CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
AN ANGEL SPREADS IT WINGS
"My wife's having a baby!" Miley shouted as she & Lilly stormed into the lobby of the hospital. She practically ran up to the admissions desk and grabbed the sleeve of the nurse sitting behind it.
"Hey, my wife is having a baby!" she shouted again. Lilly groaned; her wife's antics were almost as painful as the labor pains that had begun to tear through her body.
"Miles, please stop that," she muttered. "Just ask the nice lady if they have somewhere I can lie down and get this thing out of me…" The nurse behind the admissions desk arched a slightly amused eyebrow, and Miley quickly pulled her hand back.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "Um, my name is Miley Truscott-Stewart, and…"
"Your wife is having a baby, I know," the nurse replied with a smile. "You'll need to sign the admissions paperwork, but in the meantime I'll get a wheelchair out here to take her to the maternity ward right away…"
Fifteen minutes later, Lilly was lying down in a small delivery room, Miley by her side. Aside from the low beeping of the fetal heart monitor attached to Lilly, and the usual activity of the bustling hospital working around them, the room was silent except for Miley & Lilly's quiet conversation.
"How are you feelin' sweetheart?" Miley asked as she gently stroked Lilly's hair.
"I'm about to give birth, what do you think?" Lilly retorted. "Why did I let you do this to me again?" Miley laughed. She felt Lilly squeeze her hand again, signaling another contraction. Lilly hissed in pain.
"I'm here, Lilly Bear," Miley whispered soothingly, kissing her wife softly. "I'm right here… squeeze my hand all ya need to…"
"You so owe me for this…" Lilly managed. "Where's the nice nurse with my drugs, by the way?" Miley fought the urge to grin. Then Lilly's hand gripped hers even more tightly.
"I know it hurts," Miley whispered again. "I wish I could take it from you…"
"Just… be here with me…" Lilly gasped.
"Always," Miley promised. "I'll always be with you, Lilly… right here beside you, where I belong." The pain of the latest contraction finally passed, and Lilly took a deep breath.
"They're getting closer together, aren't they?" Miley asked her carefully. Lilly nodded.
"About every five or six minutes now," she replied calmly.
Sounds like we're gonna have a baby soon," Miley said sweetly, and she gently kissed her beloved wife again.
"I can't wait until we can hold her together," Lilly said honestly, and Miley felt joyful tears begin to gather in her eyes.
"Did you call dad?" Lilly asked her. Miley smiled and nodded.
"While I was fillin' out the admission paperwork," she replied. "He and Jackson are on their way. He promised to let everyone else know too."
"Is it weird that I'm actually glad Jackson is coming?" Lilly quipped, and Miley laughed.
"A little," she said jokingly, "but I still love you… and I'm glad he's coming too."
"What about Dr. Ren?" Lilly asked.
"I called him on the way to the hospital," Miley replied, somewhat amused that Lilly hadn't remembered. "He said he'd meet us here."
"I guess I wasn't paying all that much attention earlier," Lilly said sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it Lilly Bear," Miley said sweetly. "You had a darn good excuse for bein' a little out of it." She smiled warmly. At that moment, a kindly-looking older man with white hair and a matching moustache, his blue-grey eyes twinkling behind his glasses, entered the room. He smiled warmly at Miley & Lilly.
"Hi Dr. Ren," Lilly greeted her OB/GYN with a weak smile of her own. "We were just talking about you!"
"Hello, Lillian," Dr. Ren responded in his soft, grandfatherly voice. "How are you feeling?" He was a sweet old man and one of the few people Lilly actually allowed to call her by her full first name; she & Miley trusted him completely.
"Oh, swell," Lilly replied sarcastically. "I always wanted to be woken up in the middle of the night by searing pain!" Dr. Ren chuckled.
"Well, we'll see what we can do about that," he said warmly. "Let's see how your baby's doing…" With Lilly's permission, he gently felt her distended belly to determine the baby's position.
"Looks like the little one is ready to go," Dr. Ren announced happily. "How about you?"
