Chapter 13

Sam

Walking Serra into the maternity ward at her hospital was very strange. It didn't seem real; I was married, my wife was pregnant, and I was about to be a father. The nineteen-year-old in my head was in full panic mode. I didn't know what to do with a baby. What was I going to do with a kid?

I stared down at Sere and did everything I could not to turn and run out the doors, knowing very well that I didn't want to do that and that if I did, she would send a hunting party after me that included Grace and Dean. Seeing her in pain was a terrifying experience and I willed Grace to get here as soon as she could. While she checked in with the nurse, it occurred to me that I had no idea how to handle any of this because I was never forced to do so. Dean was always there, handling what needed to be handled and doing the hard stuff in life for me. He was always there to take the bullet or help me though, making decisions for me or holding my hand, so to speak. He always experienced things first, so at least I knew what to expect, but when it came down to it, part of me wished he could do this part for me, too.

The nurse at the check in station pointed towards the elevators and Serra nodded, leading me towards them and pointing to the wheelchair that was in front of her. Without thinking, I wheeled it towards her, she sat down and I pushed her towards the elevator doors. They opened as we approached and Serra was hit with another contraction as we rode up to the fourth floor.

As I rolled her down the hall towards the nurses' station, we were greeted by Dr. Alana, Serra's friend, who now knew our secrets. She smiled at Serra, a wide mouthed grin, and leaned in to hug her. "Look at you!" she said, standing back to stare at my wife. "How close are the contractions?"

"About five minutes," Serra answered, glancing up at me. "My water hasn't broken yet, though, so I'm probably not even dilated yet."

"Not necessarily," Dr. Alana was saying as she led us down the hall to Serra's private delivery room. "We'll get you set up and check." Smiling up at me, she asked, "How are you, Sammy?"

I knew I needed to acknowledge her, so I did my best to smile and nod in response. Serra didn't hear me answer, so she looked up to my face and furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you freaking out? You're not allowed to freak out right now."

Dr. Alana smiled and pushed the door open. "There's a hospital gown on the bed. Get changed and I'll send a nurse in to get your vitals and hook you up. I'll be back in about five minutes to check how much you're dilated." Serra nodded as she stood, ready to pull off her tank top and get changed. The door closed behind her and I stood in the middle of the hospital room, reminding myself to take deep, calming breaths.

"What is the matter with you?" she asked, pulling the hospital gown over her belly. She stared at me expectantly and put her hands on her hips. "Is it just hitting you now that I'm pregnant or what?"

I turned to stare at my beautiful wife and shook my head slowly. "We're gonna be parents," was all I could manage.

Serra smiled and closed the space between us. "Yeah, we are," she said, "and we're gonna be damn good ones." She took a sharp gasp of a breath as another contraction ripped through her. I held her by the shoulders as she breathed through the pain, slightly bent at the waist. "But if you think," she said, gritting her teeth, "that you get to freak out without me, you're wrong."

"Breathe and concentrate," I said, still holding her by her shoulders, "and I'm not freaking out without you." I paused, waiting for her contraction to end, "I'm just realizing that I've never handled something like this without Dean. He's always been the one to do all the big stuff for me."

"Hate to break it to you, Sammy, but he had nothing to do with this," Serra said, gesturing to the large bump under her hospital gown. She sat in the bed, still breathing deeply, waiting for the contraction to completely pass.

The nurse walked in with the cardiology cart and smiled at both of us. "Hey, Serra! Thirty-nine weeks! You made it!" She paused, holding the blood pressure cuff up as Serra held out her arm, "How you doing?"

Nodding, Serra smiled weakly. "At least it's not twins."

The nurse laughed, "Oh yeah, your sister, right?"

"Yeah," Serra agreed as she leaned back into the pillows behind her. Dr. Alana came in and smiled at the occupants in the room. "They're already five weeks," she said, still talking about Everett and Glory.

"How are they doing?" Dr. Alana asked, smiling knowingly.

