Aloha! So this is the chapter I've been ranting on about for ages..the next one is better, there's a lot of humour in the next one and a lot more scenes with the the GSE boys, I should have that chapter up tomorrow night so if this one sucks, you won't have long to wait. Thank you all so much for the brilliant reviews on the last chapter, I hope this doesn't disappoint. So just enjoy, review and get ready to meet Poppy... :)
"You're joking me, right?"
"Nah," Benjamin shook his head, holding the magazine out in front of Allie and watching as her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Tom Cruise did it…apparently, it was delicious."
"Yeah, well Tom Cruise can eat all the baby goo he wants," she pushed the article away. "I'll stick with these," she held up a Bounty bar and bit into it, humming happily as she chewed and resting her hands on the colossal bump in front of her.
She was already two days overdue and though the nurses had warned her that it wasn't uncommon for first babies to arrive late, both Allie and Pete were getting restless waiting.
"Oh, I can feel one coming," Allie grabbed Benjamin's wrist excitedly and he leant forward, grabbing one of the stray marbles on the coffee table and balancing it carefully on the bump. As though sensing it somehow, the baby inside of her twitched and with a pretty powerful kick to Allie's stomach, sent the marble flying.
"Fuckin' 'ell!" he laughed. "That was impressive!"
"What?" Pete burst into the living room, half a chicken salad sandwich hanging out of his mouth. "What happened? Are you alright?"
"Jesus, how do you cope with him?" Benjamin leant down and whispered in her ear, making her giggled. "Calm down, brother, as you can see, she's still pregnant," he gestured grandly to the bump. "You haven't missed anything other than your spawn demonstrating its freakish ability to play football from inside the womb."
"I know," Pete grinned proudly. "He's got a good ol' kick on 'im, ain't he?"
"You did it again," Allie told him, raising an eyebrow at his sandwich.
"What?" he asked her, taking one more bite and then offering it to her, smiling when she started munching happily.
"You said 'he'," she told him, trying her best to swallow the mouthful of bread as she spoke. "What if it's a girl? You're going to be so disappointed,"
"No, I won't," Pete frowned. "I'll be just as happy,"
"Oh, right," Allie smirked. "So the fact that every time we talk about names, you only come up with boys names means nothing…"
"No," he told her simply.
"And the pair of baby Nike trainers you have stashed at the back of your wardrobe," she laughed as his eyes widened. "I take it they don't mean anything, either,"
"I uh…" he scratched the back of his head. "I'm not saying I don't want a girl…"
"Pete," she shook her head. "Baby, I'm kidding, ok? You're a man, all men want boys, its fact,"
"That's not true," he shook his head.
"Benjamin," Allie turned to the handsome Scotsman and smiled. "You get some girl pregnant…what do you want a boy or girl?"
"You think I care about the baby?" Benjamin laughed. "Sweetheart, I'd be out celebrating the fact that I'd just been laid for the first time in about four months,"
Pete laughed at his friend, glancing at the clock and realising with disdain that it was almost time for them to leave again. As Allie was overdue, Pete wanted to spend as much time with her as he possibly could but having already booked three weeks off of work for after the baby was born, he couldn't really afford to be ringing them up every morning and trying to convince them that he had flu for the fifth time in two weeks. So he and Benjamin would come back here on their lunch break to make sure Allie was ok and to keep her company.
Suddenly, Pete's phone beeped and he rolled his eyes, half expecting it to be the school having another go about him and Benjamin being late back again. Instead, he blinked in surprise when Bovver's name flashed up on screen.
"Ere," he nodded to Benjamin, still looking down at his phone. "The lads wanna know if you're out tonight,"
"Might be," Benjamin pursed his lips. "Depends if Matt gets so rat arsed he pays for all my drinks again,"
"Wait," Allie frowned. "Aren't you going?" she looked at Pete who stared back at her as though she was crazy.
"Allie, you're pregnant," he told her.
"What?" she gasped, staring down at the bump and pressing a hand over her chest. "Oh my God!" she cried. "When did that happen? How the hell didn't I notice?"
