"Wait for me in the lounge. I'm off in half an hour."
Abby sighed in frustration. "Susan, I'm fine. You said so yourself!"
"Yeah, but wait for me. We'll get a cab back to yours and have a quiet night. I'll call Deb."
"I'd rather just go home and go to bed!"
"Ok, so no girls' night-in! Still wait for me!"
Abby was about to protest again when she noticed that Dave was still sat in chairs. "I'll just get a cab now."
Following Abby's gaze, Susan relented. "Fine. I'll stop by later though!"
"Yeah. Sure, fine, whatever." Susan frowned but went back to work.
Dave stood up when he saw Abby approaching. "Hey!"
"Hey!"
"You ok?"
"Yeah. Everything normal." Abby suddenly felt awkward. "How come you're still here?"
Dave looked down, studying the floor. "Well.I just wanted to see you were ok."
"I told Chuny to tell you, you could go."
"Yeah. I wanted to wait though." He looked up now, leaning towards her. "Besides, it got me out of work!" Abby could not help smiling slightly. "So," Dave continued. "Can I give you a lift home?"
"Where do you keep your coffee?"
"In the kitchen, normally." Abby rolled her eyes, watching Dave open cupboard after cupboard. "I don't even know if I have any. I haven't had chance to go shopping lately."
"Tell me what you need, and I'll pick it up for you."
"I'm sorry? Did Dave Malucci just offer to help somebody?" Abby teased.
Dave gave up his search and crossed over to the sofa where Abby was lying. "Only offered so that I can drink your coffee when I'm over here."
Abby laughed. "And what makes you think you'll be here ever again?"
Dave shrugged. "Cause as I'm sure I've told you before, women can't resist me."
Abby drew her legs up to her chest, making room for him to sit on the sofa. "Susan thinks I should tell Carter!"
"Are you going to?"
Abby was silent for a moment before answering. "I don't know! I just don't know what to do."
"Do whatever you want to. It's your choice."
"That's kind of a selfish attitude though, isn't it?"
"Works for me!" Dave grinned. "No, seriously. Carter left. Now you need to think about you and the baby. If you can raise this kid on your own, and that's what you want, then do that." He paused. "If you still love Carter though, and if you want this kid to know its father, then you gotta tell him."
"Since when were you the voice of reason?"
"Since I got tired of being a joke to everyone and getting fired all the time."
"I don't know if I could cope with being a mother with or without Carter being here."
"Course you can."
"Can I? What if this baby's bipolar? What do I do then?"
"I don't know, Abby. No one can tell you what to do, how to cope with this. You have to figure it out for yourself."
"And if I can't?"
"Then, you might as well just give up now."
Abby fell silent again.
"Do you love Carter?"
"Yes!" Abby confessed. "I don't think I'll ever stop loving him." Abby sighed. "That's why I can't tell him. I want him to move on. Be happy. One of us needs to!"
"Even if you don't tell Carter, it doesn't mean that you have to do this alone."
Abby nodded, wiping a lone tear from her cheek.
"Well, seeing as I'm not getting any coffee, I'm gonna take off. Call me if you need anything." He stood up, grabbed his jacket and started to leave.
"Dave?"
He turned around. "Yeah?"
"Your offer for shopping still stand?" Abby smiled.
"Yeah." Dave laughed. "Let me know what you need!"
"And Dave? Thanks!"
"Can you bring the ice cream?"
Dave finished making the popcorn, and then crossed over to the freezer. "No. Cause there ain't any left!" He heard Abby groan. "You're the one who ate it all!"
Abby lifted her head from the sofa slightly but did not bother to sit up. "Dave."
"No!" he interrupted, joining her near the TV.
"You didn't even let me ask you!" she laughed.
"I'm not going to the store to buy you more ice cream. Go yourself!"
"You wouldn't really make a five month pregnant woman go to the store alone would you?" she asked smugly.
Dave sighed. For the past four months, he had always lost these arguments and he knew that now would be no exception. "Fine. But you can't start the movie without me."
"So, how long you got to go?" Susan leant forward, smiling happily.
"How come you always ask me that every time I see you?" Abby rolled her eyes. Susan had been unbearable lately; half of the time, it seemed that Susan was more excited than she was.
"Humour me."
"Fine. About six weeks!"
Susan giggled. "I can't believe you asked me to be your birthing coach."
"Neither can I!"
"Hey!"
"If there had been anyone else!"
"There was always Dave!" Susan teased.
"There is nothing going on between me and Dave!"
"I know. You've just been spending a lot of time with him recently."
"Yeah. He's been great these past few months." Abby admitted. "But I don't really want him at the birth!"
"Are you definitely not gonna find out if it's a boy or a girl?"
Abby shook her head. "Nope. I want it to be a surprise."
"I can't believe that you're gonna be a mother."
