My Number One Fan

“Ouch, ooo ow!” I groaned as the contraction hit harder. I had been in labor for nearly 14 hours now, and the contractions were becoming longer, closer together, and a lot more painful. Jeff held my hand through them, but I could tell from him wincing there were times I was squeezing too hard.
“Sorry,” I muttered afterward and Jeff shook his hand to get feeling back in his fingers.
“Stop, it’s fine.” he replied, placing his hand on my head and stroking my forehead with his thumb.
“How far apart were those?” I asked him after taking a deep breath.
“About 30 minutes, so you’re getting there, slowly, but surely.”
“I can’t take much more of this,” I murmured, letting my arm rest across my eyes.
“Yes you can honey, you’re a lot stronger than you’re giving yourself credit for.” Jeff replied, forcing me to look at him. “Think about it honey, all this pain you’re going through right now, it’s for the best cause we could ever ask for. Our daughter is coming into the world. After the pain, you’ll be holding your little girl in your arms.” His voice soothed me enough to realize what he was saying was true. After all the pain was endured, we’d finally get to met our baby, the little human we created together.
We decided to take a walk after a while. We were always told it would speed up the labor, so we decided to try it. We walked all around the property stopping once when I had another contraction. With Jeff’s help I got through it, but I could tell things were speeding up. That contraction was 20 minutes after the last one.
Jeff’s phone rang as we walked, which he ignored since it was during the contraction. After it was done though, he checked to see who called.
“Your Dad,” he informed me, pressing the send button to call him back.
“Hey, hang on I’ll put you on speaker,” Jeff said, removing the phone from his ear and placing it on speaker phone.
“Hey, Sara was outside and saw the two of you walking, is everything okay?” My dad’s voice asked full of concern.
“Shit we never called them,” I muttered to Jeff.
“Yeah we’re really sorry Mark, but things have been hectic since we got back from Atlanta.” Jeff informed Dad. “Riley’s in labor right now.”
“She is? She’s a week early.” Dad replied.
“Is that bad?” I asked, alarmed.
“No, but it’s just a little surprising to hear,” he answered quickly. “I thought we’d have to wait until the second week of April before little Kylie got here.”
“So did we,” Jeff admitted. “but she’s coming now. It started in the car when we got to the border of town, and we’ve been dealing with the contractions one after another.”
“Only thing you can do right now,” Dad said. “How far apart are they? She should be in the hospital when they hit 5 minutes apart.”
“Well, we’re definitely getting there,” I muttered. “Between the last one and the one before that was twenty minutes.”
“Yeah, you two might want to start heading up there,” Dad said. “It’s a pretty good distance and you’ll be driving as carefully as you can.”
“Okay, we’ll head out,” Jeff said, nodding his head toward the house. We walked and talked to Dad. Jeff grabbed the bag we had packed for the trip while I eased myself into the car. I called my aunt and uncle and told them what was going on, then Matt and Amanda.
“She’s coming? Like you’re giving birth now?” Matt asked alarmed.
“No Matt, I’m just having contractions now.” I corrected him. “Jeff’s getting ready to take me to the hospital.”
“I called Rorwan to let her know,” Jeff informed me. I nodded as he pulled out of the driveway. He grabbed my free hand and smiled at me, nervousness and excitement all but apparent in his eyes. I hung up the phone with Matt and put the phone on speaker for Papa Gibby.
“You’re about to become a grandpa!” Jeff announced to his father. “We’re on our way to the hospital right now.”
“Great, I’ll be up there as soon as I can.” he replied. It was twenty minutes after the last contraction that the next one hit again, so that meant there was no changes. Jeff held my hand as I breathed through the pain, and when I felt it ease, my eyes closed from fatigue.
We reached the hospital not to much longer after that.
“Yes, Dr. Rorwan called in requesting a room and private waiting area for Riley Hardy.” Jeff said to the receptionist. The woman nodded and pulled a wheelchair out, forcing me into it.
“How far along are the contractions?” the nurse asked.
“Twenty minutes apart,” Jeff answered her.
“How far along is she?”
“39 weeks.” I answered this time. The nurse nodded and started an IV in my hand. Soon it was just Jeff and me in the room. Jeff had me sit forward so he could braid my hair for me. Some people found it weird, but I loved the feel of his fingers going through my hair.
