Early Friday morning, it happened.
Alison opened her eyes, and at once, knew something was off. She had been dreaming that she was having contractions. Was she really? It was then that she felt it. Yep. That was definitely a contraction. Alison looked over at Rafe and gave him a shake.
Rafe had been in a deep sleep when the sound of Alison's voice slowly pulled him away.
"Rafe."
Rafe turned his head, but he was still asleep.
"Rafe," Alison repeated, a little louder and shaking him harder.
"Hmm? What?" Rafe opened his eyes, looking over at Alison. "Okay, I'll go heat up those leftovers," he said, then closing his eyes again. He was obviously still half-asleep.
"Rafe!"
Rafe's eyes snapped opened, surprised at the tone of Alison's voice. "What's the matter?"
"It's time."
"What time is it?"
"It's time to have the baby."
Rafe sat up, wide-awake now and panicked. "What? Are you sure? Are you sure it's time?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Immediately, Rafe went into panic mode, hopping out of bed and running from one end of the room to another as he grabbed some clothes. "Let me get dressed! No, first we have to call the doctor!" He ran to the phone.
"You have to call Lucy too," Alison said calmly.
"Oh no, your bag! We didn't pack a bag, did we?"
"My bag is packed and in the car. We already did that. Remember? Call the hospital."
"Right! The hospital!"
"I'm going to go get dressed," Alison said, getting out of bed slowly. She couldn't help but laugh as she heard the panic in Rafe's voice as he begged for someone to pick up the phone. She seemed to be taking this better than her husband, and she was the one having the contractions.
When Alison came out of the bathroom, Rafe literally rushed her downstairs. "Go ahead and get in the car. Can you make it okay?"
"Rafe, we can't leave right now."
"No, we need to go. Dr. Meadows said as soon as your contractions started, we needed to get a move on."
"Rafe. Katrina."
It took him a moment, but then he remembered. "I forgot to call Lucy!"
"Call Lucy. Don't worry, we have time. I'll just sit down for a while." Alison took a seat on the couch. There was really only one time when Rafe would run around forgetting things. This was it.
It only took ten minutes for Lucy to get there. She had been prepared that this sort of thing would happen, so all she had to do was throw on some clothes and drive right over.
"Don't worry about Katrina. I'll explain everything to her. Call me with an update!" Lucy said as they headed out the door. "Good luck!"
"Lucy, one more thing," Alison said. "If Katrina's not up by seven o'clock, please wake her up because she'll be late otherwise."
"Alison, she's got it. Let's go," Rafe urged.
"There's some cereal in the pantry if you don't have enough time to cook something for breakfast. And it's best to leave the house by 7:45 to get her to school on time otherwise the traffic will be really bad. She knows which room her class is in."
"Alison, we've got to go."
"Thanks, Lucy!"
"You're welcome! Don't worry about a thing. You just concentrate on this little one."
"Bye!"
Rafe rushed her to the car, opening the door for her as she slowly got inside.
"Rafe, I'm going to tell you one thing before we leave this driveway."
"What's that?" he asked, turning the key into the ignition.
"Don't you dare drive like you did last time."
"Drive like what?" Rafe put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway.
"Like a madman!" Alison said. "You will drive a reasonable speed. Do you hear me?"
Rafe eased up on the gas, knowing when Alison used that tone of voice, she meant business. "Yes, dear."
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Katrina headed downstairs to the kitchen where the delicious smells were coming from. She was expecting to see her mother, but was surprised when she saw Lucy instead.
"Lucy?"
Lucy turned around, giving her a big smile. "Hey there, Peanut!"
"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" she asked in a low, scared voice. She tightened her grip on Bernie.
"Come sit down and I'll tell you." Lucy took a seat at the table and Katrina joined her. "Last night, your daddy had to take your mommy to the hospital."
"How come?"
Lucy grinned. "Because. It's time for your baby brother to be born!"
"Really?" Katrina's eyes lit up.
"Yes, really!"
"Can we go see him, Lucy? Please, please, please!"
"Oh he's not here yet, Peanut, but he will be soon."
"Yay! I'm so glad!"
Lucy laughed. "I knew you would be. Now, why don't you go upstairs and get dressed, and then when you come back down, we'll have breakfast."
"And then we can go to the hospital?"
"No. You have school."
"No, Lucy! I don't wanna go to school! I wanna go see Gabe!"
"But he's not here yet, Peanut."
