A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. Life got in the way once again. I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter.
Claire's POV
I lay there next to Shane, basking in the glow of an intense orgasm. We were both trying to catch our breath after our post-proposal lovemaking session.
I was admiring my new engagement when Shane draped an arm across me and pulled me closer… it twinkled like a tiny star and I loved it.
"Do you like it, baby?" he asked, curiosity present in his voice.
"I love it," I cooed, then turned my head and gave him a kiss.
"I know it's not very big, but-" Shane started, but I interrupted him.
"It doesn't matter...I think it's beautiful and I love it, because it's from you," I assured him, snuggling closer.
"I love you."
"I love you too," I replied. "I guess we better get downstairs before they suspect anything. We've been gone awhile."
"I think you blew that the first four times you screamed my name," he said, smiling cheekily, obviously proud of himself.
When I felt the heat begin burn my cheeks, I knew I was blushing, and buried my face in Shane's chest.
"Oh my God, I am loud, aren't I?" I mumbled against his chest.
"Hey, don't be embarrassed," he said, as he lifted my chin with his finger and stared intently into my eyes. "We are engaged. You are having my baby. When and where we decide to have sex is our business."
"But my mom is-" I began to argue before Shane cut me off.
"Who cares? She's an adult and she knows you're pregnant. I know she knows how you got that way. So she needs to get used to the fact that we have sex," he stated, then kissed my temple.
"Yes, I agree, but she doesn't need to be reminded by the sounds of her daughter being pleasured by her fiancé," I mumbled.
"Good point...but I have to admit those sounds are completely intoxicating," he growled and pulled me on top of him. "Just thinking about it makes me want to hear you make those sounds all night long. I say we forget about going downstairs and you let me have my way with you."
I smiled. "As tempting as that is, and trust me, it is tempting, we really do need to go downstairs," I insisted, sliding off of him. I rolled over and sat up, then scooted to the edge of the bed, letting my legs fall over the side and my feet touch floor.
I felt the bed move behind me and glanced over my shoulder to see Shane standing on the other side of the bed, pulling on his boxers. I had a nice view of his bare ass and couldn't help but stare. It was divine. Oh boy, was it divine. Every part of Shane was divine. I suddenly felt compelled to slide over to him, pull him back into bed, and let him fuck me until I couldn't feel my legs any more. Somehow I restrained myself, stood and started getting dressed, every so often sneaking a glance at his sexiness. I couldn't believe he was mine...all mine.
When he finished getting dressed, he walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
"Do you know how incredibly sexy you are?" he asked, lust dripping in his tone.
"I was just thinking the same thing about you," I admitted. "It almost made me want to take you up on your offer."
"Don't worry, baby, I intend on having my way with you the second we're alone again." He breathed the words into my ear, sending a shiver down my spine then removed his arms from around my waist and walked towards the door.
"I hope you mean that," I called out to him.
He had one hand on the door when he turned to face me. "You know I do," he assured me, grinning suggestively.
I met his grin with one of my own, then sauntered up to him, threw my arms around his neck, and kissed him passionately.
He stood there speechless as I broke the kiss.
I cleared my throat. "Aren't you going to open the door?"
"Y-yes," he stammered, then turned the knob and pulled the door open.
I walked out into hallway, teasingly shaking my ass at him. I felt his hand make contact, giving it a playful swat as he followed me out the door.
"You're a little devil, you know that?" he asked, following close behind me as I headed for the stairs.
"You love it," I teased him, then stopped and held my hand out as we reached the top of the stairs.
He growled playfully in my ear, letting me know that he indeed loved it, then walked around me, took my outstretched hand in his, and led the way down the stairs to my mother and our friends.
We walked into the living room hand in hand. Michael had apparently come home sometime after we had gone upstairs and was sitting there with everyone else, laughing and watching a movie. He was the first one to notice us.
He smiled and raised his glass. "Come join us, guys."
"Where have you been?" Shane asked bluntly.
"I had an errand to run," Michael answered.
His eyes were fixed on Shane's, having picked up on the anger in his voice, as I'm sure everyone else had.
"Was it more important than Claire's birthday?" he asked, then released my hand and stepped towards Michael, who had stood as Shane approached.
"Shane, I'm seriously not going to argue with you about this," he replied. "I'm sure Claire won't mind that I left and neither will you once I have a chance to explain."
"I'm giving you the chance to explain...explain," Shane demanded.
"Okay, first, have I ever done anything without a good reason?" he asked, making a point to Shane.
"No," Shane said, backing down.
"And, second, the day you were arrested, did I not promise you that we would see to it that the right person was behind bars and not you?" he asked, making another point.
"Yes... Wait, are you the reason Lee Wilcox dropped the charges against me?" Shane asked.
"If you mean did I go and have a few words with him, let him know how big of a mistake he was making and put little seeds of suggestion in his mind about dropping the charges, then the answer is yes," Michael informed him. "Though, I didn't think that it would happen this quickly."
"Tell me you didn't mind fuck him, Michael," I pleaded.
I knew that after what he did to me, I shouldn't have cared, but if Michael messed with his mind, forcing him to drop the charges and I approved of it, then that made us no better than him, and I couldn't live with that.
"No, Claire. I didn't. I thought about it, but I didn't," he assured me. "I left the decision up to him and it looks like he made the right one."
"Thanks, bro," Shane said, his tone doing a complete one-eighty, going from pissed off and angry to gracious and thankful.
He pulled Michael into a hug, then quickly released him.
