Big Boy
"What are you doing, sweetie?" Sara asked with a chuckle. Aaron looked at her with excited eyes as he held his stuffed frog.
"I'm playing with Ribbit!"
"Where did you get Ribbit?"
"School! Everyone gets to take him home for a day. We have to take care of him!"
"I see." Sara smiled and recalled her kindergarten days. She patted her stomach as Aaron set Ribbit down and did a frog jump. Then Aaron picked Ribbit up and had him do his own frog jump. It was all very cute.
"Mommy, you should jump with us!" Aaron held the frog in one arm and used his other to tug at his mom.
"Whoa there bud! You see this?" Sara pointed to her stomach. "The baby is coming soon. Until then mommy can't play on the floor with you."
She couldn't resist sad puppy dog eyes from a six year old. "Ok, I'll sit on the floor. Though just for a little while. Mommy's back has been sore." She took a deep breath. Both hands grasped the couch and she heaved herself up. She carefully lowered herself to the carpeted floor. As she was about to sit down a pain took her off guard. Sara grabbed the couch and leaned into it. "Oh man." Sara blew out a breath. Aaron was looking at her with confused eyes. He is way too young to know what's going on.
"What's wrong, mommy? I wanna play with you!"
Today had to be the day that Gil took Halley to the zoo. Something Halley was looking forward to. It was the first Saturday in awhile Gil didn't have papers to grade. Aaron was recovering from a cold so he stayed home.
"Honey, mommy's not feeling so great. The baby's kicking really hard. It hurts Mommy's tummy."
"Oh! Like when I put my hand on your tummy and it moves?"
"Yup!" Sara did her best to smile. "Could you do me a big boy's job?" Aaron's face lit up. "Could you bring me my cell phone?"
A smile answered her question. In ten seconds Aaron ran to the kitchen table and brought back Sara's phone. "Thank you, baby. You're going to be an excellent big brother."
She gestured for Aaron to continue playing leap frog as she dialed Gil. It rang for what seemed like forever. His voicemail came on and she started freaking. There is no need for this Sara! You've been through this twice before. Just breathe and stay calm. At least for Aaron's sake. Another contraction hit as she ended the call. "Daddy and Hal are probably eating right now. Right, bud? It's time we got you lunch, too. He'll check his phone soon and call us back."
"K, mommy. I wanna peanut butter and jelly sandwich!"
"Ok. Give me one sec and I'll make us those sandwiches."
Almost three hours had passed. Still, there was no word from Gil. "Where is he?" Sara moaned. She did her best to breathe as the Lamaze instructor told her but it was too overwhelming.
"Mommy?"
She peered down to Aaron, who was kneeling at her feet. "Take Ribbit. He makes sick feel better." He passed her the frog and headed towards the TV. Sara inwardly smiled. He's already a big boy. He'll be wonderful towards his little brother.
Another contraction sucked the air out of her. Once the wetness pooled between her legs she knew time was of the essence. She had to clean up. "I'll be right back, sweetie. Then you can play with Hank outside!"
"Yay!" Aaron cheered.
Good, thought Sara. Keep things as normal as possible.
While waddling down the stairs the next contraction hit full force. She fought hard to suppress the moan, but she had nothing to hold onto but the railing. With one hand cradling her stomach, she used the other to support herself. She was able to make it down the stairs before crumbling to the ground.
"Mommy! What's wrong?" Aaron cried. He was once again kneeling at his mom's side.
"Uhhh. I need you...to be a big boy again. Ok?" Aaron nodded. "Get my phone off the coffee table and bring it here." The tightening of her abdomen could be felt under her fingers. Aside from the pain, she was extremely uncomfortable. I was hoping this labor would be quicker than the others, but I didn't want it to be this quick with only my son here! Sara shifted from sitting on her left side to her right side. She used her hand to wipe the band of sweat off her forehead.
"Thanks bud." She rubbed his mop of hair.
"Uh, Nick. I couldn't get hold of Gil. Could you do me a favor?"
