A special thanks to Darla56, who gave me the name for Cordy and Doyle's baby. It was a wonderful stroke
of genius and fir right with the theme that I've been pushing these last few chapters. Thanks, again, Darla56, the
help is appreciated.
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Cordelia tossed restlessly in bed. Her situation was not on her top ten list. She was eight and a half months pregnant with her first child, her husband was in San Francisco with her boss on a case, his girlfriend was sleeping in her guest bedroom, and she was relatively sure that she was going into labor. And Dennis, her own personal ghost was hovering anxiously above her bed, worried out of his incorporeal mind.
Finally unable to abide the constant pressure on her lower back, Cordelia climbed out of bed, and it was a climb anymore. She was absolutely huge. She'd begun growing much sooner than she would have liked, and had put on nearly thirty pounds. She was very unhappy about that as well. And the cravings were weird. Even thinking about some of the things she wanted made her gag. But Doyle had been there through all of it.
He'd cooked for her, catering to every craving, whether that involved late night grocery shopping, or two o'clock trips to an all night diner. He'd taken her to every doctor appointment, anxiously watching his child on the small computer screen monitor. The baby was perfectly healthy to his relief. He hadn't left her for a night since she'd discovered her pregnancy.
Until now, Cordelia admitted wearily, pacing the length of their bedroom. A vision had dictated a trip to San Francisco to stop a clan of vampires from having a major blood bath, and she had been much too pregnant to go on such a long trip. Buffy had stayed behind to make sure that everything in LA stayed under control. The Slayer had only recently returned from her patrol and was currently sound asleep.
Man, the baby was kicking her to pieces. It felt like it was playing hockey with her kidneys. Cordelia rubbed her back in a circular pattern, trying to alleviate the tension and pain. She'd been kicked before, many times, but never so hard and for so long. Maybe the baby just missed its Daddy.
It's Mommy sure as hell did. She couldn't sleep without him. Or maybe it was that the baby couldn't sleep without his constant presence, that feeling of protection, so neither could Mommy sleep. Either way, neither of them was getting any sleep. The kicking was driving her batty. And it hurt!
Cordelia could remember the first time the baby had kicked her. She'd been about four months pregnant, lying in bed, nearly asleep, when bam! baby had kicked her square in the stomach so hard she could see a foot.
She'd waken Doyle immediately, made him put his hand over the spot so he could feel it to. He'd thought that it was hurting her. She'd laughingly told him that it didn't hurt, just felt like a hiccough. Ever since he'd either slept with a hand on her belly, or with her belly pressed to his back so he could feel when the baby was keeping her awake. He'd stayed up with her every time. They'd play board games, watch TV, or just lie in bed talking about baby names.
Well, they were going to need a name. And soon, Cordelia thought, doubling over as her first contraction ripped through her, and water streamed from between her legs. Her water had broken. She grappled for the corner of the dresser, grit her teeth as the pain began to ebb. Okay, time to wake up Buffy. And call Wesley, and Gunn and Fred. It was definitely time to go to the hospital.
"Buffy!" Cordelia yelled, changing into a fresh night shirt as quickly as she could. She grabbed a couple of towels from the bathroom to soak up the amniotic fluid and picked up the small duffel bag she had backed the week before. She was in the living room before the blonde slayer made her way from the guest- room.
"What's wrong? It's two in the morning."
"My water broke. Go get dressed."
"But you aren't due for two weeks!" Buffy said, alarmed. She'd never dealt with women about to give birth. Frankly, the whole process made her a bit nervous.
"Tell the baby that. You go get ready and I'll call everyone while I'm between contractions. Then I'll need you to take me to the hospital."
"Okay. I'll be ready in like one minute."
Cordelia picked up the phone and dialed Doyle's cell phone. He answered on the fifth ring, sounding half asleep. "Hullo?"
"Doyle, it's me."
"'Delia? What's wrong, Princess?"
"Honey, I need you and Angel to come home. I'm in labor."
"Are you sure it isn't false labor? You aren't sue for two weeks."
The second contraction tore a scream from her throat, and she sank to the couch, arms wrapped around her abdomen, which felt like it was going to rip open. "I'm pretty damn sure, Doyle!"
"Okay, darlin'. We'll be there as soon as we can."
Cordelia hung up without saying goodbye. Doyle wasn't even completely sure that she was capable of speech at that particular point in time. He rolled out of bed, already reaching for his pants and a shirt. Angel rolled over in his bed to look at the other man.
"What's wrong?"
"Cordelia's in labor. We've gotta get back to LA like right now."
The two men were out the door in less than five minutes. Connor was waken in the next room down, and they were pulling out of the hotel parking lot soon after. Angel had no intention of obeying any of the speed limits. It would be a good five hours before they could get back to LA. Doyle hoped they had enough time.
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"Okay, Cordelia," Dr.Abner said, taking off her gloves. "You're progressing rather rapidly. You're five inches dilated and the baby is turned the proper way for birth. I estimate another three or four hours until birth. So just relax as much as you can and try to calm down."
"I am not having this baby until my husband gets here, Dr.Abner." Cordelia said through grit teeth. She felt like the contractions were going to tear her to pieces.
"Neither of us have a choice in that, Cordelia." Dr.Abner said, walking out of the door and leaving Cordelia alone. She looked at her stomach.
"You are not coming out until Daddy gets here, understood?"
