Welcome to the World, Little One: Chapter 2

Note: This chapter takes place one day after the girls' night in Chapter 1.

Spencer's POV:

"Okay, Cameron, what letter do you think this is?" I asked my son while pointing to the large red block on the carpeted floor.

"C!" Cameron squealed at the top of his lungs. "I got it, right Mommy?"

"Yes, honey, that's awesome! And what's so special about the letter C?" I encouraged.

"My name starts with it!" Cameron was always careful when he was talking, trying to sound out the "r" in his words, which was one of the hardest for any toddler. Just then, I heard Toby's car pull up in the driveway and knew he was back from the grocery store.

"C'mon, buddy, let's go meet Daddy outside," I offered, as Cam turned his head towards the front door, sensing that his father had come home. I held his hand, but he tore out of my grip, running as fast as his small legs could carry him.

Daddy, daddy! Hi, I missed you!" Cameron yelled after opening the door. Toby picked Cameron up and spun him in a circle, showering him with hugs and kisses. I smiled; they were apart for just an hour and were already greeting each other like it had been weeks.

"Hey, love, I said to Toby, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. Excited to see my other son, Bennett, I headed to the SUV and checked the back seat, but there was no sign of him. He wasn't standing next to Toby either. Suddenly, panic rose in my throat. I called out, "Toby? Where's Bennett? His car-seat is unlocked." Quickly Toby rushed over, and I saw the fear in his blue eyes. "He must have gotten out somehow. Hold Cameron, and I'll go look for him. Don't leave the car, Spence." He took off down the road. I turned around, sighing, and scanned the entire length of neighborhood for any sign of a small boy in a striped, bright blue shirt and ruffled brown hair. I hope he's okay. Please, please, please don't let anything happen to that child. Suddenly, I heard small squeaks of laughter coming from inside the car. "Benny?" I cried. I meant to say it strongly and confidently, but instead it came out all strangely and hoarse sounding. I threw open the trunk of the car, and there was little Bennett with chocolate smeared all over his face, eating a granola bar and grinning like he just won the lottery.

"Got you!" he teased, obviously satisfied with himself. More relieved than upset, I only embraced him and left the scolding for afterwards.

Realizing that I should let Toby know, I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. "Toby? Hi, I have Bennett. He was in the trunk this entire time. Yes, he's fine, don't worry. Yeah, he must have gotten his belt unlocked and then climbed into the backseat. I know, that kid! Great, okay, see you soon."

I walked the two boys inside the house and started to unload the lightest groceries from the car. When Toby pulled up to the driveway, he immediately waved off my help and told me wait inside, as lifting heavy objects might "endanger my well-being, or the baby's".

"Yes, sir," I curtsied jokingly and went inside.

General POV:

Ring, ring, ring! The shrill noise emitting from the phone woke Emily and Alison from their light doze, as well as Lily and Grace who started to whine because of the unwelcomed call. Emily lifted her buzzing phone and held it to her ear.

"Hello? Yes, this is Emily. Really? I never come on Sundays. Yes, I can make it. Okay, I understand. I'll see you then. Thank you for letting me know. Bye." Emily hung up the phone, crossed her arms, and looked at Alison, clearly annoyed.

"Hey, is something wrong, babe?" Alison asked, a little concerned.

"The police station wants me to come in for a few hours, because apparently somebody had a family emergency. I'll have to be there at 5 PM." Emily answered tiredly. "I really wanted to take the babies to that beautiful, indoor, heated pool later this evening! I don't think we would make it back home in time if we went.

Glancing at the clock, Alison realized they only had one-and-a-half hours of free time. "No worries, the park is just a block away. We'll go there; the girls love it."

"You're a real lifesaver Ali," Emily said gratefully. "What would I do without you?"

We bundled up Lily and Grace and wrapped them in their favorite winter accessories – scarves and hats. Lily had a light pink set with woven designs, and for Grace, a lavender set with white snowflakes. Both were thoughtful presents from Hanna when the girls were born in November: "for them to prepare for the New York chills!" she had said. When the four arrived at the park, it seemed more beautiful than ever with a thick, white blanket of snow covering everything in sight. Multi-colored lights were strung around the park, along with huge lighted versions of candy canes, snowmen, presents, and reindeer. Every year, a large tree in the center of the park was placed and lighted, creating a breathtaking, picture-perfect scene. Even though Christmas had already passed, the decorations usually remained until the end of January.

"Thanks for suggesting this Ali. This is better than the pool I was talking about," Emily said, giving Alison a loving hug.

They rode down slides, flew high on swings, and created snow angels on the ground. For an hour's time, Emily and Alison relived their youth age, the good parts anyway – before A and A.D., before tangled love problems, before loads of secrets and lies, before all the complications. There was so much for life to offer. Here, together with their children, was where they were meant to be.

Spencer's POV:

Cameron led me back to the area we'd been practicing the letters of the alphabet. But soon, he was bored and asked me if we could play a different word game.

"How about, I show you an object, and you tell me its name if you know it?" I suggested.

"Yay, that sounds fun Mommy!" Cameron agreed.

"Great." I got up to see what I could find in the cupboards. Ah ha! Plates, utensils, food items – this would be good, since we would have dinner soon anyway. I also brought Bennett over from his play pen, thinking the practice might be good for him too.

"Okay, Cameron, what's this?" I asked, holding up a piece of china.

"A plate!"

"How about this?"

"A spoon!"

"You're too good! And this?"

"A fork!"