"Still doesn't feel real to me. Except for the morning sickness and back pain."
"It must be worth it though?"
Abby paused. "Maybe. We'll find out after the birth."
"Ok, I got ice cream and.what's wrong?" Dave walked into Abby's apartment, closing the door behind him. Abby had walked over to the couch and sat down as soon as she opened the door.
"Nothing's wrong!" Abby winced. "Except that I'm in labor."
Dave dashed over to the sofa, dropping at her side. "How far apart are the contractions? I thought that you weren't due for another week?"
"Ok, Dave, calm down! Contractions are fifteen minutes apart so I've got plenty of time yet."
"Ok. So what do we do?"
Abby smiled, amused that a doctor could be so hopeless when it came to something like this. "We wait."
"Ok, Abby. Let's get you more comfortable and then I'll examine you." Abby didn't recognise the OB nurse who would be helping her through this. She was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. In the past nine months, she had discovered there were a lot of new faces in OB since she had moved down to the ER. As the nurse gave her a gown to change into, Abby realised that Dave was still in the room. "Erm, Dave?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't take this the wrong way, but get out!"
"Sorry?"
"I'm sure that you don't really want to watch this."
"I'm a doctor. I've seen worse things than a woman in labor."
"Ok, then I don't really want you to watch this."
"Abby, I don't think that you should go through this alone."
"Then call Susan again." Abby groaned, waiting for the next contraction to end before continuing. "Please, get Susan."
As Dave was heading down the corridor, he almost collided with Susan.
"How's she doing?"
"Erm. Getting there, I think."
"Which room?"
"Ok, contractions are four minutes apart. And you're three centimetres dilated."
Susan opened the door slightly, taking a quick glance inside the room before entering. Noticing Dave try and follow her in, she turned to him, shook her head and quickly closed the door. Sighing, Dave crossed over to the waiting area and sat down. He intended to stay until the baby was born. He knew that that would probably take hours but he wanted to be here. He could understand why Abby did not want him in the room; he was not the father after all. He was still hurt though. He had not been there when his son had been born, he had not wanted to really. Even now, he did not really feel like a father; he rarely saw the kid, only sending maintenance payments and presents at birthdays and Christmas. But he was not a real dad. Had never played with his son, or taken care of him at all. For some reason though he felt a connection with Abby's baby; to Abby. They had become close lately, he had watched her go through her pregnancy and now wanted to be there for the birth. So, if he was not allowed in the delivery room, then he would just wait here.
Dave jumped to his feet as soon as he saw Susan come out of the room. "Has she had it?"
Susan shook her head. "Not yet. Coburn broke her waters to try and move things along a bit. But it'll still be a good few hours yet."
"Then where you going?"
"I need to pee." Susan continued down the corridor. Then she turned around and called back to him, "You know, you could always go home."
"I'll wait."
"I can't believe that you caved and had an Epidural." Susan shifted position in the chair at the side of the bed. She never did understand why hospital chairs were so uncomfortable.
"Let's see how well you cope without medication when it's your turn." Abby seemed more relaxed now, in less pain.
Susan laughed. "Who says that I'm gonna ever have kids?" She paused. "Besides, I'd have to find a man first."
"I didn't!"
"Well, actually you did. First, you had Carter. He is the father. And then secondly, you got Dave."
"I do not got Dave!" Abby giggled.
Susan rolled her eyes. "I can't believe how out of it that medication makes you. And seeing that Dave is still sat outside, then I'd say that you got him."
"Alright, Abby, I need you to push for me."
"I can't! Susan, I."
Susan took hold of Abby's hand. "Come on, Abby. You can do this. Shouldn't take much longer."
"I can't.I just can't."
Dave was not sure when he had dozed off or what had woken him up. He sat up sharply, taking in his surroundings. When he heard a baby cry, he knew what had woken him. He quietly crossed over to the door, but did not dare open it. It was enough to know that both mother and child were ok. He smiled happily. He did not know why, but he felt extremely proud of Abby, but part of him still wished that he had been there to see it.
"Congratulations, you have a son."
Abby could feel tears falling down her cheeks as Coburn passed her the baby; her son. She had a son. She glanced up at Susan and laughed slightly to see her crying as well. Susan wiped her eyes. "So what you gonna call him?"
******* Ok, I really struggled with this chapter. I've never been pregnant so it's really difficult to write about something that you have no experience of. But I wanted it in there. It's the birth of the Carby baby so it had to be really. I have a couple of ideas for the name of the baby. I haven't quite decided yet. I also needed this chapter to skip a lot of time, and I'll probably be doing the same with the next one as well. Thanks again for the reviews. Sorry it's taking so long, but I've had work to do for Uni and I have things to finish for creative writing and that's been taking up my time. I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. I know I always say that, but this time, it definitely will be.
