The story takes place after "A tale of three letters" and Shane's announcement to Oliver. "The D-Day" presents Shane's childbirth.
All these wonderful characters not belong to me, but to the very talented Martha Williamson. Thank you to Eric Mabius and Kristin Booth for portraying them the way they do.
The D-Day
It was almost midnight when Shane awakened Oliver abruptly.
"Oliver, it is time. Quick, wake up!" she said to him, shaking him.
When Oliver sat up at his place, he turned his head toward his wife and saw that she was breathing heavily, her hands laid on her belly.
"Don't worry, my love. I'm coming!" he hastened to reply to her.
He walked around the bed and wanted to carry her when a contraction arrived.
"Let me, don't touch me!" she exclaimed, hitting his chest to make him release his grip.
He hurried to put on the pants and shirt he had hung on the door of the bedroom, but he didn't take the time to adjust his outfit. There was a more urgent thing right now. He went back to Shane and took her hand to support her waiting until the pain faded away. As soon as it was possible, he helped his wife sitting up and getting dressed. Then, he helped her to go downstairs and, arriving at the front door, he helped her slipping on her coat and put on his own. He led her, as quickly as possible, to the car and settled her on the passenger seat. A new contraction arrived.
"All this is your fault!" she blamed him.
"What? What did I do?" he questioned, without understanding.
"It's your fault if I'm suffering like this!"
Oliver couldn't help but having a little smile.
"Honey, you know, I was not alone if I recall", he replied kissing tenderly her forehead.
Oliver drove at full speed to the hospital. The gear lever had never squealed so much. He regularly glanced at his wife, who was breathing in time with the contractions. Several times, and between two contractions, Shane couldn't help but argue with him by shouting.
"Oliver, look at the road! It's not the time to have an accident!"
The father-to-be rushed to his destination and stopped just in front of the hospital entrance. Then he got out, left Shane in the car and rushed into the building. There, he threw himself at the first person in scrubs that he found.
"Help me, please. I am going to give birth! Uh…my wife is going to give birth! She is in the car!" he said to the nurse.
They immediately went to take Shane a wheelchair and helped her to sit in it.
"How often are the contractions and when did they start?" the couple was asked.
"I don't know. She has had several in the car", Oliver answered, trying without success to keep control over his panic.
"It started at lunch time", Shane managed to say.
Oliver looked at her with incomprehension and surprise. How couldn't he see anything? His wife was then led away to a room in the maternity ward, to be monitored. A midwife completed observations, a physical exam and attached a monitor for the baby.
"Try to breathe and to rest a little. You will stay in this room until the time of the birth comes. It can take a while. Don't be worried. If there is any problem, don't hesitate to call us. But we won't be far", the midwife explained to Shane while Oliver seemed to have big trouble keeping calm.
"Breath Oliver. breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out", she said to her husband trying to calm him down. "You know that it's you who are supposed to say that to me, not the opposite", she continued smiling.
"I'm so sorry, my love. I really wanted to be strong for you", he replied, disappointed with his reaction.
"But you are, Oliver! You are here. You are with me. You are the strongest man I know", she whispered to him between two contractions putting her hand on her husband's cheek.
"Why didn't you tell me anything in all the day?" he calmly asked her.
"I knew you would be worried as you are right now, and I didn't want you to worry too early", she answered to him with a smile.
Oliver put his hand on Shane's belly and felt the baby moving.
"Are you realizing? Our special delivery is coming. That's it", he pointed out with wonder.
"That's it", she echoed taking his hand.
A new contraction arrived. So, she squeezed the hand she was holding with all her might. Then, the pain gone, she noticed Oliver's face. He hadn't dared to say anything.
"Oh, Oliver! Are you okay?" she worried.
A tender smile lit up the face that was looking at her.
"Don't worry. I have two. You can crush this hand as much as you want, my love", he reassured her. "Try to rest a little. I have a great need of a yoohoo to have my thoughts clear."
"You should go to see if they have it in the cafeteria of the hospital", she suggested to him.
"No way, I don't want to leave you. You never know. Imagine if you…"
"Go ahead, Oliver", she interrupted him. "You need to calm down and I need to rest a little before the baby comes. And the midwife said it could take a while. Don't worry, I won't give birth before you get back", she promised with a wink.
"Alright, I'll go. But above all, wait for me", he asked.
Oliver left the room after giving a last look to the bed.
"Bingo! Double fudge. That's exactly what I needed", he said to himself when he saw the bottle in the dispenser.
Oliver was slowly walking through the corridor sipping his comfort drink, while going back to the room. He was trying to regain his senses. He wanted to be strong for his love. While he arrived at the maternity ward and he was approaching his destination, a voice called out to him.
