Growing Pains
Part 2
“I like the oak colored crib,” Lorraine stated as she and Johnny looked over the displays at a local baby store. “It’ll go better with the bedding.”
Johnny looked at the packages of blankets and baby sheets stacked on top of the boxed mobile in his hands. The items were white with assorted colored cartoon animals on them. A red elephant, kitten and bunny, blue kangaroo and pony, yellow teddy bear and mouse. He had to agree. A brown crib would likely go best. White bedding was enough, although the walls of the room were pale yellow.
“Look, there’s even a changing table to match,” she said pointing to it not far from the crib.
“What about this?”
Both turned to see Lorraine’s mother pushing a baby buggy in their direction. Though Lorraine had done as Johnny suggested when her mother wouldn’t accept the ‘we’re doing this as a couple’ answer, he couldn’t stand the thought of hurting his mother-in-law’s feelings either. It *is* her grandchild, he reminded himself. Thus she ended up on the shopping spree after all.
So *that’s* where she wandered off to, Johnny thought as he eyed the buggy. I *knew* there was a reason I wanted her to stay home.
“Uh. . .” He didn’t want to give away the surprise that was waiting for them. . .or rather Lorraine. Though the captain and the rest of the engine crew thought they were also keeping it from him, Roy finally had to give a huge hint to his partner that they wouldn’t need to buy a baby buggy, as Captain Stanley and the others had worked diligently to get one with trading stamps. “Uh, I think the plan was to just get the stuff for the baby’s room today,” he offered politely.
“But you’ll need one of these when you take the baby for walks in the park.”
“And we’ll get one,” he stated with a forced smile. “When it’s time.”
“I’ll even pay for it.”
“Oh, isn’t that sweet?” Lorraine asked. She stepped over to look at the buggy, as Johnny motioned with his head for her mother to follow him a moment. After a brief and tactful whispered explanation, Lorraine’s mother found herself talking her daughter out of needing the baby buggy. As a result, she offered to pay for the crib instead.
I *knew* there was a reason I wanted her along, Johnny thought to himself.
~*~*~
“So you still gonna come over tomorrow after we get off duty and help me put the crib together?” Johnny wondered as he and Roy climbed out of the squad after returning from a false alarm call.
“Sure. I still don’t see why you just didn’t get your mother-in-law to help. It would’ve given you a chance to bond,” Roy smirked.
Johnny came around the front end of the squad. “Yeah. . .and probably never speak to each other again if we ran into a problem. Man, have you ever seen the instructions for those things? Well, I mean, I know you have. Of course you have; after all, you’ve got two kids. But you know what I mean. Everything is ‘A’ this, ‘B’ that, ‘C’ and ‘D’. Nothing is a simple, like take the left rail and attach it to the end.”
“This coming from a guy who said he could take apart a kid’s bike and fix it.”
“Yeah, and look how that ended up.”
“Well, you wouldn’t have Chet helping you with the crib.”
“Hey, I heard that,” came a voice from the rear of the apparatus bay.
The two paramedics watched as Chet Kelly sauntered up to them.
“You told me to see what I could do with that bike. Could I help it if the thing fell apart? Besides, it all turned out okay, right?”
“Yeah, thanks to a twelve-year-old kid.”
“Well, John, maybe you should get him to put the crib together.”
Johnny rolled his eyes. “Cute, Chet. Real cute. Look, Roy put together his kids’ crib. I’m sure he can help me with mine.”
The three headed for the dayroom to grab a cup of coffee, Roy not sure he was ready to tackle another crib assembly. He didn’t want to tell his partner that it took him, Joanne and his father-in-law to get theirs together correctly.
~*~*~
Soon all thoughts of the crib were gone as the station was toned out for a fire at a restaurant. Though everyone had gotten out, the paramedics still had a few smoke inhalation victims, two of which required further treatment at Rampart.
While Roy was still in Treatment Room Three with one, Johnny came out of another treatment room after leaving the other victim with Doctor Morton. He smiled wide when he saw Dixie just returning to her desk near the base station.
After pausing while two nurses walked past him, both giving the dark-haired paramedic a long glance, he made his way to the desk while briefly eyeing the backsides of the young nurses.
“Hey, Dix,” he greeted when the head nurse noticed him approaching.
“Well, how’s the father-to-be?”
“Great! I’m great! I’ll be even better once Roy and I get the baby crib put together tomorrow.”
“How’d you mange to rope him into that?”
He shook his head, amazed at just how well she had them pegged. “I called ‘im at home. I guess Joanne was in the room because he had to break away from our conversation to explain that everything was okay with Lorraine, I just needed help assemblin’ the bed. After that he couldn’t say ‘no’.”
“That certainly worked out to your advantage.”
“Yeah, but I think he woulda’ done it anyway. Maybe not whistling while we work, but he’d of helped.”
Dixie nodded with a warm smile. “So how is Lorraine feeling?”
“Pretty good. She’s had a few backaches; runs to the bathroom a lot,” he added with a smile. “But overall, pretty good.”
“Any names for the little one yet?”
“I’m still waiting for that list to come out, too,” Roy stated as he joined them.
Johnny rolled his eyes at the comment, then addressed her question. “No.” With a glance at Roy, he added, “And you won’t see a list. We thought we’d have one started by now too. But now that it’s serious business, we can’t pick one name, let alone make a list of several.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding.”
Johnny shook his head at Roy’s comment and pulled a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to Dixie. “That’s our list.”
She glanced at the white sheet and handed it to Roy as she said with a shrug, “It’s blank.”
Roy eyed it, then looked to his partner, the paper still in his hand. “Why don’t you use the old list?”
Johnny took the paper from him. Folding it back up and returning it to his pocket, he once again shook his head. “We’ve gotta think of a name that belongs to this baby. Not from some game we were playin’. Nope, it’s gotta be with this baby in mind.”
Roy exchanged a glance with Dixie. “At this rate, the kid’ll leave the hospital as just ‘baby Gage’.”
“Oh, he will not,” Johnny defended. “We’ve got plenty of time. Plenty.” In fact, it seemed to him that the pregnancy was lasting forever. I never thought nine months could feel like two or three years. . .
~*~*~
Johnny stood near the end of the crib watching his partner tighten the last bolt on one of the sides of the baby bed.
“I still don’t see why you couldn’t. . . get your father-in-law to help you with this,” Roy stated as he glanced at his friend.
“He’s not into this baby stuff. ‘Sides, I figured you missed doin’ this kind of stuff.”
“So this was for my benefit, huh?”
The younger man grinned, but didn’t answer. Suddenly the grin turned to a puzzled frown. “Uh. . .Roy. Shouldn’t the releases be on the other side of the rail?”
Roy studied their work a moment. “We got it backwards . . .”
The two gave each other a disbelieving look and sighed.
Roy loosened the bolt he’d just tightened as Johnny commented, “Good thing cribs can be recycled from one kid to another. I don’t think I wanna do this again.”
The senior paramedic bit back the temptation to remind his friend that he’d just said that he thought Roy missed building a crib. Instead he brought up another topic Johnny had months before.
“What if you have another baby while this one is still in the crib stage? You know, to fill up your station wagon. Then you’ll have to put another one together.”
