September 21st...
As the first light of the morning seeped through the venetian blinds, Skye Penderwick's eyes popped open. Rolling over onto her side, she gasped in pain. In a few seconds, once the sensation had passed, she groaned. This was not supposed to be happening yet! She was still supposed to have two weeks of peace and quite and lack of pain! Darn those doctors and their inability to predict dates. Wasn't medicine supposed to be a science?!
Slowly and cautiously, she forced herself to sit up. This was going to be a long day, so why not get it started early? Glancing over, her eyes landed on the man sleeping next to her, and she couldn't help but smile. He was lying face down, his head squeezed between two pillows.
She had heard him finally come to bed at 2:30, after hours spent at the kitchen table, planning his lessons for the next day. They had both been very thankful when he had been offered a job to teach at BCM (Berklee College of Music), but a good deal of sleep had been sacrificed for that paycheck.
Deciding not to take a note out of her sister's book - Jane had woken Nathaniel up a total of 12 times on false alarms before their son, Theodore, had actually been born - she got out of bed as quietly as possible. No use in worrying Jeffrey before it was absolutely necessary.
She shuffled downstairs, careful to take her time and not fall. Jeffrey had been adamant that she always use the handrail, and while she usually didn't listen, she would hate to add more pain to what was already bound to be an agonizing day.
As she slowly made her way into the kitchen for a cup of tea, she heard the sound of harmonica. Batty, one month into her freshman year at BCM, had spent the last few weeks writing a harmonica concerto. Through she had grown to be fairly talented on the piano, the mouth harp was still her go-to instrument and she was determined to prove its worth to the entire student body and faculty of her college. Her brother-in-law had been only too thrilled to assist her. As a result, Skye was now living with two odd-instrument-obsessed nuts, instead of only one.
"Well, you're up early," was the warm salutation she received upon waddling into the well-lit room.
"Yeah, well contractions have a tendency to mess up your sleep schedule." The room was filled with a beat of silence as Batty processed what her sister had just said.
"Wait, what?!" Skye just smiled. "Contractions?!" The girl jumped up and began to hug her sister before pausing. "Wait a second... You're not pulling a Jane on us, are you?"
"Of course not! Now shhhh; you'll wake Jeffrey!"
Batty just stared at her, dumbfounded. "You mean you didn't wake him up?!"
"No, he was up all night planning lessons, and I figured there was no use in waking him up yet. He's not going to be getting much sleep in the near future."
"Don't you think he'd want to know, though?"
"Oh, he'll be up soon enough. Do you want breakfast?"
"Uh, sure." She was still staring at her sister in awe. "Are you sure you don't want to wake Jeffrey up?"
"YES! For the last time, Batty, I want to let him sleep!"
A stifled yawn filled the air. "Well, you certainly have a funny way of showing it. What time is it, anyways?"
Wincing, Skye turned around slowly. There in the doorway, looking rather rumpled and very sleepy, stood Jeffrey. "Oh... Sorry about that."
He chuckled softly. "It's alright. I would have had to get up soon anyways." He sat down at the kitchen table next to Batty. "What's the the excitement about?"
Skye blinked. "Oh, nothing."
Batty was in absolute disbelief. "What do you mean, nothing?! Are you off your rocker Skye?!" Eyes wide, she turned to Jeffrey. "She's been having contractions! The baby's coming!"
Skye sighed. That was what she had been trying to avoid. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for the hurricane about to overrun their lives.
The first thought to pop into Jeffrey's mind was, Oh, God. It's too early in the morning for this. The second thought was one of pure panic. And that's the one he acted upon.
Instantly wide awake, he jolted into action, rushing over to his wife. "Skye! Why didn't you wake me up?!"
"Well, apparently, I did!"
"You know perfectly well what I mean! Why didn't you wake me up when the started? When did they start? Are they terribly painful? We need to call the doctor. Oh, wait - no, we should probably call your dad first. Or should we call my mother first to, you know, get it over with? Or should we call Alec since he's closest? Or -"
"Jeffrey!"
"What?"
"Sit down, and shut up!"
Taking a deep breath, he did as he was told. "But, Skye, we really should do something."
"No. Not yet. This is going to be a long day anyways, and there's no use prolonging it. The most important thing is for us to all stay calm and -" here she cut off, grabbing her lower stomach and bending forward. "Jeffrey! Do something!"
