Status: enjoy.
You're the Air I Breathe
twenty-three.
Nick’s Point of View
I ran down the stairs of our hotel, all 20 flights of them, Kevin swiftly following behind. We had already had a bellhop load our luggage and things back into the limousine. I finally reached the last flight of stairs, and fled out the front revolving doors.
Paparazzi swarmed Kevin and I; we realized that not bringing Big Man wasn’t the smartest idea we had ever made. But we managed to push through the crowd and slide into our limo. We pulled away slowly; too slow for my liking. “Excuse me, sir; we need to step it up! My wife could be giving birth any minute for all I know!”
Kevin sighed, and patted my shoulder. “We’re going to try our best; don’t worry. Okay? You’re going to make it for this birth. I promise.” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. I looked at the window, then back down at my phone; seeing if they had texted me anything yet.
“How much longer until we reach the airport?” I asked, about 10 minutes had passed since we’d departed the hotel. The limo driver looked at the clock radio; “We should be arriving in about 5 minutes, Mr. Lucas.” I nodded and looked down at my phone again; nothing.
****
We boarded the jet about a half hour later. My heart was racing, and I think I had checked my phone about 3000 times since we’d left our hotel. I hadn’t gotten an update from them in a couple hours and I was getting worried.
I closed my eyes, and a million thoughts instantly popped into my head. I imagined me arriving to the hospital, running up to Macy’s room, and finding her there with our little baby girl already in her hands. “Nick, you missed everything.” She’d say, her eyes filling up with tears.
I woke up from that thought, gasping. Kevin quickly reacted and sprung up, looking at me. “Nick, Nick, are you okay?” I nodded my head, took a sip of water, and sighed. “Yeah.” Suddenly, my phone began to vibrate. I looked down and saw a text from Stella.
Macy won’t be delivering for awhile; hurry, but no need to panic. (:
I sighed with relief, and showed Kevin the text. He smiled. “Childbirth isn’t just ‘POP! Here’s your baby.’ It’s a lot more time consuming than that.” I laughed and slipped my phone back into my pocket, and prayed that Macy would be okay without me for now.
Macy’s Point of View
Doctor Mackenzie slipped her gloves off, and smiled at me. “You’re almost halfway dilated, but you’re moving pretty quickly. The baby will probably be born in the whereabouts of an hour to two hours.” I sighed, and prayed for a moment that Nick would be here in time.
Doctor Mackenzie attached a machine up to me, so that it would measure how far apart my contractions were; they had started to become closer and closer together, making it more and more intense for me.
Doctor Mackenzie told me to buzz for a nurse if I needed anything and she headed out the door. I sat up a little bit, and sighed, looking over at Stella. She smiled at me. “Everything will be okay, Macy. I promise.” She got up and walked out the door, calling Joe back in.
Joe stumbled back into the room, with a tray of coffee and water for me. I smiled. “Thanks Joe.” I said, taking the water off the tray. He smiled. “No problem.” He handed Stella her coffee and sat down beside her. “So, what’d I miss?” He said, taking a long sip of his coffee.
“Well, you’ll have a niece in about...45 minutes.” Stella said smiling. Joe’s eyes widened and he spit his coffee out. “What? I thought this was like a 24 hour process!?” He said, sitting up more. I laughed. “Joe, it all depends. Some women are different.” He started to look all sweaty and nervous; he got up and started pacing around the room.
Suddenly, his phone began to vibrate. He picked it up and answered it. I crossed my fingers and hoped it was Nick calling. He walked out the door and took the call privately.
Nick’s Point of View
“Nick, when the hell are you getting here?” Joe’s voice was shaky and nervous. I laughed. “Joe, our plane lands in 20 minutes. It’ll take me a good 20 minutes to get to the hospital. I’m just calling in to see how Macy’s doing without me?” I looked out the plane window and sighed.
“I was just in the room with her; Stella’s trying to keep her occupied. But she gets these weird attacks where she’ll moan and wince and grab her stomach...sounds like she’s dying...” I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “Joe, you’re an idiot; those are contractions. Is she having a lot of them?”
“Well, yeah. She’s getting more and more. But apparently the doctor said it was normal.” I nodded. “Okay, well Joe, let’s say if for some reason, I’m later than expected? I need you to do me a favour.” I bit my bottom lip and closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t refuse. But knowing Joe, he had no idea what I was about to ask.
“Yeah, sure brother. Shoot.” I sighed. “If I’m late, I need you to be there for Macy. Pretend like you’re me. Hold her hand while she’s pushing, or stand by her and tell her that she’s doing a good job.” I heard him take a large gulp. “Joe? Joe? JOE?!” I repeated his name. “Are you there?” I heard him get back on the phone; his breathing erratic.
