A/N: Response to Challenge 1 at Unfaithfully Yours:
- Baby Davis-Lansing is born, where Jax is present with Alexis instead of Ric
- Jax and Alexis are friends, not a romantic couple
No Ric, no Courtney, and no Sonny and posse
- Setting can be anywhere (GH, elevator, etc…)
Shoots off from 10/28/05 show, history from 10/28 changed a little but compared to what Guza, Pratt and co. do to GH cannon on a daily basis it is really nothing, other history may be changed slightly as well, I live in Australia, as of today 11/15/05 we are only up to 9/10/05, also GH changed networks here recently and a couple of months worth of episodes went missing, also if you ask me Alexis' couch is pale green.
Alexis walked away from Helena slowly, being careful not to hold her aching back, she didn't want to expose any weakness, anything that could put her or worse the baby in danger. She hated the Helena still rattled her so much, still made her feel weak and vulnerable, after all, she had survived every other one of Helena's attempts to harm her, hadn't she?
She kept walking as she found the pain in her back had eased slightly, she couldn't wait to stop being pregnant, now she knew that her baby was big enough and strong enough to survive, she had had more than enough of the swollen ankles, constant, and today increasingly severe back pain, uncontrollable mood swings and feeling bigger than your average blue whale.
"Hey," Jax said as he caught up with her, "where are you going?"
"No where." Alexis replied, more curtly than she had meant to, for no particular reason other than the fact that she was hormonal, before quickly adding, her tone calmer and more than a little weary "my back hurts, it always hurts, but it is worse than usual today."
"Are you are okay?" Jax asked, Alexis smiled a little at the stricken look on Jax's face.
"I'm fine." Alexis said, "trust me, back pain is a very normal part of pregnancy, I should know having had constant back pain for the last six weeks."
"Are you sure you don't want to go home, I could go and get Ric for you." Jax offered, becoming concerned, Alexis was grimacing and he could tell she was in far more pain than she was willing to let on.
"God no!" Alexis exclaimed, sitting down on a bench she and Jax had just reached walking no longer helping her pain, the room they were in was large and their voices, as well as the voices of those still in the main reception room were echoing, bouncing off the walls.
"I could take you home if you wish." Jax offered.
Alexis responded by with a simple to the point shake of her head, "look Jax, as I told Ric earlier being overdue is not an illness." Alexis snapped, the only thing worse than being 41 weeks pregnant was everyone treating her like an invalid because she was 41 weeks pregnant.
"Okay." Jax replied, resigned, Alexis, he was well aware could be incredibly stubborn at the best of times.
"Here," Alexis said taking Jax's right hand in her left and guiding it to a spot on her stomach, "see the baby is moving just fine, I'm fine, apart from this damn backache." Alexis smiled as Jax face lit up in response to the baby's movements.
Jax felt Alexis' stomach harden underneath his hand, "Alexis, what was that?" he asked panicking again, his normally cool, calm, collected personality was apparently taking a vacation today.
"Braxton-Hi..." she began to reply but was cut short by her first real contraction, she whimpered quietly as the pain reached it's peak and slowly subsided.
"I'm getting Ric." Jax said almost jumping up from the bench.
"No." Alexis said firmly as she rubbed her stomach, before adding, "please don't, I don't want him to be there... when the baby is born."
"Alexis..." Jax started to reason with her when a familiar voice filled the hall, Ric, even several rooms away, the slur in his voice was noticeable.
"You know the reason that Sonny decided to slam the door in my face one more time? My great betrayal -- I slept with Reese!"
Jax stopped in his tracks, stunned, the look on Alexis' face as he turned back to face her told him that Ric's drunken confession had been the truth.
Alexis struggled to her feet, "Can we please just go?" she asked softly, her pleading eyes breaking Jax heart, "We have to go to my place first, I need my suitcase, I need to organize somewhere for Kristina to stay for a few days, I... I... I..." Alexis was beginning to get scared Jax could see it in her eyes, he knew he had to keep her calm, a anxiety attack now could not be good for the baby.