Benjamin laughed and picked at the remaining sandwich on her plate.
"Pete," she shook her head. "I'm already overdue, ok? So chances are, I'll still be pregnant when you get in tonight." He opened his mouth to protest but she shot him a look that shut him up. "Baby, you've been nothing short of amazing the last couple of weeks so just…bugger off and have a good night, will you?"
He stared at her reluctantly flinching only when Benjamin launched a piece of cucumber at his forehead.
"I'll make sure he has a good night," he winked at Allie. "That is if the old bastard can keep up,"
"Oi," Pete laughed. "I'm younger than you, you cheeky twat,"
"Aye," the Scotsman raised an eyebrow. "But if I remember last time we went out, you didn't hold your alcohol as well as you used to,"
"Ah," Allie laughed. "Is this the Prague hotel room projectile vomiting story?"
"The very same," Benjamin wrapped his arm around her shoulders and stared off wistfully into space. "It was beautiful really…and most definitely one to tell the minor," he pointed to her baby bump. "Have you tried bribing it to come out?"
"It's on the plan B list," she sighed, patting it affectionately. "Seriously, this kid has the negotiation skills of…" she looked up at Pete and smirked. "Let's just say there's little doubt that it's a Dunham,"
A car pulled into the drive and Pete looked up, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Lara's Mercedes pull up along side the large fountain in the middle of the drive.
"Whose turn is it to Allie-sit this afternoon?" the blonde asked glumly. Pete knew she hated being a burden like this, but someone needed to be with her in case anything happened.
"Lara," he told her, crouching down in front of the sofa and giving Benjamin a grateful look when he stood up and walked out into the hall to greet the windswept red head.
"Hey," he rubbed his hands up and down her legs. "I know this is shit but it won't be for long,"
"I know," she smiled. "It's just…" she looked down at her stomach and laughed softly. "Life as the human blimp is kinda losing its appeal, you know?"
Pete chuckled and sat up beside her, pulling her gently to him so that her head was resting on his chest.
"You look gorgeous," he told her, his voice coming out muffled by her hair.
"Let's hope so," she snorted. "I want to at least look nice when I star in one of those channel 4 documentaries…y'know, 'The Woman Who Was Pregnant Forever,"
"Ooooh, dibs on getting interviewed," Lara quipped, dropping her purse on the lounge chair which sat next to the large fireplace and smirking at the couple on the couch. "I can talk about how I knew you back when you could actually see your toes,"
"Don't joke about it," Allie laughed. "Between the bump and these," she gestured to her chest. "I haven't seen anything below my bellybutton in about six months,"
"That's something I don't really 'ave a problem with," Pete smirked, glancing down at her chest.
"I'll bet," Allie laughed, playfully slapping his face.
"Oh, Petey Pie," Benjamin smirked, leaning against the door frame. "I know its shit, but if we want to keep our jobs and prevent Cassie from trying to corner us in the staffroom again, we better get our ridiculously handsome arses in gear," strolling over to the sofa, he bent over and brushed his lips over Allie's forehead. "I'll see you soon, though, aye, gorgeous?"
"Yeah," she smiled up at him. "Have fun tonight,"
"I'll try," he winked. "Take care of her, red," he patted Lara on the head before making his way out into the foyer.
"I'll be back at 5, alright?" Pete tilted Allie's face up to his and kissed her gently. "You know the rules,"
"Uh-huh," Allie mumbled, her brain not stringing together sentences like it was supposed to, but then again she was finding it hard to concentrate with his tongue brushing along her bottom lip like that. "If anything happens, I call you and you come running."
"Good girl," he smirked, tugging on her top lip with his teeth before letting go of her completely and bending his head to plant a kiss on her stomach. "Don't move until I get back, alright?" he ordered the bump sternly, laughing when he actually felt it kick.
"I love you," he mumbled, kissing Allie once more before grabbing his folder for his next lesson and jogging out after Benjamin.
"Love you, too," Allie called back.
