Chapter 29

In the Car

Lizzie sits in the backseat with Miranda. "Gordo, can you make this car go any faster?"

"Hang on, Lizzie," he nervously shouts, "we'll be there in ten."

"Hurry! Oww! This hurts," she gasps.

"C'mon, Lizzie," Miranda coaches, "breathe." She breathes deeply, hoping Lizzie will mirror her breaths.

"You try breathing when you're trying to pass a bowling ball through a pencil! Then we'll talk!"

A concerned Kate turns around in the front passenger seat, "Are you okay?"

"Whaddya think?" Lizzie hisses. "You're next!" Kate turns back around.

Gordo swerves to miss a car. The teenagers shriek.

"Gordo, you're gonna kill me and aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, and your baby!"

"Coming through! Get out of the way!" Gordo shouts and honks the horn. He steps on the accelerator. "Move it!" Beads of sweat pour down his forehead.

Kate screams as Gordo has another near miss, "Look out!" She covers her eyes. "I can't look!"

Miranda makes eye contact with Lizzie and helps her focus on her breathing. "That's it. Breathe. In, out. Good." Lizzie mirrors her breaths.

At the hospital

Finally, Gordo pulls up to the hospital emergency entrance, and runs into the ER. "Someone help me! My fiancee's having a baby." A nurse follows him out to the car, pushing a wheelchair. Miranda helps Lizzie out of the car and into the wheelchair, while Kate gets into the driver's seat. Gordo looks at her puzzled. "Go on, Gordo. I'll park the car." She drives off and the three best friends rush into the hospital.

As the nurse wheels Lizzie into the hospital, she has another contraction. "Aaaah! Help me! It hurts!"

"How far apart are the contractions?" The nurse asks.

Miranda answers flustered, "Uhh, I dunno. Pretty quick."

The nurse turns to Gordo, "You the father?" Gordo nods. "Has she preregistered?" He looks at Lizzie.

"Yesssssssss!" she hisses. "Just get me into a damned room so I can have this baby!"

"What is your name?"

"Uhh, David Gordon." He looks at Lizzie, "Uh, I mean Lizzie, uh Elizabeth McGuire."

The nurse takes Lizzie up to the maternity ward, while Gordo finishes up the paperwork. Shortly thereafter, he joins his fiancee, leaving Miranda to wait for Kate. Almost immediately, she comes rushing into the hospital. "They've taken Lizzie?"

"Yeah." Miranda glares at her. "Whaddoyou care? Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"

"Well?" Kate looks at her feet. "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you lately..."

"Lately? Try over 3 years! After you guys got back from Rome, and I got back from Mexico, Lizzie told me you had changed. I didn't wanna believe her; I didn't think you could change, but no, she insisted you had. So, I decided to give you a chance at freshman orientation, just to humour her, but did you? NO! You were the same mean, nasty little bitch you were in Junior High." Kate takes 2 steps back, as Miranda gets in her face. "You resumed your petty little ways with Claire, giving us grief. That was fine with me; I could take it. But then you crossed the line when you started harassing my two best friends because they got carried away, mind you, just like you and Ethan did at Thanksgiving, and now they're upstairs having a baby."

"Wha? What are you gonna do?" Kate stammers.

"Oooh! There's plenty I wanna do. However, I don't wanna stoop to your level. So, instead, I'm gonna be nice to you. I'm gonna treat you like you are one of my best friends. Will that be because I like you? No! How bout, I forgive you? Nope! It's because I can. That's gonna be my little revenge on you. Every time I speak to you, every time I see you, you're gonna remember that Lizzie, Gordo, and I are much better than you'll ever be." Kate turns ashen and doesn't say a word.

Jo McGuire rushes into the hospital, pushing the double stroller. She spots the two girls. "Miranda, Kate, where's Lizzie?"

"They took her up to Labor and Delivery."

"Okay." She replies, breathless. She sprints to the elevator, and sees Sam out of the corner of her eye. "Sam!" She gives him a hug. "They've taken her upstairs." They get in the elevator. Jo holds the door open, "C'mon girls!" Miranda and Kate join them.

The Maternity Ward

The McGuires, Miranda, and Kate arrive on the maternity floor. Jo passes the stroller off to Sam and approaches the receptionist. "I am looking for my daughter, Elizabeth McGuire. She was brought up a short time ago."

"Oh, yes. Here she is. She's in Room 2134, over on your right."

"Thanks." Jo walks over to her family. "She's in 2134. Wait over in the waiting area, and I'll go check on her. The twins are about due for their feeding." As if on cue, Lindsay belts out a wail and wakes her brother. "Sam, check the bag and see if I brought their bottles." He looks in the bag as Jo picks up her daughter. Mark begins wailing, and Miranda picks him up.

"Jo, I don't see any." He shrugs his shoulders.

"Great." She sighs. "Sam, would you check on Lizzie while I feed the twins?"

