"Daddy"
While the other four Bartlets were plagued by exhaustion and lethargy, Zoey was bursting with energy. There were few things in life she enjoyed more than being allowed to stay up past her bedtime. Catherine and Elizabeth had read every magazine in the waiting room cover to cover, and Ellie had finished an entire two hundred page novel. Annie had slept peacefully, waking only often enough to be fed. Zoey, however, had spent the evening bouncing around the hospital, pestering nurses and patients alike.
It had been nearly two hours since she had seen her father. When he strode into the waiting room, appearing almost as bubbly and energetic as his youngest daughter, she very nearly pounced on him. He held her up in his arms, balancing her on his left hip.
"How's it going, kiddo?" Jed asked.
"How's it going with YOU"
"No broken bones in my hand yet!"
Catherine stood, slowly as her vision was still clouded having just woken up, and approached her son.
"What kind of progress has she made?" Catherine questioned, rubbing her temple.
"Well, you'll be happy to know"
"It's a boy!" Zoey exclaimed, hopefully.
Catherine and Jed both turned their heads to face her, their expressions clearly conveying their confusion.
"What"
Shaking her head, Liz stood up and joined their small crowd, after shooting a protective glance back at her sleeping daughter.
"She's just being annoying. What were you gonna say?"
"Uh…" He wasn't fully convinced that she was 'just being annoying,' but he didn't have time to investigate at that very moment. "I'm proud to say, they're getting ready to move her into the delivery room"
Instead of the jubilant jumping, squealing, and clapping he had anticipated, he found that his mother and daughters responded with none other than sighs of utter relief.
"Thank the Lord!" Liz said.
"Hallelujah!" Catherine cried. "Praise God."
"How much longer till we're outta here?" Ellie asked.
Jed put Zoey down, folded his arms across his chest, and stared at his family incredulously.
"Your mother is experiencing the most intense pain of her existence, and you're in here counting the minutes until you get to go home"
"Darling, it's been nearly twelve hours," Catherine pointed out, in her defense.
"Twelve hours that certainly have been much harder on Abbey than on you!" Jed retorted.
Elizabeth stood on her tip-toes and strained her neck, glancing behind her father out at the hallway. She pushed her dark hair out of her eyes and squinted her eyes.
"Uh…Dad"
"What?" Jed replied, irritably.
"I'm pretty sure they just wheeled Mom right past you"
Jed whipped his body around in a state of panic and was able to catch the tail end of Elizabeth's vision.
"Oh, Jesus"
With that, he began his hurried sprint out of the waiting room.
"Don't you speak of His name…" Catherine trailed off, sighing when she noticed her son had already taken his leave from the room. "…in vain"
Jed ran down the hallways, trying to catch up with his wife, who was being wheeled down to the delivery room. When finally he was able to walk briskly beside her, he grabbed her hand and tried to catch his breath.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"It's okay," Abbey replied. "How is everyone"
"They're fine. A little restless maybe"
"Yeah. Well, don't blame them. I'm a little restless myself"
She cracked a smile, which was the best she could do under the circumstances.
"We're almost there, Abbey," Dr. Tom Sussin interjected, following close behind them.
"Yeah, because looking at the sign that says 'Delivery Room' right in front of us wasn't a good enough clue, Tom," Abbey replied, between sharp intakes of breath.
Tom grinned and nodded in Jed's general direction.
"Sense of humor intact"
"Did you expect anything less?" Jed responded, laughing.
A few nurses ran in front of them to open the doors to the room, then they wheeled her in. Jed moved a few strands of Abbey's hair out of her face gently.
"You okay, baby"
She nodded, swallowing hard.
"I'm ready"
Half an hour later…
The sound of anxious footsteps enveloped the waiting room. By this time, the Bartlets had all recovered from their sluggish states, and taken to proving their impatience. They each stopped in their tracks when the door was flung open, and Jed stood before them, grinning proudly.
"Well?" Catherine questioned.
"Dad!" Liz cried, urging him on.
"Is it a boy!" Zoey inquired, eagerly.
"Is Mom okay?" Ellie asked.
Jed paused for a moment, and took a deep breath. He did it partly to calm himself down, and partly to agitate his anxious family. He glanced at each of them in turn, which only allowed the tension to build a little more.
"Seven pounds, three ounces, nineteen inches"
He knew they were waiting for more, but he was going to let them chew on that for a moment.
"Your mother is doing just fine. You can all go see her in a few minutes. Make sure you tell her how amazing she is because she was incredible in there"
"And…?" Liz said, smiling brightly despite her almost nervous curiosity.
"And…it's a girl"