"Me, too!" Lara laughed, staring at Allie. "What? I felt left out."
The front door closed and she skipped over, flopping down on the over stuffed sofa next to the blonde, smiling broadly at her. Lara knew that it was a cliché but Allie was actually glowing. Being pregnant somehow suited her, to the point where she was having a hard time picturing her best friend without the bump.
"So," she smiled, wrapping an arm around Allie's shoulders and playing with a lock of her soft hair. "What boxset are we making our way through today?"
"We've done Scrubs," Allie let out a breath, squinting over to the far side of the room to try and see what was on the large DVD shelf. "And we finished House…so that leaves…Sex and the City?"
"Ugh," Lara wrinkled her nose. "You know that show gives me nightmares,"
"You are not going to turn into Samantha, ok?" Allie laughed, kissing her forehead as she stood up and stretched.
"Time will tell on that one, huh, kiddo?" she smiled. "So, are we staring from the beginning?"
"May as well," Allie shrugged. "I can't see how I've got anything else to do with my time today."
Blinking as her eyes adjusted to the slight darkness of the room, Allie squinted at the TV screen, seeing that the show must have ended long ago as the menu was now playing on repeat, the annoying piano chords of the theme tune echoing through the large room.
Feeling something shift against her leg, she looked down to where Lara was also asleep, her arm locked protectively over Allie's legs as she snored lightly.
Suddenly, the blonde felt her bladder tighten and winced, realising she needed to pee; gently easing out from under Lara, she stood up and waddled over to the door and then froze when a sharp pain tore through her stomach; it wasn't from the baby kicking, it was much more extreme. Bracing herself against the door frame, she hissed and placed a hand on her stomach.
"Allie?" Lara mumbled sleepily, her head peeking up from over the arm of the sofa. "You ok there, hun?"
"Yeah," she answered, nodding more to herself than Lara. "Just fine," she laughed nervously. "It's just someone has obviously woken up in a bad mo-…"
Suddenly something seemed to snap inside her and another ripple of pain shot through her belly and she felt something wet. Looking down at the floor, her eyes widened at the puddle underneath her and for a long second, she prayed to God that she'd just pissed herself.
"Oh. Holy, Shit," Lara shook her head slowly, standing up as well. "Allie, please tell me you're just going through a stage of incontinence?"
"Oh my God," Allie whispered, closing her eyes and feeling fear sweep through her. "Did I…is that…?"
"Oh fuck," Lara gasped. "Your water just broke,"
"No, it didn't," Allie shook her head, trying to remain calm. "I'm fine, look, lets just sit down and finish the series…"
"Allie," Lara shook her head, speaking slowly. "I watch House and ER, ok? I know when someone's in labour. We need to get you to a hospital."
"No," the blonde laughed. "This is just a false alarm…wait till Pete gets home and then we can see if-…oh fuck!" she shouted, bending over again, taking deep breaths as the pain wracked her body.
"Fuck," Lara whispered. "Right, phone…phone, phone, phone, phone," she looked around the living room, searching for the house phone. "Where the fuck is it?" she shouted.
"Sofa," Allie pointed, taking a deep breath.
"Ok," the red head grabbed it and dialled. "Hello, I uh, I need an ambulance…I think…"
"Oh shit," Allie looked up into Lara's eyes and shook her head. "Lara I can't do this,"
"Well, you have to kiddo," she laughed. "This thing is nine months in the making so it was going to have to happen sometime," turning her attention back to whoever was on the phone, she read out the address and hung up.
"Pete," Allie stared up at her, her green eyes widening with fear. "You have to call him and make sure he knows what's going on,"
"Ok, I'm on it now," Lara cupped her face in her hands and gently kissed her nose. "Show time, Allie-Cat,"
After a short moment, Lara hung up the phone, smiling manically and then glancing out the window.
"Where's that ambulance?" she wondered out loud.
"What happened?" Allie demanded, still gripping the door frame. "Why didn't Pete…"
"He's not…really answering his phone at the moment," Lara winced. "I'll keep trying though, maybe if I call the actual school…"
Allie watched as she dialled and bit her lip, waiting for someone to answer; why did this have to happen now?
