*Thank-you so much for the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much. = )
My nap didn't last long before Dave came into the room waking me up. "Tessa," he said as he walked in the room. "Are you awake?"
"I am now," I said rolling over to face the door to see Dave standing there with a bowl in his hand. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay after all of that," he said walking over to the bed to take a seat. "Are you okay?"
"I guess," I said sitting up. "What's that?" I asked pointing to the bowl.
"Oh. Your dad went to the enemy's camp and got you some yams. He said that they're your favorite. He wanted to get you something to cheer you up. Here you go," he said handing them to me.
"Thanks," I said taking the bowl. "They are my favorite." I couldn't wait to eat a yam. I had been craving them all day and honestly I missed Carol's home made yams. They were the best things I had ever eaten in my life.
"I don't know how you can still be hungry after everything you ate," said Dave.
"I told you, I'm eating for two," I said taking a bite of a yam, "and besides the baby wants some yams."
"Are you sure it's the baby or is it the mommy that wants the yam?"
"Both," I said with a smile. "I'm really sorry about Thanksgiving and how ugly it got down there."
"You don't have to apologize to me, Tessa. It is what it is. I told you I'm used to it. I didn't expect your mom to welcome me with open arms. I didn't expect them to be happy but to be banned from your grandmother's life is a little extreme. Is it that serious?"
"To her yes," I said. "I just feel so bad for this baby. It's not even born yet and it's already caught in turmoil. If I was it I wouldn't even want to come into this world. I'm already a screw up parent. And this is why I didn't want to have kids."
"Tess, you are not a screw up parent. People are going to have opinions. They aren't happy with the fact I got you pregnant but there's nothing to change that and I don't even care. I'm happy we're having a baby and if people can't accept the circumstances and want to start banning you and an innocent baby out of their lives that's their loss not yours. Just think we're going to have an amazing baby and they are going to miss out on its life because they are too selfish and closed minded to want to be part of its life. That's their fault. They're the ones missing out. That doesn't mean you're a screw up parent and it doesn't mean you need to beat yourself up about it. It's not worth it, Tess. I can see why everyone's opinion always mattered so much to you. I know why you wanted to live to please other people. It all makes sense now but right now you're doing the best thing and living for yourself. That's what matters."
"I know but I am so tired of being the bad person, Dave. Everyone looks at me like I'm some monster because I cheated on John. My own mom sides with John. I know what I did was wrong but him trying to control me was wrong too."
"Trust me, Tess, I know all about being the bad person. I've been the bad person for the last 5 years. No one even wants to give me the chance to prove I'm not that guy but you did. That says something about you. And I'm even worse now because I got John Cena's girlfriend pregnant. No one wants to be that guy's friend. No one wants to hear my story I'm just the bad person. Maybe I just put myself in bad situations I don't know. All I know is that I have been the bad person for the longest time. I'm not a bad guy. I don't make the best choices but that doesn't make me the bad person just like one incident doesn't make you a bad person and it's not worth beating yourself up over, Tess. You just take it in stride and live your life. Are you happy to be a mom? Are you happy to be pregnant? And are you happy to be with me?"
"Yes, Dave, I'm happy. I'm glad I'm going to be a mom, I'm happy that I'm pregnant and I'm happy to be with you. I am truly happy."
"Then it shouldn't matter what anyone thinks. As long as you're happy," he said. "It doesn't matter. Your happiness is what should matter to you not what your mom thinks and not what your grandma thinks. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks as long as you're happy."
"I know you're right but Dave my mom and I had a really good relationship and it hurts that because of ONE thing I'm an embarrassment."
"I understand," he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I guess he knew I was about to cry because it really hurt that my mom was treating me the way she was. I always thought we had a good relationship but I guess it wasn't that good. When I was a teenager and all the mothers and daughters would fight I never fought with my mom. She was one of my best friends. She was always there for me. I always thought she would be there for me no matter what but I was wrong because I made ONE mistake and she was ready to turn her back. I never expected that from her but people can surprise you sometimes. "I'm sure your mom will come around and get over it."
"I doubt it. I just feel like she likes John so much better. I don't know, Dave. I'm ready to leave."
"I know. I'm ready to leave too."
