A/N – Again, sorry for the delay. I hate writers block!
Chapter 23:
Sue felt the vibrations of the special baby monitor they had bought. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the clock. 3:30 AM. It was way to early for this. She turned over to see Jack still sound asleep, obviously so exhausted that the sounds from the baby monitor hadn't even crept into his dreams. She got herself up slowly and carefully, trying not to jostle the bed, but having much difficulty with her very pregnant stomach. The baby was due any day now, and Sue was glad. She wasn't sure how much bigger she could get. She made her way into the office, where Sophia was staying in her bassinette.
Jack still wouldn't let Sue in the babies' room, despite now having Sophia at home, saying it would ruin the surprise for the next baby. He had moved her bassinette and change table into the temporary office until the day when munchkin number two decided to make his or her appearance.
Sophia was crying softly, hungry in the middle of the night. Sue was still getting used to this routine. Sure, she had stayed up late and was woken early during hard cases but every night, 2 or 3 times per night was a lot. Jack tried to help as much as he could, wishing his wife would be the one that slept but Sue awoke so easily, especially in the discomfort of her final stages of pregnancy. At the doctor's suggestion, she had also tried to start breastfeeding Sophia, to great success.
She sat in the chair, her eyes half closed as she fed the little one. There was plenty of milk pumped for her, for when Sue went into labour. Not knowing how long she might be in the hospital, Sue and Jack made arrangements for their friends to take shifts watching and caring for Sophia, D and Donna and their kids coming to stay for the nights. They felt more comfortable with that, knowing that the Gans had experience with taking care of infants, whereas the rest of them didn't. Sue was just hoping they wouldn't be too long. She was nervous about labour, she didn't know what to expect. So far, they had only made it to one prenatal class.
Sophia finally calmed herself back to sleep, and Sue made her way back to her bedroom. Right at the door, she felt a strange sensation in her abdomen. Suddenly, her back started to hurt a bit and she noticed that she was starting to leak. She made her way over, bow-legged to Jack's side of the bed.
"Jack…Jack…" she gently nudged him, wishing that she didn't have to wake him. He slowly stirred and looked at his wife.
"What's the matter honey?" He said with a yawn, still half asleep.
"Jack – I think my water just broke." That was it. Jack jumped out of bed, fully awake.
"Here sit down – I'll grab the bag for the hospital. Are you okay? How fast are the contractions coming?" He said anxiously, half running around the room. Sue sat and laughed at him as he desperately tried to get his clothes on and get ready for the hospital.
"Not that fast, I think we have time but we should call Dr. Mireck. Why don't we just take Sophia with us for now, just because it might take awhile for things to start rolling. Then once morning comes, we'll call up Bobby and Tara and get them to pick her up and take her home." Jack nodded, still frantic to get everything together. Sue walked more calmly over to her clothes, and tried putting them on, when another contraction hit. She sat on the bed. Jack came over and helped her into her clothes and grabbed everything putting it in the car. Within 15 minutes, the 3 of them were on their way to the hospital.
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"How are you feeling?" asked Tara, as she went over to give her friend a hug.
"Amazing. I love epidurals." Sue said with a big smile. Bobby was standing next to Jack, Sophia in her daddy's arms. Jack just grinned.
"You should've seen her before the epidural. We've still got awhile to go though. She's only 5 cm." Bobby looked completely confused but Tara seemed to understand. He looked at her for an explanation, Tara's cheeks just reddened so Sue took control.
"It means my cervix is dilated 5 cm." Bobby's eyes opened wide. Jack smacked him on the shoulder and they all laughed. "I start pushing when I get to 10cm."
"Oh…well…nice…" was all Bobby could sputter out.
"Well, we should head out and let you rest Sue. Call us as soon as the baby arrives and take lots of pictures!" Tara said. Jack said goodbye to Sophia and gave her a kiss, before he handed her to his wife for her to say goodbye too. Tara then took Sophia from Sue and buckled her into her seat.
"We will – D and Donna will come by tonight at 8 to take the overnight shift with Sophia. Lucy and Myles might stop by too, just to hang out. I said it was okay. You know where everything is?" Bobby just smiled at Sue. Obviously a protective mother.
"You showed us before, remember? We'll be fine. We'll call if there are any problems. Good luck!" He bent over and kissed Sue on the forehead, before picking up Sophia in her seat and heading out the hospital door. Tara hugged her two friends, picked up the baby bag for Sophia and followed Bobby out.
Jack sat down next to his wife, and took her hand.
"How are you feeling?" She smiled.