"Something tells me I'm about to get uncomfortable again," Lilly muttered.
"I promise I'll be as gentle as I can," Dr. Ren assured her. "And we have done this before, Lillian..." His gentle teasing reminded Lilly of her late grandfather.
"I know," Lilly retorted. "Maybe we should put you in some stirrups and see how you like it…" She grinned as she said it, and Dr. Ren laughed.
"I believe I'll pass on that," he replied with a chuckle. He sat down and pulled on a pair of latex gloves. "Now then…" Lilly sighed and steadied herself. A few moments later, the examination was complete.
"Well, I'd say you're well under way," Dr. Ren commented. "It won't be much longer. Do you want anything for the pain?" Lilly nodded enthusiastically, and Miley had to smile.
"Yes, please!" Lilly answered quickly. "The stronger, the better!" Dr. Ren smiled as well.
"I'll arrange for an epidural then," he told her. 'It should only take a few minutes." He stood up.
"I have a few other patients to visit and then I'll be back to check on you again," he said warmly. "If you need me, just ask one of the nurses to page me…"
Two nurses and an anesthesiologist visited a few minutes later and gave Lilly the epidural she'd requested. Miler never left her side; she continued to hold Lilly's hand – being very careful of the IV tube in her wife's arm – and did what she could to distract Lilly as the anesthesiologist did her work.
"So what do you think it's gonna be like bein' parents?" Miley asked her wife softly.
"Different," Lilly answered honestly, "but I know it's gonna be wonderful too." She looked up at Miley and smiled.
"After all, how many people get to spend their lives and raise their child with their best friend in the whole world?" she said warmly. Miley smiled radiantly.
"I feel the same way, Lilly Bear," she said sweetly. "And if you weren't bent over a pillow right now, I'd kiss you!"
"My lips are still here somewhere," Lilly quipped. She winced suddenly, and Miley could see the needle sliding into her wife's lower back.
"It's okay, Lilly," Miley said gently. "I'm here… Just listen to my voice…" Lilly did her best to focus on her wife's gentle voice, and the hand still holding on tightly to hers, and something about Miley's presence somehow seemed to make her forget what was really going on.
"Tell me what you want to do once we can take our baby home…" Miley continued.
"I just want us to hold her together…" Lilly said softly. "I want us to be a family…" Miley smiled again.
"We will be, sweetheart… I promise," she said gently. She gently stroked Lilly's long blonde hair. Finally the procedure was done, and Lilly was allowed to carefully lay back.
"Are you okay, Lilly Bear?" Miley asked her. Lilly sighed contentedly.
"I am now," she replied dreamily. "Man that stuff works good!" Miley giggled.
"Just remember, it doesn't get you out of doing the hard work later," she said teasingly. Lilly groaned.
"Don't remind me," she muttered.
"I'll be right here with you Lilly, I promise," Miley whispered. 'We'll go through it together…"
"Somehow, I think you're getting the better end of the deal," Lilly remarked. She perked up suddenly. "Don't you still owe me a kiss, though?" Miley grinned.
"Now that you mention it…" Still smiling she leaned down and captured Lilly's lips in a passionate kiss.
"Why do we always have to walk in when they're doing that?" a familiar voice called out. Reluctantly pulling her lips away from her wife's, Miley looked up to see her father and brother standing in the doorway.
"Not my fault you have perpetual bad timing, Jerkson," Miley teased her older brother.
"I hope we're not interruptin' anything, bud," Robbie Ray greeted his daughter.
"No more than usual," Miley joked. She jumped up and hugged her father fiercely, then turned to face her brother.
"Well, think you can handle a hug from your little sister?" she asked him with a grin.
"If you can keep your hands off Lilly long enough," Jackson said playfully.
"For your sake Lilly, I hope your kids don't act like mine do," Robbie Ray said, shaking his head as he watched Miley & Jackson hug. Lilly grinned.
"Well, I wouldn't want my old age to get boring," she said lightly. "So do I get a hug, old man, or what?"
"Lord, they've corrupted you too," Robbie Ray said dryly. Lilly laughed out loud.