"Sure, hon." He leaves and Jo gets Lindsay situated.

"Pass Mark over, and I'll get him situated too." Miranda does as instructed. Jo looks toward the room which held her older daughter, future son-in-law, and grandchild.

In the Room

"AAAAAH!" Lizzie screams, as another contraction hits. "Dammit!"

Gordo wipes her forehead. "Do you need your rice bag heated?"

"No, dammit, I need morphine! Where's that epidural?"

"Your folks aren't here yet. They can't give you anything."

"Where are they!" Lizzie shrieks. She hears a knock at the door. "If you're not mom or dad, or someone to give me some drugs, go the hell away!"

"It's dad." Sam walks into the room. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"Where's mo-aaaaaaah!"

Gordo holds his fiancee's hand, and looks at the foetal monitor. "Breathe, Lizzie. It's almost over." The contraction subsides. "It's done."

"I think I know that." She looks over at her father. "Where's mom?"

"She's feeding the twins."

Great. She sent in the understudy. I want my mommy! "Oh."

Sam moves to his daughter's bedside. "Do you need anything?"

"DRUGS! I NEED DRUGS!"

"What did the doctor say?"

Gordo replies, "Since she's under 18, Dr. James needs your consent before she'll give her anything."

"We'll get you something, sweetheart."

Lizzie relaxes, "Thanks, daddy." She takes a breath, "I'm sorry for putting you and mom through this."

"You don't have to be sorry. Remember, we were teenage parents too. We know what can happen when you're in love."

"Still..." she trails off as a contraction begins.

"That's it, kiddo. It's coming down. There."

"That one was a bitch."

"I bet. Anyway, the baby's coming, your mom and I are about to be grandparents, and I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to meet this kid."

"Really?" Lizzie's face brightens.

"Yes, really." He kisses his daughter on the forehead.

"That goes for me too." Jo enters the room.

"Mom!" Mother and daughter embrace.

Dr. James enters the room. "Lizzie, how are you feeling?"

"Can I have some drugs?"

"Let me examine you, and then we'll talk." Sam, Jo, and Gordo wait in the hallway until they're called back inside.

Sam: Where are the twins?

Jo: Miranda and Kate have them. How are you holding up, Gordo?

Gordo: Ashen. I'm okay, I s'pose. My head is spinning.

Sam: Chuckles a bit. I understand. I thought I was gonna freak when Jo was in labor with Josh.

Jo: You fainted, dear. Have you called your folks?

Gordo: Not yet.

Jo: Do you want one of us to? Gordo nods. The doctor motions for them to return.

Sam: I'll go check on Miranda, Kate, and the twins and then call them. He shakes Gordo's hand, and kisses his wife. We're gonna be grandparents (he smiles and whispers by her ear.) Jo returns the smile and kiss.

Jo: I know.

As Jo and Gordo re-enter the room, Dr. James fills them in. "She's at a 4 to 5, so if she wants an epidural, she can have one. The baby's still pretty high."

"When do you think she'll deliver?" Jo asks.

"Probably either late tonight or early tomorrow morning."

Jo whispers under her breath, "Josh's birthday."

"What?" Dr. James asks, wondering if she'd missed anything.

Jo snaps back into reality. "Oh!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Tomorrow would have been Josh's birthday, so I was having a bit of deja-vu."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right." She regains her composure and walks back to Lizzie's side. "Do you want something for the pain, honey?"

"Mom, I want an epidural."

"Okay, whatever you need." She turns to the doctor, "What forms do I need to sign in order to give my consent?"

"I'll go get them and we'll get you all situated, Lizzie."

Shortly thereafter, Jo signs the consent forms, the anaesthesiologist comes in and gives Lizzie her epidural. She begins to relax.

"Feeling better?" Gordo asks.

"Yeah."

Jo begins, "Lizzie, I'm gonna step out and fill your father, Miranda and Kate in."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Would you like me to stay the night?"

"Please, mommy?"

"Okay. I'll get Mrs. Garrett to keep the twins and bring Matt up here so he and your dad can stay in the waiting area."

"Good. Thanks." Jo leaves, and Lizzie looks at her fiance. "Can you believe it? We're about to be parents."

"It feels surreal."

"It does." She smiles and places his hand on her abdomen. "Do you wanna know now, or do you wanna wait?"

"I still wanna wait." He grins as he feels the baby move. "That's our child in there."

"I know." She turns serious. "I'm scared."

"Why?"

"I don't think I'll be a good mother. What if I screw up this kid?"

"Are you kidding me? You are going to be the best mother in the whole wide world. Josh or Hailey is gonna be one lucky kid to have you as his or her mother."

"Aww! You're so sweet." She becomes misty eyed.

Gordo kisses his fiancee as she yawns. "Let's get some sleep. It's probably the last sleep we'll get in a long time."

"Yeah." She snuggles down in the bed, and Gordo climbs in beside her. Quickly, sleep overtakes them.