*end of chap references Whirlwind chapter 6

10

The chairs were set up in a circle, a television stand stood lone off to the side, there were models of pelvises and babies, a table with cheese, crackers and fruit, and the sounds of voices in various octaves chattering amongst each other. The instructor encouraged everyone to take a seat and had each person or couple introduce themselves, tell how many weeks along they were, the gender of their child and what they were hoping to get out of the class.

They went around the circle, some women were married, partnered, single and came alone, or single and brought a friend or family member. Alex initially remembered feeling somewhat anxious, hoping to not be the token unique couple, all worries quickly subsided.

"Hi, my name's Piper, I'm 36 weeks, we don't know what we're having yet but they ensured us it was human, and I'm hoping to get some more information on how to get through labor as naturally as possible." She straightened her back and turned her head toward Alex.

The brunette exhaled, adjusted her glasses, and crossed one leg over the other. "I'm Alex, I'm with her," she pointed her thumb at Piper, "and I'm hoping someone wants to volunteer to be me when she goes into labor?" Piper smiled with her tongue in her cheek, "or I hope to learn some techniques to coach her through all of this."

The circle continued and they heard similar goals from all the participants.

"Alright so we're going to jump right into this, we're going to start and end each class watching a birth so you become familiar with the sights and sounds. Has anyone ever seen a delivery?" Some people raised their hands, most people didn't, some looked very excited, others looked terrified; Piper was among the former, Alex was among the latter.

"Is this lady serious?," Alex spoke through gritted teeth. "Pipes I'm already dreading being in the room for our kid, I have to watch other people do this four times?"

"It'll be good though, I don't want you passing out on me!"

The video played, the people in the film were clearly from the 70's with Charlie's Angel's flipped hairstyles and large glasses. As this lady started pushing, Alex was surprised at how quiet she was until the head in the video became visible and she started yelling. As the head came out, Piper looked at Alex out of the corner of her eye, the brunette had 2 fingers from each hand pressed against her jaw as her mouth dropped open and opened wider and wider. She pushed her neck back into her chair, she curled her lips and whispered "yowch."

Piper looked back at the screen, this person was stretched to an inhumane capacity, and the baby delivered soon after. She turned to Alex and mouthed, "fuck."

Alex didn't even blink.

The instructor turned the lights back on, the room was filled with nervous chatter, "how am I going to do this? I'm getting a c-section, I changed my mind, I can't do that." The instructor settled the group down, and let everyone voice their thoughts.

Alex looked around the room and listened to everyone freak out about everything under the sun, including rumors and myths they'd heard about from friends and family, things they'd encountered throughout their experience thus far and what things they were still finding challenging.

"This is kind of like N.A.," she whispered to Piper.

"Yeah it's like a support group. No matter how many times they reassure you what you're feeling is normal, it's kind of nice to hear other people say they've felt the same stuff."

The instructor reviewed contraction timing, signs of early labor, when to stay home versus when to go to the hospital. They spent a lot of time working through position changes and methods to relieve pain to try to stay home during early labor. They watched the second birth video and this one had more of a car wreck effect; they both watched through the whole video without looking away, regardless of the fact that it made them uneasy.

"That is no piece of pie, but we'll be okay," Alex said as they stood up and got their coats on.

"I just have to keep reminding myself that this is a normal process of life."

"Do you think you would want Polly to be there?"

"I don't know, I remember being told that she went to the hospital after the first contraction. I don't want to be in the hospital forever, I'd rather be home for most of it, I'd have to talk to her."

She talked to Polly but the conversation got derailed to them watching Finn that upcoming weekend. Finn wanted to go to Piper and Alex's apartment despite Polly explaining that all his toys and movies were in their house.

Polly: "You're positive Alex will be up to it? He's got a lot of energy Pipes."

Piper: "I'm putting you on speaker."

Polly: "Hey Al, yeah he's running around here like I gave him 30 packets of sugar, you guys sure you'll be up to taking him overnight?"

Alex: "We're ready Pol, we'll be cool."

Piper: "Yeah, and I need something to distract me from my never-ending countdown, I'm over the whole miracle of this experience. My feet look like sausages."

Polly continued chatting about something's that she thought might be good to know. Alex stood by their kitchen counter filling dixie cups with water and mini fossil replicas.

"What are those?" Piper mouthed to her looking over the little book about dinosaur facts.

"Fake fossils," she whispered, as she continued to plunk in the fossils, "I found it on St. Mark's the other night."

"Nerd," she whispered.

Piper: "Alex got him some dinosaur thing she'd thought he'd like."