"I can't help it, she's a part of me now," she said with a smile.
"Don't I know it," Robbie Ray quipped. He walked over to the bed and hugged Lilly carefully, then gave her a gentle, fatherly kiss on top of her head.
"So how are you feeling so far?" he asked her.
"Pretty good, now that I'm feelin' no pain," Lilly said happily. "I'm glad you guys are here."
"And where else would I be, when my girls are about to become parents?" Robbie Ray asked with a smile of his own.
"You sure you're ready to be a grandpa?" Miley asked sweetly.
"No," Robbie Ray said simply. He paused. "But I'm willin' to give it a shot." Miley & Lilly, and even Jackson, laughed.
"If you're anywhere near as great a grandfather as you have been a father, you'll do fine," Lilly said softly. She smiled, and for once in his life, Robbie Ray Stewart honestly didn't know what to say. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to. Just then, the door opened again, and Dr. Ren walked in.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting anything?" he asked with a smile, as he noticed the visitors in the room.
"Nothin' much," Miley said quickly, smiling like a mischievous child. "Dr. Ren, this is my father and older brother. Daddy, Jackson, this is Dr. Ren, Lilly's…. well, you know."
"Pleasure to meet ya, doc," Robbie Ray said, shaking hands with Dr. Ren.
"And you as well, Mr. Stewart," Dr. Ren said warmly. "Miley & Lillian talk about you quite a bit." He smiled.
"Speaking of whom… how are things coming along, Lillian?"
"Well…" Lilly said hesitantly. "Kinda... I mean, nothin' hurts right now, but I do feel something."
"Pressure?" Dr. Ren asked her carefully. Lilly thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah, I think so," she replied. "It's been gettin' worse and worse…"
"I think it's time then," Dr. Ren told her. He looked over at Robbie Ray and Jackson.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave now," he said gently. He smiled again. "I believe your granddaughter is about to join us…"
"Okay Lilly, we're going to put you in more of a sitting position now," Dr. Ren explained. "It'll help with the delivery." Two nurses helped Lilly do so while Miley held her hand again.
"When I tell you, I want you to push, all right?" he continued. Lilly nodded, swallowing nervously. Their lives were about to change forever… and if everything her mother had always told her was true, it wasn't going to be easy. Still, as long as she had Miley by her side, Lilly wasn't afraid. As if she could sense Lilly's unease, Miley gently squeezed her hand.
"I'm right here with you, Lilly Bear," she said gently. Lilly smiled.
"I know," she whispered.
"We'll begin as soon as you have another contraction," Dr. Ren told her. The moment didn't take long to arrive; Lilly gasped as she felt the intense pressure, and suddenly it was time.
"Now, Lilly… PUSH!" Dr. Ren shouted. "Count to five and hold it!" Lilly did as she was told and pushed, squeezing Miley's hand again. Miley tried her best to reassure her wife and helped her to remember her breathing exercises, while Dr. Ren counted out loud.
"That's it, Lilly; three… four… five!" he called out. Lilly gasped and let her head fall back as the contraction finally passed, her breathing ragged. Miley gently kissed her on the forehead and lovingly brushed some of Lilly's sweat-soaked blonde curls away from her face.
"You're doing great, baby," Miley whispered.
"H-here comes another…" Lilly managed. Her grip on Miley's hand grew stronger, and the secret pop star winced slightly.
"Keep going, Lillian," Dr. Ren said calmly. "Keep pushing…!" Lilly pushed again, trying her best to concentrate on what she was doing and not on Dr. Ren's hands, which at the moment were between her legs.
"Good job, Lillian," he continued. "I can almost see the head! And three… four… five!" By the time her latest contraction faded, Lilly's entire body felt sore. She greedily sucked in great gulps of cool air and sagged against Miley, weak and tired.
"I don't think… I can do this anymore, Miley!" she managed.
"Yes you can, Lilly Bear," Miley replied, gently stroking Lilly's cheek. "I know how strong you are, and how much you want this baby… and I know you can do this."
