Chapter 70

A/N Baby girl arrives

First off I would like to apologize to all my readers. First I had a horrendous case of writer's block and then I suffered a pretty significant right hand injury. I have had 2 surgeries and will need more in about a month. I am a terrible left handed typer and it took me 3 weeks to get this done. I hope you will all hang in there with me while I recover and not leave me. I will try to update as much as I can when I can. Enough pity party now onto the arrival of Baby Girl.

"HENRY WE ARE NEVER HAVING SEX AGAIN!" Elizabeth yelled as a strong contraction hit her.

Henry tried not to giggle at her outburst and looked at the nurse and both of them smiled.

A few weeks ago, on the last day of lamaze class the instructor had all the Moms leave the room and had a one on one with the soon to be Dads.

"The soon to be Moms will say a lot of things to you while in labor. Do not let it affect you. They are going to be in tremendous pain and once the baby is born they will forget everything they said. They will squeeze your hand so tight you will think it is breaking but just deal with it. It will be a very stressful time for them so don't say or do anything that will piss them off, such as raising your voice, laughing at them or saying anything to further make them mad. Trust me you will feel stress too, but it is your job to keep them as calm as possible and not add more stress to the situation. Ok, does anyone have any questions you were too embarrassed to ask with the Moms in the room?" she asked.

Several of the Dads had questions and she very patiently answered them. One asked how soon they could have sex after the baby was born and this caused most of the others to laugh. Once she answered all their questions, the Moms came back in the room and they all scheduled their hospital tours.

Henry and Elizabeth's tour took a while to complete due to Elizabeth knowing so many people. She was born in this hospital, plus she was raised here so a lot of people knew her or her family. They were impressed with the birthing accommodations and were very happy with everything they had seen.

Elizabeth's contraction finally eased and she loosened her death grip from Henry's hand. He placed a cool damp cloth on her forehead and ran it around her neck and upper chest to wipe away the sweat. He gave her a few ice chips and waited for the next contraction to hit.

Dr. Mathis had been in to check her several times and informed them that this would be a long labor. Her contractions were coming at a regular pace, but she was not dilating very quickly. Since her labor was not progressing, he wanted to wait until she was at 8 cm, before he let her have the epidural.

Elizabeth groaned very loudly at his pronouncement. Henry was not happy either since her contractions were still happening and it was causing her so much pain.

He suggested they walk around the ward. The movement would help some women move along in their labor.

They walked along the ward a few times and it didn't help her progress any. Since she was coming up on her 20th hour in labor Dr. Mathis did give her a low dose shot of Fentanyl to try and let her relax some. Since the baby was not in distress he was inclined to let her progress on her own. He did tell them if it looked like the baby was in distress, heartbeat dropped or they could not detect movement in the baby he would do a C-Section.

Her delivery nurse, Cindy, was wonderful and was a school mate of Elizabeth's. She kept them informed of what was going on with the baby. She also regaled them with a few of her more humorous delivery stories, not naming names of course.

Isabelle arrived at hour 25 and relieved Henry to grab a quick bite to eat. He grabbed a sandwich and a fresh coffee and ran back up to the room. Isabelle was telling her a story of George's latest antics when he returned. It got her mind off her contractions for a bit.

"Babe, I know you didn't want anyone here with us, but I am going to give my parents and Will a call and let them know you are here. Is that okay?" he asked.

"Henry, that is fine. Will should be in New York. When I talked to him last month he told me he would be there for 6 months doing a surgical rotation. Don't know if he will be able to leave and come down, but at least he will know. Tell your parents to take their time and not rush down here. Your Mom will probably be upset that we waited so long to tell them, so you are going to get an earful from her," she laughingly told him.

He stepped out into the hall and made the calls. He wasn't able to reach Will, but left him a message. As Elizabeth predicted, his Mom gave him a stern talking to. They were going to load up and head their way.

When Henry walked back into the room, Elizabeth was actually relaxed and dozing.

The hospital had recently done some major upgrades and renovations on the maternity ward. The birthing rooms were large and spacious and had some comfortable sleeping recliners installed. Henry sat down in one to eat his sandwich and then reclined back and actually fell asleep himself.

Elizabeth slept about 30 minutes, but was awoken by a hard contraction. Her screaming jolted him up from his nap. He ran to her bedside and she gripped down on his hand once again. Once the contraction subsided, she decided she wanted to get up and walk around again.

On their walk, Elizabeth talked Henry into taking her for an elevator ride. She was tired of looking at the same floor. He led her over to the elevator. They agreed to just go down to the lower level and step outside for a quick breath of fresh air. The maternity floor was located on the 5th floor of the hospital, so it would be a quick trip down and back.

