When it's time
A/N: I own nothing...
On the morning of November 11, Angela rolls over to look at the clock. She's wide awake at 3 o'clock in the morning. She pushes herself up from the bed, trying not to wake Jordan. Padding softly to the bathroom, she shuts the door before turning on the light. She takes 2 steps toward the toilet when she feels wetness running down the inside of her legs.
Angela VO: Well, I guess our little boy will be making his appearance today. Hmmm, no wonder my back was hurting yesterday. I hope I remembered to pack everything I need. Did Jordan put the bag in the car? I wonder if I have time to take a shower?
Very calmly, she goes over to the closet and takes out a few towels. She throws one on the floor to clean up her mess, moving it around with her foot. She hangs the other towel on the bar beside the shower. Turning the shower on, she pins her hair up and then steps under the spray. She washes her face and starts to soap her body when the first contraction hits. I doesn't last long, but it's very painful. After riding it out, she rinses off and steps from the shower.
She dries off and pulls her robe from the back of the door, wrapping it around her. After brushing her teeth and hair, she walks to toward the door when she's hit with the next contraction. Guessing that her contractions are about 7 or 8 minutes apart, she knows she still has time. She opens the door and walks around to Jordan's side of the bed.
Sitting down beside him, she watches him sleep for a minute. Reaching over to caress his cheek, she softly calls his name. He slowly opens his eyes. "Jordan, you've got to get up."
Looking toward the window and seeing that it's still dark out, he looks back to her in confusion. "What time is it? It's not even daylight, come back to bed."
Chuckling, she shakes her head. "Can't do that. You need to get up. You've got to get dressed." She gets up from the bed and walks to the closet, looking for something to wear. She pulls out a pair of Jordan's old sweats and starts to get dressed herself.
Jordan, who is now sitting on the bed, is looking at her like she's crazy. "Angela, what are you doing? You do know it's 3:30 in the morning, right?"
After pulling the shirt over her head, she turns back to him just as another contraction hits. When she straightens and opens her eyes, she looks at Jordan. He's as white as the sheet covering his body. She watches as realization sinks in. He jumps up from the bed heads for the closet, pulling his clothes on in a hurry.
"Shit, Angela. Why didn't you tell me? How long have you been up? Are you feeling ok?" He shoves his wallet and phone in his pocket and pulls his sneakers on. Grabbing for her hand, he starts to pull her toward the door.
"Jordan, stop." She has to say his name twice more to get his attention. They stop just outside Maddie's door. "Hey, we've got some time. I need for you to call mom and have her come to stay with Maddie. She shouldn't have to get up in the middle of the night. Mom can bring her to the hospital in a little while." She smiles up at him. "I need you to stay calm."
Taking a deep breath, Jordan pulls her into his arms. Hugging her tight, he buries his face in her hair. After a minute, he pulls back to look at her. "How am I supposed to stay calm in a time like this? You're in labor! I need to get you to the hospital."
"We're going to the hospital, but first, you need to call Mom. We can't leave Mad by herself. I have to get some shoes on and make sure the bag is in the car. When Mom gets here we'll leave, ok?" Kissing him, she turns and heads back into their bedroom to slip on her shoes.
When she gets downstairs, he's holding her bag and keys. "Patty's on her way. She should be here in a minute. I wish she would hurry."
They hear Patty pull in the driveway and he grabs her hand, pulling her out the door.
Angela was asleep when Jordan returned to her room that evening. He'd ran home to take a shower and get something to eat. Having been with her through all 12 hours of labor, he knew she had to be exhausted. Not wanting to wake her, he moves over to stand beside his son's crib. Reaching down, he gently runs his finger across his soft little cheek, blinking back happy tears. Justin Chase Catalano had been born just after 4 p.m., that afternoon.
For the third time, he had stood beside her hospital bed, holding Angela's hand as she gave birth to their child. He can't help but remember the first time. He looks down at his tiny son and thinks about his other son, their first child. It doesn't hurt as much these days when he thinks of Jay, but there's still an ache that he'll never be able to get rid of. It was so long ago. So much has changed in his life since then. He can't help but feel blessed.
Not able to resist it any longer, he picks Justin up and cradles him to his chest. He's so small and fragile. He's content to stand there with the baby wrapped in his arms. Justin sleeps on, cuddled to Jordan's chest. He leans down to kiss his cheek.
Hearing footsteps approaching outside the room, he turns to the door. Meeting the eyes of his father, he smiles. "Hey, Dad. Come meet your grandson."
Tony hesitantly approaches Jordan, holding baby Justin. "Hey, Son. I don't want to bother Angela, I just wanted to stop in and see the baby. And I wanted to see if you need anything."
Sensing Tony's uneasiness, Jordan walks to stand beside his dad. "Angela's just resting. She won't mind that you stopped in. I'm sure it will make her happy." He turns the baby so Tony can get a look at him, pulling the blanket away from his face.
Looking over at his dad's face, Jordan can see tears start to form in his eyes. "Jordan, son, I'm so happy for you and for Angela. He's beautiful." Blinking rapidly, Tony clears his throat and touches Jordan's arm. "Jay, I'm so proud of you. You are such a wonderful father, in spite of what I put you through. You've become a fine young man."
"Thanks, Dad." Feeling a little uncomfortable, not knowing what to say, Jordan just looks down at the baby. "I'm glad you came by."