"Thank you, Michael," I said, stepping forward and pulling him into a hug of my own.
"You're welcome," he replied, giving me a quick squeeze.
"What the hell is that?" Eve exclaimed from her place on the couch.
Michael stepped back and we all turned to look at Eve.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"That…" she stated, pointing in my direction.
I looked down at myself trying to figure out what could possibly have her so worked up.
"Up and over to your left," Eve instructed.
"Up and over...what?" I stood there, totally confused. The only thing to my left is my hand, and...oh. That's when I realized she was talking about my engagement ring.
"Oh," I said, then looked over at Shane to see if it was okay that I told her.
He smiled and nodded his approval.
"Shane asked me to marry him," I gushed.
"It's about damn time," Eve remarked sarcastically. "Well, come here. Let me see it."
She waved me over and scooted down to make room for me. I sat down next to her and held out my hand.
She gently took hold of my fingers and tilted my hand towards her, giving the ring a good inspecting glance.
"It's beautiful...I'm so happy for you and so jealous at the same time," she finally replied. "I'm totally going to be your Maid of Honor, right?"
"Of course," I answered excitedly.
"I'm hurt," Randi interjected from her spot on the floor. "This really hurts me. I'm totally offended. How could you not pick me to be your Maid of Honor? I'm your cousin. Shouldn't I get like first dibs or something?"
I sat there in complete shock, a wave of guilt washing over me. I felt horrible. She was right. How could I have completely forgotten about her? I didn't know what to say.
"I-I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking," I stammered.
She sat there giving me a hard, angry stare and I couldn't blame her. I had totally messed up.
"You're damn right you weren't! I would have looked totally hot in that Maid of Honor dress," she said, then smiled wickedly and started to laugh.
"I hate you," I said as the realization that she had been joking the whole time hit me.
I picked up the pillow from the arm of the couch and chucked it at her. She caught it easily and continued to laugh.
"I so should have been an actress. You should have seen your face...priceless."
"That was not funny, Randi." I said, trying hard not to laugh. "You are such a bitch, you know that."
"Yeah I know...but I am going to be one of your brides maids, right?"
"Totally," I replied. "But mess with me again and you'll be the only one wearing a Little Bow Peep costume, with a big bright pink bow on your butt."
"You wouldn't?" she asked incredulously.
"Oh, believe me I would and I'd enjoy every moment of it."
"Now who's the bitch," Randi joked.
"Still you," I said with a shrug.
"Yeah, you're right," she agreed, smiling.
"Hmmm, now I suddenly have a craving for cake," I said, then looked from my mom to Shane.
"Okay, I guess that's my cue to go get the cake," my mother said. As she stood and walked towards the kitchen, she called, "Shane would you please come and help me?"
"Yeah sure." He leaned down and gave my lips a quick kiss. "Be right back."
"Mmm...okay."
He stood then and followed my mom into the kitchen. I watched him as he went, then turned back to our friends.
It wasn't long before my mom and Shane came back in with my cake. They sat it on the coffee table in front of me with all of the candles lit. Soon, everyone gathered around and began to sing Happy Birthday to me.
It felt nice to have my mom, my friends, and Shane all there, actually happy for once.
However, I did wish my father could have been there. But I knew that wherever he was, he was watching and smiling. I leaned down to blow out the candles, smiled and gave everyone one last glance. I wanted to capture this moment in my mind forever.
I took in a deep breath and blew out all of the candles, making the wish that we could all be this happy for the rest of our lives.
Two and a half months had passed since my birthday and I was now twenty-two weeks pregnant and showing. I had gone back to work at the lab with Myrnin. Shane didn't like it, but we had no choice. We had all come to the agreement that I would keep going to the lab to work until my sixth month, then take a few months off and come back after the baby was born. I only had two weeks left of this agreement, then Shane and I would be able to breathe a little easier.
I had just come home from work and was standing on the front porch, about to unlock the door when I heard a noise. I jumped, dropping my keys on the ground and spun around. No one was there.
Get ahold of yourself Claire!
I turned back around and bent down to pick up my keys. As I grabbed them, I saw the pepper spray that Shane had bought me dangling from my key chain. I took a deep, relaxing breath and silently thanked Shane again for it.
I stood up and was once again about to put my key in the hole, when a hand came down on my shoulder. I screamed, spun around, closed my eyes and went all out with my pepper spray.
When I heard the cursing and screaming, I released the button on the pepper spray and opened my eyes.
Shit!
I had just pepper sprayed Shane.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
"Fuck Claire, what the hell were you *cough* trying to do, blind me?" he yelled, dabbing at his eyes with the backs of his hands and choking on the fumes of the pepper spray.
"No, I-I *cough* didn't know it *cough* was you," I admitted, choking on the fumes as well. "Come on, let's *cough* go inside and *cough* flush your eyes out."
I grabbed his hand, turned around, then unlocked and opened the door.
"When I bought you that, *cough* I assumed you'd use it on the bad guys, not me *cough*," he said, following me into the house.
"I know…I'm sorry. But you scared the hell out of me," I informed him.
I shut and locked the door behind us, then led him through the house, into the kitchen, and over to the sink. I turned on the water and put my hand under the stream to make sure it wasn't too hot; last thing I wanted was to burn and blind him. Finally, when I was satisfied with the temperature of the water, I told Shane it was ready, so he walked over and began splashing water into his eyes.
"Didn't you hear me coming?" he asked as he continued flushing out his eyes.
