As a belated celebration of Alex's return to the States, Nicky & Lorna decided to host a homecoming party at their meager apartment on a Saturday night. Although Piper was only two weeks away from her due date, she pressured Alex into accepting the invitation. "Besides," Piper had said somewhat jokingly, "This might be the last time we have fun without having to hire a babysitter."
Piper RSVP'd for the both of them, ensuring that they could spend the night at Nicky's apartment. She wanted her lover to enjoy herself instead of working, going to class and worrying about the details of the baby's birth. Alex agreed to attend the party on the condition that they map out two of the nearest hospitals on the off-chance that Piper went into labor.
It wasn't that Piper wasn't worried about her water breaking early—that was somewhat of a concern—but she refused to let the possibility deter her from living her life as fully as she could before the child arrived and turned their world upside down.
Only a handful of people attended the party, but one of Alex's old grade school friends had brought a karaoke machine, which allowed the group to entertain themselves thoroughly. Piper performed a terrible rendition of Pour Some Sugar on Me, leaving the crowd gasping for breath with belly laughs when she tried gyrating her hips with her bulging belly.
Just after midnight, and without any booze to fuel the request, Alex demanded that they sing Train's, I'm About to Come Alive. She introduced it as their "labor song," and Piper gave her a sharp look. "That was supposed to be between us," she whispered after belting out the tune.
"But it's such a great song," Alex said in a hushed tone, kissing her hard on the side of the mouth. "You're going to deliver our baby to it."
It was only the second time Alex used the word, our, to describe the infant, and Piper couldn't help but beam at the fact that her girlfriend finally appreciated that the child wouldn't be just hers.
They watched Nicky and Lorna try to do a duet to Islands in the Stream, and Piper laughed so hard that tears gathered in her eyes. After another hour of karaoke, the four other guests left, and Nicky helped Alex set up the futon.
"You sure you two don't want to take our bed? It might be more comfortable for Piper," Lorna asked, fluffing a pillow and dropping it onto the futon.
"No, thank you," Piper rubbed her enormous belly. "I like a hard mattress, so this will do just fine. I might need a little help lowering my body though."
Alex rushed to her side, helping her girlfriend sit. "Good?"
She nodded. "Thank you for throwing the party. It was a lot of fun."
"Yeah, it was." Nicky walked towards the bedroom. "Still can't carry a tune, Vause."
"Neither can you, jackass," the brunette chuckled.
"Sleep well," Lorna said, patting Piper on the head. "And wake us up if you need anything."
"We will."
The couple crawled into bed, and after a quick kiss and a couple of exhausted sighs, Piper fell fast asleep. She had no idea how long she'd dozed off when she felt something strange in bed.
"Alex?" The blonde tapped her foot against her lover's leg, which was scissored between her own. "Hey, Al?"
"Hmm?" Alex mumbled but didn't budge.
Piper propped herself up on her elbows. "Alex!"
The urgency of her tone forced the brunette to open her eyes and squint at her girlfriend. She removed the arm that was flung over her forehead and pushed herself into a semi-seated position. "What's wrong?" Alex felt something wet under her thigh. "Why's the mattress wet?"
Piper's eyes were as round as saucers as she shot Alex a troubled look. "I think my water broke."
"Fuck!" She jumped out of bed, turned on the lamp on a side table and glanced at the large spot between the blonde's legs. "Are you sure it isn't just pee?"
"I didn't urinate on myself, asshole!" Piper whispered loudly.
"Ok, we can do this." Alex tossed her hair over both shoulders, and then reached for Piper. "Can you stand?"
"I think so." She scooted to the edge of the futon, her oversized t-shirt gathering around her upper thighs with the movement.
Alex grabbed the blonde's forearms to help her. "Does it hurt?"
Piper shook her head. "No, not really. Just uncomfortable. Wait a minute." She doubled over. "Owww!"
"You're having contractions. Ok…Ok." Alex squeezed her arms, and then released them before jogging down the hallway. "Stay here, babe."