"He looks just like you did when you were born." Tony reaches over and touches Justin's hand. "He has your eyes and chin."
"You think so? I kinda think he looks like Angela, but then Maddie looked like Angela when she was born. Now she looks just like me." Jordan grins from ear to ear. "Either way, you have two beautiful grandchildren."
Neither of the men notice when Angela wakes up. She lays there happily watching Jordan with his father and his son. Realizing what a rare moment this is, she doesn't want to ruin it. It took so long for the two of them to even talk to each other. She's glad that she was able to help Jordan make peace with his father.
After a while of them talking, she speaks up. "Hey, can you bring my son to me. I wanna hold him for a little while."
Jordan and Tony both turn to Angela. "Hey, babe. Did we wake you? He's sleeping, so I was gonna let you sleep for a bit." Jordan walks over and places Justin in her arms, before sitting down beside her on the bed. "Dad's only been here a few minutes."
Tony walks over and kisses Angela on the cheek. "Hey, honey. I just wanted to check on you guys, see if I could do anything for you." Shifting from one foot to the other, he asks, "Is everything ok? No problems?"
Smiling at her father in law, Angela takes his hand. "Tony, we're fine. All of us are healthy and happy. I'm so glad you stopped in. It means a lot to both Jordan and me." Jordan slides his arm around her and she settles back against him, with their son cradled to her. "When we go home, I want you to stop in at the house. We'll probably have Mom, Dad and Hallie over. You know, just a family thing. It would be nice if you could come."
Smiling back at Jordan and Angela, he says, "I wouldn't miss it."
After visiting for a few more minutes, Tony says his goodbyes, promising to come by the house. Jordan leans back on the bed, holding Angela and Justin to him. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he looks down at their son. "Thank you for giving me such a precious gift, Red. I just can't stop looking at him."
Turning her face to his, they share a tender kiss. "Well, I didn't do it on my own. I think you had a part in it. He is precious, isn't he?"
As they continue to watch baby Justin sleep, Patty and Maddie walk through the door. Rushing over to the bed, Maddie kisses her mom and holds her arms out for the baby. "Let me have him. Isn't he so cute?" She takes the baby, cuddling him.
Patty walks over to hug Angela. "Hey, Honey. How're you feeling? Everything ok?"
Knowing what her mom really means, Angela gives her the answers she's looking for. "I feel fine, Mom. The doctor said everything was normal. Justin passed all the tests and he's healthy. There were no complications."
"We've all be so worried. It's such a relief knowing that everything is fine. Danielle called. She wants to know if she and Brian can come down this weekend. I told her you would call her later, when you feel up to it." Patty leans over to hug Jordan. "How are you doing, Dad? You didn't faint or anything, did you?"
"Uh, no. I didn't faint or anything. I think I started to panic this morning when she woke me up, but I was ok once we got to the hospital. Your daughter was a champ through it all. She was just as calm as could be, until she started to push." Hugging her close, he grins. "I'd rather forget some of the things she said to me."
Maddie, holding Justin in her arms, sits down in the chair beside the bed. "Look at all this hair, Mom. Do you think it's going to be light like mine and yours? Or do you think it will be dark like Dad's? Does he have all his fingers and toes? Kaylee's little cousin had 6 toes on one foot. Can I think of a nickname for him? Can I wake him up?"
Not knowing what to answer first, Angela laughs. Jordan says to her, "No, you can't wake him up. Let him sleep. He's gonna be up off and on all night anyway."
Patty takes Justin from Maddie and sits in the other chair with him, touching his face and his hands. Rubbing her hand over his hair. Jordan can already see how this little boy is going to be spoiled. Everyone is already fawning over him.
Angela yawns, laying her head back against Jordan's chest. Patty, seeing how tired both Angela and Jordan are, lays Justin back in his crib, kissing him on the head and tucking the blanket around him.
"Maddie, tell your mom and dad goodnight. They're both really tired and we should let them rest. I'll bring you by tomorrow after school." Patty walks back to the bed and hugs Angela and Jordan at the same time, kissing them both on the cheek. "I'm so proud of you both. He's beautiful."
Maddie crawls on to the bed and wraps first her mom, then her dad in a hug. "I love you guys. I'll see you tomorrow." Maddie and Patty leave.
Jordan continues to lay on the bed with Angela in his arms. Feeling himself start to doze off, he starts to get up from the bed. Angela puts her arm out to stop him. "Where are you going?"
He yawns and rubs his eyes. "I'm gonna stretch out in the chair over here. I think it lets out into a cot."
"You don't have to get up. I want you right here beside me. You can sleep right here." She slides over to make room for him.
"I can't sleep in the bed with you. You won't be comfortable. You need to get some rest because your son will wake up hungry in a little bit." He yawns again and stands up.
She grabs his hand and pulls the covers back. "Jordan, get in this bed. I'll be fine. I just want you to hold me for a little while. When he wakes up, you can move to the chair if you want."
Jordan kicks off his shoes and climbs under the covers with her. They both stretch out and get comfortable, wrapped in each others arms. Just as they're about to give in to sleep, their son lets out a cry.
Chuckling, Jordan happily gets up from the bed. Picking his son up, he takes him to Angela. Settling back on the bed behind her, he pulls her back into his arms and watches her nurse his son. Kissing Angela on the head, Jordan falls asleep with a smile of content on his face.