"If I had, do you think I would have pepper sprayed you?" I asked. "Is that helping?"
"A little," he answered.
"Good...you know, you really shouldn't sneak up on people, especially pregnant women," I warned him as I walked over to the table to sit down; my feet were killing me.
"Yeah, I got that now," he bit back. He turned off the water, grabbed a towel from the drawer by the sink then turned to me, drying his eyes. "I'll try and stay out of your line of fire."
When he looked up at me and I saw what I had done to him, I gasped. His eyes were bright red and puffy…they looked like they hurt pretty bad and I felt awful.
"Oh my God! You look horrible," I exclaimed and stood up.
"Thanks," he replied sarcastically, still dabbing at his eyes with the towel.
"That looks really painful."
"It was...but now they don't burn so bad," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I'm so sorr-" I started to say as I walked towards him, but my words were cut short and I gasped instead, feeling the baby kick for the first time. My hand went immediately to my stomach and I stopped where I was to look down at my belly.
"What... Claire, are you okay?" Worry emanated in his voice.
"Yeah, I'm more than okay," I gushed. "The baby i-it just kicked."
"Really?"
"Yeah, come here," I said, smiling at him.
He dropped the towel on table and walked over to where I stood.
"Give me your hand," I instructed.
He reached out and put his hand in mine. I took it and placed it on the last place I'd felt the baby kick.
"Do you feel that?" I asked, feeling my excitement grow as the baby kicked again.
"Yeah, I do," he said, a big smile spreading across his face. "That's pretty cool."
"Yeah, it is," I confirmed, tears shining in my eyes. "It's amazing."
The tears that filled my eyes spilled over, streaming down my cheeks and I wiped them away with a little sniffle.
"Sorry," I said, embarrassed that I was crying yet again.
"How many times have I told you not to apologize? We just felt our baby kick for the first time. That was pretty special. I think it deserves a little emotion. I might have done the same if my eyes weren't on fire...probably not though," he said with a small chuckle and wrapped me in his arms.
"You don't know how bad I feel about that. I am so sorry," I said sheepishly, hugging him back.
"It's okay. It was an accident. No hard feelings."
With my arms still around him, I leaned back and looked up into his eyes…noting that they were now a pinkish color.
"I love you, you know that?" I asked, smiling up at him.
"I love you too," he replied, leaning in for a kiss. It started off as soft, but then turned harder, and fiercer. When the kiss was over, I had to catch my breath. I opened my eyes and looked into his. He was smiling, trying to catch his breath as well.
"I need to go take a shower. Do you wanna come with?" I asked with a mischievous smirk on my face.
He met my smirk with one of his own.
"Do I? You bet your ass I do," he replied, giving my ass a little love tap.
"Well, come on...what are we waiting for?" I replied, then backed out of his embrace and walked towards the kitchen door.
"You coming?" I asked after I noticed he wasn't following me.
"You get the shower ready and I'll be up in a minute, okay?"
I looked at him curiously. "Oh…okay, don't take too long."
"Trust me, I won't," he replied, giving me the grin I loved so much.
Shane and I had the house to ourselves for a little while and I intended to take advantage of it.
Shane's POV
After I'd cleaned up the mess I'd left at the sink, I grabbed the towel off the table, then pushed the chair in and made my way over to the kitchen door.
I was still reeling from the excitement of feeling our baby kick for the first time, not minutes earlier. It had been a pretty cool experience that made me realize this baby was coming soon and that I was going to have to get my act together, and fast.
I had a reputation for being a bad boy and a slacker, which was something I was going to have to leave behind. No more getting into fights at bars, and definitely no more getting into trouble and going to jail. I was going to have to man up and be someone that Claire could rely on and be proud of, and someone this baby wouldn't be ashamed to call its father. I was going to have to get a real job so that I could take care of us, and I was going to have to grow up and be responsible. Responsible not just for me, but for my family. Claire and I were getting married and having a baby. Things were changing fast, and I was going to have to work to keep up.
I looked back, then turned off the light and walked out into the living room. After putting the towel in the hamper in the laundry room, I shut off the lights in the living room and headed upstairs.
When I was halfway up the stairs, I noticed a pair of socks and realized that Claire must have left them there on accident. I picked them up. Then when I reached the top, I found Claire's jeans, and as I looked further down the hall, I saw that Claire had left her clothes in a trail leading toward the bathroom door. I knew what she doing and smiled. These were the clothes she'd worn today and that meant she was standing in there naked and waiting. I had to admit that excited me a little...well, okay, a lot. I followed the trail of clothes up to the door, picking them up as I went.
I finally reached the door, and to my pleasant surprise, I found a pair of Claire's sexy black panties hanging on the door knob. I retrieved them, then eagerly opened the door. Claire was standing there in her bathrobe, which was slightly open in the front, looking straight at me. As soon as I walked in, she hit the button on the stereo and Kelly Rowland's voice came wafting through the speakers.
The song was Motivation and it, plus Claire in that robe and the look in her eyes, was enough to motivate me.
Claire slowly untied her robe, then turned her back to me, looking over her shoulder at me and giving me her sexiest grin.
I shut the door behind me and dropped her clothes in a pile on the floor, then started to undress quickly as I walked over to her. When I reached her, I was almost completely naked, except for my boxers. I put one hand on her shoulder and used the other one to gently move her hair aside and began sensually kissing her neck.
"You are so sexy baby," I whispered in her ear, my voice echoing the lust I felt inside.
"Do you want me?" she asked as I slipped my hands under robe and ran them over her bare breasts.