"Are you sure we have time?" Jax asked, "Shouldn't we just go straight to the hospital?" The last thing he wanted was to end up delivering Alexis' baby himself. "I could drop you at the hospital, then return to get your suitcase and arrange for someone to care for Kristina." he offered hopefully.
"We have plenty of time, it's only just started, it could be 12 hours or longer yet, Dr. Meadows says it is is like having a first labor again, because Kristina was born so prematurely, my body probably won't recognize that it has done this before." Alexis replied, secretly enjoying Jax's obvious discomfort, a small smirk crept onto her face, "anyway, you are not leaving me."
"All right, come on," Jax said as he offered his arm, Alexis linked her arm in his and they walked along in silence towards Jax car, away from Helena and Ric, towards the safety of General Hospital. Jax inwardly groaned as Alexis squeezed her nails into his forearm as another contraction hit her, she slowed down to a near standstill, another desperate whimper, half pain, half fear escaped her lips. Jax couldn't stand seeing her in such pain, he swept her body, still surprisingly light into his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the car, the sooner he could get her to General Hospital, the sooner the doctors could control at least her physical pain.
As Jax drove off back towards Port Charles, the ominous clouds that had been threatening all day finally spilled over with rain pelting the windscreen so hard Jax could barely see as he tore along the road at about 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. He tried to time Alexis' contractions as he drove but soon gave up, he had to block out the sound of her moans and just concentrate on getting them at least as far as her place alive, that would be a start.
15 minutes later, Jax pulled his car to a stop, thankful for the undercover parking, he helped Alexis inside the house and to the couch before beginning the process of gathering up everything she would need for her hospital stay, thankful for her organizational skills, everything was packed and easy to find. He gathered all the stuff and carried it out to the trunk of his car, deciding to start it before going back in, to get Alexis. He put the key in the ignition and turned it, only to be greeted with deathly silence instead of the roar of a revving engine.
He reached into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone, dialing first 911, then AAA only to be told that the wait for non-urgent cases would be up to three hours. He felt like yelling at the 911 operator, 'what isn't urgent about being in labor!' but managed to control himself, he made a note of the 911 operators name, Sally, just in case the birth became inement, she could give him instructions on how to deliver the baby.
He walked back into the house to find Alexis in the throes of another contraction, her hands gripping on to the lounge cushion for dear life, her knuckles white, she was breathing hard, the sight rattled him, he was so used to seeing her being completely in control.
"Are we ready to go, I'm really ready for a epidural now." she tried to joke.
"Umm... Alexis..." Jax started before Alexis cut him off.
"Umm Alexis what?" she asked her voice shaky and increasing in volume with each word.
"We are kind of stuck." Jax said quietly.
"What do you mean 'we are kind of stuck?'" Alexis exploded pulling herself off of the couch.
"The car broke down." Jax replied, "because of the wet weather, there are a lot of accidents, it could take up to three hours for an ambulance or AAA to arrive."
"Three hours?" Alexis yelped beginning to panic again, Jax could see her breathing faster, "What if we don't have three three hours? You did explain that I am in labor, right?"
"Apparently labor is a non-urgent condition." Jax replied dryly.
Alexis' breathing became even more rapid, he could see that she was struggling to swallow, tears of panic and frustration were welling in her eyes, he wrapped his arms around shoulders firmly and stared into her eyes.
"Alexis, look at me." Jax said calmly but firmly, he could feel her heart beating what felt like million times a minute against his chest. "You need to calm down, this is not good for the baby, do you understand?"
Alexis nodded and tried to slow her breathing, the next contraction hit and her tears overflowed, "Oh God," she mumbled into to Jax's shoulder as she dug her nails in to his back, "please make it stop." she whispered as the pain started to subside, "I can't do it Jax." she sobbed, her voice full of desperation.
Jax didn't know what to do, it was killing him to see his best friend in this much pain. "I'm sorry Lexis, it will all be over soon and in the end it will be worth all this pain." he whispered running his hand through her hair, hoping to provide her with at least a small amount of comfort, he decided to just let her cry for a while, he could feel her shoulders relaxing underneath his touch and her tension at least somewhat melt away with her tears.