"Tomorrow morning can't come fast enough," I said.
"I know, Tess. I know. How is the baby doing through all of this? I know this is a lot of stress."
"I think it's doing all right. It's really moving around a lot. At least it was before I took my nap. It's not so active now but I do have some pain," I said.
"What kind of pain, Tessa?" I could hear the concern in his voice and I saw the fear on his face. I was having pain but I wasn't sure if it was good to be having pain or not. It wasn't severe but there were a few cramping pains. They didn't make me want to cry but they did hurt.
"Just like cramping pain," I said. "It's fine. I'll be fine."
"Tess, I think you should go to the doctor. Stress and cramping isn't a good combination."
"I'm fine, Dave. I will be all right," I said. "I don't need to go to the doctor. I just want to go home."
"Tess, I don't know much about pregnancy but I'm pretty sure you should see a doctor. Just to make sure everything is okay."
"Dave, I don't' want to go to the doctor. I am fine and the baby is fine," I said. I didn't want to go to the doctor. I didn't think a few cramps called for a doctor visit. I felt I was going to be fine but Dave obviously thought differently.
"Tess, let's just go so we can make sure everything is okay. I don't want anything to happen to you or the baby. So can we please go?"
It really wasn't worth the fight and as much as I didn't want to I figured it was a good idea just to make sure everything was all right with the baby. I had finally gotten excited about being pregnant. I wouldn't want anything to happen to it. "All right. Let's go," I said getting up to put my shoes on. I could barely even get my shoes on because my feet were so swollen. That was the first time that had ever happened during my pregnancy.
"Okay Good," he said taking the bowl from me. We headed downstairs together but my mom wasn't there. She of course was next door visiting with John. My dad was really worried but my grandma told me that was a punishment for being disrespectful. My dad offered to keep Max for us and then we were on our way to a hospital in West Newbury.
When we arrived at the hospital I explained to the receptionist my problems and she gave me some paperwork to fill out. It felt like years for the paperwork to be filled out so in the mean time my cramping was getting worse and my back was starting to hurt. I was growing uncomfortable. Dave rubbed my back as I filled out the paperwork. I started to worry as the pain increased. I handed my paperwork back to the receptionist and said, "my pain is getting worse. Is there a way I can see the doctor ASAP?"
"How far along are you?" she asked.
"Almost 6 months," I said holding my back from the pain. "I think I really need to see a doctor. It REALLY hurts and I don't think it should be hurting this badly."
"It sounds like you're in labor," she said.
"It's too soon," I said.
"I know," she said motioning for a nurse to get a wheelchair to take me to labor and delivery. "We are sending you to labor and delivery."
"What?" asked Dave, "It's too soon for her to go into labor. She's only 23 weeks." He was panicking just as much as I was.
"That's why we're getting her up to labor and delivery right away," she said as the nurse came over with the wheelchair. I sat down and we were on our way to labor and delivery.
I think that was the most scared I had ever been in my life. I wasn't sure what the survival rates were if I did have the baby that early. I didn't know what to expect as the nurse wheeled me up to the floor I wasn't supposed to be on for 17 more weeks. My heart was pounding and I was beside myself with fear. Dave was just as scared and nervous as I was. As soon as we reached the floor I was sent to an examination room. I was not prepared for childbirth or anything at that point. I was given a gown from the nurse and was put up on the examination table. "Did you feel any gush of fluid?" she asked.
"No," I said. "I didn't."
"Okay. That's a good sign," she said. "That means your water hasn't broken so that's a really good sign."
"Good," I said breathing a sigh of relief.
"A doctor is going to come in here and check you out but for the mean time we're going to hook you up to a monitor to make sure you're doing okay and the baby is okay."
"All right," I said as she started to hook me up to a monitor. It wasn't comfortable but I wanted to make sure the baby was all right.
The room soon filled with a rhythm and the nurse said, "there's the baby's heartbeat. It sounds good but you are having contractions. The doctor will be in shortly. Do you need anything?"
"No. I'm all right," I said. I knew it was too soon to have contractions and I looked over at Dave and he was as nervous as could be. He was biting his fingernails which was something he only did when he was nervous.
"This is crazy," he said when the nurse left. "It's too soon for all of this. What if you have the baby today?"