I rolled her nipples between my thumb and forefinger, feeling them grow hard as I did.
A soft moan escaped her lips.
"What does this say to you?" I breathed as took her hand in mine and placed it over the growing bulge in my boxers.
She didn't answer, but instead turned to kiss me passionately. She took my hand and led me over to the shower, which I noticed for the first time was already on and ready. She put her hand under the spray to check the temperature, all the while keeping her gaze on mine. When she was satisfied, she let go of my hand then slowly let her robe fall to the floor, still not breaking our shared gaze, and stepped back into the shower.
"Are going to take off those boxers and get in, or am I going to have to take this shower alone?" she asked, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Well?"
I pulled my boxers down, stepped out of them and into the shower, pulling Claire into my arms and kissed her greedily. She tasted so fucking good, I couldn't get enough. I wanted her...needed her.
Her fingers twined in my hair and the way she was kissing me back was an indication she needed me just as much.
"God Shane, I need you," she breathed as her lips left mine.
"What do you need?" I asked, already knowing the answer, but needing to hear her say it.
"I need you to fuck me."
"Turn around," I instructed, as I released her from my arms.
*Ding Dong*
"What was that?"
"The doorbell," I answered, annoyed.
The sound had been faint, but I'd heard it too and knew exactly what it was.
"I guess I should go see who it is," I said, more to myself than to her.
*Ding Dong*
"No, don't go...stay here," she, whined, kissing my neck and chest.
"I really should baby," I told her, not really wanting to leave.
"Why? Are you expecting someone?" she asked pointedly, stopping her kisses to cross her arms in front of her.
I smiled and arched my brow at her. "No, I'm not, and you know it, and you also know that I have to answer the door, it could be important," I reasoned.
*Ding Dong*
"Fine," she pouted.
"If it's no one, I'll make them go away and I'll be right back...I promise," I said, giving her lips a quick kiss, then reached my hand out of the shower, grabbed my towel and stepped out onto the rug.
I dried off, then deciding to forgo my boxers and shirt; I pulled on my jeans, walked over to the door, opened it, and walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind me.
*Ding Dong*
"I'm coming!" I yelled, as I reached the bottom of the stairs.
I walked over to the window and peeked out. I wanted to see who it was first. In Morganville, you couldn't be too careful, you could be opening your door to a blood-crazed vampire, and that was never a good thing. But to my surprise, standing on my front porch was Randi, Claire's cousin, and she hadn't even bothered to call first.
Annoyed, I walked over and swung the door open.
"Hi."
"Can I help you?" I asked, my irritation showing.
She gave me a surprised look, obviously taken aback by my attitude.
"Rude much?" she asked, sarcastically.
"What do you want?" I asked, my patience thinning.
"I came to see Claire...is she home?"
"Yes, she is. She's in the shower...you couldn't have called first?" I asked pointedly.
"Sorry, what? Did I interrupt something?" she asked, completely oblivious.
"What do you think?"
As she gave a once over with her eyes, realization and then embarrassment swept across her features.
"Oh my God, I did, didn't I?"
"Yes," I answered bluntly, too annoyed to find the humor in the situation.
"The two of you weren't...were you?"
I gave her a look that let her know that we indeed were doing exactly what she was thinking and I could tell the exact moment that it clicked in her head.
"Oh my God, you were."
"Ding, ding, ding!" I remarked sarcastically.
"Okay, I'll be leaving now," she said, and turned to leave. "Oh, wait...here."
She turned back to me and shoved a black shoebox in my hand.
"Some girl left it on your porch. I saw her running away as I drove up," she informed me.
"Her? What did she look like?" I asked, curious as to who this mysterious girl might be.
"She had curly blonde hair and was dressed all in black. I didn't recognize her, but I didn't really get a good look at her face either," she replied.
"Well, thanks...I guess."
"You're welcome."
"Wait... Did you say you drove here?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, borrowed a friend's wheels," she answered, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly as she stepped down off the porch.
*Ring*
Who the hell could that be?
"Bye...sorry for the interruption," she mumbled sheepishly then hurried across the street to her car.
"Bye," I said and shook my head incredulously as I shut and locked the door.
*Ring*
As I walked into the living room, the phone rang again, so I picked up my pace and hurried into the kitchen. I grabbed the receiver mid-ring and leaned back against the wall.
"Hola."
"Hey it's me," Eve said on the other line.
"Eve?"
"Yeah, who else would it be?"
"Why didn't you call my cell?" I asked.
"I did but you didn't answer," she replied.
"No you didn't," I said, pretty sure that she hadn't because I hadn't heard my phone ring.
"Uh, yeah, I did," she insisted with an attitude.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, pressed the power button and realized my phone was dead.
"It's dead... sorry," I admitted.
"See I told you it wasn't my fault," she said, sounding proud of herself.
"What do you want, Eve?"
"Geez, I just called to see if you and Claire wanted anything to eat. Michael and I are stopping at Lou's."
"Yeah, I'll take a meatball sub and can you get Claire a Turk-" My words were cut off by Claire's screaming and then a loud thud. I dropped the phone and the box in my hand, then ran out of the kitchen, through the living room, and up the stairs, taking them two and sometimes three at a time.
When I made it to the bathroom and pushed the door open, I found Claire sitting on the floor, her robe wrapped around her…she was leaning over, with a hand on her stomach. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and my heart stopped. For a second, I was frozen in place.
"Shane..." she cried.