She didn't have time to think about it as another contraction ripped through her and she doubled over, clutching her stomach.
"Oh, you little shit," she hissed at the bump. "We are so not on speaking terms,"
Lara stared at her in horror, willing someone to pick up the phone before she had to tell the blonde that her husband wasn't going to be at the birth of their child and risk getting her eyes clawed out.
"Good afternoon, St. Marks School for Boys," a posh, croaky voice greeted her.
"Oh thank God!" Lara laughed. "Hi, I'm Lara Knight, I really need to talk to Pete Dunham,"
"Well I'm sorry but Mr Dunham is teaching a lesson," the voice told her curtly. "May I suggest you call back after school hours?"
"No," Lara snapped. "Not really…see I have a slight problem which concerns him…"
"Lara," Allie cried, her eyes squeezed shut. "This kid is trying to kill me,"
"Just put him on the phone," she half yelled. "Please, this really is an emergency,"
"I'm sorry Miss, but we have a protocol to follow during school hours and personal calls do not fall into it," the woman shot back.
"What the fuck is going on?" Allie hissed, cracking one eye open and reaching her hand out. "Give me the phone,"
Too scared to argue, Lara handed the phone over, her eyes shooting over to the large bay window which overlooked the huge paved drive, desperately wanting to see the red and blue lights of the ambulance.
"Hello?" Allie breathed down the phone.
"Hello?" a voice replied.
"Hi there," she sighed. "So listen, I'm Allie, Pete's wife," she explained. "I really do need to speak with him,"
"I understand," the old woman replied. "But as I just explained to your friend, we have a protocol and-…"
"Ok, you know something?" Allie laughed. "I'm nine months pregnant and my water just broke, I'm with my best friend waiting for an ambulance to come get me so I can give birth to my child, which means in the next few hours I can look forward to crapping out something which weighs more than your head so if you don't put my husband on the phone within the next 30 seconds, I will personally ask the paramedics to do a detour to your school just so I can hunt you down and shove your protocol sheet down your withered old neck!"
"O-kay," Lara cried, prying the phone out of Allie's hands and wincing at the colourful reaction of the woman on the other end. "I know, I know, I'm sorry, my friend is just a tad emotional at the moment…" she began jumping up and down slightly, a sure sign that she was nervous.
"I'm sorry for her yelling at you, but please, just if you could get Pete, we really need him here," she bit her lip as silence held the other end of the line.
"I'll put you through to his classroom," the old woman clipped, not bothering to say goodbye as the put Lara on hold.
"Ah!" she cried, jumping excitedly. "Success!"
"What, is he on the phone?" Allie looked up, her green eyes wide with hope.
"He will be in a second, honey," she rubbed her back. "Just hold on,"
"'Ello?"
Lara frowned at the voice she knew all to well.
"Benjamin?" she shook her head. "Where the hell is Pete?"
"Out on the field with the boys, why?" he asked her, the sound of children in the background making it hard to hear him. "Aye, lads, quiet down, yeah?"
"Ok, you need to get him on the phone and I mean now," Lara told him.
"Why? What's happened?" he asked, his voice panicked.
"Allie's water just broke," she cast a glance at the blonde who was still doubled over, muttering to herself. "She's going into labour,"
"Fuck!" the Scotsman shouted and a chorus of 'ummmmm's' poured down the phone. "Keep that to yourselves and everyone gets an A on their next essay," he told the class, getting a series of cheers. "Lara?" he turned his attention back to the girl on the phone. "I'll go get him now, we'll meet you at the hospital ok?"
"Alright," Lara nodded. "But just hurry will you?"
"Aye, just call me Flash Gordon," he smirked, hanging up the phone and turning to his class. "Right boys, chat amongst yourselves for a moment, I've got work to do."
"So after last weeks appalling outcome," Pete smirked at the boys in front of him. "Let's see if the away team can't get their record back on track, eh?"