Serra nodded, "They're good. Still figuring things out."

"I would assume that would be the case," Alana said, not really talking about the babies anymore. "Okay, lean back and we'll see how far you are." I moved out of the way, towards Serra's head, holding her hand and trying to stay calm. Dr. Alana continued the conversation as if it was a normal thing to converse while having your hand up…there. "Alright, Sere. You're already dilated about five centimeters, but we need to break that bag to keep things moving. This will really suck."

"You're gonna break the bag?" she asked, tense.

Alana nodded, "I have to, Serra. You're gonna stop dilating and then we'll end up with all kinds of problems." She paused, pulling her tray of instruments over towards her and pulled the stool closer to Serra. "Scoot down. Find a better spot, and get comfortable, because seriously. This is going to hurt worse than the contraction." Serra rolled her eyes and scooted down towards Alana. "Ready?"

"I guess?" Serra answered, still holding my hand. She glanced up at me and squeezed her eyes shut.

Alana reached again, using one of her many tools and Serra gripped my hand hard enough that my fingers popped. I hoped quietly that she hadn't broken any of them. "Breathe, Serra," Alana said, sitting up and watching my wife. She glanced at the contraction monitor and then up at me. "Get ready, Sam. I just threw her into hard labor."

Sure enough, the tiny green line began to climb as Serra began another contraction. "Oh, for fuck's sake," Serra breathed, wringing my hand.

I stared at the line as the countdown began at the bottom of the screen. "Fifteen more seconds, babe," I said into her ear. "Breathe."

She complied, but the grip on my hand tightened and she grunted in effort. Finally, I could see her body relax as the contraction ended and Alana smiled. "Good one," she said. "You want me to call Lindsey?"

"You haven't called Lindsey yet?" Serra asked, her voice dripping with distain. "Why the fuck haven't you called her yet?"

"She lives about ten minutes away. You have time," Dr. Alana said, chuckling. "I'll call her and we'll get your epi tube set up." She paused and lifted an eyebrow. "She'll be able to, right?"

Serra allowed herself to smile and nod. "Yes. I'm the normal one," she said, laying her head back on the pillows. "And find out where my sister is, one of you."

"I'm right here," Grace answered from the hallway as she walked into the room. "I was about eight minutes behind you. Is life ending as you know it?"

"As a matter of fact, it is," Serra said, making a face. "This fucking sucks, Grace. Make it stop."

Grace shook her head, smiling up at me reassuringly. "Sorry, kiddo. Out of my hands."

Alana pulled out her cell phone and dialed, holding the phone up to her ear. "Hey, Linds," she greeted. "She's here!" She paused as Dr. Lindsey, the anesthesiologist spoke into the phone. "Yeah, she's doing well. About five centimeters, so we've got about an hour, I think." She paused again, smiling and nodding. "Sounds good. See you soon." Dr. Alana looked up at Serra and me and smiled. "She'll be on her way in about five minutes," she said, patting Serra's foot. "You'll only have to deal with the pain for about fifteen more minutes."

Serra nodded and laid her head back on the pillows again. She breathed deeply, trying to stay calm in between contractions. There was a slight knock on the door and Dean's face appeared. "What are you doing here?" Grace said, smiling, "Where are the kids?"

"Cas showed up," he said, chucking. "He appeared right outside of the front door, knocking incessantly until I opened it." I walked over to my brother and wrapped him in a hug, happy that he was there to share this with me, and more importantly, calm me down. He glanced over at Grace and grinned. "He even knocked again after I opened it."

Grace giggled, shaking her head. "I don't get it," Serra said, sitting up slightly. "What's funny?"

Glancing at her sister, Grace shook her head, "He bamfed into our bedroom a few days ago while we were in a compromising position."

"And then he asked if it was a 'difficult position to be in'," Dean said, laughing again.

Taking my spot by the bed, Grace brushed a strand of hair out of Serra's face and smiling, continued, "He and Lucia are 'copulating,' he says."