Suddenly, I was brought back to life and rushed over to kneel at Claire's side. "Baby, are you okay?" I asked, my voice strained with worry.
"I don't know," she said with a sniffle.
"What happened?"
"I was trying to reach my towel and I slipped and fell and I hit my stomach on the side of the tub...God, it hurts so bad, Shane," she cried.
"I'm going to call Dr. Henton," I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my phone.
I pushed the power button, but then remembered it was dead.
FUCK!
"My phone's dead. I'm going to go to our room and call, and I'll be right back, baby," I told her and started to stand up, but Claire grabbed my arm.
"No, don't leave me," she pleaded.
"I have to go call the Doctor, I'll be right back...I promise," I assured her.
"Okay, but help me over to the toilet first. I think I have to pee," she informed me.
"Okay."
I helped her stand, then helped her walk the couple of feet over to the toilet seat. She was breathing in short, panting gasps and I knew her breathing was only labored because of the pain. "You can go now...I'm alright, but hurry," she said, still standing.
I turned and hurried out of the room. Remembering that I hadn't bothered to hang up the downstairs phone in my haste to get upstairs, I looked around the room for Claire's cell and found it on the night stand.
I picked it up and quickly dialed Dr. Henton's number, then pressed call.
It wasn't long before Dr. Henton answered the phone.
"Hello?" her voice sounded groggy like she had been asleep.
"Hi, Dr. Henton? This is Shane Collins," I began a little nervously.
"Oh, hi Shane…"
"Sorry if I woke you," I said, though I really wasn't.
"How may I help you?" she asked.
I decided just to get right to the point. "Claire's in trouble. She fell when she was getting out of the shower and hit her stomach on the side of the tub, and now she's having pains...I-I don't know what to do," I admitted, nervously running a hand through my hair.
"Well, first let me say that you did the right thing by calling me...I'm going to want to check her out and make sure her and the baby are okay," she informed me. "How long ago did this happen?"
"Just a few minutes ago, right before I called."
"Where is she now?"
"In the bathroom. Right after it happened she said she felt like she had to pee."
"Okay, I want you to take her to the hospital," she instructed. "I'm going to call head and tell them you are coming and I'll be there soon."
"Shane, I want you to..." she started, but I didn't hear what she had said, because Claire walked into the room and distracted me.
"Shane…" she whispered brokenly.
"Just a second, baby," I said, holding up my finger to Claire and turning my attention back to what Dr. Henton was saying. "I'm sorry, can you say that one more time?"
"Shane!" Claire yelled frantically, and the fear and sadness in her voice got my attention again.
"I'm sorry, just a second - What is it, sweetheart?" I asked, turning my head towards Claire.
"I'm bleeding," she cried, those tears in her eyes again.
I nearly dropped the phone when she said those words. She was scared and there was nothing I could do but call the fucking ambulance or take her to the hospital myself. Which one was the right thing to do at this point? I wasn't sure.
This is bad...this is really bad I thought to myself, but bad turned to worse as Claire put her hands on her stomach and doubled over in pain.
Shit!
I did the only thing at that I could do; still holding the phone in my hand, I walked over to her and put one arm around her supportively in an attempt to help her over to the bed. She flinched away at first, but then accepted my help.
"Come on baby, it's going to be okay," I assured her, but I hoped it wasn't false assurance. I hoped I hadn't just lied to her, because at that moment, I really wasn't sure. "Let's get you over to the bed."
We walked slowly to the bed and I helped her get in, then turned my attention back to the phone.
"Shane, are you still there?" I heard Dr. Henton say in a more hectic tone of voice.
"Yeah, I'm here...listen, Dr. Henton, things have changed. Claire just told me she's bleeding, and from what I can tell, the pain hasn't gotten any better either," I informed her. Trying hard to remain calm.
"Ask her how much blood?" Dr. Henton instructed.
"Claire, baby, how much blood was there?" I asked in a calm, soothing voice.
"I don't know...more than a little but not a lot," she said.
"She said more than a little but not a lot."
"Okay, I'm going to need something a little more specific than that. Is it spotting or like a light period?...Wait, you know what, don't ask her that. It's not important right now. Just call an ambulance and I will call ahead to let them know what's going on. I'll be there as soon as possible," she assured me.
"Okay."
"See you in a little while, Shane," she said, before the line clicked off.
I hit END CALL, then immediately dialed 911 and pressed CALL. My hands were shaking as I stood there waiting for someone to answer. When the operator finally came on the line, I let out a whooshing sigh of relief.
"911 Emergency Assistance...fire, police, or ambulance?"
After I'd helped Claire get dressed and had gotten dressed myself, I went downstairs to wait for the ambulance, going upstairs every so often to check on Claire.
I was pacing back and forth in the living room when I heard a key go into the lock on the front door. I knew it was Michael and Eve, and though I should have been glad to have them home and have some support, which I knew they would be, I didn't want to have to explain the events of the evening to them, and I really didn't feel like keeping anyone company. My mind and all of my focus was on Claire and the baby, and I didn't have time for anything else.
I walked over to the window and looked out, my eyes roaming the streets, but the ambulance still wasn't anywhere to be seen.
Damn it! Where the hell are they?
I turned around just as Michael and Eve walked into the living room. Eve was the first to notice me and walked over to where I was standing; Michael stayed back.