"I think you might be biased," Lilly quipped, and Miley giggled.
"Maybe just a little," she admitted. "But I was being honest too; I know you can do this… and I'm gonna be right here helping you."
"I love you, too," Lilly said with a smile. Then she winced again. "Ooh, God… here comes another one…!"
"I'm here, sweetheart," Miley whispered. "I'm with you…" Another contraction washed over Lilly, and again she pushed, just like she'd been taught. But this time, along with the intense pressure, she felt a burning, stinging sensation.
"She's crowning!" Dr. Ren shouted to the nurses. Lilly tried her best to focus, putting everything she had into pushing the baby out as she felt Dr. Ren's hands move again.
"That's it Lils, you can do it!" Miley said encouragingly, excitement evident in her voice "Just a little more!" Lilly closed her eyes and pushed one more time… and a moment later, the sound of a baby's indignant cry echoed through the delivery room. Miley's eyes went wide.
"Lilly…!" Miley gasped. She leaned down and gently kissed her wife's sweaty forehead, tears trickling down her cheeks.
"You did it, baby! You did it!"
"Is she… all right?" Lilly asked wearily.
"She's fine," Dr. Ren replied warmly. "Congratulations, Lillian, you and Miley are now the proud parents of a very healthy, very active baby girl." The nurses cleaned the baby up, and a few moments later, Lilly found herself holding her daughter for the very first time.
"Miley, she's… she's beautiful! Lilly exclaimed. She looked up at her beloved wife. "Did we really do this? I know this is gonna sound funny, but this all feels like some kinda dream!" Miley managed a watery grin.
"A wonderful dream come true," she whispered. She reached out to gently run a finger over one of their infant daughter's chubby cheeks. The baby responded by letting loose with another ear-splitting cry.
"What'd I do?" Miley panicked.
"I think I know what's wrong," Lilly replied with a grin. "Help me open my gown…"
"Huh?" Miley replied, not understanding.
"She's hungry," Lilly explained, her grin widening.
"Oh!" Miley gasped, realization finally dawning on her. "Already? Man, is she your daughter or what?" With a little help from Miley, their infant daughter was soon suckling contentedly from her mother.
"That's my girl," Lilly said happily as she watched their daughter feed.
"Well, she's definitely got your appetite Lils," Miley said teasingly.
"And your lungs," Lilly quipped. She looked up at Miley again. "We did it Miles… we have a beautiful baby girl, and she's all ours." Blinking back tears, Miley leaned down and carefully claimed her wife's lips in a loving kiss.
"I love you so much!" Miley breathed. "Both of you…"
"And we love you too, with all our hearts," Lilly whispered, smiling through her own tears. "So… I guess she needs a name now, huh?"
"I still like the name I suggested," Miley said playfully. Lilly chuckled.
"All right, but only because I'm too tired to argue," she retorted. She looked down at their baby again and gently kissed her on her almost-bald head.
"Welcome to the world, Susan Lillian Truscott-Stewart…"
"Come on, how long can it take to give birth?" Jackson Rod Stewart complained once again. He was sitting in a small waiting room just outside of the hospital maternity ward, along with the rest of family, anxious to hear the news that his niece had finally been born… but unlike the rest of the Stewart clan, Jackson was not waiting patiently.
"Would you like to know how long it took your sweet mother to have you?' Grandma Ruby asked him.
"I bet I was nice and quick," Jackson replied with a smirk.
"Not even close," Robbie Ray retorted. "Try nine and half hours… you were stubborn from the word 'go', boy."
"Nine and a half hours?" Jackson exclaimed. "Seriously?" Robbie Ray smiled and nodded.
"And once it was all over, and she finally got to hold you, your mom said she'd do it all over again," he said softly. "Course, she was probably still on whatever they pumped into her…" On the other side of the waiting room, Aunt Dolly & Mamaw Ruthie laughed.
"Leave him alone, Robbie Ray," Ruthie said with an indulgent grin. "Besides, any woman will tell you that the pain of childbirth is worth it once they hold their child for the first time… myself included."