The boys cheered, rummaging through the bag of football kits to find their own and spreading out over the field.
"We're warmin' up first, alright?" he pointed to Jake who was already kicking the ball in the air. "Unless you wanna end up like me a few months back,"
The boys stared at him in horror remembering how badly his knee had been damaged and immediately stood to attention, dropping the ball onto the floor.
"Right, hamstring muscles first," he pointed to one of the lads at the front. "Show me where,"
The boy pointed to the top of his leg and Pete smiled.
"Good lad," he nodded. "And what 'appens if we chose not to stretch this before we start playing football?"
"You pull a Rooney, sir," one of the lads called out, making him laugh.
"That's right," he grinned. "And we all know that that's a fate worse than death,"
The boys chuckled and started stretching until one of them looked up, frowning when he glanced over Pete's shoulder.
"Are we playing Mr Ellis' class sir?"
"Nah," Pete shook his head. "Why'd say that?"
"'Cos he's running over to us," Jake laughed. "He runs like a penguin,"
"Oi," Pete looked at him sternly. "Don't make fun of his run," he winked. "Its bad enough that he's Scottish and supports Chelsea, ain't it?
The boys laughed and started shouting out to Benjamin as he slowed down, stopping in front of Pete and bending down to rest his hands on his knees, completely out of breath.
"Christ, what 'appened to you?" Pete laughed. "Cassie ain't chasin' you again, is she?"
"You need to…" Benjamin shook his head, taking in another deep breath. "Jesus, I'm so unfit," he stared up at Pete. "Brother, we have to get you to the hospital,"
Pete's eyes widened urgently and he felt his stomach tense; Oh fuck, something had happened after he'd left…why did he have to leave Allie? He should have known that-…
"Allie's in labour," Benjamin watched as his friend seemed to stop breathing, the whistle in his hand falling to the ground as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, obviously trying to speak. "I know I'm pretty Pete, but now might be a good time to stop staring at me and start running,"
"Fuck," Pete stuttered. "Right," he turned back to the boys and shook his head. "Uh…boys I might 'ave to leave you with Ellis, 'ere. Seems I've gotta go 'ave a baby,"
The boys grinned at him and started whistling, cheering him on as Benjamin had to physically shove him towards the classroom.
"Pete, seriously, move," he nodded. "Allie won't want to give birth and get done for your murder all in one day,"
The blonde man nodded, taking a deep breath before breaking into a run, pegging it across the sports field towards the staff car park, not even bothering to change back into his shirt and tie.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
His brain chanted with every step he took…he was about to become a dad. The one thing he hadn't really let himself think about for the past nine months was actually happening; it was fine for Allie to be pregnant, for them to make plans and paint the nursery, but while all that had been going on, they had conveniently blanked it from their minds that at some stage the kid would actually be born.
Pete Dunham was about to become a father. And he wasn't sure he was ready.
"Oh Jesus, this hurts!" Allie screamed, clutching the sides of the bed instead of Lara's hand as she was pretty sure at one stage she had heard a snap.
"I know, honey," Lara brushed a sweaty piece of hair away from her head and smiled.
"I need more drugs," she begged, her bright green eyes already giving away how tired she was. "Tell them I'll give them my Porsche if they give me more drugs,"
"Ok, Allie," Dr. Kane re-entered the room and took a quick peek under Allie's gown. "Right, you're almost at 8cm,"
"No," Allie shook her head. "I can't…I'm not having this God damn baby without Pete here,"
"Allie," Dr. Kane rubbed her foot gently. "I know you're scared, but we need to move you down the hall to the theatre, ok?"
"Oh shit," Allie flopped her head back against the pillow and sobbed. "Lara, I don't want to do this,"
"Hey," she took her hand and squeezed it gently. "You are going to be amazing, ok? If anyone can so this, it's you,"
Allie looked up at her with tears in her eyes and sobbed quietly.
"I really need Pete here," she cried. "I'm scared and I need him here,"
"Ok, Allie, we're moving you down now," Dr. Kane smiled at her as an orderly began pushing the bed towards the double doors and then down the hall.