"There you are...What happened?" she asked, continuing to prattle on when I didn't answer. "Well, it doesn't matter... Anyway, I got you a meatball sub like you asked, but I didn't exactly know what to get Claire, so I got her a turkey and cheese-"
"I don't care about the fucking sandwiches, okay?" I yelled, unintentionally blowing up at her. "Eat them or throw them away, do whatever the hell you want! I really don't give a fuck! Just leave me the hell alone!"
Eve stared at me; completely shocked that I had just yelled at her. Michael flashed over and stood between us.
"Hey! Don't yell at her," he warned, his hand flat against my chest, as if holding me off.
"I'm sorry," I said putting my hands up in surrender. I felt bad for biting Eve's head off. I really hadn't meant to, but the events of the night had really taken their toll on me and I was at my breaking point.
"What is your problem?" he asked, looking me dead in the eyes.
"It's Claire; she fell in the shower and hit her stomach when I was downstairs on the phone talking to Eve. She's scared and in pain and she started bleeding. I don't know how to help her," I admitted, running a shaky hand through my hair.
I heard Eve gasp.
"I'm down here waiting on the fucking ambulance, but it's taking forever to get here, and I should be up there with Claire," I complained.
"Okay, Eve you go up and be with Claire," Michael instructed. "And Shane, you're going to go over there and sit down on the couch and chill out, because you are in no shape to go back up there."
"Fine...you're right," I agreed, then walked over and sat down on couch.
Michael followed me as Eve went upstairs to be with Claire.
"So talk to me," Michael said, sitting in the chair across from me.
"You know I'm not like this, man. I'm not weak. I can usually hold it together. But right now, I just feel so helpless," I admitted.
"No one thinks you're weak man...least of all me," Michael assured me.
"She's been crying ever since it happened because she's scared and she's in pain, and I hold her and tell her everything's going okay, but nothing helps. She just keeps crying. I don't think she believes me, I don't believe me…I mean, would you?" I asked, looked over at him, but not really wanting an answer.
"Not if you were acting anything like this," he answered, half-joking.
"Thanks man, I didn't really want an answer."
"Yeah, well you got one."
"Seriously, where the hell are they? Did they have to build the fucking ambulance before they came?" I asked sarcastically.
*Ding Dong*
"That better be them," I said, getting up from the couch.
I walked over and opened the door. "Where the hell have you been? This is Morganville...it's not that big and I'm pretty fucking sure there wasn't any traffic," I said, mouthing off to the paramedic.
"Sir, the longer you stand here and interrogate me, the longer it's going to take to get your girlfriend to the hospital. So do you really want to stand here and argue with me, or do you want me to go get her so that we can be on our way?"
Good point, Jackass.
"She's upstairs. Second door on the right. I know you'll be tempted to take the one with the raccoon eyes that looks half-dead, but that's just makeup...she looks like that on a daily basis," I joked as he and the other EMT walked into the house with a stretcher. "You want the normal-looking, pregnant one."
"I heard that, asshole," Eve shouted from the top of the stairs.
She had apparently walked into the upstairs hallway unbeknownst to me.
The paramedics laughed a little to themselves and shook their heads as they headed towards the room I shared with Claire.
Fifteen minutes later, the paramedics came down the stairs with Claire in tow and Eve following close behind. Michael and I had elected to stay downstairs so that the paramedics could do their job, and hopefully with less people in their way, they would get Claire downstairs and into the ambulance sooner.
I noticed Claire's eyes searching the room and I knew that she was looking for me, so I stepped to the side of the stretcher.
"I'm right here," I said.
"Shane," she said, reaching out to grab my arm. "Stay with me."
"Okay, I will," I promised. "Michael, I'm going to ride with Claire in the ambulance. Could you and Eve follow us in your car?"
"Will do," Michael assured me.
The paramedics, who had stopped to let us have our little exchange, started towards the ambulance again. I followed them and got in the back with Claire after they loaded her in. They shut the door behind us and finally we were on our way to the hospital.
Claire's POV
They took me straight into the E.R, hooked me up to a fetal monitor, put an IV in my hand, then took my vitals. Shane stayed by my side the entire time.
About fifteen minutes after we arrived, Dr. Henton came in and did a pelvic exam, then decided it would be to my best interest to do an ultrasound as well. Apparently the bleeding had stopped, which I was thankful for, but she said that because there was bleeding and pain after I had taken the fall, it meant that something was going on internally and that we needed to find out what it was ASAP. Needless to say, I was scared out of my mind.
"Is everything okay, Dr. Henton? Is the baby okay?" I asked after a long pause from Dr. Henton.
She was still performing the ultrasound. But she hadn't said anything in a while and it was making me a little nervous.
"Well, to answer your second question, yes, Claire the baby is just fine; there are no signs of distress, but..."
"But what?" I asked nervously…impatiently.
"Your fall caused what we call, Abrubtio Placentae or Placental Abrubtion," Dr. Henton replied.
"What is that?" Shane asked before I could, his voice wavering.
"Well Shane, it's where the placenta has separated from the uterine wall...yours has only partially separated, and it's a very mild separation, which is a good thing," she informed us, aiming the last part at me.
"So what are you going to do? What's the treatment?" I asked, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat.
"Since the separation is mild, the bleeding stopped, and the baby isn't in any distress, I'm going to let you go home, but I'm putting you on bed rest for six weeks. You'll have to come see me twice a week, and no matter how badly you want to...no sex," she warned.
Shane and I both looked at each other.
"For how long?" we both asked simultaneously.