"But, Skye... "
"Just do something, you blob!"
"Okay, just stay calm and take a seat, and I'll make you a cup of tea -"
"For God's sake, Jeffrey! I'm going to have a baby. This is no time for tea!"
"Skye..."
Deciding that the couple need a bit of assistance, Batty stood up from the table and stepped in between them.
"Okay, you two. Listen up. Skye, sit down and don't move until I tell you to. Jeffrey, call work first, and tell them that you won't be in today. Then call Cooper and Sarah, and ask them to let MIT know that Skye is starting her maternity leave NOW. After that, call the doctor. Then Daddy and Iantha, then your Alec, and then your mother. Got it?"
"Um, Berklee, the Snyders, and then what?"
"Look, I'll make it really simple for you. Berklee, Snyders, doctor, Daddy, Alec, and mother. Okay?" He swallowed thickly before nodding, and grabbed his phone of the counter. "Good. I'm going upstairs to pack your guy's bags. I don't want to hear arguing out of either of you."
Skye groaned in exasperation. "But, Batty..."
"No 'but's', Skye. Stop sniveling. We're going to do this, and we're going to do this right."
And with that, she turned on her heel and marched up the stairs. A woman on a mission.
30 minutes later...
"Mother! I am not going into this with you again! Skye is my wife and she's having my baby. Now! So accept it and move on, will you?"
Skye snorted. That woman was something else. But that was still no excuse. Rolling her eyes, she elbowed her husband in the ribs. He huffed, hung up on his mother, turned off his phone, and shifted to look at the young woman.
"Okay, Skye, what was that for?!"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe for making me drive myself to the hospital while you sit in the passenger seat and yap on the phone with your mother?! I'm in labor, for heaven's sake!"
"Well, I'm sorry, but talking on the phone while driving is illegal in this state, and you know it! Or would you rather have been the one to call my mother?" She rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't think so."
"Well, I still don't see why Batty couldn't have came with us and drove. That would have been the most logical option."
"Well, she couldn't."
"Why not?"
"Because she had a date!" As the secret spewed past his lips, Jeffrey cursed mentally and slapped his hand over his mouth. But it was too late. Two things happened at once.
Skye erupted: "She what?!" and she slammed on the breaks just barely stopping before hitting the car in front of her. They were in a sig alert.
Okay, wow. I am so, so sorry, guys. I really don't have an excuse, only that I've been very lazy this summer. I'm sorry to leave you all with a cliffhanger, but I want to do this important event justice, and so I'm breaking it up into two chapters. The next one will hopefully be up soon. Which brings me to, baby names! I need all the suggestions I can get... :-) Thank you all for your patience and your support. I really couldn't (and wouldn't) do this without you.
The One You Never Suspected - Thanks. :-)
Guest I - Hahaha. Thank you!
Babybubble262 - Yes, well, my parents play the came where when you try and bargain, you get less than you had before. :-) Believe me, I've tried. Thanks for the kind words, as usual.
Babybeluga747 - Love that idea. :-) I was actually thinking the same thing. The hint at the end of this chapter is the beginning of what will be a whirlwind of romance for our darling Batty. :-)
IFYOUCOULDFLY - I completely agree! We need to recruit! :-)
Smokepaw - Awwww. Thanks for checking. Everything is fine, now. It was a bit of a fright, but no lasting results. You're always so sweet. :-)
frecklesglasses - Wow. Thank you! That is quite the compliment. I'm glad to know that I've been realistic. I always strive for that.
km28ave - Haha. Thanks. :-)
JayBirdBlue - Oh, please! I LOVE it! Thank you! Haha. Well, I think we'll find that Charles will warm up... :-)
Emma - Thank you!
Swimchick37 - Gosh. Thanks! You are going to give me a fat head! Yeah, well I think Ms Birdsall might have grounds for a copyright infringement if I did that... :-)
iluvshorsez - Hahaha. Thanks! :-) You're too funny. Well... my favorite sport is skiing. I have been on skis since I could stand up, and I LOVE it! How about you?
Penderwicks Fan - Well... Thank you, I think... :-) I appreciate the feedback. Truly...
Guest II - Sorry! I guess the answer would be... NOW! :-)
Guest III - Gosh, you're so sweet! Thank you! That made my day and inspired me to get this chapter up!
Thank you all. You're amazing!