“Roy, don’t even say that. We’ll space ‘em apart.” As they unassembled the crib, he reiterated, “We’ll space ‘em well enough apart.”
“The cribs or the babies?” he teased.
“Oh, real funny. The babies, of course.”
But as he glanced around the room that would soon be a nursery, Roy couldn’t help but picture a line of three cribs in a row with Johnny. . .and himself. . . assembling another while a baby and toddler siblings busied themselves with toys.
~*~*~
Later that night, Johnny and Lorraine stood looking over the crib. Though no bedding was in place yet, just imagining the set up with a baby sleeping in it was enough for them. Johnny put his arm around his wife’s waist and smiled.
“Man, I can’t believe I waited this long to have a family. Nothin’ beats this. Nothin man.”
“Well, I’m glad you waited, or there wouldn’t have been an ‘us’ and this baby wouldn’t even be happening.”
He looked at her, taking in her beautiful features. Though her face was fuller from her weight gain, she was as radiant to him as ever, especially in the soft light coming from a lamp on a dresser in the room. Lorraine returned the gaze and the two kissed deeply as they embraced.
“I love you,” he said after they ended the kiss.
“I love you, too.”
Johnny stepped back as he felt a slight kick against him through her. “I think someone else has a little somethin’ to say.”
Lorraine rubbed her rounded belly gently with one hand; Johnny placed one of his on it as well and waited for another movement. A smile spread across his face and he squatted down.
“Now don’t you be keeping your mommy awake all night tonight, kiddo,” he said with a shake of a finger.
Lorraine playfully swatted his hand away then hurried off to the bathroom.
Johnny turned out the light and headed for their bedroom. He quietly closed the door to the nursery after taking one last peek inside.
Everything was coming along fine.
~*~*~
One week later. . .
“Honey?” Lorraine shook Johnny’s shoulder to wake him up. “John!”
“Wha. . .?” He rolled over and bleary eyed, looked at his wife in the moonlight streaming in from a gap between the curtains. “What is it?”
“Something’s wrong.”
Alarmed by the fear in her voice, he immediately sat up and turned on the light. Lorraine was crying.
“Whatsa’ matter?” he asked worriedly as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I think I’m going into labor.” She wiped at her eyes.
“You’re having contractions? Right now?”
She nodded as she wiped away another tear. “It’s not bad, but it’s regular.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“I don’t know. Awhile. I didn’t wanna disturb you until I was sure I needed to. But it woke me up, then when I felt a couple more, I woke you up.”
Johnny threw back the covers and got out of bed. “It could be false labor, but if the contractions were strong enough to wake you up and they’re regular, it’s probably not. I’m not takin’ any chances anyway.” Standing near the dresser, he asked, “How far apart are they?” as he pulled a pair of jeans on over his blue boxer shorts.
“I don’t know. . .I guess around ten minutes. Johnny, I’m scared. It’s too soon.”
“I know, but don’t worry,” he soothed as he pulled a shirt from the closet. He also grabbed a robe for her while she got out of bed as well. “The doctor can give you something to stop the labor.”
Johnny briefly considered calling an ambulance, but with very little traffic on the streets during the night and the contractions so far apart, he figured it was better for Lorraine that they go in one of their own cars. He wanted to downplay his concern to avoid causing his wife even morestress, which could possibly make the situation worse.
He handed her the robe. “Put this on and I’ll take ya to Rampart.”
His shirt still partially unbuttoned, Johnny helped Lorraine get the robe on. When he saw more tears pool in her eyes, he let out a sigh and gave her a reassuring hug. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. I’m not gonna let anything happen to the baby if I can help it.” Johnny kissed her gently on the forehead, then flashed a crooked smile. “It’s gonna be all right,” he assured again, not certain if it was more for himself or her.
I just hope the contractions *can* be stopped. And they can figure out why they started so soon. . .
~*~*~
“How’re you feeling now, Mrs. Gage?” the obstetrician on call asked as he joined Johnny and Lorraine in an examination room for a second time. As soon as the couple had arrived at Rampart, Lorraine was whisked up to OB where she was given an IV of normal saline and a dose of terbutaline. The saline was to address dehydration, the other to stop the contractions.
She glanced at Johnny, who was standing beside the exam table holding her hand. She was lying down, the IV still in her left arm. Lorraine directed her attention to the doctor. “Better.”
“Still no more contractions?”
She shook her head slightly. “No.”
“Great. I think we’ll leave you on the IV a little while longer, just to be safe. But I want you to be sure and drink plenty of fluids the remainder of your pregnancy. As you now know, you were a little dehydrated when you came in and I’d say that’s what triggered the early labor.” To Johnny he stated, “You know, your wife is very fortunate that the contractions didn’t move the baby down nor cause the cervix to dilate.”
The paramedic nodded.
“When’s your next appointment with Doctor Hanson?”
“Day after tomorrow,” Lorraine supplied.
“Good. This’ll all be in your file, of course, but I’ll let him know what happened as well. I’m sure he’ll agree you should be able to continue on with a normal pregnancy until the baby’s actually due.”
Roy’s comment about the infant going home as ‘baby Gage’ came to Johnny’s mind as he listened. Had the birth happened so soon, he probably would’ve been right in a sense. Although the baby would’ve likely had to stay at the hospital awhile, technically it would’ve been born as ‘baby Gage’.
We’ve really gotta think of a coupla names. . .
Shoving his other thoughts aside, he asked, “When can she go home?”
The doctor folded his arms across his chest and gave it a moment of thought. “I’d like to keep her here a couple of hours for observation, just to be doubly sure the contractions don’t start up again. We’ll move her to a room here shortly.”
“Okay, thanks, Doc.”
The obstetrician nodded and headed for the exit to get things set for Lorraine’s brief stay.
“I’m sorry.”
Johnny looked down to see Lorraine with an apologetic expression on her face.
“For what?”
“I almost caused our baby to come two months early.”
“No you didn’t.” He brushed back a lock of her blonde hair with his free hand. “I’m the one who’s s’posed to know what kinda things can happen and watch out for ya. Besides, haven’t you heard? ‘Almost’ doesn’t count. Just be sure you drink enough fluids from now on like he said.”
“I will. . . .Now what about you?”
“Whataya mean?”
“You’ve been up since about two o’clock. How’re you gonna work on that little of sleep?”
“Hey, I’m a fireman. I thrive on lack of sleep,” he teased. Then growing serious, he explained, “I’m gonna call in.”
“Can you? I mean, everything’s okay now. . .”
“That’s true. It looks like everything’s gonna be fine. But I’d like to get us a little bit of a distance away from this time-wise before I leave ya alone. And I know your mom could stay with ya,” he admitted, anticipating that to be another subject brought up. “But I wanna be there for you and the baby. I don’t wanna leave right after our first little crisis.”
Lorraine had to admit she would much rather have him at home.
The door opened interrupting the conversation, and in came a nurse with a wheel chair, followed by the doctor. It was time to settle in for a couple of hours.
~*~*~
Roy was surprised to have a temporary partner, though he understood Johnny’s reasoning. The two had talked after Johnny got home and telephoned to let him know what exactly had happened, and that Lorraine and the baby were doing all right.