Suddenly, Bennett became antsy in my lap and yelled out what Cameron said, but in his baby voice, it sounded much, much worse. Instead of 'fork', the word sounded like…'fuck'. Seeing the horrified look on my face, Bennett must have known that he'd made a wrong move. Which was exactly what he was aiming for. He jumped off my lap and stomped his feet against the ground, all while chanting the new word he had learned over and over. It sounded like a verse from some stupid, crazy, inappropriate rap song that people liked to release these days. Slowly, the word sounded more like 'fuck' in a southern accent than what he was originally trying to say. I made eye contact with Cameron, and he look dumbfounded. His expression made me laugh; at least one of my kids understood me! The other? He was starting his "terrible twos" early. But I knew my sweet little Bennett (who currently was not acting sweet or little) would come to his senses one day or another.

Toby chose this exact moment to walk through the door with the last bundle of groceries. "What do we have here?" he inquired, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"Bennett, um, learned a new word," I said, hoping to downplay the situation.

"Well, he better unlearn it."

"You're right, Toby. Bennett, honey, please don't say that word. You don't know what it means and it's not a good word. I don't ever want to hear that from you, okay?" I requested, trying to take the calm-forgiving-mother road. Unfortunately, that didn't work.

"BENNETT BLAKE CAVANAUGH! You just earned yourself five minutes in time out. Listen to your mother. If that word comes out of your mouth one more time, I'm adding on five more minutes!"

Bennett, understanding that he shouldn't go against his father's words, trotted over to the time out corner and sat facing the wall.

"We're just parenting, Spence. He needs to know when he's crossing the line," Toby comforted me, who just nodded. All of a sudden, I felt a blast of pain on the lower-left side of my stomach and I clutched it, trying to concentrate on breathing in and out. It was another contraction; I'd been having them more often for the few days, and it signaled that the baby was coming soon. Toby, knowing what I was going through, wrapped his arms around me and held me close until it was over a few minutes later.

"That was a bad one," I heaved. He kissed my forehead and got up to make me a cup of green tea. A few minutes later, I yelped, and experienced my second contraction. My water broke just then, sending out a thick stream of water, and right then I became scared, realizing I was in labor. For Cameron and Blake, I had always been in the hospital when this happened. A third contraction was on its way now. "Toby," I whispered. "I feel it. The baby's coming. Coming now."

Toby sprung into action. He grabbed his cellphone, jabbed in the first number he thought of, and prayed the person on the other end would pick up.

"Hello?" It was Aria.

"Aria, Spencer's having her baby now, and its earlier than expected. We need someone to look after Cameron and Bennett while we're at the hospital. Please, can you pick them up?"

"Of course, I'll be at your house in 5 minutes. Give Spencer my love, Toby," she said.

"Thank you, Aria," Toby sighed, relieved.

"No problem. See you soon," she responded.

"Here that, Spence? Aria's on her way. You're going to be alright."

Aria's POV:

"Ezra, get your coat on, hurry up!" I screamed desperately to my husband who was still reading a book in the bathroom.

"Aria, what's wrong? What happened?" Ezra asked concerned, coming outside as quickly as possible.

"Spencer's in labor. She and Toby are heading to the hospital, and she needs us to pick up the kids."

Without any hesitation, the two pulled on their boots and warm clothing and rushed to the Cavanaugh home.

Spencer's POV:

"See that car behind us, Spencer? That's Aria and Ezra's. They're right behind us with the boys and you'll be just fine. Just relax your mind Spence." I know that Toby was trying to comfort me, and honestly it did help. But I felt terrible. My head, me legs, my arms, and most of all, my stomach, felt like they were on fire. It seemed like all my muscles decided to ache and groan at the same damn time. My belly was growing larger by the second. Shit, it hurt so bad. Everything hurt so fucking bad.

Toby was driving at a speed much higher than the speed limit, but neither one of us cared. Little by little, he increased his rate, and Aria and Ezra followed in our footsteps. Calm down, Spencer, hush. You'll be okay. You're going to have a beautiful, healthy son or daughter. I repeated that to myself, and surprisingly I did relax a little.

Note: Skipped to when Spencer is in the process of having her baby.

Spencer's POV:

'Push a little more', someone said distantly. I didn't know who and I sure as hell didn't care. And then I heard it – the sound that broke the annoying buzz of medical tools and the hushed conversations of hospital workers. It was the fresh cry of a baby, no, my baby, singing "HERE I AM!". I'd heard it twice before but each time there is something new, a different cry, and different person, a different identity.

"You're here, baby. Finally," I said excitedly. Now, the fear was replaced by a gush of happiness, as I tried to remember every detail of where I was and what was happening. I released Toby's hand from my grip, which was now partially white from blood loss. My baby's cries continued, and the empty place in my heart was filled. Three children – that's what I had wished for when I married Toby. Now, I'd gotten my wish and so much more. Happy tears welled up in my eyes and a few spilled from the sides. I couldn't stop saying the phrase: my baby is here.

After the baby was cleaned up, breathing on his/her own, and engulfed in blankets, the nurse brought him/her over to Toby and me. She placed it in my arms. Were newborns always this small and cute?

"Congratulations. This is your baby –" she started.

I cut her off. "Girl. This is my daughter." I smiled up at Toby, and his face was glowing with jubilation. I soaked in everything about her: her smiling mouth, big eyes, little nose, and the tiny hands and feet I know were tucked inside the blanket. Never forget this moment, Spencer. I still can't believe that this beautiful, amazing human being was mine. Mine to hold, to play with, to laugh with, to love.

"Welcome to the world, little one. I love you so much, Eve," I said gently, and kissed her precious forehead.