Abby sighed in frustration. "Susan, I'm fine. You said so yourself!"
"Yeah, but wait for me. We'll get a cab back to yours and have a quiet night. I'll call Deb."
"I'd rather just go home and go to bed!"
"Ok, so no girls' night-in! Still wait for me!"
Abby was about to protest again when she noticed that Dave was still sat in chairs. "I'll just get a cab now."
Following Abby's gaze, Susan relented. "Fine. I'll stop by later though!"
"Yeah. Sure, fine, whatever." Susan frowned but went back to work.
Dave stood up when he saw Abby approaching. "Hey!"
"Hey!"
"You ok?"
"Yeah. Everything normal." Abby suddenly felt awkward. "How come you're still here?"
Dave looked down, studying the floor. "Well.I just wanted to see you were ok."
"I told Chuny to tell you, you could go."
"Yeah. I wanted to wait though." He looked up now, leaning towards her. "Besides, it got me out of work!" Abby could not help smiling slightly. "So," Dave continued. "Can I give you a lift home?"
"Where do you keep your coffee?"
"In the kitchen, normally." Abby rolled her eyes, watching Dave open cupboard after cupboard. "I don't even know if I have any. I haven't had chance to go shopping lately."
"Tell me what you need, and I'll pick it up for you."
"I'm sorry? Did Dave Malucci just offer to help somebody?" Abby teased.
Dave gave up his search and crossed over to the sofa where Abby was lying. "Only offered so that I can drink your coffee when I'm over here."
Abby laughed. "And what makes you think you'll be here ever again?"
Dave shrugged. "Cause as I'm sure I've told you before, women can't resist me."
Abby drew her legs up to her chest, making room for him to sit on the sofa. "Susan thinks I should tell Carter!"
"Are you going to?"
Abby was silent for a moment before answering. "I don't know! I just don't know what to do."
"Do whatever you want to. It's your choice."
"That's kind of a selfish attitude though, isn't it?"
"Works for me!" Dave grinned. "No, seriously. Carter left. Now you need to think about you and the baby. If you can raise this kid on your own, and that's what you want, then do that." He paused. "If you still love Carter though, and if you want this kid to know its father, then you gotta tell him."
"Since when were you the voice of reason?"
"Since I got tired of being a joke to everyone and getting fired all the time."
"I don't know if I could cope with being a mother with or without Carter being here."
"Course you can."
"Can I? What if this baby's bipolar? What do I do then?"
"I don't know, Abby. No one can tell you what to do, how to cope with this. You have to figure it out for yourself."
"And if I can't?"
"Then, you might as well just give up now."
Abby fell silent again.
"Do you love Carter?"
"Yes!" Abby confessed. "I don't think I'll ever stop loving him." Abby sighed. "That's why I can't tell him. I want him to move on. Be happy. One of us needs to!"
"Even if you don't tell Carter, it doesn't mean that you have to do this alone."
Abby nodded, wiping a lone tear from her cheek.
"Well, seeing as I'm not getting any coffee, I'm gonna take off. Call me if you need anything." He stood up, grabbed his jacket and started to leave.
"Dave?"
He turned around. "Yeah?"
"Your offer for shopping still stand?" Abby smiled.
"Yeah." Dave laughed. "Let me know what you need!"
"And Dave? Thanks!"
"Can you bring the ice cream?"
Dave finished making the popcorn, and then crossed over to the freezer. "No. Cause there ain't any left!" He heard Abby groan. "You're the one who ate it all!"
Abby lifted her head from the sofa slightly but did not bother to sit up. "Dave."
"No!" he interrupted, joining her near the TV.
"You didn't even let me ask you!" she laughed.
"I'm not going to the store to buy you more ice cream. Go yourself!"
"You wouldn't really make a five month pregnant woman go to the store alone would you?" she asked smugly.
Dave sighed. For the past four months, he had always lost these arguments and he knew that now would be no exception. "Fine. But you can't start the movie without me."
"So, how long you got to go?" Susan leant forward, smiling happily.
"How come you always ask me that every time I see you?" Abby rolled her eyes. Susan had been unbearable lately; half of the time, it seemed that Susan was more excited than she was.
"Humour me."
"Fine. About six weeks!"
Susan giggled. "I can't believe you asked me to be your birthing coach."
"Neither can I!"
"Hey!"
"If there had been anyone else!"
"There was always Dave!" Susan teased.
"There is nothing going on between me and Dave!"
"I know. You've just been spending a lot of time with him recently."
"Yeah. He's been great these past few months." Abby admitted. "But I don't really want him at the birth!"
"Are you definitely not gonna find out if it's a boy or a girl?"
Abby shook her head. "Nope. I want it to be a surprise."
"I can't believe that you're gonna be a mother."
