At the bottom of her bed were two very large feet, crossed at the ankles. Her eyes swept down the long, lanky legs to find Jim sleeping in a chair. His late afternoon stubble cast a shadow across his face and his lips were slightly parted. She smiled slightly before poking him with her blanketed toes.
“Hey, quit sleeping on the job,” she joked as he groaned, stretched and sat up taller.
“Hmmm? Yeah, I guess I dozed off there,” he said through a yawn.
“Yeah, we both did. The screamers took a break long enough for us to rest.”
Jim chuckled as he rose from his chair and gingerly placed his hands on Pam's stomach, carefully avoiding the monitor strapped around it. “Such a trouble maker, and not even born yet.”
“The doctor is supposed to come in soon. Maybe he can tell us what's happening. This waiting is driving me crazy.”
After two brief games of “Would You Rather...”, Dr. McKendrick waltzed in to examine Pam.
“Nope, nothing.”
Pam sighed, “Really?”
“Yep. This little critter just doesn't want to come out. I think we may need to help things along.”
“What does that mean?” Jim asked.
“We'll give you some pitocin. It's a medication that induces labor. It'll just be added to your IV and hopefully that will get some contractions going.”
Liz added a bag to Pam's IV and checked the readings on the monitor beside her bed. "Well, this little guy sure does have a strong heartbeat."
"Oh, it's a girl, actually," Pam explained.
"Really?" Liz said. "With this heartbeat it looks like a boy to me."
"Huh. Nope, they said from what they could tell, it was a girl," Jim added.
"Well, they would know," Liz said with a smile as she patted Pam's leg and left.
Jim shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the side of the bed. He silently took her hand and brought it to his lips.
“Soooo, this could actually be happening soon,” Pam said anxiously.
“Yeah. How are you doing with all of this?”
“I don't know. Scared?” Her voice quivered.
“Well, I don't know how much help I'm going to be, but I am right here. Whatever you need, ask. If you need to scream, grunt or even feel like punching me, I can take it.”
Pam smiled through her tears and thought about how lucky she was to have this man by her side. It felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, ready to jump, but Jim was there with a parachute. He stood up, pulled her into a hug and a shiver ran through her. Bringing this baby into the world was going to be frightening and painful, but she could do this.
Their quiet moment was soon shattered with a whistle coming through the doorway.
“Hey you two, get a room.”
“Hi Michael,” Pam said with a hint of frustration as Jim pulled away from her.
“So, what's the news? Where's my baby?” Michael asked while advancing his hands towards her belly. Jim quickly blocked his target and added, “No, nothing yet, but we're hoping soon.”
“It's kind of sad, Jim,” Dwight said mockingly, “My mother had me in less than an hour. I ripped her wide open, but at least I didn't keep her waiting around like this one.”
“Lovely,” Pam responded. She felt a slight tightening across her stomach as Michael perched himself on the end of her bed.
“Well, Pammy-mammy, I got you some things in the gift shop to maybe get things going.” Michael held up a plastic bag. “First, candy. I got Snickers, Mounds, Pay Day...all your favorites. You must be starving.”
“Michael, I'm on a clear liquid diet.”
“Well, do they have blender around here? I'm sure a Snickers can be liquified. Anyways, I also have a teddy bear...nice to cuddle with.”
As Michael pulled a succession of gifts and items out of his plastic bag, the ache in Pam's stomach became increasingly more uncomfortable. Jim was trying to stop Dwight from rifling though the cabinets full of supplies and it became harder and harder to concentrate on what Michael was rambling on about. Slowly, Michael's voice slipped away as her stomach began to squeeze and roll with pain.
"I...Michael...you need to go. Please.”
Jim rushed to Pam's side. “Contraction?” Pam nodded vigorously.
“Okay, guys, you need to leave. Things are happening here and Pam needs some space.”
“Oh! This is awesome! Look, there are a couple of seats over there. We'll sit there and be as quiet as a couple of churchmices. Don't worry, I'll turn my head at the gory parts.”
“Michael, seriously man, you need to go.”
“Hello gentlemen,” Nurse Liz called while coming in. “Family only here right now.”
“But we are family!” Michael pleaded. “I was almost Pam's father.”
“Uh huh, right. Let me show you both to our friends and family lounge. C'mon.”
Liz linked arms with both men and quickly led them out of the room.
Pam was clutching the metal rail of the bed as she tried to grapple with the wave of pain. After a few seconds the contraction subsided and she fell against her pillow.
“Wow. That was...”
“Intense?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, what do you need? Water? Ice chips? A back rub...” Pam suddenly sat up and Jim's voice was lost in the pain of another contraction. This one started at the top of her stomach and released a rippling pain that radiated all the way down to the inside of her thighs. She wanted to scream, yell, call out Jim's name but her voice was trapped in the swirl of agony that held her body hostage. Instead, she locked eyes on him and let her tears flow.
“Pam? Pam, oh God, Pam,” Jim's voice shook. His heart was breaking for her and seeing her in this amount of pain was killing him. This was so big, bigger than anything he's ever been a part of, but he stared back into her pain-filled eyes and realized now was not the time to lose it.
“Okay, Pam? Just look at me. You can do this. Look right here...just look at me Pam, and breathe.”