“Lemme talk to Cap, okay?”
“Sure.”
Roy filled the others in while Hank was on the phone. As the captain hung up, the senior paramedic finished with, “It wasn’t really a close call, but it could’ve turned into one.”
“Wow, Lorraine and Johnny are lucky,” Marco stated. “My cousin Bonita went into early labor with her first baby and she had him six weeks early. There was no stopping that boy. He came home after an extra five weeks in the hospital.”
“My mother had my brother a few weeks early,” Mike put in. “Luckily it was only about three weeks though.”
“You think I should send Vanessa over there later with a tuna casserole?” Chet wondered. “I mean, isn’t that what people usually do when stuff like this happens?”
“Well, while I’m sure it would bring a smile to John’s face,” Hank stated with a grin, “I’m not so sure that’s the best thing for Lorraine.”
Chet appeared puzzled, thus Roy explained, “Would you wanna see a woman of Vanessa’s. . .uh. . .stature. . .in your home if you were about twenty pounds heavier than usual and looking like you swallowed a half-inflated basketball?”
“But Lorraine’s pregnant,” Chet said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Hank stated.
When Chet looked to him, Roy backed up the captain’s words.
“He’s right. It doesn’t matter if she’s supposed to be heavier. Trust me, sometimes pregnant women’s emotions get the best of them. Johnny and Lorraine’ll do okay on their own. Besides, they could use some extra time alone to think of some names for the baby.”
And they’d be wise to start now, he thought to himself.
“All right,” the mustached fireman reluctantly agreed. “If you say so.”
“Okay, now that we’ve got that settled,” the captain said with a clap of his hands, “have we decided when we want to give them the baby gift?”
Roy shrugged. “Joanne’s gonna go to the shower, but she hasn’t gotten an official invitation yet. I think she said it was supposed to be in about four weeks; July seventh or eighth. We could be sure Lorraine gets it then.”
“I’d kind of like to surprise them at the same time,” Hank said. “And see their reactions.”
“Well, Johnny kno--” Roy cut himself off in what he hoped was soon enough not to give away that he’d strongly hinted to his friend what they were getting.
“What?”
“Uh. . .nothin’, Cap. Just that . . .uh. . .Johnny knows that the mother-to-be usually gets to see the gifts first. You know, because of the shower. And unless anyone here likes tasting baby food and guessing what it is or diapering a baby doll for practice, I’d suggest we leave the party to the women.”
“What if we take it over to them in about three weeks?” Mike suggested.
“Yeah,” Marco agreed. “Like a couple of days before the shower. That way if someone else gives Lorraine the same thing, she’ll return theirs and not ours because she got it first.”
Chet shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”
“Me too,” Roy added.
“Great! We’ll do it then,” Hank decided.
~*~*~
Two weeks later:
Johnny came into the locker room with a wide grin on his face, prompting his partner to become curious.
“Okay, what’s going on? You look like the cat that ate two canaries.”
“We’ve got names, Roy. We’ve finally got names.”
Roy stood looking at the younger man reaching into the locker next to his to get a uniform shirt.
“Well, there went thattwo bucks,” Chet grumbled from the next set of lockers over from theirs.
“What?”
“Nothin’. So what’re the names? Roy really looks like he wants to know.”
Still ignoring his curious partner, Johnny kept his attention on Chet. “You bet two bucks that we wouldn’t have a name for the baby?”
“Well, yeah,” the curly haired fireman shrugged. “What’s wrong with that?”
“What’s wrong with it? You’re betting on my kid! He’s not even born yet and you’re placing a bet on ‘im. Or her,” he quickly added.
“Well, actually, John, it’s not on him.”
But as he tried to clarify, Johnny’s attention was already back to Roy. “Did you know about this?”
“I knew about it, but it’s not what you think.”
“Whataya mean? It’s a bet being placed on the baby.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Gage,” Chet clarified again. “It’s on you . . .that you wouldn’t be able to come up with names this soon. It’s got nothin’ else to do with the baby.”
“Oh. Well, who’s all in on this bet?” he wondered, looking from Chet to Roy and back to Chet.
“Me, Dwyer, Marco, Kirk, Leon from 8’s.”
“Man, I can’t believe you guys. Betting on a baby’s name.”
“On you,” Chet reminded.
“So who won?”
“I don’t know. We’re all pretty far off.”
“Do you believe this?” Johnny asked Roy, as if he hadn’t admitted he already knew. But the senior paramedic’s answer wasn’t what his partner expected.
“I’m ready to start a new bet. . .on how long it’ll be before you tell me what names you and Lorraine picked.”
“Nice. Okay,” he said, giving one last glare in Chet’s direction. His face brightened as he gave out the information. “Joshua Roderick or Emily Claire.”
“Roderick?”
“Okay, what’s wrong with Roderick?”
“Have you forgotten you don’t like that name?” Roy wondered.
“I like it. . .I mean, I turned out okay with the middle name Roderick.”
Chet snorted. “That depends on who you ask.” But when he got another annoyed look from the paramedic, he held up his hands. “Kidding, I’m just kidding.” He closed his locker and shook his head. “And Cap said women get edgy when they’re expecting a baby,” he grumbled as he walked out of the room and into the dorm.
After he watched Chet leave, Johnny looked expectantly at Roy. “So, whattaya think?”
“I like the names.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “I really do.”
Happy to have Roy in agreement, the younger man smiled wide. Until his friend had another thought.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if they discovered Lorraine was carrying twins?”
Johnny did a double take, a disbelieving expression on his face. It wouldn’t be very funny to him.
~*~*~
Later in the morning, the squad was sent out on a call involving a fall from a roof. A man had been cleaning the gutters on his house when he’d lost his footing and taken a tumble to the ground. Suffering a broken arm and a few other minor injuries, he was taken to Rampart for treatment.
Once they’d left the victim with Doctor Brackett, the two paramedics joined Dixie McCall at her desk.
“Okay, spill,” she said when she saw the eager grin on Johnny’s face. “You look like you’re ready to burst with news.”
“We’ve got names.”
The nurse stared blankly a moment. “Names?”
“Uh huh,” he said, rocking slightly on his feet. “You know, for the baby.”
“Oh! Well, that’s wonderful. I guess your prediction the baby would go home as ‘baby Gage’won’t come true after all,” she commented to Roy.
“And I can’t tell you how happy I am about that.”
“So what’re the names?”
“Joshua Roderick or Emily Claire.”
“Roderick? I thought you didn’t like that name.”
Johnny shot an irritated glance at Roy, who was beaming. “Don’t say it.” He then addressed Dixie’s comment. “I like it,” he assured with a slight nod. “I like it.”
“And he turned out okay with that as a middle name,” Roy added.
“That’s true,” she agreed.
“So whataya’ think of the names?”
“I like ‘em.”
“Ya do?”
The nurse nodded with a smile. “Yes, I really do.”
Johnny’s proud grin returned.
Roy nudged him in the arm. “I’ll be right back.” He headed toward the men’s room.