"I've heard it's always harder the first time, too," Luanne added.
"It sure was for me," Mamaw Ruthie replied. "Every woman's different though…"
"Lilly's own birth wasn't exactly easy," Heather Truscott commented.
"My baby girl's tough, though… I know she'll be fine."
"I just hope it isn't too rough for Lilly," Luanne said softly. "Miley'd probably lose it…"
"Lilly and the baby are doing just fine, thanks," another voice responded. Six pairs of startled eyes turned towards the entrance of the small waiting room to see Miley standing in the doorway, a weary but jubilant smile on her face. Robbie Ray was on his feet in moments.
"Bud!" he gasped. "Is she… are you…?" Miley grinned and nodded.
"It's a girl!"
A little while later, in the quiet hospital room Lilly had been given, Robbie Ray got to meet his granddaughter for the first time. The rest of the family was there too, but everyone had agreed Robbie Ray should get to hold the baby first. He sat in a small chair in one corner of the room and watched in what could only be described as awe as Miley slowly walked towards him with little Susan in her arms.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Miley whispered, already sounding like a proud parent.
"She looks so much like you, when you were a baby," Robbie Ray said softly. Smiling, Miley gently laid her infant daughter in her father's arms.
"I didn't tell you before, but…" Miley swallowed. "Daddy, we decided to name her after momma. Meet your granddaughter… Susan Lillian Truscott-Stewart."
"Her middle name was Miley's idea, just so you know," Lilly called out from her hospital bed. Father and daughter looked over at her and grinned.
"I think it's perfect," Robbie Ray said gently. He looked down at his granddaughter, sleeping soundly in his arms. "After all, there really is a little bit of both of you in her…" He smiled.
"Who knows? Maybe I can get used to bein' a grandpa after all!"
"That a promise?" Miley asked her father playfully. She was lying in bed beside Lilly, snuggling with her beloved wife.
"Tell you what," Robbie Ray replied. "Look in that bag I brought with me, and you might find a little something for my granddaughter." Miley & Lilly shared a curious look, but Miley nonetheless climbed off the bed and walked over to the large pink gift bag near Robbie Ray's chair. Reaching inside, she pulled out a big white teddy bear; it was 'wearing' a pink t-shirt that said "Grandpa's Little Girl".
"Aww, it's adorable!" Miley gushed. "Thank you, daddy!" When he didn't reply, Miley looked up at her father again. To her horror, she saw he was softly crying.
"Daddy, what is it?" Miley shouted. She was on her feet again in moments and carefully knelt before him.
"I'm all right, bud," he whispered. "I'm sorry, I was just thinkin'… I can't believe you have a little girl of your own now. How did you grow up so fast…?"
"Oh, daddy…"
"I wish your mom coulda been here to see this," Robbie Ray said wistfully. "I know she'd be proud of you, bud… and so am I. You've grown into a wonderful woman…" Miley smiled radiantly, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
"I love you too, daddy," she whispered, and she very carefully wrapped her arms around his neck in a big hug.
"And for making me cry again, you get to change little Susie's stinky diapers!" Miley teased him. Robbie Ray chuckled.
"Baby girl, you don't know what stinky diapers are yet… trust me, the fun has just begun!"
Much later, after visiting hours had ended and everyone had gone home, Miley & Lilly were finally able to get some much-needed sleep. Little Susie was asleep as well, in a little bassinet near their bed. Silvery beams of moonlight shone in through the window, faintly illuminating the new family as they spent their first night together.
For a brief moment, the moonlight seemed to illuminate something else as well. If anyone else had been in the room – anyone awake, that is – they might have seen what appeared to be an older woman standing beside the baby's bassinet, smiling down at little Susie. She appeared to have reddish hair, and a radiant smile very much like Miley's. Faintly sparkling wings fanned out around her.
Pale fingers gently stroked little Susie's head, and a pair of shimmering lips gently kissed her cheek.
Take good care of your mommies, little one… and remember, you'll always have a guardian angel watching over you…