"Deep breaths," Lara told her, walking alongside the bed. "Huge, gigantic breaths,"
"Ok," Allie nodded, doing as she was told.
"Screw you chubs, I was talking to myself," Lara smiled as her best friend broke out into a fit of giggles, cut off only when another contraction ripped through her.
"Right," Dr. Kane placed Allie's legs up and nodded, taking a deep breath of her own. "You're fully dilated," she smiled. "Which means you're going to have to start pushing in a minute or so, ok?"
"Can't you stall it?" Allie begged her. "Just till Pete gets here,"
"I'm sorry honey," she smiled. "But this baby wants to come out,"
"Well shove the damn thing back in!" she cried. "It's taken its time so far, why is it insisting on being so bloody fast now?"
Suddenly, she screamed and Lara Knight knew in that second, she could kiss her left hand goodbye.
"Is she ok?" Lara cried, looking at the doctor.
"She's fine," she nodded. "This baby isn't willing to hang around anymore," looking up at the young blonde woman over the tops of her knees, she nodded encouragingly. "Ok, Allie, I need you to start pushing, ok? On one…two…three, big push!"
Allie screamed again and pushed as hard as she could, her body already feeling the strains of the birth. Fucking hell, how long was this going to take?
Glancing down at her wedding ring, she threw her head back against the pillows and sobbed.
Where the hell was Pete?
Pete Dunham ran as fast as he could into the entrance of the Royal Marsden Hospital, narrowly avoiding falling over one of the decorative pot plants near the reception desk.
The young woman behind the desk looked up in shock at the large group of young men who were staring at her expectantly, trying to get their breaths back. The gorgeous blue eyed man in front of her smiled faintly and leant against the counter.
"My wife," he gasped. "Fuck it," he muttered, taking a huge breath. "Alyssa Dunham, she's in labour,"
"Ok," the girl smiled. "The birthing ward is down the corridor and up the stairs, look for the St. Michaels' ward."
"You're an angel," he told her before taking off again, running full pelt through corridors, climbing the stairs three at a time until he finally reached the top and practically fell through the door before jogging over to the reception.
"Pete!"
He spun around and saw Bovver standing there, flipping his phone closed and shaking his head, running over and pulling him into a tight hug.
"Where've you been you twat?" he laughed. "We was starting to worry that you'd done a runner,"
"Where's Allie? Is she ok?" he demanded. "What are you lot doin' 'ere?"
"Lara called us," Matt smiled. "She's with Allie in the Giles birthing suite at the end of the hall,"
Not saying another word, he ran up the hall towards the blue door at the end.
"Go on, son!" Bovver shouted at him as the rest of the boys cheered him on.
Nearing the door, he heard a scream and felt his stomach sink; Jesus, she was in so much pain and he hadn't been there for her.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed through and found himself behind the glass screen through which he could see and hear Lara shouting at Allie, trying to get her to breathe.
"Can I help you, sir?" a nurse asked him, frowning.
"That's my wife in there," he pointed through the glass. "How the fuck do I get in?"
"Not without one of these for a start," she handed him a green gown and smiled when he tugged it on in record time before pressing a button and opening the door for him. "Good luck," she nodded for him to step through and he did so, feeling his chest shrink as the nerves hit him again.
"Ok," he heard Lara talking. "You're doing so, so well sweetie, not long to go now,"
"Big push, Allie," the doctor called to her again.
"I can't," she sobbed. "It hurts too much," she shook her head. "And where the fuck is my husband?"
Lara looked up desperately and suddenly her eyes lit up as she caught sight of Pete frozen by the door.
"Pete!" she cried.
"I know his God damn name," Allie shouted. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life cursing it,"
"No," Lara laughed. "He's here,"
"Mr. Dunham," Dr. Kane called. "You're late, but we'll forgive you. How about getting in here and giving your wife someone new to shout at?"
"Pete?" Allie turned her head and looked at him, suddenly bursting into tears at the sight of him.