‘We’re here,” he said, sitting in a chair beside me and grabbing my hand.
“It’s about to happen,” I agreed with a smile. I was still excited, but I was scared to death as well. I just wanted the happy healthy family I’ve always wanted, and it was about to come true.

~POV: Jeff~ ~3:30 AM~
I watched Riley sleep, nearly nineteen hours into the labor. Nothing had changed since she got here, so her contractions were still 20 minutes apart. Rorwan showed up an hour after we did and examined her. It turned out the contractions were progressing, but her dilation and effacement was going pretty slow. After sixteen hours she had effaced 75 percent and was 2 centimeters dilated. I sighed and stood up, walking out into the hallway. We’d been in that stuffy room for five hours now, and it was starting to get to me.
“Hey,” a voice behind me said. I turned to see it was Matt, Mark right behind him.
“She doing okay?” Mark asked.
“Yeah, just sleeping while she can.” I answered, rubbing my eyes and hiding a yawn with the back of my hand.
“Why don’t you get some sleep?” Matt suggested.
“I can’t, I tried.” I admitted, stretching out my sore muscles. “I’ll get to sleep, but then think I hear Riley gasp so I wake up.”
“So go into the waiting room. We’ll stay here with her,” Mark said. I shook my head as I heard the door open behind me.
“Hey sweetie,” Mark greeted his daughter.
“What, having a party out here?” she asked through a yawn.
“You okay?” I asked her. She nodded and gasped, the contraction hitting her without warning. She staggered, so I caught her and held her steady.
“Ow ow ow,” she groaned, her eyes shut tight. The contraction lasted for a long time, it was the longest one yet.
“That was 10 minutes since the last one,” I informed her. She nodded, knowing that already herself. I helped her back into the bed and she went back to sleep, waking up ten minutes later to another contraction. When it started, the door opened and Rorwan walked into the room. She saw Riley was panting, so she stayed back until everything was done.
“So, how’s things going here?” Rorwan asked Riley. Riley just held up a thumb in response.
“Gah those things are bitches,” she muttered.
“Yeah they are, but it’s all worth it in the end.” Rorwan replied.
“That’s what everyone keeps telling her.” I spoke up.
“So, we’re going to check on the progress,” Rorwan said, grabbing a pair of latex gloves and putting them over her hands. She put Riley’s legs in the stirrups and started her exam.
“You’re getting there,” she said finally, removing the gloves. “You’re fully effaced and you’re now dilated to 5 centimeters. I’ll come back in about an hour and a half to check again,” Rorwan left the room as I helped Riley sit up.
“Halfway there,” I said to her. She nodded, hugging a pillow to her. “I love you,” I muttered, kissing the top of her head. She smiled, but it turned into a grimace as another contraction hit.

~POV: Riley~ ~6:30 AM~
“Oh my…OUCH!” I screamed through the never ending contraction. It started, and it would peak, but then it would start up again. By now I was panting so much my mouth was completely dry and all they gave me for it was ice chips. I started to feel like a dog in the middle of a heat wave.
“I heard that one outside,” Matt said, walking into the room.
“Shut the fuck up Matthew!” I shouted/groaned at him. He had genuine fear in his eyes for a brief second. I was started to feel pressure, so I wanted to start pushing, but was kept being told no by Jeff, who was instructed to do so by the nurses.
“Jeff, I need to push she’s coming I can feel her.” I groaned as another wave of contractions hit, followed by more pressure in my lower half.
“I’ll go find Rorwan,” he said, standing up.
“No don’t leave me!” I screamed, hauling him back.
“I’m just going down the hall, I’ll be right back,” he said, but I refused to let him go. Thankfully Rorwan walked in a few minutes later.
“Damn it!” I screeched as another contraction struck, but it was so much more sharper, and most of the pain seemed to come from further down, as if something was trying to pass through. Rorwan took one look at me and rushed from the room, leaving me in the stirrups. Jeff took the chance to take a peek, and his face paled.
“Shit Riley I think I see her,” he said, squinting.
“You do Jeff,” Dr. Rorwan said, rushing back into the room. “Riley, ready to meet your little girl?”
