Chapter 19: you're working today

False alarm, it had been a bloody false alarm. So here, I am now standing in the lounge after being up in ob most of the night. I'm not thrilled right now to be at the hospital but I have a shift and I'm going to work it. David thought that I should just go home and rest but I told him that unless he wanted to spend the day with a cranky and upset me that it would be better that he just let me work. That way I could take it out on everyone else, including poor unsuspecting patients.

"Erica," I hear a voice from behind me say, "what are you doing here, you're working today? I didn't think that we'd be seeing you after they took you upstairs last night."

"False alarm," I say turning to see Luka standing there. "Nothing more than me not knowing what was going on. Pregnancy should and needs to come with a manual."

"Yeah it should." He flees the lounge now. Chalk one up for me. I had been there, I look down at my watch, less than 5 minutes and I had already scared one doctor off. I think that must have been a new record for me. I had to laugh.

I drug myself out onto the floor and started in seeing patients, at least now I got to pick thru the rack and take the ones that I wanted, everyone else still had to see them in the order that they came in. Well except Doug and that was because he took the pediatric patients that came in for the most part.

Lunchtime came and went and the contractions just kept right on coming but since I had been up in ob all night and they said it wasn't labor I didn't think much of them, just considered them an annoyance.

I'm listening to a med student present their patient to me when it felt like I was suddenly being ripped in two. I'm in tears from it and there's a puddle of water at my feet. "Not labor my ass." I say looking down still crying from that hurting.

I see Abby walking by and she has now stopped and is looking at me rather funny. "Erica you okay?"

"I wish." I managed to get out as I am trying not to drop to my knees because it now hurts like a son of a bitch. "I.. I think my water just broke."

Abby looked at the floor and then at me, "get a gurney and clear a room." I hear Abby say. "Hold on Erica." I feel her arm helping to hold me up and then she helps actually get me up onto the gurney before I feel myself being pushed into an exam room. "Call her husband and get him down here we're having a baby." Abby gives me a small smile as if that is going to make everything all right. "Take a deep breath sweetie; it's all going to be okay."

I see out of the corner of my eye the medical student on the phone and then see her hang it up. "Her husband is on his way." I hear her say as she pokes her head into the room.

'Is Doug here?" I ask not knowing now that I have asked that if I really want to know the answer to that one.

"Do you want him to know you are here?" Abby asked, "he's working today I think he's in another exam room."

I have to think about that one for a minute and as I do another contraction hits and I am about to go flying thru the roof, I have never felt pain like that in my life. "No, yes, no," I'm not sure what I want right now. "Yes please get him." My mind is going a million different directions right now and I don't know for sure if I want my father-in-law in the room where I am giving birth, but I don't have any other family and I have no idea when my husband is going to get there.

She looks at the medical student, "run and get Dr. Ross tell him that Erica is in labor and that she wants him."

They are getting more painful now, as the minutes seem to fly by and David isn't there. I know that he's about 15 minutes away from County by car.

"How's she doing?" There was finally a familiar voice.

"They are about three minutes apart; she's 100 effaced and dilated to nine." I hear Abby say.

"Hey." I hear him say as it takes my hand, "you're doing good sweetie." I feel a soft kiss on my forehead now.

"Abby ob is on its way down now; paramedics are coming in with an approximately 25 year-old male MVA." I hear a voice say.

"Okay." I hear her reply, "you got her Doug?"

"Yeah I'm good with her." I hear him say, "I'll stay with her and make sure OB takes good care of her."

"David where's David?" I am starting to panic now not wanting him not to be here for this. I want him there; right now, I really need him.

"He'll be here Erica; he wouldn't miss this for anything." I hear him say to me. "I'm sure he's on his way now."

I hear Abby's voice now, "Doug, I need to talk to you now."

"I'll be right back." He says as he pushes my hair back and I am left alone in the room with just a nurse. I can see the trauma room across the hallway now. My heart breaks when I catch the face of the patient that is laying on the gurney.

I can't make out what Doug is saying to Abby, oh how I wished right now I could read lips but I can't so I am forced to labor away in here alone and not know what is going on with David. I push the pain of labor from my head as I pull myself up out of the bed. The nurse in there with me is now trying to convince me that I need to stay in that bed.

"That's my husband." I say to her pushing my way out the door, doubled over from the pain of the contractions. I go past Doug and Abby into the trauma room. I feel a hand on my arm now.

"Come on Erica you can't be in here." I hear Doug's voice say. "You need to let them do their jobs and you need to concentrate right now on having that baby."

"David." I softly cry out my heart hoping to god that it's going to be all right that he's not broken beyond repair.

There are two strong arms around me now pulling me back and into my own room; tears are streaming down my face. The contractions are coming faster now. "Doug pressure, oh god, pressure." I am about screaming now.

"Hold on honey." I hear him say. He leaves the room and comes back with Luka in tow now.

"Okay Erica." Luka says softly keeping his tone soft and easy with me right now. "She's fully dilated and crowning; this isn't going to wait any longer for ob. On the next one Erica I want you to push."

As I try to concentrate on what I am suppose to be doing I can see them working on David across the hall, as the contraction hits and I try my hardest to bring the baby into the world I see Abby with the paddles in her hands. I push she shocks, I push again and Abby shocks him again.

I close my eyes now as I am in a hell of a lot of pain both from trying to get this baby out and from David next door right now.

"One more Erica come on, give me one, a good hard one you're almost there, the baby's almost here." I hear Luka coaching from the end of the bed.

I am giving it everything I have inside; I just want my child into the world now. I feel like I have no more inside me that was my last push. I can't do this there is just no way that I can do it.

The sounds of a baby's first cries fill the room as I fall back against the bed exhausted. As I look up to see my child, I can see Abby shake her head and snap her gloves off. My child had taken its first breath in this world on its own and my husband took his last. I don't know what to feel right now until Luka placed the baby wrapped up now in a small blanket into my arms, "it's a boy, he's perfect and healthy good job mom."

I look into the eyes of my son, holding him close to me, kissing his tiny head. Tears are welling now in my eyes as I look upon our son. "Welcome to the world Steven Douglas Ross." I am holding onto his tiny fingers now watching him in wonder as I can feel my heart breaking. I'm not sure inside how to feel so much joy and yet so much sorrow at the same time.