"But you said he'd be here soon. Let's go to the hospital and wait for him! And Mommy said I didn't have to go to school when Gabe was born!"
Lucy raised an eyebrow. She knew Katrina well enough to know when she was lying to get her way. "Nice try, kiddo."
Katrina frowned. Well, it was worth a shot, she decided.
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"Ahh, ahh, ahh," Alison moaned, feeling another contraction.
"Shh, just breathe though it," Rafe soothed.
"I am breathing! What the hell do you think I'm doing?" she snapped.
Ouch. Rafe was starting to remember what Alison was like when she was in labor. It wasn't particularly his favorite side of her.
"How's our patient?" Dr. Meadows asked, walking into the room to check on Alison again.
"Oh, Dr. Meadows! Thank god you're here!"
"You all right, Alison?"
"No! I need drugs! I need them NOW! Just knock me out! Do something!"
"Yes, it does appear your contractions are getting stronger. I'll go ahead and get the anesthesiologist up here."
"Thank you!"
"I'll check on you soon."
Alison turned to Rafe, glaring at him with angry eyes. "Just so you know, we are NOT doing this again. You've got your girl, and you've got your boy, and after this, that's it! No more babies!"
"Knock, knock," Amanda said, walking into the bedroom. "Hello dear."
"Hi, Nana."
Rafe took the opportunity of Amanda being here to make his escape. He needed to breathe for a few minutes. "I'm going to check out the vending machine down the hall, let you and your grandmother talk. Would you like me to bring you back anything?"
"Go get me some ice chips!" she demanded.
"Okay. I'll be right back. Amanda." He nodded to her.
"Hello, Rafe."
Once Rafe left the room, Amanda gave Alison a big smile. "How are you feeling, darling?"
"Do you really have to ask? I want this baby out of me!"
"Well, not much longer now. Until then, I brought some things that I'm sure will lift your spirits." Amanda held up some shopping bags she had carried in, all from Wyndham's.
Alison temporarily forgot her pain as she wondered what kinds of goodies were inside. "What's in the bags, Nana?"
"Oh, just some things for the baby that I picked up." Amanda reached into one bag, pulling out an adorable baby blue onesie.
"Aww, it's so cute!" Alison took the tiny onesie, imagining her baby wearing it.
"I knew you would love it."
"It's perfect. Thank you, Nana."
"I brought some more things too. Stuffed animals, a blanket…"
"Oh…oh god…"
"Darling, are you alright?"
"Yeah, just fine," she squeaked out, trying to breathe though another painful contraction. "I'm so ready for this baby to BORN!"
"Well, I'll just put these bags aside so you and Rafe can look through them later.
"Thank you, Nana. That was really sweet of you."
"Did someone order an anesthesiologist?" Dr. Kessler said with a smile, walking into the room.
Alison rolled her eyes. What were the odds that she would get the same annoying doctor that she had the last time around? "You again. About time you showed up."
Dr. Kessler was about to say something when he noticed an old friend. "Amanda!"
"Mark! Hello! How are you doing?"
"I'm doing wonderful. Yourself?"
"Fine, fine. How's Marlene and the kids?"
"They're all doing well. Jodie just started her first year at Columbia. Brent's going out for the football team this year. And our little Sarah's in second grade now. And wouldn't you know it…Mrs. Applewhite is still teaching there. She was Brent and Jodie's teacher when…"
"Um…HELLO!" Alison yelled, getting their attention. "Pregnant lady here! Having a baby and in need of some DRUGS!"
Dr. Kessler turned his attention back to Alison. "Oh that's right. I have a job to do," he said with a wink.
Alison did not find him amusing. "Will you just do it already?"
The doctor laughed. "Lay on your side for me, Alison."
"When I gave birth, I never used any drugs," Amanda said more to Dr. Kessler than to Alison as she walked over to her granddaughter's side. "Didn't need them. It was all natural."
"Well you're considered one of the lucky few," Dr. Kessler said with a laugh.
Alison tried to ignore their chit-chat. Who cared if her grandmother didn't need the drugs? She did and that's what mattered! Now if the doctor could just get on with it and stop his blathering, things would be a whole lot better.
"Alright, Alison, you know the drill. Breathe slowly, and don't move."
"Wait! I want Rafe!" she suddenly decided. She had tried not to look at the needle but she accidentally saw it anyway. If she could just have Rafe hold her hand, everything would be okay.