The fresh air seemed to reinvigorate them both. Henry held onto her tightly as they walked back to the elevator. They got on and headed back up. All of a sudden the elevator lurched between the 4th and 5th floor and then stopped. The lurching caused Elizabeth to be pushed back against the back of the car. Henry grabbed her to steady her and eased her to a sitting position on the floor. He didn't want her getting jostled around in the car more than she already had been. He pushed the emergency call button on the panel. A loud bell rang several times and suddenly a voice came over the speaker. He explained what had happened and they assured him that someone would address the issue right away.

Henry turned back to her when he heard her groan due to a strong contraction. He went to her side and held her hand and pulled her into his body to make her feel safe.

Once the contraction eased, Elizabeth looked up at him and grinned. "Imagine us having to tell our child that she was born in an elevator." This caused them both to burst out laughing at the situation. The laughter helped ease the tension. They both got quiet as the gravity of the situation hit them.

Elizabeth's contractions were coming quicker and they both started to realize if they didn't get the elevator moving soon, their child just might be born in the elevator and Henry would have to deliver her.

Elizabeth started crying at the realization. Henry held her tight and tried to assure her that they would get it fixed and she would be back in her room in no time at all.

Henry wasn't as sure of that statement as he tried to sound to her. The longer it took them to get the elevator moving the more likely it was that she might actually deliver the baby in it. He tried to remain as calm as possible, but with her contractions coming one on top of the other the situation was looking scary for him.

Suddenly Dr. Mathis' voice came over the speaker. "You don't do things easy, do you McCords." he said with a laugh in his voice. "Ok, Henry, I am going to need you to lay Elizabeth down and check her for me. Look between her legs and tell me what you see."

Henry laid her back and raised her gown. "What am I looking for?" he asked the Dr.

"Describe from me what you see," he said.

"Well I am not sure, but from what I remember from the pictures and videos of lamaze class, I think I am seeing the top of the baby's head." He tried to speak as calmly as possible, even though he felt like his heart was beating out of his chest.

"DR. MATHIS GET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW. I REFUSE TO HAVE MY BABY ON THE FLOOR OF AN ELEVATOR," she screamed.

"Elizabeth, calm down. They are going to rope lower a paramedic down to the top of the car. He will come in and help you. Don't push, just lay back and control your breathing and try to stay as calm as possible. Henry, keep her calm and talk to her."

"Henry this is hurting and I don't think I can do this," she said with tears running down her face.

He wiped her tears away and gave her a tender kiss. Kissing her was a sure fire way of calming her down. He held her hands as another contraction wracked her body.

A few minutes passed and Dr. Mathis came on the speaker again. "The paramedic is being lowered down now. He will open the trap door on top of the car and they will lower him in. Henry, slide her out of the middle of the floor gently."

Henry eased her over just as the door on top opened up. "Hey McCords, I am Steve. Heard you needed a hand so I thought I would drop in," he said with a laugh.

Henry chuckled, but Elizabeth cried out with another contraction.

Steve stepped out of his rope harness and dropped his medical bag on the floor. He started pulling things out of it and laying them on the blanket he had with him.

"Ok, I know this is scary, but I have delivered a bunch of babies so this will be a breeze. Elizabeth, let's ease you over a bit and then we will take a look at what is going on with this baby," he spoke in a very calm and reassuring voice.

Once she was moved he covered her with a second blanket and raised her gown. He had on a headset and began talking into it. He explained to them that Dr. Mathis was on the other end and could hear them and what was going on in the car.

"Looks like this little one is ready to meet her parents. Elizabeth on the next contraction I want you to push really hard. A couple of good pushes and the baby should be out. Once she is out I will suction out her mouth and nose and lay her on your abdomen. I am being told that they just about have the elevator fixed, but are not going to move it just yet. They don't want to rattle you around in her while she is coming out."

"Henry, get behind her and support her and hold her legs up. Elizabeth it is going to feel like you are being folded up, but since we don't have any stirrups in here we need your legs up as high and as far back as we can get them," Steve explained.

"Henry, I don't want to have my baby here. Tell them to move the car and we can have her in my room." Elizabeth begged him. A hard contraction hit just as she said that and Henry eased her forward to help with the pushing.

"Baby, we don't have time to do that. The baby is coming. I am like you and I would rather she not be born here, but think of all the great laughs we will get when we get to tell the story of how she was born," he said.

"Aaarrggg," she screamed and pushed again.

