Chapter 9

Two hours later, Lee ran into the hospital, searching for Amanda. He was directed to the maternity floor, where he found Francine at the line of payphones frantically dialing a number. "Where is she?" Lee demanded breathlessly.

"Lee! Oh, thank God. I've been trying to call the agency, but the floor is still on lockdown. When you didn't show up right away… I…" Francine rushed out before she threw her arms around him.

"Hey, I get it. You thought the worst. I understand. I would've been out of there sooner except once they got the timer stopped, they still had to finish disarming the mercury switch. I got here as soon as I could. How's Amanda?" he tried to reassure his friend.

Francine pointed to the room with the yellow door. "In there, but I have to tell you, Lee. She's got me worried," Francine admitted.

"Worried? Why? What's going on?" Lee demanded as he took several long strides in the direction of Amanda's room.

"She stopped talking. One minute she was rambling away about trying to get a hold of her mother because you weren't here yet, and the next, she just stopped. She grabbed my hand as the contraction hit and, boy, she's stronger than I ever gave her credit for, but after that, she just stopped talking… not a peep," Francine explained as she followed Lee. "The doctor is in there now, checking her. He asked me to wait out here. I was trying to call Dotty's doctor's office again, but they just keep telling me they can't give me any information. Don't these people understand I don't want information from them, I'm just trying to get it to her?"

Lee stopped just outside the door and nodded, "We were afraid this might happen. When Amanda was shot in California, once she finally woke up, she began to internalize her pain. The more pain she was in, the less she spoke or responded. It took a lot for her to get over that. She kept saying she didn't want to be a bother to the nurses, so she would stay in pain instead of pressing that damn button. Her doctor was afraid she might do that again. I better get in there." He began to push the door open but stopped and turned back to Francine. "Hey, thanks. It meant a lot to me to know that she was in good hands all this time."

"Go to your wife. She needs you. I'll catch up later," Francine reached out and touched his hand before he disappeared into the room.

"Mr. Stetson, so nice of you to join us," Dr. Johansen teased as Lee crossed the room to be by Amanda's side.

Lee immediately grabbed for Amanda's hand, "Hey, I'm here now. That counts for something, right? My hands were full at work with something a little unpredictable."

"Well, just think, in a few hours, your hands will be full of two little somethings that can be unpredictable as well," Dr. Johansen laughed.

Amanda squeezed Lee's hand instinctively as another contraction began but still remained silent. "How is she, Doc?" Lee asked nervously.

Dr. Johansen lowered the sheet draped over Amanda's knees and smiled. "She's going to be fine, but she's going to need you pretty soon. It seems she's gotten a lot quieter the last half hour or so. Maybe you can coax that out of her," he nodded. "I'll be back to check on her again soon. It's not going to be long now." He left the room, leaving Lee and Amanda alone.

Amanda inhaled and exhaled slowly as the contraction continued. She squeezed Lee's hand tightly until her body finally relaxed for the moment. Lee reached up and brushed her damp hair off her forehead, "Hey. How you doing?"

Amanda's glazed expression changed as she focused on his worried face. "Sweetheart," she whispered. She reached up and cradled his jaw in her hand. "I was afraid you weren't going to make it. I thought something happened because you weren't here, and Francine wasn't really saying anything about where you were."

"Shhh, I'm here now, and I'm fine. I'll tell you all about it another time because, right now, we have something else we need to focus on," Lee assured her before he took her hand in his and kissed her fingers. He reached out and laid his hand on her belly, expecting to feel one of the twins moving. Instead, the muscles of her stomach were quivering slightly. "Dr. Johansen said it's not going to be long now. Are you ready for this?" he teased.

"Are you ready for this, Big Fella?" Amanda smiled back at him.

"I can't wait," Lee replied. Under his hand, he could feel the muscles tense and harden as another contraction began.

Amanda grabbed his hand again as she gritted her teeth and informed him, "Here comes another one." Lee just watched as she fought to keep her breathing under control with slow even breaths.

"You're doing great, Amanda. Just keep breathing," Lee encouraged.

"Easy for you to say. You just got here. I've been doing this for hours," Amanda snapped back.