"Alex!" She cried. "Ouch. Ow, ow, ow!"
"Nicky!" The brunette yelled from the bathroom. "Piper's water broke. We have to get to the hospital." She sprinted back into the living room with a towel and flung an arm over the blonde's back. "You're going to be fine."
Piper had removed her underwear and used the towel to wipe her legs. "This is so embarrassing."
"Don't worry about Nicky and her fucking sheets!" Alex ordered. "You're about to have a baby. Concentrate on you. Let's walk to the car. Can you do that?"
She nodded, grabbing her belly with one hand and Alex's arm with the other.
"Yo, College, you ruined my futon?" Nicky teased, rubbing her eyes as she made it into the living room.
Alex shot her an evil glare, but the blonde smiled as best she could. "It was time for a new mattress anyway. This one smells like beer and weed."
"And now vaginal discharge," the wild-haired woman replied, flicking on the main light switch.
Lorna rushed to Piper's side. "You ok, sweetie?"
"It hurts," Piper's expression was somewhere between pain and worry.
Alex threw whatever items she could find into her duffle bag, and then hoisted it over her shoulder. Nicky handed her Piper's bag, which she strapped like a messenger bag across her chest.
"I need the music," the blonde requested between deep breaths.
Alex lifted her eyebrows. "Right now?"
"Yes! I told you, Alex." She walked her girlfriend to the staircase leading out of the building. "I have to listen to the playlist to concentrate on my breathing."
"Ok," she sighed, ruffling through a side pocket in her duffle bag for her iPod. "Fuck, I forgot headphones."
The blonde gave her a sharp look.
"Hang on, I think there's a speaker in here." She held onto her lover's shoulder with one hand while the other rooted through the other side pocket. "This will have to do." She handed the devices to Nicky, who paired the speaker and iPod. "Can you walk a little more?"
"Press play," Piper demanded as she walked down the steps.
The dark haired woman did as she was told and didn't give a fuck about the music that she was about to blast in the street.
Cameo's Word Up came on, and Piper's lips tugged upwards. "Sing it with me."
"Yo, pretty ladies around the world..." Alex began with an uneasy smile. "Breathe, babe."
Piper's breathing aligned with the song as she sang every other word and inhaled or exhaled on the other words.
Lorna had a hand on her back, trying her best to assist the pregnant woman to the car. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"I can drive," Nicky commented from a few steps away.
"No, I think we're good…There you go." Alex forced Piper to shuffle forward until they were in front of her BMW. "Wave your hands in the air like you don't care," the brunette sang, looking Piper in the eye. She could feel the stares of the few late night passers-by on the street, but they weren't her concern. Alex opened the car door, and with Lorna's help, gently lowered her girlfriend inside as Piper had another contraction. She ran to the driver's side and hopped into the car.
"Be brave!" Lorna called.
"We'll come to the hospital a little later to meet the newest addition to your all-American, wholesome family," Nicky called.
Ignoring Nicky, Alex reached for the blonde's left hand and brought it to her mouth, kissing the back of it. "Just focus on your breathing, Pipes."
Piper nodded as Brass Monkey blasted through the speaker. She sang the lyrics until another contraction forced her to stop and double over in pain.
Alex clenched her jaw. Unbeknownst to Piper she'd done three trial runs from Nicky's apartment to the hospital a few days prior to the party. The longest it had taken her was 18 minutes, and the quickest was 12.
"It hurts," Piper said between gritted teeth.
"Let's sing." Alex sang the chorus with her girlfriend, but she could sense that this little game that Piper had devised wasn't going to last long.
By the time they arrived at the hospital, Piper's contractions were two minutes apart. Alex kissed her on the side of the head, squeezed her hand, and then ran into the Emergency Room to find a doctor.