“N-Nick, I-I don’t know if I can d-do that...you know how I am around...blood and stuff..” I sighed. “Come on Joe; I’m not asking you to watch the baby come out, for God’s sake! Just hold her hand and comfort her; and besides, this is only if for some reason or another, I’m late.”
I heard him sigh, and then walk around a bit. “Fine.” He finally said. I sighed with relief. “Thank you, Joe. I’ll see you in less than an hour.” Before I hung up, I heard him scream, “DON’T BE LATE!”
Macy’s Point of View
“Ahhh!” I screamed, grabbing my stomach. I was breathing heavily. Stella scrambled to her feet and ran over to my bedside. “Are you alright, Macy? Do you want me to buzz for a nurse?” I shook my head and tried to control my breathing. “No, no. It’s okay. Their...their just contractions.”
Joe ran back into the room, screaming. “WHAT’S GOING ON?!” His arms flailing like some kind of bird. Stella brought me some water while Joe made sure I had a cold, wet cloth on my forehead. I smiled. I was so grateful to have such amazing friends in this time where I needed them the most.
The next thing I knew, Doctor Mackenzie was back in the room. I watched as she slipped her gloves back on, and put the stirrups on the bed. Stella grabbed Joe and spun him around, making him turn the other way. “What...wait, what’s going on?” He said, confused. I laughed. “Never mind.”
“Wow Mrs. Lucas,” Doctor Mackenzie said, “I’ve never seen someone move through labour as quickly as you. You’re a little over 3 quarters contracted.” I sighed. “Does this mean the baby’s coming sooner than expected?” Doctor Mackenzie slipped her gloves off and lowered my legs off the stirrups.
She shook her head. “It shouldn’t change drastically, no. You’ll be okay. Is Mr. Lucas on his way?” I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, his flight should’ve landed anytime now. We’re praying he gets here in time.” She smiled. “Don’t worry your pretty little head off; everything will be ok. And Joe?” We all looked over at him in the corner; he was still facing the wall.
“Yeah?” He said. Doctor Mackenzie laughed. “You can turn around now.” Joe spun around quickly and smiled. “Oh.” He said, blushing. We all laughed and we watched Doctor Mackenzie leave the room.
I ran down the stairs of our hotel, all 20 flights of them, Kevin swiftly following behind. We had already had a bellhop load our luggage and things back into the limousine. I finally reached the last flight of stairs, and fled out the front revolving doors.
Paparazzi swarmed Kevin and I; we realized that not bringing Big Man wasn’t the smartest idea we had ever made. But we managed to push through the crowd and slide into our limo. We pulled away slowly; too slow for my liking. “Excuse me, sir; we need to step it up! My wife could be giving birth any minute for all I know!”
Kevin sighed, and patted my shoulder. “We’re going to try our best; don’t worry. Okay? You’re going to make it for this birth. I promise.” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. I looked at the window, then back down at my phone; seeing if they had texted me anything yet.
“How much longer until we reach the airport?” I asked, about 10 minutes had passed since we’d departed the hotel. The limo driver looked at the clock radio; “We should be arriving in about 5 minutes, Mr. Lucas.” I nodded and looked down at my phone again; nothing.
****
We boarded the jet about a half hour later. My heart was racing, and I think I had checked my phone about 3000 times since we’d left our hotel. I hadn’t gotten an update from them in a couple hours and I was getting worried.
I closed my eyes, and a million thoughts instantly popped into my head. I imagined me arriving to the hospital, running up to Macy’s room, and finding her there with our little baby girl already in her hands. “Nick, you missed everything.” She’d say, her eyes filling up with tears.
I woke up from that thought, gasping. Kevin quickly reacted and sprung up, looking at me. “Nick, Nick, are you okay?” I nodded my head, took a sip of water, and sighed. “Yeah.” Suddenly, my phone began to vibrate. I looked down and saw a text from Stella.
Macy won’t be delivering for awhile; hurry, but no need to panic. (:
I sighed with relief, and showed Kevin the text. He smiled. “Childbirth isn’t just ‘POP! Here’s your baby.’ It’s a lot more time consuming than that.” I laughed and slipped my phone back into my pocket, and prayed that Macy would be okay without me for now.
Macy’s Point of View
Doctor Mackenzie slipped her gloves off, and smiled at me. “You’re almost halfway dilated, but you’re moving pretty quickly. The baby will probably be born in the whereabouts of an hour to two hours.” I sighed, and prayed for a moment that Nick would be here in time.
