For Disclaimer, please see chapter one. Thanks!
A/N: I'll end the suspense now! Haha! It was even getting to me, and I know what happens! Well kids, enjoy!
For The Moment
Chapter 11: Waiting
Lucy felt like her heart stopped when the phone rang in her home the next day, December 26th, at 3 pm. She grabbed it, and answered quickly.
"Hi Luce, it's mom." Annie greeted. Lucy felt her breath catch in her throat. Anna looked up from where she was at the table reading, setting down her book and waiting for any information. Elizabeth and Maddy looked at their sister from where they were coloring at the other side of the table in confusion of why she stopped reading, but then ignored it and went back to what they were doing.
"Hi." Lucy answered. "So? Anything?" She asked in anticipation.
"Not yet. Ruthie's thoroughly tired at this point. She's been in labor for 22 hours. Her water broke at 5:14 yesterday." Lucy sighed and sat down, exhausted at the pure thought of a labor that long.
"How's she holding up?" Lucy asked. "When did Peter call you? When do they expect the baby?"
"Peter called about a half hour ago. I called Sarah right after I got off the phone with him, and you were next in line" She informed her daughter. "Ruthie's not feeling that great as you can imagine. The contractions are getting pretty bad. They planned on doing it without pain medication but she's thinking of reconsidering." They laughed. "Well, it's certainly slow but they think that they're getting there. She's at 8 centimeters. The baby should arrive sometime later tonight."
"Then what?" Lucy asked quietly.
"Well…Then they examine the baby and see if he's ok."
"Yeah…"Lucy trailed off for a moment. "Ok, well let me know if you hear anything else, ok?" Annie agreed and they hung up. Anna looked at her mom.
"Well? Do I have a new cousin yet? How's Aunt Ruthie?" She asked. Lucy shook her head.
"No baby yet. Aunt Ruthie's tired of labor, and frankly kind of traumatized after all this, but she'll be ok. They expect the baby later on tonight." She said. Maddy looked up from her coloring book.
"Is it still labor?" She asked her mother. Lucy laughed.
"Yes honey, it's still labor." She answered. Maddy's eyes widened as she went back to her picture, obviously surprised at how long it had been. Suddenly, Lucy heard yelling coming from the family room. She walked out just in time to see Ty and Collin running through the room kicking a soccer ball.
"Couch's the goal!" Ty yelled and took off to score a point. Lucy held up her hands and yelled.
"Hey! You guys know that there's absolutely no soccer in the house. Come on you two, you're almost 9 years old, you know that." The boys looked at the floor. Libby and Maddy rushed in to see what was going on. When they saw that they're brothers were playing soccer, their eyes lit up.
"Can we play?" Libby asked excitedly, and her brothers agreed. They looked to Lucy to choose teams. She thought for a moment, then pointed to each of them.
"Ty and Libby versus Collin and Maddy. Now go play outside." She instructed, and the four children took off. Knowing that she was too stressed to make a good meal, Lucy decided to order pizza. After it arrived, she and her husband and children sat down to eat. The table was quiet as everyone devoured the meal. After a little while, Kevin looked at his wife.
"So, have you heard anything?" He asked slowly. Lucy looked concerned.
"No…have you." Kevin looked down for a moment.
"Yeah." He saw Lucy jump. "Luce, it's not going well." He told her. "Peter called me about 15 minutes ago, right before I left work. The baby's rate has been getting faster and faster for about the last half hour. Unless it stops very soon, they are going to do an emergency C-section. Ruthie's been in labor for 28 hours. She hasn't slept at all. She hasn't had an epidural." Lucy's jaw dropped. "He said he would call again as soon as he could to keep us posted." Lucy felt tears filling her eyes. Kevin stood up and walked over to her, taking her hand to have her stand up, then put his arms around her. She put her head down on his shoulder and began to cry. Maddy stood and ran over to her mother, hugging her legs. "Mommy's ok." Kevin assured his daughter. "She's just worried about Aunt Ruthie." He turned to Haylie. "Mom and I will be right back. Keep an eye on the kids." He instructed. She nodded and he led Lucy out of the room and into their bathroom where he gave her a tissue. She looked at him with a frown.
"Kev, what if Jackson isn't ok?" She asked. "What will we tell the kids? What do we do to comfort Ruthie? What…" Kevin stopped her.
"We'll figure that out if it comes to that. OK? It's going to be Ok, no matter what. Even if Jackson doesn't make it, we'll get through it. Ruthie and Peter will get through it, and life will go on." Lucy nodded.
"You're right." She admitted. "Thanks." She kissed his cheek and took his hand. "Let's go back out." They walked back out to sit down and finished their dinner. Later that evening, after the kids were all tucked in, Kevin and Lucy sat in their bed quietly, waiting nervously to hear from Peter and Ruthie about their new nephew. Lucy gasped nervously when the phone on her night stand rang, and she recognized a Texas area code. She made eye contact with her husband briefly, then picked up the phone.
A/N: Muah ha ha ha! I love cliffys! Sorry this is short. Review and I'll post chapter 12 soon. The more reviews, the quicker the arrival of the chapter!