The dark-haired paramedic’s face grew more serious once he and Dixie were alone. “Uh. . .Dix. . .” Seeing he had her full attention, he continued. “Have you ever . . .uh. . .ever known of a couple who thought they were having one baby and ended up with a surprise set of twins?”
“Is Lorraine having twins?”
“No. . .no. . .uh, no, at least I hope not,” he added with a nervous chuckle. “I was just wonderin’ if you knew if that’s ever happened here before.”
“No, I don’t recall anything like that. I did hear about one lady who had a baby recently and she wasn’t even aware she was pregnant.”
“What did she think it was? I mean she had to feel the baby moving. . .”
“Indigestion,” Dixie said with a slight smile and shrug. “Do multiples run in Lorraine’s family?”
“No.”
“Well, that kind of decreases the odds. A little.”
“Yeah, I know. I just got this feelin’ this morning. . .”
“It’s probably just nerves.”
“I guess. . .” As he eyed Roy returning, he recalled the comment from earlier. With a weak smile he mumbled, “I hope.”
~*~*~
Another week later. . .
Johnny sat on the couch in the livingroom watching ‘Let’s Make a Deal’; the distant hum of the vacuum could be heard from the baby’s room down the hall. With all going well in the pregnancy after the impromptu trip to Rampart, Lorraine had gone into what the doctor described as the ‘nesting phase’. Though Johnny preferred she take it easy, there was no stopping her from cleaning the apartment, even the dreaded job of dusting they both disliked. He’d offered to help, but she didn’t look very happy about the idea. So for the past two weeks he’d let her go about the frequent tasks despite the fact that for the most part, none of it was necessary anymore.
Johnny listened as a woman on TV went on and on about how great it was she’d just won a new refrigerator. She and her husband couldn’t afford such a large one, but with three children in the family and a mother-in-law living with them, they really needed it.
Her story brought a conversation he’d had with Roy a few days earlier to mind. Roy’d just figured out that the idea of twins had Johnny a little on edge.
“I don’t see what you’re so worried about. You’ve already got a car for a larger family. Isn’t that why you bought it in the first place?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t plan on fillin’ it up all at once”
“Well, I wouldn’t be *too* concerned. Lorraine isn’t big enough to be carrying twins. Besides, I only said what I said in passing. I didn’t mean it was gonna happen.”
Johnny’s face brightened as the words sank in. “You know, you’re absolutely right. Lorraine would be much larger if she was having twins.” His smile grew wider. “Yeah. . .Yeah. . .”
“Unless they just haven’t hit that growth spurt inside yet,” Chet had put in after joining in on the conversation.
Johnny was silent as Roy looked incredulously at the curly haired fireman. “Why do you always hafta do that?”
With a shrug, he’d replied, “Just keeping the man on his toes.”
He was on his toes, all right. And although he and Doctor Hanson had pretty much talked him out of the worry of twins, a little nagging voice in the back of Johnny’s mind wouldn’t allow him to totally let his guard down.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Johnny got up as another knock sounded.
“’Comin’!”
When he opened it, he was surprised to see the crew of A-shift standing there with the white baby buggy, a yellow ribbon and bow on the handle, blankets folded up inside. The look on his face paid off, as all but Roy took it as total shock at the gift, not because they showed up together on a day off just to bring it over.
“Wha. . .what’s this?” Johnny played along.
“Man, Gage,” Chet mumbled, “You sure you’re ready for this dad stuff?”
“Chet, I know what it is. . ..I mean, is this for us?”
“Who do ya think it’s for? The family two doors down?”
Johnny shot a quick annoyed glance at Chet, then broke into a smile. It didn’t matter what the curly haired fireman was saying. The important thing was the guys came all the way over together to give he and Lorraine a gift that probably meant as much to them as it did him.
“Is Lorraine here?” Hank asked, peering past Johnny. “We were hoping to catch you together.”
The dark-haired paramedic nodded and motioned for them to come in. “She’s . . .uh. . .cleaning the baby’s room,” he whispered.
“Who messed it up?”
“No one. She just likes cleaning right now, Mike.”
“Man, your place looks like you just moved in,” Chet commented in a hushed tone. “It’s spotless.”
Roy smiled. He’d been listening to Johnny go on and on for the last week or so about how much better he liked the place when it was a little messy. “Wait till the baby’s been here awhile,” he said to Chet. “You won’t even recognize it as being the same place.”
“And I can’t wait,” Johnny stated. “I don’t care if it’s dolls or toy trucks. I want somethin’ layin’ around out of place.”
Before Chet could make another comment to that, Gage cut him off with, “This baby carriage is far out. Lorraine’s gonna love it.”
“Should we take it to her?” Hank wondered.
Johnny shook his head. “Hide in the kitchen with it and I’ll go get ‘er.”
They did as suggested and a few minutes later were all recipients of hugs from the overwhelmed mother-to-be.
“I can’t believe you guys did this! It’s wonderful!” she cried.
Johnny was beaming. He winked at an equally happy Roy. They’d pulled it off; no one could tell he already knew about the gift, and it was a genuine surprise for Lorraine.
~*~*~
July 8th, four weeks before the due date. . .
Johnny and Roy carried the last of the baby gifts from the shower into the Gage’s apartment, where they stacked them neatly in the baby’s room against the wall.
“Well, that’s it,” Johnny said as he looked over everything. Lorraine’s mother had come up with a long guest list for the baby shower and nearly everyone that was invited attended. The result was more baby items than they’d ever imagined. The paramedic eyed two high chairs still in boxes and two yellow diaper pails. “And here I thought weddings were the only time people had to worry about returnin’ duplicate gifts.”
“Nope. At least not when you have so many ladies at the baby shower. Jo said she’s never been to one that large before.”
“Yeah, Lorraine’s mom kinda got carried away with the invitations. First grandchild,” he shrugged. “You know how it is. . .”
“Maybe you shouldn’t return the duplicates until you’re sure you won’t be needing them.”
“Roy! Cut it out, man. It’s one baby.” When he noticed his partner start to make a comment, he restated firmly, “One.”
The older man smiled.
Gage picked up a small yellow rubber duck from a white plastic baby tub and squeaked it, an amused lopsided grin on his face. “Your kids ever have one of these?”
Roy nodded. “A couple. . . each.”
“Did they like ‘em?”
“Squeezed the things till Jo and I were ready to pop the squeakers out.”
Johnny snickered. He tossed it back into the empty tub on the floor near his feet. “So I don’t hafta worry about you buyin’ any drum sets or symbols for the kid later, huh?”
“Of course not. But Chet already reminded me the bagpipes are fair game.”
Recalling how he’d annoyed the curly haired fireman with bagpipes while on a musical hang-up a few years earlier, Johnny groaned. “You wouldn’t. . .”
Roy patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ve got years to get used to the idea.”
“I think I’ll encourage the kid to just become a mime.”
Somehow Roy couldn’t imagine an offspring of his partner being that quiet for any reason. Not if the little one was anything like his dad. Suddenly all he could picture was. . .
A mime on a rant . . .
Johnny caught the grin on his friend’s face. “What?”
“Nothin’,” he shrugged. He cleared his throat and forced a more serious expression. “I guess I’d better get going. Jo said she was gonna start dinner when she got home. The kids should be back from the neighbors’ too.”