"Elizabeth, stop pushing. She is almost out. I just need to move her a bit, she is caught on your pelvic bone. Nothing to worry about. Ok, I got her moved, you can push again with the next contraction," Steve said.

"Henry, I can't do this, I am too tired."

"Sweetheart you can do this, she is almost here. Just one more big push," Henry told her as he used his hand to wipe off her forehead.

Elizabeth bared down and let out a scream.

Steve said, "She is here, you can relax." He suctioned out her mouth and nose and a loud and sudden wail pierced the room. He wiped her down and laid her on Elizabeth's tummy. "Dad, you want to cut the cord?"

"Absolutely," Henry said. He cut the cord and looked down at his daughter. He only thought his heart was beating fast earlier. Looking at this beautiful baby girl had it pounding like a freight train and tears were streaming down his face. "Oh Elizabeth, she is so beautiful. I never knew I could love someone this quickly except when I met you."

"Sorry, but we need you to hold on. They are about to move the car. Henry held on to Elizabeth with one hand and placed his other on his baby girl. He knew he would take a bullet for either one of them and keeping them safe was the most important thing.

The car moved slowly and finally the doors opened up. A whole bunch of people were waiting along with Dr. Mathis. He stepped in and lifted the baby into his arms and others stepped in to lift Elizabeth up on a gurney. She breathed a sigh of relief to be out of the elevator, but she wanted her baby. Once she was situated, Dr. Mathis laid her down on her chest and covered them with a warm blanket. The team pushed her and the baby into a room and Dr. Mathis began examining Elizabeth. They had moved all the equipment from the maternity ward down to this room so they would be ready once they got them out.

Elizabeth kissed the top of the baby's head and said, "Welcome Baby McCord." She and Henry had gone back and forth for months about a name.

Once was done and the baby had been cleaned up and placed in a diaper, she was swaddled up and given to Henry. "Here you go Dad, you have a healthy 7 pound 6 ounce 20 inch long baby girl that is ready to see you," Cindy told him.

Henry could not believe he was actually holding his baby girl. He could not take his eyes off of her. She had captured his heart completely. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head and softly whispered to her, "Welcome to the world baby girl. I am you Daddy and I love you so much. I will always be here to keep you safe and protect you from anything."

Elizabeth watched the exchange between the two loves of her life and wiped tears from her face.

Henry walked over and told the baby, "This beautiful person right here is your Momma. She has kept you safe and warm for the last nine months, it is time for you to meet her," he told her as he placed her in Elizabeth's arms.

Elizabeth looked down at her and felt so much love in her it was overflowing. She once thought that after her parents died she would never feel unconditional love again. Henry came along and proved her wrong and now this precious bundle of joy had proven her wrong again.

She scooted over in her bed and Henry laid down beside her. He put his arm around Elizabeth and laid his hand on the baby's back. He wanted to make sure both of his girls were safe within his arms.

Later in the day, with a lot of maneuvering, the family was moved back up to the maternity ward. The baby needed to have some tests run so Henry went with the nurse to the nursery.

Elizabeth laid back in bed and closed her eyes. It had been an eventful 36 hours and she was truly exhausted. With all the excitement her adrenaline had finally come down and she fell into a deep sleep.

Henry and the nurse returned about an hour later. He had gotten to help give the baby a bath and watch carefully as they ran all the tests on her. The pediatrician had declared her perfectly healthy and gave Henry the option to keep her in the nursery for a few hours and let Mom and Dad catch some sleep or return to the room with them. He opted to return to the room.

Henry sat down in the sleeping recliner with the baby secured to his chest.

Elizabeth woke about 2 hours later when she heard the baby starting to whimper and fuss. Henry was walking around rocking her in his arms trying to settle her.

The lactation nurse came in and helped Elizabeth breast feed her for the first time. While she was feeding her she asked Henry, "So now that she is here can we settle on a name?" They had been trying to decide between Rebecca and Stephanie.

Henry looked at her with a smirk on his face. "I think it would only be fitting since Steve delivered her. She should be named Stephanie. We can call her Stevie."

Elizabeth smiled up at him and nodded in agreement. She looked down at her daughter and said, "Welcome Stephanie Suzanne McCord."

Ok the length of this was getting out of control so I stopped it here. I want to thank my wonderful niece Angel for the help on this chapter. She is a fabulous Labor and Delivery Nurse and also works in the NICU. She gave me the beginnings of this delivery, I just expanded it. Could not resist naming the paramedic Steve. Hope you all enjoyed this overload of cuteness.