“More than ever,” I replied with a groan. “I fucking told you she was coming Jeff. I told you, OW OW OW,” I gasped as I started to feel a burning and stretching. “Fuck!”
“Okay so, when a contraction hits, hold your breath for 3 seconds, and push for 10.” Rorwan instructed me. I nodded and was adjusted to where it would be easier for me to push the baby out. Jeff wrapped his arms around my shoulders, kissing my cheek as the contraction started.
“One, two three,” Jeff counted. I started pushing, nearly screaming as the burning radiated through my body even more.
“…nine, ten.” Jeff finished counting. I relaxed for a second before doing the process over again. The pressure built up until I felt something slide.”
“Hang on Riley, we’re suctioning her mouth.” Rorwan said. “Okay now go.” I pushed again, and realized with extreme relief and gratification that the rest of the body wasn’t as bad as the head.

~POV: Jeff~
Riley was instructed to give one more good push, which she did just as amazingly as the other ones. While she was pushing, I was concentrating on counting for her, so when she completely relaxed and collapsed, it scared me to death. Looking up, I realized why she stopped, Rorwan straightened up, holding a small, red, squirming baby.
“It’s a little girl,” Rorwan announced to us. She placed the baby on Riley’s stomach, who reached her hands out to touch our daughter. My sight became blurred as tears formed in them.
“Kylie,” Riley muttered, staring at the baby that was now in her arms. The baby was squalling, but she was beautiful. She had a full face and a shock of dark hair.
“Jeff, you’re crying,” Riley noticed when she looked up at me.
“Leave me alone,” I muttered with a smile.
“It’s sweet,” she replied. “Here, meet your daughter.” She held up the baby, who I quickly took into my arms.
“Hi sweetie, I’m your Daddy. I love you so much already.” I muttered to her. The pediatrician took her after a few minutes to clean her up and check her out. Rorwan finished up with Riley, who fell asleep as soon as Rorwan was done.
“She can have visitors now,” Rorwan told me. I didn’t care if she was still in her scrubs, I reached out and hugged her tightly.
“Thank you,” I muttered to her. She smiled and nodded.
“No problem,” she replied tapping my arm. “Go see your daughter, tell your family the new addition has arrived.” I nodded, not knowing what to do first. I decided to go see her in the nursery first so I knew where to look when I brought everyone back.
“Hello, name?”
“Hardy,” I told the nurse. She grabbed a chart and looked it over.
“Nice sized girl for being a week early,” The woman replied. “7 pounds, 12 ounces. 19 inches long.”
“Well, if you see her grandfather, it won’t be that surprising,” I replied. I looked at the bassinette labeled “Hardy.” My little girl was trying to look around, but her eyes wouldn’t stay open long enough, and I could see it was pissing her off.
“Oh man I can already tell she’s going to be just like me,” I muttered. “Something’s not going right and it’s getting her very angry.”
“Congratulations,” the woman said, walking away. I stared at my daughter for a long time, until I finally got the will to turn away and go announce the arrival. I looked into the room and noticed it was Mark, Matt, Amanda, and Marylyn in the room. The others must be coming over later. Mark was asleep, his head leaning against the wall. Marylyn had her head on Mark’s shoulder and Matt and Amanda was leaning against each other.
With a sigh, I opened the door, trying not to wake them up. I walked up to Matt and Amanda and smacked Matt upside his head. He jumped awake, waking up Amanda in the process. Mark, who was next to Mandy, woke up at the same time Mary did.
“Jeff, everything okay?” Mark asked.
“Follow me,” I replied, leading them out of the room. They followed me down the hallway to the nursery window. Mark realized what we were looking at before the others.
“She’s beautiful Jeff,” He said, staring at his granddaughter. Everyone looked around until they found the bassinette, and each of them gasped or sighed.
“You’re officially a Daddy little bro,” Matt said, wrapping his arm around my neck. I couldn’t take my eyes off my daughter for the life of me.
“You can go see Ri, but she’s probably out cold.”
“We‘ll wait then, let her get some sleep.” Mark replied.
I looked over at Matt and Amanda, who had their arms wrapped around each others waists and watching their niece.
“So what do you think Matt? Do you have the cutest niece or what?”