Polly: "Sounds good. Alright guys, he's super wound up and excited I need to get him to bed. We'll see you around noon on Saturday."

Saturday morning rolled around, they sat on opposite ends of the couch. Alex massaged Pipers feet while Piper scrolled through some baby name websites, plugging names into a name genie.

"Ugh these are all awful. Serenity? Heaven? Destiny? Why would you do that to your child?"

"I think those border along child abuse." Alex squeezed her foot a little too rough.

"Ahh!," she pulled her foot back slightly, glancing at her toes.

"Shit, sorry."

"S'okay. Ew, my toes look so gross!"

"They don't, here, scoot over this way." Alex got up and returned with a bottle of polish and sat on the floor near the couch. Piper sat back and draped her legs over Alex's shoulders letting her paint her toenails.

"Alright continue, what other names catch your eye."

Piper put the phone down, "you haven't thought of anything?"

"Nothing that really sticks. I don't want to pick something stupid, the kid is going to be stuck with this name forever."

"I still like the idea of a name that's inspired by someone or something that's meant something to us."

She looked over her shoulder, "so are Taystee and Poussey on the table?" "HAHA, no!"

They rattled off dozens of names, nothing was right.

"All done." Alex pushed herself off the floor and placed the bottle on the table. She gave Piper a piece of paper and pen, "we're gonna get this done, write these down." She walked over to their bookshelf and browsed their books.

Ok we've got "Steinbeck, James Joyce, Gillian Flynn, Fitzgerald, Orwell, Emerson, Tolstoy, Faulkner, Jodi Picoult, Twain, Toni Morrison, Dan Brown, Homer," she laughed and made gangster arms,

"Homey... no?"

Piper glared up at her and shook her head, "no."

She crouched down, "Alice Walker, Virginia Woolf, Rowling, the Bronte's, Harper Lee, Jane Austen."

Piper looked over the list and bit the tip of the pen,"those are all so much better. That freaking online name genie sucks." She glanced over their list again, "that's good for now, at least we have something to work with."

The bell on their intercom rang quickly 6 times, "and I think Finn is here."

Piper met Polly and Finn at the door.

"Hi Pippy," Finn said half hiding behind Polly.

Polly squatted down next to him, "listen to me, you be good, listen to Pippy and Alex. Be gentle with Pippy okay?"

"You have our permission to punish him if he doesn't listen well," Polly said to Piper peering at her son from the corner of her eye.

He moved over to Piper and hugged her leg softly, Piper reached her arm down and caressed his hair. Polly stood up and moved his bags past the doorway of the apartment.

"We really appreciate this, call me if anything and do not have that baby before I get back."

"That's not even close to being funny Pol."

"Shoes off kiddo, gimme a kiss, be good," she said smoothing his hair.

"Bye Pol," she shut the door as Alex came into the hallway.

"Ayiiiiiiiiiiix," he ran down the hall as Alex crouched down just in time to be knocked over into a huge hug.

"Hey Finnster!," she pulled them upright and he sat on her lap.

"What aw we gonna do?" he asked tracing her necklace.

"I don't know dude, what did you bring?"

He took the backpack from Piper, set it on the ground and opened the bag wide revealing some toys, a coloring book, markers, and 2 DVDs. He pulled out 'The Land Before Time.'

"Can we watch this?"

"Yeah buddy of course, oh look what I got us," she scooped him up while he held the dvd and walked into the kitchen. Piper looked down at the backpack and thought to herself, and so it begins.

Alex passed 1 of the frozen cups to Finn from the freezer and took one herself and headed into the living room. She set him down on the floor, "give Pippy the movie, let me get the rest of the cups." Piper put the dvd on while Alex returned with a dozen dixie cups on a tray, hot water and some tools to break the ice. Piper sat on the couch watching her wife and godson lying on the floor as they chopped through the melting ice cups. Each time they freed a fossil, they found it in the book and went over all sorts of facts about each dinosaur.

"Yep that one matches up, great job Finn, it's a Pteranodon."

"Ter-na-nan-a-don?"

Alex laughed, "no Pteranodon, it's a hard one, they had big wings like this," she spread her arms all the way open, "and flew like birds."

Finn ran around the room with his arms outstretched until he tired himself out. "Pippy, I'm hungwy."

"Let's go see what we have." The three of them walked into the kitchen, Piper looked through their fridge and named what they had.

"What do you want to eat baby?"

"Mac and cheese."

"Of course you do, alright buddy we gotta go get some."

"I can just make it Pipes." She pulled a block of cheese from the refrigerator and took down a box of pasta from the cupboard. Piper stood with her arms crossed and leaned up against the wall.