"Just calm down, Dave, maybe they can do something."
"And if they can't? We could have that baby tonight, Tessa. 17 weeks early and I don't even know if it would survive."
"Dave, you're not making me feel better. You're scaring me."
"I'm sorry. I'm just worried," he said taking my hand. "But no matter what happens tonight we will get through it okay?"
"Okay," I said as the doctor came in the room.
"Hello, Ms. Montgomery, I am Dr. Saunders. What seems to be the problem tonight?" she asked looking at the monitor.
"I'm only 23 weeks pregnant and I'm having really bad contractions."
"I see," she said, "and they look very consistent. They're really strong aren't they?"
"Yeah," I said. "So I'm in labor?"
"It looks that way," she said, "but since your water hasn't broken I can stop it."
"All right," I said. That was music to my ears. I was glad that it could be stopped.
"We're going to give you magnesium sulfate to stop the labor. It's too soon for that baby to come."
"Thank-you," I said with relief.
"You're welcome. Were you under a lot of stress today?"
"Yeah. My family and me got into it. My mom and grandma aren't exactly happy about my pregnancy. They were giving me a hard time at dinner."
"You have to stay out of these stressful situations. Stress can cause premature labor. The last thing you want to do is get so stressed that you go into labor and we can't stop it before it's time. The longer the baby is in there the healthier it will be. I'm also going to put you on bed rest for a few days just to keep the baby healthy."
"I'm supposed to leave tomorrow to go back to Tampa. Can I leave and then rest up in Tampa?"
"That should be fine as long as you rest up in Tampa for a few days. I really don't want you to have this baby," she said as the nurse came in. "Not for 17 weeks that is." I was given a dose of magnesium sulfate. "That should stop the labor for now and the baby sounds strong and healthy. I just want to keep you for a couple of hours for observation and then you can leave."
"Okay," I said. "Thank-you."
"You're welcome," she said before she left the room.
"That was close," said Dave, "I think until you have the baby no more visits to West Newbury. We can't risk it."
"I know but I think with everything going on it was all a combination. I lost my job, Dave, I lost my friends, I lost my mom and everything is just hitting me at once. I'm stressed and I'm even more stressed that we're not even 1/3 of a way prepared for this baby. We have no name, no piece of furniture we have NOTHING."
"I guess it is kind of hard to deal with all that at once but at least she stopped the labor. And I know we need to get moving on the baby planning. We have 3 months left. We need to start with something so since we have a couple hours how about we go over baby names? The baby at least needs a name right?"
"Yeah," I said with a smile.
"So how about we start with girls names? I mean since you think it's a girl," he said.
"All right. I have a few on my list," I said.
"Me too," he said with a smile. "You can go first."
"I like the name Ramona."
"As in the little girl from the book series?"
"Yes. I liked to read when I was a child. Ramona was one of my favorite characters. I LOVE the name. I also like Harper after Harper Lee the author of 'To Kill A Mockingbird.'"
"I like Harper not too big on Ramona. I also like Cecelia."
"I like Cecelia too," I said.
"I also like the name Sabrina for a girl. And another is Isabel."
"Isabel is pretty. I like it. I also like Brynn for a girl."
"You don't want to do the whole family name thing. You don't want to do Victoria Kate?" he asked.
"Absolutely not. Why would I name my daughter after the two people that didn't want anything to do with her? No. I like Cecelia and Isabel. How about Cecelia Isabel or Isabel Cecelia?"
"I like Cecelia Isabel," he said.
"Me too. Cecelia Isabel Montgomery-Batista. I like it."
"So do I," he said. "I think that's our girl's name."
"Me too," I said with a smile. We spent some time going over boy names but we couldn't agree on anything. For some reason it was really tough for us to come up with a boy's name but like they say the gender name that you can't come up with is the one you're not having so that made me feel even more confident that I was having a little girl; Cecelia Isabel. It had quite the ring to it. We were still going over baby boy names when the doctor came in and discharged me. I was happy to be leaving the hospital and I was happy that everything was fine with the baby and I couldn't wait to leave for Tampa the next day. I was more than ready to get home after that adventure.
*A/N: So what did you think? PLease review and thank-you for reading.