Hours later, Laura was growing painfully bored. She certainly didn't miss the pain of contractions, but sitting there doing nothing was torture.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?" he asked, sitting in a chair beside her, resting his head on his hand.

"I'm bored," she complained.

He smiled weakly. "Me too," he admitted.

"Is this supposed to be boring? Isn't this supposed to be the most exciting day of our lives?"

"It will be, as soon as she COMES OUT OF THERE!" he cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled the last part, urging the baby directly.

Laura laughed and shook her head.

"How far apart are your contractions?"

"I can't tell anymore, really," she admitted.

Steve nodded and reached out for her hand. He squeezed it gently. "It's almost time, Sweetums," he assured her.

———————————————————————

Their boredom was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. They expected a nurse to barge in after that knock, but the person waited for a response. Steve stood and opened the door. He smiled brightly. "Mama," he said, opening his arms for Roberta.

"Hi, Steve," she said, hugging him tightly. Roberta stepped into the room, and Herb followed, shaking Steve's hand as he entered. Steve closed the door behind them and watched as they stared awkwardly at Laura.

Laura, ever the charming one in their relationship, smiled her welcoming smile, whether she felt it or not, and lit up the room. She waved them over. "C'mon, y'all. I can't get up and hug you. I can barely feel my legs," she laughed.

Roberta walked to the side of her bed and hugged her. "How are you feeling, Laura?"

"Ok. Nervous?" she laughed. "A little bored. Since they gave me this epidural, I feel like all I'm doing is sitting here."

She nodded. "It's better than the alternative though, huh?"

"Definitely," Laura agreed. "Those first few hours were rough."

"You know," she began, sitting on the edge of Laura's bed and holding her hand. As she settled in, Herb and Steve did too in chairs on the other side of her bed. "I went totally natural with Steve."

"Really?"

"Yes, but not by choice. I had spent the whole day pretending I wasn't in labor. I nearly performed a heart surgery on an eighty year-old man I was in such deep denial. Thankfully, Herb ran into me in the scrub room, holding onto the sink for dear life and breathing like I had channeled every one of my ancestors. He stopped me before I could kill that poor, old man."

Laura laughed. "I cannot imagine trying to hide contractions like that."

"By the time Herb got me into a bed, I had to start pushing. It was way too late for an epidural."

"Oh, no!"

"And you may recall, Steven's head was bigger than most."

"You never let me forget it," Steve added with a laugh and snort.

Laura definitely did recall. She had asked at every ultrasound appointment for as many specifics as possible about the size and shape of her baby's head. If she was going to take after her father, and her father's father, Laura wanted to know about it well in advance, but Dr. Walker promised her again and again that her head was completely average.

———————————————————————

As Carl paced around the waiting room, Harriette stood and finally blocked his path. "Carl," she said firmly. "You need to sit down. You're making everybody dizzy."

"I can't yet, Harriette."

"Then why don't you go up and see how Laura's doing? Maybe it'll take your mind off of it."

Carl shook his head. "I can't do that either. I don't wanna ruin this day for her."

"You won't, honey. I'm sure she's worried sick about you anyway, and I'm sure she's thinking of Mother Winslow. You can give her an update."

"We don't have an update!" he complained.

"That can be a good thing. You could go tell her that."

"Harriette, I can't do anything but be here," he said firmly.

"Ok. Then come sit down with me," she said just as firmly. She took his hand and led him back to a chair. She sat beside him and held his hand tightly. "There are about to be four generations of your family in this hospital," she whispered to him. "Doesn't that make you so proud?"

Carl smiled softly for the the first time in awhile. "Yes," he admitted.

"You're going to be a grandpa. I'm going to be a grandma."

He looked her in the eye again and smiled flirtatiously. "Damn, you look good for a granny, girl."

She laughed, and she was relieved that he laughed with her. "We have so much ahead of us Carl. I know this is scary. You know how hard it was for me when I lost my mom, but… it gets better. You know it does. You miss your dad, but it doesn't take up your whole world like it used to. Blue skies always come back."

He nodded. "I know. I know that I'll survive it when it happens, but…"

"But?"

"I really don't want it to be today." He looked away from her as he teared up.

She rested her head on his shoulder as he sniffled. "Me neither."

"You know, I've always been glad that Laura and Steve waited to have kids. I wanted Laura to finish law school first. I didn't want her to have to balance kids with school, but suddenly, I wish they'd started trying right away. My mother loves those two so much. She would have had fun spending a few years with her great-grandkids."

