Chapter Six

Anna's labor had begun only an hour ago, and the contractions were sporadic. However, the couple was still in the car on their way to the hospital. Given their history, they didn't want to take any chances of something going wrong, and the doctors understood that and had not pressed them to follow the 5-1-1 rule before coming in, instead telling them to do whatever made them feel most comfortable.

"How are you feeling, love?" John asked his wife as he drove.

"Nervous, happy, excited, in pain," Anna spilled out her mixed emotions. She was mostly excited to meet their little baby, although she had to admit that the reality of giving birth was a bit nerve-wracking.

"That's all to be expected, my love. I'm excited though."

"You're not the one who has to give birth," Anna teased.

"I know, but I have to witness it," he teased back, making her laugh before growing more sincere in his comments. "Seriously, though, I know you can do this. You are so strong and brave, and you are the most amazing mummy in the whole world."

"And you are the most amazing daddy," she replied, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek before sitting back and stroking her bump while they ventured on to the hospital. This was the start of a new chapter in their life. The baby that had grown inside her for the past 39 weeks and 2 days was finally ready to meet them, and she couldn't wait.


They had been at the hospital for around 10 hours now, with Anna only having been two centimeters dilated when they first arrived and progressing slowly without regular contractions for the first several hours. Her water had finally broken a few hours ago and sped things up along with it, so now it was finally time for Anna to start pushing.

As the nurses helped Anna get into a good position and instructed her in some practice pushes, John watched his wife in awe. She had been a rockstar throughout the entirety of her labor, and she still was even now. She was handling the pain like such a trooper, and he knew he could never have dealt with the pain and exhaustion as well as she had. He took his place by her side and pressed a kiss to her temple before she took his hand and squeezed it as she pushed.

Anna pushed for 20 minutes, but it seemed things were at a plateau. She was worn out and beginning to feel anxious about what lay ahead. She knew she needed to push to get the baby out, but she also knew there was a chance the baby could come out and not cry. So, she didn't want to push, but then that also made her anxious about coping with the pain of keeping the baby in. "I can't do this," she murmured breathlessly. "They can stay in there, I'm not doing this."

"You can do this, love," John whispered in her ear at the same time as the nurse, Kimmy, told her the same thing.

"You are making such good progress," Kimmy assured Anna, although Anna didn't feel like it. She winced in pain and shook her head, starting to feel a little defeated. "That stinging pain you're feeling is because the baby is crowning, and it won't last forever. Baby's almost here," Kimmy encouraged as she gently took Anna's hand and placed it between her legs so she could feel the baby crowning.

The second Anna felt her baby's head, she felt the motivation to meet her baby grow again. "That's my baby?" she asked, smiling when Kimmy shook her head affirmatively.

"Yes. Just give us a few more pushes, and you'll get to meet them. Think you can do that?"

Anna nodded before moaning as another contraction came on. Pressing her chin to her chest, she pushed as best she could and leaned into John for support. He was her rock right now, and she was so grateful to be bringing their baby into the world with him by her side.

Another fifteen minutes went by with John right by her side, telling her how marvelous she was doing and how strong she was. Those words were the motivation she needed to get her baby here. As she pushed what the doctor assured her would be her last push, she could feel the dread welling up inside her. She was so anxious to hear her child's first cries, to know that they were alive and well. She wouldn't be able to bear the alternative. As she let out her final groan and felt the baby's foot slide out of her, she breathed heavily in anticipation. The doctor gave her baby's back a quick rub, and Anna heard the cries she longed to hear. "Thank God," she whispered and looked over at John with tears in her eyes and saw the tears in his own. Their baby was here and making its presence known.

It was then she felt something warm and a bit slimy on her chest. "My baby," she said with utter joy as she looked down at the baby and wrapped her arms around it gently. It had John's dark hair and her small nose. In all her worry and with all the commotion of the doctors and nurses communicating with each other about their baby's arrival, she realized she hadn't heard when the doctor told her the sex of the baby. She gently scooped her baby up closer to her and kissed its head before peeking down. She looked to her husband and spoke in a tone that was soft from exhaustion yet in no way masked the pride and joy she felt. "We have a son, John."


Once their family had been taken to the recovery room, they began to discuss names. They had talked about it somewhat during the pregnancy, but they hadn't officially decided. "Do you still like Simon?" John asked her as they both stared down at the baby in Anna's arms.

"Yes," Anna responded. "I think he looks rather like a Simon. And I like the meaning: listen."

"We want him to be a good listener, that's for sure." John chuckled softly. "And we only have him here because we listened to each other and made decisions together throughout our journey to conceive him."

"That is all true, so I guess that's settled," Anna stated softly before moving on, "Now for a middle name. I'm still quite partial to Oliver."

"I'm not the biggest fan of passing down names for the sake of passing down names, Anna."

"But we gave James the middle name William after my dad."

"Yes, but he was special to you, and a good example of a kind man."

"And you aren't?" Anna asked, somewhat teasingly yet slightly irritated at John's stubbornness. "You are so very special to me, and you are an amazing role model of how a man ought to be. Why shouldn't the baby share your middle name?"

"I just don't want to seem egotistical in some way."

"I don't see it that way," Anna assured him. "What could be less egotistical than abiding by your wife's wishes?"

"Well, when you put it like that," John couldn't help but chuckle, and a wide smile formed on his lips. He was just so happy their baby was here, he couldn't protest anymore. If his wife wanted their son to have the same middle name as him, then so be it. He gently caressed his baby's cheek. "Welcome to the world, Simon Oliver Bates"


A/N: Well, here's the start to a happy ending for the Bateses! This will be the last chapter I post for a few weeks because I'm going out of the country for the next 10 days, but I will try to get the last couple chapters up asap when I get home. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and I'd so appreciate a review if you have a minute.