"We should be timing my contractions, getting stuff ready, just in case, boiling water, shoelaces, scissors, towels, a blanket to wrap the baby in." Alexis said suddenly, her practical streak kicking in.
"All right," Jax said, relieved "Let's get you to the bedroom, lay you down and then I'll go and collect all the stuff we might need."
Alexis shook her head, "No, laying down makes it last longer, I read that, gravity helps, I'm comfortable standing for now, my back hurts less, I'll help you get everything ready."
"Okay Alexis." Jax replied uncertainly but then again he didn't know that much about childbirth.
Alexis walked into the kitchen with Jax a few steps behind, she got Jax to reach up and grab the largest post she had seen Ric use to cook from the shelf above the stove, whilst she was going through the drawer to find a pair of sharp scissors when she stopped dead in her tracks, "another contraction?" Jax asked as he walked to the sink to fill the pot of water before putting it on the stove to boil.
"No, my water just broke." she replied before simply going back to her search for the scissors.
"Does that mean the baby will come soon?" Jax asked looking slightly stricken.
"Not necessarily, but with Kristina..." Alexis was cut off by the start of her most intense contraction yet. "Jax... Rub... My... Back..." she managed to gasp out as she doubled over in pain.
"Is this the right spot?" Jax asked placing his hands on her lower back and applying light pressure.
"Harder." Alexis groaned as the contraction reached it's peak. Jax pushed his hand into Alexis back so hard he thought she would break.
"That was good, you are great at this," Alexis panted as she straightened back up, "I don't think we have much time left."
"What do you mean?" Jax asked knowing full well what she meant, he tried in vain to stop his right hand from shaking as he waited for her to reply.
"Until the baby is born." she replied, Jax was surprised at how relaxed she now seemed. "With Kristina, It was only about 25 minutes from the time my water broke, to the time she was born."
"I'm going to call 911 again." Jax said, it was now his turn to panic, he was sure there would be enough time to get to the hospital.
"Good idea," Alexis moaned as another contraction begun, she braced herself against the sink as the pain started to increase.
Jax flipped open his cell phone and somehow managed to dial 911 "Hello, this is Sally, what is your emergency?" the 911 operator said, her voice cool and efficient.
"Hello, this is Jasper Jacks again, I was talking to you earlier this evening, the woman I was with was in labor, well the birth now appears to be inement, any chance of an ambulance showing up?" Jax said trying to stay calm.
"I'm sorry Mr. Jacks, there has been a major incident..." Jax couldn't hear the rest of the Sally's sentence over Alexis' scream of "Oh fuck this hurts."
"Mr. Jacks, how far apart are your partner's contractions?" Sally asked, the calmness voice was beginning to become annoying.
"Umm... I'm not sure, we were about to start timing them when her water broke, then things got really bad and I called you." Jax said.
"Is the fluid clear?" Sally asked.
Jax took a glimpse at the puddle pooled between Alexis' feet before answering "yes."
"Can your partner talk?" Sally asked, needing details.
"Lexis, can you talk?" Jax asked Alexis who was now calm again.
Alexis nodded and Jax handed her the phone.
"Hello I'm Sally, it looks like I'll be talking Jax through the birth of your child, I just need to know a few things from you first."
"Okay, I'm Alexis and make this quick, the contractions seem to be coming right on top of one another now." Alexis said breathing hard.
"First of all is this your first child?" Sally asked, her calm tone got on Alexis' nerves too.
"No, I have a daughter Kristina." Alexis replied.
"And are you healthy? Is the baby in the correct position? And are you more than 37 weeks pregnant?" Sally continued.
"Healthy enough," Alexis said, "yes and yes." the last yes came out as a yelp as the next contraction began.
"Okay, that is all I need to know, can you hand the phone back to Mr. Jacks?" Sally said, Alexis could imagine her smiling pleasantly and it made her want to hit something, hard, even though she knew the poor woman was only doing what she was trained to do.