“Okay. Thanks for helpin’ with all this stuff.”
“Sure.”
The two headed toward the livingroom where they found Lorraine asleep on the couch on her side, one hand against her belly.
“All the excitement must’ve wore her out,” Johnny whispered. “Looks like I’ll be cookin’ tonight.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
“That was for Lorraine.”
“Get outta here,” Johnny said with a grin as he guided Roy to the door.
~*~*~
Two weeks and a returned high chair later. . .
“Hey, there’s that little foot again,” Johnny said as he gently placed his finger tips on Lorraine’s belly. The tiny bump quickly disappeared when the baby seemed to pull its foot away. Both Johnny and Lorraine watched in wonder as her stomach rolled with the baby’s change in position.
The couple was sitting up in bed, Johnny in red boxers, Lorraine in a sleeveless pink night gown that was pulled up to her chest. For the past few weeks, they’d really come to enjoy watching the baby move, or guessing at whether it was a hand or a foot pressing against her, creating a small lump.
“Wow, he’s really active tonight,” she stated as she felt the baby roll again.
Johnny grinned. “You know, as great as it’s gonna be to have the baby out here with us, I’m sorta gonna miss this,” he admitted.
“Me too.”
“Any gut feeling about what we’re havin’ yet?”
“No. My aunt said it’s a boy because I’ve carried it kind of low all this time. But then my grandmother said it’s a girl because I’ve carried it kind of low.”
“Ah. . .so in other words--”
“It’s either a boy or a girl,” they answered together.
“Well, I’m glad they cleared that up,” Johnny said with a snort. He slid down onto his side and propped himself up on his right forearm and elbow as he placed his left palm on her belly. He waited for the baby to shift around again, then had to remove his hand when Lorraine started to get out of bed. She quickly waddled off to the bathroom.
Johnny turned onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, his hands clasped together on his chest.
Only a couple more weeks and we’ll have all the answers. He then glanced at the empty side of the bed and thought about what they’d normally be doing at this time before his wife had a baby prancing around on her bladder. With a sigh, he thought to himself, Only *eight* weeks or so and we can finally have *sex* again. . .
Neither could come soon enough for the paramedic.
~*~*~
August 9th, three days beyond the due date, in the a.m.. . .
“Man I tell ya, Roy, Lorraine and I have done so much walking in the past coupla days, my feet ache.”
The senior paramedic glanced at Gage in the passenger seat of the squad. The men were on their way to Rampart to refill a few supplies not replenished by the paramedics from the previous shift.
“You’re having a girl.”
Johnny screwed up his face in puzzlement. “What?”
Roy shrugged and with a grin he restated, “You’re having a girl. Well, Lorraine is, but you know what I mean.”
“What brought that up? We were talkin’ about the baby being late, not what sex it is.”
“I know. But I just figured it out. It’s a girl.”
Johnny shifted in his seat to face his partner. With narrowed eyes he asked, “Just why are you suddenly so sure?”
“Well, two months ago, she was nearly ready to come out and face the world early. If you hadn’t gotten Lorraine to the hospital soon enough, who knows what would’ve happened. But now that it’s time to come out, she apparently isn’t going for it. She can’t make up her mind what she wants to do.”
Johnny just looked at him with a blank expression. Roy felt the stare and once again took a quick glance. “Don’t forget, I live with two girls. Trust me, there’s a reason why someone came up with the saying, ‘It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind’. It’s the ‘x factor; that extra x chromosome.”
After he continued to stare for a brief moment, Johnny finally faced forward again with a sigh. “Man, and here I thought you were actually gonna be onto somethin’.”
Roy just held a smile. He wondered if the disappointment in Gage’s voice was indicative he was really hoping for a little girl or just the fact he wasn’t in the mood for joking around.
~*~*~
“I’ll bet Lorraine is more than ready to have the baby,” Dixie said to Johnny as she handed the supplies in a small box to Roy.
“She sure is. We both are.”
“Well, you know it can’t be that much longer. Little Joshua or Emily has to come sometime soon.”
“That’s what I keep telling him,” Roy put in.
Johnny looked at him in surprise. “When?”
“Okay, I was thinking about it. . .”
Gage rolled his eyes, a slight smile at the answer that sounded more like something he would say, then brought his attention back to Dixie. “Lorraine’s gonna keep up the walkin’ today so maybe it’ll help. It would be ideal if she could go into labor by the time I get off tomorrow. But we may just be a few days or so off on the due date.”
“Now that I told you on the way over here.”
“And I agreed,” Johnny noted for Dixie’s benefit.
“Do you get extra time off when she has it?” the nurse wondered.
“Uh huh,” he answered proudly. “I already have it worked out for a couple of guys from other stations to cover for me.”
“I hope we see you in here tomorrow then.”
“Me too, Dix. Me too.”
“That makes three of us,” Roy said. “I’d forgotten how long nine months can be when a woman’s expecting.”
Johnny recalled back when he’d first announced that Lorraine was pregnant. It still felt like years ago rather than months. He just wished they wouldn’t have to wait much longer.
~*~*~
Later in the morning. . .
The paramedics of Squad 51 were toned out to a home where a dog had bitten an elderly lady. The eighty-year-old woman was sitting on a bench swing on her porch when they arrived. A few neighbors were gathered around her, trying to keep her calm.
An Animal Control officer and a policeman handled the legalities of the situation while Johnny and Roy took care of the victim. It wasn’t long before they had her ready for transport to Rampart.
“I’ll ride in with her,” Johnny offered. She’d already commented that she liked his reassuring smile, so it made sense for him to be the one that stayed with her for the ride in.
“Sounds good,” Roy agreed. He handed the drug box and biophone to his partner, then closed one ambulance door. As he shut the other, he commented, “See you at Rampart, Mr. Charming.”
The younger man just rolled his eyes.
~*~*~
“I just don’t get why people don’t keep better control of their dogs,” Johnny grumbled as Roy backed the squad into the apparatus bay at the station.
“It’s like I told you earlier, no one seems to think their dogs are capable of being aggressive until something like that happens.”
“At least that family knows now.”
They both climbed out of the truck and headed for the dayroom. As soon as he walked in, Johnny was given a message by Chet.
“Your wife called.”
The paramedic came to a sudden stop, Roy accidentally bumping into him from behind. “She did? Is she okay? Is it time? When did she call?”
“Yeah. Seemed to be. No. About an hour ago.”
“Huh?”
“You rattled off four questions. So I rattled off four answers.”
“Chet! This is serious.”
“Only if she’s in labor and she didn’t say she was. In fact she said she’d try calling again when she got back from her walk. I asked her how she was doing and she said she just feels kinda achy.”
“Achy?”
“Kinda achy,” he clarified.
Johnny looked to Roy who had stepped around him. “She feels achy. . .”
“Kinda achy,” Roy quoted Chet.
“Yeah, but depending where she feels kinda achy, this could be it!” He shot another look at Chet. “Did she say where?”
The curly haired fireman shook his head, not sure he’d want to know if she’d offered.
“You know, she could feel that way for a few days and nothing happen,” Roy reminded.