"But this is the post office guy!" the nurse with pink scrubs exclaimed.
"Oh, but this is you!" Oliver replied to her.
"You look different from the last time", she said after looking at his outfit.
Indeed, Oliver was untidy and not as smooth-shaven as when he had joyfully sung Christmas carols with his team.
"Do you deliver letters in the middle of the night?"
"Uh…well…no. I'm here with my wife. She is about to give birth", he explained.
So, she followed him to the room to be sure the mommy-to-be didn't need anything.
"Oh, but you are the lady from the Christmas choir!" she recognized her.
"Nice to see you again after all this time", Shane smiled to her.
"Do you need something?" she questioned the patient.
Shane thought for a while.
"Truth be told, yes. Could you say to my husband not to worry as he does?" she asked smiling to Oliver.
"That's good, I got it", he answered with a smile that he hoped looked relaxed.
"Call me if you need anything", the nurse concluded leaving the room.
.
.
The hours were passing, and they felt endless for the couple. Oliver was trying to support his wife as strong as he could to relieve her. When she felt good enough, he put his arm behind her back to help her moving and the two of them walked, sometimes in the room, sometimes in the corridor. At some point, a contraction arrived. This one was different. It was harder. So, Oliver led Shane back to her bed and helped her lie down. From this moment, the labor sped up. The time was come. Shane was brought to the delivery room.
Despite the short delay between the contractions, the baby was not coming. Oliver didn't look away from his wife's face. He caressed her cheeks trying to appease her. But the time passed and, except the pain, nothing came. Suddenly, he realized that Shane was exhausted. A burst of panic seized him.
«What if it went wrong for Shane? And for the baby? Childbirth can sometimes turn out wrong." The questions were rushing in his head. He wanted to be strong for his wife and his baby, but breath failed him. He felt as if he was about to faint, the emotion was so strong. All of a sudden, he saw that time was suspended. He looked around the room. The picture had been frozen. Without trying to find out more about what was happening, he hurried out of the room. He urgently needed to remove his mask to breathe. He remembered what Shane had told him earlier, "breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out". He tried desperately to calm the feeling of panic that had gripped him.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice calling him softly.
"Oliver."
When he turned around, Jordan was looking at him fondly. Oliver's angst did nothing but increase.
"No! Are you here to take them?" he said in a whisper, hardly holding back his tears. "I don't want to lose them", he blurted, collapsing into the arms of his visitor.
"Keep calm, Oliver. You are not going to lose them!" he hastened replying. "I came to tell you that this child is a blessing that God gives Shane and you. And what do the Scriptures say about that?"
Slowly calming down, Oliver searched his memory.
"The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,without painful toil for it", the daddy-to-come stated.
"Exactly. Go back to Shane now. She needs you. But be sure, everything is going to be okay", he assured him.
Recovering from his emotions, Oliver put his mask on his face again to go back into the delivery room. He turned for a last look at Jordan and the hall was empty.
Back with Shane, he took her hand in his. At that moment, the time resumed its course. The people who had remained motionless during all this period "awakened".
"Oliver, I'm tired", his wife said to him with tears in her eyes.
"Everything is going to be okay my love. It is almost done", he reassured her.
"The baby is coming. Push one last time", the midwife suddenly asked.
After obeying, Shane rested her head, exhausted. Oliver then brushed the messy blonde hair out of the way. The couple quickly heard a little cry.
"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. O'Toole. You have a beautiful baby boy."
"Well done, my love. You did it." The new parents looked at each other in the eyes and couldn't hold back tears of joy.
Overwhelmed by the emotion, Oliver came closer to the tiny one.
"May I?" He shyly asked the midwife moving his hands toward the newborn.
She delicately placed him in the happy daddy's hands, who Immediately placed their son on Shane's chest.
"Dearest Ma'am, I have a special delivery to give you", he tenderly said to her putting the newborn in the arms that were impatiently awaiting him.
While Oliver and Shane were in a bubble of pure happiness, the midwife came closer to the young daddy.
"Sir, do you want to cut the cord?"
"Really? I can?" he asked with a lit up face.
"Of course!" she replied to him with a tender smile.
She calmly explained to him where he should cut between the clamps. Oliver was afraid of hurting his son, but after being reassured by the midwife, he dared cutting the cord that was linking the baby and his mommy. Then, overwhelmed by the emotion, he bent toward Shane to kiss her on the forehead. He put a protective hand on his son, and a soothing hand on his wife's head.
"I love you so much, my love. You could not make me happier."