Concentrate on breathing, Piper repeated to herself for what felt like the hundredth time. What was taking so long? Did Alex leave her? She had an irrational fear that her lover would leave during delivery. She'd told that to the brunette a week ago, and Alex had pursed her lips and laughed at how irrational she was being, finishing with, "Never, babe."
"Alex!" she called from the front seat of her car, grimacing in pain.
The passenger door flung open, and an orderly stood behind a wheelchair. "You ready for a ride?"
Between the large Samoan man and Alex, they managed to get Piper into the wheelchair and whisk her into the ER. She traveled down a long hallway, contracting once during the ride and clutching her girlfriend's hand until she was convinced she'd broken a bone.
She looked up at Alex with worried eyes. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" The brunette had settled into a light jog to keep up.
"Squeezing so hard." Piper rubbed her belly with her free hand.
"Don't worry about it." Her girlfriend grinned. "If you break a bone, we're in the right place."
This caused the blonde to chuckle, which led to another contraction.
They arrived in a small room, and two nurses swooped in to take her blood pressure, temperature and other vitals. They asked all sorts of questions that Alex mostly handled. Piper couldn't concentrate on anything other than the sound of Alex's voice and the pain in her abdomen. Piper didn't feel grounded—as much as she'd planned for this moment, everything felt out of control.
A doctor entered the room, pulling latex gloves over his fingers. "Somebody having a baby?"
"Where's my doctor?" Piper asked as the nurses somehow changed her out of her clothes and into a hospital gown.
Although Piper had only been back from Smith for a little over a month, she'd gone to an OB/GYN in Greenwich four times, and she'd already developed a bond with her doctor.
One nurse put an extra pillow behind her head and another did something with an IV drip that wasn't hooked up yet.
"She's probably at home, recovering from a Saturday night hangover," the curly haired male doctor joked.
Alex let out a low laugh, and the blonde stared up at her as if the sound of her laughter was offensive.
The doctor examined Piper's nether regions. "Your doctor is Pattie Lichton?"
"Yes," the blonde panted, reaching for Alex.
"She's an old friend." He spent more time than Piper liked between her legs, but she knew she'd have to let go of her modesty quickly. "You should've seen her last night. She was a karaoke fool."
"We did karaoke last night, too," Alex replied, brushing her hand over Piper's sweaty forehead. "Piper killed a Def Leppard song."
He lifted his head and looked at the blonde. "You sing?"
"Only when forced," she offered, shifting her butt on the bed as she felt his fingers or an instrument, she wasn't sure which one, inside of her. "I don't know you. And why are you so…nonchalant? I'm in serious pain and about to deliver a fucking baby, and you're talking about karaoke? I want Dr. Lichton."
Alex accepted a cool, damp washcloth from a nurse and patted her girlfriend's forehead. "He's just trying to distract you, babe."
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're going to have this baby before Pattie is even out of bed this morning." The doctor rolled his stool across the small room and removed his gloves. He nodded to a nurse before turning his attention back to Piper. "My name is Rick, and I'm going to take good care of you and your baby, Ms. Chapman."
Piper let out a whimper, but when she looked up at her girlfriend to see a beautiful smile forming on her face, she couldn't help the minuscule grin that surfaced. This was happening, whether she was ready or not.
The doctor stood in front of a computer in the room and read her electronic file. He clicked the mouse a few times. "I understand music is key to this delivery."
Alex clutched her lover's hand and looked at him. "Are you actually a doctor?"
"Yeah, but you don't have to call me doctor. Rick is fine." He stepped away from the computer and extended his hand to the brunette. "You must be Alex Vause."
She wrinkled her forehead. "How do you know that?"
"Ms. Chapman is part of the Alliance Healthcare Network, and our patient files are online, which serves them well, especially in cases like this." He smiled and glanced at the blonde, who was between contractions. "You graduated from Smith about a month ago? Congratulations. My sister went there a few years ago—history major. Great place."
"Sorry, you're just...unconventional," Alex sighed.
"Sure am." He patted the blonde's shoulder but looked at the brunette. "As are the two of you."