Alexis handed the phone back to Jax before assuming her brace position against the sink again and digging her fingernails into her palms as the pain became almost unbearable before subsiding, she'd give anything for a shot of painkillers, or better yet an epidural.
Jax said "Thank you." to Sally before placing the phone down on the counter without hanging it up, he bent down and removed his shoes, before unlacing the shoelaces and throwing them in the pot of water, which was now beginning to boil, along with the scissors Alexis had found and two dishcloths before turning his attention to Alexis.
"All right Alexis," Jax said feigning calmness, "Sally says I have to get you somewhere comfortable."
"No." Alexis moaned quietly, her back was facing Jax but could tell she was crying again, he placed his one hand on her back and rubbed it tenderly and pulled her sweaty hair off her tear streaked face with the other.
"Alexis, you have to be strong, you are so strong, you have taken things that were so much more difficult in your stride, please Alexis just come with me to the lounge, I know you are scared and tired and in pain but please trust me." Jax whispered in his soft Australian accent, he could feel Alexis relax slightly as she turned to face him.
Alexis leaned heavily against him exhausted and terrified, they began a slow shuffle into the lounge room, "I trust you Jax." she managed to whisper before another wave of pain engulfed her, this time she couldn't stop herself from screaming, she could feel a fresh stream of tears trickling down her face as the pain reached it's peak before finally subsiding, she was only vaguely aware of one of Jax's hands pressing hard into her back in a vain attempt to reduce her pain, the other on her stomach, in an attempt to time the contraction's length as best as he could.
Jax practically carried Alexis the rest of the way to the lounge, setting her down as gently as he could on the plush, pale green cushions. "Alexis, I'm going to go and get the phone, speak to Sally and find out what I do next, okay? Do you want some ice?" Jax said trying fruitlessly to stop shaking.
"No, not until the contraction is finished." Alexis whimpered quietly, I can't get through it if you're not here, Jax could hear her voice quivering.
"Okay Alexis, I can do that." He smiled slightly, glad his presence was providing her with at least some small comfort, he placed his hand back on her stomach tracing random aimless patterns over it as it began to harden relentlessly under his hand. "Remember to breath Alexis." he reminded her gently, wishing he knew how to demonstrate the correct technique to her, it killed him to see her with her hands digging into the couch so hard that her knuckles were bright white, tears streaming down her face, moaning in pain, the contraction finally subsided after what seemed like an hour but was really only about a minute and dashed off to the kitchen.
Alexis could hear Jax talking to Sally on the phone again, "They are about two minutes apart lasting a minute." Alexis was suddenly besieged by a wave of nausea, she was about to call out to Jax to bring her a bucket when she threw up all over herself before the uncontrollable shaking and teeth chattering started.
Jax ran back into the room holding a glass of ice chips in one hand and his cell in the other at the sound of Alexis retching. "Alexis are you all right?" he asked anxiously.
She shook her head, no before weakly adding "I threw up and now I can't stop shaking."
"Sally," Jax practically yelled into the phone, "She threw up and she is shaking really badly, her teeth are chattering, that's not normal is it?"
"Jax, your part... Alexis has hit what is called transition, vomiting and shaking are two of the most common signs, I wouldn't be surprised if the contractions slowed for a few minutes before she begins to feel the urge to push, you should probably take this chance to get things prepared, get the things out of the boiling water and Alexis undressed." Sally said, Jax could practically hear her smiling, it was as if she knew he had turned a bright shade of red at the suggestion of undressing Alexis.
"All right," Jax started feeling strangely modest, "you need to get undressed, Sally says you'll deliver soon."
Alexis despite the shaking managed to stand up, almost resigned to the fact that Jax would be delivering her baby on her living room floor in a matter of minutes. Jax efficiently undid her black and white dress allowing it to slip to the floor before slipping off her flimsy black lace panties, he looked up and was surprised to find that she had removed her bra, "It was too tight." she said irritably upon seeing the look on his face.