"Scared, excited, happy…I just hope their okay with Sophia."
"I'm sure they'll be fine. And we'll all be home in no time, don't worry." Jack reassured her. She closed her eyes to rest, knowing that in a few hours what she would have to go though.
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"It's a girl!" Dr. Amelia said loudly, as Sue leaned back against her pillows, the sweat dripping down her face. Jack couldn't help smiling, feeling the tears well up in his eyes. 3 hours of pushing, and their second daughter had finally arrived. Sue opened her eyes, wet with her tears and exhaustion but holding a smile that showed pure joy. She turned to Jack,
"Two girls!" She said quietly. He nodded, grinning.
"Now you know why there wasn't any problems with Sophia moving in with her sister, because the room was already made to suit a girl!" Sue kissed her husband, as the doctor came over with her baby and gave her to her.
"7 pounds, 9 ounces. Perfect size. She's beautiful. Congratulations." Sue looked up,
"Thank you so much for everything."
"It was my pleasure." Sue looked down at her daughter. Jack couldn't help but see the resemblance. She looked just like Sue. Her little blond hair was in curls, her beautiful vivid eyes staring at her parents. The nurse came over, and started checking up on Sue and the baby, talking all the while.
"Have you picked out a name? Do you have any other kids?" She asked, in a friendly voice. Jack spoke up,
"We have another daughter – Sophia Grace. She's a month old." The nurse did a double take and Sue just smiled.
"Sophia's adopted." The nurse's face cleared from confusion as she kept on doing her work. "And yes, I think we've picked out a name. Savannah Rachel Hudson." The nurse smiled.
"Beautiful name, Sophia and Savannah. Very cute. Sorry mom but I need to take her for a while, but she'll be back in no time. Why don't you get some rest?" Sue nodded and handed over her daughter. She turned to Jack with weary eyes, and opened her mouth to say something. Jack said something before she could, knowing her thoughts.
"I know honey. Get some sleep, I'll be right here. I'll give them all a call right now." Sue nodded, as Jack leaned over and kissed her. It was one of the most miraculous days of his life. Seeing his daughter being born had changed his perspective on life, somehow it just seemed fuller. He stepped out into the hall, checking over his shoulder once, to see Sue already half asleep, her eyes shut. He went over to the nurse's station to make many phone calls to many very excited people awaiting the news of Savannah's arrival.
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Jack and Sue were relieved when Dr. Mireck told them that Sue could go home the next day, and that Savannah showed no signs of being deaf or hard of hearing. From what they would tell, her hearing was fine, but the doctor warned them to be cautious because it still was a bit early to tell. Sue and Jack had every intentions of teaching their daughters ASL anyways, but hoped that Savannah would not become deaf.
Sue walked through the door to their house and breathed in the familiar air. It was so nice to be home. Savannah was tucked into her seat that Sue was holding in one arm, the baby bag around her other shoulder. Jack came up behind with Sophia's seat in one arm and the other bags in the other. Anxious to put the two babies down, the walked into the living room.
"Surprise!" All their friends shouted. Everyone was anxious to welcome baby Savannah and Sophia to the family, since Sophia had never had an official welcoming party. Everyone marvelled at how much Savannah looked like Sue, and how much Sophia looked like Jack, even though Sophia wasn't his biological daughter.
After a while of talking to everyone, eating, and passing the babies around, Sue couldn't hold her curiosity any longer. Sophia and Savannah were getting tired anyways, so Jack led them up to the babies room, ready for the great unveiling. He unlocked the door and slowly opened it. Sue stepped inside.
The walls were a pale, sunshine yellow with pink trim around and white floorboards. The sun shone in beautifully, filling the room with natural light. There were two cribs, on each side of the room. Above each crib there was a sign that said Sophia Grace or Savannah Rachel. Between them, the change table, and near the closet – the rocker that Jack had bought for Sue. The fabric was a warm pink for Savannah's bed, and a lavender purple for Sophia's. They all stood in awe at the beautiful job that Jack had done. Sue went over to her husband, kissed and stood in his arms.
"Wow, nice job mate! It's beautiful!" Bobby exclaimed, Savannah still in his arms. Jack went over to him and smiled.
"Thanks – anything for my girls." He took Savannah and laid her in her crib. Sue did the same with Sophia, and they quietly left the babies to sleep.
A/N – hey, I thought I'd put in a nice happy chapter, especially for Savannah's arrival. More to come soon! PS: I got the names Sophia Grace and Savannah Rachel from the two names I plan for my own girls one day :) in case anyone was wondering!