Piper looked at Alex, and then at Rick. "You can deliver our baby."
"Good. Now that that's settled, let's get you into a more appropriate room." He moved out of the way as an orderly got behind the bed, released the brakes and started rolling her down the hallway and out of the Emergency Room.
"Oh, Ms. Vause, you'll need to scrub in if you want to be in the delivery room."
The blonde creased her forehead and looked up at Alex. "I don't want her to leave me."
"If you want Alex to be present for the birth, I'm afraid she has to be sterile," Rick stated.
She nodded hesitantly.
"I won't miss a thing, I promise." Alex kissed and then released her hand and followed a nurse to some other part of the hospital annex.
Piper arrived in a private room, and she looked around at all of the contraptions. She didn't like the metal tray with tools on it that was loosely covered with a blue napkin-like sheet, nor did she appreciate the industrial-looking lights that weren't on yet, but feared they'd all be pointed at her vagina. "Al?" she whispered.
"I'm Nurse Kendra Marshall." The nurse hooked her up to some machine or another. "Your partner will be here in just a minute. She asked me to play your music."
"Yes, thank you." Piper contracted again, realizing that they were about a minute apart.
"Let me see that thing." Rick breezed in and grabbed the iPod from the side of the bed. "Do you have a playlist?"
"It's just one song. Loop it." Piper grimaced as the strongest contraction rolled through her. "Ugh, it hurts."
"Try not to push," the nurse said, rubbing her arm. "You're gonna have plenty of time for pushin' in the next hour."
She shook her head vigorously. "I don't want to do this."
"You don't want to have this baby?" Nurse Marshall chuckled. "I got news for you, honey, you don't have of a choice."
"I need Alex!" She yelled. Piper could feel the vein in her neck poking out.
"What's the song?" Rick asked. "And she'll be here any minute."
"Train...I'm About to Come Alive," she breathed, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "God, I've never been in this much pain!"
"I know it hurts, boo." The nurse dabbed Piper's forehead with a clean, cool towel. "At least you get a baby at the end."
Alex rushed into the delivery room, clad in all blue scrubs, a blue hat and a white mask. The blonde smiled as best as she could at her appearance—the only way she knew it was Alex was because of her gait and her glasses.
The brunette grabbed her lover's hand. "You ready for this, babe?"
Rick reviewed a few more things on the computer, gave orders to Nurse Marshall, and then put on a fresh pair of latex gloves and mask.
"No!" Piper shouted. "This fucking sucks so much! Owww!"
"I know it does." The brunette kissed her forehead, allowing her lips to linger. "Breathe through the pain—just like the videos taught you."
Pat Monahan began singing, and Piper tried to focus on the feeling of Alex's lips on her skin and the singer's silky voice.
"Great band. Drops of Jupiter is one of my go-to karaoke songs." Rick positioned himself between her legs. "You're doing great, Piper. When I tell you to push, I want you to really go for it, ok?"
"What about the epidural?" Piper asked with heavy concern.
"This will all be over before we'd have time to give it to you," Rick said. "You can do this, Piper. I believe in you, and Alex believes in you."
She nodded as sweat and tears mingled down her face and between her breasts. Piper looked up at her lover. "You're carrying the next one."
"Yes." Alex kissed her soundly on the lips. "Yes, I will absolutely carry the next one."
Despite her pain, Piper turned her head to face the brunette. "Are you open to another one?"
"I'll have ten kids with you if that's what makes you happy, Pipes." Alex said with a wide grin and adoring eyes. "Let's concentrate on this one for now, ok?"
The blonde brought Alex's hand to her mouth and pressed her lips against her wrist. Piper tried channeling her pain into the kiss and felt a string of tears ripple down her cheeks.
"You're doing great, babe." A tear escaped Alex's eye and landed on her girlfriend's chest.
"I don't know if I can do this." Piper was fully crying now, and the sobs sounded frightening and desperate even to her own ears.