"Still doesn't feel real to me. Except for the morning sickness and back pain."
"It must be worth it though?"
Abby paused. "Maybe. We'll find out after the birth."
"Ok, I got ice cream and.what's wrong?" Dave walked into Abby's apartment, closing the door behind him. Abby had walked over to the couch and sat down as soon as she opened the door.
"Nothing's wrong!" Abby winced. "Except that I'm in labor."
Dave dashed over to the sofa, dropping at her side. "How far apart are the contractions? I thought that you weren't due for another week?"
"Ok, Dave, calm down! Contractions are fifteen minutes apart so I've got plenty of time yet."
"Ok. So what do we do?"
Abby smiled, amused that a doctor could be so hopeless when it came to something like this. "We wait."
"Ok, Abby. Let's get you more comfortable and then I'll examine you." Abby didn't recognise the OB nurse who would be helping her through this. She was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. In the past nine months, she had discovered there were a lot of new faces in OB since she had moved down to the ER. As the nurse gave her a gown to change into, Abby realised that Dave was still in the room. "Erm, Dave?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't take this the wrong way, but get out!"
"Sorry?"
"I'm sure that you don't really want to watch this."
"I'm a doctor. I've seen worse things than a woman in labor."
"Ok, then I don't really want you to watch this."
"Abby, I don't think that you should go through this alone."
"Then call Susan again." Abby groaned, waiting for the next contraction to end before continuing. "Please, get Susan."
As Dave was heading down the corridor, he almost collided with Susan.
"How's she doing?"
"Erm. Getting there, I think."
"Which room?"
"Ok, contractions are four minutes apart. And you're three centimetres dilated."
Susan opened the door slightly, taking a quick glance inside the room before entering. Noticing Dave try and follow her in, she turned to him, shook her head and quickly closed the door. Sighing, Dave crossed over to the waiting area and sat down. He intended to stay until the baby was born. He knew that that would probably take hours but he wanted to be here. He could understand why Abby did not want him in the room; he was not the father after all. He was still hurt though. He had not been there when his son had been born, he had not wanted to really. Even now, he did not really feel like a father; he rarely saw the kid, only sending maintenance payments and presents at birthdays and Christmas. But he was not a real dad. Had never played with his son, or taken care of him at all. For some reason though he felt a connection with Abby's baby; to Abby. They had become close lately, he had watched her go through her pregnancy and now wanted to be there for the birth. So, if he was not allowed in the delivery room, then he would just wait here.
Dave jumped to his feet as soon as he saw Susan come out of the room. "Has she had it?"
Susan shook her head. "Not yet. Coburn broke her waters to try and move things along a bit. But it'll still be a good few hours yet."
"Then where you going?"
"I need to pee." Susan continued down the corridor. Then she turned around and called back to him, "You know, you could always go home."
"I'll wait."
"I can't believe that you caved and had an Epidural." Susan shifted position in the chair at the side of the bed. She never did understand why hospital chairs were so uncomfortable.
"Let's see how well you cope without medication when it's your turn." Abby seemed more relaxed now, in less pain.
Susan laughed. "Who says that I'm gonna ever have kids?" She paused. "Besides, I'd have to find a man first."
"I didn't!"
"Well, actually you did. First, you had Carter. He is the father. And then secondly, you got Dave."
"I do not got Dave!" Abby giggled.
Susan rolled her eyes. "I can't believe how out of it that medication makes you. And seeing that Dave is still sat outside, then I'd say that you got him."
"Alright, Abby, I need you to push for me."
"I can't! Susan, I."
Susan took hold of Abby's hand. "Come on, Abby. You can do this. Shouldn't take much longer."
"I can't.I just can't."
Dave was not sure when he had dozed off or what had woken him up. He sat up sharply, taking in his surroundings. When he heard a baby cry, he knew what had woken him. He quietly crossed over to the door, but did not dare open it. It was enough to know that both mother and child were ok. He smiled happily. He did not know why, but he felt extremely proud of Abby, but part of him still wished that he had been there to see it.
"Congratulations, you have a son."
Abby could feel tears falling down her cheeks as Coburn passed her the baby; her son. She had a son. She glanced up at Susan and laughed slightly to see her crying as well. Susan wiped her eyes. "So what you gonna call him?"
******* Ok, I really struggled with this chapter. I've never been pregnant so it's really difficult to write about something that you have no experience of. But I wanted it in there. It's the birth of the Carby baby so it had to be really. I have a couple of ideas for the name of the baby. I haven't quite decided yet. I also needed this chapter to skip a lot of time, and I'll probably be doing the same with the next one as well. Thanks again for the reviews. Sorry it's taking so long, but I've had work to do for Uni and I have things to finish for creative writing and that's been taking up my time. I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. I know I always say that, but this time, it definitely will be.