Doctor Mackenzie attached a machine up to me, so that it would measure how far apart my contractions were; they had started to become closer and closer together, making it more and more intense for me.
Doctor Mackenzie told me to buzz for a nurse if I needed anything and she headed out the door. I sat up a little bit, and sighed, looking over at Stella. She smiled at me. “Everything will be okay, Macy. I promise.” She got up and walked out the door, calling Joe back in.
Joe stumbled back into the room, with a tray of coffee and water for me. I smiled. “Thanks Joe.” I said, taking the water off the tray. He smiled. “No problem.” He handed Stella her coffee and sat down beside her. “So, what’d I miss?” He said, taking a long sip of his coffee.
“Well, you’ll have a niece in about...45 minutes.” Stella said smiling. Joe’s eyes widened and he spit his coffee out. “What? I thought this was like a 24 hour process!?” He said, sitting up more. I laughed. “Joe, it all depends. Some women are different.” He started to look all sweaty and nervous; he got up and started pacing around the room.
Suddenly, his phone began to vibrate. He picked it up and answered it. I crossed my fingers and hoped it was Nick calling. He walked out the door and took the call privately.
Nick’s Point of View
“Nick, when the hell are you getting here?” Joe’s voice was shaky and nervous. I laughed. “Joe, our plane lands in 20 minutes. It’ll take me a good 20 minutes to get to the hospital. I’m just calling in to see how Macy’s doing without me?” I looked out the plane window and sighed.
“I was just in the room with her; Stella’s trying to keep her occupied. But she gets these weird attacks where she’ll moan and wince and grab her stomach...sounds like she’s dying...” I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “Joe, you’re an idiot; those are contractions. Is she having a lot of them?”
“Well, yeah. She’s getting more and more. But apparently the doctor said it was normal.” I nodded. “Okay, well Joe, let’s say if for some reason, I’m later than expected? I need you to do me a favour.” I bit my bottom lip and closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn’t refuse. But knowing Joe, he had no idea what I was about to ask.
“Yeah, sure brother. Shoot.” I sighed. “If I’m late, I need you to be there for Macy. Pretend like you’re me. Hold her hand while she’s pushing, or stand by her and tell her that she’s doing a good job.” I heard him take a large gulp. “Joe? Joe? JOE?!” I repeated his name. “Are you there?” I heard him get back on the phone; his breathing erratic.
“N-Nick, I-I don’t know if I can d-do that...you know how I am around...blood and stuff..” I sighed. “Come on Joe; I’m not asking you to watch the baby come out, for God’s sake! Just hold her hand and comfort her; and besides, this is only if for some reason or another, I’m late.”
I heard him sigh, and then walk around a bit. “Fine.” He finally said. I sighed with relief. “Thank you, Joe. I’ll see you in less than an hour.” Before I hung up, I heard him scream, “DON’T BE LATE!”
Macy’s Point of View
“Ahhh!” I screamed, grabbing my stomach. I was breathing heavily. Stella scrambled to her feet and ran over to my bedside. “Are you alright, Macy? Do you want me to buzz for a nurse?” I shook my head and tried to control my breathing. “No, no. It’s okay. Their...their just contractions.”
Joe ran back into the room, screaming. “WHAT’S GOING ON?!” His arms flailing like some kind of bird. Stella brought me some water while Joe made sure I had a cold, wet cloth on my forehead. I smiled. I was so grateful to have such amazing friends in this time where I needed them the most.
The next thing I knew, Doctor Mackenzie was back in the room. I watched as she slipped her gloves back on, and put the stirrups on the bed. Stella grabbed Joe and spun him around, making him turn the other way. “What...wait, what’s going on?” He said, confused. I laughed. “Never mind.”
“Wow Mrs. Lucas,” Doctor Mackenzie said, “I’ve never seen someone move through labour as quickly as you. You’re a little over 3 quarters contracted.” I sighed. “Does this mean the baby’s coming sooner than expected?” Doctor Mackenzie slipped her gloves off and lowered my legs off the stirrups.
She shook her head. “It shouldn’t change drastically, no. You’ll be okay. Is Mr. Lucas on his way?” I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, his flight should’ve landed anytime now. We’re praying he gets here in time.” She smiled. “Don’t worry your pretty little head off; everything will be ok. And Joe?” We all looked over at him in the corner; he was still facing the wall.
“Yeah?” He said. Doctor Mackenzie laughed. “You can turn around now.” Joe spun around quickly and smiled. “Oh.” He said, blushing. We all laughed and we watched Doctor Mackenzie leave the room.