Everybody managed to make it through the anniversary unscathed. That ordeal was behind them, but the anniversary of Bob and Linda's deaths still loomed. It was over two months away, but the dread was still there. It was now Wednesday, and Kathleen was getting ready for what would be her final OB appointment. She suspected labor had begun, but if she did not deliver by Friday. She would be induced the following Monday. She was only right at forty weeks, but the baby was already weighing nearly ten pounds and they wanted to ensure a safe delivery.
"OK that was definitely a contraction." Kathleen winced.
"Is it go time?" Teddy asked.
"No well I don't think so. They have been off and on since last night but that doesn't mean anything." Kathleen explained.
"I can't believe this time next week we will be par… Have a baby." Teddy commented.
"Yeah, I already called the schools and told them Tina and Gene won't be coming in if I get induced and they can checkout if I go into labor before then. I think Big Bob still has to get Gene, but Tina can check out with parent permission." Kathleen explained.
"Do you think they will handle it well?" Teddy asked.
"They are both excited." Kathleen assured.
Two hours later the family was heading to the hospital so Kathleen could deliver her baby. She had gone to her appointment and was found to be in active labor. Teddy was ecstatic to finally have a baby of his own. He had always wanted children, but his ex-wife never did. By the time he met Kathleen they were both older, he assumed it was too late. When Bobby and Linda died. He knew that he needed to raise Tina and Gene as his own. As much as he wanted a baby. Adopting older children was just as good. Though he hated he only had them because Bobby and Linda were gone. When Kathleen told him she was pregnant it came as a huge shock. Technically she was still fertile but at their ages. He just assumed they would need help to conceive. He was delighted by the news but also heartbroken. Knowing that his best friends would miss such a milestone. The pain was truly present the day Kathleen gave birth. He wondered if Bobby would close the restaurant. He wondered if Linda would be trying to convince Bob to have another baby. He wondered if Louise would be mad about a new addition taking her place as the cute one. She never admitted it, but he knew she loved the extra attention associated with being the youngest.
For a long time, Tina stared at the soda machine pretending to be deciding what drink she wanted. In reality was trying to dissociate from what was going on. She was happy for Teddy and Kathleen. She really was but she didn't know how to feel. Legally this baby would be her sister or her brother. Gene and she were legally Teddy and Kathleen's now. So, in the eyes of society this baby was her sibling. Except she didn't want to call it her sibling. Not that she didn't or wouldn't love him or her. She just didn't want another sibling. She wanted Louise. If she were to have another sibling. She wanted it to be from her parents. Not from her legal guardians. It was all too much, and she ended up burying her head in her hands and breaking down in tears.
"You, OK?" Gene asked.
"This baby is going to expect me to be their sister, but I don't want it to be like that." Tina sobbed.
"Why not?" Gene asked.
"Because I don't want another sibling. I want Louise!" Tina cried.
"Then just keep thinking about the baby as our cousin. Still family but not a sibling." Gene suggested.
"Even if you do see it as a sibling. It will never replace Louise. My cousin is pregnant. Well, his wife is. So, I feel you but no matter what you call this baby. It will never replace Louise. Just like my cousin's baby will never replace Delilah." Damon assured.
"Thanks guys. I think I will call him or her my cousin. At least for now." Tina replied.
Meanwhile Gene was dealing with their own feelings. They were excited about the baby. They were going to call it their sibling. They were feeling the same sadness as everybody else knowing that Bob, Linda, and Louise were not here for this. The thing was they were happy. They were truly happy, and it felt wrong. How could they be happy when their baby sister, mom, and dad were all dead? Did they see this baby as a replacement. Damon insisted it was not, but they could not help but wonder if that was what they were feeling. In either case it just felt wrong to be happy. They didn't even remember how to be truly happy. It had been so long. They felt dirty and yet still happy. Why was everything so complicated now?
It was late in the evening and the doctors said it would be any time now. Kathleen was thrilled to be having a baby of her own. Her first husband was a carrier of a genetic disease and didn't want to risk having children. Not that she wanted them back then. She had never really wanted children. Not that she wouldn't have been happy if one had come along sooner. When she met Teddy, he mentioned wanting children, but she assumed it was too late and she was not committed enough to having a baby to want to go through fertility treatments. Unless Teddy was that desperate. That was a conversation they never had. Everything happened so fast with the Belchers. The months after losing Louise were a blur, and she must have lapsed on birth control. Because here she was. In the delivery ward for the first time at forty-three years old. It had been a challenging pregnancy. No serious issues but because of her age. She had to go through all these extra tests and appointments. The doctors said some scary words and it was hard. Mercifully everything came back normal. Though she would have accepted a baby with down syndrome. Some of the other diagnoses were too terrifying to fathom. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when the last test came back clear.
"Alright mam it is time to push!" Nurse Smith declared.
From their it took fifteen minutes to push. There was barely time to get Tina and Gene out of the room. Before the baby's head was visible. Pushing was definitely a workout and it hurt enough to where she was glad, she wasn't going to be doing it again. Teddy stood beside her holding her hand trying not to cry. There was a small pop, and the baby was out. In reality was only a second but it felt like an eternity, when it did not cry. Finally, it let out a loud wail. Kathleen saw that it was in fact a large baby with whisps of red hair. The funny thing was with how the whisps were. It almost had Teddy's hair line.
"It's a girl! Nine pounds, eight ounces! Twenty inches long!" Dr. Jones declared.
"We have a girl?" Teddy gasped.
"We do. How does it feel?" Kathleen asked.
"Good it feels really good." Teddy replied.
"It does" Kathleen agreed.
"What do you want to call her?" Teddy asked.
"Do you want to name her after Louise? or Bob or Linda? Maybe Linda Louise?" Kathleen suggested
"I like that, but it would be weird to name her Linda since I kind of had a crush on Linda and I don't know how the kids would feel about Louise." Teddy replied.
"Well do you have a suggestion?" Kathleen asked.
"I don't know she makes me feel hopeful. For the first time in a while." Teddy commented.
"Hope, I like that." Kathleen commented.
"Yeah, me too, little Hope." Teddy agreed.
"And for her middle name?" Kathleen asked.
"Can it be Theodora? I always wanted to have a junior but since this is our one and only." Teddy requested.
"Hope Theodora. It is perfect." Kathleen whispered.
"It is" Teddy agreed.