Surprised by her sudden outburst, Lee covered her hand with both of his, and asked, "Do you want me to have Francine come back in here?"

Amanda dropped her head back and laughed loudly as the pain finally dissipated. "No. I think she's scared anyway," she admitted.

Lee looked over at the machine, recording each contraction, "How long are they lasting?"

"About a minute now. And they're getting closer together, so about three to five minutes apart, I think," Amanda explained.

"Isn't that too soon? I mean, it's only been a few hours since your water broke, right?" Lee questioned.

Amanda covered their hands with her free one and said, "I think I was in labor this morning, only I didn't realize it. After you left, I just couldn't get comfortable. Then Mother and the boys got up, and they left, but then she called you before she went to her appointment, and I still don't think I knew what was going on. This is much different than it was with the boys."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there," Lee leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers. Amanda reached up and buried her fingers into the fine hair at the base of his neck as he pressed his forehead to hers. They stayed entwined until the next contraction began. Amanda slid her hands down his chest, and instinctively grabbed his tie and yanked downward slowly. "Amanda… Amanda, my tie," Lee choked as she focused solely on breathing. "Amanda, I can't breathe," he whispered. He finally reached between them and managed to tug enough of the silk material through her fingers to give him room to loosen his tie. He pulled it off and tossed it onto the nearby chair. "Let's not let that happen again," he muttered.

"Sweetheart, can you get me some ice?" Amanda requested.

Lee scanned the room and located the small pink basin filled with ice chips. Beside the basin were a small matching cup and a small water pitcher. "Just ice? No water?" he asked as he moved across the room.

"Just ice," Amanda confirmed. She readily accepted the small cup and sucked a good-sized ice chip into her mouth. "I'm just getting so hot," she explained.

Lee spotted several washcloths and a towel on top of the nightstand. "Here, hang on," he stated. He stepped into the small en-suite bathroom and soaked the washcloth down with cold water. He returned to her bedside and began gently wiping the cold, wet cloth across her face and neck.

"Thank you, Sweetheart. That feels-" she was cut off as another contraction hit. This time she grabbed his wrist with both hands and began to pant, "Lee… I don't… know… how… much… longer… I can… do … this."

"Hey. Hey, you're doing great. Just hang in there, all right. You look beautiful… you're amazing, Amanda," Lee encouraged. He was trying to remember all the tricks he was taught during the labor and delivery classes they took.

"I look awful," Amanda laughed as she relaxed against the pillows once more.

"No, you look beautiful," Lee assured her as he kissed her lips again.

Lee smiled at his wife, stroked the cloth against her forehead and asked, "What else can I do?"

Amanda sighed, "I think I want to stand for a minute. Do you think you can help me?"

Lee looked at the monitors attached around Amanda's expansive belly. "Is that allowed?"

Amanda smiled and shifted her legs off the bed, "Yes, Sweetheart, and it's encouraged to get off my back for a while." She reached out and put her arms around Lee's neck to balance herself as she slid off the edge of the bed. She'd barely found her feet when the next contraction began. She held onto Lee tightly, her head hanging against his chest until it passed. "Oh, my, that was stronger than the last one," she admitted as soon as she could breathe normally.

"I don't know, Amanda, I think I liked it better when you were on your back," Lee stated tentatively.

"Isn't that how Amanda got into that position in the first place?" Francine teased from the doorway.

"Francine," Amanda groaned with a smile.

"I see you're feeling better now that Lee has arrived," Francine noted.

Amanda smiled up at Lee and nodded, "I am. Thank you. I hope I didn't scare you too much."

"Well, when Amanda Stetson stops talking, everyone should be scared. But that's not why I came back. We finally got a hold of Dotty, and she is on her way," Francine laughed. "I'll let you two get back to it." She stepped back into the hallway, allowing the door to close behind her.

Amanda hugged Lee close once more and whispered, "Are you really ready for this?"

"Dotty?" Lee teased back. "She doesn't scare me anymore."

"Not Mother…" Amanda's voice faded. "Here comes another one!" she groaned loudly and gripped Lee's shoulders tightly.