Ch: 20 Maybe Baby
1 Month To Go:
"Jasper!" I shouted from the kitchen.
"Yeah!" he called down from his office. It was faint but I could hear him, the benefit of the stair split at between the kitchen and living room.
"Did you buy the corn?" I shouted. He'd already fired up the grill but was getting a little work done until I was ready. I'd shooed him out of the kitchen because it was still a small kitchen and I was as big as a house, in my opinion at least. I was short tempered and he kept getting in my way so he learned my looks fast.
"Yes!" he said back and he was now standing at the split in the stairs.
"Well where is it?" I asked with my hands on my hips. My feet were killing me and even in early October it was still hotter than hell, I wore maxi dresses and nothing more while Jasper was wearing a long sleeved t-shirt and socks with his jeans, while I was roasting he was chilly.
"In the bag" he said and I huffed and grabbed the reusable shopping bag I'd sent him to the store with this morning. We were cooking just for the two of us since we'd be spending the next week with his parents while the latest additions Jasper had been working on were being finished, something I couldn't be in the house for, the fumes were bad for the baby so we had nothing in our fridge which was currently unplugged and empty since the wiring was being redone. I was getting that bigger kitchen and the new addition would allow for more, baby friendly and less steep stairs, me with my big belly had trouble going up and down the steep stairs.
"Clearly not the case" I said and he huffed and finished going down the last 2 stairs before passing me to go check his truck.
I finished putting the seasoning on the burgers and Jasper came in with a small produce bag with 4 cobs of corn.
"They must have rolled out of the bag, sorry" he said.
"Thank you" I said and tugged his shirt so he was low enough to receive my soft kiss. I was a holy terror and I was completely aware of it. It didn't matter what he did, I went from nice to bitch in nothing flat and he was doing his best but the business trips weren't helping because when he was away I had the construction workers to deal with and a very attention deprived Millie.
"These ready?" he asked softly and I nodded. He took the plate while I wrapped the corn and he plopped the potatoes onto the tray of meat.
"I'll bring them out" I said and he made a sound that he heard me before heading out. Yes, even calm and collected Jasper Whitlock could get beaten down by his hormonal girlfriend.
I finished wrapping the cobs and took them outside with a cold beer from our mini fridge.
"I'm sorry baby" I said to him as I hugged him from behind, setting the cobs on the shelf beside the grill and holding the cold beer to his chest.
"I know" he said touching my hand with his free hand. "Is that for me?" he asked and I could hear the playful tone so I decided to play right back.
"No, it's for my other amazing boyfriend, have you seen him?" I asked and Jasper chuckled.
"Nah, can't say I have" he smiled.
I rolled over and tried to get comfortable but I couldn't seem to, it took me forever to fall asleep lately while Jasper, once he got warm was out like a light. It took him longer tonight since apparently the temperature his mother kept the house during "the change" was a lot colder than how I kept our house.
"You should have brought the pillow" Jasper mumbled before he scooted closer to me and I threw a leg and my arm over his body. He loved the warmth it gave him but for me the heat was uncomfortable.
"I know" I said sleepily, it wasn't preferable to my pillow because my pillow accommodated my big belly while Jasper's hard torso didn't but it was still more comfortable than how I had been.
We ended up staying with his parents for 2 weeks instead of one so Jasper had gone back to the house after work one afternoon, and I'd rolled over to find my precious pillow between Jasper and I. I slept great that night.
"Really cutting it close" Brooke said as we opened the gifts for the shower. We were both having girls so this was our 3rd baby shower, or at least mine. I'd gone home 2 months ago for one with my friends and family in Mississippi and then one here, thrown by the women at Jasper's work and now was the one thrown by his mom and grandmother, a joint shower for Brooke and I.
"What are you talking about? I've still got 2 weeks" I said.
