Once again, happy Wega Wednesday!
They were a few miles from the warehouse when Wylie's phone buzzed several times to let him know he had missed calls. He glanced at the screen and saw his wife's name.
There were voicemails, but he hit the call button. It would be faster to catch up by talking to her. He hoped nothing was wrong. She'd been having more good days since her last visit to the FWTC.
She answered on the first ring. Her voice sounded normal, putting Wylie at ease. "Hey wifey, what's up?"
"Hey, you want a kid? Because I'm gonna have one for you probably today."
It took Wylie a second to process. "You're in labor?"
"No, I'm at a flea market. Yes, I'm in labor. Contractions started this morning and my water broke about an hour ago."
"Well," Wylie pointed out, "you could be in labor at a flea market, so I'd only rank your sarcasm attempt a solid B."
There was a brief silence over the line, then a short little laugh. "I swear to God, Jay."
"Are you okay, though?"
"Yeah, so far. Doctors say I may be a little farther along than I thought, so we're pretty close to full term. They aren't really worried about it happening today."
"How bad are the contractions?" He asked, trying to hear background noise. It seemed like she was at the hospital.
"They're oddly fine? They don't really hurt at all."
"Really?"
"I mean," she stared, and he swore he could hear her shrug, "they're not fun, but I'm definitely not at the stage yet where I'm cussing you out and swearing I'm never letting you near me again."
"Well that's certainly good, for me at least," he said. "Look, we just left a warehouse where we had no cell service. It got kinda tense for a bit in there, but we weren't ever in danger so don't be concerned. I can be to you in like forty minutes."
"Possibly just in time for the cussing and the threats."
He gave a little laugh. "Just don't have it until I get there, okay?"
"Oh," she said, "no worries on that front. They said I shouldn't even be dilated fully for a couple more hours, and with the way everything feels right now, you could probably walk here and make it in time. But uh, don't walk. I want better company."
"What company do you have now?"
"Um…" he could hear the hesitation in her voice. "Just, you know, people. Cho. I'm sorry. Please don't be upset."
Wylie sighed. His jealousy of months ago was rooted in fearing that she was turning to Cho because he wasn't good enough. And today she'd gone into labor and he wasn't there, resulting in Cho filling in once again. But what he hated most about the situation was that his wife actually felt guilty for leaning on her father figure.
"I'm not upset. I'm glad you're not alone."
"Okay." Her voice now sounded small. "Because you know the only person I want to be here for this is you."
"I know, mah belle. I know." He noticed Lisbon glancing toward him from her place in the driver's seat. "I'll be there soon, I promise."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Bye." Wylie hung up the phone and looked at Lisbon. "I'm about to be a dad."
Vega glanced at her phone screen, watching the stopwatch app continue to count. Twenty – one, twenty – two, twenty – three…she hadn't even realized that smartphones had a stopwatch feature. This could come in handy for other things.
Twenty – eight, twenty – nine, thirty…
And just like the last contraction, this one eased up at thirty – three seconds. "So reliable," she commented to herself as she stopped the timer.
"Seven minutes since the last one," Cho said. "Just like the last couple have been."
"Good. That means they probably won't go away."
"I remember how ready Lisbon was for Madeline to be born," Cho said. "And you're bigger than she was."
Vega gave a little laugh at Cho's candor. "I'm definitely ready to meet him. And give him a talking to for all the times he's kicked me in the ribs or bladder." She ran her hand over her stomach and bit her lip.
"Wylie will be here soon," Cho said.
"I know."
"Lisbon isn't as reckless of a driver as you but she can haul ass when she needs to."
Vega chuckled at that.
"Something is bothering you."
Cho was right about that, but she didn't want to talk about it. At least not with him. "It's more something between me and Wylie."
"Oh, I'm not asking to hear about it. Just making an observation."
"Gotta give me the feeling like Jane is in here too, huh?"
She thought she almost saw the hints of a smirk on Cho's face. "Well, we definitely are too involved in each other's lives."
"We're family. That goes with the territory," she said. "Thanks for bringing me here, by the way."
"Of course."
Vega bit her lip.
"Hey," he said gently. "I know you need Wylie. He'll be here soon."
"I know," she said. "But boss?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
He cocked his head. "You just thanked me."
"No, this time for…just everything. When my father passed away I thought I'd never have a true role model again. And over the years you've almost made me feel like I still have a father. And with this…" She put a hand over her eyes for a moment, her voice threatening to crack. "With you being here for me through this pregnancy, it's felt even more like that."
Cho reached out and squeezed her arm. "I don't think I'm quite enough older than you to be your father," he joked, "but it means a lot to me that you see us that way. I know it's been an absolute honor to be in your life."
"Michelle!"
Vega and Cho turned toward the door. Wylie was already halfway across the small room. "Hey," she said with a smile as he reached her, placing his hands on her hips and brushing his lips over hers.
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Fine. Just fine. Everything is progressing well."
"Good." Wylie turned to Cho. "Thanks for bringing her in. I would have been a wreck if she was alone."
"Of course." Cho extended his hand and they shook. "Is Lisbon in the waiting room?"
"She's parking the car. Then she will be."
"I'll head out there and meet up with her then."
"Okay," Vega said. "Thanks again, Cho." She turned to Wylie, shifting her weight so she was sitting cross legged on the bed. "I've been wanting to do this for a half hour but I felt it would seem so awkward to be sitting cross legged in a hospital gown in front of my boss."
He gave a little laugh.
"The doctors should be in again in about ten minutes," she said. "They've been doing a great job checking up on me to make sure everything is still okay.
"And everything is, right?"
She nodded. "So far, so good. Hopefully things will stay that way."
Wylie eased down on the bed next to her, took her hand, and kissed it. "Everything will be okay. No matter how he comes into the world, it will be completely fine."
Vega frowned, loosening her grip on his hand and looking away, trying to blink away the tears that were threatening to overcome her. He doesn't get it.
"Michelle?"
She looked back at him. She knew her voice would crack if she told him. She didn't want that. But she also didn't want to keep letting him believe the wrong thing. And he was her husband. She had already trusted him with so much of her vulnerability.
"Jay…when I say I don't want a c – section, it's not because of some twisted interpretation of female empowerment." She drew in a deep breath, steeling herself against the breakdown she knew she was going to have. "I've just been cut open so many times. I don't want them to cut me again."
Before her eyes flooded with tears, she saw his expression change to one of understanding. She covered her face with her hands and leaned against him as his arms closed tightly around her.
