Chapter Forty Seven
Nathan hurried through the double doors of the hospital entrance, not even noticing the other people in the way. He ran to the front desk. The receptionist was on the telephone and he waved to get her attention. She acknowledged him with a nod, but her focus went back to the telephone. He looked at her annoyed. Couldn't she see this was an emergency? He had to know about his wife.
He waited impatiently until the receptionist brought her attention to him. He didn't even let her speak. "My name is Nathan Scott. I was notified that my wife was brought in. Her name is Haley James-Scott. Is she alright?" As the receptionist checked Haley's condition, he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Lucas and Quinn, who had been in the waiting room. "Hey, is Haley okay? What happened?"
"We're not sure yet," Quinn said. "The doctor is in there with her now. So is Mom." Nathan was happy someone was in there with her. At the same time, he wanted to be with his wife. He wanted to know what was going on with her and the baby. It killed him not to be with her.
"Mr. Scott, I presume?" a voice asked, snapping Nathan out of his thoughts. Nathan nodded. "I'm Dr. Copeland." There was a short pause and Nathan hoped the news about Haley was good. "Now I don't want to alarm you, your wife is experiencing contractions."
"You mean like Braxton Hicks contractions?" Nathan asked hopefully. "Because you are aware she is three weeks early."
Dr. Copeland nodded. "That's precisely why she was assigned to me. It looks like Haley is in active labor." He saw the concern in Nathan's eyes and tried to put his fears at ease. "Don't worry. The baby is doing well. I will take good care of Haley and your baby. Right now, everything looks good. I understand Haley wants to have a natural birth?"
Nathan nodded. He remembered Haley had told him that she wanted to avoid a C-section if she could. "With the way the baby is positioned, it is all set to happen. But we'll know more once she gets closer to delivering the baby."
Nathan looked at him in confusion. "I don't understand. You told me she is in active labor."
"Yes, but it does take time for the baby to be ready," Dr. Copeland gently reminded him. "You should go see your wife because she's asking for you."
Nathan followed Dr. Copeland through the double doors and up to the maternity ward. He felt relieved as he saw Haley lying in her hospital bed, talking to Lydia who was by her bedside. They stopped their conversation and Haley's eyes lit up when she saw Nathan. They exchanged smiles as he walked over to her and they shared a kiss.
"How are you feeling?" Nathan asked her as he took her hand. "The doctor told me you're in labor. Did you know you were in labor?"
"Well, I didn't get much sleep last night, but I thought it was because I was excited about the party," Haley replied. "And I have been feeling off lately, but I didn't think that meant anything. But then Mom explained to me that she had showed the same signs before going into labor. She even said dogs can also sense things like that."
"Are you saying Jewel knew you were going into labor before you did?" Nathan asked, trying to be serious.
Lydia spoke up before her daughter did. "Yes, she did. You really should listen to me more often," she said, pretending to be stern. "It seems like you have lost all of your common sense since you married Nathan. I will certainly make sure my grandson is smarter than both of his parents." Nathan and Haley exchanged smiles. "Well, I think I'm going to send your sister and Lucas home. I have a feeling it might be awhile before this baby comes." She gave Haley a kiss before she exchanged goodbyes with Nathan.
Nathan grabbed a seat as he kept a hold of her hand. "Why can't we ever have a normal party?" he teased her. "Every time we planned something, it never goes right. But I guess Jamie was tired of waiting, huh?" Haley just nodded as she squeezed her hand into his and Nathan helped her breathe through the contraction. "Relax. That's one is over."
"It's too soon, Nathan. It's way too soon," Haley moaned. "There's still so much we have to do. We're still not done redoing the nursery. And I don't have my overnight bag. Or even something for Jamie to wear. I don't think any of the clothes the guests brought would fit him since he's going to be a premature baby."
Nathan tried to calm her down. Even though he was feeling worried, he didn't want to show it to Haley. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll figure it out. What about your mom? I'm sure she can stop by the house and pack your bag for you. Do you want me to try and catch your mom before she leaves?"
"My mom may try and convince Lucas and Quinn to leave, but I know her and she isn't going anywhere," Haley replied. "Not until after the baby is here." She turned to Nathan. "Dr. Copeland wasn't lying? There really hasn't been any complications so far?"
Nathan shook his head. "No, the doctor just told me that you were in labor and the baby is doing well." There was a short pause. "Do you want to see if I can page our regular doctor? Or are you comfortable with Dr. Copeland?"
"No, I'm comfortable with Dr. Copeland," Haley said. "Especially since Peyton trusts him. He delivered both of her kids." She squeezed his hand again as she felt another contraction. "Can you see if I can get something for the pain?" Nathan nodded as he released her hand. She stopped him for a moment. "I meant after the contraction."