"Umm, where are you going to be most comfortable?" Jax asked still blushing.
"On the floor, so I can move around a bit, I really want to kneel right now." Alexis said calmly feeling greatful for the slight break.
"Okay." Jax replied as he helped her down to the ground, "I'm going to go to the kitchen and get the stuff out of the pot, maybe throw it into the dryer so it's not quite so wet when we have to use it."
Jax was gathering the stuff out of the pot, thankful for the chance to gather his thoughts when Alexis' shout of "Fuck, I need to push." interrputed his thoughts. Forgetting about the dryer he ran back to the lounge room carrying the scissors, shoelaces and towels dripping wet to find Alexis on her knees bearing down as hard as she could, her face flushed and her eyes flashing bright, a mixture of relief and fear.
"Sally, she needs to push, actually, she kind of already is." Jax said hurriedly into the phone.
"Alright Jax, what you need to do is have her take in a big long breath and blow it out at the beginning of each contraction, then she needs to take another big breath and hold it while you count to 10, then keep doing that until the contraction is over probably two or three times, in between contractions she needs to rest, try to encourage her to close her eyes and relax otherwise she will get tired and it will take longer." Sally said.
"She is on her knees is that alright?" Jax asked Sally, he had only seen women give birth in the movies and on TV in hospital beds, lying down or semi-reclined.
"That is actually a great position," Sally replied, "It helps the baby move down faster."
"Another one is coming." Alexis groaned interrupting Sally and Jax's conversation.
"Alexis, take a deep breath and breath out." Alexis did as she was told. "Now," Jax instructed, "take another deep breath and push, 1,2 ,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10." Alexis bears down with all her might, "once more Alexis!" Jax exclaims encouragingly, again Alexis pushes hard.
"It burns, fuck ,fuck!" Alexis yelped as the contraction subsided.
Jax looks down and he can see the baby's head about to be born, "Alexis," he cried grabbing her hand and placing it on the baby's head, "That's your baby!"
Jax doesn't have enough time to pick the phone up and speak Sally again before another contraction begins and Alexis, instinctively gives several small pushes, before the baby's head slipped out with pop and Alexis reached down again to touch her baby's head, "Wow." she managed to gasp breathlessly. All Jax could do was smile.
Alexis screamed as the baby turned sideways with the next contraction, but managed to push past the pain, to deliver the shoulders, the rest of the baby slipped out into Jax's hands with relative ease.
"It's a girl!" Jax exclaimed laughing, he looked up at Alexis, she was the most beautiful he had ever seen her with her face flushed, sweat dripping down her, her hair sticking to to her face, she was beaming as Jax handed the tiny girl now screaming loudly to her.
Alexis examined every inch of her baby's body, trying to remember her every feature, "Hello my beautiful girl, we did it, you me and Jax, we brought you safely into the world, you big sister Kristina can't wait to meet you." Alexis whispered to her squirming child.
A thought suddenly entered Alexis' mind, "Jax," she said, "Where is Kristina?"
"Still with her babysitter, I rang a couple of hours ago and she agreed to keep her for the night, I said you weren't feeling well." Jax smiled as the sound of distant sirens filled the air.
"Have you decided what you are going to call her?" Jax asked still grinning.
"Jacqueline Sara." Alexis said unable to take her eyes off her daughter.
"I think it suits her perfectly." Jax beamed.
"The Jacqueline is for you." Alexis said quietly, "Thank you."
Jax was about to reply when two paramedics walked through the open door, carrying a stretcher, "Thank you." Jax replied feeling himself tear up.
"Mr. Jacks, are you going to ride with us?" one of the paramedics asked as they loaded Alexis onto the stretcher.
"No, I'll meet you there, I'll clean up a bit and lock up, okay Lexis?" Jax said feeing strangely uncomfortable.
"That's fine, we'll see you soon." Alexis replied as the paramedics wheeled her and Jacqueline away.
Jax walked off to find a mop, still unable to believe what had just happened.