“Cute isn’t the word for her,” Matt answered with a smile. I laughed back at him.
“What are we looking at over here?” Dad’s voice said from behind us. I turned to see he was walking up to us. He looked into the nursery and at his granddaughter. His eyes softened as he watched the baby. “She’s perfect,” he told me, looking up at me. I smiled at my father as he turned back to his granddaughter.
“Mom would be proud,” Matt said.
“So would Samantha.” Mark replied, leaning against the wall. We stood and talked for about an hour more, watching the baby at the same time.
“Want to take Kylie to go see her mother?” Mark asked me. I nodded and showed the nurse my bracelet that let me take the baby to the room. Riley was awake, talking with her grandparents.
“Mommy, I have a surprise for you,” I said, walking into the room. Riley moved over on the bed, giving me room to sit with her.
“She’s beautiful,” Riley said, staring into the baby’s face.
“Just like her momma,” I replied. “She’s going to get her temper from her old man though.”
“What makes you say that?” Riley asked, a laugh in her voice.
“She was trying to look around but her eyes wouldn’t stay open. It pissed her off so she just gave up.” I explained. Riley laughed harder.
“Yep, that is just like her father,” she said. We were both silent for a long time.
“Oh, so she weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces, and 19 inches long.” I informed Riley.
“Wow, I have a feeling she’s going to take after you in height,” she said.
“I think she’ll take more after your dad,” I said.
“I hope not, I won’t care if she’s taller than me, but I don’t want her to be a tower.”
“I agree with that, except for the being taller than me.” At that moment Kylie started crying. Since we’re first time parents, we had no idea what to do, so we called a nurse into the room.
“She’s probably a little hungry,” the nurse said. “You can try feeding her.” Riley and I looked at each other, silently agreeing that Riley would be the first one to attempt the feeding. When the nurse returned with the bottle, I noticed the nervous look in Riley’s eyes.
“Ri, how many times have you done this with Chasey and Christian?” I asked her.
“Too many to count, but I haven’t fed a baby this small,” she answered.
“How old were the kids?” the nurse asked.
“Christian was 3 weeks old I think,” I said, looking over at her. Riley nodded.
“It’s not to much different.” the nurse assured her. “Just support her head, burp her every half ounce, and if she starts struggling, just let it go and call us.”
“Okay,” Riley said, taking the bottle from the nurse. When she left, I got off the bed so Riley could have more room. I watched her as she stuck the tip of the bottle in the baby’s mouth, moving it around a little. She smiled and relaxed more when Kylie started sucking.
“Smart girl,” Riley muttered.
“She’s her mother all over again,” I smirked. Riley just threw me a smile and watched as our daughter drank from her bottle. Kylie took an ounce and a half before she was done.
“Well, she did pretty good.” a different nurse said, looking at the bottle. “Especially for being a few hours old. Which reminds me, we need you to sign the birth certificate.”
“March 28, 2011.” I read on the certificate. I took the pen and signed my name where it said “father’s name,” the soaring I felt in my chest I couldn’t prevent even if I wanted to. Riley signed her name where the mother’s name was supposed to go, but when she got to her maiden name, she hesitated.
“I don’t know if I should put Mitchells or Calaway,” she admitted.
“Hyphen them.” I suggested, she thought for a moment, and nodded. The nurse took the certificate and bottle. Kylie ended up falling asleep, so Riley and I decided to get some sleep while she was sleeping.
“I love you,” I heard her mutter as my eyes closed. I tried to mumble it back, but sleep took me over before I could get a single sound out.

~POV: Riley~
The crying woke me up, but I smiled as I listened to it. Kylie was awake, and I guessed that she needed a diaper change. I opened my eyes and Jeff was already bent over the bassinette, tending to her.
“Hey, go a head and go back to sleep, I got her,” he said when he saw I was awake.
“I’m alright, I need to get used to it anyway,” I replied, sitting up and wincing at how sore I was. “You better be prepared for a dry spell, because I don’t think I’ll be able to do much of anything for a long time.”
“I wouldn’t think so, not with pushing this out of that hole,” Jeff replied, smirking as he picked up Kylie.
“So, are we ready for this?” I asked, looking at our daughter.
“We better be, because ready or not, she’s here.” he answered, sitting on the bed next to me.