Nathan stayed by Haley's side as much as he could. It was only after the nurse told them about the crowd in the waiting room was when Nathan took a short break to see what she meant. To his surprise, Lucas, Lydia and Quinn were now in company of Jimmy James, Taylor, Clay, Peyton and Brooke.
Nathan turned to his brother for an explanation. Lucas gave him a wide smile. "As I told Lydia, I'm not going anywhere until I get a chance to hold my nephew. Besides, someone has to be here to support you since your dad and Deb are still on their cruise. By the way, you wouldn't believe how many texts I've been getting. Everyone is rooting for you and Haley and they can't wait to hear the official announcement that James Lucas Scott has made his appearance into the world."
Nathan smiled in return. "I appreciate the support, but you guys really don't have to wait out here. You know how labor is. It still might be hours before she's ready to push."
"If you're worried about Kendall, we've already dropped her off at Whitey's house and he was happy to take care of her as long as we need to be here," Lucas replied. "And Jake stayed behind to take care of his kids. So you're stuck with us. Besides, we want to be here. After all, we're family."
Nathan couldn't argue with that. "I should probably get back in there." He returned to his wife's side. "There's certainly a lot of people waiting for Jamie to make his grand appearance." Haley smiled. "How are you feeling? Do you want to try and walk around for a little bit?" he asked. She nodded and he helped her out of bed.
As she walked around the room slowly, she did her breathing, but it didn't help much. "I'm a little panicked. Can you tell me a story?" she asked. Nathan looked at her blankly. "Seriously, nothing comes to mind? What about a memory? Something to distract me."
Nathan had to think for a second before he was able to come up with the perfect story. He stopped her for a moment and looked into her eyes. "Okay, I have one. Once upon a time, there was a couple who lived comfortably in a nice neighborhood. One day, there was a new neighbor and the man decided to welcome her in the neighborhood. They became best friends. He taught her about shooting a basketball and she helped him understand his younger brother who the man had guardianship over. In fact, he wanted to name his first son after her. He planned on James." Haley smiled as she remembered the day he told her that. She had been so honored.
"The man eventually left his wife and pursued a relationship with the neighbor after they both realized they were falling in love with each other." He decided to keep the story short and sweet and he wasn't going to include all of the drama. "They had many ups and downs, but they finally were able to get married. They soon found out they were pregnant with a little girl. To their surprise and delight, the gender turned out to be wrong and their little boy James Lucas Scott was born." Haley smiled even more as she listened to him. "And they all lived happily ever after."
As if by magic, Haley's contractions began getting closer and closer together. Nathan got the nurse who paged Dr. Copeland. Dr. Copeland hurried into the room and checked over everything. "Haley, you're ten centimeters dilated." Nathan looked at him confused. "It means it's show time. Let's get her to the delivery room." Nathan hurried behind them as he realized this was really happening. In a matter of moments, he was going to be a dad. He could hardly wait.
Nathan was soon right by Haley's side again. There was no time to savor the moment. Haley needed him. He held her hand as she squeezed it tightly. "That's right," he encouraged her. "Just take deep breaths."
Haley did what he and the doctor instructed. She pushed and breathed and did the process over and over again. Nathan did his best to comfort her with soothing words, but he didn't know if it really helped her. The minutes seemed endless and he could tell Haley was getting exhausted. Dr. Copeland knew it too and checked the baby to see where it was.
Dr. Copeland gave the expectant parents a smile. "The baby is crowning. A few more pushes should do it."
"Do you hear that? You're almost there," Nathan told Haley. "The baby is almost here. Just a few more pushes." Nathan looked at Haley, who wanted to give up. "I know you. You are not a quitter. You can do this."
Haley realized he was right. They were nearly at the finish line. She couldn't quit now. She took another deep breath before she pushed again. A couple of more pushes and Haley cried tears of joy as Dr. Copeland showed them their baby, who was wailing away. "Congratulations. It's a boy," he announced.
Haley turned to Nathan. Neither of them could stop smiling. "You're a dad," she told him.
"You did so good," Nathan told her proudly as he kissed her forehead. "We have a son. We have a son," he repeated. A son. He was a dad at last. Not only that, but he would get to raise him with Haley.
Haley couldn't wait to hold him. The nurse cleaned him up and wrapped him in a blanket before he was put in his mother's arms. Neither of the new parents could stop staring at their new bundle of joy. "Welcome to the world, James Lucas Scott," Haley said as she turned the baby to Nathan. "Look, there's your daddy."
Nathan was at a loss for words as Haley gently handed his son to his father. He couldn't help but look at him. He had waited so long for him that he still couldn't believe he was really here – holding him. "Hi Jamie. I'm your daddy." He turned to Haley for another moment. "See, I told you this story had a happy ending." Haley just smiled at him before they shared another kiss. They had gotten their wish and they couldn't wait to start their new adventure as parents.