"I like the kind in the blue box," he said coming up onto his toes.

"Finn that's not even real mac and cheese. I can make you a delicious one with these," she said holding the box of pasta in one hand the brick of cheese in the other.

He shook his head from side to side, no.

"Finn...," she started to reason with him, as he looked down at the floor and continued to shake his head.

She put her hand on her hip about to fight his defiance, "I can't believe Polly even lets him eat that crap."

"Please it kills her soul, don't even get me started," she said aloud before leaning over towards Alex and whispered, "don't say crap." Alex gritted her teeth and glared at her.

Finn stood beside Alex with his arms wrapped around himself rocking back and forth from his toes to his heals.

She looked down at him feeling somewhat defeated and couldn't fight him, she sighed, "c'mon kid, go put your coat on."

He ran down the hall and put on his coat and shoes. Alex bent down to tie his laces, and he hugged her around the neck, not letting go as she stood up. She stood him up on the mail table and got herself dressed. Piper laughed to herself while she put on her clothes, she looked at Alex and mouthed, "sucker!"

Alex bent down a little and helped hoist him onto her shoulders. "You're really tall Ayix."

"I've been told bud."

"Alex, please don't smack his head on the doorways."

"When I say 'duck', duck, okay kid?"

"Yup."

They walked down the sidewalk through the wintery cool air, Finn was hunched over resting his chest on the back of Alex's head with his hands clasped under her chin until his legs shot out straight in front of him almost kicking Alex in the face, "Pizza!"

"What the f-, iddlesticks kid?"

He pointed over at the pizzeria.

"I thought you wanted mac and cheese?"

"Pizzzzza."

She looked over at Piper who just shrugged her shoulders. She pivoted toward the pizzeria, and opened the door, "duck."

"1, 2, 3," she hopped a little and lifted Finn off her shoulders and sat him down in a booth with Piper. "Should I just get a small pie?"

"Yeah just a plain, he's not going to eat it if it has vegetables or anything on it." "Of course he won't."

They sat around the table until the pizza came. After it cooled off Finn picked up a slice with both hands, the tip of the slice wilted down. He bent his mouth underneath it getting sauce on the corners of his mouth and cheeks.

Piper went to wipe his mouth with a napkin, when Alex gently pushed her hand away, "let him be."

"Well then help him, he's a mess."

"Like this Finn," she helped him bend the crust in half and adjusted his hands and took a mock bite.

Piper took a picture of him with his pizza sauce face on her phone, Alex still wouldn't let her wipe the sauce off his face, "he's supposed to be a mess."

They got home and Alex pulled out more things that she had planned out for them to do including supplies to make some homemade play dough.

"Lay some paper down," Piper said sitting atop a stool along their kitchen island. "It'll be fine Piper, I'll clean everything up at the end."

Piper eased herself off the chair and slowly knelt down joined them on the kitchen floor. They mixed the flour, salt and water until it became the consistency of dough before adding the food coloring. The dough absorbed the color, and as Alex looked around she realized so did their hands and the kitchen floor.

"Shhhhi-" Alex stopped as Piper cut her eyes at her.

"I didn't say anything Ayix."

"I know kiddo, looks like you're gonna need a bath later."

They rolled the dough around, made swords and fought with them until they broke. They made towers, and knocked them down. They put the dough into a tupperware container and set it aside.

Piper dug out Finn's pajamas and Alex started running him a bath.

Piper lowered the lid of the toilet and sat down; she pulled his shirt over his pizza sauce crusted face and tossed his dirty clothes to the side. He made creepy crawly hands and wiggled his blue dyed fingers at Piper.

"C'mon kid, in you go," Alex said kneeling beside the tub. "No bubbos?"

"Oh yeah, definitely," she poured a third of a bottle of shower gel under the faucet which created an absurd mountain of white frothy bubbles.

She snug her hands under his armpits and was about to sit him in the tub, "test the water." "What?" she turned to Piper with Finn hanging over the tub.

"You need to stick your elbow in."

She put Finn down on the furry bath mat outside the tub. She bent her arm down into the water, now covered up to her shoulder in bubbles and confirmed, "it's good." She lifted Finn into the water. He scooped bubbles, stuck them to the wall then flattened them with his hands. He played with their shampoo and conditioner bottles, giving them voices and had full conversations with them. Alex cupped the water in her hand and wet his hair before washing it. She styled it into a faux hawk and smiled, "that looks awesome!" He insisted on seeing it, so she lifted him out and showed him in the mirror and put him back in, dripping water around the bathroom floor.