"Yeah but isn't the nursery like done?" she asked and I shook my head. It was far from it. It was painted, the furniture was up but I still had all the clothes to wash and put away but after the re-model, technically number 3 since I moved in. We'd moved all the furniture into the baby's room and garage which meant we were once more putting out house back together, a task Rick had been great about helping Jasper with since he and Darcy lived the closest to us while Brooke and Ryland had moved another half hour further away from us but closer to his parents and grandparents.
"Alice" Brooke began to chide me but I sighed and she held up two hands.
"It's these damn re-models" I said. I mean they were great, and he had done the last 2 for me but I was already a roller coaster of emotions and moods that it irritated me more often than pleased me. "I know he's doing this for me and the baby but I'm ready for this to be done already" I said and she nodded.
"Trust me, you'll feel a lot better about it once the baby is out of you and you can see your feet again" she said and I couldn't help but think I sure do hope so.
"Come on girls, it's time to play some baby games!" Liv shouted and we heard Darcy first, followed by everyone chiding her for saying baby. The goal of the game was the winner, the person with the most pacifier necklaces at the end of the shower, won a prize, which was usually alcohol.
"Baby, baby, baby" Brooke said repeatedly and I laughed, we were the only ones allowed to say it.
"I think we are beyond set" I said to Jasper as he helped me up into the truck after the shower.
"Ya think?" he asked sarcastically and I giggled at his face, the back seat of the truck was loaded down with diapers, clothes and wipes, I was pretty sure we wouldn't need to buy diapers for at least a year, I'm sure I'm wrong but that's how much it feels like we got.
"So what'd you boys do today?" I asked him once he got into the cab.
"Played some ball, drank some beer" he said and I giggled.
"The usual" and he nodded.
"The usual"
"We're gonna have to ice that knee then" I said touching his knee, it usually swelled after he'd play.
"Yeah" he said and took my hand. I loved these moments with Jasper, the moments when I was in a good mood and so was he, they seemed rare lately. That the moments coincided, my moods usually brought him down with me.
As soon as we arrived home I removed all the tags on the clothes, at least the newborn clothing and some of the 3 months clothing in case, as his grandmother said, the baby was of above average size like all the Whitlock babies, except Raleigh who just grew fast.
I spent the rest of the evening doing laundry which was more peaceful now that the laundry room was attached to the house and air conditioned, usually the coldest room in the house until the dryer began running.
"Done" I said setting the basket down on the top of the changing table.
"That didn't take long" he said smiling.
"No, just 2 loads" I smiled surprised.
"If only all laundry was as quick" he smiled kissing my neck and I smiled. I'd been beyond thrilled when the doctor said sex wasn't off limits, even if I was hardly in the mood.
"Jasper I'm disgusting" I said though I wanted him just as much as he wanted me I'm sure.
"No you're not" he said and I giggled. My breasts were huge and I rarely wore a bra around the house, who needs one when your belly pretty much keeps them propped up? Besides, all my dresses had those shelf bras.
I couldn't wait until I was no longer fighting the big belly during sex. There were pretty much 4 positions we could do manage and only 1 of them was comfortable the entire time for me, it had Jasper doing all the work though.
Frequency
I woke up a few hours later, still naked and spooned in Jasper's arms, he had a heavy blanket over him and was radiating heat against my back so I wasn't surprised I was once more awake and that meant I had to pee, a nightly routine, I was thankful Jasper was a deep sleeper, I'd feel worse about it if I woke him up constantly.
I got out of bed and padded across the cool wood into the bathroom where the tile was ice cold and sat on the toilet and closed my eyes as pain shot through me. I bit my lip and held my belly before it finally passed and I stared at the blue numbers on the Ipod dock in front of me, my water had just broken, I thought I had to pee and it broke. I didn't even want to look in the toilet but I managed to wipe before standing up and flushing the toilet.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror for a few moments, having my own personal freak out before pulling out the bag that Darcy helped me pack last week and went through the checklist in my head before glancing at the clock. 5 minutes had passed. I pulled on panties and a long maxi dress before picking up my cell phone and dialing my doctor.