Serra laughed and stared at her sister. "'Copulating?'" she shook her head. "He used that word?"

Grace nodded. "When we went to Heaven to get Sam," she explained, "they were…friendly. Or at least as friendly as I would imagine angels to be." Grace's blue eyes flicked to the screen behind her. "Get ready," she said quietly.

I walked back over to Serra and took her other hand as she began to take deeper breaths. "This one is bigger," I said under my breath, "It's climbing faster."

Serra nodded and gritted her teeth. "Mother of all that is holy…" she gasped, "they're getting bigger."

"They're gonna," Grace said, pulling Serra's hair out of her face and wrapping it into a bun on top of her head. Dean was gone from the doorway, out in the hall talking to the nurses that walked by. All of them seemed to want to know how the twins were doing. "Breathe, Lucky. Don't forget to breathe."

She gasped for air as the mountain peaked and began to fall back to the bottom of the screen. I smiled at Serra and lifted my eyebrows. "You did well, Sere," I kissed her forehead, more at ease with Grace and Dean with us.

Looking back at Grace, Serra continued the conversation from where they left off. "So are they a couple now? Cas and Lucia?"

Grace shrugged. "I guess? Do angels date?"

"No, they copulate," Dean said, standing in the doorway again.

Casually re-braiding her hair, Grace smiled and shrugged, "Mom liked Cas," she said off-handedly. "I think she thought he was cute."

Serra's head whipped around to face her sister. "Mom liked Cas? What are you talking about, Grace? How would you know something like that?"

Grace's face went slack, realizing that she had never told Serendipity that she ran into their mother in Heaven while looking for Sam. "Shit, I forgot to tell you, Lucky. I saw Mom."

The look on Serra's face made me take a physical step back from her, getting out of the way as the sisters faced off. Dean remained in his position leaning on the doorframe, stuffing his hands into his pockets, trying his best to be invisible. I joined him, away from the girls.

"What do you mean, you saw Mom? And you forgot to tell me? How could you do something like that, Grace? What the fuck?" Serra paused, looking around the room, "Well? What did she say? How did she look? Did she ask about me?"

Grace took Serra's hand and I could tell she was begging forgiveness. "God, Lucky, I'm so sorry. Life just kinda rolled on and I forgot. We didn't spend all that much time together—" Grace cut off suddenly, staring off into space. "You bitch," Grace said, slapping her shoulder. "You liar."

Serra laughed and recoiled. "I wondered how long it would take for you to figure it out." She pointed across the room at me. "Sam told me all about it when he got back."

Turning on me, the elder sister strode towards me and for about three seconds, I wondered if she was going to hit me. Dean took a step back, grinning, and waited for his wife to strike. "Why didn't you tell me you told her?" She pointed behind her, "You're on your own with her for a bit. Have fun!"

"Aw, come on, Gracie!" Serra shouted. "I was just fucking around." As Grace made a show about leaving the room, Dr. Alana came striding towards us with her phone in her hand and a stern look on her face. "Alana, what?" Serra's voice came from behind me, concerned at the look on her friend's face.

"Lindsey's car won't start," she said. "She hasn't left yet."

"What?" Serra practically shouted. "You said I had about an hour before we crossed the threshold!" The look of panic on Serra's face was enough to bring both Grace and me back into the room. "What are we going to do?"

Grace turned to Dean. "Go get her," she said, pointing.

"What?"

"Go get Lindsey," she repeated. Alana glanced at Dean, still holding her phone. "Otherwise you get to deal with her during the height of delivery."

I shrugged at Dean, who stared at me with his eyebrows up. "Alright," he said. "Text me her address," he turned and strode down the hall towards the elevators. "I'll be back in thirty minutes."

"I'll call her and tell her he's coming," Alana said, dialing once again. "Good plan, Grace."

"Yeah, I'm full of them," she said, smiling.