"You can and you will." Alex punctuated her statement with her eyebrows. "Don't worry about what's going on down there. I want you to focus on me."
"Alright, Piper, give me a good push," the doctor said.
"You look at me, Piper," Alex demanded, ripping the mask away from her mouth. "Push, and look at me!"
She did as she was told, concentrating on Alex's face and the music blaring in the room.
No one knows what we've been through
Making it, ain't making it without you.
"You are the hottest, smartest, most spectacular woman in this whole fucking world," Alex stated, brushing Piper's wet hair back. "And you can do anything, including this."
Piper squeezed her eyes shut as she clutched her lover's hand. "I don't feel beautiful right now."
"Are you kidding me?" Alex let out a chuckle. "The way you're straining right now...you're turning me on, babe."
The blonde felt a laugh in her throat, knowing Alex was just saying that to distract her.
"We're getting close, Piper. Another good push." The doctor took something from a nurse, then disappeared between her legs again.
"Don't give up on me, I'm about to come alive," Alex sang, brushing her fingertips over her cheek. "Look at me, babe."
The blonde nodded as she completed that last push, looking her girlfriend directly in the bespectacled eyes. Somehow she found peace in that last effort, and all she could see was the hazel eyes she'd succumbed to six years ago. When they had sex, Piper found herself focusing on those very eyes—eyes she'd come to trust without question. If Alex told her the world was flat, she'd believe it.
"I love you," the dark haired woman whispered, grasping Piper's hand. "You can do this."
The sound of a baby's cries filled the air. Both women turned their heads abruptly towards the doctor, who in one swoop, slowly brought an infant into focus.
"Hey, little girl," Rick said, holding her up for the women to see. "Meet your mommies."
Tears streamed down Piper's cheeks, and she glanced at Alex, whose glasses were completely fogged as tears ran under her black frames.
"Can you see her?" The blonde asked through sobs.
Alex released her lover's hand and threw her glasses to the side in one, quick motion before taking her hand again. "She's beautiful."
The doctor handed the child to a nurse. "You'll get to hold her in just a minute. Let me finish up down here."
The women fused their foreheads as their tears melded together.
"You did it, babe!" Alex laughed through a wet sob.
"We did it." Piper brought a trembling hand to her girlfriend's cheek. "We did it, Al. We're parents!"
A few minutes later, Nurse Marshall brought a swaddled baby to them. "Here she is, and she's lookin' good!"
"She's healthy?" Piper asked, reaching for the infant.
"A healthy 7 pounds, 3 ounces," the nurse smiled.
The blonde cradled the infant, pushing the pink blanket away from her innocent face. Alex reached down to touch her reddened cheeks.
"Holy fuck," the brunette breathed. "We have a kid!"
"Hi, baby," Piper whispered. "Welcome to our world." She glanced up at her lover, noticing tears still streaming down her face.
Alex placed a long, thick kiss on her lover's lips. "You're so fucking awesome."
"So is this one." Piper rocked the baby a bit, and the infant stopped crying. "Do you want to hold her?"
"Yeah." Alex reached out, and the nurse demonstrated what she should do.
"Hi, little one. Hi." The brunette bounced around a bit. "I'm your other mommy. I hope that's alright with you."
The doctor re-entered the room, all cleaned up. "I'm sure it'll be great with her." He stood next to the bed. "You guys were like pros. Seriously, great job. Congratulations."
"Thank you so much, Rick," Piper said, wiping the tears off her face. "I'm sorry Dr. Lichton couldn't be here, but you made this easy...almost."
He squeezed her shoulder. "I'll give her a call. I wasn't kidding when I said she's hungover."
Both women chuckled.
"Thanks, Rick." Alex shook his hand with her free one. "We can't wait to share this nugget with the world."
Nurse Marshall took the infant away as another nurse inserted an IV into Piper's arm. There was a lot of commotion going on in the room, but Piper didn't care. She had a baby. She had a fucking baby.