As Matt lifts her bag into the car she expects Russell's words to be nothing more than a ploy to extract her from her humble abode. He tucks his phone into his pocket, and calmly fastens the seatbelt in the seat next to her.
"You were being serious?" Her brows arch.
"Your husband is at least an hour from the hospital. Do you really think for one second that I am going to let you go to the hospital alone?"
"Matt is…"
Russell cuts her off, "Busy protecting you."
"Of all of the scenarios I built in my head this certainly was not a contender."
"I never leave a man behind, Elizabeth."
Her hand comes to rest against her rigid abdominal wall.
Beneath the fluorescent flickering glow, atop shiny white tile Russell leans against the puce wall studying the screen of his electronic device. The heavy wooden door next to him opens, and the team of medical personnel exit the room. A nurse clad in ceil blue scrubs offers him a sweet smile.
"You can go in now if you would like."
"That is the last thing that I want, but since her husband is stuck in traffic I don't have much choice, do I?"
The seasoned nurse simply shrugs, and continues on to her next patient. Russell shoots Matt a look as he reluctantly trudges into the room. Elizabeth is perched on the bed in a rather unflattering green hospital gown. The ensemble is complete with unattractive yellow non-skid slippers.
"I can tell you are feeling pretty jealous of these stylish socks, Russell. Don't worry, I will make sure to steal a pair for you."
"I can tell you are in a great deal of pain because that was a lame joke, even by your standards."
"I'm fine," she insists as she grips the bed rails.
"So Henry has hit a little snafu with traffic, but he should be here relatively soon."
She nods, "That's good, because the truth of the matter is that I have been in labor for a few hours."
"I am sure he will be here in plenty of time."
Her look of skepticism does nothing to reassure him.
"Elizabeth, how long is a few hours? How long does Henry have to arrive?"
"It truly has only been a few hours. Three, or so."
"But?"
"I anticipated things would progress relatively slowly."
A knock on the door interrupts her confession. "Maybe that's Henry now," Russell responds.
Medical personnel begins to enter the room with equipment. Russell's blood pressure can nearly been seen in incline as the room begins to become increasingly more populated. He begins tugging at his collar as the staff begins to disassemble pieces of the bed. He rotates to the head of the bed to get out of their way.
"The birth spasm has begun," he realizes.
Elizabeth chuckles, "Don't make me laugh. I can't believe you of all people are quoting Coneheads."
"None of this was on my calendar for the day. Humor is the only option left in my arsenal."
"Russell you have other places to be."
"I can, on occasion delegate my duties when it comes to matters of national security."
"This is not a matter of national security," she furrows her brow between contractions.
"In my official communication with the staff it was."
"I am not asking you to stay," she clarifies.
He turns so that his back is facing the door as the nursing staff begins to elevate her legs into stirrups.
"Unto the breech, Elizabeth," he offers her his hand as he turns to face the wall.
Precisely nine minutes later the hum of fluorescent lights is interrupted by a healthy, melodic wail. Even Russell smiles as baby McCord is ushered into the world. Elizabeth breathes a sigh of relief as they thrust the freshly hatched human onto her chest. The little one is covered in a host of bodily fluids, and is red in anger.
"Aren't you just perfect?" Elizabeth coos.
The newborn squirms towards the sound of her voice.
Sometime later Henry McCord busts into the hospital room. He is short of breath as he reaches the end of the bed. Russell vacates his seat, and shakes his head.
"You're a little tardy to the party."
He furrows his brow, "What do you mean?"
"I think that is my cue," Russell makes a beeline to the door before anyone can stop him.
Henry takes as seat to an utterly exhausted Elizabeth. He squeezes her hand, and plants a kiss on her lips.
"What was Russell going on about? What did he mean I'm tardy to the party?"
"Baby McCord has already been whisked off to the nursery."
He clenches his jaw, and takes a deep breath in an attempt to lower his blood pressure.
"You can say it. You're angry," Elizabeth confronts him.
"You're damn right I am! You have kept me at an arms-length this entire time. You haven't allowed me to attend a single appointment with you. Every time I suggest that we discuss names, or look at ordering baby gear you shut me down. I fully understand how cautious you have been this entire time, but I am your husband. This is something we created together. Now I've missed the birth too? I can barely even talk to you right now."
She purses her lips, and falls utterly silent. She looks away as he scrutinizes her facial expression, and all of the non-verbal cues she is trying to desperately to hide. In the moment she looks away he sees it. The fear, and uncertainty practically seeps from her pores. He situates himself on the edge of the bed. A silent, reassuring kiss is planted on her head. His fingers steadily scoop her stray hair into a fresh bun.
"Please let me in. I think that you know I'm not going anywhere."
She chews on her bottom lip, and considers her response carefully. "For months I have felt as if I couldn't even breathe. I suppose I've been having a very difficult time with all of this. I wanted so much to feel excited about this baby, but the entire time I spent growing this human I have worried that something totally catastrophic would happen. In the back of my mind I questioned if our marriage could really handle such a loss. Maybe I thought if everything went to hell in a hand basket having you at a further distance would make the blow less gruesome if our marriage failed to remain intact because of it."