The first light of morning seeped though the blinds as Jim sleepily rolled over to put his arms around Pam. His eyes darted open when he realized that she wasn’t there and her side of the bed was cold. He sat up and saw light streaming from underneath their closed bedroom door. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:45. It was Pam’s first official day of maternity leave but he didn’t have to get up for another 2 hours.
Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he ran his hand through his hair. He searched the floor for the pajama bottoms that had been discarded before he went to bed the night before. After checking the baby’s room to see if Pam was in there, which turned up empty, he headed downstairs. As he rounded the corner to the living room, he saw her. She was on the couch, legs propped up on the coffee table, blanket over her bulging belly. Her head was back against the couch, but she had a hot cup of tea in her hands so he knew she was awake.
He said, “Hey” so quietly she wasn’t sure if she’d heard but he didn’t want to startle her.
She raised her head slowly and looked at him. “Hey,” she said back. “Did I wake you?”
Jim took a few long strides to couch and sat beside her. “Only when I realized that you weren’t in bed. How long you been up?”
Pam shrugged. “Awhile,” she said, quietly.
“You okay?” He asked when she didn’t offer anymore. He reached over and rested his hand on her belly.
“Yeah,” she said with a slight smile on her face. “I’m… um…. I’m in labor.”
“Seriously?” Jim asked, a little more loudly than he expected. “Don’t we need to get to the hospital?” He jumped up and ran both his hands through his hair and started pacing as if he was deep in thought. “Okay, I’m going to go and get your bag and then I’m going to go start the car and then I’m going to come back and get you and….” He was talking a mile a minute.
“Jim,” Pam said, just as quietly as before. “Relax. We have plenty of time. Just…. Please stay calm. Because if you don’t, then I won’t and then I’m really going to freak out.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” he said, sitting back down next to her. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I just needed a few minutes to myself,” she answered, honestly.
He took her hand and she squeezed it a little as her head fell back again and her breathing quickened. “Contraction?” He asked and Pam nodded a little, her lips forming a tight line.
After a few seconds she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “They are getting closer and closer together,” she said. “I guess we should go.” Jim nodded. “Can you help me up?”
Jim got up and then pulled Pam to her feet and into his arms. “I love you… so much,” he whispered into her hair as he kissed her cheek.
***
Four hours later, Jim understood why Pam had wanted to take a few minutes to herself that morning. Things became very intense, very quickly once the got to the hospital. He didn’t realize that seeing Pam in so much pain was going to rip him to shreds. He stayed right be her side though and never let on that he was about to lose it.
When she turned to him with tears in her eyes and said, “I can’t do this anymore”, he wanted to scoop her up in his arms and tell the doctors to just stop everything and make it go away. Of course, the reasonable side of him knew that that wasn’t possible so he smoothed her hair back, placed a cold cloth on her forehead to wipe away the sweat and looked in her eyes.
“Yes, you can. I know you can,” he told her with more strength than he knew he had. “We’re almost....” he stopped himself and started over. “You’re almost there,” he said. He was not about to pretend that he was doing any of the work. “And it will be so worth it when it’s over.”
He kissed her forehead and Pam started to cry. “What is it?” He asked, looking at one of the monitors to see if another contraction has started. It hadn’t.
“What if the baby doesn’t like me?” she said through sobs. He knew that she was exhausted but that was just ridiculous.
“What are you talking about?” He asked her as gently as he could. He’d made it this far without pissing her off. He had seen the movies… the guy always seemed to piss off the woman in labor. He didn’t want to start now.
“I… I’ve just never been good with kids and… I just thought that my own baby would be the exception, but what if it’s not?”
Jim took her face in both of his hands and wiped her tears with him thumbs. “Well then she’ll be grounded,” he said. “And she won’t come out of her room until she decides that you are her most favorite person in the world.”
Pam looked at him and smiled. He sighed, glad that humor wasn’t such a bad idea. “She?” Pam asked.
“Well, yeah,” Jim said. “I mean, I know that we don’t know for sure but I think it’s a girl.”
Pam managed to squeeze in, “I’m gonna take you all in… cause I think it’s a boy” before her next contraction silenced her. “I think I need to start pushing.”
Just then the nurse walked in. “You need to start pushing?” She asked and Pam nodded. “Okay, then let’s do it, on your next contraction start pushing.” The nurse called the doctor and suddenly the room was full of activity.
It all happed so fast yet Jim felt like he was moving in slow motion. The nurse yelled at Pam to push one more time and Pam’s screamed turned into a baby screaming. They were both crying as the nurse laid the baby on Pam’s chest. “It’s a boy!” She said.
***
Jim held his son tightly in his arms as Pam drifted to sleep a few feet away from them. His gaze drifted between the baby and Pam in awe. He loved Pam more than anything in the world but he had no idea that when he held their baby in his arms that his heart would suddenly expand in a whole new way.
“I don’t know if you realize how happy you’ve made me,” he whispered to the baby. He freed the baby’s hand from the tightly wrapped blanket and gently rubbed his tiny little fingers. “I never thought I’d love anyone as much as I love your mom but here you are. And I love you so much. We have to take care of mom, you and me. We have to make her feel like she is the most important person in the world. Because she is. She’s proof that you should never, ever settle. You’re soulmate could be being born right now, in this very hospital. Maybe we’ll take a walk later and see if anyone catches your eye.”
“What are you talking about over there?” Pam asked, making Jim jump slightly and the baby grunt and stretch a little.
Jim smiled. “I was just telling him the rules of basketball,” he said, innocently.
“For some reason I don’t believe you,” Pam laughed.
Jim got up and walked towards the bed. “Do you want to hold your baby?” He asked and she nodded.
He gently set the baby in her arms and sat on the bed next to her. She scooted over a little to give him more to sit with him. He put his arm around her and kissed her head.
“Can you believe this?” Pam asked, stroking the baby’s cheek.
Jim shook his head. “I keep wondering when I am going to wake up.”
“I think we’ll be spending plenty of time awake in the next few months,” Pam laughed.
“We?” Jim asked, keeping a straight face.
Pam elbowed him gently and giggled. “Seriously though,” she said. “I am so glad that you are my baby’s daddy. I love you.”
“I love you so much,” he replied. Jim kissed her temple and then she turned her head so she could kiss him the right way.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This story is dedicated to sonnets_de_amor (I think) because she endless harrassed (I mean, encourged) me until I wrote this.
Standard disclaimer applies.
Standard disclaimer applies.
Sarah Kiacomesin is the author of 6 other stories.
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