"Until I give the green light...which will not be until the six weeks is up," she replied with a smile, then continued, "Also, no going up and down stairs. If your room is upstairs and you need anything from downstairs, someone will have to get it for you. You can only be out of bed twenty minutes a day, unless it's to go to the bathroom," she instructed. "I'm going to prescribe you some corticoid steroids to strengthen the baby's lungs, in case we do have to deliver early, but right now I see no reason for you not be able to carry to term."
"Okay, that's good news," I said.
"Yes, Claire, but it's imperative that you call me if you start bleeding again or have any more pain."
"Okay I will," I assured her.
"Oh...one more thing before I let you leave... Would you like to know the sex of the baby?" she asked, a smile spreading across her features.
"You can tell that right now?" I asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Yes."
I looked up at Shane because this was a decision we would have to make together.
"It's up to you, baby," Shane answered.
I thought about it long and hard, then answered, "Yes, we would."
"You are having a girl," she said, all smiles.
"Oh my gosh, really?" I asked, surprised and elated by the news.
"Yes, it's a girl," she replied.
"Oh my gosh, Shane, we're having a baby girl!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, I know...I heard," he said with a smile. "And that's great."
He gave my lips a quick kiss.
"So now what?" I asked, still smiling.
"Now, you get dressed and go home," she replied, wiping the gel off of my belly. "I'll get a nurse to come in with a wheelchair when you're finished."
I pulled my shirt back down over stomach and sat up. Dr. Henton put the ultrasound equipment away, then walked back to my bedside. "I'm going to go get the prescription for those pills and your discharge papers and give them to the nurse to bring in with your wheelchair. Don't forget to call my office and make an appointment, okay?" she reminded me.
"Okay I won't, thank you Dr. Henton," I remarked.
"You're welcome, see you in a few days."
"Definitely."
She smiled before leaving the room.
I got up and got dressed. When the nurse came in with the wheelchair, discharge papers and prescription, I signed where I was supposed to, and finally we were free to go.
Shane wheeled me out into the waiting area, where we met up with Eve and Michael. They were sitting right outside the doors to the emergency room, obviously watching the door and waiting for us to come out because as soon as Shane wheeled me through the door, Eve hurried over to us, and Michael wasn't far behind.
"What did they say? Are you okay?" Eve asked, her words rushed, obviously worried.
"Yes Eve, I'm okay...calm down," I assured her. "They said I have a placental abruption caused by the fall, but I'm okay and the baby's okay. I just have to be on bed rest for six weeks and it's gonna suck."
"I will buy you stack of magazines and some movies and you'll be fine...the important thing is that everybody's okay," she reasoned.
"You're right," I agreed.
"So what the heck is a placental abruption anyway?" she asked.
"Google it," I replied. "I'm tired, let's go home."
"But..." Eve started to protest, but Shane interrupted her.
"O-Kay, you heard her...she's tired. Let's get the hell out of here."
"Fine," Eve pouted.
"Do you guys want me to pull the car up?" Michael asked.
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Shane concurred.
"Okay...Eve stay with them. I'll be right back," Michael said, then turned and headed for the exit.
We were finally on our way home, Michael driving, Eve in the passenger seat, and me snuggled next Shane's side in the backseat. I was positively happy about the news we had been given a few minutes earlier; that Shane and I would be having a girl, but I was also extremely exhausted, as I'm sure we all were. Needless to say, the ride home had been pretty quiet up until the point when Michael tried to turn the station on the radio in the middle of a song I was listening to.
"Hey, I was listening to that!" I shouted, louder than I had intended.
Everyone turned to look at me. Maybe it was because it was the first time I'd spoken since we'd gotten into the car, or maybe it was because the song I was objecting to being turned was a song by Miley Cyrus; someone's music that no one else in the car could stand. I guessed by the looks that were on their faces, they were surprised that I even cared.
"Are you serious?" Michael, said arching his eyebrow and giving me a looked that supported the disbelief in his question.
"Yes, I'm serious. I like this song… Is there a problem?" I asked pointedly.
"Yes, I hate this song. I'd like to turn to the channel. If that's alright with you? Plus, I thought you hated Miley Cyrus."
"I already said it wasn't alright with me, and just because you don't like this song, doesn't mean I don't," I replied.
The song in question was "When I Look at You" and though I wasn't the biggest fan of Miley Cyrus' music, I really liked the song. It may have just been my hormones, or Michael's attitude, but I was getting irritated.
I sat up, and was giving Michael my most intimidating glare in the rear view mirror when his eyes fluttered over to Shane as if to say, "Help me out here man," and I felt Shane move beside me.
"Don't even think about it, Shane."
"What, I wasn't even doing anything," he said, feigning innocence.
"Sure, so, you weren't just about to jump in and take Michael's side?"
"Well-"
"See, I knew it, you were going to take Michael's side and make me turn the station because you wanna be all macho and not like the song," I argued.
"Baby, nobody likes this song," Shane reasoned.
"I don't know…I kinda like it," Eve chimed in.
"See, I'm not the only one."
"Seriously, Eve…you, Miss Night Of The Living Dead, like this song?"
"Yes, I do…asshole," Eve shot back.
"Claire, baby. I love you, but every second I listen to this song is a second I get closer to blowing my brains out."
"So? I want to listen to the song…" I whined.
"Well too bad, it's two against two, and I have a penis, and it says 'we're turning the station'," Michael remarked cheekily.
"Well I have a vagina, and it says 'go anywhere near that radio and you won't be getting any tonight'," Eve snapped.
"Wait, I'm pregnant!" I exclaimed.
It suddenly dawned on me when Michael said that it was only two against two. That there was someone else that could break this tie and she was a GIRL.