“Relax, Gage. She sounded fine,” Chet assured. When he saw a look of doubt, he insisted, “Really!”
Johnny slowly lowered himself onto a chair at the table and looked at the phone. If I could *just* will it to ring. . .just this once. . .
~*~*~
Sent out on another response before he heard from Lorraine, Johnny watched ahead as Roy drove the squad through traffic. He kept his attention focused on the street signs as much as possible, but part of him just wanted to be back at the station near the telephone.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Roy said, having picked up on his partner’s lingering concern.
“I know. I just. . .man. . .I shoulda’ just taken this week off. . . period.”
“And if the baby didn’t come then?”
After a moment of thought, Johnny sighed. “All right. So I’m better off waitin’ till it’s a sure thing. But, man. . .” he shook his head. “Turn right at the next intersection.”
Roy complied. After a few more blocks they were at the location of the call. Gage shoved his personal concerns aside and gave 100 percent of his attention to the rescue at hand.
~*~*~
Once again back at the station, Johnny hurried to the dayroom to look for a message from his wife. The engine crew was out on a run, thus he could only hope she’d called back before they left. However, he was disappointed when he didn’t find a written note anywhere.
“No luck, huh?” Roy commented as he joined his friend.
“No. I think I’ll try calling her at home.” He felt for a coin in his pockets. When he came up empty there as well, Roy handed him a quarter.
“It’s on me.”
“Thanks.” He hurried to the pay phone at the end of the room near the chalk board and dialed the number. It wasn’t long before he placed the receiver back in its cradle. “No answer.”
“Maybe she’s with her mother or sister.”
Johnny rubbed at his chin in thought. “Maybe. . .” But before he could ask for another quarter to make a second phone call, the paramedics were again toned out.
~*~*~
“Look, I’m sure you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Roy offered in support after he glanced at his obviously unsettled partner. It was a deja’vu of when he’d picked up on Johnny’s lingering apprehension earlier in the morning while they were headed out on a response as well.
Johnny kept his eyes on the street signs as they went along, well aware that for now any victims they were being sent out to help had to take priority; he’d have to once again shove his own problems aside until the rescue was complete. But even knowing that didn’t stop him from discussing the matter a little more.
“I keep tellin’ myself that, Roy. I mean, everything was normal when I left for work. And since it’s our first baby, it’s likely gonna be a long drawn out labor when it does happen anyway. It’s just that what if Lorraine is in labor and tried to call me again and couldn’t get a hold of anyone at the station? Turn right up here,” he directed without missing a beat.
“Lorraine’s quirky but she’s smart,” Roy offered, suddenly wishing he’d left the first part of his comment off. But he couldn’t do anything about it now. As he made the turn, he continued. “If she was in labor and felt like she needed to be in the hospital, she’d call her mom or the fire department. Then dispatch would get a hold of you over the radio as soon as they were notified.”
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right,” Johnny agreed. So how come I still get the feelin’ somethin’s not quite right?
~*~*~
As he left the scene of the latest rescue, Gage glanced at his watch. He and Roy had been at the location in a park for over twenty-five minutes. The rescue had involved two young boys who’d managed to get their skateboards tangled up and they’d wiped out, landing among a gaggle of geese crossing the cement sidewalk.
*Angry* geese, Johnny thought to himself. Part of what took them so long, was having to fend off the persistent aggressive birds while they worked on the youths.
But adding in travel time there and now time as he followed behind the ambulance with Roy and the boys in it to Rampart, it had been at least forty-five minutes from when they’d left the station.
I hope Lorraine’s called back by *now*.
Being that he wouldn’t get back to the station right away to find out, he decided that once he got to Rampart he’d try calling her again at home. If she didn’t answer *this* time, he’d telephone her mother. And if she wasn’t there. . .
Man, I don‘t know *what* I’ll do. . .
~*~*~
Once he arrived at Rampart, Johnny backed the squad into a parking space beside the ambulance. Roy and the others had gotten there a couple of minutes before him.
As he walked around the corner just inside the emergency entrance, Gage heard a familiar voice call out, “Johnny!”
He turned around and nearly bumped into the woman. Johnny did a double take.
“Darlene? What’re--”
“Your wife’s having a baby!” she yelled in a panic.
Johnny wasn’t sure what to make of the outburst. He hadn’t been in touch with Darlene for quite a long time. All sorts of thoughts quickly ran through his mind. Was she upset he’d gotten married and now was starting a family? Had she tracked him down to confront him about it? Was she that jealous? Lorraine had told him she’d seen her on a daytime serial recently; she’d played a scheming woman on edge who’d kidnapped her boyfriend’s first, second, third, and current wife and tied them all up in a basement. Is it possible the actress had mixed fantasy with reality?
That’s just crazy. . .then again, we’re talkin’ about a girl who listens to her tires when she drives down the street. . .Wait. . .how’d she know Lorraine is pregnant in the first place?
Darlene must’ve read the puzzled expressions that rapidly flashed across his face because the answer came next, before he even had a chance to ask.
“She’s outside. . .in the car. . .and she’s in labor!”
His eyes widened, his mouth open in stunned surprise. He quickly brushed past his ex-girlfriend as he directed over his shoulder, “Have someone call up to maternity! And get a wheel chair!”
Darlene headed for a nurse near the base station down the hall while Johnny ran outside.
~*~*~
When he saw Lorraine in the front passenger seat of their station wagon, Johnny rushed over and flung open the door.
“Are you all right? How long have you been in labor?”
She nodded, then answered between breaths, “. . .a couple of hours, I guess. . .but not this bad . . .the whole time.”
Hours? Oh my God. . .she *did* kidnap her! Wait. . . get a handle, Gage. Why would she bring her *here* if she did?
He really wanted to know where she’d been. . .and how Darlene had come to be involved. But the main thing that mattered was that she was there now. And first priority was getting her up to the maternity ward before it was too late. Johnny leaned inside and immediately went from worried husband and father-to-be to concerned paramedic. “Did your water break?”
“No. . .”
“How far apart are your contractions?”
“Not. . .far. . .enough,” she panted, her expression changing to a grimace as another contraction hit. “Ooooohhhh,” she groaned.
“From what Darlene said, I thought you were having the baby right here. . .now.”
Lorraine forced a smile. “She’s an actress. . .she’s dramatic.”
“Good point,” he commented as Darlene and Dixie rushed out of the hospital with an orderly pushing a wheel chair behind them. Once Johnny explained to Dixie that it wasn’t quite as urgent as he’d first thought, they helped Lorraine into the wheel chair and headed inside.
~*~*~
Roy was just coming out of the treatment room when he saw his partner and the others come down the corridor. He stopped where he was and the door closed behind him, nearly hitting him on the backside.
Lorraine? Even more of a surprise, *Darlene*?
He couldn't wait for the explanation on this one.
~*~*~
Johnny nodded, half listening to Darlene explain how she came to be the one to drive his wife to the hospital as they all quickly made their way down the corridor. It wasn’t that he no longer wanted to know; he still was very curious. But the fact that this was it. . .the time they’d been waiting for, for over nine months. . .the biggest event in their lives since their wedding. . .far outweighed the other.