"How far apart are they?" the doctor asked.
"8 minutes" I cringed gripping the dresser and biting my lip as another contraction hit me. "Water broke" I said and listened to her instruct me on getting to the hospital ASAP.
I turned and walked over to the bed, shaking Jasper, I was afraid, I wasn't ready for this.
"Jazz" I said and he opened his eyes, he looked tired.
"Did I need to move over?" he asked groggily and I shook my head. "You're dressed" he observed.
"Yeah, it's time" I said and his eyes stayed half open before popping open and he was up.
"Are you ok?" he asked and was grabbing for the boxer briefs in the laundry basket at the foot of the bed we hadn't put away in our haste to have sex. I watched him grab my bag, open it, seem satisfied and then he stopped in the middle of the floor and stared.
"Pants baby" I said and tossed him a shirt. He caught it and opened the drawer and put some jeans on and then the shirt before slipping his feet into his deck shoes.
"Ok" he said and helped me to stand up from where I had sat down. Millie was passed out in her doggie bed in the living room, snoring away, even she was used to my frequent, nocturnal bathroom trips, she opted to sleep in a whole different room now.
Lights shone through the front curtains.
"I texted Darcy" I said and we went out the front door. I was not going to get up and down from his truck.
Darcy got out and took the bag from Jasper and put it in the front seat with her while Jasper helped me into the back seat of her CR-V.
We were off and Darcy was coaching from the front seat whenever a contraction would hit me and Jasper was letting me squeeze his hand and pant leg. As soon as we arrived, Darcy sent Jasper with me while she filled out the rest of my paper work. Since she was closest she made sure she had all she needed and while we were in the room with the nurse she made all the phone calls, first she called my mom since Rick had already called their parents, he would meet us at the hospital in the morning since the boys were still asleep.
I hadn't had any visitors other than Jasper and Darcy but I was assured everyone was on route and my mom, sister and uncle were working on getting a flight out ASAP while Johnny had yet to have been reached.
"Already!" I said scared as the OB, subbing for my OB who was pulled into an emergency delivery, just my luck, told them to start prepping me for delivery. This should have set in by now. The fact that soon I'd be responsible for a little, living creature, who wasn't a dog, it'd be years before I could leave this thing, child alone without having to make a dozen phone calls. "No no" I said and Darcy tried to calm me down while Jasper looked just as scared as me.
"Alice calm down, this is good" Darcy said and I gave her an even more terrified look.
"What about this is good?" I asked. "Isn't this supposed to last hours!" I shouted and gripped Jasper's hand tighter as a nurse said something to him.
"Do you really want this to last hours?" Darcy asked as I came through the contraction.
"Jasper?" I asked and he brought his forehead to mine.
"You can do this Ali" he said.
"Change now" was all I heard the nurse say as another contraction hit me and Jasper disappeared.
"I'll walk with you" Darcy said even though it was a short walk, down the hall and through a set of doors where she had to stay behind.
I was draped up and had my feet in stirrups by the time Jasper was brought in and he was quickly holding both my hands, his arm behind my head.
I pushed when I was told to push, and tried my hardest not to scream but yelps and sobs slipped out.
I didn't understand what all was being said, I was told there was a head, as if I didn't feel it and then I cried out in pain and heard the word tear as Jasper began asking what was wrong, he was doing well, calm until only a few seconds ago.
"It's under control" the doctor said and while Jasper seemed to calm down, he was still on edge and I was whimpering in pain. A tear, fabulous, I knew it was a possibility but I had hoped it wouldn't happen. I'd read up on tears and I wanted to ask how bad but I couldn't because I was being told to push and now it was 10 times more painful and there was no keeping the pain from bubbling out.
I heard crying and while I should relax and feel relieved, I guess all I could feel was a throbbing, burning pain. (AN: I'm taking the tear description from my friend who suffered a 1st degree tear, she said she couldn't imagine it hurting anymore than that)