"And you're just now figuring that out?" Eve asked.
I rolled my eyes. "No, smartass, I just meant that it isn't a tie because of the baby," I stated.
"Baby, she isn't born yet…she doesn't have an opinion," Shane said, correcting me.
"Yes she does," I argued.
Just then the baby kicked. I gasped and put my hand on my belly.
Shane turned to me with a worried look on his face.
"What is it, baby? Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," I assured him. "The baby kicked. I think she was trying to let us know that her opinion does matter." I took his hand and put it on my stomach when the baby started kicking like crazy.
"Wow, she's really kicking…I guess you are right," he agreed with big grin on his face.
"Did I just hear you guys say 'she'?" Eve asked excitedly turning around in her seat.
We had been so caught up in our own happiness that we had momentarily forgotten anyone else was in the car.
I smiled and looked up at Eve, answering, "Yes…when we were in the emergency room, the doctor told us we are having a girl."
"Is she still kicking? Can I feel?"
"Yeah, let me see your hand," I instructed.
Eve reached over the seat and gave me her hand. Shane moved his and I placed hers on my belly, right where the baby was kicking.
"Do you feel that?"
"Yeah, that little girl's really going to be able to kick some ass."
"Of course she will, she's got Collins blood in her," Shane said proudly, then smiled at me and put his hand back on my belly. "She's going to take after her daddy, isn't she?"
It was the first time that I'd heard him not put himself down in a long time. Maybe being a father was starting to grow on him, or maybe he was starting to realize that he wasn't a bad person; that he was worthy and truly amazing.
"Well, maybe she'll be able to help us keep these guys in line," I said with a smile of my own.
"Maybe," Shane agreed.
"So, what were we arguing about anyway?" Michael called from the driver's seat while we were stopped at a red light.
We all turned to look at the radio and then simultaneously burst into laughter at how stupid we'd been.
"Let's go home?" Michael asked.
"Let's go home," I agreed, then snuggled back up to Shane's side and settled in for the rest of the ride home.
Shane's POV
It had been a long, stressful night. Claire and I had both been through hell and back. I knew she was exhausted and I was barely hanging on to my sanity by a thread.
We could both use a good night's sleep and I was hoping that we would get that without any more complications. I had one more surprise for her though, and this one was one that I was sure she would love.
We had just gotten home and everyone was standing on the porch waiting for me to find my keys and open the door, but I couldn't find them. So I turned to Michael.
"Can you unlock the door, man? I can't find my keys," I admitted. "I must have left them inside when we left."
"Yeah," he said, then stepped forward and unlocked the door.
He stepped aside allowing me to lead Claire into the house.
"I have a surprise for you," I told her as I stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
"Really…what?" she asked curiously.
"Remember that thing you've been begging me to do for months?"
"You mean turn your old room into a nursery?"
"Yes," I said, smiling proudly.
"You did it?" she asked, surprise in her voice and a smile on her face that said she loved me for it.
"I did."
"You're amazing, you know that?"
"So I've been told," I said with a grin, not able to hide how elated I was to see her so happy and that I was able to do that for her.
"I love you," she said, then pulled me to her and kissed my lips softly.
"I love you too," I replied. "Now, why you don't go check it out while I go fix you a snack, and I'll bring it up to you when I'm done?"
She gave me another quick kiss before turning and walking up the stairs. I watched her go, and when she was out of view, I turned and headed towards the kitchen.
I was at the kitchen door about to push it open, when I heard Claire scream my name. The bloodcurdling way she screamed forced me to a halt. I turned immediately and ran for the stairs. As I ran through the living room, I exchanged worried glances with Michael and Eve who immediately stopped what they were doing and followed me up the stairs.
My heart was pounding as I ran towards the nursery. Horrible thoughts were running through my mind. This wasn't supposed to be happening. It was supposed to be a good surprise. She was supposed to be happy. What the hell went wrong?
I found out as soon as I walked in the door, and what I saw horrified me.
I was standing there in the doorway, in shock, taking in all the gore and damage with my eyes. Claire, in a state of panic and shock, backed into me. She spun around immediately and threw her arms around my neck. I, in turn, wrapped my arms around her waist and hugged her to me, trying to provide some source of comfort.
"It's okay, baby. I- I'm here," I assured her.
"I can't be in here, Shane. Please, let's go," she pleaded, lifting her head and looking into my eyes.
Tears were streaming down her face. I felt horrible. I had sent her in here not realizing that someone had vandalized the room…thinking it would be a wonderful surprise for her. Things always seem to go that way for us lately, though. I swore to myself that I would find the person who did this and make them pay.
I released her with my right hand, reached down, took her hand in mine and led her out into the hallway, where Eve and Michael waited for us.
I surveyed the room one last time, then shut the door and turned to Michael and Eve, holding Claire close to my side.
"Are you guys okay?" Michael asked, concerned.
"We will be, but someone broke in the house and destroyed the nursery I made for the baby," I informed him. "Whoever did it was really fucked in the head."
"What do you mean?" Eve asked.
"Go see for yourself."
"Is that Marilyn Manson I hear coming out of there?" Michael asked incredulously.
"Yeah, the sick fuck that did this must have thought Sweet Dreams would be the perfect soundtrack for the crime scene they made out of the baby's room," I spat.
"Wow…well, take her to your room and I'll go look."
I didn't reply, just nodded my head, then turned and led Claire next door to the safety of our room.
E/N: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you think. Please review, review, review!