“. . .So when I got to the park for a walk, I went to the part that isn’t usually busy. . .you know, so I wouldn’t get mobbed by any fans, of course.”
The remark elicited an eye roll from her audience.
“And there was your wife, sitting in her car with the door open. Well, she was obviously in labor. . .”
Roy joined them and hurried alongside, not interrupting Darlene since he figured Johnny had asked for the information.
“. . .So once she told me she was in too much pain to drive,” she continued as they stopped at the elevator. Dixie pushed the button, while Darlene kept on with her story. “Well, obviously she needed a ride. But I couldn’t chance her water breaking in my car. So it only stood to reason I drive her car. And so here we are,” she said with shrug.
The elevator had arrived and the group waited as those on it stepped off. They then quickly got in.
“I’m sorry. I thought I’d be okay. . . for awhile. I thought I had time. . .being our first baby. But when I got back to the car. . .it just got. . .worse so fast,” Lorraine added before taking several quick breaths. Her hands firmly gripped the arms of the wheel chair as she worked through the latest contraction. “I was about to. . . honk the horn for attention. . . from anyone. . . when Darlene came along.”
Johnny couldn’t believe the crazy idea that Darlene had kidnapped his wife had even entered his mind. All he could do was chalk it up to nerves and having been in stunned surprise. But he figured it was one thing he’d never share. . .
With *anyone*.
“I’ll call Cap and let him know,” Roy said as they got off the elevator.
“Thanks. Oh and can you call her mom and tell ‘er to pick up Lorraine’s suitcase at the apartment?” He reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out his notepad and green pen, quickly jotting down a phone number. He tore out the paper, and handed it over.
The senior paramedic took the small page. “Sure.” He eyed the couple with a smile. “I’ll check back later and see how things are going.”
“Good deal.”
Roy went to find a payphone while the others hurried to get Lorraine checked in.
~*~*~
Now settled in a bed to wait for the time of delivery to arrive, Lorraine listened to the baby’s heartbeat on a monitor while Johnny watched the chart resembling the results of a lie detector test as it showed the strength of each contraction. It was on a machine that was hooked up to Lorraine and a device moved back and forth on a strip of paper that fed itself through. Darlene had left the couple after her agent came to give her a ride back to her car at the park.
“She really was. . .a big help,” Lorraine commented. “She coached me. . .had me follow her in taking slow deep breaths.” She squeezed her eyes shut against the strengthening contractions. Her hands gripped the metal bed rails until her knuckles nearly turned white.
Johnny winced at the increase in length of the lines on the chart as he had his own thoughts on Darlene’s coaching. Yes, it helped Lorraine tremendously and he’d been grateful. But somehow he got the feeling there was more to her ‘coaching’ than just helping his wife.
After all, it’s still a new car. . .
He shook his head at the kidnap thought again. If someone had told him that idea was going to run through his mind, he’d have scoffed at the remark.
Man, now *that’s* one Chet would *really* never let me live down. . . neither would Lorraine or Roy. . .
In the meantime, he soothed Lorraine through this latest contraction, reassuring her and reminding her to take slow steady breaths. At least the other was all behind them and they were finally together, soon to be a family of three. He hoped things would go smoothly from here on out because even with having delivered a few babies over the years, he wasn't ready for too many surprises.
~*~*~
“Any word from John yet?” Hank asked as he came into the dayroom. He’d called in a replacement for his youngest crew member and now they all were waiting for news on baby Gage, even though it’d only been a couple of hours since Roy left the parents-to-be at Rampart. As quick as Lorraine had gone into active labor, no one expected it to be a real long wait. Unlike most first babies, this one seemed to be in a hurry to make its way into the world once the labor began.
Marco shook his head as Roy answered, “No, but I think we’ll head over there soon and check in with him.”
He’d planned on spending more time with the couple, but decided it should be their time alone other than with family members. And he was sure Lorraine wouldn’t be too thrilled or comfortable with other men hanging around during the most trying time of her life, paramedics and close friends or not.
“I can’t wait to find out what they have,” Chet remarked. “But it needs to take about three more hours,” he added after glancing at his watch.
“Another bet?”
The curly-haired fireman nodded in answer to Mike’s question.
Roy shook his head in wonder. “What’re you gonna bet on once the baby’s born?”
Chet shrugged. “How long till the next kid is on the way?”
Roy pushed back his chair and got to his feet, a smirk on his face. “Johnny oughta love that one.”
Chet smiled proudly as the senior paramedic tapped his temporary partner on the shoulder. “Ready to head on over?”
“Sure.”
“Call us if there’s any news.”
“We sure will, Cap.”
The two paramedics soon were on their way.
~*~*~
Johnny was sitting forward in a chair beside Lorraine’s bed. The couple was holding hands as Johnny coached her through another strong contraction. She was at eight centimeters dilation during the last check by Doctor Hanson a few minutes before and the labor pains had progressed immensely since she first arrived. Lorraine no sooner felt relief when another contraction would hit.
Johnny cringed again as he felt his hand squeezed unbelievably tight. He’d never imagined his wife could have such strength.
Holy. . .
When she released her grasp, he watched the color return to his skin in spots as his blood circulated freely again.
“You’re doin’ great,” he assured her.
“I think. . .I’ve changed my mind,” she managed to get out between clenched teeth. “I can’t do this.”
The comment brought a smile to Johnny’s lips. He’d heard it from a couple of other women he and Roy delivered babies for.
“I think it’s a little late now. You’ll be fine. You’re doin’ a great job--” His voice tensed on the last word as she once again squeezed his hand. Though he was grateful his in-laws had decided to give them some time alone after a short visit, he wouldn’t have minded one of them taking a turn holding Lorraine’s hand right now.
~*~*~
Doctor Hanson walked in just as Lorraine blurted out in a panicked voice, “Oh God! It’s coming!”
“Don’t push,” he directed as he hurried to the bed. He checked her cervix as soon as her latest contraction stopped. “You’re at ten centimeters.”
Johnny suddenly felt nervous all over again. This was it. It was time for the baby. . .or babies, as Roy had suggested at one time. . . to come. Now he second guessed his abilities to do this. He wasn’t worried about the participation in the birth, but rather afterward. Was he really ready to be a dad? Would he be a good one? All sorts of other thoughts raced through his mind as they rushed to the delivery room.
Would the baby be healthy? Would it have all its fingers and toes? Would it be a surprise set of twins? Girl or boy didn’t matter anymore. . .even twins would be fine. He just wanted everything to go well for the baby and Lorraine. Not all women survived complications in childbirth even in these modern days of the 1970’s, and it worried him now that his wife was the mother-to-be.
What if somethin’ happens and I lose her? It was something that had never crossed his mind until now.
~*~*~
When Roy and his temporary partner got to Rampart, they immediately headed for the maternity ward. They were informed then that the Gages had just gone to the delivery room.
Roy couldn’t believe how anxious he felt at the news.
You’d think it was *my* wife having another baby, he thought.
The two men were about to take a seat in the waiting room with Lorraine’s family when dispatch contacted them over the handie talkie and sent them on a rescue.
In a sense Roy was grateful for the distraction, though he didn’t want it at the expense of someone else.
