The beginning of this chapter was inspired by something that happened to me today. When I was a child, I loved the dog film "Homeward Bound." I can't remember if I ever felt emotional at the end when I watched the films before but I re-watched them both today and found out I still love them even at the age of 21. I was in tears at the end though, haha. I don't know if anyone has ever watched them but they're good films :-)
Chapter Twenty Seven
Ethan arrived home from a late shift to see Lily and Ava in the living room watching a film. The two of them were in pyjamas and Ava had a bowl of popcorn sitting in her lap. She was munching happily whilst Lily was crying and had a wad of tissues held to her face.
"Are you okay there?" Ethan chuckled, leaning over to kiss her cheek and rub her shoulder. "What are you watching?"
"Homeward Bound," Lily sobbed. "Sorry, it...It's probably my hormones. The ending is so happy though, they think Shadow isn't coming back and then he limps over that hill and Peter is running over to him and the music is playing in the background."
"Why is mummy crying?" Ava giggled. "It's silly!"
"It's because it's a happy ending, princess," Ethan said and glanced at his watch. "Go on, go and get yourself into bed and I'll be up to give you a kiss in a second."
"Can you read me a story?" Ava asked.
"Of course I will," Ethan said. "Go on."
Ava nodded and immediately rushed out of the room. Ethan removed the empty bowl and sat down beside Lily, before kissing her cheek again.
"Sorry," Lily apologised and wiped her tears away. "Ava wanted to watch it."
"Don't apologise," Ethan laughed. "Pregnancy does strange things to people."
"Ava loves dogs," Lily mentioned and wiped at her eyes again. "Robyn thinks that we should get one."
"But you're allergic," Ethan stated.
"No," Lily sniffed and shook her head. "That was a lie. I...I just have a stupid fear of them, that's all. Ava loves dogs though and most of the kids in her class have one, I...I think it could also help her confidence. Dogs and children are meant to be best friends."
"But we've already got her a rabbit," Ethan said. "Besides, I don't want a dog roaming around the house if you're scared of them. It isn't fair on you."
"We can have a dog as well," Lily said. "And I...I won't mind, I'll try and get over that for Ava. I'm a mum now, my kids come first. Labradors are a good breed."
"We'll think about it first," Ethan said. "Before we end up having two kids and a huge labrador running around the place. I'm going to go and tuck Ava in and then I might head to bed myself."
"Me too," Lily said.
It was around two o'clock in the morning when Lily woke up with terrible stomach pains. They were so bad that she literally jolted awake and grabbed hold of her stomach. Ethan was lying sound asleep next to her, snoring his head off. Having been a doctor for many years and having been through it once before already, Lily knew what it was straight away.
"Ethan," Lily hissed through gritted teeth and gave him a small shake. "Ethan, wake up."
"What?" Ethan groaned and rubbed at his eyes, before rolling onto his back. "What is it?" He yawned. "What's wrong?"
"The...The baby..." Lily gasped out and squeezed her eyes shut. "I think it's time."
"What?" Ethan sat straight up at that. "But you're not due for another week."
"Well, clearly little one can't wait," Lily said. "Please call Connie and...And maybe Alicia so that she can take care of Ava."
"Alicia's working tonight," Ethan said, climbing out of bed and quickly changing into some clothes. "So is Robyn. What about...What about Cal?"
"No!" Lily yelled. "I don't want Cal looking after our daughter!"
"He's the only one available," Ethan said. "He's got nights off because of Matilda, Connie and I are your birthing partners and Alicia and Robyn are both doing a night shift. We don't have any other options, Lily. I'm not happy about it either but at the end of the day Cal is my brother and if he is our only option then we're just going to put our thoughts aside for a bit, hmm?"
"Whatever!" Lily screamed out. "Just call Connie and Cal and...Get me to the fucking hospital."
"Language," Ethan chuckled, tripping over as he raced to grab Lily's hospital bag.
Lily bit her lip and rubbed her stomach as she watched him trip over. He then pretended that nothing had happened and continued to get things ready for the hospital.
"Daddy," a small voice said and Ava appeared in the doorway, holding her Mickey Mouse doll. "I heard screaming and I'm scared."
"It...It's okay baby," Lily said. "It's just, your baby brother or sister is ready now so we need to go and collect them from the hospital. You're going to stay with Uncle Cal and cousin Matilda though, all right? You'll be okay."
"Will you be okay?" Ava asked, entering the room and walking over to Lily.
"I will be fine," Lily said and planted a kiss on Ava's forehead. "I promise. I'll call you as soon as I can, okay?" Ava nodded and wrapped her arms around Lily. "Mummy loves you," Lily said, before screaming out in pain again.
"What is it?" Ethan panicked. "What happened?"
"I am in labor, Ethan," Lily reminded him and gave Ava's back a comforting rub. "Pain happens."
"Sorry," Ethan whispered.
"I'm fine," Lily reassured Ava and gave her another kiss.
"Right, let's go," Ethan said and wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulder. "I'll ring Cal and Connie on the way. We should get you in the car first though."
"Pain's getting worst," Lily whispered to him, tears in her eyes.
"I know, I know," Ethan soothed her. "But come on, you're going to be fine. You've done it all before. Just hold my hand."
Lily nodded and gave Ethan's hand a squeeze. "Thank you," she whispered to him.
"Are you comfortable?" Ethan asked as Lily lay in a hospital bed in one of the gowns. She just nodded, wincing as she shifted to a more comfortable position. "I can't believe that this is finally happening," Ethan said, clutching her hand and crouching at the side of Lily's bed. "This is so exciting."
"Yeah," Lily whispered and gave a small nod. "Scary though."
"I know," Ethan soothed, rubbing her hand with his thumb.
"Knock, knock," a voice said. The door opened and Connie popped her head round before walking inside. "How are we doing in here?"
"Not too good," Lily answered.
"Come here," Connie said and walked over to give her a hug. "Who's taking care of Ava?"
"Cal," Ethan said. "He was the only one who was available. Ava gets to spend some time with Matilda though so I'm sure she's happy, she was worrying about Lily though."
"But hey, she'll have a little brother or sister," Connie said, holding Lily's other hand whilst stroking her hair. "Hopefully in the next twenty four hours."
"I'm hoping that this will not last that long," Lily whimpered, squeezing her eyes in pain again. "God! It hurts!"
"Just focus on your breathing," Ethan said. "Next time Mr T comes in, I'll see if we can get you some pain relief."
"Well, it certainly feels weird being back at this end of the hospital," Connie said, glancing around the room. "It's been years, I'm just so used to the buzz of the ED now."
"You...You are staying, right?" Lily said.
"I said that I would, didn't I?" Connie asked. "I was on a night shift but I've left Charlie in charge, hence why I'm in a blouse and black trousers at three o'clock in the morning."
"We should take bets," Ethan said. "On whether the baby is going to be a boy or a girl."
"I'd rather you not make money off of my misery," Lily whined.
"Ethan, you can take a break if you want," Connie said. "You look tired and you need to be fully awake and focused for when Lily is further along. I'll look after her, don't worry."
"Will that be okay?" Ethan questioned and placed a hand on Lily's forehead. Lily gave him a weak smile and nodded. "I love you," Ethan said. "I promise that I won't be long. Would you like me to get you anything?"
"Just a glass of water," Lily said. "Maybe some ice chips as well, if that's okay."
"That's absolutely fine," Ethan said and gave her a kiss on the lips. "I love you, more than anything. Soon, we'll have our baby."
So do you think the baby should be a boy or a girl? Let me know x
