"Tom!" Abbey exclaimed, out of breath. "Thank God you're here"
She sat up in bed and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face.
"You really cannot drag yourself away from this place, can you, Abbey?" Dr. Tom Sussin questioned, facetiously.
"That's for sure," Jed mumbled.
"How you doing, Jed"
"Better than she is, Doc"
"Which brings me to my next question," Tom replied. "How are you, Abbey"
"Don't make me answer that, Tom"
"Fair enough. Looks like you're doing well"
"If by well you mean experiencing the agony of childbirth in all its many glories, then yes. Yes, Tom, I'm doing well," Abbey quipped.
"How long has she been in sarcastic mode?" Tom asked Jed.
"About forty-five minutes. Forty-five delightful minutes of sardonic bliss," Jed replied.
"Not bad"
"I know, I'm impressed"
"You know, I'm right here!" Abbey exclaimed.
"We know," they both said at once.
"Well, then, what do you two need me for? Looks like you've got it under control," Abbey said.
"Nah, we need you to do the actual birthing of the child," Jed replied.
"Nice, Jed. That's really sweet"
He grinned.
"I'm gonna go check on Mom and the girls"
Jed leaned over, kissed her forehead, and left the room.
"Now that he's gone, tell me what's wrong, Tom. What's wrong with the baby?" Abbey asked, quietly.
"Daddy!"
Zoey came at him full force, jumping into his arms.
"Hey, baby. How are ya"
He picked her up off the ground and held her on his hip.
"Good. How's Mommy"
"She's great"
"Everything's okay with the baby?" Ellie asked.
"Sure. As far as I know"
Catherine walked over and kissed her son on the cheek.
"Thanks for bringing the kids, Mom"
"Of course, darling. I wouldn't dream of making them miss this. Abbey's doing well"
Jed nodded.
"She's a fighter"
"How far apart are her contractions?" Catherine asked.
"About four minutes"
"Progressing nicely, I see"
"Yeah. Listen, I'm gonna get Abbey some ice and then get back in there," Jed said.
"Okay. We'll be here!"
"Liz!"
Elizabeth stopped short and whipped around.
"Doug. Hey"
Holding Annie tightly against her, she walked towards him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and grinned.
"What are you still doing here?" He asked.
"My mom went into labor on the way home"
"Really! How's she doing"
"Good, I guess. I haven't been in to see her. Annie's been fussing," Liz explained.
"Maybe she's hungry"
"Yeah, that seems to be the general consensus"
"So…how are you"
"I'm good. You"
"Good"
"That's good"
"Yeah," Doug said. "Very good"
"Right. Doug"
"Yeah"
"Why didn't you telll me?" Liz asked, shyly.
"What"
"About your…problem. Why didn't you tell me"
"What problem"
"Don't play dumb with me, Doug, my mom told me"
Doug sighed.
"She did, huh"
"Of course she did. Why didn't you"
"We just met a few days ago, Liz! I wasn't ready to open up about that yet," Doug said.
"Well, you should have told me before I got attached to you"
"You're…attached to me"
"No"
"Oh"
"I mean, well, okay, maybe a little. But it's like, false advertising, ya know"
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm really and truly sorry. I guess I just got in the habit of keeping it a secret. Your mother's the only one who knew. Well, her and the others at the hospital. And now probably your whole family. But, Liz, you gotta understand, this isn't something I'm open about. My grandmother doesn't even know"
"Really"
"Really. I was actually planning on telling her today"
"You ARE trying to…get clean, aren't you"
"I haven't touched any of it since that night they brought me in here," Doug replied, honestly.
"How long has that been"
"A few weeks"
"What are you…addicted to? Is that right phrase?" Liz asked.
Doug nodded.
"Cocaine mostly"
"Great," Liz whispered to herself.
"I guess I have a bit of an alcohol problem too, but only when I'm getting high"
"That could kill you, Doug. Doing both of those things at once," Liz said.
"Yeah. That's what attracted me to it at first. By the time I realized what I was doing, I couldn't stop. But when it landed me in the hospital, it hit me. I knew I couldn't go on living like that if I ever wanted to make something of my life. We all makes mistakes, Liz. You know that just as well as anyone else. I made a life-altering mistake the first time I got high. You made one the day you lost your virginity at fifteen"
"Almost sixteen," Liz said, defensively.
"Whatever. It's the same thing"
"I'm almost seventeen now. And I haven't had sex since. I don't even know why I did it in the first place"
"You don't have to prove anything to me. I'm not judging you. Just like I expect you not to judge me. See, that's why we'd be so good together," Doug said.
"I don't know, Doug. I have a child to think about now. Not to mention my parents forbid it"
"They do"
"Well, my mom does"
"Wow"
"What"
"It's just that, up until now…your mother was the only one I could turn to. The only person who believed I could clean myself up," Doug said.
"Yeah, well, that was until you began showing an interest in her daughter. My mom's got a very 'don't mess with my kids' mentality, you know. Did I tell you about the time she nearly beat the crap out of Ben's mom!" Liz asked, laughing.
"No, but I can imagine it, and it doesn't really surprise me"
"Look, I really like you. But I don't want to go against my parents' wishes. They've been so supportive of me throughout this whole ordeal. This is totally cliché, but I couldn't ask for better parents. I don't want to go screwing that over now. I've worked hard to rebuild my reputation and win back my family's trust. Now I have to work hard for this little girl. She's completely innocent and unassuming. I don't want to mess up her life either"
"You won't. Liz, I promise you won't. Just give me a chance. I know I can do it. I've got motivation now"
"Yeah? What"
"You"
"Fear not, for your faithful husband hath returned! And I come bearing chips of ice!" Jed called out dramatically as he entered his wife's hospital room.
When he saw her, the first thing he noticed was the tears welled up in her eyes and a few fallen ones dried on her cheek. He instantly panicked, put the ice down, and moved quickly to her side.
"What's the matter? What happened? Why are you crying? Is it the pain? Do you want an epidural? Did somebody say something to you? What"
"Jed, stop," Abbey said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm fine"
"You're not fine"
"I'm just a little emotional. My hormones are raging"
"Come on, Abbey. Don't lie to me. Tell me what's wrong," Jed implored her.
"Nothing is wrong"
He took her hand and leaned in to look her in the eyes.
"Abbey, what did Dr. Sussin tell you"