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"That baby took me too literally." Cordelia told Doyle when he walked into her hospital room. "Don't freak, you haven't missed anything except me coming down with laryngitis."
Cordelia was the only woman he knew who could be in the middle of labor, and complain about anything but the pain. Let alone, joke about it. He fell more in love with her right then. "I haven't missed anything?"
"Not a thing. Just a few contractions." Cordelia assured him, leaning up to accept his kiss.
"Thank God. How long do the doctors think it'll be?"
"Well, six hours ago they told me to expect four at the most. And I told the baby that it was under direct orders not to born until you got here. So, my labor completely stopped. I've been in limbo for six hours. A contraction every twenty minutes or so, but no more dilation."
"You seem rather calm for a woman about to have a baby." Dr.Abner said, walking back in, "And for a man about to become a father."
"Compared to some of the things we've been through," Cordelia said lightly, "giving birth is a piece of cake."
"That's what you say now. Just wait until the hard part starts in a few hours." She said, looking at Doyle, "I've seen larger men than you cry when their wives got ahold of their hands. When their wives were smaller than Cordelia."
And Cordelia was as strong as a horse. She'd increased her strength dramatically since joining AI, and had been strong anyway from cheerleading and tumbling. Doyle had a feeling that he was in trouble in the pain aspect of the whole becoming a dad thing. But he was half demon. He could stand a couple broken fingers if it helped her. After all she was the one in labor, about to give birth.
He was a little worried about that, too. The doctors had told them that if the baby weighed over eight pounds, she wouldn't be able to deliver naturally. She, however, to his surprise, had refused to even consider a C-section. He thought it probably had something to do with the fact that she would be left with rather large scars from the surgery.
And there was a pretty good chance that the baby would weigh over eight pounds. He had weighed almost ten at birth and Cordelia had said that she had weighed just under eight pounds. Doyle had his fingers crossed that the baby took after it's mother.
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Doyle developed a much easier system for staying right next to Cordelia, and not getting his fingers broken. When she was having problems sitting up on her own because the pain was so severe, he slid behind her, letting her lean back on him to keep herself upright. One arm went around her so she could hold one hand, and he used the other arm to balance them. She didn't squeeze nearly as tightly.
"You're smarter than most men I've met." Dr.Abner told Doyle from her position between Cordelia's legs. "Okay, Cordy, we're almost there. You're at ten inches and I can feel the baby. He or she is turned the right way for delivery, so on the next contraction, I want you to push."
Cordelia had been in labor a full twenty four hours. She was tired, she was in pain, and she really didn't think she could muster the strength to push the baby out. "I don't think I can." Cordelia gasped, her breathing labored, and her inhalation quick, shallow breaths.
Doyle rubbed her belly. "You'll be okay, Princess." He assured her, squeezing her fingers.
"Are you sure? Because I'm not."
"I'm sure. You've done harder things than this, darlin'. Just think back to some of them. Like when you moved into our apartment. Or when we dealt with Faith. Or when you got put in a coma."
Cordelia took a deep breath. He was right. Compared to some of the things that she had done, giving birth was a piece of cake. She readied herself for the next contraction, squeezed her eyes shut. As the contraction began, she bore down, clenching her inner muscles.
"Keep pushing, Cordelia!" Dr.Abner yelled, "I can see the head. Shoulders are clear. Okay, you can relax."
Cordelia sank back against her husband while Dr.Abner cleaned up the baby. It was over. She was done. And God, it felt good to have the whole birthing experience completely over with. Doyle hugged her close, and they waited for the gender to be revealed.
"Congratulations, Mom and Dad, you have a beautiful baby girl. Daddy, would you care to cut the cord?"
Doyle slid out from behind Cordelia to take care of that particular job. As soon as his daughter was wrapped in a thick, pink blanket, and an ID bracelet was around her tiny wrist, Doyle carried her over to Cordelia, who held her arms out anxiously. Doyle placed the baby in them, watched as mother and daughter interacted for the first time.
"Hi, sweetheart, I'm your Mommy." Cordelia cooed to the newborn, who managed to open her eyes a slit. They were a brilliant blue. "I think she'll have your eyes, Doyle. They're too light to turn brown like mine. But green isn't a very big stretch." She said, taking the baby's fingers in hers. "God, Doyle, she's beautiful."
Doyle perched next to his wife. "Yes, Cordy, darlin', she is."
Cordelia looked up at her husband with tears in her eyes. One of her hands lifted to his face and she guided him down for a tender kiss. "Thank you." She whispered, laying her forehead against his cheek.
"No, Princess. Thank you."
Dr.Abner coughed. "Have you two thought of a name?"
Cordelia looked up at Doyle. "I thought of one, but I haven't checked it out with you yet. I asked Angel what the word for dreams is in Gaelic."
"Ashling." Doyle said softly. "Perfect."
"You can pick a middle name if you want."
Doyle shook his head. "Why mess with a good thing? You choose."
Cordelia looked at her tiny daughter. "Ashling Mackenzie." She decided, and Dr.Abner filled out the birth certificate.
"Okay, can I just borrow her for a second and get her length and weight?"
Reluctantly, Cordelia handed the doctor her baby. While Ashling was being weighed, Cordelia found herself wrapped in her husbands arms while she cried. Doyle understood completely. Their lives, besides the demons and vampires, and evil witches, their lives were so perfect it sometimes scared him.