"Alright," he smirked, coming to her side and gently kissing her, silencing her sobs. "Baby, I'm sorry, I should have-…"
"Apologise later," she cried. "Right now, I just need to you to shut the hell up and hold my hand,"
"I'm going to leave this to you," Lara smiled, leaning down and kissing Allie's forehead. "I'll see you soon, kiddo,"
Waking past them, Pete caught her hand and kissed the corner of her mouth, grinning at her.
"You're a legend," he told her seriously. "I love you for this,"
"I know," she smiled. "Now take care of her for me,"
He nodded and turned back to his wife who was staring up at him with her eyes wide and pleading.
"This really hurts," she whispered. "I hate you, you bastard, this is all your fault."
"I know," he rested his forehead against hers and smiled. "You can slap me one later, but right now, we just need to get through this,"
"We?" she shouted. "You're not the one with a baby trying to shove its bloody head out of your…aaahhhhhhhh!" she screamed again, gripping his hand hard enough to make him wince.
"Ok, Allie, the head is almost out, so just another few minutes," Dr. Kane smiled at her. "Deep breath and then push,"
Allie gripped Pete's hand and took a huge deep breath before pushing down with every ounce of strength she had, screaming something distinctly unladylike before letting out another sob. The doctors had told her that because she was so petite and didn't exactly own a pair of child bearing hips that this would hurt more than normal, but fuck, this was a joke.
"Ok, the head is out, only a few more pushes now,"
"I can't," Allie shook her head and turned it to the side, staring up at Pete pleadingly. "You have to do something, I…I need drugs, I need something,"
"You're doing so well, baby," Pete told her, cupping her face in his hands. "And you're so close,"
"It's easy for you," she cried. "Your end of the bargain was over nine months ago," she glared at him as another wave of pain swept through her. "We're never having sex again," she shook her head. "In fact fuck it, I want a divorce,"
She bit her lip and pushed again, crying out and silently wishing she'd gone about this the celebrity way and had a c-section.
"Aaaaahhhhh!" she screamed. "Oh my God…tell me that was it, please."
"That was the shoulders," Dr. Kane smiled. "It gets easier from here ok, just one last push and we're done," she soothed Allie. "But it's going to be a big one, so get ready,"
"Ok," Allie nodded. "Ok, ok, ok, I can do this," she took a deep breath.
"I love you," Pete told her, kissing her one last time. "I love you so much, and I've never been so fucking proud of you," he smiled. "Come on, Dunham. I'm with you,"
"I hate you," she cried, shaking her head. "You're the bane of my bloody existence,"
"That means you love me though, right?" he laughed.
"More than anything," she smiled and clutched his hand.
"On my count," Dr. Kane told her, counting to three again.
On three, Allie pushed with all her might, ignoring the pain that ripped through her as her scream echoed through the room, mixing with another sudden sound, much shriller and even louder.
"It's a girl," Dr. Kane smiled, holding up the tiny bundle and giving it to a nurse who wrapped her up in a pink blanket. "Congratulations," she smiled up at the young couple. "You have a daughter,"
Allie collapsed back onto the bed and cried for all she was worth, the exhaustion sweeping through her turning her sobs to laughter as she gazed up at Pete who was frozen to the spot.
"We have a little girl," she whispered, shaking her head.
"Fuck." He whispered back, watching as the nurse walked over to them, handing Allie the tiny, squirming bundle.
"Mr and Mrs Dunham," she smiled. "Meet your daughter,"
Allie looked down at the tiny little thing in her arms and laughed as she gurgled and then rested her head against Allie's chest, snuggling closer to her.
"Is she meant to look like that?" Allie frowned at the pink, wrinkled thing in her arms.
"She's perfect," Dr. Kane laughed. "Trust me they all look a little worse for wear when they come out,"
"Oh my God," she whispered, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Pete,"
"She's ours," Pete stuttered, running a shaking finger down the babies cheek.
Suddenly, her eyes opened slightly, bright blue orbs staring up at both of them, taking them in.
