Baby Jessica is on her way! And she's making sure everyone has a hand in her arrival!
Saturday In The Park
"Labour?" Lionel repeated stupidly. "You mean the baby is coming?"
Joss shot him a look. "No. I'm just going thru the motions until the stork arrives," she replied sardonically. Another contraction pulled at the front of her abdomen. "Oh! Ow!"
"Joss?" Reese tried to remember what to do, but the childbirth classes he attended were a quick blur in his brain. "Darling, are you alright?"
"I wish I could say that this is all for show, John, but..." Joss panted and tried to remember to focus on something other than the sharp pain that threatened to rip her in two. "Oh, that hurt."
"We gotta get her to the hospital," Lionel stated. "I'll get the car."
"Get Shaw," Reese ordered.
Lionel blinked. "Shaw?" His brain tried to make the connection between Joss' labour and Shaw's expertise.
"She's a doctor," Reese reminded.
Lionel snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah!" Turning on his heel, he ran fast to find their mutual friend.
"This is not going to end well," Joss said under her breath.
Reese held her hand. "Yes, it is, Joss. We're going to get Shaw and then get you to the hospital." He cupped her face. "Trust me."
"I do. I'm sorry for not listening to you."
"It's going to be alright." Reese kissed her gently.
"You're too good to me," she said.
"I know." Reese gently rubbed the small of Joss' back and tried to relax her tense muscles. If they all kept calm, they could get thru this, he reasoned. He felt the tension slowly begin to leave Joss. Now, all they had to do was get to the hospital.
"I found her!" Lionel called out as he ran toward the small group. Trailing behind him was Shaw, who was carrying a large, clear plastic bag full of stuffed animals. Zoe took up the rear.
"I called for an ambulance," Zoe said breathlessly. "I figured if we couldn't get her to the car," she surmised, "that was the next best thing."
Shaw looked at her friend. Something wasn't right, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet.
"How are you feeling, Joss?" she asked.
"I had two contractions back to back, but nothing since." Joss wondered if the crisis had passed.
"Her water broke," Reese supplied.
"But that doesn't mean the baby is coming."
"Sure, Joss."
"It could be a while. I was in labour with Taylor for forty hours after my water broke," she remembered.
"But you had a hospital room and an epidural," Reese said.
"True," she agreed. "But..."
"Hmm."
"Hmm, good? Or hmm, bad?" Joss asked.
"Hmm, I need to check you."
Joss shook her head. "Oh, no. No. You are not going to check me."
"I have to, Joss. That baby might be on its way. I need to make sure everything is okay."
"Where...?" Joss looked down at the picnic table. "Oh, hell no! I am not laying on that table!"
"We don't have much of a choice," Reese spoke up.
Joss glared at her husband. "We all have a choice, John." She turned to look at Shaw. "No way, Shaw. I won't... OH!" Her hands shot around to cup the mound of her belly. "Oh, God!"
"Is it a contraction?" Reese asked.
"And here I thought Shaw was the doctor," Zoe dead-panned.
"Breathe, Joss," Shaw ordered. "In. Out."
"I know how to breathe!" Joss shot back. "I just... Oh! I have to push!"
"Breathe!" Shaw repeated.
"Let me push!"
"Breathe!" the group ordered in unison.
Startled by the outburst, Joss found her attention focused elsewhere. Closing her eyes, she held tight to Reese's hand until the pain subsided.
"That was not good," she observed.
"Tell me about it," Reese said and shook his hand to try and get the feeling back. He looked at his watch. Where was the ambulance?
"Can we get her to the hospital?" Finch asked seriously.
"I don't know. I need to examine her."
"No. No. No."
"Joss, be reasonable," Reese pleaded.
The sound of a siren filled the air. Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the huge white vehicle drove across the lawn to where they stood.
As the ambulance pulled to a stop, two EMTs jumped out and ran over.
"We got the call that there is a woman in labour," one EMT relayed.
"That would be me," Joss spoke up.
"Any contractions?"
"Three. All within five minutes," Shaw supplied. "I don't think we're going to make it to the hospital." She tried not to notice the gathering crowd of people who were drawn by curiosity to their situation. She tried to tap down the urge not to go into defensive mode. No, she needed to concentrate on Joss and helping deliver the baby.
"I'm not laying on the table," Joss repeated adamantly. She had been thru a lot, and giving birth in the middle of a park during the 4th of July celebration was going to humiliating enough, but she would be damned if she was going to sacrifice her modesty by flashing herself for all to see.
"Get the stretcher," Shaw ordered. The EMTs did as they were instructed and set it up. "Lie down, Joss."
"I can't," Joss panted as her body constricted. "I need to squat."
"No! Just breathe."
"No breathing. I need to push." Her knees went out. Reese barely caught her. "The baby is coming. I can feel it."
"I know. I know," Reese soothed. "You need to stand up."
"I can't. I need to push."
"No, darling. Shaw needs to check you and make sure everything is alright. Now stand."
"I want to push."
"No pushing," Shaw ordered.
"Did you hear that? No pushing. Breathe. Breathe. Like this." Reese took a deep breath and let it out the way they had taught in class. "Follow me. Just listen, okay?"
"Yes." Joss let her husband's steady voice flow over her as she followed his example. The seconds passed. "That's better," she said as the pain passed.
"Can you lay down?"
"Y-yes." Her knees were weak, but she turned around and let Reese and Shaw help her onto the stretcher. An EMT secured the blood pressure cuff as the other prepped her for an IV. But she didn't care.
Feeling the cool sheets beneath her skin was almost like heaven, and she took that moment to relax. Joss closed her eyes and felt herself momentarily drift off. She was positive that this was all a bad dream and when she woke, everything would be back to normal.