"Here, hold your hands up," he raised his hands by his head. She bent his fingers into a "rock- on" pose, "stick your tongue out," he complied making Piper laugh.

"Hang on buddy," she snapped another photo.

The bubbles disintegrated into now clear water and pink raisin fingers confirmed it was time to get out. "How do I rinse his hair? I need a cup or something."

"Rinse off your hair Finn," Piper told him. He dunked down and thrashed around under the water whipping his head around as he came up, "done!"

"Touché kid."

She helped him out and messily towel dried his hair and wrapped the towel around his waist.

"What are you doing?" Piper asked her gently.

"He's a guy, I don't know!"

"Put it around his shoulders Al," she said giggling. They put on his pajamas. He took Alex's hand and was guiding her toward the living room to his bag of toys when they passed by the nursery.

"This is Mookie's room?"

"Yeah kiddo, what do you think?"

He nodded his head and lifted his arms up. Alex picked him up and rested him on her hip and walked into the nursery. Finn eyed the books along the wall on the tree branches.

"When is Mookie coming?"

"Soon sweetie, want to pick out a book to read?," he nodded, as she ran a hand through his still damp hair. Piper finished cleaning up the bathroom and almost past them in the room while she walked down the hall.

Alex was sitting in the glider as Finn lied on her with his back pressed against her chest. Piper came in and sat on the floor beside them.

"Babe sit up here, we'll move to the floor," Alex said sitting up.

"No I'm fine, keep going." She listened as Alex read "Bread and Jam for Frances."

" 'Why do you keep eating bread and jam' asked Father, when you have a lovely soft-boiled egg?' Oh man kid, this is totally you."

Finn just tongued his cheek, his eyes darting around at the illustrations, not paying attention to Alex's comparison and waited for her to continue. He started to look sleepy and Alex lowered her voice slightly when she glanced at Piper who stared at her dreamily. "What?"

"You're making my uterus throb."

"Guess I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Ayix," Finn whined, forcing her to focus her attention on the story. She finished and brought him into the living room. Piper brought some sheets and a blanket out, "so how are we going to do this? I'm kind of nervous having him up on the couch."

"Lemme grab an extra blanket to make it softer and we can set him up on the floor."

Alex crawled around the floor and set up a bed for him before standing up.

"Can you stay?" he asked from the floor. She looked down at him, he looked so small.

Piper stood near the other side of the blanket with her hands supporting her lower back. She made a puppy face, his words melted her heart.

"Yeah of course," Alex replied, "let me get some extra pillows and stuff okay?"

"Awight."

Alex pulled 2 chairs from their little dining room table and dragged them near the blankets on the floor. She walked out and returned with 2 pillows from their bedroom and another sheet. She lay the tossed pillows next to Finn and draped the sheet over the chairs.

"It's like a tent Pippy," she heard his voice from beneath the sheet, "come in!"

She got down on her knees and crawled under the sheet and lay on her side facing her godson. She rubbed her hand over his chest and asked softly, "did you have a good day?"

"Mmm, hmmm," he nodded, and straightened the blanket over his chest.

Alex crawled under the sheet on the opposite side and laid her head down over her bent arm. Piper stretched her arm up over her head and told them to get a little closer, she took a selfie and sent the photos she took throughout the day to Polly with a text message that said "successful day."

Finn nodded off as Alex stroked his head. He readjusted himself multiple times while Alex looked over at him annoyed that he couldn't stay still, he finally settled facing her, his head tucked under her chin. She looked down at him and inhaled his scent, her breath caught in her chest.

"Go up on the couch," Alex whispered nudging her head towards Piper.

Piper nodded, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said smoothing her hand repetitively over Finn's head.

"Because I'm exhausted and you were on your hands and knees crawling after him all day."

"I'm dead," Alex exhaled laughing. "How's Mookie?"

"Fine," she stroked herself maternally. "You're such a softy," she said with a huge smile.

Alex rolled her eyes and looked at Piper, she noticed she was staring at her,"what's with the face?"

"Just thinking about something."

"What?"

Piper shook her head nothing, but the smile remained on her face.

"Tell me," she whispered coaxingly.

She swallowed, "you remember the night I met your mom," she stopped and rubbed the nape of her neck, "and you left us alone to make hot cocoa?"

Alex's eyed widened, her eyebrows furrowed at the thought of her mother, and nodded shyly.

"She just said to me how you would put on this front, trying to act all badass when deep down you were just a big sweetheart." The brunette raised her eyebrows surprised to hear that that's what her mother had said to Piper all those years ago. "I'm just thinking about just how true those words are; she knew you well."