~*~*~
A sheen of sweat glistened on Lorraine’s face as her labor continued.
“Okay, push again,” the doctor directed.
She complied as Johnny clutched her hand and encouraged her. “Push, Sweetheart. You’re almost there.”
“I’m trying!” she shot back.
“Don’t waste your energy talking, push,” Hanson reminded.
Johnny was thankful he hadn’t said it. By the look on Lorraine’s face, she didn’t appreciate the comment at all and the doctor was fortunate there wasn’t anything handy for her to throw at him.
After a couple of more tries, Doctor Hanson shook his head. “There’s no give.”
The baby would start to crown, only to slip back between pushes. Even the episiotomy he’d done to allow for a larger vaginal opening hadn’t helped. Suddenly the baby’s heart rate slowed and the doctor looked sharply at the monitor.
Johnny tried not to appear worried for his wife’s benefit, but he had to admit to himself that he was scared. This was a situation he’d never encountered with a delivery and a surprise neither of them needed.
“We’ve gotta get this baby out now. I’m gonna have to use the forceps.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Lorraine wondered, her eyes welled up with tears.
“Everything’s gonna be fine,” Gage assured. “The baby’s just being a little stubborn, that’s all.” He eyed the doctor with concern. He knew the risks involved with forceps; facial nerve damage, skull fracture, intracranial hemorrhage, facial paralysis, bruising or even pulling the neck vertebrae out of alignment. But fetal distress without a quick solution could mean death.
Ready with the forceps, the doctor explained, “Lorraine, you’re going to feel some pinching. I don’t want you to push until I tell you to, okay?”
She nodded, just wishing the ordeal was over. Johnny brushed her sweat-soaked hair back from her face and squeezed her hand to let her know he was there for her.
The pain was quick and barely noticeable. The pressure from the baby had already partially numbed her. Ready to deliver the infant, Hanson said firmly, “Okay, let’s get this little one out. I’m going to need one really good push from you, Lorraine.”
Again she nodded and when the next contraction came, she pushed with all she could muster. Johnny kept a hold of her hand, ignoring the pressure she returned with her incredibly strong squeeze.
Before they even realized it, their child was out and Doctor Hanson was clearing the mouth and nasal passages with a syringe. The wailing newborn cry that followed brought enormous relief to both Johnny and Lorraine.
Johnny gave his wife a kiss and smiled as the doctor held up their daughter. The small infant had a full head of dark hair.
A girl. . .we’ve got a girl. That’s our Emily Claire.
Despite the problems encountered with the delivery and the fact she was still kind of messy, she looked healthy.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Just like her mother,” he agreed with Lorraine. “That’s it, right, Doc? I mean, there’s not another. . .you know. . .”
Hanson looked at him in confusion and Lorraine in astonishment. Seeing his comment didn’t go over well, he mumbled, “Just making sure.”
While two nurses checked over the infant and cleaned her up, the doctor sutured the tears the new mother had suffered, then delivered the placenta.
“Six pounds, five ounces, nineteen inches long. And she’s a nine on the apgar scale,” a nurse announced as she handed the baby to Lorraine. Johnny gently touched the top of the little head, lightly moving a lock of hair. There was evidence of bruising from the use of forceps on the extreme sides of Emily’s face, but other than that, the birth had left her nearly untouched. Her head wasn’t even misshapen from the birth canal.
Johnny couldn’t wait to call the guys at the station and give them the news once his wife and daughter were settled in. . .and after his in-laws got word. Also, he’d have to find a way to get a hold of Darlene.
A daughter. . .we have a daughter.
Roy was right. Delivering someone else’s baby was not even close to seeing one’s own come into the world.
~*~*~
When they got off duty the following morning, the crew from A-shift stopped by Rampart to see the new arrival. Johnny was already at the hospital and proudly led them to the large window at the nursery where Emily was resting. He’d let the nurses know about the expected visit, so once the men were lined up, one of the nurses brought the baby closer to the window.
“She looks kinda like you, John,” Hank commented.
“Poor kid,” Chet teased.
Johnny ignored the remark and beamed with pride.
“She’s got a lot of Lorraine in her too,” Marco added.
“I see they still haven’t improved on hospital beanies,” Roy remarked, smiling at the little knot-topped stretch knit cap on her head.
Suddenly Emily began to cry. Johnny glanced around and noticed Chet making faces toward the glass. He elbowed his shiftmate.
“Chet! Man, didn’t ya learn from the last time ya did that?” he admonished as he recalled a time Chet had made faces at a baby he’d delivered when they came to see it. The result had been much the same.
“Can I help it if your kid doesn’t have a sense of humor?”
“Doesn’t have a sense. . .?” Nope, he wasn’t going to argue. Not today. “You know, she’s probably just hungry.”
As experienced fathers some of the others had to agree. As Emily was taken away for a feeding, the group of men left so Johnny could join his wife and baby. There’d be plenty of other times to see her again once she was home.
~*~*~
One week later. . .
Johnny was back at work and stifling a yawn in the dayroom as he returned the telephone receiver to its cradle.
“Hey, you still know your way to the station after all,” Roy teased as he wandered in. The rest of the crew had already welcomed the new dad back and were now sitting on the couch and at the table reading over sections of the morning newspaper. “Rough night?”
“Not exactly. It’s just that since this is gonna be my first night on duty since Emily was born, I stayed up as late as I could last night watchin’ ‘er sleep. And then after awhile she woke up, was hungry and needed her diaper changed. . . I figured Lorraine was gonna have it alone tonight and could use the rest, so I changed Emily and gave 'er a bottle; after that, rocked her ta sleep. Then it took me a few minutes to convince myself I should get to bed too.”
“You’ll get used to it. Being away, I mean.”
“Yeah, sooner or later.”
“So was that Lorraine on the phone?”
“Uh huh.”
“Anything wrong?”
“Yeah, there’s something wrong,” Chet put in as he peeked over his paper. “That’s the second phone call he’s gotten since he’s been here. And he only got here ten minutes ago.”
Johnny gave an annoyed glance over his shoulder toward the fireman, then brightened as he looked at the questioning face of his partner. “My girls miss me. . .what can I say? Besides, he’s wrong. I’ve been here nearly fifteen minutes.”
“That’s much better,” Roy said sarcastically.
But no amount of teasing could upset John Gage. . .at least not for now. Knowing the little baby girl with the dark hair and temporarily grey-blue eyes, and his beautiful wife were at home waiting for him was enough to carry him through just about anything. It’d taken a long time to get here, and they’d been through a lot of bumps along the way. But the fact was, they’d made it.
Now if we could just figure out a way to improve the smell of poopy diapers. . .
I’m right beside her, she’s squeezing my
hand
One more push and a baby cries
And I said to myself,
it doesn’t get better than this
no it doesn’t get better than this
But it did, it did, oh it did
Yes, it did
******
*Note: though short labor time is rare for a first pregnancy, is has and does happen. So I decided to play with that scenario. Some stuff in the story is from experience. :o) However, some medical bits may be a little inaccurate for story purposes. One thing for sure, 6 pound some odd ounce babies CAN get stuck! :o)
Many thanks to Carol Orndorff for the beta read. :o) Any errors are mine alone.
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