After Tonight

Thanksgiving had passed and the beginning of December was only a few days away. Abbey and I sat at the kitchen table eating lunch. For Abbey, it was grilled cheese sandwiches and apple slices. For me, it was left-over pizza.
I thumbed through the latest script my agent had sent my way, some bio-pic. Abbey sat across from me, mindlessly looking through a clothing catalogue. She was beginning to get irritated, something about being “too much of a whale” to wear normal clothing. I heard her sigh wearily and I only smiled to myself. I found her fits of rage highly amusing and as cliché as it sounds, I thought she couldn’t have looked more stunning.
As I briefly glanced up, I noticed a pained expression on her face. “Are you alright?” Suddenly, she gripped my arm and shook her head.
“Rob.” Abbey closed her eyes tightly. “Rob, I think we need to leave…my water…broke.” I could feel myself blanch as my eyes widened, possibly out of terror. There had been a few false alarms as the months had gone on, but the doctor always assured us the pains were just part of the complications he’d mentioned earlier.
“Is this the real thing?” My heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach. This was it. This was it.
“I think…I think it is.” I stood from the table so quickly that my chair wobbled.
“Uh, right. Alright let’s go. Are you sure?”

Abbey’s P.O.V.
By the time we hailed a cab—which I had to do because Rob was pacing around, trying not to pass out from shock—I felt like I was going to have the baby inside of it. I grimaced as I pictured the grimy cabby telling me to breathe. We got to the hospital soon enough, but the pain was getting worse.
“Should I call everyone?” Rob panicked as he filled out forms. I stood next to him, breathing heavily and clutching my stomach. He glanced at me, face contorted and suddenly shouted, “Why the fuck have you got me filling out paperwork? She’s having a baby for God’s sake!” This drew a round of stares from other patients and nurses.
After what felt like hours, we finally had things situated. At least I had a room to myself. I hadn’t been too keen on giving birth while somebody else lay in the bed beside mine. I guess that was one of the celebrity perks Rob was able to bring to the table.
“Stupid question, but how are you?” Rob pulled a chair up to the side of my bed and reached for my hand. His eyes were still wide and his voice was shaky.
“Awful” I could barely whisper. He placed stiff fingers on my stomach. “And it’s all your fault.” I smiled at him, winking.
As a smile finally began to break through his pinched expression, a nurse bustled in and pushed him out the way. Any hint of a smile from Rob was squashed when the nurse grabbed my legs and spread them. I looked at Rob, completely startled. He returned the look and began to ask her what the deal was. He stopped mid-sentence when she began prodding around...down there. If he hadn’t already been terribly uncomfortable, he was then. Those blue eyes widened (even more) in horror and he turned his back to me, trying to figure out what he had just witnessed. The nurse finally poked her head up to tell me that I wasn’t even close to being completely dilated yet.
I had to wait.
“Well, I think it’s safe to say that I clearly went into the wrong profession.” Rob commented, taking back his chair by my bedside. He grinned as I punched his shoulder. Just then, I felt a wave of pain through my stomach and I groaned. “Are they getting worse?” I merely nodded, bracing myself for another.
“Can’t they give you anything?” He looked worried. I shook my head no. After a few minutes of trying to find a nurse, Rob gave up and sat down again.
“Do you have the list?” He nodded and reached into the pocket of his grey jacket. He carried it with him.
“I look at this every day.” Rob blushed as he admitted his truth. I smiled from where I rested against the pillow and stroked his cheek. He leaned in to kiss me before unfolding the piece of paper with our baby’s name on it.
“So I’m thinking Ella if it’s a girl.” By now, Rob had climbed into the bed next to me, allowing me to rest my head on his chest. The nurse who’d been so kind earlier hated this. Every time she came in to check me, she scowled at him.
“I like Ella. Ella Pattinson. It has a nice ring.” I smiled, sounding out each syllable. “What about a boy?”
“Well the list says Ben. Are we still in agreement over this? I nodded, wincing in pain. He kissed my forehead. “Ben it is.”
After another hour had passed, the nurse made Rob get off the bed. Because I wasn’t dilated enough yet, the nurse said that there could be a possibility of a C-section. She said we wouldn’t have to worry about that if I wasn’t going through such terrible pain.

Rob’s P.O.V.
It had been hours. Abbey lay against her pillow, breathing heavily and sweating. I’d never seen anyone in that much pain. It hurt me to watch her, but I couldn’t leave her alone. The nurse wasn’t that big of a help and I had half the mind to insist on getting another one. The last time she’d come in, she said that we’d wait a while longer and if nothing changed, the doctor would do a C-section. I had no idea what that was, but Abbey looked mortified.
“Why don’t you try to get some rest, love?” I was worried, really worried actually. Abbey nodded and closed her eyes. I watched her as she tried to sleep, wanting to hold her tightly every time her face scrunched up in pain.
She finally looked as if she’d been able to fall asleep. Thankful, I smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. I stood up and closed the door—I wanted her to get as much quiet as she could.
By now, her stomach was enormous. I moved the ridiculous looking hospital robe she’d been given and kissed her stomach.
“Alright now, listen to me. Please be good to her. Can you do that?” I spoke to her stomach just as I had every day before this one.
…
When the baby finally decided to make its appearance, I was at my wit’s end. Abbey’s screams were relentless. Once or twice she yelled at me to stop looking like deer caught in the headlights and help her breathe. I was so not ready for this. My good friend, Nurse Amy, shouted at me as well, as if my ears weren’t already broken. I fumbled with the cup of ice chips—why the hell would a pregnant woman desire ice—and spilled them when I accidentally knocked into the table. Who the hell needs a coffee table in a hospital room? Jesus Christ.
When it appeared that I was completely useless, I backed away and sat down on the chair across from Abbey’s bed. I desperately needed to breathe. Everything just got fuzzier as I sat with my head between my knees. Abbey’s screams were distant, the nurse’s shrill coaching was muffled.
This was it.
I realized that my place was not in the chair across the room and rushed back to Abbey’s side. She looked up at me, weary, as the nurse kept shouting at her.
“Love, you’re going to be fine.” I leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Our baby is going to blow Suri Cruise out of the water.”
“Rob,” she smiled faintly and laughed for a quick second.
And then it was all over.
“Congratulations, Mr. Pattinson. It’s a girl.”
My body was hot, my head was a mess of last minute fears and hesitations. There was a flurry of movement and piercing cries. I looked up to see a small smile on Abbey’s lips as she collapsed into her pillow and then the nurse placed a pink bundle no bigger than my forearm in my hands. I really hoped the head wouldn’t roll off on this one. I readjusted the little girl in my arms, awkwardly holding her head up. I turned my back to swarm of doctors who buzzed around Abbey, hoping to get the baby to stop crying.
I rocked her back and forth gently and she became silent, looking up at me for the first time. And then I really saw her. She had blue eyes and a mess of dark brown hair—could Abbey’s mum have gotten it more right? My chest tightened and I held her closer. Her pale cheeks were rosy, her skin warm. This was my baby, my daughter.
This was Ella.
Just as I turned to see Abbey, the machine beside her bed began beeping wildly. Abbey’s eyes fluttered shut.
“Breathe! Abbey, you need to breathe!”