"She will, Carl. She will still get to know her great-grandkids."

"Yeah, but during chemo? It won't be the same, and who knows how long she'll have after that. If there even is an after-chemo for her."

"Only one man knows," she said, pointing upward.

Carl nodded. He took her other hand in his. "Will you pray with me, sweetheart?"

Harriette nodded. "Of course." She turned to the rest of their family. "We all should," she said louder, waving them closer.

———————————————————————

After a couple of hours, Herb and Roberta stepped out into the waiting room to give them some privacy. Laura looked at the clock. "Steve?"

"Yeah?" he replied.

"I think I'm gonna try to nap for a while. It looks like this baby's planning on arriving in the middle of the night, and I'm so tired."

"Ok, Sweetums," he agreed. He stood and leaned over her, kissing her forehead. "I'll just go tell the nurses so they don't interrupt you too much, and then I'll head down to see how everything's going with Estelle so you can rest."

"No. Don't you dare," she exclaimed. "I want you here. Go tell the nurses and your parents that we're gonna sleep, run down for a quick update, and then come spoon me."

Steve smiled. "Ok, Sweetums. I don't think I can spoon you post-epidural, but I'll be right back to cuddle you however I can. Where there's a will, there's a way." He walked toward the door but stopped when it swung open.

"All right, Laura. Let's see how you're doing," the nurse exclaimed.

Steve stepped back by her side as the nurse got between her legs. She popped up between them quickly. "Ten centimeters."

"Really?!" Laura exclaimed excitedly, trying to sit up.

"Yes, ma'am, so we're gonna go ahead and get you into position," she said, pulling part of the bed away.

"So I can start pushing?"

"Are you feeling any pressure? Sort of like you need to have a bowel movement?"

Laura cringed. "No?" she replied as the nurse helped her into the stirrups.

"Then save your energy, sweetie. You're gonna need it. I'll notify Dr. Walker, but she'll likely tell me to give you a little more time to feel that baby really hitting your pelvic floor. Are you feeling any pressure during your contractions at all?"

Laura shrugged. "I can't really feel anything down there."

The nurse nodded. "Totally normal, but Dr. Walker may suggest we pull back on your epidural a little bit. Just enough to give you some sensation down there but still control the pain."

Laura nodded nervously, glancing at Steve. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"I'm sure Dr. Walker will be down soon," the nurse said as she left.

Laura stared after her, feeling deeply concerned about the upcoming portion of the birth. Then Steve spoke.

"Ten centimeters?"

"Yeah, I guess," Laura agreed, smiling nervously at his goofy excitement.

He blushed slightly and pursed his lips. "Can I peek?"

Laura cringed. "Are you sure you want to? I mean, you're still required to have sex with me if you look at it. It doesn't just become a baby tunnel after this," she laughed.

"Oh, I majored in biochemical engineering. I aced my biology courses. How bad could it be?" Steve shrugged.

Laura shook her head. "All right," she chuckled. "Have at it."

Steve smiled excitedly and walked to the sink. He washed his hands and pulled two gloves from the box on the wall.

"Seriously?" she laughed. "Are you going to give me an exam?"

"You're all opened up down there, my pet. I have to be careful so I don't put you or Baby at risk of infection."

"Ok, Dr. Urkel."

"Ooo, you know how I love it when you use my title," he purred, wiggling his eyebrows. He made his way down to the edge of the bed. He got between her legs and sat on the stool her nurse had left.

"You know, if you get caught doing this, Dr. Walker is going to be upset," Laura warned. "You remember how annoyed she got with you always hovering over her shoulder during my exams."

"She'll get over it," he said with a wave of his hand. He grabbed the blanket and lifted it slowly. He ducked his head under the blanket, still lifting it high so the room's light could illuminate it. He reached forward and pressed her walls apart. Finally, his eyes focused on parts of her deep within her entrance.

Laura waited patiently for a reaction, but one didn't come. "Well? Still porn worthy?"

Steve tried to get words out. He knew she was growing self-conscious, but he'd never seen or felt anything like this. Sure, he'd seen videos and photos of exactly this phenomenon in his bio classes, he'd seen a couple of animal births in-person, and he'd even delivered one baby at Oktoberfest, but this was his wife. This was Laura. This was an area of her body that he'd memorized by this point in their marriage, but her sacred insides had changed. That much was certain.

Laura heard no response, only his body crashing to the floor. "STEVE?!" she cried as she reached over and pushed her call button.