CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

Martha was now up and walking around. She had gotten sick of just sitting in the hospital bed, so Dr Morgan had told her that she could get up and walk around if she wanted to.

Alf, Sally and Tony were sitting in the room with her; Tony had convinced Beth to take Lucas and Matilda home. He had said that there wasn't much use in them just sitting around at the hospital. He promised that he would call them as soon as the baby came.

Martha walked to one corner of the room, and then back again. She sighed as she rubbed her stomach. Every now and then she'd feel a little kick coming from the baby.

"Where the hell is Jack?" Tony sighed in frustration as he looked at his watch.

"I don't know, but I wish he would hurry up and get here," Martha cried. "I'll kill him if he doesn't make it on time," she growled.

"Trust me, I'll kill him if he doesn't make it on time," Tony added.

"It could be hours until you have to start pushing. Jack's still got plenty of time to get here. But stop worrying; I'm sure he'll be here soon," Sally reassured her.

Martha knew she was right. Her contractions were still at least fifteen minutes apart. She still had a while to go until it was time for her to start pushing. Martha was just about to sit down when she felt another contraction starting to pull in her stomach.

"Oh god," she groaned as she squeezed her eyes shut and grasped tightly onto her belly.

Sally was by her side within a second; helping her lean over the bed. "Just breathe Martha. It'll fade soon," Sally told her.

"It hurts," Martha started to cry; moaning out loud in pain. She'd honestly never felt a pain like this before and she just wanted it to stop.

After a few minutes the pain had subsided and Martha had calmed down a bit. Sally and Tony were helping her back up into the bed, when the door burst open and Jack appeared.

"Martha," he said breathlessly. He'd obviously just run all the way from the car park.

"Jack," Martha cried as she moved towards him. "Thank god you're here," she said as he pulled her into a hug.

"I thought I'd missed it," Jack sighed in relief as he held Martha tight.

"Where have you been mate?" Tony asked his son.

"We got called out to this house where this guy was going nuts at his girlfriend. The idiot had a knife, so we got stuck out there for a couple of hours," Jack explained.

"Well, you're here now and that's all that matters," Martha smiled.

Alf stood up from the chair that he was sitting in and looked at Tony and Sally. "Why don't we give Martha and Jack some time alone," he suggested. Sally and Tony agreed and followed Alf out of the room.

"So, how is everything so far? Is it going okay? Are you feeling alright?" Jack started asking questions.

"I feel much better now that you're here," Martha started. "But having said that; the contractions hurt like hell and I just want this to be over. I want this kid to be out right now," she told him.

Jack smiled and kissed Martha softly on the lips. "All the pain is going to be worth it in the end," he exclaimed.

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Martha was leaning over the bed; crying a little. She'd just had another contraction and this one had hurt a lot more than the other ones.

Jack was standing behind her; gently rubbing her back and kissing her neck softly. "It's okay," he kept saying in a hushed voice.

Jack then helped Martha up into the bed; propping the pillows up behind her. "Are you comfortable enough?" he asked.

"As much as I can be, I guess," Martha answered. "But I'm really hot," she said.

Jack reached over to the bench and grabbed a cold cloth and started pressing it to Martha's face and neck. "That feels nice," she sighed.

Jack moved himself up onto the bed and in next to Martha. "I can't believe that in just a couple of hours we're going to have our baby," Jack said.

"I know," Martha smiled. "I can't believe that we're going to be parents," she said.

"I'm so happy. I can't wait to meet him or her," Jack started. "Since we're on the subject; are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" he asked.

Martha shrugged. "I don't really mind. What about you?" she questioned him.

"I actually don't mind either. Everybody else seems to have their hearts set on one of the other; especially Matilda and Cassie. They want it to be a girl. But I'll be happy with either," Jack told Martha.

Martha was just about to speak again when she heard the door to her room open; it was Dr Morgan.

"Hey Martha, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Alright," Martha answered. "The contractions are getting closer together, but Julie was in before and she said it could still be another couple of hours before I have to start doing anything," she said.

"Yes, that's right," Dr Morgan exclaimed. She then looked over to Jack. "It's great to see that you made it. Martha was a bit worried for a while there," she said.

"Yeah, had a bit of a problem at work," Jack explained. "But I came as soon as I heard. I wouldn't miss this for anything," he said as he looked down at Martha.

Dr Morgan smiled to herself. It was great seeing such a young couple so in love. "I noticed that you now have a ring on your finger Martha," Dr Morgan pointed out. "Are the two of getting married?" she asked.

"Yeah," Martha nodded. "Jack proposed about two weeks ago," she said.

"Congratulations," Dr Morgan exclaimed.

Martha and Jack sat in silence for a few moments while Dr Morgan looked over Martha's chart; just checking a few things out.

"I think you should go and tell the others to go home," Martha told Jack. "There's no use in them just sitting around waiting for something that could take hours," she said.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked.

Martha nodded. "Yeah, tell them that you'll call them as soon as the baby arrives," she told him.

"Alright," Jack said as he got up. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he kissed her on the cheek before walking out.

"He's a keeper," Dr Morgan exclaimed after Jack had left.

Martha smiled. "I know," she agreed.

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"Alright Martha, I need you to give me another push," Dr Morgan urged.

"It hurts," Martha snapped. She didn't want to do this anymore. It hurt too much. "Can't you like, give me more drugs or something?" she said.

"No, you've already had enough," Morgan answered.

"It's alright," Jack said softly to her. He was kneeling up behind her; helping her sit up. "Just keep pushing," he urged her on as well.

"Look Martha, just a few more pushes and this will all be over," Dr Morgan told her.

Martha gripped tighter onto Jack's hand and pushed; using the small amount of strength she had left. "This really sucks," she said through her screams.

"That's great. You're doing great," Dr Morgan praised her. "Now come on, give me another push," she said.

"I can't," Martha gasped. "It hurts too much. I don't want to do it anymore," she cried harder.

"I know it hurts, but you have to keep going," Dr Morgan told her.

"Come on Martha," Jack begged. "You can do this. It's only a couple more pushes," he said.

"Shut up," Martha snapped at Jack. "It's alright for you; you're not the one laying here in pain," she screamed though another push.

Jack flinched; but he knew that she didn't mean to be a bitch. She was just in pain and taking it out on him.

"Just one more push Martha and this will all be over," Dr Morgan told her. "One more push and you'll see your baby," she said.

"Did you hear that," Jack said to Martha. "Just one more and the baby will be here," he said softly in her ear.

Martha nodded before using up the last ounce of her strength in one final push. She screamed out in pain one last time before slumping back against Jack; breathless. A few moments later she heard the wailing of a baby.

"You did it," Jack kissed her neck.

"Congratulations guys," Dr Morgan smiled as she held up the baby.

"You've got yourselves a beautiful little girl," she exclaimed.

A girl, Martha smiled to herself. Just like dad wanted.

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PLEASE REVIEW

Sorry to all those who wanted it to be a boy. But if you remember Martha's dad said that he wanted a granddaughter, so I just had to make it a girl.

My god, that last part was really hard to write. I've never been through labour myself, so I can't exactly explain how it feels. I just hope that I did okay.