Chapter 44: Labor

Meredith sat gently on Derek's side of the bed. He must have been extremely tired because she was up pacing the room and had even taken two hot showers and he hadn't even stirred. She blamed his exhaustion on herself. She hadn't let him go to sleep before midnight in the last two weeks and was constantly hounding him for sex throughout the day. He had been such a good sport, so supportive and loving throughout this crazy pregnancy and now the reward was about to be received.

"Honey." She nudged him softly.

"Sweetie." She tried again, kissing his cheek.

"Baby." She said louder.

"Derek!" She finally called out, placing both hands on his shoulders and shaking him firmly.

"Wh..what?! Hu?! Sorry! Hold on…" Derek didn't even open his eyes as he reached for Meredith and pulled her down next to him, shifting his body as he clumsily began lowering his pants with one hand and Meredith's with the other.

Meredith slapped his hand away from her pants, the cracking of skin finally waking Derek up completely.

"What?!" He asked shaking his hand out as he blinked his tired eyes and tried to assess the situation.

"I'm not waking you up to have sex you moron…" Meredith grumbled, pulling herself back up to a sitting position. "I'm in labor you idiot!"

If Derek wasn't fully awake before, he now was as he sat up with large eyes.

"Wh…what? Labor? Are you sure?!"

Meredith rolled her eyes and gave him a look that he knew better than to mess with.

He was up and out of bed, circling the room twice before he started stammering.

"My pants! Where are my pants?"

"In the closet." She answered calmly.

"Right." He disappeared in the closet for a moment and returned later with a pair of small denims.

Meredith couldn't help rolling her eyes again as Derek struggled with the article of clothing, completely lost as to why he couldn't get them up past his knees. She let him fight with himself for a minute longer before realization hit that they weren't his pants, but Meredith's and he returned to the closet for a pair that fit.

He returned zipping up his jeans and began circling the room again.

"Where's my shirt?" He asked as he opened and closed dresser drawers and crouched down to search under the bed for some bizarre reason.

"In the closet." Meredith repeated, keeping her cool.

"Right." He repeated the same action he had earlier, this time reappearing with a t-shirt on.

"Where's my shoes?"

"Derek! I cannot dress you you little ass….oooowwwweeeee!" She cried turning her face from Derek as she squeezed her eyes shut, the intense pain washing over her and taking her breath away.

Derek was at her side in a split second, a hand reassuringly on her back, the other grasped in one of hers.

"It's okay, breathe, just breathe, that's it…" His voice was calm and soothing, causing tears to prick in Meredith's eyes as the contraction released, enabling Meredith to catch her breath.

"Thank you." She whispered, staring into his calm blue eyes.

"We're having a baby." He answered in awe.

"I know. I can't believe it."

"Neither can I. I love you so much Mer. "

"I love you too." She echoed. "If you ever lose your cool like that again… I will have to hurt you."

"Deal." He chuckled.

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you think you can make it to the car?"

Derek asked worried, his eyes searching Meredith's face frantically as she breathed through another contraction. They were definitely increasing in intensity and were now only four minutes apart, and Derek had to admit, he was scared to death.

"Derek..." Meredith hissed between gritted teeth, finally letting the breath out she'd been holding. "I said I'm fine…." She panted a minute before continuing. "Did you tell Izzie we're leaving?"

"Ya… she said not to worry about Carwyn… she'd be fine."

Meredith only nodded as she breathed through the next pain, slapping Derek's hand away as he tried to rub her back, only to grab him by his t-shirt a second later and demand that he hold her.

Derek's heart was racing, and he had to wipe his sweaty palms on his jeans. This was it. The moment he'd been waiting for his whole life really. He had been deprived of witnessing the birth of Carwyn and was bound and determined to make up for it now. If he could only just quit shaking.

As the contraction finally let up on her uterus, Meredith nodded to Derek, signaling she was fine, and it was time to go. Derek excitedly grabbed the overnight bag, packed and sitting ready by the front door as he led Meredith outside, watching her nervously and hovering beside her, as if she might break at any moment.

