're up to 9 centimeters, and progressing nicely."
As another very strong contraction ended, she collapsed back onto the bed. Exhaustion lingered on her mind from all of the strong contractions, but pushed it away focusing on how soon it would be before their child was born. Things outside her room were settling down a bit and most of the firefighters from the 55 would be coming over after their shift but D.K and Jimmy sat with Alex anxiously awaiting any news. D.K looked over at Jimmy and said, "You didn't forget your estimation paper did you?"
Jimmy rolled his eyes at D.K and said, "Not the best time to ask that, but much to your disappointment it's here in my pocket."
Alex just shook her head at them and began to wonder how Kim was doing.
Kim's mother and Joey left for a moment to get something to drink and update the waiting area on how she was doing. Alex looked up and saw them heading for the soda machines and headed in the same direction.
"How's she doing?" Alex asked, removing a soda from the machine.
"She's in quite a bit of pain with the contractions. She's dilated 9 cm so we just sit and wait till the time comes." She replied as Joey got a soda from the machine.
"How's Bobby holding up to all this?" Alex questioned.
"He's hardly budged through the whole thing. Compared to Jimmy when Joey was born I have to say he hasn't lost his cool through any of this. Jimmy on the other hand just about went nuts on us." Kim's mother replied before she and Joey headed back to her room.
Alex walked backed over to her chair and sat down when Jimmy asked, "How's Kim doing?"
"In a lot of pain, but doing fine." She replied.
"I'm betting she's not going for an epidural to help relieve some of that either." Jimmy said looking towards her room.
"Why do you say that?" Alex asked curiously.
"Because she didn't have one with Joey either, no matter how much I tried to persuade her to." He replied, looking from Kim's room over to Alex.
Bobby glanced up at the clock on the wall; it read 9:15 pm. He too was fighting exhaustion but didn't dare say anything because that was nothing compared to what Kim was going through. Joey had fallen asleep across his grandmother's lap and Melanie was still wide-awake though. Melanie got up to go get something to drink and put her hand on Bobby's shoulder and said, "You want anything to drink?"
"Coffee would be fine." He replied, not taking his eyes off Kim.
Melanie nodded and disappeared from the room and headed down the hall. Kim closed her eyes briefly as the latest contraction had ended, and tried to rest a bit because she could tell that soon it would be time to start pushing. The door to her room opened and one of the nurses walked in, followed by Melanie with a soda and a cup of coffee for Bobby. She opened her eyes when she heard the door open and saw her sister and one of the nurses walk in.
"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked Kim after closing the door to the room.
"Pretty tired along with having the increased urge to push." She replied, wincing at another contraction.
"Let's see how far along you are." The nurse replied, getting a pair of latex exam gloves; "You're up to 10 cm so as soon as Dr. Cunningham comes in you should be able to start pushing."
As the nurse hurried off to find Dr. Cunningham, Kim sat up trying to prepare herself for the pushing stage of labor. Bobby sat down on the edge of the bed beside her gently began to rub her lower back. A sigh of relief escaped her as some of the pain in her back went down, but it didn't last long. Joey awoke to the sounds of movement in the room and saw nurses getting supplies ready. Dr. Cunningham entered the room smiling and said, "I hear you're finally going to have that baby."
"Finally," Kim replied, bracing herself for another contraction.
"You're completely dilated so on the next contraction you can start pushing." She said.
Feeling the next contraction coming, she braced herself and got ready to start pushing. Joey sat on his grandmother's lap watching what was going on, feeling a little scared seeing his mom hurting so much. Beads of sweat were rolling down her face partially from the hot flashes she'd started to have and partially related to the effort she was putting in trying to push the baby out. Melanie fixed two cold wash cloths for her, one to put on the back of her neck to try and cool her down and the other to put on her forehead. Joey got off his grandmother's lap and sat to the left of his mother, he could tell she was utterly exhausted. The intense pain kept increasing as the baby got closer and closer to coming out. Pushing helped ease the pain but didn't help that much. Tears made their way down her face as she pushed through another excruciating contraction, a small cry leaving her mouth as she felt close to passing the baby's head.
By 9:43 pm the baby's head was almost ready to crown. During a brief break in between contractions she said tiredly, "I don't know how much more of this I can take."
"It's almost over baby. I know you're tired, only a little while longer." Bobby whispered into her ear as she pushed her way through another contraction.
She heard the doctor telling her something as well as Bobby whispering something in her ear but the burning pain she felt as the baby's head crowned drowned out what was being said. She began to tremble a bit as she felt the next contraction tear through her, the burning pain increasing causing her to cry out in pain and tears stream down her cheeks.
She focused on the task of pushing, not paying close attention to what was being said around her until she heard the words, "The baby's head is out." Dr. Cunningham began to suction the baby's nose and mouth and said, "You're almost through. One more hard push and the baby will be out."
Kim dug in and on the next contraction pushed as hard as she could, feeling another bout of pain as the baby's shoulder's appeared. In an instant she felt a sense of relief as the baby slipped into the hands of Dr. Cunningham. Kim collapsed against Bobby, physically exhausted from everything. In almost no time a shrill cry of a baby filled the room. Dr. Cunningham smiled as she placed the baby on Kim's chest and said, "Say hello to your new daughter."