"Hey," Allie laughed. "Hey gorgeous," she took her hand and kissed the tiny fingers. "I'm sorry I shouted at you," she whispered, laughing. "Pete, look at her eyes,"
Glancing up at her husband who had been silent for far too long, Allie raised her eyebrows when she saw that he was actually crying. Staring down at the little girl…his little girl. Was this even real? He was sure that when this happened he would know exactly what to do, that he would go into fatherhood mode and take over but he was frozen to the spot. All he was able to do was stare down at the tiny little person and panic, unable to remember loving anything more in his life.
"Do you want to hold her?" Allie lifted her up and placed her in Pete's arms. She gurgled again and kicked slightly, getting comfortable to the stranger. "Are you ok?" she asked.
"I dunno, am I doin' it right?" he looked down at the little girl in his arms as she squirmed and then lay still, content to just listen to the sound of his breathing.
"You're fine," Allie laughed lightly.
"Alright?" he smirked, staring down at the baby, watching as her fists curled up and she dribbled. "Still want that divorce?" Pete grinned at Allie.
"I'll think about it," Allie laughed, reaching up and gently brushing the tears off of his face. "We did good, didn't we?"
"What do you reckon?" he asked his daughter who merely stared up at him blankly. "She ain't exactly chatty, is she?"
"Hi," the nurse smiled gently at them. "I'm sorry but I might need to steal her for a few minutes, just to check her over and then we need to make sure everything's ok with mummy," she patted Allie's hand.
"Where are you taking her?" Pete frowned, holding his daughter a little bit closer.
"Just the nursery," the nurse smiled. "And then she's coming straight back, I promise,"
Handing his daughter over reluctantly, Pete watched as Allie bit her lip and tightened her hand on his, obviously using ever ounce of strength she had left not to leap off of the bed and follow her.
"Don't worry, baby Dunham is in good hands," the nurse told them, placing her in the small crib and playing with her little toes.
"Her name's Poppy," Pete told her, seeing Allie turn to stare up at him out of the corner of his eye. "If that's alright with you?"
Allie looked up at him with tears in her eyes, her breathing shaky as she stared at him. He knew how badly she had wanted to use her mother's name if they had a girl and truth be told, he loved the name as well.
"Are you sure?" she whispered.
"I am if you are," he nodded and swept a piece of hair off of her face.
Allie nodded and smiled as a tear leaked out of her eye and she bashfully wiped it away.
"Poppy it is," the nurse smiled. "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl,"
She wheeled the small cot out of the room and down the hall, leaving Pete and Allie to simply sit there staring at each other.
"We have a little girl," Allie laughed and shook her head. "Is it me or is that…fucking insane?"
"Nah, I'm with you on that one," Pete pressed a kiss against her temple and she sighed. "I'm so proud of you,"
Allie nodded and then looked down, suddenly bursting into tears again, knowing that it was the tiredness making her act like a mad woman.
"What's wrong?" Pete asked her urgently.
"I…" she laughed and wiped her eyes. "I just realised I can see my feet again,"
Pete looked down at her little toes where she was wiggling them to prove a point.
Laughing, he leant down and kissed her gently.
"So what do we do now?" he breathed. "What if we're shit at this?"
"We won't be," Allie smiled, leaning her forehead against his and shook her head. "You panicked, didn't you?"
"Panicked?" he laughed. "Allie, I was pretty much shitting myself on the way over 'ere. Halfway down the road, it suddenly hit me that I'm a dad…I don't know how Steve did this…I remember being in the hospital with 'im and he was so fucking calm." He shrugged and held up a shaking hand. "Look at the state of me." he stared at her, brushing some hair off of her sweaty face and kissing her softly. "You really reckon we'll be alright?"
"Yeah," Allie whispered back, running a hand down his face as she closed her eyes, feeling the tiredness sweeping through her. "I think we'll be fine,"
So there you have it...Allie and Pete are officially parents. As I said the next chapter is pretty funny and has a lot more of the boys in it so it'll be a bit better than this one. But that still doesn't mean I don't want reviews! Please?!