"Where the hell have you been?" Said Sara with a raised voice. Gil was pushing her wheel chair which she surprisingly accepted. Without haste, Nick drove Sara and Aaron to the hospital. No sooner had Gil and Halley come sprinting through the ER doors. Nick took Halley and Aaron aside. The waiting room and cafeteria would be a more appropriate place for the kids to spend this time...
"I'm so sorry, honey. The zoo is like being incommunicado. Very poor cell service. I didn't hear your voicemail until 30 minutes ago." He kissed her cheek and wheeled her towards the nurse's station.
"I did my best to wait it out. I thought you'd come home any second. But that turned to hours. The contractions got stronger. I was home alone with Aaron." Sara winced at another pain. "And I was scared." She practically whispered the last part. At that instant the wheel chair came to a halt and Gil knelt before Sara. He caressed her cheek as well as laid a protective hand over her stomach.
"Sara, I feel terrible. I should've been checking up on you. I screwed up not being there when you needed me. Please forgive me?"
Sara huffed out a breath. With a sigh she put her hand atop of Gil's. "I guess I have no choice in the matter. Your son is on his way and I'll need all the support I can get." A smirk appeared on her face. This got Gil laughing.
"Thank you. I'm just glad Nick got to you. Took me long enough. I guess I'm not all that good on taking you to the hospital, huh?"
"No—" Sara said through gritted teeth. "You're not you asshole!"
Shock and sadness appeared on Gil's face. "Sorry," Sara said with shortness of breath. "Kind of." He still looked horrified. "Oh I'm going through loads of pain! You could be more sympathetic!" Sara forced out a laugh and squeezed Gil's hand.
Less than a few hours later Caleb Gilbert Grissom was born. It took some settling in, but once Sara got in her zone, she stayed there. Gil let her squeeze his hand. While she was birthing their son it was as if no one else was in the room. Only Sara and Gil. Sara took instruction from Dr. Luka, but the support came from her husband.
The newly weighed and washed Caleb was in his mother's arms. Gil had sent for Halley and Aaron. Nick graciously handed them over. "Your brother is finally here, guys!" Nick grinned. The kids marveled at the baby.
"He's so tiny!" Halley squealed.
"And bald!" Aaron said.
Their parents chuckled. "Yup, he's a tiny bald baby. His name's Caleb. Who wants to hold him first?"
This signaled Nick to let the family have some time alone. "Alright Grissom clan. I'll go call the team. Is it ok for them to visit later?"
"Of course, Nicky. Thanks," Sara said. "Extra thanks for getting me and Aaron here."
"No problem."
"Good morning, mom!" Whispered Halley. She had climbed on the bed and kissed her mom. Sara stirred and with sleepy eyes, awoke to her daughter.
"Hi sweetie!" She wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"Hi mommy!" Aaron came charging into the room.
"Hey, hey! What did I say about being careful not to wake mommy? She's very tired."
"It's ok, Gil. He's just excited. But..." Sara spoke. "Daddy's right. Inside voices. Especially in a place like this on a Sunday morning."
Gil crossed the room to where his wife lay. He planted a big kiss on her lips as the kids stuck their tongues out in disgust. Gil broke the kiss and raised his eyebrows. "I think Aaron has something to give mom."
At the mention of his name, Aaron grinned and jumped on the bed beside his mom and sister. "Yeah! I have a surprise for you!" He dug into his jean pocket and yanked out a felt bag.
Sara's eyes were already filling with tears. Gil rubbed her shoulder out of comfort. She cleared her throat. "What is this, bud? I didn't need any presents!"
"Yes you did!" By this point, Aaron was jumping for joy.
As in the past, Sara pulled open the felt bag and out fell a silver frog charm. Her bright smile filled the room. "It's beautiful! I love it so much! Thank you!" She gave her son a smooch on the cheek. "This will always remind me what a big boy you were when I was...sick."
"Right and what was the other reason?" Gil questioned his son.
"Oh yeah! Because everyone else gave you a charm but me!"
"Yes, that's absolutely right! Everyone needs to see what a champ you were. This frog will always remind me of Ribbit and how you took care of me."
Hope you liked it. And please, if someone, anyone can give me ideas as to what charm I should do and who should be the giver. That'd be great :)