“We’ll make it,” I said confidently.
“We have each other, and our family, of course we’ll make it.” he said, adjusting Kylie so she was more secure in the crook of his left arm. He draped his right arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him.
“How the hell can you do that?” I asked, looking at Kylie sleeping so peacefully in his arm.
“I don’t know, natural talent I guess.” he shrugged. “We’ll be alright Ri, like I just said, we’ll have each other, we’ll have our families, that’s all we really need.”
“I know,” I replied with a smile. “You know what, I never told you this, but you’ve always been my hero, and I’ve always been your number one fan.”
“Well, my number one fan, that’s weird, because I’m your number one fan.” he replied. “I love you, my number one fan.”
“I love you more, my number one fan.”
“You know, we can’t really say that anymore, because now we both have a new number one fan,” Jeff said, looking down at our sleeping baby.
“And she probably always will be.” I replied.

It has been two months since we brought Kylie home with us. The house smelled of baby formula and powder, but it was a scent I would love for the rest of my life. I was in mine and Jeff’s bed, Kylie on a pillow in front of me. Jeff had to go out to get some things, so it was just Kylie and me.
She opened her eyes to look at me. It was more than obvious she was going to have green eyes and dark hair, except her eyes would be a lighter shade, more Jeff’s color than mine.
“Hey beautiful,” I muttered to her. She looked up at me and gave me a smile, which melted my heart even more.
“Hey, how are my two girls doing?” Jeff asked as he walked into the room.
“Say we’re doing just fine Daddy,” I replied to Kylie. She looked from me to her father and back again. I chuckled as I held the baby up to Jeff, who took her right away.
“How long ago did she eat?” he asked, not taking his eyes off his little girl.
“About an hour, so she’s good for a while,” I answered, slowing standing up and stretching. Our daughter might have been two months old, but I was still feeling the affects of her birth.
“You doing okay?” Jeff asked, looking up as I walked toward the bathroom.
“Yeah, just a few lingering side affects,” I replied. “Nothing to serious to worry about.”
“I’m sorry, but I still can’t believe we have our family finally.” Jeff muttered, looking back down at our daughter. I smiled and quickly used the bathroom, walking back out to find him in the same position. I walked up to him and smiled, looking down at our little girl.
“I know what you mean though,” I said, leaning my head against his shoulder. “How long have we been waiting for this to happen?”
“Let’s see, we were sixteen when we first started dating, we’re 33 now, so, seventeen years?” he answered.
“Well, I’d say around 12, 13 years since we wasn’t planning on having a baby at sixteen years old.”
“And we had that time apart from each other, so that knocks out eight,” Jeff replied.
“Actually, no it doesn’t, because we were estranged, but we still loved each other and wanted to be with each other, we just wasn’t seeing eye to eye then.” I reminded him. He nodded, remembering how that went.
“So, you never told me, what did you do during that time?”
“Worked at a diner and went through school for my degree in journalism.”
“Yeah I heard during that time you was working for the magazine,” Jeff replied, adjusting Kylie to his other arm so he could use his right hand.
“Yeah, I never got to interview you,” I said, grabbing one of Kylie’s hands. “My first one was Shawn though.”
“Yeah I know I heard that. Matt told me.” He sighed, and looked back down at Kylie.
“Are you regretting quitting wrestling?” I asked him.
“Not one bit,” he replied. “You and Kylie are my life Riley, nothing comes before the two of you. You’re both my main girls, and always will be.”
“I love you Jeffrey, even if there’s times when it might not seem it, I love you more than anything.”
“I love you too. Who would of guessed you could meet your soul mate at the age of seven?”
“I didn‘t, but I’m glad it happened.” I replied. He wrapped his free arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek.
“So am I,” he said.
“Your daughter’s asleep,” I pointed out to him. He looked down to see she was in fact asleep. He laid her down in her bassinette and set the baby monitor so we could go downstairs. In the living room, we sat on the couch, just enjoying the quiet and each others company.
“Nothing can make me happier right now.” Jeff said.
“Me either,” I replied. The phone rang just then, and it was Matt and Amanda on the other end. The news they gave us was the best news we had heard in a long time, and it showed that things could only get better from this point on.