"Derek… you need to calm down. The contractions are still about four minutes apart… it's going to be a long night and if you don't get your panties out of a wad... your ass is going to be sore."

"Okay… sorry… right."

Derek nodded seriously causing Meredith to giggle. She had never seen him like this. So scared, so unsure, he was like a little boy, and she found it almost endearing. A bit annoying, but endearing, nonetheless.

After settling Meredith in the passenger seat of his car and buckling her belt around her protruding belly, he tossed the bag in the trunk and hurried to the driver side. He snuck an apprehensive glance at his laboring fiancée as he started the car and cautiously backed the vehicle from the driveway.

He noticed her grip tighten on the leather upholstery, turning her knuckles white as she let out a soft moan, squeezing her eyes shut once again as the next contraction hit. It drove Derek crazy seeing her in such pain and not knowing what to do, not being able to take it all away. He watched with tensed eyes as she breathed in and out quickly, making soft hee hee hoo hoo noises, wishing somehow it was him hurting and not the woman he loved.

Derek turned his eyes back to the road in time to swerve the car, barely avoiding a stray cat, and causing Meredith to jerk in her seat.

"Deerrreeekkk!" She complained, placing a hand on her aching stomach.

He moved his lips in a sheepish gesture and shook his head.

"I'm so sorry Mer… I didn't mean…"

He was cut off by a shrill scream, echoing through the dark car and causing Derek to step on the gas and increase his speed.

"Derek…Derek...I think my water just…. Oh my…!" Meredith screamed out again, causing Derek's heart to quicken its pace even faster and sweat to reach his brow.

"Are you sure Mer? Just hold on… we should be there in ten minutes. It's okay." Derek replied, his voice shaking with panic.

"No! No! It's not okay... oh shit… I have to puuuuusssshhhh!"

"What?! You can't push Mer... whatever you do you can't push!"

"Tell that to my booodddddyyyy!" Meredith screamed again, her calm long forgotten and fear and terror replacing it quickly.

Derek glanced down and noticed Meredith's pants were soaked and her face was full of alarm. They weren't going to make it. He'd have to pull over and do this himself.

As the car pulled to the side of the road and slowed its ascent, Meredith looked up worried with a questioning look on her sweaty face.

"What are you doing?! Why are we stopping?! Owe... owe.. owie… this hurts soo baaaddd!" She continued to scream as Derek parked his car on the side of a deserted dimly lit street and hurried around to her side, his hands shaking out of control and pulse echoing in his ears.

"Mer… you need to lie down in the back seat. Do you think you can move?"

Meredith shook her head as yet another contraction engulfed her. They were right on top of each other and he knew they needed to hurry.

Making up his mind, he reached over her rock hard stomach and undid her safety belt, reaching one arm behind her back, the other securely under her knees. With very little effort, he scooped her from the front seat, and careful not to jar her unnecessarily, laid her gently across the back seat, kneeling in front of her on the damp street as he gently removed her soaked pants and underwear.

He gasped as the sight of a tiny foot met him, causing dreadful chills to run the course of his body.

"What?! What's wrong Derek? What's going on?" Meredith demanded through her sobs.

"Nothing. Everything's okay baby. Everything's going to be just fine. But you're going to have to trust me. Okay… do you trust me baby?"

Meredith nodded through her tears, her panic being checked by Derek's calm voice and composed demeaner, a stark contrast to the man of only moments earlier.

"Ya.. " She panted. "I trust you baby."

"Okay, Mer. I love you…I love you so much. You can do this."

"I love you too Derek…but what are you talking about… what's going on?"

"The baby's right foot is presenting babe. Its footling breach. And if we don't get it out now, the cord may get stuck and cut off its oxygen. We need to be careful… but we need to hurry. Now I'm going to tell you what to do… and you're going to need to listen very carefully. Can you do that Mer?"

Meredith nodded. The pain was extreme and the need to push was overpowering, but she could do this. She could do this for her baby. Most importantly… she could do this for Derek.