"Alison, I'd love to wait for your husband, but I've got three other women down the hallway screaming for me as well. We need to go ahead."
"No! I want Rafe!" she begged.
"Darling, it's alright. I'll be with you," Amanda said.
"I WANT RAFE!" she demanded.
Fortunately at that very moment, Rafe walked into the room. Alison smiled the biggest smile. "Rafe! Thank god you're here!"
"What's the matter?" Rafe rushed to her side.
"Just hold my hand. Please. Just don't go."
"I'm right here, angel," he said, taking her hand into his. Rafe couldn't understand it. One minute, she was yelling at him, the next, she was clinging to him for dear life.
But one thing he did know. No matter what her mood, he loved her anyway.
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"Hello?" Livvie poked her head into the room. "Can I come visit?"
"Livvie! Come in!"
"I just thought I'd drop by to see how you were doing. I got your message. How are feeling?"
"Much better since they gave me the epidural an hour ago."
"Oh good. Epidural's the best!"
Alison nodded in agreement. "Ohhh yeah."
"So where's Rafe? Did you scare him off?"
"Oh, he's around. I think he's making a call to Lucy. He promised to give her an update every hour."
"Not much longer now, huh?"
"Nope. So, what did you bring me?"
Livvie held up her bag of goodies. "Stuff from the gift shop! I thought your room might need a little decoration, something to welcome the baby into the world." Livvie pulled out a little blue bear holding a balloon that read "It's a Boy".
"Aww, that's so cute."
"I thought so." Livvie placed the bear on the nightstand. "And I bought you these." Livvie held up little tiny baby hats.
"Oh look at them! How precious." Alison took the hats and felt how soft they were.
"I figured the little guy will need something to keep his head warm considering how cold Port Charles gets in the winter."
"Oh, we'll definitely use these. Thank you, Livvie."
"You're welcome."
Suddenly, Livvie heard her cell phone go off. "Hold on just a moment." She dug into her purse to answer it. "Damn it, Jack. What do you want?" she snapped. "It's like the fifth time you've called me!"
Alison looked up in surprise at Livvie's tone. She could hear Jack talking on the other end, but couldn't make out what he was saying.
"Yes I'm busy! I'm at the hospital providing moral support for Alison. She's having a baby, you know!" Livvie looked at Alison and rolled her eyes. "What do you need a battery for?…Why can't you go out and get your own battery for your stupid camera?"
Alison stifled a laugh. It had been a while since she'd seen "Pregnant Livvie". She was finally emerging. Poor Jack.
"Fine! I'll go get your damn battery! But you owe me!….I don't care. Dinner. A massage. Something…Bye." Livvie smashed the end button on her mobile. It was the equivalent to slamming a phone down on the receiver. "That man!" she huffed. "Such a baby! I swear, Alison."
Alison couldn't help it. She had to laugh.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Livvie. It's just that, if there was any doubt you weren't pregnant before, well it's certainly clear now."
"I have a right to be cranky. I can be cranky if I want to."
Alison laughed again.
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Hours had passed, and before long, Dr. Meadows said it was finally time.
The first time she had gone though this, Alison had been scared. But now, she was excited. She knew that it wouldn't be much longer until she would finally get to see her son. For so long, she had felt him growing and kicking inside of her. No one was more anxious to see him than her.
Rafe held her hand, letting her squeeze it as hard as she wanted without complaining through each contraction.
"Just one more push, Angel," he encouraged her.
Suddenly, the sounds of a crying baby filled the room, and Dr. Meadows held up a healthy looking baby boy. "Ten fingers and ten toes, he's all here!" she announced.
A nurse stepped in and wrapped the baby up in a blue blanket. The instant he was handed to his father, his crying calmed down.
"Alison, he's amazing," Rafe said, walking over to Alison and placing the baby into her arms.
Alison smiled as she held the baby close to her. "Hi, Gabe."
"Welcome to the world, son."
"Oh, Rafe, look at him. Look at the little chin. And that nose. He looks just like you. Just like his father."
"Yeah, but look at those eyes. They're blue."
"I bet they'll change color though. They're going to turn into this beautiful hazel-green color. I just know."
Rafe placed his arm around Alison and gave her forehead a gentle kiss. "You did great," he whispered.
"No, we did great," Alison said, turning her head to kiss him.
"So, um, can I ask you something?"
"Hmm?" Alison mumbled, mesmerized by their son.
"You're still not serious about not having any more kids, are you?"